§1Ἔναγχος ἐγὼ μὲν ὑμῖν δείξας τὸν λόγον ἀπῄειν οἴκαδε, προσιόντες δέ μοι τῶν ἀκηκοότων πολλοὶ (κωλύει γὰρ οὐδέν οἶμαι καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πρὸς φίλους ἤδη ὄντας ὑμᾶς λέγειν)—προσιόντες οὖν ἐδεξιοῦντο καὶ θαυμάζουσιν ἐῴκεσαν.
Recently, after displaying my speech to you, I was departing for home, when many of those who had heard it approached me (for I think there is nothing to prevent me from saying such things to you, who are already my friends)—approaching, then, they greeted me and seemed like people in admiration.
ἐπὶ πολὺ γοῦν παρομαρτοῦντες ἄλλος ἄλλοθεν ἐβόων καὶ ἐπῄνουν ἄχρι τοῦ καὶ ἐρυθριᾶν με, μὴ ἄρα πάμπολυ τῆς ἀξίας τῶν ἐπαίνων ἀπολειποίμην.
At any rate, accompanying me for a long way, they shouted and praised from all sides, so much so that I even blushed, lest I should fall far short of the worth of their praises.
τὸ δ’ οὖν κεφάλαιον αὐτοῖς τοῦτο ἦν, καὶ πάντες ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐπεσημαίνοντο, τὴν γνώμην τῶν συγγραμμάτων ξένην οὖσαν καὶ πολὺν ἐν αὐτῇ τὸν νεωτερισμόν.
In short, this was their main point, and they all signaled one and the same thing: that the conception of my writings was strange and that there was much novelty in it.
μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὰ εἰπεῖν ἄμεινον ἅπερ ἐκεῖνοι ἐπεφθέγγοντο· “Ὢ τῆς καινότητος.
Or rather, it is better to say the very words which they exclaimed: “Oh, the novelty!
Ἡράκλεις, τῆς παραδοξολογίας.
By Heracles, the paradox!
εὐμήχανος ἄνθρωπος.
What an ingenious man!
οὐδὲν ἄν τις εἴποι τῆς ἐπινοίας νεαρώτερον. ” οἱ μὲν τοιαῦτα πολλὰ ἔλεγον, ὡς ἐκεκίνηντο δηλαδὴ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀκροάσεως.
No one could say anything more novel than this invention.” They said many such things, clearly moved as they were by the hearing.
ἢ τίνα γὰρ ἂν αἰτίαν εἶχον ψεύδεσθαι καὶ κολακεύειν τὰ τοιαῦτα ξένον ἄνθρωπον, οὐ πάνυ πολλῆς αὐτοῖς φροντίδος ἄξιον τὰ ἄλλα;
For what reason would they have had to lie and flatter in this way a stranger, who in other respects was not at all worth much concern to them?
§2Πλὴν ἐμέ γε (εἰρήσεται γάρ) οὐ μετρίως ἠνία ὁ ἔπαινος αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐπειδή ποτε ἀπελθόντων κατ' ἐμαυτὸν ἐγενόμην ἐκεῖνα ἐνενόουν· οὐκοῦν τοῦτο μόνον χάριεν τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἔνεστιν, ὅτι μὴ συνήθη μηδὲ κατὰ τὸ κοινὸν βαδίζει τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὀνομάτων δὲ ἄρα καλῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἀρχαῖον κανόνα συγκειμένων ἢ νοῦ ὀξέος ἢ περινοίας τινὸς ἢ χάριτος Ἀττικῆς ἢ ἁρμονίας ἢ τέχνης τῆς ἐφ' ἅπασι, τούτων δὲ πόρρω ἴσως τοὐμόν.
However, as for me—for it shall be spoken—their praise annoyed me in no small degree, and when, after they had gone, I was left to myself, I reflected on those things: “Is this, then, the only pleasing thing in my works, that they do not walk in the usual and common path of others, while, as it seems, beautiful words arranged according to the ancient canon, or acute intellect, or some depth of thought, or Attic grace, or harmony, or the overall art, are perhaps far from mine?
οὐ γὰρ ἂν παρέντες αὐτὰ ἐκεῖνα ἐπῄνουν μόνον τὸ καινὸν τῆς προαιρέσεως καὶ ξενίζον.
For they would not have passed over those things to praise only the novelty and strangeness of the undertaking.
ἐγὼ δὲ ὁ μάταιος ᾤμην, ὁπότε ἀναπηδῶντες ἐπαινοῖεν, τάχα μέν τι καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο προσάγεσθαι αὐτούς· ἀληθὲς γὰρ εἶναι τὸ τοῦ Ὁμήρου, καὶ τὴν νέαν ᾠδὴν κεχαρισμένην ὑπάρχειν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν· οὐ μὴν τοσοῦτόν γε οὐδὲ ὅλον τῇ καινότητι νέμειν ἠξίουν, ἀλλὰ τὴν μὲν ὥσπερ ἐν προσθήκης μοίρᾳ συνεπικοσμεῖν τι καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἔπαινον συντελεῖν καὶ αὐτήν, τὰ δὲ τῷ ὄντι ἐπαινούμενα καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκουόντων εὐφημούμενα ἐκεῖνα εἶναι. ὥστε οὐ μετρίως ἐπήρμην καὶ ἐκινδύνευον πιστεύειν αὐτοῖς ἕνα καὶ μόνον ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εἶναι λέγουσι καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα.
But I, foolish as I was, thought that whenever they leaped up and praised, perhaps this very novelty also attracted them—for the saying of Homer is true, that the new song is pleasing to the hearers—yet I did not think they would attribute so much, or rather everything, to the novelty, but rather that novelty, as if in the manner of an addition, adorned it somewhat and contributed to the praise itself, while the things truly praised and acclaimed by the hearers were those other qualities.” So that I was puffed up in no small degree and was in danger of believing them when they said that I was the one and only among the Greeks, and such things.
τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν ἄνθρακες ἡμῶν ὁ θησαυρὸς ἦσαν, καὶ ὀλίγου δέω θαυματοποιοῦ τινος ἔπαινον ἐπαινεῖσθαι πρὸς αὐτῶν.
But, as the proverb goes, our treasure turned out to be charcoal, and I was within a little of being praised by them with the praise of some conjurer.
§3Ἐθέλω γοῦν ὑμῖν καὶ τὸ τοῦ γραφέως διηγήσασθαι.
At any rate, I wish to tell you also the story of the painter.
ὁ Ζεῦξις ἐκεῖνος ἄριστος γραφέων γενόμενος τὰ δημώδη καὶ τὰ κοινὰ ταῦτα οὐκ ἔγραφεν, ἢ ὅσα πάνυ ὀλίγα, ἥρωας ἢ θεοὺς ἢ πολέμους, ἀεὶ δὲ καινοποιεῖν ἐπειρᾶτο καί τι ἀλλόκοτον ἂν καὶ ξένον ἐπινοήσας ἐπ' ἐκείνῳ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῆς τέχνης ἐπεδείκνυτο.
That Zeuxis, who became the best of painters, did not paint these common and vulgar things, or did so only very rarely—such as heroes, gods, or wars—but always attempted to innovate, and having conceived something strange and foreign, he demonstrated the precision of his art upon it.
ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις τολμήμασι καὶ θήλειαν Ἱπποκένταυρον ὁ Ζεῦξις οὗτος ἐποίησεν, ἀνατρέφουσάν γε προσέτι παιδίω Ἱπποκενταύρω διδύμω κομιδῇ νηπίω.
Among his other bold attempts, this Zeuxis painted a female centaur, moreover rearing twin centaur foals that were quite infant.
τῆς εἰκόνος ταύτης ἀντίγραφός ἐστι νῦν Ἀθήνησι πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐκείνην ἀκριβεῖ τῇ στάθμῃ μετενηνεγμένη.
A copy of this picture is now at Athens, having been transferred with exact measurements from that very original.
τὸ ἀρχέτυπον δὲ αὐτὸ Σύλλας ὁ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγὸς ἐλέγετο μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων εἰς Ἰταλίαν πεπομφέναι, εἶτα περὶ Μαλέαν οἶμαι καταδύσης τῆς ὁλκάδος ἀπολέσθαι ἅπαντα καὶ τὴν γραφήν.
The archetype itself was said to have been sent to Italy by Sulla, the Roman general, along with the other spoils, and then, I believe, around Malea, the merchant ship having sunk, everything was lost, including the painting.
πλὴν ἀλλὰ τήν γε εἰκόνα τῆς εἰκόνος εἶδον, καὶ αὐτὸς ὑμῖν ὡς ἂν οἷός τε ὦ δείξω τῷ λόγῳ, οὐ μὰ τὸν Δία γραφικός τις ὤν, ἀλλὰ πάνυ μέμνημαι οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ ἰδὼν ἔν τινος τῶν γραφέων Ἀθήνησι.
Nevertheless, I did see the copy of the picture, and I myself will show it to you in speech as best as I am able, not, by Zeus, being any expert in painting, but remembering very well having seen it not long ago at the house of one of the painters in Athens.
καὶ τὸ ὑπερθαυμάσαι τότε τὴν τέχνην τάχ' ἄν μοι καὶ νῦν πρὸς τὸ σαφέστερον δηλῶσαι συναγωνίσαιτο.
And my exceeding admiration of the art at that time might perhaps now also assist me in explaining it more clearly.