Lucian, Calumniae non temere credundum, Henry Watson Fowler (Translator), Francis George Fowler (Translator), 13

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[13] The credibility of the slander is by no means left to take care of itself; it is the chief object of their solicitude; they are extremely cautious against inconsistencies or contradictions. The usual method is to seize upon real characteristics of a victim, and only paint these in darker colours, which allows verisimilitude. A man is a doctor; they make him out a poisoner; wealth figures as tyranny; the tyrant’s ready tool is a ready traitor too.

Calumniae non temere credundum. Lucian. Henry Watson Fowler (Translator), Francis George Fowler (Translator). Medford, MA, USA. 2023-08-01.

Current edition Perseus

Slander, a Warning (English) (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 4. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.)

Editions (1)

Περὶ τοῦ μὴ ῥᾳδίως πιστεύειν Διαβολῇ Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.) — 13 focus

[13] τό τε ἀξιόπιστον τῆς διαβολῆς οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἐπινοοῦσιν, ἀλλʼ ἐν τούτῳ τὸ πᾶν αὐτοῖς ἐστιν ἔργον δεδοικόσι τι προσάψαι ἀπῳδὸν ἢ καὶ ἀλλότριον. ὡς γοῦν ἐπὶ πολὺ τὰ προσόντα τῷ διαβαλλομένῳ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον μεταβάλλοντες οὐκ ἀπιθάνους ποιοῦνται τὰς κατηγορίας, οἷον τὸν μὲν ἰατρὸν διαβάλλουσιν ὡς φαρμακέα, τὸν πλούσιον δὲ ὡς τύραννον, τὸν τυραννικὸν δὲ ὡς προδοτικόν.

Translations (1)

Slander: on not Being Quick to Put Faith in it Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.) — 13 focus

[13] As for the verisimilitude of their slander, calum- niators are not careless in thinking out that point; all their work centres on it, for they are afraid to put in anything discordant or even irrelevant. For example, they generally make their charges credible by distorting the real attributes of the man they are slandering. Thus they insinuate that a doctor is a poisoner, that a rich man is a would-be monarch, or that a courtier is a traitor.

Lucian Calumniae non temere credundum 13

Henry Watson Fowler (Translator), Francis George Fowler (Translator)

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