Texte grec :
| [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.
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Traduction française :
| [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.
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