Lucian of Samosata, Muscae Encomium, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 12

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous

[12] There are very large flies, too, which most people call camp-flies, though some call them dog-flies. They have a very harsh buzz and.a very rapid flight. They are extremely long-lived, and endure the whole winter without food, usually hiding in the roof. Another surprising thing in them is that they are bisexual, like the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, who had two natures and double beauty. Though I still have a great deal to say, I will stop talking, for fear you may think that, as the saying goes, I am making an elephant out of a fly. ¹

Muscae Encomium. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

The Fly (English) (Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.)

Editions (1)

Μυίας Ἐγκώμιον Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.) — 12 focus

[12] γίγνονται δὲ καὶ μέγισταί τινες μυῖαι, ἃς στρατιώτιδας οἱ πολλοὶ καλοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ κύνας, τραχύταται τὸν βόμβον καὶ τὴν πτῆσιν ὠκύταται, αἵ γε καὶ μακροβιώταταί εἰσιν καὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος ὅλου ἄσιτοι διακαρτεροῦσιν ὑπεπτηχυῖαι τοῖς ὀρόφοις μάλιστα, ἐφʼ ὧν κἀκεῖνο θαυμάζειν ἄξιον, ὅτι ἀμφότερα, καὶ τὰ θηλειῶν καὶ τὰ ἀρρένων, δρῶσιν καὶ βαινόμεναι καὶ¹ βαίνοντες ἐν τῷ μέρει κατὰ τὸν Ἑρμοῦ καὶ Ἀφροδίτης παῖδα τὸν μικτὸν τὴν φύσιν καὶ διττὸν τὸ κάλλος. πολλὰ δʼ ἔτι ἔχων εἰπεῖν καταπαύσω τὸν λόγον, μὴ καὶ δόξω κατὰ τὴν παροιμίαν ἐλέφαντα ἐκ μυίας ποιεῖν.

Translations (1)

The Fly, an Appreciation Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata. Vol. 3. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 12 focus

[12] There are also flies of very large size, called generally soldierflies, or dog-flies; these have a hoarse buzz, a very rapid flight, and quite long lives; they last the winter through without food, mostly in sheltered nooks below the roof; the most remarkable ’ fact about these is that they are hermaphrodites.

But I must break off; not that my subject is exhausted; only that to exhaust such a subject is too like breaking a butterfly on the wheel.

Notes on the current edition

The Fly

1. Except through Lucian, nothing is known of this philosopher. Some have sought to identify him with one Albinus, about whom we have scarcely any information, and others have thought him a child of Lucian’s fancy. But it is quite possible that he really existed, and led, as Lucian says, a life of retirement.

Lucian of Samosata Muscae Encomium 12

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers