[29,0] ΜΕΛΑΓΚΟΜΑΣ Α ΤΗΙ ΤΑΞΕΙ Β. (29,1) Ἀλλ´ ἐμοὶ, ὦ ἄνδρες, οὐδ´ ὅτι εἴπω ἔπεισιν ὑπὸ λύπης ἅμα καὶ ἐκπλήξεως τοῦ αἰφνιδίου πάθους. οὐ γὰρ μόνον διὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἣν ἔχω μᾶλλον ἑτέρου μοι τῶν πολιτῶν οἰκεῖον τὸ συμβεβηκός, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἰδίᾳ μοι φίλος ἦν Μελαγκόμας ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας, ὥσπερ καὶ ὑμῶν ἐπίστανται οἱ πλείους. καὶ ἔμοιγε ἄτοπον φαίνεται τὸ ἐπὶ τοῖς τεθνεῶσιν ἔθος, ὅτι τοῖς πλεῖστα λυπουμένοις μάλιστα προσήκειν δοκεῖ τὸ ἐπ´ αὐτοῖς λέγειν. οἱ γὰρ σφοδρότατα ἀνιώμενοι ἀδύνατοι λέγειν ὑπ´ αὐτοῦ τούτου εἰσίν. (29,2) ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἡλικίας ἐν τούτῳ εἰμί, ἐν ᾧ ἡ μὲν τοῦ λόγου δύναμις ἧττον ἅπασιν ὑπάρχει, τὸ δὲ χαίρειν καὶ τὸ λυπεῖσθαι ἰσχυρότατον γίγνεται. ἀλλ´ ἐπειδὴ τιμιώτερος μὲν στρατηγοῦ ἔπαινος ἐπὶ στρατιώτῃ ἀγαθῷ τελευτήσαντι, τιμιώτερος δὲ παντὸς ἄρχοντος ἢ ἰδιώτου, κἀμοὶ λεκτέον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἕνεκεν ὡς ἂν δύνωμαι. πρέποι δ´ ἂν τῇ ἐκείνου ἀρετῇ καὶ τῇ ἐμῇ νεότητι μηδὲν μακρὸν ἀπαιτεῖν μηδὲ ἀκριβῆ μᾶλλον ἢ γενναῖον τὸν ἔπαινον. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν εὐγενείας ἀληθοῦς ἔτυχεν. οὐ γὰρ εἴ τῳ πλουσίων συνέβη τυχεῖν προγόνων, οὐ μὴν οὐδ´ εἰ βασιλέων, (29,3) τὰ δὲ ἄλλα φαύλων, ὅδε ἂν εἴη καλῶς γεγονώς, ἀλλ´ οἱ φύντες ἐξ ἀγαθῶν, ὥσπερ ὅδε. ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ τῶν κατ´ αὐτὸν διήνεγκε τοῖς καλλίστοις, εὐψυχίᾳ καὶ ῥώμῃ. δηλοῦσι δὲ αἱ νῖκαι ἃς ἐνίκησε καὶ {ἐν} Ὀλυμπίασι καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀγῶσιν. αὐτὸς δὲ ἔφυ κάλλιστος ἀνθρώπων, οὐ τῶν νῦν μόνον, ἀλλ´, ὡς ἔνεστιν εἰκάζειν ἐκ τῆς ὑπερβολῆς, καὶ ἁπάντων ἁπλῶς τῶν ἐξ ἅπαντος τοῦ χρόνου ὠνομασμένων ἐπὶ κάλλει, ὅσοι θνητοὶ ἐγένοντο. (29,4) οἱ μὲν γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν νενομισμένων καλῶν, μέρη τινὰ τοῦ σώματος εὐπρεπῆ ἔχοντες, ἔπειτα δὲ ἔδοξαν καλοί, τῆς ὄψεως ἀεὶ τὰ ἥδιστα βουλομένης ὁρᾶν, τῶν δὲ ἡττόνων ἀμελούσης. οἱ δέ τινες φύσει μὲν εὐειδοῦς σώματος οὐκ ἔτυχον, ὥρα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπῆλθεν· ἡττώμενοι δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ὥρας οἱ ἐντυγχάνοντες κάλλος αὐτὴν ὠνόμασαν, (29,5) ἀνθούσης ἀεὶ τῆς ἀκμῆς ἐν ἅπασι καὶ ζῴοις καὶ φυτοῖς. τοιούτους μὲν οὖν μυρίους ἂν εὕροι τις τοὺς αὐτοὺς ὁτὲ μὲν καλοὺς δοκοῦντας, ὁτὲ δὲ αἰσχρούς, καὶ τοῖς μὲν σφόδρα ἀρέσκοντας, παρ´ ἑτέροις δὲ οὐδενὸς λόγου τυγχάνοντας. ὁλόκληρον δὲ καὶ ἀληθινὸν κάλλος θαυμαστὸν εἴ τῳ ὑπῆρξεν ὥσπερ τῷδε. ἐν ἅπαντι μὲν γὰρ τῷ σώματι ἐκέκτητο αὐτό, ἀεὶ δὲ ὁμοίως, καὶ πρὸ ἥβης καὶ ὕστερον· καὶ οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον τοῦ χρόνου προῆλθεν, οὐδὲ εἰ πάνυ μακροῦ γήρως ἔτυχεν, ὥστε ἀμαυρῶσαι τὸ εἶδος. τεκμήριον δὲ τῆς ὑπερβολῆς· (29,6) οὐ γὰρ ἐν ἰδιώταις ἐξεταζόμενος διέφερεν οὐδὲ ὑπὸ ὀλίγων θεωρούμενος ὑπὸ τούτων ἐθαυμάζετο, ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀεὶ δήπου ἐν τοῖς ἁπάντων καλλίστοις, ἅμα τοῖς ἀθληταῖς ὤν. οἱ γὰρ μέγιστοι καὶ εὐειδέστατοι καὶ πλείστης ἐπιμελείας τῶν σωμάτων τυγχάνοντες οἵδε εἰσίν. ἑωράθη δὲ μικροῦ δεῖν ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων. οὔτε γὰρ πόλις οὐδεμία τῶν ἐνδόξων οὔτε ἔθνος οὐδέν, ἔνθα μὴ ἀφίκετο· καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως τὴν αὐτὴν εἶχε δόξαν, ὡς οὐδένα ἰδοῦσι καλλίονα. ὁ δὲ ὑπὸ πλείστων μὲν θαυμασθείς, ἐν δὲ τοῖς καλλίστοις μόνος ἔχων τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ κάλλους φήμην δῆλον ὡς θείας τινὸς μορφῆς ἔτυχεν. (29,7) ἐγὼ οὖν πρῶτον εὐδαιμονίζω τοῦ κάλλους αὐτόν, ὃ δὴ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐστὶν ἀγαθῶν ἀριδηλότατον, καὶ ἥδιστον μὲν θεοῖς, ἥδιστον δὲ ἀνθρώποις, ἀλυπότατον δὲ τῷ ἔχοντι καὶ ἐπιγνωσθῆναι ῥᾷστον. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα ἀγαθὰ κἂν λάθοι τινὶ προσόντα, καὶ ἀνδρεία 〈καὶ σωφροσύνη〉 καὶ φρόνησις, εἰ μὴ τύχοι ἔργου τινὸς ἀποδεικνύντος· τὸ δὲ κάλλος οὐχ οἷόν τε λανθάνειν. ἅμα γὰρ τῷ ἔχοντι φαίνεται· εἴποι δ´ ἄν τις ὅτι καὶ πρότερον· οὕτως ὀξεῖαν αἴσθησιν αὑτοῦ παρέχει. ἔτι δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἀγαθοῖς οἱ πλεῖστοι φθονοῦσι καὶ δυσμενεῖς γίγνονται· τὸ δὲ κάλλος τοὺς αἰσθανομένους αὐτοῦ φίλους ποιεῖται καὶ οὐδένα ἐχθρὸν ἐᾷ γίγνεσθαι. (29,8) εἰ δέ τίς φησι κάλλους με ποιεῖσθαι ἐγκώμια, ἀλλ´ οὐχὶ τοῦ ἀνδρός, οὐκ ἂν ὀρθῶς αἰτιῷτο. αὐτίκα γὰρ ἔπαινος ἀνδρὸς ἂν λέγοιτο, ἐπειδὰν τὴν ἀνδρείαν αὐτοῦ ἐπεξίωμεν. ὅπου μὲν γὰρ ἀμφίλογον τὸ εἶναί τινα τοιοῦτον, τότε ἀποδεικνύναι χρή· ὅπου δὲ γιγνώσκεται, τὴν φύσιν ἐπαινεῖν τοῦ προσόντος ἀγαθοῦ τινι. ὁ γὰρ τοῦδε ἔπαινος ἅμα ἂν εἴη καὶ τοῦ ἔχοντος αὐτό. μάλιστα δ´ ἄν τις θαυμάσειε Μελαγκόμαν, ὅτι μορφῇ τοιοῦτος ὢν τῇ ἀνδρείᾳ διήνεγκεν. (29,9) δοκεῖ γὰρ ἔμοιγε τῇ ψυχῇ φιλονικῆσαι πρὸς τὸ σῶμα καὶ σπουδάσαι ὅπως ἂν διὰ ταύτην ἐνδοξότερος γένηται. γνοὺς οὖν τῶν πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ἔργων κάλλιστον ἅμα καὶ ἐπιπονώτατον τὴν ἄθλησιν, ἐπὶ ταύτην ἦλθεν. τῶν μὲν γὰρ πολεμικῶν ὅ τε καιρὸς οὐκ ἦν ἥ τε ἄσκησις ἐλαφροτέρα. φαίην δ´ ἂν ἔγωγε καὶ ἀρετῆς ἥττονος εἶναι. μόνης γὰρ εὐψυχίας ἐπίδειξις ἐν τοῖς πολεμικοῖς, ἡ δὲ ἄθλησις ἅμα μὲν ἀνδρείαν, ἅμα δὲ ἰσχύν, ἅμα δὲ σωφροσύνην ἐμποιεῖ.

[29,0] The Twenty-ninth Discourse: Melancomas I. 1 Ah sirs! I cannot think of anything at all to say, so great is my grief alike and my consternation at this sudden bereavement; for not only on account of the office which I hold does the disaster come home to me more than to any other citizen, but Melancomas was also a personal friend of mine beyond all others, as most of you know. And to me at least it seems an absurd custom, when citizens die, that those most deeply afflicted should be thought the most fitting persons to speak at their obsequies; since those who are most grief-stricken are for that very reason incapable of speech. 2 Moreover, I am at the time of life when all men find that, while their ability to speak is always less than it was, yet the emotions of both joy and sorrow are greatest in intensity. Since, however, a eulogy spoken by a general over a good soldier who has passed away does him a greater honour, and one spoken by any ruler a greater honour than one spoken by a private citizen, so it devolves upon me also, in view of the office I hold, to speak to the best of my ability. And it would be in keeping with the merit of the deceased and my own youth to demand of me no lengthy or studied eulogy, but praise that comes from the heart. (p377) In the first place, he had the good fortune to be truly well-born. For it is not because he chanced to have forebears who were rich — nay, not even if they were kings but in other respects were quite without merit — that this man was well-born. 3 That term applies to those who have come from good parents, as this man did. For his father stood out conspicuous among all men of his time for those fairest gifts — nobility of soul and bodily strength. This is proved by the victories that he won, both at Olympia and in the other games. Then he was himself by nature's gift the most beautiful of men, not only of those of the present day but, as one may infer from his surpassing beauty, of absolutely all those of all time who have been renowned for beauty, all those, I mean, who were born mortal. 4 For the majority of those who have been regarded as beautiful because they did possess comeliness in certain parts of their body afterwards have got the reputation of being beautiful; since the eye ever wishes to direct itself to the most pleasing things to the neglect of what is inferior. And certain others were not favoured by nature with a beautiful body, but a lovely prime had arrived for them, so that those who met them, succumbing thereto, called it beauty, since the heyday of life always bourgeons in all animals and plants alike. 5 Thousands of persons of this sort can be found who at one time seem beautiful and at another time ugly; and though they please some exceedingly, with others they get no notice at all. But when it is a question of perfect and true beauty, it would be surprising if anyone ever possessed it as this man did. For he had it in his whole body and always (p379) to the same degree, both before he reached years of manhood and afterward; and he would never have lived long enough, even if he had reached an extreme old age, to have dimmed his beauty. 6 And here is an indication of the surpassing quality of his beauty: not that he stood out pre-eminent in any company of professional men, or was admired merely by some few who saw him, no indeed, but that he was always admired when in a company of those who are perhaps the most beautiful men in the world — the athletes among whom he moved. For the tallest and most comely men, whose bodies receive the most perfect care, are these. And he was seen by practically all mankind. For there was no city of repute, and no nation, which he did not visit; and among all alike the same opinion of him prevailed — that they had seen no one more beautiful. And since he was admired by the greatest numbers, and amongst the most beautiful men he alone possessed the fame of sheer beauty, it is evident that he was blest with what we may term a form truly divine. 7 I therefore in the first place felicitate him for his beauty, a thing which certainly is the most conspicuous of the blessings that can fall to man, which, while being most pleasing to gods and most pleasing to men, is yet fraught with least pain to its possessor and is easiest to recognize. For while the other blessings that a man may have might easily pass unnoticed, such as courage and temperance and wisdom, unless some deed should happen to reveal them, yet beauty cannot remain hidden. For it becomes manifest the moment its possessor appears; nay, one might say that it becomes manifest even (p381) sooner, so penetrating is the impression it makes on the senses. Furthermore, most men envy all other blessings and become hostile to their possessor, but beauty makes friends of those who perceive it and allows no one to become an enemy. 8 But if anyone says that I am uttering an encomium of beauty and not of the man himself, his criticism is unjust. To illustrate: it would be called a eulogy of a man if we should dwell upon his manly courage. Very well, then: when it is a matter of dispute as to whether a person possesses any given quality, then it is necessary to prove he does; but when he is known to possess it, we need only to praise the nature of the good trait which is admittedly his. For the eulogy of this will be at the same time also a eulogy of its possessor. And what is most admirable in Melancomas is that, with all his beauty of figure, he surpassed in manly courage. 9 Indeed, it seems to me that his soul vied with his body and strove to make herself the means of his winning a greater renown. He therefore, recognizing that, of all the activities conducive to courage, athletics is at once the most honourable and the most laborious, chose that. Indeed, for the soldier's career no opportunity existed, and the training also is less severe. And I for my part would venture to say that it is inferior also in that there is scope for courage alone in warfare, whereas athletics at one and the same time produce manliness, physical strength, and self-control.