Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  The Thirty-fourth, or Second Tarsic, Discourse

  I am well aware, men of Tarsus, that it is customary both here and elsewhere for citizen to mount the platform and give advice; not just any citizens, but those who are prominent and men of wealth, and particularly those who have honourably performed their special services toward the state. For it is not reasonable, if I may say so, that you should have your share in the possessions of the wealthy but fail to profit by their intelligence, whatever that may be. And yet, whenever you wish to listen to harpists or pipes or to enjoy the sight of athletes, you do not call upon only men of wealth or your fellow citizens, but rather upon those who have expert knowledge and capacity, and this is true not only of you but of everybody like you.

  [2] οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο λανθάνει με, ὅτι τοὺς ἐν τούτῳ τῷ σχήματι σύνηθες μέν ἐστι τοῖς πολλοῖς Κυνικοὺς καλεῖν: οὐ μόνον δὲ οὐδὲν οἴονται διαφέρειν αὑτῶν οὐδ᾽ ἱκανοὺς εἶναι περὶ πραγμάτωνσπουδαίων διαλέγεσθαι,ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ σωφρονεῖν ἡγοῦνται, μαινομένους δέ τινας ἀνθρώπους καὶ ταλαιπώρους εἶναι. σκώπτειν δὲ καὶ καταγελᾶν ἔνιοι τούτων ἑτοίμως ἔχουσι καὶ πολλάκις μηδὲ σιγῶσιν ἐπιτρέπειν,

  [2] However, I am well aware also that it is customary for most people to give the name of Cynic to men who dress as I do; not only do they think Cynics to be no better than themselves and incompetent in practical affairs, but they consider them to be not even of sound mind to begin with, but a crazy, wretched lot. And some are prone to mock and ridicule such people, and all too often not even to endure their silence, much less listen patiently when they speak.

  [3] οὐχ ὅπως λεγόντων ἀνέχεσθαι. ἔτι δέ φασιν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῷ παρόντι καὶ λίαν παρωξύνθαι πρὸς τοὺς φιλοσόφους. καὶ καταρᾶσθαίγε, οὐ πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ ἐνίοις αὐτῶν, πάνυ μὲν εὐλαβῶς καὶ μετρίως τοῦτο ποιοῦντας, ὅτι μὴ κοινῇ κατὰ πάντων ἐβλασφημεῖτε, εἴ τι οἱ ἐνθάδε ἡμάρτανον, ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἴσως ἀγνοοῦντας, ὅτι, εἴπερ κατηρᾶσθε, οὐ τοῖς φιλοσόφοις. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν οὐδεὶς φιλόσοφος τῶν ἀδίκων καὶ πονηρῶν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν τῶν ἀνδριάντων περιίῃγυμνότερος. οἱ δὲ δὴ τὴν πατρίδα βλάπτοντες καὶ συνιστάμενοι κατὰ τῶν πολιτῶν πόρρω που δοκοῦσιν εἶναί μοι τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος. [p. 317]

  [3] And furthermore, I hear that at the present moment you have a personal grievance against philosophers, and indeed that you uttered curses against them — not as a class, to be sure, but in a few instances, displaying great reserve and moderation in so doing, inasmuch as you refrained from cursing philosophers in general if merely the philosophers in Tarsus were guilty of some blunder, but possibly failing to note that, though you cursed indeed, it was not really at philosophers. For no one is a philosopher who belongs among the unjust and wicked, not even if he goes about more naked than the statues are. But those, in truth, who seek to harm their fellow-citizens seem to me somewhat far removed from that classification.

  [4] τί ποτ᾽ οὖν ἐλπίσας καὶ τί βουληθεὶς παρελήλυθα τοιοῦτος ὢν ἐν καιρῷ τοιούτῳ; μανίας γὰρ τοῦτο ἀληθινῆς. ὅτι μηδενὸς αὐτὸς δέομαι παρ᾽ ὑμῶν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας ὠφελείας ἕνεκα ἐσπούδακα. ἐὰν οὖν μὴ ἀνάσχησθέ μου, δῆλον ὅτι ὑμᾶς αὐτούς, οὐκ ἐμέ, ζημιώσετε. καίτοι οὐ προσήκει γε ὑμῖν, εἴ με ἡγεῖσθε καὶ τῷ ὄντι μαίνεσθαι, δι᾽ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀκοῦσαι. μὴ γὰρ οἴεσθε ἀετοὺς μὲν καὶ ἱέρακας προσημαίνειν ἀνθρώποις τὸ δέον, καὶ τὴν παρὰ τῶν τοιούτων συμβουλὴν πιστὴν εἶναι διὰ τὸ αὐτόματον καὶ τὸ θεῖον, ἄνδρα δὲ ἀφιγμένον οὕτως καὶ μηδαμόθεν ὑμῖν προσήκοντα μὴ κατὰ τὸ δαιμόνιον ἥκειν ἐροῦντα καὶ συμβουλεύσοντα.

  [4] Then in what expectation and with what purpose has a man of my stamp come before you at such a crisis? For such a step savours of real madness. I am here because there is nothing which I myself require of you, while on the contrary I have been much concerned to be of service to you. If, then, you refuse to bear with me, clearly it will be your loss and not my own. Yet is it not fitting, if you believe that I am really mad, that you should for that very reason listen to me? For you must not think that eagles and falcons foretell to mankind what is required of them and that the counsel derived from such creatures is trustworthy because of its spontaneity and its divine inspiration, while refusing to believe that a man who has come, as I have come, having no connection with you from any point of view, has come by divine guidance to address and counsel you.

  [5] καίτοι τὰ μὲν τῶν οἰωνῶν εἰκάζειν δεῖ, τῶν δὲ ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ λεγομένων ἔστιν ἀκούσασι συνιέναι καὶ σκέψασθαι, ἐὰν ἄρα σαφῶς ᾖ τι χρήσιμον. βούλομαι δέ, ἐπεὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἐμνήσθην, ἐν Φρυγίᾳ τι συμβὰν εἰπεῖν, ἵν᾽ εὐθὺς ἐνθένδε μου καταγελᾶν ἔχητε. ἀνὴρ Φρὺξ ἐπὶ κτήνους ἐβάδιζεν. ὡς δ᾽ ἐθεάσατό τινα κορώνην, οἰωνισάμενος, οἱ γὰρ Φρύγες τὰ τοιαῦτα δεινοί, λίθῳ βάλλει καί πως τυγχάνει αὐτῆς. πάνυ οὖν ἥσθη, καὶ νομίσας εἰς ἐκείνην τετράφθαι τὸ χαλεπὸν ἀναιρεῖται καὶ ἀναβὰς ἤλαυνεν. ἡ δὲ μικρὸν διαλιποῦσα ἀνέσφηλε: τὸ δὲ κτῆνος πτοηθὲν ἀποβάλλει τὸν ἄνδρα, καὶ ὃς πεσὼν κατάγνυσι τὸ σκέλος. ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὖν οὕτως ἀπήλλαξεν, ἀχάριστος γενόμενος περὶ τὸ σύμβολον.

  [5] Moreover, the messages of birds of omen require conjecture for their interpretation, whereas, as soon as one has heard my message one can understand its meaning and can take it under consideration, if in fact it clearly is something useful.

  But now that I am on the subject, I want to tell you something that happened in Phrygia, in order that at the very outset you may have an opportunity to laugh at my expense. A man of Phrygia was riding on an ox. And when he spied a crow, having made the proper observation of the omen (for Phrygians are clever at that sort of thing), he hurled a stone at it and, by good luck, struck the bird. Accordingly he was much pleased, and, thinking that his own ill-fortune had thus been diverted to the crow, he picked up the bird, remounted the ox, and rode along. But the crow after a brief interval recovered; and the ox, taking fright, threw the man, and he broke his leg in the fall. So that is the way he fared for having shown ingratitude for the sign.

  [6] ἐγὼ δὲ πολὺ μοι δοκῶ τῆς κορώνης ἀσφαλέστερον βεβουλεῦσθαι καὶ πρὸς εὐγνωμονεστέρους ἄνδρας ἥκειν τοῦ Φρυγός. ἐὰν γὰρ ὑμῖν δοκῶ φλυαρεῖν, οὐ δήπου λίθοις βαλεῖτέ με, ἀλλὰ θορυβήσετε. φέρε οὖν, ἐπεὶ σιωπᾶτε καὶ ὑπομένετε, πρῶτον μὲν ἐκεῖνο, εἰ μὴ σαφῶς ἴστε, ἐπιδείξω, ὅτι δεῖσθε γνώμης ἐν τῷ παρόντι,
καὶ τοιαῦτα ὑμῶν τὰ πράγματά ἐστιν ὥστε βουλῆς ἄξια εἶναι καὶ πολλῆς προνοίας: ἔπειθ᾽, ὅτι μηδεὶς ὑμῖν δύναται ῥᾳδίως τούτων τὸ δέον παραινέσαι, οἱ μὲν ἀγνοίᾳ τοῦ συμφέροντος, οἱ δέ τινες καὶ δειλίᾳ τῇ πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἢ τῇ πρὸς ἑτέρους καὶ τὸ αὑτῶν ἴσως μᾶλλ ἔνιοι σκοποῦντες:

  [6] But I, methinks, have planned much more safely than the crow, and have come to men who are more considerate than the Phrygian. For if I seem to you to be talking rubbish, you will surely not pelt me with stones but will merely raise a hubbub.

  Well then, since you are silent and indulgent toward me, first of all I wish to point out to you one thing, in case you are not fully aware of it — that you need good judgement in the present emergency, and that your problems are such as to merit counsel and much foresight; secondly, that no man in this company can readily advise you as to the proper course of action, some being really ignorant of your true advantage and some being swayed by fear of you or of others, and in certain instances, I dare say, looking rather to their own interests.

  [7] ἔπειτα, ἣν αὐτὸς ἔχω γνώμην περὶ τούτων, καὶ τί πράξασιν ὑμῖν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος καὶ πῶς καθόλου προϊσταμένοις [p. 318] τῆς πόλεως εἰς ἅπαντα καὶ τὸν αὖθις οἶμαι συνοίσειν χρόνον. ὑμῖν γάρ, ἄνδρες Ταρσεῖς, συμβέβηκε μὲν πρώτοις εἶναι τοῦ ἔθνους, οὐ μόνον τῷ μεγίστην ὑπάρχειν τὴν πόλιν τῶν ἐν τῇ Κιλικίᾳ καὶ μητρόπολιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι καὶ τὸν δεύτερον Καίσαραὑπὲρ πάντας ἔσχετε οἰκείως ὑμῖν διακείμενον. τὸ γὰρ δι᾽ ἐκεῖνον ἀτύχημα τῇ πόλει συμβὰν εἰκότως αὐτὸν εὔνουν ὑμῖν ἐποίει καὶ σπουδάζειν, ὅπως μείζονες ὑμῖν φανήσονται τῶν δι᾽ αὐτὸν συμφορῶν αἱ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ χάριτες.

  [7] Next I shall indicate my own opinion with reference to these affairs and suggest by what course of action on your part at the moment and by what general policy in your leadership of the city, things will, as I believe, work out in all respects to your advantage for the future also.

  For, men of Tarsus, it has come to pass that you are foremost among your people, not merely because your city is the greatest of all the cities of Cilicia and a metropolis from the start, but also because you beyond all others gained the friendly support of the second Caesar. For the misfortune that befell the city on his account naturally made him well disposed toward you, and eager that the favours received at his hands should appear in your eyes of greater importance than the misfortunes he had occasioned.

  [8] τοιγαροῦν ἅ τις ἂν φίλοις ὄντως καὶ συμμάχοις καὶ τηλικαύτην προθυμίαν ἐπιδειξαμένοις κἀκεῖνοσὑμῖν παρέσχε, χώραν, νόμους, τιμήν, ἐξουσίαν τοῦ ποταμοῦ, τῆς θαλάττης τῆς καθ᾽ αὐτούς: ὅθεν ταχὺ μείζων ἐγένετο ἡ πόλις καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ πολύν τινα χρόνον διελθεῖν τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁλώσεως, καθάπερ οἱ μεγάλῃ μὲν νόσῳ χρησάμενοι, ταχὺ δ᾽ ἀνασφήλαντες, ἐπειδὰν τύχωσιν ἱκανῆς τῆς μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπιμελείας, πολλάκις μᾶλλον

  [8] Accordingly everything a man might bestow upon those who were truly friends and allies and had displayed such eagerness in his behalf he has bestowed upon you: land, laws, honour, control of the river and of the sea in your quarter of the world. And this is why your city grew rapidly, and also because not much time had elapsed since its capture; just as with men who have experienced serious illness but have speedily recovered: when they receive adequate care thereafter, they are frequently in better health than before.

  [9] εὐέκτησαν. καὶ μὴν τά γε ἐφεξῆς οὐχ ὡς οἴεταί τις ὤνησε τὴν πόλιν τὸ γενέσθαι τινὰς τῶν ἡγεμόνων βιαίους καὶ τούτοις ἐπεξελθεῖν ὑμᾶς. πρὸς μέν γε τὸ φανῆναί τινας ὄντας καὶ μὴ μόνον ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις βοηθῆσαι, καὶ νὴ Δία ὥστε τοὺς αὖθις ὀκνηρότερον ἐξαμαρτάνειν, συνήνεγκε τὸ δίκην ἐκείνους ὑποσχεῖν:ἄλλως δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἐπίφθονον ἐποίησε καὶ δυσχερεστέρους ὑμᾶς δοκεῖν φύσει καὶ ῥᾳδίως αἰτιᾶσθαι. τὸ γὰρ πολλάκις ἐγκαλεῖν ἤδη ποτὲ ἔδοξε τοῦ συκοφαντεῖν σημεῖον, ἄλλως τε ὁπόταν περὶ ἡγεμόνων ὁ λόγος ᾖ πρὸς ἡγεμόνας. οὐ γὰρ τῷ πλέον τι πάσχειν, ἀλλὰ τῷ μὴ ἐθέλειν ἄρχεσθαι τὴν ἀπέχθειαν ὑπονοοῦσι

  [9] Furthermore, as to subsequent events at least, contrary to popular belief it benefited your city when some of your superior officers proved to be men of violence and you proceeded to prosecute them. Certainly in order to show that you amounted to something, and could aid yourselves and others too — and also, by Zeus, to make their successors not quite so ready to do wrong — it was really beneficial for those men of violence to pay the penalty for their misdeeds; and yet, in another way, it made the city an object of hatred, and gave you the reputation of being naturally captious and prone to bring accusations rashly. For to make many accusations has ere this been held to be a sign of malicious prosecution, especially when the accusation involves men in authority, and is brought before men in authority. For people suspect that the hostility arose, not because you were treated too severely, but because you were unwilling to submit to authority.

  [10] γίγνεσθαι. πάλιν τοίνυν ἕτερον πρᾶγμα συμβὰν ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν τρόπον τινὰ ὅμοιον τούτῳ γέγονεν. οἱ γὰρ Αἰγαῖοι φιλοτιμίαν ἀνόητον ἐπανελόμενοι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, τὸ περὶ τὰς ἀπογραφὰς ἐξαμαρτάνοντες, αὐτοὶ μὲν ἔπταισαν, ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν καθ᾽ ὑμῶν φθόνον καὶ τοιαύτην τινὰ ἡσυχῇ διαβολὴν εἰργάσαντο πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ὡς

  [10] To continue then, another happening in which you were concerned has, in a measure, turned out like that just mentioned. For the people of Aegae, having resumed a foolish quarrel with you, being at fault in the matter of the registers, did indeed fail in that enterprise, but they made the dislike against you still greater, and they stealthily developed a prejudice against your city as being obnoxious and oppressive toward the other cities.

  [11] ἐπαχθῆ καὶ βαρεῖαν ταῖς ἄλλαις. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πρότερον [p. 319] χρόνου. τὰ δὲ νῦν οἵ γε Μαλλῶται διαφέρονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς, αὐτοὶ μὲν ἅπαντα ἀδικοῦντες καὶ θρασυνόμενοι, τῷ δὲ ἀσθενεῖς εἶναι καὶ πολὺ ἥττους ἀεὶ μᾶλλον τὴν τῶν ἀδικουμένων τάξιν ἀεὶ λαμβάνοντες. οὐ γὰρ ἃ ποιοῦσιν ἔνιοι σκοποῦσιν, ἀλλὰ τίνες ὄντες, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ἢ βιαζομένους ἐθέλουσιν ἐξετάζειν πολλάκις, ἀλλ᾽ οὓς εἰκὸς βιάζεσθαι τῷ δύνασθαι πλέον. εἰ γοῦν ὑφ᾽ ὑμῶν ἐπράχθη τι τοιοῦτον οἷον ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνων νῦν γέγονε, πορθεῖ
ν ἂν ἐδοκεῖτε τὰς πόλεις καὶ ἀποστάσεως ἄρχειν καὶ πολέμου, καὶ στρατοπέδου δεῖν ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς.

  [11] And these instances, it is true, are drawn from times gone by; but at this present moment the people of Mallus certainly are at odds with you and, although wholly in the wrong themselves and guilty of insolence, yet because of their weakness and their inferiority as compared with you, they always assume the air of being the injured party. For it is not what men do that some persons consider but who they are; nor is it the wrong-doers or those who actually resort to force whom they often wish to criticize, but rather those who may be expected to resort to force because they have the greater power. At any rate, if anything had been done by you such as has been done by Mallus in the present instance, people would think that you were sacking their cities and starting a revolution and war, and that an army must take the field against you.

  [12] οὐκοῦν δεινὰ πάσχομεν, ἐρεῖ τις, εἰ τούτοις μὲν ἐξέσται ποιεῖν ὅ, τι ἂν ἐθέλωσι καὶ τοῦτο ἀπολαύσουσι τῆς ἐρημίας τῆς ἑαυτῶν, ἡμεῖς δὲ κινδυνεύσομεν, ἐὰν μόνον κινηθῶμεν. ἔστω δεινὸν καὶ ἄδικον. ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ, εἴ τι μὴ δίκαιον πέφυκε γίγνεσθαι, δεῖ πρὸς τοῦτο φιλονικοῦντας αὑτοὺς περιβάλλειν ἀτόπῳ τινί, μᾶλλον δὲ προορᾶν καὶ φυλάττεσθαι. τὸ γὰρ συμβαῖνον ὅμοιόν ἐστι τῷ περὶ τοὺς ἀθλητάς, ὅταν ἐλάττων πρὸς πολὺ μείζω μάχηται.