1. LYCINUS Upon my word, Polystratus, those who saw the Gorgon must have been affected by it very much as I was recently when I saw a perfectly beautiful woman: I was struck stiff with amazement and came within an ace of being turned into stone, my friend, just as it is in the fable! POLYSTRATUS Heracles! An extraordinary spectacle, that, and a terribly potent one, to astound Lycinus when it was only a woman. To be sure you are very easily affected in that way by boys, so that it would be a simpler matter to move all Sipylus from its base than to drag you away from your pretties and keep you from standing beside them with parted lips, yes, and not infrequently tears in your eyes, the very image of the daughter of Tantalus. _ But tell me about this petrifying Medusa, who she is and where she comes from, so that we, too, may have a look at her. You surely will not begrudge us the sight or be jealous, if we ourselves are going to be struck stiff at your elbow on seeing her!LYCINUS You may be very certain that if you get but a distant view of her she will strike you dumb, and more motionless than any statue. Yet the effect, perhaps, is not so violent and the wound less serious if it should be you who catch sight of her. But if she should look at you as well, how shall you manage to tear yourself away from her? She will fetter you to herself and hale you off wherever she wishes, doing just what the magnet does to iron.
1. Λυκῖνος: ἀλλʼ ἦ τοιοῦτόν τι ἔπασχον οἱ τὴν Γοργὼ ἰδόντες οἷον ἐγὼ ἔναγχος ἔπαθον, ὦ Πολύστρατε, παγκάλην τινὰ γυναῖκα ἰδών· αὐτὸ γὰρ τὸ τοῦ μύθου ἐκεῖνο, μικροῦ δέω λίθος ἐξ ἀνθρώπου σοι γεγονέναι πεπηγὼς ὑπὸ τοῦ θαύματος. Πολύστρατος: Ἡράκλεις, ὑπερφυές τι τὸ θέαμα φὴς καὶ δεινῶς βίαιον, εἴ γε καὶ Λυκῖνον ἐξέπληξε γυνή τις οὖσα· σὺ γὰρ ὑπὸ μὲν τῶν μειρακίων καὶ πάνυ ῥᾳδίως αὐτὸ πάσχεις, ὥστε θᾶττον ἄν τις ὅλον τὸν Σίπυλον μετακινήσειεν ἢ σὲ τῶν καλῶν ἀπάγοι μὴ οὐχὶ παρεστάναι αὐτοῖς κεχηνότα καὶ ἐπιδακρύοντά γε πολλάκις ὥσπερ ἐκείνην αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ Ταντάλου. ἀτὰρ εἰπέ μοι, τίς ἡ λιθοποιὸς αὕτη Μέδουσα ἡμῖν ἐστιν καὶ πόθεν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἴδοιμεν· οὐ γάρ, οἶμαι, φθονήσεις ἡμῖν τῆς θέας οὐδὲ ζηλοτυπήσεις, εἰ μέλλοιμεν πλησίον που καὶ αὐτοὶ παραπεπηγέναι σοι ἰδόντες. Λυκῖνος: καὶ μὴν εὖ εἰδέναι χρή σε, ὡς κἂν ἐκ περιωπῆς μόνον ἀπίδῃς εἰς αὐτήν, ἀχανῆ σε καὶ τῶν ἀνδριάντων ἀκινητότερον ἀποφανεῖ. καίτοι τοῦτο μὲν ἴσως εἰρηνικώτερόν ἐστιν καὶ τὸ τραῦμα ἧττον καίριον, εἰ αὐτὸς ἴδοις· εἰ δὲ κἀκείνη προσβλέψειέ σε, τίς ἔσται μηχανὴ ἀποστῆναι αὐτῆς; ἀπάξει γάρ σε ἀναδησαμένη ἔνθα ἂν ἐθέλῃ, ὅπερ καὶ ἡ λίθος ἡ Ἡρακλεία δρᾷ τὸν σίδηρον.
2. POLYSTRATUS Don’t keep evoking fancies of miraculous loveliness, Lycinus, but tell me who the woman is. LYCINUS Why, do you suppose that I am exaggerating? No, I am afraid that when you have seen her you will take me to be a poor hand at turning compliments, so far superior will she prove to be. Anyhow, I can’t say who she is, but she received mich attention, kept splendid state in every way, had a number of eunuchs and a great many maids, and, in general, the thing seemed to be on a greater scale than accords with private station. POLYSTRATUS You didn’t learn even the name they gave her? LYCINUS No; only that she comes from Ionia, for one of the onlookers glanced at his neighbour after she had passed and said: “Well, that is what Smiyrna’s beauties are like, and it is no wonder that the fairest of Ionian cities has produced the fairest of women!” It seemed to me that the speaker himself was of Smyrna because he was so set up over her.
2. Πολύστρατος: παύου, ὦ Λυκῖνε, τεράστιόν τι κάλλος ἀναπλάττων, ἀλλʼ εἰπέ, τίς ἡ γυνή ἐστιν. Λυκῖνος: οἴει γάρ με ὑπερβαλέσθαι τῷ λόγῳ, ὃς δέδια μή σοι ἰδόντι ἀσθενής τις ἐπαινέσαι δόξω, παρὰ τοσοῦτον ἀμείνων φανεῖται; πλὴν ἀλλὰ ἥτις μέν, οὐκ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοιμι, θεραπεία δὲ πολλὴ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη περὶ αὐτὴν παρασκευὴ λαμπρὰ καὶ εὐνούχων τι πλῆθος καὶ ἅβραι πάνυ πολλαί, καὶ ὅλως μεῖζόν γε ἢ κατὰ ἰδιωτικὴν τύχην ἐδόκει τὸ πρᾶγμα εἶναι. Πολύστρατος: οὐδὲ τοὔνομα ἐπύθου σύ γε ἥτις καλοῖτο; Λυκῖνος: οὐδαμῶς, ἢ τοῦτο μόνον, τῆς Ἰωνίας ἐστίν· τῶν θεατῶν γάρ τις ἀπιδὼν εἰς τὸν πλησίον, ἐπεὶ παρῆλθεν, τοιαῦτα μέντοι, ἔφη, τὰ Σμυρναϊκὰ κάλλη· καὶ θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν, εἰ ἡ καλλίστη τῶν Ἰωνικῶν πόλεων τὴν καλλίστην γυναῖκα ἤνεγκεν. ἐδόκει δέ μοι Σμυρναῖος καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ λέγων εἶναι, οὕτως ἐσεμνύνετο ἐπʼ αὐτῇ.
3. POLYSTRATUS Well, inasmuch as you really and truly behaved like a stone in one way, at least, since you neither followed her nor questioned that Smyrniote, whoever he was, at least sketch her appearance in words as best you can. Perhaps in that way I might recognize her. LYCINUS Are you aware what you have demanded? It is not in the power of words, not mine, certainly, to call into being a portrait so marvellous, to which hardly Apelles or Zeuxis or Parrhasius would have seemed equal, or even perhaps a Phidias or an Alcamenes. As for me, I shall but dim the lustre of the original by the feebleness of my skill. POLYSTRATUS Nevertheless, Lycinus, what did she look like? It would not be dangerously bold if you should show your picture to a friend, no matter how well or ill it may be drawn. LYCINUS But I think I shall act in a way that involves less risk for myself if I call in some of those famous artists of old for the undertaking, to model me a statue of the woman. POLYSTRATUS What do you mean by that? How can they come to you when they died so many years ago?LYCINUS Easily, if only you do not refuse to answer me a question or two. POLYSTRATUS You have but to ask.
3. Πολύστρατος: οὐκοῦν ἐπεὶ λίθου τοῦτό γε ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐποίησας οὔτε παρακολουθήσας οὔτε τὸν Σμυρναῖον ἐκεῖνον ἐρόμενος, ὅστις ἦν, κἂν τὸ εἶδος ὡς οἷόν τε ὑπόδειξον τῷ λόγῳ· τάχα γὰρ ἂν οὕτως γνωρίσαιμι. Λυκῖνος: ὁρᾷς ἡλίκον τοῦτο ᾔτησας; οὐ κατὰ λόγων δύναμιν, καὶ μάλιστά γε τῶν ἐμῶν, ἐμφανίσαι θαυμασίαν οὕτως εἰκόνα, πρὸς ἣν μόλις ἂν ἢ Ἀπελλῆς ἢ Ζεῦξις ἢ Παρράσιος ἱκανοὶ ἔδοξαν, ἢ εἴ τις Φειδίας ἢ Ἀλκαμένης· ἐγὼ δὲ λυμανοῦμαι τὸ ἀρχέτυπον ἀσθενείᾳ τῆς τέχνης. Πολύστρατος: ὅμως, ὦ Λυκῖνε, ποία τις τὴν ὄψιν; οὐ γὰρ ἐπισφαλὲς τὸ τόλμημα, εἰ φίλῳ ἀνδρὶ ἐπιδείξαις τὴν εἰκόνα, ὅπως ἂν τῆς γραμμῆς ἔχῃ. Λυκῖνος: καὶ μὴν ἀσφαλέστερον αὐτὸς ποιήσειν μοι δοκῶ τῶν παλαιῶν τινας ἐκείνων τεχνιτῶν παρακαλέσας ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον, ὡς ἀναπλάσειάν μοι τὴν γυναῖκα. Πολύστρατος: πῶς τοῦτο φής; ἢ πῶς ἂν ἀφίκοιντό σοι πρὸ τοσούτων ἐτῶν ἀποθανόντες; Λυκῖνος: ῥᾳδίως, ἤνπερ σὺ μὴ ὀκνήσῃς ἀποκρίνασθαί τί μοι. Πολύστρατος: ἐρώτα μόνον.
4. LYCINUS Were you ever in Cnidus, Polystratus? POLYSTRATUS Yes indeed! LYCINUS Then you certainly saw the Aphrodite there? POLYSTRATUS Yes, by Zeus! The fairest of the creations of Praxiteles.LYCINUS Well, have you also heard the story that the natives tell about it—that someone fell in love with the statue, was left behind unnoticed in the temple, and embraced it to the best of his endeavours? But no matter about that. _ Since you have seen her, as you say, tell me whether you have also seen the Aphrodite in the Gardens, at Athens, by Alcamenes?POLYSTRATUS Surely I should be the laziest man in all the world if I had neglected the most beautiful of the sculptures of Alcamenes. LYCINUS One question, at all events, I shall not ask you, Polystratus—whether you have often gone up to the Acropolis to look at the Sosandra of Calamis?POLYSTRATUS I have often seen that, too. LYCINUS So far, so good. But among the works of Phidias what did you praise most highly? POLYSTRATUS What could it be but the Lemnian Athena, on which Phidias deigned actually to inscribe his name? Qh, yes! and the Amazon who leans upon her spear.
4. Λυκῖνος: ἐπεδήμησάς ποτε, ὦ Πολύστρατε, τῇ Κνιδίων; Πολύστρατος: καὶ μάλα. Λυκῖνος: οὐκοῦν καὶ τὴν Ἀφροδίτην εἶδες πάντως αὐτῶν; Πολύστρατος: νὴ Δία, τῶν Πραξιτέλους ποιημάτων τὸ κάλλιστον. Λυκῖνος: ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν μῦθον ἤκουσας, ὃν λέγουσιν οἱ ἐπιχώριοι περὶ αὐτῆς, ὡς ἐρασθείη τις τοῦ ἀγάλματος καὶ λαθὼν ὑπολειφθεὶς ἐν ἱερῷ συγγένοιτο, ὡς δυνατὸν ἀγάλματι. τοῦτο μέντοι ἄλλως ἱστορείσθω. σὺ δὲ — ταύτην γάρ, ὡς φής, εἶδες — ἴθι μοὶ καὶ τόδε ἀπόκριναι, εἰ καὶ τὴν ἐν κήποις Ἀθήνησι τὴν Ἀλκαμένους ἑώρακας. Πολύστρατος: ἦ πάντων γʼ ἄν, ὦ Λυκῖνε, ὁ ῥᾳθυμότατος ἦν, εἰ τὸ κάλλιστον τῶν Ἀλκαμένους πλασμάτων παρεῖδον. Λυκῖνος: ἐκεῖνο μέν γε, ὦ Πολύστρατε, οὐκ ἐξερήσομαί σε, εἰ πολλάκις εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ἀνελθὼν καὶ τὴν Καλάμιδος Σωσάνδραν τεθέασαι. Πολύστρατος: εἶδον κἀκείνην πολλάκις. Λυκῖνος: ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἱκανῶς. τῶν δὲ Φειδίου ἔργων τί μάλιστα ἐπῄνεσας; Πολύστρατος: τί δʼ ἄλλο ἢ τὴν Λημνίαν, ᾗ καὶ ἐπιγράψαι τοὔνομα ὁ Φειδίας ἠξίωσε; καὶ νὴ Δία τὴν Ἀμαζόνα τὴν ἐπερειδομένην τῷ δορατίῳ.
5. LYCINUS These are the most beautiful, my friend, so that we shall not need any other artists. Come now, out of them all I shall make a combination as best I can, and shall display to you a single portrait-statue that comprises whatever is most exquisite in each. POLYSTRATUS How can that be done?LYCINUS Nothing hard about it, Polystratus, if from now on we give Master Eloquence a free hand with those statues and allow him to adapt, combine, and unite them as harmoniously as he can, retaining at the same time that composite effect and the variety. POLYSTRATUS Very well; by all means let him have a free hand and show us his powers, for I am eager to know what he really can do with the statues and how he can combine so many into one without making it discordant.
5. Λυκῖνος: τὰ κάλλιστα, ὦ ἑταῖρε, ὥστʼ οὐκέτʼ ἄλλων τεχνιτῶν δεήσει. φέρε δή, ἐξ ἁπασῶν ἤδη τούτων ὡς οἷόν τε συναρμόσας μίαν σοι εἰκόνα ἐπιδείξω, τὸ ἐξαίρετον παρʼ ἑκάστης ἔχουσαν. Πολύστρατος: καὶ τίνα ἂν τρόπον τουτὶ γένοιτο; Λυκῖνος: οὐ χαλεπόν, ὦ Πολύστρατε, εἰ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε παραδόντες τὰς εἰκόνας τῷ λόγῳ, ἐπιτρέψαιμεν αὐτῷ μετακοσμεῖν καὶ συντιθέναι καὶ ἁρμόζειν ὡς ἂν εὐρυθμότατα δύναιτο, φυλάττων ἅμα τὸ συμμιγὲς ἐκεῖνο καὶ ποικίλον. Πολύστρατος: εὖ λέγεις· καὶ δὴ παραλαβὼν δεικνύτω· ἐθέλω γὰρ εἰδέναι ὅ τι καὶ χρήσεται αὐταῖς, ἢ ὅπως ἐκ τοσούτων μίαν τινὰ συνθεὶς οὐκ ἀπᾴδουσαν ἀπεργάσεται.
6. LYCINUS Well, he permits you to look upon the statue even now, as it comes into being; and this is the way he makes the blend. From the Cnidian he takes only the head, as the body, which is unclothed, will not meet his needs. He will allow the arrangement of the hair, the forehead, and the fair line of the brows to remain as Praxiteles made them; and in the eyes also, that gaze so liquid, and at the same time so clear and winsome—that too shall be retained as Praxiteles conceived it. But he will take the round of the cheeks and all the fore part of the face from Alcamenes and from Our Lady in the Gardens; so too the hands, the graceful wrists, and the supple, tapering fingers shall come from Our Lady in the Gardens. But the contour of the entire face, the delicate sides of it, and the shapely nose will be supplied by the Lemnian Athena and by Phidias, and the master will also furnish the meeting of the lips, and the neck, taking these from his Amazon. Sosandra and Calamis shall adorn her with modesty, and her smile shall be grave and faint like that of Sosandra, from whom shall come also the simplicity and seemliness of her drapery, except that she shall have her head uncovered. In the measure of her years, whatever it may be, she shall agree most closely with the Cnidian Aphrodite; that, too, Praxiteles may determine. What do you think, Polystratus? Will the statue be beautiful?
6. Λυκῖνος: καὶ μὴν ἤδη σοι ὁρᾶν παρέχει γιγνομένην τὴν εἰκόνα, ὧδε συναρμόζων, τῆς ἐκ Κνίδου ἡκούσης μόνον τὴν κεφαλὴν λαβών·· οὐδὲν γὰρ τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος γυμνοῦ ὄντος δεήσεται· τὰ μὲν ἀμφὶ τὴν κόμην καὶ μέτωπον ὀφρύων τε τὸ εὔγραμμον ἐάσει ἔχειν ὥσπερ ὁ Πραξιτέλης ἐποίησεν, καὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν δὲ τὸ ὑγρὸν ἅμα τῷ φαιδρῷ καὶ κεχαρισμένῳ, καὶ τοῦτο διαφυλάξει κατὰ τὸ Πραξιτέλει δοκοῦν· τὰ μῆλα δὲ καὶ ὅσα τῆς ὄψεως ἀντωπὰ παρʼ Ἀλκαμένους καὶ τῆς ἐν κήποις λήψεται, καὶ προσέτι χειρῶν ἄκρα καὶ καρπῶν τὸ εὔρυθμον καὶ δακτύλων τὸ εὐάγωγον εἰς λεπτὸν ἀπολῆγον παρὰ τῆς ἐν κήποις καὶ ταῦτα. τὴν δὲ τοῦ παντὸς προσώπου περιγραφὴν καὶ παρειῶν τὸ ἁπαλὸν καὶ ῥῖνα σύμμετρον ἡ Λημνία παρέξει καὶ Φειδίας· ἔτι καὶ στόματος ἁρμογὴν αὐτὸς καὶ τὸν αὐχένα, παρὰ τῆς Ἀμαζόνος λαβών· ἡ Σωσάνδρα δὲ καὶ Κάλαμις αἰδοῖ κοσμήσουσιν αὐτήν, καὶ τὸ μειδίαμα σεμνὸν καὶ λεληθὸς ὥσπερ τὸ ἐκείνης ἔσται· καὶ τὸ εὐσταλὲς δὲ καὶ κόσμιον τῆς ἀναβολῆς παρὰ τῆς Σωσάνδρας, πλὴν ὅτι ἀκατακάλυπτος αὕτη ἔσται τὴν κεφαλήν. τῆς ἡλικίας δὲ τὸ μέτρον ἡλίκον ἂν γένοιτο, κατὰ τὴν ἐν Κνίδῳ ἐκείνην μάλιστα. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ τὸν Πραξιτέλη μεμετρήσθω. τί σοι, ὦ Πολύστρατε, δοκεῖ; καλὴ γενήσεσθαι ἡ εἰκών; Πολύστρατος: καὶ μάλιστα, ἐπειδὰν εἰς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον ἀποτελεσθῇ·
7. POLYSTRATUS Yes, surely, when it has been completed to the uttermost detail; for there is still, despite your unexampled zeal, one beauty that you have left out of your statue in collecting and combining everything as you did. LYCINUS What is that? POLYSTRATUS Not the most unimportant, my friend, unless you will maintain that perfection of form is but little enhanced by colour and appropriateness in each detail, so that just those parts will be black which should be black and those white which should be, and the flush of life will glow upon the surface, and so forth. I fear we still stand in need of the most important feature! LYCINUS Where then can we get all that? Or shall we call in the painters, of course, and particularly those who excelled in mixing their colours and in applying them judiciously? Come, then, let us call in Polygnotus and Euphranor of old, and Apelles and Aétion. Let them divide up the work, and let Euphranor colour the hair as he painted Hera’s: let Polygnotus do the becomingness of her brows and the faint flush of her cheeks, just as he did Cassandra in the Lesche at Delphi, and let him also do her clothing, which shall be of the most delicate texture, so that it not only clings close where it should, but a great deal of it floats in the air. The body Apelles shall represent after the manner of his Pacate, not too white but just suffused with red; and her lips shall be done by Aétion like Roxana’s. But stay!
7. Πολύστρατος: ἔτι γάρ, ὦ πάντων γενναιότατε, καταλέλοιπάς τι κάλλος ἔξω τοῦ ἀγάλματος οὕτως πάντα εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ συμπεφορηκώς. Λυκῖνος: τί τοῦτο; Πολύστρατος: οὐ τὸ μικρότατον, ὦ φιλότης, εἰ μή σοι δόξει ὀλίγα πρὸς εὐμορφίαν συντελεῖν χρόα καὶ τὸ ἑκάστῳ πρέπον, ὡς μέλανα μὲν εἶναι ἀκριβῶς ὁπόσα μέλανα, λευκὰ δὲ ὅσα τοιαῦτα χρή, καὶ τὸ ἐρύθημα ἐπανθεῖν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· κινδυνεύει τοῦ μεγίστου ἔτι ἡμῖν προσδεῖν. Λυκῖνος: πόθεν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα πορισαίμεθʼ ἄν; ἢ παρακαλέσαιμεν δηλαδὴ τοὺς γραφέας, καὶ μάλιστα ὁπόσοι αὐτῶν ἄριστοι ἐγένοντο κεράσασθαι τὰ χρώματα καὶ εὔκαιρον ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἐπιβολὴν αὐτῶν; καὶ δὴ παρακεκλήσθω Πολύγνωτος καὶ Εὐφράνωρ ἐκεῖνος καὶ Ἀπελλῆς καὶ Ἀετίων· οὗτοι δὲ διελόμενοι τὸ ἔργον ὁ μὲν Εὐφράνωρ χρωσάτω τὴν κόμην οἵαν τῆς Ἥρας ἔγραψεν, ὁ Πολύγνωτος δὲ ὀφρύων τὸ ἐπιπρεπὲς καὶ παρειῶν τὸ ἐνερευθὲς οἵαν τὴν Κασάνδραν ἐν τῇ λέσχῃ ἐποίησεν τοῖς Δελφοῖς, καὶ ἐσθῆτα δὲ οὗτος ποιησάτω εἰς τὸ λεπτότατον ἐξειργασμένην, ὡς συνεστάλθαι μὲν ὅσα χρή, διηνεμῶσθαι δὲ τὰ πολλά· τὸ δὲ ἄλλο σῶμα ὁ Ἀπελλῆς δειξάτω κατὰ τὴν Πακάτην μάλιστα, μὴ ἄγαν λευκὸν ἀλλὰ ἔναιμον ἁπλῶς· τὰ χείλη δὲ οἷα Ῥωξάνης ὁ Ἀετίων ποιησάτω.
8. We have Homer, the best of all painters, éven in the presence of Euphranor and Apelles. Let her be throughout of a colour like that which Homer gave to the thighs of Menelaus when he likened them to ivory tinged with crimson; and let him also paint the eyes and make her “ox-eyed.” The Theban poet, too, shall lend him a hand in the work, to give her ‘violet brows.” Yes, and Homer shall make her “laughter-loving” and “white-armed" and “rosy-fingered,” and, in a word, shall liken her to golden Aphrodite far more fittingly than he did the daughter of Briseus.
8. Λυκῖνος: μᾶλλον δὲ τὸν ἄριστον τῶν γραφέων Ὅμηρον παρόντος Εὐφράνορος καὶ Ἀπελλοῦ δεδέγμεθα· οἷον γάρ τι τοῖς Μενελάου μηροῖς τὸ χρῶμα ἐκεῖνος ἐπέβαλεν ἐλέφαντι εἰκάσας ἠρέμα πεφοινιγμένῳ, τοιόνδε ἔστω τὸ πᾶν· ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς οὗτος καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς γραψάτω βοῶπίν τινα ποιήσας αὐτήν. συνεπιλήψεται δὲ τοῦ ἔργου αὐτῷ καὶ ὁ Θηβαῖος ποιητής, ὡς ἰοβλέφαρον ἐξεργάσασθαι· καὶ φιλομειδῆ δὲ Ὅμηρος ποιήσει καὶ λευκώλενον καὶ ῥοδοδάκτυλον, καὶ ὅλως τῇ χρυσῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ εἰκάσει πολὺ δικαιότερον ἢ τὴν τοῦ Βρισέως.
9. This, then, is what sculptors and painters and poets can achieve; but who could counterfeit the fine flower of it all—the grace; nay, all the Graces in company, and all the Loves, too, circling hand in hand about her? POLYSTRATUS It is a miraculous creature that you describe, Lycinus; “dropt from the skies” in very truth, quite like something out of Heaven. But what was she doing when you saw her? LYCINUS She had a scroll in her hands, with both ends of it rolled up, so that she seemed to be reading the one part and to have already read the other. — As she walked along, she was discussing something or other with one of her escorts; I do not know what it was, for she did not speak so that it could be overheard. But when she smiled, Polystratus, she disclosed such teeth! How can I tell you how white they were, how symmetrical and well matched? If you have ever seen a lovely string of very lustrous, equal pearls, that is the way they stood in row; and they were especially set off by the redness of her lips. They shone, just as Homer says, like sawn ivory. Nor could you say that some of them were too broad, others misshapen, and others prominent or wide apart, as they are with most women. On the contrary, all were of equal distinction, of the selfsame whiteness, of uniform size, and similarly close together. In short, it was a great marvel; a spectacle transcending all human beauty!
9. Λυκῖνος: ταῦτα μὲν οὖν πλαστῶν καὶ γραφέων καὶ ποιητῶν παῖδες ἐργάσονται. ὃ δὲ πᾶσιν ἐπανθεῖ τούτοις, ἡ χάρις, μᾶλλον δὲ πᾶσαι ἅμα ὁπόσαι Χάριτες καὶ ὁπόσοι Ἔρωτες περιχορεύοντες, τίς ἂν μιμήσασθαι δύναιτο; Πολύστρατος: θεσπέσιόν τι χρῆμα, ὦ Λυκῖνε, φὴς καὶ διιπετὲς ὡς ἀληθῶς, οἷόν τι τῶν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ γένοιτο. τί δὲ πράσσουσαν εἶδες αὐτήν; Λυκῖνος: βιβλίον ἐν ταῖν χεροῖν εἶχεν εἰς δύο συνειλημένον, καὶ ἐῴκει τὸ μέν τι ἀναγιγνώσκεσθαι αὐτοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἤδη ἀνεγνωκέναι. μεταξὺ δὲ προϊοῦσα διελέγετο τῶν παρομαρτούντων τινὶ οὐκ οἶδα ὅ τι· οὐ γὰρ εἰς ἐπήκοον ἐφθέγγετο. πλὴν μειδιάσασά γε, ὦ Πολύστρατε, ὀδόντας ἐξέφηνε πῶς ἂν εἴποιμί σοι ὅπως μὲν λευκούς, ὅπως δὲ συμμέτρους καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους συνηρμοσμένους; εἴ που κάλλιστον ὅρμον εἶδες ἐκ τῶν στιλπνοτάτων καὶ ἰσομεγεθῶν μαργαριτῶν, οὕτως ἐπὶ στίχου ἐπεφύκεσαν· ἐκοσμοῦντο δὲ μάλιστα τῷ τῶν χειλῶν ἐρυθήματι. ὑπεφαίνοντο γοῦν, αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ τοῦ Ὁμήρου, ἐλέφαντι τῷ πριστῷ ὅμοιοι, οὐχ οἱ μὲν πλατύτεροι αὐτῶν, οἱ δὲ γυροί, οἱ δὲ προέχοντες ἢ διεστηκότες οἷοι ταῖς πλείσταις, ἀλλά τις πάντων ἰσοτιμία καὶ ὁμόχροια καὶ μέγεθος ἓν καὶ προσεχεῖς ὁμοίως, καὶ ὅλως μέγα τι θαῦμα καὶ θέαμα πᾶσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐμορφίαν ὑπερπεπαικός.
10. POLYSTRATUS Hold still! I perceive now quite clearly who the woman is that you describe; I recognize her by just these points and also by her country. Besides, you said that there were eunuchs in her following. LYCINUS Yes, and several soldiers. POLYSTRATUS It is the Emperor’s mistress, you simpleton —the woman who is so famous! LYCINUS What is her name? POLYSTRATUS Like herself, it is very pretty and charming. She has the same name as the beautiful wife of Abradatas. You know whom I mean, for you have often heard Xenophon praise her as a good and beautiful woman.LYCINUS Yes, and it makes me feel as if I saw her when I reach that place in my reading; I can almost hear her say what she is described as saying, and see how she armed her husband and what she was like when she sent him off to the battle.
10. Πολύστρατος: ἔχʼ ἀτρέμας. συνίημι γὰρ ἤδη πάνυ σαφῶς ἥντινα καὶ λέγεις τὴν γυναῖκα, τούτοις τε αὐτοῖς γνωρίσας καὶ τῇ πατρίδι. καὶ εὐνούχους δέ τινας ἕπεσθαι αὐτῇ ἔφης. Λυκῖνος: νὴ Δία, καὶ στρατιώτας τινάς. Πολύστρατος: τὴν βασιλεῖ συνοῦσαν, ὦ μακάριε, τὴν ἀοίδιμον ταύτην λέγεις. Λυκῖνος: τί δέ ἐστιν αὐτῇ τοὔνομα; Πολύστρατος: πάνυ καὶ τοῦτο γλαφυρόν, ὦ Λυκῖνε, καὶ ἐπέραστον· ὁμώνυμος γάρ ἐστιν τῇ τοῦ Ἀβραδάτα ἐκείνῃ τῇ καλῇ· οἶσθα πολλάκις ἀκούσας Ξενοφῶντος ἐπαινοῦντός τινα σώφρονα καὶ καλὴν γυναῖκα. Λυκῖνος: νὴ Δία, καὶ ὥσπερ γε ὁρῶν αὐτὴν οὕτω διατέθειμαι, ὁπόταν κατʼ ἐκεῖνό που ἀναγιγνώσκων γένωμαι, καὶ μονονουχὶ καὶ ἀκούω λεγούσης αὐτῆς ἃ πεποίηται λέγουσα, καὶ ὡς ὥπλιζε τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ οἵα ἦν παραπέμπουσα αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν μάχην.
11. POLYSTRATUS But, my friend, you caught sight of her just once, flying past like a flash, and naturally have praised only what was obvious—I mean, her person and her physical beauty. The good points of her soul you have not beheld, and you do not know how great that beauty is in her, far more notable and more divine than that of her body. I do, for I am acquainted with her, and have often conversed with her, being of the same nationality. As you yourself know, I commend gentleness, kindliness, high-mindedness, self-control, and culture rather than beauty, for these qualities deserve to be preferred over those of the body. To do otherwise would be illogical and ridiculous, as if one were to admire her clothing rather than her person. Perfect beauty, to my mind, is when there is a union of spiritual excellence and physical loveliness. In truth, I could point you out a great many women who are well endowed with good looks, but in every way discredit their beauty, so that if they merely speak it fades and withers, since it suffers by contrast and cuts a shabby figure, unworthily housing as it does with a soul that is but a sorry mistress. Such women seem to me like the temples of Egypt, where the temple itself is fair and great, built of costly stones and adorned with gold and with paintings, but if you seek out the god within, it is either a monkey or an ibis or a goat or a cat! Women of that sort are to be seen in plenty., Beauty, then, is not enough unless it is set off with its just enhancements, by which I mean, not purple raiment and necklaces, but those I have already mentioned—virtue, self-control, goodness, kindliness, and everything else that is included in the definition of virtue.
11. Πολύστρατος: ἀλλʼ, ὦ ἄριστε, σὺ μὲν ὥσπερ τινὰ ἀστραπὴν παραδραμοῦσαν ἅπαξ εἶδες αὐτήν, καὶ ἔοικας τὰ πρόχειρα ταῦτα, λέγω δὲ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν μορφήν, ἐπαινεῖν· τῶν δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγαθῶν ἀθέατος εἶ, οὐδὲ οἶσθα ὅσον τὸ κάλλος ἐκεῖνό ἐστιν αὐτῆς, μακρῷ τινι ἄμεινον καὶ θεοειδέστερον τοῦ σώματος. ἐγὼ δὲ συνήθης γάρ εἰμι καὶ λόγων ἐκοινώνησα πολλάκις ὁμοεθνὴς ὤν. καὶ γάρ, ὡς οἶσθα καὶ αὐτός, τὸ ἥμερον καὶ φιλάνθρωπον καὶ τὸ μεγαλόφρον καὶ σωφροσύνην καὶ παιδείαν πρὸ τοῦ κάλλους ἐπαινῶ· ἄξια γὰρ προκεκρίσθαι ταῦτα τοῦ σώματος· ἐπεὶ ἄλογον ἂν εἴη καὶ γελοῖον, ὥσπερ εἴ τις τὴν ἐσθῆτα πρὸ τοῦ σώματος θαυμάζοι. τὸ δʼ ἐντελὲς κάλλος, οἶμαι, τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὁπόταν εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ συνδράμῃ ψυχῆς ἀρετὴ καὶ εὐμορφία σώματος. ἀμέλει πολλὰς ἄν σοι δείξαιμι μορφῆς μὲν εὖ ἡκούσας, τὰ δʼ ἄλλα αἰσχυνούσας τὸ κάλλος, ὡς καὶ μόνον φθεγξαμένων ἀπανθεῖν αὐτὸ καὶ ἀπομαραίνεσθαι ἐλεγχόμενόν τε καὶ ἀσχημονοῦν καὶ παρʼ ἀξίαν συνὸν πονηρᾷ τινι δεσποίνῃ τῇ ψυχῇ. καὶ αἵ γε τοιαῦται ὅμοιαί μοι δοκοῦσιν τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις ἱεροῖς· κἀκεῖ γὰρ αὐτὸς μὲν ὁ νεὼς κάλλιστός τε καὶ μέγιστος, λίθοις τοῖς πολυτελέσιν ἠσκημένος καὶ χρυσῷ καὶ γραφαῖς διηνθισμένος, ἔνδον δὲ ἢν ζητῇς τὸν θεόν, ἢ πίθηκός ἐστιν ἢ ἶβις ἢ τράγος ἢ αἴλουρος. τοιαύτας πολλὰς ἰδεῖν ἔνεστιν. Οὐ τοίνυν ἀπόχρη τὸ κάλλος, εἰ μὴ κεκόσμηται τοῖς δικαίοις κοσμήμασι, λέγω δὴ οὐκ ἐσθῆτι ἁλουργεῖ καὶ ὅρμοις, ἀλλʼ οἷς προεῖπον ἐκείνοις, ἀρετῇ καὶ σωφροσύνῃ καὶ ἐπιεικείᾳ καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁπόσα ταύτης ὅρος ἐστίν.
12. LYCINUS Well then, Polystratus, trade me description for description, giving, as the saying goes, measure for measure, or even better than that, since you can. Do a likeness of her soul and display it to me, so ‘that I need not admire her by halves. POLYSTRATUS It is no light task, my friend, that you are setting me; for it is not the same thing to laud what is manifest to all, and to reveal in words what is invisible. I think that I too shall need fellow-workmen for the portrait, philosophers as well as sculptors and painters, so that I can make my work of art conform to their canons and can exhibit it as modelled in the style of the ancients. Come now, imagine it made. It will be “gifted with speech,” first of all, and “clear-voiced”; and Homer’s phrase “sweeter than honey from the tongue” applies to her rather than to that old man from Pylos. The whole tone of her voice is as soft as can be; not deep, so as to resemble a man’s, nor very high, so as to be quite womanish and wholly strengthless, but like the voice of a boy still immature, delicious and winning, that gently steals into the ear, so that even after she has ceased the sound abides, some remnant of it lingering and filling the ears with resonance, like an echo that prolongs audition and leaves in the soul vague traces of her words, honey-sweet and full of persuasion. And when she lifts that glorious voice in song, above all to the lyre, then—ah, then it is the hour for halcyons and cicadas and swans to hush forthwith; for they are one and all unmelodious as against her, and even Pandion’s daughter, should you mention her, is an inexpert amateur, however “soundful” the voice that she pours out.
12. Λυκῖνος: οὐκοῦν, ὦ Πολύστρατε, μῦθον ἀντὶ μύθου ἄμειψαι αὐτῷ τῷ μέτρῳ, φασίν, ἢ καὶ λώϊον, δύνασαι γάρ, καί τινα εἰκόνα γραψάμενος τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπίδειξον, ὡς μὴ ἐξ ἡμισείας θαυμάζοιμι αὐτήν. Πολύστρατος: οὐ μικρόν, ὦ ἑταῖρε, τὸ ἀγώνισμα προστάττεις· οὐ γὰρ ὅμοιον τὸ πᾶσι προφανὲς ἐπαινέσαι καὶ τὰ ἄδηλα ἐμφανίσαι τῷ λόγῳ. καί μοι δοκῶ συνεργῶν καὶ αὐτὸς δεήσεσθαι πρὸς τὴν εἰκόνα, οὐ πλαστῶν οὐδὲ γραφέων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ φιλοσόφων, ὡς πρὸς τοὺς ἐκείνων κανόνας ἀπευθῦναι τὸ ἄγαλμα καὶ δεῖξαι κατὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν πλαστικὴν κατεσκευασμένον. καὶ δὴ πεποιήσθω. αὐδήεσσα μὲν τὸ πρῶτον καὶ λίγεια, καὶ τὸ γλυκίων μέλιτος ἀπὸ τῆς γλώττης περὶ αὐτῆς μᾶλλον ἢ περὶ τοῦ Πυλίου γέροντος ἐκείνου ὁ Ὅμηρος εἴρηκεν. πᾶς δὲ ὁ τόνος τοῦ φθέγματος οἷος ἁπαλώτατος, οὔτε βαρὺς ὡς εἰς τὸ ἀνδρεῖον ἡρμόσθαι οὔτε πάνυ λεπτὸς ὡς θηλύτατός τε εἶναι καὶ κομιδῇ ἔκλυτος, ἀλλʼ οἷος γένοιτʼ ἂν παιδὶ μήπω ἡβάσκοντι, ἡδὺς καὶ προσηνὴς καὶ πράως παραδυόμενος εἰς τὴν ἀκοήν, ὡς καὶ παυσαμένης ἔναυλον εἶναι τὴν βοὴν καί τι λείψανον ἐνδιατρίβειν καὶ περιβομβεῖν τὰ ὦτα, καθάπερ ἠχώ τινα παρατείνουσαν τὴν ἀκρόασιν καὶ ἴχνη τῶν λόγων μελιχρὰ ἄττα καὶ πειθοῦς μεστὰ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπολιμπάνουσαν. ὁπόταν δὲ καὶ τὸ καλὸν ἐκεῖνο ᾄδῃ, καὶ μάλιστα πρὸς τὴν κιθάραν, τότε δὴ τότε ὥρα μὲν σιωπᾶν τάχιστα ἀλκυόσι καὶ τέττιξι καὶ τοῖς κύκνοις· ἄμουσα γὰρ ὡς πρὸς ἐκείνην ἅπαντα· κἂν τὴν Πανδίονος εἴπῃς, ἰδιῶτις κἀκείνη καὶ ἄτεχνος, εἰ καὶ πολυηχέα τὴν φωνὴν ἀφίησιν.
14. And as for Orpheus and Amphion, who exercised so very potent a spell upon their auditors that even inanimate things answered the call of their song, they themselves in my opinion would have abandoned their lyres, had they heard her, and would have stood by in silence, listening. That scrupulous observance of time, so that she makes no mistakes in the rhythm, but her singing throughout keeps measure with a beat that is accurate in its rise and fall, while her lyre is in full accord, and her plectrum keeps pace with her tongue; that delicacy of touch; that flexibility of modulations—how could all this be attained by your Thracian, or by that other who studied lyre-playing on the slopes of Cithaeron in the intervals of tending cattle? Therefore, if ever you hear her sing, Lycinus, not only will you have learned by experience, through being turned into stone, what the Gorgons can do, but you will know also what the effect of the Sirens was like; for you will stand there enchanted, I know right well, forgetful of country and of kin; and if you stop your ears with wax, the song, in spite of you, will slip through the very wax! Such music is it, a lesson learned of some Terpsichore or Melpomene, or of Calliope herself, fraught with a thousand witcheries of every sort. I may sum it up by saying: “Imagine that you are listening to such singing as would naturally come from such lips and from those teeth.” You yourself have seen the lady in question, so consider that you have heard her.
14. Πολύστρατος: Ὀρφεὺς δὲ καὶ Ἀμφίων, οἵπερ ἐπαγωγότατοι ἐγένοντο τῶν ἀκροατῶν, ὡς καὶ τὰ ἄψυχα ἐπικαλέσασθαι πρὸς τὸ μέλος, αὐτοὶ ἄν, οἶμαι, εἴ γε ἤκουσαν, καταλιπόντες ἂν τὰς κιθάρας παρεστήκεσαν σιωπῇ ἀκροώμενοι. τὸ γὰρ τῆς τε ἁρμονίας τὸ ἀκριβέστατον διαφυλάττειν, ὡς μὴ παραβαίνειν τι τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ, ἀλλʼ εὐκαίρῳ τῇ ἄρσει καὶ θέσει διαμεμετρῆσθαι τὸ ᾆσμα καὶ συνῳδὸν εἶναι τὴν κιθάραν καὶ ὁμοχρονεῖν τῇ γλώττῃ τὸ πλῆκτρον, καὶ τὸ εὐαφὲς τῶν δακτύλων καὶ τὸ εὐκαμπὲς τῶν μελῶν, πόθεν ἂν ταῦτα ὑπῆρχε τῷ Θρᾳκὶ ἐκείνῳ καὶ τῷ ἀνὰ τὸν Κιθαιρῶνα μεταξὺ βουκολοῦντι καὶ κιθαρίζειν μελετῶντι; ὥστε ἤν ποτε, ὦ Λυκῖνε, καὶ ᾀδούσης ἀκούῃς αὐτῆς, οὐκέτι τὸ τῶν Γοργόνων ἐκεῖνο ἔσῃ μόνον πεπονθώς, λίθος ἐξ ἀνθρώπου γενόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τῶν Σειρήνων εἴσῃ ὁποῖόν τι ἦν· παρεστήξῃ γὰρ εὖ οἶδα κεκηλημένος, πατρίδος καὶ οἰκείων ἐπιλαθόμενος. καὶ ἢν κηρῷ ἐπιφράξῃ τὰ ὦτα, καὶ διὰ τοῦ κηροῦ διαδύσεταί σοι τὸ μέλος. τοιοῦτόν τι ἄκουσμά ἐστι, Τερψιχόρης τινὸς ἢ Μελπομένης ἢ Καλλιόπης αὐτῆς παίδευμα, μυρία τὰ θέλγητρα καὶ παντοῖα ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχον. ἑνί τε λόγῳ συνελὼν φαίην ἄν, τοιαύτης μοι τῆς ᾠδῆς ἀκούειν νόμιζε, οἵαν εἰκὸς εἶναι τὴν διὰ τοιούτων χειλῶν, διʼ ἐκείνων δὲ τῶν ὀδόντων ἐξιοῦσαν. ἑώρακας δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἥν φημι, ὥστε ἀκηκοέναι νόμιζε.
15. As to the precision of her language, and its pure Ionic quality, as to the fact that she has a ready tongue in conversation and is full of Attic wit— that is nothing to wonder at. It is an inherited trait in her, and ancestral, and nothing else was to be expected, since she partakes of Athenian blood through the settlement which they planted. Nor indeed am I disposed to wonder at the further fact that a countrywoman of Homer likes poetry and holds much converse with it. There you have one picture, Lycinus, that of her exquisite speech and her singing, as it might be portrayed in an inadequate sort of way. And now look at the others—for I have decided not to exhibit a single picture made up, like yours, out of many. That is really less artistic, to combine beauties so numerous and create, out of many, a thing of many different aspects, completely at odds with itself. No, all the several virtues of her soul shall be portrayed each by itself in a single picture that is a true copy of the model. LYCINUS It is a feast, Polystratus, a full banquet, that you promise! In fact, it appears that you really will give me back better measure. Anyhow, get on with your measuring; there is nothing else that you can do which would please me more.
15. Πολύστρατος: τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀκριβὲς τοῦτο τῆς φωνῆς καὶ καθαρῶς Ἰωνικὸν καὶ ὅτι ὁμιλῆσαι στωμύλη καὶ πολὺ τῶν Ἀττικῶν χαρίτων ἔχουσα οὐδὲ θαυμάζειν ἄξιον· πάτριον γὰρ αὐτῇ καὶ προγονικόν, οὐδὲ ἄλλως ἐχρῆν μετέχουσαν τῶν Ἀθηναίων κατὰ τὴν ἀποικίαν. οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο θαυμάσαιμʼ ἄν, εἰ καὶ ποιήσει χαίρει καὶ τὰ πολλὰ ταύτῃ ὁμιλεῖ, τοῦ Ὁμήρου πολῖτις οὖσα. μία μὲν δή σοι, ὦ Λυκῖνε, καλλιφωνίας αὕτη καὶ ᾠδῆς εἰκών, ὡς ἄν τις ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλαττον εἰκάσειεν. σκόπει δὲ δὴ καὶ τὰς ἄλλας· οὐ γὰρ μίαν ὥσπερ σὺ ἐκ πολλῶν συνθεὶς ἐπιδεῖξαι διέγνωκα — ἧττον γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ γραφικόν, συντελεσθὲν κάλλη τοσαῦτα καὶ πολυειδές τι ἐκ πολλῶν ἀποτελεῖν αὐτὸ αὑτῷ ἀνθαμιλλώμενον — ἀλλʼ αἱ πᾶσαι τῆς ψυχῆς ἀρεταὶ καθʼ ἑκάστην εἰκὼν μία γεγράψεται πρὸς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον μεμιμημένη. Λυκῖνος: ἑορτήν, ὦ Πολύστρατε, καὶ πανδαισίαν ἐπαγγέλλεις. ἔοικας γοῦν λώϊον ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀποδώσειν μοι τὸ μέτρον. ἐπιμέτρει δʼ οὖν· ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ὅ τι ἂν ἄλλο ποιήσας μᾶλλον χαρίσαιό μοι.
16. POLYSTRATUS Then inasmuch as culture must stand at the head of all that is fair, and particularly all that is acquired by study, let us now create its likeness, rich, however, in colours and in modelling, that even in this point we may not fall short of your achievement in sculpture. So let her be pictured as possessing all the good gifts that come from Helicon. Unlike Clio, Polymnia, Calliope, and the others, each of whom has a single accomplishment, she shall have those of all the Muses, and in addition those of Hermes and Apollo. For all that poets have set forth with the embellishment of metre or orators with the might of eloquence, all that historians have related or philosophers recommended shall give beauty to our picture, not simply to the extent of tinting its surface, but staining it all deeply with indelible colours till it will take no more. And you must pardon me if I can show no ancient model for this picture; for tradition tells us of nothing similar in point of culture among the men of olden times. But in spite of that, if you approve, it too may now be hung; for no fault can be found with it, from my point of view. LYCINUS It is very beautiful, to be sure, Polystratus, and every line of it correctly drawn.
16. Πολύστρατος: οὐκοῦν ἐπειδὴ πάντων καλῶν παιδείαν ἡγεῖσθαι ἀνάγκη, καὶ μάλιστα τούτων ὁπόσα μελετητά, φέρε καὶ ταύτην ἤδη συστησώμεθα, ποικίλην μέντοι καὶ πολύμορφον, ὡς μηδὲ κατὰ τοῦτο ἀπολιποίμεθα τῆς σῆς πλαστικῆς. καὶ δὴ γεγράφθω πάντα συλλήβδην τὰ ἐκ τοῦ Ἑλικῶνος ἀγαθὰ ἔχουσα, οὐχ ὥσπερ ἡ Κλειὼ καὶ ἡ Πολύμνια καὶ ἡ Καλλιόπη καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι ἕν τι ἑκάστη ἐπισταμένη, ἀλλὰ τὰ πασῶν καὶ προσέτι τὰ Ἑρμοῦ καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος. ὁπόσα γὰρ ἢ ποιηταὶ μέτροις διακοσμήσαντες ἢ ῥήτορες δεινότητι κρατύναντες ἐξενηνόχασιν ἢ συγγραφεῖς ἱστορήκασιν ἢ φιλόσοφοι παρῃνέκασι, πᾶσι τούτοις ἡ εἰκὼν κεκοσμήσθω, οὐκ ἄχρι τοῦ ἐπικεχρῶσθαι μόνον, ἀλλʼ εἰς βάθος δευσοποιοῖς τισι φαρμάκοις εἰς κόρον καταβαφεῖσα. καὶ συγγνώμη, εἰ μηδὲν ἀρχέτυπον ἐπιδεῖξαι ταύτης δυναίμην τῆς γραφῆς· οὐ γὰρ ἔσθʼ ὅ τι τοιοῦτον ἐν τοῖς πάλαι παιδείας πέρι μνημονεύεται. πλὴν ἀλλά, εἴ γε δοκεῖ, ἀνακείσθω καὶ αὕτη· οὐ μεμπτὴ γάρ, ὡς ἐμοὶ φαίνεται. Λυκῖνος: καλλίστη μὲν οὖν, ὦ Πολύστρατε, καὶ πάσαις ταῖς γραμμαῖς ἀπηκριβωμένη.
17. POLYSTRATUS Next we must delineate her wisdom and understanding. We shall require many models there, most of them ancient, and one, like herself, Ionic, painted and wrought by Aeschines, the friend of Socrates, and by Socrates himself, of all craftsmen the truest copyists because they painted with love. It is that maid of Miletus, Aspasia, the consort of the Olympian, himself a marvel beyond compare. Putting before us, in her, no mean pattern of understanding, let us take all that she had of experience in affairs, shrewdness in_ statescraft, quick-wittedness, and penetration, and transfer the whole of it to our own picture by accurate measurement; making allowance, however, for the fact that she was painted on a small canvas, but our figure is colossal in its scale. LYCINUS What do you mean by that? POLYSTRATUS I mean, Lycinus, that the pictures are not of equal size, though they look alike; for the Athenian state of those days and the Roman empire of to-day are not equal, nor near it. Consequently, although ours resembles the other exactly, yet in size at least it is superior, as being painted on a very broad canvas.
17. Πολύστρατος: μετὰ δὲ ταύτην ἡ τῆς σοφίας καὶ συνέσεως εἰκὼν γραπτέα. δεήσει δὲ ἡμῖν ἐνταῦθα πολλῶν τῶν παραδειγμάτων, ἀρχαίων τῶν πλείστων, ἑνὸς μὲν καὶ αὐτοῦ Ἰωνικοῦ· γραφεῖς δὲ καὶ δημιουργοὶ αὐτοῦ Αἰσχίνης Σωκράτους ἑταῖρος καὶ αὐτὸς Σωκράτης, μιμηλότατοι τεχνιτῶν ἁπάντων, ὅσῳ καὶ μετʼ ἔρωτος ἔγραφον. τὴν δὲ ἐκ τῆς Μιλήτου ἐκείνην Ἀσπασίαν, ᾗ καὶ ὁ Ὀλύμπιος θαυμασιώτατος αὐτὸς συνῆν, οὐ φαῦλον συνέσεως παράδειγμα προθέμενοι, ὁπόσον ἐμπειρίας πραγμάτων καὶ ὀξύτητος εἰς τὰ πολιτικὰ καὶ ἀγχινοίας καὶ δριμύτητος ἐκείνῃ προσῆν, τοῦτο πᾶν ἐπὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν εἰκόνα μεταγάγωμεν ἀκριβεῖ τῇ στάθμῃ· πλὴν ὅσον ἐκείνη μὲν ἐν μικρῷ πινακίῳ ἐγέγραπτο, αὕτη δὲ κολοσσιαία τὸ μέγεθός ἐστιν. Λυκῖνος: πῶς τοῦτο φής; Πολύστρατος: ὅτι, ὦ Λυκῖνε, οὐκ ἰσομεγέθεις εἶναί φημι τὰς εἰκόνας ὁμοίας οὔσας· οὐ γὰρ ἴσον οὐδὲ ἐγγὺς Ἀθηναίων ἡ τότε πολιτεία καὶ ἡ παροῦσα τῶν Ῥωμαίων δύναμις. ὥστε εἰ καὶ τῇ ὁμοιότητι ἡ αὐτή, ἀλλὰ τῷ μεγέθει γε ἀμείνων αὕτη ὡς ἂν ἐπὶ πλατυτάτου πίνακος καταγεγραμμένη.
18. The second model and the third shall be the famous Theano and the Lesbian poetess, and Diotima shall be still another. Theano shall contribute her high-mindedness, Sappho the attractiveness of her way of living, and Diotima shall be copied not only in those qualities for which Socrates commended her, but in her general intelligence and power to give counsel. There you have another picture, Lycinus, which may be hung also.
18. Πολύστρατος: δεύτερον δὲ καὶ τρίτον παράδειγμα Θεανώ τε ἐκείνη καὶ ἡ Λεσβία μελοποιός, καὶ Διοτίμα ἐπὶ ταύταις, ἡ μὲν τὸ μεγαλόνουν ἡ Θεανὼ συμβαλλομένη εἰς τὴν γραφήν, ἡ Σαπφὼ δὲ τὸ γλαφυρὸν τῆς προαιρέσεως· τῇ Διοτίμᾳ δὲ οὐχ ἃ Σωκράτης ἐπῄνεσεν αὐτὴν ἐοικυῖα ἔσται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην σύνεσίν τε καὶ συμβουλίαν. τοιαύτη σοι καὶ αὕτη, Λυκῖνε, ἀνακείσθω ἡ εἰκών.
19. LYCINUS Yes, Polystratus, for it is marvellous. But paint more of them. POLYSTRATUS That of her goodness and loving-kindness, my friend, which will disclose the gentleness of her nature and its graciousness to all those who make demands upon her? Then let her be compared with that Theano who was wife of Antenor, and with Arete, and Arete’s daughter Nausicaa, and with any other who in high station behaved with propriety in the face of her good fortune.
19. Λυκῖνος: νὴ Δίʼ, ὦ Πολύστρατε, θαυμάσιος οὖσα. σὺ δὲ ἄλλας γράφου. Πολύστρατος: τὰς τῆς χρηστότητος, ὦ ἑταῖρε, καὶ φιλανθρωπίας, ἣ τὸ ἥμερον ἐμφανιεῖ τοῦ τρόπου καὶ πρὸς τοὺς δεομένους προσηνές; εἰκάσθω οὖν καὶ αὐτὴ Θεανοῖ τε ἐκείνῃ τῇ Ἀντήνορος καὶ Ἀρήτῃ καὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ αὐτῆς τῇ Ναυσικάᾳ, καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλη ἐν μεγέθει πραγμάτων ἐσωφρόνησε πρὸς τὴν τύχην.
20. Next in order, let her modesty be portrayed, and her love for her consort, in such a way as to be most like the daughter of Icarius, described by Homer as modest and prudent (for that is the way he drew the picture of Penelope); or like her own homonym, the wife of Abradatas, whom we mentioned a little while ago.LYCINUS Once more you have created a very beautiful picture, Polystratus; and now, perhaps, your portraits are finished, for you have traversed all of her soul in praising it part by part.
20. Πολύστρατος: ἑξῆς δὲ μετὰ ταύτην ἡ τῆς σωφροσύνης αὐτῆς γεγράφθω καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸν συνόντα εὐνοίας, ὡς κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἰκαρίου μάλιστα εἶναι τὴν σαόφρονα καὶ τὴν περίφρονα ὑπὸ τοῦ Ὁμήρου γεγραμμένην — τοιαύτην γὰρ τὴν τῆς Πηνελόπης εἰκόνα ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν — ἢ καὶ νὴ Δία κατὰ τὴν ὁμώνυμον αὐτῆς τὴν τοῦ Ἀβραδάτα, ἧς μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν ἐμνημονεύσαμεν. Λυκῖνος: παγκάλην καὶ ταύτην, ὦ Πολύστρατε, ἀπειργάσω, καὶ σχεδὸν ἤδη τέλος σοι ἔχουσιν αἱ εἰκόνες· ἅπασαν γὰρ ἐπελήλυθας τὴν ψυχὴν κατὰ μέρη ἐπαινῶν.
21. POLYSTRATUS Not all of it! The very greatest items in her praise are still unincluded. I mean that in so elevated a station she has not clothed herself in pride over her success, and has not been uplifted above the limit that beseems humanity through confidence in Fortune, but keeps herself upon the common plane, with no tasteless or vulgar aspirations, treats her visitors familiarly and as an equal, and gives her friends greetings and evidences of affection that are all the sweeter to them because, although they come from one who is above them, they make no display of circumstance. Truly, all those who employ great power not in superciliousness but in kindness, are regarded as especially worthy of the blessings that have been bestowed upon them by Fortune, and they alone deserve to escape envy. Nobody will envy the man above him if he sees him behaving with moderation amid his successes and not, like Homer's Ate, treading on the heads of men and crushing whatever is feebler. That is the way: in which the low-minded are affected because of their vulgarity of soul. When, without their expecting anything of the sort, Fortune suddenly sets them in a winged, aerial car, they do not bide contentedly where they are, and do not look beneath them, but force themselves ever upwards. Therefore, as in the case of Icarus, their wax quickly melts, their wings moult, and they bring ridicule upon themselves by falling head-first into deep waters and breaking seas. But those who pattern after Daedalus in the use of their wings and do not rise too high, knowing that their pinions were made of wax, but stint their flight as mere mortals should and are content to be carried above, but only just above, the waves, so that they keep their wings always wet and avoid exposing them to sheer sunshine— they wing their passage at once safely and discreetly. This is what might be most praised in her. Consequently she gets from all the return that she deserves; for all pray that these wings may abide with her and that blessings may accrue to her in still greater fulness.
21. Πολύστρατος: οὐχ ἅπασαν· ἔτι γὰρ τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἐπαίνων περιλείπεται. λέγω δὲ τὸ ἐν τηλικούτῳ ὄγκῳ γενομένην αὐτὴν μήτε τῦφον ἐπὶ τῇ εὐπραξίᾳ περιβαλέσθαι μήτε ὑπὲρ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον μέτρον ἐπαρθῆναι πιστεύσασαν τῇ τύχῃ, φυλάττειν δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἰσοπέδου ἑαυτὴν μηδὲν ἀπειρόκαλον ἢ φορτικὸν φρονοῦσαν καὶ τοῖς προσιοῦσιν δημοτικῶς τε καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ὁμοίου προσφέρεσθαι καὶ δεξιώσεις καὶ φιλοφροσύνας φιλοφρονεῖσθαι τοσούτῳ ἡδίους τοῖς προσομιλοῦσιν, ὅσῳ καὶ παρὰ μείζονος ὅμως γιγνόμεναι οὐδὲν τραγικὸν ἐμφαίνουσιν. ὡς ὁπόσοι τῷ μέγα δύνασθαι μὴ πρὸς ὑπεροψίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς εὐποιίαν ἐχρήσαντο, οὗτοι καὶ ἄξιοι μάλιστα τῶν παρὰ τῆς τύχης δοθέντων ἀγαθῶν ὤφθησαν, καὶ μόνοι ἂν οὗτοι δικαίως τὸ ἐπίφθονον διαφύγοιεν· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἂν φθονήσειε τῷ ὑπερέχοντι, ἢν μετριάζοντα ἐπὶ τοῖς εὐτυχήμασιν αὐτὸν ὁρᾷ καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Ὁμήρου Ἄτην ἐκείνην ἐπʼ ἀνδρῶν κράατα βεβηκότα καὶ τὸ ὑποδεέστερον πατοῦντα· ὅπερ οἱ ταπεινοὶ τὰς γνώμας πάσχουσιν ἀπειροκαλίᾳ τῆς ψυχῆς· ἐπειδὰν γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἡ τύχη μηδὲν τοιοῦτον ἐλπίσαντας ἄφνω ἀναβιβάσῃ εἰς πτηνόν τι καὶ μετάρσιον ὄχημα, οὐ μένουσιν ἐπὶ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων οὐδʼ ἀφορῶσιν κάτω, ἀλλὰ ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸ ἄναντες βιάζονται. τοιγαροῦν ὥσπερ ὁ Ἴκαρος, τακέντος αὐτοῖς τάχιστα τοῦ κηροῦ καὶ τῶν πτερῶν περιρρυέντων, γέλωτα ὀφλισκάνουσιν ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν εἰς πελάγη καὶ κλύδωνα ἐμπίπτοντες· ὅσοι δὲ κατὰ τὸν Δαίδαλον ἐχρήσαντο τοῖς πτεροῖς καὶ μὴ πάνυ ἐπήρθησαν, εἰδότες ὅτι ἐκ κηροῦ ἦν αὐτοῖς πεποιημένα, ἐταμιεύσαντο δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπινον τὴν φορὰν καὶ ἠγάπησαν ὑψηλότεροι μόνον τῶν κυμάτων ἐνεχθέντες, ὥστε μέντοι νοτίζεσθαι αὐτοῖς ἀεὶ τὰ πτερὰ καὶ μὴ παρέχειν αὐτὰ μόνῳ τῷ ἡλίῳ, οὗτοι δὲ ἀσφαλῶς τε ἅμα καὶ σωφρόνως διέπτησαν· ὅπερ καὶ ταύτην ἄν τις μάλιστα ἐπαινέσειε. τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἄξιον παρὰ πάντων ἀπολαμβάνει τὸν καρπόν, εὐχομένων ταῦτά τε αὐτῇ παραμεῖναι τὰ πτερὰ καὶ ἔτι πλείω ἐπιρρεῖν τἀγαθά.
22. LYCINUS So be it, Polystratus. She deserves it, because it is not in body alone, like Helen, that she is fair, but the soul that she harbours therein is still more fair and lovely. It was in keeping, too, that our Emperor, kindly and gentle as he is, along with all the other blessings that he enjoys, should be so tavoured by Fortune as to have such a woman born in his time and consort with him and love him. For that is no trivial favour of Fortune—a woman about whom one can quote with propriety the saying of Homer, that she vies with golden Aphrodite in beauty and equals Athena herself in accomplishments. Among mortal women there is none to compare with her, “neither in stature nor mould” (as Homer says), “nor in mind nor in aught that she doeth.”
22. Λυκῖνος: καὶ οὕτως, ὦ Πολύστρατε, γιγνέσθω· ἀξία γὰρ οὐ τὸ σῶμα μόνον ὥσπερ ἡ Ἑλένη καλὴ οὖσα„ καλλίω δὲ καὶ ἐρασμιωτέραν ὑπʼ αὐτῷ τὴν ψυχὴν σκέπουσα. ἔπρεπε δὲ καὶ βασιλεῖ τῷ μεγάλῳ χρηστῷ καὶ ἡμέρῳ ὄντι καὶ τοῦτο μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν, ὁπόσα ἐστὶν αὐτῷ, εὐδαιμονῆσαι, ὡς ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ φῦναι γυναῖκα τοιαύτην καὶ συνοῦσαν αὐτῷ ποθεῖν αὐτόν· οὐ γὰρ μικρὸν τοῦτο εὐδαιμόνημα, γυνὴ περὶ ἧς ἄν τις εὐλόγως τὸ Ὁμηρικὸν ἐκεῖνο εἴποι, χρυσείῃ μὲν αὐτὴν Ἀφροδίτῃ ἐρίζειν τὸ κάλλος, ἔργα δὲ αὐτῇ Ἀθηναίῃ ἰσοφαρίζειν. γυναικῶν γὰρ συνόλως οὐκ ἄν τις παραβληθείη αὐτῇ οὐ δέμας οὐδὲ φυήν, φησὶν Ὅμηρος, οὔτʼ ἂρ φρένας οὔτε τι ἔργα.
23. POLYSTRATUS You are right, Lycinus. So, if you are willing, let us put our portraits together, the statue that you modelled of her body and the pictures that I painted of her soul; let us blend them all into one, put it down in a book, and give it to all mankind to admire, not only to those now alive, but to those that shall live hereafter. It would at least prove more enduring than the works of Apelles and Parrhasius and Polygnotus, and far more pleasing to the lady herself than anything of that kind, inasmuch as it is not made of wood and wax and colours but portrayed with inspirations from the Muses; and this will be found the most accurate kind of portrait, since it simultaneously discloses beauty of body and nobility of soul.
23. Πολύστρατος: ἀληθῆ φής, ὦ Λυκῖνε· ὥστε εἰ δοκεῖ, ἀναμίξαντες ἤδη τὰς εἰκόνας, ἥν τε σὺ ἀνέπλασας τὴν τοῦ σώματος καὶ ἃς ἐγὼ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐγραψάμην, μίαν ἐξ ἁπασῶν συνθέντες εἰς βιβλίον καταθέμενοι παρέχωμεν ἅπασι θαυμάζειν τοῖς τε νῦν οὖσι καὶ τοῖς ἐν ὑστέρῳ ἐσομένοις. μονιμωτέρα γοῦν τῶν Ἀπελλοῦ καὶ Παρρασίου καὶ Πολυγνώτου γένοιτʼ ἄν, καὶ αὐτῇ ἐκεινῇ παρὰ πολὺ τῶν τοιούτων κεχαρισμένη, ὅσῳ μὴ ξύλου καὶ κηροῦ καὶ χρωμάτων πεποίηται, ἀλλὰ ταῖς παρὰ Μουσῶν ἐπιπνοίαις εἴκασται, ἥπερ ἀκριβεστάτη εἰκὼν γένοιτʼ ἂν σώματος κάλλος καὶ ψυχῆς ἀρετὴν ἅμα ἐμφανίζουσα.