Texte grec :
| [33,10] ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ ὑφορώμενοι
καὶ δεδιότες τὸν δῆμον ὡς δεσπότην ἐθώπευον, ἠρέμα δάκνοντες
καὶ μετὰ γέλωτος, ὥσπερ αἱ τίτθαι τοῖς παιδίοις, ὅταν δέῃ τι
τῶν ἀηδεστέρων πιεῖν αὐτά, προσφέρουσι μέλιτι χρίσασαι τὴν κύλικα.
τοιγαροῦν ἔβλαπτον οὐχ ἧττον ἤπερ ὠφέλουν, ἀγερωχίας
καὶ σκωμμάτων καὶ βωμολοχίας ἀναπιμπλάντες τὴν πόλιν. ὁ δὲ
(11) φιλόσοφος ἤλεγχε καὶ ἐνουθέτει. καὶ μὴν ὅσῳ τὸ λοιδορεῖν
{καὶ} τὴν ἀβελτερίαν τὴν ἑκάστου καὶ τὴν πονηρίαν φανερὰν ποιεῖν
κρεῖττόν ἐστι τοῦ χαρίζεσθαι διὰ τῶν λόγων καὶ τοῖς ἐγκωμίοις
θρύπτειν τοὺς ἀκούοντας, οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐκεῖθεν εἴσεσθε. δύο γὰρ
ποιητῶν γεγονότων ἐξ ἅπαντος τοῦ αἰῶνος, οἷς οὐδένα τῶν ἄλλων
ξυμβάλλειν ἄξιον, Ὁμήρου τε καὶ Ἀρχιλόχου, τούτων Ὅμηρος μὲν
σχεδὸν πάντα ἐνεκωμίασε, καὶ θηρία καὶ φυτὰ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γῆν
καὶ ὅπλα καὶ ἵππους, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔσθ´ ὅτου μνησθεὶς χωρὶς ἐπαίνου
τε καὶ τιμῆς, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, παρῆλθεν. ὃν γοῦν μόνον ἐξ
ἁπάντων ἐβλασφήμησε Θερσίτην, καὶ τοῦτον λιγὺν εἶναί φησιν
(12) ἀγορητήν. Ἀρχίλοχος δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐναντίαν ἧκε, τὸ ψέγειν, ὁρῶν
οἶμαι τούτου μᾶλλον δεομένους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ πρῶτον
αὑτὸν ψέγει. τοιγαροῦν μόνος καὶ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν καὶ πρὶν ἢ
γενέσθαι τῆς μεγίστης ἔτυχε μαρτυρίας παρὰ τοῦ δαιμονίου. τὸν
μέν γε ἀποκτείναντα αὐτὸν ὁ Ἀπόλλων ἐξελαύνων ἐκ τοῦ νεὼ
Μουσῶν αὐτὸν ἀνεῖπε θεράποντα ἀνῃρηκέναι. καὶ τὸ δεύτερον,
ὡς ἀπελογεῖτο ἐν πολέμῳ λέγων ἀποκτεῖναι, πάλιν Μουσῶν θεράποντα
ἔφη τὸν Ἀρχίλοχον. τῷ πατρὶ δὲ αὐτοῦ χρωμένῳ πρὸ
(13) τῆς γενέσεως ἀθάνατόν οἱ παῖδα γενήσεσθαι προεῖπεν. ὥσθ´ ὁ
λοιδορεῖν ἱκανὸς καὶ καθάπτεσθαι καὶ φανερὰ τῷ λόγῳ ποιεῖν τὰ
ἁμαρτήματα δῆλον ὅτι κρείττων ἐστὶ καὶ προκέκριται τῶν ἐπαινούντων.
εἰ δ´ ἄρα ὑμεῖς ἐπαινούμενοι μᾶλλον ἥδεσθε, ἐπ´
ἄλλους ὑμῖν ἰτέον. ὅταν οὖν πρῶτον αὑτόν τινα ἴδητε κολακεύοντα
ἐν ἅπασιν οἷς ποιεῖ καὶ χαριζόμενον ἐν τροφαῖς, ἐν ἐσθῆσι, καὶ
περιιόντα ἀκόλαστον, τοῦτον οἴεσθε κολακεύσειν καὶ ὑμᾶς καὶ παρὰ
τούτου προσδοκᾶτε λόγον ἡδύν, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἔπαινον ὀνομάζετε, τρυφῶντα
(14) δὴ παρὰ τρυφῶντος. ὅταν δὲ αὐχμηρόν τινα καὶ συνεσταλμένον
ἴδητε καὶ μόνον βαδίζοντα, πρῶτον αὑτὸν ἐξετάζοντα καὶ
λοιδοροῦντα, μὴ ζητεῖτε παρὰ τοῦ τοιούτου μηδεμίαν θωπείαν
μηδὲ ἀπάτην, μηδὲ τὸν δεξιὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ προσηνῆ λόγον, ὃς δὴ
μάλιστα διατρίβει περὶ δήμους καὶ σατράπας καὶ τυράννους.
οὔτοι τοιοίδ´ εἰσὶν ὑποδρηστῆρες ἐκείνων,
ἀλλὰ νέοι, χλαίνας εὖ εἱμένοι ἠδὲ χιτῶνας,
αἰεὶ δὲ λιπαροὶ κεφαλὰς καὶ καλὰ πρόσωπα.
οἵδε μὲν γὰρ ὥσπερ ἐπίκωμοί τινες ἥκουσιν εἰς τὸν βίον αὐλούμενοι
καὶ ᾀδόμενοι καὶ μεθύοντες εἰς ἑορτήν τινα καὶ πανήγυριν
ἀσώτων εἰσβεβληκέναι νομίζοντες.
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Traduction française :
| [33,10] Those comic poets, you see, being distrustful and timid,
flattered the assembled multitude as one flatters a
master, tempering their mild snapping with a laugh,
just as nurses, whenever it is necessary for their
charges to drink something rather unpleasant, themselves
smear the cup with honey before they hold it
out to the children. So it happens that the comic
poets did no less harm than good, by infecting the city
with effrontery and gibes and ribald jests. On the
other hand, the philosopher censured and rebuked his
auditors.
(11) And, indeed, how much better it is to abuse people
and to hold up to the light each man's stupidity and
wickedness than to court favour by what is said and
by compliments debauch one's auditors, you will
discover best from what I am about to tell you.
For while there have been since the world began two
poets with whom no other poet deserves to be compared,
namely, Homer and Archilochus, one of them,
Homer, praised practically everything—animals,
plants, water, earth, armour, and horses ; in fact it
may be said that there is nothing which he failed to
mention with praise and honour. At any rate, there
is only one out of all the characters in his poems about
whom he said harsh things, namely, 'I'hersites, and
even Thersites is called a `clear-voiced speaker.'
But Archilochus went to the other extreme, toward
censure—seeing, I imagine, that men have greater
need of that—and first of all he censures himself.
That is why he alone, not only after his death, but
before his birth, obtained the highest tribute from the
deity. Certainly Apollo drove his slayer from the
temple, declaring that he had slain a servant of the
Muses. And again, when the man stated in self-defence
that he had slain him in war, once more
Apollo called Archilochus a servant of the Muses.
And when the father of Archilochus was consulting
the oracle prior to the birth of his son, Apollo prophesied
that he was destined to have a son who would
be immortal.
(13) So, you see, he who is good at rebuking and upbraiding,
and at revealing by his words the sins of
men, is evidently superior and preferred above those
who praise. If, then, it is praise that gives you more
delight, you must betake yourselves to other men
than me. Therefore, whenever you see someone
flattering himself first and foremost in everything he
does, and courting favour by his table and his dress,
and moving about in licentious fashion, you may be
sure that man will flatter you as well, and you may
expert from him sweet words, which you call praise-dainty
language from a dainty man. But whenever
you see someone who is unkempt and wears his garments
closely wrapped about him and has no companions
on his walks, a man who makes himself the
first target for examination and reproof, do not
expect from such a man any flattery or deception, or
that clever and seductive language which is most in
use in dealing with democracies and satraps and dictators.
"Not so are they who wait upon such men,
But rather youths with handsome cloaks and frocks,
Whose locks are ever sleek, whose faces fair.
Aye, for these men enter upon life as if they were
going to some revel, piping and singing and drinking
on the supposition that it is a kind of festival or
conclave of wastrels into which they have burst.
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