Plutarch, Demetrius, ed. Bernadotte Perrin, 45

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[1] οὕτω δὲ τοῦ Δημητρίου τῶν πραγμάτων ἐκπεσόντος καὶ καταφυγόντος εἰς Κασάνδρειαν, ἡ γυνὴ Φίλα περιπαθὴς γενομένη προσιδεῖν μὲν οὐχ ὑπέμεινεν αὖθις ἰδιώτην καὶ φυγάδα τὸν τλημονέστατον βασιλέων Δημήτριον, ἀπειπαμένη δὲ πᾶσαν ἐλπίδα καὶ μισήσασα τὴν τύχην αὐτοῦ βεβαιοτέραν ἐν τοῖς κακοῖς οὖσαν ἢ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς, πιοῦσα φάρμακον ἀπέθανε. Δημήτριος δὲ ἔτι τῶν λοιπῶν ναυαγίων ἔχεσθαι διανοηθεὶς ἀπῆρεν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖ στρατηγοὺς καὶ φίλους συνῆγεν.

[2]
ἣν οὖν ὁ Σοφοκλέους Μενέλαος εἰκόνα ταῖς αὑτοῦ τύχαις παρατίθησιν,

ἀλλʼ οὑμὸς ἀεὶ πότμος ἐν πυκνῷ θεοῦ

τροχῷ κυκλεῖται καὶ μεταλλάσσει φύσιν,

ὥσπερ σελήνης δʼ ὄψις εὐφρόνας¹ δύο

στῆναι δύναιτʼ ἂν οὔποτʼ ἐν μορφῇ μιᾷ,

ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἀδήλου πρῶτον ἔρχεται νέα

πρόσωπα καλλύνουσα καὶ πληρουμένη,

χὥτανπερ αὑτῆς εὐγενεστάτη φανῇ,

πάλιν διαρρεῖ κεἰς τὸ μηδὲν ἔρχεται,

[3] ταύτῃ μᾶλλον ἄν τις ἀπεικάσαι τὰ Δημητρίου πράγματα καὶ τὰς περὶ αὐτὸν αὐξήσεις καὶ φθίσεις καὶ ἀναπληρώσεις καὶ ταπεινότητας, οὗ γε καὶ τότε παντάπασιν ἀπολείπειν καὶ κατασβέννυσθαι δοκοῦντος ἀνέλαμπεν αὖθις ἡ ἀρχή, καὶ δυνάμεις τινὲς ἐπιρρέουσαι κατὰ μικρὸν ἀνεπλήρουν τὴν ἐλπίδα. καὶ τό γε² πρῶτον ἰδιώτης καὶ τῶν βασιλικῶν κοσμίων ἔρημος ἐπεφοίτα ταῖς πόλεσι, καί τις αὐτὸν ἐν Θήβαις τοιοῦτον θεασάμενος ἐχρήσατο τοῖς Εὐριπίδου στίχοις οὐκ ἀηδῶς·

μορφὴν ἀμείψας ἐκ θεοῦ βροτησίαν

πάρεστι Δίρκης νάματʼ Ἰσμηνοῦ θʼ ὕδωρ.

Demetrius. Plutarch. ed. Bernadotte Perrin. Medford, MA. Perseus 4.0.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Tufts University.

Current edition Perseus

Δημήτριος (Greek) (Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. IX. Perrin, Bernadotte, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1920.)

Translations (1)

Demetrius Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. IX. Perrin, Bernadotte, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1920.) — 45 focus

[1] When Demetrius thus lost his power and fled for refuge to Cassandreia, his wife Phila was full of grief and could not endure to see her husband, that most afflicted of kings, once more in private station and in exile; she gave up all hope, and in hatred of his fortune, which was more secure in adversity than in prosperity, she drank poison and died. But Demetrius, determined to cling still to what was left of his wrecked fortunes, went off to Greece, and tried to assemble his friends and generals who were there.

[2]
The Menelaüs of Sophocles¹ applies this simile to his own fortunes:—

But my fate on the swiftly turning wheel of God

Goes whirling round forever and ever changes shape,

Just as the moon’s appearance for two kindly nights

Could never be identical and show no change,

But out of darkness first she comes forth young and new,

With face that ever grows more beautiful and full,

And when she reaches largest and most generous phase,

Again she vanisheth away and comes to naught.

[3] This simile might be better used of the fortunes of Demetrius, now waxing and now waning, now full-orbed and now diminished, since even at this time, when his power seemed to fail altogether and suffer extinction, it shot forth new rays of light, and sundry accessions of strength little by little filled out the measure of his hopes. At first he went about visiting the cities in the garb of a private man and without the insignia of a king, and one who saw him thus at Thebes applied to him, not inaptly, the verses of Euripides²:—

Exchanging now the form of god for that of man,

He visits Dirce’s rivulets and Ismenus’ flood.

Notes on the current edition

Demetrius

1. εὐφρόνας Sintenis with Nauck, after Brunck; Coraës and Bekker retain the εὐφρόναις of the MSS.

2. τό γε Sintenis: Coraës and Bekker retain the τότε of the MSS.

Plutarch Demetrius 45

ed. Bernadotte Perrin

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