9

a character most suitable and distributed among the various dispositions of her companions or interlocutors, not as one sophisticating her conversation with the many, but as judging what was fitting for each and shaping it according to the occasion. . But to my father she happened to be "not only a co-worker" and a helper according to the divine ordinance, but also the first doer of the noblest things and an inventor. And his character was such as I have not yet seen among others, although many know the man and will bear witness if they wish; and it was at once "simple and noble," having nothing effeminate, but blended with unaffected gentleness, unmoved by anger, unperturbed by whatever happened. Therefore, I never met him when he was angry or troubled, nor did he ever "strike" anyone with his "hand," nor did he urge this on others, always gracious in his soul and his "tongue" not "ready," but speaking his words with pleasure, whenever necessary. And in the things of life, he was very active, his hand not the tool of a fast writer, but "swifter" than "speech" and using not another instrument but itself, and passing lightly and "without stumbling" and smoothly, flowing "like a stream of oil" "without a sound." But as for the things of the body, how might I say these things, how shall I make them a side-work of my speech, for whom praise is a most difficult task? For in his stature he was like a well-grown cypress, running up to an equal height and growing and broadening in his parts where necessary. And his eyes, their glances were cheerful and, as another might say, breathing an Aphrodisian grace; and upon these was set an "eyebrow" not "raised" and boastful, but "well-drawn" and straight, signifying a good character; for it was truly, even from a mere glance, an accuser of its own soul. And, if anyone who knew how to judge souls from bodies had seen him, before he heard him speak, before he interacted with him in any other way, he would have declared concerning the things then hidden that he carried about in his life a spark of the ancient simplicity, so that if indeed any such thing has been colored in us, it was transferred from there as from a pattern. For I am entirely wanting and left behind from my mother's archetype, since she did not set herself up in her life for imitation but for amazement; but to my father I fly alongside like an eaglet, or rather I follow like a shadow, or even less than this, not being in all things attuned to and conformed with him. Therefore, everyone was confident with my father, being such as he was, on account of the evenness of his soul, and no one at all feared to approach and converse with him, but my mother alone, from the exceeding height of her virtue, associated and conversed with him not as an equal but as a lesser, only in this observing what was unfitting and not conversing appropriately because she looked not to his character, but to the ancient ordinance. 10. But oh, what might I say to touch lightly on her fine qualities? For I wish my speech not to be left far behind her, and I attempt and am eager, and indeed I think so, before the composition, but having touched upon it, like an unskilled wrestler I am defeated by my opponent. And to the many perhaps I shall seem to say something rather elegant about her, but to me my speech does not even in the slightest approach her fine qualities, whether because she is beyond measure or because my speech is less than the measure that befits such topics. And yet you, O mother, always trained me for these things, not only being a favorable counsellor to me, but also cooperating in and inspiring my education, whenever you questioned me upon my return from school about what I had received from my teachers, and what I had either contributed to my fellow pupils or gained from them; then indeed also bringing me to the remembrance of what I had learned, you pretended to listen with pleasure if I said anything about orthography, or anything about poetry and from where each thing was derived and how it was arranged, and what the commonality was among them and what, in contrast to these, was the difference. I know that about you too, and I have marveled much,

9

ἦθος καταλληλότατον καὶ ταῖς διαφόροις τῶν συνόντων ἢ τῶν συνομιλούντων ἐπιμεριζόμενον ἕξεσιν, οὐχ ὡς σοφιστεύουσα τὴν πρὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς ὁμιλίαν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἑκάστῳ τὸ πρόσφορον κρίνουσα καὶ διατυποῦσα κατὰ καιρόν. . Τῷ δέ γε ἐμῷ πατρὶ «οὐ συνεργὸς μόνον» καὶ βοηθὸς ἐτύγχανεν οὖσα κατὰ τὴν θείαν διάταξιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρωτουργὸς τῶν καλλίστων καὶ εὑρετής. ἦν δὲ κἀκείνῳ τὸ ἦθος οἷον οὔπω παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις τεθέαμαι, καίτοι γε πολλοὶ τὸν ἄνδρα συνίσασι καὶ εἰ βούλοιντο μαρτυρήσουσι· τὸ δὲ ἦν «ἁπλοῦν» ὁμοῦ «καὶ γενναῖον», θῆλυ μὲν ἔχον οὐδέν, ἀπλάστῳ δὲ συγκεκραμένον πρᾳότητι, ἀκίνητον πρὸς ὀργήν, ἀθόρυβον πρὸς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν τὸ συμπίπτον. ἔγωγ' οὖν οὔτε θυμουμένῳ οὔτε ταραττομένῳ ποτὲ ἐντετύχηκα, ἀλλ' οὐδ' «ἔπληξέ» τινα πώποτε τῇ «χειρί», οὐδ' ἄλλοις τοῦτο παρεκελεύσατο, χαρίεις ἀεὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὴν «γλῶτταν» οὐ «πρόχειρος» μέν, σὺν ἡδονῇ δέ, ὁπότε δέοι, τοὺς λόγους ποιούμενος. τά τε περὶ τὸν βίον καὶ λίαν δραστήριος, τήν τε χεῖρα οὐκ ὄργανον ὀξυγράφου, ἀλλὰ «πτηνὸς» μᾶλλον ἢ «λόγος» καὶ οὐδ' ἑτέρῳ ὀργάνῳ, ἀλλ' ἑαυτῷ χρώμενος, κούφως τε διϊὼν καὶ «ἀπταίστως» καὶ ὁμαλῶς, «οἷον ἐλαίου ῥεῦμα» ῥέον «ἀψοφητί». Τὰ δὲ τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλὰ πῶς ἂν εἴποιμι ταῦτα, πῶς δὲ πάρεργον τοῦ λόγου ποιήσομαι, οἷς ἔργον ἡ εὐφημία παγχάλεπον; τὴν μὲν γὰρ ἡλικίαν εὐμεγέθει κυπαρίττῳ ἐῴκει, εἰς ἶσόν τε ἀνατρέχων καὶ ὅπῃ δεῖ τοῖς μέρεσι μεγεθυνόμενός τε καὶ πλατυνόμενος. τοὺς δὲ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἱλαραὶ τούτοις αἱ βολαὶ καί, ὡς ἂν ἕτερος εἴπῃ, χάριν ἀφροδίσιον ἀποπνέοντες· ἐπεβέβλητο δὲ τούτοις «ὀφρῦς» οὐκ «ἐπηρμένη» καὶ ἀλαζών, ἀλλ' «εὔγραμμος» καὶ ὀρθή, χρηστὸν ἦθος ἐπισημαίνουσα· ἦν γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ ἀπὸ ψιλῆς ὄψεως κατήγορος τῆς οἰκείας ψυχῆς. Καί, εἴ γέ τις εἶδε τῶν γνωματεύειν εἰδότων ἀπὸ σωμάτων ψυχάς, πρὶν ἢ λαλοῦντος ἀκούσειε, πρὶν ἄλλως χρήσαιτο, ἀπεφήνατο ἂν περὶ τῶν τέως κρυφίων ὅτι τῆς ἀρχαίας ἁπλότητος ζώπυρον ἐκεῖνος τῷ βίῳ περίεισιν, ὥστε εἴπερ δή που καὶ ἡμῖν τοιοῦτόν τι κέχρωσται, ἐκεῖθεν ὡς ἐκ παραδείγματος μετενήνεκται. τῆς μὲν γὰρ μητρικῆς ἀρχετυπίας πάντη δὴ ὑστερῶ τε καὶ ἀπολέλειμμαι, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ εἰς μίμησιν ἐκείνη τῷ βίῳ καθίστατο ἀλλ' εἰς ἔκπληξιν· τῷ δὲ πατρὶ ὥσπερ ἀετιδὴς συμπαρίπταμαι, ἢ μᾶλλον συνέπομαι ὡς σκιά, ἢ καὶ τούτου ἔλαττον μὴ πάντα ἐκείνῳ συναρμοζόμενος καὶ μεταστρεφόμενος. Τὸν τοίνυν ἐμὸν πατέρα τοιοῦτον ὄντα πᾶς μὲν ἐθάρρει διὰ τὴν ὁμαλότητα τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ οὐδεὶς τῶν πάντων ἐδεδίει προσιέναι καὶ διαλέγεσθαι, μόνη δὲ ἡ μήτηρ ἐξ ὑπερυψήλου τῆς ἀρετῆς οὐδὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἴσου ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ ἐλάττονος συνῆν τε καὶ διελέγετο, μόνον ἐνταῦθα φυλάττουσα τὸ ἀνάρμοστον καὶ μὴ καταλλήλως συνομιλοῦσα ὅτι μὴ πρὸς τὸ ἦθος ἐκείνου ἑώρα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν ἀρχαίαν διάταξιν. 10. Ἀλλ' ὢ τί ἂν εἰπὼν τῶν ἐκείνης καλῶν ἀκροθιγῶς ἅψωμαι; βούλομαι μὲν γὰρ μὴ πολὺ ἀπολελεῖφθαι τὸν λόγον αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπιχειρῶ καὶ συμπροθυμοῦμαι, καί γε οὕτως οἴομαι, πρὸ τῆς πλάσεως, ἁψάμενος δέ, ὥσπερ παλαιστὴς ἄτεχνος ἡττῶμαι τοῦ συμπαλαίοντος. καὶ τοῖς μὲν πολλοῖς ἴσως δόξω τι λέγειν περὶ ἐκείνης κομψότερον, ἐμοὶ δὲ ὁ λόγος οὐδὲ κατὰ βραχὺ τοῖς ἐκείνης καλοῖς πρόσεισιν, εἴτε τῷ ὑπὲρ μέτρον ἐκείνης εἴτε τῷ ἐλάττονι τοῦ τοῖς λόγοις ἐπιβάλλοντος μέτρου. καίτοι σύ με, ὦ μῆτερ, πρὸς τούτους ἐπαιδοτρίβεις ἀεί, οὐ σύμβουλος μόνον καθισταμένη μοι δεξιός, ἀλλὰ καὶ συμπράττουσα τὴν παίδευσιν καὶ συμπνέουσα, ὁπότε με ἀνέκρινες τοῦ διδασκαλείου ἐπαναστρέψαντα τίνα μὲν παρὰ τῶν παιδευτῶν εἴληφα, τίνα δὲ ἢ συνήνεγκα τοῖς συνομιληταῖς ἢ παρ' ἐκείνων ἐμπεπόρευμαι· εἶτα δὴ καὶ συμβιβάζουσά με πρὸς τὴν μνήμην ὦν ἐμεμαθήκειν, προσεποιοῦ ἡδέως ἀκούειν εἴ τι περὶ ὀρθογραφίας λέγοιμι, εἴ τι περὶ ποιήσεως καὶ πόθεν ἕκαστον παρῆκται καὶ πῶς ἥρμοσται, τίς τε ἡ ἐν αὐτοῖς κοινωνία καὶ τί παρὰ ταῦτα τὸ διαλλάττον. Οἶδά σου κἀκεῖνο, καὶ μάλα τεθαύμακα,