§35ταῦτά τε καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερα τοιαῦτα διελθὼν κατέπαυσε τὸν λόγον.
gone through these and many other such things, he ended his discourse.
ἐγὼ δὲ τέως μὲν ἤκουον αὐτοῦ τεθηπώς, μὴ σιωπήσῃ πεφοβημένος· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐπαύσατο, τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τῶν Φαιάκων πάθος ἐπεπόνθειν· πολὺν γὰρ δὴ χρόνον ἐς αὐτὸν ἀπέβλεπον κεκηλημένος·
And I for a while listened to him in amazement, fearing lest he should fall silent; but when he stopped, I had suffered indeed that very experience of the Phaeacians: for a long time I kept looking at him as though enchanted.
εἶτα πολλῇ συγχύσει καὶ ἰλίγγῳ κατειλημμένος τοῦτο μὲν ἱδρῶτι κατερρεόμην, τοῦτο δὲ φθέγξασθαι βουλόμενος ἐξέπιπτόν τε καὶ ἀνεκοπτόμην, καὶ ἥ τε φωνὴ ἐξέλειπε καὶ ἡ γλῶττα διημάρτανε, καὶ τέλος ἐδάκρυον ἀπορούμενος·
Then, seized with great confusion and dizziness, on the one hand I was drenched in sweat, and on the other, wishing to speak, I faltered and was checked, and both my voice failed and my tongue went astray, and finally I wept in helplessness.
οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἐπιπολῆς οὐδʼ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἡμῶν ὁ λόγος καθίκετο, βαθεῖα δὲ καὶ καίριος ἡ πληγὴ ἐγένετο, καὶ μάλα εὐστόχως ἐνεχθεὶς ὁ λόγος αὐτήν, εἰ οἷόν τε εἰπεῖν, διέκοψε τὴν ψυχήν·
For his speech had not reached us on the surface nor by chance, but the blow was deep and timely, and the speech, being delivered very accurately, cleft the soul itself, if one may say so.
εἰ γάρ τι δεῖ κἀμὲ ἤδη φιλοσόφων προσάψασθαι λόγων, ὧδε περὶ τούτων ὑπείληφα· §36δοκεῖ μοι ἀνδρὸς εὐφυοῦς ψυχὴ μάλα σκοπῷ τινι ἁπαλῷ προσεοικέναι.
For if it is necessary for me also now to touch upon philosophical arguments, I have understood concerning these matters as follows. seems to me that the soul of a gifted man is very like a soft target.
τοξόται δὲ πολλοὶ μὲν ἀνὰ τὸν βίον καὶ μεστοὶ τὰς φαρέτρας ποικίλων τε καὶ παντοδαπῶν λόγων, οὐ μὴν πάντες εὔστοχα τοξεύουσιν, ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν σφόδρα τὰς νευρὰς ἐπιτείναντες ἐντονώτερον τοῦ δέοντος ἀφιᾶσιν·
And there are many archers in life, whose quivers are full of varied and all kinds of discourses, yet not all shoot accurately; but some of them, stretching the strings too tight, let fly more forcefully than is necessary.
καὶ ἅπτονται μὲν καὶ οὗτοι, τὰ δὲ βέλη αὐτῶν οὐ μένει ἐν τῷ σκοπῷ, ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ τῆς σφοδρότητος διελθόντα καὶ παροδεύσαντα κεχηνυῖαν μόνον τῷ τραύματι τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπέλιπεν.
And these too indeed hit, but their arrows do not remain in the target, but having passed through and gone beyond because of the force, they leave the soul only gaping with the wound.
ἄλλοι δὲ πάλιν τούτοις ὑπεναντίως· ὑπὸ γὰρ ἀσθενείας τε καὶ ἀτονίας οὐδὲ ἐφικνεῖται τὰ βέλη αὐτοῖς ἄχρι πρὸς τὸν σκοπόν, ἀλλʼ ἐκλυθέντα καταπίπτει πολλάκις ἐκ μέσης τῆς ὁδοῦ· ἢν δέ ποτε καὶ ἐφίκηται, ἄκρον μὲν ἐπιλίγδην ἅπτεται, βαθεῖαν δὲ οὐκ ἐργάζεται πληγήν· οὐ γὰρ ἀπʼ ἰσχυρᾶς ἐμβολῆς ἀπεστέλλετο. §37ὅστις δὲ ἀγαθὸς τοξότης καὶ τούτῳ ὅμοιος, πρῶτον μὲν ἀκριβῶς ὄψεται τὸν σκοπόν, εἰ μὴ σφόδρα μαλακός, εἰ μὴ στερρότερος τοῦ βέλους.
Others again, contrary to these, because of weakness and lack of tension, do not even have their arrows reach as far as the target, but being slackened they often fall down in the middle of the way; and if ever they do reach, they touch only the very edge in a graze, and do not make a deep wound, for they were not sent from a strong impulse. whoever is a good archer and like this man, will first see the target accurately, whether it is not too soft, or whether it is not harder than the arrow; for indeed there are also woundless targets.
γίγνονται γὰρ δὴ καὶ ἄτρωτοι σκοποί. ἐπειδὰν δὲ ταῦτα ἴδῃ, τηνικαῦτα χρίσας τὸ βέλος οὔτε ἰῷ, καθάπερ τὰ Σκυθῶν χρίεται, οὔτε ὀπῷ, καθάπερ τὰ Κουρήτων, ἀλλʼ ἠρέμα δηκτικῷ τε καὶ γλυκεῖ φαρμάκῳ, τούτῳ χρίσας εὐτέχνως ἐτόξευσε·
And when he sees these things, then having anointed the arrow neither with poison, as those of the Scythians are anointed, nor with juice, as those of the Kouretes, but with a gently biting and sweet medicine, having anointed it with this, he shoots skillfully.
τὸ δὲ ἐνεχθὲν εὖ μάλα ἐντόνως καὶ διακόψαν ἄχρι τοῦ διελθεῖν μένει τε καὶ πολὺ τοῦ φαρμάκου ἀφίησιν, ὃ δὴ σκιδνάμενον ὅλην ἐν κύκλῳ τὴν ψυχὴν περιέρχεται.
And the arrow, delivered very forcefully and cutting through to the point of passing through, remains and lets out much of the medicine, which indeed dispersing goes all around the soul.
τοῦτό τοι καὶ ἥδονται καὶ δακρύουσι μεταξὺ ἀκούοντες, ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔπασχον, ἡσυχῇ ἄρα τοῦ φαρμάκου τὴν ψυχὴν περιθέοντος.
For this reason indeed they both rejoice and weep while listening, which is what I myself was experiencing, the medicine running quietly all through my soul.
ἐπῄει δʼ οὖν μοι πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸ ἔπος ἐκεῖνο λέγειν· βάλλʼ οὕτως, αἴ κέν τι φόως γένηαι. ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ τοῦ Φρυγίου αὐλοῦ ἀκούοντες οὐ πάντες μαίνονται, ἀλλʼ ὁπόσοι αὐτῶν τῇ Ῥέᾳ λαμβάνονται, οὗτοι δὲ πρὸς τὸ μέλος ὑπομιμνήσκονται τοῦ πάθους, οὕτω δὴ καὶ φιλοσόφων ἀκούοντες οὐ πάντες ἔνθεοι καὶ τραυματίαι ἀπίασιν, ἀλλʼ οἷς ὑπῆν τι ἐν τῇ φύσει φιλοσοφίας συγγενές. §38ὡς σεμνὰ καὶ θαυμάσια καὶ θεῖά γε, ὦ ἑταῖρε, διελήλυθας, ἐλελήθεις δέ με πολλῆς ὡς ἀληθῶς τῆς ἀμβροσίας καὶ τοῦ λωτοῦ κεκορεσμένος·
And so it occurred to me to say to him that epic line: 'Shoot thus, if you may become some light.' For just as those who hear the Phrygian flute do not all go mad, but only those of them who are possessed by Rhea, and these are reminded of their passion by the melody, so indeed those who hear philosophers do not all go away inspired and wounded, but only those in whose nature there was something akin to philosophy.'How solemn and wonderful and indeed divine, my friend, are the things you have gone through!
ὥστε καὶ μεταξὺ σοῦ λέγοντος ἔπασχόν τι ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ παυσαμένου ἄχθομαι καὶ ἵνα δὴ καὶ κατὰ σὲ εἴπω, τέτρωμαι· καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς·
And I did not realize that you were truly filled with so much ambrosia and lotus; so that even while you were speaking, I felt something in my soul, and now that you have stopped, I am grieved, and, to speak in your own terms, I am wounded.
οἶσθα γὰρ ὅτι καὶ οἱ πρὸς τῶν κυνῶν τῶν λυσσώντων δηχθέντες οὐκ αὐτοὶ μόνοι λυσσῶσιν, ἀλλὰ κἄν τινας ἑτέρους ἐν τῇ μανίᾳ τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο διαθῶσιν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔκφρονες γίγνονται· συμμεταβαίνει γάρ τι τοῦ πάθους ἅμα τῷ δήγματι καὶ πολυγονεῖται ἡ νόσος καὶ πολλὴ γίγνεται τῆς μανίας διαδοχή. οὐκοῦν καὶ αὐτὸς ἡμῖν μανίαν ὁμολογεῖς; πάνυ μὲν οὖν, καὶ προσέτι δέομαί γέ σου κοινήν τινα τὴν θεραπείαν ἐπινοεῖν. τὸ τοῦ ἄρα Τηλέφου ἀνάγκη ποιεῖν. ποῖον αὖ λέγεις; ἐπὶ τὸν τρώσαντα ἐλθόντας ἰᾶσθαι παρακαλεῖν.
And do not wonder: for you know that those bitten by mad dogs do not themselves alone run mad, but if they put others into this same state in their madness, those too become out of their minds; for something of the affection passes over together with the bite, and the disease is multiplied, and a great succession of madness occurs.'Friend: Do you then also admit madness to us?I: Indeed I do, and what is more, I beg you to devise some common cure.Friend: It is necessary then to do the thing of Telephus.I: What kind of thing do you mean again?Friend: To go to the one who wounded us and beg him to heal us.