§327καὶ μὴν τό γε πλεῖστον καὶ πλείστου ἄξιον τῆς ἀσκήσεως ἡ τῶν ἐνυπνίων ἦν ἔφοδος καὶ ὁμιλία.
And indeed, the greatest and most valuable part of the practice was the visitation and intercourse of dreams.
πολλὰ μὲν γὰρ ἤκουσα νικῶντα καθαρότητι καὶ λαμπρῶς ἐπέκεινα τῶν παραδειγμάτων, πολλὰ δʼ αὐτὸς λέγειν ἐδόκουν κρείττω τῆς συνηθείας καὶ ἃ οὐδεπώποτε ἐνεθυμήθην·
For I heard many things which excelled in purity and were brilliantly beyond ordinary models, and I myself seemed to say many things superior to my usual habit, and things which I had never even thought of.
ὧν ὅσα γε ἐμνήσθην ἐν ταῖς ἀπογραφαῖς τῶν ὀνειράτων ἔστησα, ἐν οἷς ὅ τε ὑπὲρ τοῦ δρόμου λόγος λεχθείς ἐστιν, ὅτε ἐκέλευε χρῆσθαι δρόμῳ, καὶ πολλὰ ἕτερά ἐστι.
Of these, as many as I remembered, I recorded in the registers of dreams, among which is both the speech spoken on behalf of running, when he ordered me to practice running, and there are many other things.
καὶ ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις ἐνέσπαρται τοῖς ἡμετέροις Ἀθηνᾶς τε ἐγκώμιον καὶ Διονύσου καὶ ἑτέροις ὡς ἕκαστόν που συμβαίνοι.
And scattered in our books are both a panegyric of Athena and of Dionysus, and to other gods as each occasion somehow arose.
πολλὰ δὲ καὶ προβλήματα ἀφίκετο καὶ ὅπως χρὴ τὸ σύμπαν μεταχειρίσασθαι παρεδείχθη, χωρὶς τῶν εἰς μνήμην διʼ ἀκριβείας ἐλθόντων ῥημάτων.
And many problems also came, and how it was necessary to handle the whole matter was demonstrated, apart from the words that came accurately into memory.
ἦν δέ τις καὶ οὗτος τρόπος, φέρων εἰς ἐπίδοσιν, ὁ τῆς ἀδήλου παρασκευῆς· ἔδει γὰρ ἀναστῆναι κεκεντρωμένον εἰς λόγους καὶ παρεσκευασμένον ἐκ νυκτὸς, ὥσπερ ὅταν ἀθλητὴς προγυμνάσηται τὰ ἑωθινά.
And this also was a certain method, leading to progress, that of "unseen preparation"; for it was necessary to rise up spurred for speeches and prepared from the night before, just as when an athlete performs morning warm-ups.
ἧκε δέ ποτε καὶ τοιοῦτον ἐπίταγμα, πλέξαι λόγον διὰ ψιλοῦ τοῦ νοῦ, καθάπερ διὰ ῥημάτων, καί μοι δῆλον ἦν ὅτι πολύνοιαν εἰσηγοῖτο ὁ θεός.
And once there also came such an order, to weave a speech by the bare mind, just as if by words, and it was clear to me that the god was suggesting an abundance of thoughts.
ὅτι δʼ οὖν ἡ τῶν λόγων ἕξις ἡμῖν σὺν αὐτῷ γʼ εἰρῆσθαι, εἰ τὰ μάλιστα καὶ πρόσθεν μὴ σφόδρα εὐκαταφρόνητος ἦν, ἑτέρα τις ἐξ ἑτέρας ἐγένετο αὐτοί τε σύνισμεν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν εἰδότων γνωρίζεται.
At all events, that our habit of speech—be it said with his help—even if previously it was not altogether contemptible, became completely transformed, we ourselves are aware and it is recognized by those who know.
καὶ δὴ Πάρδαλός ποτε ἐκεῖνος, ὃν ἐγὼ φαίην ἂν ἄκρον τῶν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν Ἑλλήνων γενέσθαι γνῶναι λόγους, ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν πρὸς ἐμὲ καὶ διισχυρίσασθαι, ἦ μὴν νομίζειν τύχης συνηθείᾳ συμβῆναί μοι τὴν νόσον, ὅπως τῷ θεῷ συγγενόμενος ἐπιδοίην ταύτην τὴν ἐπίδοσιν.
And indeed that Pardalas of old, whom I would say was the foremost of the Greeks in our time to understand speeches, ventured to say to me and assert strongly that indeed he believed my illness had happened to me by a familiar turn of fortune, so that by associating with the god I might make this progress.
ὅσα δὲ ἄλλα ἢ ʼκεῖνος εἰώθει φθέγγεσθαι κοσμῶν τοὺς ἡμετέρους λόγους, ἢ τῶν ἄλλων πρεσβυτῶν οἱ βέλτιστοι καὶ γνωριμώτατοι κατʼ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους, ἔξω τῆς τε ὑποθέσεως καὶ ἅμα τῆς γνώμης τῆς ἐμῆς λέγειν ἐστίν.
As for all the other things that either he was accustomed to utter, adorning our speeches, or the best and most famous of the other elders in those times, to speak of them is outside my subject and at the same time outside my inclination.
ἀλλʼ ὄναρ εἰπεῖν βούλομαι.
But I wish to tell a dream.
ἐν χωρίῳ μὲν ἐδόκουν εἶναι οὗπερ ἐτράφην, παρεῖναι δὲ Ῥουφῖνον, οὗ τὰ μεγάλα ἀναθήματα καὶ νεὼς ὁ πολυειδής·
I seemed to be in the place where I was brought up, and Rufinus was present, whose are the great votive offerings and the manifold temple.
καὶ δῆτα τά τε ἄλλα χαίρειν αὐτόν μοι διαφερόντως καὶ φάναι εἰς τὸ μέσον ποῦ νῦν ἂν ἦν εἰ περιῆν ὁ δεῖνα ὁ μελετητής.
And indeed, among other things, he greeted me exceptionally and said in public where so-and-so the declaimer would be now if he were still alive.
οὕτω γὰρ εἰπεῖν §328τῷ ῥήματι, τὸν κορυφαῖον δὴ λέγοντα τῶν ἐφʼ ἡμῶν.
For he spoke thus with that very word, meaning indeed the leader of those in our time.
καὶ αὐτὸς συνεὶς εἰπεῖν πρὸς τουτονὶ Βάσσον, ὁρᾷς οἷα ὁ θεὸς περὶ ἐμοῦ λέγει, οὗτος ὁ Ῥουφῖνος δή; ἐκέλευε δὲ καὶ συντιθέναι λόγους, οὐ μόνον ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα ἀγωνίζεσθαι, καὶ προσέτι γε ἐκμανθάνειν ἔστιν ὅτε κατὰ ῥῆμα.
And I myself, understanding, said to Bassus here, "Do you see what the god says about me, this Rufinus indeed?" And he also ordered me to compose speeches, not only to compete offhand, and moreover sometimes to learn them by heart word for word.
καί μοι τὸ πρᾶγμα πολλὴν παρεῖχε τὴν ἀπορίαν, οὐδὲν τῶν ὕστερον οὔτʼ ἐνθυμηθῆναι δή που δυναμένῳ οὔτε πιστεῦσαι τί ποτʼ αὐτῷ βούλεται ταῦτα.
And this matter caused me great perplexity, since I was able neither to conceive of any of the later events, nor to believe what he wanted by these things.
πάνυ γοῦν ἐν τούτοις ἐμοὶ ** ποῦ δὲ ἔξεστι σχολάσαι, τοσοῦτον σωθῆναι πρότερον ἦν·
At all events, I was busy with these things [lacuna]... But where was it permitted to rest? To be saved was the primary concern.
τῷ δὲ, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἅμα μὲν σοφίσματα ταῦτʼ ἦν εἰς τὰ παρόντα, ἅμα δʼ ἐδόκει τι κρεῖττον αὐτῷ ἢ σῶσαι μόνον.
But to him, as it seems, these were at once devices for the present circumstances, and at the same time something better than merely saving seemed good to him.
ἔσωζεν οὖν διὰ πλείονος ἀξιῶν ἢ ὅσου περ ἦν τὸ σωθῆναι.
So he saved me, by deeming me worthy of more than mere survival was worth.
καὶ δὴ καὶ ὀδόντας ἀλγῶν ποτε ἔτυχον καὶ οὔτε διᾶραι τὸ στόμα οἷός τʼ ἦν, ἀπορίᾳ τε εἰχόμην δεινῇ·
And indeed once I happened to have a toothache, and was unable even to open my mouth, and was held in terrible distress.
ὁ δὲ προστάττει τῶν λόγων τινὰ ἀναγνῶναι τῶν πεποιημένων μοι τοῖς φίλοις ἐπαγγείλαντα συνουσίαν.
But he ordered me to read one of the speeches composed by me, after announcing a gathering to my friends.
εἶχον δὲ τότʼ ἐν χερσὶ τὸν τρίτον τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν λόγων· τοῦτον ἀνέγνων διὰ τέλους, καὶ πρὶν ἅπαντα διελθεῖν, τῆς ὀδύνης ἀπαλλάγμην.
And I had then in my hands the third of my speeches to him; this I read to the end, and before going through all of it, I was delivered from the pain.
ἐνῆγε δέ με καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν μελῶν ποίησιν.
And he also led me toward the composition of song.
ἀρχὴ μὲν οὖν τις ἐγένετο ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἐξ Ἀπόλλωνος.
A certain beginning, then, occurred in Rome from Apollo.
ἦλθε γάρ μοι ἐνύπνιον φράζον τόν τε Παιᾶνα ὡς δέον ποιῆσαι τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἅμα τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἶχεν οὕτω πως, Φορμίγγων ἄνακτα Παιᾶνα κληίσω. ἠπόρησα μὲν δὴ ὅ τι χρήσομαι, διὰ τὸ μήπω πρόσθεν ἐμαυτοῦ πεῖραν ἐσχηκέναι περὶ ταῦτα·
For a dream came to me telling me both that I must compose a Paean to the god and at the same time its beginning, and it was somewhat like this: "I shall celebrate Paean, lord of the lyres." I was indeed at a loss as to what I should do, because I had never before made trial of myself in these matters; but I thought I was completely unable.
ἀλλʼ ἐδόκουν παντελῶς ἔχειν ἀδυνάτως, ὅμως δʼ ἐνεχείρησα καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς οἷον ἐπὶ βάθρας ἐχόμενος ἐπέρανα τὸ ᾆσμα ἐν δυοῖν στροφαῖν, καὶ τρίτην, οἶμαι, τινὰ ἐπήγαγον, ἣν καλοῦσιν οἱ γραμματικοί μοι δοκεῖν ἐπῳδόν.
Nevertheless I set to work, and holding onto the beginning as if onto a pedestal, I completed the song in two strophes, and added, I think, a certain third, which the grammarians, in my opinion, call an epode.
καὶ ἄρτι τε ἀπείργαστο τὸ ᾆσμα καὶ προσαγγέλλει μοί τις ἑορτὴν Ἀπόλλωνος εἶναι, Ἀπολλώνια, ἐν ᾗ τὴν ἱπποδρομίαν Ῥωμαῖοι ποιοῦσι τῷ θεῷ.
And just when the song was finished, someone announced to me that it was a festival of Apollo, the Apollonia, in which the Romans hold the horse race for the god.
τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτον ἐγένετο.
This indeed happened in this way.
καὶ τύχῃ δή τινι θείᾳ ὡς ἀνεκομιζόμεθα ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος συμβάντος χειμῶνος, πρῶτον μὲν εἰς Δῆλον, ἔπειτα εἰς Μίλητον ἀπεσώθημεν, ἀμφοτέρας ἱερὰς Ἀπόλλωνος.
And by some divine fortune, as we were returning from Greece, a storm having occurred, we were brought safely first to Delos, then to Miletus, both sacred to Apollo.
ἄξιον δὲ καὶ τοῦτο
And this also is worthy...