Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [10] I wonder why in the world most persons say that Fortune is precarious and that none of her gifts is to be relied upon. For whenever she gives any one her good things — wealth, power, fame, honours — she never prevents him from using these in a proper way or, by Heaven, from storing them away in safety for himself; and I do not mean indoors in the house, or in the storehouse, or putting them under lock and key — for none of her gifts is protected by these things — but rather storing them away in goodwill toward mankind, in service to one’s country, in aid to friends.

  [11] οὐκοῦν οὐδέποτε αὐτοὺς οὐδὲν ἀφείλετο ἡ τύχη τοὺς γε ἅπαξ κτησαμένους τῶν οὕτως ἀποκειμένων. οὗτοι γάρ εἰσι θησαυροὶ βέβαιοι καὶ πᾶσι φανεροὶ τῶν αὐτομάτως περιγιγνομένων. ἐὰν δέ τις λαβὼν ῥίψῃ ἢ καὶ νὴ Δία κακῶς θῇ, θύραις

  [11] Assuredly, Fortune never takes away from those who have once acquired them any of the things thus stored away. For these are dependable repositories and visible to all wherein to store the windfalls of Fortune. However, if after having got them a man squanders them or even, by Heaven, puts them in the wrong place, trusting to doors and seals and locks, no longer, I fancy, is their loss ascribable to her.

  [12] καὶ κλεισὶ πιστεύων, οὐκέτ̓ οἶμαι δἰ ἐκείνην ἀπόλλυνται. σφόδρα δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἄτοπον: πρὸς γὰρ τῷ πολλὰ βλασφημεῖν διὰ λόγων κατὰ τῆς τύχης ἔτι καὶ πλάσται καὶ γραφεῖς αὐτὴν λοιδοροῦσιν, οἱ μὲν ὡς μαινομένην καὶ διαρρίπτουσαν γράφοντες, οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ σφαίρας βεβηκυῖαν, ὡς οὐκ ἀσφαλῶς οὐδὲ ἀκινδύνως ἐρηρεισμένην, δέον ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς τοιούτους πλάττειν καὶ γράφειν τοὺς ἐμπλήκτως καὶ κακῶς πᾶσι χρωμένους καὶ μὰ Δία γε οὐκ ἐπὶ σφαίρας, ἀλλ̓ ἐπ̓ ἀνοίας ἑστηκότας, καὶ μὴ μάτην τῇ τύχῃ μέμφεσθαι.

  [12] And here is something else which is very strange; besides the many verbal blasphemies against Fortune, sculptors and painters alike also traduce her, some representing her as mad and tossing her gifts recklessly about, some as standing on a sphere, as if to say that she has no safe or secure support, whereas it is ourselves that we ought to mould or paint like that, since we treat everything in a mad and evil fashion — and not, by Heaven, standing on a sphere but rather on folly — in place of idly finding fault with Fortune.

  [13] περὶ πάντων μέν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ὀρθῶς ὑπολαμβάνουσι, μάλιστα δὲ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς τύχης δόξαν ψευδῆ καὶ πεπλανημένην ἔχουσιν. φασὶ γὰρ αὐτὴν διδόναι μὲν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τἀγαθά, ῥᾳδίως δὲ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι: καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὡς ἄπιστον βλασφημοῦσι καὶ φθονεράν. ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ διδόναι φημὶ

  [13] While on virtually every topic most men make incorrect assumptions, the opinion they hold regarding Fortune is particularly false and erroneous. For they say that, though she gives mankind their good things, she lightly takes them away again; and for that reason they malign her as being untrustworthy and jealous. But I claim that Fortune does not really give any of these things, as most men think she does.

  [14] τὴν τύχην τούτων οὐδέν, ὧν οἱ πολλοὶ νομίζουσιν. ᾧ γὰρ κύριος ἕκαστος γίγνεται τῶν ὑπαρχόντων καὶ δἰ οὗ μόνου κεκτῆσθαι τἀγαθὰ ἀσφαλῶς ἔστιν, οὐ δίδωσιν αὐτοῖς μετὰ τῶν χρημάτων καὶ τῆς δόξης καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως. τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν οὗ χωρὶς οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἔχειν οὐδέν, οἴεσθαι μέντοι καὶ ἀπατᾶσθαι. καθάπερ οὖν οὐδὲ ἡμεῖς, ὅταν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τινὰ εἰσαγάγωμεν ἢ τὸ χωρίον ἢ σκεύη τινὰ παράσχωμεν, εὐθὺς κύριον ἐκείνων τοῦτον ἀπεδείξαμεν, ἂν μὴ προσῇ τὸ μετὰ ἀσφαλείας τινὸς καὶ γράμματος, [p. 160] οὕτω καὶ ἡ τύχη κύριον οὐδένα ποιεῖ τῶν ὑφ̓ αὑτῆς διδομένων, ἐὰν μὴ προσῇ τὸ μετὰ νοῦ καὶ φρονήσεως τινὰ λαμβάνειν.

  [14] For that which gives each man control over his possessions and through which alone it is possible to have secure possession of one’s goods she does not bestow upon them along with their wealth and fame and power. No, that thing it is without which it is not possible to possess any of the other things but only to imagine that one does and to be the victim of delusion. For example, just as when we bring some one into our house or our farm or when we provide certain equipment, we ourselves do not forthwith appoint him master over those things, unless there is included in the transaction some written guarantee, so also Fortune does not make any one master of the things offered by her, unless there is attached to the grant the stipulation that they are accepted with intelligence and good judgement.

  [15] οἱ μὲν πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰώθασιν εὐδαιμονίζειν εὐθὺς οἷς ἂν ὁρῶσι τὰ παρὰ τῆς τύχης ὑπάρχοντα, ὥσπερ τοῖς πλέουσι συνήδονται πνεῦμα ὁρῶντες ἐπέχον, οὐκ εἰδότες οὔτ̓ εἰ φορὸν αὐτοῖς τοῦτό ἐστιν οὔτ̓ εἰ κυβερνήτην ἔχουσιν ἔμπειρον. ἐγὼ δ̓ οἶμαι τότε δεῖν μακαρίους κρίνειν τοὺς ἐν ἀφθόνοις ὄντας τοῖς παρὰ τῆς τύχης, ὅταν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸ φρονεῖν παρῇ. καθ̓ αὑτὰ γὰρ ταῦτα δηλονότι εἰ τοῖς ἀνοήτοις γένοιτο κινδύνου καὶ δυστυχίας αἴτια.

  [15] Most men, of course, are wont immediately to congratulate those whom they see supplied with the gifts of Fortune, just as people rejoice with men at sea when they observe they have a breeze, although they know neither whether this breeze is favourable to them nor whether they have a helmsman with experience. But as for myself, I believe the time to judge fortunate those who are surrounded in abundance with the gifts of Fortune is when they have prudence too. For manifestly these gifts of themselves, should they become the property of fools, might be a source of danger and disaster.

  THE SIXTY-SIXTH DISCOURSE: ON REPUTATION

  ΠΕΡΙ ΔΟΞΗΣ ΠΡΩΤΟΣ.

  THE SIXTY-SIXTH DISCOURSE: ON REPUTATION

  The theme of this Discourse is the fickleness of the crowd and the folly of those who seek to win and hold its favour. Dio regards those who yield to that ambition as victims of delusion. The public honours for which they strive have no real utility and are purchased at too high a price sometimes reducing to beggary those who aim to reach them. What is more, the aspirant for popular acclaim sacrifices his independence. He is followed to order his life to suit the whims of those whose favour he is courting — in itself an impossible task — and he cringes before the hostile criticism of citizen and alien alike. No matter what scheme of life a man adopts, he is sure to be maligned. The sane policy is, therefore, to steel oneself against criticism, in other words, to adopt the attitude of the philosopher.

  Arnim argues that the Discourse originally ended in the midst of § 26, and that what follows has been appended by Dio’s editor, who, coming upon three passages of similar purport, chose to preserve them through inclusion in the Discourse. He is led to this belief by the presence in the section referred to of the sentence beginning τί δεῖ δό�
�ης ἐπιθυμεῖν, which is thought to form a logical close. He might have found additional support for his belief in the fact that the beginning of each of the succeeding passages is marked by asyndeton. All three resemble introductory paragraphs of exordia. The extant work of Dio reveals other instances of the existence of variant versions of a common theme, apparently testifying to his practice of delivering a given speech on more than one occasion.

  Peculiar interest attaches to the present Discourse because of an allusion in § 6: ἔτι δὲ ἰδεῖν ἔστιν οἰκίαν συντριβεῖσαν πλουσιωτέραν ἐκείνης διὰ γλῶτταν καὶ νὴ Δία ἑτέραν κινδυνεύουσαν. The two “houses” there referred to are thought by Arnim to have been respectively that of Nero, whose pretensions as a singer (διὰ γλῶτταν) are being credited with his downfall, and that of Domitian, whose assassination is here predicted. Arnim observes that toward the close of Domitian’s career such predictions were current, even being known by the emperor himself, and he points out that Apollonius of Tyana was able to announce in Ephesus the murder of Domitian at the very moment when it was taking place in Rome! If Arnim’s reasoning is correct, our Discourse can with confidence be dated shortly before Domitian’s death, while Dio was still in exile.

  [1] Εἰσί τινες, οἳ τοὺς μὲν φιλαργύρους ἢ φιλόψους ἢ οἰνόφλυγας ἢ περὶ γυναῖκας ἢ παῖδας ἐπτοημένους ἀσώτους ἀποκαλοῦσι καὶ δυστυχεῖς, καὶ τούτων ἕκαστον ἡγοῦνται τὸ μέγιστον ὄνειδος, τοὺς δὲ φιλοτίμους καὶ φιλοδόξους τοὐναντίον ἐπαινοῦσιν, ὡς λαμπρούς: ὥστε καὶ αὐτὸς ἕκαστος ὀψοφαγῶν μὲν ἢ πίνων ἢ ἐρῶν τινος αἰσχύνεται καὶ περιστέλλει τὴν ἀκρασίαν, δοξοκοπῶν δὲ καὶ φιλοτιμούμενος οὐδένα ἀνθρώπων βούλεται λανθάνειν, ἀλλὰ ἐν

  The Sixty-sixth Discourse: On Reputation

  There are some who brand as dissolute and ill-starred such men as have a craving for money or for dainties or for wine or who are inflamed with lust for women or boys, and they regard each of these vices as the greatest disgrace, yet those who crave distinction and reputation, on the contrary, they applaud, thinking them illustrious; and therefore, while each one of his own accord, if a gourmet or a tippler or a lover of somebody, feels ashamed and tries to cloak his incontinence, yet when seeking reputation and distinction he does not want to escape the eye of any man on earth, but rather he carries on his quest in the open.

  [2] τῷ μέσῳ ταῦτα ποιεῖ. τῶν γὰρ πολλῶν ἕκαστος εὐφημεῖ τὴν τοιαύτην νόσον, λυσιτελεῖν ἡγούμενος αὑτῷ. καὶ δημοσίᾳ σχεδὸν αἱ πόλεις ἅπασαι δελέατα ἐξευρήκασι παντοῖα τοῖς ἀνοήτοις, στεφάνους καὶ προεδρίας καὶ κηρύγματα. τοιγαροῦν ἤδη τινὰς τούτων ἐπιθυμοῦντας ἀθλίους καὶ πένητας ἀπέδειξαν, οὐδὲν ὀρέγοντες μέγα οὐδὲ οὐδὲ θαυμαστόν, ἀλλ̓ ἐνίους ἀπὸ θαλλοῦ περιάγοντες, ὥσπερ τὰ πρόβατα, ἢ στέφανόν τινα ἢ ταινίαν ἐπιβάλλοντες. οὐκοῦν ὁ τοιοῦτος, ἐξὸν αὐτῷ μυρίους, εἰ ἐθέλοι, στεφάνους προῖκα ἔχειν, οὐ μόνον ἐλαίας ἢ δρυός, ἀλλὰ καὶ κιττοῦ καὶ μυρρίνης, πολλάκις [p. 161] τὴν οἰκίαν ἀπέδοτο καὶ τὰ χωρία, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα περιέρχεται πεινῶν καὶ φαῦλον τριβώνιον ἔχων. ,ἀλλὰ κηρύττεται, φησίν, ὑπὸ

  [2] And no wonder, for among men in general each speaks well of this type of malady, deeming it advantageous for himself. Furthermore, by official act virtually all the states have devised lures of every kind for the simpletons — crowns and front seats and public proclamations. Accordingly, in some instances men who craved these things have actually been made wretched and reduced to beggary, although the states held before them nothing great or wonderful at all, but in some cases led their victims about with a sprig of green, as men lead cattle, or clapped upon their heads a crown or a ribbon. Therefore, while a fool like that, if he so desired, might have for the asking any number of crowns, not merely of olive or of oak, but even of ivy or of myrtle, often he sells his house and his lands and thereafter goes about hungry and clad in a shabby little cloak. Ah but, says he, his name is publicly proclaimed by his fellow citizens — just as is that of a runaway slave!

  [3] τῶν πολιτῶν.᾿ ὥσπερ ἀπολωλὸς ἀνδράποδον. οὐκοῦν εἰκότως χρῶνται πρὸς τὰς χειροτονίας τῷ τῆς ἐλαίας θαλλῷ διὰ τὸ φύσει πικρὸν ὑπάρχειν. τοὺς δοξοκόπους ἐκβάλλουσιν ἐκ τῶν ἀγορῶν οἱ δῆμοι κραυγῇ καὶ ψόφῳ, καθάπερ οἶμαι τοὺς ψᾶρας οἱ γεωργοί. κἀκεῖνοι μὲν μεθίστανται πρὸς ὀλίγον: τοῖς δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν εἰς οὐδὲν ἔτι τῶν ἰδίων ἐπάνοδος, ἀλλὰ περιίασι μικρὸν ὕστερον πτωχοί, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἂν προσαγορεύσειεν ἰδὼν ἔτι τῶν πρότερον

  [3] With good reason, therefore, men use in connexion with the votes passed in Assembly the branch of the olive, because of its native bitterness! For the notoriety-seekers are driven out of their fields by the democracies with shouting and clamour, just as, methinks, the starlings are driven out by the farmers. Moreover, though the starlings withdraw for a little while, the notoriety-seekers can never again return to anything that once was theirs, nay, a short while later they go about as beggars and no longer would any one of all who formerly were fain to burst their lungs with shouting greet them if he saw them.

  [4] διαρρηγνυμένων. τοσαύτη δ̓ ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ τύφου δύναμις ὥστε παρὰ μὲν τῶν βαφέων ἀγοράσεις δυοῖν μνῶν ἢ τριῶν καλὴν πορφύραν: δημοσίᾳ δ̓ εἰ ἐθέλοις, πολλῶν πάνυ ταλάντων ὤνιος. καὶ τὰς μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ταινίας ὀλίγων δραχμῶν, τὰς δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πολλάκις ἁπάσης τῆς οὐσίας. καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς κηρυττομένους ἀθλίους πάντες νομίζουσι, τοὺς δ̓ ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ μακαρίους: καὶ τούτους μὲν κηρύττεσθαί φασιν, ἐκείνους δὲ ἀποκηρύττεσθαι, δῆλον ὅτι παρὰ μίαν συλλαβὴν γιγνομένης τῆς

  [4] However, such is the spell of this infatuation that, though you will buy from the dyers for two or three minas a handsome purple mantle, should you wish one by public award it would cost you very many talents. Again, though you will buy the ribbons of the market-place for a few drachmas, those of the Assembly will often cost you all your fortune. Furthermore, while persons who are cried for sale in the market-place all deem wretched, those cried in the theatre they deem fortunate; besides, they claim that the latter are cried, the former decried, a single syllable evidently constituting the sole difference!

  [5] διαφορᾶς. οὕτω δὲ πάνυ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατεφρόνησαν οἱ πρότερον καὶ τὴν εὐήθειαν αὐτῶν συνεῖδον ὥστε ὑπὲρ τῶν μεγίστων πόνων καὶ πληγῶν φύλλα προύθεσαν. ἀλλ̓ ὅμως εἰσὶν οἱ χάριν τούτων ἀποθνῄσκειν αἱρούμενοι. τῶν δὲ αἰγῶν οὐκ ἂν οὐδεμία κατακρημνίσειεν
αὑτὴν κοτίνου χάριν, καὶ ταῦτα παρούσης ἐτέρας νομῆς. καίτοι ταῖς μὲν αἰξὶν οὐκ ἀηδὴς ὁ κότινος, ἄνθρωπος δὲ οὐκ ἂν φάγοι. καὶ τὴν μὲν ἐξ Ἰσθμοῦ πίτυν, οὐδὲν οὖσαν τῶν ἄλλων χλωροτέραν, μετὰ πολλοῦ πόνου καὶ κακῶν ἀναιροῦνται, πολλάκις ἀργύριον πολὺ διδόντες: καὶ ταῦτα τοῦ φυτοῦ μηδεμίαν ὠφέλειαν ἔχοντος: οὔτε γὰρ σκιὰν ποιεῖν οὔτε καρπὸν φέρειν δύναται τό τε φύλλον δριμὺ καὶ καπνῶδες: τῆς δ̓ ἐκ Μεγάρων πίτυος οὐδεὶς ἐπιστρέφεται. κἂν μὲν ἕτερός τις μὴ κατεαγὼς τὴν κεφαλὴν διαδήσηται, καταγελᾶται: τοῖς δὲ βασιλεῦσι πρέπειν δοκεῖ καὶ πολλαὶ [p. 162]

  [5] Yes, so completely did the men of old despise mankind, and so clearly did they see their fatuity, that as a reward for the greatest hardships and buffetings they offered leaves! Yet there are some who to gain those leaves elect to die. But no nanny-goat would hurl herself over a cliff for the sake of a sprig of wild olive, especially when other pasturage is handy. And yet, though goats do not find the wild olive distasteful, a human being could not eat it. Again, take the Isthmian pine; while it is no greener than the other varieties, with much toil and hardship men strive to gain it, often paying much money for it — and that too, although the tree has no utility at all, for it can neither provide shade nor bear fruit, and, besides, the leaf is acrid and smoky; on the other hand, no one turns his head to look at the pine from Megara. Moreover, if any one else has his head bound — unless he has suffered a fracture — he is the object of ridicule; yet for kings the headband is thought becoming and untold thousands have given their lives for the sake of this scrap of cloth.