§30Εἷς δέ τις βέλτιστος ἅπαντα ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐς τέλος τὰ πεπραγμένα ὅσα ἐν Ἀρμενίᾳ, ὅσα ἐν Συρίᾳ, ὅσα ἐν Μεσοποταμίᾳ, τὰ ἐπὶ τῷ Τίγρητι, τὰ ἐν Μηδίᾳ, πεντακοσίοις οὐδ’ ὅλοις ἔπεσι περιλαβὼν συνέτριψε καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσας ἱστορίαν συγγεγραφέναι φησί.
But one of the 'best' of them, having embraced in not even five hundred whole lines all the deeds from beginning to end, as many as were done in Armenia, as many as in Syria, as many as in Mesopotamia, those along the Tigris, and those in Media, compressed them all and, having done this, claims to have written a history.
τὴν μέντοι ἐπιγραφὴν ὀλίγου δεῖν μακροτέραν τοῦ βιβλίου ἐπέγραψεν, “Ἀντιοχιανοῦ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱερονίκου”—δόλιχον γάρ που οἶμαι ἐν παισὶ νενίκηκεν—“τῶν ἐν Ἀρμενίᾳ καὶ Μεσοποταμίᾳ καὶ ἐν Μηδίᾳ νῦν Ῥωμαίοις πραχθέντων ἀφήγησις. ”
However, he inscribed a title almost longer than the book: 'A Narrative of the Deeds Now Performed by the Romans in Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Media, by Antiochianus, Sacred Victor of Apollo'—for I think he won the long race among the boys.
§31Ἤδη δ’ ἐγώ τινος καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα συγγεγραφότος ἤκουσα, καὶ τὴν λῆψιν τὴν Οὐολογέσσου καὶ τὴν Ὀσρόου σφαγήν—ὡς παραβληθήσεται τῷ λέοντι, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τὸν τριπόθητον ἡμῖν θρίαμβον.
And already I have heard someone who has even written about future events: the capture of Vologeses and the slaughter of Osroes—how he will be thrown to the lion—and, above all, the triumph so much desired by us.
οὕτω μαντικῶς ἅμα ἔχων ἔσπευδεν ἤδη πρὸς τὸ τέλος τῆς γραφῆς.
Having thus a prophetic power as well, he was already rushing toward the end of his writing.
ἀλλὰ καὶ πόλιν ἤδη ἐν τῇ Μεσοποταμίᾳ ᾤκισε μεγέθει τε μεγίστην καὶ κάλλει καλλίστην.
Moreover, he has already founded in Mesopotamia a city greatest in size and most beautiful in beauty.
ἔτι μέντοι ἐπισκοπεῖ καὶ διαβουλεύεται εἴτε Νίκαιαν αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νίκης χρὴ ὀνομάζεσθαι εἴτε Ὁμόνοιαν εἴτε Εἰρηνίαν.
Still, however, he is inspecting and deliberating whether it should be called Nicaea after the victory, or Homonoia, or Eirenia.
καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἔτι ἄκριτον καὶ ἀνώνυμος ἡμῖν ἡ καλὴ πόλις ἐκείνη λήρου πολλοῦ καὶ κορύζης συγγραφικῆς γέμουσα.
And this matter is still undecided, and that beautiful city of ours is nameless for us, full of much nonsense and historical snivel.
τὰ δ’ ἐν Ἰνδοῖς πραχθησόμενα ὑπέσχετο ἤδη γράψειν καὶ τὸν περίπλουν τῆς ἔξω θαλάττης—καὶ οὐχ ὑπόσχεσις ταῦτα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ προοίμιον τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἤδη συντέτακται, καὶ τὸ τρίτον τάγμα καὶ οἱ Κελτοὶ καὶ Μαύρων μοῖρα ὀλίγη σὺν Κασσίῳ πάντες οὗτοι ἐπεραιώθησαν τὸν Ἰνδὸν ποταμόν.
But he has promised to write already of the deeds to be performed in India and the circumnavigation of the outer sea; and this is not a promise only, but the preface to the Indian history has already been composed, and the Third Legion, the Celts, and a small division of Mauritanians with Cassius, all these have already crossed the Indus River.
ὅ τι δὲ καὶ πράξουσιν ἢ πῶς δέξονται τὴν τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἐπέλασιν, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἡμῖν ὁ θαυμαστὸς συγγραφεὺς ἀπὸ Μουζίριδος ἢ ἀπ' Ὀξυδρακῶν ἐπιστελεῖ.
But what they will perform, or how they will receive the charge of the elephants, the wonderful historian will send to us in a letter before long, from Muziris or from the Oxydracae.
§32Τοιαῦτα πολλὰ ὑπὸ ἀπαιδευσίας ληροῦσι, τὰ μὲν ἀξιόρατα οὔτε ὁρῶντες οὔτ' εἰ βλέποιεν κατ' ἀξίαν εἰπεῖν δυνάμενοι, ἐπινοοῦντες δὲ καὶ ἀναπλάττοντες ὅ τι κεν ἐπ' ἀκαιρίμαν γλῶσσαν, φασίν, ἔλθῃ, καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ ἀριθμῷ τῶν βιβλίων ἔτι σεμνυνόμενοι καὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ ταῖς ἐπιγραφαῖς, καὶ γὰρ αὖ καὶ αὗται παγγέλοιοι· “τοῦ δεῖνος Παρθικῶν νικῶν τοσάδε”· καὶ αὖ· “Παρθίδος πρῶτον, δεύτερον”, ὡς Ἀτθίδος δῆλον ὅτι. ἄλλος ἀστειότερον παρὰ πολύ—ἀνέγνων γάρ—“Δημητρίου Σαγαλασσέως Παρθονικικά” ** οὐδ’ ὡς ἐν γέλωτι ποιήσασθαι καὶ ἐπισκῶψαι τὰς ἱστορίας οὕτω καλὰς οὔσας, ἀλλὰ τοῦ χρησίμου ἕνεκα.
They talk much nonsense of this kind because of their lack of education, neither seeing things worthy of being seen, nor, if they should look, being able to describe them according to their worth, but inventing and shaping whatever comes to their 'untimely tongue,' as they say, and further taking pride in the number of books, and especially in the titles, for these too are utterly ridiculous: 'The So-and-so of the Parthian Victories, so many books'; and again, 'Parthis, book one, book two,' clearly in imitation of 'Atthis.' Another was far more elegant—for I read it—: 'Parthonicica of Demetrius of Sagalassus' ** [I have mentioned these] not to make a laughingstock of and mock these histories, beautiful as they are, but for the sake of utility.
ὡς ὅστις ἂν ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα φεύγῃ πολὺ μέρος ἤδη ἐς τὸ ὀρθῶς συγγράφειν οὗτος προείληφεν, μᾶλλον δὲ ὀλίγων ἔτι προσδεῖται, εἴ γε ἀληθὲς ἐκεῖνό φησιν ἡ διαλεκτική ὡς τῶν ἀμέσων ἡ θατέρου ἄρσις τὸ ἕτερον πάντως ἀντεισάγει.
For whoever avoids these and such things has already anticipated a large part of writing correctly, or rather, needs only a few things more, if indeed that saying of dialectic is true, that in the case of immediate contraries, the removal of one absolutely introduces the other.
§33Καὶ δὴ τὸ χωρίον σοι, φαίη τις ἄν, ἀκριβῶς ἀνακεκάθαρται καὶ αἵ τε ἄκανθαι ὁπόσαι ἦσαν καὶ βάτοι ἐκκεκομμέναι εἰσί, τὰ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἐρείπια ἤδη ἐκπεφόρηται, καὶ εἴ τι τραχύ, ἤδη καὶ τοῦτο λεῖόν ἐστιν, ὥστε οἰκοδόμει τι ἤδη καὶ αὐτός ὡς δείξῃς οὐκ ἀνατρέψαι μόνον τὸ τῶν ἄλλων γεννάδας ὢν ἀλλά τι καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπινοῆσαι δεξιὸν καὶ ὃ οὐδεὶς ἄν, ἀλλ’ οὐδ’ ὁ Μῶμος, μωμήσασθαι δύναιτο.
And indeed the ground, someone might say, has been thoroughly cleared for you, and all the thorns that were there and the briars have been cut away, and the ruins of others have already been carried out, and if there was anything rough, this too is now smooth, so build something now yourself, so that you may show, being a noble man, that you can not only overturn the work of others, but can also devise something clever yourself, which no one, not even Momus, could find fault with.
§34Φημὶ τοίνυν τὸν ἄριστα ἱστορίαν συγγράφοντα δύο μὲν ταῦτα κορυφαιότατα οἴκοθεν ἔχοντα ἥκειν, σύνεσίν τε πολιτικὴν καὶ δύναμιν ἑρμηνευτικήν, τὴν μὲν ἀδίδακτόν τι τῆς φύσεως δῶρον, ἡ δύναμις δὲ πολλῇ τῇ ἀσκήσει καὶ συνεχεῖ τῷ πόνῳ καὶ ζήλῳ τῶν ἀρχαίων προσγεγενημένη ἔστω.
I say, then, that he who is to write history best must come having these two most supreme things from home: political sagacity and power of expression; the former being an untaught gift of nature, while let the power of expression be added by much practice, continuous labor, and emulation of the ancients.
ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἄτεχνα καὶ οὐδὲν ἐμοῦ συμβούλου δεόμενα· οὐ γὰρ συνετοὺς καὶ ὀξεῖς ἀποφαίνειν τοὺς μὴ παρὰ τῆς φύσεως τοιούτους φησὶ τοῦτο ἡμῖν τὸ βιβλίον.
These things, then, are outside of art and have no need of my advice; for this book of ours does not claim to make those wise and sharp who are not so by nature.
ἐπεὶ πολλοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ παντὸς ἂν ἦν ἄξιον, εἰ μεταπλάσαι καὶ μετακοσμῆσαι τὰ τηλικαῦτα ἠδύνατο ἢ ἐκ μολύβδου χρυσὸν ἀποφῆναι ἢ ἄργυρον ἐκ κασσιτέρου ἢ ἀπὸ Κόνωνος Τίτορμον ἢ ἀπὸ Λεωτροφίδου Μίλωνα ἐξεργάσασθαι.
Since it would have been worth much, or rather, worth everything, if it could remodel and transform such great things, or show gold from lead, silver from tin, or produce a Titormus from Conon, or a Milo from Leotrophides.