§19ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἀξιόμαχον λόγων ἰσχὺς ὄψει ἀνταγωνίσασθαι καὶ ὁ Σειρήνων μῦθος παρατεθεὶς τῷ περὶ τῶν Γοργόνων διδάξειεν ἄν· ἐκεῖναι μὲν γὰρ ἐκήλουν τοὺς παραπλέοντας μελῳδοῦσαι καὶ κολακεύουσαι τοῖς ᾄσμασιν καὶ καταπλεύσαντας ἐπὶ πολὺ κατεῖχον, καὶ ὅλως τὸ ἔργον αὐτῶν ἐδεῖτό τινος διατριβῆς, καί πού τις αὐτὰς καὶ παρέπλευσε καὶ τοῦ μέλους παρήκουσε· τὸ δὲ τῶν Γοργόνων κάλλος, ἅτε βιαιότατόν τε ὂν καὶ τοῖς καιριωτάτοις τῆς ψυχῆς ὁμιλοῦν, εὐθὺς ἐξίστη τοὺς ἰδόντας καὶ ἀφώνους ἐποίει, ὡς δὲ ὁ μῦθος βούλεται καὶ λέγεται, λίθινοι ἐγίγνοντο ὑπὸ θαύματος.
For that the power of speech is not a match for sight in competing, even the myth of the Sirens, when compared to that of the Gorgons, would teach us; for the former used to charm those sailing by, singing and flattering them with their songs, and when they had sailed down, kept them for a long time, and indeed their work required some time, and perhaps someone even sailed past them and disregarded their song; but the beauty of the Gorgons, being most violent and associating with the most vital parts of the soul, immediately drove those who saw them out of their minds and made them speechless, and as the myth wishes and is said, they became stone from wonder.
ὥστε καὶ ὃν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ταὼ λόγον εἶπε πρὸς ὑμᾶς μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν, ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ εἰρῆσθαι νομίζω· καὶ γὰρ ἐκείνου ἐν τῇ ὄψει, οὐκ ἐν τῇ φωνῇ τὸ τερπνόν.
So that the speech which he spoke to you about the peacock a little before, I think was spoken on my behalf; for the pleasure of that animal too is in the sight, not in the voice.
καὶ εἴ γέ τις παραστησάμενος τὴν ἀηδόνα ἢ τὸν κύκνον ᾄδειν κελεύοι, μεταξὺ δὲ ᾀδόντων παραδείξειε τὸν ταὼ σιωπῶντα, εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνον μεταβήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ μακρὰ χαίρειν φράσασα τοῖς ἐκείνων ᾄσμασιν· οὕτως ἄμαχόν τι ἔοικεν εἶναι ἡ διʼ ὄψεως ἡδονή.
And if anyone, having stationed the nightingale or the swan, should bid them to sing, and in the middle of their singing should show the peacock keeping silent, I know well that the soul will transfer itself to him, bidding a long farewell to the songs of those others; so invincible a thing, it seems, is the pleasure through sight.
§20καὶ ἔγωγε, εἰ βούλεσθε, μάρτυρα ὑμῖν παραστήσομαι σοφὸν ἄνδρα, ὃς αὐτίκα μοι μαρτυρήσει ὡς πολὺ ἐπικρατέστερά ἐστι τῶν ἀκουομένων τὰ ὁρώμενα.
And I, if you wish, will present to you as a witness a wise man, who will immediately testify to me how much more dominant are the things seen than the things heard.
καί μοι σὺ ἤδη ὁ κῆρυξ προσκάλει αὐτὸν Ἡρόδοτον Λύξου Ἁλικαρνασόθεν· κἀπειδὴ καλῶς ποιῶν ὑπήκουσε, μαρτυρείτω παρελθών· ἀναδέξασθε δὲ αὐτὸν Ἰαστὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγοντα ὥσπερ αὐτῷ ἔθος.
And now, herald, call him, Herodotus the son of Lyxes, from Halicarnassus; and since he has obligingly answered, let him come forward and testify; and receive him speaking to you in Ionic, as is his custom.
ἀληθέα τάδε ὁ λόγος ὑμῖν, ἄνδρες δικασταί, μυθέεται καί οἱ πείθεσθε ὅσα ἂν λέγῃ τουτέων πέρι ὄψιν ἀκοῆς προτιμέων· ὦτα γὰρ τυγχάνει ἐόντα ἀπιστότερα ὀφθαλμῶν. Ἀκούετε τοῦ μάρτυρος ἅ φησιν, ὡς τὰ πρῶτα τῇ ὄψει ἀπέδωκεν;
"This argument tells you the truth, gentlemen of the jury, and believe him in whatever he says about these things, preferring sight to hearing; for ears happen to be less trustworthy than eyes." Do you hear what the witness says, how he gave the first place to sight?
εἰκότως.
Naturally.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔπεα πτεροεντά ἐστι καὶ οἴχεται ἅμα τῷ προελθεῖν ἀποπτάμενα, ἡ δὲ τῶν ὁρωμένων τέρψις ἀεὶ παρεστῶσα καὶ παραμένουσα πάντως τὸν θεατὴν ὑπάγεται.
For words are winged and are gone, flying away as soon as they go forth, but the pleasure of the things seen, being always present and remaining, completely wins over the spectator.
§21πῶς οὖν οὐ χαλεπὸς τῷ λέγοντι ἀνταγωνιστὴς οἶκος οὕτω καλὸς καὶ περίβλεπτος ὤν;
How then is a house so beautiful and conspicuous not a difficult adversary for the speaker?
μᾶλλον δὲ τὸ μέγιστον οὐδέπω φημί· ὑμεῖς γὰρ αὐτοὶ οἱ δικασταὶ καὶ μεταξὺ λεγόντων ἡμῶν ἐς τὴν ὀροφὴν ἀπεβλέπετε καὶ τοὺς τοίχους ἐθαυμάζετε καὶ τὰς γραφὰς ἐξητάζετε πρὸς ἑκάστην ἀποστρεφόμενοι.
Or rather, I have not yet mentioned the greatest thing; for you yourselves, the judges, even while we are speaking, look away to the ceiling and admire the walls and examine the paintings, turning away toward each one.
καὶ μηδὲν αἰσχυνθῆτε· συγγνώμη γάρ, εἴ τι ἀνθρώπινον πεπόνθατε, ἄλλως τε καὶ πρὸς οὕτω καλὰς καὶ ποικίλας τὰς ὑποθέσεις.
And do not be ashamed; for it is pardonable if you have experienced something human, especially in the presence of such beautiful and varied subjects.
τῆς γὰρ τέχνης τὸ ἀκριβὲς καὶ τῆς ἱστορίας μετὰ τοῦ ἀρχαίου τὸ ὠφέλιμον ἐπαγωγὸν ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ πεπαιδευμένων θεατῶν δεόμενον.
For the accuracy of the art and the utility of the history along with its antiquity are truly attractive and require educated spectators.
καὶ ἵνα μὴ πάντα ἐκεῖσε ἀποβλέπητε ἡμᾶς ἀπολιπόντες, φέρε ὡς οἷόν τε γράψωμαι αὐτὰ ὑμῖν τῷ λόγῳ· ἡσθήσεσθε γάρ, οἶμαι, ἀκούοντες ἃ καὶ ὁρῶντες θαυμάζετε.
And so that you may not leave us and look away entirely to those things, come, let me depict them for you in speech as far as possible; for you will be pleased, I think, hearing those things which you also admire seeing.
καὶ ἴσως ἄν με καὶ διʼ αὐτὸ ἐπαινέσαιτε καὶ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου προτιμήσαιτε, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπιδείξαντα καὶ διπλασιάσαντα ὑμῖν τὴν ἡδονήν.
And perhaps you might even praise me for this very thing and prefer me to my opponent, as one who has himself displayed and doubled the pleasure for you.
τὸ χαλεπὸν δὲ τοῦ τολμήματος ὁρᾶτε, ἄνευ χρωμάτων καὶ σχημάτων καὶ τόπου συστήσασθαι τοσαύτας εἰκόνας· ψιλὴ γάρ τις ἡ γραφὴ τῶν λόγων.
But look at the difficulty of the venture, to construct so many images without colors and shapes and space; for the painting of words is a bare sort of thing.
§22ἐν δεξιᾷ μὲν οὖν εἰσιόντι Ἀργολικῷ μύθῳ ἀναμέμικται πάθος Αἰθιοπικόν· ὁ Περσεὺς τὸ κῆτος φονεύει καὶ τὴν Ἀνδρομέδαν καθαιρεῖ, καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν γαμήσει καὶ ἄπεισιν αὐτὴν ἄγων· πάρεργον τοῦτο τῆς ἐπὶ Γοργόνας πτήσεως.
On the right as you enter, then, an Ethiopian suffering is mingled with an Argive myth; Perseus is slaying the monster and freeing Andromeda, and in a little while he will marry her and depart leading her away; this is a side-work of his flight against the Gorgons.
ἐν βραχεῖ δὲ πολλὰ ὁ τεχνίτης ἐμιμήσατο, αἰδῶ παρθένου καὶ φόβον — ἐπισκοπεῖ γὰρ μάχην ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῆς πέτρας — καὶ νεανίου τόλμαν ἐρωτικὴν καὶ θηρίου ὄψιν ἀπρόσμαχον· καὶ τὸ μὲν ἔπεισι πεφρικὸς ταῖς ἀκάνθαις καὶ δεδιττόμενον τῷ χάσματι, ὁ Περσεὺς δὲ τῇ λαιᾷ μὲν προδείκνυσι τὴν Γοργόνα, τῇ δεξιᾷ δὲ καθικνεῖται τῷ ξίφει· καὶ τὸ μὲν ὅσον τοῦ κήτους εἶδε τὴν Μέδουσαν, ἤδη λίθος ἐστίν, τὸ δʼ ὅσον ἔμψυχον μένει, τῇ ἅρπῃ κόπτεται.
In a small space the artist has represented many things: the shame and fear of the maiden—for she watches the battle from above from the rock—and the lover's daring of the youth, and the irresistible sight of the monster; and the latter comes on, bristling with its spines and terrifying with its gaping mouth, while Perseus with his left hand holds out the Gorgon before it, and with his right hand reaches it with his sword; and as much of the monster as saw Medusa is already stone, while that which remains alive is being cut by the curved sword.