§1τῶν σοφῶν ἐκείνους μάλιστα ἔγωγέ φημι δεῖν ἐπαινεῖν, ὁπόσοι μὴ λόγους μόνον δεξιοὺς παρέσχοντο ὑπὲρ τῶν πραγμάτων ἑκάστων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργοις ὁμοίοις τὰς τῶν λόγων ὑποσχέσεις ἐπιστώσαντο.
Of the wise men, I declare that those especially ought to be praised who not only provided clever speeches on each matter, but also confirmed the promises of their speeches with similar deeds.
καὶ γὰρ τῶν ἰατρῶν ὅ γε νοῦν ἔχων οὐ τοὺς ἄριστα ὑπὲρ τῆς τέχνης εἰπεῖν δυναμένους μεταστέλλεται νοσῶν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς πρᾶξαί τι κατʼ αὐτὴν μεμελετηκότας.
For indeed, among physicians, a man of sense when ill does not summon those who are able to speak best about the art, but those who have practiced doing something in accordance with it.
ἀμείνων δὲ καὶ μουσικός, οἶμαι, τοῦ διακρίνειν ῥυθμοὺς καὶ ἁρμονίας ἐπισταμένου ὁ καὶ ψᾶλαι καὶ κιθαρίσαι αὐτὸς δυνάμενος.
And a musician too, I think, is better who is himself able to play the lyre and pluck the strings, rather than one who only knows how to distinguish rhythms and harmonies.
τί γὰρ ἄν σοι τῶν στρατηγῶν λέγοιμι τοὺς εἰκότως ἀρίστους κριθέντας, ὅτι οὐ τάττειν μόνον καὶ παραινεῖν ἦσαν ἀγαθοί, ἀλλὰ καὶ προμάχεσθαι τῶν ἄλλων καὶ χειρὸς ἔργα ἐπιδείκνυσθαι;
For why should I speak to you of those generals who were reasonably judged to be the best, because they were good not only at marshalling and encouraging, but also at fighting in the front ranks and showing the deeds of their hands?
οἷον πάλαι μὲν Ἀγαμέμνονα καὶ Ἀχιλλέα, τῶν κάτω δὲ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον καὶ Πύρρον ἴσμεν γεγονότας.
For example, we know that Agamemnon and Achilles in ancient times, and Alexander and Pyrrhus in later times, were such men.
§2πρὸς δὴ τί ταῦτʼ ἔφην;
To what purpose, then, did I say this?
οὐ γὰρ ἄλλως ἱστορίαν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι βουλόμενος ἐπεμνήσθην αὐτῶν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι καὶ τῶν μηχανικῶν ἐκείνους ἄξιον θαυμάζειν, ὁπόσοι ἐν τῇ θεωρίᾳ λαμπροὶ γενόμενοι καὶ μνημόσυνα ὅμως τῆς τέχνης καὶ παραδείγματα τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοὺς κατέλιπον·
For I did not mention them because I wished merely to display historical knowledge, but because among engineers also, those are worthy of admiration who, having become illustrious in theory, nevertheless left behind memorials and examples of their art for those after them.
ἐπεὶ οἵ γε τοῖς λόγοις μόνοις ἐγγεγυμνασμένοι σοφισταὶ ἂν εἰκότως μᾶλλον ἢ σοφοὶ καλοῖντο.
Since those who are trained only in words would more reasonably be called sophists rather than wise men.
τοιοῦτον ἀκούομεν τὸν Ἀρχιμήδη γενέσθαι καὶ τὸν Κνίδιον Σώστρατον, τὸν μὲν Πτολεμαίῳ χειρωσάμενον τὴν Μέμφιν ἄνευ πολιορκίας ἀποστροφῇ καὶ διαιρέσει τοῦ ποταμοῦ, τὸν δὲ τὰς τῶν πολεμίων τριήρεις καταφλέξαντα τῇ τέχνῃ.
We hear that Archimedes and Sostratos of Knidos were such men: the latter having subdued Memphis for Ptolemy without a siege by turning aside and dividing the river, and the former having burned the enemy's triremes by his art.
καὶ Θαλῆς δὲ ὁ Μιλήσιος πρὸ αὐτῶν ὑποσχόμενος Κροίσῳ ἄβροχον διαβιβάσειν τὸν στρατὸν ἐπινοίᾳ κατόπιν τοῦ στρατοπέδου μιᾷ νυκτὶ τὸν Ἅλυν περιήγαγεν, οὐ μηχανικὸς οὗτος γενόμενος, σοφὸς δὲ καὶ ἐπινοῆσαι καὶ συνεῖναι πιθανώτατος.
And Thales of Miletus before them, having promised Croesus to lead his army across without wetting them, brought the Halys around behind the camp in a single night by his ingenuity, though he was not an engineer but a wise man, most persuasive both at inventing and understanding.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Ἐπειοῦ πάνυ ἀρχαῖον, ὃς οὐ μόνον τεχνήσασθαι τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς τὸν ἵππον, ἀλλὰ καὶ συγκαταβῆναι αὐτοῖς ἐς αὐτὸν λέγεται.
For the story of Epeius is very ancient, who is said not only to have built the horse for the Achaeans, but also to have gone down into it with them.
§3ἐν δὴ τούτοις καὶ Ἱππίου τουτουὶ τοῦ καθʼ ἡμᾶς μεμνῆσθαι ἄξιον, ἀνδρὸς λόγοις μὲν παρʼ ὅντινα βούλει τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ γεγυμνασμένου καὶ συνεῖναί τε ὀξέος καὶ ἑρμηνεῦσαι σαφεστάτου, τὰ δὲ ἔργα πολὺ τῶν λόγων ἀμείνω παρεχομένου καὶ τὴν τῆς τέχνης ὑπόσχεσιν ἀποπληροῦντος, οὐκ ἐν τοιαύταις μὲν ὑποθέσεσιν ἐν αἷς οἱ πρὸ αὐτοῦ πρῶτοι γενέσθαι εὐτύχησαν, κατὰ δὲ τὸν γεωμετρικὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τῆς δοθείσης, φασίν, εὐθείας τὸ τρίγωνον ἀκριβῶς συνισταμένου.
Among these men, then, it is worthy to mention also this Hippias of our time, a man who, though trained in speech beyond anyone you please of those before him, and sharp in understanding and clearest in expression, yet presents works far better than his speeches, and fulfills the promise of his art, not indeed in such themes in which those before him were fortunate enough to be the first, but according to the geometrical saying, with the triangle being accurately constructed on the given straight line.
καίτοι τῶν γε ἄλλων ἕκαστος ἕν τι τῆς ἐπιστήμης ἔργον ἀποτεμόμενος ἐν ἐκείνῳ εὐδοκιμήσας εἶναί τις ὅμως ἔδοξεν, ὁ δὲ μηχανικῶν τε ὢν τὰ πρῶτα καὶ γεωμετρικῶν, ἔτι δὲ ἁρμονικῶν καὶ μουσικῶν φαίνεται, καὶ ὅμως ἕκαστον τούτων οὕτως ἐντελῶς δείκνυσιν ὡς ἓν αὐτὸ μόνον ἐπιστάμενος.
Although each of the others, having cut off some single work of science and having won a reputation in that, nevertheless seemed to be someone; but he appears to hold the first place in mechanics and geometry, and moreover in harmonics and music, and yet he demonstrates each of these so perfectly as if he knew this one alone.
τὴν μὲν γὰρ περὶ ἀκτίνων καὶ ἀνακλάσεων καὶ κατόπτρων θεωρίαν, ἔτι δὲ ἀστρονομίαν, ἐν ᾗ παῖδας τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ ἀπέφηνεν, οὐκ ὀλίγου χρόνου ἂν εἴη ἐπαινεῖν.
For to praise his theory concerning rays, reflections, and mirrors, and moreover his astronomy, in which he showed those before him to be mere children, would be the task of no short time.
§4ἃ δὲ ἔναγχος ἰδὼν αὐτοῦ τῶν ἔργων κατεπλάγην, οὐκ ὀκνήσω εἰπεῖν· κοινὴ μὲν γὰρ ἡ ὑπόθεσις κἀν τῷ καθʼ ἡμᾶς βίῳ πάνυ πολλή, βαλανείου κατασκευή· ἡ περίνοια δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ κοινῷ τούτῳ σύνεσις θαυμαστή.
But I shall not hesitate to speak of those of his works which I recently saw and was amazed by; for though the subject is common and very frequent in our life—namely, the construction of a bath—yet the ingenuity and understanding in this common thing are wonderful.
τόπος μὲν ἦν οὐκ ἐπίπεδος, ἀλλὰ πάνυ προσάντης καὶ ὄρθιος, ὃν παραλαβὼν κατὰ θάτερα εἰς ὑπερβολὴν ταπεινόν, ἰσόπεδον θάτερον θατέρῳ ἀπέφηνεν, κρηπῖδα μὲν βεβαιοτάτην ἅπαντι τῷ ἔργῳ βαλόμενος καὶ θεμελίων θέσει τὴν τῶν ἐπιτιθεμένων ἀσφάλειαν ἐμπεδωσάμενος, ὕψεσι δὲ πάνυ ἀποτόμοις καὶ πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν συνεχομένοις τὸ ὅλον κρατυνάμενος· τὰ δὲ ἐποικοδομηθέντα τῷ τε τοῦ τόπου μεγέθει σύμμετρα καὶ τῷ εὐλόγῳ τῆς κατασκευῆς ἁρμοδιώτατα καὶ τὸν τῶν φώτων λόγον φυλάττοντα.
The site was not level, but very steep and abrupt, which he took when it was excessively low on one side, and made it level with the other, laying a most secure foundation for the whole work and confirming the safety of the superstructures by the placement of the foundations, and strengthening the whole with very steep and security-supporting heights; and the buildings erected upon it were proportionate to the size of the site, most suitable to the reasonable plan of the construction, and preserving the correct proportion of light.