Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [24] καλῶς ἔχῃ, μιμεῖσθαι. ἐκεῖνοι τοίνυν κατὰ τοὺς ἀρχαίους ἐκείνους χρόνους Λευκανόν τινα ἄνθρωπον, ὅτι πρεσβείαν τινὰ εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἀπήγγειλε δωριστί, ἡσθέντες αὐτοῦ τῇ φωνῇ τά τε ἄλλα ὑπὲρ ὧν ἧκεν οὐκ ἄπρακτον ἀπεπέμψαντο καὶ ταλάντῳ ἐδωρήσαντο καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ σώματος ἐστήσαντο παρὰ τῶν ἀστυγειτόνων τόνων καὶ τῶν ἐκείνῃ Δωριέων, τῶν τε ἄλλων καὶ τῶν τὴν Ἰταλίαν [p. 23] κατοικούντων, ὡς εὖ τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ φιλοκάλως ἀμειψάμενοι ὑπὲρ τοῦ γένους τοῦ Δωρικοῦ, οὗ τὴν φωνὴν ἐπησκήκει ἄχρι τοῦ καὶ

  [24] Very well, in those early days, because a certain Lucanian spoke Doric in reporting some mission before the Assembly, those Syracusans were so pleased by his dialect that they not only sent him home successful in the general purposes of his mission but also presented him with a talent and set up a likeness of him, and on that account the Syracusans won much commendation from the neighbouring cities and from the Dorians of that region, especially from those who dwelt in Italy, who felt that they had requited the man in fine and elegant fashion in behalf of the Dorian race, whose dialect he had cultivated to the point of being actually eloquent in it.

  [25] λέγειν δυνατὸς εἶναι. εἰ δέ τις οὐ Λευκανὸς ὤν, ἀλλὰ Ῥωμαῖος, οὐδὲ τοῦ πλήθους, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἱπποτρόφων, οὐδὲ τὴν φωνὴν μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν γνώμην καὶ τὴν δίαιταν καὶ τὸ σχῆμα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐζηλωκώς, καὶ ταῦθ̓ οὕτως ἐγκρατῶς καὶ περιφανῶς, ὡς οὔτε τῶν πρὸ αὑτοῦ Ῥωμαίων οὔτε τῶν καθ̓ αὑτὸν Ἑλλήνων ῾εἰρήσεται γάῤ οὐδὲ εἷς: τῶν μὲν γὰρ Ἑλλήνων τοὺς ἀρίστους ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ἐκεῖσε πρὸς τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων πράγματα ἀποκλίνοντας, τὸν δὲ προστάτην πρὸς τὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ τούτων ἕνεκα καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ τὸ πολιτικὸν ἀξίωμα καὶ πάνθ̓ ἁπλῶς προϊέμενον, ἵν̓ αὐτῷ περιῇ ἓν ἀντὶ πάντων Ἕλληνι δοκεῖν τε καὶ εἶναι — εἶτα τοῦτον

  [25] Well, if some one who is not a Lucanian but a Roman, not one of the masses but of the equestrian order, one who has affected, not merely the language, but also the thought and manners and dress of the Greeks, and that too with such mastery and manifest success as no one among the Romans of early days or the Greeks of his own time, I must say, has achieved — for while the best of the Greeks over there may be seen inclining toward Roman ways, he inclines toward the Greek and to that end is sacrificing both his property and his political standing and absolutely everything, aiming to achieve one thing at the cost of all else, namely, not only to seem Greek but to be Greek too — taking all this into consideration, ought he not to have a bronze statue here in Corinth?

  [26] οὐκ ἐχρῆν παῤ ὑμῖν ἑστάναι χαλκοῦν; καὶ κατὰ πόλιν γε: παῤ ὑμῖν μέν, ὅτι Ῥωμαῖος ὢν ἀφηλληνίσθη, ὥσπερ ἡ πατρὶς ἡ ὑμετέρα, παρὰ Ἀθηναίοις δέ, ὅτι ἀττικίζει τῇ φωνῇ, παρὰ Λακεδαιμονίοις δέ, ὅτι φιλογυμναστεῖ, παρὰ πᾶσι δέ, ὅτι φιλοσοφεῖ καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἤδη τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐπῆρε συμφιλοσοφῆσαι αὐτῷ, οὐκ

  [26] Yes, and in every city — in yours because, though Roman, he has become thoroughly hellenized, even as your own city has; in Athens because he is Athenian in his speech; in Sparta because he is devoted to athletics; in all cities everywhere because he pursues the study of wisdom and already has not only roused many of the Greek to follow that pursuit with him but also attracted even many of the barbarians.

  [27] ὀλίγους δὲ καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐπεσπάσατο. ἐπ̓ αὐτὸ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἐδόκει ὑπὸ τῶν θεῶν οἷον ἐξεπίτηδες κατεσκευάσθαι, Ἕλλησι μέν, ἵνα ἔχωσιν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι τῆς Ἑλλάδος παράδειγμα ὡς οὐδὲν τὸ παιδευθῆναι τοῦ φῦναι πρὸς τὸ δοκεῖν διαφέρει: Ῥωμαίοις δέ, ἵνα μηδ̓ οἱ τὸ ἴδιον ἀξίωμα περιβεβλημένοι τὸ παιδεύεσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἀξίωμα παρορῶσι: Κελτοῖς δέ, ἵνα μηδὲ τῶν βαρβάρων μηδεὶς ἀπογιγνώσκῃ τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς παιδείας, βλέπων εἰς τοῦτον. ἐστάθη μὲν οὖν διὰ τοιαύτας τινὰς προφάσεις ῾ἵνα μὴ πλείους

  [27] Indeed it seems that he has been equipped by the gods for this express purpose — for the Greeks, so that the natives of that land may have an example before them to show that culture is no whit inferior to birth with respect to renown; for Romans, so that not even those who are wrapped up in their own self-esteem may disregard culture with respect to real esteem; for Celts, so that no one even of the barbarians may despair of attaining the culture of Greece when he looks upon this man.

  Well then, it is for some such reasons as these that I have been erected — not to expose myself to opprobrium by naming more.

  [28] λέγων δοκῶ προάγειν ἐμαυτὸν εἰς ἀπέχθειαν̓, ἔστι δ̓ οὐχ ὅμοιον ὑπὲρ ἀναστάσεως εἰκόνος βουλεύεσθαι καὶ καθαιρέσεως. διὰ τί; ὅτι ἕκαστος τούτων τῶν παῤ ὑμῖν ἀνακειμένων, εἴτε βελτίων [p. 24] εἴτε χείρων ἐστίν, ἤδη τὰ τῆς ὁσίας περίκειται, καὶ χρὴ τὴν πόλιν αὐτοῦ προεστάναι ὡς ἀναθήματος. πολλὰ ἄν τις ἔχοι εἰπεῖν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν Γοργίαν τὸν σοφιστὴν ἐν Δελφοῖς ἑστάναι, καὶ ταῦτα μετέωρον καὶ χρυσοῦν. Γοργίαν λέγω; ὅπου γε καὶ Φρύνην

  [28] But in truth planning for the erection of a statue is not like planning for its tearing down. Why? Because each one of these statues which have been erected by your city — be its subject better, be it worse — is at once invested with the attributes of sanctity, and the city should defend it as a votive offering. One might urge many reasons in support of the claim that Gorgias the sophist should not have a statue at Delphi, and what is more, a statue on a lofty base and made of gold. Why do I name Gorgias, when you may see there even Phrynê of Thespiae, perched on a pillar like Gorgias?

  [29] τὴν Θεσπιακὴν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν, ἐπὶ κίονος κἀκείνην ὡς Γοργίαν. ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν εὐθὺς ἐνστῆναι νόμιμον ἴσως καὶ πολιτικόν, τὸ δ̓ ὕστερον ἐλθόντας τῆς ἀναθέσεως ἀναλύειν πειρᾶσθαι τὰ δεδογμένα, Ἄπολλον, βαρύ: καὶ οὐδεὶς ἂν ἠνέσχετο τῶν Ἀμφικτυόνων. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὴ δέον ἐστάθησαν, τὸ σταθῆναι προλαβόντες δέον ἑστήκασιν, ἐξ οὗ προειλήφασιν. ὥσπερ γὰρ τῶν εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν αἱρουμένων κἂν ἀνάξιος ᾖ τις ἀρχῆς, τὸν γοῦν ἐνιαυτὸν ἐκεῖνον εἰς ὃν ᾑρέθη ἄρχων διατελεῖ, οὕτω δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἀνδριᾶσι κύριον εἶναι δεῖ τὸν χρόνον,

  [29] However that may be, while it is possibly legitimate and within the right of citizens to object at
the outset, later on to go and try to cancel the resolution authorizing the erection of a statue is, by Apollo, a grievous wrong; and none of the Amphictyons would have permitted it. For indeed if statues were erected wrongfully, once they have gained the advantage of having been erected they hold their position rightfully from the moment they gained that advantage. For just as with the officials who are elected for a year, even if one of them is unworthy of holding office, he continues in office at least for the year for which he was elected, so also with statues that term should be valid for which they were erected; and this term is all time to come.

  [30] ἐφ̓ ὃν ἐστάθησαν: ἔστι δὲ οὗτος πᾶς ὁ λοιπὸς χρόνος. ἢ τί διοίσετε τῶν τοὺς πηλίνους πλαττόντων; τί δὲ καλὸν ἕξετε λέγειν πρὸς τοὺς ἀπαιτοῦντας ὑμᾶς τὸν λόγον τοῦ τὰς μὲν τιμὰς εἶναι παῤ ὑμῖν θνητάς, τὰς δὲ ἀτιμίας ἀθανάτους; εἰ τοίνυν οὐδὲν αἰσχρὸν τοῦτό ἐστι, καίπερ ὂν δεινόν, οὐ κομιδῇ τετυφωμένης πολιτείας ἀνδριάντες ἐπέτειοι, ὥσπερ οἱ καρποί; οὓς γὰρ οὐχ ἵν̓ εὐθὺς ἐκλείπωσιν, ἀλλ̓ ὅπως πλεῖστον χρόνον παραμείνωσι, χαλκοῦς

  [30] Otherwise how will you differ from the men who fashion their images of clay? And what fine answer will you have to offer those who demand of you the reason why the honours in your city are mortal but the dishonours immortal? If, then, this practice is in no wise disgraceful — as it certainly is shocking — what an absolutely crazy government it is whose statues are annuals, like their crops! For men whom you honour with statues of bronze, not to have them desert you immediately, but to have them remain with you as long as possible, you show to be of softer stuff than even the images of wax.

  [31] ἵστατε, τούτους ἀποφαίνετε καὶ τῶν κηρίνων μαλακωτέρους. ἢ νὴ Δἴ ὅτι ὀφθῆναι πονηροὺς ὕστερον συνέβη; εἰ μὲν ὕστερον γεγόνασιν, οὐκ ἀφίησι τὴν πόλιν τῆς αἰτίας: οὐ γὰρ τῶν μελλόντων, ἀλλὰ τῶν παρῳχηκότων ὑμεῖς δίδοτε τὰς τιμάς. εἰ δὲ πρότερον ὢν τοιοῦτος ὕστερον κατωπτεύθη, ποτέρως ἂν οἴεσθε μᾶλλον παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εὐδοκιμῆσαι καὶ ποτέρως ἂν τοὺς εὖ βουλομένους ὑμᾶς ποιεῖν προκαλέσασθαι, τὴν κρίσιν ἀνάδικον ποιήσαντες ἢ τοῖς ἅπαξ δεδογμένοις ἐμμείναντες; ἐγὼ μὲν οὕτως ἡγοῦμαι. τὸ

  [31] Or, by Heaven, will the excuse be that men thus honoured were later on, as it happened, seen to be rogues? If they have turned rogues subsequently, that does not free the city of its guilt; for it is not because of what is to be but rather because of what has been that you confer your honours. If, on the other hand, a man who previously was a scoundrel was only subsequently discovered to be so, by which course of action do you suppose you would be more likely to win esteem among the Greeks, and by which course would you more effectively appeal to those who wish to do you favours — by undoing your decision, or by abiding by what has been decided once for all? As for myself, I believe it is by the second course of action. For the one course is that of men who have missed their aim, the other that of men of steady purpose.

  [32] μὲν γὰρ ἠτυχηκότων, τὸ δὲ βεβαίων ἐστὶν ἀνθρώπων. οὔπω λέγω τὸ μέγιστον, ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ διαβολῆς, ἀλλ̓ ἐκ καταδίκης, μηδ̓ ἐκ τῆς τυχούσης αἰτίας, ἀλλ̓ ἐκ τῆς μεγίστης δεῖ τὴν τηλικαύτην, [p. 25] ἂν ἄρα δέῃ, τιμὴν ἀνατραπῆναι. διαβολῆς μὲν γὰρ ἕνεκα κἂν Σωκράτης εἴη τῶν νέων διαφθορεὺς καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις νομιζομένων ἀνατροπεύς, ἀπὸ τῶν θεῶν ἀρχόμενος. τίνας γὰρ οὗτοι οὐ διαβεβλήκασιν οἱ πάντα διαβάλλοντες; οὐ Σωκράτην; οὐ Πυθαγόραν; οὐ Πλάτωνα; οὐκ αὐτὸν τὸν Δία καὶ τὸν Ποσειδῶ καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω

  [32] I have not yet mentioned the most important consideration, which is that so signal an honour should be upset, if at all, not in consequence of slander, but by due process of law; and not for some casual fault, but only for the greatest. For so far as slander is concerned, even Socrates might be a corrupter of youth and a subverter of all the cherished beliefs of men, beginning with the gods. For whom have these men failed to slander who slander any one at all? Have they not slandered Socrates, Pythagoras, Plato? Have they not slandered Zeus himself, Poseidon, Apollo, and all the other gods?

  [33] καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους θεούς; ἅπτονται δὲ καὶ τῶν θηλειῶν θεῶν, ὧν εἰκὸς ἦν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν ἀρρένων ἐντρέπεσθαι. νῦν ἀκούετε γὰρ ἃ λέγουσι τὴν Δήμητρα καὶ τὴν Ἀφροδίτην καὶ τὴν Ἕω: ἀπέχονται δ̓ οὐδὲ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς οὐδὲ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος: ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν ἀπογυμνοῦσι τῷ Ἀκταίωνι, τὴν δὲ καὶ συνάγουσι τῷ Ἡφαίστῳ καὶ ποιοῦσι τὴν παρθένον μικροῦ μητέρα. ταῦτ̓ οὖν ἐπιστάμενοι θαυμάζετε, εἰ καὶ κατὰ τούτου τις ψόγος διεδόθη, ὃν ἐκφυγεῖν μὲν οὐδενὶ τῶν πάντων ὑπῆρξε τῶν ἐν δόξῃ βεβιωκότων, τὴν δὲ ἀφορμὴν ἔλαβεν ἐκ τῆς περὶ τοὺς λόγους εἴτ̓ ἐπαφροδισίαν αὐτὴν εἴθ̓ ὅ, τι δήποτε χρὴ καλεῖν τοῦτο ὃ καὶ ὑμεῖς σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ

  [33] And they lay impious hands even upon the female deities, for whom they might be expected to feel even more reverence than for the male. Aye, by Heaven, for you hear what they say of Demeter and Aphroditê and Eos; and they do not keep their hands off even Athena or Artemis; on the contrary, they strip Artemis naked for Actaeon, and they unite Athena with Hephaestus and almost make a mother of the Virgin. Therefore, knowing all this as you do, are you surprised if there has been spread abroad against this man too some censure, a thing which absolutely none of those who have lived distinguished lives has had the power to escape, but which in his case is based upon the charm of his eloquence, or whatever one should call that gift to which you yourselves, along with women and children, give approval?

  [34] τέκνοις ἀπεδέξασθε; οὐ σκέψεσθε; οὐκ ἀναμνησθήσεσθε πρὸς ἑαυτούς, εἴ τι τοιοῦτον αὐτῷ παῤ ὑμῖν πέπρακται; καίτοι πόλιν οἰκεῖτε τῶν οὐσῶν τε καὶ γεγενημένων ἐπαφροδιτοτάτην, ἀλλ̓ ὅμως οὐδὲν ἠκούσατε, θαρρῶν δ̓ ἂν εἴποιμι ὅτι μηδὲ ἄλλος τις Ἑλλήνων. εἶτα τὸν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐν πλείονι ἀδείᾳ καὶ συγγνώμῃ κοσμίως βεβιωκότα, τοῦτον ἐπὶ τῆς Ῥώμης παῤ αὐτὸν τὸν ἄρχοντα καὶ τοὺς νόμους ἡγεῖσθε μεταβεβλῆσθαι; ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γε παραπλήσιόν ἐστιν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις τὸν ἀθλητὴν φαίη καθ̓ αὑτὸν μὲν εὐτακτεῖν, ἐν δὲ τῷ σταδίῳ καὶ παρὰ τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην πλημμελεῖν.

  [34] Will you not consider the matter? Will you not test your memory to see whether any such thing has been done by him in Corinth? Although you live in a city favoured by Aphroditê beyond all that are or ever have been, nevertheless yo
u have heard nothing of the sort regarding him, and, I venture to assert, no other Greek has either. Then do you believe that the man who has lived a decent life in Greece, in the midst of greater licence and indulgence, has suffered transformation in Rome, in the presence of the Emperor himself and the laws? Why, there is very much as if one were to say of the athlete that, though privately he keeps the rules, in the stadium and in the presence of the Master of the Games he violates the code!

  [35] παρρησίαν δὲ ἄγω διπλῆν, ἑνὸς μὲν ἕνεκα τοῦ συνειδότος, ἑτέρου δὲ τοῦ ἀγωνοθέτου. πεπιστευκότος μὲν γὰρ ἦν τιμωρίαν παρὰ τοῦ ἡμαρτηκότος λαβεῖν, ἀκούσαντος δὲ μηνῖσαι: ὅπερ ἐκεῖνος ἐποίησεν. ὑμεῖς δ̓ ἐπακολουθήσαντες ἀνθρώποις — οὐδὲν δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐρῶ ὡς ἀμυνόμενος: πλὴν ὅτι δικαιότερον ἦν ἐκείνους ὑμῖν ἀκολουθεῖν

  [35] However, I hold freedom of speech to be a two-sided matter — one side is that of the man who has knowledge of some misdeed, the other is that of the Master of the Games. If the latter has given credence to an accusation he will exact full satisfaction from the wrongdoer, but a man who has heard a report of it will turn informer, which is precisely what the man in question did. But when you followed the lead of persons who — however, I shall say nothing of them by way of retaliation, save only that it would have been more proper for them to follow your lead than for you to follow theirs.