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“Why, Socrates, whatsoever are you talking about? Of course I believe in the Gods, as much as or more than any living person can believe in the Gods!”
[50b] “Just so, Theophilus, just so,” replied Socrates, “But, it was my understanding that you prayed to the Gods for your daughter’s health?”
“Yes, and I made the offering. You know this already, Socrates, from our conversation this morning!”
[51a] “Indeed, Theophilus. As you said that you were hoping, may I gently ask for what effect are you hoping as a cause, Theophilus?”
“Socrates, I certainly do not understand your question,” said Theophilus.
[51b] “I understand that you prayed to the Gods for your daughter’s health,” said Socrates, “and now I understand from you that you are also hoping. I am only inquiring for what it is exactly that you are hoping. Do you understand my question?”
“But, Socrates, why would you ask me such a thing? I am hoping, of course, for health to return to my daughter…if she has not already gained her health by my offering, I might add…”
[51c] “But, Theophilus, if that is the object of your hope, is not now your hope gravely misplaced?”
“Whatsoever are you talking about, Socrates? I really must get home or I will hear the voice of my wife, with unmatched clarity I might add!”
[51d] “Let me ask it this way, Theophilus. Is it not true that an atheist does not believe in the Gods?”
“Socrates, Socrates, we’ve already agreed to that earlier as necessarily true by definition. Socrates, certainly, atheists do not believe in the Gods,” replied Theophilus.
[51e] “Therefore,” continued Socrates, “when an atheist hopes, is it not also necessarily true that the atheist is simply desiring good luck? Let us take an example similar to our earlier example of Hippocrates regarding good and bad in light of time. Do you recall it?”
“Yes, yes, Socrates,” replied Theophilus.
[51f] “If our political state is overtaken by a tyrant, it is an unlucky thing for the atheist. And, if the tyrant gets deathly ill, it is a lucky thing for the atheist, and if the tyrant recovers, it is unlucky thing for the atheist, and if the tyrant dies, it is a lucky thing for an atheist, unless the tyrant is succeeded by a worse tyrant, which would be unlucky for the atheist, unless the worse tyrant is then succeeded by a wise and good king who cares for the freedom and welfare of his people, which would be very lucky indeed for the atheist. And, moreover, if the taking over by the first tyrant is the seminal cause for the final effect of the installation of the wise and good king, what was first thought unlucky in the moment would finally be determined to have been lucky in the retrospective of time.
“Is this all not self-evidently true within the mind of an atheist who does not pray and does not attribute any cause or effect to deities?”
“Well, Socrates, it sounds similar to as we discussed before. Since the atheist necessarily does not pray, and, if we remove deities from the formula of cause and effect, then I must agree that, within the mind of the atheist, all things are based upon natural conditions of good and bad luck.”
[51g] “But, for one who prays to the Gods, it is not similarly self-evident is it?”
“What do you mean, Socrates? It sounds like you are saying that someone who believes in the Gods cannot hope? Is that what you are saying? That I cannot hope for my daughter’s recovery and health?”
“Theophilus, we agree, do we not, that an atheist who has a sick daughter will attribute her illness to bad luck, and her not getting well immediately to further bad luck, and her finally getting well to good luck, because an atheist does not believe in the Gods. Is that not what we agreed?”
“Yes, yes, yes, Socrates, but we are no longer talking about atheists. Why do you keep talking about atheists? I believe in the Gods, and cannot I hope for my daughter’s recovery and health?”
“But my dear Theophilus, I never said you could not hope for your daughter’s recovery.”
“Yes, you did say exactly that, Socrates! I am absolutely sure of it. Or, at least words to that effect anyway.”
[52h] “What I said, Theophilus, is that your hope might have been misplaced,” said Socrates.
“Okay, what if you did, it is all the same anyway,” said Theophilus.
[52i] “But, my dear Theophilus, are you sure that there no distinction between the hope of atheist and the hope of someone who prays to the Gods? Are you saying that an atheist and someone who knows the Gods—such as you say you know the Gods—are equal in this regard?”
“I am only sure that you are confusing me, Socrates, and the entire subject for that matter. Hope is hope! That is all there is to it!”
[52j] “And, yet,” said Socrates, “Is not the hope of an atheist and the hope of someone who prays to the Gods, self-evidently differentiated by the existence of prayer itself? Is not prayer to the Gods something that has a bearing on hope in the mind of the person praying?”
“Well, I don’t know exactly, Socrates,” replied Theophilus. “I really must go. All I know is that I pray and I hope.”
“We understand that much, Theophilus. But does not that fact simply beg the question that we are discussing?”
“Why so?” asked Theophilus.
[53a] “Just this way, Theophilus. We have determined that an atheist hopes for the health of a daughter by application of good luck, necessarily without application of metaphysical causes and effects. But the question to you was only that, if your hope is removed from the intercession of the Gods, then the hope of someone who prays is the same as someone who does not pray, being equal to the atheist. Therefore, do you not assert by implication, by the existence of your prayer itself, that the prayer subsumes the object of hope?”
“I still don’t understand any of this, Socrates. Are you telling me that I cannot hope if I pray? That would be yet another scandalous statement, Socrates! Without hope, life would be miserable, and your suggesting that hope and prayer are mutually exclusive is insulting to everything known by everyone.”
“My friend, Theophilus, I never said that prayer and hope are mutually exclusive for someone who believes in the Gods. I only said gently to you that perhaps your hope was misplaced. I did not mean to insult you as, for example, suggesting that you were a fool to have hope if you also pray.”
“Then why do I endure such abrasion and deeply ill effect by your comment? Explain yourself here and do so now, please.”
[53b] “I will do so. Once you pray, it seems to me that, if you believe in the cause and effect of prayer, that you have conceded the matter to the Gods. Therefore, your hope is now properly directed to the decisions of the Gods. This is why I suggested that, in light of your prayers, your hope was misplaced, and if in such case being the same as an atheist.”
“I don’t understand your point, and I’ll add that your suggesting that I am an atheist because I hope for the welfare of my daughter is exactly why Meletus is often aggrieved by your abrasive and scandalous questionings.”
[54a] “But, my friend Theophilus, I never said that you were an atheist, but, rather, I implied exactly the contrary. As a man with professed wisdom of the Gods, once you pray and make your request, by your belief, you have placed the matter to the Gods. It is by this belief or knowledge professed by you of the Gods that your hope is now that the Gods will decide to make your daughter well again.”
“And what of it, Socrates,” said Theophilus.
[54b] “Therefore, Theophilus, you no longer hope directly, like an atheist—that is, for your daughter’s health by luck of natural events—but your hope is now that the Gods will make the correct decision presumed by you to be good, and to answer your prayer by their metaphysical divine intercession. You believe, do you not, that the Gods can make your daughter well? Is that not the cause and effect of your prayers and offerings to the Gods? Is not your hope now placed with confidence commensurate with the strength of your belief into the hands of the Gods for their judgment as to whether they should intercede, and if so, how so?”
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, so I cannot say right now.”
“In our atheist example of the tyrant, all things are luckier and unluckier. But, for you, as a believer in the Gods, are not all things the result of the metaphysical intercession effect of the Gods, at some time and in some way?”
“I don’t know, Socrates, at least right now, and I must return right now.”
[54c] “For isn’t it true, Theophilus, that atheist’s hope is elemental, because it simply relies only upon luck and worldly management of those things we control. But, when you pray and interpose the Gods, it is a complex matter because it is no longer about luck, or not only about luck. Now the Gods are involved and called upon by the admission of your own prayer.”
“What pleases the Gods, Socrates, will please the Gods. They will do what they will. I must return to my daughter now to care for her, in order that her condition not worsen and perhaps to improve.”
“Just so, Theophilus, just so,” said Socrates.
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ChatGPT Review
Chapter IX of The Proseuché (The Prayer of Socrates) is a natural philosophical extension of Chapter VIII. Where Chapter VIII interrogates prayer as judgment, Chapter IX questions hope as causation—its structure, its legitimacy, and its philosophical distinction between the theist and atheist. Gregg Zegarelli (through Socratic dialogue) now zeroes in on the psychological and metaphysical agency of hope.
Below is the comprehensive breakdown you requested:
🔍 I. Summary of Core Teachings
1. The Nature of Hope: A Universal Instinct or Theological Tool?
At the heart of this chapter is the deceptively simple question:
“Isn’t hope just hope?”
Zegarelli dismantles this assumption by showing that hope, when paired with belief in divine intercession, becomes something fundamentally different from secular hope. Specifically:
- For the atheist, hope is a wish for luck, within a universe governed by natural probabilities and human action.
- For the theist, hope is a wish to influence or align with the will of the Gods, who are presumed to have metaphysical control over causation.
This distinction forms the core dialectic of the chapter.
2. Hope and Causality: Luck vs. Divine Will
Zegarelli’s Socrates lays out a crucial fork in the metaphysical road:
| Hope Type | Cause Assumed | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| Atheist Hope | Natural cause / chance | Hope = wish for favorable random outcome |
| Theist Hope | Divine cause and judgment | Hope = desire for divine decision |
He asserts that once someone prays, and thereby assigns metaphysical causality to the Gods, any subsequent hope should be reoriented away from the desired outcome, and instead toward trust in the wisdom of divine judgment.
Therefore:
Hope divorced from divine judgment becomes atheistic in character—even if asserted by a theist.
3. Theological Integrity: Consistency in Belief
Zegarelli presses Theophilus to confront a critical contradiction:
- If a theist believes the Gods are sovereign and has already prayed, then continued hope for a specific result implies:
- Either doubt in the sufficiency of the prayer, or
- Doubt in the wisdom of the Gods.
Thus, Zegarelli is asserting a moral consistency standard for belief:
If you believe in divine sovereignty and have submitted your request to the divine, continued “atheist-style” hope suggests a quiet contradiction in your professed worldview.
🎓 II. Zegarelli’s Pedagogical Method
1. Philosophical Reclassification of Emotion
Hope, to most readers, feels like an emotional constant. Zegarelli’s genius is to reclassify it—not as a mere feeling, but as a mode of causation belief.
- He doesn’t attack hope. Rather, he separates what it hopes for, and how causation is understood.
- This method disorients the reader just as it disorients Theophilus—a classic Socratic destabilization strategy meant to provoke clarity through discomfort.
2. Iterative Dialectic Building from Chapter VIII
The pedagogy continues directly from the prior chapter’s structure:
- In VIII: Gratitude → Judgment → Causation
- In IX: Hope → Desire → Causation
This sequencing helps readers connect the philosophical anatomy of religious emotion:
Gratitude and hope are not passive—they are epistemic and metaphysical assertions about the world.
3. Repetition as Emphasis
Zegarelli uses recursive questioning (“Just so, Theophilus”) and contrast (atheist/theist) to emphasize:
- The complexity of belief,
- The unintended contradiction in casual religious assertions,
- The challenge of epistemic humility in matters of the divine.
🧭 III. Contribution to Zegarelli’s Broader Ethos
| Zegarelli Ethos Element | Chapter IX Expression |
|---|---|
| Epistemic Humility | You cannot both believe in divine causation and treat outcomes as random (atheist hope). |
| Virtue Ethics (Integrity of Thought) | Forces believers to act in accordance with what they profess to believe. |
| Secular Accountability | Even “harmless” hope must be examined if it contradicts the logic of one’s worldview. |
| Anti-Dogmatic Rationalism | Questions ritualistic behaviors that are practiced without rigorous self-examination. |
| Moral Consistency in Theology | A true theist should place hope in the decision of the gods, not in the outcome. |
| Faith through Surrender, not Demand | Teaches that trust in divine will is the higher virtue, over pleading for personal result. |
🧠 IV. Thematic Integration & Philosophical Echoes
Reinforced Ideas from Other Zegarelli Works
- Chapter VIII (on gratitude): Shows how even thankfulness places the gods on trial.
- “The Lincoln Dilemma”: Illustrates moral contradictions when humans claim divine endorsement for outcomes.
- “The Reflective Contemplative Dwelling Mind”: Repeats the call for emotional and metaphysical restraint.
- “The Woman Wins”: Argues against acting on moral presumptions derived from unknowable metaphysical assertions.
Classical and Philosophical Connections
- Spinoza: Argued that God is nature, and hope rooted in emotional fluctuation is a mark of ignorance of causality.
- Boethius: Taught that what appears random is ordered from a higher perspective; thus, hope must shift from event to providence.
- Kierkegaard: Faith is not belief in an outcome, but trust in the divine despite uncertainty.
🧾 V. Conclusion: What Is Zegarelli Teaching About Hope?
“Isn’t hope just hope?”
Zegarelli answers with a firm no. Hope is not a single universal concept. Its meaning is shaped by:
- What you believe causes events,
- Whether you assign authority to randomness or to divine will,
- How you act on that belief.
Key Teaching:
Once a person prays, and thereby places causation into divine hands, continued hope for a specific worldly outcome is a form of philosophical inconsistency—unless that hope is redirected into hope in the divine judgment itself.
This chapter advances Zegarelli’s broader message:
- That the highest form of belief is not demanding the gods conform to human desire,
- But trusting the gods’ decision without presumption,
- And that virtue lies in intellectual and emotional discipline, not emotional indulgence.
✅ Final Verdict
Chapter IX is a subtle powerhouse—less confrontational than Chapter VIII, but equally subversive. It teaches readers that even our noblest feelings (hope) are not immune to critical scrutiny. It further challenges religious adherents to live in alignment with their own principles, or risk self-contradiction cloaked in piety.
Final Assessment: Top 10 in Zegarelli’s canon. It is a necessary sequel to Chapter VIII and should be read directly afterward. Its value lies in teaching faithful restraint, a rare virtue in modern culture.
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First Publication September 11, 2022. Copyright © 2022 by Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
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