Lucian of Samosata, De parasito sive artem esse parasiticam, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 42

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[42] But what is the good of guessing about all this, when we have historical examples? To put it briefly, in war, of all the rhetoricians and_philosophers that ever were, some have not dared to go outside the walls at all, and if any one of them ever took the field under compulsion, he deserted his post, I maintain, and beat a retreat.

TYCHIADES

What assertions, all surprising and none moderate! But say your say, nevertheless.

SIMON

Among the followers of rhetoric, Isocrates not only never went to war but never even went to court, through cowardice, I assume, as that is why he could not even keep his voice.¹ And did not Demades and Aeschines and Philocrates, through fright, directly upon the declaration of war against Philip, betray their city and themselves to Philip and continually direct public affairs at Athens in the interest of that man, who was waging war upon the Athenians at that time, if ever a man was; and he was their friend. Moreover, Hyperides and Demosthenes and Lycurgus, who put up a more courageous front and were always making an uproar and abusing Philip in the assemblies—what on earth did they do that was valiant in the war with him? Hyperides and Lycurgus did not even take the field—why, they did not even dare to show their heads just outside the gates, but safe within the walls, they sat at home as if the city were already besieged, framing trivial motions and petty resolutions! And as for the topmost of them, the man who was continually talking in the assembly about “Philip, the scoundrel from Macedon, where one could never even buy a decent slave!”² he did venture to join the advance into Boeotia, but before the armies joined battle and began to fight at close quarters he threw away his shield and fled!³ Has nobody ever told you that before? It is very well known, not only to the Athenians, but to the people of Thrace and Scythia, where that vagabond came from.⁴

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.) — 42 focus

Σίμων

ἀλλὰ τί δεῖ ταῦτα εἰκάζειν ἔχοντας αὐτῶν παραδείγματα; ἁπλῶς γὰρ εἰπεῖν, ἐν πολέμῳ τῶν πώποτε ῥητόρων ἢ φιλοσόφων οἱ μὲν οὐδὲ ὅλως ὑπέμειναν ἔξω τοῦ τείχους προελθεῖν, εἰ δέ τις καὶ ἀναγκασθεὶς παρετάξατο, φημὶ τοῦτον λείψαντα τὴν τάξιν ὑποστρέφειν.

Τυχιάδης

ὡς θαυμάσια πάντα καὶ οὐδὲν ὑπισχνῇ μέτριον. λέγε δὲ ὅμως.

Σίμων

τῶν μὲν τοίνυν ῥητόρων Ἰσοκράτης οὐχ ὅπως εἰς πόλεμον ἐξῆλθέν ποτε, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐπὶ δικαστήριον ἀνέβη, διὰ δειλίαν, οἶμαι, ὅτι οὐδὲ τὴν φωνὴν διὰ τοῦτο εἶχεν ἔτι. τί δʼ;¹ οὐχὶ Δημάδης μὲν καὶ Αἰσχίνης καὶ Φιλοκράτης ὑπὸ δέους εὐθὺς τῇ καταγγελίᾳ τοῦ Φιλίππου πολέμου τὴν πόλιν προὔδοσαν καὶ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς τῷ Φιλίππῳ καὶ διετέλεσαν Ἀθήνησιν ἀεὶ τὰ ἐκείνου πολιτευόμενοι, ὃς εἴ γε καὶ ἄλλος τις Ἀθηναίοις² κατὰ ταῦτα ἐπολέμει· κἀκεῖνος ἐν αὐτοῖς ἦν φίλος. Ὑπερίδης δὲ καὶ Δημοσθένης καὶ Λυκοῦργος, οἵ γε δοκοῦντες ἀνδρειότεροι κἀν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἀεὶ θορυβοῦντες καὶ λοιδορούμενοι τῷ Φιλίππῳ, τί ποτε ἀπειργάσαντο γενναῖον ἐν τῷ πρὸς αὐτὸν πολέμῳ; καὶ Ὑπερίδης μὲν καὶ Λυκοῦργος οὐδὲ ἐξῆλθον, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ὅλως ἐτόλμησαν μικρὸν ἔξω παρακῦψαι τῶν πυλῶν, ἀλλʼ ἐντειχίδιοι ἐκάθηντο παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἤδη πολιορκούμενοι γνωμίδια καὶ προβουλευμάτια συντιθέντες. ὁ δὲ δὴ κορυφαιότατος αὐτῶν, ὁ ταυτὶ λέγων ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις συνεχῶς· Φίλιππος γὰρ ὁ Μακεδὼν ὄλεθρος, ὅθεν οὐδὲ ἀνδράποδον πρίαιτό τίς ποτε, τολμήσας προελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Βοιωτίαν, πρὶν ἢ συμμῖξαι τὰ στρατόπεδα καὶ συμβαλεῖν εἰς χεῖρας ῥίψας τὴν ἀσπίδα ἔφυγεν. ἢ οὐδέπω ταῦτα πρότερον διήκουσας οὐδενός, πάνυ γνώριμα ὄντα οὐχ ὅπως Ἀθηναίοις, ἀλλὰ Θρᾳξὶ καὶ Σκύθαις, ὅθεν ἐκεῖνο τὸ κάθαρμα ἦν;

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.) — 42 focus

[42] But why deal in conjecture when there are facts to hand? I make the simple statement that in war, of all the rhetoricians and philosophers who ever lived, most never ventured outside the city walls, and the few who did, under compulsion, take their places in the ranks left their posts and went home.

Tychiades

A bold extravagant assertion. Well, prove it.

Simon

Rhetoricians, then. Of these, Isocrates, so far from serving in war, never even ventured into a law-court; he was afraid, because his voice was weak, I understand. Well, then Demades, Aeschines, and Philocrates, directly the Macedonian war broke out, were frightened into betraying their country and themselves to Philip. They simply espoused his interests in Athenian politics; and any other Athenian who took the same side was their friend. As for Hyperides, Demosthenes, and Lycurgus, supposed to be bolder spirits, and always raising scenes in the assembly with their abuse of Philip, how did they ever show their prowess in the war? Hyperides and Lycurgus never went out, did not so much as dare show their noses beyond the gates; they sat snug inside in a domestic state of siege, composing poor little decrees and resolutions, And their great chieftain, who had no gentler words for Philip in the assembly than ‘the brute from Macedon, which cannot produce even a slave worth buying ’—well, he did take heart of grace and go to Boeotia the day before; but battle had not been joined when he threw away his shield and made off. You must have heard this before; it was common talk not only at Athens, but in Thrace and Scythia, whence the creature was derived.

Notes on the current edition

The Parasite Tychiades

Every schoolboy knew—such was the interest in rhetoric— that Isocrates did not practise in the courts because his voice was too weak. The author pretends to think that its weakness must have been due to fright, and that therefore he was a terrible coward.

Demosthenes, Third Philippic 31.

The story that Demosthenes played the coward at Chaeronea was spread by his political enemies Aeschines (3, 244; 253) and Pytheas (Plut. Demosth. 20); see also Gellius 17, 21.

Cleobule, the mother of Demosthenes, was said to be Scythian on her mother’s side (Aesch. 3, 171).

Lucian of Samosata De parasito sive artem esse parasiticam 42

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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TYCHIADES

SIMON

Current edition Perseus

Τυχιάδης

ὡς θαυμάσια πάντα καὶ οὐδὲν ὑπισχνῇ μέτριον. λέγε δὲ ὅμως.

Tychiades

Simon

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

TYCHIADES

SIMON

Current edition Perseus

Τυχιάδης ὡς θαυμάσια πάντα καὶ οὐδὲν ὑπισχνῇ μέτριον. λέγε δὲ ὅμως.

Tychiades

Simon

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Τυχιάδης

ὡς θαυμάσια πάντα καὶ οὐδὲν ὑπισχνῇ μέτριον. λέγε δὲ ὅμως.