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something impossible and surpassing human nature, and in this to conquer the whole race of women by a great distance, and such virtue of soul as to leave the race of men, both those who have been and those who will ever be, far behind by a great measure, and to surpass all bounds of philosophy by the seemliness of her ways, and to hide all physical beauty by the fairness of her own countenance; and her suitor, to be inflamed for the maiden not only for these reasons, but even without these things to feel something for her, and with this passion to eclipse the most frantic lovers who ever lived. Then, while burning with love, to hear from somewhere that that wondrous beloved was about to be led to marriage by some worthless and rejected man, of low birth and crippled in body and the most wicked of all living beings. Have we presented to you a small part of our pain? and is it enough to set up the image to this point? For the sake of despondency, I think it is enough; for it was for this reason alone that we introduced it. But in order that I may show you the measure of fear and astonishment, let us go to another sketch. And let there be an army gathered of men on foot and horsemen and sailors for sea-battle, and let the number of triremes cover the sea, and let the phalanxes of foot soldiers and horsemen cover the expanses of the plains and the peaks of the mountains, and let the bronze of the weapons flash back at the sun, and let the glitter of helmets and shields be sent back in answer to the rays sent from there; and let the clash of spears and the neighing of horses be carried to heaven itself, and let neither sea nor land be visible, but bronze and iron everywhere. And let enemies also be arrayed against them, some savage and uncivilized men; and let the time of engagement be now at hand. Then let someone suddenly seize a youth, one of those raised in the country and knowing nothing more than the harp and the shepherd's crook, let him arm him with bronze weapons; let him lead him all around the camp and show him the companies and captains, archers, slingers, commanders, generals, hoplites, horsemen, javelin-throwers, triremes, trierarchs, the soldiers fenced in there, the multitude of engines of war stored in the ships; Let him show also the entire battle-array of the enemy and their repulsive faces and strange fashion of armor and infinite multitude and ravines and deep precipices and difficult mountain terrain; let him show, moreover, among the enemy, flying horses by some sorcery and hoplites carried through the air and the power and form of every enchantment. And let him recount the calamities of war: the cloud of javelins, the snowstorms of arrows, that great mist and invisibility, the gloomiest night which the multitude of arrows creates, turning back the sun's rays by its density, the dust obscuring the eyes no less than the darkness, the torrents of blood, the wails of the falling, the shouts of those standing, the heaps of the slain, wheels dipped in blood, horses with their riders carried headlong from the multitude of fallen corpses, the earth holding all things in confusion: blood and bows and arrows, horses' hooves and human heads lying together, and arms and neck and shin and chest cut through, brains plastered to swords, the point of an arrow broken off and having an eye pierced upon it. Let him also recount the sufferings of the navy: triremes being set on fire in the midst of the waters, others sinking with their hoplites, the roar of the waters, the din of the sailors, the cry of the soldiers, the foam of the waves and blood mingling, coming upon all the ships together, the men upon the

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ἀμήχανον οἷον καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ὑπερβαῖνον φύσιν, καὶ τούτῳ τὸ τῶν γυναικῶν ἁπασῶν φῦλον ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ διαστήματος νικᾶν, καὶ ψυχῆς ἀρετὴν τοσαύτην ὡς καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνδρῶν γένος τῶν τε γενομένων τῶν τε ἐσομένων ποτὲ πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ κατόπιν ἀφεῖναι, καὶ πάντας μὲν ὑπερβῆναι φιλοσοφίας ὅρους τῇ τῶν τρόπων εὐκοσμίᾳ, πᾶσαν δὲ κρύψαι σώματος ὥραν τῷ τῆς οἰκείας ὄψεως κάλλει· τὸν δὲ ταύτης μνηστῆρα, μὴ διὰ ταῦτα μόνον περικαίεσθαι τῆς παρθένου, ἀλλὰ καὶ χωρὶς τούτων πάσχειν τι πρὸς αὐτὴν καὶ τῷ πάθει τούτῳ τοὺς μανικωτάτους τῶν πώποτε γενομένων ἀποκρύψαι ἐραστῶν. Εἶτα μεταξὺ τῷ φίλτρῳ καιόμενον ἀκοῦσαί ποθεν ὅτι τὴν θαυμαστὴν ἐρωμένην ἐκείνην τῶν εὐτελῶν τις καὶ ἀπερριμμένων ἀνδρῶν καὶ δυσγενὴς καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀνάπηρος καὶ πάντων τῶν ὄντων μοχθηρότατος μέλλοι πρὸς γάμον ἄγεσθαι. Ἆρά σοι μικρόν τι μέρος τῆς ἡμετέρας ὀδύνης παρεστήσαμεν; καὶ ἀρκεῖ μέχρι τούτου στῆσαι τὴν εἰκόνα; Τῆς μὲν ἀθυμίας ἕνεκεν ἀρκεῖν οἶμαι· καὶ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο μόνον αὐτὴν παρειλήφαμεν. Ἵνα δέ σοι καὶ τοῦ φόβου καὶ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως ὑποδείξω τὸ μέτρον, ἐφ' ἑτέραν πάλιν ἴωμεν ὑπογραφήν. Καὶ ἔστω στρατόπεδον ἐκ πεζῶν καὶ ἱππέων καὶ ναυμαχῶν συνειλεγμένον ἀνδρῶν, καὶ καλυπτέτω μὲν τὴν θάλατταν ὁ τῶν τριήρων ἀριθμός, καλυπτέτω δὲ τὰ τῶν πεδίων πλήθη καὶ τὰς τῶν ὀρῶν κορυφὰς αἱ τῶν πεζῶν καὶ ἱππέων φάλαγγες, καὶ ἀντιλαμπέτω μὲν ἡλίῳ τῶν ὅπλων ὁ χαλκὸς καὶ ταῖς ἐκεῖθεν πεμπομέναις ἀκτῖσιν ἡ τῶν περικεφαλαιῶν καὶ τῶν ἀσπίδων ἀνταφιέσθω μαρμαρυγή· ὁ δὲ τῶν δοράτων κτύπος καὶ ὁ τῶν ἵππων χρεμετισμὸς πρὸς αὐτὸν φερέσθω τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ μήτε θάλασσα φαινέσθω μήτε γῆ, ἀλλὰ χαλκὸς καὶ σίδηρος πανταχοῦ. Ἀντιπαραταττέσθωσαν δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ πολέμιοι, ἄγριοί τινες ἄνδρες καὶ ἀνήμεροι· ἐνεστηκέτω δὲ ἤδη καὶ ὁ τῆς συμβολῆς καιρός. Εἶτα ἁρπάσας τις ἐξαίφνης μειράκιον τῶν ἐν ἀγρῷ τραφέντων καὶ τῆς πηκτίδος καὶ τῆς καλαύροπος πλέον εἰδότων οὐδέν, καθοπλιζέτω μὲν αὐτὸ ὅπλοις χαλκοῖς· περιαγέτω δὲ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἅπαν καὶ δεικνύτω λόχους καὶ λοχαγούς, τοξότας, σφενδονιστάς, ταξιάρχους, στρατηγούς, ὁπλίτας, ἱππέας, ἀκοντιστάς, τριήρεις, τριηράρχους, τοὺς ἐκεῖ πεφραγμένους στρατιώτας, τῶν ἐν ταῖς ναυσὶν ἀποκειμένων μηχανημάτων τὸ πλῆθος· δεικνύτω δὲ καὶ τὴν τῶν πολεμίων παράταξιν ἅπασαν καὶ ὄψεις ἀποτροπαίους τινὰς καὶ σκευὴν ὅπλων ἐξηλλαγμένην καὶ πλῆθος ἄπειρον καὶ φάραγγας καὶ κρημνοὺς βαθεῖς καὶ δυσχωρίας ὀρῶν· δεικνύτω δὲ ἔτι παρὰ τοῖς ἐναντίοις καὶ πετομένους ἵππους διά τινος μαγγανείας καὶ ὁπλίτας δι' ἀέρος φερομένους καὶ πάσης γοητείας δύναμίν τε καὶ ἰδέαν. Καταλεγέτω δὲ καὶ τὰς τοῦ πολέμου συμφοράς, τῶν ἀκοντίων τὸ νέφος, τῶν βελῶν τὰς νιφάδας, τὴν πολλὴν ἀχλὺν ἐκείνην καὶ τὴν ἀορασίαν, τὴν ζοφωδεστάτην νύκτα ἣν τὸ τῶν τοξευμάτων συνίστησι πλῆθος, ἀποστρέφον τῇ πυκνότητι τὰς ἀκτῖνας, τὴν κόνιν οὐχ ἧττον τοῦ σκότους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀμαυροῦσαν, τοὺς τῶν αἱμάτων χειμάρρους, τῶν πιπτόντων τὰς οἰμωγάς, τῶν ἑστώτων τοὺς ἀλαλαγμούς, τῶν κειμένων τοὺς σωρούς, τροχοὺς αἵματι βαπτιζομένους, ἵππους αὐτοῖς ἀναβάταις πρηνεῖς φερομένους ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν κειμένων νεκρῶν, τὴν γῆν φύρδην ἅπαντα ἔχουσαν, αἷμα καὶ τόξα καὶ βέλη, ἵππων ὁπλὰς καὶ ἀνθρώπων κεφαλὰς ὁμοῦ κειμένας καὶ βραχίονας καὶ τράχηλον καὶ κνημῖδα καὶ στῆθος διακοπέν, ἐγκεφάλους ξίφεσι προσπεπλασμένους, ἀκίδα βέλους ἐκκεκλασμένην καὶ ὀφθαλμὸν ἔχουσαν ἐμπεπερονημένον. Καταλεγέτω καὶ τὰ τοῦ ναυτικοῦ πάθη, τριήρεις τὰς μὲν ἐν μέσοις ἀναπτομένας τοῖς ὕδασι, τὰς δὲ αὐτοῖς ὁπλίταις καταδυομένας, τὸν τῶν ὑδάτων ἦχον, τὸν τῶν ναυτῶν θόρυβον, τὴν τῶν στρατιωτῶν βοήν, τῶν κυμάτων καὶ τῶν αἱμάτων μιγνυμένων τὸν ἀφρὸν καὶ ὁμοῦ τοῖς πλοίοις ἐπεισιόντα πᾶσι, τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν