Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [56] οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ πότῳ προϊόντας, οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλους ἰδεῖν. παρὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐνίοις τῶν βαρβάρων μέθην φασὶ γίγνεσθαι πραεῖαν δι᾽ ἀτμοῦ θυμιαμάτων τινῶν: ἔπειτα χαίρουσι καὶ ἀνίστανται γελῶντες καὶ πάντα ποιοῦσιν ὅσα ἄνθρωποι πεπωκότες, οὐ μέντοι κακὸν οὐδὲν ἀλλήλους ἐργάζονται: τῶν δὲ Ἑλλήνων ὑμεῖς μόνοι δι᾽ ὤτων καὶ φωνῆς αὐτὸ πάσχετε, μᾶλλον δὲ ληρεῖτε ἐκείνων κάκιον καὶ παραφέρεσθε καὶ μᾶλλον ἐοίκατε κραιπαλῶσιν. καίτοι τὰ τῶν Μουσῶν καὶ τὰ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἤπια δῶρα καὶ προσηνῆ. τὸν μὲν γὰρ Παιήονα καὶ Ἀλεξίκακον προσαγορεύουσιν, ὡς ἀποτρέποντα τῶν κακῶν καὶ ὑγίειαν ἐμποιοῦντα ταῖς ψυχαῖς καὶ σώμασιν, οὐ νόσον οὐδὲ μανίαν: τὰς δὲ παρθένους, ὡς ἂν αἰδουμένας τε καὶ σώφρονας.

  [56] Among certain barbarians, it is true, we are told that a mild kind of intoxication is produced by the fumes of certain incense when burned. After inhaling it they are joyful and get up and laugh, and behave in all respects like men who have been drinking, and yet without doing injury to one another; but of the Greeks you alone reach that state through ears and voice, and you talk more foolishly than do those barbarians, and you stagger worse and are more like men suffering the after-effects of a debauch.

  And yet the arts of the Muses and Apollo are kindly and pleasing. For Apollo is addressed as Healer and as Averter-of-Evil, in the belief that he turns men aside from misfortune and implants health in soul and body, not sickness or madness; and the Muses are called maidens, implying their modesty and their chastity.

  [57] ἥ τε μουσικὴ θεραπείας ἕνεκα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εὑρῆσθαι δοκεῖ τῶν παθῶν καὶ μάλιστα δὴ μεταστρέφειν ψυχὰς ἀπηνῶς καὶ ἀγρίως διακειμένας. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τῶν φιλοσόφων ἔνιοι πρὸς λύραν αὑτοὺς ἡρμόσαντο ἕωθεν, ἀποπαύοντες τῆς διὰ τῶν ὀνειράτων ταραχῆς. καὶ θεοῖς μετὰ μέλους θύομεν, ἵνα εὔτακτοι καὶ καθεστηκότες ὦμεν. ἕτερος δὲ αὖ τρόπος αὐλοῦ τε καὶ ᾠδῆς ἐν πένθεσιν, ἰωμένων οἶμαι τὸ σκληρὸν καὶ ἄτεγκτον τοῦ πάθους, θηλυτέραν δὲ τὴν λύπην ἐργαζομένων δι᾽ ᾠδῆς λανθανούσης μετὰ [p. 284] γόων, ὥσπερ οἱ ἰατροὶ τὰ φλεγμαίνοντα τῶν ἑλκῶν ὑγραίνοντες καὶ μαλακοποιοῦντες ἀνώδυνα ἔθηκαν.

  [57] Furthermore, music is believed to have been invented by men for the healing of their emotions, and especially for transforming souls which are in a harsh and savage state. That is why even some philosophers attune themselves to the lyre at dawn, thereby striving to quell the confusion caused by their dreams. And it is with song that we sacrifice to the gods, for the purpose of insuring order and stability in ourselves. And there is, moreover, a different type of song, accompanied by the flute, that is employed at time of mourning, as men attempt, no doubt, to heal the harshness and the relentlessness of their grief and to mitigate the pain by means of song, song that operates scarce noticed amid lament, just as physicians, by bathing and softening wounds that are inflamed, remove the pain.

  [58] οὐχ ἧττον δὲ καὶ περὶ συνουσίας ἔδοξε πρέπειν ἡ μουσικῆς δύναμις, ἁρμονίαν καὶ τάξιν αὐτόματον ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐπεισάγουσα καὶ τὸ σφαλερὸν τῆς ἐν οἴνῳ τέρψεως παραμυθουμένη μετὰ ξυγγενοῦς δυνάμεως, ὥσπερ αὐτῷσυγκεραννύμενον ἐμμελὲς γίγνεται καὶ μέτριον. ταῦτα δὴ πάντα ἀνέστραπται νῦν καὶ μεθέστηκεν εἰς τοὐναντίον. οὐ γὰρ ἐκ Μουσῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ Κορυβάντων τινῶν κατέχεσθε, καὶ πιστὰ ποιεῖτε τὰ τῶν ποιητῶν μυθολογήματα: ὡς ἐκεῖνοί γε παρεισάγουσι Βάκχας τινὰς μαινομένας ὑπὸ μέλους καὶ Σατύρους: οὐκοῦν ὑμῖν τὰ τῶν νεβρίδωντε καὶ θύρσων ἐνδεῖ καὶ τὸ λέοντας φέρειν ἐν ταῖς ἀγκάλαις: τὰ δὲ ἄλλα καὶ πάνυ μοι δοκεῖτε ἐοικέναι Νύμφαις καὶ Σατύροις.

  [58] And the spell of music has been deemed no less appropriate also in social gatherings, because it brings harmony and order spontaneously into the soul and along with a kindred influence abates the unsteadiness that comes from delight in wine — I mean that very influence blended with which the unsteadiness itself is brought into tune and tempered to moderation. All this, of course, in the present instance has been reversed and changed to its opposite. For it is not by the Muses but by a kind of Corybantes that you are possessed, and you lend credibility to the mythologizings of the poets, since they do indeed bring upon the scene creatures called Bacchants, who have been maddened by song, and Satyrs too. No doubt in your case the fawn-skin and the thyrsus are lacking, nor do you, like the Bacchants, bear lions in your arms; yet in all else you do appear to me to be quite comparable to Nymphs and Satyrs.

  [59] ἱλαροί τε γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ φιλογέλωτες καὶ φιλορχησταί: πλὴν οὐκ αὐτόματος ὑμῖν ἀναβλύει διψήσασιν ὁ οἶνος ἐκ πέτρας ποθέν τινος ἢ νάπης, οὐδὲ γάλα καὶ μέλι δύνασθε εὐχερῶς οὕτως ἔχειν ῾ἄκροισιδακτύλοισι διαμῶντες χθόνἀ: ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τὸ ὕδωρ ὑμῖν ἀφικνεῖται δεῦρο αὐτόματον οὐδὲ τὴν μᾶζαν ἔχετε ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ δήπουθεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτην ἐκ τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων χειρὸς λαμβάνετε: ὥστε ἴσως καιρὸς ἦν ὑμᾶς παύσασθαι βακχειῶν καὶ προσέχειν μᾶλλον αὑτοῖς. νυνὶ δὲ ἂν μόνον ἀκούσητε χορδῆς, ὥσπερ σάλπιγγος ἀκηκοότες,

  [59] For you are always in merry mood, fond of laughter, fond of dancing; only in your case when you are thirsty wine does not bubble up of its own accord from some chance rock or glen, nor can you so readily get milk and honey by scratching the ground with the tips of your fingers; on the contrary, not even water comes to you in Alexandria of its own accord, nor is bread yours to command, I fancy, but that too you receive from the hand of those who are above you; and so perhaps it is high time for you to cease your Bacchic revels and instead to turn your attention to yourselves. But at present, if you merely hear the twang of the harp-string, as if you had heard the call of a bugle, you can no longer keep the peace.

  [60] οὐκέτι δύνασθε εἰρήνην ἄγειν. ἆρά γε μή Λακεδαιμονίους μιμεῖσθε; φασὶ γοῦν αὐτοὺς τὸ ἀρχαῖον πρὸς αὐλὸν πολεμεῖν: ὑμεῖς δὲ πρὸς κιθάραν αὐτὸ δρᾶτε. ἢ βούλεσθε, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς βασιλεῦσι τοὺς δήμους κἀγὼ παρέβαλον, Νέρωνι φαίνεσθαι τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχοντες νόσον; ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνον ὤνησεν ἡ λίαν ἐμπειρία περὶ τοῦτο καὶσπουδή. καὶ πόσῳ κρεῖττον μιμεῖσθαι τὸν νῦν ἄρχοντα παιδείᾳ καὶ λόγῳ προσέχοντα; οὐκ ἀποθήσεσθε τὴν αἰ�
�χρὰν ταύτην καὶ ἄμετρον φιλοτιμίαν; οὐ φυλάξεσθε τοὺς ἄλλους σκώπτοντες καὶ [p. 285] ταῦτα ἐν ἀνθρώποις, εἰ θεμιτὸν εἰπεῖν, οὐδὲν μέγα οὐδὲ θαυμαστὸν ἔχουσιν;

  [60] Surely it is not the Spartans you are imitating, is it? It is said, you know, that in olden days they made war to the accompaniment of the pipe; but your warfare is to the accompaniment of the harp. Or do you desire — for I myself have compared king with commons do you, I ask, desire to be thought afflicted with the same disease as Nero? Why, not even he profited by his intimate acquaintance with music and his devotion to it. And how much better it would be to imitate the present ruler in his devotion to culture and reason! Will you not discard that disgraceful and immoderate craving for notoriety? Will you not be cautious about poking fun at everybody else, and, what is more, before persons who, if I may say so, have nothing great or wonderful to boast of?

  [61] εἰ γὰρ Ἰσμηνίας ηὔλει παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἢ Τιμόθεος ᾖδεν ὁ παλαιὸς ἢ Ἀρίων, ὑφ᾽ οὗ λέγουσιν ᾄδοντος ἐν τῷ πελάγει τοὺς δελφῖνας ἀφικέσθαι πρὸς τὴν ναῦν, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐκπεσόντα αὐτὸν κατὰ τύχην τινὰ ἀναλαβεῖν καὶ σῶσαι, πῶς ἂν διέκεισθε; τούτων μὲν γάρ ἐστιν οὐδεὶς Ἀμφίων οὐδὲ Ὀρφεύς: ὁ μὲν γὰρ υἱὸς ἦν Μούσης, οἱ δὲ ἐκ τῆς Ἀμουσίας αὐτῆς γεγόνασι: διαθρύψαντες γὰρ καὶ κατάξαντες τὸ σεμνὸν τοῦ μέλους καὶ πάντα τρόπον λωβησάμενοι τὴν ἀρχαίαν μουσικήν —

  [61] For if an Ismenias were piping in your presence or à Timotheus of early times were singing or an Arion, at whose song, according to tradition, the dolphins in the deep flocked to his ship and afterwards, when he had plunged overboard, rescued him by lucky chance and brought him safe ashore — if those artists were performing for you, what would be your state of mind? For among these performers here there is no Amphion and no Orpheus either; for Orpheus was the son of a Muse, but these are unmusical offspring of Disharmony herself, having perverted and shattered the majesty of song and in every way outraged the grand old art of the Muses.

  [62] τίς γὰρ αὐτῶν ᾠδὴν τέλειον ἢ γενναῖον ῥυθμὸν οἷός τε εἰπεῖν; — ἀλλὰ ᾄσματα γυναικῶν καὶ κρούματα ὀρχηστῶν καὶ παροινίας τερετισμάτων ὥσπερ κακοὶ καὶ περίεργοι μάγειροι συντρίψαντες τοὺς νόμους ἰδιώτας καὶ λίχνους ἀκροατὰς κινοῦσιν. τοιγαροῦν οὐκ ἀπὸ κύκνων οὐδὲ ἀηδόνων ὁ ζῆλος αὐτῶν ὠνόμασται παρ᾽ ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ᾽, ὡς ῾̣̣̓οικε, κνυζηθμοῖς καὶ ὑλαγμοῖς εἰκάζετε. καίτοι φιλοσόφους μὲν ᾔδειν οὕτως καλουμένους, κιθαρῳδοὶ δὲ Κυνικοὶ παρὰ μόνοις ὑμῖν γεγόνασιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἀμφίων πρὸς τὸ μέλος, ὥς φασιν, ἤγειρε καὶ ἐπύργου τὴν πόλιν: οὗτοι δὲ ἀνατρέπουσι καὶ καταλύουσιν. καὶ μὴν ὅ γε Ὀρφεὺς τὰ θηρία ἡμέρου καὶ μουσικὰ ἐποίει διὰ τῆς ᾠδῆς: οὗτοι δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀνθρώπους ὄντας, ἀγρίους πεποιήκασι καὶ ἀπαιδεύτους.

  [62] For who of the lot can produce a finished song or a noble rhythm? Nay, it is a potpourri of effeminate ditties and music-hall strummings of the lyre and the drunken excesses of monsters which, like villainous cooks with an itch for novelty, they mash together to form their arias and thus excite an ignorant and avid audience. Accordingly not from swans or nightingales has their passion got its name with you, but rather, as it seems, you liken it to the whining and howling of dogs; and yet, while I knew that there are philosophers called Cynics, harpists of that canine breed have been produced in Alexandria alone. So while Amphion to the accompaniment of his melody, according to the tale, built the walls and towers of his city, these creatures are engaged in the work of overturning and destroying. And as for Orpheus, by his song he tamed the savage beasts and made them sensitive to harmony; yet these performers here have turned you human beings into savages and made you insensible to culture.

  [63] ἔχω δὲ καὶ ἄλλον εἰπεῖν λόγον ἀνθρώπου Φρυγὸς ἀκούσας, Αἰσώπου συγγενοῦς, δεῦρο ἐπιδημήσαντος, ὃν εἰς Ὀρφέα καὶ ὑμᾶς ἔλεγεν. ἔστι δὲ τῶν ὑμετέρων σκωμμάτων ἀτοπώτερος καὶ μακρότερος. σκοπεῖτε οὖν, εἰ βούλεσθε ἀκοῦσαι, καὶ μὴ δυσχεράνητε. ἔφη τοίνυν ἐκεῖνος περί τε Θρᾴκην καὶ Μακεδονίαν τὸν Ὀρφέα μελῳδεῖν, καθάπερ εἴρηται, κἀκεῖ τὰ ζῷα προσιέναι αὐτῷ, πολύ τι πλῆθος οἶμαι τῶν πάντων θηρίων.

  [63] And I have, furthermore, a story to tell that I heard from a Phrygian, a kinsman of Aesop’s, who paid a visit here, a story that he told about Orpheus and yourselves. However, that story is more weird and lengthier than your jokes. Consider, therefore, if you wish to hear it, and don’t be vexed if I tell it. Well then, the man from Phrygia said that Orpheus sang his songs throughout Thrace and Macedonia, as we have been told, and that the creatures there came up to him — a great company, I imagine, of all the animals. “And,” he continued, “most numerous among them were the birds and the sheep.

  [64] πλεῖστα δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς εἶναι τούς τε ὄρνιθας καὶ τὰ πρόβατα. τοὺς μὲν γὰρ λέοντας καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διὰ τὴν ἀλκὴν καὶ τὴν ἀγριότητα δυσπιστότερα εἶναι, καὶ τὰ μὲν οὐδ᾽ ὅλως πελάζειν, τὰ δ᾽ εὐθὺς ἀποχωρεῖν, οὐχ ἡδόμενα τῷ μέλει. τὰ δὲ πτηνὰ καὶ τὰ πρόβατα [p. 286] μᾶλλόν τε προσιέναι καὶ μηκέτ᾽ ἀπαλλάττεσθαι: τὰ μὲν οἶμαι διὰ τὸ εὔηθες καὶ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν, τῶν δὲ ὀρνίθων μουσικὸν δήπου τὸ γένος αὐτὸ καὶ φιλῳδόν. ζῶντος μὲν οὖν Ὀρφέως συνέπεσθαι αὐτῷ πανταχόθεν ἀκούοντα αὐτοῦ ὁμοῦ καὶ νεμόμενα: καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνον ἔν τε τοῖς ὄρεσι καὶ περὶ τὰς νάπας τὰ πολλὰ διατρίβειν:ἀποθανόντος δὲ ἐρημωθέντα ὀδύρεσθαι καὶ χαλεπῶς φέρειν: ὥστε τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ Καλλιόπην διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν εὔνοιαν καὶ φιλίαν αἰτησαμένην παρὰ Διὸς τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν μεταβαλεῖν εἰς ἀνθρώπων τύπον, τὰς μέντοι ψυχὰς διαμένειν,

  [64] For the lions and other animals of that sort were more distrustful because of their strength and savage nature, and so would not even come near him, while others immediately withdrew, not being pleased with the music; but the feathered creatures and the sheep not only came to him more readily but also did not leave him afterwards — the sheep, no doubt, because of their guilelessness and fondness for human society, while the birds, of course, are a musical tribe themselves and fond of song. So then, as long as Orpheus was alive they followed him from every quarter, listening as they fed — for indeed he spent his time for the most part on the mountains and about the glens; but when he died, in their desolation they wailed and were distressed; and so it came about that the mother of Orpheus, Calliopê, because of her goodwill and affection t
oward her son, begged Zeus to change their bodies into human form; yet their souls remained as they had been before.”

  [65] οἷαι πρότερον ἦσαν. χαλεπὸν οὖν ἤδη ἐστὶ τὸ λειπόμενον τοῦλόγου, καὶ δέδοικα πρὸς ὑμᾶς σαφῶς αὐτὸ εἰπεῖν. ἔλεγε γὰρ ἐξ ἐκείνων γένος τι φῦναι Μακεδόνων, καὶ τοῦτο αὖθις ὕστερον μετὰ Ἀλεξάνδρου διαβὰν ἐνθάδε οἰκῆσαι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δὴ τὸν τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων δῆμον ἄγεσθαι μὲν ὑπὸ ᾠδῆς, ὡς οὐδένας ἄλλους, κἂν ἀκούσωσι κιθάρας ὁποιασοῦν, ἐξεστάναι καὶ φρίττεινκατὰ μνήμην τὴν Ὀρφέως. εἶναι δὲ τῷ τρόπῳ κοῦφον καὶ ἀνόητον, ὡς ἐκ τοιούτου σπέρματος: ἐπεὶ τούς γε ἄλλους Μακεδόνας ἀνδρείους καὶ πολεμικοὺς γενέσθαι καὶ τὸ ἦθος βεβαίους.

  [65] Well, the remainder of the tale from this point on is painful and I am reluctant to tell it to you in plain language. For the Phrygian went on to say that from those wild creatures whom Zeus transformed a tribe of Macedonians was born, and that it was this tribe which at a later time crossed over with Alexander and settled here. He added that this is the reason why the people of Alexandria are carried away by song as no other people are, and that if they hear music of the lyre, however bad, they lose their senses and are all aquiver in memory of Orpheus. And he said that they are giddy and foolish in behaviour, coming as they do from such a stock, since the other Macedonians certainly have shown themselves to be manly and martial and steadfast of character.