Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom

by Dio Chrysostom

  [6] ἐμπειρότερον φανῆναι — ποῦ δ̓ ἂν διαφέροι; τῷ συμφερόντως ποιεῖν ἢ μὴ ποιεῖν καὶ ὅτε δεῖ καὶ ὅπου καὶ τὸν καιρὸν γνῶναι τοῦ δημιουργοῦ μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ δυνατόν. αὐτίκα οὐ δοκεῖ μοι Δαίδαλος καλῶς εἰργάσθαι ἐν Κρήτῃ τὸν Λαβύρινθον, οὗ εἰσερχόμενοι ἀπώλλυντο οἱ πολῖται αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ πολίτιδες: οὐ γὰρ δικαίως εἰργάσατο. συμπράττων δ̓ αὖ τῇ νόσῳ τῆς Πασιφάης οὐκ ὀρθῶς εἰργάσατο: οὐ γὰρ συνέφερεν οὐδὲ ἦν δίκαιον οὐδὲ καλὸν τοιαῦτα συμπράττειν οὐδὲ μηχανὰς εὑρίσκειν ἐπὶ τὰ αἰσχρὰ καὶ ἀνόσια. οὐδὲ ὡς τὸν Ἴκαρον ἐπτέρωσεν, εἰ χρὴ πιστεύειν τῷ μύθῳ, καλῶς [p. 183] ἐξευρεῖν φημι τήνδε τήνδε τὴν μηχανήν: οὐ γὰρ δυνατὰ ἐμηχανᾶτο, πτέρυγας

  [6] Wherein, then, would the philosopher be superior? It would be in his acting, or not acting, advantageously, and in his knowing when to act and where and the right moment better than the craftsman, and also in his knowing what is possible of achievement. For instance, I believe that Daedalus did not build his Labyrinth in Crete well — entering which his fellow citizens, both male and female, met their death — for he did not build it justly. And besides, in abetting the malady of Pasiphaë he wrought not rightly; for it was not advantageous nor was it just or honourable to lend such aid or to invent devices for ends which were shameful and impious. And even when he equipped Icarus with wings — if we are to believe the tale — I say he did not do well to invent this device; for he was attempting the impossible when he attached wings to a human being. Accordingly he wrought the death of his son.

  [7] ἀνθρώπῳ προστιθείς. οὐκοῦν διέφθειρε τὸν υἱόν. ἔοικε δὲ καὶ Ὅμηρος λοιδορεῖν τινα τέκτονα τῶν Τρώων, οὐ καλῶς ἐργασάμενον τὰς ναῦς τῷ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ, αἷς ἔπλευσεν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα, οὐδὲν ἔχων αἰτιάσασθαι κατὰ τὴν τέχνην. φησὶ γάρ, ὃς καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τεκτήνατο νῆας ἐΐσας, ἀρχεκάκους, οὐκ ἐγκωμιάζων αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῇ ποιήσει τῶν νεῶν, ἀλλὰ ψέγων πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ εἰ λέγων αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι τὰς ναῦς ἢ βραδείας ἢ ἄλλο τι ἁμάρτημα ἐχούσας ᾐτιᾶτο περὶ τὴν ναυπηγίαν. ψέγει δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ κυνηγέτην τινὰ καὶ καταγελᾷ τῆς ἐμπειρίας, ὅτι εἰς οὐδὲν δέον ἐκέκτητο αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν θηρία ἠπίστατο βάλλειν, ἐν δὲ τῷ πολέμῳ οὐκ ἐτύγχανεν οὐδενός, ἀλλ̓ ἀχρεῖος ἦν διὰ τὴν δειλίαν,

  [7] But apparently Homer too says harsh things of a certain builder among the Trojans, as not having done well when he built for Alexander the ships with which he sailed to Hellas — though he has no fault to find with him on the score of craftsmanship. For this is what he says:

  Who built for Paris well-proportioned ships,

  Sources of ill,

  not lauding him for his construction of the ships, but rather censuring him much more severely than if, by saying that he had made the ships either slow or with some other defect, he had censured him for ship-building. And Homer in similar fashion censures also a certain huntsman and ridicules his skill, because he had acquired it to no good purpose, but, on the contrary, while the man knew how to shoot wild beasts, in warfare he could not hit any one but was useless because of his cowardice, and he adds that on the occasion in question Artemis did not aid him.

  [8] καὶ οὔ φησιν αὐτῷ τότε βοηθῆσαι τὴν Ἄρτεμιν. οὐκοῦν ἐκ τούτων δῆλον ὅτι δεῖ φρονήσεως καὶ ἀρετῆς καὶ πρὸς ἃ ἐπίστανται οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ πρὸς ἃ οὐκ ἐπίστανται: καὶ οὕτως ἂν ἅπαντα διαφέροι πάντων ὁ σώφρων, οἷον χρὴ εἶναι τὸν φιλόσοφον, καὶ ποιῶν τι τούτων καὶ μὴ ποιῶν, κἂν ὁπωσοῦν ποιῇ κατὰ τὴν τέχνην. ὡς δὲ τῶν ζωγράφων γράψει κρεῖττον οὐκ ὢν ζωγράφος, ἢ τῶν ἰατρῶν ἄμεινον θεραπεύσει κατὰ τὴν ἰατρικὴν οὐκ ὢν ἰατρός, ἢ τῶν μουσικῶν μουσικώτερον ᾄσεται οὐκ ὤν ἔμπειρος μουσικῆς ἢ μετρίως ἔμπειρος γεγονώς, ἢ τῶν ἀριθμητικῶν περὶ τοὺς ἀριθμοὺς ἢ τῶν γεωμετρῶν ἐμπειρότερος φανεῖται περὶ γεωμετρίαν ἢ περὶ φυτείαν τῶν γεωργῶν ἢ περὶ κυβερνητικὴν τῶν κυβερνητῶν, ἢ σφάξει θᾶττον τῶν μαγείρων ἢ διελεῖ δέον διελεῖν

  [8] From these illustrations, therefore, it is evident that there is need of wisdom and virtue as applied both to what men know and also to what they do not know; and thus it is that the prudent man, such as the philosopher should be, would in everything be superior to all the world, whether in doing any of these things or in not doing, no matter how he performs according to the standards of the craft. But that he will paint better than the painter when not himself a painter; or that he will tend the sick better than the physician, as measured by the standards of art, when himself not a physician; or that he will sing more musically than the musicians when unacquainted with the art of music or only slightly acquainted; or that he will show himself better versed than the arithmeticians in the theory of numbers, or than the surveyors in surveying, or than the farmers in planting, or than the pilots in piloting; or that he will slaughter an animal more expeditiously than the butchers, or, should it be necessary to cut it up, do so more expeditiously than those who have made this very thing their profession — such things are not to be expected.

  [9] τῶν αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἔργον πεποιημένων, οὐ χρὴ διανοεῖσθαι. καίτοι τῶν νῦν βασιλέων τις ἐπεθύμει σοφὸς εἶναι τὴν τοιαύτην σοφίαν, ὡς πλεῖστα ἐπιστάμενος: οὐ μέντοι τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἃ μὴ θαυμάζεται παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ ἐφ̓ οἷς στεφανωθῆναι ἔστι, κηρύττειν [p. 184] καὶ ᾄδειν πρὸς κιθάραν καὶ τραγῳδεῖν καὶ παλαίειν καὶ παγκρατιάζειν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ γράφειν καὶ πλάττειν ἱκανὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ αὐλεῖν τῷ τε στόματι καὶ ταῖς μασχάλαις ἀσκὸν ὑποβάλλοντα, ὅπως διαπεφευγὼς ᾖ τὸ αἰσχρὸν τὸ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς. οὔκουν ὑπῆρχε σοφός;

  [9] And yet a certain king of our times had the ambition to be wise in this sort of wisdom, believing that he had knowledge of very many things — not, however, of such things as do not receive applause among men, but rather those for which it is possible to win a crown — I mean acting as a herald, singing to the cithara, reciting tragedies, wrestling, and taking part in the pancration. Besides, they say that he could paint and fashion statues and play the pipe, both by means of his lips and by tucking a skin beneath his armpits with a view to avoiding the reproach of Athena! Was he not, then, a wise man?

  THE SEVENTY-SECOND DISCOURSE: ON PERSONAL APPEARANCE

  ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΣΧΗΜΑΤΟΣ.

  THE SEVENTY-SECOND DISCOURSE: ON PERSONAL APPEARANCE

  In this Discourse Dio is defending what he considers to be the
typical appearance of philosophers — the himation, or cloak, unaccompanied by the tunic generally worn next to the body, and long hair and beard. We learn that those who presented such an appearance were commonly subjected to insult and mockery and even to physical violence. And yet, as he tells us, philosophers — or pseudo-philosophers — were a more familiar spectacle with his hearers than shoemakers or fullers or jesters or the followers of any other calling. It is argued that the philosopher can find a precedent for his appearance in the statues of both gods and generals and kings, none of which excites amusement or resentment on the part of the beholder. Furthermore, the city in which he is speaking tolerates the sight of many outlandish costumes. This leads to the conjecture that the reason why the philosopher is singled out for insult is that men are inclined to view him with distrust, feeling that he is critical of them, and being actuated, as one might say, by an inferiority complex. Sometimes also the philosopher is subjected to annoyance by those who expect to hear from him words of wisdom. Reference to this type of annoyance leads naturally to the telling the fable of the owl and the birds, a fable more briefly sketched in Or. . but preserved nowhere else. The moral of the fable is that it is risky to trust to appearances, for, though the owl of the fable was truly wise, the owl of Dio’s day resembled her only in “feathers, eyes, and beak,” and actually served as decoy for other fowl.

  In what city was this Discourse delivered? Arnim argues with much plausibility that it must have been Rome; for in §§ 3- we are told that foreigners in most outlandish dress, who came from remote parts of the empire, were a common spectacle about the streets; furthermore, we are told in § 5 that the local type of cult statue differed from that found in Egypt and Phoenicia but was identical with the Greek type; and, lastly, § 6 shows clearly that the city in question was not Greek. No other city seems to suit these clues so well as Rome. It is suggested that Dio is speaking there on his first visit following his return from exile.

  [1] Διὰ τί ποτε οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ὅταν μέν τινα ἴδωσιν αὐτὸ μόνον χιτῶνα ἔχοντα, οὔτε προσέχουσιν οὔτε διαγελῶσι, λογιζόμενοι τυχὸν ὅτι ναύτης ἐστὶν ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲν δεῖ καταγελᾶν τούτου ἕνεκα: ὁμοίως οὐδ̓ εἴ τινα ἴδοιεν γεωργοῦ στολὴν ἔχοντα ἢ ποιμένος, ἐξωμίδα ἔχοντα ἢ διφθέραν ἐνημμένον ἢ κοσύμβην ὑποδεδυκότα οὐ χαλεπαίνουσιν, ἀλλ̓ οὐδὲ προσποιοῦνται τὴν ἀρχήν,

  The Seventy-second Discourse: On Personal Appearance

  Why on earth is it that, whenever men see somebody wearing a tunic and nothing more, they neither notice him nor make sport of him? Possibly because they reason that the fellow is a sailor and that there is no occasion to mock him on this account. Similarly, if they should spy some one wearing the garb of a farmer or of a shepherd — that is, wearing an exomis or wrapped in a hide or muffled in a kosymba — that are not irritated, nay, they do not even notice it to begin with, feeling that the garb is appropriate to the man who follows such a calling.

  [2] ἡγούμενοι προσήκειν τὴν στολὴν τῷ τοιοῦτόν τι πράττοντι. τούς γε μὴν καπήλους ἑκάστοτε ὁρῶντες πρὸ τῶν καπηλείων ἀνεζωσμένους οὐδέποτε τωθάζουσι, καταγελῷεν δ̓ ἂν τοὐναντίον, εἰ μὴ οὕτως ἐνεσκευασμένοι εἶεν, ὡς οἰκείου τοῦ σχήματος ὑπάρχοντος τῇ ἐργασίᾳ, ἣν μεταχειρίζονται. ἐπειδὰν δέ τινα ἴδωσιν ἀχίτωνα ἐν ἱματίῳ κομῶντα τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰ γένεια, οὐχ οἷοί τέ εἰσι πρὸς τούτους τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν οὐδὲ σιγῇ παρέρχεσθαι, ἀλλ̓ ἐφίστανται καὶ ἐρεθίζουσι καὶ ἤτοι κατεγέλασαν ἢ ἐλοιδόρησαν καὶ ἐνίοτε ἕλκουσιν ἐπιλαβόμενοι, ὅταν τινὰ ὁρῶσι μὴ πάνυ ἐρρωμένον αὐτὸν μηδὲ ἄλλον μηδένα παρόντα τὸν ἐπιβοηθήσοντα, καὶ ταῦτα εἰδότες ὅτι τοῖς καλουμένοις φιλοσόφοις ξυνήθης ἐστὶν ἡ

  [2] Take our tavern-keepers too; though people day after day see them in front of their taverns with their tunics belted high, they never jeer at them but, on the contrary, they would make fun of them if they were not so attired, considering that their appearance is peculiarly suited to their occupation. But when they see some one in a cloak but no tunic, with flowing hair and beard, they find it impossible to keep quiet in his presence or to pass by in silence; instead, they step up to him and try to irritate him and either mock at him or speak insultingly, or sometimes they catch hold of him and try to drag him off, provided they see one who is not himself very strong and note that no one else is at hand to help him; and they do this although they know that the garb he wears is customary with the philosophers, as they are called, yes, as one might say, has been prescribed for them.

  [3] στολὴ αὕτη καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ἀποδεδειγμένη. ὃ δὲ ἔτι τούτου παραδοξότερον: ἔνθα γὰρ ἐνίοτε βλέπουσιν ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς μέν [p. 185] τινας πίλους ἐπὶ ταῖς κεφαλαῖς ἔχοντας, ὡς νῦν τῶν Θρᾳκῶν τινες τῶν Γετῶν λεγομένων, πρότερον δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ Μακεδόνες, ἄλλους δὲ τιάραν καὶ ἀναξυρίδας, καθάπερ οἶμαι Πέρσαι τε καὶ Βάκτριοι καὶ Παρθυαῖοι καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ τῶν βαρβάρων: οἱ δὲ ἔτι τούτων ἀτοπώτεροι εἰώθασιν ἐπιδημεῖν πτερὰ ἔχοντες ἐπὶ ταῖς κεφαλαῖς ὀρθά, ὥσπερ Νασάμωνες — οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ τούτοις πάνυ τι τολμῶσι πράγματα παρέχειν οὐδ̓ ἐνοχλεῖν προσιόντες. καίτοι Γέτας μὲν ἢ Πέρσας ἢ Νασάμωνας, τοὺς μὲν οὐ πολλοὺς

  [3] But what is even more astounding still is this. Here in your city from time to time are to be seen persons, some of whom are wearing felt caps on their heads — as to-day certain of the Thracians who are called Getae do, and as Spartans and Macedonians used to do in days gone by — and others wearing a turban and trousers, as I understand Persians and Bactrians and Parthians and many other barbarians do; and some, still more outlandish than these, are accustomed to visit your city wearing feathers erect on their heads, for instance the Nasamonians; yet the citizens do not have the effrontery to make any trouble at all even for these, or to approach and annoy them. And yet as for Getae or Persians or Nasamonians, while some of them are seen here in no great numbers and others rarely visit here,

  [4] βλέπουσι, τοὺς δὲ σπανίως ἐπιδημοῦντας: τῶν δὲ τοιούτων ἀνθρώπων ὀλίγου νῦν μεστὰ πάντα, καὶ σχεδὸν πλείους γεγόνασι τῶν σκυτοτόμων καὶ κναφέων καὶ τῶν γελωτοποιῶν ἢ ἄλλην ὁποίαν βούλει τέχνην ἐργαζομένων: ὥστε καὶ ἐφ̓ ἡμῶν ἴσως ῥηθῆναι εἰκότως ὅτι πλεῖ πάντα ὁμοίως ἀκάτια καὶ πᾶσα βοῦς ἀροτριᾷ.

  [4] the whole world to-day is virtually crowded with persons such as I have described, yes, I might almost say that they have grown more numerous than the shoemakers and fullers and jesters or the workers at any other occupation whatever. Therefore in our day too possibly it could be said with good reason that every catboat is under sail and every cow is dragging a plow.

  [5] οὐ τοίνυν κατὰ τοῦτο μόνον ξυνήθης αὐτοῖς ἡ ὄψις, ἀλλ
ὰ καὶ τὰ ἀγάλματα ὁρῶσιν ἐν τοῖς ναοῖς, οἷον Διὸς καὶ Ποσειδῶνος καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν θεῶν ἀγάλματα, ἐν τοιαύτῃ διαθέσει τοῦ σχήματος. παρὰ μὲν γὰρ Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ Φοίνιξι καὶ ἑτέροις τισὶ τῶν βαρβάρων οὐχ ὁ αὐτὸς τύπος τῶν ἀγαλμάτων, ὥσπερ οἶμαι παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, ἀλλὰ πολὺ διαφέρων. ἐνθάδε δὲ ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν. καὶ ἀνδρῶν εἰκόνας ὁρῶσι πολιτῶν τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς, στρατηγῶν καὶ βασιλέων οὕτως ἀνακειμένας, γένεια

  [5] Moreover, it is not for the above reason alone that this spectacle is familiar to them, nay, they also have before their eyes the statues in the temples — as, for example, statues of Zeus and Poseidon and many other gods — arrayed in this type of costume. For while among Egyptians and Phoenicians and certain other barbarians you do not find the same type of statues as you do, I believe, among the Greeks, but far different, here you find the same. Likenesses of men too, citizens of your city, they have before their eyes both in the market-place and in the temples, likenesses of generals and kings set up in this guise with flowing beards. By why need I tell you all this?

  [6] καθεικότων. ἀλλὰ τί δεῖ ταῦτα λέγειν; σχεδὸν γάρ τι καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων οἱ πλείους ὁμοίως πρὸς τοῦτο ἔχουσι, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς ἡ ξυνήθεια ἀποκωλύει τὸ μὴ οὐκ ἐρεσχηλεῖν μηδὲ ὑβρίζειν, ἐπειδάν τινα ἴδωσι τοιοῦτον, λέγω δὲ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ ἀδόξων, οὓς μὴ δεδοίκασιν ὡς ἱκανοὺς ἀμύνεσθαι: ἐπεὶ τούς γε τοιούτους σχεδὸν δυσωποῦνται καὶ θαυμάζουσιν. τυχὸν οὖν τοιοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ γιγνόμενον. τοὺς μὲν ναύτας καὶ τοὺς γεωργοὺς καὶ ποιμένας, ἔτι δὲ Πέρσας καὶ Νασάμωνας, οὐκ οἴονται καταφρονεῖν αὑτῶν οὐδὲ εἶναι πρὸς αὑτοὺς οὐδένα ἐκείνοις