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of conduct to the dogma. Nor shall Polemon be passed over in silence by me; For he is a wonder among those much talked about. Before, he was not among the temperate, And a very shameful servant of pleasures; But when he was seized by a love for the good, Having found a counselor, though I cannot say who, Whether some wise man, or himself, at once He appeared so much superior to his passions, That I will set down one of his wonders. A licentious youth was calling for a courtesan; 738 And when she came, they say, near the gate, And there was Polemon looking out from a portrait, Seeing it, for it was venerable, She went away at once, overcome by the sight, As if ashamed before the man depicted as if he were alive. And this I know is among the many things said: Dion breathed, they say, something not very pleasant (I mean that Dion, of whom there is much talk), And one of the city-folk mocked this; He, when he saw his own wife, said: "What is this? For you did not tell me of the sickness." And she with an oath said: "This symptom, I thought, was common to all men, not to you alone." So great a distance to keep from men and friends; For speech is a manifestation of a reverent character. 739 And who does not praise this act of Alexander? Who took into his hands the daughters of the defeated Darius; and having learned that they were beautiful, He did not receive them into his sight; for it was a base thing, For one who had conquered men to be conquered by maidens. These things are nothing near to my own principles; Yet I praise them; and why? To see a white Form among Ethiopians, what a grace it is. Or even in the midst of the sea a sweet stream! So among wicked and evil teachings, To have something of moderation is indeed a thing of greatest wonder. For whose objects of worship are most full of passion, For them, to suffer passion is clearly also honorable. For one puts forward some god, whose passion it is, 740 Using the evil as a helper for evils. Whose loves, tell me, even for males, For your gods must have something more. Whose are the young Phrygian boys and drinking companions, Pouring out the sweetest nectar dissolutely? For I am ashamed of the mysteries of Zeus. Whose are the thefts of marriage and the outrages of chains? A shameful theater and a laugh for those called gods. How do women make Zeus into everything, A bull, a thunderbolt, a swan, a man, a beast, Gold, a serpent, the ecstasies of love, The highest and the counselor of the worst things? Who considers the mistress of pleasures a goddess, And raises altars and temples to passions? 741 And whose are the nights, truly worthy of night, Solemnly honored with dishonorable symbols? And Ithyphalli and Phalli, a common laugh, Mingling a new god in their creations; At the mention of which it was fitting to veil oneself, Hermaphrodites, Pans, a shapeless offspring; Gods with goat-legs and goat-like in character, Among whom are dancers of marriage and maidens; (For it is necessary to suffer something of marriage, even if not marriage). Among whom the beautiful women give in marriage those who are not beautiful, 742 Contributing a dowry, a source for prostitution. And the shamefulness of demons is someone's honor, So that not even humanity remains decent. From this, shameful things got their frankness, The earnings of a harlot's roof, lawful outrage. The wise men fashion Aphrodite after their own courtesans, so that they might deify them with their artifice; And Phidias's darlings inscribed on the finger Of the maiden: "Pantarkes is beautiful." From this, just as brave deeds and generalships Are brilliant in paintings and applause and writings, 743 So too is common beauty. Consider for me so many Harlots honored in temples and by gods, Euphro, Phryne, Leaena in the beast, (For even the name was august in the midst of temples), The mistress of Hellas, of whom there is much talk, The shameful Lais, corrupted from Hyccara, And many others, for I do not deem them worthy of mention. Of these things, therefore, best of men, like a skilled Assayer of silver, if there is anything good, accept it; But reject what does not make you better; And run to all your own teachings, And to the examples of temperate men and women; Of whom God is both the hope and the teacher, Writing better laws than the hand writes. 744 For we are the ones who, while others posit that adultery is evil And punish it by law, Ourselves introduce what is greater than this, Not even to look upon shamefully and with passion, Equating the cause with the consummation, Just as we equate anger, from which murder comes, with murdering. And the readiness for an oath with

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τρόπου τῷ δόγματι. Οὐδ' ὁ Πολέμων ἔμοι γε σιγηθήσεται· Καὶ γὰρ τὸ θαῦμα τῶν ἄγαν λαλουμένων. Ἦν μὲν τὸ πρόσθεν οὗτος οὐκ ἐν σώφροσι, Καὶ λίαν αἰσχρὸς ἡδονῶν ὑπηρέτης· Ἐπεὶ δ' ἔρωτι τοῦ καλοῦ κατεσχέθη, Σύμβουλον εὑρὼν, οὐκ ἔχω δ' εἰπεῖν τίνα, Εἴτ' οὖν σοφόν τιν', εἴθ' ἑαυτὸν, ἀθρόως Τοσοῦτον ὤφθη τῶν παθῶν ἀνώτερος, Ὥσθ' ἕν τι θήσω τῶν ἐκείνου θαυμάτων. Ἑταῖραν εἰσεκάλει τις ἀκρατὴς νέος· 738 Ἡ δ' ὡς πυλῶνος ἦλθε, φασὶ, πλησίον, Τῆς δ' ἦν προκύπτων Πολέμων ἐν εἰκόνι, Ταύτην ἰδοῦσα, καὶ γὰρ ἦν σεβασμία. Ἀπῆλθεν εὐθὺς καὶ θέας ἡττημένη, Ὡς ζῶντ' ἐπαισχυνθεῖσα τὸν γεγραμμένον. Καὶ τοῦτο πολλοῖς οἶδα τῶν λαλουμένων· ∆ίων ἀνέπνει, φασὶν, οὐ μάλ' ἡδύ τι (Τοῦτον λέγω ∆ίωνα, οὗ πολὺς λόγος), Καὶ τοῦτ' ἐκερτόμησε τῶν τις ἀστικῶν· Τόνδ', ὡς εἶδε γυναῖκα τὴν αὑτοῦ, φράσαι· «Τί τοῦτο; οὐ γὰρ ἔφρασάς μοι τὴν νόσον.» Καὶ τὴν σὺν ὅρκῳ· «Τοῦτο πάντων ἀῤῥένων, Εἰπεῖν, τὸ σύμπτωμ' ᾠόμην, οὐ σοῦ μόνου.» Τοσοῦτον ἀνδρῶν καὶ φίλων ἀποστατεῖν· Ὁ γὰρ λόγος, δήλωμα τοῦ σεμνοῦ τρόπου. 739 Τίς δ' οὐκ ἐπαινεῖ τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου τόδε; Ὃς τὰς ∆αρείου παῖδας ὡς ἡττημένου Εἰς χεῖρας εἷλεν· εὐπρεπεῖς δ' εἶναι μαθὼν, Εἰς ὄψιν οὐκ ἐδέξατ'· εἶναι γὰρ κακοῦ, Τ' ἀνδρῶν κρατήσανθ' ἥσσον' εἶναι παρθένων. Ταῦτ' ἐστι τῶν ἐμῶν μὲν οὐδὲν πλησίον· Ὅμως δ' ἐπαινῶ· καὶ πόθεν; λευκὴν ἰδεῖν Μορφὴν ἐν Αἰθίοψιν, ἡλίκη χάρις. Ἢ καὶ θαλάσσης ἐν μέσῳ νάμα γλυκύ! Ὣς δ' ἐν πονηροῖς καὶ κακοῖς διδάγμασιν, Ἔχειν τι σῶφρον, ἦ μεγίστου θαύματος. Ὧν γὰρ σεβάσματ' ἐστὶν ἐμπαθέστατα, Τούτοις τὸ πάσχειν δηλαδὴ καὶ τίμιον. Καὶ γὰρ θεῶν τιν', οὗ τὸ πάθος, προΐσταται, 740 Κακῶν βοηθῷ τοῦ κακοῦ κεχρημένος. Τίνων ἔρωτες, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ ἀῤῥένων, ∆εῖ γὰρ πλέον τι τοὺς θεοὺς ὑμῶν ἔχειν. Τίνων Φρυγίσκοι μείρακες καὶ συμπόται, Ἥδιστον νέκταρ οἰνοχοῦντες ἐκλύτως; Αἰσχύνομαι γὰρ τοῖς ∆ιὸς μυστηρίοις. Τίνων, γάμων κλοπαί τε καὶ δεσμῶν ὕβρεις; Θέατρον αἰσχρὸν καὶ γέλως κεκλημένοις. Πῶς πάντα ποιοῦσ' αἱ γυναῖκες τὸν ∆ία, Ταῦρον, κεραυνὸν, κύκνον, ἄνδρα, θηρίον, Χρυσὸν, δράκοντα, τὰς ἔρωτος ἐκστάσεις, Τὸν ὕπατόν τε καὶ κακίστων μήστορα; Τίς ἡδονῶν δέσποιναν ἡγεῖται θεὸν, Βωμούς τ' ἐγείρει καὶ ναοὺς παθήμασι; 741 Τίνων δὲ νύκτες, νυκτὸς ὄντως ἄξιαι, Σεμνῶς ἀτίμων συμβόλοις τιμώμεναι; Ἰθύφαλλοί τε καὶ Φαλλοὶ, γέλως μέσος, Θεὸν νέον μιγνύντες ἐν τοῖς πλάσμασιν· Ἃ καὶ λεγόντων ἐγκαλύπτεσθ' ἦν πρέπον, Ἑρμαφρόδιτοι, Πᾶνες, ἀσχήμων γόνος· Θεοὶ τραγοσκελεῖς τε καὶ τράγοι τρόπον, Παρ' οἷς γάμων χορεύτριαι καὶ παρθένοι· (∆εῖ γὰρ γάμου τι πάσχειν, εἰ καὶ μὴ γάμου). Παρ' οἷς γαμίζουσ' αἱ καλαὶ τὰς οὐ καλὰς, 742 Συνεισφέρουσαι προῖκα, πορνείας πόρον. Ἡ αἰσχρότης δὲ δαιμόνων τιμή τινος, Ὡς μηδὲ τὸ φιλάνθρωπον εὔσχημον μένειν. Ἐντεῦθεν ἔσχεν αἰσχρὰ τὴν παῤῥησίαν, Πόρνης τέγη μισθώμαθ', ὕβρις ἔννομος. Ταῖς σφῶν δ' ἑταίραις τὴν Ἀφροδίτην οἱ σοφοὶ Μορφοῦσιν, ὡς θεοῖντο τῷ σοφίσματι· Καὶ Φειδία τὰ παιδικὰ ἐν τῷ δακτύλῳ Τῆς παρθένου γραφέντα· «Παντάρχης καλός.» Ἐντεῦθεν ὡς ἀνδρίαι καὶ στρατηγίαι Λαμπραὶ γραφαῖς τε καὶ κρότοις καὶ συγγραφαῖς, 743 Ὡς καὶ τὸ κοινὸν κάλλος. Ἄθρει μοι τόσας Πόρνας ναοῖς τε καὶ θεοῖς τιμωμένας, Εὐφρὼ, Φρύνην, Λέαιναν ἐν τῷ θηρίῳ, (Σεμνὸν γὰρ ἦν καὶ τοὔνομ' ἐν ναοῖς μέσοις), Τὴν Ἑλλάδος δέσποιναν, ἧς πολὺς λόγος, Ἐξ Ὑκκάρων φθαρεῖσαν αἰσχρὰν Λαΐδα, Ἄλλας τε πολλὰς, οὐ γὰρ ἀξιῶ λόγου. Τούτων μὲν οὖν, βέλτιστε, ὥσπερ εὐφυὴς Ἀργυρογνώμων, εἴ τι μὲν καλὸν, δέχου· Ἀπεκλέγου δ' ἃ μή σε ποιεῖ βελτίω· Τοῖς σοῖς δὲ πᾶσι προστρέχειν διδάγμασι, Τύποις τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν σωφρόνων· Ὧν ἐλπίς ἐστι καὶ Θεὸς διδάσκαλος, Κρείσσους νόμους γράφοντες ὧν ἡ χεὶρ γράφει. 744 Ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν οἱ, τὸ μοιχεύειν κακὸν Ἄλλων τιθέντων καὶ κολαζόντων νόμῳ, Αὐτοὶ τὸ τούτου μεῖζον εἰσηγούμενοι, Μὴ δ' ἐμβλέπειν αἰσχρῶς τε καὶ παθητικῶς, Εἰς ἓν τιθέντες τῷ τέλει τὴν αἰτίαν, Ὡς τῷ φονεύειν τὸν χόλον, παρ' οὗ φόνος. Ὅρκου θ' ἑτοιμότητα τῇ