Lucian of Samosata, De Domo, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 20

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[20] If you wish, I will produce you a witness in the person of a sage, who will testify on the spot that what one sees is far more effective than what one hears. Crier, summon in person Herodotus, son ‘of Lyxus, of Halicarnassus. Since he has been so kind as to comply, let him take the stand and give his testimony. Suffer him to speak to you in Ionic, to which he is accustomed. “'Master Point o’ View telleth ye true herein. Believe whatso he sayeth to this matter, esteeming sight over hearing, for in sooth ears be less trusty than eyes.’ ¹ “Do you hear what the witness says, that he gives the palm to sight? With reason, for words are winged and go flying off the instant they have left the lips, while the beauty of things seen is always present and lasting and entices the spectator, will he, nill he.

De Domo. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

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

Editions (1)

Περὶ τοῦ Οἴκου Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.) — 20 focus

[20] καὶ ἔγωγε, εἰ βούλεσθε, μάρτυρα ὑμῖν παραστήσομαι σοφὸν ἄνδρα, ὃς αὐτίκα μοι μαρτυρήσει ὡς πολὺ ἐπικρατέστερά ἐστι τῶν ἀκουομένων τὰ ὁρώμενα. καί μοι σὺ ἤδη ὁ κῆρυξ προσκάλει αὐτὸν Ἡρόδοτον Λύξου Ἁλικαρνασόθεν· κἀπειδὴ καλῶς ποιῶν ὑπήκουσε, μαρτυρείτω παρελθών· ἀναδέξασθε δὲ αὐτὸν Ἰαστὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγοντα ὥσπερ αὐτῷ ἔθος.

ἀληθέα τάδε ὁ λόγος ὑμῖν, ἄνδρες δικασταί, μυθέεται καί οἱ πείθεσθε ὅσα ἂν λέγῃ τουτέων πέρι ὄψιν ἀκοῆς προτιμέων· ὦτα γὰρ τυγχάνει ἐόντα ἀπιστότερα ὀφθαλμῶν.

Ἀκούετε τοῦ μάρτυρος ἅ φησιν, ὡς τὰ πρῶτα τῇ ὄψει ἀπέδωκεν; εἰκότως. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἔπεα πτεροεντά ἐστι καὶ οἴχεται ἅμα τῷ προελθεῖν ἀποπτάμενα, ἡ δὲ τῶν ὁρωμένων τέρψις ἀεὶ παρεστῶσα καὶ παραμένουσα πάντως τὸν θεατὴν ὑπάγεται.

Translations (1)

The Hall Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 4. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 20 focus

[20] A sage, then, shall be my witness, how far mightier are the things of the eye than those of the ear. Usher, call me Herodotus, son of Lyxes, of Halicarnassus.—Ah, since he has been so obliging as to hear the summons, let him step into the box. You will excuse the Ionic dialect; it is his way.’

Gentlemen of the jury, the Theory hath spoken sooth. Give good heed to that he saith, how sight is a better thing than hearing; for a man shall sooner trust bis eyes than bis ears.

'You hear him, gentlemen? He gives the preference to sight, and rightly. For words have wings; they are no sooner out of the mouth than they take flight and are lost: but the delight of the eyes is ever present, ever draws the beholder to itself.

Notes on the current edition

The Hall

1. Only the last clause is really Herodotean (I, 8, 3).

Lucian of Samosata De Domo 20

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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