Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [14] “Achilles,” I replied, “and Patroclus and Hector and Memnon and Sarpedon,” and as I was going on to name still others, he exclaimed:

  “What you have said is well suited to comfort those who are in mourning, and I wish that I could listen to you longer; but really it is high time for me to be at the training of the boy, and I am off.”

  THE TWENTY-NINTH DISCOURSE: MELANCOMAS I

  ΜΕΛΑΓΚΟΜΑΣ Α ΤΗΙ ΤΑΞΕΙ Β.

  THE TWENTY-NINTH DISCOURSE: MELANCOMAS I

  This Discourse is in the form of a funeral oration for a young boxer Melancomas, who had died very suddenly. As to the question whether there ever was such a Melancomas and as to the time and place of this oration the reader is referred to the Introduction to the preceding Discourse.

  If we follow von Arnim and others in believing that there really was such a Melancomas and that this funeral oration really was delivered, then arises the question of who delivered it. Apparently it was not Dio himself, because the speaker had been a close friend of the deceased and was deeply moved by his death; while Dio, on the other hand, had known Melancomas only by name, as he says in Discourse .. Then too, the speaker represents himself as quite youthful and not a fluent speaker. But if Dio merely wrote the oration for some one else to deliver, who was that person? One thinks first of Titus, who according to a Neapolitan inscription was the agonothete at the Games in Naples three times and gymnasiarch once before A.D. 81 and was reputed to have been a lover of Melancomas (Cf. Themistius, Oration 10, Hard.). But it seems unlikely that a man of Titus’ disposition, high place, and maturity — he was possibly thirty-three years old at the time when this oration is supposed to have been delivered — and fresh from the capture of Jerusalem, would have represented himself as youthful and immature; or have ranked athletics higher than warfare, as the speaker does in § 15. It is more likely that this oration was delivered by a Greek who was a high official at the Games.

  The thought content of this Discourse and the information given about Melancomas are practically the same as in the preceding Discourse; but a good deal more is said in praise of the deceased; and athletics, as already said, are put on a higher plane than warfare.

  [1] Ἀλλ̓ ἐμοὶ, ὦ ἄνδρες, οὐδ̓ ὅτι εἴπω ἔπεισιν ὑπὸ λύπης ἅμα καὶ ἐκπλήξεως τοῦ αἰφνιδίου πάθους. οὐ γὰρ μόνον διὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἣν ἔχω μᾶλλον ἑτέρου μοι τῶν πολιτῶν οἰκεῖον τὸ συμβεβηκός, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἰδίᾳ μοι φίλος ἦν Μελαγκόμας ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας, ὥσπερ καὶ ὑμῶν ἐπίστανται οἱ πλείους. καὶ ἔμοιγε ἄτοπον φαίνεται τὸ ἐπὶ τοῖς τεθνεῶσιν ἔθος, ὅτι τοῖς πλεῖστα λυπουμένοις μάλιστα προσήκειν δοκεῖ τὸ ἐπ̓ αὐτοῖς λέγειν. οἱ γὰρ σφοδρότατα ἀνιώμενοι

  THE TWENTY-NINTH DISCOURSE: MELANCOMAS I

  Ah sirs! I cannot think of anything at all to say, so great is my grief alike and my consternation at this sudden bereavement; for not only on account of the office which I hold does the disaster come home to me more than to any other citizen, but Melancomas was also a personal friend of mine beyond all others, as most of you know. And to me at least it seems an absurd custom, when citizens die, that those most deeply afflicted should be thought the most fitting persons to speak at their obsequies; since those who are most grief-stricken are for that very reason incapable of speech.

  [2] ἀδύνατοι λέγειν ὑπ̓ αὐτοῦ τούτου εἰσίν. ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἡλικίας ἐν τούτῳ εἰμί, ἐν ᾧ ἡ μὲν τοῦ λόγου δύναμις ἧττον ἅπασιν ὑπάρχει, τὸ δὲ χαίρειν καὶ τὸ λυπεῖσθαι ἰσχυρότατον γίγνεται. ἀλλ̓ ἐπειδὴ τιμιώτερος μὲν στρατηγοῦ ἔπαινος ἐπὶ στρατιώτῃ ἀγαθῷ τελευτήσαντι, τιμιώτερος δὲ παντὸς ἄρχοντος ἢ ἰδιώτου, κἀμοὶ λεκτέον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἕνεκεν ὡς ἂν δύνωμαι. πρέποι δ̓ ἂν τῇ ἐκείνου ἀρετῇ καὶ τῇ ἐμῇ νεότητι μηδὲν μακρὸν ἀπαιτεῖν μηδὲ ἀκριβῆ μᾶλλον ἢ γενναῖον τὸν ἔπαινον. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν εὐγενείας ἀληθοῦς ἔτυχεν. οὐ γὰρ εἴ τῳ πλουσίων συνέβη τυχεῖν προγόνων, οὐ μὴν οὐδ̓ εἰ βασιλέων,

  [2] Moreover, I am at the time of life when all men find that, while their ability to speak is always less than it was, yet the emotions of both joy and sorrow are greatest in intensity. Since, however, a eulogy spoken by a general over a good soldier who has passed away does him a greater honour, and one spoken by any ruler a greater honour than one spoken by a private citizen, so it devolves upon me also, in view of the office I hold, to speak to the best of my ability. And it would be in keeping with the merit of the deceased and my own youth to demand of me no lengthy or studied eulogy, but praise that comes from the heart.

  In the first place, he had the good fortune to be truly well-born. For it is not because he chanced to have forebears who were rich — nay, not even if they were kings but in other respects were quite without merit — that this man was well-born.

  [3] τὰ δὲ ἄλλα φαύλων, ὅδε ἂν εἴη καλῶς γεγονώς, ἀλλ̓ οἱ φύντες ἐξ ἀγαθῶν, ὥσπερ ὅδε. ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ τῶν κατ̓ αὐτὸν διήνεγκε τοῖς καλλίστοις, εὐψυχίᾳ καὶ ῥώμῃ. δηλοῦσι δὲ αἱ νῖκαι ἃς ἐνίκησε καὶ ἐν Ὀλυμπίασι καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀγῶσιν. αὐτὸς δὲ ἔφυ κάλλιστος ἀνθρώπων, οὐ τῶν νῦν μόνον, ἀλλ̓, ὡς ἔνεστιν εἰκάζειν ἐκ τῆς ὑπερβολῆς, καὶ ἁπάντων ἁπλῶς τῶν ἐξ ἅπαντος

  [3] That term applies to those who have come from good parents, as this man did. For his father stood out conspicuous among all men of his time for those fairest gifts — nobility of soul and bodily strength. This is proved by the victories that he won, both at Olympia and in the other games.

  Then he was himself by nature’s gift the most beautiful of men, not only of those of the present day but, as one may infer from his surpassing beauty, of absolutely all those of all time who have been renowned for beauty, all those, I mean, who were born mortal.

  [4] τοῦ χρόνου ὠνομασμένων ἐπὶ κάλλει, ὅσοι θνητοὶ ἐγένοντο. οἱ μὲν γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν νενομισμένων καλῶν, μέρη τινὰ τοῦ σώματος εὐπρεπῆ ἔχοντες, ἔπειτα δὲ ἔδοξαν καλοί, τῆς ὄψεως ἀεὶ τὰ ἥδιστα βουλομένης ὁρᾶν, τῶν δὲ ἡττόνων ἀμελούσης. οἱ δέ τινες φύσει μὲν εὐειδοῦς σώματος οὐκ ἔτυχον, ὥρα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπῆλθεν: ἡττώμενοι [p. 287] δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ὥρας οἱ ἐντυγχάνοντες κάλλος αὐτὴν ὠνόμασαν,

  [4] For the majority of those who have been regarded as beautiful because they did possess comeliness in certain parts of their body afterwards have got the reputation of being beautiful; since the eye ever wishes to direct itself to the most pleasing things to the neglect of what is inferior. And certain others were not favoured by nature with a beautiful body, but a lovely prime had arrived for them, so that those who met them, succumbing thereto, called it beauty, since the heyday of life always bourgeons in all animals and plants alike.

  [5] ἀνθούσης ἀεὶ τῆς ἀκμῆς ἐν ἅπασι καὶ ζῴοις καὶ φυτοῖς. τοιούτους μὲν οὖν μυρίους ἂν εὕροι τις τοὺς αὐτοὺς ὁτὲ μὲν καλοὺς
δοκοῦντας, ὁτὲ δὲ αἰσχρούς, καὶ τοῖς μὲν σφόδρα ἀρέσκοντας, παῤ ἑτέροις δὲ οὐδενὸς λόγου τυγχάνοντας. ὁλόκληρον δὲ καὶ ἀληθινὸν κάλλος θαυμαστὸν εἴ τῳ ὑπῆρξεν ὥσπερ τῷδε. ἐν ἅπαντι μὲν γὰρ τῷ σώματι ἐκέκτητο αὐτό, ἀεὶ δὲ ὁμοίως, καὶ πρὸ ἥβης καὶ ὕστερον: καὶ οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον τοῦ χρόνου προῆλθεν, οὐδὲ εἰ πάνυ μακροῦ γήρως ἔτυχεν, ὥστε ἀμαυρῶσαι τὸ εἶδος. τεκμήριον δὲ τῆς

  [5] Thousands of persons of this sort can be found who at one time seem beautiful and at another time ugly; and though they please some exceedingly, with others they get no notice at all. But when it is a question of perfect and true beauty, it would be surprising if anyone ever possessed it as this man did. For he had it in his whole body and always to the same degree, both before he reached years of manhood and afterward; and he would never have lived long enough, even if he had reached an extreme old age, to have dimmed his beauty.

  [6] ὑπερβολῆς: οὐ γὰρ ἐν ἰδιώταις ἐξεταζόμενος διέφερεν οὐδὲ ὑπὸ ὀλίγων θεωρούμενος ὑπὸ τούτων ἐθαυμάζετο, ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀεὶ δήπου ἐν τοῖς ἁπάντων καλλίστοις, ἅμα τοῖς ἀθληταῖς ὤν. οἱ γὰρ μέγιστοι καὶ εὐειδέστατοι καὶ πλείστης ἐπιμελείας τῶν σωμάτων τυγχάνοντες οἵδε εἰσίν. ἑωράθη δὲ μικροῦ δεῖν ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων. οὔτε γὰρ πόλις οὐδεμία τῶν ἐνδόξων οὔτε ἔθνος οὐδέν, ἔνθα μὴ ἀφίκετο: καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως τὴν αὐτὴν εἶχε δόξαν, ὡς οὐδένα ἰδοῦσι καλλίονα. ὁ δὲ ὑπὸ πλείστων μὲν θαυμασθείς, ἐν δὲ τοῖς καλλίστοις μόνος ἔχων τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ κάλλους φήμην δῆλον ὡς

  [6] And here is an indication of the surpassing quality of his beauty: not that he stood out pre-eminent in any company of professional men, or was admired merely by some few who saw him, no indeed, but that he was always admired when in a company of those who are perhaps the most beautiful men in the world — the athletes among whom he moved. For the tallest and most comely men, whose bodies receive the most perfect care, are these. And he was seen by practically all mankind. For there was no city of repute, and no nation, which he did not visit; and among all alike the same opinion of him prevailed — that they had seen no one more beautiful. And since he was admired by the greatest numbers, and amongst the most beautiful men he alone possessed the fame of sheer beauty, it is evident that he was blest with what we may term a form truly divine.

  [7] θείας τινὸς μορφῆς ἔτυχεν. ἐγὼ οὖν πρῶτον εὐδαιμονίζω τοῦ κάλλους αὐτόν, ὃ δὴ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐστὶν ἀγαθῶν ἀριδηλότατον, καὶ ἥδιστον μὲν θεοῖς, ἥδιστον δὲ ἀνθρώποις, ἀλυπότατον δὲ τῷ ἔχοντι καὶ ἐπιγνωσθῆναι ῥᾷστον. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα ἀγαθὰ κἂν λάθοι τινὶ προσόντα, καὶ ἀνδρεία καὶ σωφροσύνη καὶ φρόνησις, εἰ μὴ τύχοι ἔργου τινὸς ἀποδεικνύντος: τὸ δὲ κάλλος οὐχ οἷόν τε λανθάνειν. ἅμα γὰρ τῷ ἔχοντι φαίνεται: εἴποι δ̓ ἄν τις ὅτι καὶ πρότερον: οὕτως ὀξεῖαν αἴσθησιν αὑτοῦ παρέχει. ἔτι δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἀγαθοῖς οἱ πλεῖστοι φθονοῦσι καὶ δυσμενεῖς γίγνονται: τὸ δὲ κάλλος τοὺς αἰσθανομένους αὐτοῦ φίλους ποιεῖται καὶ οὐδένα ἐχθρὸν

  [7] I therefore in the first place felicitate him for his beauty, a thing which certainly is the most conspicuous of the blessings that can fall to man, which, while being most pleasing to gods and most pleasing to men, is yet fraught with least pain to its possessor and is easiest to recognize. For while the other blessings that a man may have might easily pass unnoticed, such as courage and temperance and wisdom, unless some deed should happen to reveal them, yet beauty cannot remain hidden. For it becomes manifest the moment its possessor appears; nay, one might say that it becomes manifest even sooner, so penetrating is the impression it makes on the senses. Furthermore, most men envy all other blessings and become hostile to their possessor, but beauty makes friends of those who perceive it and allows no one to become an enemy.

  [8] ἐᾷ γίγνεσθαι. εἰ δέ τίς φησι κάλλους με ποιεῖσθαι ἐγκώμια, ἀλλ̓ οὐχὶ τοῦ ἀνδρός, οὐκ ἂν ὀρθῶς αἰτιῷτο. αὐτίκα γὰρ ἔπαινος ἀνδρὸς [p. 288] ἂν λέγοιτο, ἐπειδὰν τὴν ἀνδρείαν αὐτοῦ ἐπεξίωμεν. ὅπου μὲν γὰρ ἀμφίλογον τὸ εἶναί τινα τοιοῦτον, τότε ἀποδεικνύναι χρή: ὅπου δὲ γιγνώσκεται, τὴν φύσιν ἐπαινεῖν τοῦ προσόντος ἀγαθοῦ τινι. ὁ γὰρ τοῦδε ἔπαινος ἅμα ἂν εἴη καὶ τοῦ ἔχοντος αὐτό. μάλιστα δ̓ ἄν τις θαυμάσειε Μελαγκόμαν, ὅτι μορφῇ τοιοῦτος

  [8] But if anyone says that I am uttering an encomium of beauty and not of the man himself, his criticism is unjust. To illustrate: it would be called a eulogy of a man if we should dwell upon his manly courage. Very well, then: when it is a matter of dispute as to whether a person possesses any given quality, then it is necessary to prove he does; but when he is known to possess it, we need only to praise the nature of the good trait which is admittedly his. For the eulogy of this will be at the same time also a eulogy of its possessor.

  And what is most admirable in Melancomas is that, with all his beauty of figure, he surpassed in manly courage.

  [9] ὢν τῇ ἀνδρείᾳ διήνεγκεν. δοκεῖ γὰρ ἔμοιγε τῇ ψυχῇ φιλονικῆσαι πρὸς τὸ σῶμα καὶ σπουδάσαι ὅπως ἂν διὰ ταύτην ἐνδοξότερος γένηται. γνοὺς οὖν τῶν πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ἔργων κάλλιστον ἅμα καὶ ἐπιπονώτατον τὴν ἄθλησιν, ἐπὶ ταύτην ἦλθεν. τῶν μὲν γὰρ πολεμικῶν ὅ τε καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν ἥ τε ἄσκησις ἐλαψροτέρα. φαίην δ̓ ἂν ἔγωγε καὶ ἀρετῆς ἥττονος εἶναι. μόνης γὰρ εὐψυχίας ἐπίδειξις ἐν τοῖς πολεμικοῖς, ἡ δὲ ἄθλησις ἅμα μὲν ἀνδρείαν, ἅμα δὲ ἰσχύν,

  [9] Indeed, it seems to me that his soul vied with his body and strove to make herself the means of his winning a greater renown. He therefore, recognizing that, of all the activities conducive to courage, athletics is at once the most honourable and the most laborious, chose that. Indeed, for the soldier’s career no opportunity existed, and the training also is less severe. And I for my part would venture to say that it is inferior also in that there is scope for courage alone in warfare, whereas athletics at one and the same time produce manliness, physical strength, and self-control.

  [10] ἅμα δὲ σωφροσύνην ἐμποιεῖ. καὶ τοίνυν τῆς ἀθλήσεως εἵλετο οὐ τὸ ῥᾷστον, ἀλλὰ τὸ χαλεπώτατον: πυγμὴν γὰρ ἤσκησεν. χαλεπὸν μὲν οὖν καὶ τοῦ ἐλαχίστου ἔργου ἐπ̓ ἄκρον ἐλθεῖν, μήτι γε ἐν τῷ μεγίστῳ καὶ δυσχερεστάτῳ πάντας ὑπερβαλέσθαι, ὥσπερ ὅδε. καὶ τὸ μὲν τοὺς στεφάνους
αὐτοῦ καθ̓ ἕκαστον ἐπεξιέναι καὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας, ἐν οἷς ἐνίκησε, πρὸς εἰδότας ὑμᾶς περιττόν, ἄλλως

  [10] Furthermore, he chose, not the easiest branch of athletics, but the most laborious, since he trained for boxing. Now it is difficult to reach the top even in the humblest branch, let alone to surpass all others in the greatest and most difficult one, as this man.

  To give the full record, one after another, of his crowns and the contests in which he won them is superfluous in the presence of you who know of them, and especially since anyone could name others who gained these same victories. But that which has fallen to the lot of no one else,

  [11] τε καὶ ἑτέρους ἂν εἴποι τις τῶν αὐτῶν τυχόντας. ὃ δὲ μηδενὶ ὑπῆρξεν, ἐπίστασθε μὲν ὁμοίως, δἰ αὐτὸ μέντοι τοῦτο ῥητέον ῾τοῖς γὰρ μὴ εἰδόσιν οὐδὲ πιστεῦσαι ῥᾴδιον̓ ὅτι τοσούτοις ἀνταγωνισταῖς χρησάμενος καὶ οὕτως ἀγαθοῖς ὑπ̓ οὐδενὸς ἡττήθη, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀεὶ πάντας ἐνίκα. καίτοι οὔτε στρατηγὸν εὕροι τις ἂν ἐν παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ ἀήττητον οὔτε ἀριστέα πολεμικόν, ὃς οὐκ ἤδη ποτὲ καὶ ἔφυγεν ἐκ μάχης. οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅτι ταχέως ἐτελεύτησε, διὰ τοῦτο φαίη τις ἂν ἀήττητον διαγενέσθαι. πολὺ γὰρ πλείστους ἂν ἀγῶνας ἠγωνίσατο: ἐν δὲ τῇ πείρᾳ τὸ σφάλλεσθαι, οὐκ ἐν τῷ [p. 289] μήκει τοῦ χρόνου. ἔτι δὲ καὶ τόδε ἄν τις αὐτοῦ κατεπλάγη, τὸ μήτε παιόμενον αὐτὸν μήτε παίοντα νικᾶν: τοσοῦτο τῇ ῥώμῃ περιῆν