[52,0] ΠΕΡΙ ΑΙΣΧΥΛΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΣΟΦΟΚΛΕΟΥΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΥΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ Η ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΦΙΛΟΚΤΗΤΟΥ ΤΟΞΩΝ. (52,1) Ἀναστὰς σχεδόν τι περὶ πρώτην ὥραν τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ διὰ τὴν ἀρρωστίαν τοῦ σώματος καὶ διὰ τὸν ἀέρα ψυχρότερον ὄντα διὰ τὴν ἕω καὶ μάλιστα μετοπώρῳ προσεοικότα καίτοι μεσοῦντος θέρους, ἐπεμελήθην ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ προσηυξάμην. ἔπειτα ἀνέβην ἐπὶ τὸ ζεῦγος καὶ περιῆλθον ἐν τῷ ἱπποδρόμῳ πολλούς τινας κύκλους, πρᾴως τε καὶ ἀλύπως ὡς οἷόν τε ὑπάγοντος τοῦ ζεύγους. καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα περιπατήσας ἀνεπαυσάμην μικρόν τινα χρόνον. ἔπειτα ἀλειψάμενος καὶ λουσάμενος καὶ μικρὸν ἐμφαγὼν ἐνέτυχον τραγῳδίαις τισίν. (52,2) σχεδὸν δὲ ἦσαν ἄκρων ἀνδρῶν, Αἰσχύλου καὶ Σοφοκλέους καὶ Εὐριπίδου, πάντων περὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπόθεσιν. ἦν γὰρ ἡ τῶν Φιλοκτήτου τόξων εἴτε κλοπὴ εἴτε ἁρπαγὴν δεῖ λέγειν· πλὴν ἀφαιρούμενός γε τῶν ὅπλων ἦν Φιλοκτήτης ὑπὸ τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς τὴν Τροίαν ἀναγόμενος, τὸ μὲν πλέον ἑκών, τὸ δέ τι καὶ πειθοῖ ἀναγκαίᾳ, ἐπειδὴ τῶν ὅπλων ἐστέρητο, ἃ τοῦτο μὲν βίον αὐτῷ παρεῖχεν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ, τοῦτο δὲ θάρσος ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ νόσῳ, ἅμα δὲ εὔκλειαν. (52,3) οὐκοῦν εὐωχούμην τῆς θέας καὶ ἐλογιζόμην πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν ὅτι τότε Ἀθήνησιν ὢν οὐχ οἷός τ´ ἂν ἦν μετασχεῖν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων ἀνταγωνιζομένων, ἀλλὰ Σοφοκλέους μὲν πρὸς Αἰσχύλον νέου πρὸς γέροντα, καὶ πρὸς Εὐριπίδην πρεσβυτέρου πρὸς νεώτερον ἀγωνιζομένου μετέσχον τινές· Εὐριπίδης δ´ ἀπελείφθη κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν Αἰσχύλου· καὶ ἅμα οὐ πολλάκις ἴσως ἢ οὐδέποτε τῷ αὐτῷ δράματι ἀντηγωνίσαντο. αὐτὸς δὲ ἐφαινόμην ἐμαυτῷ πάνυ τρυφᾶν καὶ τῆς ἀσθενείας παραμυθίαν καινὴν ἔχειν. (52,4) οὐκοῦν ἐχορήγουν ἐμαυτῷ πάνυ λαμπρῶς καὶ προσέχειν ἐπειρώμην, ὥσπερ δικαστὴς τῶν πρώτων τραγικῶν χορῶν. πλὴν ὀμόσας γε οὐκ ἂν ἐδυνάμην ἀποφήνασθαι οὐδέν, οὐδ´ ἐμοῦ γε ἕνεκεν οὐδεὶς ἂν ἡττήθη τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων. ἥ τε γὰρ τοῦ Αἰσχύλου μεγαλοφροσύνη καὶ τὸ ἀρχαῖον, ἔτι δὲ τὸ αὔθαδες τῆς διανοίας καὶ φράσεως, πρέποντα ἐφαίνετο τραγῳδίᾳ καὶ τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἤθεσι τῶν ἡρώων, οὐδὲν * ἐπιβεβουλευμένον οὐδὲ στωμύλον οὐδὲ ταπεινόν· (52,5) ἐπεί τοι καὶ τὸν Ὀδυσσέα εἰσῆγε δριμὺν καὶ δόλιον, ὡς ἐν τοῖς τότε, πολὺ δὲ ἀπέχοντα τῆς νῦν κακοηθείας, ὥστε τῷ ὄντι ἀρχαῖον ἂν δόξαι παρὰ τοὺς νῦν ἁπλοῦς εἶναι βουλομένους καὶ μεγαλόφρονας. καὶ οὐδέν γε ἀλλαττούσης τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς προσεδεήθη πρὸς τὸ μὴ γνωσθῆναι ὅστις ἐστὶν ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλοκτήτου, καθάπερ Ὅμηρος κἀκείνῳ δὴ ἑπόμενος Εὐριπίδης {ἐποίησεν}· ὥστε τυχὸν ἄν τις ἐγκαλέσαι τῶν οὐ φιλούντων τὸν ἄνδρα, ὅτι οὐδὲν αὐτῷ ἐμέλησεν ὅπως πιθανὸς ἔσται ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς οὐ γιγνωσκόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Φιλοκτήτου. (52,6) ἔχοι δ´ ἂν ἀπολογίαν, ὡς ἐγᾦμαι, πρὸς τὸ τοιοῦτον· ὁ μὲν γὰρ χρόνος τυχὸν οὐκ ἦν τοσοῦτος, ὥστε μὴ ἀνενεγκεῖν τὸν χαρακτῆρα, δέκα ἐτῶν διαγεγονότων, ἡ δὲ νόσος ἡ τοῦ Φιλοκτήτου καὶ κάκωσις καὶ τὸ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ βεβιωκέναι τὸν μεταξὺ χρόνον οὐκ ἀδύνατον τοῦτο ἐποίει. πολλοὶ γὰρ ἤδη, οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ ἀσθενείας, οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ δυστυχίας, ἔπαθον αὐτό. καὶ μὴν ὁ χορὸς αὐτῷ παραιτήσεως, ὥσπερ ὁ τοῦ Εὐριπίδου, οὐδὲν ἐδεήθη. ἄμφω γὰρ ἐκ τῶν Λημνίων ἐποίησαν τὸν χορόν. (52,7) ἀλλ´ ὁ μὲν Εὐριπίδης εὐθὺς ἀπολογουμένους πεποίηκε περὶ τῆς πρότερον ἀμελείας, ὅτι δὴ τοσούτων ἐτῶν οὔτε προσέλθοιεν πρὸς τὸν Φιλοκτήτην οὔτε βοηθήσειαν οὐδὲν αὐτῷ. ὁ δ´ Αἰσχύλος ἁπλῶς εἰσήγαγε τὸν χορόν, ὃ τῷ παντὶ τραγικώτερον καὶ ἁπλούστερον· τὸ δ´ ἕτερον πολιτικώτερον καὶ ἀκριβέστερον. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὲν ἐδύναντο πάσας διαφεύγειν τὰς ἀλογίας ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις, ἴσως ἂν εἶχε λόγον μηδὲ τοῦτο παραπέμψαι· νῦν δὲ πολλάκις ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ παραγιγνομένους ποιοῦσι τοὺς κήρυκας πλειόνων ἡμερῶν ὁδόν. (52,8) ἔπειτα οὐδὲ ἐξ ἅπαντος ἦν μήτε προσελθεῖν αὐτῷ μηδένα Λημνίων μήτε ἐπιμεληθῆναι μηδέν· δοκεῖ γάρ μοι οὐδ´ ἂν διεγένετο τὰ δέκα ἔτη μηδεμιᾶς τυγχάνων βοηθείας· ἀλλ´ εἰκὸς μὲν τυγχάνειν αὐτόν, σπανίως δὲ καὶ οὐδενὸς μεγάλου, καὶ μηδένα αἱρεῖσθαι οἰκίᾳ ὑποδέξασθαι καὶ νοσηλεύειν διὰ τὴν δυσχέρειαν τῆς νόσου. αὐτὸς γοῦν ὁ Εὐριπίδης τὸν Ἄκτορα εἰσάγει, ἕνα Λημνίων, ὡς γνώριμον τῷ Φιλοκτήτῃ προσιόντα καὶ πολλάκις συμβεβληκότα. (52,9) οὐ τοίνυν οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο δοκεῖ μοι δικαίως ἄν τις αἰτιάσασθαι, τὸ διηγεῖσθαι πρὸς τὸν χορὸν ὡς ἀγνοοῦντα τὰ περὶ τὴν ἀπόλειψιν τὴν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν καὶ τὰ καθόλου συμβαίνοντα αὐτῷ. οἱ γὰρ δυστυχοῦντες ἄνθρωποι πολλάκις εἰώθασι μεμνῆσθαι τῶν συμφορῶν καὶ τοῖς εἰδόσιν ἀκριβῶς καὶ μηδὲν δεομένοις ἀκούειν ἐνοχλοῦσιν ἀεὶ διηγούμενοι. καὶ μὴν ἡ ἀπάτη ἡ τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως πρὸς τὸν Φιλοκτήτην καὶ οἱ λόγοι, δι´ ὧν προσηγάγετο αὐτόν, οὐ μόνον εὐσχημονέστεροι, {καὶ} ἥρωι πρέποντες, ἀλλ´ οὐκ Εὐρυβάτου ἢ Παταικίωνος, ἀλλ´, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκοῦσι, καὶ πιθανώτεροι.

[52,0] The Fifty-second Discourse: On Aeschylus and Sophocles and Euripides or The Bow of Philoctetes. 1 Having risen about the first hour of the day, both on account of the feeble state of my health and also on account of the air, which was rather chilly because of the early hour and very much like autumn, though it was mid-summer, I made my toilet and performed my devotions. I next got into my carriage and made the round of the race- course several times, my team moving along as gently and comfortably as possible. After that I took a stroll and then rested a bit. Next, after a rub-down and bath and a light breakfast, I fell to reading certain tragedies. 2 These tragedies were the work of topmost artists, I may say, Aeschylus and Sophocles and Euripides, all dealing with the same theme, which was the theft — or should I say the seizure? — of the bow of Philoctetes. However that may be, Philoctetes was portrayed as being deprived of his weapons by Odysseus and as being carried off to Troy along with them, for the most part willingly, though in some measure also yielding to the persuasion of necessity, since he had been deprived of the weapons which furnished him with not only a living on his island, but courage in his sore affliction, and at the same time fame. (p341) 3 So I was feasting my eyes on the spectacle portrayed by these dramas and figuring to myself that, even if I had been in Athens in those days, I could not have witnessed such a contest as this of those distinguished poets. On the contrary, while there were some who did witness contests between the youthful Sophocles and the aged Aeschylus and some who saw the older Sophocles compete with Euripides, his junior, yet the career of Euripides fell quite outside the period of Aeschylus; and besides, probably the tragic poets seldom or never competed against one another with plays on the same theme. And so I was evidently having a rare treat and a novel solace for my illness. 4 Accordingly, I played choregus for myself in very brilliant style and tried to pay close attention, as if I were a judge passing judgement on the premier tragic choruses. Yet I could not on oath have produced a single reason why any one of those great poets could have been defeated. For both the nobility of character and the antique flavour of Aeschylus, as well as the ruggedness of his thought and diction, seemed suited to tragedy and to the old-time manners of the heroes, nor was there aught of premeditation or prating or humility in their bearing. 5 For example, even his Odysseus he brought upon the scene as a shrewd and crafty person, as men were in those days, yet far removed from the rascality of to-day, in consequence (p343) of which he might seem truly ancient as compared with those who to-day lay claim to simplicity and nobility of character. And again, Aeschylus had no need to add Athena for the purpose of transforming Odysseus so as not to be recognized by Philoctetes for the man he was, as Homer has handled the problem, and also Euripides in imitation of Homer. So possibly one of those who do not like Aeschylus might complain that he was not at all concerned to make his Odysseus convincing in the scene where he is not recognized by Philoctetes. 6 But in my opinion the poet would have a defence against such a criticism; for while the lapse of time was perhaps not sufficient to explain his not recalling the lineaments of Odysseus since only ten years had passed, yet the affliction and distress of Philoctetes and the lonely life he had led in the interval made this lapse of memory not impossible. For many in the past, either from illness or from misfortune, have had that experience. Furthermore, the chorus of Aeschylus had no need for special pleading, as did that of Euripides. 7 For both poets made their choruses to consist of Lemnians; yet, while Euripides has represented them as immediately apologizing for their former neglect, admitting that during so many years they had neither come near Philoctetes nor rendered him any aid, Aeschylus simply brought his chorus on the scene, a course which is altogether more in keeping with a tragedy and more natural, whereas the other course is more courteous and more strictly correct. Of course, if poets, were able to avoid all violations of logic in their tragedies, perhaps there might be reason for (p345) refusing to gloss over even this instance; but as the truth is, the poets often cause their heralds to complete in a single day a journey which calls for several days. 8 Again, it was quite impossible to conceive that not a single Lemnian had come near Philoctetes or given him any attention at all, for in my opinion he could not even have survived those ten years without receiving some aid; no, it is reasonable to suppose that he did get some aid, though but rarely and of no great importance, and, furthermore, that no one chose to take him into his house and give him medical attention because of the disgusting nature of his ailment. At any rate Euripides himself does bring upon the scene one Lemnian, Actor, who approaches Philoctetes as being already known to him and as having often met him. 9 Furthermore, I do not feel that one could justly find fault with Aeschylus for this either — that his hero narrates to the chorus, as if they were in ignorance, the details concerning his desertion by the Achaeans and his experiences in general. The reason is that the victims of misfortune are wont to recall their trials repeatedly, and by their constant rehearsing of details they bore those who know every detail already and have no need to be told. Then again, the deception which Odysseus practised upon Philoctetes and the arguments by which he won him over are not merely more becoming and suited to a hero — though not the words of a Eurybates or a Pataecion — but in my opinion they are even more plausible.