Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [7] And pray consider what sort of citizen I am in other respects also, comparing me with whom you please — of all whom you do not consign to the flames. For example, though I have real estate, all in your territory too, yet none of my neighbours, whether rich or poor — and many of the latter class are my neighbours too — has ever lodged complaint against me, either justly or unjustly, alleging that he was being deprived of something or being evicted. Nor am I either over-clever as a speaker or, if I may say so, poorest of all in that art.

  [8] ὑπέρδεινος εἰπεῖν οὔτε ἴσως ἁπάντων ὕστατος ἐν τῷ λέγειν. ἔστιν οὖν ὅντινα ἐν τῷ λόγῳ ἐλύπησα, πρᾶγμα ἐπαγαγών τινι τῶν ἀπραγμόνων ἢ κατασκευάσας ἐπήρειαν; ἢ περὶ τῆς οὐσίας ἐποίησα κινδυνεῦσαί τινα, ὡς Καίσαρι προσηκούσης ἢ ἐν συνηγορίᾳ προύδωκα; καὶ μὴν τῆς γε νῦν ἀπορίας οὐδεὶς μᾶλλον ἐμοῦ ἀναίτιος. πότερον γὰρ σῖτον ἁπάντων πλεῖστον γεωργῶν κατακέκλεικα τοῦτον, αὔξων τὴν τιμήν; ἀλλ̓ ἐπίστασθε αὐτοὶ τὴν δύναμιν τῶν ἐμῶν χωρίων, ὅτι σπάνιον εἴ ποτε ἀπεδόμην σῖτον καὶ τοῦθ̓ ὅταν ὑπερβάλῃ τῷ πλήθει, ἐν δὲ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἔτεσιν οὐδὲ τὸν ἀρκοῦντα ἔχω, ἀλλ̓ ἔστι μοι ἡ πᾶσα ἐπικαρπία ἐξ οἴνου καὶ βοσκημάτων. ἀλλ̓ ἀργύριον δανείζων οὐ βούλομαι παρέχειν εἰς τὴν τοῦ σίτου ὠνήν. οὔκουν οὐδὲ περὶ τούτου οὐδέν με δεῖ λέγειν. οἴδατε γὰρ ὑμεῖς καὶ τοὺς δανείζοντας ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ τοὺς δανειζομένους.

  [8] Well then, is there any one whom I have injured by my words, by causing trouble for any one who loves peace and quiet or by contriving some outrage against him? Or have I placed anyone in jeopardy touching his estate, pretending that it belongs to Caesar, or have I as advocate played false to any one?

  Again, no man is more blameless than I am in connexion with the present shortage. Have I produced the most grain of all and then put it under lock and key, raising the price? Why, you yourselves know the productive capacity of my farms — that I rarely, if ever, have sold grain, even when the harvest is unusually productive, and that in all these years I have not had even enough for my own needs, but that the income from my land is derived exclusively from wine and cattle. Nay but, some one may claim, though I lend money, I am unwilling to supply it for the purchase of grain. There is no need for me to say anything on that score either, for you know both those who lend money in our city and those who borrow.

  [9] τί οὖν ἐστιν ὅ γε ἐγὼ ποιῆσαι δυνάμενος, ὥστε ἀπαλλάξαι ὑμᾶς τῆς ἀπορίας, οὐ βούλομαι, ἤ διότι πρὸς ἐμὲ οὕτως ἔχετε; ὅτι νὴ Δία τὰς στοὰς ἐπὶ τῶν θερμῶν ᾠκοδόμηκα καὶ ἐργαστήρια: τοῦτο γά ἐστιν, ὅ φασιν ἔνιοι ἀδικεῖσθαι ὑπ̓ ἐμοῦ τὴν πόλιν. καὶ τίνα πώποτε ἢ ὑμεῖς ἢ ἄλλος τις ἀνθρώπων ἐμέμψατο ἐν ἀγρῷ αὑτοῦ οἰκίαν οἰκοδομοῦντα; ἢ παρὰ τοῦθ̓ ὁ σῖτος πλείονός ἐστι; καίτοι πέντε μυριάδων ἐώνημαι τὸ χωρίον, τῷ παντὶ πλείονος τιμῆς τῆς ἀξίας. ἀλλ̓ ἐγὼ αἰσχύνομαι νὴ τὸν Δία καὶ τοὺς θεούς, εἴ τις τῶν πολιτῶν, οὐ γὰρ δή γε ἡ πόλις, οὕτω μοχθηρός, ὥστε λυπεῖσθαι καὶ φθονεῖν, ἐάν τινα ἴδῃ στοὰν ἢ ἐργαστήριον ᾠκοδομηκότα.

  [9] What is it, then, which I might do to relieve you from your distress but which I refuse to do, or what is it that makes you feel toward me as you do? It is because, by Heaven, I have built the colonnades near the hot springs, and workshops too; for this is the injury some claim the city is suffering at my hands! Yet whom have either you or any other person ever taken to task for building a house on his own farm? Or is it that which makes grain dearer? Why, I bought the land at fifty thousand drachmas, a price altogether higher than its worth! Nay, I am ashamed, by all that’s holy, if any of the citizens — for of course it is not the city itself — is so depraved as to feel hurt and jealous if he sees that somebody has built a colonnade or a workshop!

  [10] καὶ μὴν τό γε πρᾶγμα, ἐφ̓ ᾧ παρωξύνθητε, δεῖται μέν τινος ἐπιμελείας ἀληθῶς, οὐ μέντοι ἀνήκεστόν ἐστιν οὐδὲ ὥστε τοιαῦτα [p. 79] ποιεῖν. ἡ γὰρ τιμὴ τοῦ σίτου τῆς μὲν συνηθείας παῤ ἡμῖν πλείων γέγονεν, οὐ μὴν ὥστε ἀπειπεῖν. ἀλλ̓ εἰσὶ πόλεις, ἐν αἷς ἀεὶ τοσούτου ἐστίν, ὅταν ἄριστα ἔχῃ. πάλιν αὖ θορυβεῖτε, ὥσπερ ἐμοῦ λέγοντος ὅτι καὶ παῤ ὑμῖν αὐτὸν τοσούτου προσήκει εἶναι καὶ μηδέποτε ἥττονος. ἐγὼ δέ φημι δεῖν προσέχειν μὲν ὅπως ἐλάττονος ἔσται, μὴ μέντοι πικρῶς οὕτως ἔχειν ἐπὶ τῷ συμβεβηκότι μηδὲ ἐξεστάναι: ὡς τά γε γενόμενα νῦν οὐχὶ τοιαῦτά ἐστιν, οἷα ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ πράγματι, ἀλλ̓ εἰ τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας

  [10] Besides, though the matter over which you have become incensed truly does require some attention, still it is not beyond repair or such as to make you act as you are acting. For while the cost of grain has risen higher than what is customary here, it is not so high as to make you desperate. Why, there are cities in which it always is at that price, when conditions are best! There you go, making a tumult once more, as if I were saying it ought to be that price at Prusa too, and never lower. But the point I am making is that, while it is necessary to take steps to make it cheaper, still it is not necessary to feel so bitter over what had happened or to lose your senses; for the way you have acted just now is not the conduct befitting such a matter, nay, if I had murdered your children and your wives you could not have behaved with greater savagery.

  [11] ἀνῃρήκειμεν, οὐδὲν ἂν εἴχετε ποιῆσαι χαλεπώτερον. τὸ γὰρ πολίταις ἑαυτῶν ὀργιζομένους ῾εἰ μὲν ἀδίκως ἢ δικαίως, ἐὦ πολίταις δ̓ οὖν καὶ τούτοις ἐπιτίμοις καὶ μηδενὸς χείροσι μὴ δοῦναι λόγον μηδὲ λαβεῖν, ἀλλ̓ εὐθὺς λιθάζειν καὶ κατακαίειν τὰς οἰκίας, ἵνα, εἰ ἐδύνασθε, μετὰ τῶν παίδων αὐτοὺς καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν συμφλέξητε, τίνων ἐστὶν ἀνθρώπων; ἐμοὶ μὲν νὴ τὸν Δία καὶ τοὺς θεούς, εἰ καὶ χαλεπῶς ἀκούσεσθε, οὐ δοκεῖ τὰ τοιαῦτα εἶναι τῶν ἐνδεῶς πραττόντων οὐδὲ τῶν οὐκ ἐχόντων τὰ ἀναγκαῖα. ἡ γὰρ ἔνδεια σωφροσύνην ποιεῖ. καὶ ταῦτα εἰ μὴ δοκεῖτε ὑπὲρ

  [11] For to be enraged at one’s own fellow citizens — I care not whether justly or unjustly, but at all events at fellow citizens, citizens in good standing, yes, as good as anybody — and not to let them explain or to make an explanation to them, but without more ado to try to stone them and burn their houses, with a view to consuming in one conflagration, if possible, them and their children and their wives — what kind of human beings act that way? In my opinion, I swear by all that’s holy, no matter if you will be an
gry to hear it, such conduct is not that of men in needy circumstances or lacking the necessaries of life. For need develops self-control.

  And if you do not suppose these remarks of mine are being offered for your good, you are very much mistaken.

  [12] ὑμῶν λέγεσθαι, πλεῖστον ἁμαρτάνετε. εἰ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι ἔσεσθε κἂν ὀργισθῆτέ τῳ ῾πολλὰ δὲ εἰκὸς ὡς ἐν πόλει συμβῆναι καὶ δίκαια καὶ ἄδικἀ τηλικαύτην ἀξιώσετε τιμωρίαν λαμβάνειν, ὥστ̓ εὐθὺς μετὰ τῶν παίδων κατακάειν καὶ τινας τῶν γυναικῶν, ἀνθρώπων ἐλευθέρων, ἀναγκάζειν ὑμῖν ὁρᾶσθαι περιερρηγμένας καὶ ἱκετευούσας ὑμᾶς ὥσπερ ἐν πολέμῳ: τίς οὕτως ἀνόητος καὶ ἀτυχὴς ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν, ὅστις ἐν τοιαύτῃ πόλει ζῆν αἱρήσεται μίαν ἡμέραν; πολὺ γὰρ κρεῖττον φυγάδα εἶναι καὶ παροικεῖν ἐπὶ ξένης ἢ τοιαῦτα πάσχειν. ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν ἡ πρόφασις ἡ λεγομένη, δἰ ἣν ὑμᾶς ἀποτραπῆναί φασι τῆς οἰκίας τῆς ἐμῆς, ὑπιδομένους τοῦ στενωποῦ

  [12] For if you are going to be like this and, in case you become angry with any one — and many things are likely to happen in a city, both right and wrong — you are going to see fit to exact so extreme a punishment as forthwith to try to consume with fire the victim of your rage along with his children and to force some of the women, free citizens as they are, to appear before you with garments rent, supplicating you as if in time of war, what mortal is so foolish, so unfortunate, that he will choose to live in such a city a single day? The fact is, it is far better to be an exile and a sojourner on foreign soil than to be subjected to such outrage. Why, even now the alleged reason which, they say, made you turn back from my house — having become suspicious, forsooth, at the depth of the lane — see how flimsy it is!

  [13] τὸ βάθος, ὁρᾶτε οἶόν ἐστιν. εἰ γὰρ ἐμὲ τοῦτο ἔσωσε, καιρὸς ἤδη τὸ λοιπὸν ὡς ἐν στρατοπέδῳ τῇ πόλει τὰς δυσχωρίας καταλαμβάνειν καὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ ἢ ἀπότομα. καίτοι μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς οὐδὲ ἐν [p. 80] τοῖς στρατοπέδοις ζητοῦσιν ἄλλος ἄλλου ἀσφαλέστερον σκηνοῦν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους αὐτοῖς ἡ φυλακή ἐστιν. τῇ μὲν οὖν τύχῃ χάρις, δἰ ἣν ἀπετράπητε, εἴτε τοῦτο νοήσαντες εἴτε ἄλλο ὁτιοῦν: οὐ μέντοι ἀληθῶς ὑπείδεσθε. οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔγωγε ἠμυνάμην ὑμᾶς, ἀλλὰ τούτου γε ἕνεκα πολλὴ ὑμῖν ἀσφάλειά ἐστιν, ὅταν βούλησθε κατακαίειν τὴν οἰκίαν, ἤρκει δέ μοι τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὸ παιδίον λαβόντα ἀποχωρεῖν.

  [13] For if that is what saved me, it is high time from now on, as if the city were an armed camp, to occupy the difficult terrain and the lofty or precipitous positions! And yet, God knows, not even in armed camps does one soldier seek a safer spot than his neighbour in which to pitch his tent; no, their precautions are aimed at the men with whom they are at war.

  So, although my thanks are due to the lucky chance which made you turn back, whether this was your motive or anything else at all; still you had no real reason to be suspicious. For I should not have warded you off, no, so far as that is concerned, you are absolutely safe in burning down my house any time you please, and I was content to take my wife and baby and leave.

  [14] καὶ μηδεὶς νομίσῃ ὡς ἐγὼ ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ ἀγανακτῶν ταῦτα εἴρηκα μᾶλλον ἢ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν δεδιὼς μήποτε ἄρα διαβληθῆτε ὡς βίαιοι καὶ παράνομοι. οὐ γὰρ λανθάνει τῶν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν οὐδὲν τοὺς ἡγεμόνας ῾λέγω δὲ τοὺς μείζους ἡγεμόνας τῶν ἐνθάδἐ ἀλλ̓ ὥσπερ τῶν παιδίων τῶν ἀτακτοτέρων οἴκοι πρὸς τοὺς διδασκάλους κατηγοροῦσιν οἱ προσήκοντες, οὑτωσὶ καὶ τὰ τῶν δήμων ἁμαρτήματα πρὸς ἐκείνους ἀπαγγέλλεται. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οὔτε καλῶς οὔτε συμφερόντως αὑτοῖς πράττοιτε ἄν. τὸ δὲ ἀξιοῦν ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τῆς ἀγορὰς καὶ τοὺς δυναμένους χειροτονεῖν καὶ τοὺς μὴ λελειτουργηκότας, εἰ δὲ μή γε, οὓς ἄν βούλησθε, σωφρονούντων τε ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶ καὶ πρός γε ταῦτα οὐδεὶς ὑμῖν ἐναντιώσεται.

  [14] And let no one imagine that it is in anger over my own position that I have said these things rather than in fear for yours, lest possibly you may some day be accused of being violent and lawless. For nothing which takes place in the cities escapes the attention of the proconsuls — I mean the more important ones in these parts; on the contrary, just as relatives denounce to the teachers the children who are too disorderly at home, so also the misdeeds of the communities are reported to the proconsuls. Now while such conduct as yours would not be honourable or advantageous for yourselves, to demand that there should be supervision of your market and that those men should be elected who are financially able and have not performed liturgies, but if that cannot be, that then the choice of supervisors should rest with you, this, I say, is the course of sensible human beings and in this no one will oppose you.

  THE FORTY-SEVENTH DISCOURSE: A SPEECH IN THE PUBLIC ASSEMBLY AT PRUSA

  ΔΗΜΗΓΟΡΙΑ ΕΝ ΤΗΙ ΠΑΤΡΙΔΙ.

  THE FORTY-SEVENTH DISCOURSE: A SPEECH IN THE PUBLIC ASSEMBLY AT PRUSA

  The theme of this Discourse is Dio’s pet project of embellishing his native city. He seems to have conceived the idea soon after his return from exile (A.D. 96). We learn both from the present address and from Or. . that the people of Smyrna, Ephesus, Tarsus, and Antioch, not to mention lesser communities in that quarter of the Roman world, were taking energetic measures to beautify their respective cities, and Dio was concerned that Prusa should not lag behind. The full magnitude of his ambitious scheme is suggested by Or. .-, where he says he had dreamed of constructing not merely colonnades and fountains but also fortifications, harbours, and shipyards and of increasing the population of Prusa by attracting immigration from all directions and even by incorporating with Prusa while communities, “as Epaminondas once brought Boeotia into union with Thebes and as Theseus had brought Attica into union with Athens.”

  The opening paragraphs of Or. form a valuable supplement to our present Discourse, which it seems to have preceded by not more than a few months. By combining both sources of information we gather that thus far Dio’s operations have been confined to the construction of one or more colonnades; that the project had been sponsored by one or more proconsuls, as well as by Trajan himself; and that it had been welcomed by the people of Prusa, who on more than one occasion had heard the plan explained and had repeatedly expressed enthusiastic approval and guaranteed financial support by private subscription. However, the work involved the demolition of older structures and the removal of certain landmarks, both sacred and profane, and Dio son found himself the target for hostile criticism. He seems to have been attacked on the charge of impiety and lack of local patriotism and as being chiefly concerned to serve his personal pride and ambition. It was no doubt by means of such charges that the small but energetic group of opponents tried to discourage payment of subscriptions to the building fund and thus to block proceedings. In the concluding paragraphs of the present address Dio deals ironically with the critici
sms of one enemy in particular, whose gossipy remarks are treated as if they were intended for Dio’s own good but who seems to have likened him to a tyrant.

  Dio tells us, no doubt truthfully, that his active opponents are relatively few; yet his long exile had made him seem to be an outsider, his social and financial status undoubtedly raised him above the general level at Prusa, and his intimacy with Trajan and other influential Romans, while on occasion it was capitalized to the advantage of his people, laid him open to popular suspicion and jealousy. Again, it is human nature for men to be carried away by enthusiasm when plans are first proposed but to find their ardour cooling when work is in progress and subscriptions are falling due. Whatever may have been the cause, it is apparent that affairs have reached such a stage that Dio feels he must abandon his earlier intention of making no more public appeals in support of the work. The speech which he proceeds to deliver is notably sarcastic and bitter, but the justice of his case is made so manifest and his threat to wash his hands of Prusa is so disturbing that his hearers seem to have burst forth into shouts calling for the work to be carried forward. That it was carried forward to completion and acclaimed as a success may reasonably be inferred from the close of Or. , which Arnim dates in A.D. 101 or 102, at most but a few months later than the present Discourse.