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Plutarch · Comparison of Demetrius and Antony §3.1-3.4

Comparison of Their Attitudes to Pleasure and Duty

Passage 3 of 6 · Greek

Summary

This passage compares the attitudes of Demetrius and Antony toward pleasure, noting that while Demetrius indulged only in his spare time and remained effective in war, Antony was so captivated by Cleopatra that he abandoned his military duties and ultimately threw away victory by fleeing the battle in pursuit of her.

§3.1ὑβρισταὶ μὲν εὐτυχοῦντες ἀμφότεροι, καὶ πρὸς τρυφὰς ἀνειμένοι καὶ ἀπολαύσεις.
Both of them were insolent when successful, and abandoned to luxury and enjoyment.
οὐκ ἂν εἴποι δέ τις ὡς Δημήτριον ἐν εὐπαθείαις καὶ συνουσίαις ὄντα πράξεων καιρὸς ἐξέφυγεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ περιουσίᾳ τῆς σχολῆς ἐπεισῆγε τὰς ἡδονάς, καὶ τὴν Λάμιαν ὥσπερ τὴν μυθικὴν ἀτεχνῶς παίζων καὶ νυστάζων ἐποιεῖτο διαγωγήν.
Yet no one would say that a favorable opportunity for action ever escaped Demetrius while he was engaged in pleasures and banquets; rather, he introduced pleasures only into the surplus of his leisure, and made his life with Lamia, just like the mythical one, simply playing and dozing.
§3.2ἐν δὲ ταῖς τοῦ πολέμου παρασκευαῖς οὐκ εἶχεν αὐτοῦ τὸ δόρυ κιττόν, οὐδὲ μύρων ὠδώδει τὸ κράνος, οὐδὲ γεγανωμένος καὶ ἀνθηρὸς ἐπὶ τὰς μάχας ἐκ τῆς γυναικωνίτιδος προῄει, κοιμίζων δὲ τοὺς θιάσους καὶ τὰ βακχεῖα καταπαύων ἀμφίπολος Ἄρεος ἀνιέρου, κατὰ τὸν Εὐριπίδην, ἐγίνετο, καὶ δι’ ἡδονὴν ἢ ῥαθυμίαν οὐθὲν ἁπλῶς ἔπταισεν.
But in his preparations for war, his spear did not have ivy on it, nor did his helmet smell of perfumes, nor did he go forth to battle from the women's quarters highly polished and youthful; rather, silencing the revels and putting an end to the Bacchic rites, he became, in the words of Euripides, "a minister of unholy Ares," and never suffered any failure at all through pleasure or laziness.
§3.3Ἀντώνιον δέ, ὥσπερ ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς ὁρῶμεν τοῦ Ἡρακλέους τὴν Ὀμφάλην ὑφαιροῦσαν τὸ ῥόπαλον καὶ τὴν λεοντῆν ἀποδύουσαν, οὕτω πολλάκις Κλεοπάτρα παροπλίσασα καὶ καταθέλξασα συνέπεισεν ἀφέντα μεγάλας πράξεις ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν καὶ στρατείας ἀναγκαίας ἐν ταῖς περὶ Κάνωβον καὶ Ταφόσιριν ἀκταῖς ἀλύειν καὶ παίζειν μετʼ αὐτῆς.
But as for Antony, just as we see in paintings Omphale taking away the club of Heracles and stripping off his lion's skin, so Cleopatra often disarmed and captivated him, persuading him to let great deeds and necessary campaigns slip from his hands, to wander and play with her on the shores around Canopus and Taposiris.
§3.4τέλος δέ, ὡς ὁ Πάρις, ἐκ τῆς μάχης ἀποδρὰς εἰς τοὺς ἐκείνης κατεδύετο κόλπους· μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ μὲν Πάρις ἡττηθεὶς ἔφυγεν εἰς τὸν θάλαμον, Ἀντώνιος δὲ Κλεοπάτραν διώκων ἔφυγε καὶ προήκατο τὴν νίκην.
And finally, like Paris, fleeing from the battle, he sank into her bosom; or rather, while Paris fled to his chamber after being defeated, Antony fled in pursuit of Cleopatra and threw away his victory.

Notes

  1. §3.1οὐκ ἂν εἴποι δέ τις ὡς Δημήτριον ἐν εὐπαθείαις καὶ συνουσίαις ὄντα πράξεων καιρὸς ἐξέφυγεν — οὐκ ἂν εἴποι τις is a potential optative meaning 'no one would say.' Within the ὡς clause, which introduces a noun clause, the subject is πράξεων καιρός ('opportunity for action') and the verb is ἐξέφυγεν ('escaped'), with the accusative Δημήτριον ... ὄντα serving as its direct object. Although the word order is inverted, the syntactic relation is 'an opportunity escaped Demetrius (while he was in...)'.
  2. §3.3τοῦ Ἡρακλέους τὴν Ὀμφάλην ὑφαιροῦσαν τὸ ῥόπαλον — The construction of accusative and participle (τὴν Ὀμφάλην ... ὑφαιροῦσαν) is used as the complement of the verb of perception ὁρῶμεν. The genitive τοῦ Ἡρακλέους can be interpreted either as a genitive of separation depending on ὑφαιροῦσαν ('taking away from Heracles') which otherwise takes a double accusative, or as a possessive genitive modifying τὸ ῥόπαλον ('the club of Heracles'). In either case, it denotes Omphale taking his weapon from Heracles.
  3. §3.3Ἀντώνιον δέ ... συνέπεισεν ἀφέντα μεγάλας πράξεις ... ἀλύειν — The accusative Ἀντώνιον at the beginning of the sentence serves as the direct object of the main verb συνέπεισεν, and at the same time as the subject of the agreeing accusative participle ἀφέντα and the subsequent infinitives ἀλύειν καὶ παίζειν. Although it is widely separated from the subject Cleopatra and the main verb by a long parenthetical comparison (ὥσπερ...), the core structure is 'Cleopatra persuaded Antony (having abandoned great deeds) to wander and play'.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Comparison of Demetrius and Antony §3.1-3.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg059.humanitext-grc2:3.1-3.4

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