On Divination Passage 122

Hoc nimirum est illud, quod de Socrate accepimus, quodque ab ipso in libris Socraticorum saepe dicitur, esse divinum quiddam, quod daimo/nion appellat, cui semper ipse paruerit numquam impellenti, saepe revocanti. Et Socrates quidem (quo quem auctorem meliorem quaerimus?) Xenophonti consulenti, sequereturne Cyrum, posteaquam exposuit, quae ipsi videbantur: Et nostrum quidem , inquit, humanum est consilium; sed de rebus et obscuris et incertis ad Apollinem censeo referundum , ad quem etiam Athenienses publice de maioribus rebus semper rettulerunt.

This, surely, is what we have learned about Socrates and what is often said by Socrates himself in the books of his followers: that there was something divine, which he called his daimonion, and which he always obeyed. It never urged him forward but often called him back. When Xenophon consulted Socrates about whether he should follow Cyrus, Socrates, than whom what better authority could we seek, first explained his own view and then said: 'Our counsel is merely human. On obscure and uncertain matters I advise referring the question to Apollo, to whom the Athenians too have always referred their more important public affairs.'

Voilà sans doute ce que nous avons appris de Socrate et qui est souvent rapporté par lui-même dans les livres socratiques : il existe quelque chose de divin, qu’il appelle daimonion, auquel il a toujours obéi et qui, sans jamais le pousser à agir, l’en détournait souvent. Et Socrate lui-même, quel meilleur garant pourrions-nous chercher ?, lorsque Xénophon lui demanda s’il devait suivre Cyrus, lui exposa d’abord son propre avis, puis ajouta : « Notre conseil, à nous, est humain. Mais, pour les choses obscures et incertaines, je pense qu’il faut s’en remettre à Apollon, que les Athéniens ont eux aussi toujours consulté officiellement sur les affaires les plus importantes. »