1. Cicero, De Oratore, 1.17, 3.127 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 1.17. Est enim et scientia comprehendenda rerum plurimarum, sine qua verborum volubilitas iis atque inridenda est, et ipsa oratio conformanda non solum electione, sed etiam constructione verborum, et omnes animorum motus, quos hominum generi rerum natura tribuit, penitus pernoscendi, quod omnis vis ratioque dicendi in eorum, qui audiunt, mentibus aut sedandis aut excitandis expromenda est; accedat eodem oportet lepos quidam facetiaeque et eruditio libero digna celeritasque et brevitas et respondendi et lacessendi subtili venustate atque urbanitate coniuncta; tenenda praeterea est omnis antiquitas exemplorumque vis, neque legum ac iuris civilis scientia neglegenda est. 3.127. ex quibus Elius Hippias, cum Olympiam venisset maxima illa quinquennali celebritate ludorum, gloriatus est cuncta paene audiente Graecia nihil esse ulla in arte rerum omnium quod ipse nesciret; nec solum has artis, quibus liberales doctrinae atque ingenuae continerentur, geometriam, musicam, litterarum cognitionem et poetarum atque illa, quae de naturis rerum, quae de hominum moribus, quae de rebus publicis dicerentur, se tenere sed anulum, quem haberet, pallium, quo amictus, soccos, quibus indutus esset, se sua manu confecisse. | |
|
2. Lucian, The Ignorant Book-Collector, 19 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
3. Lucian, Apology, 15 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
4. Lucian, The Double Indictment, 34 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 34. Her. Now, Syrian: what do you say to that?Syrian. Gentlemen of the jury, I am surprised. Nothing could be more unexpected than the charge Dialogue has brought against me. When I first took him in hand, he was regarded by the world at large as one whose interminable discussions had soured his temper and exhausted his vitality. His labours entitled him to respect, but he had none of the attractive qualities that could secure him popularity. My first step was to accustom him to walk upon the common ground like the rest of mankind; my next, to make him presentable, by giving him a good bath and teaching him to smile. Finally, I assigned him Comedy as his yokefellow, thus gaining him the confidence of his hearers, who until then would as soon have thought of picking up a hedgehog as of venturing into the thorny presence of Dialogue.But I know what the grievance is: he wants me to sit and discourse subtle nothings with him about the immortality of the soul, and the exact number of pints of pure homogeneous essence that went to the making of the universe, and the claims of rhetoric to be called a shadow of a fraction of statecraft, or a fourth part of flattery. He takes a curious pleasure in refinements of this kind; it tickles his vanity most deliciously to be told that not every man can see so far into the ideal as he. Evidently he expects me to conform to his taste in this respect; he is still hankering after those lost wings; his eyes are turned upwards; he cannot see the things that lie before his feet. I think there is nothing else he can complain of. He cannot say that I, who pass for a barbarian, have torn off his Greek dress, and replaced it with one like my own: that would have been another matter; to deprive him of his native garb were indeed a crime.Gentlemen, I have made my defence, as far as in me lies: I trust that your present verdict will confirm the former one.Her. Well I never! All ten are for you again. Only one dissentient, and he the same one as before. True to his envious principles, he must ever give his vote against his betters. The jurors may now leave the court. The remaining cases will come on tomorrow. |
|
5. Lucian, Salaried Posts In Great Houses, 27, 24 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
6. Lucian, The Syrian Goddess, 1 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 1. There is in Syria a city not far from the river Euphrates: it is called “the Sacred City,” and is sacred to the Assyrian Hera. As far as I can judge this name was not conferred upon the city when it was first settled, but originally it bore another name. In course of time the great sacrifices were held therein, and then this title was bestowed upon it. I will speak of this city, and of what it contains. I will speak also of the laws which govern its holy rites, of its popular assemblies and of the sacrifices offered by its citizens. I will speak also of all the traditions attaching to the founders of this holy place: and of the manner of the founding of its temple. I write as an Assyrian born who have witnessed with mine own eyes some of the facts which I am about to narrate: some, again, I learnt from the priests: they occurred before my time, but I narrate them as they were told to me. |
|
7. Lucian, Parliament of The Gods, 9 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
8. Lucian, Hercules, 4 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 4. For a long time I stood staring at this in amazement: I knew not what to make of it, and was beginning to feel somewhat nettled, when I was addressed in admirable Greek by a Gaul who stood at my side, and who besides possessing a scholarly acquaintance with the Gallic mythology, proved to be not unfamiliar with our own. ‘Sir,’ he said, ‘I see this picture puzzles you: let me solve the riddle. We Gauls connect eloquence not with Hermes, as you do, but with the mightier Heracles. Nor need it surprise you to see him represented as an old man. It is the prerogative of eloquence, that it reaches perfection in old age; at least if we may believe your poets, who tell us thatYouth is the sport of every random gust,whereas old ageHath that to say that passes youthful wit.Thus we find that from Nestor’s lips honey is distilled; and that the words of the Trojan counsellors are compared to the lily, which, if I have not forgotten my Greek, is the name of a flower. |
|
9. Lucian, The Dead Come To Life Or The Fisherman, 19 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
10. Lucian, The Scythian, Or The Consul, 9 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
11. Philostratus The Athenian, Lives of The Sophists, 626 (2nd cent. CE - missingth cent. CE)
|
