§1εἶτα Ἀλέξανδρος μὲν ἐπεθύμησεν ἐν τῷ Κύδνῳ λούσασθαι καλόν τε καὶ διαυγῆ τὸν ποταμὸν ἰδὼν καὶ ἀσφαλῶς βαθὺν καὶ προσηνῶς ὀξὺν καὶ νήξασθαι ἡδὺν καὶ θέρους ὥρᾳ ψυχρόν, ὥστε καὶ ἐπὶ προδήλῳ τῇ νόσῳ ἣν ἐνόσησεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ, δοκεῖ μοι οὐκ ἂν τοῦ λουτροῦ ἀποσχέσθαι·
Then Alexander, seeing the river to be beautiful and clear, safely deep, pleasantly swift, delightful for swimming, and cold in the summer season, desired to bathe in the Cydnus, so that even with the obvious disease that he contracted from it, it seems to me that he would not have abstained from the bath.
οἶκον δέ τις ἰδὼν μεγέθει μέγιστον καὶ κάλλει κάλλιστον καὶ φωτὶ φαιδρότατον καὶ χρυσῷ στιλπνότατον καὶ γραφαῖς ἀνθηρότατον οὐκ ἂν ἐπιθυμήσειε λόγους ἐν αὐτῷ διαθέσθαι, εἰ τύχοι περὶ τούτους διατρίβων, καὶ ἐνευδοκιμῆσαι καὶ ἐλλαμπρύνασθαι καὶ βοῆς ἐμπλῆσαι καὶ ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα καὶ αὐτὸς μέρος τοῦ κάλλους αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ περισκοπήσας ἀκριβῶς καὶ θαυμάσας μόνον ἄπεισι κωφὸν αὐτὸν καὶ ἄλογον καταλιπών, μήτε προσειπὼν μήτε προσομιλήσας, ὥσπερ τις ἄναυδος ἢ φθόνῳ σιωπᾶν ἐγνωκώς;
But would someone, upon seeing a house greatest in size, most beautiful in beauty, brightest in light, most glittering in gold, and most flowery in paintings, not desire to deliver speeches in it, if he happened to be occupied with these matters, and to win reputation, to shine, to fill it with his voice, and as far as possible to become himself a part of its beauty? Or would he, after looking around accurately and merely admiring it, depart, leaving it mute and voiceless, neither speaking to it nor conversing with it, like one speechless or resolved to keep silent out of envy?
§2Ἡράκλεις, οὐ φιλοκάλου τινὸς οὐδὲ περὶ τὰ εὐμορφότατα ἐρωτικοῦ τὸ ἔργον, ἀγροικία δὲ πολλὴ καὶ ἀπειροκαλία καὶ προσέτι γε ἀμουσία, τῶν ἡδίστων αὑτὸν ἀπαξιοῦν καὶ τῶν καλλίστων ἀποξενοῦν καὶ μὴ συνιέναι ὡς οὐχ ὁ αὐτὸς περὶ τὰ θεάματα νόμος ἰδιώταις τε καὶ πεπαιδευμένοις ἀνδράσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν ἀπόχρη τὸ κοινὸν τοῦτο, ἰδεῖν μόνον καὶ περιβλέψαι καὶ τὼ ὀφθαλμὼ περιενεγκεῖν καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὀροφὴν ἀνακῦψαι καὶ τὴν χεῖρα ἐπισεῖσαι καὶ καθʼ ἡσυχίαν ἡσθῆναι δέει τοῦ μὴ ἂν δυνηθῆναι ἄξιόν τι τῶν βλεπομένων εἰπεῖν, ὅστις δὲ μετὰ παιδείας ὁρᾷ τὰ καλά, οὐκ ἄν, οἶμαι, ἀγαπήσειεν ὄψει μόνῃ καρπωσάμενος τὸ τερπνὸν οὐδʼ ἂν ὑπομείναι ἄφωνος θεατὴς τοῦ κάλλους γενέσθαι, πειράσεται δὲ ὡς οἷόν τε καὶ ἐνδιατρῖψαι καὶ λόγῳ ἀμείψασθαι τὴν θέαν.
By Heracles, this is not the act of a lover of beauty nor of one passionate about the most shapely things, but rather great rusticity, bad taste, and furthermore, lack of education—to deem oneself unworthy of the sweetest things and to estrange oneself from the most beautiful, and not to understand that the same rule regarding sights does not apply to uneducated men and educated men. For to the former, this common practice is sufficient: merely to look, to gaze around, to turn their eyes, to look up to the ceiling, to wave their hands, and to enjoy in quietness out of fear of not being able to say anything worthy of what is seen. But whoever looks at beautiful things with education would not, I think, be content with harvesting the pleasure through sight alone, nor would he endure to become a silent spectator of beauty; rather, he will try, as much as possible, to linger there and to requite the sight with speech.
§3ἡ δὲ ἀμοιβὴ οὐκ ἔπαινος τοῦ οἴκου μόνον — τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ἴσως ἐκείνῳ τῷ νησιώτῃ μειρακίῳ ἔπρεπε, τὴν Μενελάου οἰκίαν ὑπερεκπεπλῆχθαι καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ καλὰ τὸν ἐλέφαντα καὶ τὸν χρυσὸν αὐτῆς ἀπεικάζειν, ἅτε μηδὲν ἐν γῇ καλόν τι ἄλλο ἑωρακότι — ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τοὺς βελτίστους συγκαλέσαντα λόγων ἐπίδειξιν ποιήσασθαι μέρος τοῦ ἐπαίνου καὶ τοῦτο γένοιτο ἄν.
And this requital is not merely praise of the house—for that, perhaps, was appropriate for that islander youth, to be overwhelmed by the house of Menelaus and to compare its ivory and gold to the beauties in heaven, since he had seen nothing else beautiful on earth—but also to speak in it, and having called together the best men, to make a demonstration of speeches; this too could become part of the praise.
καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ὑπερήδιστον, οἶμαι, οἴκων ὁ κάλλιστος ἐς ὑποδοχὴν λόγων ἀναπεπταμένος καὶ ἐπαίνου καὶ εὐφημίας μεστὸς ὤν, ἠρέμα καὶ αὐτὸς ὥσπερ τὰ ἄντρα συνεπηχῶν καὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις παρακολουθῶν καὶ παρατείνων τὰ τελευταῖα τῆς φωνῆς καὶ τοῖς ὑστάτοις τῶν λόγων ἐμβραδύνων, μᾶλλον δὲ ὡς ἄν τις εὐμαθὴς ἀκροατὴς διαμνημονεύων τὰ εἰρημένα καὶ τὸν λέγοντα ἐπαινῶν καὶ ἀντίδοσιν οὐκ ἄμουσον ποιούμενος πρὸς αὐτά·
And the matter is most pleasant, I think: when the most beautiful of houses is wide open for the reception of speeches and full of praise and good words, gently echoing itself like caves, following what is said, prolonging the ends of the voice, and lingering on the last of the words. Or rather, like an attentive listener, remembering what has been said, praising the speaker, and making a not unrefined return to them.
οἷόν τι πάσχουσι πρὸς τὰ αὐλήματα τῶν ποιμένων αἱ σκοπιαὶ ἐπαυλοῦσαι, τῆς φωνῆς ἐπανιούσης κατὰ τὸ ἀντίτυπον καὶ πρὸς αὑτὴν ἀναστρεφούσης·
They experience something like what the lookout hills do, piping in response to the flutes of the shepherds, with the voice returning by rebound and turning back to itself.
οἱ δὲ ἰδιῶται νομίζουσι παρθένον τινὰ εἶναι τὴν ἀμειβομένην τοὺς ᾄδοντας ἢ βοῶντας, ἐν μέσοις που τοῖς κρημνοῖς κατοικοῦσαν καὶ λαλοῦσαν ἐκ τῶν πετρῶν ἔνδοθεν.
But the uneducated believe that the one answering those who sing or shout is a certain maiden, dwelling somewhere in the midst of the cliffs and speaking from inside the rocks.
§4ἐμοὶ γοῦν δοκεῖ καὶ συνεξαίρεσθαι οἴκου πολυτελείᾳ ἡ τοῦ λέγοντος γνώμη καὶ πρὸς τοὺς λόγους ἐπεγείρεσθαι, καθάπερτι καὶ ὑποβαλλούσης τῆς θέας·
To me at least, it seems that the mind of the speaker is also elevated along with the luxury of the house and is aroused toward speeches, as if the sight were prompting them.
σχεδὸν γὰρ εἰσρεῖ τι διὰ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐπὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καλόν, εἶτα πρὸς αὑτὸ κοσμῆσαν ἐκπέμπει τοὺς λόγους.
For something beautiful almost flows through the eyes into the soul, and then, having adorned it in its own likeness, sends forth the speeches.
ἢ τῷ μὲν Ἀχιλλεῖ πιστεύομεν τὴν ὄψιν τῶν ὅπλων ἐπιτεῖναι κατὰ τῶν Φρυγῶν τὴν ὀργήν, καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐνέδυ αὐτὰ πειρώμενος, ἐπαρθῆναι καὶ πτερωθῆναι πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πολέμου ἐπιθυμίαν, λόγου δὲ σπουδὴν μὴ ἐπιτείνεσθαι πρὸς κάλλη χωρίων;
Or do we believe that for Achilles the sight of the weapons intensified his anger against the Phrygians, and when he put them on to try them, he was lifted up and winged toward the desire for war, but the zeal for speech is not intensified by the beauties of places?
καίτοι Σωκράτει μὲν ἀπέχρησε πλάτανος εὐφυὴς καὶ πόα εὐθαλὴς καὶ πηγὴ διαυγὴς μικρὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰλισσοῦ, κἀνταῦθα καθεζόμενος Φαίδρου τε τοῦ Μυρρινουσίου κατειρωνεύετο καὶ τὸν Λυσίου τοῦ Κεφάλου λόγον διήλεγχε καὶ τὰς Μούσας ἐκάλει, καὶ ἐπίστευεν ἥξειν αὐτὰς ἐπὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν συλληψομένας τῶν περὶ τοῦ ἔρωτος λόγων, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνετο γέρων ἄνθρωπος παρακαλῶν παρθένους συνᾳσομένας τὰ παιδεραστικά.
And yet, for Socrates, a well-formed plane tree, flourishing grass, and a clear spring a little away from the Ilissus were sufficient, and sitting there, he ironized Phaedrus of Myrrhinus, refuted the speech of Lysias son of Cephalus, and called upon the Muses, believing that they would come to the wilderness to assist in his speeches on love; nor was he ashamed, being an old man, to summon maidens to sing along with his pederastic themes.
ἐς δὲ οὕτω καλὸν χωρίον οὐκ ἂν οἰόμεθα καὶ ἀκλήτους αὐτὰς ἐλθεῖν;
But into so beautiful a place, do we not think that they would come even uninvited?