Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [16] For that very reason a certain mild-tempered man of olden days, when somebody kept bringing him reports of that kind of language, was moved to say, “If you do not stop listening to bad words about me, I too shall listen to bad words about you.” But perhaps it would be better, in case some one starts using abusive language, not even to notice whether the man is speaking at all.

  The slave who is unrestrained and given to jesting, if his master catches him at it, is often made to smart for it; but the person who is subservient to public opinion is humbled by any one at all with a single word. If one were acquainted with spells learned from Medea or the Thessalians which were so potent that by uttering them he could make any one he pleased weep and suffer pain though confronted by no misfortune, would not his power be regarded as tyranny? While, in dealing with one who has become puffed up by reputation there is none who does not have this power;

  [17] οὐδεὶς ὃς οὐκ ἔχει ταύτην τὴν ἰσχύν. δύο γὰρ ἢ τρία ῥήματα εἰπὼν εἰς συμφορὰν καὶ λύπην ἐνέβαλεν. καὶ μὴν εἴ γέ τις οὕτως ἐκ δαιμονίου τινὸς ἔχοι τὸ σῶμα, ὥστε ἄν τις αὐτῷ καταράσηται, παραχρῆμα πυρέττειν ἢ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀλγεῖν, οὗτος ἂν ἀθλιώτερος ὑπῆρχε τῶν τρισαθλίων: εἰ δέ τις οὕτως ἀσθενῶς ἔχει τὴν διάνοιαν, ὥστε εἴ τις ἐλοιδόρησεν αὐτόν, ἐξίστασθαι παραχρῆμα τὴν ψυχήν, πῶς οὐχὶ τῷ τοιούτῳ φευκτὸς ὁ βίος; εἰ δέ τις κρίνοιτο καθ̓ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν περὶ ὅτου δήποτε, ἢ περὶ τοῦ ζῆν ἢ περὶ τῶν χρημάτων, ἆῤ οὐχὶ τῷ παντὶ βέλτιον ἐᾶσαι τοῦτο καὶ μηκέτι τὸ λοιπὸν κινδυνεύειν, καὶ εἰ μὲν περὶ χρημάτων, τὰ χρήματα,

  [17] for by speaking two or three words you have plunged him into misery and anguish. Again, if because of some supernatural influence one’s body were to be so constituted that, if any one should curse him, he would immediately have a fever or a headache, that man would be more wretched than the thrice wretched; and if one were to be so feeble-minded that, in case some one should revile him, he would immediately become deranged, why would not life for such a man be a thing to shun?

  Or let us put it this way. Suppose one were to be put on trial every day concerning anything whatever, whether his life or his property, would it not be altogether preferable to renounce that thing and to cease being in jeopardy for the future — if it be property, then the property; if it be life, then his life?

  [18] εἰ δὲ περὶ τοῦ ζῆν, τὸν βίον; τί οὖν; ὁ περὶ τῆς δόξης ἀγὼν οὐκ ἀεὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τοῖς ἀνοήτοις ἐνέστηκεν, οὐ μόνον ἅπαξ τῆς ἡμέρας, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις, οὐδὲ ἐφ̓ ὡρισμένοις δικασταῖς, ἀλλὰ πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς, καὶ τούτοις ἀνωμότοις καὶ μήτε μαρτύρων [p. 166] ἐπιστρεφομένοις μήτε τεκμηρίων; μήτε γὰρ εἰδότες μήτε ἀκούοντες μήτε λαχόντες δικάζουσι, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς διαφέρει πίνουσιν ἤ λουομένοις τὴν ψῆφον φέρειν: καὶ τὸ πάντων δεινότατον: ὃν γὰρ

  [18] How then? Is not the trial concerning reputation always in progress wherever there are men — that is, foolish men — not merely once a day but many times, and not before a definite panel of judges but before all men without distinction, and, moreover, men not bound by oath, men without regard for either witnesses or evidence? For they sit in judgement without either having knowledge of the case or listening to testimony or having been chosen by lot, and it makes no difference to them if they cast their vote at a drinking bout or at the bath and, most outrageous of all, he who to-day is acquitted to-morrow is condemned.

  [19] ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τήμερον, αὔριον καταδικάζει. οὐκοῦν ἀνάγκη τὸν ὑπὸ τῆς νόσου ταύτης ἐχόμενον ὑπεύθυνον περιέρχεσθαι καὶ προσέχειν ἑκάστῳ καὶ δεδοικέναι μή τινα ἑκὼν ἢ ἄκων λυπήσῃ, μάλιστα τῶν ἑτοίμων τινὰ καὶ τῶν εὐτραπέλων. εἰ γὰρ καὶ σμικρόν, οἷα πολλὰ συμβαίνει, προσκρούσας τινὶ τύχοι, εὐθὺς ἐσπάθησε ῥῆμα χαλεπόν: καὶ τοῦτο εἰπών, ἐὰν μὲν ἀποτύχῃ πως, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐτάραξεν: ἐὰν δ̓ ἐπιτύχῃ τοῦ καιρίου, παραχρῆμα ἀνῄρηκεν. πολλοὶ μὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἔχουσιν ὥστε ὑπὸ παντὸς διατρέπεσθαι καὶ διαρρεῖν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ

  [19] Accordingly, whoever is the victim of this malady of courting popularity is bound to be subject to criticism as he walks about, to pay heed to everyone, and to fear lest wittingly or unwittingly he give offence to somebody, but particularly to one of those who are bold and of ready wit. For if he should have the misfortune to have offended somebody never so little, as often happens, straightway the offended person lets fly a harsh word; and if with that word he perhaps misses his mark, nevertheless he causes dismay, while if he should hit the vital spot he has destroyed his victim forthwith. For the fact is, many are so constituted that they are overwhelmed and made to waste away by anything.

  [20] καὶ ἐνίοτε ἄλλα ἐπ̓ ἄλλοις μᾶλλον ἰσχύει: καθάπερ οἶμαι τῶν παιδαρίων ἕκαστον ἰδιότροπόν τινα μορμὼ δέδοικε καὶ ταύτην συνείθισται φοβεῖσθαι ῾τὰ μὲν γὰρ φύσει δειλὰ πᾶν ὅ,τι ἂν δείξῃ τις ὡς φοβερὸν βοᾆ πλὴν ἐπί γε τούτων τῶν μειζόνων ἤδη τινά ἐστι πρός τινας. τὸν πτωχὸν τὸν ἀλαζόνα καὶ θέλοντα φαίνεσθαι Κροῖσον ἐξίστησιν ὁ Ἶρος: καὶ οὐδὲ τὴν Ὀδύσσειαν ἀναγιγνώσκει διὰ τὸ

  ἦλθε δ̓ ἐπὶ πτωχὸς πανδήμιος, ὃς κατὰ ἄστυ

  πτωχεύεσκ̓ Ἰθάκης:

  [20] Not only so, but also sometimes one set of things is more potent with one kind of person and another with another; just as, I believe, each youngster fears some bogey peculiar to himself and is wont to be terrified by this — of course lads who are naturally timid cry out no matter what you produce to scare them — however, at least with these more important fellows, certain things are a source of shame with reference to certain persons. The beggar who is a braggart and seeks to appear a Croesus is confounded by Irus; and he does not even read the Odyssey because of the lines which say

  In came a public beggar, who through the town

  Of Ithaca was wont to beg his way.

  [21] τὸν ἐκ δούλων ὁ Κέκροψ, τὸν εὐτελῆ τὴν ὄψιν καὶ καλὸν εἶναι βουλόμενον ὁ Θερσίτης. ἐὰν μὲν γὰρ εἰς λίχνον ἢ φιλάργυρον σκώψῃς ἢ κίναιδον ἢ καθόλου πονηρὸν τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ σωφροσύνῃ κομῶντα καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπιγεγραμμένον, ὅλον ἀπολώλεκας. ὁ Περσεὺς τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς Γοργόνος περιφέρων καὶ ταύτην τοῖς ἐχθροῖς δεικνὺς ἐποίει λίθους: οἱ πολλοὶ δὲ ὑφ̓ ἑνὸς ῥήματος, ἐὰν ἀκούσωσι, λίθοι γεγόνασι: καὶ τοῦτο οὐ δεῖ περιφέρειν, ἐν πήρᾳ φυλάττοντα

  [21] Just so Cecrops confounds the man of servile parentage, and likewise Thersites confounds the man of shabby appearance but with am
bition to be a beauty. The fact is, if by calling him a glutton or a miser or a catamite or a general blackguard you jeer at the man who plumes himself on his temperance and who has enrolled under the banner of virtue, you have ruined him completely. By carrying around the Gorgon’s head and displaying it to his foes Perseus turned them to stone; but most men have been turned to stone by just one word, if it is applied to them; besides, there is no need to carry this around, guarding it in a wallet.

  [22] αὐτό. καίτοι φέρε, εἰ καὶ τῶν ὀρνέων τὰς φωνὰς συνίεμεν, τῶν κοράκων ἢ κολοιῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων, οἷον βατράχων ἢ τεττίγων, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ ταῖς τούτων φωναῖς ἂν προσείχομεν, τί λέγει περὶ ἡμῶν ὁ κολοιὸς ὁ πετόμενος ἢ τί φησιν ἡ [p. 167] κίττα καὶ τίνα ἔχει δόξαν. οὐκοῦν εὐτύχημα τὸ μὴ ξυνιέναι. πόσοι δὴ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν βατράχων εἰσὶν ἀφρονέστεροι καὶ τῶν κολοιῶν; ἀλλ̓ ὅμως κινεῖ τὰ παρὰ τούτων ἡμᾶς καὶ πάνυ κακῶς διατίθησιν.

  [22] And yet let me add this: if we understood also the cries of birds — for example, of the ravens or the jackdaws — and of the other creatures such as frogs or cicadae, of course we should pay heed to the cries of these as well, eager to learn what the jackdaw flying by is saying about us, or what the jay is saying and what he thinks about us. It is a lucky thing, then, that we do not understand. But how many human beings are more empty-headed than the frogs and the jackdaw! Yet for all that, the words they speak excite us and make us utterly wretched.

  [23] οὐ μὴν ὅ γ̓ ἀφεὶς ἐλεύθερον ἑαυτὸν ἐπιστρέφεται τῆς τῶν πολλῶν φλυαρίας, ἀλλὰ τῆς μὲν ἐκείνων ἀδολεσχίας καταγελᾷ, πάλαι δὴ πρὸς ἅπαντας εἰρηκώς, οὐκ ἀλέγω, ὡσεί με γυνὴ βάλοι ἢ πάϊς ἄφρων: κωφὸν γὰρ βέλος ἀνδρὸς ἀνάλκιδος οὐτιδανοῖο. τὸν Ἡρακλέα τὸν τοῦ Διὸς πόσους οἴει βλασφημεῖν, τοὺς μὲν ὡς κλῶπα, τοὺς δὲ ὡς βίαιον, τοὺς δὲ καὶ μοιχὸν λέγειν ἢ τεκνοκτόνον; ἀλλ̓ ὅμως οὐδὲν αὐτῷ τούτων ἔμελεν οὐδὲ ἦν ἴσως

  [23] However, he who has asserted his independence pays no heed to the foolish talk of the crowd; rather he mocks at their loquacity, having indeed long since said in answer to them all,

  I care not; ’tis as if a woman threw

  At me, or else some witless lad; for blunt

  The missile of a feeble good-for-naught.

  Take Heracles, son of Zeus; how many, think you, were wont to disparage him, some dubbing him thief, some ruffian, some even adulterer or slayer of children? Yet he was not at all disturbed by these taunts, though perhaps there was none who spoke them openly, since he would promptly have suffered for it.

  [24] τις ὁ ταῦτα φανερῶς λέγων, ἐπεὶ παραχρῆμα ἄν ὑπέσχε τὴν δίκην. εἰ μὴ τῶν ἄλλων καταφρονῆσαι πείσεις σαυτόν, οὐδέποτε παύσῃ κακοδαιμονῶν, ἀλλ̓ ἀεὶ βίον ἄθλιον ζήσεις καὶ χαλεπόν, πᾶσιν ὑποκείμενος τοῖς βουλομένοις λυπεῖν, καὶ τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τοῦ λόγου, λαγὼ βίον ζῶν. ἀλλ̓ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τοὺς κύνας καὶ τὰ δίκτυα καὶ τοὺς ἀετοὺς δεδοίκασι: σὺ δὲ τοὺς λόγους ἐπτηχὼς καὶ τρέμων περιελεύσῃ, μηδεμίαν φυλακὴν φυλάξασθαι δυνάμενος, μηδ̓ ἂν

  [24] Unless you bring yourself to look with scorn upon all others, you will never end your state of wretchedness; instead, you will always lead a pitiable, yes, a painful existence, being at the mercy of all who wish to hurt you and, as the saying goes, living a hare’s life. Nay, hares fear the dogs and the nets and the eagles, but you will go about cowering and quaking before what people say, being utterly unable to provide yourself with any defence, no matter what you may be doing or if you spend your time in any way you please.

  [25] ὁτιοῦν πράττῃς, μηδ̓ ἄν ὅπως βούλῃ διάγῃς. ἀλλ̓ ἐὰν μὲν ἐμβάλλῃς συνεχῶς εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν, ἀγοραῖος ἀκούσῃ καὶ συκοφάντης: ἐὰν δὲ τοὐναντίον φυλάττῃ τὸ τοιοῦτον καὶ μᾶλλον ᾖς κατ̓ οἰκίαν καὶ πρὸς τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ, δειλὸς καὶ ἰδιώτης καὶ τὸ μηδέν: ἐὰν δὲ προνοῇ, εὐήθης καὶ μαλακός: ἐὰν δὲ ἐπ̓ ἐργασίας ᾖς τινος, βάναυσος: ἐὰν σχολάζων περιπατῇς, ἀργός: ἐὰν ἐσθῆτα μαλακωτέραν ἀναλάβῃς, ἀλαζὼν καὶ τρυφερός: ἐὰν ἀνυπόδητος ἐν

  [25] If you are always rushing into the market-place you will hear yourself called a market idler and a shyster, whereas if, on the contrary, you are wary of that sort of thing and keep more at home and attend to your own affairs you will be called timid and an ignoramus and a nonentity; if you give thought to learning you will be called simple-minded and effeminate; if you are in some business, vulgar; if you stroll about at your leisure, lazy; if you don rather soft apparel, ostentatious and dandified; if you go barefoot and wear a ragged little coat they will say you are crazy.

  [26] τριβωνίῳ, μαίνεσθαί σε φήσουσιν. Σωκράτην διαφθείρειν τοὺς νέους ἔφασαν, εἰς τὸ θεῖον ἀσεβεῖν: καὶ οὐκ εἶπον ταῦτα μόνον: ἧττον γὰρ ἂν ἦν δεινὸν: ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπέκτειναν αὐτόν, ἀνυποδησίας [p. 168] δίκην λαμβάνοντες. Ἀριστείδην ἐξωστράκισαν Ἀθηναῖοι, καίτοι πεπεισμένοι σαφῶς ὅτι δίκαιος ἦν. τί οὖν δεῖ δόξης ἐπιθυμεῖν, ἧς καὶ ἐὰν τύχῃ, πολλάκις οὐκ ἐπ̓ ἀγαθῷ πολλάκις ἀπώνατο; δέον πολλάκις εὐλαβεῖσθαι, κἄν ἄρα συμβαίνῃ τινί τῷ Βίωνι δοκεῖ μὴ δυνατὸν εἶναι τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀρέσκειν, εἰ μὴ πλακοῦντα γενόμενον ἢ Θάσιον: εὐήθως, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν. πολλάκις γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐν δείπνῳ δέκα ἀνθρώπων ὁ πλακοῦς ἤρεσε πᾶσιν, ἀλλ̓ ὁ μὲν ἕωλον εἶναί φησιν, ὁ δὲ θερμόν, ὁ δὲ λίαν γλυκύν: εἰ μὴ νὴ Δία Βίων φησὶν ὅτι καὶ θερμὸν πλακοῦντα καὶ ἕωλον δεῖ γενέσθαι καὶ ψυχρόν. καθόλου δὲ οὐ τοιοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα: πόθεν;

  [26] Socrates, they said, corrupted the young men, was irreverent toward religion; moreover, they did not merely say these things — for that would have been less shocking — no, they even killed him, exacting a penalty for his lack of shoes! Aristeides was ostracized by the Athenians, although they were clearly persuaded that he was just. Why should one crave popularity, a thing from which, even if attained, one often derives no profit?

  Bion believes it impossible for one to please the crowd except by turning into a cake or a jar of Thasian wine — foolishly so believing, in my opinion. For often even at a dinner of only ten guests the cake does not please everybody, but, on the contrary, one calls it stale, another hot, and another too sweet — unless, by Heaven, Bion means that one must turn into a cake which is both hot and stale and cold! Nay, on the whole the case is not so simple as that; of course not.

  [27] ἀλλὰ καὶ μύρον δεῖ καὶ αὐλητρίδα γενέσθαι καὶ μειράκιο
ν ὡραῖον καὶ Φίλιππον τὸν γελωτοποιόν. λείπεται δὲ ἓν ἴσως, ὃ δεήσει γενέσθαι τὸν θέλοντα ἀρέσαι τοῖς πολλοῖς, ἀργύριον. οὔκουν, κἂν ἀργύριον γένηταί τις, εὐθὺς ἤρεσεν: ἀλλὰ δεῖ ῥάττεσθαι καὶ δάκνεσθαι. τί οὖν ἔτι διώκεις, ὦ κακόδαιμον, πρᾶγμα ἀκίχητον; οὔτε γὰρ μύρον οὔτε στέφανος οὔτε οἶνος σὺ γένοιό ποτ̓ ἂν οὔτ̓ ἀργύριον.

  [27] On the contrary, one must also turn into perfume and a flute-girl and a lovely lad and a Philip the jester. However, one thing possibly still remains which he who wants to please the mob will have to turn into — silver. Nay, even if one turns into silver one does not immediately satisfy; instead, one must also be struck and bitten. Why, then, you luckless creature, do you persist in pursuing a thing unattainable? For you could never become either perfume or a crown or wine or yet silver.

  [28] κἂν ἀργύριον γένηταί τις, χρυσίον ἐντιμότερον, κἂν χρυσίον, ἑψηθῆναι δεήσει. τὸ γὰρ ᾧ διαφέρει. τῶν πλουσίων ἕκαστος ἔοικε τῷ νομίσματι. καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐπαινεῖ μὲν οὐδείς, χρῆται δὲ ἕκαστος τῶν λαβόντων: ἔπειτα ὑπὸ τῶν χρωμένων ἐκτρίβεται καὶ τελευταῖον ἐν τοῖς ἀδοκίμοις ἐγένετο. κἀκεῖνος εἰς τοὺς πένητας παρηγγυήθη καὶ τοὺς ἀδοκίμους, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔτι τὸν τοιοῦτον προσίεται τῶν πρότερον τεθαυμακότων, ἀλλ̓ οὐδὲ στρέψας ἀπορρίπτει. [p. 169]