Medicine for the Soul: Conversations with Friends

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The other day I was a little surprised to find the following definitions and etymologies of  pharmakon (“medicine”).

From the Suda

“Pharmakon [medicine]: conversation, consoling, it comes from pherein [bringing] akos [relief/cure]. But it is also said to come from flowers.

Φάρμακον: παραμυθία, ὁμιλία, εἴρηται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ φέρειν τὴν ἄκεσιν: εἴρηται δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθέων

Etym. Magn.

“Medicine: consolation, conversation. This is from pherein [to bear] and akos [relief], something close to pherakon

Φάρμακον: Παραμυθία, ὁμιλία· παρὰ τὸ φέρειν τὸ ἄκος, φέρακόν τι ὄν·

Chaintrain s.v. pharmakon, after surveying various approaches to its etymology (mostly reflexes of pherô and PIE *bher-) concludes “la question de l’origine de pharmakon est insoluble en l’ état present de nos connaissances.”

But it seems that the medicinal/therapeutic power of conversation was a popular trope in several contexts.

Some Proverbs from Arsenius, Paroemiographer

“Only words [reason] is medicine for grief”

Λόγος μέν ἐστι φάρμακον λύπης μόνος.

“Conversation [ or ‘reason’] is the doctor for suffering in the soul”

Λόγος ἰατρὸς τοῦ κατὰ ψυχὴν πάθους.

The palliative and or curative effect of stories and speech appears with some frequency in Euripides (and then appears in other authors as well)

Euripides, fr. 1065

“Many words of the ancients still ring true:
Their fine stories are medicine for mortal fear.”

καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν πόλλ’ ἔπη καλῶς ἔχει·
λόγοι γὰρ ἐσθλοὶ φάρμακον φόβου βροτοῖς.

 

Euripides, fr. 1079

“Mortals have no other medicine for pain
Like the advice of a good man, a friend
Who has experience with this sickness.
A man who troubles then calms his thoughts with drinking,
Finds immediate pleasure, but laments twice as much later on.”

Οὐκ ἔστι λύπης ἄλλο φάρμακον βροτοῖς
ὡς ἀνδρὸς ἐσθλοῦ καὶ φίλου παραίνεσις.
ὅστις δὲ ταύτῃ τῇ νόσῳ ξυνὼν ἀνὴρ
μέθῃ ταράσσει καὶ γαληνίζει φρένα,
παραυτίχ’ ἡσθεὶς ὕστερον στένει διπλᾶ.

 

Eur. Fr. 962

“There are different medicines for different diseases.
A kind story [muthos] from friends for a man in grief;
Advice for someone playing the fool to excess”

. . . ἄλλ᾿ ἐπ᾿ ἄλλῃ φάρμακον κεῖται νόσῳ·
λυπουμένῳ μὲν μῦθος εὐμενὴς φίλων,
ἄγαν δὲ μωραίνοντι νουθετήματα.

Menander (fr. 591 K.).

“The man who is sick in the body needs a doctor;
someone who is sick in the mind needs a friend
For a well-meaning friend knows how to treat grief.”

Τῷ μὲν τὸ σῶμα † διατεθειμένῳ κακῶς
χρεία ‘στ’ ἰατροῦ, τῷ δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν φίλου·
λύπην γὰρ εὔνους οἶδε θεραπεύειν φίλος.

Attributed to Socrates (in Stobaeus)

“The sick need doctors; the unlucky need encouragement from friends.”

Τοῖς μὲν νοσοῦσιν ἰατρούς, τοῖς δ’ ἀτυχοῦσι φίλους δεῖ παραινεῖν.

 

Euripides, Alcestis, 962—966

I have leapt through the Muses
And soared high but
Even though I have tried most words
I have found nothing stronger than Necessity
Not any medicine at all.

᾿Εγὼ καὶ διὰ Μούσας
καὶ μετάρσιος ᾖξα καὶ
πλείστων ἁψάμενος λόγων
κρεῖσσον οὐδὲν ᾿Ανάγκας
εὗρον, οὐδέ τι φάρμακον.

Sotion, About Rage

“Consolation is the greatest medicine for anger,
It counters grief, anger, and brings forgetfulness from all evils.”

῞Οτι ἡ παραμυθία φάρμακον ἀνίας ἐστὶ μέγιστον,
νηπενθές τ’ ἄχολόν τε, κακῶν ἐπίληθον ἁπάντων.

Biôn (c. XIV Herm., XVIII Ahr.).

“Love should summon the Muses; the Muses should carry love.
The Muses—I hope—give song to me always when I need it,
Sweet song, no medicine is more pleasing!”

Μοίσας ῎Ερως καλέοι, Μοῖσαι τὸν ῎Ερωτα φέροιεν·
μολπὰν ταὶ Μοῖσαί μοι ἀεὶ ποθέοντι διδοῖεν,
τὰν γλυκερὰν μολπάν, τᾶς φάρμακον ἅδιον οὐδέν.

Image result for Ancient Greek friends

All of these quotes make me rethink the following from the Odyssey (14.399-400):

“Let us take pleasure from recalling one another’s grievous pains”

κήδεσιν ἀλλήλων τερπώμεθα λευγαλέοισι / μνωομένω

The Danger of Students without Teaching: Against Illiterate Literacy

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Plato, Phaedrus 274e-275a (go here for the full dialogue)

Socrates is telling a story of the invention of writing in Egypt

“When it came to the written letters, Theuth said, ‘This training, King, will make Egyptians wiser and will give them stronger memories: for it is a drug for memory and wisdom!’ But the king replied, “Most inventive Theuth, one man is able to create technology, but another judges how much harm and benefit it brings to those who use it. Just so now you, who are father of letters, declare the opposite of what they are capable because of your enthusiasm. This craft will engender forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn it from the disuse of the memory since they will trust external writing struck by others, no longer recalling their own thoughts within them. You have discovered a drug for reminding, not one for memory; you will offer students the reputation of wisdom but not the true thing. For many who become students without instruction will seem to know a lot when they are mostly ignorant and difficult to be around, since they have become wise for appearance instead of wise.’

Ph. Socrates, you can easily make up any story about Egypt that you want to”

ἐπειδὴ δ’ ἐπὶ τοῖς γράμμασιν ἦν, Τοῦτο δέ, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τὸ μάθημα, ἔφη ὁ Θεύθ,

σοφωτέρους Αἰγυπτίους καὶ μνημονικωτέρους παρέξει, μνήμης τε γὰρ καὶ σοφίας φάρμακον εὑρέθη. ῾Ο δ’ εἶπεν, ῏Ω τεχνικώτατε Θεύθ, ἄλλος μὲν δυνατὸς τεκεῖν τὰ τέχνης, ἄλλος δὲ κρῖναι, τίν’ ἔχει μοῖραν βλάβης τε καὶ ὠφελείας τοῖς μέλλουσι χρῆσθαι. Καὶ νῦν σὺ πατὴρ ὢν γραμμάτων δι’ εὔνοιαν τοὐναντίον εἶπες ἢ δύναται. Τοῦτο γὰρ τῶν μαθόντων λήθην μὲν ἐν ψυχαῖς παρέξει, μνήμης ἀμελετησίᾳ, ἅτε διὰ πίστιν γραφῆς ἔξωθεν ὑπ’ ἀλλοτρίων τύπων, οὐκ ἔνδοθεν αὐτοὺς ὑφ’ αὑτῶν ἀναμιμνησκομένους. Οὐκοῦν οὐ μνήμης ἀλλ’ ὑπομνήσεως φάρμακον εὗρες, σοφίας δὲ τοῖς μαθηταῖς δόξαν οὐκ ἀλήθειαν πορίζεις. πολυήκοοι γάρ σοι γενόμενοι ἄνευ διδαχῆς πολυγνώμονες εἶναι δόξουσιν, ἀγνώμονες ὡς ἐπὶ πλῆθος ὄντες καὶ χαλεποὶ ξυνεῖναι, δοξόσοφοι γεγονότες ἀντὶ σοφῶν.

ὦ Σώκρατες, ῥᾳδίως σὺ Αἰγυπτίους καὶ ὁποδαποὺς ἂν ἐθέλῃς λόγους ποιεῖς.

Image result for Ancient Egyptian writing

Betraying the Earth, Mother of Gods and Men

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Pindar, Nemean 6. 1-2

“The race of gods and the race of men are separate; but we both breathe thanks to one mother.”

῝Εν ἀνδρῶν, ἓν θεῶν γένος· ἐκ μιᾶς δὲ πνέομεν
ματρὸς ἀμφότεροι·

Homeric Hymn to Mother Earth (30)

“I sing of earth, the mother of all, our fine foundation,
The oldest one, who feeds as many things as exist on the land
And as many things that move on the earth, on the sea
Or fly above it. Everything grows strong because of your wealth.
Because of you, queen, they have many children and many fruit,
You have power to give life and take it away
For mortal men. Whoever you cherish in your heart
Becomes happy, because nothing is begrudged to him.
His field grows strong with life-giving food—and in the fields
He does well with his flocks, and his house is full of goods.
These men rule cities of beautiful women with good laws,
Great wealth and blessings attend them.
Their sons find glory in prudence and youth;
Their daughters carry flowers in dance with happy hearts
As they delight playing in the blooming meadow,
When you honor them, holy goddess, goddess without envy.

Hail, mother of the gods, wife of starry Ouranos,
Please grant us a life fit-to-our-hearts in exchange for this song.”

Γαῖαν παμμήτειραν ἀείσομαι, ἠϋθέμεθλον,
πρεσβίστην, ἣ φέρβει ἐπὶ χθονὶ πάνθ᾿ ὁπόσ᾿ ἐστίν,
ἠμὲν ὅσα χθόνα δῖαν ἐπέρχεται ἠδ᾿ ὅσα πόντον
ἠδ᾿ ὅσα πωτῶνται· τὰ δὲ φέρβεται ἐκ σέθεν ὄλβου.
ἐκ σέο δ᾿ εὔπαιδές τε καὶ εὔκαρποι τελέθουσιν,
πότνια, σεῦ δ᾿ ἔχεται δοῦναι βίον ἠδ᾿ ἀφελέσθαι
θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισιν· ὃ δ᾿ ὄλβιος, ὅν κε σὺ θυμῶι
πρόφρων τιμήσηις, τῶι τ᾿ ἄφθονα πάντα πάρεστιν·
βρίθει μέν σφιν ἄρουρα φερέσβιος, ἠδὲ κατ᾿ἀγρούς
κτήνεσιν εὐθηνεῖ, οἶκος δ᾿ ἐμπίμπλαται ἐσθλῶν·
αὐτοὶ δ᾿ εὐνομίηισι πόλιν κάτα καλλιγύναικα
κοιρανέουσ᾿, ὄλβος δὲ πολὺς καὶ πλοῦτος ὀπηδεῖ·
παῖδες δ᾿ εὐφροσύνηι νεοθηλέϊ κυδιόωσιν,
παρθενικαί τε χοροῖς φερεσανθέσιν εὔφρονι θυμῶι
παίζουσ<α>ι χαίρουσι κατ᾿ ἄνθεα μαλ<θ>ακὰ ποίης,
οὕς κε σὺ τιμήσηις, σεμνὴ θεά, ἄφθονε δαῖμον.
χαῖρε, θεῶν μήτηρ, ἄλοχ᾿ Οὑρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος,
πρόφρων δ᾿ ἀντ᾿ ὠιδῆς βίοτον θυμήρε᾿ ὄπαζε·

Euripides,fr. 484 (Melanippe Wise): Alternative Cosmogony

“The story is not mine, but from my mother:
Sky and Earth were once a single form.
When they were split apart from one another
They created and delivered all things to the light:
Trees, birds, beasts the sea supports
And the race of mortal men.”

κοὐκ ἐμὸς ὁ μῦθος, ἀλλ’ ἐμῆς μητρὸς πάρα,
ὡς οὐρανός τε γαῖά τ’ ἦν μορφὴ μία•
ἐπεὶ δ’ ἐχωρίσθησαν ἀλλήλων δίχα,
τίκτουσι πάντα κἀνέδωκαν εἰς φάος,
δένδρη, πετεινά, θῆρας οὕς θ’ ἅλμη τρέφει
γένος τε θνητῶν.

Some Greek Words for Treason

ἀπιστία, “treachery”
προδοσία, “high treason”, “betrayal”
προδοτής, “traitor”
ἐπιβουλή, “plot”

Simonides’ Dedicatory Inscription for Harmodius and Aristogeiton

“Truly a great dawn rose for the Athenians when Aristogeiton
And Harmodius killed Hipparchus

ἦ μέγ᾿ Ἀθηναίοισι φόως γένεθ᾿, ἡνίκ᾿ Ἀριστογείτων
Ἵππαρχον κτεῖνε καὶ Ἁρμόδιος·

Aristotle, Constitution of the Athenians

“The Polemarch offers sacrifices to Artemis the Huntress and Enyalios and arranges for the funerary contest for those who have died in war and also makes the annual offerings to Harmodius and Aristogeiton

LVIII. Ὁ δὲ πολέμαρχος θύει μὲν θυσίας τήν τε τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι τῇ Ἀγροτέρᾳ καὶ τῷ Ἐνυαλίῳ, διατίθησι δ᾿ ἀγῶνα τὸν ἐπιτάφιον [καὶ] τοῖς τετελευτηκόσιν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ, καὶ Ἁρμοδίῳ καὶ Ἀριστογείτονι ἐναγίσματα ποιεῖ.

Image result for Ancient Greek Gaia

Addictive Reading: Etymologies for Kirke and Pharmakon in the Suda

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Yesterday a review I wrote of the Suda On Line was published on the SCS website. A longer version of the review (which was edited) included a bit of a paean to the wonder and strangeness of the Byzantine Encyclopedia. Here are some tidbits I found searching the word “drugs”.

 

“Walled off”: This means “blocking”. As in the [unknown author’s line] “Because I have walled off my stomach, I am no longer susceptible to any drug.”

Ἀποτειχίζων: ἀποφράσσων. ἀποτειχίσας δὲ τὴν γαστέρα οὐδενὶ τῶν φαρμάκων ἔτι εἰμὶ ἁλώσιμος

 

Kirkê: This comes from “the woman who mixes [kirnôsa] the drugs. Or it is from kerkis [shuttle] from the verb kerkô. We call women who are especially subtle Kirkes.

Κίρκη: ἡ κιρνῶσα τὰ φάρμακα. ἢ παρὰ τὴν κερκίδα: κερκὶς δὲ παρὰ τὸ κρέκω. τὰς δὲ παιπαλώσεις γυναῖκας Κίρκας φαμέν.

 

“The oblivion of dogs”: [This is a proverb] for drugs that bring forgetfulness

Λήθην κυνῶν: λήθην ἐμποιούντων φαρμάκων.

 

Drug [Pharmakon]: this can mean persuasion, conversation: the etymology is said to be from bearing [pherein] the cure [akos]. Others claim that it comes from flowers.

Φάρμακον: παραμυθία, ὁμιλία, εἴρηται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ φέρειν τὴν ἄκεσιν: εἴρηται δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθέων.

 

Image result for Ancient Greek Circe

The Strange Stage Rivalry of Pylades and Hylas

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Macrobius, Saturnalia 2.7:

“Because I have begun talking about the stage, I should not forget to mention the actor Pylades, who was renowned for his craft in the age of Augustus, and carried his disciple Hylas forth all the way to equal contention with himself. The public was of two opinions, and when Hylas was performing a dance for a certain song which ended with ‘great Agamemnon,’ Hylas affected to measure out a lofty and grand step. Pylades did not bear this, and said, ‘You’re making Agamemnon big, not great!’ Then the audience made Pylades attempt the same dance; and when he came to the spot where he had faulted Hylas, he pretended to be lost in thought, thinking that nothing suited a great leader more than to think of everyone. Hylas was dancing Oedipus, and Pylades chastised his carelessness by saying, ‘You’re peeking!’ When he played the part of the mad Hercules and it seemed to some that he didn’t preserve the type of step necessary to an actor, he broke character and said, ‘You imbeciles, I’m pretending to be mad!’ In this very same play, he shot arrows into the audience. When he performed the same act at a dinner under Augustus’ order, he aimed his bow and shot some arrows. Augustus did not think it unseemly to find himself in the same place respecting Pylades as the Roman people had been. He, because he was said to have altered the old and uncultured mode of dancing, which enjoyed favor among the ancients, and because he had introduced a charming novelty to the stage, was asked by Augustus what he had brought to the art of dancing, he responded,

‘The sound of flutes and pipes, and the clamor of men.’


Sed quia semel ingressus sum scenam loquendo, non Pylades histrio nobis omittendus est, qui clarus in opere suo fuit temporibus Augusti et Hylam discipulum usque ad aequalitatis contentionem eruditione provexit. 13 Populus deinde inter utriusque suffragia divisus est, et cum canticum quoddam saltaret Hylas cuius clausula erat: Τὸν μέγαν Ἀγαμέμνονα, sublimem ingentemque Hylas velut metiebatur. Non tulit Pylades, et exclamavit e cavea: Σὺ μακρὸν οὐ μέγαν ποιεῖς. 14 Tunc eum populus coegit idem saltare canticum: cumque ad locum venisset quem reprehenderat, expressit cogitantem, nihil magis ratus magno duci convenire quam pro omnibus cogitare. 15 Saltabat Hylas Oedipodem, et Pylades hac voce securitatem saltantis castigavit: Σὺ βλέπεις. 16 Cum in Herculem furentem prodisset et nonnullis incessum histrioni convenientem non servare videretur, deposita persona ridentes increpuit: Μωροὶ, μαινόμενον ὀρχοῦμαι. 17 Hac fabula et sagittas iecit in populum. Eandem personam cum iussu Augusti in triclinio ageret, et intendit arcum et spicula inmisit. Nec indignatus est Caesar eodem se loco Pyladi quo populum Romanum fuisse. 18 Hic, quia ferebatur mutasse rudis illius saltationis ritum, quae apud maiores viguit, et venustam induxisse novitatem, interrogatus ab Augusto, quae saltationi contulisset, respondit:
Αὐλῶν συρίγγων τ’ ἑνοπὴν, ὁμαδόν τ’ ἀνθρώπων.

The Stern Judge

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Epistles of Phalaris, IX: To Cleostratus

“It seems to me entirely appropriate to marvel (with a bit of laughter) at the chastisement which certain people have received from you. It is necessary for the one who has undertaken to pass judgment on others to first desist from knavery himself. But you, being guilty of all the same crimes (and more) as those on whom you pass judgment, nevertheless go on in this manner judging them without end.”

Κλεοστράτῳ.
Πάνυ μοι δοκεῖ μετὰ γέλωτος ἄξιον εἶναι θαυμάσαι τὸ σωφρονίζεσθαί τινας ὑπὸ σοῦ· τὸν γὰρ ἄλλοις ἐπιτιμᾶν ἐπιβαλλόμενον καὶ αὐτὸν ἀπηλλάχθαι χρὴ πάσης πονηρίας. σὺ δὲ ταῖς τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ νουθετουμένων κακίαις ἔνοχος ὢν καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις ἁπάσαις ὡς ἀνεπίληπτος εἰς πονηρίαν οὕτω νουθετεῖς.

Κ᾿[α]π ε᾿φη[φ]ε: A Future Scholion on #Covfefe

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In a distant future, scholars laboring over dead languages and the confluence of allusions in the CET (Corpus Electronicum Pipiatorum) make learned guesses on the possible meanings contained within a mysterious neologism #cavfefe:

Κ᾿ <ά>π ε᾿φη[φ]ε [sc. κε μὴ…τοῦτο]: “would that he had not said it”
or Κ᾿ <ά>π ε᾿φη[φ]ε = κ<αὶ> ἀπ<έ>φη<να>: “And I declared…”

Ex. The lexical item often appears with references to speakers in a position of political or intellectual authority who are making official statements regarding an immutable truth. Vide Eur. Suppl. 335-7 where Theseus speaks:

“The words that I said were right, Mother.
And I have also declared [K’apephênamên] my opinion on the matter,
Of the kinds of councils over which he tripped.”

Θη. ἐμοὶ λόγοι μέν, μῆτερ, οἱ λελεγμένοι
ὀρθῶς ἔχουσ’ ἐς τόνδε κἀπεφηνάμην
γνώμην ὑφ’ οἵων ἐσφάλη βουλευμάτων.

Cf. Anth. Graec. 9.366

“Many people are worse” declared Bias of Priêne.
„Τοὺς πλέονας κακίους” δὲ Βίας ἀπέφηνε Πριηνεύς.

Cf. Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Distinguished Philosophers

“[Plato] claimed that there are two origins of everything, god and matter, which he also called the mind and the cause.”

3.69 δύο δὲ τῶν πάντων ἀπέφηνεν ἀρχάς, θεὸν καὶ ὕλην, ὃν καὶ νοῦν προσαγορεύει καὶ αἴτιον.

Many contemporaries puzzled over the meaning. Proposals included scribal error (which we bar based on the lectio difficilior), a coded, but ungrammatical wish, a desire for an implement to brew a now extinct stimulant, and, as typical of those barbarous times, invocations of the occult.

https://twitter.com/SegoAG/status/869894608880357377

https://twitter.com/ArmandDAngour/status/869853138966204417

Image result for Ancient Greek scholars

 

Little By Little: Memory and Education

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Plutarch, The Education of Children (Moralia 9)

It is especially important to train and practice children’s memory: for memory is the warehouse of learning. This is why we used to mythologize Memory as the mother of the Muses, making it clear through allegory that nothing creates and nourishes the way memory does. This should be trained in both cases, whether children have a good memory from the beginning or are naturally forgetful. For we may strengthen the inborn ability and supplement the deficiency. The first group will be better than others; but the second will be better than themselves. This is why the Hesiodic line rings true: “If you add a little by little, and you keep doing it, soon you can have something great.”

Parents should also not forget that a skill of memory contributes its great worth not only to education but to life’s actions in general. For the memory of past events becomes an example of good planning for future actions.”

Πάντων δὲ μάλιστα τὴν μνήμην τῶν παίδων ἀσκεῖν καὶ συνεθίζειν· αὕτη γὰρ ὥσπερ τῆς παιδείας ἐστὶ ταμιεῖον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μητέρα τῶν Μουσῶν ἐμυθολόγησαν εἶναι τὴν Μνημοσύνην, αἰνιττόμενοι καὶ παραδηλοῦντες ὅτι οὕτως οὐδὲν γεννᾶν καὶ τρέφειν ὡς ἡ μνήμη πέφυκε. καὶ τοίνυν ταύτην κατ᾿ ἀμφότερ᾿ ἐστὶν ἀσκητέον, εἴτ᾿ ἐκ φύσεως μνήμονες εἶεν οἱ παῖδες, εἴτε καὶ τοὐναντίον ἐπιλήσμονες. τὴν γὰρ πλεονεξίαν τῆς φύσεως ἐπιρρώσομεν, τὴν δ᾿ ἔλλειψιν ἀναπληρώσομεν· καὶ οἱ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἔσονται βελτίους, οἱ δ᾿ ἑαυτῶν. τὸ γὰρ Ἡσιόδειον καλῶς εἴρηται

εἰ γάρ κεν καὶ σμικρὸν ἐπὶ σμικρῷ καταθεῖο
καὶ θαμὰ τοῦτ᾿ ἔρδοις, τάχα κεν μέγα καὶ τὸ
γένοιτο.

μὴ λανθανέτω τοίνυν μηδὲ τοῦτο τοὺς πατέρας, ὅτι τὸ μνημονικὸν τῆς μαθήσεως μέρος οὐ μόνον πρὸς τὴν παιδείαν ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰς τοῦ βίου πράξεις οὐκ ἐλαχίστην συμβάλλεται μοῖραν. ἡ γὰρ τῶν γεγενημένων πράξεων μνήμη τῆς περὶ τῶν μελλόντων εὐβουλίας γίγνεται παράδειγμα.

Image result for Ancient Roman School rooms

This Current Time of Sickness

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On the metacognitive deficit:

“Evils of the soul escape most people; for this reason they are worse—they prevent those who suffer from sensing them”

τὰ δ᾿ ἐν ψυχῇ λανθάνει τοὺς πολλοὺς κακά, διὰ τοῦτ᾿ ἐστι καίω, προσαφαιρούμενα τὴν αὑτῶν τοῦ πάσχοντος αἴσθησιν

This and the following passage are from Plutarch’s On Whether Sickness of the Body or Mind Are Worse (Moralia 500 ff). The following (especially the last line of the first paragraph) appears to perpetuate the stigmatizing of mental illness. And it does: many behaviors we today would see as parafunctional and requiring therapy, ancient authors viewed as issues of will.

“Just as, therefore, the storm which keeps you from docking is more dangerous than the one that won’t let you sail, the storms of the soul are worse when they do not allow a person to control or put down his troubled thoughts—this person goes without a helmsman, without ballast in confusion and wandering, taking off in steep and opposite courses until suffering a harrowing shipwreck and crushing his life. This is why it is worse to suffer sickness of mind than the body: For those who are sick, merely suffer; the sick of mind suffer and harm others.

But why is it necessary to repeat the great number of afflictions? Current events remind me of them. Do you see this immense, mix up crowd which clings together and mixes around the seat of government and the market?”

Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐπισφαλέστερος χειμὼν τοῦ πλεῖν οὐκ ἐῶντος ὁ κωλύων καθορμίσασθαι, οὕτως οἱ κατὰ ψυχὴν χειμῶνες βαρύτεροι στείλασθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἐῶντες οὐδ᾿ ἐπιστῆσαι τεταραγμένον τὸν λογισμόν· ἀλλ᾿ ἀκυβέρνητος καὶ ἀνερμάτιστος ἐν ταραχῇ καὶ πλάνῃ δρόμοις λεχρίοις καὶ παραφόροις διατραχηλιζόμενος εἴς τι ναυάγιον φοβερὸν ἐξέπεσε καὶ συνέτριψε τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βίον. ὥστε καὶ ταύτῃ χεῖρον νοσεῖν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἢ τοῖς σώμασιν· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ πάσχειν μόνον τοῖς δὲ καὶ πάσχειν καὶ ποιεῖν κακῶς συμβέβηκε.

Καὶ τί δεῖ τὰ πολλὰ λέγειν τῶν παθῶν; αὐτὸς ὁ καιρὸς ὑπόμνησίς ἐστιν. ὁρᾶτε τὸν πολὺν καὶ παμμιγῆ τοῦτον τὸν ἐνταῦθα συνηραγμένον καὶ κυκώμενον ὄχλον περὶ τὸ βῆμα καὶ τὴν ἀγοράν;

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William Hogworth, “The Madhouse”

Two Fragments from Plutarch Pertaining to Political Rhetoric

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Plutarch, Fr. 186 (Isidorus of Pelusium, Letters, ii. 42)

“According to Plutarch, real Atticism is a clear and straight-forward style—for, he says, their politicians spoke in this way. Gorgias of Leonini first inserted that disease into public speeches, by polishing them with elevated language and poetic devices and muddying up their clarity. This very sickness—Plutarch says—afflicted even the wondrous Plato.”

Πλουτάρχῳ δὲ δοκεῖ τὸ σαφὲς καὶ λιτὸν γνήσιον εἶναι Ἀττικισμόν· οὕτω γάρ, φησίν, ἐλάλησαν οἱ ῥήτορες. Γοργίας δ᾿ ὁ Λεοντῖνος πρῶτος τὴν νόσον ταύτην εἰς τοὺς πολιτικοὺς λόγους εἰσήγαγε τὸ ὑψηλὸν καὶ τροπικὸν ἀσπασάμενος καὶ τῇ σαφηνείᾳ λυμηνάμενος. ἥψατό τε, φησίν, ἡ νόσος αὕτη καὶ τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ Πλάτωνος.

Fr. 197 (Prolegomenon in Hermogenis περὶ στάσεων Appendices)

Ἐκ τῶν Πλουτάρχου εἰς τὸν Πλάτωνος Γοργίαν·

From Plutarch’s Commentary on Plato’s Gorgias

The field of rhetoric according to Gorgias: Rhetoric is the art which has power over speeches—it is an instrument of public persuasion in political speeches about any idea which is targeted, it is about belief and not about teaching. [Gorgias] says that its particular concern [should be] just and unjust matters, noble and ignoble, beautiful and shameful affairs.”

Ὅρος ῥητορικῆς κατὰ Γοργιάν· ῥητορική ἐστι τέχνη περὶ λόγους τὸ κῦρος ἔχουσα, πειθοῦς δημιουργὸς ἐν πολιτικοῖς λόγοις περὶ παντὸς τοῦ προτεθέντος πιστευτικῆς καὶ οὐ διδασκαλικῆς· εἶναι δὲ αὐτῆς τὴν πραγματείαν ἰδίαν μάλιστα περὶ δίκαια καὶ ἄδικα ἀγαθά τε καὶ κακὰ καλά τε καὶ αἰσχρά.

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