Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [18] οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ, ἔφη, ἐπὶ πράγματι σεμνυνόμενος, ἐν ᾧ τῶν φαυλοτάτων θηρίων χείρων πέφυκας; οἶμαι γάρ σε μηδὲ ἀλώπεκα δύνασθαι φθάσαι. πόσον δέ τι καὶ ἔφθασας; παρ᾽ ὀλίγον, εἶπεν, ὦ Διόγενες. τοῦτο γάρτοι καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν ἐγένετο τῆς νίκης. ὥστε, ἔφη, παρ᾽ ἓν βῆμα εὐδαίμων γέγονας. ἅπαντες γὰρ οἱ κράτιστοι ἦμεν οἱ τρέχοντες. οἱ δὲ κόρυδοι οὐ πολλῷ τινι θᾶττον ὑμῶν διέρχονται τὸ στάδιον; πτηνοὶ γάρ εἰσιν, εἶπεν.

  [18] “Are you not ashamed,” he continued, “to take pride in an accomplishment in which you are naturally outclassed by the meanest beasts? I do not believe that you can outstrip even a fox. And by how much did you beat the man after all?” “By just a little, Diogenes,” said he; “for you know that is what made the victory so marvellous.” “So,” replied Diogenes, “you are fortunate by just one stride.” “Yes, for all of us who ran were first-rate runners.” “How much more quickly, however, does a crested lark get over the course than you?” “Ah, but it has wings,” he said.

  [19] οὐκοῦν, ἔφη ὁ Διογένης, εἴπερ τὸ ταχύτατον εἶναι κράτιστόν ἐστι, πολὺ βέλτιον κόρυδον εἶναι σχεδὸνἢ ἄνθρωπον: ὥστε τὰς ἀηδόνας οὐδέν τι δεῖ οἰκτίρειν οὐδὲ τοὺς ἔποπας, ὅτι ὄρνιθες ἐγένοντο ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ μύθου λέλεκται. ἀλλ᾽ ἐγώ, ἔφη, ἄνθρωπος ὢν ἀνθρώπων ταχύτατός εἰμι. τί δέ; οὐχὶ καὶ ἐν τοῖς μύρμηξιν, εἶπεν, εἰκὸς ἄλλον ἄλλου ταχύτερον εἶναι; μὴ οὖν θαυμάζουσιν αὐτόν; ἢ οὐ δοκεῖ σοι γελοῖον[p. 107]

  [19] “Well,” replied Diogenes, “if the swiftest thing is the best, it is much better, perhaps, to be a lark than to be a man. So then we need not pity the nightingale or the hoopoe because they were changed from human beings into birds according to the myth.” “But,” replied he, “I, a man, am the fleetest of men.” “What of it? Is it not probable that among ants too,” Diogenes rejoined, “one is swifter than another? Yet they do not admire it, do they? Or would it not seem absurd to you if one admired an ant for its speed?

  [20] εἶναι, εἴ τις ἐθαύμαζε μύρμηκα ἐπὶ τάχει; τί δέ; εἰ χωλοὶ πάντες ἦσαν οἱ τρέχοντες, ἐχρῆν σε μέγα φρονεῖν, ὅτι χωλοὺς οὐ χωλὸς ἔφθης; τοιαῦτα δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον διαλεγόμενος πολλοὺς ἐποίησε τῶν παρόντων καταφρονῆσαι τοῦ πράγματος, κἀκεῖνον αὐτὸν λυπούμενον ἀπελθεῖν καὶ πολὺ ταπεινότερον.

  [20] Then again, if all the runners had been lame, would it have been right for you to take on airs because, being lame yourself, you had outstripped lame men?”

  As he spoke to the man in this vein, he made the business of foot-racing seem cheap in the eyes of many of the bystanders and caused the winner himself to go away sorrowing and much meeker.

  [21] τοῦτο δὲ οὐ μικρὸν παρεῖχε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ὁπότε ἴδοι τινὰ μάτην ἐπαιρόμενον καὶ διὰ πρᾶγμα οὐδενὸς ἄξιον ἔξω τοῦ φρονεῖν, συστείλας ἐπὶ βραχὺ καὶ ἀφελὼν μικρόν τι τῆς ἀνοίας, ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ πεφυσημένα καὶ οἰδοῦντα νύξαντες ἢ σείσαντες.

  [21] And this was no small service which he rendered to mankind whenever he discovered anyone who was foolishly puffed up and lost to all reason on account of some worthless thing; for he would humble the man a little and relieve him of some small part of his folly, even as one pricks or punctures inflated and swollen parts.

  [22] ἐν δὲ τούτῳ θεασάμενος ἵππους ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ δεδεμένους, ἔπειτα μαχομένους τε καὶ λακτίζοντας αὑτούς, καὶ πολὺν ὄχλον περιεστῶτας καὶ θεωμένους, ἕως καμὼν ὁ ἕτερος ἔφυγεν ἀπορρήξας προσελθὼν ἐστεφάνωσε τὸν μένοντα καὶ ἀνεκήρυττεν ὡς Ἰσθμιονίκην, ὅτι λακτίζων ἐνίκησεν. ἐπὶ τούτῳ γέλως καὶ θόρυβος ἦν ἁπάντων, καὶ τὸν Διογένην πολλοὶ ἐθαύμαζον καὶ τῶν ἀθλητῶν κατεγέλων, καί τινας ἀπελθεῖν φασιν οὐκ ἰδόντας αὐτούς — ὅσοι κακῶς ἐσκήνουν ἢ καὶ τούτου ἠπόρουν.

  [22] On this occasion he saw two horses that were hitched together fall to fighting and kicking each other, with a large crowd standing by and looking on, until one of the animals, becoming exhausted, broke loose and ran off. Then Diogenes came up and placed a crown upon the head of the horse that had stood its ground and proclaimed it winner of an Isthmian prize, because it had “won in kicking.” At this there was a general laugh and uproar, while many applauded Diogenes and derided the athletes. They say, too, that some persons actually left without witnessing their performances — those who had poor lodgings or none.

  THE TENTH DISCOURSE: DIOGENES OR ON SERVANTS

  ΔΙΟΓΕΝΗΣ ἢ περὶ ΟΙΚΕΤΩΝ.

  THE TENTH DISCOURSE: DIOGENES OR ON SERVANTS

  The tenth Discourse contains Cynic doctrine and belongs like the two preceding Discourses to Dio’s period of exile. He could not consistently have praised the condition of being without property except when he was in exile and without property himself, and the callousness with which he refers to Oedipus’ plight would have been out of keeping with his later life.

  This Discourse has two parts. In the first it is shown to be better to be without a slave or any other piece of property if you do not know how to use it, and then the stronger statement is made that it is better to have no property at all. In the second part it is shown to be very dangerous and indeed harmful to consult a god when you do not know how to do so; while if you do know, it is unnecessary. To sum up: it is better to own no property and to consult no god.

  [1] ἀπιών ποτε Διογένης ἐκ Κορίνθου Ἀθήναζε συνέβαλε κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἑνὶ τῶν γνωρίμων, καὶ ἤρετο ποῖ ἄπεισιν, οὐχ ὥσπερ οἱ πολλοὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐπερωτῶσιν, ἐπιδεικνύμενοι ὅτι οὐκ ἀμελὲς εἰδέναι αὐτοῖς τὰ περὶ τῶν φίλων, ἔπειτα ἀκούσαντες μόνον ἀπηλλάγησαν: ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ οἱ ἰατροὶ ἀνακρίνουσι τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας ὅ τι μέλλουσι ποιεῖν ἕνεκα τοῦ συμβουλεῦσαι, καὶ τὰ μὲν κελεύουσι, τὰ δὲ ἀπαγορεύουσιν, οὕτως ἀνέκρινεν ὁ Διογένης τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὅ,τι πράττοι;

  The Tenth Discourse: Diogenes or On Servants

  Once when Diogenes was leaving Corinth for Athens, he met an acquaintance on the road and asked whither he was going; not, however, as most persons ask such questions and thereby make a show of interest in their friends’ affairs, yet have no sooner heard than off they go; no, but just as physicians ask the sick what they are planning to do, with the idea of giving them counsel and recommending what they should do and what they should avoid, so for the same purpose Diogenes asked the man what he was doing.

  [2] καὶ ὃς ἔφη, ὦ Διόγενες, πορεύομαι εἰς Δελφοὺς τῷ θεῷ χρησόμενος. μέλλων δὲ διὰ Βοιωτῶν ἰέναι, ὁ γὰρ παῖς [p. 108] με ὁ �
�ετ᾽ ἐμοῦ πορευόμενος ἀπέδρα, νῦν ἐπὶ Κορίνθου ἄπειμι: ἴσως γὰρ ἂν εὕροιμι καὶ τὸν παῖδα. καὶ ὁ Διογένης εἶπεν, ὥσπερ εἰώθει, σπουδάσας, Ἔπειτα, καταγέλαστε, ἐπιχειρεῖς θεῷ χρῆσθαι, οὐ δυνάμενος ἀνδραπόδῳ χρήσασθαι; ἢ οὐ δοκεῖ σοι τοῦτο ἐκείνου ἧττον χαλεπὸν καὶ ἐλάττονα ἔχειν κίνδυνον τοῖς οὐδυναμένοις χρήσασθαι ὀρθῶς; τί δὲ καὶ βουλόμενος, εἶπε, ζητεῖς τὸν παῖδα; ἢ οὐκ ἦν πονηρός; πάντων γε, ἔφη, μάλιστα:

  [2] And the latter replied, “I am on my way to Delphi, Diogenes, to make use of the oracle, but when I was about to pass through Boeotia, my slave, who was with me, ran away, and so I am now bound for Corinth, for perhaps I may find the boy there.” At this Diogenes replied with that characteristic earnestness of his, “And so, you ridiculous fellow, are you attempting to make use of the god when you are incapable of using a slave? Or does not the latter strike you as less difficult and dangerous than the former for those who are incapable of using things properly? Besides, what is your object in hunting for the boy? Was he not a bad slave?”

  [3] μηδὲν γὰρ ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἀδικούμενος, πρὸς δὲ καὶ γενόμενος ἡγεῖτο πονηρόν: εἰ γὰρ ἀγαθὸν ἡγεῖτο, οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἀπέλιπεν. ἴσως, ὦ Διόγενες, κακὸς αὐτὸς ὢν. ἔπειτα ἐκεῖνος μέν, ἔφη, σὲ πονηρὸνἡγούμενος ἔφυγεν, ἵνα μὴ βλάπτηται ὑπὸ σοῦ, σὺ δὲ ἐκεῖνον πονηρὸν εἶναι λέγων ζητεῖς, δῆλον ὅτι βλάπτεσθαι ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ βουλόμενος;

  [3] “Yes, he certainly was,” replied the latter, “for although I had done him no wrong and, what is more, had made him my body-servant, he ran away.” “Perhaps he thought you were a bad master, for if he had thought you were a good one, he would never have left you.” “Perhaps, Diogenes, it was because he was bad himself.”

  “And so,” continued Diogenes, “because he thought you were bad, he ran off to avoid injury by you, while you are searching for him although you say he is bad, evidently with the desire to be injured by him!

  [4] ἢ οὐχ οἱ κακοὶ ἄνθρωποι βλαβεροί εἰσι τοῖς ἔχουσι καὶ τοῖς χρωμένοις, ἐάν τε Φρύγες ὦσιν ἐάν τε Ἀθηναῖοι, ἐάν τε ἐλεύθεροι ἐάν τε δοῦλοι; καίτοι κύνα μὲν οὐδεὶς κακὸν ἡγούμενος ζητεῖ ἀποδράντα, οἱ δὲ καὶ ἐκβάλλουσιν, ἐὰν ἐπανέλθῃ: ἀνθρώπου δὲ πονηροῦ ἀπαλλαγέντες οὐκ ἀγαπῶσιν, ἀλλὰ πολλὰ πράγματα ἔχουσι καὶ τοῖς ξένοις ἐπιστέλλοντες καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀποδημοῦντες καὶ χρήματα ἀναλίσκοντες, ὅπως λάβωσιν αὐτόν.

  [4] Is it not true that bad men are injurious to those who own them or to those who use them, whether they be Phrygians or Athenians, bond or free? And yet no one hunts for a runaway dog that he thinks is no good; nay, some even kick such a dog if he comes back; but when people are rid of a bad man they are not satisfied, but go to a lot of trouble by sending word to their friends, making trips themselves, and spending money to get the fellow back again.

  [5] καὶ πότερον οἴει πλείους ὑπὸ κυνῶν βλαβῆναι πονηρῶν ἢ ὑπ᾽ ἀνθρώπων; ὑπὸ μένγε κυνῶν φαύλων ἕνα τὸν Ἀκταίωνά φασιν ἀπολέσθαι, καὶ τούτων μανέντων: ὑπὸ δὲ ἀνθρώπων φαύλων οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν ἔστιν ὅσοι ἀπολώλασι καὶ ἰδιῶται καὶ βασιλεῖς καὶ πόλεις ὅλαι, οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ οἰκετῶν, οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ στρατιωτῶν καὶ δορυφόρων, οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ φίλων τινῶν καλουμένων, οἱ δέ τινες καὶ ὑπὸ υἱέων καὶ ἀδελφῶν καὶ

  [5] Now do you believe that more have been hurt by bad dogs than by bad men? To be sure we hear that one man, Actaeon, was slain by worthless dogs, and mad ones at that; but it is not even possible to say how many private individuals, kings, and whole cities have been destroyed by bad men, some by servants, some by soldiers and bodyguards, others by so-called friends, and yet others by sons and brothers and wives.

  [6] γυναικῶν. ἆρα οὖν οὐ μέγα κέρδος, ὅτῳ ἂν συμβῇ ἀπαλλαγῆναι κακοῦ ἀνδρός, ἀλλὰ δεῖ τοῦτον ζητεῖν τε καὶ ἐπιδιώκειν; ὥσπερ εἴ τις ἀπαλλαγὲν νόσημα ἐζήτει καὶ ἐβούλετο ἀναλαβεῖν εἰς τὸ σῶμα; καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἶπεν, Ταῦτα μὲν ὀρθῶς εἶπας, ὦ Διόγενες:[p. 109] ἀλλὰ χαλεπόν ἐστιν ἀδικηθέντα μὴ τιμωρήσασθαι. ἐκεῖνος γὰρ οὐδὲν ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ παθών, ὡς ὁρᾷς, ἐτόλμησεν ἀπολιπεῖν με: ὃς ἔργον μὲν παρ᾽ ἐμοὶ οὐδὲν ἔπραττεν ὅσα δοῦλοι ἐργάζονται, ἀργὸς δὲ ὢν ἔνδον ἐτρέφετο, οὐδὲν ποιῶν ἢ ἐμοὶ ἀκολουθῶν.

  [6] Is it not, therefore, a great gain when one happens to be rid of a bad man? Should one hunt and chase after him? That would be like hunting after a disease one had got rid of and trying to get it back into one’s system again.”

  The man replied, “What you say is right enough, Diogenes, but it is hard for a man who has been wronged not to seek redress. That renegade suffered no wrong at my hands, as you see, and yet he dared to desert me. At my house he did none of the work that slaves perform, but was kept inside in idleness with nothing else to do but to accompany me.”

  [7] ἔπειτα, ἔφη, οὐδὲν ἠδίκεις αὐτὸν ἀργὸν ὄντα καὶ ἀμαθῆ τρέφων καὶ ποιῶν ὅτι κάκιστον; ἡ γὰρ ἀργία καὶ τὸ σχολὴν ἄγειν ἀπόλλυσι πάντων μάλιστα τοὺς ἀνοήτους ἀνθρώπους. οὐκοῦν ὀρθῶς συνῆκεν ὑπὸ σοῦ διαφθειρόμενος, καὶ ἀπέδρα δικαίως, ἵν᾽ ἐργάζηται δῆλον ὅτι καὶ μὴ σχολάζων τε καὶ καθεύδων καὶ ἐσθίων χείρων ἀεὶ γίγνηται. σὺ δὲ ἴσως οἴει μικρὸν ἀδίκημα εἶναι, ὃς ἄνθρωπον ποιεῖ πονηρότερον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ τοῦτον δεῖν πάντων μάλιστα φεύγειν ὡς ἔχθιστον καὶ ἐπιβουλότατον; καὶ ὅς, τί οὖν, ἔφη, ποιήσω; οὐ γὰρ ἔστι μοι ἄλλος οἰκέτης.

  [7] “Then were you doing him no wrong,” Diogenes answered, “by keeping him in idleness and ignorance and making him as bad as could be? For idleness and lack of occupation are the best things in the world to ruin the foolish. Therefore he was right in deciding that you were his undoing, and he was justified in running off, evidently so as to get work and not become worse and worse all the time by loafing, sleeping, and eating. But you, perhaps, think that it is a trifling wrong when anyone makes another man worse. And yet is it not right to keep away from such a man above all as the deadliest and most treacherous of enemies?”

  “What shall I do then?” he asked, “for I have no other domestic.

  [8] τί δέ, ἔφη, ποιήσεις, ὅταν ἄλλα ὑποδήματα μὴ ἔχῃς, τὰ δὲ ὄντα ἐνοχλῇ καὶ διακόπτῃ τοὺς πόδας; ἆρα οὐχ ὑπολυσάμενος ὅτι τάχιστα ἀνυπόδητος βαδίσεις; ἀλλὰ κἂν αὐτόματον λυθῇ, πάλιν ἐπιδεῖς τε καὶ �
�φίγγεις τὸν πόδα; καὶ γὰρ δὴ ὥσπερ οἱ ἀνυπόδητοι ἐνίοτε ῥᾷον βαδίζουσι τῶν φαύλως ὑποδεδεμένων, οὕτως πολλοὶ χωρὶς οἰκετῶν ῥᾷον ζῶσι καὶ ἀλυπότερον τῶν πολλοὺς οἰκέτας ἐχόντων.

  [8] “Well, what will you do,” said he, “when you have no other shoes and those you have hurt and lacerate your feet? Will you not take them off as soon as you can and go barefoot? If, however, they fall off themselves, do you tie them on again and pinch your feet? Why, sometimes barefooted persons get about more easily than those who are badly shod; and similarly, many live more comfortably and with less annoyance without domestics than those who have many. See what worries the rich have.

  [9] οὐχ ὁρᾷς τοὺς πλουσίους, ὁπόσα πράγματα ἔχουσιν, οἱ μὲν θεραπεύοντες τοὺς νοσοῦντας τῶν οἰκετῶν καὶ δεόμενοι ἰατρῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν παραμενούντων; καὶ γὰρ ὡς τὸ πολὺ πέφυκεν ἀμελεῖν αὑτῶν τὰ ἀνδράποδα καὶ οὐ προσέχειν ἐν ταῖς νόσοις, τὸ μέν τι ὑπὸ ἀκρατείας, τὸ δὲ ἡγούμενα, εἴ τι πάθοι, τοὺς δεσπότας ζημιώσεσθαι, οὐχ αὑτούς: οἱ δὲ μαστιγοῦντες ὁσημέραι, ἕτεροι δὲ δεσμεύοντες, ἄλλοι διώκοντες φεύγοντας. καὶ γάρ τοι οὔτε ἀποδημῆσαι δύνανται ῥᾳδίως, ὁπόταν δοκῇ αὐτοῖς, οὔτε μένοντες σχολὴν ἄγουσι.

  [9] Some are taking care of their sick slaves and wanting doctors and nurses — for it is usually the way of slaves to neglect themselves and not be careful when sick, partly through lack of self-control, partly because they think that if anything befalls them, it will be their master’s loss and not their own — other rich men inflict corporal punishment daily, others put fetters on them, while yet others are pursuing runaways. And so it goes; they can neither get away from home easily whenever they like nor have leisure if they stay at home.