Humanitext Reader

Aelius Aristides · Sacred Tales V §359

Recovery by Cold Bath and Dream of Rivaling Plato

Passage 7 of 8 · Greek

Summary

Aristides experiences a dramatic recovery through his cold bath and commits to obeying the god despite earthly concerns. In a subsequent dream set in Athens, he is praised as an orator comparable to Plato.

§359εμαι, καὶ ὡς ἀνέσχον τε καὶ ἀνέστην, ἔτυχε γὰρ καὶ τῆς ἄμμου πολλὴ περιχυθεῖσα, αὖθις ἐκ μέσου τοῦ ῥείθρου λοῦμαι δεύτερον.
[I threw myself]. And when I surfaced and stood up, for much sand also happened to have been poured around me, I bathed a second time from the middle of the stream.
ἀνατρίψασθαι δὲ καὶ τἄλλα ἐπὶ τῆς ἀντιπέρας ὄχθης ὑπῆρξεν ἐν καλῷ τοῦ τε ἡλίου καὶ τοῦ πνεύματος.
And rubbing myself down and doing the other things on the opposite bank took place under the favorable condition of both the sun and the wind.
παρελθὼν δὲ εἰς τὸ περιοίκιον καὶ διατρίψας ὅσον ἐπισκέψασθαί τινα τῶν γιγνομένων, ἐπανῄειν πρὶν καὶ πιεῖν, θέρμης τε ἀπολαύων θαυμαστῆς καὶ συγκρίσεως παντάπασιν ἑτέρας.
Having gone to the neighboring dwelling and stayed as long as to inspect some of the things going on, I was on my way back even before drinking, enjoying a wonderful warmth and a completely different state of health.
καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τούτου πάντʼ ἦν εὔκολα εἰς μέσον χειμῶνα.
And from then on, everything was easy until mid-winter.
τὰ δʼ ἐν τῷ χειμῶνι διαίτης τισὶ τάξεσι καὶ τύποις ἰᾶτο.
The conditions in winter were treated by certain rules and formulas of diet.
ἀναλογιζομένῳ δέ μοι τόν τε χρόνον ὁπόσον τινὰ ἀπείην τῆς Σμύρνης, καὶ ταῦτα ψηφισμάτων ἡκόντων, καὶ ὅτι καὶ ἡλικίας ἤδη μέσως ἔχοιμι, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τῶν ἄνω χρόνων τὸ πλῆθος, ἐν οἷς ἐξῆν, εἴ τις ἔρρωτο, ἐπελθεῖν τὰς πόλεις, καὶ ὅτι καὶ τῆς ὑπαρχούσης δόξης δέος εἴη ἀφαιρεθῆναί τι διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἡσυχίαν, ταῦτα δὲ ἐλογιζόμην μὲν οἷα εἰκὸς ἄνθρωπον, εὖ δὲ ᾔδειν ὅτι πάντα λῆρος πρὸς τὸ πείθεσθαι τῷ θεῷ.
As I reflected on how long a time I had been away from Smyrna, even though decrees had arrived, and that I was already of middle age, and in addition, the number of former years in which it would have been possible, if one were strong, to visit the cities, and that there was a fear of some reduction of my existing reputation because of my long quietness—while I calculated these things as is natural for a man, I knew well that everything was nonsense compared to obeying the god.
ἔτι δὲ οὐδʼ ἀπόρως εἶχον ἐμαυτῷ συνεῖναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ κέρδος αὐτοῦ μᾶλλον ἐποιούμην.
Furthermore, I was not at a loss to be with myself, but rather made it my gain.
ἔχοντι δὲ οὕτω μοι γίγνεται ὄψις ὀνειράτων τοιάδε.
While I was in this state, there appeared to me a vision of dreams as follows.
ἐδόκουν εἶναι μὲν Ἀθήνησιν ἄρτι κατηρκὼς, οἰκεῖν δὲ ἐξόπισθε τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἐν οἰκίᾳ Θεοδότου τοῦ ἰατροῦ, εἶναι δʼ αὐτὴν πρώτην πρὸς ἥλιον ἀνίσχοντα· τοῦ δὲ νεὼ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ὁρᾶσθαι τὸν ὀπισθόδομον ἀπʼ αὐτῆς, καὶ εἶναι πολὺ κατωτέρω τῆς ἀκροπόλεως τὴν οἰκίαν.
I seemed to have just arrived at Athens, and to be living behind the Acropolis in the house of Theodotus the physician, which was the first facing the rising sun; and from it, the opisthodomos of the temple of Athena was visible, and the house was much lower than the Acropolis.
τυγχάνειν δὲ πομπὴν Ἔρωτι γιγνομένην ἔξω πυλῶν καὶ τὸν Θεόδοτον περὶ ταῦτα ἔχειν καὶ ἄλλους τινὰς οἷς προσετέτακτο, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐν τούτῳ διατρίβειν ἔνδον.
It happened that a procession for Eros was taking place outside the gates, and Theodotus was occupied with this and some others to whom it had been ordered, while I myself during this time stayed indoors.
καὶ τυχεῖν Λούκιόν τε παρόντα τῶν ἑταίρων καὶ ἄλλους τῶν περὶ λόγους, καὶ προτρέπειν δή με ὥσπερ εἴωθε, τὸν Λούκιον, τάς τε διατριβὰς συνέχειν τὰς περὶ τοὺς λόγους καὶ προσίεσθαι τοὺς νέους.
And it happened that Lucius was present, one of my companions, and others of those concerned with speeches, and Lucius indeed exhorted me, as he was accustomed, to continue my studies in speeches and to admit the young men.
καὶ δὴ καὶ παῖδά τινα Λούκιον πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγειν περὶ ἐμοῦ ἄλλα τε δὴ εὔφημα καὶ ὡδί πως τὸν ἔπαινον διατίθεσθαι, οὗτος, ἔφη, ἐστὶ Πλάτων καὶ Θουκυδίδης καὶ Πλάτων καὶ ὁ δεῖνα· καὶ πολλοὺς κατέλεξεν οὕτως ἀεὶ τῷ Πλάτωνι συζευγνύς τινα,
And indeed, a certain boy named Lucius was saying to him about me other auspicious things, and set forth his praise in some such way: 'This man,' he said, 'is Plato and Thucydides and Plato and so-and-so'; and he listed many in this way, always coupling someone with Plato,

Notes

  1. 359εμαι — The transmitted `εμαι` is fragmentary, and interpreted as a form of the verb describing the action of entering the water for the cold bath (likely `ἵεμαι` "I rush, throw myself"), continuing from the previous sentence "into the water (εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ)".
  2. 359ἀναλογιζομένῳ δέ μοι — Beginning with a dative present participle to indicate the subject of reflection, but since the main verb is the first-person singular `ἐλογιζόμην` ("I was calculating"), the structure results in an anacoluthon, using a dative instead of a nominative or a genitive absolute.
  3. 359ὅσον ἐπισκέψασθαί τινα — A construction of `ὅσον` with the infinitive, with the omission of the demonstrative `τοσοῦτον`, expressing the degree or result: "as long as to inspect...".
  4. 359εἶναι δʼ αὐτὴν πρώτην πρὸς ἥλιον ἀνίσχοντα — An accusative with infinitive clause with `αὐτήν` (the house) as the subject, continuing the description of the dream. `πρώτην` is a predicative adjective meaning "the first". `πρὸς ἥλιον ἀνίσχοντα` ("towards the rising sun", i.e., eastward) modifies it.
  5. 359καὶ πολλοὺς κατέλεξεν οὕτως ἀεὶ τῷ Πλάτωνι συζευγνύς τινα — The present participle `συζευγνύς` expresses an accompanying circumstance or manner modifying the main verb `κατέλεξεν`. `τῷ Πλάτωνι` is the dative governed by `συζευγνύς`, meaning "coupling with Plato".

Cite this passage

Aelius Aristides, Sacred Tales V §359. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0284.tlg027.humanitext-grc2:359

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.