[66] ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν κιθαρῳδῶν τῶν παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἕτερον τοιοῦτόν τινα λόγον. τὰ γὰρ ζῷα ἐν τῇ συνουσίᾳ τῇ πρὸς τὸν Ὀρφέα τὰ μὲνἄλλα ἥδεσθαι μόνον καὶ ἐκπεπλῆχθαι, μιμεῖσθαι δὲ μηδὲν ἐπιχειρεῖν: τῶν κυνῶν δὲ ἐνίους, οἷα δὴ γένος ἀναιδὲς καὶ περίεργον ἐπιθέσθαι τῇ μουσικῇ, καὶ μελετᾶν τότ᾽ εὐθὺς ἀπιόντας καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς καὶ τὰ εἴδη μεταβαλόντας εἰς ἀνθρώπους διαφυλάττειν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. εἶναι δὲ τοῦτο αὐτὸ τὸ γένος τῶν κιθαρῳδῶν: διὸ μὴδύνασθαι παντάπασιν ἐκβῆναι τὴν αὑτῶν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ μικρὸν μέν τι διασῴζειν τῆς Ὀρφέως διδασκαλίας, τὸ πολὺ δ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐμμένειν κύνειον τοῦ μέλους. ταῦτα μὲν ἐκεῖνος ἔπαιζεν ὁ Φρύξ.
[66] The Phrygian also spoke regarding the harpists of your city about as follows: He said that in their association with Orpheus the other animals merely experienced pleasure and wonder but made no attempt at imitation; but that some of the dogs, being of course a shameless and inquisitive bred, applied themselves to music and then and there began to practice it, going off by themselves, and that after they had been changed to human form they maintained their addiction to the art. And he declared that this very breed is the stock from which the harpists sprang; therefore they have been unable wholly to slough off their own nature, but, while retaining some small part of the instruction derived from Orpheus, for the most part their music has remained canine in character.
[67] ἐγὼ δ᾽ ὑμῖν βούλομαι Λακεδαιμονίων ἔργον εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἐκεῖνοι προσηνέχθησαν ἀνδρὶ κιθαρῳδῷ θαυμαζομένῳ τότε ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν.[p. 287] ὅτι γὰρ λίαν ἡδὺς ἐδόκει καὶ περιττὸς εἶναι, μὰ Δί᾽ οὐκ ἐτίμησαν αὐτόν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀφείλοντο τὴν κιθάραν καὶ τὰς χορδὰς ἐξέτεμον, ἀπιέναι προειπόντες ἐκ τῆς πόλεως. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν τὸ πρᾶγμα οὕτως ὑφεωρῶντο, καὶ ἐφύλαττον τὰ ὦτα, ὡς ἂν μὴ διαφθαρῶσιν αἱ ἀκοαὶ μηδὲ τρυφερώτεραι γένωνται τοῦ δέοντος: ὑμεῖς δὲ οὕτως ἀγεννῶς δεδούλωσθε ὑπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης ἡδονῆς.
[67] All this the Phrygian spoke in jest. But I want to tell you something that happened at Sparta, how the people of that land behaved toward a harpist who was much in vogue among the Greeks in those days. Just because this harpist had the reputation of being very charming and unusual, they did not, by Zeus, honour him, but instead they took his harp from him, cut away the strings, and ordered him to leave their city. Such, you see, were the misgivings the Spartans entertained regarding his calling and such the care they took of their ears, lest their hearing be corrupted or become more fastidious than was fitting; but you have been thus ignominiously enslaved by that kind of pleasure.
[68] δἰ ὑμᾶς δὲ ἤδη μοι δοκεῖ τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ τῶν ῥητόρων ἅπτεσθαι καὶ φιλοσόφων ἐνίων: μᾶλλον δὲ τοὺς ῥήτορας οὐδὲ γνῶναι ῥᾴδιον. ὡς γὰρ ὁρῶσι τὴν σπουδὴν ὑμῶν τὴν περὶ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, πάντες δὴ ᾄδουσι καὶ ῥήτορες καὶ σοφισταί, καὶ πάντα περαίνεται δἰ ᾠδῆς: ὥστ᾽, εἴ τις παρίοι δικαστήριον, οὐκ ἂν γνοίη ῥᾳδίως πότερον ἔνδον πίνουσιν ἢ δικάζονται: κἂν σοφιστοῦ δὲ οἴκημα πλησίον ᾖ, οὐκ ἔσται γνῶναι τὴν διατριβήν. δοκεῖ δέ μοι, καὶ ἐν τῷ γυμνασίῳ πορϊόντες ἤδη γυμνάσονται πρὸς μέλος καὶ τοὺς κάμνοντας ἰάσονται. περὶ γὰρ τῆς τέχνης καὶ νῦν ἡμῖν διαλέγονται ᾄδοντες.
[68] And through your influence, it would seem, the disease is already affecting, not only public speakers, but some philosophers as well — though it would be more correct to say that public speakers are no longer easy to recognize. For since they observe your interest in singing and your passion for it, they all sing now, public speakers as well as sophists, and everything is done to music; if you were to pass a courtroom, you could not easily decide whether a drinking-party was in progress or a trial; and if there is in your neighbourhood a sophist’s lecture-room, you will be unable to distinguish the lecture. And in my opinion people will presently go so far as to use song to accompany their exercise in the gymnasium, yes, even to heal the sick. For even now, when physicians discourse to you on their art, they chant.
[69] κινδυνεύει δ᾽ ὁ βίος σχεδὸν ἅπας γεγονέναι κῶμος εἷς, οὐχ ἡδὺς οὐδὲ πρᾷος, ἀλλ᾽ ἄγριος καὶ χαλεπός, ἅμα ὀρχουμένων, τερετιζόντων, μιαιφονούντων. οἱ δ᾽ οὖν Λακεδαιμόνιοι πλεῖστον ὅσον ὑμῶν διέφερον, περὶ ταῦτα, ὡς ἔφην, εὐλαβῶς ἔχοντες. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄρχειν ἦσαν ἱκανοί, καὶ τῶν μὲν Ἑλλήνων προέστησαν πολλὰ ἔτη, τοὺς δὲ βαρβάρους ἐνίκων ἀεὶ πάντας: ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ ἄρχεσθαι καλῶς ἐπίστασθε. τοιγαροῦν εἰ μὴ τῶν προεστηκότων ἐτύχετε, χαλεπῶς ἂν οἶμαι καὶ ἐσῴζεσθε. τεκμήριον δὲ τὰ τελευταῖα συμβάντα περὶ ὑμᾶς, ὅτε γὰρ καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς ἦτε.
[69] But in all likelihood life with you has become, one may almost say, just one continuous revel, not a sweet or gentle revel either, but savage and harsh, a revel of dancers, whistlers, and murderers all combined. But the Spartans were vastly different from you Alexandrians, for they were cautious in these matters, as I have said. For while they showed capacity to rule, having held the leadership in Greece for many years and being always victorious over the barbarians without exception, you do not understand even how to be good subjects. Therefore, if you had not been fortunate in your present leaders, hardly, I fancy, would your existence be secure.
[70] οὐχ ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς ὑμῶν περὶ αὔλησιν ἠσχολεῖτο καὶ μόνῳ τούτῳ προσεῖχεν, ὑμεῖς δὲ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον μὲν ἀπεχθῶς, πρὸς ἀλλήλους δὲ στασιαστικῶς διέκεισθε, χωρὶς ἕκαστοι καὶ καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς διαφθείροντες τὰ πράγματα, Σιμάριστοι καὶ τοιαῦθ᾽ ἕτερα ἑταιρειῶν ὀνόματα: ὥστε φυγεῖν αὐτὸν ἠναγκάσατε καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα κατιέναι πολέμῳ καὶ διὰ Ῥωμαίων; καὶ τέλος ἐκεῖνος μὲν αὐλῶν, ὑμεῖς δὲ ὀρχούμενοι [p. 288]
[70] As evidence I cite the most recent chapters in your history. For instance, when you were still independent, did not your king busy himself with piping and concentrate on that alone; and were you not on hostile terms with him and torn with faction among yourselves, each faction separately and independently working the ruin of the state — Simaristoi and other parties of like names — in consequence of which you forced your king to flee, and later on to obtain his return by means of war, and with the aid of Romans, too? And finally he with his piping and you with your dancing destroyed the state.
[71] τὴν πόλιν ἀπωλέσατε. καὶ νῦν οὕτως ἐπιεικεῖς ἔχ�
�ντες ἡγεμόνας εἰς ὑποψίαν αὐτοὺς καθ᾽ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἠγάγετε, ὥστε ἐπιμελεστέρας χρῆναι φυλακῆς ᾠήθησαν ἢ πρότερον: καὶ τοῦτο εἴργασθε δι᾽ ἀγερωχίαν, οὐκ ἐπιβουλεύοντες. ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἂν ἀποσταίητέ τινος; πολεμήσαιτε δ᾽ ἂν ὑμεῖς μίαν ἡμέραν; οὐκ ἐν τῇγενομένῃ ταραχῇ μέχρι σκωμμάτων ἐθρασύνοντο οἱ πολλοί, τινὲς δὲ ὀλίγοι βάλλοντες ὅ, τι ἔτυχον ἅπαξ ἢ δίς, ὥσπερ οἱ καταχέοντες τῶν παριόντων, κατέκειντο εὐθὺς ᾄδοντες, οἱ δ᾽ ἐπὶ τοὺς ὅρμους ᾔεσαν ὥσπερ ἐν ἑορτῇ πιούμενοι.
[71] And though you now have such reasonable men as governors, you have brought them to a feeling of suspicion toward themselves, and so they have come to believe that there is need of more careful watchfulness than formerly; and this you have brought about through arrogance and not through plotting. For would you revolt from anybody? Would you wage war a single day? Is it not true that in the disturbance which took place the majority went only as far as jeering in their show of courage, while only a few, after one or two shots with anything at hand, like people drenching passers-by with slops, quickly lay down and began to sing, and some went to fetch garlands, as if on their way to a drinking party at some festival?
[72] καὶ μὴν ἐκεῖνο μέμνησθε τὸ γελοῖον ὡς ὁ βέλτιστος ὑμῖν Κόνων ἐχρήσατο προελθών, οὗ μάλιστατὸ πλῆθος ὑμῶν συνειστήκει, καὶ δείξας τινὰ τόπον βραχὺν προηγόρευεν ὡς εἰ μὲν αὐτὸς ἐκεῖ προέλθοι, νενικηκὼς εἴη καὶ δέοι ὑμᾶς ἀπαλλάττεσθαι καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς καὶ παραχωρεῖν: εἰ δ᾽ ὑμεῖς, ἔφη, τέτταρα ἢ πέντε βήματα νικᾶτε, κἀγὼ βαδιοῦμαι: ταῦτα δὲ ἔλεγε, φειδόμενος ὑμῶν καὶ καταγελῶν καὶ καθάπερ παισὶ προσπαίζων.ἐπεὶ τὸ στράτευμα ἐφειστήκει κἀκεῖνος οὐδένα εἴα ἅπτεσθαι, γυμνοὺς ἅπαντας ὁρῶν καὶ ἑτοίμους ἀπόλλυσθαι. τί οὖν; ἐβιάσαντο μετὰ ταῦτα οἱ προπετεῖς καὶ ἀκόλαστοι καὶ ἐπίτηδες ἀνατρέψαι καὶ συγχέαι πάντα ἐπιβουλεύσαντες, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ὑμᾶς ἀνῆκαν ἕως ἐγεύσασθε πολέμου καὶ τὸ δεινὸν ἄχρι πείρας
[72] And surely you recall that comical incident — how the excellent Conon treated you when, advancing to the place where your forces were most concentrated and pointing out a little stretch of ground, he declared: “If I can get there myself, I am the victor, and you must depart by yourselves and leave the field; but if you,” said he, “can win your way as much as four or five steps, I will take a walk myself.” This he said out of a desire to spare you, laughing at you and playing with you as if you were children; since the army had halted and he would not permit a single soldier to lay hands on you, seeing, as he did, that you all were unarmed and faced with destruction. What then? Force was next employed by the headstrong and unruly spirits, who purposely aimed at a complete overthrow and utter chaos, and they did not let you go until you had had a taste of warfare, and what you formerly had dreaded had become a matter of bitter experience.
[73] προῆλθεν. τί δὴ καὶ τούτων ἐπεμνήσθην; ὅπως εἰδῆτε τὰ φυόμενα ἐκ τῆς περὶ τὸν βίον ταύτης ἀταξίας. οὐ γὰρ ἔστι τοὺς οὕτως ἐπτοημένους περὶ τὰ μικρὰ καὶ μηδενὸς ἄξια, φαύλως καὶ ἀκρατῶς ἔχοντας ἐν τούτοις ἃ πράττουσι καθ᾽ ἡμέραν, τἄλλα σωφρονεῖν καὶ περὶ τῶν μειζόνων ὀρθῶς βουλεύεσθαι. ἡ γὰρ τῶντρόπων κουφότης καὶ τὸ ἀλόγιστον οὐκ ἐᾷ μένειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐλάττοσιν οὐδ᾽ ἔχει μέτρον οὐδὲν ἡ ἄνοια τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πᾶν ὁμοίως πρόεισι καὶ παντὸς ἅπτεται μετὰ τῆς ἴσης εὐχερείας.
[73] Why, then, have I mentioned these events also? Because I wanted you to understand the natural outcome of this disorderliness that rules your lives. For it is not possible that those who get so excited over trifles and things of no importance, those who behave so thoughtlessly and with such lack of self-control in these matters of daily life, should be temperate in other matters and competent to plan wisely regarding things of greater moment. For the frivolity of your conduct and your lack of reason do not permit you to call a halt at things of minor importance, and the folly of your misconduct knows no bounds, but instead goes right on to any length without discrimination, and touches everything with equal recklessness.
[74] μὴ οὖν οἴεσθε περὶ μικρῶν εἶναι τὸν λόγον, ὅταν τις ὑμῖν διαλέγηται περὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις θορύβων. οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἡ πενίαταχὺ πέφυκε συμβαίνειν διὰ τὰς κατ᾽ ὀλίγον ζημίας, ὡς ἡ κακία πρόεισιν ἐκ τῶν κατὰ μέρος τούτων ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ τελευταῖον ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ πέρας καὶ τὸν ὄλεθρον αὐξηθεῖσα ἤγαγεν. [p. 289] καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ τὰ περὶ τὸ θέατρον. ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν εἰς τὸ στάδιον ἔλθητε, τίς ἂν εἰπεῖν δύναιτο τὰς ἐκεῖ κραυγὰς καὶ θόρυβον καὶ ἀγωνίαν καὶ σχημάτων μεταβολὰς καὶ χρωμάτων καὶ βλασφημίας οἵας καὶ ὅσας ἀφίετε; εἰ γὰρ μὴ τοὺς ἵππους ἑωρᾶτε ἁμιλλωμένους καὶ τούτους συνήθεις, αὐτοὶ δ᾽ ὑπὸ μαστίγων ἠλαύνεσθε τῶν ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως χαλεπῶς διέκεισθε.
[74] So do not think that a man is dealing with trifles when he speaks to your about your disorders in the theatre. For poverty follows quickly enough from gradual losses, but not as quickly as wickedness progresses from these successive errors, until finally, having attained its growth, it brings men to the very end — destruction.
So much, then, on the subject of the theatre. However, when you enter the stadium, who could describe the shouts you utter there, and your hubbub and anguish and bodily contortions and change of colour, and the many awful curses that you emit? For if you were not merely watching the horses race — and horses, too, that are used to racing — but were yourselves being driven by the whips of tragedy, you would not exhibit the agony you do.
[75] αὐτὸν γὰρ οἶμαι τὸν Ἰξίονα λῆρον ἀποφαίνετε τὸν ἐν τῷ τροχῷ παρὰ τοῖς ποιηταῖς ἐνδεδεμένον καὶ κολαζόμενον διὰ τοιαύτην τινὰ ἀσέβειαν. φέρε οὖν, εἰ μεταξὺ θεῶν τις ὑμῖν ἐπιστὰς εἴποι διατεινάμενος,
δαιμόνιοι, μαίνεσθε καὶ οὐκέτι κεύθετε θυμῷ
βρωτὺν οὐδὲ ποτῆτα.
τί σφόδρα οὕτω κυκᾶσθε; τίς ἡ σπουδή; τίς ὁ ἀγών; οὐ γὰρ Πέλοψ ἐστὶν ὁ διώκων, οὐδ᾽ Οἰνόμαος οὐδὲ Μυρτίλος, ὁ μὲν δεύτερος ἀπὸ Διὸς γεγονώς, ὁ δὲ Ἑρμοῦ παῖς, οὐδὲ περὶ βασιλείας οὐδὲ γυναικὸς οὐδὲ θανάτου πρόκειται κρίσις, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστιν ὁ ἀγὼν ἀνδραπόδων ὑπὲρ
τοῦ τυχόντος ἀργυρίου, νῦν μὲν ἡττωμένων, νῦν δὲ νικώντων, ἀεὶ τῶν αὐτῶν: εἰ λέγοι ταῦτα, τί ἐρεῖτε;
[75] Why even Ixion himself, methinks, you show to have been a second-rater, the Ixion who is represented by the poets as bound on the wheel and punished for some such impiety as yours. Well then, if in the midst of it all some god should take his stand beside you and in a loud voice should say:
“Fools, you are mad; no more your spirit hides
Your food and drink.
Why are you so violently disturbed? What is the excitement? What the contest? For it is not Pelops who is driving, or Oenomaüs, or Myrtilus, nor is it a question of a kingship or a wife or a death that hangs in the balance, nay, it is only a contest of slaves for a paltry bit of silver, slaves who sometimes are defeated and sometimes victorious, but slaves in any case.”
[76] ἢ δῆλον ὅτι οὐδ᾽ ἀκούσεσθε παρ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν, οὐδὲ ἂν αὐτὸς ὑμῖν ὁ τοῦ Πέλοπος διαλέγηται πρόγονος; τίνα οὖν εὕρῃ τις ἐπικουρίαν ἢ τίνα ἐξιλάσασθαι δεῖ δαιμόνων; ἔστιν Ὀλυμπίασι κατὰ μέσον τὸν ἱππόδρομον Ταραξίππου Ποσειδῶνος βωμός, ἔνθα μάλιστα συνέβαινε τοὺς ἵππους πτοεῖσθαι καὶ πλεῖστα διαφθείρεσθαι τῶν ἁρμάτων. ἔδοξεν οὖν τοῖς Ἠλείοις ὡς δαιμονίου τινὸς ὄντος ἱδρύσασθαι βωμόν. καὶ τὸ λοιπόν φασιν ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνου γεγονέναι τὸν τόπον ἀσφαλῆ.
[76] If the god should speak thus, what would your reply be? Or is it clear that you would not even listen at such a moment as that, not even if the grandsire of Pelops were himself the speaker?
Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom Page 282