HODOI ELEKTRONIKAI
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DION CHRYSOSTOME, Sur la royauté (discours 2; traduction anglaise)

Paragraphes 25-29

  Paragraphes 25-29

[2,25] ἔπη μὲν οὖν ποιεῖν, πάτερ, λόγους πεζοὺς συγγράφειν, ὁποίας σὺ τὰς ἐπιστολάς, ἀφ´ ὧν σφόδρα σέ φασιν εὐδοκιμεῖν, οὐ πάντως ἀναγκαῖον τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν, εἰ μή γε νέοις οὖσιν ἔτι καὶ σχολὴν ἄγουσιν, ὥσπερ καὶ σὲ λέγουσιν ἐν Θήβαις διαπονῆσαι τὰ περὶ τοὺς λόγους· (26) οὐδ´ αὖ φιλοσοφίας ἅπτεσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον, ἀπλάστως δὲ καὶ ἁπλῶς - - - ἐνδεικνύμενον αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἔργοις φιλάνθρωπον ἦθος καὶ πρᾷον καὶ δίκαιον, ἔτι δὲ ὑψηλὸν καὶ ἀνδρεῖον, καὶ μάλιστα δὴ χαίροντα εὐεργεσίαις, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἐγγυτάτω τῆς τῶν θεῶν φύσεως· τῶν γε μὴν λόγων ἡδέως ἀκούοντα τῶν ἐκ φιλοσοφίας, ὁπόταν καιρός, ἅτε οὐκ ἐναντίων φαινομένων, (27) ἀλλὰ συμφώνων τοῖς αὑτοῦ τρόποις· τέρπεσθαι δὲ ποιήσει καὶ προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν οὐχ ἁπάσῃ, τῇ δὲ καλλίστῃ καὶ μεγαλοπρεπεστάτῃ, {συμβουλεύσαιμ´ ἂν τῷ γενναίῳ καὶ βασιλικῷ τὴν ψυχήν}, οἵαν μόνην ἴσμεν τὴν Ὁμήρου καὶ τῶν Ἡσιόδου τὰ τοιαῦτα, καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλο τι λέγει χρηστόν. (28) οὐδὲ γὰρ μουσικήν, ἔφη, πᾶσαν μανθάνειν ἐθέλοιμ´ ἄν, ἀλλὰ κιθάρᾳ μόνον { λύρᾳ} χρῆσθαι πρὸς θεῶν ὕμνους καὶ θεραπείας, ἔτι δὲ οἶμαι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν τοὺς ἐπαίνους· οὐδέ γε ᾄδειν τὰ Σαπφοῦς Ἀνακρέοντος {ἐρωτικὰ μέλη} πρέπον ἂν εἴη τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν, ἀλλ´, εἴπερ ἄρα, τῶν Στησιχόρου μελῶν Πινδάρου, {ἐὰν τις ἀνάγκη}. (29) τυχὸν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἱκανὸς Ὅμηρος. γάρ, εἶπεν Φίλιππος, πρὸς κιθάραν { λύραν} συμφωνῆσαί τινά σοι δοκεῖ ἂν τῶν Ὁμήρου; καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος γοργὸν ἐμβλέψας ὥσπερ λέων, Ἐγὼ μέν, εἶπεν, πάτερ, οἶμαι πρέπειν πολλὰ τῶν Ὁμήρου ἐπῶν πρὸς σάλπιγγα ᾄδεσθαι, μὰ Δί´ οὐ τὴν ἀνακαλοῦσαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐποτρύνουσαν καὶ παρακελευομένην, οὐχ ὑπὸ γυναικείου χοροῦ λεγόμενα παρθένων, ἀλλ´ ὑπὸ φάλαγγος ἐνόπλου, πολὺ μᾶλλον τὰ Τυρταίου παρὰ τοῖς Λάκωσιν. [2,25] But to write epic poetry, or to compose pieces in prose like those letters of yours, father, which are said to have won you high repute, is not altogether essential for a king, except indeed when he is young and has leisure, as was the case with you when, as they say, you diligently cultivated rhetorical studies in Thebes. Nor, again, is it necessary that he study philosophy to the point of perfecting himself in it; he need only live simply and without affectation, to give proof by his very conduct of a character that is humane, gentle, just, lofty, and brave as well, and, above all, one that takes delight in bestowing benefits—a trait which approaches most nearly to the nature divine. He should, indeed, lend a willing ear to the teachings of philosophy whenever opportunity offers, inasmuch as these are manifestly not opposed to his own character but in accord with it; yet I should especially counsel the noble ruler of princely soul to make poetry his delight and to read it attentively—not all poetry, however, but only the most beautiful and majestic, such as we know Homer's alone to be, and of Hesiod's the portions akin to Homer's, and perhaps sundry edifying passages in other poets." (28) "And so, too, with music," continued Alexander ; "for I should not be willing to learn all there is in music, but only enough for playing the cithara or the lyre when I sing hymns in honour of the gods and worship them, and also, I suppose, in chanting the praises of brave men. It would surely not be becoming for kings to sing the odes of Sappho or Anacreon, whose theme is love ; but if they do sing odes, let it be some of those of Stesichorus or Pindar, if sing they must. But perhaps Homer is all one needs even to that end." "What ! " exclaimed Philip, "do you think that any of Homer's lines would sound well with the cithara or the lyre? " disagree as to the influence of Homer. Plato has a gond deal of fault to find with him. And Alexander, glaring at him fiercely like a lion, said : "For my part, father, I believe that many of Homer's lines would properly be sung to the trumpet —not, by heavens, when it sounds the retreat, but when it peals forth the signal for the charge, and sung by no chorus of women or maids, but by a phalanx under arms. They are much to be preferred to the songs of Tyrtaeus, which the Spartans use."


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Dernière mise à jour : 22/11/2007