Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [4] And yet we hear of Heracles himself that, though he made himself master of Egypt and Libya, and also of the people who dwelt about the Euxine Sea, both Thracians and Scythians, and though he captured Ilium, having crossed over with a small army, and though, after gaining control over all these peoples, he actually set himself up as king; still when he arrived in Argos he busied himself with removing the dung from the stables of Augeas or hunting serpents or chasing birds, to keep them from troubling the farmers in Stymphalus, or with performing other such menial and humble tasks at the bidding of another; and finally, they say, he was sent to Hades, with such exceeding fairness did his fellow townsman treat him! But we hear that, though the Argives and Thebans praised and admired Heracles, still they shut their eyes to his mistreatment.

  [5] It was the thought of this, it seems to me, which made Homer, who was not only a fine poet but also in his way a philosopher, spend all his time abroad — so much so that no one could determine his country — and prefer to get twenty-five drachmas by begging, and that too in the rôle of a madman, rather than live at home. And so it was that in later days all men claimed him as their countryman. Again, while Homer’s name is well known among all Greeks and barbarians, most men, it is safe to day, have not even heard of Ios — if he really was born there — and there is not much talk of Chios or of Colophon either; and yet Colophon can show a poet not inferior to Homer, namely Apollo. Again, Pythagoras of his own volition fled from Samos when it was under the tyrant, and yet among all other peoples, and especially, I believe, about the shores of Italy, he was honoured as a god.

  [6] “What of it,” some one in this audience has been saying long since, “are you comparing yourself with Homer and Pythagoras and Zeno?” Nay, by Heaven, not I, except that it was the opinion of all the philosophers that life in their own native land was hard. For what think you? That they did not love their home-lands, but that Homer, while he lamented over Odysseus and declared that Odysseus was willing to die forthwith if only he could see the smoke rising from Ithaca, did not himself cherish his own city, but, on the contrary, that he was not confessing under the name of Odysseus his own love and longing for his native heath? [7] On the other hand, while I cannot say whether the man who always remained in his father land, doing whatever seemed best to his fellow citizens and the laws, benefited the Athenians to any great extent, I do know the loss which they sustained in his death. For even now they still are reproached concerning Socrates for not having behaved toward him either justly or piously, and it is said that this conduct of theirs occasioned all the evils which befell them later.

  [8] Now this is merely idle talk which you have heard from a “vagabond” and a “chatterbox.” But as I was saying, I beg you not to expect from me at present any high-minded, sage address, but rather one which is amateurish and commonplace, just as are the matters of which it treats. But let me assure you, just as from the moment of my arrival this time I had purposed to maintain a discreet silence, I should not have said a single word had not something urgent taken place. For I have taken in hand a problem which has caused me many real problems and amazing unpleasantness. Consequently, although formerly I did not understand what in the world was meant by the saying that the Thessalian witches draw down to themselves the moon, now I have come to understand it fairly well. [9] And I used to envy Aristotle at times because, being a native of Stageira — Stageira was a village in the territory of Olynthus — and having become the teacher of Alexander and an acquaintance of Philip’s after the capture of Olynthus, he brought it about that Stageira was resettled, and they used to say that he alone had had the good fortune to become founder of his fatherland. But meanwhile, quite recently, I came upon a letter in which he exhibits a change of heart and laments, saying that some of these settlers are trying to corrupt, not only the king, but also the satraps who came there, so as to thwart any good outcome and to prevent entirely the resettlement of the city.

  [10] But when some persons, exiles and homeless as they were, were actually annoyed by the prospect of having a fatherland and enjoying constitutional government in independence, but preferred to be scattered in villages like barbarians rather than to have the form and name of a city, would it be proper, I ask you, to feel surprise no matter what else annoys certain persons? Accordingly, just as Aristotle has written in his letter as one who has become sick and tired of his troubles — for he says he is holding up his fingers — you may consider that I too am holding up my own fingers, as well as any other fingers there are. [11] For in truth the infatuation of those fellows proved more than a match for the exertions of Aristotle, so that they did not permit the petty village to grow to the rank of a city, and to this day the spot is uninhabited. But let no one charge me with calling this city of ours a Stageira and a village; for I can declare on oath that no other city has appeared to me more excellent, even were it to possess only the smithy of So-and-so, which I, the “sacker of cities and citadels,” tore down.

  [12] However, that I may not forget the reason why I took the floor, perhaps I have been guilty of a human error. Well then, what penalty do you want me to suffer now in payment for this error, or what do you wish me to do? I ask you to give me your advice. Should I tear down at my own expense the work thus far accomplished and make everything just as it was before? But perhaps I shall not be able to do so. [13] Or what shall I do, in Heaven’s name? Do tell me! For I thought as I perceived that other cities were ambitious in such matters — not merely the cities in Asia and Syria and Cilicia, but these neighbouring cities so close at hand, Nicomedia, Nicaea, and Caesarea yonder, well-born folk and very Greek, yet occupying a city much smaller than our own; — and that those who enjoyed the rights of citizenship in each of these cities, no matter if they differed concerning other matters, agreed on such matters as these; and that the Emperor, as luck would have it, was sending written instructions to this effect, stating that he wishes your city to be developed in every way — but just let me read you his letter, since it would take too long to read the letter of Aristotle and it would not be worth the trouble — [14] I thought, as I was saying, that it would be this way with you people too, and that no one would be vexed because the city was being embellished. And so far as that is concerned it turned out as I had expected; for you approved these plans, and you yourselves made many and frequent contributions and showed yourselves enthusiastic.

  What, then, do you wish? For I swear to you by all the gods, if it meant paining you, or any among you, or being thought a nuisance, I should not choose to have for my very own the palace of Dareius or of Croesus, or to have my own ancestral dwelling golden in very truth instead of in name alone like the house of Nero. [15] For there is no advantage in a golden house any more than there is in a golden pot or in the Persian plane tree. On the other hand, there is advantage when a city becomes good-looking, when it gets more air, open space, shade in summer and in winter sunshine beneath the shelter of a roof, and when, in place of cheap, squat wrecks of houses, it gains stately edifices that are worthy of a great city, the purpose being that, just as with well-bred colts and puppies, those who see them can forecast their future height if the legs are long and sturdy, whereas if they are short and stunted men say they will always remain so, thus it may be also with our city.

  [16] But what use is there in you speaking of these things now? One of the sophists did well to call me a nightingale, though he intended it as an insult; his reason, no doubt, was that the poets call the nightingale a tiresome chatterer. But perhaps I may be like the cicadae; for when parched with thirst from exposure of that sun, they sing out of sheer folly, since they are in no wise benefited thereby. Yet perhaps I should not fail to add this much at least on the subject of the tombs and shrines, namely, that it is not likely that the people of Antioch did not lay hands upon anything of this kind; the reason is that they were providing much more space than we are, for their city is thirty-six stades in length and they have constructed colonnades on both sides; nor is it like
ly that the people of Tarsus did not either; nor indeed the people of Nicomedia, who passed a resolution to transfer their tombs. [17] And Macrinus, whom you have recorded as a benefactor of the city, removed from the market-place the tomb of King Prusias, and his statue as well. The explanation is that the cities I have named have no one who is public-spirited or scrupulous in religious matters; but we had many such!

  However, just suit yourselves in these matters. For what concern of mine is the colonnade in this city? As if I could not promenade in any place I please — in the Painted Porch at Athens, in the Persian Porch at Sparta, in the golden colonnades in Rome, in those of Antioch and Tarsus — attended by marks of greater respect, or as if I expected that I alone should sally forth and promenade but no other citizen! Why, no one has either a municipal gymnasium all to himself where he exercises or a colonnade or a bath or any other public structure. Or else I have become demented or feeble-minded.

  [18] However, as I have requested, give me your advice. For though it is my desire to please you in every way possible, I am at a loss. For as things are now, if I take the business in hand and try go get the work done, some persons say I am acting the tyrant and tearing down the city and all its shrines. For of course it was I who set fire to the temple of Zeus! Yet I saved the statues from the scrap-pile, and now they are placed in the most conspicuous spot in the city. But if, on the contrary, I hold my peace, not wishing to make any one groan or to give offence to any one, you cry out, “Let the work proceed, or else let what has been accomplished to date be torn down!” — as if by this you were taunting and reproaching me. [19] Well, what do you wish me to do? For I will do whatever you say, and as to everything essential I will raise no objection, no matter if some one has done a job for which he has rendered no accounting, no matter if he is still at work and receiving funds regularly from the annual officials, just as if he were destined to continue receiving these funds for the jar that never fills, no matter what else may take place — for what have I to do with these matters? For I shall not go walking through your colonnade, you may be sure. But do you wish me to go ahead with the work, and to visit the proconsul and beg him to collect the subscriptions, gently and with regard to ability to pay, from those who have promised them? you ready to do even this; not only so, but even to contribute a portion of what has been subscribed myself, so as to lighten the burden of the rest. [20] Only do give me some instructions; otherwise I shall hold my peace and let you shout — or rather I shall go away. For unlike the fox who ate the meat and could not get out of the oak because she had stuffed herself, I shall find no difficulty in getting out on that score, for I have grown much thinner than I was when I came in.

  And in Heaven’s name don’t imagine you are showing me kindness when you shout about the colonnade, for there is, I may say, only one man in the city, so I hear, who is showing me kindness and taking special thought for my welfare; moreover, no one, whether friend or kinsman, shows concern for me in that way. But consider whether you will think he reasons well in my behalf and is devoted to me, [21] seeing that, in the first place, he believes that after all my perils and hardships I should live here quietly and devote myself to my private affairs and neither cultivate proconsuls nor have any other occupation; also, since I have recovered only a small part of my property, and since, on top of my earlier losses, when my sister died I not only derived no profit from her estate but even lost everything of mine that she controlled and had to make a loan for the purchase my farm, he argues that I should repay this obligation, as well as the earlier debts, and not be building a colonnade or incurring expenses beyond my ability to carry; [22] furthermore, since I am on terms of acquaintance, perhaps even of intimacy, with the Emperor, as well as with many others who may be called the most influential among the Romans, he suggests that I should associate with them, enjoying their esteem and admiration, instead of being taken to task in your city before this or that individual; again, if I really like foreign travel, I should, he says, visit the greatest cities, escorted with much enthusiasm and éclat, the recipients of my visits being grateful for my presence and begging me to address them and advise them flocking about my doors from early dawn, all without my having incurred any expense or having made any contribution, with the result that all would admire me and perhaps some would exclaim,

  Ye gods! his dear and honoured is this man

  To whatsoever town and folk he comes;

  [23] but I should not spend money out of slender resources, be busied with unprofitable ventures, destroy with neglect my body, which calls for treatment and much attention, allow my soul to go so long without a taste of philosophy and kindred subjects, and be called to account before this or that man and be subjected to abuse at times and made to smart.

  By Heaven, is not the man who frets and reasons thus in my behalf most well disposed toward me of all and most deserving of my love? However, when I hear that a certain person is talking about me as if I were a tyrant, it seems to me to be amazing, yes, ridiculous. [24] For according to my understanding tyrant’s acts are like the following: seduction of married women and ruining of boys, beating and maltreating free men in the sight of all, sometimes even subjecting men to torture, as, for example, plunging them into a seething cauldron, and at other times administering a coat of tar; but I do naught of this. Furthermore, I know regarding a female tyrant, Semiramis, that, being advanced in years and lustful, she used to force men to lie with her. And of male tyrants I have heard it said that so-and-so did the same thing, outrageous old sinner!

  [25] But what has all this to do with me? Is it because I build my house in costly style instead of letting it tumble down? Or because I myself wear purple instead of a miserable rag or cloak? Can it be because I wear long hair and have a beard? But, possibly this is not the mark of a tyrant but rather of a king. However that may be, some one has said that being roundly abused, though doing kindly deeds, is also a mark of royalty.

  THE FORTY-EIGHTH DISCOURSE: A POLITICAL ADDRESS IN ASSEMBLY

  This address, like the one preceding, is closely related to Dio’s project for embellishing Prusa, of which we are to hear no more. The immediate occasion is the presence in Prusa of Varenus Rufus, newly appointed proconsul of Bithynia. He has just arrived in the province and plans on the morrow to leave Prusa on a tour of inspection. The populace of Prusa, exercising its newly regained right of public assembly, has gathered for the purpose of greeting the new governor. Dio pleads with them not to treat the occasion as an opportunity to air their local grievances against certain fellow townsmen, but to present a united front and postpone to a later date such charges as may require attention. These charges appear to involve members of the upper class at Prusa, some of whom have been tardy in paying their pledges to the building project (§ 11), while others are accused of having state money in their possession (§§ and ), presumably obtained in connexion with that same enterprise. Dio urges patience and a sympathetic treatment of the points at issue, defending the character of the persons involved and extolling the blessings of concord.

  If the date of the proconsulship of Varenus were known, the dating of this Discourse would present no problem. By close reasoning from internal evidence Arnim arrives at the summer of A.D. 102 as the date of this address. Of importance for his argument is the turmoil in Bithynia, so prominent in this speech, a turmoil which Arnim connects with the maladministration of the province by Julius Bassus, the immediate predecessor of Varenus. Although Dio is at great pains to minimize the manifestations of unrest at Prusa and to attribute them to injection from without, the space devoted to that effort is in itself fair proof that conditions at Prusa must have been bad.

  The Forty-eighth Discourse: A Political Address in Assembly

  In the first place, my friends, we ought to feel grateful to the most noble Varenus, not only for the general goodwill he has displayed toward our city, but also because, when we wished to hold an assembly once more, he gave his permission, not only readily but even gladly.
For this was the act of one who trusts you and knows you will not use the privilege for any disagreeable purpose. For just as no one, I assume, collects green logs to build a fire, knowing in advance that there is bound to be much disagreeable smoke, so no proconsul of good judgement convenes a meeting of a community which is in a state of turmoil, unless some major emergency overtakes him. [2] On the present occasion, therefore, it is your duty not to prove false to his conception of you, but rather to show yourselves temperate and well-behaved in assembly, and first and foremost, I believe, to adorn yourselves with mutual friendship and concord, and if he comes in answer to our invitation, to defer the other matters about which you were so vociferous; for he will inquire into the public problems himself, even if you wish to prevent him. But for the present express your appreciation of his goodness, greet him with applause, and welcome him with auspicious words and honour, to the end that he may visit you, not as a physician visits the sick, with apprehension and worry over their treatment, but rather as one visits the well, with joy and eagerness. [3] For though now, indeed, he will possibly leave here to-morrow, he will return a little later; and then, unless in the meantime we ourselves can win you to our view, in case some one really has something belonging to the commonwealth, by using one another as both judges and arbitrators, then, I say, you will have the opportunity not only to speak but also to shout others down. At all events I suspect it is very senseless to start a riot prematurely. For where have you put the matter to the test, or when have you made any demand upon them, or who has refused to listen to you?