Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [46] It may be true that, if Mallus because of the dunes and the pasturage on the sand were likely to become greater than Tarsus, you ought possibly to show so much concern; but as it is, disgrace and mockery are all you stand to gain from the objects of your quarrel. “Why, then,” you may ask, “did not the people of Mallus scorn those things?” Because they are no better than you are. But, by heaven, it is you who want them to be so. However, what I thought fitting was that you should send them messengers and file an oral protest — for that would have been the procedure of superior and sensible men — but to be unduly excited and to have recourse immediately to the assertion of your authority and to feel insulted is rather to be expected of small-town folk.

  [47] ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις ὑμᾶς ἀξιῶ προσφέρεσθαι πρᾴως καὶ κηδεμονικῶς καὶ φιλοτίμως καὶ μὴ ἀπεχθῶς. οὕτω γὰρ ἑκόντες ἀκολουθήσουσιν ὑμῖν ἅπαντες θαυμάζοντες καὶ ἀγαπῶντες: ὃ μεῖζόν ἐστι τοῦ θύειν παρ᾽ ὑμῖν καὶ δικάζεσθαι Μαλλόν. ταῦτα μὲν γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἡντινοῦν ἔχει ὠφέλειαν, ἐπελθεῖν ἐπὶ θυσίαν δεῦρο ἢ τοὺς Ἀδανεῖς ἢ τοὺς Αἰγαίους, ἀλλὰ τῦφον καὶ ἀπάτην καὶ φιλοτιμίαν ἄλλως ἀνόητον.

  [47] So also with reference to the other cities, I ask that you behave mildly, considerately, with regard to your honour, and not in a spirit of hostility and hatred. For if you do, all men will follow your leadership willingly, with admiration and affection; and that is of more importance than to have Mallus sacrifice in Tarsus and there conduct its litigation. For it is of no advantage to you at all to have the people of either Adana or Aegae come to Tarsus to offer sacrifice; it is merely vanity and self-deception and empty, foolish pride.

  [48] ἡ δὲ εὔνοια καὶ τὸ φαίνεσθαι διαφέροντας ἀρετῇ καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ, ταῦτά ἐστιν ὄντως ἀγαθά, ταῦτά ἐστιν ἄξια ζήλου καὶ σπουδῆς. ἃ καὶ σκοπεῖτε: ὡς τά γε νῦν γέλως ἐστίν. καὶ εἴτε Αἰγαῖοι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἴτε Ἀπαμεῖς πρὸς Ἀντιοχεῖς εἴτε ἐπὶ τῶν πορρωτέρω Σμυρναῖοι πρὸς Ἐφεσίους ἐρίζουσι, περὶ ὄνου σκιᾶς, φασί, διαφέρονται. τὸ γὰρ προεστάναί τε καὶ κρατεῖν ἄλλων ἐστίν.

  [48] On the other hand, goodwill and a reputation for superiority in virtue and kindliness — those are your true blessings, those are the objects worthy of emulation and serious regard. And you would pay heed to them, since your present behaviour is ridiculous. And whether it is a question of Aegaeans quarrelling with you, or Apameans with men of Antioch, or, to go farther afield, Smyrnaeans with Ephesians, it is an ass’s shadow, as the saying goes, over which they squabble; for the right to lead and to wield authority belongs to others.

  [49] ἀλλὰ καὶ πρότερον ἦν ποτε Ἀθηναίοις πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους ζηλοτυπία, καὶ τό γε πρῶτον ἡγοῦντο οἱ Λάκωνες, εἶτα συνέβη πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους μᾶλλον ἀποκλῖναι τοὺς Ἕλληνας μετὰ [p. 330] τὰ Μηδικά. τί οὖν ὁ Σπαρτιάτης; καὶ τὸν νησιώτην καὶ τὸν Ἴωνα καὶ τὸν Ἑλλησπόντιον ἀφεὶς αὑτὸν ἐσωφρόνιζε, καὶ τὰ τῆς Σπάρτης ἑώρα, σαφῶς εἰδὼς ὅτι καὶ τῶν νόμων καὶ τῆς εὐταξίας οὐδὲν δεῖ περὶ πλείονος ποιεῖσθαι. τοιγαροῦν μάλιστα εὐδαιμόνησαν ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον.

  [49] Yes, there was a time in days gone by when jealous rivalry existed also between Athens and Sparta; and, at first, Sparta held the ascendancy, and then it came to pass that the Greeks inclined rather toward Athens, after the Persian wars. What, then, did the Spartan do? Abandoning his claims upon the islander, the Ionian, and the Greek of Hellespont, he proceeded to teach himself self-control and confined his attention to the affairs of Sparta, understanding clearly that nothing should be held more dear than law and order. Accordingly Sparta achieved its greatest prosperity during that period.

  [50] τοῖς δὲ Ἀθηναίοις συνέβη, μέχρι μὲν οἰκείωσπρὸς ἀ τοὺς αἱ πόλεις εἶχον καὶ κατ᾽ εὔνοιαν ἡγοῦντο, μετὰ ταῦτα δέ, ὡς ἐγκλήματα καὶ φθόνος αὐτοῖς συνελέγη καὶ μὴ βουλομένων ἄρχειν ἠξίουν, πολλὰ καὶ δυσχερῆ παθεῖν: καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἁπάντων ἀπολέσαι τὸν ἔπαινον καὶ τὴν εὐφημίαν, ἔπειτα καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν καὶ τὰ χρήματα, καὶ τελευταῖον ὑπὸ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς γενέσθαι:καὶ τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις ὁμοίως, ἐπειδὴ κἀκεῖνοι πάλιν εἴχοντο τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἀποστάντες τῆς πρότερον αὐτοῖς γνώμης, ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι.

  [50] And as for the Athenians, it so happened that, as long as the cities were on friendly terms with them, and the Athenians behaved kindly as their leaders, they too prospered; but afterwards, when accusations and ill-will toward them accumulated and they saw fit to rule unwilling subjects, they suffered many disagreeable things. And the first thing of all to happen was to lose their commendation and good repute, and next to lose their power and wealth, and finally to become subject to their foes. And the Spartans had a similar experience: when they too once more held the reins of empire, departing from their own former principle, they found themselves in the same position as the Athenians.

  [51] καίτοι τὰ μὲν ἐκείνων εἶχεν ἀληθῆ δύναμιν καὶ μεγάλας ὠφελείας, εἰ δεῖ τὰς πλεονεξίας οὕτως καλεῖν: τὰ δὲ τῶν νῦν ἀμφισβητήματα καὶ τὰ αἴτια τῆς ἀπεχθείας κἂν αἰσχυνθῆναίμοι δοκεῖ τις ἂν ἰδών. ἔστι γὰρ ὁμοδούλων πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐριζόντων περὶ δόξης καὶ πρωτείων. τί οὖν; οὐδὲν ἀγαθόν ἐστιν ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ τούτῳ, περὶ οὗ χρὴ σπουδάζειν; ἔστι τὰ μέγιστα καὶ μόνα σπουδῆς ἄξια καὶ τότε ὄντα καὶ νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ ἐσόμενα: ὧν οὐκ ἔχει δήπουθέν τις ἐξουσίαν οὔτ᾽ ἄλλῳ παρασχεῖν οὔτε ἀφελέσθαιδύναται τὸν κτησάμενον, ἀλλ᾽ ἀεί ἐστιν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ, κἂν ἰδιώτης ᾖ κἂν πόλις: ὑπὲρ ὧν ἴσως μακρότερον λέγειν πρὸς ὑμᾶς.

  [51] And yet those states of old possessed real power and great utility, if it be correct to call self-seeking by that name; whereas anyone seeing the disputes and occasions for hostility of the present time would, methinks, blush for shame, for in reality they make one think of fellow-slaves quarrelling with one another over glory and pre-eminence.

  What then? Is there nothing noble in this our day to merit one’s serious pursuit? The greatest things, yes the only things worthy of serious pursuit, were present then, are present now, and always will be; and over these no man, surely, has control, whether to confer them on another or to take them away from him who has them, but, on the contrary, they are always at one’s disposal, whether it be a private citizen or the body politic. But the discussion of these matters perhaps would take too long.

  [52] καίτοι με οὐ λέληθεν ὅτι τοὺς φιλοσόφους πολλοὶ νομίζουσιν ἐκλύειν ἅπαντα καὶ ἀνιέναι τὰς ὑπὲρ τῶν πρα
γμάτων σπουδάς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο βλάπτειν μᾶλλον: ὥσπερ εἴ τις τὸν μουσικὸν βούλοιτοἁρμοζόμενον, ἔπειτ᾽ ἀνιέντα τῶν φθόγγων τινὰς καὶ πάλιν ἑτέρους ἐπιτείνοντα σκῶψαι τὸν αὐτόν. ἔχει δὴ καὶ τὰ τῶν πόλεων

  [52] And yet I am not unaware that the philosophers are believed by many to be engaged in relaxing everything and in slackening the serious pursuit of practical affairs and on that account in working more harm than good. It is just as if one should wish to watch a musician tuning his instrument, and then, seeing the same man slacken some strings and tighten others again, should scoff at him.

  [53] πράγματα οὕτως. αἱ μὲν γὰρ πονηραὶ καὶ ἀνωφελεῖς σπουδαὶ καὶ [p. 331] φιλοτιμίαι μᾶλλόν εἰσι τοῦ προσήκοντος ἐντεταμέναι καὶ τρόπον τινὰ δἰ αὑτοὺς ἀπορρήγνυνται πάντες: αἱ δὲ ὑπὲρ τῶν καλλίστων ὅλως ἐκλύονται. θεάσασθε δ᾽ εὐθέως, εἰ βούλεσθε, τὴν τῆς φιλαργυρίας ἐπίτασιν, τὴν τῆς ἀκρασίας. ἀλλ᾽ ἔοικα γὰρ πόρρω προάγειν, καὶ καθάπερ οἱ ἐν ταῖς γαλήναις μακρότερον νηχόμενοι, τὸ μέλλον οὐ προορᾶν.

  [53] That in fact is precisely the situation in civic matters. For the base and unprofitable pursuits and ambitions have become more tense than is fitting, and all who are swayed by them, through no one’s fault but their own, become broken men, as one may say; but those pursuits and ambitions which aim at what is noblest are wholly relaxed. And consider, for example, if you will, the tension that marks covetousness, that marks incontinence!

  But I seem to be going too far afield, and, like those who in calm weather swim too far, I seem not to foresee what lies ahead.

  THE THIRTY-FIFTH DISCOURSE, DELIVERED IN CELAENAE IN PHRYGIA

  ἐν ΚΕΛΑΙΝΑΙΣ τῆς ΦΡΥΓΙΑΣ.

  THE THIRTY-FIFTH DISCOURSE, DELIVERED IN CELAENAE IN PHRYGIA

  Celaenae, as Dio himself tells us, was situated at the headwaters of the Maeander in the heart of Phrygia, on the main highway between East and West and was the focus of five other well-marked natural routes (Ramsay, Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia). From Herodotus (7.26) we learn that Xerxes paused there on his way to Greece; and there too the younger Cyrus tarried thirty days in 401 B.C. while assembling forces (Xenophon, Anabasis 1.2.5-8). Despite its manifest importance, Celaenae does not appear again in literature until Roman times. In fact Strabo, who devotes considerable space to the site (12.8.15-18), uses the name Apamea rather than Celaenae. He explains that Antiochus Soter (280-261 B.C.), on moving inhabitants a short distance away, renamed the settlement in honour of his mother. According to Ramsay, the old name was revived in the second century of our era, presumably in consequence of a ‘reinvigorated national sentiment.’

  Arnim locates this Discourse in the same general period of Dio’s career as the three that precede it. We are in the dark regarding the occasion of its delivery. Dio seems to be quite at his ease and enjoys the opportunity to introduce himself and to flatter and amuse his audience. Much of what he says was doubtless uttered with a twinkle of the eye.

  [1] οὐκ ἐπιδειξόμενος ὑμῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες, παρῆλθον οὐδὲ ἀργυρίου παρ᾽ ὑμῶν δεόμενος οὐδ᾽ ἔπαινον προσδεχόμενος. ἐπίσταμαι γὰρ οὔτε αὐτὸς ἱκανῶς παρεσκευασμένος, ὥστε ὑμῖν ἀρέσαι λέγων, οὔτε ὑμᾶς οὕτως ἔχοντας, ὥστε προσδεῖσθαι τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων. πλεῖστον δὲ τὸ μεταξὺ τῆς ὑμετέρας βουλήσεως καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς δυνάμεως. ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἁπλῶς πέφυκα καὶ φαύλως διαλέγεσθαι καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄμεινον τῶν τυχόντων: ὑμεῖς δὲ θαυμαστῶς καὶ περιττῶς ἐπιθυμεῖτε ἀκούειν καὶ μόνων ἀνέχεσθε τῶν πάνυ δεινῶν.

  The Thirty-fifth Discourse delivered in Celaenae in Phrygia

  Gentlemen, I have come before you not to display my talents as a speaker nor because I want money from you, or expect your praise. For I know not only that I myself am not sufficiently well equipped to satisfy you by my eloquence, but also that your circumstances are not such as to need my message. Furthermore, the disparity between what you demand of a speaker and my own powers is very great. For it is my nature to talk quite simply and unaffectedly and in a manner in no wise better than that of any ordinary person; whereas you are devoted to oratory to a degree that is remarkable, I may even say excessive, and you tolerate as speakers only those who are very clever.

  [2] οὐ δὴ τούτου χάριν προῆλθον, ἵνα με θαυμάσητε: οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ὅπως ἂν ἐγὼ θαυμασθείην ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν, οὐδὲ ἂν ἀληθέστερα λέγω τῶν Σιβύλλης ἢ Βάκιδος: ἀλλὰ ἵνα μηδεὶς ὑποβλέπῃ με μηδὲ πυνθάνηται παρ᾽ ἑτέρων ὅστις εἰμὶ καὶ ὁπόθεν ἔλθοιμι. νῦν γὰρ ἴσως ὑπονοοῦσιν εἶναί με τῶν σοφῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ πάντα εἰδότων, γελοίῳ καὶ ἀτόπῳ τεκμηρίῳ χρώμενοι, τῷ κομᾶν. εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο αἴτιον ὑπῆρχεν ἀρετῆς καὶ σωφροσύνης, οὐδεμιᾶς ἂν ἐδεῖτο μεγάλης οὐδὲ χαλεπῆς δυνάμεως τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

  [2] Nay, my purpose in coming forward is not to gain your admiration — for I could not gain that from you even were I to utter words more truthful than those of the Sibyl or of Bacis — but rather that no one may look askance at me or ask others who I am and whence I came. For at present quite possibly people suspect that I am one of your wiseacres, one of your know-it-alls, basing their suspicion upon a ludicrous and absurd bit of evidence, namely, that I wear my hair long. For if long hair were accountable for virtue and sobriety, mankind would need no great power nor one difficult of attainment.

  [3] ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ δέδοικα μὴ οὐδὲν ᾖ τοῖς ἀνοήτοις ὄφελος τοῦ κομᾶν, ὥσπερ οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν τὴν καρδίαν αὐτὴν γένωνται δασεῖς, καθάπερ Ἀριστομένη τὸν Μεσσήνιόν φασιν, ὃς πλεῖστα Λακεδαιμονίοις πράγματα παρέσχε, καὶ [p. 332] πολλάκις ἁλοὺς ἀπέδρα παρ᾽ αὐτῶν, τοῦτον, ἐπεὶ δή ποτε ἀπέθανεν, οὕτως ἔχοντα εὑρεθῆναι. φημὶ τοίνυν οὐδὲν ὄφελος εἶναι τοῖς γυμνῆσι τούτοις, οὐδ᾽ ἂν πελτασταὶ γένωνται, πρός γε τὸ δίκαιον καὶ σωφροσύνην ἀληθῆ καὶ φρόνησιν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἀποδύσωνται καὶ γυμνοὶ περιτρέχωσι τοῦ χειμῶνος ἢ τὴν Μήδωνκαὶ Ἀράβων στολὴν λάβωσιν, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ αὐλεῖν ἱκανοὶ ἔσονται τὰ τῶν αὐλητῶν ἐνδεδυκότες. οὐδὲ γὰρ τοὺς ὄνους ἵππους γενέσθαι δυνατόν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἔτι πλέον τὰς ῥῖνας ἀνατμηθῶσιν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν τὰς γνάθους τρήσαντες αὐτῶν ψάλιον ἐμβάλωσιν, οὐδὲ ἂν ἀφέλῃ τις τὰ σάγματα: ἀλλὰ ὀγκήσονται πρὸ τῶν τειχῶν πάνυ μέγα καὶ

  [3] However, I fear that fools get no good from their long hair, not even if they get shaggy to the very heart — as in the case of Aristomenes, the Messenian, who caused a deal of trouble for the Spartans, and who, though taken captive many times, always managed t
o escape from them — he, we are told, when at last he met his death, was found to be in that condition. I claim, therefore, that these nude philosophers get no good from their shagginess — not even if they should join the light infantry — at least with regard to justice and true sobriety and wisdom, nay, not even if they should strip off still more clothing and run about stark naked in winter time, or else adopt the garb of Medes and Arabs; just as they will not acquire proficiency with the flute by merely donning the costume of flautists. Neither can asses become horses even if they have their nostrils slit still more, or even if they have their jaws bored and a curb-chain placed between their teeth, or even if their pack-saddles are taken from them; nay, they will still bray before the walls right lustily and perform the other acts that befit their nature.

  [4] τἄλλα ποιήσουσι τὰ πρέποντα αὐτοῖς. ὥστε μηδεὶς ἕνεκα τοῦ σχήματος νομισάτω διαφέρειν με μηδενὸς μηδὲ τούτῳ πεποιθότα λέγειν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ὁρᾶν, ἂν μὲν ἡσυχίαν ἄγω καθάπαξ καὶ διαλέγωμαι μηδενί, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὑπονοεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὡς ἂν οἶμαι σεμνυνόμενον, ὡς σπουδαῖον κρύπτοντα — πολλοὶ γὰρ δὴδἰ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐθαυμάσθησαν, τὸ σιγᾶν — ἐὰν δὲ ἐν τῷ μέσῳ καταστὰς μηδενὸς ἄμεινον λέγων φαίνωμαι τῶν καπήλων καὶ τῶν ὀρεοκόμων, οὐκ ἐνοχλήσειν, σαφῶς αὐτοὺς ἑωρακότας ὁποῖός εἰμι.

  [4] Therefore, let no one suppose that my guise makes me different from any other man, or that it is this that gives me confidence to speak. On the contrary, let it be understood by all that I can see that, if I keep absolutely silent and do not talk with anyone at all, people are much more likely to distrust me, I fancy, as giving myself airs, as concealing something of importance — for, in fact, in many instances men have won admiration merely by reason of their silence; whereas, if I take my stand in your midst and show myself to be no better as a speaker than any huckster or muleteer, I see that none will be vexed with me, once they have seen for themselves what sort of man I am.