Lucian of Samosata, De parasito sive artem esse parasiticam, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 22

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[22]

SIMON

I can’t say!¹— Again, in the other arts the first steps are shabby and insignificant, but in Parasitic the first step is a very fine one, for friendship, that oft-lauded word, is nothing else, you will find, than the first step in Parasitic.

TYCHIADES

What do you mean?

SIMON

That nobody invites an enemy or an unknown person to dinner; not even a slight acquaintance. A man must first, I take it, become a friend in order to share another's bow] and board, and the mystic rites of this art. Anyhow, I have often heard people say: “How much of a friend is he, when he has neither eaten nor drunk with us?”’ That is of course because they think that only one who has shared their meat and drink is a trusty friend.

De parasito sive artem esse parasiticam. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

The Parasite Tychiades (English) (Lucian, Vol. 3. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921.)

Editions (1)

Περὶ τοῦ Παρασίτου ὅτι Τέχνη ἡ Παρασιτική Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 3. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921.) — 22 focus

Σίμων

οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν. καὶ μὴν τῶν ἄλλων τεχνῶν αἱ ἀρχαὶ φαῦλαί τινες καὶ εὐτελεῖς εἰσι, τῆς δὲ παρασιτικῆς ἀρχὴ πάνυ γενναία τις· τὸ γὰρ θρυλούμενον τοῦτο τῆς φιλίας ὄνομα οὐκ ἂν ἄλλο τι εὕροις ἢ ἀρχὴν παρασιτικῆς.

Τυχιάδης

πῶς λέγεις;

Σίμων

ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἐχθρὸν ἢ ἀγνῶτα ἄνθρωπον ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ συνήθη μετρίως ἐπὶ δεῖπνον καλεῖ, ἀλλὰ δεῖ πρότερον οἶμαι τοῦτον γενέσθαι φίλον, ἵνα κοινωνήσῃ σπονδῶν καὶ τραπέζης καὶ τῶν τῆς τέχνης ταύτης μυστηρίων. ἐγὼ γοῦν πολλάκις ἤκουσά τινων λεγόντων, ποταπὸς δὲ οὗτος φίλος¹ ὅστις οὔτε βέβρωκεν οὔτε πέπωκεν μεθʼ ἡμῶν, δῆλον ὅτι τὸν συμπίνοντα καὶ συνεσθίοντα μόνον πιστὸν φίλον ἡγουμένων.

Translations (1)

The Parasite: a Demonstration that Sponging is a Profession Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 3. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 22 focus

[22]

Simon

Ah, I know nothing about that. But now look here: you know how common and mean are the beginnings of the other arts; that of sponging, on the contrary, is noble. Friendship, that theme of the encomiast, is neither more nor less, you will find, than the beginning of sponging.

Tychiades

How do you make that out?

Simon

Well, no one asks an enemy, a stranger, or even a mere acquaintance, to dinner; the man must be his friend before he will share bit and sup with him, and admit him to initiation in these sacred mysteries. I know I have often heard people say, Friend, indeed! by what right? he has never eaten or drunk with us. You see; only the-man who has done that is a friend to be trusted.

Notes on the current edition

The Parasite Tychiades

Fritzsche gives the two questions to Simon and the answers to Tychiades, at the expense of a little rewriting. Perhaps he is right, but it is rather too bad to lose the humorous effect of the “I can’t say” in the mouth of Simon, followed by the change of subject.

Lucian of Samosata De parasito sive artem esse parasiticam 22

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

SIMON

TYCHIADES

SIMON

Current edition Perseus

Τυχιάδης

πῶς λέγεις;

Simon

Tychiades

Simon

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

SIMON

TYCHIADES

SIMON

Current edition Perseus

Τυχιάδης πῶς λέγεις;

Simon

Tychiades

Simon

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Τυχιάδης

πῶς λέγεις;