§4Λυκῖνος
ἐπεδήμησάς ποτε, ὦ Πολύστρατε, τῇ Κνιδίων;
Lycinus: Did you ever visit the city of the Cnidians, Polystratus?
Πολύστρατος
καὶ μάλα.
Polystratus: Indeed I did.
Λυκῖνος
οὐκοῦν καὶ τὴν Ἀφροδίτην εἶδες πάντως αὐτῶν;
Lycinus: Then you surely saw their Aphrodite too?
Πολύστρατος
νὴ Δία, τῶν Πραξιτέλους ποιημάτων τὸ κάλλιστον.
Polystratus: By Zeus, the most beautiful of Praxiteles' creations!
Λυκῖνος
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν μῦθον ἤκουσας, ὃν λέγουσιν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι περὶ αὐτῆς, ὡς ἐρασθείη τις τοῦ ἀγάλματος καὶ λαθὼν ὑπολειφθεὶς ἐν ἱερῷ συγγένοιτο, ὡς δυνατὸν ἀγάλματι.
Lycinus: And did you also hear the story which the locals tell about her, how someone fell in love with the statue and, secretly remaining behind in the temple, had intercourse with it, as far as is possible with a statue?
τοῦτο μέντοι ἄλλως ἱστορείσθω.
Let this, however, be told otherwise.
σὺ δὲ — ταύτην γάρ, ὡς φής, εἶδες — ἴθι μοὶ καὶ τόδε ἀπόκριναι, εἰ καὶ τὴν ἐν κήποις Ἀθήνησι τὴν Ἀλκαμένους ἑώρακας.
But you — since you saw her, as you say — come, answer me this too, whether you have also seen the one in the Gardens at Athens, the work of Alcamenes.
Πολύστρατος
ἦ πάντων γʼ ἄν, ὦ Λυκῖνε, ὁ ῥᾳθυμότατος ἦν, εἰ τὸ κάλλιστον τῶν Ἀλκαμένους πλασμάτων παρεῖδον.
Polystratus: Indeed, Lycinus, I should have been the most negligent of all men if I had overlooked the most beautiful of Alcamenes' sculptures.
Λυκῖνος
ἐκεῖνο μέν γε, ὦ Πολύστρατε, οὐκ ἐξερήσομαί σε, εἰ πολλάκις εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἀνελθὼν καὶ τὴν Καλάμιδος Σωσάνδραν τεθέασαι.
Lycinus: That, indeed, Polystratus, I will not ask you, whether you have often gone up to the Acropolis and beheld Sosandra of Calamis.
Πολύστρατος
εἶδον κἀκείνην πολλάκις.
Polystratus: I saw her too, many times.
Λυκῖνος
ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἱκανῶς.
Lycinus: Well, this is enough.
τῶν δὲ Φειδίου ἔργων τί μάλιστα ἐπῄνεσας;
Of the works of Phidias, which did you praise most?
Πολύστρατος
τί δʼ ἄλλο ἢ τὴν Λημνίαν, ᾗ καὶ ἐπιγράψαι τοὔνομα ὁ Φειδίας ἠξίωσε;
Polystratus: What else than the Lemnian, on which Phidias even deigned to inscribe his name?
καὶ νὴ Δία τὴν Ἀμαζόνα τὴν ἐπερειδομένην τῷ δορατίῳ.
And, by Zeus, the Amazon leaning on her spear.
§5Λυκῖνος
τὰ κάλλιστα, ὦ ἑταῖρε, ὥστʼ οὐκέτʼ ἄλλων τεχνιτῶν δεήσει.
Lycinus: The finest, my friend, so that we shall no longer need other artists.
φέρε δή, ἐξ ἁπασῶν ἤδη τούτων ὡς οἷόν τε συναρμόσας μίαν σοι εἰκόνα ἐπιδείξω, τὸ ἐξαίρετον παρʼ ἑκάστης ἔχουσαν.
Come then, having fitted together from all of these as best as possible, let me show you a single image, having what is outstanding from each.
Πολύστρατος
καὶ τίνα ἂν τρόπον τουτὶ γένοιτο;
Polystratus: And in what way could this happen?
Λυκῖνος
οὐ χαλεπόν, ὦ Πολύστρατε, εἰ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε παραδόντες τὰς εἰκόνας τῷ λόγῳ, ἐπιτρέψαιμεν αὐτῷ μετακοσμεῖν καὶ συντιθέναι καὶ ἁρμόζειν ὡς ἂν εὐρυθμότατα δύναιτο, φυλάττων ἅμα τὸ συμμιγὲς ἐκεῖνο καὶ ποικίλον.
Lycinus: Not difficult, Polystratus, if, from now on, handing over the images to the description, we should permit it to rearrange and compose and fit them together as harmoniously as it can, while it preserves at the same time that mixed and varied character.
Πολύστρατος
εὖ λέγεις· καὶ δὴ παραλαβὼν δεικνύτω·
Polystratus: Well said; and let it receive them and show us.
ἐθέλω γὰρ εἰδέναι ὅ τι καὶ χρήσεται αὐταῖς, ἢ ὅπως ἐκ τοσούτων μίαν τινὰ συνθεὶς οὐκ ἀπᾴδουσαν ἀπεργάσεται.
For I wish to know how it will use them, or how, having composed a single one out of so many, it will produce something not discordant.
§6Λυκῖνος
καὶ μὴν ἤδη σοι ὁρᾶν παρέχει γιγνομένην τὴν εἰκόνα, ὧδε συναρμόζων, τῆς ἐκ Κνίδου ἡκούσης μόνον τὴν κεφαλὴν λαβών· · οὐδὲν γὰρ τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος γυμνοῦ ὄντος δεήσεται· τὰ μὲν ἀμφὶ τὴν κόμην καὶ μέτωπον ὀφρύων τε τὸ εὔγραμμον ἐάσει ἔχειν ὥσπερ ὁ Πραξιτέλης ἐποίησεν, καὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν δὲ τὸ ὑγρὸν ἅμα τῷ φαιδρῷ καὶ κεχαρισμένῳ, καὶ τοῦτο διαφυλάξει κατὰ τὸ Πραξιτέλει δοκοῦν·
Lycinus: Indeed, already it allows you to see the image being made, fitting it together thus: taking only the head of the one coming from Cnidus — for it will have no need of the rest of her body, which is naked — the parts around the hair and forehead, and the fine line of the eyebrows, it will allow to keep as Praxiteles made them; and also the liquid quality of the eyes, along with their bright and charming expression, this too it will preserve according to Praxiteles' design.
τὰ μῆλα δὲ καὶ ὅσα τῆς ὄψεως ἀντωπὰ παρʼ Ἀλκαμένους καὶ τῆς ἐν κήποις λήψεται, καὶ προσέτι χειρῶν ἄκρα καὶ καρπῶν τὸ εὔρυθμον καὶ δακτύλων τὸ εὐάγωγον εἰς λεπτὸν ἀπολῆγον παρὰ τῆς ἐν κήποις καὶ ταῦτα.
The cheeks and the parts of the face seen in front it will take from Alcamenes and the goddess in the Gardens, and in addition the extremities of the hands, the symmetry of the wrists, and the flexibility of the fingers tapering to a point — these too from the goddess in the Gardens.
τὴν δὲ τοῦ παντὸς προσώπου περιγραφὴν καὶ παρειῶν τὸ ἁπαλὸν καὶ ῥῖνα σύμμετρον ἡ Λημνία παρέξει καὶ Φειδίας· ἔτι καὶ στόματος ἁρμογὴν αὐτὸς καὶ τὸν αὐχένα, παρὰ τῆς Ἀμαζόνος λαβών·
The outline of the whole face, the softness of the cheeks, and the well-proportioned nose will be provided by the Lemnian and Phidias; and further, the mouth's setting and the neck, taking them from the Amazon.
ἡ Σωσάνδρα δὲ καὶ Κάλαμις αἰδοῖ κοσμήσουσιν αὐτήν, καὶ τὸ μειδίαμα σεμνὸν καὶ λεληθὸς ὥσπερ τὸ ἐκείνης ἔσται· καὶ τὸ εὐσταλὲς δὲ καὶ κόσμιον τῆς ἀναβολῆς παρὰ τῆς Σωσάνδρας, πλὴν ὅτι ἀκατακάλυπτος αὕτη ἔσται τὴν κεφαλήν.
While Sosandra and Calamis will adorn her with modesty, and her smile will be solemn and subtle, just like hers; and also the neat and orderly arrangement of her mantle from Sosandra, except that this woman will have her head uncovered.
τῆς ἡλικίας δὲ τὸ μέτρον ἡλίκον ἂν γένοιτο, κατὰ τὴν ἐν Κνίδῳ ἐκείνην μάλιστα.
As for the measure of her stature, what size it would be, let it be especially according to that Cnidian one.
καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ τὸν Πραξιτέλη μεμετρήσθω.
For let this too be measured according to Praxiteles.
τί σοι, ὦ Πολύστρατε, δοκεῖ;
What do you think, Polystratus?
καλὴ γενήσεσθαι ἡ εἰκών;
Will the image be beautiful?
Πολύστρατος
καὶ μάλιστα, ἐπειδὰν εἰς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον ἀποτελεσθῇ·
Polystratus: Most indeed, once it is finished to the highest degree of precision.