6

difficult to see, who met her from within and exhorted her to wait outside as she was about to come out. But she, when she had come there, said nothing to her mother, but having turned and turned again towards those standing on either side, said, "Fill this woman's child with letters; for you see how he clings to me." She also described the appearance of those standing on either side; for both, she said, were grey-haired, but one had a head that was large and round, sprouting perfectly white hair, his nose did not hang down and "his chin" was not very "long," while the other had both a head and the rest of his body shorter, except that his beard was much longer than the other's. Therefore, my mother, taking courage on my account from these two visions, cast her vote in my favor and led me to the preliminaries of education. 6. But I do not know what I should do; and how should I use my discourse? For having established one theme, my discourse carries me away to another, and I wish to mix nothing of my own with her noble qualities, but I cannot otherwise fulfill the encomium to her, or rather the truth of what has been done, without weaving in my own story. Or how could I demonstrate that she is the cause of my "success in letters," without touching upon the beginnings from which I was led to this? And, if anyone wishes, let so much be apportioned to each: to her, the knowing and choosing what was better for me, and to me, the not pursuing these things to the end. But I am dealing with men fond of scoffing and censure, since a listener who is not malicious would attach no blame to me for enjoying my mother's virtue even in the histories and narratives concerning her. But I must again lead the discourse back to its proper beginning and add what follows to the theme; or rather, having come to this point, let them bear witness for me themselves, those who gave me my first lessons, how I went through them quickly, how I understood more than most; to say nothing more, how cleverly I took things up, how tenaciously I retained them, how eloquently I recited, how in a single circuit of the luminary both the details of orthography were perfected by me and the entire Iliad recited, not knowing the epic poetry simply, but also figure and trope and diction, and timely metaphor and harmony of composition. And if you do not think me entirely a dreamer, I too will relate to you a little of my own visions. I was not yet ten years old, or perhaps I had just entered that year, when a hunt by night stirred me and carried me into the open air. Whether I was hunting, I do not know, but I thought I had hunted two of the musical birds, one of which resembled a small parrot, the other was exactly a jay, and both had slipped under my cloak. And at this my soul was overflowing and rejoicing, and many times with my hands I smoothed and arranged their wings; but the birds, "Do not tyrannize in a human way," they said, "nor take us by force; rule as a master according to law. But taking us out, associate and converse with us rationally. And if you persuade us, then begin to rule us; if not, leave our wings free." I thought, then, that they were saying something fitting, and grasping both wings of each bird firmly, I thought I was "revolving" certain philosophical "arguments" towards them, as if then for the first time the mist which birth places upon the soul had been taken away from me. At first, then, "the argument" was "evenly balanced" for both sides, as they too seemed to be reflecting and reasoning and objecting to my counter-arguments; but as our intercourse prolonged the dialogue to great length, and I was speaking somewhat more than they; "Stop," they said, "since it has been decreed for you, even by us, that you conquer us." At the time, then, I did not fully understand the vision, but thought the sight was a fabrication of the more irrational part of the soul, but later, when I took up music and the more exact learning, I conjectured that the visions related to literary studies, since those birds are also chattering and musical and often human-like

6

δυσθεάτων ἰδεῖν, ἔσωθεν ἀπαντήσασαν καὶ παρακελευομένην ἐκτὸς ὑπομεῖναι ὡς ἐξιοῦσαν. ἡ δέ, ἐπεὶ ἐνταῦθα γεγόνοι, πρὸς μὲν τὴν μητέρα μηδὲν εἰπεῖν, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἑκατέρωθεν ἐφεστηκότας στραφεῖσά τε καὶ μεταστραφεῖσα, «ἐμπλήσατέ-φησι-τὸν ταύτης παῖδα γραμμάτων· ὁρᾶτε γὰρ ὥς με κατασπάζεται». ἀπήγγελλε δὲ καὶ τῶν ἑκατέρωθεν ἑστηκότων τὸ εἶδος· ἄμφω γάρ, φησι, πολιὼ ἤστην, ἀλλὰ τῷ μὲν ἡ κεφαλὴ μεγάλη τε καὶ στρογγύλη καὶ ἀκριβῶς λευκὴν ἀναβλαστάνουσα τρίχωσιν, ἥ τε ῥὶς οὐκ ἀπεκρέματο καὶ «τὸ γένειον» οὐ πάνυ «καθεῖτο», τῷ δὲ καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν σῶμα βραχύτερον, πλὴν ὅσον ὁ πώγων μακρῷ θατέρου μακρότερος. ταύταις οὖν ταῖς δυσὶν ὄψεσιν ἐπ' ἐμοὶ ἡ μήτηρ ἀναθαρρήσασα, τὴν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ ψῆφον ἐκφέρει καὶ ἐς τὰ προτέλειά με ἄγει τῶν παιδευμάτων. 6. Ἀλλ' οὐκ οἶδα τί πάθοιμι· πῶς δ' ἂν τῷ λόγῳ χρησαίμην; ἑτέραν γὰρ ὑπόθεσιν ἐνστησάμενον ἐφ' ἑτέραν με ὁ λόγος ἄγει φερόμενος, καὶ βούλομαι μὲν μηδὲν τῶν ἐμῶν ἐγκαταμίξαι τοῖς ἐκείνης καλοῖς, οὐκ ἔχω δὲ ἄλλως ἐκπληρῶσαι αὐτῇ τὸ ἐγκώμιον, μᾶλλον δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ἀλήθειαν, μὴ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ παρενείρων. ἢ πῶς ἂν αἰτίαν αὐτὴν ἀποδείξω τῆς ἐμῆς «ἐν τοῖς λόγοις εὐδοκιμήσεως», μὴ ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ἐφιεὶς ἀφ' ὧν εἰς τοῦτο ὑπήχθην; καί, ἢν βούλοιτό τις, τοσοῦτον ἑκατέροις ἀπομεριζέσθω, ἐκείνῃ μὲν τὸ τὰ κρείττω ἐμοὶ καὶ γνῶναι καὶ διελέσθαι, ἐμοὶ δὲ τὸ μὴ ἐπεξιέναι τούτοις εἰς τέλος. διαιτῶμαι δὲ φιλοσκώμμοσιν ἀνδράσι καὶ φιλαιτίοις, ἐπεὶ ὅ γε μὴ βασκαίνων ἀκροατὴς οὐδὲν ἄν μοι προσάψῃ αἰτίαμα ἀπολαύοντι τῆς μητρικῆς ἀρετῆς κἀν ταῖς περὶ ἐκείνην ἱστορίαις καὶ διηγήσεσιν. Ἀλλ' ἀνακτέον αὖθις τὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀρχὴν καὶ προσεκτέον τῇ ὑποθέσει τὰ ἐφεξῆς· μᾶλλον δὲ ἐνταῦθά μοι γενομένῳ αὐτοί μοι προσμαρτυρείτωσαν, οἱ τὰ πρῶτα δεδωκότες μαθήματα, ὡς διῄειν ἐπιτροχάδην αὐτά, ὡς συνίην τῶν πολλῶν πλέον· ἵνα μηδὲν πλέον ἐρῶ, ὡς εὐφυῶς ἀνελάμβανον, ὡς ἐμμόνως κατεῖχον, ὡς ἀπήγγελλον εὐφραδῶς, ὡς ἐπὶ μιᾶς τοῦ φωστῆρος περιόδου τὰ τέ μοι τῆς ὀρθογραφίας ἠκρίβωτο καὶ ἡ πᾶσα ἀπήγγελτο Ἰλιάς, οὐ τὴν ἐποποιΐαν ἁπλῶς εἰδότι, ἀλλὰ καὶ σχῆμα καὶ τρόπον καὶ λέξιν, καὶ μεταφορὰν εὔκαιρον καὶ ἁρμονίαν συνθήκης. ἢν δέ με μὴ πάνυ φαίητε ὀνειρόφρονα, κἀγώ τι βραχὺ τῶν ἐμῶν ὑμῖν διηγήσομαι ὄψεων. Οὔπω δεκέτης ἦν, ἢ ἴσως ἐπιβεβήκειν τοῦ ἔτους, καί με νυκτὸς θήρα τις ἐπῆρε καὶ εἰς ἐλεύθερον ἀέρα μετήνεγκεν. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐθήρων, οὐκ οἶδα, τεθηρακέναι δὲ ᾤμην ὄρνιθε δύο τῶν μουσικῶν, ὧν ἡ μὲν ψιττακίῳ ἐῴκει, ἡ δὲ ἦν ἀκριβῶς κίττα, καὶ ὑπὸ τὸν κόλπον ἄμφω ἐνεδεδύκει. καί μοι ἐπὶ τούτοις διεχεῖτο καὶ ἐγαννύσκετο ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ πολλάκις ταῖς χερσὶ διωμάλιζον καὶ προσήρμοττον τοῖς πτεροῖς· ἀλλὰ τά γε ὄρνεα, «μὴ τυράννει ἀνθρωπικῶς-ἔφασαν-, μηδὲ βίᾳ λαβών· οἷα δὴ νόμῳ, δεσπότης κυρίευε. ἀλλ' ἐξελὼν λογικῶς τε συγγίνου καὶ διαλέγου. κἂν μὲν πείσῃς, ἐκεῖθεν ἡμῶν ἄρξαι· εἰ δ' οὖν, ἄφες ἡμῖν ἐλεύθερον τὸ πτερόν». Ἔδοξα γοῦν αὐτὰ λέγειν τι τῶν δεόντων καὶ ἑκατέραις ἀπρὶξ ἀμφοτέρων δραξάμενος τῶν πτερῶν, φιλοσόφους τινὰς ᾤμην πρὸς ἐκεῖνα «λόγους ἀνακυκλεῖν», ὥσπερ τότε πρώτως ἀφαιρεθείσης μοι τῆς ἀχλύος ἣν ἡ γένεσις ἐπιτίθησι τῇ ψυχῇ. τὰ μὲν οὖν πρῶτα «ἰσόρροπος» ἀμφοῖν «ὁ λόγος» καθίστατο, ἐνθυμουμένων ὥσπερ κἀκείνων καὶ συλλογιζομένων καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐμὰς ἀντιθέσεις ἀντιπιπτόντων· ὡς δ' ἡ συνουσία ἐπὶ μήκιστον παρεξέτεινε τὸν διάλογον κἀγώ τι πλέον ἐκείνων ἐστωμυλλόμην· «πέπαυσο- ἔφασαν-ἐπειδή σοι καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν τὸ νικᾶν ἡμᾶς ἐπεψήφισται». τότε μὲν οὖν οὐ πάνυ συνίην τῆς ὄψεως, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀλογωτέρου μέρους τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνάπλασιν ᾤμην τὸ ὅραμα, ὕστερον δέ, ἐπειδὴ μουσικῆς ἡψάμην καὶ τῆς ἀκριβεστέρας μαθήσεως, εἰς τοὺς λόγους τὰς ὄψεις ἐτεκμαιρόμην, ἐπειδὴ κἀκεῖνα κωτῖλα καὶ μουσικὰ καὶ ἀνθρωπικὴν πολλάκις