eul_wid: siy-ap
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20335421 PDFMarkdown

Declamations and Orations: Oration 13 (Exhortation to the Newcomers around Piso) by Himerius the Sophist

Addressed to the new students who came with Piso, this short piece turns on the right moment. It describes Lysippus's statue of Opportunity, a youth with hair over his brow, a blade in one hand, scales in the other and wings at his ankles, and adds Glaucus taking the crown, the archer who knows when to shoot, and the swan waiting for the spring west wind before it sings.

Part of Declamations and Orations

Προτρεπτικὸς εἰς τοὺς περὶ Πείσωνα νεήλυδας.

Δεινὸς δὲ ἦν ἄρα οὐ χεῖρα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ γνώμην ὁ Λύσιππος. οἷα γοῦν ἐκεῖνος διὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γνώμης τετόλμηκεν· ἐγγράφει τοῖς θεοῖς τὸν Καιρόν, καὶ μορφώσας ἀγάλματι τὴν φύσιν αὐτοῦ διὰ τῆς εἰκόνος ἐξηγήσατο. ἔχει δὲ ὧδέ πως, ὡς ἐμὲ μνημονεύειν, τὸ δαίδαλμα. ποιεῖ παῖδα τὸ εἶδος ἁβρόν, τὴν ἀκμὴν ἔφηβον, κομῶντα μὲν τὸ ἐκ κροτάφων εἰς μέτωπον, γυμνὸν δὲ τὸ ὅσον ἐκεῖθεν ἐπὶ τὰ νῶτα μερίζεται, σιδήρῳ τὴν δεξιὰν ὡπλισμένον, ζυγῷ τὴν λαιὰν ἐπέχοντα, πτερωτὸν τὰ σφυρά, οὐχ ὡς μετάρσιον ὑπὲρ γῆς ἄνω κουφίζεσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἵνα δοκῶν ἐπιψαύειν τῆς γῆς, λανθάνῃ κλέπτων τὸ μὴ κατὰ γῆς ἐπερείδεσθαι ...

Ὁ δὲ Γλαῦκος, ὥσπερ οἶμαι λοχῶν αὐτὸ τῆς ἀγωνίας τὸ καίριον, ἧκέ τε ἐπὶ τὸν στεφανίτην μόνος καὶ πρῶτος εἶχε τὸν στέφανον ...

Πάντα γὰρ καλὰ ἐν καιρῷ· καὶ τοξότης ἐπίσκοπος, ὅστις οἶδε καίρια βάλλειν τοξεύματα ...

Καὶ δὴ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀηδόνες ἀπὸ γῆς ἵπτανται· τολμᾷ γὰρ ἀνάγειν ὑπὲρ ᾠδῆς εἰς αὐτὸν οὐρανὸν ὁ μῦθος ὄρνιθας ...

Ἧκον οὖν παρὰ τὸν κύκνον· ὁ δʼ ἔτυχεν ἐπί τινος λειμῶνος ἠρινοῦ ἄρτι Ζεφύρῳ πρὸς ᾠδὴν ἐκδιδόναι μέλλων τὰς πτέρυγας ...

Κρατεῖ δὲ καὶ ἰατρὸς τῆς νόσου τῇ τέχνῃ, καὶ ῥήτωρ δήμου τοῖς λόγοις ...

Ὅταν ἡλίῳ θερόμενος σκιὰν ὑποδραμεῖν ἐθελήσῃς καὶ νάπην ...

Οὐχ ὅταν κυμαίνῃ Νεῖλος ὕδατι κρύψας τὴν Αἴγυπτον ...