§5καὶ μὴν οὐ κατά γε σκιὰν μόνην οὐδὲ κατὰ πλατάνου κάλλος ἡ ὑποδοχή, οὐδʼ ἂν τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ Ἰλισσῷ καταλιπὼν τὴν βασιλέως λέγῃς τὴν χρυσῆν·
And indeed, this reception is not in accordance with mere shade, nor with the beauty of a plane tree, nor even if you should leave aside the one by the Ilissus and speak of the King’s golden one.
ἐκείνης μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῇ πολυτελείᾳ μόνῃ τὸ θαῦμα, τέχνη δὲ ἢ κάλλος ἢ τέρψις ἢ τὸ σύμμετρον ἢ τὸ εὔρυθμον οὐ συνείργαστο οὐδὲ κατεμέμικτο τῷ χρυσῷ, ἀλλʼ ἦν βαρβαρικὸν τὸ θέαμα, πλοῦτος μόνον καὶ φθόνος τῶν ἰδόντων καὶ εὐδαιμονισμὸς τῶν ἐχόντων· ἔπαινος δὲ οὐδαμοῦ προσῆν.
For in the case of that one, the wonder was in its luxury alone, but art, or beauty, or pleasure, or symmetry, or proportion was not wrought together with or mixed into the gold; rather, the sight was barbaric, mere wealth, evoking the envy of those who saw it and the congratulation of those who possessed it, but praise was nowhere present.
οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔμελε τοῖς Ἀρσακίδαις τῶν καλῶν οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸ τερπνὸν ἐποιοῦντο τὰς ἐπιδείξεις οὐδʼ ἐφρόντιζον εἰ ἐπαινέσονται οἱ θεαταί, ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἐκπλαγήσονται.
For the Arsacids did not care for beautiful things, nor did they make their displays for the sake of pleasure, nor did they concern themselves with whether the spectators would praise them, but only with how they might strike them with awe.
οὐ φιλόκαλοι γάρ, ἀλλὰ φιλόπλουτοί εἰσιν οἱ βάρβαροι.
For barbarians are not lovers of beauty, but lovers of wealth.
§6τούτου δὲ τοῦ οἴκου τὸ κάλλος οὐ κατὰ βαρβαρικούς τινας ὀφθαλμοὺς οὐδὲ κατὰ Περσικὴν ἀλαζονείαν ἢ βασιλικὴν μεγαλαυχίαν οὐδὲ πένητος μόνον, ἀλλὰ εὐφυοῦς θεατοῦ δεόμενον καὶ ὅτῳ μὴ ἐν τῇ ὄψει ἡ κρίσις, ἀλλά τις καὶ λογισμὸς ἐπακολουθεῖ τοῖς βλεπομένοις.
But the beauty of this house is not in accordance with any barbaric eyes, nor with Persian arrogance or royal boasting, nor is it in need of a poor man’s eyes alone, but of a gifted spectator, and one for whom judgment is not in the sight alone, but some reasoning also follows the things seen.
Τὸ γὰρ τῆς τε ἡμέρας πρὸς τὸ κάλλιστον ἀποβλέπειν — κάλλιστον δὴ αὐτῆς καὶ ποθεινότατον ἡ ἀρχή — καὶ τὸν ἥλιον ὑπερκύψαντα εὐθὺς ὑποδέχεσθαι καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς ἐμπίπλασθαι ἐς κόρον ἀναπεπταμένων τῶν θυρῶν [καθʼ ὃ καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ βλέποντα ἐποίουν οἱ παλαιοί], καὶ τὸ τοῦ μήκους πρὸς τὸ πλάτος καὶ ἀμφοῖν πρὸς τὸ ὕψος εὔρυθμον καὶ τῶν φωταγωγῶν τὸ ἐλεύθερον καὶ πρὸς ὥραν ἑκάστην εὖ ἔχον, πῶς οὐχ ἡδέα ταῦτα πάντα καὶ ἐπαίνων ἄξια;
For to look towards the most beautiful part of the day—and indeed its beginning is the most beautiful and most longed-for part of it—and to receive the sun immediately as it peeps over the horizon, and to be filled with light to satiety when the doors are opened wide [according to which also the ancients used to make their temples face], and the proportion of the length to the width and of both to the height, and the openness of the windows and their excellent situation for every season—how are all these not pleasant and worthy of praise?
§7ἔτι δὲ θαυμάσειεν ἄν τις καὶ τῆς ὀροφῆς ἐν τῷ εὐμόρφῳ τὸ ἀπέριττον κἀν τῷ εὐκόσμῳ τὸ ἀνεπίληπτον καὶ τὸ τοῦ χρυσοῦ ἐς τὸ εὐπρεπὲς σύμμετρον, ἀλλὰ μὴ παρὰ τὰς χρείας ἐπίφθονον, ἀλλʼ ὁπόσον ἂν καὶ γυναικὶ σώφρονι καὶ καλῇ ἀρκέσῃ ἐπισημότερον ἐργάσασθαι τὸ κάλλος, ἢ περὶ τῇ δειρῇ λεπτός τις ὅρμος ἢ περὶ τῷ δακτύλῳ σφενδόνη εὔφορος ἢ ἐν τοῖν ὤτοιν ἐλλόβια ἢ πόρπη τις ἢ ταινία τὸ ἄφετον τῆς κόμης συνδέουσα, τοσοῦτον τῇ εὐμορφίᾳ προστιθεῖσα ὅσον τῇ ἐσθῆτι ἡ πορφύρα·
Furthermore, one would admire also the lack of excess in the comeliness of the ceiling, and the blamelessness in its good ornament, and the proportion of the gold to what is decent, not causing envy beyond its needs, but as much as would suffice even for a temperate and beautiful woman to make her beauty more distinguished—such as a delicate necklace around her neck, or a light ring-setting around her finger, or pendants in her ears, or a brooch, or a headband binding her loose hair, adding as much to her comeliness as purple does to a garment.
αἱ δέ γε ἑταῖραι, καὶ μάλιστα αἱ ἀμορφότεραι αὐτῶν, καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα ὅλην πορφυρᾶν καὶ τὴν δειρὴν χρυσῆν πεποίηνται, τῷ πολυτελεῖ θηρώμεναι τὸ ἐπαγωγὸν καὶ τὸ ἐνδέον τῷ καλῷ προσθέσει τοῦ ἔξωθεν τερπνοῦ παραμυθούμεναι·
But the courtesans, and especially the less shapely among them, make their whole garment purple and their neck golden, hunting for attractiveness by means of luxury, and comforting what is lacking in their beauty by the addition of external pleasure.
ἡγοῦνται γὰρ καὶ τὴν ὠλένην αὐταῖς στιλπνοτέραν φανεῖσθαι συναπολάμπουσαν τῷ χρυσῷ καὶ τοῦ ποδὸς τὸ μὴ εὐπερίγραφον λήσειν ὑπὸ χρυσῷ σανδάλῳ καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτὸ ἐρασμιώτερον γενήσεσθαι τῷ φαεινοτάτῳ συνορώμενον.
For they think that their arm will appear more glistening when shining together with the gold, and that the poor shape of their foot will escape notice under a golden sandal, and that their face itself will become more lovely when seen together with the brightest things.
ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖναι μὲν οὕτως· ἡ δέ γε σώφρων χρυσῷ μὲν τὰ ἀρκοῦντα καὶ μόνον τὰ ἀναγκαῖα προσχρῆται, τὸ δʼ αὑτῆς κάλλος οὐκ ἂν αἰσχύνοιτο, οἶμαι, καὶ γυμνὴ δεικνύουσα.
But those women are so; whereas the temperate woman uses as much gold as is sufficient and only what is necessary, and would not, I think, be ashamed to show her beauty even naked.
§8καὶ τοίνυν ἡ τοῦδε τοῦ οἴκου ὀροφή, μᾶλλον δὲ κεφαλή, εὐπρόσωπος μὲν καὶ καθʼ ἑαυτήν, τῷ χρυσῷ δʼ ἐς τοσοῦτον κεκόσμηται, ἐς ὅσον καὶ οὐρανὸς ἐν νυκτὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀστέρων ἐκ διαστήματος περιλαμπόμενος καὶ ἐκ διαλείμματος ἀνθῶν τῷ πυρί.
And indeed, the ceiling of this house, or rather its head, is beautiful in countenance even by itself, but has been adorned with gold to such an extent as the sky at night is illuminated from a distance by the stars and is flowering at intervals with their fire.
εἰ δέ γε πῦρ ἦν τὸ πᾶν, οὐ καλὸς ἄν, ἀλλὰ φοβερὸς ἡμῖν ἔδοξεν.
But if the whole were fire, it would not have seemed beautiful to us, but fearful.
ἴδοι δʼ ἄν τις οὐδʼ ἀργὸν ἐνταῦθα τὸν χρυσὸν οὐδὲ μόνου τοῦ τέρποντος εἵνεκα τῷ λοιπῷ κόσμῳ συνεσπαρμένον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐγήν τινα ἡδεῖαν ἀπολάμπει καὶ τὸν οἶκον ὅλον ἐπιχρώννυσι τῷ ἐρυθήματι·
And one would see that the gold here is neither inactive nor scattered among the rest of the ornament for the sake of pleasure alone, but it also shines forth a certain pleasant gleam and tints the whole house with its ruddy glow.
ὁπόταν γὰρ τὸ φῶς προσπεσὸν ἐφάψηται καὶ ἀναμιχθῇ τῷ χρυσῷ, κοινόν τι ἀπαστράπτουσι καὶ διπλασίαν τοῦ ἐρυθήματος ἐκφαίνουσι τὴν αἰθρίαν.
For whenever the light, falling upon it, touches and is mixed with the gold, they flash forth something in common and display a brightness twice as great as the ruddy glow.