§7Πολύστρατος
ἔτι γάρ, ὦ πάντων γενναιότατε, καταλέλοιπάς τι κάλλος ἔξω τοῦ ἀγάλματος οὕτως πάντα εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ συμπεφορηκώς.
Polystratus: For, O most noble of all, you have still left some beauty outside the statue, although you have thus brought everything together into the same place.
Λυκῖνος
τί τοῦτο;
Lycinus: What is this?
Πολύστρατος
οὐ τὸ μικρότατον, ὦ φιλότης, εἰ μή σοι δόξει ὀλίγα πρὸς εὐμορφίαν συντελεῖν χρόα καὶ τὸ ἑκάστῳ πρέπον, ὡς μέλανα μὲν εἶναι ἀκριβῶς ὁπόσα μέλανα, λευκὰ δὲ ὅσα τοιαῦτα χρή, καὶ τὸ ἐρύθημα ἐπανθεῖν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· κινδυνεύει τοῦ μεγίστου ἔτι ἡμῖν προσδεῖν.
Polystratus: Not the smallest, my friend, unless it shall seem to you that color and what is appropriate to each contribute little to beauty—namely, that whatever should be black is precisely black, and white what should be so, and that a blush blooms, and such things; we are in danger of still lacking the greatest thing.
Λυκῖνος
πόθεν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα πορισαίμεθʼ ἄν;
Lycinus: From where then could we obtain these too?
ἢ παρακαλέσαιμεν δηλαδὴ τοὺς γραφέας, καὶ μάλιστα ὁπόσοι αὐτῶν ἄριστοι ἐγένοντο κεράσασθαι τὰ χρώματα καὶ εὔκαιρον ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἐπιβολὴν αὐτῶν;
Or should we clearly call upon the painters, especially those of them who became the best at mixing colors and applying them opportunely?
καὶ δὴ παρακεκλήσθω Πολύγνωτος καὶ Εὐφράνωρ ἐκεῖνος καὶ Ἀπελλῆς καὶ Ἀετίων·
So, let Polygnotus be called, and that famous Euphranor, and Apelles, and Aetion.
οὗτοι δὲ διελόμενοι τὸ ἔργον ὁ μὲν Εὐφράνωρ χρωσάτω τὴν κόμην οἵαν τῆς Ἥρας ἔγραψεν, ὁ Πολύγνωτος δὲ ὀφρύων τὸ ἐπιπρεπὲς καὶ παρειῶν τὸ ἐνερευθὲς οἵαν τὴν Κασάνδραν ἐν τῇ λέσχῃ ἐποίησεν τοῖς Δελφοῖς, καὶ ἐσθῆτα δὲ οὗτος ποιησάτω εἰς τὸ λεπτότατον ἐξειργασμένην, ὡς συνεστάλθαι μὲν ὅσα χρή, διηνεμῶσθαι δὲ τὰ πολλά·
And let these divide the work: let Euphranor color her hair such as he painted Hera's; let Polygnotus make the elegance of her eyebrows and the blush of her cheeks such as he made Cassandra's in the assembly hall (lesche) at Delphi; and let him also make her garment, worked to the finest texture, so that some parts are drawn together as is proper, but most is blown by the wind.
τὸ δὲ ἄλλο σῶμα ὁ Ἀπελλῆς δειξάτω κατὰ τὴν Πακάτην μάλιστα, μὴ ἄγαν λευκὸν ἀλλὰ ἔναιμον ἁπλῶς· τὰ χείλη δὲ οἷα Ῥωξάνης ὁ Ἀετίων ποιησάτω.
Let Apelles show the rest of her body chiefly after the pattern of Pacate, not too white but simply full of life-blood; and let Aetion make her lips like those of Roxane.
§8Λυκῖνος
μᾶλλον δὲ τὸν ἄριστον τῶν γραφέων Ὅμηρον παρόντος Εὐφράνορος καὶ Ἀπελλοῦ δεδέγμεθα·
Lycinus: Or rather, let us receive Homer, the best of painters, even when Euphranor and Apelles are present.
οἷον γάρ τι τοῖς Μενελάου μηροῖς τὸ χρῶμα ἐκεῖνος ἐπέβαλεν ἐλέφαντι εἰκάσας ἠρέμα πεφοινιγμένῳ, τοιόνδε ἔστω τὸ πᾶν·
For such a color as he applied to the thighs of Menelaus, comparing them to ivory gently stained with crimson, let the whole body be of this sort.
ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς οὗτος καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς γραψάτω βοῶπίν τινα ποιήσας αὐτήν.
And let this same man also write her eyes, making her ox-eyed.
συνεπιλήψεται δὲ τοῦ ἔργου αὐτῷ καὶ ὁ Θηβαῖος ποιητής, ὡς ἰοβλέφαρον ἐξεργάσασθαι·
And the Theban poet will also take part in the work with him, so as to make her violet-eyed.
καὶ φιλομειδῆ δὲ Ὅμηρος ποιήσει καὶ λευκώλενον καὶ ῥοδοδάκτυλον, καὶ ὅλως τῇ χρυσῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ εἰκάσει πολὺ δικαιότερον ἢ τὴν τοῦ Βρισέως.
And Homer will also make her 'laughter-loving' and 'white-armed' and 'rosy-fingered', and on the whole will compare her to 'golden Aphrodite' much more justly than he did the daughter of Briseus.
§9Λυκῖνος
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν πλαστῶν καὶ γραφέων καὶ ποιητῶν παῖδες ἐργάσονται.
Lycinus: These things, then, the sons of sculptors, painters, and poets will accomplish.
ὃ δὲ πᾶσιν ἐπανθεῖ τούτοις, ἡ χάρις, μᾶλλον δὲ πᾶσαι ἅμα ὁπόσαι Χάριτες καὶ ὁπόσοι Ἔρωτες περιχορεύοντες, τίς ἂν μιμήσασθαι δύναιτο;
But who could imitate that which blooms over all of these, grace—or rather, all the Graces and all the Loves dancing around together?
Πολύστρατος
θεσπέσιόν τι χρῆμα, ὦ Λυκῖνε, φὴς καὶ διιπετὲς ὡς ἀληθῶς, οἷόν τι τῶν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ γένοιτο.
Polystratus: A divine thing, Lycinus, you speak of, and truly fallen from heaven, such as might come from the sky.
τί δὲ πράσσουσαν εἶδες αὐτήν;
But what did you see her doing?
Λυκῖνος
βιβλίον ἐν ταῖν χεροῖν εἶχεν εἰς δύο συνειλημένον, καὶ ἐῴκει τὸ μέν τι ἀναγιγνώσκεσθαι αὐτοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἤδη ἀνεγνωκέναι.
Lycinus: She held in her hands a book rolled up in two, and she seemed to be reading part of it, while having already read the other.
μεταξὺ δὲ προϊοῦσα διελέγετο τῶν παρομαρτούντων τινὶ οὐκ οἶδα ὅ τι· οὐ γὰρ εἰς ἐπήκοον ἐφθέγγετο.
And as she went along, she was conversing about I know not what with one of those who accompanied her; for she did not speak within hearing.
πλὴν μειδιάσασά γε, ὦ Πολύστρατε, ὀδόντας ἐξέφηνε πῶς ἂν εἴποιμί σοι ὅπως μὲν λευκούς, ὅπως δὲ συμμέτρους καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους συνηρμοσμένους;
But when she smiled, Polystratus, she revealed her teeth—how can I tell you how white they were, how symmetrical and fitted to one another?
εἴ που κάλλιστον ὅρμον εἶδες ἐκ τῶν στιλπνοτάτων καὶ ἰσομεγεθῶν μαργαριτῶν, οὕτως ἐπὶ στίχου ἐπεφύκεσαν·
If you have ever seen a most beautiful necklace made of the most lustrous pearls of equal size, in such a way they grew in a row.
ἐκοσμοῦντο δὲ μάλιστα τῷ τῶν χειλῶν ἐρυθήματι.
And they were adorned especially by the redness of her lips.
ὑπεφαίνοντο γοῦν, αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ τοῦ Ὁμήρου, ἐλέφαντι τῷ πριστῷ ὅμοιοι, οὐχ οἱ μὲν πλατύτεροι αὐτῶν, οἱ δὲ γυροί, οἱ δὲ προέχοντες ἢ διεστηκότες οἷοι ταῖς πλείσταις, ἀλλά τις πάντων ἰσοτιμία καὶ ὁμόχροια καὶ μέγεθος ἓν καὶ προσεχεῖς ὁμοίως, καὶ ὅλως μέγα τι θαῦμα καὶ θέαμα πᾶσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐμορφίαν ὑπερπεπαικός.
They gleamed through, indeed, the very thing of Homer's, like sawn ivory, not some of them broader, others curved, and others protruding or separated, as they are in most women, but there was a certain equality of honor among all of them, a same color, a single size, and similarly close to one another, and altogether a great marvel and sight, having surpassed all human beauty.