To the One Who Demanded Immediate Speech by Themistius the Philosopher

Name: To the One Who Demanded Immediate Speech
Author: Themistius the Philosopher

Period: Ὀψιμαρχαία Late Antique

Dialect: Ἀττική Attic

Domain: Ῥητορική Oratory

Genre: Ἐπιδεικτικός Epideictic

Genre: Λόγος Speech

Affiliation: Eclectic

The oration To the One Who Demanded Immediate Speech, also known as On the Need to Give Thought, Not Time, to One's Words, is a short philosophical discourse by the fourth-century philosopher and statesman Themistius. Composed as a direct response to a critic who faulted him for not speaking extemporaneously, the work defends the practice of careful preparation. Themistius argues that quality speech depends on forethought and philosophical reflection rather than speed of delivery, asserting that truth requires time for proper formulation. He illustrates this principle with an analogy to the sculptor Phidias, noting that even a master artist could not produce a great work like the statue of Athena on the same day it was demanded; such creations require extensive time and labour. Themistius extends this to his own craft, suggesting his critic should instead examine the existing body of his oratorical work, which he carries within himself as a philosopher carries the models of his art.

The discourse emphasizes the primacy of philosophical content and truth over mere rhetorical showmanship, defending prepared, thoughtful discourse against demands for impromptu speaking. It explores the necessary relationship between time, reflection, and intellectual quality, while also implicitly defining the public role of the philosopher-orator as a purveyor of reasoned truth rather than theatrical performance. The oration survives complete within the medieval manuscript tradition of Themistius’s speeches, with the standard modern critical edition appearing in the series Surviving Orations of Themistius.

This work is a key example of Themistius's broader efforts to promote Greek philosophical culture, or paideia, within the political context of the late Roman imperial court. His orations were influential in later antiquity and throughout the Byzantine period as models of philosophical rhetoric. Today, they serve as valuable sources for the intellectual and political history of the fourth century, particularly regarding the complex integration of Hellenic philosophical traditions into an evolving Christian imperial framework.

Themistius the Philosopher To the One Who Demanded Immediate Speech in Greek in PDF

Themistius the Philosopher To the One Who Demanded Immediate Speech in Greek in MD

ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΑΞΙΩΣΑΝΤΑ ΛΕΓΕΙΝ ΕΚ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΡΑΧΡΗΜΑ

Ἀλλʼ εἰ καὶ σφόδρα ἦν σοφὸς ὁ Φειδίας ἐν χρυσῷ καὶ ἐλέφαντι μορφὴν ἐπιδεῖξαι θείαν ἢ ἀνθρωπίνην, ὅμως χρόνου γε ἐδεῖτο καὶ σχολῆς πλείονος εἰς τὰ ἔργα. λέγεται οὖν, ἡνίκα ἐδημιούργει τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν, οὐδὲ εἰς τὴν κρηπῖδα τῆς θεοῦ μόνην ὀλίγου χρόνου καὶ πόνου προσδεηθῆναι. εἰ οὖν τις αὐτὸν αὐθημερὸν ἐκέλευσεν ἐπιδείξασθαι τὴν τέχνην, τί ἂν ἔδρασεν; ἢ πῶς ἂν ἐπείσθη τῷ ἐπιτάγματι; σκόπει δῆτα εἰ καλῶς πρὸς τὸν ἐραστὴν ἀπεκρίνατο ὅτι, ὦ χρηστέ, ὁ τῶν ἐμῶν ἔργων φιλοθεάμων, εἰ μὴ συγχωρεῖς μηδὲ ἐπιτρέπεις καιρὸν ὥστε καινόν τι καὶ νέον δημιουργῆσαι, σὺ δὲ ἐπίσκεψαι τέως τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν τὴν ἐν πόλει ἢ τὸν Δία τὸν Ὀλύμπιον, καί σοι ταῦτα ἀποχρήσει πρὸς τὸ Φειδίαν θαυμάσαι.

Κἀγὼ σέ, ὦ μακάριε, τὸν ἐμὸν ἐραστήν, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς οὕτως ἔχειν δοκεῖς ὡς καὶ τήμερόν τί μου ποθεῖν δημιούργημα, παρακαλέσαιμʼ ἂν προσεπιδεῖν τι τῶν ἤδη προειργασμένων. οὐ δεήσει δέ, οἶμαι, βαδίζειν εἰς τὸ χωρίον τοῦ ἔργου· φέρω γὰρ ἐν ἐμαυτῷ τὰ τῆς ἐμῆς τέχνης ἀγάλματα, ἃ δημιουργεῖται μὲν καθʼ ἕνα τόπον, συμπερίεισι δὲ ἁπανταχόθεν τῷ τεχνίτῃ. τοσόνδε μέντοι μοι χάρισαι· ἔασόν με κατὰ χρόνον ἐργάσασθαι τὴν σὴν εἰκόνα. οὐ γὰρ οὕτως εἰμὶ σοφὸς οὐδὲ εὔπορος ὥστε αὐτοσχεδιάζειν ὥσπερ ἔτυχε τὰς γραφάς, καθάπερ οἱ δαιμόνιοι σοφισταί. ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ἅπαντα γράφειν ἄρχοντα δύναμαι, ἀλλʼ ὃς ἄν μοι τόνδε τὸν πίνακα εὐτρεπίσοι, ὃς χωρήσει μὲν δικαιοσύνην μετὰ τῆς εἰκόνος, χωρήσει δὲ πραότητα μετʼ ἐξουσίας, πολλῶν τε ἄλλων θεῶν καὶ δαιμόνων ἀγαθῶν ὅμιλον, ὧν δίχα γράφειν οὐ θέμις τοῖς ἀπὸ Σωκράτους γραφεῦσιν.

Οὐ σφόδρα οὖν μοι σύνηθες τὸ ἔργον, ἅτε δὴ σφόδρα ὀλίγων εὐποροῦντι τῶν ἀρχετύπων. ὃν δὲ σύ μοι πίνακα πήγνυσαι, καλός ἐστι καὶ μέγας καὶ οὐ στενοχωρήσεται ἡ γραφή. ἀλλὰ στήσω μὲν ἐπὶ δεξιὰ τὸν νόμον, ὃς παιδόθεν τέ σε ἐθρέψατο καὶ νῦν συνθακεῖ, στήσω δὲ ἐπὶ θάτερα τὴν δίκην, ἥ σε μήποτε ἀπολείψειε, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸν ἄλλον χορόν, ὃν ἄν μοι τὸ παράδειγμα ὑποδεικνύοι· ὑποδείξει δέ, εὖ οἶδα, ὥστε μοι μὴ ἐπιλείπειν τὰ καίρια. νῦν δέ — οὐ γάρ μοι τοσαύτη σχολή — προχειριστέον τί σοι τῶν ἀπορρήτων. πάντως οὐκ ἔστι τὸ λόγων κάλλος, οἷον ἀρτιτόκοις μὲν ἐπανθεῖν, πρεσβυτέρων δὲ ἀπομαραίνεσθαι, ἀλλʼ οἷοί περ ἂν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τεχθῶσι, τοιοῦτοι καὶ τὸν ἅπαντα μένουσι χρόνον.

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