[2,10] Πολύ γε μᾶλλον, εἶπεν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, τὰ παρ´ Ὁμήρῳ γεωργικά. Καὶ ποῦ περὶ γεωργίας εἴρηκεν Ὅμηρος; ἤρετο ὁ Φίλιππος, ἢ τὰ ἐν τῇ ἀσπίδι μιμήματα λέγεις τῶν ἀρούντων καὶ θεριζόντων καὶ τρυγώντων; Ἥκιστά γε, εἶπεν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, ἀλλὰ ἐκεῖνα πολὺ μᾶλλον· οἱ δ´ ὥστ´ ἀμητῆρες ἐναντίοι ἀλλήλοισιν ὄγμον ἐλαύνωσιν ἀνδρὸς μάκαρος κατ´ ἄρουραν πυρῶν ἢ κριθῶν· τὰ δὲ δράγματα ταρφέα πίπτει· ὣς Τρῶες καὶ Ἀχαιοὶ ἐπ´ ἀλλήλοισι θορόντες δῄουν, οὐδ´ ἕτεροι μνώοντ´ ὀλοοῖο φόβοιο. (11) Ταῦτα μέντοι ποιῶν Ὅμηρος ἡττᾶτο ὑπὸ Ἡσιόδου, ὁ Φίλιππος εἶπεν· ἢ οὐκ ἀκήκοας τὸ ἐπίγραμμα τὸ ἐν Ἑλικῶνι ἐπὶ τοῦ τρίποδος· Ἡσίοδος Μούσαις Ἑλικωνίσι τόνδ´ ἀνέθηκεν ὕμνῳ νικήσας ἐν Χαλκίδι θεῖον Ὅμηρον; (12) Καὶ μάλα δικαίως, εἶπεν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, ἡττᾶτο· οὐ γὰρ ἐν βασιλεῦσιν ἠγωνίζετο, ἀλλ´ ἐν γεωργοῖς καὶ ἰδιώταις, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐν ἀνθρώποις φιληδόνοις καὶ μαλακοῖς. τοιγαροῦν ἠμύνατο τοὺς Εὐβοέας διὰ τῆς ποιήσεως Ὅμηρος. Πῶς; ἤρετο θαυμάσας ὁ Φίλιππος. Ὅτι μόνους αὐτοὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων περιέκειρεν αἴσχιστα, κομᾶν ὄπισθεν ἀφεὶς ὥσπερ οἱ νῦν τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἁπαλούς. (13) καὶ ὁ Φίλιππος γελάσας {λέγει}, Ὁρᾷς, ἦ δ´ ὃς, ὦ Ἀλέξανδρε, ὅτι δεῖ μὴ λυπεῖν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ποιητὰς μηδὲ τοὺς δεινοὺς συγγραφέας, ὡς κυρίους ὄντας ὅ,τι βούλονται περὶ ἡμῶν λέγειν. Οὐ πάντως, εἶπε, κυρίους. τῷ γοῦν Στησιχόρῳ ψευσαμένῳ κατὰ τῆς Ἑλένης οὐ συνήνεγκεν. ὁ μέντοι Ἡσίοδος, ὦ πάτερ, δοκεῖ μοι οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἀγνοεῖν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν ὅσον ἐλείπετο Ὁμήρου. (14) Πῶς λέγεις; Ὅτι ἐκείνου περὶ τῶν ἡρώων ποιήσαντος αὐτὸς ἐποίησε Γυναικῶν κατάλογον, καὶ τῷ ὄντι τὴν γυναικωνῖτιν ὕμνησε, παραχωρήσας Ὁμήρῳ τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐπαινέσαι. ἐκ τούτου δὲ ἤρετο ὁ Φίλιππος, Ἀλλὰ σύ, ὦ Ἀλέξανδρε, πότερον ἕλοιο ἂν Ἀγαμέμνων ἢ Ἀχιλλεὺς ἢ ἐκείνων τις γεγονέναι τῶν ἡρώων ἢ Ὅμηρος;

[2,10] "I much prefer what Homer says on farm-life," said Alexander. " And where," Philip asked, "has Homer anything to say about farming ? Or do you refer to the representations on the shield of men ploughing and gathering the grain and the grapes ? " "Not at all," said Alexander, " but rather to these well-known lines : 'As when two unes of reapers, face to face, In some rich landlord's field of barley or wheat Move on, and fast the severed handfuls fall, So, springing on each other, they of Troy And they of Argos smote each other down, And neither thought of ignominious flight.' "And yet, in spite of such lines as these," said Philip, "Homer was defeated by Hesiod in the contest. Or have you not heard of the inscription which is inscribed upon the tripod that stands on Mount Helicon ? Hesiod offered this gift to the Muses on Helicon's mountain When at Chalcis in song he had vanquished Homer, the godlike.' " (12) "And he richly deserved to be defeated," rejoined Alexander, " for he was not exhibiting his skill before kings, but before farmers and plain folk, or, rather, before men who were lovers of pleasure and effeminate. And that is why Homer used his poesy to avenge himself upon the Euboeans." " How so ? " asked Philip in wonder. " He singled them out among all the Greeks for a most unseemly haireut, for he makes them wear their hair in long locks flowing down their backs, as the poets of to-day do in describing effeminate boys." (13) Philip laughed and said, "You observe, Alexander, that one must not offend good poets or clever writers, since they have the power to say anything they wish about us." "Not absolute power," said he; "it was a sorry day for Stesichorus, at any rate, when he told the lies about Helen. As for Hesiod, it seems to me that he himself, father, was not unaware of how much inferior his powers were to Homer's." " How is that ? " "Because, while Homer wrote of heroes, he composed a Catalogue of Fair Women, and in reality made the women's quarters the subject of his song, yielding to Homer the eulogy of men." Philip next asked him : " But as for you, Alexander, would you like to have been Agamemnon or Achilles or any one of the heroes of those days, or Homer ?