[32,65] χαλεπὸν οὖν ἤδη ἐστὶ τὸ λειπόμενον τοῦ λόγου, καὶ δέδοικα 〈πρὸς〉 ὑμᾶς σαφῶς αὐτὸ εἰπεῖν. ἔλεγε γὰρ ἐξ ἐκείνων γένος τι φῦναι Μακεδόνων, καὶ τοῦτο αὖθις ὕστερον μετὰ Ἀλεξάνδρου διαβὰν ἐνθάδε οἰκῆσαι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δὴ τὸν τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων δῆμον ἄγεσθαι μὲν ὑπὸ ᾠδῆς, ὡς οὐδένας ἄλλους, κἂν ἀκούσωσι κιθάρας ὁποιασοῦν, ἐξεστάναι καὶ φρίττειν κατὰ μνήμην τὴν Ὀρφέως. εἶναι δὲ τῷ τρόπῳ κοῦφον καὶ ἀνόητον, ὡς ἐκ τοιούτου σπέρματος· ἐπεὶ τούς γε ἄλλους Μακεδόνας ἀνδρείους καὶ πολεμικοὺς γενέσθαι καὶ τὸ ἦθος βεβαίους. ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν κιθαρῳδῶν τῶν παρ´ ὑμῖν ἕτερον τοιοῦτόν τινα λόγον. τὰ γὰρ ζῷα ἐν τῇ συνουσίᾳ τῇ πρὸς τὸν Ὀρφέα τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἥδεσθαι μόνον καὶ ἐκπεπλῆχθαι, μιμεῖσθαι δὲ μηδὲν ἐπιχειρεῖν· τῶν κυνῶν δὲ ἐνίους, οἷα δὴ γένος ἀναιδὲς καὶ περίεργον ἐπιθέσθαι τῇ μουσικῇ, καὶ μελετᾶν τότ´ εὐθὺς ἀπιόντας καθ´ αὑτοὺς καὶ τὰ εἴδη μεταβαλόντας εἰς ἀνθρώπους διαφυλάττειν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. εἶναι δὲ τοῦτο αὐτὸ τὸ γένος τῶν κιθαρῳδῶν· διὸ μὴ δύνασθαι παντάπασιν ἐκβῆναι τὴν αὑτῶν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ μικρὸν μέν τι διασῴζειν τῆς Ὀρφέως διδασκαλίας, τὸ πολὺ δ´ αὐτοῖς ἐμμένειν κύνειον τοῦ μέλους. ταῦτα μὲν ἐκεῖνος ἔπαιζεν ὁ Φρύξ. ἐγὼ δ´ ὑμῖν βούλομαι Λακεδαιμονίων ἔργον εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἐκεῖνοι προσηνέχθησαν ἀνδρὶ κιθαρῳδῷ θαυμαζομένῳ τότε ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν. ὅτι γὰρ λίαν ἡδὺς ἐδόκει καὶ περιττὸς εἶναι, μὰ Δί´ οὐκ ἐτίμησαν αὐτόν, ἀλλ´ ἀφείλοντο τὴν κιθάραν καὶ τὰς χορδὰς ἐξέτεμον, ἀπιέναι προειπόντες ἐκ τῆς πόλεως. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν τὸ πρᾶγμα οὕτως ὑφεωρῶντο, καὶ ἐφύλαττον τὰ ὦτα, ὡς ἂν μὴ διαφθαρῶσιν αἱ ἀκοαὶ μηδὲ τρυφερώτεραι γένωνται τοῦ δέοντος· ὑμεῖς δὲ οὕτως ἀγεννῶς δεδούλωσθε ὑπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης ἡδονῆς. δι´ ὑμᾶς δὲ ἤδη μοι δοκεῖ τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ τῶν ῥητόρων ἅπτεσθαι καὶ φιλοσόφων ἐνίων· μᾶλλον δὲ τοὺς ῥήτορας οὐδὲ γνῶναι ῥᾴδιον. ὡς γὰρ ὁρῶσι τὴν σπουδὴν ὑμῶν τὴν περὶ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, πάντες δὴ ᾄδουσι καὶ ῥήτορες καὶ σοφισταί, καὶ πάντα περαίνεται δι´ ᾠδῆς· ὥστ´, εἴ τις παρίοι δικαστήριον, οὐκ ἂν γνοίη ῥᾳδίως πότερον ἔνδον πίνουσιν ἢ δικάζονται· κἂν σοφιστοῦ δὲ οἴκημα πλησίον ᾖ, οὐκ ἔσται γνῶναι τὴν διατριβήν. δοκεῖ δέ μοι, καὶ ἐν τῷ γυμνασίῳ πορϊόντες ἤδη γυμνάσονται πρὸς μέλος καὶ τοὺς κάμνοντας ἰάσονται. περὶ γὰρ τῆς τέχνης καὶ νῦν ἡμῖν διαλέγονται ᾄδοντες. κινδυνεύει δ´ ὁ βίος σχεδὸν ἅπας γεγονέναι κῶμος εἷς, οὐχ ἡδὺς οὐδὲ πρᾷος, ἀλλ´ ἄγριος καὶ χαλεπός, ἅμα ὀρχουμένων, τερετιζόντων, μιαιφονούντων. οἱ δ´ οὖν Λακεδαιμόνιοι πλεῖστον ὅσον ὑμῶν διέφερον, περὶ ταῦτα, ὡς ἔφην, εὐλαβῶς ἔχοντες. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄρχειν ἦσαν ἱκανοί, καὶ τῶν μὲν Ἑλλήνων προέστησαν πολλὰ ἔτη, τοὺς δὲ βαρβάρους ἐνίκων ἀεὶ πάντας· ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ ἄρχεσθαι καλῶς ἐπίστασθε. τοιγαροῦν εἰ μὴ τῶν προεστηκότων ἐτύχετε, χαλεπῶς ἂν οἶμαι καὶ ἐσῴζεσθε.

[32,65] Weil, the remainder of the tale from this point on is painful and I am reluctant to tell it to you in plain language. For the Phrygian went on to say that from those wild creatures whom Zeus transformed a tribe of Macedonians was born, and that it was this tribe which at a later time crossed over with Alexander and settled here. He added that this is the reason why the people of Alexandria are carried away by song as no other people are, and that if they hear music of the lyre, however bad, they lose their senses and are all aquiver in memory of Orpheus. And he said that they are giddy and foolish in behaviour, coming as they do from such a stock, since the other Macedonians certainly have shown themselves to be manly and martial and steadfast of character. The Phrygian also spoke regarding the harpists of your city about as follows : He said that in their association with Orpheus the other animais merely experienced pleasure and wonder but made no attempt at imitation ; but that some of the dogs, being of course a shameless and inquisitive breed, applied themselves to music and then and there began to practice it, going off by themselves, and that after they had been changed to human form they maintained their addiction to the art. And he declared that this very breed is the stock from which the harpists sprang ; therefore they have been unable wholly to slough off their own nature, but, while retaining some small part of the instruction derived from Orpheus, for the most part their music has remained canine in character. All this the Phrygian spoke in jest. But I want to tell you something that happened at Sparta, how the people of that land behaved toward a harpist who was much in vogue among the Greeks in those days. Just because this harpist had the reputation of being very charming and unusual, they did not, by Zeus, honour him, but instead they took his harp from him, cut away the strings, and ordered him to leave their city. Such, you see, were the misgivings the Spartans entertained regarding his calling and such the care they took of their ears, lest their hearing be corrupted or become more fastidious than was fitting ; but you have been thus ignominiously enslaved by that kind of pleasure. And through your influence, it would seem, the disease is already affecting, not only public speakers, but some philosophers as well—though it would be more correct to say that public speakers are no longer easy to recognize. For since they observe your interest in singing and your passion for it, they all sing now, public speakers as well as sophists, and everything is done to music ; if you were to pass a courtroom, you could not easily decide whether a drinking-party was in progress or a trial; and if there is in your neighbourhood a sophist's lecture-room, you will be unable to distinguish the lecture. And in my opinion people will presently go so far as to use song to accompany their exercise in the gymnasium, yes, even to heal the sick. For even now, when physicians discourse to you on their art, they chant. But in all likelihood life with you has become, one may almost say, just one continuous revel, not a sweet or gentle revel either, but savage and harsh, a revel of dancers, whistlers, and murderers all combined. But the Spartans were vastly different from you Alexandrians, for they were cautious in these matters, as I have said. For while they showed capacity to rule, having held the leadership in Greece for many years and being always victorious over the barbarians without exception, you do not understand even how to be good subjects. Therefore, if you had not been fortunate in your present leaders, hardly, I fancy, would your existence be secure.