§15ἄνδρες τοίνυν δικασταί, φησὶν ὁ λόγος, ὁ μὲν προειπὼν ῥήτωρ πολλὰ καὶ μεγάλα τόνδε τὸν οἶκον ἐπῄνεσε καὶ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ λόγῳ ἐκόσμησεν, ἐγὼ δὲ τοσούτου δέω ψόγον αὐτοῦ διεξελεύσεσθαι, ὥστε καὶ τὰ ὑπʼ ἐκείνου παραλελειμμένα προσθήσειν μοι δοκῶ· ὅσῳ γὰρ ἂν ὑμῖν καλλίων φαίνηται, τοσῷδε ὑπεναντίος τῇ τοῦ λέγοντος χρείᾳ δειχθήσεται.
"Gentlemen of the jury," says the argument, "the orator who spoke before praised this house in many and grand terms and adorned it with his own speech, but I am so far from going through a censure of it that I think I shall even add what was omitted by him; for by as much as it appears more beautiful to you, by so much will it be shown to be opposed to the need of the speaker.
καὶ πρῶτόν γε ἐπειδὴ γυναικῶν καὶ κόσμου καὶ χρυσοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἐμνημόνευσεν, κἀμοὶ ἐπιτρέψατε χρήσασθαι τῷ παραδείγματι· φημὶ γὰρ οὖν καὶ γυναιξὶ καλαῖς οὐχ ὅπως συλλαμβάνειν ἐς τὸ εὐμορφότερον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐναντιοῦσθαι τὸν κόσμον τὸν πολύν, ὁπόταν τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἕκαστος ὑπὸ τοῦ χρυσοῦ καὶ τῶν λίθων τῶν πολυτελῶν ἐκπλαγεὶς ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐπαινεῖν ἢ χρόαν ἢ βλέμμα ἢ δειρὴν ἢ πῆχυν ἢ δάκτυλον, ὁ δὲ ταῦτʼ ἀφεὶς ἐς τὴν σαρδὼ ἢ τὸν σμάραγδον ἢ τὸν ὅρμον ἢ τὸ ψέλιον ἀποβλέπῃ, ὥστε ἄχθοιτο ἂν εἰκότως παρορωμένη διὰ τὸν κόσμον, οὐκ ἀγόντων σχολὴν ἐπαινεῖν αὐτὴν τῶν θεατῶν, ἀλλὰ πάρεργον αὐτῆς ποιουμένων τὴν θέαν.
And first, since he mentioned women and ornament and gold, permit me also to use the comparison; for indeed I say that for beautiful women, a great amount of ornament, far from helping them towards a more comely appearance, even opposes it, whenever each of those who meet them, astounded by the gold and the precious stones, instead of praising either complexion or glance or neck or forearm or finger, but he, leaving these aside, looks away to the sardonyx or the emerald or the necklace or the bracelet, so that she would naturally be vexed at being overlooked because of the ornament, when the spectators do not have the leisure to praise her, but make the sight of her a mere secondary thing.
§16ὅπερ ἀνάγκη, οἶμαι, παθεῖν καὶ τὸν ἐν οὕτω καλοῖς ἔργοις λόγους δεικνύοντα· λανθάνει γὰρ ἐν τῷ μεγέθει τῶν καλῶν τὸ λεχθὲν καὶ ἀμαυροῦται καὶ συναρπάζεται, καθάπερ εἰ λύχνον τις εἰς πυρκαϊὰν μεγάλην φέρων ἐμβάλλοι ἢ μύρμηκα ἐπʼ ἐλέφαντος ἢ καμήλου δεικνύοι.
This is what I think he must of necessity suffer who displays speeches in the midst of such beautiful works; for what is said is hidden away in the greatness of the beautiful things, and is obscured and snatched away, just as if someone carrying a lamp should throw it into a great bonfire, or show an ant upon an elephant or a camel.
τοῦτό τε οὖν φυλακτέον τῷ λέγοντι, καὶ προσέτι μὴ καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτὴν ἐπιταράττηται ἐν οὕτως εὐφώνῳ καὶ ἠχήεντι οἴκῳ λέγων· ἀντιφθέγγεται γὰρ καὶ ἀντιφωνεῖ καὶ ἀντιλέγει, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπικαλύπτει τὴν βοήν, οἷόν τι καὶ σάλπιγξ δρᾷ τὸν αὐλόν, εἰ συναυλοῖεν, ἢ τοὺς κελευστὰς ἡ θάλαττα, ὁπόταν πρὸς κύματος ἦχον ἐπᾴδειν τῇ εἰρεσίᾳ θέλωσιν· ἐπικρατεῖ γὰρ ἡ μεγαλοφωνία καὶ κατασιωπᾷ τὸ ἧττον.
This, then, the speaker must guard against, and furthermore, he must see to it that his voice itself is not disturbed while speaking in so sweet-voiced and resonant a house; for it speaks back and echoes and contradicts, or rather, it drowns out the cry, just as a trumpet does to a flute, if they should play together, or the sea to the boatswains, when they wish to sing along with the rowing against the sound of the wave; for the loud voice prevails and silences the lesser.
§17καὶ μὴν κἀκεῖνο, ὅπερ ἔφη ὁ ἀντίδικος, ὡς ἄρα ἐπεγείρει ὁ καλὸς οἶκος τὸν λέγοντα καὶ προθυμότερον παρασκευάζει, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ τὸ ἐναντίον ποιεῖν· ἐκπλήττει γὰρ καὶ φοβεῖ καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν διαταράττει καὶ δειλότερον ἐργάζεται ἐνθυμούμενον ὡς ἁπάντων ἐστὶν αἴσχιστον ἐν εὐμόρφῳ χωρίῳ μὴ ὁμοίους φαίνεσθαι τοὺς λόγους.
Moreover, that which the adversary said, namely that the beautiful house arouses the speaker and makes him more eager, seems to me to do the opposite; for it astounds and terrifies and confuses his reasoning and makes him more cowardly, as he reflects that it is most shameful of all, in a comely place, for his speeches not to appear equal to it.
ἐλέγχων γὰρ οὗτός γε ὁ φανερώτατος, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις πανοπλίαν καλὴν ἐνδὺς ἔπειτα φεύγοι πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων, ἐπισημότερος ὢν δειλὸς ἀπὸ τῶν ὅπλων.
For this is indeed the clearest exposure, just as if someone, having put on a beautiful suit of armor, should then flee before the others, being more conspicuous as a coward because of his weapons.
τοῦτο δέ μοι δοκεῖ λογισάμενος καὶ ὁ τοῦ Ὁμήρου ῥήτωρ ἐκεῖνος εὐμορφίας ἐλάχιστον φροντίσαι, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ παντελῶς ἀΐδρει φωτὶ ἑαυτὸν ἀπεικάσαι, ἵνα αὐτῷ παραδοξότερον φαίνηται τῶν λόγων τὸ κάλλος ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἀμορφότερον ἐξετάσεως.
And I think that that Homeric orator, having calculated this, cared least of all for comeliness, but rather compared himself to a completely ignorant man, so that the beauty of his speeches might appear more unexpected to him from the comparison with the uglier appearance.
ἄλλως τε ἀνάγκη πᾶσα καὶ τὴν τοῦ λέγοντος αὐτοῦ διάνοιαν ἀσχολεῖσθαι περὶ τὴν θέαν καὶ τῆς φροντίδος τὸ ἀκριβὲς ἐκλύειν τῆς ὄψεως ἐπικρατούσης καὶ πρὸς αὑτὴν καλούσης καὶ τῷ λόγῳ προσέχειν οὐκ ἐώσης.
Besides, it is an absolute necessity that the mind of the speaker himself be occupied with the sight, and relax the accuracy of his thought, as the sight prevails and calls him to itself and does not permit him to attend to his speech.
ὥστε τίς μηχανὴ μὴ οὐχὶ πάντως ἔλαττον ἐρεῖν αὐτὸν τῆς ψυχῆς διατριβούσης περὶ τὸν τῶν ὁρωμένων ἔπαινον;
Therefore, what means is there that he should not by all means speak worse, while his soul is lingering over the praise of the things seen?
§18ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν ὅτι καὶ οἱ παρόντες αὐτοὶ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀκρόασιν παρειλημμένοι ἐπειδὰν εἰς τοιοῦτον οἶκον παρέλθωσιν, ἀντὶ ἀκροατῶν θεαταὶ καθίστανται, καὶ οὐχ οὕτω Δημόδοκος ἢ Φήμιος ἢ Θάμυρις ἢ Ἀμφίων ἢ Ὀρφεύς τις λέγων ἐστίν, ὥστε ἀποσπάσαι τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῆς θέας· ἀλλʼ οὖν ἕκαστος, ἐπειδὰν μόνον ὑπερβῇ τὸν οὐδόν, ἀθρόῳ τῷ κάλλει περιχυθεὶς λόγων μὲν ἐκείνων ἢ ἀκροάσεως ἄλλης οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀΐοντι ἔοικεν, ὅλος δὲ πρὸς τοῖς ὁρωμένοις ἐστίν, εἰ μὴ τύχοι τις παντελῶς τυφλὸς ὢν ἢ ἐν νυκτὶ ὥσπερ ἡ ἐξ Ἀρείου πάγου βουλὴ ποιοῖτο τὴν ἀκρόασιν.
For I omit to say that the audience themselves, who have been brought in for the hearing, when they come into such a house, sit as spectators instead of listeners, and there is no Demodocus or Phemius or Thamyris or Amphion or some Orpheus speaking so as to tear their mind away from the sight; but rather, each one, as soon as he merely crosses the threshold, being flooded by the mass of beauty, seems not even in the least to hear those speeches or any other hearing, but is wholly intent on the things seen, unless someone should happen to be completely blind, or should make the hearing in the night, like the council of the Areopagus."