Lucian of Samosata, Toxaris vel amicitia, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 3

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[3] If that is not why you honour Orestes and Pylades, do tell me, Toxaris, what other benefit have they done you to bring it about that although formerly you deemed them anything but gods, now, on the contrary, you have made them pass for gods by sacrificing to them, and you now bring victims to men who at that time very nearly became victims? This conduct, you know, might be thought ridiculous and inconsistent with that of former times.

TOXARIS

As a matter of fact, Mnesippus, even these actions that you have described evince nobility in those men. That two should dare so bold a deed; that they should sail so far from their own country as to cruise out into the Pontus (still unexplored by any of the Greeks except the force that fared upon the Argo to Colchis) undismayed either by the fables regarding it or by its name through any terror inspired by the fact that it was called ‘ Inhospitable” (I suppose because savage peoples dwelt all about it);¹ that after their capture they faced the situation so courageously, and were not content simply to make their escape but punished the king for his insolence and took Artemis with them when they sailed away—why is not all this admirable and worthy of divine honour in some sort from all who praise manhood? Yet that is not what we see in Orestes and Pylades, to treat them as heroes.

Toxaris vel amicitia. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Toxaris, or Friendship (English) (Lucian, Vol. 5. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1936 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Τόξαρις ἢ Φιλία Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 5. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1936 (printing).) — 3 focus

Μνήσιππος

εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἀντὶ τούτων Ὀρέστην καὶ Πυλάδην τιμᾶτε, ἀλλʼ εἰπέ, τί ἄλλο,¹ ὦ Τόξαρι, ἀγαθὸν ὑμᾶς εἰργάσαντο ἀνθʼ ὅτου, πάλαι οὐ θεοὺς εἶναι δικαιώσαντες αὐτούς, νῦν τὸ ἔμπαλιν θύσαντες αὐτοῖς θεοὺς νενομίκατε, καὶ ἱερείοις ὀλίγου δεῖν τότε γενομένοις ἱερεῖα νῦν προσάγετε; γελοῖα γὰρ ἂν ταῦτα δόξειε καὶ ὑπεναντία τοῖς πάλαι.

Τόξαρις

καὶ ταῦτα μέν, ὦ Μνήσιππε, γενναῖα τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων ἃ κατέλεξας. τὸ γὰρ δύο ὄντας οὕτω μέγα τόλμημα τολμῆσαι καὶ τοσοῦτον ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῶν ἀπάραντας ἐκπλεῦσαι ἐς τὸν Πόντον ἀπείρατον ἔτι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὄντα πλὴν μόνων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀργοῦς ἐς τὴν Κολχίδα στρατευσάντων, μὴ καταπλαγέντας μήτε τοὺς μύθους τοὺς ἐπʼ αὐτῷ² μήτε τὴν προσηγορίαν καταδείσαντας ὅτι ἄξενος ἐκαλεῖτο, οἷα, οἶμαι, ἀγρίων ἐθνῶν περιοικούντων, καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἑάλωσαν, οὕτως ἀνδρείως χρήσασθαι τῷ πράγματι καὶ μὴ ἀγαπῆσαι εἰ διαφεύξονται³ μόνον, ἀλλὰ τιμωρησαμένους τὸν βασιλέα τῆς ὕβρεως καὶ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν ἀναλαβόντας ἀποπλεῦσαι, πῶς ταῦτα οὐ θαυμαστὰ καὶ θείας τινὸς τιμῆς ἄξια παρὰ πάντων ὁπόσοι ἀρετὴν ἐπαινοῦσιν; ἀτὰρ οὐ ταῦτα ἡμεῖς Ὀρέστῃ καὶ Πυλάδῃ ἐνιδόντες ἥρωσιν αὐτοῖς χρώμεθα.

Translations (2)

Toxaris: a Dialogue of Friendship Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 3. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 3 focus

[3] If this is not your motive in honouring Orestes and Pylades, I shall be glad to know what other service they have rendered you, that you should change your minds about them, and admit them to divine honours. Your ancestors did their best to offer them up to Artemis: you offer up victims to them, It seems an absurd inconsistency.

Toxaris

Now, in the first place, the incident you refer to is very much to their credit. Think of those two entering on that vast undertaking by themselves: sailing away from their country to the distant Euxine¹—that sea unknown in those days to the Greeks, or known only to the Argonauts—unmoved by the stories they heard of it, undeterred by the inhospitable name it then bore, which I suppose referred to the savage nations that dwelt upon its shores; think of their courageous bearing after they were captured; how escape alone would not serve them, but they must avenge their wrong upon the king, and carry Artemis away over the seas, Are not these admirable deeds, and shall not the doers be counted as Gods by all who esteem prowess? However, this is not our motive in giving them divine honours.

Toxaris; Or, Friendship Perseus (Selections from Lucian. Smith, Emily James, translator. New York: Harper Brothers, 1892.) — 3 focus

[3] But if it is not for these achievements that you honor Orestes and Pylades, tell me, Toxaris, what else they ever did for your good, in return for which you have now reversed your former judgment and sacrifice to them, bringing victims to those who once came extremely near being victims themselves. It seems absurdly inconsistent with the past.

Toxaris

And yet, Mnesippos, those were noble deeds, though you laugh at them. Just think, they were only two men, and yet they dared this gallant adventure; sailed all this distance from home and ventured into the Pontos, unknown as yet to the Greeks, except those who manned the Argo in the expedition against Kolchis, and they were not frightened by the stories about this sea or its name of "The Inhospitable," gained for it, I suppose, by the savage tribes on its shores. And when they were captured they took the affair in such a courageous way that they were not contented merely to make their escape, but when they had first taken their revenge and carried off the statue of Artemis, then they sailed away. Now, are not these wonderful achievements, and really worthy of divine honor from any one who gives bravery his approval? Still, it is not because we see these traits in Orestes and Pylades that we deem them heroes.

Notes on the current edition

Toxaris, or Friendship

According to Apollodorus (Strabo, VII, 298-299) the Pontus was at first called Azeinos (“Inhospitable”) because of its storminess and the ferocity of the tribes that surrounded it; later, after the Ionian settlements on its coast, it was called Huxeinos (“Hospitable”). Pindar knows both names (Pyth., IV, 203; Nem. IV, 49).

Lucian of Samosata Toxaris vel amicitia 3

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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TOXARIS

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Toxaris

Toxaris

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