Texte grec :
| [7] ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΟΥ ΟΡΦΕΩΣ ΑΓΑΛΜΑ.
Ἐν τῷ Ἑλικῶνι, τέμενος δὲ τῶν Μουσῶν
σκιερὸν ὁ χῶρος, παρὰ τοὺς Ὀλμειοῦ τοῦ ποταμοῦ
ῥύακας καὶ τὴν ἰοειδέα Πηγάσου κρήνην Ὀρφέως
ἄγαλμα τοῦ τῆς Καλλιόπης παρὰ τὰς Μούσας εἱστήκει
ἰδεῖν μὲν κάλλιστον· ὁ γὰρ χαλκὸς τῇ τέχνῃ συναπέτικτε τὸ
κάλλος τῇ {δὲ} τοῦ σώματος ἀγλαίᾳ τὸ μουσικὸν
ἐπισημαίνων τῆς ψυχῆς. ἐκόσμει δὲ αὐτὸν τιάρα
Περσικὴ χρυσῷ κατάστικτος ἀπὸ κορυφῆς εἰς ὕψος
ἀνέχουσα, χιτὼν δὲ ἐξ ὤμων ἀπαγόμενος εἰς πόδας
τελαμῶνι χρυσέῳ κατὰ στέρνων ἐσφίγγετο. κόμη
δὲ οὕτως ἦν εὐανθὴς καὶ ζωτικὸν ἐπισημαίνουσα καὶ
ἔμπνουν, ὡς ἀπατᾶν τὴν αἴσθησιν, ὅτι καὶ πρὸς τὰς
ζεφύρου πνοὰς σειομένη δονεῖται - ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐπαυχένιος
κατὰ νώτου χυθεῖσα, ἡ δὲ ταῖς ὀφρύσιν ἄνωθεν
δισχιδὴς ἐπιβαίνουσα καθαρὰς τῶν ὀμμάτων ἔφαινε
τὰς βολάς - τὸ πέδιλον δὲ αὐτῷ ξανθοτάτῳ χρυσῷ
κατήνθιστο καὶ πέπλος ἄφετος κατὰ νώτου εἰς σφυρὸν
κατῄει, μετεχειρίζετο δὲ τὴν λύραν, ἡ δὲ ἰσαρίθμους
ταῖς Μούσαις ἐξῆπτο τοὺς φθόγγους· ὁ γὰρ χαλκὸς
καὶ νευρὰς ὑπεκρίνετο καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἑκάστου μίμησιν
ἀλλαττόμενος πειθηνίως ὑπήγετο μικροῦ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν
τὴν ἠχὴν τῶν φθόγγων φωνήεις γενόμενος. ὑπὸ
δὲ τῶν ποδῶν τὴν βάσιν οὐκ οὐρανὸς ἦν τυπωθεὶς
οὐδὲ Πλειάδες τὸν αἰθέρα τέμνουσαι οὐδὲ Ἄρκτου
περιστροφαὶ τῶν Ὠκεανοῦ λουτρῶν ἄμοιροι, ἀλλ´ ἦν
πᾶν μὲν τὸ ὀρνίθων γένος πρὸς τὴν ᾠδὴν ἐξιστάμενον,
πάντες δὲ ὄρειοι θῆρες καὶ ὅσον ἐν θαλάττης μυχοῖς
νέμεται καὶ ἵππος ἐθέλγετο ἀντὶ χαλινοῦ
τῷ μέλει κρατούμενος καὶ βοῦς ἀφεὶς τὰς νομὰς τῆς
λυρῳδίας ἤκουε καὶ λεόντων ἄτεγκτος φύσις πρὸς τὴν
ἁρμονίαν κατηυνάζετο. εἶδες ἂν καὶ ποταμοὺς
τυποῦντα τὸν χαλκὸν ἐκ πηγῶν ἐπὶ τὰ μέλη ῥέοντας
καὶ κῦμα θαλάσσης ἔρωτι τῆς ᾠδῆς ὑψούμενον καὶ
πέτρας αἰσθήσει πληττομένας μουσικῆς καὶ πᾶσαν
βλάστην ὥριον ἐξ ἠθῶν ἐπὶ τὴν μοῦσαν τὴν Ὀρφικὴν
σπεύδουσαν, καὶ οὐδὲν μὲν ἦν τὸ ἠχοῦν οὐδὲ τὴν
ἁρμονίαν τὴν λυρῳδὸν ἐγεῖρον, ἡ τέχνη δὲ ἐν τοῖς
ζῴοις τοῦ περὶ τὴν μουσικὴν ἔρωτος τὰ πάθη κατεμήνυε
καὶ ἐν τῷ χαλκῷ τὰς ἡδονὰς ἐποίει φαίνεσθαι
καὶ τὰ ἐπανθοῦντα τῇ αἰσθήσει τῶν ζῴων θελκτήρια
ἀρρήτως ἐξέφαινεν.
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Traduction française :
| [7] ON THE STATUE OF ORPHEUS.
On Helicon —the spot is a shaded precinct sacred
to the Muses—near the torrent of the river Olmeius
and the violet-dark spring of Pegasus, there stood
beside the Muses a statue of Orpheus, the son of
Calliope, a statue most beautiful to look upon. For
the bronze joined with art to give birth to beauty,
indicating by the splendour of the body the musical
nature of the soul. It was adorned by a Persian tiara
spangled with gold and rising high up from the head,
and a chiton hanging from the shoulders to the feet
was confined at the breast by a golden belt. The
hair was so luxuriant and so instinct with the spirit
of life as to deceive the senses into thinking it was
being tossed and shaken by gusts of wind—for the
hair behind on the neck fell free down the back,
while the parted hair which lay above the eyebrows
gave full view of the pure glance of the eyes. The
sandal shone brightly with the yellowest of gold, and a
robe fell ungirded down the back to the ankle ; and
he was carrying the lyre, which was equipped with
as many notes as the number of the Muses. For the
bronze even acted the part of strings and, being so
modified as to imitate each separate note, it obediently
carried out the deceit, almost indeed becoming vocal
and producing the very sound of the notes. Beneath
his f'eet heaven was not represented nor the Pleiades
coursing the aether nor the revolving Bear that "has
no part in the baths of Oceanus," but there was
every kind of bird, brought under the spell of the
singing, and all beasts of the mountains and whatever
feeds in the recesses of the sea, and a horse
stood entranced, held in control, not by a bridle, but
by the music, and a bull, having abandoned its
pasturage, was listening to the strains of the lyre,
and lions by nature fierce were being lulled to sleep
in response to its harmony. You could see the
bronze taking on the shape of rivers flowing from
their sources toward the singing, and a wave of the
sea raising itself aloft for love of the song, and rocks
being smitten with the sensation of music, and every
plant in its season hastening from its usual abode
towards the music of Orpheus ; and though there
was nothing that gave out a sound or roused the
lyre's harmony, yet art made manifest in all the
animals the emotions excited by their love of music,
and caused their pleasure to be visible in the bronze,
and in a wonderful manner expressed the enchantment
that springs up in the sense-perceptions of the animals.
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