Τέτλαθι δή, κραδίη, καὶ κύντερον ἄλλο ποτ᾽ ἔτλης,
(“Bear it my heart: yea thou didst of yore endure things yet more shameful.”[120])
ἀνάσχου καὶ κυνὸς ληροῦντος ὀλίγον ἡμέρας [pg 074] μόριον, οὐ πρῶτον ἀκούεις τῶν θεῶν βλασφημουμένων, οὐχ οὕτω τὰ κοινὰ πράττομεν καλῶς, οὐχ οὕτω τῶν ἰδίων ἕνεκα σωφρονοῦμεν, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ εὐτυχεῖς [205] ἐσμεν, ὥστε τὰς ἀκοὰς καθαρὰς ἔχειν ἢ τὸ τελευταῖον γοῦν τὰ ὄμματα μὴ κεχράνθαι τοῖς παντοδαποῖς τουτουὶ τοῦ σιδηροῦ γένους ἀσεβήμασιν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὥσπερ ἐνδεεῖς ἡμᾶς τῶν τοιούτων κακῶν ἀνέπλησεν οὐκ εὐαγῶν ὁ κύων ῥημάτων τὸν ἄριστον τῶν θεῶν ὀνομάσας, ὡς μήποτε ὤφελε μήτ᾽ ἐκεῖνος εἰπεῖν μήτε ἡμεῖς ἀκοῦσαι, δεῦρο πειραθῶμεν αὐτὸν ἐφ᾽ ὑμῶν διδάξαι, [B] πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι τῷ κυνὶ λόγους μᾶλλον ἢ μύθους προσήκει γράφειν, εἶτα ὁποίας καὶ τίνας χρὴ ποιεῖσθαι τὰς διασκευὰς τῶν μύθων, εἴ τι ἄρα καὶ φιλοσοφία προσδεῖται τῆς μυθογραφίας, ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐλαβείας ὀλίγα διαλέξομαι· τοῦτο γάρ μοι καὶ τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς παρόδου γέγονεν αἴτιον καίπερ οὐκ ὄντι συγγραφικῷ καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ πλήθει λέγειν ὥσπερ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἐπαχθῶν καὶ σοφιστικῶν τὸν ἔμπροσθεν [C] χρόνον παραιτησαμένῳ. μικρὰ δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ μύθου καθάπερ τινὰ γενεαλογίαν ἴσως οὐκ ἀνάρμοστον ἐμοί τε φάναι ὑμῖν τε ἀκοῦσαι.
(Endure for the brief fraction of a day even a babbling Cynic! It is not the first time that thou hast had to hear the gods blasphemed! Our state is not so well governed, our private life is not so virtuous, in a word we are not so favoured by fortune that we can keep our ears pure or at any rate our eyes at least undefiled by the many and various impieties of this iron race. And now as though we had not enough of such vileness this Cynic fills our ears with his blasphemies, and has uttered the name of the highest of the gods in such wise as would he had never spoken nor I heard! But since he has done this, come, let me in your presence try to teach him this lesson; first that it is more becoming for a Cynic to write discourses than myths; secondly, what sort of adaptations of the myths he ought to make, if indeed philosophy really needs mythology at all; and finally I shall have a few words to say about reverence for the gods. For it is with this aim that I appear before you, I who have no talent for writing and who have hitherto avoided addressing the general public, as I have avoided all else that is tedious and sophistical. But perhaps it is not unsuitable for me to say and for you to hear a few words about myth in general as a sort of genealogy of that kind of writing.)
Τὴν μὲν οὖν ἀρχὴν ὁπόθεν ηὑρέθη καὶ ὅστις ὁ πρῶτος ἐπιχειρήσας τὸ ψεῦδος πιθανῶς συνθεῖναι πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ἢ ψυχαγωγίαν τῶν ἀκροωμώνων, οὐ μᾶλλον εὔροι τις ἂν ἢ εἴ τις ἐπιχειρήσειε τὸν πρῶτον πταρόντα ἢ χρεμψάμενον ἀναζητεῖν. εἰ δέ, [D] ὥσπερ ἱππεῖς ἐν Θράκῃ καὶ Θετταλίᾳ, [pg 076] τοξόται δὲ καὶ τὰ κουφότερα τῶν ὅπλων ἐν Ἰνδίᾳ καὶ Κρήτῃ καὶ Καρίᾳ ἀνεφάνη,[121] τῇ φύσει τῆς χώρας ἀκολουθούντων οἶμαι τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, οὕτω τις ὑπολαμβάνει καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων πραγμάτων, ἐν οἷς ἕκαστα τιμᾶται, μάλιστα παρὰ τούτων αὐτὰ καὶ πρῶτον ηὑρῆσθαι· τῶν ἀγελαίων ἔοικεν ἀνθρώπων εἶναι [206] τό γε ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ μύθος εὕρημα, καὶ διαμένει ἐξ ἐκείνου μέχρι καὶ νῦν παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς πολιτευόμενον τὸ πρᾶγμα ὥσπερ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀκροαμάτων, αὐλὸς καὶ κιθάρα, τέρψεως ἕνεκα καὶ ψυχαγωγίας. ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ[122] ὄρνιθες ἵπτασθαι καὶ νεῖν οἱ[123] ἰχθύες αἵ τε ἔλαφοι θεῖν ἐπειδὴ πεφύκασιν οὐδὲν τοῦ διδαχθῆναι προσδέονται, κἂν δήσῃ τις κἂν καθείρξῃ, πειρᾶται ὅμως χρῆσθαι τούτοις τοῖς μορίοις, πρὸς ἃ σύνοιδεν αὑτοῖς πεφυκόσι, ταυτὶ τὰ ζῷα, οὕτως οἶμαι καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων [B] γένος οὐκ ἄλλο τι τὴν ψυχὴν ἔχον ἢ λόγον καὶ ἐπιστήμην ὥσπερ ἐγκαθειργμένην, ὃ δὴ καὶ λέγουσιν οἱ σοφοὶ δέναμιν, ἐπὶ τὸ μανθάνειν τε[124] καὶ ζητεῖν καὶ πολυπραγμονεῖν, ὡς πρὸς οἰκειότατον ἑαυτῷ τῶν ἔργων, τρέπεται· καὶ ὅτῳ μὲν εὐμενὴς θεὸς ταχέως ἔλυσε τὰ δεσμὰ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν εἰς ἐνέργειαν ἤγαγε, τούτῳ πάρεστιν εὐθὺς ἐπιστήμη, τοῖς δεδεμένοις δὲ ἔτι, [C] καθάπερ οἶμαι Ἰξίων νεφέλῃ τινὶ[125] ἀντὶ τῆς θεοῦ λέγεται παραναπαύσασθαι, τούτοις ἀντ᾽ ἀληθοῦς ψευδὴς[126] ἐντέτηκε δόξα· γίνεται γὰρ [pg 078] ἐντεῦθεν αὐτοῖς[127] τὰ ὑπηνέμια καὶ τερατώδη ταυτὶ τῆς ἀληθοῦς ἐπιστήμης οἷον εἴδωλα ἄττα καὶ σκιαί· πράττουσι γοῦν πρὸ τῆς τῶν ἀληθῶν ἐπιστήμης τὰ ψεύδη καὶ διδάσκουσί γε μάλα προθύμως καὶ μανθάνουσιν ὥσπερ οἶμαι χρηστόν τι καὶ θαυμαστόν. εἰ δ᾽ ὅλως χρή τι καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν τοὺς μύθους τὸ πρῶτον [D] πλασάντων ἀπολογήσασθαι, δοκοῦσί μοι ταῖς τῶν παιδίων ψυχαῖς, ὥσπερ αἱ τίτθαι περὶ τὰς ὀδοντοφυïας κνησιῶσιν αἰτοῖς σκύτινα ἄττα προσαρτῶσι[128] ταῖν χεροῖν, ἵνα αὐτῶν παραμυθήσωνται τὸ πάθος, οὕτω δὲ καὶ οὗτοι τῷ ψυχαρίῳ πτεροφυοῦντι καὶ ποθοῦντι πλέον εἰδέναι τι, διδάσκεσθαι δὲ οὔπω τἀληθῆ δυναμένῳ ταῦτα ἐποχετεύειν, ὥσπερ ἄρδοντες ἄρουραν διψῶσαν, ἵνα δὴ οἶμαι αὐτῶν τὸν γαργαλισμὸν καὶ τὴν ὀδύνην παραμυθήσωνται.
(Now one could no more discover where myth was originally invented and who was the first to compose fiction in a plausible manner for the benefit or entertainment of his hearers, than if one were to try to find out who was the first man that sneezed or the first horse that neighed. But as cavalry arose in Thrace and Thessaly[129] and archers and the lighter sort of weapons in India, Crete and Caria—since the customs of the people were I suppose adapted to the nature of the country,—just so we may assume about other things as well, that where anything is highly prized by a nation it was first discovered by that nation rather than by any other. On this assumption then it seems likely that myth was originally the invention of men given to pastoral pursuits, and from that day to this the making of myths is still peculiarly cultivated by them, just as they first invented instruments of music, the flute and the lyre, for their pleasure and entertainment. For just as it is the nature of birds to fly and of fish to swim and of stags to run, and hence they need not be taught to do so; and even if one bind or imprison these animals they try none the less to use those special parts of themselves for the purpose for which they know they are naturally adapted; even so I think the human race whose soul is no other than reason and knowledge imprisoned so to speak in the body—the philosophers call it a potentiality—even so I say the human race inclines to learning, research and study, as of all tasks most congenial to it. And when a kindly god without delay looses a man's fetters and brings that potentiality into activity, then on the instant knowledge is his: whereas in those who are still imprisoned false opinion instead of true is implanted, just as, I think, Ixion is said to have embraced a sort of cloud instead of the goddess.[130] And hence they produce wind-eggs[131] and monstrous births, mere phantoms and shadows so to speak of true science. And thus instead of genuine science they profess false doctrines, and are very zealous in learning and teaching such doctrines, as though forsooth they were something useful and admirable. But if I am bound to say something in defence of those who originally invented myths, I think they wrote them for childish souls: and I liken them to nurses who hand toys to the hands of children when they are irritated by teething, in order to ease their suffering: so those mythologists wrote for the feeble soul whose wings are just beginning to sprout, and who, though still incapable of being taught the truth, is yearning for further knowledge, and they poured in a stream of myths like men who water a thirsty field, so as to soothe their irritation and pangs.[132])
[207] Τοῦ δὲ τοιούτου προβαίνοντος καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εὐδοκιμοῦντος, εἵλκυσαν ἐντεῦθεν οἱ ποιηταὶ τὸν αἶνον, ὃς τοῦ μύθου διαφέρει τῷ μὴ πρὸς παῖδας, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἄνδρας πεποιῆσθαι καὶ μὴ ψυχαγωγίαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ παραίνεσιν ἔχειν τινά. βούλεται γὰρ ἐπικρυπτόμενος παραινεῖν τε καὶ διδάσκειν, ὅταν ὁ λέγων τὸ φανερῶς εἰπεῖν εὐλαβῆται, [B] τὴν παρὰ τῶν ἀκουόντων ὑφορώμενος ἀπέχθειαν. οὕτω τοι καὶ Ἡσίοδος αὐτὸ φαίνεται πεποιηκώς· ὁ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτον Ἀρχίλοχος ὥσπερ ἥδυσμά τι περιτιθεὶς τῇ ποιήσει, μύθοις οὐκ ὀλιγάκις ἐχρήσατο ὁρῶν, ὡς εἰκός, τὴν μὲν ὑπόθεσιν, [pg 080] ἣν μετῄει, τῆς τοιαύτης ψυχαγωγίας ἐνδεῶς ἔχουσαν, σαφῶς δὲ ἐγνωκώς, ὅτι στερομένη μύθου ποίησις ἐποποιΐα μόνον ἐστίν, ἐστέρηται δέ, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τισ, ἑαυτῆς, οὐ γὰρ ἔτι λείπεται ποίησις, ἡδύσματα ταῦτα παρὰ τῆς ποιητικῆς Μούσης ἐδρέψατο, [C] καὶ παρέθηκέ γε αὐτοῦ τούτου χάριν, ὅπως μὴ σιλλογράφος τις, ἀλλὰ ποιητὴς νομισθείη.
(Then when the myth was gaining ground and coming into favour in Greece, poets developed from it the fable with a moral, which differs from the myth in that the latter is addressed to children and the former to men, and is designed not merely to entertain them but conveys moral exhortation besides. For the man who employs fable aims at moral exhortation and instruction, though he conceals his aim and takes care not to speak openly, for fear of alienating his hearers. Hesiod, for instance, seems to have written with this in view. And after him Archilochus often employed myths,[133] adorning and as it were seasoning his poetry with them, probably because he saw that his subject matter needed something of this sort to make it attractive, and he well knew that poetry without myth is merely versification[134] and lacks, one may say, its essential characteristic, and so ceases to be poetry at all. Therefore he culled these sweets from the Muse of Poetry and offered them to his readers, in order that he might not be ranked merely as a writer of satire but might be counted a poet.)
Ὁ δὲ δὴ τῶν μύθων Ὅμηρος ἢ Θουκυδίδης ἢ Πλάτων, ἢ ὅ, τι βούλει καλεῖν αὐτόν, Αἴσωπος ἦν ὁ Σάμιος, δοῦλος τὴν τύχην[135] μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν προαίρεσιν, οὐκ ἄφρων μὴν[136] οὐδὲ κατ᾽ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀνήρ. ᾧ γὰρ ὁ νόμος οὐ μετεδίδου παρρησίας, τούτῳ προσῆκον ἦν ἐσκιαγραφημένας τὰς συμβουλὰς καὶ πεποικιλμένας ἡδονῇ καὶ χάριτι παραφέρειν, ὥσπερ οἶμαι τῶν ἰατρῶν οἱ μὲν ἐλεύθεροι τὸ δέον ἐπιτάττουσιν, [D] ἐὰν δὲ ἅμα τις οἰκέτης γένηται τὴν τύχην καὶ τὴν τέχνην ἰατρός, πράγματα ἔχει κολακεύειν ἅμα καὶ θεραπεύειν τὸν δεσπότην ἀναγκαζόμενος. εἰ μὲν οὖν καὶ τῷ κυνὶ προσήκει ταύτης τῆς δουλείας, λεγέτω, γραφέτω, παραχωρείτω τῆς μυθολογίας αὐτῷ πᾶς ὁστισοῦν, εἰ δὲ μόνος εἶναί φησιν ἐλεύθεροσ, ἐπὶ τί χρήσεται τοῖς μύθοις, οὐκ οἶδα. πότερον ἵνα τὸ πικρὸν καὶ δάκνον τῆς συμβουλῆς ἡδονῇ καὶ χάριτι κεράσας [208] ἅμα τε ὀνήσῃ καὶ ἀποφύγῃ τὸ προσλαβεῖν τι παρὰ τοῦ ὀνιναμένου κακόν; ἀλλὰ τοῦτό ἐστι λίαν δουλοπρεπές. ἀλλ᾽ ἄμεινον ἄν τις διδαχθείη μὴ τὰ πράγματα ἀκούων αὐτὰ μηδὲ [pg 082] τὰ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ὀνόματα κατὰ τὸν κωμικὸν τὴν σκάφην σκάφην λέγοντα; ἀλλ᾽ ἀντὶ τοῦ μὲν δεῖνος τὸν Φαέθοντα τί[137] δέον ἐνομάσαι; [B] τί δὲ χραίνειν οὐκ εὐαγῶς τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν τοῦ βασιλέως Ἠλίου; τίς δὲ ὁ Πὰν καὶ τίς ὁ Ζεὺς τῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων ἀνθρώπων ἄξιος καλεῖσθαι, ἵν᾽ ἐκεῖθεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς μεταθῶμεν ἡμῶν τὰς διανοίας; καίτοι, εἰ καὶ τοῦτο οἷόν τε ἦν, ἄμεινον ἦν αὐτοὺς ἐνομάσαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. ἦ γὰρ οὐχ οὕτω κρεῖττον ἦν εἰπεῖν ἀνθρωπικὰ θεμένους ὀνόματα; μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ θεμένους, [C] ἤρκει γὰρ ὅσαπερ ἡμῖν οἱ γονεῖς ἔθεντο. ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μήτε μαθεῖν ἐστι ῥᾷον[138] διὰ τοῦ πλάσματος μήτε τῷ Κυνικῷ πρέπον πλάττειν τὰ τοιαῦτα, τοῦ χάριν οὐκ ἐφεισάμεθα τοῦ πολυτελοῦς ἀναλώματος, πρὸς δὲ δὴ καὶ ἐφθείραμεν τὸν χρόνον πλάττοντες καὶ συντιθέντες μυθάρια, εἶτα λογογραφοῦντες καὶ ἐκμανθάνοντες;
(But the Homer of myths, or their Thucydides, or Plato, or whatever we must call him, was Aesop of Samos, who was a slave by the accident of birth rather than by temperament, and he proved his sagacity by this very use of fable. For since the law did not allow him freedom of speech, he had no resource but to shadow forth his wise counsels and trick them out with charms and graces and so serve them up to his hearers. Just so, I think, physicians who are free-born men prescribe what is necessary, but when a man happens to be a slave by birth and a physician by profession, he is forced to take pains to flatter and cure his master at the same time. Now if our Cynic also is subject to this sort of slavery, let him recite myths, let him write them, and let everyone else under the sun leave to him the rôle of mythologist. But since he asserts that he alone is free, I do not know what need he has of myths. Does he need to temper the harshness and severity of his advice with sweetness and charm, so that he may at once benefit mankind and avoid being harmed by one whom he has benefited? Nay, that is too much like a slave. Moreover, would any man be better taught by not hearing facts as they really are, or called by their real names, like the comic poet who calls a spade a spade?[139] What need to speak of Phaethon instead of So-and-so? What need sacrilegiously to profane the title of King Helios? Who among men that walk here below[140] is worthy to be called Pan or Zeus, as though we should ascribe to those gods our human understanding? And yet if indeed this were possible it would have been better to give the men their own names. Would it not have been better to speak of them thus and to bestow on them human names, or rather not bestow, for those that our parents gave us were enough? Well then if it is neither easier to learn by means of fiction, nor appropriate for the Cynic to invent that sort of thing at all, why did we not spare that wasteful expense,[141] and moreover why did we waste our time in inventing and composing trivial myths and then making stories of them and learning them by heart?)