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DION CHRYSOSTOME, Nestor (discours 57; traduction anglaise)

Paragraphes 5-9

  Paragraphes 5-9

[57,5] καθάπερ οὖν ὅταν ἰατρὸς βουλόμενος τεμεῖν τινα καῦσαι παρασχεῖν αὑτὸν πιεῖν φάρμακον ἀηδές, δειλὸν εἰδὼς τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀνόητον, ἑτέρων μνημονεύῃ τῶν ὑφ´ αὑτοῦ σωθέντων διὰ τὸ πεισθέντας ὑπομεῖναι τὴν θεραπείαν, οὐδείς φησιν ἀλαζονεύεσθαι τὸν ταῦτα λέγοντα· δοκεῖ μοι δικαίως ἂν μηδὲ Νέστωρ αἰτίαν ἔχειν ἀλαζονείας. (6) ἓν μὲν δὴ τοῦτο ὑπῆρχεν ὄφελος ἐκ τῶν λόγων· ἕτερον δέ· {καὶ} τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέα ἠπίστατο οὐκ ἄλλως ἁμαρτάνοντας δι´ ὕβριν· ὑβρίζειν δὲ ἡγεῖτο τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τότε μάλιστα σχεδόν, ἐπειδὰν καταφρονῶσι τῶν ἄλλων καὶ νομίζωσι πολὺ χείρους αὑτῶν, ἐπαιρόμενοι διὰ δόξαν δύναμιν, {} καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέα καὶ τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα ἐγίγνωσκε διὰ τοῦτο ἐπαιρομένους καὶ στασιάζοντας ὑπὸ μεγαλαυχίας ἑκάτερον. μὲν γὰρ ᾤετο, Πηλέως καὶ Θέτιδος υἱὸς ὢν καὶ τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων διαφέρων ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι, προσήκειν αὑτῷ μηδενὸς ἁπλῶς ὑπακούειν μηδὲ κρείττονα νομίζειν αὑτοῦ μηδένα· (7) τῷ δὲ Ἀγαμέμνονι τῆς ὕβρεως αἴτιον ὑπῆρχεν δύναμις τῆς βασιλείας καὶ τὸ μόνον ἄρχειν τῶν Ἑλλήνων πάντων. ὑπὸ δὴ τούτων ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς διεφθαρμένους καὶ μὴ δυναμένους ὁμονοεῖν ἀλλήλοις, ἀλλὰ τὰς ψυχὰς οἰδοῦντας, ὡς ὕστερόν φησιν Ἀχιλλεύς, ἀλλά μοι οἰδάνεται κραδίη {χόλῳἐβούλετο ταπεινῶσαι καὶ τοῦ φρονήματος, εἰ δύναιτο, καθελεῖν· ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ οἰδοῦντα νύξαντες πιέσαντες. διὰ τοῦτο ἐμέμνητο ἀνδρῶν ἐνδόξων καὶ δυνατῶν, ἔτι δὲ οἶμαι πρότερον γεγονότων, εἰδὼς ἐκείνοις μᾶλλον συνεπομένην τὴν δόξαν. (8) καὶ μέντοι γε οὐκ ἐπ´ αὐτοῖς ἐποιήσατο τίνα γνώμην ἕξουσι περὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἀλλ´ αὐτὸς ἀποφαίνεται ἄντικρυς ὡς πολὺ κρείττονας ἐκείνων ὄντας, εἰ δύναιντο ὀλίγον ὑφεῖναι τοῦ τύφου καὶ τῆς μανίας. ἆρα εἰκῇ δοκεῖ ὑμῖν Ὅμηρος περιθεῖναι τοὺς λόγους τούτους Νέστορι, ὅν φησι δεινότατον εἶναι ἀνθρώπων καὶ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ τῶν λόγων προσεικάζει τῇ φύσει τοῦ μέλιτος, τοῖς μὲν ὑγιαίνουσιν ἥδιστον καὶ γλυκύτατον ἁπάντων, τοῖς δὲ νοσοῦσι καὶ πυρέττουσιν, ὥς φασιν, ἀηδέστατον καὶ τὰ ἡλκωμένα καὶ πεπονθότα καθαίρειν καὶ δάκνειν πέφυκεν. (9) καὶ γὰρ τοῦ Νέστορος λόγος, τοῖς ἄλλοις γλυκὺς φαινόμενος, πικρὸς ἔδοξε τῷ Ἀχιλλεῖ καὶ τῷ Ἀγαμέμνονι, νοσοῦσι καὶ διεφθαρμένοις ὑπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς, ὥστε οὐκ ἐπείσθησαν αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν ἄνοιαν. οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ τοῦτο εἶπε μάτην Ὅμηρος, οὐδέ, ὥσπερ οἴονταί τινες, ἀπὸ τύχης. { δοκεῖ ὑμῖν τὰ παιδία, ὧν νέμεται τὸ στόμα καὶ διεφθαρμένον ἐστὶν ὑπὸ ἑλκῶν, οὐκ ἀγανακτεῖν καὶ βοᾶν, μέλιτος γευόμενα;} περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων ἐῶμεν. [57,5] Therefore, just as when a physician who wants a patient to submit to surgery or cautery or to the drinking of some unpleasant drug, knowing the patient to be cowardly and foolish, mentions others who have been saved by him because they willingly submitted to his treatment, no one says the man who makes these statements is bragging, so it seems to me that Nestor could not justly be accused of bragging either. (6) This, then, was one benefit resulting from his words. And here is another—Nestor knew that both Agamemnon and Achilles were misbehaving for no other reason than because of insolence ; and he believed that men are insolent most of all, one might say, when they despise the others and deem them far inferior to themselves, being puffed up through reputation or power, and he perceived that this was why Achilles and Agamemnon were puffed up and wrangling, each of them because of arrogance. For the one, as he saw, being a son of Peleus and Thetis and pre-eminent among the men of his day in fighting, believed that it befitted his dignity not to listen to anyone at all or to regard anyone as superior to himself ; (7) but in Agamemnon's case the cause of his arrogance was the power attached to his kingship and his being sole ruler of all the Greeks. Seeing, therefore, that they had been spoiled by these things and could not live at peace with one another, but that they were swollen in spirit—as later Achilles declares, "My heart with wrath doth swell" Nestor wished to humble them and, if possible, reduce their pride, just as persons reduce swellings by pricking or squeezing. This explains why he mentioned men of fame and power, and besides, I fancy, men of former times, knowing as he did that fame attaches rather to such men. (8) Moreover, he did not leave to his hearers to determine what opinion they should hold about the men, but instead he himself expressly declares that they were far superior to Agamemnon and Achilles, in the hope that they might abate somewhat their folly and madness. Do you think, I ask you, that Homer put these words into Nestor's mouth at random, the Nestor whom he declares to be most eloquent of men and whose power of eloquence he likens to the sweetness of honey, which is most pleasant and sweetest of all to those who are well, though to those who are ill and suffering from fever, so I hear, it is most unpleasant and has the natural power of cleansing and causing to smart parts which are festered and diseased ? (9) For instance, the speech of Nestor, though it appeared sweet to the others, seemed bitter to Achilles and Agamemnon, diseased as they were and corrupted by their rage, and as a result they did not obey him because of their folly. Therefore Homer did not say this at random either or, as some imagine, by chance.


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Dernière mise à jour : 20/12/2007