§19Λυκῖνος
ἐκεῖνο δέ γέ φημι, τοιαύτας ἡμῖν τὰς ἀφορμὰς τῶν ἐπαινετικῶν τούτων λόγων εἶναι, ὡς χρὴ τὸν ἐπαινοῦντα καὶ εἰκόσι καὶ ὁμοιώσεσι προσχρῆσθαι, καὶ σχεδὸν ἐν τούτῳ τὸ μέγιστόν ἐστιν εὖ εἰκάσαι· τὸ δὲ εὖ ὧδε μάλιστʼ ἂν κρίνοιτο, οὐκ ἤν τις τοῖς ὁμοίοις παραβάλλῃ οὐδʼ ἢν πρὸς τὸ ὑποδεέστερον ποιῆται τὴν παράθεσιν, ἀλλʼ ἢν πρὸς τὸ ὑπερέχον ὡς οἷόν τε προσβιβάζῃ τὸ ἐπαινούμενον.
Lycinus But this is what I say, that the starting points of these laudatory speeches for us are such that the one who praises must also make use of images and likenesses, and almost in this, the most important thing is to compare well; and the "well" would be judged most in this way, not if someone compares it with similar things nor if he makes the comparison with the inferior, but if he brings the praised thing as close as possible to the superior.
οἷον εἴ τις κύνα ἐπαινῶν εἴποι ἀλώπεκος εἶναι μείζω αὐτὸν ἢ αἰλούρου, ἆρά σοι δοκεῖ ὁ τοιοῦτος ἐπαινεῖν εἰδέναι;
For example, if someone praising a dog should say that it is larger than a fox or a cat, do you think such a person knows how to praise?
οὐκ ἂν εἴποις.
You would say not.
ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδʼ εἰ λύκῳ φαίη ἴσον αὐτὸν ὑπάρχειν, οὐδὲ οὕτως μεγαλωστὶ ἐπῄνεσεν.
Indeed, not even if he should say that it is equal to a wolf, not even so has he praised greatly.
ἀλλὰ ποῦ τὸ ἴδιον τοῦ ἐπαίνου ἀποτελεῖται;
But where is the proper character of praise accomplished?
ἢν ὁ κύων τῷ λέοντι ἐοικέναι λέγηται καὶ μέγεθος καὶ ἀλκήν.
If the dog is said to resemble the lion in both size and strength.
ὡς ὁ τὸν Ὠρίωνος κύνα ἐπαινῶν ἔφη ποιητὴς λεοντοδάμαν αὐτόν· οὗτος γὰρ δὴ κυνὸς ἐντελὴς ἔπαινος.
As the poet praising Orion's dog called it "lion-subduing"; for this indeed is the complete praise of a dog.
καὶ πάλιν εἴ τις Μίλωνα τὸν ἐκ Κρότωνος ἢ Γλαῦκον τὸν ἐκ Καρύστου ἢ Πολυδάμαντα ἐπαινέσαι θέλων ἔπειτα λέγοι ἰσχυρότερον ἕκαστον αὐτῶν γυναικὸς γενέσθαι, οὐκ ἂν οἴει γελασθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνοίᾳ τοῦ ἐπαίνου;
And again, if someone, wishing to praise Milo of Croton or Glaucus of Carystus or Polydamas, should then say that each of them was stronger than a woman, do you not think he would be laughed at for the folly of the praise?
ὅπου γε καὶ εἰ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς ἔλεγεν ἀμείνω εἶναι αὐτόν, οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἀπέχρησεν ἂν εἰς ἔπαινον.
Since, even if he said he was better than one man, not even this would have sufficed for praise.
ἀλλὰ πῶς ἐπῄνεσε ποιητὴς εὐδόκιμος τὸν Γλαῦκον, οὐδὲ
Πολυδεύκεος βίαν
φήσας ἀνατείνασθαι ἂν αὐτῷ ἐναντίας τὰς χεῖρας
οὐδὲ σιδάρεον Ἀλκμάνας τέκος;
But how did a famous poet praise Glaucus? Saying that not even the strength of Polydeuces would raise hands against him in opposition, nor the iron offspring of Alcmene.
ὁρᾷς ὁποίοις αὐτὸν θεοῖς εἴκασε· μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ἀμείνω ἀπέφαινεν.
You see to what kind of gods he compared him; or rather, he even showed him to be better than those very ones.
καὶ οὔτε αὐτὸς ὁ Γλαῦκος ἠγανάκτησεν τοῖς ἐφόροις τῶν ἀθλητῶν θεοῖς ἀντεπαινούμενος, οὔτε ἐκεῖνοι ἠμύναντο ἢ τὸν Γλαῦκον ἢ τὸν ποιητὴν ὡς ἀσεβοῦντα περὶ τὸν ἔπαινον, ἀλλὰ εὐδοκίμουν ἄμφω καὶ ἐτιμῶντο ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ὁ μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀλκῇ, ὁ Γλαῦκος, ὁ δὲ ποιητὴς ἐπί τε τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ τούτῳ μάλιστα τῷ ᾄσματι.
And neither did Glaucus himself get angry at being praised in comparison with the gods who oversee athletes, nor did they punish either Glaucus or the poet as acting impiously regarding the praise; but both were famous and honored by the Greeks, Glaucus for his strength, and the poet for other things and especially for this very song.
μὴ δὴ θαυμάσῃς εἰ καὶ αὐτὸς εἰκάσαι βουλόμενος, ὅπερ ἦν τῷ ἐπαινοῦντι ἀναγκαῖον, ὑψηλοτέρῳ ἐχρησάμην τῷ παραδείγματι, τοῦτο ὑποβαλόντος τοῦ λόγου.
Do not then wonder if I too, wishing to compare—which was necessary for the one praising—used a loftier paradigm, when the argument suggested this.
§20Λυκῖνος
ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ κολακείας ἐπεμνήσθης, ὅτι μὲν καὶ σὺ μισεῖς τοὺς κολακικούς, ἐπαινῶ μέν σε, καὶ οὐκ ἐχρῆν ἄλλως.
Lycinus And since you also mentioned flattery, that you indeed hate flatterers, I praise you, and it ought not to be otherwise.
ἐθέλω δέ σοι διακρῖναι καὶ διορίσαι τό τε τοῦ ἐπαινοῦντος ἔργον καὶ τὴν τοῦ κόλακος ὑπερβολήν.
But I wish to distinguish and define for you the work of the praiser and the excess of the flatterer.
ὁ μὲν οὖν κόλαξ ἅτε τῆς χρείας ἕνεκα τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἐπαινῶν, ἀληθείας δὲ ὀλίγην ποιούμενος τὴν πρόνοιαν, ἅπαντα ὑπερεπαινεῖν οἴεται δεῖν, ἐπιψευδόμενος καὶ προστιθεὶς παρʼ αὑτοῦ τὰ πλείω, ὡς μὴ ἂν ὀκνῆσαι καὶ τὸν Θερσίτην εὐμορφότερον ἀποφῆναι τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως καὶ τὸν Νέστορα φάναι τῶν ἐπὶ Ἴλιον στρατευσάντων τὸν νεώτατον εἶναι.
The flatterer, then, as praising for the sake of his own need, making little provision for truth, thinks he must praise everything excessively, lying and adding more from himself, so that he would not hesitate even to show Thersites to be more beautiful than Achilles, and to say that Nestor was the youngest of those who campaigned against Ilium.
διομόσαιτο δʼ ἂν καὶ τὸν Κροίσου υἱὸν ὀξυηκοώτερον εἶναι τοῦ Μελάμποδος καὶ τὸν Φινέα ὀξύτερον δεδορκέναι τοῦ Λυγκέως, ἤνπερ μόνον κερδᾶναί τι ἐλπίσῃ ἐπὶ τῷ ψεύσματι.
And he would swear that even the son of Croesus had sharper hearing than Melampus, and that Phineus saw more sharply than Lynceus, if only he hopes to gain something from the lie.
ὁ δέ γε αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐπαινῶν οὐχ ὅπως οὐδʼ ἂν ψεύσαιτό τι ἢ προσθείη τῶν μηδὲ ὅλως προσόντων, τὰ δʼ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῷ φύσει ἀγαθά, κἂν μὴ πάνυ μεγάλα ᾖ, παραλαβὼν ἐπηύξησε καὶ μείζω ἀπέφηνε· καὶ τολμήσειεν ἂν εἰπεῖν, ἵππον ἐπαινέσαι θέλων, φύσει κοῦφον ὧν ἴσμεν ζῴων καὶ δρομικόν, ὅτι
"Ἄκρον ἐπʼ ἀνθερίκων καρπὸν θέεν οὐδὲ κατέκλα. "
καὶ πάλιν οὐκ ἂν ὀκνήσειεν φάναι
ἀελλοπόδων δρόμον ἵππων. καὶ ἢν οἰκίαν ἐπαινῇ καλὴν καὶ ἄριστα κατεσκευασμένην, εἴποι ἄν
"Ζηνός που τοιήδε γʼ Ὀλυμπίου ἔνδοθεν αὐλή. "
ὁ δὲ κόλαξ τοῦτο τὸ ἔπος κἂν περὶ τῆς συβώτου καλύβης εἴποι, εἰ μόνον τι παρὰ τοῦ συβώτου λαβεῖν ἐλπίσειεν· ὅπου Κύναιθος ὁ Δημητρίου τοῦ Πολιορκητοῦ κόλαξ ἁπάντων αὐτῷ τῶν πρὸς τὴν κολακείαν καταναλωμένων ἐπῄνει ὑπὸ βηχὸς ἐνοχλούμενον τὸν Δημήτριον, ὅτι ἐμμελῶς ἐχρέμπτετο.
But the one who praises for this very purpose, so far from lying at all or adding any of those things that do not belong to him at all, but taking the good things naturally belonging to him, even if they are not very great, increases them and shows them to be greater; and he would dare to say, wishing to praise a horse, naturally light and swift among the animals we know, that: "It ran upon the top of the ears of grain and did not break them." And again, he would not hesitate to say: "the running of storm-footed horses." And if he praises a house, beautiful and excellently constructed, he would say: "Such is surely the hall of Olympian Zeus within." But the flatterer would say this verse even about the swineherd's hut, if only he hoped to receive something from the swineherd; where Cynaethus, the flatterer of Demetrius Poliorcetes, among all the things spent by him on flattery, praised Demetrius when he was troubled by a cough, because he cleared his throat musically.