Texte grec :
| [33,40] εἰ δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἀκοῆς δέοι τεκμαίρεσθαι περὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων,
ὥσπερ Ὅμηρός φησι προσιόντα τὸν Ὀδυσσέα τῇ αὑτοῦ
οἰκίᾳ μὴ περιμεῖναι θεάσασθαι τοὺς μνηστῆρας ἑστιωμένους,
ἀλλ´ εὐθὺς εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὸν Εὔμαιον, ὡς αὐτὸν ἡ κιθάρα περιήνεγκε,
γιγνώσκειν {δὴ} ὅτι πολλοὶ ἐν αὐτῇ δαῖτα τίθενται·
καὶ πάλιν ἐκ τῆς νήσου τῶν Κυκλώπων ἀκούοντα τῶν τε προβάτων
(41) βληχωμένων καὶ αὐτῶν τῆς φωνῆς, ὡς ἂν οἶμαι νεμόντων, νοεῖν
ὅτι ποιμένων τινῶν ἐστιν ἡ χώρα, φέρε καὶ ὑμᾶς εἴ τις ἐκ τοῦ
φερομένου ἤχου πόρρωθεν εἰκάζοι, οἵους ἂν ἀνθρώπους ὑπολάβοι
εἶναι καὶ τί πράττειν; {οὐ γὰρ ἱκανοί ἐστε οὔτε βουκολεῖν οὔτε
ποιμαίνειν·} καὶ πότερον ὑμᾶς Ἀργείων ἀποίκους, ὡς λέγετε, φήσει
τις ἢ μᾶλλον ἐκείνων Ἀραδίων; καὶ πότερον Ἕλληνας ἢ Φοινίκων
τοὺς ἀσελγεστάτους; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι μᾶλλον προσήκειν
ἀνδρὶ σώφρονι ἐν τοιαύτῃ πόλει κηρὸν ἐπαλεῖψαι τοῖς ὠσὶν
ἢ εἰ τὰς Σειρῆνας παραπλέων ἔτυχεν. ὅπου μὲν γὰρ ὑπῆρχε θανάτου
κίνδυνος, ὅπου δὲ ἀσελγείας, ὕβρεως, τῆς ἐσχάτης διαφθορᾶς.
(42) καὶ πρόσεστιν οὐδεμία τέρψις οὐδ´ ἱστορία δήπου. πρότερον
μὲν οὖν ἡ παραίνεσις τῶν ἀμεινόνων ἐκράτει, νῦν δ´, ὡς
ἔοικε, τῶν χειρόνων. θαυμάσαι δ´ ἄν τις τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ζηλοῦν
αὐτὸ τοὺς πλείους ἐνθάδε καὶ συνηθέστερον ἀεὶ γίγνεσθαι προβαῖνον.
ὥσπερ Ἰωνική τις ἐκράτησεν ἁρμονία καὶ Δώριος καὶ
Φρύγιος ἄλλη καὶ Λύδιος· οὕτως νῦν ἡ τῶν Ἀραδίων κρατεῖ μουσική,
καὶ τὰ Φοινίκων ὑμῖν κρούματα ἀρέσκει, καὶ τὸν ῥυθμὸν
(43) τοῦτον ἐξαιρέτως ἠγαπήκατε, ὥσπερ ἕτεροι τὸν σπονδεῖον· ἢ καὶ
γένος τι πέφηνεν ἀνθρώπων ταῖς ῥισὶν εὔμουσον, ὥσπερ τοὺς κύκνους
φασὶ τοῖς πτεροῖς, ἔπειτα τῶν λιγυφώνων τρόπον ὀρνέων
τέρπουσιν ἀλλήλους ἔν τε ταῖς ὁδοῖς καὶ παρὰ τὰ ξυμπόσια, μηδὲν
δεόμενοι λύρας μηδὲ αὐλῶν—ἀρχαῖα δὴ ταῦτα καὶ σκληρᾶς ἔτι
καὶ ἀγροίκου τινὸς μουσικῆς ὄργανα—νῦν δὲ τρόπος ἄλλος ἀνθεῖ,
βαρβίτων κρείττων καὶ προσηνέστερος. οὐκοῦν μετὰ χρόνον, καὶ
χοροὺς ὑπὸ τῷ μέλει τούτῳ στησόμεθα· παίδων καὶ παρθένων
ἐπιμελῶς ἐκδιδάξαντες.
(44) ἀλλ´ ὅτι μὲν ἄχθεσθε ἀκούοντες σαφῶς οἶδα, καὶ προεῖπον
ὅτι τοὺς λόγους ἀποδέξεσθε οὐχ ἡδέως. ὑμεῖς δ´ ἴσως με περὶ
ἄστρων καὶ γῆς ἐδοκεῖτε διαλέξεσθαι. καὶ τινὲς μὲν ὑμῶν ὀργίζονται
καί φασί με ὑβρίζειν τὴν πόλιν, τοὺς δὲ ταῦτα ποιοῦντας
οὐκ αἰτιῶνται· τινὲς δὲ ἴσως καταγελῶσιν, εἰ περὶ μηδενὸς κρείττονος
εὗρον εἰπεῖν· ἐγὼ δὲ ὁρῶ καὶ τοὺς ἰατροὺς ἔσθ´ ὅτε ἁπτομένους
ὧν οὐκ ἂν ἤθελον, οὐχὶ τῶν καλλίστων τοῦ σώματος, καὶ
πολλοὺς οἶδα τῶν θεραπευομένων ἀγανακτοῦντας, ὅταν ἅπτηται
τοῦ πεπονθότος. ὁ δὲ πολλάκις ἀμύττει τοῦτο καὶ τέμνει βοῶντος.
οὔκουν ἀνήσω περὶ τούτου λέγων, πρὶν ἂν σφόδρα δηχθῆτε.
καίτοι πάνυ ἀσθενοῦς φαρμάκου τυγχάνετε τοῦ λόγου τούτου καὶ
πολὺ ἐλάττονος ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν.
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Traduction française :
| [33,40] And suppose
one had to guess from what was heard who made the
sound, as Homer says about Odysseus when he
approached his own home, that he did not have to
wait to see the suitors at their feast but straightway
said to Eumaeus, as the note of the harp smote his
ear, that he
"Knew well that many were feasting in his hall" ;
and again, when from the island of the Cyclopes he
heard both the bleating of sheep and the voices of
men (as he would, methinks, if they were pasturing
their sheep), that he perceived that it was the country
of shepherds —well then, suppose that a man were
to judge you too by the sound that came to him from
a distance, what kind of men would he guess you were
and what your occupation? For you haven't the
capacity for tending either cattle or sheep ! And
would any one call you colonists from Argos, as you
claim to be, or more likely colonists rather of those
abominable Aradians ? Would he call you Greeks,
or the most licentious of Phoenicians ?
I believe it is more appropriate for a man of
sense to plug his ears with wax in a city like yours
than if he chanced to be sailing past the Sirens.
For there one faced the risk of death, but here it is
licentiousness, insolence, the most extreme corruption
that threatens. And here we find no real enjoyment
and no love of learning either, I imagine. At any
rate in days gone by it was the counsel of the better
citizens that had its way, whereas now, it seems, it is
the counsel of the worse. And one might wonder why
the majority here in Tarsus follow that baser counsel
so eagerly, and why that tendency is constantly
growing more general as time goes on. Just as
formerly an Ionian mode became dominant in music,
and a Dorian, and then a Phrygian also, and a Lydian,
so now the Aradian mode is dominant and now it is
Phoenician airs that suit your fancy and the Phoenician
rhythm that you admire most, just as some
others do the spondaic. Or can it be that a race of
men has been created with the gift of music in their
noses (as swans are said to have the gift of music in
their wings ), so that like shrill-voiced birds these
men delight one another in the streets and at symposia
without any need of lyre and pipes ? No doubt
the lyre and pipes are antiquated and, furthermore,
instruments that produce a harsh and rustic kind of
music. Ah well, another style now is flourishing,
superior to lyres and more agreeable. Therefore,
in course of time, we shall even institute choruses to
accompany that variety of tune, choruses of boys and
girls, most carefully instructed.
(44) Well, I understand perfectly that you are vexed
with me for what I have been saying, and indeed I
told you beforehand that you would not receive my
words with any pleasure. However, you may have
supposed that I was going to discourse on astronomy
and geology. And though some of you are angry
and claim that I am insulting your city, still they do
not blame those who are guilty of the things I
mention ; on the other hand, others may be laughing
at me because I could find nothing better to talk
about. However, I find that physicians too sometimes
handle things they would rather not, parts of the
body that are not the most beautiful, and many of
their patients, I know, are irritated when the
physician touches the sore spot. But he often scarifies
and lances it despite the outcry. I, therefore,
shall not cease to talk upon this theme until I make
you smart indeed. And yet, after ail, it is a very
mild medicine you are getting in this speech of mine,
much less severe than your case calls for.
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