Humanizing a Monster: The Saddest Scene in Latin Literature

~ Erik ~ 13 Comments

As a high-school Latin teacher, I am tasked with guiding young minds through the world’s finest piece of propaganda literature, Vergil’s Aeneid. We read through substantial portions of the text in preparation for the AP Latin exam, but this reading is largely dictated by a syllabus of readings which do not include the part of the poem which I regard as the most emotionally affecting scene in all of Latin literature. This is the scene in which Aeneas describes his first glimpse of the cyclops Polyphemus:

“Hardly had he spoken, when we saw the pastor Polyphemus moving himself in a great mass among his flocks and seeking the well-known beach – a horrible monster, deformed, huge, whose eye had been taken. A broken pine guided his hand and firmed his step, while his woolly sheep kept him company; that was his one pleasure, the one solace in his suffering.” (Aeneid 3.655-661)

Vix ea fatus erat summo cum monte videmus
ipsum inter pecudes vasta se mole moventem
pastorem Polyphemum et litora nota petentem,
monstrum horrendum, informe, ingens, cui lumen ademptum.
trunca manum pinus regit et vestigia firmat;
lanigerae comitantur oves; ea sola voluptas
solamenque mali.

To be sure, Polyphemus is described as an object of horror, but lines 660-1 (ea sola voluptas solamenque mali) turn Polyphemus into an object of pity rather than revulsion. [Indeed, I think that this is intentional; throughout the poem, Ulysses is portrayed as an unequivocal villain, and Polyphemus can be read as one of his many victims here.] I made sure to include this scene on my class syllabus (though not required for the course), because I think that it is an excellent example of subtle psychological complexity on Vergil’s part. Yet, as I was discussing the scene with my students, it occurred to me that this complexity was not Vergil’s invention it all – Homer had already built this into the character of Polyphemus! In Odyssey Book IX, Odysseus is attempting to escape from Polyphemus’ cave by hiding on the underside of a ram, which is moving slowly in response to the burden. Polyphemus then addresses the ram:

“Oh gentle ram, why do you come from the cave behind the rest of the flock? You never before tarried behind the other skeep, but striding far before the others you snatched the mild blossoms, you came first to the banks of the rivers, and you ever desired first to return home in the evening. But now you are last by far. Are you worried about my eye, which that rotten bastard Noone and his awful friends took from me after wrecking my mind with wine – I do not say that he has escaped death. Would that you could be of one mind with me, and could tell me where that man has fled from my wrath. Once slain, his brain would drip through my cave here and there to the ground, and it would ease my heart from those troubles which that worthless bastard Noone gave me.” (Odyssey 9.446-460)

κριὲ πέπον, τί μοι ὧδε διὰ σπέος ἔσσυο μήλων
ὕστατος; οὔ τι πάρος γε λελειμμένος ἔρχεαι οἰῶν,
ἀλλὰ πολὺ πρῶτος νέμεαι τέρεν᾽ ἄνθεα ποίης
μακρὰ βιβάς, πρῶτος δὲ ῥοὰς ποταμῶν ἀφικάνεις,
πρῶτος δὲ σταθμόνδε λιλαίεαι ἀπονέεσθαι
ἑσπέριος: νῦν αὖτε πανύστατος. ἦ σύ γ᾽ ἄνακτος
ὀφθαλμὸν ποθέεις, τὸν ἀνὴρ κακὸς ἐξαλάωσε
σὺν λυγροῖς ἑτάροισι δαμασσάμενος φρένας οἴνῳ,
Οὖτις, ὃν οὔ πώ φημι πεφυγμένον εἶναι ὄλεθρον.
εἰ δὴ ὁμοφρονέοις ποτιφωνήεις τε γένοιο
εἰπεῖν ὅππῃ κεῖνος ἐμὸν μένος ἠλασκάζει:
τῷ κέ οἱ ἐγκέφαλός γε διὰ σπέος ἄλλυδις ἄλλῃ
θεινομένου ῥαίοιτο πρὸς οὔδεϊ, κὰδ δέ κ᾽ ἐμὸν κῆρ
λωφήσειε κακῶν, τά μοι οὐτιδανὸς πόρεν Οὖτις.

As horrifying as his earlier behavior had been, and as menacing as his threats to repaint his walls with Odysseus’ blood may sound, this speech is nevertheless given in the context of a much more deeply humanizing emotion: Polyphemus’ solicitous concern for his ram. He knows these animals, and evinces a tender regard for their well-being even in the midst of his own suffering. Indeed, this affectionate concern for his ram serves as a stark counterpoint to the actions of Odysseus, who throughout the poem shows no apparent serious regard for his companions. At no point in the poem does Odysseus show any outward emotional attachment to his men, and it is notable that even in his own tale of his sufferings, the loss of his men is primarily framed as something which happened to him. Polyphemus is thus portrayed as being, despite his monstrous qualities, a more compassionate figure than Odysseus.

Yet, putting Odyssean knavery aside, I think that the lines in the Aeneid reflect a very close reading of the Odyssey. Polyphemus tells his ram that murdering Odysseus would alleviate the sufferings in his heart (κὰδ δέ κ᾽ ἐμὸν κῆρ λωφήσειε κακῶν), but once the ram has left the cave, he is deprived of his chance at attaining this relief. Consequently, it is literally true that his flocks are now his only comfort. So, while it may appear that the phrase “that was his one pleasure, his one solace in his suffering” (ea sola voluptas solamenque mali) is included simply to heighten the pathos of the scene and underscore the humanity of even a monster like Polyphemus, it turns out that this brilliant psychological conceit is deeply rooted in a few lines of Homer.

The Tricks a Man Played to Become Tyrant

~ sententiaeantiquae ~ 2 Comments

Over the past few months, I have been thinking about Peisistratos [more commonly, Pisistratus] and the games he played to gain and regain power in Athens. I have no idea why.

Herodotus, 1.59

Peisistratos becomes a tyrant through histrionic lies

“After that, [Hippokrates] had a son named Peisistratos. Then the Athenians on the coasts were in strife with those who lived inland and Megakles, the son of Almeôn, was the leader of the first group, and Lykourgos the son of Aristolaidos was the leader of the inlanders. Peisistratos, because he had designs on a tyranny, led a third faction; after he gathered his partisans and claimed to be a defender of the heartland-Greeks, he enacted the following plans. He wounded himself and his mules and then drove his wagon into the marketplace as if he had fled enemies who wished to kill him as he was traveling to the country. Because of this, he asked the people for a bodyguard under his power, since he had previously earned good repute as a general against the Megarians when he took Nisaia and displayed many other great accomplishments. The Athenian people, utterly deceived, permitted him to choose from the citizens men three hundred men who were not spear-bearers under Peisistratus but club-carriers: for they followed behind him, carrying clubs. Once these men rebelled with Peisistratos, they occupied the acropolis.”

γενέσθαι οἱ μετὰ ταῦτα τὸν Πεισίστρατον τοῦτον, ὃς στασιαζόντων τῶν παράλων καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου ᾿Αθηναίων, καὶ τῶν μὲν προεστεῶτος  Μεγακλέος τοῦ ᾿Αλκμέωνος, τῶν δὲ ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου Λυκούργου <τοῦ> ᾿Αριστολαΐδεω, καταφρονήσας τὴν τυραννίδα ἤγειρε τρίτην στάσιν, συλλέξας δὲ στασιώτας καὶ τῷ λόγῳ τῶν ὑπερακρίων προστὰς μηχανᾶται τοιάδε· τρωματίσας ἑωυτόν τε καὶ ἡμιόνους ἤλασε ἐς τὴν ἀγορὴν τὸ ζεῦγος ὡς ἐκπεφευγὼς τοὺς ἐχθρούς, οἵ μιν ἐλαύνοντα ἐς ἀγρὸν ἠθέλησαν ἀπολέσαι δῆθεν, ἐδέετό τε τοῦ δήμου φυλακῆς τινος πρὸς αὐτοῦ κυρῆσαι, πρότερον εὐδοκιμήσας ἐν τῇ πρὸς Μεγαρέας γενομένῃ στρατηγίῃ, Νίσαιάν τε ἑλὼν καὶ ἄλλα ἀποδεξάμενος μεγάλα ἔργα. ῾Ο δὲ δῆμος ὁ τῶν ᾿Αθηναίων ἐξαπατηθεὶς ἔδωκέ οἱ τῶν ἀστῶν καταλέξασθαι ἄνδρας τριηκοσίους οἳ δορυφόροι μὲν οὐκ ἐγένοντο Πεισιστράτου, κορυνηφόροι δέ· ξύλων γὰρ κορύνας ἔχοντες εἵποντό οἱ ὄπισθε. Συνεπαναστάντες δὲ οὗτοι ἅμα Πεισιστράτῳ ἔσχον τὴν ἀκρόπολιν. ῎Ενθα δὴ ὁ Πεισίστρατος

 

Peisistratos is exiled after ruling for a short time. But, with the help of a foreign tyrant, regains the tyranny through more deceit and stupidity

Image result for Pisistratus

Herodotus, 1.60

“Once Peisistratos accepted this argument and agreed to these proposals, they devised the dumbest plan for his return that I can find, by far, if, even then, those in Athens, said to be among the first of the Greeks in wisdom, devised these things. (From antiquity, the Greek people have been set apart from barbarians by being more clever and freer from silly stupidity). In the country there was a Paianiean woman—her name was Phuê—and she was three inches short of six feet and altogether fine looking. After they dressed her up in a panoply, they put her in a chariot, and adorned her with the kind of scene which would make her a completely conspicuous sight to be seen. Then they drove her into the city, sending heralds out in front of her, who were announcing after they entered the city the words they had been assigned, saying something like “O Athenians, receive Peisistratos with a good thought, a man Athena herself honored beyond all men as she leads him to her own acropolis.” They went everywhere saying these things. And as soon as the rumor circulated among the people, they believed that the woman was Athena herself: then they were praying to the woman and were welcoming Peisistratos!

After he regained the tyranny in the way I have narrated, Peisistratos married the daughter of Megakles in accordance with the agreement they made. But because he already had young sons and since the family of the Alkmeaonids were said to be cursed, he did not wish to have children with his newly wedded wife, and he was not having sex with her according to custom…”

᾿Ενδεξαμένου δὲ τὸν λόγον καὶ ὁμολογήσαντος ἐπὶ τούτοισι Πεισιστράτου, μηχανῶνται δὴ ἐπὶ τῇ κατόδῳ πρῆγμα εὐηθέστατον, ὡς ἐγὼ εὑρίσκω, μακρῷ  (ἐπεί γε ἀπεκρίθη ἐκ παλαιτέρου τοῦ βαρβάρου ἔθνεος τὸ ῾Ελληνικὸν ἐὸν καὶ δεξιώτερον καὶ εὐηθείης ἠλιθίου ἀπηλλαγμένον μᾶλλον), εἰ καὶ τότε γε οὗτοι ἐν ᾿Αθηναίοισι τοῖσι πρώτοισι λεγομένοισι εἶναι ῾Ελλήνων σοφίην μηχανῶνται τοιάδε. ᾿Εν τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Παιανιέϊ ἦν γυνή, τῇ οὔνομα ἦν Φύη, μέγαθος ἀπὸ τεσσέρων πήχεων ἀπολείπουσα τρεῖς δακτύλους καὶ ἄλλως εὐειδής. Ταύτην τὴν γυναῖκα σκευάσαντες πανοπλίῃ, ἐς ἅρμα ἐσβιβάσαντες καὶ προδέξαντες σχῆμα οἷόν τι ἔμελλε εὐπρεπέστατον φανέεσθαι ἔχουσα, ἤλαυνον ἐς τὸ ἄστυ, προδρόμους κήρυκας προπέμψαντες, οἳ τὰ ἐντεταλμένα ἠγόρευον ἀπικόμενοι ἐς τὸ ἄστυ, λέγοντες τοιάδε· «῏Ω ᾿Αθηναῖοι, δέκεσθε ἀγαθῷ νόῳ Πεισίστρατον, τὸν αὐτὴ ἡ ᾿Αθηναίη τιμήσασα ἀνθρώπων μάλιστα κατάγει ἐς τὴν ἑωυτῆς ἀκρόπολιν.» Οἱ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα διαφοιτῶντες ἔλεγον, αὐτίκα δὲ ἔς τε τοὺς δήμους φάτις ἀπίκετο ὡς ᾿Αθηναίη Πεισίστρατον κατάγει, καὶ <οἱ> ἐν τῷ ἄστεϊ πειθόμενοι τὴν γυναῖκα εἶναι αὐτὴν τὴν θεὸν προσεύχοντό τε τὴν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἐδέκοντο Πεισίστρατον. ᾿Απολαβὼν δὲ τὴν τυραννίδα τρόπῳ τῷ εἰρημένῳ ὁ Πεισίστρατος κατὰ τὴν ὁμολογίην τὴν πρὸς Μεγακλέα γενομένην γαμέει τοῦ Μεγακλέος τὴν θυγατέρα. Οἷα δὲ παίδων τέ οἱ ὑπαρχόντων νεηνιέων καὶ λεγομένων ἐναγέων εἶναι τῶν᾿Αλκμεωνιδέων, οὐ βουλόμενός οἱ γενέσθαι ἐκ τῆς νεογάμου γυναικὸς τέκνα ἐμίσγετό οἱ οὐ κατὰ νόμον.

 

Post-fact is pre-fascism?  Seems like an understatement…

Soul-Doctors: Libraries, Songs and Philosophers

~ sententiaeantiquae ~ 1 Comment

Diodorus Siculus, 1.49

“Right next to this we find the sacred library [of Alexandria] on which is inscribed “The Healer of the Soul”; and next-door to it are the statues of the gods of Egypt….”

ἑξῆς δ’ ὑπάρχειν τὴν ἱερὰν βιβλιοθήκην, ἐφ’ ἧς ἐπιγεγράφθαι Ψυχῆς ἰατρεῖον, συνεχεῖς δὲ ταύτῃ τῶν κατ’ Αἴγυπτον θεῶν ἁπάντων εἰκόνας,

Pin. Nem. 4.1-8

“When the struggles have been decided,
The best doctor is happiness;
And songs, the Muses’ wise daughters,
Enchant whomever they touch.
Warm water does not make the limbs as soft
As the praise that sounds with the lyre.
Speech far outlives deeds,
Whatever words with the Graces’ help
The tongue draws from a deep mind.”

Α′ ῎Αριστος εὐφροσύνα πόνων κεκριμένων
ἰατρός· αἱ δὲ σοφαί
Μοισᾶν θύγατρες ἀοιδαὶ θέλξαν νιν ἁπτόμεναι.
οὐδὲ θερμὸν ὕδωρ τόσον γε μαλθακὰ τεύχει
γυῖα, τόσσον εὐλογία φόρμιγγι συνάορος.
ῥῆμα δ᾽ ἑργμάτων χρονιώτερον βιοτεύει,
ὅ τι κε σὺν Χαρίτων τύχᾳ
γλῶσσα φρενὸς ἐξέλοι βαθείας.

Iliad 11.514

“A doctor is worth many other men”

ἰατρὸς γὰρ ἀνὴρ πολλῶν ἀντάξιος ἄλλων.

Galen, Why A Doctor Must Also be A Philosopher

“What reason remains for a doctor not to be a philosopher if he should acquire the art worthy of Hippocrates? In order to uncover the nature of the body, the differences of diseases, and correct signs for treatment, he must train in logical theory; in order to work diligently in the practice of these things, he must dismiss money, develop prudence— He requires a portion of every type of philosophy, logic, physics, ethics. For there to be no danger of him committing any injustice, he must despise money and develop temperance—avoiding all those actions which men dare wrongly because they are persuaded by avarice or because they are enchanted by pleasure.

In this way, a doctor will be sure to have other virtues too, for they all are connected to one another. It is not possible to possess only one but not acquire any other since they follow each other intimately as if they are bound by a single string. And if philosophy is necessary to doctors for their education from the beginning and to the end of their practice, then it is clear that whoever is a real doctor must also be a philosopher.”

τί δὴ οὖν ἔτι λείπεται πρὸς τὸ μὴ <οὐκ> εἶναι φιλόσοφον τὸν ἰατρόν,ὃς ἂν ῾Ιπποκράτους ἀξίως ἀσκήσῃ τὴν τέχνην; εἰ γάρ, ἵνα μὲν ἐξεύρῃ φύσιν σώματος καὶ νοσημάτων διαφορὰς καὶ ἰαμάτων ἐνδείξεις, ἐν τῇ λογικῇ θεωρίᾳ γεγυμνάσθαι προσήκει, ἵνα δὲ φιλοπόνως τῇ τούτων ἀσκήσει παραμένῃ, χρημάτων τε καταφρονεῖν καὶ σωφροσύνην ἀσκεῖν, πάντα δὴ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἔχει τὰ μέρη, τό τε λογικὸν καὶ | τὸ φυσικὸν καὶ τὸ ἠθικόν. οὐ γὰρ δὴ δέος γε, μὴ χρημάτων καταφρονῶν καὶ σωφροσύνην ἀσκῶν ἄδικόν τι πράξῃ· πάντα γάρ, ἃ τολμῶσιν ἀδίκως ἅνθρωποι, φιλοχρηματίας ἀναπειθούσης ἢ γοητευούσης ἡδονῆς πράττουσιν. οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρετὰς ἀναγκαῖον ἔχειν αὐτόν·
σύμπασαι γὰρ ἀλλήλαις ἕπονται καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τε μίαν ἡντινοῦν λαβόντι μὴ οὐχὶ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἁπάσας εὐθὺς ἀκολουθούσας ἔχειν ὥσπερ ἐκ μιᾶς μηρίνθου δεδεμένας. καὶ μὴν εἴ γε πρὸς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς μάθησιν καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐφεξῆς ἄσκησιν ἀναγκαία τοῖς ἰατροῖς ἐστιν ἡ φιλοσοφία, δῆλον ὡς, ὅστις ἂν ἰατρὸς ᾖ, πάντως οὗτός ἐστι καὶ φιλόσοφος.

Ephesus_Celsus_Library_Façade.jpg
Remains of Library of Celsus at Ephesus

What is Best in Life? Four Fragments on Pain from Sophokles

~ sententiaeantiquae ~ 1 Comment

Fr. 356 (Creusa)

“The most noble thing is to be just.
The best thing is to live without sickness; the sweetest is when
A man has the ability to get what he wants each day.”

κάλλιστόν ἐστι τοὔνδικον πεφυκέναι,
λῷστον δὲ τὸ ζῆν ἄνοσον, ἥδιστον δ’ ὅτῳ
πάρεστι λῆψις ὧν ἐρᾷ καθ’ ἡμέραν

Fr. 375 (Laocoon)

“There is no account of pain that has gone by”

μόχθου γὰρ οὐδεὶς τοῦ παρελθόντος λόγος

Fr. 410 (The Mysians)

“No one is pain-free: the man who has the least
is the luckiest.”

ἄμοχθος γὰρ οὐδείς• ὁ δ’ ἥκιστ’ ἔχων
μακάρτατος

Fr. 434 (Nauplius)

“A single night seems like ten thousand for a man
Who suffers, but even daybreak surprises a man doing well.”

τῷ γὰρ κακῶς πράσσοντι μυρία μία
νύξ ἐστιν, εὖ παθόντα δ’ ἡμέρα φθάνει

Compare the sentiment above to Homer’s words:

From the Contest of Homer and Hesiod (lines 71-94), most likely a text from the Roman Imperial age drawing upon earlier material. The story has it that Hesiod eventually wins, but Homer takes the first round.

“Although both poets competed wonderfully, they report that Hesiod gained the trophy in the following way. After he entered the middle of the contest ground, he inquired from Homer certain questions, and Homer answered. Hesiod said:

“Son of Meles, Homer who knows the mysteries of the gods,
Tell me foremost what is best for mortals?”

Homer answered:

“First, it is best for mortals to not be born.
If born, to pass through Hades’ gates as soon as possible.”

Hesiod asked a second question:

“Tell me this too, Homer so like the gods,
What do you think is the fairest thing for mortals?

And Homer answered:

“ When merriment overtakes the whole people
as they feast in the halls and listen to a singer,
sitting in order next to tables filled with
food and meat as a cup-bearer draws wine from a bowl
and carries it to pour in all their cups.
This seems to my thinking to be the fairest thing.”

And when these words were uttered, they say that everyone was so amazed at them that the Greeks called them “the golden words” and even to this day everyone pronounces them before feasts or libations.”

ἀμφοτέρων δὲ τῶν ποιητῶν θαυμαστῶς ἀγωνισαμένων νικῆσαί φασι τὸν ῾Ησίοδον τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον• προελθόντα γὰρ εἰς τὸ μέσον πυνθάνεσθαι τοῦ ῾Ομήρου καθ’ ἓν ἕκαστον, τὸν δὲ ῞Ομηρον ἀποκρίνασθαι. φησὶν οὖν ῾Ησίοδος•

υἱὲ Μέλητος ῞Ομηρε θεῶν ἄπο μήδεα εἰδὼς
εἴπ’ ἄγε μοι πάμπρωτα τί φέρτατόν ἐστι βροτοῖσιν;

῞Ομηρος•
ἀρχὴν μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον,
φύντα δ’ ὅμως ὤκιστα πύλας ᾿Αίδαο περῆσαι.

῾Ησίοδος τὸ δεύτερον•
εἴπ’ ἄγε μοι καὶ τοῦτο θεοῖς ἐπιείκελ’ ῞Ομηρε,
τί θνητοῖς κάλλιστον ὀίεαι ἐν φρεσὶν εἶναι;

ὁ δέ•
ὁππότ’ ἂν εὐφροσύνη μὲν ἔχῃ κατὰ δῆμον ἅπαντα,
δαιτυμόνες δ’ ἀνὰ δώματ’ ἀκουάζωνται ἀοιδοῦ
ἥμενοι ἑξείης, παρὰ δὲ πλήθωσι τράπεζαι
σίτου καὶ κρειῶν, μέθυ δ’ ἐκ κρητῆρος ἀφύσσων
οἰνοχόος φορέῃσι καὶ ἐγχείῃ δεπάεσσιν.
τοῦτό τί μοι κάλλιστον ἐνὶ φρεσὶν εἴδεται εἶναι.

ῥηθέντων δὲ τούτων τῶν ἐπῶν, οὕτω σφοδρῶς φασι θαυμασθῆναι τοὺς στίχους ὑπὸ τῶν ῾Ελλήνων ὥστε χρυσοῦς αὐτοὺς προσαγορευθῆναι, καὶ ἔτι καὶ νῦν ἐν ταῖς κοιναῖς θυσίαις πρὸ τῶν δείπνων καὶ σπονδῶν προκατεύχεσθαι πάντας.

“This is Greek – It Can’t Be Read”

~ Erik ~ Leave a comment

J.E. Sandys, A History of Classical Scholarship:

“Early in the twelfth century the study of Roman Law had been revived at Bologna by Irnerius {c. 1113), who, besides expounding the Roman code in lectures, introduced the custom of explaining verbal difficulties by means of brief annotations known as ‘glosses’. But Bologna was far from being a School of Law alone. It was also famous as a School of Rhetoric and the Liberal Arts, where composition in prose and verse was practised under the name of Didamen, especially in the early part of the thirteenth century, when Buoncompagno was the great master of Rhetoric and Composition.

In the same century the example of Irnerius was followed by Accursius of Florence, who also taught at Bologna (d. 1260). Whenever in his public lectures he came upon a line of Homer quoted by Justinian, tradition describes him as saying: Graecum est, nec potest legi. The phrase would naturally occur in his oral teaching only, and its alternative form, non legitur, need mean nothing more than, ‘This is Greek, and is not lectured upon ‘. It has not been found in the published Glosses of Accursius, who, in his translation of the Pandects, as was shown by Albericus Gentilis” (d. 161 1), correctly explains the large number of Greek words occurring in the text. It has been suggested, however, that if the phrase was used at all by Accursius, it was not due to any ignorance of Greek on the part of this learned lawyer, but to the fact that the public assumption of a knowledge of that language would have laid him open to an imputation of heresy which he deemed it prudent to avoid’. In the first half of the sixteenth century, his ‘ barbarism ‘ and his ‘ ignorance ‘ are attacked by humanists such as Vives and Brassicanus, Budaeus and Alciatus but none of these deal with his knowledge of Greek.”

The Real Meaning of Education (Isocrates)

~ sententiaeantiquae ~ 1 Comment

Isocrates, Panathenaicus 30-32

“Which men do I call educated when I set aside the arts, sciences, and specialties? First, I prize those who handle well the events they meet each day and who have an appropriate judgment for each and the ability to plot the most advantageous path through them.

Then, I esteem those who always treat the people they are near appropriately and justly and who bear the unpleasantness and meanness of others with ease and good temper, and comport themselves towards their associates as lightly and measuredly as possible.

Then, I value those who always control their desires, who are not overcome by their misfortunes, but manage them bravely in a fashion worthy of the nature which we all happen to share.

Fourth—and most important—I consider men educated who are not ruined by their successes, who do not rebel against themselves and become arrogant, but instead remain positioned to be reflective and do not delight more in the goods they have received by chance than those which were theirs from the beginning by nature or thought. Those who have a mind well-fit not just to one of these qualities but to all of them are the men I say are prudent, complete people exhibiting all the virtues.”

 

Τίνας οὖν καλῶ πεπαιδευμένους, ἐπειδὴ τὰς τέχνας καὶ τὰς ἐπιστήμας καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις ἀποδοκιμάζω; Πρῶτον μὲν τοὺς καλῶς χρωμένους τοῖς πράγμασι τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἑκάστην προσπίπτουσι, καὶ τὴν δόξαν ἐπιτυχῆ τῶν καιρῶν ἔχοντας καὶ δυναμένην ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ στοχάζεσθαι τοῦ συμφέροντος·

ἔπειτα τοὺς πρεπόντως καὶ δικαίως ὁμιλοῦντας τοῖς ἀεὶ πλησιάζουσι, καὶ τὰς μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἀηδίας καὶ βαρύτητας εὐκόλως καὶ ῥᾳδίως φέροντας, σφᾶς δ’ αὐτοὺς ὡς δυνατὸν ἐλαφροτάτους καὶ μετριωτάτους τοῖς συνοῦσι παρέχοντας· ἔτι τοὺς τῶν μὲν ἡδονῶν ἀεὶ κρατοῦντας, τῶν δὲ συμφορῶν μὴ λίαν ἡττωμένους, ἀλλ’ ἀνδρωδῶς ἐν αὐταῖς διακειμένους καὶ τῆς φύσεως ἀξίως ἧς μετέχοντες τυγχάνομεν·

τέταρτον, ὅπερ μέγιστον, τοὺς μὴ διαφθειρομένους ὑπὸ τῶν εὐπραγιῶν μηδ’ ἐξισταμένους αὑτῶν μηδ’ ὑπερηφάνους γιγνομένους, ἀλλ’ ἐμμένοντας τῇ τάξει τῇ τῶν εὖ φρονούντων καὶ μὴ μᾶλλον χαίροντας τοῖς διὰ τύχην ὑπάρξασιν ἀγαθοῖς ἢ

τοῖς διὰ τὴν αὑτῶν φύσιν καὶ φρόνησιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γιγνομένοις. Τοὺς δὲ μὴ μόνον πρὸς ἓν τούτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντα ταῦτα τὴν ἕξιν τῆς ψυχῆς εὐάρμοστον ἔχοντας, τούτους φημὶ καὶ φρονίμους εἶναι καὶ τελέους ἄνδρας καὶ πάσας ἔχειν τὰς ἀρετάς.

Perjury and Punishment in Early Greek Poetry

~ sententiaeantiquae ~ Leave a comment

ἡ ἐπιορκία, hê epiorkía: “perjury
ἐπιορκεῖν, epiorkeîn; ψευδορκεῖν, pseudorkeîn: “to make a false oath; to commit perjury”

 

Hesiod, Works and Days 282-284

“Whoever lies when he has sworn a false oath in his witness
Outrages justice and falls into an incurable ruin,
His family is left harried and weakened afterwards.”

ὃς δέ κε μαρτυρίῃσιν ἑκὼν ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσας
ψεύσεται, ἐν δὲ δίκην βλάψας νήκεστον ἀασθῇ,
τοῦ δέ τ’ ἀμαυροτέρη γενεὴ μετόπισθε λέλειπται·

 

Homer, Iliad 19.158-260

“Now may Zeus know this, the highest and the best of the gods,
Along with Earth, the Sun and the Furies, those who punish men
Under the earth, whenever someone perjures himself.”

ἴστω νῦν Ζεὺς πρῶτα θεῶν ὕπατος καὶ ἄριστος
Γῆ τε καὶ ᾿Ηέλιος καὶ ᾿Ερινύες, αἵ θ’ ὑπὸ γαῖαν
ἀνθρώπους τίνυνται, ὅτις κ’ ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσῃ,

Aristophanes, Clouds 399-400

“If lightning strikes perjurers, how hasn’t it lit afire Simon
Kleonymos, or Theoros?—these are the biggest perjurers of all!”

“εἴπερ βάλλει τοὺς ἐπιόρκους [ὁ κεραυνός], πῶς δῆτα οὐχὶ Σίμων’ ἐνέπρησεν
οὐδὲ Κλεώνυμον οὐδὲ Θέωρον· καίτοι σφόδρα γ’ εἰσ’ ἐπίορκοι;”

Image result for ancient greek oathbreaker vase

An Encomium to the Life of the Mind

~ Erik ~ 3 Comments

C.G. Cobet, Protrepticus ad Studia Humanitatis (Quoted in Sandys, A History of Classical Scholarship Vol. III)

“To cultivate the soul and mind by study; to sharpen all of the gifts of intellect by the observation and consideration of useful things; to increase our faculty of understanding every day; to know ancient things and, once known, to emend and amplify them; to discover new things by thought and to inquire after the causes of things; to examine the origin and progress of things; to explain the present through the past; to make obscure and intricate things easier; to separate true from false; to refute, knock down, and drag away trifling and absurd things and, in short, to see the truth – this at last is worthy of the human intellect and reason; this is the food of the mind; this, finally, is what it means to live and have the full profit of one’s soul!”

Excolere animum et mentem doctrina, rerum utilium observatione et cognitione ingenii dotes omnes acuere, intelligendi facultatem in dies augere, vetera nosse et cognita emendare et amplificare, nova excogitando reperire, inquirere in rerum causas, perscrutari rerum originem et progressum, ex veteribus praesentia explicare, obscura et intricata expedire, ubique vera a falsis discernere, prava et vitiosa corrigere, futilia et absurda confutare, labefactare, tollere, et, ut uno verbo absolvam, verum videre, hoc demum est humano ingenio ac ratione dignum, hoc pabulum est animi, hoc demum est vivere et frui anima denique!

A Strange, Instructive Proverb

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The following is inspired by current events and by enthusiasm for an earlier post about Greek excrement

Hesychius

“Shitting in the Pythian temple”: Peisistratos built the temple to Pythian Apollo. But when some Athenians were present and they hated him and had nothing else to do, some pissed on the enclosure and shat near the building, effectively annoying the people who were working on it…”

ἐν Πυθίῳ χέσαι· Πεισίστρατος ᾠκοδόμει τὸν ἐν Πυθίῳ ναόν·τῶν δὲ ᾿Αθηναίων παριόντων <καὶ> μισούντων αὐτὸν …, οὐδὲν ἐχόντων ποιεῖν, ἐνίους προσουρεῖν τῷ περιφράγματικαὶ πλησίον ἀφοδεύειν τῆς οἰκοδομῆς, ὥστε διοχλεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐργαζομένους

Michael Apostolios, 7.17

“Shitting in the Pythian Temple”: this means to risk danger. For the tyrant Peisistratos, when he was building the temple, discovered some resident alien shitting there, and drove him off. For he posted that no one could shit there.”

᾿Εν Πυθίου χέσαι: οἷον κινδυνεῦσαι. Πεισίστρατος γὰρ ὁ τύραννος ποιῶν νεὼν, εὑρών τινα ἀποπατοῦντα μέτοικον, ἀπήγαγε· προσέγραψε γὰρ μηδένα ἀποπατῆσαι.

Aristophanes, Ecclesiazuae 832

“By Poseidon, I hope she doesn’t piss on me”

νὴ τὸν Ποσειδῶ, μὴ κατουρήσωσί μου.

 

Suda, s.v. Pythagoras

“Do not urinate when turned to the sun”

πρὸς ἥλιον τετραμμένον μὴ ὀμιχεῖν

 

“Do not urinate or stand on clipped nails or cut hair”

ἀπονυχίσμασι καὶ κουραῖς μὴ ἐπουρεῖν μηδὲ ἐφίστασθαι

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Highlights from Tacitus, Annals Book I

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tacitus1

1.2

“When the fiercest nobles had fallen either in battle or during the proscriptions, the rest of the nobility were raised to the heights of wealth and honor in proportion to their promptitude to slavery, and having been increased by this new state of affairs, they began to prefer what was present and pleasing over what was established and dangerous. Nor did the provinces rebel against that state of affairs, since the power of the ‘Senate and People’ was suspected on account of the contests among the powerful, and the avarice of the magistrates, while there was no help from the laws, which, though previously violated by ambition and violence, were afterward violated by money.”

cum ferocissimi per acies aut proscriptione cecidissent, ceteri nobilium, quanto quis servitio promptior, opibus et honoribus extollerentur ac novis ex rebus aucti tuta et praesentia quam vetera et periculosa mallent. neque provinciae illum rerum statum abnuebant, suspecto senatus populique imperio ob certamina potentium et avaritiam magistratuum, invalido legum auxilio quae vi ambitu postremo pecunia turbabantur.

1.3-4

“Domestic affairs were calm, and the magistrates used the same titles. The younger set were born after Augustus’ victory at Actium, and even many of the older men were born during the civil wars: how many were left who had even seen the Republic?

Therefore, once the affairs of the city had been overturned, the ancient and unspoiled ways were nowhere to be found; equality was discarded and everyone looked to the orders of the emperor with no fear for the present as long as Augustus, still at a strong age, could sustain himself, his home, and the peace. But after his old age was advanced and his body fatigued, and there lay at hand both his end and some new hopes, a few people began vainly to discuss the goods of liberty, but most began either to fear, or to desire, the advent of war.”

domi res tranquillae, eadem magistratuum vocabula; iuniores post Actiacam victoriam, etiam senes plerique inter bella civium nati: quotus quisque reliquus qui rem publicam vidisset?

Igitur verso civitatis statu nihil usquam prisci et integri moris: omnes exuta aequalitate iussa principis aspectare, nulla in praesens formidine, dum Augustus aetate validus seque et domum in pacem sustentavit. postquam provecta iam senectus aegro et corpore fatigabatur, aderatque finis et spes novae, pauci bona libertatis in cassum disserere, plures bellum pavescere, alii cupere.

tacitus2

1.29: “There is no moderation in the common rabble: they incite terror if they are not terrified, but when they shake with fear they can be scorned with impunity.”

nihil in vulgo modicum; terrere ni paveant, ubi pertimuerint inpune contemni.

1.48:

“[He urged him] to consider causes and merit in peace, but when war rushes in, to slaughter both innocent and guilty alike.”

nam in pace causas et merita spectari, ubi bellum ingruat innocentis et noxios iuxta cadere.

1.49

“The shouting, wounds, and blood were in plain view, the cause was hidden: Fortune ruled the rest.”

clamor vulnera sanguis palam, causa in occulto: cetera fors regit.

1.54

“A fight arising from the dramatic contest disturbed the Augustan games which were held then for the first time. Augustus had indulged that show while he let himself be guided by Maecenas’ effusive love for Bathyllus. Nor did he himself abstain from such pursuits, and he thought it the part of a citizen to take part in the pleasures of the rabble. The inclinations of Tiberius led elsewhere: but he did not yet dare to subject the populace, which was treated so gently through so many years, to sterner treatment.”

ludos Augustalis tunc primum coeptos turbavit discordia ex certamine histrionum. indulserat ei ludicro Augustus, dum Maecenati obtemperat effuso in amorem Bathylli; neque ipse abhorrebat talibus studiis, et civile rebatur misceri voluptatibus vulgi. alia Tiberi morum via: sed populum per tot annos molliter habitum nondum audebat ad duriora vertere.

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