Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [38] “ ‘At the present moment even the land just outside the city gates is quite wild and terribly unattractive, as though it were in the depths of a wilderness and not in the suburbs of a city, while most of the land inside the walls is sown or grazed. It is therefore surprising that orators trump up charges against the industrious people of Caphereus in the remote parts of Euboea, and yet hold that the men farming the gymnasium and grazing cattle in the market-place are doing nothing out of the way.

  [39] δεινόν. βλέπετε γὰρ αὐτοὶ δήπουθεν ὅτι τὸ γυμνάσιον ὑμῖν ἄρουραν πεποιήκασιν, ὥστε τὸν Ἡρακλέα καὶ ἄλλους ἀνδριάντας συχνοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ θέρους ἀποκεκρύφθαι, τοὺς μὲν ἡρώων, τοὺς δὲ θεῶν: καὶ ὅτι καθ᾽ ἡμέραν τὰ τοῦ ῥήτορος τούτου πρόβατα ἕωθεν εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐμβάλλει καὶ κατανέμεται τὰ περὶ τὸ βουλευτήριον καὶ τὰ ἀρχεῖα: ὥστε τοὺς πρῶτον ἐπιδημήσαντας ξένους τοὺς μὲν καταγελᾶν τῆς πόλεως, τοὺς δὲ οἰκτίρειν αὐτήν. πάλιν οὖν ταῦτα ἀκούσαντες ὠργίζοντο πρὸς ἐκεῖνον καὶ ἐθορύβουν.

  [39] You can doubtless see for yourself that they have made your gymnasium into a ploughed field, so that the Heracles and numerous other statues are hidden by the corn,º some those of heroes and others statues of gods. You see too, day after day, the sheep belonging to this orator invade the market-place at dawn and graze about the council chamber and the executive buildings. Therefore, when strangers first come to our city, they either laugh at it or pity it.’ Now on hearing this they burst into a rage against that first speaker in his turn and made a great uproar.

  [40] καὶ τοιαῦτα ποιῶν τοὺς ταλαιπώρους ἰδιώτας οἴεται δεῖν ἀπαγαγεῖν, ἵνα δῆλον ὅτι μηδεὶς ἐργάζηται τὸ λοιπόν, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ μὲν ἔξω λῃστεύωσιν, οἱ δ᾽ ἐν τῇ πόλει λωποδυτῶσιν. ἐμοὶ δέ, ἔφη, δοκεῖ τούτους ἐᾶν ἐφ᾽ οἷς αὐτοὶ πεποιήκασιν, ὑποτελοῦντας τὸ λοιπὸν ὅσον μέτριον, περὶ δὲ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν προσόδων συγγνῶναι αὐτοῖς, ὅτι ἔρημον καὶ ἀχρεῖον γεωργήσοντες τὴν γῆν κατελάβοντο. ἐὰν δὲ τιμὴν θέλωσι καταβαλεῖν τοῦ χωρίου, ἀποδόσθαι αὐτοῖς ἐλάττονος ἢ ἄλλοις.

  [40] “ ‘Yet though the accuser does such things, he thinks that humble and needy citizens ought to be haled off to prison, so that no one, forsooth, may do any work hereafter, but that those outside the city may live by brigandage and those within by thievery. I move,’ he continued, ‘that we leave these men in possession of what they themselves have created, provided they pay a moderate tax hereafter, and that we cancel all arrears to date, since they tilled land that had been wild and valueless and gained possession in that way. If, however, they wish to pay a price for their farm, let us sell to them at a cheaper figure than to anybody else.’

  [41] εἰπόντος δὲ αὐτοῦ τοιαῦτα, πάλιν ὁ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐκεῖνος ἀντέλεγεν, καὶ ἐλοιδοροῦντο ἐπὶ πολύ. τέλος δὲ καὶ ἐμὲ ἐκέλευον εἰπεῖν ὅ, τι βούλομαι. καὶ τί με, ἔφην, δεῖ λέγειν; πρὸς τὰ εἰρημένα, εἶπέ τις τῶν καθημένων. οὐκοῦν λέγω, ἔφην, ὅτι οὐθὲν ἀληθές ἐστιν ὧν εἴρηκεν.

  [41] “When he had thus concluded, that first speaker again spoke in reply, and the two stormed at each other for a long time. But finally I was bidden to day whatever I wished.

  [42] ἐγὼ μὲν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἐνύπνια ᾤμην, ἔφην, ὁρᾶν, ἀγροὺς καὶ κώμας καὶ τοιαῦτα φλυαροῦντος. ἡμεῖς δὲ οὔτε κώμην ἔχομεν οὔτε ἵππους οὔτε ὄνους οὔτε βοῦς. εἴθε γὰρ ἦν ἔχειν ἡμᾶς ὅσα οὗτος ἔλεγεν ἀγαθά, ἵνα καὶ ὑμῖν ἐδώκαμεν καὶ αὐτοὶ τῶν μακαρίων ἦμεν. καὶ τὰ νῦν δὲ ὄντα ἡμῖν ἱκανά ἐστιν, ἐξ ὧν εἴ τι βούλεσθε λάβετε: κἂν πάντα ἐθέλητε, ἡμεῖς ἕτερα κτησόμεθα. ἐπὶ τούτῳ δὲ τῷ λόγῳ ἐπῄνεσαν.

  [42] “ ‘And what ought I to say?’ I asked. ‘Reply to what has been said,’ cried one from his seat. ‘Well then, I declare,’ said I, ‘that there is not one word of truth in what he has said. And as for me, sirs,’ I continued, ‘I thought I was dreaming when he prated about fields and villages and such like. We have no village or horses or asses or cattle. I wish we might possess all the good things he described, that we might not only have given to you but might also belong to the wealthy class ourselves! Yet what we even now have is sufficient for us, and do you take whatever you wish of it. Even if you want all, we shall replace it.’ At these words they applauded.

  [43] εἶτα ἐπηρώτα με ὁ ἄρχων τί δυνησόμεθα δοῦναι τῷ δήμῳ; κἀγώ, Τέσσαρα, ἔφην, ἐλάφεια δέρματα πάνυ καλά. οἱ δὲ πολλοὶ αὐτῶν ἐγέλασαν. ὁ δὲ ἄρχων ἠγανάκτησε πρός με. τὰ γὰρ ἄρκεια, ἔφην, σκληρά ἐστιν καὶ τὰ τράγεια οὐκ ἄξια τούτων, ἄλλα δὲ παλαιά, τὰ δὲ μικρὰ αὐτῶν: εἰ δὲ βούλεσθε, κἀκεῖνα [p. 198] λάβετε. πάλιν οὖν ἠγανάκτει καὶ ἔφη με ἄγροικον εἶναι παντελῶς.

  [43] “Thereupon the magistrate asked me what we would be able to give to the people, to which I replied, ‘Four deer pelts of excellent quality.’ Here the majority laughed and the magistrate was vexed at me. ‘That is because the bear skins are rough,’ I continued, ‘and the goat skins are not as good as they. Some are old and some are small. But take these too, if you wish.’ Then he was vexed once more and said that I was a downright landloper,

  [44] κἀγώ, Πάλιν, εἶπον, αὖ καὶ σὺ ἀγροὺς λέγεις; οὐκ ἀκούεις ὅτι ἀγροὺς οὐκ ἔχομεν; ὁ δὲ ἠρώτα με εἰ τάλαντον ἑκάτερος Ἀττικὸν δοῦναι θέλοιμεν. ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον, Οὐχ ἵσταμεν τὰ κρέα ἡμεῖς: ἃ δ᾽ ἂν ᾖ, δίδομεν. ἔστι δὲ ὀλίγα ἐν ἁλσί, τἄλλα δ᾽ ἐντῷ καπνῷ ξηρά, οὐ πολὺ ἐκείνων χείρω, σκελίδες ὑῶν καὶ ἐλάφειοι καὶ ἄλλα γενναῖα κρέα.

  [44] and I replied, ‘Do I again hear mention of lands, and from you? Did I not tell you that we have no lands?’

  “He asked next whether we would agree each to give an Attic talent, and I replied, ‘We do not weigh our meat, but we will give whatever we have. There is a little salted down, but the rest is smoked and not much inferior to the other. There are sides of bacon and venison and other excellent meats.’

  [45] ἐνταῦθα δὴ ἐθορύβουν καὶ ψεύδεσθαί με ἔφασαν. ὁ δὲ ἠρώτα με εἰ σῖτον ἔχομεν καὶ πόσον τινά. εἶπον τὸν ὄντα ἀληθῶς: δύο, ἔφην, μεδίμνους πυρῶν καὶ τέτταρας κριθῶν καὶ τοσούτους κέγχρων, κυάμων δὲ ἡμίεκτον: οὐ γὰρ ἐγένοντο τῆτες. τοὺς μὲν οὖν πυροὺς καὶ τὰς κριθάς, ἔφην, ὑμεῖς λάβετε, τὰς δὲ κέγχρους ἡμῖν ἄφετε. εἰ δὲ κέγχρων δεῖσθε, καὶ ταύτας λάβετε.

  [45] Then they did raise an uproar and called me a liar. The man also
asked me if we had any grain and about how much. I told him the exact amount. ‘Three bushels of wheat,’ said I, ‘six of barley, and the same amount of millet, but only four quarts of beans, since there were none this year. Now do you take the wheat and the barley,’ said I, ‘and leave us the millet. But if you need millet, take it too.’

  [46] οὐδὲ οἶνον ποιεῖτε; ἄλλος τις ἠρώτησεν. ποιοῦμεν, εἶπον. ἂν οὖν τις ὑμῶν ἀφίκηται, δώσομεν: ὅπως δὲ ἥξει φέρων ἀσκόν τινα: ἡμεῖς γὰρ οὐκ ἔχομεν. πόσαι γάρ τινές εἰσιν ὑμῖν ἄμπελοι; Δύομέν, ἔφην, αἱ πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν, ἔσω δὲ τῆς αὐλῆς εἴκοσι: καὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πέραν ἃς ἔναγχος ἐφυτεύσαμεν, ἕτεραι τοσαῦται: εἰσὶ δὲ γενναῖαι σφόδρα καὶ τοὺς βότρυς φέρουσι μεγάλους, ὅταν οἱ παριόντες ἐπαφῶσιν αὐτούς.

  [46] “ ‘And do you not make any wine?’ another asked. ‘We make it,’ I said, ‘so that if any one of you comes, we will hand it over, but be sure to bring some kind of wineskin with you, since we haven’t any.’ ‘Now, just how many vines have you?’ ‘Two,’ I replied, ‘outside our doors, twenty in the yard, the same number across the river that we set out recently. They are of very fine quality and yield large clusters when the passers-by leave them alone.

  [47] ἵνα δὲ μὴ πράγματα ἔχητε καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐρωτῶντες, ἐρῶ καὶ τἄλλα ἅ ἐστιν ἡμῖν: αἶγες ὀκτὼ θήλειαι, βοῦσκολοβή, μοσχάριον ἐξ αὐτῆς πάνυ καλόν, δρέπανα τέτταρα, δίκελλαι τέτταρες, λόγχαι τρεῖς, μάχαιραν ἡμῶν ἑκάτερος κέκτηται πρὸς τὰ θηρία. τὰ δὲ κεράμια σκεύη τί ἂν λέγοι τις; καὶ γυναῖκες ἡμῖν εἰσι καὶ τούτων τέκνα. οἰκοῦμεν δὲ ἐν δυσὶ σκηναῖς καλαῖς: καὶ τρίτην ἔχομεν, οὗ κεῖται τὸ σιτάριον καὶ τὰ δέρματα. νὴ Δία,εἶπεν ὁ ῥήτωρ, ὅπου καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον ἴσως κατορύττετε.

  [47] But to spare you the trouble of asking about every detail, I will tell you what else we have: eight she-goats, a mulley cow with a very pretty calf, four sickles, four grub hoes, three spears, and each of us owns a hunting knife. As for the crockery — why should one mention that? We have wives too, and children by them. We live in two pretty huts, and we have a third where the grain and the pelts are kept.’

  [48] οὐκοῦν, ἔφην, ἀνάσκαψον ἐλθών, ὦ μῶρε. τίς δὲ κατορύττει ἀργύριον; οὐ γὰρ δὴ φύεταί γε. ἐνταῦθα πάντες ἐγέλων, ἐκείνου μοι δοκεῖν καταγελάσαντες. ταῦτα ἔστιν ἡμῖν: εἰ οὖν καὶ πάντα θέλετε, ἡμεῖς ἑκόντες ὑμῖν χαριζόμεθα, καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμᾶς ἀφαιρεῖσθαι

  [48] “ ‘Yes by heavens,’ said the orator, ‘where you bury your money too, I suspect.’ ‘Well then,’ said I, ‘come and dig it up, you fool! Who buries money in the ground? It certainly does not grow.’ Then everybody laughed, and it was at him, I thought.

  “ ‘That is what we have; and now, if you want everything, we are willing to give it to you voluntarily. There is no need for you to take it from us by force as though it belonged to foreigners or rogues;

  [49] δεῖ πρὸς βίαν ὥσπερ ἀλλοτρίων ἢ πονηρῶν: ἐπεί τοι καὶ πολῖται [p. 199] τῆς πόλεώς ἐσμεν, ὡς ἐγὼ τοῦ πατρὸς ἤκουον. καί ποτε ἐκεῖνος δεῦρο ἀφικόμενος, ἐπιτυχὼν ἀργυρίῳ διδομένῳ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἔλαβεν ἐν τοῖς πολίταις. οὐκοῦν καὶ τρέφομεν ὑμετέρους πολίτας τοὺς παῖδας. κἄν ποτε δέησθε, βοηθήσουσιν ὑμῖν πρὸς λῃστὰς ἢ πρὸς πολεμίους. νῦν μὲν οὖν εἰρήνη ἐστίν: ἐὰν δέ ποτε συμβῇ καιρὸς τοιοῦτος, εὔξεσθε τοὺς πολλοὺς φανῆναι ὁμοίους ἡμῖν. μὴ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτόν γε τὸν ῥήτορα νομίζετε μαχεῖσθαι τότε περὶ ὑμῶν, εἰ

  [49] for, mark you, we are citizens too of this city, as I used to hear my father say. And once he too came here just when a grant of money was being made, as it happened, and got some too along with the rest. Therefore we are raising our children to be your fellow-citizens; and should you ever need them, they will help you against brigands and foreign foes. Just now there is peace; but if ever such a crisis does arise, you will pray heaven that the majority be like ourselves. For do not imagine that this talker will fight for you then, unless, indeed, it be to scold like a woman.

  [50] μή γε λοιδορούμενον ὥσπερ τὰς γυναῖκας. τῶν μέντοι κρεῶν καὶ τῶν δερμάτων, ὅταν γέ τοί ποτε ἕλωμεν θηρίον, μοῖραν δώσομεν: μόνον πέμπετε τὸν ληψόμενον. ἐὰν δὲ κελεύσητε καθελεῖν τὰς σκηνάς, εἴ τι βλάπτουσι, καθελοῦμεν. ἀλλ᾽ ὅπως δώσετε ἡμῖν ἐνθάδε οἰκίαν: ἢ πῶς ὑπενεγκεῖν δυνησόμεθα τοῦ χειμῶνος; ἔστι δ᾽ ὑμῖν οἰκήματα πολλὰ ἐντὸς τοῦ τείχους, ἐν οἷς οὐδεὶς οἰκεῖ: τούτων ἡμῖν ἓν ἀρκέσει. εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἐνθάδε ζῶμεν οὐδὲ πρὸς τῇ στενοχωρίᾳ τοσούτων ἀνθρώπων ἐν ταὐτῷ διαγόντων καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐνοχλοῦμεν,

  [50] Besides, whenever we catch any game, we will give you a part of the meat and of the skins; only send someone to get them. Then if you bid us raze our huts, we will do so if they trouble you. But you must give us housing here; else how shall we endure the winter’s cold? You have many empty houses inside the city walls; one of them will be enough for us. Yet if we choose to live elsewhere than here and thus avoid adding to the congestion caused by so many people being huddled together, that surely is no reason for moving us.

  [51] οὐ δήπου διά γε τοῦτο μετοικίζεσθαι ἄξιοί ἐσμεν. ὃ δὲ ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν περὶ τῶν ναυαγίων, πρᾶγμα οὕτως ἀνόσιον καὶ πονηρόν: τοῦτο γὰρ μικροῦ ἐξελαθόμην εἰπεῖν ὃ πάντων πρῶτον ἔδει με εἰρηκέναι: τίς ἂν πιστεύσειέ ποτε ὑμῶν; πρὸς γὰρ τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν ἐκεῖθεν καὶ ὁτιοῦν λαβεῖν, ὅπου καὶ τῶν ξύλων οὐδὲν πλέον ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἢ τὴν τέφραν: οὕτω πάνυ σμικρὰ ἐκπίπτει, καὶ ἔστιν ἐκείνη μόνη ἡ ἀκτὴ ἁπασῶν ἀπρόσιτος.

  [51] “ ‘Then as to that ghoulish and wicked practice in case of wrecked vessels which the speaker had the hardihood to accuse us of — and I almost forgot to speak of it, although I should have done so at the very start — who among you could possibly believe him? Not to mention the impiety of it, it is impossible to salvage anything at all there. Indeed, all the timber you can find there is the splinters, so very small are the fragments cast up. Besides, that is the most inaccessible beach in existence.

  [52] καὶ τοὺς λάρους, οὓς ἅπαξ εὗρόν ποτε ἐκβεβρασμένους, καὶ τούτους ἀνέπηξα εἰς τὴν δρῦν τὴν ἱερὰν τὴν πλησίον τῆς θαλάττης. μὴ γὰρ εἴη ποτέ, ὦ Ζεῦ, λαβεῖν μηδὲ κερδᾶναι κέρδος τοιοῦτον ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπων δυστυχίας. ἀλλὰ �
��φελήθην μὲν οὐδὲν πώποτε, ἠλέησα δὲ πολλάκις ναυαγοὺς ἀφικομένους, καὶ τῇ σκηνῇ ὑπεδεξάμην, καὶ φαγεῖν ἔδωκα καὶ πιεῖν, καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἐδυνάμην, ἐπεβοήθησα καὶ συνηκολούθησα μέχρι τῶν οἰκουμένων.

  [52] And the oar-blades which I once found cast ashore — why, I nailed them to the sacred oak that grows by the sea. Pray god I may never get or earn any profit like that from human misfortune! Why, I have never made anything out of it, but many is the time I have pitied shipwrecked travellers who have come to my door, taken them into my hut, given them to eat and to drink, helped them in any other way that I could, and accompanied them until they got out of the wilderness.

  [53] ἀλλὰ τίς ἂν ἐκείνων ἐμοὶ νῦν μαρτυρήσειεν; οὔκουν οὐδὲ τότε ἐποίουν μαρτυρίας ἕνεκεν ἢ [p. 200] χάριτος, ὅς γε οὐδ᾽ ὁπόθεν ἦσαν ἠπιστάμην. μὴ γὰρ ὑμῶν γε μηδεὶς περιπέσοι τοιούτῳ πράγματι. ταῦτα δὲ ἐμοῦ λέγοντος ἀνίσταταί τις ἐκ μέσων: κἀγὼ πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν ἐνεθυμήθην ὅτι ἄλλος τοιοῦτος τυχὸν ἐμοῦ καταψευσόμενος.

  [53] Yet who of them is there who will testify for me now? And I never did that to win a testimonial or gratitude; why, I never knew where the men came from even. I pray that none of you may ever undergo such an experience.’

  “While I was thus speaking, a man rose in their midst, and I thought to myself that perhaps he was another of the same sort who was going to slander me,