§37Παρρησιάδης
τοιαῦτα καὶ οὗτοι ποιοῦσιν, καὶ ἔγωγε τοὺς τοιούτους κακῶς ἠγόρευον καὶ οὔποτε παύσομαι διελέγχων καὶ κωμῳδῶν, περὶ ὑμῶν δὲ ἢ τῶν ὑμῖν παραπλησίων — εἰσὶ γάρ, εἰσί τινες ὡς ἀληθῶς φιλοσοφίαν ζηλοῦντες καὶ τοῖς ὑμετέροις νόμοις ἐμμένοντες — μὴ οὕτως μανείην ἔγωγε ὡς βλάσφημον εἰπεῖν τι ἢ σκαιόν.
Parresiades These are the things they do, and I, for my part, was speaking ill of such men, and I shall never cease refuting and caricaturing them; but as for you or those who are like you—for there are indeed, there are some who truly pursue philosophy and abide by your laws—may I never be so mad as to say anything slanderous or uncouth about you.
ἢ τί γὰρ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοιμι;
For indeed, what could I say?
τί γὰρ ὑμῖν τοιοῦτον βεβίωται;
For what such thing has been done in your lives?
τοὺς δὲ ἀλαζόνας ἐκείνους καὶ θεοῖς ἐχθροὺς ἄξιον οἶμαι μισεῖν.
But those impostors and enemies of the gods, I think they deserve to be hated.
ἢ σὺ γάρ, ὦ Πυθαγόρα καὶ Πλάτων καὶ Χρύσιππε καὶ Ἀριστότελες, τί φατε;
Or what do you say, O Pythagoras, Plato, Chrysippus, and Aristotle?
προσήκειν ὑμῖν τοὺς τοιούτους ἢ οἰκεῖόν τι καὶ συγγενὲς ἐπιδείκνυσθαι τῷ βίῳ;
Do such men suit you, or do they display anything close and related to your lives?
νὴ Δῐ Ἡρακλῆς, φασίν, καὶ πίθηκος.
"Yes, by Zeus, Heracles and an ape," as the saying goes!
ἢ διότι πώγωνας ἔχουσι καὶ φιλοσοφεῖν φάσκουσι καὶ σκυθρωποί εἰσι, διὰ τοῦτο χρὴ ὑμῖν εἰκάζειν αὐτούς;
Or because they have beards and claim to philosophize and look grim, is that why one must compare them to you?
ἀλλὰ ἤνεγκα ἄν, εἰ πιθανοὶ γοῦν ἦσαν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ὑποκρίσεως αὐτῆς· νῦν δὲ θᾶττον ἂν γὺψ ἀηδόνα μιμήσαιτο ἢ οὗτοι φιλοσόφους.
Yet I would have put up with it if they had at least been plausible in their acting itself; but as it is, a vulture would sooner imitate a nightingale than these men would imitate philosophers.
εἴρηκα ὑπὲρ ἐμαυτοῦ ὁπόσα εἶχον.
I have said all that I had to say on my own behalf.
σὺ δέ, ὦ Ἀλήθεια, μαρτύρει πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἰ ἀληθῆ ἐστιν.
And you, O Truth, bear witness before them if these things are true.
§38Φιλοσοφία
μετάστηθι, ὦ Παρρησιάδη· ἔτι πορρωτέρω.
Philosophy Step aside, Parresiades; still further.
τί ποιῶμεν ἡμεῖς;
What shall we do?
πῶς ὑμῖν εἰρηκέναι ἁνὴρ ἔδοξεν;
How did the man seem to you to have spoken?
Ἀλήθεια
ἐγὼ μέν, ὦ Φιλοσοφία, μεταξὺ λέγοντος αὐτοῦ κατὰ τῆς γῆς δῦναι εὐχόμην· οὕτως ἀληθῆ πάντα εἶπεν.
Truth For my part, O Philosophy, while he was speaking I was praying to sink into the earth; so true was everything he said.
ἐγνώριζον γοῦν ἀκούουσα ἕκαστον τῶν ποιούντων αὐτὰ καὶ ἐφήρμοζον μεταξὺ τοῖς λεγομένοις, τοῦτο μὲν εἰς τόνδε, τοῦτο δὲ ὁ δεῖνα ποιεῖ· καὶ ὅλως ἔδειξε τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐναργῶς καθάπερ ἐπί τινος γραφῆς τὰ πάντα προσεοικότας, οὐ τὰ σώματα μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτὰς εἰς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον ἀπεικάσας.
At any rate, as I listened, I recognized each of those who do these things and I fitted them to his words as he went along—"this refers to this man, and that is what so-and-so does." And in general, he showed the men vividly as if in a painting, making everything resemble them, having portrayed to the highest precision not only their bodies but their very souls.
Ἀρετή
κἀγὼ πάνυ ἠρυθρίασα ἡ Ἀρετή.
Virtue And I, Virtue, blushed exceedingly.
Φιλοσοφία
ὑμεῖς δὲ τί φατέ;
Philosophy And what do you say?
Πλάτων
τί δὲ ἄλλο ἢ ἀφεῖσθαι αὐτὸν τοῦ ἐγκλήματος καὶ φίλον ἡμῖν καὶ εὐεργέτην ἀναγεγράφθαι;
Plato What else but to acquit him of the charge and record him as our friend and benefactor?
τὸ γοῦν τῶν Ἰλιέων ἀτεχνῶς πεπόνθαμεν· τραγῳδόν τινα τοῦτον ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς κεκινήκαμεν ᾀσόμενον τὰς Φρυγῶν συμφοράς.
We have literally suffered the fate of the Trojans; we have stirred up this tragic actor against ourselves to sing of the calamities of the Phrygians.
ᾀδέτω δʼ οὖν καὶ τοὺς θεοῖς ἐχθροὺς ἐκτραγῳδείτω.
So let him sing, and let him dramatize those enemies of the gods.
Διογένης
καὶ αὐτός, ὦ Φιλοσοφία, πάνυ ἐπαινῶ τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ ἀνατίθεμαι τὰ κατηγορούμενα καὶ φίλον ποιοῦμαι αὐτὸν γενναῖον ὄντα.
Diogenes I too, Philosophy, highly praise the man, and I withdraw the accusations, and make him my noble friend.
§39Φιλοσοφία
εὖ ἔχει·
Philosophy Excellent.
πρόσιθι Παρρησιάδη·
Come forward, Parresiades.
ἀφίεμέν σε τῆς αἰτίας, καὶ ἁπάσαις κρατεῖς, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἴσθι ἡμέτερος ὤν.
We acquit you of the charge, and you win by all votes, and for the future know that you are ours.
Παρρησιάδης
προσεκύνησα τήν γε πρώτην· μᾶλλον δέ, τραγικώτερον αὐτὸ ποιήσειν μοι δοκῶ· σεμνότερον γάρ· "
ὦ μέγα σεμνὴ Νίκη, τὸν ἐμὸν
βίοτον κατέχοις
καὶ μὴ λήγοις στεφανοῦσα.
Parresiades I make obeisance first of all; or rather, I think I will do it in a more tragic manner, for it is more solemn: "O great, august Victory, may you possess my life and never cease to crown me.
"
Ἀρετή
οὐκοῦν δευτέρου κρατῆρος ἤδη καταρχώμεθα·
"Virtue Then let us now begin the second mixing-bowl.
προσκαλῶμεν κἀκείνους, ὡς δίκην ὑπόσχωσιν ἀνθʼ ὧν εἰς ἡμᾶς ὑβρίζουσι· κατηγορήσει δὲ Παρρησιάδης ἑκάστου.
Let us summon those others, so that they may pay the penalty for the outrages they commit against us; and Parresiades shall accuse each of them.
Φιλοσοφία
ὀρθῶς, ὦ Ἀρετή, ἔλεξας.
Philosophy You have spoken rightly, Virtue.
ὥστε σύ, παῖ Συλλογισμέ, κατακύψας εἰς τὸ ἄστυ προσκήρυττε τοὺς φιλοσόφους.
So you, boy Syllogism, bend down toward the city and summon the philosophers.
§40Συλλογισμός
ἄκουε, σίγα·
Syllogism Hear, keep silence!
τοὺς φιλοσόφους ἥκειν εἰς ἀκρόπολιν ἀπολογησομένους ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀρετῆς καὶ Φιλοσοφίας καὶ Δίκης.
The philosophers are to come to the Acropolis to make their defense before Virtue, Philosophy, and Justice.
Παρρησιάδης
ὁρᾷς;
Parresiades Do you see?
ὀλίγοι ἀνίασι γνωρίσαντες τὸ κήρυγμα, καὶ ἄλλως δεδίασι τὴν Δίκην· οἱ πολλοὶ δὲ αὐτῶν οὐδὲ σχολὴν ἄγουσιν ἀμφὶ τοὺς πλουσίους ἔχοντες.
Few are coming up, having recognized the summons, and otherwise they fear Justice; and most of them do not even have leisure, being occupied around the rich.
εἰ δὲ βούλει πάντας ἥκειν, κατὰ τάδε, ὦ Συλλογισμέ, κήρυττε —
Συλλογισμός
Μηδαμῶς, ἀλλὰ σύ, ὦ Παρρησιάδη, προσκάλει καθʼ ὅ τι σοι δοκεῖ.
But if you want them all to come, summon them in this way, O Syllogism— Syllogism By no means, but you, Parresiades, call them in whatever way seems best to you.
§41Παρρησιάδης
οὐδὲν τόδε χαλεπόν.
Parresiades This is not at all difficult.
ἄκουε, σίγα.
Hear, keep silence!
ὅσοι φιλόσοφοι εἶναι λέγουσιν καὶ ὅσοι προσήκειν αὐτοῖς οἴονται τοῦ ὀνόματος, ἥκειν εἰς ἀκρόπολιν ἐπὶ τὴν διανομήν.
All who say they are philosophers and all who think the name belongs to them are to come to the Acropolis for the distribution.
δύο μναῖ ἑκάστῳ δοθήσονται καὶ σησαμαῖος πλακοῦς· ὃς δʼ ἂν πώγωνα βαθὺν ἐπιδείξηται, καὶ παλάθην ἰσχάδων οὗτός γε προσεπιλήψεται.
Two minae will be given to each, and a sesame cake; and whoever displays a long beard will additionally receive a basket of dried figs.
κομίζειν δʼ ἕκαστον σωφροσύνην μὲν ἢ δικαιοσύνην ἢ ἐγκράτειαν μηδαμῶς· οὐκ ἀναγκαῖα γὰρ ταῦτά γε, ἢν μὴ παρῇ· πέντε δὲ συλλογισμοὺς ἐξ ἅπαντος· οὐ γὰρ θέμις ἄνευ τούτων εἶναι σοφόν.
But let each by no means bring temperance or justice or self-control; for these are not necessary, if they are not present; but five syllogisms by all means; for it is not permitted to be wise without these.
"
κεῖται δʼ ἐν μέσσοισι δύο χρυσοῖο τάλαντα,
τῷ δόμεν, ὃς μετὰ πᾶσιν ἐριζέμεν ἔξοχος εἴη.
"And in the midst lie two talents of gold, to be given to him who among all should be pre-eminent in strife.
"
"