Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [48] As to the lawgiver, let us omit for the present to hale him here for an accounting; a stern man is he and himself accustomed to hold all others to an accounting. Indeed, we ought to have consideration for ourselves and for our own preoccupation. But as for the rest, let us select the foremost man of each class, and consider whether they will be found to have done by their acts or words any good or harm to piety, and how they stand as to agreement with each other or divergence from one another, and which one of them adheres to the truth most closely, being in harmony with that primary and guileless view. Now in fact all these men speak with one voice, just as if they had taken the one track and were keeping to it, some clearly and others less plainly. Would the true philosopher, perhaps, not stand in need of consolation if he should be brought into comparison with the makers of statues or of poetic measures, and that too, before the throng of a national festive-gathering where the judges are predisposed in their favour?

  [49] εἰ γάρ τις Φειδίαν πρῶτον ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εὐθύνοι, τὸν σοφὸν τοῦτον καὶ δαιμόνιον ἐργάτην τοῦ σεμνοῦ καὶ παγκάλου δημιουργήματος, καθίσας δικαστὰς τοὺς βραβεύοντας τῷ θεῷ τὸν ἀγῶνα, μᾶλλον δὲ κοινὸν δικαστήριον ξυμπάντων Πελοποννησίων, ἔτι δὲ Βοιωτῶν καὶ Ἰώνων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων τῶν πανταχοῦ κατὰ τὴν Εὐρώπην καὶ τὴν Ἀσίαν, οὐ τῶν χρημάτων λόγον ἀπαιτῶν οὐδὲ τῆς περὶ τὸ ἄγαλμα δαπάνης, ὁπόσων χρυσὸς ὠνήθη ταλάντων καὶ ἐλέφας, ἔτι δὲ κυπάριττος καὶ θύον πρὸς τὴν ἐντὸς ἐργασίαν μόνιμος ὕλη καὶ ἀδιάφθορος, τροφῆς τε καὶ μισθῶν ἀναλώματος τοῖς ἐργασαμένοις οὐκ ὀλίγοις οὐδὲ ὀλίγον χρόνον ἄλλοις τε οὐ φαύλοις δημιουργοῖς καὶ τὸν πλεῖστον καὶ τελεώτατον μισθὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς τέχνης Φειδίᾳ:

  [49] Suppose, for instance, that someone were to take Pheidias first and question him before the tribunal of the Hellenes, Pheidias, that wise and divinely-inspired creator of this awe-inspiring masterpiece of surpassing beauty, and should appoint as judges the men who are directing this contest in honour of the god, or better, a general court of all Peloponnesians and of the Boeotians, too, and Ionians and of the other Hellenes, wherever they are to be found in Asia as well as in Europe, and then suppose they should demand an accounting, not of the monies or of the sum spent on the statue — the number of talents paid for gold and ivory, and for cypress and citron-wood, which are durable and indestructible timber for the interior work, or of the expenditure for the maintenance and wages of the workmen, who were not few in number and worked for so long a time, the wages not only of the men in general, who were no mean artisans, but of Pheidias also, to whom went the greatest and fullest reward on account of his artistic skill — of these items, I say, it was fitting that the Eleans, who poured out their money so lavishly and magnificently, should have called for a reckoning;

  [50] ταῦτα μὲν γὰρ Ἠλείοις προσήκοντα λογίσασθαι τοῖς ἀναλώσασιν ἀφθόνως καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς: ἡμεῖς δὲ ὑπὲρ ἄλλου φήσομεν τῷ Φειδίᾳ προκεῖσθαι τὸν ἀγῶνα: εἰ οὖν δὴ λέγοι τις πρὸς αὐτόν, ὦ βέλτιστε καὶ ἄριστε τῶν δημιουργῶν, ὡς μὲν ἡδὺ καὶ προσφιλὲς ὅραμα καὶ τέρψιν ἀμήχανον θέας εἰργάσω πᾶσιν Ἕλλησι καὶ βαρβάροις, ὅσοι ποτὲ δεῦρο ἀφίκοντο πολλοὶ πολλάκις, οὐδεὶς ἀντερεῖ.

  [50] but as for us, we shall maintain that it is for something else that Pheidias must submit to trial. Suppose, then, that someone should actually say to him:

  “O best and noblest of artists, how charming and pleasing a spectacle you have wrought, and a vision of infinite delight for the benefit of all men, both Greeks and barbarians, who have ever come here, as they have come in great throngs and time after time, no one will gainsay.

  [51] τῷ γὰρ ὄντι καὶ τὴν ἄλογον ἄν ἐκπλήξειε τοῦτό γε τῶν ζῴων φύσιν, εἰ δύναιντο προσιδεῖν μόνον, ταύρων τε τῶν ἀεὶ πρὸς τόνδε τὸν βωμὸν ἀγομένων, ὡς ἑκόντας ὑπέχειν τοῖς καταρχομένοις, εἴ τινα παρέξουσι τῷ θεῷ χάριν, ἔτι δὲ ἀετῶν τε καὶ ἵππων καὶ λεόντων, ὡς τὸ ἀνήμερον καὶ ἄγριον σβέσαντας τοῦ θυμοῦ πολλὴν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, τερφθέντας ὑπὸ τῆς θέας: ἀνθρώπων δέ, ὃς ἂν ᾖ παντελῶς ἐπίπονος τὴν ψυχήν, πολλὰς ἀναντλήσας συμφορὰς καὶ λύπας ἐν τῷ βίῳ μηδὲ ὕπνον ἡδὺν ἐπιβαλλόμενος, καὶ ὅς δοκεῖ μοι κατ᾽ ἐναντίον στὰς τῆσδε τῆς εἰκόνος [p. 170] ἐκλαθέσθαι ἂν πάντων ὅσα ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῳ βίῳ δεινὰ καὶ χαλεπὰ γίγνεται παθεῖν.

  [51] For verily even the irrational brute creation would be so struck with awe if they could catch merely a glimpse of yonder statue, not only the bulls which are being continually led to the altar, so that they would willingly submit themselves to the priests who perform the rites of sacrifice, if so they would be giving some pleasure to the god, but eagles too, and horses and lions, so that they would subdue their untamed and savage spirits and preserve perfect quiet, delighted by the vision; and of men, whoever is sore distressed in soul, having in the course of his life drained the cup of many misfortunes and griefs, nor ever winning sweet sleep — even this man, methinks, if he stood before this image, would forget all the terrors and hardships that fall to our human lot.

  [52] οὕτως σύγε ἀνεῦρες καὶ ἐμηχανήσω θέαμα, ἀτεχνῶς νηπενθές τ᾽ ἄχολόν τε, κακῶν ἐπίληθες ἁπάντων. τοσοῦτον φῶς καὶ τοσαύτη χάρις ἔπεστιν ἀπὸ τῆς τέχνης. οὐδὲγὰρ αὐτὸν τὸν Ἥφαιστον εἰκὸς ἐγκαλέσαι τῷδε τῷ ἔργῳ, κρίνοντα πρὸς ἡδονὴν καὶ τέρψιν ἀνθρωπίνης ὄψεως. εἰ δ᾽ αὖ τὸ πρέπον εἶδος καὶ τὴν ἀξίαν μορφὴν τῆς θεοῦ φύσεως ἐδημιούργησας, ὕλῃ τε ἐπιτερπεῖ χρησάμενος, ἀνδρός τε μορφὴν ὑπερφυᾶ τὸ κάλλος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος δείξας, πλὴν ἀνδρὸς καὶ τἄλλα ποιήσασὡς ἐποίησας, σκοπῶμεν τὰ νῦν: ὑπὲρ ὧν ἀπολογησάμενος ἱκανῶς ἐν τοῖς παροῦσι, καὶ πείσας ὅτι τὸ οἰκεῖον καὶ τὸ πρέπον ἐξεῦρες σχήματός τε καὶ μορφῆς τῷ πρώτῳ καὶ μεγίστῳ θεῷ, μισθὸν ἕτερον τοῦ παρ᾽ Ἠλείων προσλάβοις ἂν μείζω καὶ τελειότερον.

  [52] Such a wondrous vision did you devise and fashion, one in very truth a

  Charmer of grief and anger, that from men

  All the remembrance of their ills could loose!

  So great the radiance and so great the charm with which your art has clothed it. Indeed it is not reasonable to suppose that even Hephaestus himself would criticize this work if he judged it by the pleasure and delight which it affords the eye of man.”

  “But, on the other hand, was the shape you by your artistry produced appropriate to a god and was its form worthy of the divine nature, when you not only used a material which gives delight but also present
ed a human form of extraordinary beauty and size; and apart from its being a man’s shape, made also all the other attributes as you have made them? that is the question which I invite you to consider now. And if you make a satisfactory defence on these matters before those present and convince them that you have discovered the proper and fitting shape and form for the foremost and greatest god, then you shall receive in addition a second reward, greater and more perfect than the one given by the Eleans.

  [53] ὁρᾷς γὰρ ὅτι οὐ μικρὸς ἁγὼν οὐδ᾽ ὁ κίνδυνος ἡμῖν. πρότερον μὲν γάρ,ἅτε οὐδὲν σαφὲς εἰδότες, ἄλλην ἄλλος ἀνεπλάττομεν ἰδέαν, πᾶν τὸ θνητὸν κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν καὶ φύσιν ἕκαστος ἰνδαλλόμενοι καὶ ὀνειρώττοντες: εἴ τέ πού τινα μικρὰ καὶ ἄσημα τῶν ἔμπροσθεν εἰκάσματα τεχνιτῶν, οὐ πάνυ τούτοις οὔτε πιστεύοντες οὔτε προσέχοντες τὸν νοῦν. σὺ δέ γε ἰσχύϊ τέχνης ἐνίκησασκαὶ ξυνέλεξας τὴν Ἑλλάδα πρῶτον, ἔπειτα τοὺς ἄλλους τῷδε τῷ φάσματι, θεσπέσιον καὶ λαμπρὸν ἀποδείξας, ὡς μηδένα τῶν ἰδόντων δόξαν ἑτέραν ἔτι λαβεῖν ῥᾳδίως.

  [53] For you see that the issue is no small one, nor the danger, for us. Since in times past, because we had no clear knowledge, we formed each his different idea, and each person, according to his capacity and nature, conceived a likeness for every divine manifestation and fashioned such likenesses in his dreams; and if we do perchance collect any small and insignificant likenesses made by the earlier artists, we do not trust them very much nor pay them very much attention. But you by the power of your art first conquered and united Hellas and then all others by means of this wondrous presentment, showing forth so marvellous and dazzling a conception, that none of those who have beheld it could any longer easily form a different one.

  [54] ἆρ᾽ οὖν οἴει τὸν Ἴφιτον καὶ τὸν Λυκοῦργον καὶ τοὺς τότε Ἠλείους διὰ χρημάτων ἀπορίαν τὸν μὲν ἀγῶνα καὶ τὴν θυσίαν ποιῆσαι τῷ Διὶ πρέπουσαν, ἄγαλμαδὲ μηδὲν ἐξευρεῖν ἐπ᾽ ὀνόματι καὶ σχήματι τοῦ θεοῦ, σχεδόν τι προέχοντας δυνάμει τῶν ὕστερον, ἢ μᾶλλον φοβηθέντας μήποτε οὐ δύναιντο ἱκανῶς ἀπομιμήσασθαι διὰ θνητῆς τέχνης τὴν ἄκραν καὶ τελειοτάτην φύσιν; [p. 171]

  [54] Pray, do you imagine that it was owing to lack of money that Iphitus and Lycurgus and the Eleans of that period, while instituting the contest and the sacrifice in such wise as to be worthy of Zeus, yet failed to search for and find a statue to bear the name and show the aspect of the god, although they were, one might almost say, superior in power to their descendants? Or was it rather because they feared that they would never be able adequately to portray by human art the Supreme and most Perfect Being?”

  [55] πρὸς δὴ ταῦτα τυχὸν εἴποι ἂν Φειδίας, ἅτε ἀνὴρ οὐκ ἄγλωττος οὐδὲ ἀγλώττου πόλεως, ἔτι δὲ συνήθης καὶ ἑταῖρος Περικλέους: ἄνδρες Ἕλληνες, ὁ μὲν ἀγὼν τῶν πώποτε μέγιστος: οὐ γὰρ περὶ ἀρχῆς οὐδὲ περὶ στρατηγίας μιᾶς πόλεως οὐδὲ περὶ νεῶν πλήθους ἢ πεζοῦ στρατοπέδου, πότερον ὀρθῶς ἢ μὴ διῴκηται, τὰ νῦν ὑπέχω λόγον, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ πάντων κρατοῦντος θεοῦ καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ὁμοιότητος, εἴτε εὐσχημόνως καὶ προσεοικότως γέγονεν, οὐδὲν ἐλλείπουσα τῆς δυνατῆς πρὸς τὸ δαιμόνιον ἀνθρώποις ἀπεικασίας,

  [55] Perhaps in answer to this Pheidias would say, since he was not tongue-tied nor belonged to a tongue-tied city, and besides was the close friend and comrade of Pericles:

  “My Greek fellow-citizens, the issue is the greatest that has ever arisen. For it is not about empire or the presidency of one single state or the size of the navy or as to whether an army of infantry has or has not been correctly administered, that I am now being called to account, but concerning that god who governs the universe and my representation of him: whether it has been made with due respect to the dignity of the god and so as to be a true likeness of him, in no way falling short of the best portrayal of the divinity that is within the capacity of human beings to make, or is unworthy of him and unbefitting.

  [56] εἴτε ἀναξία καὶ ἀπρεπής. ἐνθυμεῖσθε δὲ ὅτι οὐκ ἐγὼ πρῶτος ὑμῖν ἐγενόμην ἐξηγητὴς καὶ διδάσκαλος τῆς ἀληθείας. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔφυν ἔτι κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς τῆς Ἑλλάδος οὐδέπω σαφῆ καὶ ἀραρότα δόγματα ἐχούσης περὶ τούτων, ἀλλὰ πρεσβυτέρας τρόπον τινὰ καὶ τὰ περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς ἤδη πεπεισμένης καὶ νομιζούσης ἰσχυρῶς. καὶ ὅσα μὲν λιθοξόων ἔργα ἢ γραφέων ἀρχαιότερα τῆς ἐμῆς τέχνης σύμφωνα ἦσαν, πλὴν ὅσον κατὰ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῆς ποιήσεως, ἐῶ λέγειν.

  [56] “Remember, too, that it is not I who was your first expounder and teacher of the truth, for I was not even born as yet when Hellas began to be and while it still had no ideas that were firmly established about these matters, but when it was rather old, so to speak, and already had strong beliefs and convictions about the gods. And all the works of sculptors or painters earlier than my art which I found to be in harmony therewith, except so far as the perfection of the workmanship is concerned, I omit to mention;

  [57] δόξας δὲ ὑμετέρας κατέλαβον παλαιὰς ἀκινήτους, αἷς οὐκ ἦν ἐναντιοῦσθαι δυνατόν, καὶ δημιουργοὺς ἄλλους περὶ τὰ θεῖα, πρεσβυτέρους ἡμῶν καὶ πολὺ σοφωτέρους ἀξιοῦντας εἶναι, τοὺς ποιητάς, ἐκείνων μὲν δυναμένων εἰς πᾶσαν ἐπίνοιαν ἄγειν διὰ τῆς ποιήσεως, τῶν δὲ ἡμετέρων αὐτουργημάτων μόνην ταύτην ἱκανὴν ἐχόντων εἰκασίαν.

  [57] your views, however, I found to be ingrained, not to be changed, so that it was not possible to oppose them, and I found other artistic portrayers of the divinity who were older than I and considered themselves much wiser, namely the poets, for they were able through their poetry to lead men to accept any sort of idea, whereas our artistic productions have only this one adequate standard of comparison.

  [58] τὰ γὰρ θεῖα φάσματα, λέγω δὲ ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ σύμπαντος οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἄστρων, αὐτὰ μὲν καθ᾽ αὑτὰ φαινόμενα θαυμαστὰ πάντως, ἡ δὲ μίμησις αὐτῶν ἁπλῆ καὶ ἄτεχνος, εἴ τις ἐθέλοι τὰ σελήνης σχήματα ἀφομοιοῦν ἢ τὸν ἡλίου κύκλον: ἔτι δὲ ἤθους καὶ διανοίας αὐτὰ μὲν ἐκεῖνα μεστὰ πάντως, ἐν δὲ τοῖς εἰκάσμασιν οὐδὲν ἐνδεικνύμενα τοιοῦτον: ὅθεν ἴσως καὶ τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὕτως ἐνομίσθη τοῖς Ἕλλησι.

  [58] For those divine manifestations — I mean the sun and the moon and the entire heavens and the stars — while in and of themselves they certainly appear marvellous, yet the artist’s portrayal of them is simple and has no need of artistic skill, if one should wish merely to d
epict the moon’s crescent or the sun’s full orb; and furthermore, whereas those heavenly bodies certainly, taken by themselves, reveal in abundance character and purpose, yet in their representations they show nothing to suggest this: which perhaps is the reason why at first they were not yet regarded by the Greeks as deities.

  [59] νοῦν γὰρ καὶ φρόνησιν αὐτὴν μὲν καθ᾽ αὑτὴν οὔτε τις πλάστης οὔτε τις γραφεὺς εἰκάσαι δυνατὸς ἔσται: ἀθέατοι γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων καὶ ἀνιστόρητοι παντελῶς [p. 172] πάντες. τὸ δὲ ἐν ᾧ τοῦτο γιγνόμενόν ἐστιν οὐχ ὑπονοοῦντες, ἀλλ᾽ εἰδότες, ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸ καταφεύγομεν, ἀνθρώπινον σῶμα ὡς ἀγγεῖον φρονήσεως καὶ λόγου θεῷ προσάπτοντες, ἐνδείᾳ καὶ ἀπορίᾳ παραδείγματος τῷ φανερῷ τε καὶ εἰκαστῷ τὸ ἀνείκαστον καὶ ἀφανὲς ἐνδείκνυσθαι ζητοῦντες, συμβόλου δυνάμει χρώμενοι, κρεῖττονἤ φασι τῶν βαρβάρων τινὰς ζῴοις τὸ θεῖον ἀφομοιοῦν κατὰ σμικρὰς καὶ ἀτόπους ἀφορμάς. ὁ δὲ πλεῖστον ὑπερβαλὼν κάλλει καὶ σεμνότητι καὶ μεγαλοπρεπείᾳ, σχεδὸν οὗτος πολὺ κράτιστος δημιουργὸς τῶν περὶ τὰ θεῖα ἀγαλμάτων.