Oration 53
Imperial Dio Chrysostom Greek- Democritus speaks thus of Homer: "Homer, having been allotted a divinely-inspired nature, fashioned an array of verses of every kind" — as though it were not possible, without a divine and superhuman nature, to work out verses so fine and wise. And many others too have written, some praising the poet outright while at the same time expounding some of the things said by him, others setting forth this very thing, his meaning — not only Aristarchus and Crates and several others of those afterward called grammarians, but formerly critics. And indeed Aristotle himself, from whom they say criticism and grammar took their origin, goes through the poet in many dialogues, admiring him for the most part and honouring him; and besides, Heraclides of Pontus.
- And earlier than these, Plato everywhere makes mention of him — struck with astonishment at the pleasure and grace of the verses, yet often blaming him in the matter of the tales and accounts about the gods, on the ground that he has spoken what is in no way profitable to men, going through their graspings and plots against one another, and adulteries, and quarrels, and contentions among the gods; and thereafter not giving him a share in his own city and polity, which was to be wise, as he thought — in order that the young, whom he sets up as guardians and leaders of the city, may neither hear these things about the gods, nor again, by anything gloomy being said about the things in Hades, be made softer toward fighting and toward dying, nor, like colts badly broken in from the start, be made shy at things not fearful.
- About these things, indeed, there is another argument, fuller and longer and not easy: whether Homer erred in these matters, or whether he was handing on to men, according to the custom of that time, certain physical doctrines contained in the tales. For it is not easy to arbitrate such a thing — just as, I think, when two men who are friends, both august, the one charging the other,
- to give judgement against one of them. And Zeno the philosopher too wrote upon both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and about the Margites as well; for this poem too seems to have been composed by Homer when he was younger and was making trial of his own nature for poetry. And Zeno blames nothing of Homer's, while at the same time expounding and teaching that he wrote some things according to opinion, others according to truth, so that he may not appear to be at odds with himself in certain things that seem to be said in a contrary sense.
- But this argument is Antisthenes' earlier — that some things are spoken by the poet according to opinion, others according to truth; only the one did not work it out, while the other made it plain in each of the particulars. And besides, Persaeus the disciple of Zeno wrote according to the same thesis, and several others. And Plato, while at once accusing him, as I said, declares the power of his poetry to be something marvellous, since it is an image of every thing and simply gives forth all voices — of rivers and winds and waves; and he bids them, very ironically, crown him with wool and pour myrrh over him and send him away to others.
- This the women do in the case of swallows. And besides, he himself, going over the grace of the poetry, exceedingly admires the man. For simply, not without divine fortune, nor without the inspiration of the Muses and of Apollo, was it possible for poetry so lofty and magnificent, and moreover so pleasant, to come into being — so as to hold sway, for so long a time now, not only over those of the same tongue and speech, but over many of the barbarians too; and that those of double tongue and of mixed race are exceedingly familiar with his verses, though ignorant of much else that is Greek, and some even of those settled very far away — since they say that among the Indians too the poetry of Homer is sung, they having translated it into their own dialect and speech.
- So that, though the Indians are without sight of many of the stars among us — for they say the Bears do not appear with them — they are not unacquainted with the sufferings of Priam, and the laments and wailings of Andromache and Hecuba, and the valour of Achilles and Hector. So great power had the music of one man; and he seems to me by this power to have surpassed both the Sirens and Orpheus.
- For to charm and lead stones and plants and beasts — what else is it than so utterly to master barbarian men who do not understand the Greek tongue, men experienced neither in the language nor in the matters of which the discourse treats, but simply charmed, as I think, as if by the lyre? And I, for my part, think that many even of the more ignorant barbarians have heard at least the name of Homer, but do not clearly know what it signifies, whether a living creature or a plant or some other thing.
- Nonetheless, one might praise the man's life far more than his poetry. For to have lived in poverty and as a wanderer, providing from his poems just enough to live by, is a sign of marvellous courage and magnanimity; and besides, that he nowhere wrote his own name, nor even made mention of himself in his poetry — and that too while all the rest, as many as seemed to have any power, whether in poetry or in writing prose, wrote their own name both first and last, and many even within the discourses and poems themselves,
- as did Hecataeus and Herodotus and Thucydides — and he, indeed, not once only at the beginning of the history, but often, declaring solemnly at each winter and summer that "Thucydides composed these things" — but he was so free and magnanimous that he will nowhere be found making mention of his own poetry, but in truth, like the prophets of the gods, uttering his words from somewhere unseen and inaccessible.
- And that everything he wrote is profitable and useful — to go through the rest, all that he composed about virtue and vice, would be much labour; but about kings, in brief, what manner of men he says they ought to be. For whomever of the kings he praises, he says is "in counsel a match for Zeus," and all the good kings "nurtured of Zeus"; and Minos, who has the greatest reputation for justice among the Greeks, he says was the companion and disciple of Zeus — as though that one were the first and greatest king of all, and alone knew and handed on the kingly art, and as though the good kings ought, looking to him, to direct their rule aright, making their own manner like, so far as is possible for men, to god.
- And the character of Zeus, and what his kingship was like, he makes plain in many other places; but, to embrace his power and his thought in brief, he often shows it, ever naming him thus, "father of men and of gods" — as though the care of kings ought to be fatherly and protecting, with goodwill and friendship, and as though it never befits one to preside over and rule men otherwise than by cherishing them and taking forethought for them, since Zeus does not disdain to be called father of men.