§1Αβδηρίταις φασὶ Λυσιμάχου ἤδη βασιλεύοντος ἐμπεσεῖν τι νόσημα, ὦ καλὲ Φίλων, τοιοῦτο·
They say that when Lysimachus was already reigning, my dear Philo, a certain sickness of this kind befell the people of Abdera.
πυρέττειν μὲν γὰρ τὰ πρῶτα πανδημεὶ ἅπαντας ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης εὐθὺς ἐρρωμένως καὶ λιπαρεῖ τῷ πυρετῷ, περὶ δὲ τὴν ἑβδόμην τοῖς μὲν αἷμα πολὺ ἐκ ῥινῶν ῥυέν, τοῖς δ’ ἱδρὼς ἐπιγενόμενος, πολὺς καὶ οὗτος, ἔλυσεν τὸν πυρετόν.
For at first everyone fell ill with a fever throughout the city, from the very first day, with a violent and persistent fever; but around the seventh day, for some a copious flow of blood from the nose, and for others a sweat coming on, this too being copious, broke the fever.
ἐς γελοῖον δέ τι πάθος περιίστα τὰς γνώμας αὐτῶν· ἅπαντες γὰρ ἐς τραγῳδίαν παρεκίνουν καὶ ἰαμβεῖα ἐφθέγγοντο καὶ μέγα ἐβόων·
But their minds turned into a ridiculous state; for they all went mad for tragedy, reciting iambics and shouting loudly.
μάλιστα δὲ τὴν Εὐριπίδου Ἀνδρομέδαν ἐμονῴδουν καὶ τὴν τοῦ Περσέως ῥῆσιν ἐν μέλει διεξῄεσαν, καὶ μεστὴ ἦν ἡ πόλις ὠχρῶν ἁπάντων καὶ λεπτῶν τῶν ἑβδομαίων ἐκείνων τραγῳδῶν,
"
σὺ δ’ ὦ θεῶν τύραννε κἀνθρώπων Ἔρως,
"
καὶ τὰ ἄλλα μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἀναβοώντων καὶ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πολύ, ἄχρι δὴ χειμὼν καὶ κρύος δὲ μέγα γενόμενον ἔπαυσε ληροῦντας αὐτούς.
Most of all they sang monodies from Euripides' Andromeda and went through Perseus' speech in song, and the city was full of those pale and thin seven-day-fever tragedians, "O Love, tyrant of gods and men, "and crying out the rest in a loud voice, and this for a long time, until indeed winter and a great cold came and stopped them from raving.
αἰτίαν δέ μοι δοκεῖ τοῦ τοιούτου παρασχεῖν Ἀρχέλαος ὁ τραγῳδός, εὐδοκιμῶν τότε, μεσοῦντος θέρους ἐν πολλῷ τῷ φλογμῷ τραγῳδήσας αὐτοῖς τὴν Ἀνδρομέδαν, ὡς πυρέξαι τε ἀπὸ τοῦ θεάτρου τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ ἀναστάντας ὕστερον ἐς τὴν τραγῳδίαν παρολισθαίνειν, ἐπὶ πολὺ ἐμφιλοχωρούσης τῆς Ἀνδρομέδας τῇ μνήμῃ αὐτῶν καὶ τοῦ Περσέως ἔτι σὺν τῇ Μεδούσῃ τὴν ἑκάστου γνώμην περιπετομένου.
It seems to me that Archelaus the tragic actor, who was famous at that time, provided the cause for this, by performing the Andromeda for them in the middle of summer during the great heat, so that many caught a fever from the theater and, when they got up later, slipped into tragedy, because Andromeda had nested for a long time in their memory, and Perseus with Medusa was still flying about in the mind of each.
§2Ὡς οὖν ἕν, φασίν, ἑνὶ παραβαλεῖν, τὸ Ἀβδηριτικὸν ἐκεῖνο πάθος καὶ νῦν τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν πεπαιδευμένων περιελήλυθεν, οὐχ ὥστε τραγῳδεῖν—ἔλαττον γὰρ ἂν τοῦτο παρέπαιον ἀλλοτρίοις ἰαμβείοις, οὐ φαύλοις κατεσχημένοι.
Therefore, to compare one thing with another, as they say, that Abderite disease has now possessed most of our educated men, not so as to act tragedy—for that would be a lesser madness, since they would be possessed by someone else's iambics, and not bad ones at that.
ἀλλ’ ἀφ' οὗ δὴ τὰ ἐν ποσὶ ταῦτα κεκίνηται—ὁ πόλεμος ὁ πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους καὶ τὸ ἐν Ἀρμενίᾳ τραῦμα καὶ αἱ συνεχεῖς νῖκαι—οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐχ ἱστορίαν συγγράφει·
But ever since these immediate events have been set in motion—the war against the barbarians, the disaster in Armenia, and the successive victories—there is no one who is not writing a history.
μᾶλλον δὲ Θουκυδίδαι καὶ Ἡρόδοτοι καὶ Ξενοφῶντες ἡμῖν ἅπαντες, καί, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἀληθὲς ἄρ' ἦν ἐκεῖνο τό “Πόλεμος ἁπάντων πατήρ”, εἴ γε καὶ συγγραφέας τοσούτους ἀνέφυσεν ὑπὸ μιᾷ τῇ ὁρμῇ.
Rather, they are all Thucydideses, Herodotuses, and Xenophons to us, and, as it seems, that saying "War is the father of all things" was indeed true, since it has generated so many historians under a single impulse.
§3Ταῦτα τοίνυν, ὦ φιλότης, ὁρῶντα καὶ ἀκούοντά με τὸ τοῦ Σινωπέως ἐκεῖνο εἰσῆλθεν·
Therefore, my friend, as I was seeing and hearing these things, that story of the man of Sinope came to my mind.
ὁπότε γὰρ ὁ Φίλιππος ἐλέγετο ἤδη ἐπελαύνειν, οἱ Κορίνθιοι πάντες ἐταράττοντο καὶ ἐν ἔργῳ ἦσαν, ὁ μὲν ὅπλα ἐπισκευάζων, ὁ δὲ λίθους παραφέρων, ὁ δὲ ὑποικοδομῶν τοῦ τείχους, ὁ δὲ ἔπαλξιν ὑποστηρίζων, ὁ δὲ ἄλλος ἄλλο τι τῶν χρησίμων ὑπουργῶν.
For when Philip was said to be already marching against them, all the Corinthians were in a bustle and busy at work, one repairing weapons, another carrying stones, another patching up the wall, another propping up a battlement, and everyone else helping in some useful work.
ὁ δὴ Διογένης ὁρῶν ταῦτα, ἐπεὶ μηδὲν εἶχεν ὅ τι καὶ πράττοι—οὐδεὶς γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐς οὐδὲν ἐχρῆτο—διαζωσάμενος τὸ τριβώνιον σπουδῇ μάλα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκύλιε τὸν πίθον, ἐν ᾧ ἐτύγχανεν οἰκῶν, ἄνω καὶ κάτω τοῦ Κρανείου.
Diogenes, seeing this, since he had nothing he could do—for no one made any use of him for anything—girded up his cloak with great haste and himself rolled his tub, in which he happened to live, up and down the Craneum.
καί τινος τῶν συνήθων ἐρομένου, Τί ταῦτα ποιεῖς, ὦ Διόγενες; Κυλίω, ἔφη, κἀγὼ τὸν πίθον, ὡς μὴ μόνος ἀργεῖν δοκοίην ἐν τοσούτοις ἐργαζομένοις. §4Καὐτὸς οὖν, ὦ Φίλων, ὡς μὴ μόνος ἄφωνος εἴην ἐν οὕτω πολυφώνῳ τῷ καιρῷ μηδ’ ὥσπερ κωμικὸν δορυφόρημα κεχηνὼς σιωπῇ παραφεροίμην, καλῶς ἔχειν ὑπέλαβον ὡς δυνατόν μοι κυλῖσαι τὸν πίθον, οὐχ ὥστε ἱστορίαν συγγράφειν οὐδὲ πράξεις αὐτὰς διεξιέναι—οὐχ οὕτως μεγαλότολμος ἐγώ, μηδὲ τοῦτο δείσῃς περὶ ἐμοῦ.
And when one of his acquaintances asked, "Why are you doing this, Diogenes?" he replied, "I too am rolling my tub, so that I may not seem to be the only idle person among so many busy people." So I too, Philo, so that I might not be the only silent one in such a noisy season, nor pass by in silence with mouth agape like a mute character in a comedy, thought it well to roll my tub as best as I can, not so as to write a history or to recount the events themselves—I am not so bold, do not fear this of me.
οἶδα γάρ, ἡλίκος ὁ κίνδυνος, εἰ κατὰ τῶν πετρῶν κυλίοι τις, καὶ μάλιστα οἷον τοὐμὸν τοῦτο πιθάκνιον οὐδὲ πάνυ καρτερῶς κεκεραμευμένον.
For I know how great the danger is if one rolls it down the rocks, especially with a little jar like mine, which is not at all strongly baked.
δεήσει γὰρ αὐτίκα μάλα πρὸς μικρόν τι λιθίδιον προσπταίσαντα συλλέγειν τὰ ὄστρακα.
For if it strikes against some tiny pebble, I shall have to gather up the shattered pieces immediately.
Τί οὖν ἔγνωσταί μοι καὶ πῶς ἀσφαλῶς μεθέξω τοῦ πολέμου, αὐτὸς ἔξω βέλους ἑστώς, ἐγώ σοι φράσω.
What then I have decided, and how I shall safely take part in the war, standing myself out of range of missiles, I will tell you.
“τούτου μὲν καπνοῦ καὶ κύματος” καὶ φροντίδων, ὅσαι τῷ συγγραφεῖ ἔνεισιν, ἀνέξω ἐμαυτὸν εὖ ποιῶν.
From "this smoke and wave" and the anxieties that belong to the historian, I shall keep myself clear, and do well.
παραίνεσιν δέ τινα μικρὰν καὶ ὑποθήκας ταύτας ὀλίγας ὑποθήσομαι τοῖς συγγράφουσιν, ὡς κοινωνήσαιμι αὐτοῖς τῆς οἰκοδομίας, εἰ καὶ μὴ τῆς ἐπιγραφῆς, ἄκρῳ γε τῷ δακτύλῳ τοῦ πηλοῦ προσαψάμενος.
But I will offer some short advice and a few suggestions to those who write, so that I may share in their building, if not in the inscription, by touching the mud with at least the tip of my finger.