Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  However, in the performance of that duty, Bassus seems to have found an all too zealous henchman in the person whom Dio pillories. The turbulence and unrest that characterized Bithynia as a whole at just this period undoubtedly gave an unscrupulous man, such as he appears to have been, ample opportunity both to satisfy personal grudges and to line his pocket. Dio’s own reputation and connexions protected him against direct attack, but his foe seems to have tried covertly to undermine his reputation and thus to remove him from the scene as a champion of the common people, who were the man’s natural victims. Dio had an unusual sympathy for the disfranchised and under-privileged (cf. Or. .- and Or. .-). It has been suggested that in the present instance he had displayed that sympathy by using his personal influence with Bassus during his consulship. If so, the malice of Dio’s unnamed foe is understandable.

  We have observed already that at the close of his remarks Dio professes to report certain charges on which he is to be tried. It is plain from the final sentence that these charges were to be aired in the argument to which our Discourse forms the prelude. However, Arnim points out that they really apply, not to Dio, but to his antagonist. Therefore, although we do not know clearly the business before the assembly which Dio is addressing, it may have concerned the attitude of Prusa toward the approaching trial of Bassus at Rome (cf. § 11). Possibly the journey which Dio says he must make (§ 8) is a journey to Rome for the purpose of influencing Trajan against Bassus, and Dio may have wished to carry with him some official message from Prusa.

  The Forty-third Discourse: A Political Address in his Native City

  According to the fable, a Lydian had no troubles, but he went out and bought some. Very well, the Lydian deserved to have troubles, seeing that he himself desired them; as for myself, on the other hand, although I have no desire for troubles, I have them because of ineffectual, envious fellows for no other reason than that I am thought to be fond of you, and because I have already done some good turns to my native city, having raised it to the level of the leading cities in the matter of distinction, and, God willing, shall do it other good turns in the future. [2] And I have said this, not as a bit of idle boasting — for you know yourselves that I have never referred to these services of mine in all the many speeches I have delivered in your hearing — but rather in self-defence against those who eye with malice you and me, in order that, if such a thing is possible, they may burst with rage — which from the standpoint of the city as a whole is the best thing that could happen — or else that they may at least suffer pain. But that the same persons dislike me as dislike the city you yourselves can testify, if you care to recollect both those who love and those who hate you. And yet they treat me more fairly than they treat you; for they accuse me here, whereas they accuse you from the witness-box.

  [3] Now if I am seen to employ illustrations from Greek history, as is my habit, don’t jeer at me. For I am not showing scorn for my fatherland, nor do I suppose you to be incapable of understanding such matters for yourselves, nor do I regard either Assembly or Council as ignorant. Therefore, I desire most of all that you should have the character which is Greek and be neither ungrateful nor unintelligent; but if that is asking too much, it is at least not a bad plan to listen to words which, in my opinion, might improve your character.

  [4] Very well then, what is my illustration? there was a certain man in Thebes called Epaminondas; he loved his country above all else; and, seizing such opportunities as existed at that period, he performed for it many great services. For, instead of the craven, helpless, subservient people they had been, he made them foremost among the Greeks and contenders for leadership. For in those days these things were possible, whereas to-day the times are different — though of course goodwill and devotion are always the same. For the breed of traitors and informers and persons who do anything to harm their fellow citizens existed in the cities even then; moreover, while patriots and men who do not wish their fellow citizens to suffer any harm and who are ambitious to exalt their country were plentiful then and performed mighty deeds, they are fewer now and not able to perform as many noble deeds.

  [5] However that may be, the famous Epaminondas was hated by those who were not like him, and there were some who maligned him, and the common people — as common people will — did not understand and were misled. And on one occasion one of the desperate, disfranchised group, a fellow who had done any and every thing to harm the city when it was in slavery and ruled by a dictator, abused Epaminondas in town meeting and said many harsh things — for every man who is a liar seeks to discover, not what he can say that is true, being unable to say anything that is true, but rather something offensive. Now when Epaminondas himself in turn took the floor, he did not speak regarding the other matters, nor did he defend himself against a single charge, but he merely said to his accuser, speaking in his own Boeotian dialect, “May Damater be wroth wi’ ye!” But the Thebans on hearing that were delighted and burst into laughter, as well they might, recalling, I suspect, the friendliness of Epaminondas toward the people and the scurvy conduct of the man who was trying to vilify him. [6] Accordingly, if a certain person should say to me something I do not deserve, whether in plain terms or in figurative language to win renown as an orator — though his own figure is far from comely — I shall use toward him the reply of Epaminondas.

  But rest assured that they do and say these things because they are irked at my presence here in Prusa, and for no other reason; for I do not lie in wait for any of the citizens, nor do I take pay from anybody, nor do I stand ready to levy tribute on your country, nor do I make myself a nuisance to anyone in the market-place — for I am no orator — nor have I defended anyone in court, save one luckless fellow alone whom I saved from being torn to pieces by his kinsmen and guardians, after they had first stolen his documents and pillaged much of his estate and afterwards tried by false witness to ruin him; [7] but I have spoken in no other case at law, so that I am in no respect offensive to any one. No, it is with the purpose that in case a crisis ever arises such as certain persons pray for, a crisis similar to that earlier one — the kind that is not going to arise — but supposing that it should, the purpose is, I say, to prevent my being present to aid the commons, and to insure that the victims of blackmail shall not even have any one to intercede for them or to express sympathy for them; that, I repeat, is why a certain person is incensed that I am here in Prusa. For if there were several to assume that rôle — as indeed there are — no one would speak more readily than I; and I can speak to you more frankly than any one else. The reason is that I have both sacrificed for you my own good fortune and also shared with you your ill fortune. [8] And now I must leave my country, not, as on that other occasion, without repining, attended as I then was by the affection and admiration of all, but rather attended by the enmity of some; since I myself have suffered no harm,

  For never did they lift my cows or mares.

  However, I am not surprised at my present troubles; since even the famous Socrates, whom I have often mentioned, during the tyranny of the Thirty did everything in behalf of the people and took no part in the crimes of that régime, but, when ordered by the Thirty to fetch Leon of Salamis, he refused to obey, and he openly reviled the tyrants, saying they were like wicked herdsmen, who, having received the cows when strong and numerous, make them few and weaker; [9] but nevertheless it was by the government of the people, on whose account he then risked his life, that later on when that government was flourishing, because he had been slandered by certain informers, he was put to death. Now his accuser was Meletus, a loathsome fellow, and a liar too. Said he, “Socrates is guilty of corrupting young men and of not honouring the deities whom the city honours but of introducing other new divinities” — virtually the opposite to what Socrates was wont to do. [10] For not only did he honour the gods more than did anybody else, but he had composed a hymn in praise of Apollo and Artemis, this paean which even now I myself am wont to chant, and he tried to prevent, not merel
y the young men, but their elders too, from being corrupted, rebuking and reproving them, in case any one was greedy or licentious or tried to make money out of politics, some by arranging an acquittal for a bribe, some by blackmailing people, and some by pillaging the wretched islanders on the pretext of tribute or in connexion with the drafting of soldiers, just as some men are doing in Prusa. This is why they hated him and claimed he was corrupting the young men.

  [11] But my bill of indictment was longer and, one might say, nobler, a sort of occult bill apparently: “Dio is guilty, first, of not honouring the gods either with sacrifices or with hymns, by abolishing the festivals of our fathers; secondly, of so misleading a wicked proconsul as to cause him to torture the people and to banish as many as possible, and even to put some to death, making it necessary for them to die a voluntary death because, old as they were, they could not go into exile or endure to abandon their native land; thirdly, of co-operating in everything even now with the man who took the rôle of tyrant over our nation, and of arranging, so far as it is in his power to arrange, that that tyrant shall be successful in his struggle and shall take by force the cities and their popular governments; [12] fourthly, of spoiling even democracy itself, setting himself up as its accuser, and with his own words and tongue committing crimes against his fellow citizens, yes, the members of his own community, and doing many other things which I am ashamed to specify; fifthly, of making himself a bad example of laziness and high-living and faithlessness for both young and old; and sixthly, of bribing the masses, so that no one may reproach him with what was done in those days, but that people may instead acquire a sort of forgetfulness of his hatred and treachery.

  Well then, men of Prusa, I shall defend myself against these charges, and if it seems good to you when you have heard me, condemn me; for the Athenians heard Socrates before they condemned him.

  THE FORTY-FOURTH DISCOURSE: AN ADDRESS OF FRIENDSHIP FOR HIS NATIVE LAND ON ITS PROPOSING HONOURS FOR HIM

  Internal evidence makes it fairly certain that this Discourse was delivered in the winter of A.D. 96-97, shortly after Dio’s return from his long exile of fourteen years. The occasion was a town meeting at which it was proposed to accord him certain unnamed honours. These honours he modestly deprecates, pointing out that Prusa has honoured him sufficiently in having honoured various members of his family. Taking advantage of the present temper of his audience, he then urges the advisability of a reform in the conduct of the citizens. Though he is adroit in making his plea, it is abundantly evident from other speeches in this group that such a plea was warranted, for Prusa, in common with other cities of the province, was in a state of social and political upheaval. It is hinted that such reform is a necessary prerequisite to securing the concessions alluded to in § 11.

  At the conclusion of his remarks, he announces that he is going to read to his hearers some correspondence between himself and the Emperor. Unfortunately that correspondence has not been preserved, but it becomes reasonably certain from Or. .- that his imperial correspondent was Nerva, with whom he was on very friendly terms, and that their exchange of letters concerned, not only an invitation to visit Rome, but also certain aspirations on the part of Prusa, aspirations thwarted temporarily by Nerva’s untimely death.

  The Forty-fourth Discourse: An Address of Friendship for his Native Land on its Proposing Honours for him

  Fellow citizens, no sight is more delightful to me than your faces, no voice dearer than yours, no honours greater than those you bestow, no praise more splendid than praise from you. Even if the whole Greek world, and the Roman people too, were to admire and to praise me, that would not so cheer my heart. For though, in truth, Homer has spoken many wise and divine words, he never spoke a wiser or a truer word than this:

  For naught is sweeter than one’s native land.

  [2] Indeed, you may rest assured that I find all my honours, both those you now propose and any others there may be, contained in your goodwill and friendship, and I need naught else. For it is quite sufficient for a reasonable human being to be loved by his own fellow citizens, and why should the man who has that love need statues too or proclamations or seats of honour? Nay, not even if it be a portrait statue of beaten gold set up in the most distinguished shrines. For one word spoken out of goodwill and friendship is worth all the gold and crowns and everything else deemed splendid that men possess; so take my advice and act accordingly.

  [3] But if really I must have some such honours also, I have here at Prusa many other honours already — in the first place, those belonging to my father, all those honours bestowed upon him for being a good citizen and for administering the city with uprightness as long as he lived; then, too, those belonging to my mother, in whose memory you not only set up a substitute but also established a shrine; furthermore, the honours bestowed upon my grandsires and my other ancestors; and more than that, the honours possessed by my brothers and other kinsmen. [4] For numerous statues and state funerals and funeral games and many other precious marks of distinction have been accorded them by this city — none of which have I forgotten, nay, I know them all as well as any man could — and I feel that I myself owe you the thanks for these honours, and I pray the gods I may be able to discharge the debt. For though I know they proved themselves very worthy and had a right to all they received, still the city was more than generous in each instance. For their fatherland thanked them even for all they wished, but through some turn of fortune proved unable, to accomplish. [5] For example, if my grandfather had enjoyed the friendship of the emperor of that day for a longer period and if the time left to him had not been altogether brief, he had in mind, as I am told, to obtain independence for Prusa, and indeed he had already drafted his plea to that end. However, there is no need to abandon hope so long as the city continues to bear noble, patriotic men such as those it bears to-day. For though I have been in many cities, I do not know better men than the men of Prusa.

  Now I might go on to speak at some length of individuals, were it not that, since virtually all are my kinsmen, I shrink from the task of praising them, even though I should be making to each and all a contribution, as it were, due in return for the honours paid to me. [6] For, indeed, I have listened to these men too — though greatly awed on account of the speakers themselves, admiring their generosity and their devotion, and, what is more, their gift of eloquence. No wonder, then, if I myself have loved such a fatherland so greatly that I would not have chosen either Athens or Argos or Sparta, the foremost and most distinguished of the Greek cities, as my native land in preference to Prusa; and I have given practical demonstration of this too. For although many people in many lands have invited me both to make my home with them and to take charge of their public affairs, not merely at the present time, but even earlier, at the time when I was an exile — and some went so far as to send the Emperor resolutions thanking him for the honour he had done me — yet I never accepted such a proposal even by so much as a single word, but I did not even acquire a house or a plot of ground anywhere else, so that I might have nothing to suggest a home-land anywhere but here.

  [7] For indeed it would be shocking if human beings are to prove more unjust than bees. For no bee ever abandons its own hive and shifts to another which is larger or more thriving, but it rounds out and strengthens its own swarm, no matter if the district be colder, the pasturage be poorer, the nectar scantier, the work connected with the honeycomb more difficult, and the farmer more neglectful. But, according to report, so great is their love for one another and of each for its own hive, that when they are caught outside the hive in winter and a great wind springs up, they each seize with their feet a pebble as if for ballast before beginning to fly, so that they may not be borne astray by the gale or miss their hive.

  [8] But when a man has a country which is both so devoted and so fine, why should he not regard all else as of minor importance? Taking all this into account, I rejoice to see my own son, my nephew, and the other young men too — and by God’s gra
ce I see many who one and all are both of goodly lineage and, at least in personal appearance, resemble goodly men — I rejoice, I say, to see them aiming without envy and jealousy to vie with one another, and with all other men as well, concerning character and good repute both their own and that of their country too, and also striving that each may gain first rank in his fatherland for being just and patriotic and not incapable of promoting his country’s welfare. [9] For you may rest assured that, although Prusa is not the largest of our cities and has not been settled for the longest time, it is more illustrious than many, even in the estimation of the outside world, and that it has long caused its citizens to rank, not last, or even third or second, in competition with virtually all Greeks everywhere. And I say this, not for my own sake, but rather for the sake of the others, some of whom through foreign travel and through becoming notable men in a number of countries have gained a notable renown, while others through performing their civic duties here and remaining at home are not inferior to those just mentioned in either speech or action.

  [10] But I observe that it is not from the pursuit of eloquence alone but also from the pursuit of wisdom that men of character and distinction are being produced here in Prusa; and I shall not hesitate to exhort our young men in behalf of these things both in private and in public whenever there is opportunity. And I ask of you the people that, as to privileges which must come from our rulers, you cherish the hope of their realization and pray that some measure of honour or fame or affluence may accrue; but that, on the other hand, as regards the blessings which must come from yourselves, you possess them by being superior to the other self-governed communities in orderly behaviour, in respect for others, in obedience to your men of character, in industry, in temperance in your daily lives, in neglecting neither your bodies nor your souls, insofar as each man’s private circumstances grant him leisure, in devotion to the task of rearing and educating your children, in making your city truly Hellenic, free from turmoil, and stable, and in devoting your native shrewdness and courage and intelligence to greater and finer things, while refraining from discord and confusion and conflict with one another so far as possible.