Plutarch, De Pythiae oraculis, ed. William W. Goodwin, 1

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[1]

BASILOCLES.

You have spun out the time, Philinus, till it is late in the evening, in giving the strangers a full sight of all the consecrated rarities; so that I am quite tired with waiting longer for your society.

PHILINUS.

Therefore we walked slowly along, talking and discoursing, O Basilocles, sowing and reaping by the way such sharp and hot disputes as offered themselves, which sprung up anew and grew about us as we walked, like the armed men from the Dragon’s teeth of Cadmus.

BASILOCLES.

Shall we then call some of those that were present; or wilt thou be so kind as to tell us what were the discourses and who were the disputants?

PHILINUS.

That, Basilocles, it must be my business to do. For thou wilt hardly meet with any one else in the city able to serve thee; for we saw most of the rest ascending with the stranger up to the Corycian cave and to Lycorea.

BASILOCLES.

This same stranger is not only covetous of seeing what may be seen, but wonderfully civil and genteel.

PHILINUS.

He is besides a great lover of science, and studious to learn. But these are not the only exercises which are to be admired in him. He is a person modest, yet facetious, smart and prudent in dispute, void of all passion and contumacies in his answers; in short, you will say of him at first sight that he is the son of a virtuous father. For dost thou not know Diogenianus, a most excellent person?

BASILOCLES.

I have not seen him, Philinus, but many report several things of the young gentleman, much like what you say. But, pray now, what was the beginning of these discourses? Upon what occasion did they arise?

De Pythiae oraculis. Plutarch. ed. William W. Goodwin. Boston. 1874.

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Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Wherefore the Pythian Priestess now Ceases to Deliver her Oracles in Verse (English) (Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals, Vol. III. Goodwin, William W., editor; Philips, John, translator. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874.)

Editions (1)

Περὶ τοῦ μὴ χρᾶν ἔμμετρα νῦν τὴν Πυθίαν Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol II. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1891.) — 1 focus

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ΒΑΣΙΛΟΚΛΗΣ.

ἑσπέραν ἐποιήσατε βαθεῖαν, 394e ὦ Φιλῖνε, διὰ τῶν ἀναθημάτων παραπέμποντες τὸν ξένον· ἐγὼ γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἀναμένων ἀπηγόρευσα.

ΦΙΛΙΝΟΣ.

10 βραδέως γὰρ ὡδεύομεν, ὦ Βασιλόκλεις, σπείροντες λόγους καὶ θερίζοντες εὐθὺς μετὰ μάχης ὑπούλους καὶ πολεμικούς, ὥσπερ οἱ Σπαρτοί, βλαστάνοντας ἡμῖν καὶ ὑποφυομένους κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν.

ΒΑΣ.

. ἕετερον οὖν τινα δεήσει παρακαλεῖν τῶν 15 394f παραγεγονότων, ἢ σὺ βούλει χαριζόμενος ἡμῖν διελθεῖν¹ τίνες ἦσαν οἱ λόγοι καὶ τίνες οἱ λέγοντες;

ΦΙΛ.

ἐεμόν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὦ Βασιλόκλεις, τὸ ἔργον. τῶν γὰρ ἄλλων οὐδενὶ ῥᾳδίως ἂν ἐντύχοις κατὰ πόλιν· τοὺς γὰρ πλείστους ἑώρων αὖθις εἰς τὸ Κωρύκιον τῷ ξένῳ καὶ τὴν Λυκουρίαν συναναβαίνοντας.

ΒΑΣ.

ἦ φιλοθεάμων τις ἡμῖν καὶ περιττῶς φιλήκοός² ἐστιν ὁ ξένος. 5

ΦΙΛ.

φιλόλογός γε³ καὶ φιλομαθής ἐστι μᾶλλον. οὐ μὴν ταῦτα μάλιστα θαυμάζειν ἄξιον, ἀλλὰ πραότης 395a τε πολλὴν χάριν ἔχουσα, καὶ τὸ⁴ μάχιμον καὶ διαπορητικὸν ὑπὸ συνέσεως, οὔτε δύσκολον οὔτε ἀντίτυπον πρὸς τὰς ἀποκρίσεις· ὥστε καὶ βραχὺ 10 συγγενόμενον εὐθὺς εἰπεῖν τέκος ἀγαθοῦ πατρός. οἶσθα γὰρ Διογενιανὸν ἀνδρῶν ἄριστον.

ΒΑΣ.

αὐτὸς μὲν οὐκ εἶδον, ὦ Φιλῖνε, πολλοῖς δʼ ἐντετύχηκα καὶ τὸν λόγον καὶ τὸ ἦθος τάνδρὸς ἰσχυρῶς ἀποδεχομένοις, ὅμοια δὲ τούτοις ἕτερα 15 περὶ τοῦ νεανίσκου λέγουσιν. ἀλλὰ τίνʼ ἀρχὴν⁵ ἔσχον οἱ λόγοι καὶ πρόφασιν;

Translations (1)

The Oracle at Delphi no Longer Given in Verse Perseus (Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. V. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1936 (printing).) — 1 focus

[1]

(The persons who take part in the dialogue are Basilocles and Philinus, who serve to introduce the later speakers; Diogenianus, Theon, Sarapion, Boethus, as well as Philinus himself and some professional guides.)

BASILOCLES.

You people have kept it up till well into the evening, Philinus, escorting the foreign visitor around among the statues and votive offerings. For my part, I had almost given up waiting for you.

PHILINUS.

The fact is, Basilocles, that wre went slowly, sowing words, and reaping them straightway with strife, like the men sprung from the Dragon’s teeth, words with meanings behind them of the contentious sort, which sprang up and flourished along our way.

BASILOCLES.

Will it be necessary to call in someone else of those who were with you; or are you willing, as a favour, to relate in full what your conversation was and who took part in it?

PHILINUS.

It looks, Basilocles, as if I shall have that to do. In fact, it would not be easy for you to find anyone of the others in the town, for I saw most of them once more on their way up to the Cory ei an cave and Lycoreia¹ with the foreign visitor.

BASILOCLES.

Our visitor is certainly eager to see the sights, and an unusually eager listener.

PHILINUS.

But even more is he a scholar and a student. However, it is not this that most deserves our admiration, but a winning gentleness, and his willingness to argue and to raise questions, which comes from his intelligence, and shows no dissatisfaction nor contrariety with the answers. So, after being with him but a short time, one would say, O child of a goodly father!² You surely know Diogenianus, one of the best of men.

BASILOCLES.

I never saw him myself, Philinus, but I have met many persons who expressed a strong approval of the man’s words and character, and who had other compliments of the same nature to say of the young man. But, my friend, what was the beginning and occasion of your conversation?

Plutarch De Pythiae oraculis 1

ed. William W. Goodwin

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BASILOCLES.

PHILINUS.

BASILOCLES.

PHILINUS.

BASILOCLES.

PHILINUS.

BASILOCLES.

Current edition Perseus

ΒΑΣΙΛΟΚΛΗΣ.

ΦΙΛΙΝΟΣ.

ΒΑΣ.

ΦΙΛ.

ΒΑΣ.

ΦΙΛ.

ΒΑΣ.

(The persons who take part in the dialogue are Basilocles and Philinus, who serve to introduce the later speakers; Diogenianus, Theon, Sarapion, Boethus, as well as Philinus himself and some professional guides.)

BASILOCLES.

PHILINUS.

BASILOCLES.

PHILINUS.

BASILOCLES.

PHILINUS.

BASILOCLES.

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