§14οἱ δὲ τοῦ μὲν λέγοντος οἴονταί τι ἔργον εἶναι, τοῦ δʼ ἀκούοντος οὐδέν, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνον μὲν ἀξιοῦσιν ἥκειν πεφροντικότα καὶ παρεσκευασμένον, αὐτοὶ δʼ ἄσκεπτοι καὶ ἀφρόντιδες τῶν καθηκόντων ἐμβαλόντες καθέζονται καθάπερ ἀτεχνῶς ἐπὶ δεῖπνον ἥκοντες. εὖ παθεῖν πονουμένων ἑτέρων.
But others think that there is some duty for the speaker, but none for the listener; and they expect him to have come having reflected and prepared, while they themselves, without consideration or thought for their duties, burst in and sit down, literally as if they had come to a dinner to be well-treated while others labor.
καίτοι καὶ συνδείπνου τι χαρίεντος ἔργον ἐστί, πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον ἀκροατοῦ.
And yet, even a pleasant fellow-guest has some duty, but much more so a listener.
κοινωνὸς γάρ ἐστι, τοῦ λόγου καὶ συνεργὸς τοῦ λέγοντος, καὶ οὐ τὰ μὲν ἐκείνου πλημμελήματα πικρῶς ἐξετάζειν ὀφείλει κατὰ ῥῆμα καὶ πρᾶγμα προσάγων τὴν εὐθύνην, αὐτὸς δʼ ἀνευθύνως, ἀσχημονεῖν καὶ πολλὰ σολοικίζειν περὶ τὴν ἀκρόασιν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ σφαιρίζειν τῷ βάλλοντι δεῖ συγκινούμενον εὐρύθμως φέρεσθαι τὸν δεχόμενον, οὕτως ἐπὶ τῶν λόγων ἔστι τις εὐρυθμία καὶ περὶ τὸν λέγοντα καὶ περὶ τὸν ἀκροώμενον, ἂν ἑκάτερος τὸ προσῆκον αὑτῷ φυλάττῃ.
For he is a partner in the discourse and a co-worker with the speaker, and he ought not bitterly to examine the other's errors, bringing him to account word by word and matter by matter, while he himself, with impunity, behaves unbecomingly and commits many solecisms regarding listening; but just as in ball-playing the receiver must move in harmony, keeping pace with the thrower, so in the case of discourses there is a certain harmony both concerning the speaker and concerning the listener, if each maintains what is appropriate to himself.
§15δεῖ δὲ μηδὲ ταῖς φωναῖς τῶν ἐπαίνων ὡς ἔτυχε χρῆσθαι.
And one must not use the expressions of praise at random.
καὶ γὰρ Ἐπίκουρος ἐπὶ τοῖς τῶν φίλων ἐπιστολίοις κροτοθορύβους γίγνεσθαι παρʼ αὐτῶν λέγων ἀηδής ἐστιν.
For indeed Epicurus is unpleasant when he says that on account of his friends' letters, hand-clapping and clamor arose from them.
οἱ δὲ τὰς ξένας φωνὰς τοῖς ἀκροατηρίοις νῦν ἐπεισάγοντες, οὗτοι καὶ
θείως
καὶ
θεοφορήτως
καὶ
ἀπροσίτως
ἐπιλέγοντες, ὡς οὐκέτι τοῦ
καλῶς
καὶ τοῦ
σοφῶς
καὶ τοῦ
ἀληθῶς
ἐξαρκοῦντος, οἷς οἱ περὶ Πλάτωνα καὶ Σωκράτη καὶ Ὑπερείδην ἐχρῶντο σημείοις τῶν ἐπαίνων, ὑπερασχημονοῦσι καὶ διαβάλλουσι τοὺς λέγοντας ὡς ὑπερηφάνων τινῶν καὶ περιττῶν δεομένους ἐπαίνων.
But those who now introduce foreign expressions into the lecture-halls, appending "divinely" and "divinely-inspired" and "unapproachably," as if "well" and "wisely" and "truly" were no longer sufficient—expressions which the circles of Plato and Socrates and Hyperides used as signs of praise—behave with extreme indecency and slander the speakers, as if they were in need of some arrogant and excessive praises.
σφόδρα δʼ ἀηδεῖς εἰσι καὶ οἱ μεθʼ ὅρκου τοῖς λέγουσιν ὥσπερ ἐν δικαστηρίῳ τὰς μαρτυρίας ἀποδιδόντες.
And exceedingly unpleasant also are those who, with an oath, render their testimonies to the speakers as if in a court of law.
οὐχ ἧττον δὲ τούτων οἱ περὶ τὰς ποιότητας ἀστοχοῦντες, ὅταν φιλοσόφῳ μὲν ἐπιφωνῶσι
δριμέως,
γέροντι δʼ
εὐφυῶς
ἢ
ἀνθηρῶς,
τὰς τῶν παιζόντων καὶ πανηγυριζόντων ἐν ταῖς σχολαστικαῖς μελέταις φωνὰς ἐπὶ τοὺς φιλοσόφους μετακομίζοντες καὶ λόγῳ σωφρονοῦντι προσφέροντες ἔπαινον ἑταιρικόν, ὥσπερ ἀθλητῇ κρίνων ἢ ῥόδων στέφανον, οὐ δάφνης οὐδὲ κοτίνου περιτιθέντες Εὐριπίδης μὲν οὖν ὁ, ποιητής, ὡς ὑπολέγοντος αὐτοῦ τοῖς χορευταῖς ᾠδήν τινα πεποιημένην ἐφʼ ἁρμονίας εἷς ἐγέλασεν,
εἰ μή τις ἦς ἀναίσθητος
εἶπε
καὶ ἀμαθής, οὐκ ἂν ἐγέλασας ἐμοῦ μιξολυδιστὶ ᾄδοντος.
No less than these are those who miss the mark concerning the appropriate qualities, when they call out to a philosopher "acutely!", and to an old man "cleverly!" or "flowery!", transferring to the philosophers the expressions of those who play and celebrate in scholastic exercises, and offering to a sober discourse a courtesan-like praise, just as if they were placing upon an athlete a crown of lilies or roses, and not of laurel or wild olive.
ἀνὴρ δʼ ἂν οἶμαι φιλόσοφος καὶ πολιτικὸς ἀκροατοῦ διακεχυμένου τρυφὴν ἐκκόψειεν εἰπών
σύ μοι δοκεῖς ἀνόητος εἶναι καὶ ἀνάγωγος· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐμοῦ διδάσκοντος ἢ νουθετοῦντος ἢ διαλεγομένου περὶ θεῶν ἢ πολιτείας ἢ ἀρχῆς ἐτερέτιζες καὶ προσωρχοῦ τοῖς λόγοις. ὅρα γὰρ ἀληθῶς οἷόν ἐστι. φιλοσόφου λέγοντος ἀπορεῖν τοὺς ἔξωθεν ὑπὸ τῶν ἔνδον βοώντων καὶ ἀλαλαζόντων πότερον αὐλοῦντος ἢ κιθαρίζοντος ἢ ὀρχουμένου τινὸς ὁ ἔπαινός ἐστι.
At any rate, Euripides the poet, when someone laughed as he was prompting the chorus-dancers with a song composed to a certain harmony, said, "If you were not insensitive and ignorant, you would not have laughed at me singing in the Mixolydian mode." And a philosophical and statesmanlike man, I think, would cut short the effeminacy of a relaxed listener, saying, "You seem to me to be foolish and ill-bred; for you would not, while I am teaching or admonishing or discoursing about gods or constitution or government, have chirped and danced along with my words." For see truly what a thing it is: when a philosopher is speaking, those outside are at a loss, because of those within shouting and cheering, whether the praise is for a flute-player, a lyre-player, or some dancer.