Lives of the sophists

 to follow, having scattered it like some mist. At once, therefore, the divine Plutarch records his own life, scattered throughout his books, and that

 not one man has written a biography, at least so far as we know but for one collecting from the signs given during the reading, such were the things

 And after these things he deals with many other matters, how one must take care of them. And he says that he also pursued and cast out a certain demon

 ungrudging. Therefore, he did few things by himself, apart from his companions and pupils, revering the divine but for the most part he was with his

 Golden locks gleamed about his back and his breast, and he seemed altogether as one bathing and having been bathed. And when his companions were aston

 of beauty. Thus that man also, choosing to praise him for the sake of the truth, on the one hand reveals the magnitude of the punishments and misfortu

 they neglected the plot. Therefore, just as in the time of the old and great Socrates, no one of all the Athenians (even though they were a democracy)

 But she happened to be skilled also in delivering women in their confinement. <and> as she was setting a cup before the Egyptian and pouring the spice

 his own hand and the things written, he found the oracle written on his hand. 6.4.4 And it is this: Threads are set on the threads of two Fates for yo

 with easy proofs, he orders him to come out, and he came out, having overthrown a tyrant with his speech and he immediately invited him to his table

 is your life as well, a gift as high as heaven and reaching the stars, leave this Sosipatra with us, her truer nurses and fathers, and for five years

 is it, child? And she, pausing for a little, said, But now I understand what was said. For as they, weeping, handed these things to me, they said, '

 he was doing, and revealed the signs that appeared. And as he fell gaping to the ground, and confessed that Sosipatra was openly a goddess, Rise up,

 I have no need to write their names for the account hastens on not to the base but to the good. Except for what one of her children (Antoninus was hi

 human. For collecting the bones and heads of those convicted of many crimes, whom the civil court had punished, they both declared them gods, and they

 he had arrived, and his body was weary and foremost among his school, and holding first place, were Maximus, on whose behalf this is being written, a

 the torches will light up, which the goddess carries in her hands and the light, flaring up on the torches, anticipated the words. We then, for the

 sent him gifts <and> an escort for the care of the temples of Hellas, he immediately summoned 7.3.10 Maximus and Chrysanthius. And the summons was one

 nevertheless unmoved, not lifted up by the imperial power, but bringing down the imperial power and leveling it to a more philosophical state. 7.4.8 B

 he contributed great good will to affairs, exposing his body to the foremost dangers, and being openly at odds with the praetorian prefect, so that no

 for immediately those who had conspired and been numbered and with everyone everywhere being seized and slaughtered, like hens at a festival and symp

 Pergamon, and the more honored of the companions were present 8.1.6 but the teacher, implanting a certain harmony and care for what is human in his s

 in imitation of the public theaters 9.1.6, but smaller and as is fitting for a house. For so great was the strife in Athens of the men and youths of t

 (And Tusciunus, who was present at the trial, and within the group of the accused, related these things to the author) Prohaeresius came forward into

 the sun makes the night longer by becoming more southerly (for it had entered Libra and the nights were about to lengthen) and the ship-captain, bein

 he was handsome, and one marveled at the power of his beauty, that for so great a body 10.3.2 it sufficed throughout for the most excellent form and

 for the sake of wealth, but for Prohaeresius argument alone was enough, just as the Homeric Hermes escorting Priam to the tent of Achilles10.3.17 even

 no one knew the future but when he said I will ask for another, more difficult thing, then, having been ordered 10.5.2 to speak, he says, let not

 being of a most distinguished rank, to grasp, and to draw into sight the phantom conceived from ancient images, 10.6.4 he hurried to Greece. And havin

 transferring their astonishment to his appearance and what they saw, they were amazed at both the beauty and height of his body, as if looking up with

 very quickly leaped into political life. 10.8.1 But when Julian was emperor, being excluded <ἐν> from his position of teaching (for he was thought to

 they say. HIMERIUS: Bithynia bore this man, but the one writing these things did not know him and yet he was living in those times. But having crosse

 to Libanius 16.1.10 and of those thought worthy of his company he departed unstung but his character was immediately recognized for what it was, and

 blaming the greatness of that man's nature, but himself testifying to his own 17.1.3 hyperattention and precision regarding petty words as if unaware

 he was a distinguished child, having partaken of all education which both contributes to and perfects virtue. 21.1.2 And advancing in age, he became a

 precision, and to confess openly that when they met with Ionicus, they learned in practice the things said by the ancients, and brought them out for u

 having something contentious and stubborn in his nature, resisting the signs that had appeared from the gods, he would ask for and demand 23.2.2 other

 of those present, a stir arose, and it seemed good to him to contribute something to what was being said, everything was full of silence, as if no peo

 All were present, and he who is writing these things was present but Justus, standing over it, and fixing the gaze of his eyes (for the victim lay in

 shook souls into fear, he alone remained unshaken, so that 23.6.2 one might have conjectured * that the man was not even on earth. At those times inde

blaming the greatness of that man's nature, but himself testifying to his own 17.1.3 hyperattention and precision regarding petty words; as if unaware that Homer was not concerned with every meter, but with a certain euphony and melody, nor Phidias with getting the finger and the boy just right for the praise of the goddess, but with dominating, in the one case the hearing, and in the other the sight, and with the cause being undiscoverable or hard to discern, just as in the case of beautiful and lovely bodies, not all admire the same thing, and he who is captivated does not know whence he has been captured. So Acacius, having striven for the best, and having won for himself a great reputation for being able to defeat Libanius, departed while still a youth; and the people, all the serious ones among them, admired him as though he had reached old age. NYMPHIDIANUS. Nymphidianus was from Smyrna, and Maximus the philosopher was his brother, and another was Claudianus, who was himself an excellent philosopher. He was a man who had not partaken of the education and training at Athens, but had become 18.1.2 skilled in rhetoric and worthy of the name of sophist. The Emperor Julian entrusted to him the imperial correspondence, putting him in charge of those letters that are composed in the Greek language. He was superior in the so-called declamations and investigations, but in extemporaneous speaking and 18.1.3 conversation he was no longer the same. His death occurred when he had become an old man, and after his brother Maximus. ZENO. Doctors flourished at this time, both Zeno of Cyprus, who founded a much-praised school (but he overlapped in time with Julian the sophist) and after him, in the time of Prohaeresius, the successors of Ze19.1.2no. Zeno was skilled in both speaking about and practicing medi19.1.3cine. Of his famous pupils who were assigned their parts, some were left one skill, others both; but nevertheless they excelled according to what each had inherited of practice and theory. MAGNUS. This man was from Antioch, the one .1.2 beyond the Euphrates, which they now call Nisibis; and having become a student of Zeno and †in the nature of preferential bodies,† having dragged in Aristotle for the ability to speak he forced doctors to be silent in debate, but he did not seem to be as able to heal .1.3 as he was to speak. Therefore, just as the ancients say that Archidamus, when asked if he were more powerful than Pericles, said "But even if I throw Pericles down, he, by saying that he has not been thrown down, wins," so also Magnus would demonstrate that those who had been healed by oth.1.4ers were still sick. But those who were healthy and strong acknowledged their gratitude to those who had healed them; but he defeated the doctors as far as his mouth and his questions went. .1.5 And a distinguished public school was his in Alexandria, and everyone sailed there and went to his lectures, as though they would only admire something or receive some of the fine things from him. .1.6 And it did not happen that they were disappointed; for they either gained the ability to speak, or they also acquired the ability to do and accomplish something through their own diligence. ORIBASIUS. Oribasius was brought forth by Pergamum, and this immediately contributed to his fame, just as for those born in Athens, when they are successful in letters, the great report goes about that the Attic Muse and excellence are their own. And being well-endowed by nature for both, from

τὸ μέγεθος τῆς ἐκείνου φύσεως αἰτιώμενος, αὐτὸς δὲ ἑαυτῷ μαρτυρῶν τὴν 17.1.3 περὶ τὰ λεξείδια <ἐπί>στασιν καὶ ἀκρίβειαν· ὥσπερ ἀγνοῶν ὅτι μήτε Ὁμήρῳ παντὸς ἔμελε μέτρου, ἀλλ' εὐφωνίας τινὸς καὶ μέλους, μήτε Φειδίᾳ τοῦ τὸν δάκτυλον παραλαβεῖν καὶ τὸν παῖδα πρὸς ἔπαινον τῆς θεᾶς, ἀλλὰ τυραννεῖν τὸ μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἀκοήν, <τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ὄψιν>, καὶ τὸ αἴτιον ὑπάρχειν ἀνεύρετον ἢ δύσκριτον, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς καλοῖς καὶ ἐρασμίοις σώμασιν, οὐ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ θαυμάζουσιν, ὁ δὲ ἁλοὺς οὐκ οἶδεν ὅθεν εἴληπται. ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἀκάκιος ἐς τὸ ἄριστον ἀναδραμών, καὶ πολλὴν ἑαυτῷ παρασχὼν δόξαν ὡς τοῦ Λιβανίου κρατήσων, ἀπῄει νέος ὢν ἔτι· οἱ δὲ ἄνθρωποι, ὅσον σπουδαῖον ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἐθαύμαζον αὐτὸν ὥσπερ εἰς γῆρας ἀφιγμένον. ΝΥΜΦΙ∆ΙΑΝΟΣ. Νυμφιδιανὸς δὲ ἦν μὲν ἐκ Σμύρνης, Μάξιμος δὲ ἦν ὁ φιλόσοφος ἀδελφὸς αὐτῷ, καὶ Κλαυδιανὸς ἕτερος, φιλοσοφῶν καὶ αὐτὸς ἄριστα. ἀνὴρ δὲ τῆς μὲν Ἀθήνησι παιδείας καὶ ἀγωγῆς οὐ μετεσχηκώς, γεγονὼς δὲ 18.1.2 εἰς ῥητορικὴν καὶ τοῦ τῶν σοφιστῶν ὀνόματος ἄξιος. ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ Ἰουλιανὸς αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν γλῶτταν ἐπέτρεψε, ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς ἐπιστήσας, ὅσαι διὰ τῶν ἑλληνικῶν ἑρμηνεύονται λόγων. κρείττων δὲ κατὰ τὰς καλουμένας μελέτας καὶ τὰ ζητήματα, τὰ δὲ ἐν προάγωσιν καὶ τῷ δια18.1.3 λεχθῆναι οὐκ ἔθ' ὅμοιος. τελευτὴ δὲ αὐτῷ συνέβη γενομένῳ πρεσβύτῃ, καὶ μετὰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Μάξιμον. ΖΗΝΩΝ. Ἰατροὶ δὲ κατὰ τούτους ἤκμαζον τοὺς χρόνους, Ζήνων τε ὁ Κύπριος, διδασκαλίαν τε πολυύμνητον συστησάμενος (ἀλλ' ἐπέβαλε τοῖς χρόνοις Ἰουλιανῷ τῷ σοφιστῇ) καὶ μετ' ἐκεῖνον, κατὰ τοὺς Προαιρεσίου χρόνους, οἱ διάδοχοι Ζή19.1.2 νωνος. ἄμφω δὲ ὁ Ζήνων ἐξήσκητο λέγειν τε καὶ ποιεῖν ἰατρι19.1.3 κήν. τῶν δὲ ὀνομαστῶν ὁμιλητῶν αὐτοῦ διαλαχόντες, οἱ μὲν τὸ ἕτερον, οἱ δὲ ἀμφότερα, κατελείφθησαν· ἐκράτουν δὲ ὅμως καὶ καθ' ὅ τις ἐκληρονόμησεν ἔργου τε καὶ λόγου. ΜΑΓΝΟΣ. Οὗτος ἐκ μὲν Ἀντιοχείας ἦν γεγονώς, τῆς .1.2 ὑπὲρ τὸν Εὐφράτην, ἣν νῦν Νίσιβιν ὀνομάζουσιν· ἀκροατὴς δὲ γενόμενος Ζήνωνος καὶ †τῇ περὶ τῶν σωμάτων τῶν προαιρετικῶν φύσει,† τὸν Ἀριστοτέλην ἐς τὸ δύνασθαι λέγειν συνεφελκυσάμενος σιωπᾶν μὲν ἐν τῷ λέγειν τοὺς ἰατροὺς ἠνάγκαζε, θεραπεύειν δὲ οὐκ ἐδόκει δυνατὸς εἶναι .1.3 καθάπερ λέγειν. ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ παλαιοί φασιν Ἀρχίδαμον, εἰ Περικλέους εἴη δυνατώτερος ἐρωτώμενον "ἀλλὰ κἂν καταβάλω Περικλέα," φάναι "λέγων ἐκεῖνος ὅτι μὴ καταβέβληται, νενίκηκεν," οὕτω καὶ τοὺς θεραπευθέντας ὑφ' ἑτέ.1.4 ρων ἀπεδείκνυ Μάγνος ἔτι νοσοῦντας. οἱ δὲ ὑγιαίνοντες καὶ ἐρρωμένοι χάριν ὡμολόγουν τοῖς θεραπεύσασιν· ἀλλ' ἐκράτει τῶν ἰατρῶν μέχρι τοῦ στόματος καὶ τῶν ἐρωτήσεων. .1.5 καὶ διδασκαλεῖον μὲν ἐξῄρητο κοινὸν αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν, καὶ πάντες ἔπλεον καὶ παρ' αὐτὸν ἐφοίτων, ὡς θαυμάσαντές τι μόνον ἢ ληψόμενοι τῶν παρ' ἐκείνου καλῶν. .1.6 καὶ ἀποτυγχάνειν οὐ συνέβαινεν αὐτοῖς· ἢ γὰρ τὸ λαλεῖν ἐκέρδαινον, ἢ καὶ τὸ δύνασθαι ποιεῖν τι καὶ ἐνεργεῖν διὰ τῆς σφετέρας ἐπιμελείας προσελάμβανον. ὈΡΙΒΑΣΙΟΣ. Ὀριβάσιον δὲ Πέργαμος ἤνεγκε, καὶ τοῦτο εὐθὺς οὕτω συνετέλει πρὸς δόξαν, ὥσπερ τοῖς Ἀθήνησι γεγονόσιν, ὅταν εὐδοκιμῶσι κατὰ τοὺς λόγους, πολὺς ἄνω χωρεῖ λόγος ὅτι Ἀττικὴ Μοῦσα καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν οἰκεῖον. ἑκατέρων δὲ εὖ πεφυκώς, ἐκ