On Kingship 34–65
Greek text: Krabinger 1.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 34
34Krabinger 1:34
σαι τὰ Ῥωμαίων, ὡς τὴν περὶ τὸ βασιλικὸν σῶμα σκηνὴν καὶ θεραπείαν, ἣν ὥπερ ἱερουργοῦντες ὑμῖν ἐν ἀποῤῥήτῳ ποιοῦνται, καὶ τὸ βαρβαρικῶς ἐκτεθεῖσθαι τὰ καθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ὅ). 'Ώ; οὐ. φιλεὶ συγγίνεσθαι φαντασία δ5τε καὶ ἀλήθεια. ᾿Αλλὰ σύγε μὴ δυιχεράνῃς, ὠτ ἢ τοῦτό γε οὐκ ἔσι σὸν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀρξάντων τῇς νόσου καὶ παραδόντων τῇ διαδοχῇ τοῦ χρόνου δηλούμενον τὸ κακόν. Τοιγαροῦν ἡ σεμνότῃς αὕτῃ καὶ τὸ δεδιέναι, μὴ. ἐξανθρωκπισθείγέε 1.) συνηθὲς γενόμενοι 1θθέαμα, κατακλείεους ποιεῖ, πολιορκουμένου; ὑφ᾽ ἕαυτῶν, ἐλάχιςα. μὲν ὁρῶντας, ἐλάχιτα δὲ ἀκούοντας, ἀφ᾽ ὧν πρακτικὴ φρόνησις συναθροίξεται, μόνας ἡδοἰένου, ᾽ τὰς. τοῦ σώματος ἡδονάς, καὶ τούτων γε τὰς ὑλικωτάτα,, ὅσας ἀφῴ τε καὶ γεῦσις. πορίξουσι, βίον 1ὅ δῶντας θαλαττίου πνεύμονος. Ἕως οὖν ἀπαξιοῦτε Π » 3ςν ἡ - ᾽,, ᾿ Ε τὸν ἄνθρωπον, οὐδὲ τῆς ἀνθρώπου τυγχάνετε τελειότῃ-
sai ta Rhōmaiōn, hōs tēn peri to basilikon sōma skēnēn kai therapeian, hēn hōper hierourgountes hymin en aporrhētǭ poiountai, kai to barbarikōs ektetheisthai ta kath᾽ hymas ho). 'Ō? ou. philei synginesthai phantasia d5te kai alētheia. ᾿Alla syge mē duicheranę̄s, ōt ē touto ge ouk esi son, alla tōn arxantōn tę̄s nosou kai paradontōn tę̄ diadochę̄ tou chronou dēloumenon to kakon. Toigaroun hē semnotę̄s hautę̄ kai to dedienai, mē. exanthrōkpistheigee 1.) synēthes genomenoi 1ththeama, katakleieous poiei, poliorkoumenou? hyph᾽ heautōn, elachisa. men horōntas, elachita de akouontas, aph᾽ hōn praktikē phronēsis synathroixetai, monas hēdoienou, ᾽ tas. tou sōmatos hēdonas, kai toutōn ge tas hylikōtata,, hosas aphǭ te kai geusis. porixousi, bion 1ho dōntas thalattiou pneumonos. Heōs oun apaxioute P » 3sn hē - ᾽,, ᾿ E ton anthrōpon, oude tēs anthrōpou tynchanete teleiotę̄-
than the stage-setting and ceremonial around the emperor's person, which they perform for you in secret, as though conducting sacred rites, and the barbaric display of your state. For show and truth do not usually keep company. But do not be annoyed: this is not your doing; the evil was begun by those who started the disease and handed it on to the succession of time. So this solemnity, and the fear of being made merely human by becoming a familiar sight, keeps you shut in, besieged by yourselves, seeing as little as possible and hearing as little as possible of the things from which practical wisdom is gathered, delighting only in the pleasures of the body, and of these the most material, those which touch and taste provide, living the life of a jellyfish. So long, then, as you disdain the human being, you do not attain even the perfection of a human being.
Notes and citation
Summary: Court ceremonial has shut emperors away from the world, leaving them to bodily pleasures and the life of a jellyfish.
- “The life of a jellyfish” (literally “of a sea-lung”) is from Plato, Philebus 21c. A few garbled characters before “the human being” are left untranslated. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): αὶ π᾿ αἱ τηνίαϊο) Μοη. Ο. παραί- ΒΕΟ. θ8εὰ αἷι. Ἰεοιϊοποτα Μοα. φευσις (51.) οι. Ὁ. Υἱὰ. 1118. Β' πίον Ἰΐη., εἰ Νοη. Ε, ἰπ τὰ. ΧΙ. τοῖ. εἱ ΧΥ, 404. ΒάΡοηι. Ῥγοχίήνο γινόμενοι Νίοη. τ. σκηνὴν, θυροτβοσ. φαντασίαν, Ἐ' Τυῖι πατακλείτυς Υἱπά. Ῥαι. Ο( αι. Νῖοχ ὑτοὸ ἡμῖν βοτὶ- 12. ἐφ᾽ ἸΙαντῶν Μίουι. Ἐ. ὑπ Ρηὶ ὑμῖν ἄυοο ᾿ἶδτο Δίου. Ὦ, αὐλήτων (ἴπιπιο αὐλικῶν), αὖ αιι- “ἸΏ ἃ οοἵτ: Ρτ. τὸν, υἱὐ νίδοιατ, [ἰεῖς οὔφε60ς, ἴπ πισεῖοπι νεηΐ! Βε-. υ υἱπρίο. Ἠδθεῖ εἰΐατπι Βδζοοο ἡμῖν οη. 15. αἰδουμίνες Τατη, 1. Υ. Α. Ῥδι. Ο. Τυπι Υἱπὰ. τῶν βαρ- 4. Ατἱφίοι. Ἐκ}. 111. 10, 8. ἰδ ὶβαρικῶν. “)εϊησερθ ἐκτεθειῶσθαι αυὸ Ζεῖ!. «011. ΡΗΙΙοπ. Ταὰ, ΤΟΥ͂. Ιεβετ ἀαπὶ ςὐπεοεῖ. ΟἹ. Ζοδεεκῖτις Ῥ- 203. 84. εἀ. ΡΙεΙ ΠΕ, οἱ στεβον. δὰ θορῇοοὶ. Αἷδο, Ρ. 106. εὰ. 2. Ναζ. Οἵ. ΧΙ. ρ. γί. Ὁ. οἀ. Μαυς. Ὡοὶ. 2. ἱπίτα ροθῖϊ. Ὠεΐα δῶντες Ρατ. ΑΟ. Μοη. ΒῺ → .
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phlb. 21c (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 34 (Krabinger 1:34; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/34). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/34
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 35
35Krabinger 1:35
τοι᾽ καὶ γὰρ οἷς σύνεξε παρὰ δίαιτάν᾽ ᾽ τε καὶ ἄλλως, καὶ οἷς ἔσιν εἰς τὰ βασίλεια πάροδος. ἀδεέξερον, ἢ τρατηγοῖς τε καὶ λοχαγοῖ!, τούτους οὖς χαρίεντας ἄρα παρασκευάξεσθε, τοὺς μικροκεφάλους τε καὶ ὀλιγογνώδ μόναι, οὗ ἡὶ φύσις ἀμαρτάνουσα παραχαράττει, καθάπὲρ ἀδικοῦντες οἱ τραπεξῖται τὸ΄ νόμισμα" καὶ γίνεται βασιλεὶ δῶρον ἀπόπληκτος ἄνθρωπος καὶ μεῖδον ὅσον ἀποπληκτότερος" οὗτοι γελασείοντες ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ πλαυσείοντες ἀτελῶς, καὶ σχήλιασι καὶ ψόφοις καὶ ἅπασιν ὅσοις οἷόν τε βωμολοχοῦντες συνδιαφθείρουσιν Β ὑμῖν τὸν χρόνον, καὶ τῇς, ψυχῇ! τὴν ἀχλὺν, ὃν ἐκ τοῦ μὴ φύσει δὴν ἔχετε, κακῷ μείξονι, παραμυθοῦνται. Τούτων τὰ κολοβὰ διανοήματα καὶ ῥήματα ταῖρ ἀκοαῖς ὑμῶν ἐναρμιόξεται μάλλον, ἢ νοῦς ἐκ φιλοσοφίας ἐν γλώττῃ περιτράνῳ τε καὶ ςρογγύλῃ. Ὃ δὲ τῇς θαυμαΞςῆς οἰκουρίας ἀπολελαύκατε, τοῦ δήμου τὸ μὲν φρόνιμον ὑποπτεύοντες καὶ πρὸς ἐκείνους ἀποσεμνυνόμενοι,. τὸ δὲ ἀνόητον εἐἰάγοντες καὶ πρὸς ἐκείνους, ἀπογυμνούμενοί, ἔδει μὲν εἰδέναι καλῶς ὅτι ταῖν. αὐὖδθταῖ; παρασκευαῖς ἕκατον αὔξεται καὶ συγκροτεῖται.
toi᾽ kai gar hois synexe para diaitan᾽ ᾽ te kai allōs, kai hois esin eis ta basileia parodos. adeexeron, ē tratēgois te kai lochagoi!, toutous ous charientas ara paraskeuaxesthe, tous mikrokephalous te kai oligognōd monai, hou hēi physis amartanousa paracharattei, kathaper adikountes hoi trapexitai to΄ nomisma" kai ginetai basilei dōron apoplēktos anthrōpos kai meidon hoson apoplēktoteros" houtoi gelaseiontes en tautǭ kai plauseiontes atelōs, kai schēliasi kai psophois kai hapasin hosois hoion te bōmolochountes syndiaphtheirousin B hymin ton chronon, kai tę̄s, psychę̄! tēn achlyn, hon ek tou mē physei dēn echete, kakǭ meixoni, paramythountai. Toutōn ta koloba dianoēmata kai rhēmata tair akoais hymōn enarmioxetai mallon, ē nous ek philosophias en glōttę̄ peritranǭ te kai srongylę̄. Ho de tę̄s thaumaXsēs oikourias apolelaukate, tou dēmou to men phronimon hypopteuontes kai pros ekeinous aposemnynomenoi,. to de anoēton eeiagontes kai pros ekeinous, apogymnoumenoi, edei men eidenai kalōs hoti tain. auydthtai? paraskeuais hekaton auxetai kai synkroteitai.
For those who keep you company at table and elsewhere, and who have readier access to the palace than generals and captains, these you furnish yourselves as charming companions: the small-headed and small-witted, whom nature, erring, has struck false, as dishonest money-changers do the coinage; and a crack-brained man becomes a gift for the emperor, all the greater the more crack-brained he is. These, wanting to laugh and to weep at once for no purpose, playing the buffoon with gestures and noises and every means they can, help you waste your time, and console the fog of your soul, which you have from not living according to nature, with a greater evil. Their stunted thoughts and words fit your ears better than a mind formed by philosophy on a clear and well-rounded tongue. As for what you have reaped from this wonderful life indoors — suspecting the sensible part of the people and holding yourselves aloof from them, while bringing in the senseless and baring yourselves before them — you ought to have known well that each thing grows and is held together by the same means [by which it was made].
Notes and citation
Summary: Shut in the palace, the emperor keeps company with jesters and fools instead of wise men and soldiers.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 35 (Krabinger 1:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/35). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/35
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 36
36Krabinger 1:36
᾿Αλλ᾽. ἂν ἐπιδράμῃς τῷ νῷ τὴν ὅποι τοτὲ τῇς γῇς ἐκταθεῖσαν ἀρχὴν, εἴτε τῶν Παρθυαίων, εἴτε τῶν Μακεδόνων, εἴτε τῶν “Πιρσῶν, εἴτε τῶν. παλαιτάτων Μήδων, εἴτε τὴν ἐν ἡ δῶμεν, ἄνδρες δημοτικοί τε καὶ ὅ ςρατιῶται, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ συνθυραυλοῦντές τε καὶ χαμευνοῦντε; τοῖς ἐν ταῖς φάλαγξι, καὶ οὔτε μειονεκτοῦντες πόνων, οὔτε πλεονεκτοῦντες ἡδονῶν, ἑκάτῃν ἐπικράτειαν ἐπὶ μέγα προήγαγον" δι᾽ ἐπιμελείας ἄνθρωποι κτώμενοι τἀγαθὰ καὶ γενόμενοι ξηλωτοὶ χαλεπῶς; ἂν ἔτι τὴν ἢ
᾿All᾽. an epidramę̄s tǭ nǭ tēn hopoi tote tę̄s gę̄s ektatheisan archēn, eite tōn Parthyaiōn, eite tōn Makedonōn, eite tōn “Pirsōn, eite tōn. palaitatōn Mēdōn, eite tēn en hē dōmen, andres dēmotikoi te kai ho sratiōtai, kai ta polla synthyraulountes te kai chameunounte? tois en tais phalanxi, kai oute meionektountes ponōn, oute pleonektountes hēdonōn, hekatę̄n epikrateian epi mega proēgagon" di᾽ epimeleias anthrōpoi ktōmenoi tagatha kai genomenoi xēlōtoi chalepōs? an eti tēn ē
But if you run over in your mind the empire that at any time has stretched over the earth — whether of the Parthians, or of the Macedonians, or of the Persians, or of the most ancient Medes, or the one in which we live — it was men of the people and soldiers, who for the most part lived in the open and slept on the ground with those in the ranks, having no less share of toil and no greater share of pleasure, who brought each dominion to greatness. Men who acquire good things through diligence and become enviable would with difficulty still …
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Every great empire was built by rulers who lived and toiled like their soldiers.
- The end of the page is lost in the scan; the sentence is completed on the next page only in part.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 36 (Krabinger 1:36; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/36). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/36
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 37
37Krabinger 1:37
φυλαττομένην γενέσθαι τὸ ἐκ λόγου συμβαῖνον. Τοῖς γὰρ ἐναντίοις τῶν συνιςεάντων ἕκατον φθείρεται. αὶ οὐκ ἀξιῶ παραβαθῆναι τῷ βασιλεὶ Ρωμαίων τὰ πάτρια. Πάτρια δὲ ἡγοῦ 'Ῥωμαίων οὐ τὰ χθὲρ καὶ ὅ πρώην εἰς ἐκδεδιητημένην ἤδη παρελθόντα τὴν : πολιτείαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν οἷς ὄντες ἐκτήσαντο τὴν ἀρχήν. Ἐπεὶ φέρε πρὸς τοῦ βασιλείου θεοῦ καὶ μοι πειρῶ διαμεῖναι" θυμοδακὴς γὰρ ὁ αὖθοι' πότε κάλ.λιον ἔχειν ἡγῇ τὰ Ῥωμαίων πράγμάτα; ἀφ᾽ οὐ περιπόρφυροί τὲ ἐστε καὶ περίχρυσοι, καὶ λίθους ἐξ ὁρῶν ὅ) τε καὶ θαλαττῶν βαρβάρων τοὺς μὲν ἀναδεῖσθε, τοὺς δὲ ὑποδεῖσθε, τοὺς δὲ περικεῖσθε, τοὺς δὲ ἐξαρτᾶσθε, τοὺς δὲ περονᾶσθε, τοῖς δὲ ἐφιδάνετε; Τοιγαροῦν ἀπε-
phylattomenēn genesthai to ek logou symbainon. Tois gar enantiois tōn syniseantōn hekaton phtheiretai. ai ouk axiō parabathēnai tǭ basilei Rōmaiōn ta patria. Patria de hēgou 'Rhōmaiōn ou ta chther kai ho prōēn eis ekdediētēmenēn ēdē parelthonta tēn : politeian, all᾽ en hois ontes ektēsanto tēn archēn. Epei phere pros tou basileiou theou kai moi peirō diameinai" thymodakēs gar ho authoi' pote kal.lion echein hēgę̄ ta Rhōmaiōn pragmata? aph᾽ ou periporphyroi te este kai perichrysoi, kai lithous ex horōn ho) te kai thalattōn barbarōn tous men anadeisthe, tous de hypodeisthe, tous de perikeisthe, tous de exartasthe, tous de peronasthe, tois de ephidanete? Toigaroun ape-
… [their happiness] guarded [by the opposite means]: this is what follows from reason. For each thing is destroyed by the opposites of what established it. And I ask that the emperor of the Romans should not transgress the ancestral ways. Count as ancestral to the Romans not what came in yesterday and the day before into a constitution already corrupted, but the ways by which they acquired their empire. Come now — by the god of kings, try to bear with me, for what follows stings the heart — when do you think the affairs of the Romans were in better condition: since you have been clad in purple and gold, and bind on stones from the mountains and seas of the barbarians, some on your heads, some on your feet, some around you, some hung from you, some pinned on you, some to sit on? And so you have become
Notes and citation
Summary: Empires fall by abandoning the ways that built them; Rome's rulers have exchanged the old ways for purple, gold and jewels.
- The opening words of the page continue a sentence whose middle is lost; they are translated by sense. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): 1άεπὶ ὨδΒοὶ ΟοάΥδι. ἱπέσα δὰ καὶ ἄσκησις ἀνορθοῖ, παὶ ὁ (ὦ οἶνῥ; νυ. τοῖς γὰρ ἐναντίοις,.. Μοῦ. Ο; Υἱπηά,, αἱ δαρτα,.. τες ᾽ λειοῖ σπουδῇ καὶ ἀάκραμν βᾳθυ- → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 37 (Krabinger 1:37; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/37). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/37
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 38
38Krabinger 1:38
τελέσθητε θέαμα ποικιλώτατον καὶ πάγχρουν; ὥςπερ οἱ ταῷ ὅ), τὴν ᾿Ομηρικὴν ἀρὰν ἰφ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς ἕλκοντες, τὸν. χιτῶνα τὸν λάϊνον. ᾿γμῖν δὲ οὐδὲ χιτὼν οὗτος Β ἀποχρῶν" οὐ γὰρ εἰριτητὸν εἰς τῶν ὁμοτίμων το" Ὁ βουλευτήριον, ἡνίκα ἄν τὴν ἐπώνυμον ἀρχὴν ἄρχυτε ὅ), οὔτε ἀρχαιρεσιαδόντων, οὗὐτε ἐπ᾿ ἄλλῳ τῳ συνεδριαδόντων, ἦν μὴ καὶ πέπλον τοιοῦτον ἐγκορδυλήσησθε. Καὶ δῆτα ἀποβλίπεσθε ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οἷς θέμι: ὁρᾷν, ὡς μόνοι τῶν βουλευτῶν εὐδαίμονει, μόνοι τῶν, βουλευτῶν ἀχθοφοροῦντε;" ἀλλὰ καὶ γάννυσθε τῷ φορτίῳ, καθάπερ εἶ τις χρυσῷ δεθεὶς καὶ μᾶλλον πολυταλάντοις; ᾽") ταῖς πίδαις, ἔπειτα μηδὲν ἐπαῖοι τοῦ
telesthēte theama poikilōtaton kai panchroun? hōsper hoi taǭ ho), tēn ᾿Omērikēn aran iph᾽ heautous helkontes, ton. chitōna ton laïnon. ᾿gmin de oude chitōn houtos B apochrōn" ou gar eiritēton eis tōn homotimōn to" Ho bouleutērion, hēnika an tēn epōnymon archēn archyte ho), oute archairesiadontōn, houyte ep᾿ allǭ tǭ synedriadontōn, ēn mē kai peplon toiouton enkordylēsēsthe. Kai dēta apoblipesthe hypo tōn anthrōpōn, hois themi: horąn, hōs monoi tōn bouleutōn eudaimonei, monoi tōn, bouleutōn achthophorounte?" alla kai gannysthe tǭ phortiǭ, kathaper ei tis chrysǭ detheis kai mallon polytalantois? ᾽") tais pidais, epeita mēden epaioi tou
a most varied and all-golden spectacle, like peacocks, drawing upon yourselves the Homeric curse, the tunic of stone. And for you not even this tunic is enough: for it is not permitted to enter the council chamber of your peers, when you hold the office that gives its name to the year — whether they are holding elections or sitting on any other business — unless you have wrapped yourselves in such a robe. And indeed you are gazed at by those who are permitted to see you, as alone of the senators happy, alone of the senators bearing burdens; yet you even delight in the burden, as if someone bound with gold, and with fetters of many talents' weight at that, should then perceive nothing of the
Notes and citation
Summary: Jewelled robes make the emperors peacocks, so loaded with gold that they bear it like fetters.
- “The tunic of stone” is Hector's taunt in Iliad 3.57 (death by stoning); Synesius applies it to garments set with precious stones. The office that names the year is the consulship. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): α ἃ. ἀποτελίσθητε Νίοη. Ὁ. Πεΐα Υἱά. δολπαρίοτ. δὰ Πα], Ἐρίθιι. ποικιλότατον ἸνΙοη. ΑΟ. εἃ, Τεπηερ. Ρ. 224. Συνεδριαδόνἡ Κ. οἱ ταῷ Τυτη. οἵ Ῥδίυβ, οἱ τῶν οὐπὶ ἙἀΔά. ἰυείατ Ἀεμὰ, σὺυντἀῶ Ῥεϊαν. 1. 2. οἱ ταὼ ἸΝίοη. δριαδόντων ποι ἀο96 δοτὶ δἷ1 ΙγΙοη. ΑΒΟΌΕ «ς.-Βατζοοο. Οἵ. Βαεὶ αὰ Ἐ, ἴπ τὰ. δυῖοπιὶ Πδροὶ συνεδρευτορος. Οὐσ. Ρ. 646. γὶ ταὼς Βεμ!ὰ. όντων, δεόδηιεητθυς Οοάὰ. τε ]]}. ' εἰ Νῖοιν, Ε, ἰίστ οοτί. Ῥασ. ἢ. Τυτσγα, 1,. Υν οἱ τῇ. Ῥοῖδν. 1. 2. Ἐχ τεῖ!. Ῥατῖδθ. αἰ} δηοϊδιαπι,. Ἐδὶ αυϊάθεη Ὦδεο ἔοσηιδ υθἰϊαιίοτν; Ουεαι Πϊο ἰοιϊ αὶ! Νοοῖοσ, Ηοιιθ- βεὰ τοιϊποπὰ Ἦ. 1. δἱίοσα ζεΐὶ, τίου Ἰοουβ εθὶ ἴῃ [Π|δὰ, 11]. 66. υἱροῖο τατῖος οἱ ὁμοιοτέλευτος, → .
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 3.57 (Homer, Iliad; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 38 (Krabinger 1:38; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/38). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/38
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-regno-38) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 39
39Krabinger 1:39
κακοῦ, μηδὲ ἡγοῖτο σχέτλια πάσχειν εἰς δεσμώτα; τελῶν», ᾿Κ)ὶ πατημένος τῇ πολυτελείᾳ τῆς “συμφορά. ᾿Αλλ' οὔ γε.) μᾶλλον κινήσεται τῶν ἐν τῇ ποδοκάκῃ, τῷ φαυλοτάτῳ τῶν ξύλων. ᾿γμῖν δὲ οὐδὲ τοὐδαφός ἐτιν ἀνο- 5πτὸν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐμπεριπατήσητε κατὰ φύσιν ἐχούσῃ τῇ γη᾽ ἀλλὰ δεὶ " τὴν χρυσῖτιν ἐπιφορεῖν, ἣν ἐκ τῶν πέραν ἠπείρων ὑμῖν ἀπῇναί τε καὶ ὁλκάδες διακομιὶἔουσι, καὶ ἐρατιά τίς ἑτιν οὐ φαύλῃ τῶν τὸ χῶμα ῥαινόντων. Οὐ γὰρ βασιλικὸν ἡγεῖσθε, μὴ οὐχὶ καὶ τοῖς σκύτεσι τῶν ὑποδημάτων τρυφᾷν. Ιγῦν οὖν ἀρ' ') ἢ ἀμεινονηπράττετε. ἀφ᾽ οὗ περὶ τοὺς βασιλέας ἡ. τελετὴ συνέστη, καὶ θαλαμεύεσθε.) καθάπερ αἱ σαύραι, μόλις,' εἴ πῃ, πρὸς τὴν εἴλῃην ἐκκύπτουσαι, μὴ φωραθείρτε ὦ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὄντες ἄνθρωποι; ἢ τόθ᾽ ἡνίκα : ἐξηγοῦντα τῶν ςρατευμάτων ἄνδρες ἐν μέσῳ ξῶντε;, μέλα
kakou, mēde hēgoito schetlia paschein eis desmōta? telōn», ᾿K)i patēmenos tę̄ polyteleią tēs “symphora. ᾿All' ou ge.) mallon kinēsetai tōn en tę̄ podokakę̄, tǭ phaulotatǭ tōn xylōn. ᾿gmin de oude toudaphos etin ano- 5pton, oud᾽ an emperipatēsēte kata physin echousę̄ tę̄ gē᾽ alla dei " tēn chrysitin epiphorein, hēn ek tōn peran ēpeirōn hymin apę̄nai te kai holkades diakomiieousi, kai eratia tis hetin ou phaulę̄ tōn to chōma rhainontōn. Ou gar basilikon hēgeisthe, mē ouchi kai tois skytesi tōn hypodēmatōn tryphąn. Igyn oun ar' ') ē ameinonēprattete. aph᾽ hou peri tous basileas hē. teletē synestē, kai thalameuesthe.) kathaper hai saurai, molis,' ei pę̄, pros tēn eilę̄ēn ekkyptousai, mē phōratheirte ō hypo tōn anthrōpōn ontes anthrōpoi? ē toth᾽ hēnika : exēgounta tōn srateumatōn andres en mesǭ xōnte?, mela
evil, nor think he suffers anything terrible in being numbered among prisoners, trodden down by the costliness of his misfortune. Yet he will move no more freely than those in the stocks, the meanest of woods. And for you not even the floor may be seen, nor would you walk on the earth as nature made it; gold dust must be spread over it, which wagons and merchant ships bring you from the continents beyond, and there is no mean army of those who sprinkle the dust. For you do not think it kingly unless you luxuriate even in the leather of your shoes. Now, have you fared better since this ceremonial grew up around the emperors, and you live shut in your chambers like lizards, scarcely peeping out, if at all, into the sunlight, lest men should find you out to be men? Or did you fare better then, when men who lived in public view led the armies, black-
Notes and citation
Summary: The emperors, walking on gold dust and hiding in their chambers like lizards, fare worse than the open-living generals of old.
- Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): ο68 εἰ Ἐχιταὶϊ8 ἀε8 55. ἀς ἴδ 17. ἡγεῖσθαι Βᾶτοος. Ὠοΐη σύν- Βἰριϊοιη. ἀὰ Βοὶ Τ. Χ. Ῥ. 11. Ρ. τεσι, ἔπ τὰ, σκύτεσι, Ιγοτπ Ἐ, → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 39 (Krabinger 1:39; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/39). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/39
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 40
40Krabinger 1:40
νες ὑφ᾽ ἡλίῳ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἀφελῶς τε καὶ αὐτοσκευῶι ἔχοντες, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ διθυραμβωδῶ, καὶ τραγικῶς, ἐν πίλοις Δακωνικοῖ;, οὖς ἐν ταῖς εἰκόσι θεώμενα γελᾷ τὰ ειράκια, καὶ οὐδὲ ὁ γέρων δῆμος εὐτυχεῖς ἡγοῦνται γεγονέναι, πρὸς δὲ ὑμᾶς ἐξετασθῆναι, καὶ παντάπασι το κακοδαίμονα,; ᾿Α4λλ᾽ ἐκεῖνοί γε οὐκ ἀποτειχίξοντε; “ἢ ᾿ τὴν οἰκείαν, εἶργον οὔτε τοὺς ᾿Ασιανοὺ;, οὔτε τοὺς Εὐρωπαίους βαρβάρους,, ἀλλ᾽ οἷς ἐποίουν, ἐκείνους ἐνουθέτουν τὴν σφετέραν ἀποτειχίξειν, θαμὰ. διαβαίνοντες τὸν Εὐφράτην ἐπὶ τὸν Παρθναῖον, τὸν δὲ ἼΡρον ἐπὶ “ τὸν Γίτην τε “5 καὶ Μασσαγέτην. Οἱ δ᾽ ἦν ἕτερα ἀντὶ τούτων ὀνόματα θέμενοι, ἕτεροι δ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ τὰ πρόωπα τέχνῃ παραποιήσαντες, ἵνα δὴ δοκοίη γέ νος ἄλλο νέον τε καὶ ἀλλόκοτον ἐκφῦναι. τῇς γῆ,» δεδίττονται ὑμᾶς ἀντιδιαβαίνοντες, καὶ μισθὸν εἰρήνη: ἀξιοῦσι πράττεσθαι, ᾿ ἣν μὴ ὅ σύ γε δύσεαι ἀλκήν. Β
nes hyph᾽ hēliǭ kai ta alla aphelōs te kai autoskeuōi echontes, all᾽ ou dithyrambōdō, kai tragikōs, en pilois Dakōnikoi?, ous en tais eikosi theōmena gelą ta eirakia, kai oude ho gerōn dēmos eutycheis hēgountai gegonenai, pros de hymas exetasthēnai, kai pantapasi to kakodaimona,? ᾿A4ll᾽ ekeinoi ge ouk apoteichixonte? “ē ᾿ tēn oikeian, eirgon oute tous ᾿Asianou?, oute tous Eurōpaious barbarous,, all᾽ hois epoioun, ekeinous enouthetoun tēn spheteran apoteichixein, thama. diabainontes ton Euphratēn epi ton Parthnaion, ton de IRron epi “ ton Gitēn te “5 kai Massagetēn. Hoi d᾽ ēn hetera anti toutōn onomata themenoi, heteroi d᾽ autōn kai ta proōpa technę̄ parapoiēsantes, hina dē dokoiē ge nos allo neon te kai allokoton ekphynai. tę̄s gē,» dedittontai hymas antidiabainontes, kai misthon eirēnē: axiousi prattesthai, ᾿ hēn mē ho sy ge dyseai alkēn. B
-ened by the sun and in all else simple and self-equipped — not dithyrambic and tragic — in Laconian felt caps, which the youngsters laugh at when they see them in the pictures, and which not even the old people think were the dress of fortunate men, but, compared with you, of utterly wretched ones? Yet those men did not wall off their own land, shutting out neither the Asian nor the European barbarians; rather, by what they did they taught those barbarians to wall off their own, often crossing the Euphrates against the Parthian and the Ister against the Getan and the Massagetan. But these, now taking other names instead, and some even altering their faces by art, so that a new and outlandish race might seem to have sprung from the earth, frighten you by crossing over in their turn, and demand to be paid the price of peace — “unless you put on your strength.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Rome's old generals carried war across the Euphrates and the Danube; now the barbarians cross into the empire and demand payment for peace.
- The Ister is the Danube; Getae and Massagetae are the classical names Synesius uses for the Goths and the Huns. The closing words adapt Iliad 9.231.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 9.231 (Homer, Iliad; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 40 (Krabinger 1:40; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/40). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/40
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 41
41Krabinger 1:41
᾿Αλλ’ ἀφείσθω μὲν, εἰ δοκεῖ, τὰ παλαιὰ πρὸς τὰ νῦν ἐξετάξειν, ἵνα δὴ μὴ ᾿) δοκοίγμεν ἐν σχήλιατι παραινέσεως ὀνειδίδειν, δεικνύντες ὡς ὅσον ἐπέδωκεν εἰς σχῆμα σοβαρὸν τὰ βασιλέως, τοσοῦτον ἀληθεία; ἀφήὅρῃται. Εἰ δὲ, ὥιπερ ἰν τῇ καθ᾽ ὑμὰς Ὦ ποικιλίᾳ γενόμένος ὁ λόγος ἰφιλοχώρησε, νέμοι τινὰ μοῖραν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῇ πάλαι τῶν βασιλέων εἴτε ἀγροικίαν καλοῦμεν ὃ) αὐτὴν, εἴτε λιτότητα βούλεσθε, καλῶς ἂν ἀλλήλαις ἀντιπαρεκδύοιντο πολυτέλεια καὶ εὐτέλεια" καὶ γυμνὰς α ἂν οὕτω θεώμενος, ἐρασθείης ἀληθινοῦ βασιλέως κάλλους, ἀφεὶς τὸ φαινόμενόν τε καὶ ἐπιποίητον. Οὐκοῦν ἐκείνην μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν χρωμάτων ὅ) τὸ πλέον ἐγράφομεν" ταύτην δὲ οὐκ ἔσιν ἀπὸ τούτων δ), ἄλλοθεν δὲ λαβεῖν" οὐ γὰρ ἔεσιν αὐτῇ περιττά, μὴ πραγματευομένῃ περὶ αὐτά" τὰ δὲ ἤθη μᾶλλον εἰκόνες ἂν αὐτῆς εἶεν. Ἰαί τι ἔργον εὐθὺς συμλιπροκύπτει τῶν κατὰ φύσιν ἐχόντων βίων ταῖς προβολαῖ. ᾿Ἑνὸς οὖν ἄξιον ἐπιμνησθῆναι
᾿All’ apheisthō men, ei dokei, ta palaia pros ta nyn exetaxein, hina dē mē ᾿) dokoigmen en schēliati paraineseōs oneididein, deiknyntes hōs hoson epedōken eis schēma sobaron ta basileōs, tosouton alētheia? aphēorę̄tai. Ei de, hōiper in tę̄ kath᾽ hymas Ō poikilią genomenos ho logos iphilochōrēse, nemoi tina moiran heautou kai tę̄ palai tōn basileōn eite agroikian kaloumen ho) autēn, eite litotēta boulesthe, kalōs an allēlais antiparekdyointo polyteleia kai euteleia" kai gymnas a an houtō theōmenos, erastheiēs alēthinou basileōs kallous, apheis to phainomenon te kai epipoiēton. Oukoun ekeinēn men apo tōn chrōmatōn ho) to pleon egraphomen" tautēn de ouk esin apo toutōn d), allothen de labein" ou gar eesin autę̄ peritta, mē pragmateuomenę̄ peri auta" ta de ēthē mallon eikones an autēs eien. Iai ti ergon euthys symliprokyptei tōn kata physin echontōn biōn tais probolai. ᾿Henos oun axion epimnēsthēnai
But let us leave off, if you will, comparing the old with the new, lest we seem to reproach you under the guise of exhortation, by showing that as far as the emperor's state has advanced in haughty show, so far has it been robbed of truth. But if the speech, which has lingered amid your finery, were to allot some share of itself to the old ways of kings — whether we call them rusticity or you prefer simplicity — extravagance and frugality would be well stripped for a contest against each other; and seeing them thus naked you would fall in love with the true beauty of a king, letting go of what is merely apparent and artificial. The one we painted mostly from its colours; but the other cannot be drawn from these, but from elsewhere; for it has nothing superfluous, since it does not busy itself with such things, and its habits would rather be its images. And at once some deed comes forward along with the displays of lives lived according to nature. It is worth recalling one
Notes and citation
Summary: Setting extravagance beside the simplicity of old, Synesius prepares to show the true beauty of kingship by an example.
- Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): Β.Ῥτο νυϊρ. δύσσεαι τεοορίατη δύ- 5. ἴτὰ ᾿σοττεχίϊ. Ηΐεγ. Ὦοϊβωυς, σεαὶ εχ Ῥατῖβθ. ἸΙση. ΑΒΟΌΕ. ᾿δββοηϊίδηϊς Οοάϊοο ΝΜίοη. Ο, ἐπὸ Βοϊά. ΟἹ. Ζυϊίαπ. Οτδι. Υ1]. ρ. τῶν χρημάτων ο. Ἑάὰ, παΒεηῖ → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 41 (Krabinger 1:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/41). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/41
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 42
42Krabinger 1:42
βασιλέως καὶ ηθους και ἐργου" καὶ γὰρ ἀποχρῶν ἢ ὁτιοῦν πάντα συνεφελκύσασθαι. Δέγεται δή.) τινα τῶν οὐ λίαν ἀρχαίων, ἀλλ᾽ ὃν “) ἂν εἰδεῖεν καὶ τῶν νῦν γερόντων οἱ πάπποι, εἰ ὅ μὴ νέοι τοὺς παῖδας ἐτέκνωσαν, καὶ παρὰ νέων τῶν παίδων ἐγένοντο πάπποι" Δλίγεται δή τινα ἐκείνων τρατείαν μὲν ἄγειν ἐπὶ τὸν ᾿Αρσακίδην εἰς Ρωμαίους ὑβρίσαντα" ἐπειδὴ δὲ πρὸς ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς τῶν ᾿Αραενίων γενέσθαι, πρὶν ἐπιχειρῆσαι τῇ πολεμίᾳ, δείπνου 10τε αὐτὸν ἐρασθῆναι καὶ ἐπιτάξαι τῇ τρατιᾷ τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν σκευοφόρων ἀγαθοῖ; χρῆσθαι, ὡς ἐγγύθεν ἐπισιτουμένοις, ἦν δέῃ" ἰδείκνυε Ἢ) δὲ ἄρα τοὺς Παρ- δ θυαίων ἀγρού;" ἐν τούτῳ δὲ ὄντων, πρεσβείαν ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων παρεῖναι καὶ οἴεσθαι μὲν ἤκουσαν προεντεύξεσθαι τοῖς βασιλεῖ παραδυναξεύουσι, καὶ τούτων γε
basileōs kai ēthous kai ergou" kai gar apochrōn ē hotioun panta synephelkysasthai. Degetai dē.) tina tōn ou lian archaiōn, all᾽ hon “) an eideien kai tōn nyn gerontōn hoi pappoi, ei ho mē neoi tous paidas eteknōsan, kai para neōn tōn paidōn egenonto pappoi" Dligetai dē tina ekeinōn trateian men agein epi ton ᾿Arsakidēn eis Rōmaious hybrisanta" epeidē de pros tais hyperbolais tōn ᾿Araeniōn genesthai, prin epicheirēsai tę̄ polemią, deipnou 10te auton erasthēnai kai epitaxai tę̄ tratią tois apo tōn skeuophorōn agathoi? chrēsthai, hōs engythen episitoumenois, ēn deę̄" ideiknye Ē) de ara tous Par- d thyaiōn agrou?" en toutǭ de ontōn, presbeian ek tōn polemiōn pareinai kai oiesthai men ēkousan proenteuxesthai tois basilei paradynaxeuousi, kai toutōn ge
example of a king's character and deeds; for any one is enough to draw all the rest along with it. It is said that one of the emperors — not a very ancient one, but one whom the grandfathers of today's old men would have known, if they had fathered their children young and become grandfathers through children who were young — it is said, then, that one of them was leading an expedition against the Arsacid who had wronged the Romans. When he had reached the heights of the Armenian mountains, before attacking enemy country, he felt like having his dinner, and ordered the army to use the good things from the baggage train, since they would find supplies close at hand if need be — and he pointed to the fields of the Parthians. While they were at this, an embassy arrived from the enemy, expecting first to meet those who held power beside the king, and after them
Notes and citation
Summary: Synesius tells of an emperor who, on campaign against Persia, stopped to dine on the Armenian heights when Persian envoys arrived.
- “The Arsacid” is the Persian king (Synesius uses the old Parthian dynastic name). Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): Ὲ. 'Βαγοοο. γιὰ. καίτοι καὶ ἵρ. 4. Ἑοτῖ, ςρατιὰν - ἀγαγεῖν. ᾿)εἷπ γον ο. Ἑὰδὰ. Οοἀά, τεῖ]. Νοχ προ:- ἀρσακέδαν Νίου. Ε. βολαῖς Ῥατ. ΒΟ. ίοη. Α. γαῖ. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 42 (Krabinger 1:42; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/42). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/42
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 43
43Krabinger 1:43
αὖ πελάται; τισὶ καὶ εἰξαγγελεῦσιν,ν» ὡς εἰς ἠμέραν πολ- “λοεὴν ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνη: τοὺ βασιλέως τῇ πρεσβείᾳ χρηματιρὺντο," συνενεχθῆναι ᾽) δὲ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν πως γενέσθαι. τὸν βασιλέα ὃ Ἴ), Οὐγὰρ ἡ τῶν δορυφόρων ασιλέα δειπνοῦντα ᾽" ὑ γὰρ ἣν πω τὸ τῶν δορυφόρων 5. τοιοῦτον, ἀπὸ τῇι τρατιᾶς τρατιᾶ τις ἔκκριτο;, νέοι πάν-. τες, πάντες, εὐμήπει,, τὰ κόμας ξανθοί τε καὶ περιττοὶ, Αἰεὶ ν δὲ λιπαροὶ κεφαλὰς καὶ καλὰ πρόφωπα,μ χρυσάσπιδες καὶ χρυσεολόγχαι, οἶς, ὅταν ποτὲ ὀφθῶ- «σι, τὸν βασιλέα ισημαινόμεθα ᾿, καθάπερ,. οἶμαι, ταῖς προανισχούσαις ἀκτῖσι τὸν ἥλιον' ἀλλὰ πάσα, φάλαγξ τὸ αἰκεῖον ποιοῦσα δορυφόρο;. ἦν τοῦ. βασίλέως. τὲ καὶ τῇς βασιλείας... Οἱ δὲ ἁπλῶς ἑαυτῶν εἶχον,. οὐκ ἀπὸ τῇς σκευῇ!, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῇς βασιλεῖς ὃντες, καὶ τἄνδον. τοῦ πλύήθους διέφερον" τὰ δὲ ἐκτὸς 1ὅ ὅμοιοι τοῖς. ἀγελαίοις ἐφαίνοντο,. ὥςπερ 'ἔχοντά φασι τὸν Ἡαρῖνον ὑπὸ τῇς πρεσβείας ὑφθῆναι. Φοινικοβα-Ο φὴς χιτὼν, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς πόας ἐκέκλιτο" τὸ δὲ δεῖπνον ᾿ ἣν πίσινον ἕωλον ἔτνο;, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τεμάχια ἄττα
au pelatai? tisi kai eixangeleusin,n» hōs eis ēmeran pol- “loeēn ap᾽ ekeinē: tou basileōs tę̄ presbeią chrēmatirynto," synenechthēnai ᾽) de kat᾽ auton pōs genesthai. ton basilea ho I), Ougar hē tōn doryphorōn asilea deipnounta ᾽" hy gar hēn pō to tōn doryphorōn 5. toiouton, apo tę̄i tratias tratia tis ekkrito?, neoi pan-. tes, pantes, eumēpei,, ta komas xanthoi te kai perittoi, Aiei n de liparoi kephalas kai kala prophōpa,m chrysaspides kai chryseolonchai, ois, hotan pote ophthō- «si, ton basilea isēmainometha ᾿, kathaper,. oimai, tais proanischousais aktisi ton hēlion' alla pasa, phalanx to aikeion poiousa doryphoro?. ēn tou. basileōs. te kai tę̄s basileias... Hoi de haplōs heautōn eichon,. ouk apo tę̄s skeuę̄!, all᾽ apo tēs psychę̄s basileis hontes, kai tandon. tou plyēthous diepheron" ta de ektos 1ho homoioi tois. agelaiois ephainonto,. hōsper 'echonta phasi ton Hēarinon hypo tę̄s presbeias hyphthēnai. Phoinikoba-O phēs chitōn, kai epi tēs poas ekeklito" to de deipnon ᾿ hēn pisinon heōlon etno?, kai en autǭ temachia atta
certain dependants and ushers, and that the king would deal with the embassy many days later; but as it happened they came upon the king himself at his dinner. For there was not yet such a body of guards as now — an army picked out of the army, all young, all tall, with fair and abundant hair, “ever sleek of head and fair of face,” with golden shields and golden spears, by whose appearance we know the emperor is near, as we know the sun, I suppose, by the rays that rise before it. Rather, the whole phalanx, doing its own part, was the bodyguard of the king and the kingdom. And the kings were simple in themselves, being kings not by their trappings but by their soul; they differed from the multitude in what was within, but in what was outside they looked like the common soldiers. So, they say, the embassy saw Carinus: in a tunic of purple dye, reclining on the grass; his dinner was a day-old pea soup, with some pieces in it
Notes and citation
Summary: The envoys found the emperor, without any guard of honour, lying on the grass in a plain tunic eating stale pea soup.
- The quoted line is Odyssey 15.332. Synesius names the emperor Carinus; the campaign against Persia (283) was that of his father Carus, so the name is probably Synesius's slip or confusion.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Od. 15.332 (Homer, Odyssey; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 43 (Krabinger 1:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/43). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/43
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-regno-43) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 44
44Krabinger 1:44
ταρίχῃ κρεῶν ὑείων, ἀπολελαυκότα τοῦ χρόνου. ᾿Ιδόντα δὲ αὐτὸν οὔτε ἀναθορεῖν, οὔτε μεταποιῆσαί τι Δλέ- “γεται" καλίσαντα δὲ αὐτόθεν τοῦ! ἄνδρας, εἰδέναι τε φάναι παρ᾽ αὐτὸν ἤκονται' αὐτὸς γὰρ εἶναι Ἐαρῖνος εὐ. καὶ κελεύειν ἀπαγγεῖλαι τῷ νίῳ βασιλεῖ τήμε-" 3, προιδέχεσθαι πᾶν αν. ρον, εἰ μὴ σωφρονήσοι 3 ἐν μιᾷ σελήνῃ ψι-Ὁ ἄλσο! αὐτῷ, πὰν δὲ πεδίον λότέρον ἔσεσθαι. τῇς: Ἀαρίνου κεφαλῆς" ἅμα δὲ λέγοντά φασιν ἐκδῦναι τῷ πίλου, δεικνύντα τὴν κεφαλὴν» οὐδέν τι δασυτέραν παρακειμένου τοῦ κράνου: Ἑαϊ' εἰ μὲν πεινῷεν, ἐφεῖναι συνεμβαλεῖν τῇ χύτρᾳ" μὴ δεομέναυς δὲ, κελεύειν ᾿αὐθωρὸν ἀπηλλάχθαι καὶ ἔξω τοῦ Ῥωμαϊκοῦ χάρακος εἶναι, ὡς τῇς πρεσβείας αὐτοῖς τέλος εὑρούση!. Λέγεται τοίνυν καὶ τούτων ἀνενε- 1ὅ χθέντων ἐπὶ τὸ πλῆθοι, καὶ τὸν ἡγεμόνα τῶν πολεμίων, ὧν τὲ εἶδον, ὧν τε ἤκουσαν, ὅπερ εἰκὸς ἦν συμ βῆναι, φρίκην καὶ δέος ἐπιπεσεῖν ἅπασιν, εἰ πρὸς ἄνδρας μαχοῦνται τοιούτους, ὧν ὁ βασιλεὺς οὔτε βασιλεὺ ὃ ὧν, οὔτε φαλακρὸ; αἰσχύνεται, καὶ χύτραν παρατιθέμε-
tarichę̄ kreōn hyeiōn, apolelaukota tou chronou. ᾿Idonta de auton oute anathorein, oute metapoiēsai ti Dle- “getai" kalisanta de autothen tou! andras, eidenai te phanai par᾽ auton ēkontai' autos gar einai Earinos eu. kai keleuein apangeilai tǭ niǭ basilei tēme-" 3, proidechesthai pan an. ron, ei mē sōphronēsoi 3 en mią selēnę̄ psi-Ho also! autǭ, pan de pedion loteron esesthai. tę̄s: Aarinou kephalēs" hama de legonta phasin ekdynai tǭ pilou, deiknynta tēn kephalēn» ouden ti dasyteran parakeimenou tou kranou: Heaï' ei men peinǭen, epheinai synembalein tę̄ chytrą" mē deomenaus de, keleuein ᾿authōron apēllachthai kai exō tou Rhōmaïkou charakos einai, hōs tę̄s presbeias autois telos heurousē!. Legetai toinyn kai toutōn anene- 1ho chthentōn epi to plēthoi, kai ton hēgemona tōn polemiōn, hōn te eidon, hōn te ēkousan, hoper eikos ēn sym bēnai, phrikēn kai deos epipesein hapasin, ei pros andras machountai toioutous, hōn ho basileus oute basileu ho hōn, oute phalakro? aischynetai, kai chytran paratitheme-
of salted pork that had seen some age. When he saw them, it is said, he neither jumped up nor changed anything, but called the men to him where he was, and said he knew they had come to him, for he himself was Carinus; and he told them to report to the young king that very day that, unless he came to his senses, he should expect every grove and every plain of his to be barer within a single month than Carinus's head. And as he spoke, they say, he took off his cap and showed his head, no hairier than the helmet lying beside him. If they were hungry, he let them dip into the pot with him; if they had no need, he ordered them to leave at once and be outside the Roman palisade, since their embassy had reached its end. It is said, then, that when this was reported to the multitude and to the leader of the enemy — what they had seen and what they had heard — there fell upon them all, as was likely, shuddering and fear at the thought of fighting such men, whose king is ashamed neither of being a king [in such a dress] nor of being bald, and, setting out a pot,
Notes and citation
Summary: The bald emperor bluntly threatened the Persian king and dismissed the envoys, and the Persians were terrified.
- Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): ΑΒ. Μοη. ΛΟΕ. Πεμὰ, Υἱηὰ, τες. 20. παιδίον Βεϊιὰ, Ἠ οἴη Ψιλώμάχι' ἅττα Τλοπι. Μ. Ρ- 362. τερον αν. Ο. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 44 (Krabinger 1:44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/44). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/44
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 45
45Krabinger 1:45
νος συνδείπνους καλεῖ" ἀφικέσθαι. δὲ τὸν βασιλέα. τὸν ἀλαξόνα ᾿κατοῤῥωδήσαντα᾽. πάντα εἴκειν ἕτοιλιον ὄντα, τὸν ἐν. τιάρᾳ καὶ κάνδυϊ τῷ μετὰ χιτῶνος φαὺλων ἐρίων καὶ ἑ ἀίλου. ΡΘΡΥΣ » νυ Ἕτερον δὲ τούτου νεώτερον. ἀπούει;, οἶμαι" καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ εἰκὸς ἀνήκοόν τινα εἷναι βασιλέως ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδόντος Ἷ) εἴσω τῆς πολεμίας γενέσθαι ἐν χρείᾳ κατασκοπῆς, αιμησαμένου σχῆμα πρεσβείας. “Δειτουργεῖν [τε] ὅ) γὰρ ἦν τότε τὸ πόλεων τε καὶ τρατευμάτων ἡγεῖσθαι" καὶ ἐξώμνυντό ἢ γε πολλοὶ τὴν τοιαύτην ἀρχήν. Εἰς δέ τις αὐτῶν καὶ ἐννεάσας τῷ ἡ βασιλεύειν, ἀπειπὼν πρὸ Β τοὺς πόνους ἑκὼν ἰδιώτης ἐγύρα δ). ᾿Επεὶ καὶ τοὔνομα αὐτό σοι δείξω τοῦ βασιλέως ὄψιμον, ἐκλιπὲς Ρωμαίοις γενόμενον ἀφ" οὗ Ταρκυνίου; ὁ δῆμοι ἐξήλασεν. ᾿Απὸ τούτου γὰρ ἡμεῖς μὲν ὑμᾶς ἀξιοῦμεν καὶ καλοῦμεν βασιλίας, καὶ γράφομεν οὕτωρ' ὑμεῖς δὲ, εἴτε εἰδότει, εἴτε μὴ, συνηθείᾳ δὲ συγχωροῦντει, τὸν ὄγκον τῇς προ;ῃηγορίας ἀναδυομένοις ἐοίκατε. Οὔκουν οὔτε πρὸς; πόἂν, οὔτε πρὸς ἰδιώτην, οὔτε πρὸς ὕπαρχον ὃ) γράφοντει,
nos syndeipnous kalei" aphikesthai. de ton basilea. ton alaxona ᾿katorrhōdēsanta᾽. panta eikein hetoilion onta, ton en. tiarą kai kandyï tǭ meta chitōnos phaulōn eriōn kai he ailou. RThRYS » ny Heteron de toutou neōteron. apouei?, oimai" kai gar oude eikos anēkoon tina heinai basileōs heauton epidontos Hi) eisō tēs polemias genesthai en chreią kataskopēs, aimēsamenou schēma presbeias. “Deitourgein [te] ho) gar ēn tote to poleōn te kai trateumatōn hēgeisthai" kai exōmnynto ē ge polloi tēn toiautēn archēn. Eis de tis autōn kai enneasas tǭ hē basileuein, apeipōn pro B tous ponous hekōn idiōtēs egyra d). ᾿Epei kai tounoma auto soi deixō tou basileōs opsimon, eklipes Rōmaiois genomenon aph" hou Tarkyniou? ho dēmoi exēlasen. ᾿Apo toutou gar hēmeis men hymas axioumen kai kaloumen basilias, kai graphomen houtōr' hymeis de, eite eidotei, eite mē, synētheią de synchōrountei, ton onkon tę̄s pro?ę̄ēgorias anadyomenois eoikate. Oukoun oute pros? poan, oute pros idiōtēn, oute pros hyparchon ho) graphontei,
invites them to dinner; and that the boastful king, he of the tiara and the robe, came in terror, ready to yield everything to the man in a tunic of cheap wool and a felt cap. Another story, more recent than this, you know, I think; for it is not likely that anyone has not heard of the emperor who gave himself up to go into enemy country when reconnaissance was needed, disguised as an embassy. For then to lead cities and armies was a public service, and many even swore off such office. And one of them, having grown old in reigning, renounced the toils and of his own will became a private man. I will show you, too, that the very name of king came late, having lapsed among the Romans from the time the people drove out the Tarquins. From then on we for our part think you worthy of the title and call you kings and write so; but you, whether knowingly or not, yielding to custom, seem to shrink from the weight of the title. At any rate, when you write to a city, or to a private man, or to a prefect,
Notes and citation
Summary: Earlier emperors went in person as spies and gave up power freely; the Romans long avoided the title ‘king’, and emperors still avoid it in their letters.
- The emperor who reconnoitred in disguise is probably Galerius (297); the one who abdicated is Diocletian (305). Krabinger brackets τε after “public service” as a deletion. His critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): ο. Ὑγοῖθὰ οὔτε βασιλεὺς οπι. Μου. 4ἍἉ. θ8εοϊωεῖ τε ἰησοὰά, οττἑβθυιτη, Ὦ. ἴῃ οι, Β, ἱπ ὰο ογδοῖ πθ- εἐχοοριΐβ Νίοη, Ε εἰ Ἀεμὰ.; ε Ραξἰεοια, Ῥτ. τὸ. δυρρίενι, Νῖοχ τίβ5. δυῖθπν ἡἰἢ}]} ὁποίδιατη. ᾿ εἴ ἱξώ Μοη. Ε. ἐ χύτρα Ἀεμὰ. Τυτν καλ, εἴ ρὸν Σθὲ. βυρετβοτίρίο, Νοη. Α. ἡ θώμναντο ἡ ξόμνυν το Ῥεῖαν. 2. ο ἢ ᾿ε ᾽ ᾿ → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 45 (Krabinger 1:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/45). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/45
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 46
46Krabinger 1:46
οὔτε πρὸς ἄρχοντα βάρβαρον ἐκαλλωπίσασθέ ποτε τῷ "βασιλέως ὀνόματι" ἀλλ᾽ αὐτοκράτορες εἶναι ποιεῖσθε. 'Ὃ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ ὄνομα τρατηγία; ἐεὶ, πάντα ποιεῖν ὑποσάσηγ᾽ καὶ ᾿Ιφικράτη; καὶ Περικλῆς ἔπλεον ᾿Αθύήνη- 53εν αὐτοκράτορες τρατηγοὶ, καὶ οὐκ ἐλύπει τοὔνομεα τὸν δῆμον τὸν ἀδυνάςευτον 1}), ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐχειροτόνει τὴν «ςρατηγίαν νόμιμον οὖσαν. ᾿Αθύνῃσι μὲν οὖν καὶ βασιλεύς τις καλούμενος μικρὰ ἔπραττε καὶ ὑπεύθυνος - ἦν, ᾿εἰς τοὔνομια; τοῦ δήμου, οἶμαι, παίξοντοι, ἅτε ὄντος ἀλρατῶ; ἐλευθέρου 1}. ἀλλ᾽ ὄγε αὐτοκράτωρ αὐτοῖς ἢ οὔτε μόναρχος ἦν, καὶ σπουδαῖον ἦν καὶ πρᾶγμα καὶ ὄνομα, Πῶςς οὖν οὐ σαφὲς τοῦτο τεκερήριον τῇς σώφρονος ἐν τῇ Ῥωμαίων πολιτείᾳ προαιρίσεως, ὅτι, καίτοι μοναρχία προδήλως ἀποτελεσθεῖσα, μίσει τῶν τυραννίδος κακῶν διευλαβεῖται καὶ φειδομένως ἃ ἅπτεται τοῦ βασιλείας ὀνόλιατο!; μοναρχίαν γὰρ διαβάλλει μιὲν τυραννὶς Ἶ,. ξηλωτὴν δὲ ποιεῖ βασιλεία ", καὶ Πλάτων αὐτὴν θεῖον ἀγαθὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποι; καλεῖ. ᾽Ο δὲ αὐτὸς οὗτος τὸ θείας
oute pros archonta barbaron ekallōpisasthe pote tǭ "basileōs onomati" all᾽ autokratores einai poieisthe. 'Ho de autokratōr onoma tratēgia? eei, panta poiein hyposasēg᾽ kai ᾿Iphikratē? kai Periklēs epleon ᾿Athyēnē- 53en autokratores tratēgoi, kai ouk elypei tounomea ton dēmon ton adynaseuton 1}), all᾽ autos echeirotonei tēn «sratēgian nomimon ousan. ᾿Athynę̄si men oun kai basileus tis kaloumenos mikra epratte kai hypeuthynos - ēn, ᾿eis tounomia? tou dēmou, oimai, paixontoi, hate ontos alratō? eleutherou 1}. all᾽ oge autokratōr autois ē oute monarchos ēn, kai spoudaion ēn kai pragma kai onoma, Pōss oun ou saphes touto tekerērion tę̄s sōphronos en tę̄ Rhōmaiōn politeią proairiseōs, hoti, kaitoi monarchia prodēlōs apotelestheisa, misei tōn tyrannidos kakōn dieulabeitai kai pheidomenōs ha haptetai tou basileias onoliato!? monarchian gar diaballei mien tyrannis I,. xēlōtēn de poiei basileia ", kai Platōn autēn theion agathon en anthrōpoi? kalei. ᾽O de autos houtos to theias
or to a barbarian ruler, you have never prided yourselves on the name of king, but are content to be emperors. And “autokrator” is the name of a generalship, one empowered to do everything. Iphicrates and Pericles sailed from Athens as generals with full powers (autokratores), and the name did not offend the people, who tolerated no overlord; the people themselves elected to the generalship, as a lawful office. At Athens, indeed, one called “king” did small things and was answerable to the people — the people, I think, playing with the name, since it was free and undiluted — but their autokrator was not a monarch, and both the thing and the name were serious. How, then, is this not a clear sign of the sober policy of the Roman constitution, that, though it plainly became a monarchy, it is wary through hatred of the evils of tyranny and touches the name of kingship sparingly? For tyranny brings monarchy into disrepute, but kingship makes it enviable, and Plato calls it a divine good among human beings. This same Plato deems that the one who has received a share of the divine
Notes and citation
Summary: Roman emperors call themselves autokratores, a republican title, out of a wise wariness of the name of king, which tyranny has discredited.
- At Athens the “king” (archon basileus) was a minor annual magistrate. Which passage of Plato is meant is uncertain. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): ἃ το ρτ. Μοη. Αἰς 8. διυίετα 15. αὐτοῖο ἈδὮα. τον τημίδι ματι ἱπ ρχον. ἦ ἡ 44, σπουδαῖος Νίοη. Ἐ. Απῶο- → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 46 (Krabinger 1:46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/46). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/46
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 47
47Krabinger 1:47
αεετειληχὸς ᾽) μοίρας ἀξιοὶ πάντῃ ἄτυφον εἶναι" οὐ γὰρ σκηνοβατῶν, οὐδὲ τερατουργῶν ὁ θεὸς, ἀλλὰ δι᾿ ἀἁψόφου͵ 3") Βαίνων κελεύθου, κατὰ δίκην τὰ θνήτ᾽ ἄγει, ἢ, παντί τε ἁπανταχοῦ παρεεάναι τῷ πεφυκότι μετέχειν “ἢ ἕτοιμος. Οὕτως ἀξιῶ τὸν βασιλέα κοινὸν ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἄτυφον εἶναι. Τύραννοι δὲ εἰ θαυματοποιοῦσι.πρυπτόμενοί τε καὶ σὺν ἐκπλήξει φαινόμενοι, φθόνος οὐδεὶς χήτει σεμνότητος ἀληθινῇς ἐπὶ προςποίψσιν καταφεύγειν " τὸν γὰρ οὐδὲν ὑγιὲς ὄντα καὶ εἰδότα γε τοῦτο, τίς μιῃχανὴ, ἢ οὐχὶ φεύγειν τὸ ἐμφανὲς, φεύγοντα καταφρόνῃσιν; ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἡλίου τὸ μέχρι τήμερον οὐδεὶς πω καταπιφρόνηκε. Βαΐ τοι τί συνηθέςερον. θέακα; Καὶ βασιλεὺς εἰ τεθάῤῥγκεν ἀληθινὸς ὧν καὶ’ οὐκ ἐλεγχθησόμενο;, ἔσω κοινότατρε᾽ οὐδὲν γὰρ ἧττον,
aeeteilēchos ᾽) moiras axioi pantę̄ atyphon einai" ou gar skēnobatōn, oude teratourgōn ho theos, alla di᾿ haapsophou͵ 3") Bainōn keleuthou, kata dikēn ta thnēt᾽ agei, ē, panti te hapantachou pareeanai tǭ pephykoti metechein “ē hetoimos. Houtōs axiō ton basilea koinon agathon kai atyphon einai. Tyrannoi de ei thaumatopoiousi.pryptomenoi te kai syn ekplēxei phainomenoi, phthonos oudeis chētei semnotētos alēthinę̄s epi prospoipssin katapheugein " ton gar ouden hygies onta kai eidota ge touto, tis mię̄chanē, ē ouchi pheugein to emphanes, pheugonta kataphronę̄sin? ᾿All᾽ hēliou to mechri tēmeron oudeis pō katapiphronēke. Baï toi ti synētheseron. theaka? Kai basileus ei tetharrhnken alēthinos hōn kai’ ouk elenchthēsomeno?, esō koinotatre᾽ ouden gar hētton,
portion should be wholly free of vanity. For God does not tread the stage or work marvels for show, but, “going by a noiseless path, leads mortal things according to justice,” and is ready to be present everywhere to everything that by nature can share in him. So I deem that the king should be a common good and free of vanity. If tyrants work wonders, hiding themselves and appearing amid amazement, no one grudges them, for want of true dignity, their refuge in pretence; for one who has nothing sound in him and knows it, what means has he but to flee being seen, and so flee contempt? But no one to this day has ever despised the sun; and what sight is more familiar? A king too, if he is confident, being genuine and in no danger of exposure, let him be most accessible; for he will be no less,
Notes and citation
Summary: Like God, who governs silently, the true king shuns theatrical display; only tyrants hide behind spectacle.
- The quotation is Euripides, Trojan Women 887–888.
Extrabiblical texts: Euripides, Tro. 887-888 (Euripides (plays and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 47 (Krabinger 1:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/47). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/47
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-regno-47) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 48
48Krabinger 1:48
εἰ μὴ καὶ μᾶλλον ἀγατὸς ἔσται. Οὐδὲ τοῦ χωλοῖ βασιλέω,, ὃν ἐπαινεῖ “Ξενοφῶν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ συγγράμματι, κατεγέλων οὔτε οὗς ἦγεν, οὔτε,δὶ ὧν ἦγεν, οὔτε ἐφ᾽ οὖς; ἐπορεύετο. Ἀαΐ τοι κατέλυεν οὗτος ἑκάτης πόλεως δὲν τοῖς δημοσίωτάτοι; χωρίοις, ἐν ᾧ πάντα ποιῶν καταφανέτάτος ἦν οἵν ᾿ἐπιμελὲς τὸν ἡγεμόνα τῇς Σπάρτη; ὁρᾷν' ἀλλ᾽ οὗτοι εἰς τὴν ᾿Ασίαν τε διαβὰς ὁλί. ζ γῳ «ρατεύματι; τὸν προςκυνούμενον ᾿ἄνθρωπον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀκατονομάςων ἐθνῶν ἐγγὺς ἦλθεν ἀποβιβάσαι 10τῇ, ἀρχῆξ᾽ τοῦ μὲν γὰρ φρονήματο, ἀπεβίβασε" καὶ, ἐπειδὴ τῶν οἴκοι τελῶν καλούντων τὰς ἐν ᾿Ασίᾳ πράἕξεις ᾿ἀφήρητο, νίκας Ἑλληνικὰς ἀνῃρεῖτο πολλὰς, ὑπὸ 'μόνου τε [τῶν] ἀνθρώπων ὑττᾶτο μαχόμενοι, ὑφ᾽ οὗ κρατηθῆναι μόνου τῶν ἁπάντων “εἰκὸς ἦν “ἢ ““γῃσίλαον, καὶ ὑπὲρ εὐτελείας ἀγωνιδόμενον. Ἔπαμιειμεάνδαι " ἦν οὗτος, ὃν ςεφαν οὖσαι μὲν αἱ πόλεις ἑκά- ἢ
ei mē kai mallon agatos estai. Oude tou chōloi basileō,, hon epainei “Xenophōn en holǭ tǭ syngrammati, kategelōn oute hous ēgen, oute,di hōn ēgen, oute eph᾽ ous? eporeueto. Aaï toi katelyen houtos hekatēs poleōs den tois dēmosiōtatoi? chōriois, en hǭ panta poiōn kataphanetatos ēn hoin ᾿epimeles ton hēgemona tę̄s Spartē? horąn' all᾽ houtoi eis tēn ᾿Asian te diabas holi. z gǭ «rateumati? ton proskynoumenon ᾿anthrōpon hypo tōn akatonomasōn ethnōn engys ēlthen apobibasai 10tę̄, archēx᾽ tou men gar phronēmato, apebibase" kai, epeidē tōn oikoi telōn kalountōn tas en ᾿Asią praexeis ᾿aphērēto, nikas Hellēnikas anę̄reito pollas, hypo 'monou te [tōn] anthrōpōn hyttato machomenoi, hyph᾽ hou kratēthēnai monou tōn hapantōn “eikos ēn “ē ““gę̄silaon, kai hyper euteleias agōnidomenon. Epamieimeandai " ēn houtos, hon sephan ousai men hai poleis heka- ē
if not even more, admired. Nobody laughed at the lame king whom Xenophon praises in a whole book — neither those he led, nor those through whose land he led them, nor those against whom he marched. And yet he lodged in each city in the most public places, where everything he did was in plain view of anyone who cared to see the leader of Sparta. Yet he crossed into Asia with a small army and came near to bringing down from his rule the man whom countless nations worshipped — from his pride, indeed, he did bring him down; and when the authorities at home recalled him and he was robbed of his achievements in Asia, he won many victories in Greece, and was defeated in battle by one man only, the one man of all by whom it was likely that Agesilaus would be beaten, a man who strove even in frugality. This was Epaminondas, whom the cities, each crowning him,
Notes and citation
Summary: Agesilaus, lame and living in public, humbled the Persian king; only the frugal Epaminondas could defeat him.
- The lame king is Agesilaus, the subject of Xenophon's Agesilaus. Krabinger brackets τῶν before “men” as a deletion.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 48 (Krabinger 1:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/48). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/48
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 49
49Krabinger 1:49
λουν εὐωχησόμενον, ὁ. δὲ φοιτῶν αὐταῖς" οὐ γὰρ ἦν") ἄλλως ποιούντα μὴ οὐκ αἰτίαν ἔχειν τὸν ἐν ἀξιώματι " δριμέο; ὀξους ἐπέπινεν, ἵνα, φησὶ, τῇς οἴκοϊ διαίτης Ἔπα. μεινώνδας; μὴ ἐπιλάθοιτο. Ιγεανίσκυ δὲ ᾿Αττικοῦ τῆς Ὁ) ἡ μαχαίρας αὐτῷ τὴν κώπην ἐπισκώψαντοι, ὅτι ξύλου γέ φαύλου καὶ ἀκατέργατος: ἦν, οὐκοῦν ὅταν, ἔφη, μαχώμεθα, τῇς μὲν κώπης; οὐ πειράσῃ" τὸν. σίδῆρον δὲ υὐκ ἑνέραι “) σοι μέμψασθαι. ᾿- τ ΤΠ τ.Ὰ ὡἋ ἰ Εἰ δὲ βασιλιιὸν μὲν τὸ ἄρχειν, ἄρχει δὲ ὑποῖον. "3 δέον κρατεῖν. ἐξ ὧν οἱ. κρατεῖν. εἰδότιρ ἐπιτήδευμάτων
loun euōchēsomenon, ho. de phoitōn autais" ou gar ēn") allōs poiounta mē ouk aitian echein ton en axiōmati " drimeo? oxous epepinen, hina, phēsi, tę̄s oikoï diaitēs Epa. meinōndas? mē epilathoito. Igeanisky de ᾿Attikou tēs Ho) hē machairas autǭ tēn kōpēn episkōpsantoi, hoti xylou ge phaulou kai akatergatos: ēn, oukoun hotan, ephē, machōmetha, tę̄s men kōpēs? ou peirasę̄" ton. sidēron de yyk henerai “) soi mempsasthai. ᾿- t TP t.A hōA i Ei de basiliion men to archein, archei de hypoion. "3 deon kratein. ex hōn hoi. kratein. eidotir epitēdeumatōn
invited to feast; and he went to them — for a man in high position could not do otherwise without incurring blame — and drank sharp vinegar besides, “so that Epaminondas,” he said, “may not forget his diet at home.” And when an Attic youth mocked the hilt of his sword because it was of cheap and unworked wood, “Well then,” he said, “when we fight you will not try the hilt; but you will not find the iron to blame.” If, then, ruling is a kingly thing, and one must rule by the practices
Notes and citation
Summary: Epaminondas kept his plain habits at banquets and cared for the blade, not the ornament, of his sword.
- A few garbled words in the last sentence are translated by sense. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): νυ]: Ἰιδτὶο. ἱκομυνῶρξας ἽΜοι. 42. καὶ ρτο τὴς ΠΝ ΒῈ. Ἰιοαν Ῥήλμον Μοα. Ἐ- Τυῦι ἢ.. οὐ. οὗτοι εὐ Ὁ δἂὌἅοὌ,. μαχώμιθα Νῖοή. Ὁ, μαχούοὕτω; Μοη. Ἐ. μεθα Ῥαν. ΔΒ. Μοη, ΒΕ. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 49 (Krabinger 1:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/49). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/49
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 50
50Krabinger 1:50
καὶ βίων, ὁρῶμεν ὅ ὡς οὐκ. ἀπὸ τῶν ἐκφύλων τε καὶ σοβαρῶν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν μετρίων τε καὶ σωφρόνων πάντα ἐκ πάντων συναιρεῖται, βασιλείας ἐξοριςίον εἶναι τύφον καὶ πολυτέλειαν, ὡς οὐ μετὸν αὐτῇ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων. ὅ Καὶ ὁ λόγος ἐκ τούτου προῆκται δ). ᾿Επαναγάγωμεν δὲ ἡμεῖς τε Ὦ τὸν λόγον εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἀρχὴν, σύ τε εἶ, ") τὸ ἀρχαῖον πρᾶγμα τὸν βασιλέα" ἀνάγκη γάρ, κεκολασμένων ὃ) τῶν βίων καὶ σωφροσύνης ἐπανελθούσῃ!, συνεπανελθεῖν μὲν αὐτῇ τὰ παλαιὰ καλὰ, τῶν Β δὲ. ἐκ τῇ, ἱναντίας μερίδος ἀντιμετάσασιν πάντων γενέσθαι. Ἑαὶ σὺ, βασιλεῦ, τῇς ἐπαναγωγῇ; τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἄρξαιο καὶ ἀποδοίη; ἡμῖν λειτουργὸν τῇς πολιτείας τὸν βασιλέα" καὶ γὰρ ἐν οἷς ἐσμὲν οὐκέτι οἵα χωρῆσαι ῥᾳθυμία οὐδὲ πρόσω βῆναι" 1δ νῦν γὰρ πάντες ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ᾽ ἴρανται ἀκμῇς, καὶ δεῖ θεοῦ καὶ βασιλέω, ἐπὶ τὰ πράγματα, τὴν ὠδινομένην
kai biōn, horōmen ho hōs ouk. apo tōn ekphylōn te kai sobarōn, all' apo tōn metriōn te kai sōphronōn panta ek pantōn synaireitai, basileias exorision einai typhon kai polyteleian, hōs ou meton autę̄ tōn allotriōn. ho Kai ho logos ek toutou proēktai d). ᾿Epanagagōmen de hēmeis te Ō ton logon eis tēn oikeian archēn, sy te ei, ") to archaion pragma ton basilea" anankē gar, kekolasmenōn ho) tōn biōn kai sōphrosynēs epanelthousę̄!, synepanelthein men autę̄ ta palaia kala, tōn B de. ek tę̄, hinantias meridos antimetasasin pantōn genesthai. Heai sy, basileu, tę̄s epanagōgę̄? tōn agathōn arxaio kai apodoiē? hēmin leitourgon tę̄s politeias ton basilea" kai gar en hois esmen ouketi hoia chōrēsai rhąthymia oude prosō bēnai" 1d nyn gar pantes epi xyrou ᾽ irantai akmę̄s, kai dei theou kai basileō, epi ta pragmata, tēn ōdinomenēn
and ways of life by which those who know how to rule do rule, we see that everything in every way is achieved not by the outlandish and the haughty, but by the moderate and the temperate; so that vanity and extravagance must be banished from kingship, as having no part in what is foreign to it. From this point the speech digressed. Let us now bring the speech back to its proper beginning, and do you bring back that ancient thing, the king. For when lives have been chastened and temperance has returned, the good things of old must return with it, and everything on the opposite side must change places. May you, O emperor, begin the restoration of good things, and give us back the king as servant of the commonwealth. For in our present state there is no longer room for sloth, nor for going further on: now all things “stand on a razor's edge,” and affairs need God and an emperor to forestall the fate that has long been in labour
Notes and citation
Summary: Extravagance must be banished; the emperor must restore the old kingly simplicity, for the empire stands on a razor's edge.
- “Stand on a razor's edge” is Iliad 10.173.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 10.173 (Homer, Iliad; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 50 (Krabinger 1:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/50). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/50
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 51
51Krabinger 1:51
χρόνον ἤδη συχνὸν τῆς ' Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς [τὴν] " εἰμαρμένην προαναιρήσοντος, ἣν, ἅμα συνάπτων τὸ 35.606 ἑξῃς τοῦ λόγου καὶ τὸν βασιλέᾳ δημιουργῶν, ὃν ἐνύργμὴν ἀγαλμα πάγκαλον ἱστάναι, δείξω γε σαφῶς ἐγγὺς οὖσαν, ἦν 3.) μὴ σοφῇ τε καὶ ἰσχυρὰ βασιλεία κωλύῃ " καὶ, ἵνα ὁ κωλύων αὐτὸς ἦ,, ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων συμπαλαμήσομαι. Θεὸς δὲ ἀγαθοῖς ἀεί τε καὶ πάντως παρατάτῃς καὶ ἴλεω:. Πόθεν οὖν ἀπολιπόντες τὰ καινῇ διαπλαττόμενα, Ἰθτῷ πλαττομένῳ παρὰ τοῦ λόγου βασιλεῖ ) γνώμῃ περιηνέχθημεν εἰς τὰ καθετῶτα; ᾿Ηξίου φιλοσοφία τὸν βασιλέα θαμὰ ὁμιλεῖν ςρατιώταις, ἀλλὰ μ θαλαμεύε- Ὦ σθαι" τὴν γὰρ εὔνοιαν, ἢ μόνῃ παὶ μάλιςα βασιλέως
chronon ēdē sychnon tēs ' Rhōmaiōn archēs [tēn] " eimarmenēn proanairēsontos, hēn, hama synaptōn to 35.606 hexę̄s tou logou kai ton basileą dēmiourgōn, hon enyrgmēn agalma pankalon histanai, deixō ge saphōs engys ousan, ēn 3.) mē sophę̄ te kai ischyra basileia kōlyę̄ " kai, hina ho kōlyōn autos ē,, ek tōn enontōn sympalamēsomai. Theos de agathois aei te kai pantōs paratatę̄s kai ileō:. Pothen oun apolipontes ta kainę̄ diaplattomena, Ithtǭ plattomenǭ para tou logou basilei ) gnōmę̄ periēnechthēmen eis ta kathetōta? ᾿Ēxiou philosophia ton basilea thama homilein sratiōtais, alla m thalameue- Ō sthai" tēn gar eunoian, ē monę̄ pai malisa basileōs
now for a long time against the empire of the Romans. This fate, as I join the sequence of the speech and fashion the king whom I promised to set up as an all-beautiful statue, I will clearly show to be near, unless a wise and strong kingship prevents it; and, so that you may be the one who prevents it, I will help contrive it with what resources we have. And God is always and in every way the ally and the friend of the good. From where, then, leaving the new fashioning of the king whom the speech was moulding, were we carried round in thought to the present state of things? Philosophy deemed that the king should often keep company with soldiers and not live shut in his chamber; for goodwill, which alone and above all is a king's
Notes and citation
Summary: Returning to the portrait of the king, Synesius recalls that the emperor must live among his soldiers to win their goodwill.
- Krabinger brackets τήν before “fate” as a deletion.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 51 (Krabinger 1:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/51). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/51
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 52
52Krabinger 1:52
ἐεὶν ἰσχυρὸν φυλακτήριον, ἐδίδασκεν ἀπὸ τῇς ὁσημέραι συνηθείας ἀθροίξεσθαι. Ποδαποῖς; οὖν τὸ γένος οὖσι τοῖς τρατιώταις φιλόσοφος, ἐρατὴς ὧν βασιλέως, ἀξιοῖ ὁ καὶ παιδεύειν τὸ σῶμα καὶ συναυλίξεσθαι; ὃ δῆλον ὅτι τοιούτοις, οὗς ἀγροὶ καὶ πόλεις καὶ καθάπὰξ ἡ βασιλευομίνν γῇ δίδωσι προμάχους καὶ καταλέγει φύλακας τῇ πολιτείᾳ τὲ καὶ τοῖς νόμοις, ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἐτρά: φησάν τε καὶ ἐπαιδεύθησαν; οὗτοι 'γάρ εἰσιν, οὖς παὶ κυσὶν ὁ Πλάτων εἴκαδεν. ᾿4λλ᾽ οὔτε τῷ ποιμένι μετὰ Ἰθ κυνῶν τοὺς λύκους τακτέον, κἄν σκύμνοι ποτὲ ἄναι-, ρεθέντες ὅ τιθασσεύεσθαι δόξωσιν, ἢ κακῶς αὖὐτοῖς πιτεύσει τὴν ποίμνην" ὅταν γάρ τινα ταῖς πυσὶν ἀσθένειαν ἢ ῥᾳθυμίαν ἐνίδωσιν, αὐταῖς τε καὶ ποίμνῃ καὶ ποιμέσιν ἐπιχειρήσουσιν. οὔτε τῷ νομο- 1ὅ θέτῃ δοτέον ὅπλα τοῖς οὐ τεχθεῖσί τε καὶ τραφεῖσιν ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῦ νόμοις" οὐ γὰρ ἔχει παρὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν εὐνοίας ἐνέχυρον. 'Ὥς ἕξιν ἀνδρὸς θαρ.
eein ischyron phylaktērion, edidasken apo tę̄s hosēmerai synētheias athroixesthai. Podapois? oun to genos ousi tois tratiōtais philosophos, eratēs hōn basileōs, axioi ho kai paideuein to sōma kai synaulixesthai? ho dēlon hoti toioutois, hous agroi kai poleis kai kathapax hē basileuominn gę̄ didōsi promachous kai katalegei phylakas tę̄ politeią te kai tois nomois, hyph᾽ hōn etra: phēsan te kai epaideuthēsan? houtoi 'gar eisin, ous pai kysin ho Platōn eikaden. ᾿4ll᾽ oute tǭ poimeni meta Ith kynōn tous lykous takteon, kan skymnoi pote anai-, rethentes ho tithasseuesthai doxōsin, ē kakōs auytois piteusei tēn poimnēn" hotan gar tina tais pysin astheneian ē rhąthymian enidōsin, autais te kai poimnę̄ kai poimesin epicheirēsousin. oute tǭ nomo- 1ho thetę̄ doteon hopla tois ou techtheisi te kai trapheisin en tois autou nomois" ou gar echei para tōn toioutōn ouden eunoias enechyron. 'Hōs hexin andros thar.
strong safeguard, she taught is gathered from daily familiarity. Of what race, then, are the soldiers with whom the philosopher, as a lover of the king, deems he should train his body and live in camp? Clearly of such as the fields and cities, and in a word the land under his rule, provide as champions and enrol as guardians of the commonwealth and of the laws by which they were reared and educated; for these are the men whom Plato likened to dogs. But the shepherd must not place wolves among his dogs, even if, caught as cubs, they seem to have been tamed, or he will trust his flock to them to his cost; for whenever they see some weakness or slackness in the dogs, they will attack the dogs, the flock and the shepherds together. Nor must the lawgiver give arms to those not born and reared under his laws; for from such men he has no pledge of goodwill. For it belongs to a man of reckless
Notes and citation
Summary: The soldiers must be the empire's own citizens; arming foreigners is like setting wolves among the sheepdogs.
- The guardian-dogs are Plato, Republic 375e–376b; the wolves among dogs recall Republic 416a. Synesius's argument against the Gothic soldiers in Roman service, which follows, is translated as written. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): η΄ δ. ὃν ἀξιοῖ Οοδά. ΡΑτ. ΑΒ. Μίοη. τούτονς ΒΕ, Ἐδά, Τυτη. οἱ Ραῖυβ. ἂν ργοὸ τοιούτοις Μοη. Ἑ. τούτοις Νῖοι͵ Ὁ. τούτους Ῥατ, ΑΒΟ, Μοη. ΑΒΕ. ὃν Ἱερεηάσπι ργοροθαῖ! Οαπιεγαἔ Βδτοος. Υἱηὰ, τίμα, Ουοά βοαυίΐϊας καὶ οπι. Βἃτοῦς. Πεΐη παιδεύει δοτὶ ῖ: Μίοι.». 5. Ὠεοθὶ καὶ ἱπ Μοπ, - Ε. πιφξεύειν οοηὶ. Οαπιεγατίις, συμ- 6. πλάττων (εἰς) Βομά. Ὑἱᾶ, Τ)6 παιδεύειν Οεεῖλιις Οοτητηεηῖϊ. δὰ. ᾿ τὸ Ῥυθ]ῖοα Ρ. 315.: Ε, Οἵ, ὅγπε:. Ὠίοη. ΟὨτγθβοθῖ, Ρ. 280. θεὰ εἰμ] Ερίνι. 151. Ρ. 266. 6. σαὰίδη ἄιτα; ἐπ τς] ρ ἀδ οὶ ᾿ πὶ Ῥτιδοροβίτἶϊο νεσθὶ συναυλίδεσθαι τ. Οπι, πος τροαβυϊασα ΝΙοπ. εἰΐατι ἐπ ν. παιδεύειν. ὙιΔ, δεῖαε- Ο᾽. εν. Ἰηᾶϊο. Οσδθο. δὰ στεξοτ. ὅοσ. 8. ἀναιρεθέντε οη, Ο, Ια Ῥᾶτ. Ρ- 1052. εἰ δὰ Βτευποκὶὶ Θπο- Ο εἰ Υδι. εἰ εἰ. ληφθέντες. τηΐοο, Ροεῖϊ. ὄγδοος. δὰ. 11Ρ5. 0, τιθασεύεσθαι Βδτοςο. Νῖοπ" 4817. Ρ. 361. 90]}]. ΝΝοβθῖτο Ρ. 15. Ὁ. Πομά. ΄ Ο., υδὲ Βαρεῖ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ συν- 10. καμνῶς Μοη. Ε΄ θυραυλοῦντὶς τε καὶ χαμευνοῦντες 11. ἐπισεύσει ΝΙοη. Ἐ. ( πετοῖς ἐν ταῖς φάλαγξι ςιύσῃ Ῥατ. Α. πισεύει Νίοπ. 6. 4" ἴτὰ Μοα. ΑΒΟΌΕ. Βεϊιά, 12. τοῖς κυσὶν Νῖοη. ΒΏΕ. τοῖς κυσὶ Ῥατ. Β., Υἱαὰ, δθλονόνι νῖοα. Ε. δηλονότι 13. ἀπεχειρίσουσιν (ε1.) Νοη. Ῥατ. ΔΛΒΟ οἱ Βδγοεσ. ο. Εἀά, Τιιπι Ε. ἐπιχείρουσιν ( ᾿γίου. ΒΕ. οἱ → .
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 416a (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 52 (Krabinger 1:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/52). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/52
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-regno-52) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 53
53Krabinger 1:53
σαλίέου ' μάντεως ᾽ νεότητα πολλὴν ἑτερότροφον, ἔθεσιν ἰδίοις χρωμένην, ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τὰ πολέμια} μελετῶσαν ὁρῶντα μὴ δεδιέναις δεῖ γὰρ ἤτοι πάντας αὐτοὺς πιςεῦσαι φιλοσοφεῖν,» τούτου καλῶς ἀπογνόνὅτας οἴεσθαι τὸν Ταντάλου λίθον ὑπὲρ τῇς πολιτείας λεπτοῖς; καλωδίοις ἠρτῆσθαι. ᾿Ὥ, τότε πρῶτον ἐπιχειρήσουσιν, ὅτε πρῶτον αὐτοῖς οἰῤσονται προχωρήσειν ) τὴν πεῖραν. Τούτου μὲν οὖν καὶ ἀκροβολισμοὶ τινες ἤδη γίνονται, καὶ φλεγμαίνει μέρῃ συχνὰ τῇς: ἀρχῇ: ὥςπερ σώματοι, οὐ δυναμένων αὐτῷ συγκραθῆναι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων εἰς. ἁρμονίαν ὑγιεινήν. Ἔκκρῖναι δὲ “δεῖν τἀλλότριον ἀπὸ τε σωμάτων καὶ πόλεων ἰατρῶν (αὶ τε καὶ τρατηγῶν παῖδες ἂν εἴποιεν. Τὸ δὲ μήτε ἄἂντίπαλον αὐτοῖς κατασκευάξεσθαι δύναμιν, καὶ, ὡς ἐκείνης οἰκείας οὔσης, ἀςρατείαν τε διδόναι πολλοῖς αἰτοῦσι, καὶ πρὸς ἄλλοις ἔχειν ἀφιέναι τοὺς ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ,
salieou ' manteōs ᾽ neotēta pollēn heterotrophon, ethesin idiois chrōmenēn, en tę̄ chōrą ta polemia} meletōsan horōnta mē dedienais dei gar ētoi pantas autous piseusai philosophein,» toutou kalōs apognonotas oiesthai ton Tantalou lithon hyper tę̄s politeias leptois? kalōdiois ērtēsthai. ᾿Hō, tote prōton epicheirēsousin, hote prōton autois oirsontai prochōrēsein ) tēn peiran. Toutou men oun kai akrobolismoi tines ēdē ginontai, kai phlegmainei merę̄ sychna tę̄s: archę̄: hōsper sōmatoi, ou dynamenōn autǭ synkrathēnai tōn allotriōn eis. harmonian hygieinēn. Ekkrinai de “dein tallotrion apo te sōmatōn kai poleōn iatrōn (ai te kai tratēgōn paides an eipoien. To de mēte aantipalon autois kataskeuaxesthai dynamin, kai, hōs ekeinēs oikeias ousēs, asrateian te didonai pollois aitousi, kai pros allois echein aphienai tous en tę̄ chōrą,
boldness, or of a prophet, not to fear when he sees a great body of youth, reared elsewhere and following its own customs, practising the arts of war in our land. One must either believe that all of them are philosophers, or, despairing of that, think that the stone of Tantalus hangs over the commonwealth by thin cords. They will attack at the first moment they think the attempt will succeed. Of this there are already some skirmishes, and many parts of the empire are inflamed, as of a body, when foreign elements cannot blend with it into a healthy harmony. That the foreign must be expelled from bodies and from cities, the sons of physicians and of generals alike would tell you. Not to build up a force to match them, and, as if that force were our own, to grant exemption from service to the many who ask it, and to let those in the country busy themselves with other things —
Notes and citation
Summary: Armed foreigners in the empire are like Tantalus's stone hanging by a thread; they must be expelled like a foreign body.
- The stone of Tantalus hung over the sinner's head (Pindar, Olympian 1.57–58).
Extrabiblical texts: Pindar, Ol. 1.57-58 (Pindar (odes and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 53 (Krabinger 1:53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/53). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/53
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 54
54Krabinger 1:54
τί ἄλλο, καὶ σπευδόντων ἐξὶν εἰς πλεθρὸν ἀνθῥώπων; δίον πρὸ τοῦ Σκύθα; δεῦρο 'σιδηροφοροῦντας ἀνέχεσθαι παρά τε τῆς φίλης γεωργίας ἄνδρας αἰτῆσαι τοὺς μαχεσομένου; ὑπὲρ αὐτῇ: καὶ καταλέγειν εἰς τοσοῦὅτον, ἐν ᾧ δὴ καὶ τὸν φιλόσοφον ἀπὸ τὸ φροντιςη- ἢ ρίρυ, καὶ τὸν χειροτέχνην απὸ τοῦ βαναυσεῖν ἀναΞήσαντες,, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πωλητηρίου τὸν ὄντα πρὸς τούτῳ, τόν τε κηφῆνα δῆμον, ὃ; ὑπὸ τῆς πάνυ σχο-., λῆς ἐγκαταβιοὶ τοῖς; θεάτροις, πείσομὲν ποτε καὶ σπουδάσαι, πρὶν ἀπὸ τοῦ γελᾷν ἐπὶ 'τὸ κλάειν ἀφίκωνται, αεήτε τῇς χείρονος αἰδοῦς 5, αὖτε τῆς ἀμείνογος ἐμποδὼν οὔσης τῷ τὴν ἰσχὺν Ρωμαίοις οἰκείαν γενέσθαι. Τέτακται 3“) γὰρ ὥ!περ ἐν οἴκῳ, καὶ πολιτείαις ὁμοίως τὸ μὲν ὑπερασπίξον κατὰ τὸ ἄῤῥεν, τὸ δὲ εἰς τὴν. ἐπιμέλειαν ἑσραμμένον τῶν εἴσω κατὰ τὸ θήλυι Πῶς ἃ
ti allo, kai speudontōn exin eis plethron anthrhōpōn? dion pro tou Skytha? deuro 'sidērophorountas anechesthai para te tēs philēs geōrgias andras aitēsai tous machesomenou? hyper autę̄: kai katalegein eis tosouoton, en hǭ dē kai ton philosophon apo to phrontisē- ē riry, kai ton cheirotechnēn apo tou banausein anaXēsantes,, kai apo tou pōlētēriou ton onta pros toutǭ, ton te kēphēna dēmon, ho? hypo tēs pany scho-., lēs enkatabioi tois? theatrois, peisomen pote kai spoudasai, prin apo tou geląn epi 'to klaein aphikōntai, aeēte tę̄s cheironos aidous 5, aute tēs ameinogos empodōn ousēs tǭ tēn ischyn Rōmaiois oikeian genesthai. Tetaktai 3“) gar hō!per en oikǭ, kai politeiais homoiōs to men hyperaspixon kata to arrhen, to de eis tēn. epimeleian hesrammenon tōn eisō kata to thēlui Pōs ha
what else is this but the act of men hastening to their ruin? Instead of putting up with Scythians bearing arms here, we should ask our beloved farming for men to fight on its behalf, and enlist them to the point of raising even the philosopher from his think-shop and the craftsman from his workbench and the trader from his market; and we shall persuade even the drone people, who from excess of leisure live in the theatres, to be serious at last, before they pass from laughing to weeping — and let neither the worse shame nor the better stand in the way of strength becoming the Romans' own. For as in a household, so in commonwealths, the part that holds the shield is ranked as male, and the part turned to care for what is within as female. How, then,
Notes and citation
Summary: Romans themselves, from farmers to philosophers to idle theatre-goers, should be enlisted instead of the Scythians.
- The “Scythians” are the Goths. The “drone people” recalls Plato, Republic 552c; the two kinds of shame, Euripides, Hippolytus 385–387.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 552c (Plato (works); allusion); Euripides, Hipp. 385-387 (Euripides (plays and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 54 (Krabinger 1:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/54). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/54
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 55
55Krabinger 1:55
οὖν ἀνεκτὸν παρ᾽ ἡμὶν ἀλλότριον εἶναι τὸ ἀῤῥεν; πῶς δὲ οὐκ αἴσχιον 4.) παραχωρῦδαι τὴν εὐανδροτάτην ἀρχὴν ἑτέροις. τῇς ἐν πολέμῳ φιλοτιμέας; ᾿4λλ᾽ ἔγωγε, καὶ εἰ νίκας ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν νικῷεν πολλᾶς, αἰσχυνοίμην ὅ ἂν ὠφελούμενοι. ᾿Εκεῖνο μέντοι γινώσκω φρωνέω τε " καὶ γὰρ ἐγγύς ἔστιν “ἅπαντος; “Ἷ τῦ. νοῦν ἔχοντος, ὡς, ὅταν τὰ λεγόμενα ταῦτα, τὸ ἄῤῥεν τε καὶ τὸ θῆλυ, ααὐτε ἀδελφὰ τυγχάνῃ, μήτε ἄλλως ὁμογενὴ, μικρὰ πρόφασις ἀρκέσει τοὺς ὡπλισμένους τῶν ἀευπολούντων δεσπότα, ἀξιοῦν εἶναι" καὶ μαχήσονταί ποτε ἀπό-Β. λέμοι πρὸς τοὺς ἠἡσκημένου; τὸν ἐν ὅπλοις ἀγῶνα. Πρὶν οὖν εἰς τοῦτο ἥκειν, ἐφ᾽ ὃ πρόεισιν ἤδη, ἀνακτητέον 4“) ἡμῖν τὰ 'Ρωμαίων, φρονήματα καὶ συνεθιεέον αὐτουργεῖν ἑὰς νίπας, μηδὲ κοινωνίας ἀνεχομένους, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπαξιοῦντας ἐν ἁπάσῃ τάξει τὸ βάρβαρον. ᾿Αρχῶν δὲ δὴ καὶ δ) πρῶτον ἀπεληλάσθων καὶ τῶν ἐν βουλευτηρίῳ γερῶν ἀποκεκόφθων οἷς ὑπθρξεν ἢ)
oun anekton par᾽ hēmin allotrion einai to arrhen? pōs de ouk aischion 4.) parachōrydai tēn euandrotatēn archēn heterois. tę̄s en polemǭ philotimeas? ᾿4ll᾽ egōge, kai ei nikas hyper hēmōn nikǭen pollas, aischynoimēn ho an ōpheloumenoi. ᾿Ekeino mentoi ginōskō phrōneō te " kai gar engys estin “hapantos? “Hi ty. noun echontos, hōs, hotan ta legomena tauta, to arrhen te kai to thēly, aaute adelpha tynchanę̄, mēte allōs homogenē, mikra prophasis arkesei tous hōplismenous tōn aeupolountōn despota, axioun einai" kai machēsontai pote apo-B. lemoi pros tous hēēskēmenou? ton en hoplois agōna. Prin oun eis touto hēkein, eph᾽ ho proeisin ēdē, anaktēteon 4“) hēmin ta 'Rōmaiōn, phronēmata kai synethieeon autourgein heas nipas, mēde koinōnias anechomenous, all᾽ apaxiountas en hapasę̄ taxei to barbaron. ᾿Archōn de dē kai d) prōton apelēlasthōn kai tōn en bouleutēriǭ gerōn apokekophthōn hois hypthrxen ē)
can it be tolerated among us that the male part is foreign? And how is it not most shameful to yield to others the most manly sphere, the honour that is won in war? For my part, even if they won many victories on our behalf, I would be ashamed to be helped by them. This, however, I know and consider — and it lies near to everyone with sense — that when these two, as we call them, the male and the female, are neither siblings nor otherwise of one race, a small pretext will be enough for the armed to claim to be masters of the citizens; and those unfit for war will one day have to fight those trained in the contest of arms. Before we come to this, then, toward which things are already moving, we must recover the spirit of the Romans and accustom ourselves to win our victories with our own hands, tolerating no partnership but refusing the barbarian in every rank. First let them be driven from the magistracies and cut off from the privileges of the senate, those to whom
Notes and citation
Summary: If the army is foreign while the citizens are unarmed, the soldiers will become masters; Rome must fight its own wars and exclude barbarians from office.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 55 (Krabinger 1:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/55). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/55
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 56
56Krabinger 1:56
αἰσχύνη τὰ παρὰ 'ῬῬωμαίοις πάλαι καὶ δοκοῦντα καὶ ὄντα σεμνότατα, ἐπεὶ νῦν γε καὶ τὴν βουλαίαν Θέμιν Ὁ αὐτὴν καὶ θεὸν οἶμαι τὸν ςτράτιον ἐγκαλύπτεσθαι, ὅταν ὁ σισυροφόρο; ὅ ἄνθρωπος ἐξηγῆται χλαμύδας ἐχόνὅτων, καὶ ὅταν ἀποδύ; τις ὅπερ ἐνῆπτο κώδιον, περιβάλῃται τήβεννον καὶ τοῖς Ῥωμαίων τέλεσι συμφροντίξῃ περὶ τῶν καθεστώτων, προεδρίαν ἔχων παρ᾽ αὐτόν᾽ που τὸν ὕπατον, νομίμων ἀνδρῶν ὀπίσω θακούντων. ᾿4λλ᾽ οὗτοί γε μικρὸν τοῦ βουλευτηρίου᾽ προκύψαντες, αὖθις ἐν τοῖς κωδίοις εἰσὶ, καὶ, ὅταν τοῖς ὁπαδοῖς ὅ) συγγίνωνται, τῆς τηβέννου καταγελῶσι, μεθ' ἧ; οὐκ εἶναί φασι ξιφουλκίας εὐμοιρίαν. Θαυμάδω δ᾽ ἔγωγε ᾿πολ- Ὦ λαχῇ τε ἄλλῃ καὶ οὐχ ὕκιςα ταύτῃ τὴν ἀτοπίαν ἡμῶν" ἅπας γὰρ οἶκος ὁ καὶ ἢ κατὰ μικρὸν εὖ πράττων Σκυθικὸν ἔχει τὸν δοῦλον, καὶ ὁ τραπεδοποιὸς, καὶ ὁ περὶ τὸν ἱπνὸν Ὗ, καὶ ὁ ἀμφορεαφόρο; “Σκύθης ἐεὶν ἑκάστῳ" τῶν τε ἀκολούθων οἱ τοὺς [χθαμαλοὺς σκιμρο
aischynē ta para 'RhRhōmaiois palai kai dokounta kai onta semnotata, epei nyn ge kai tēn boulaian Themin Ho autēn kai theon oimai ton stration enkalyptesthai, hotan ho sisyrophoro? ho anthrōpos exēgētai chlamydas echonotōn, kai hotan apody? tis hoper enēpto kōdion, peribalę̄tai tēbennon kai tois Rhōmaiōn telesi symphrontixę̄ peri tōn kathestōtōn, proedrian echōn par᾽ auton᾽ pou ton hypaton, nomimōn andrōn opisō thakountōn. ᾿4ll᾽ houtoi ge mikron tou bouleutēriou᾽ prokypsantes, authis en tois kōdiois eisi, kai, hotan tois hopadois ho) synginōntai, tēs tēbennou katagelōsi, meth' hē? ouk einai phasi xiphoulkias eumoirian. Thaumadō d᾽ egōge ᾿pol- Ō lachę̄ te allę̄ kai ouch hykisa tautę̄ tēn atopian hēmōn" hapas gar oikos ho kai ē kata mikron eu prattōn Skythikon echei ton doulon, kai ho trapedopoios, kai ho peri ton hipnon Hy, kai ho amphoreaphoro? “Skythēs eein hekastǭ" tōn te akolouthōn hoi tous [chthamalous skimro
the things that among the Romans of old both seemed and were most august have been a disgrace. For now, I think, even Themis of the council and the god of armies veil their faces whenever the man in a skin coat commands those in military cloaks, and whenever someone puts off the sheepskin he wore, puts on a toga, and deliberates with the Roman magistrates about the state of affairs, holding the front seat somewhere beside the consul himself, while lawful men sit behind. But these men, once they have stepped a little way out of the senate house, are back in their sheepskins, and when they are with their followers they laugh at the toga, saying that in it there is no ease in drawing a sword. I marvel at our absurdity in many other ways, and not least in this: every household that does even moderately well has a Scythian slave; the table-setter, the man at the oven, the amphora-bearer, is for everyone a Scythian; and of the attendants, those who carry on their shoulders
Notes and citation
Summary: Gothic chieftains in sheepskins sit in the senate beside the consul, while every Roman household has Scythian slaves.
- Krabinger brackets the words 'low stools' (χθαμαλοὺς σκιμποδίσκους), which run over into the next page, as a deletion; they are left out. His critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): 6. ἴια Ῥατὶβ5. οὔιηεδ, ᾿ἴοσ. αὶ → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 56 (Krabinger 1:56; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/56). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/56
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 57
57Krabinger 1:57
ποδίσκου!] ὀκλαδίας ἐπὶ τῶν μων ἀνατιθέμενοι, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ " τοῖς ἐωνημένοις ἐν ταῖς ἀγυιαῖς. εἶναι καθίδεσθαι, Σικύθαι πάντες εἰσὶν, ἄνωθεν ἀποδεδειγμένου͵ τοῦ γένους ἐπιτηδείου τε καὶ ἀξιωτάτου δουλεύειν 'Ῥω-. μαίοι. Τὸ δὲ τοὺ, ξανθοὺς τούτους καὶ κομῶντας Εὐ-. βοεικῶς παρὰ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἰδίᾳ μὲν οἰκέτας ἃ εἶναι, δημοσίᾳ δὲ ἄρχοντας,. ἄηθες ὄν, τῇς θέας γένόιτο ἂν τὸ παραδρξότατον, καὶ, εἰ “μὴ τοῦτο ἔκιν͵, οὐκ ἂν εἰδείην, ὁπῆϊον ἂν εἴη τὸ καλούμενον αἴνιγμα. Ἔ» Γαλλίᾳ " μὲν οὖν Ἰρίξος καὶ Σπάρτακος ὁπλοφοροῦντε; ἀδόξως, -ἶνα θεάτρῳ γένοιντο τοῦ δήμου. “Ῥωμαίων καθάρσια, ἐπειδὺ δραπετεύσαντες τοῖς νόμοις
podiskou!] okladias epi tōn mōn anatithemenoi, eph᾽ hǭ " tois eōnēmenois en tais aguiais. einai kathidesthai, Sikythai pantes eisin, anōthen apodedeigmenou͵ tou genous epitēdeiou te kai axiōtatou douleuein 'Rhō-. maioi. To de tou, xanthous toutous kai komōntas Eu-. boeikōs para tois autois anthrōpois idią men oiketas ha einai, dēmosią de archontas,. aēthes on, tę̄s theas genoito an to paradrxotaton, kai, ei “mē touto ekin͵, ouk an eideiēn, hopēïon an eiē to kaloumenon ainigma. E» Gallią " men oun Irixos kai Spartakos hoplophorounte? adoxōs, -ina theatrǭ genointo tou dēmou. “Rhōmaiōn katharsia, epeidy drapeteusantes tois nomois
the folding chairs on which their buyers may sit in the streets are all Scythians, the race having long since proved fit and most deserving to be slaves of the Romans. But that these fair-haired men, with their hair long like the Euboeans, should be household slaves in private among the same people and rulers in public would be the most paradoxical of sights, being unheard of; and if this is not a riddle, I would not know what the thing called a riddle might be. In Italy, Crixus and Spartacus bore arms ingloriously, to make a spectacle for the people as purifications for the Romans; but when they ran away and held a grudge against the laws,
Notes and citation
Summary: The same blond barbarians who are Rome's slaves in private are its rulers in public, as once the gladiators Crixus and Spartacus rose against Rome.
- “Long-haired like the Euboeans” recalls the Abantes of Iliad 2.542. The scan reads “Gaul” (Γαλλίᾳ), probably a misreading of “Italy” (Ἰταλίᾳ), where Spartacus's revolt took place (73–71 BC); translated as Italy. “Purifications” means gladiators, whose shows were sometimes treated as expiations.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 2.542 (Homer, Iliad; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 57 (Krabinger 1:57; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/57). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/57
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 58
58Krabinger 1:58
ἑμνησικάκησαν, τὸν. οἰκετικὸν κληθέντα πόλεμον συνεεήσαντο, βαρυσυμφορώτατον ἐν τοῖς μάλιτα τῶν τότε "Ρωμαίοις γενόμενον" ἐφ᾽ οὗς ὑπάτων καὶ «ρατηγῶν καὶ τῇ, Πομπηΐου" τύχῃς ἐδέησεν αὐτοῖς, “ἐγγὺς ἐλθούρης τῇς πόλεως ἀναρπασθῆναι τῆς γῆ:-. Ἰζαίτοι- Βὶ γε οἱ Σκαρτάκῳ καὶ Ἀρίξῳ συναποςάντες οὔτε ἐκείνοι, οὔτε ἀλλήλοις ἦσαν ὁμόφυλοι, ἀλλ᾽ ἡὶ κοινωνία τῆς τύχη!. ἐπειλγνεμένῃ προφάσεω!,, ὁμογνώμόνας ἐποίει. Φύσει γὰρ ἅπαν, οἶμαι, πολέμιον, 1θὅταν ἐλπίσῃ κρατήσειν τοῦ κυρίου, τὸ δοῦλον. ᾿ρ᾽ οὖν ὁμοίως ἔχει καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖνς ἢ τῷ παντὶ μεγαλειότερον τὰς ὑποθέσεις τῶν ἀτόπων ἐκερίφομεν» Οὔτε γάρ δύο ἑἐςὸν, οὔτε ἀτίμω παρ᾽ ἡμῖν οἱ φάσεως ἄν ἄρ-͵ ἕοντες, ἀλλὰ ερατεύματα μέγαλα καὶ ᾿παλαμναῖα καὶ συγγενῇ τῶν παρ᾽. ἡμῖν δούλων, εἶςι τὴν. Ῥωμαίων ἡγε- Ὁ μονίαν εἰρηῤῥηκότα πακῇ' μοίρᾳ, παρέχεται τρατηψιτηά,
hemnēsikakēsan, ton. oiketikon klēthenta polemon syneeēsanto, barysymphorōtaton en tois malita tōn tote "Rōmaiois genomenon" eph᾽ hous hypatōn kai «ratēgōn kai tę̄, Pompēïou" tychę̄s edeēsen autois, “engys elthourēs tę̄s poleōs anarpasthēnai tēs gē:-. Izaitoi- Bi ge hoi Skartakǭ kai Arixǭ synaposantes oute ekeinoi, oute allēlois ēsan homophyloi, all᾽ hēi koinōnia tēs tychē!. epeilgnemenę̄ prophaseō!,, homognōmonas epoiei. Physei gar hapan, oimai, polemion, 1thotan elpisę̄ kratēsein tou kyriou, to doulon. ᾿r᾽ oun homoiōs echei kai par᾽ hēmins ē tǭ panti megaleioteron tas hypotheseis tōn atopōn ekeriphomen» Oute gar dyo heeson, oute atimō par᾽ hēmin hoi phaseōs an ar-͵ heontes, alla erateumata megala kai ᾿palamnaia kai syngenę̄ tōn par᾽. hēmin doulōn, eisi tēn. Rhōmaiōn hēge- Ho monian eirērrhēkota pakę̄' moirą, parechetai tratēpsitēa,
they organized what was called the Servile War, the most disastrous of the wars of that time for the Romans. Against them the Romans needed consuls and generals and the good fortune of Pompey, and the city came near to being snatched from the earth. And yet those who revolted with Spartacus and Crixus were of the same race neither as those leaders nor as one another; but the common fortune, seizing a pretext, made them of one mind. For everything servile, I think, is by nature hostile when it hopes to overcome its master. Is it, then, the same with us, or have we stored up the occasions of absurdity on a far greater scale? For with us it is not two men, nor men without honour, who would lead a revolt, but great and bloodstained armies, kin to our slaves, which, having burst into the empire of the Romans in an evil hour, furnish generals
Notes and citation
Summary: Spartacus's motley slaves nearly destroyed Rome; far more dangerous are whole armies kin to Rome's slaves, led by their own generals.
- Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): Ττετε ἰπ τ. Νίοη. Ἐ. τοῖσνο- 27. τῆς τυχούσης Ῥατ. Ὁ. Ἰ)οΐαμίμοις, βροτβοτγ. γρινόμοιμ νοι Ο:. ἄἀπμλημμῖνν ΝΜίου. Ὁ → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 58 (Krabinger 1:58; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/58). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/58
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 59
59Krabinger 1:59
γοὺς μάλα ἐν ἀξιώματι παρὰ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἡμετέρῃ κακίῃ. Τούτων, ὅταν ἐθέλωσι, πρὸς οἷς ᾿ἔχουσι, καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας ἡγοῦ ςρατιώτας εἶναι! μάλα ἰταμοὺ; καὶ θρασεῖς, ἔργοις ἀνοσιωτέροις τῇς αὐτονομίας ἐμφορησομένουι. Ἑαθαιρετέον οὖν ὑμῖν τὸν ἐπιτει- “ χισμὸν, καὶ τὴν ἔξωθεν αἰτίαν ἑξαιρετέον τῇς νόσου, πρὶν ἀποσημῆναι “3 καὶ τὸ ῥῆγμα τὸ ὕπουλον, πρὶν Ὦ ἐλεγχθῆναι τὴν τῶν ἐνοικούντων δυςμένειαν. ᾿Αρχόμενά τοι κρατεῖται τὰ κακὰ, κρατύνεται δὲ προϊόντα. 1ἴαθαρτέον δὴ τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸ ςρατόπεδον, ὥ!περ θημῶνα πυρῶν, οὗ δειάν τε ἐκκρίνομεν καὶ ὅσα παραβλατάνει, λύμη τῷ γενναίῳ τε καὶ γνησίῳ’ σπέρματι. Ἐὶ δέ σοι δοκῶ τὰ μηκέτι ῥάδια συμβουλεύειν, οὐκ ἐννενόηκα:, ἀνδρῶν ποίων μὲν ὄντι σοὶ βασιλεῖ, περὶ δὲ ἔθνου; ὁποίου τοὺς λόγους ποιοῦμαι; Οὐ “Ῥωμαῖοι
gous mala en axiōmati para sphisin autois kai par᾽ hēmin hēmeterę̄ kakię̄. Toutōn, hotan ethelōsi, pros hois ᾿echousi, kai tous oiketas hēgou sratiōtas einai! mala itamou? kai thraseis, ergois anosiōterois tę̄s autonomias emphorēsomenoui. Heathaireteon oun hymin ton epitei- “ chismon, kai tēn exōthen aitian hexaireteon tę̄s nosou, prin aposēmēnai “3 kai to rhēgma to hypoulon, prin Ō elenchthēnai tēn tōn enoikountōn dysmeneian. ᾿Archomena toi krateitai ta kaka, kratynetai de proïonta. 1iatharteon dē tǭ basilei to sratopedon, hō!per thēmōna pyrōn, hou deian te ekkrinomen kai hosa parablatanei, lymē tǭ gennaiǭ te kai gnēsiǭ’ spermati. Ei de soi dokō ta mēketi rhadia symbouleuein, ouk ennenoēka:, andrōn poiōn men onti soi basilei, peri de ethnou? hopoiou tous logous poioumai? Ou “Rhōmaioi
held in very high honour among their own people, and among us through our own baseness. Reckon that, whenever they wish, their slaves too, besides the soldiers they have, will be soldiers, very reckless and bold, ready to glut themselves on the more unholy deeds of independence. You must, then, pull down this fortress raised against us, and remove the outside cause of the disease before the hidden abscess shows itself and bursts, before the hostility of those who live among us is exposed. Evils are mastered at their beginning and grow strong as they advance. The emperor must purge the army as one purges a heap of wheat, separating out the darnel and whatever grows up alongside, a bane to the noble and genuine seed. And if I seem to you to advise what is no longer easy, you have not considered what kind of men you are king of, and about what kind of nation I am speaking. Are not the Romans
Notes and citation
Summary: The Gothic soldiers and their slaves are a fortress within the empire; the army must be purged of them like darnel from wheat.
- Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): 5.116 Ρ8ς δυΐοην θέρυ 8.3. ὭΣ 99: ἘΝ Ῥατσὶβ8. Μου. ἌΒΟΏΕ. χθβ8. δβοιρίλο δυαηῖ. εἰηῤρηκότα Βατγοος. ιμά. εἰ (α τα Νίοη. Ρτίπιο Βεμ, 866. δυίΐοτι τπδ- Υ. ἐπισημῆναι ΙΓ Υἱά, Τπεπιϊὶοὶ. ον. ΥἹ1. Ρ. 01. 4. Ουοὰ δελυΐυς Ὧ..8 δΌΡΥΔ αἰτοῦ Ὁ ποϊανεταῖν, καὶ Ῥοδὲ ργμα ἰηϊεκροῦῖ ΝΙσας: αυοτυτα δἰίοτοτὶ ροσῖθα ἀν, Α. Ουδιίαον Ῥατίοἰπὶ εἰ ΝΙοα. Ὁ εἰκεῤῥυγκότα ναϊρ. ὯΕ υόᾳυς ἰοοὺ ᾿μδΡοινξ καί. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 59 (Krabinger 1:59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/59). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/59
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 60
60Krabinger 1:60
ν᾿. ᾿,,,“« Σ.. » "σε", Ψὴ ν᾽ Ω μεν περιεγένοντο, αφ Ὃν και τουνομα αὐτων εἰς αν βωπου; ἠκούσθη, καὶ κρατοῦσιν ἁπάντων, οἷς συμμίξει- δ᾽ αν,. καὶ χειρὶ. καὶ γνώμῃ, καὶ τὴν γὴν ἐπῆλθον, ὥϊπερ “Ομηρός φησι “) τοὺς θεούς" 5. ᾿Ανθρώπων ὕβριν τε καὶ εὐνομίαν ἐφέποντε; Δ) Σκύθα; δὲ ᾽) τούτους Ηρόδοτός τέ φησι καὶ ἡμεῖς ὁρῶμεν. κατεχομένους ἅπαντας ὑπὸ “νόσου θηλείας ὅ). Οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν, ἀφ᾽ ὧν οἱ πανταχοῦ δοῦλοι οἱ μηδὲποτε γῇς ἐγκρατεῖς, δι᾽ οὖς ἡ ΣΣκυθῶν ἐρημία πεπαροιίαφαι, φεύγοντες ἀεὶ τὴν οἰκείαν" οὗ, ἐξ ἠἡθέων τῶν «σφετέρων, φασὶν οἱ τὰ παλαιὰ παραδόντες, Ἀιμμέριοί 8Β τε ἀνέφρησαν πρότερον, καὶ αὖθις ἕτεροι, καὶ αἱ γυναϊκές ποτε, καὶ" οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν, καὶ ὁ Μακεδὼν, ὑφ᾽ ὧν
n᾿. ᾿,,,“« S.. » "se", Psē n᾽ Ō men periegenonto, aph Hon kai tounoma autōn eis an bōpou? ēkousthē, kai kratousin hapantōn, hois symmixei- d᾽ an,. kai cheiri. kai gnōmę̄, kai tēn gēn epēlthon, hōïper “Omēros phēsi “) tous theous" 5. ᾿Anthrōpōn hybrin te kai eunomian epheponte? D) Skytha? de ᾽) toutous Ērodotos te phēsi kai hēmeis horōmen. katechomenous hapantas hypo “nosou thēleias ho). Houtoi gar eisin, aph᾽ hōn hoi pantachou douloi hoi mēdepote gę̄s enkrateis, di᾽ ous hē SSkythōn erēmia peparoiiaphai, pheugontes aei tēn oikeian" hou, ex hēētheōn tōn «spheterōn, phasin hoi ta palaia paradontes, Aimmerioi 8B te anephrēsan proteron, kai authis heteroi, kai hai gynaïkes pote, kai" hoi pateres hymōn, kai ho Makedōn, hyph᾽ hōn
… the ones who prevailed, from which their very name came to be heard among men, and who rule all with whom they have engaged, both by hand and by judgment, and have gone over the earth, as Homer says of the gods, “watching over the insolence and the lawfulness of men”? But these Scythians, as Herodotus says and as we see, are all held by a “female disease.” For they are the people from whom slaves come everywhere, who have never been masters of land, through whom the Scythian desert has become a proverb, always fleeing their own country. As those who have handed down ancient history tell, the Cimmerians first drove them from their homes, and then others, and once the women, and your fathers, and the Macedonian, by whom
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Romans rule the world; the Scythians are a slave race, always driven from their land by one people after another.
- The first line of the page is lost in the scan (marked …). The Homeric line is Odyssey 17.487; the “female disease” of the Scythians is Herodotus 1.105. “The women” are the Amazons; “your fathers” as printed is uncertain (Darius's Persians may be meant); “the Macedonian” is Alexander or his father Philip.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Od. 17.487 (Homer, Odyssey; quotation); Herodotus, Hist. 1.105 (Herodotus, Histories; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 60 (Krabinger 1:60; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/60). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/60
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 61
61Krabinger 1:61
τῶν μὲν εἰς τοὺ εἴσω, τῶν δὲ εἰς τοὺς ἔξω προὐχώρῃσαν ἢ). αὶ οὐ παύονταί γε, ἕως ἂν ὦσι τοῖς; καταντικρὺ παρὰ τῶν ἐλαυνόντων ἀντιδιδόμενοι " ἀλλ᾽, ὅταν ἐμπέσωσιν ἄφνω τοῖς οὐ 'προιδεχομένοις, ἐπὶ χρόδνον ταράττουσιν, ὥςπερ ᾿Ασσυρίους ᾽) πάλαι καὶ Μήδους καὶ Παλαιείνους, καὶ τὸ νῦν ᾿δὴ τοῦτο παρ᾽ ἡμᾶς 1.) οὐ πολεμῃσείοντες ἦλθον, ἀλλ᾽ ἱκετεύσοντες Ἂν, ἐπειδὴ πάλιν ἀνίταντος ΜΙαλακωτέροι; δὲ ἐντυχόντες οὐ τοῖς ὅπλοις Ῥωμαΐων, ἀλλὰ τοῖς θεσιν, ὥπερ ἴ-α σως; ἔδει πρὸς ἱκέτας, γένος ἀμαθὲς τὸ εἰκὸς ἀπεδίδου, καὶ ἐθρασύνετο, καὶ ἠἡγνωμόνει τὴν εὐεργεσίαν, ὑπὲρ οὗ πατρὶ τῷ σῷ δίκας ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ὠπλισμένῳ δίδοντες, αὖθιρ ἦσαν οἰκτροὶ καὶ ἱκέται.) σὺν γυναιξὶν ἐκαθίδον" ὁ δὲ τῷ πολέμῳ νικῶν ἐλέῳ παρὰ πλεὶῖ- 1ὅτον ἡττᾶτο, καὶ ἀνίτῃ τῇς ἱκετείας, καὶ συμμιάχους ἐποίει, καὶ πολιτείας ἠξίου, καὶ μετεδίδου γερῶν, καὶ Ὑῦ: τι ἰδάσατο τοῖς παλαμναίοι; ᾿Ρωμαϊκῇ:, ἀνὴρ τῷ μεγαλόφῥρονε! καὶ γενναίῳ τῇ: φύσεως ἐπὶ τὸ πρᾶον ἢ
tōn men eis tou eisō, tōn de eis tous exō prouchōrę̄san ē). ai ou pauontai ge, heōs an ōsi tois? katantikry para tōn elaunontōn antididomenoi " all᾽, hotan empesōsin aphnō tois ou 'proidechomenois, epi chrodnon tarattousin, hōsper ᾿Assyrious ᾽) palai kai Mēdous kai Palaieinous, kai to nyn ᾿dē touto par᾽ hēmas 1.) ou polemę̄seiontes ēlthon, all᾽ hiketeusontes An, epeidē palin anitantos MIalakōteroi? de entychontes ou tois hoplois Rhōmaïōn, alla tois thesin, hōper i-a sōs? edei pros hiketas, genos amathes to eikos apedidou, kai ethrasyneto, kai hēēgnōmonei tēn euergesian, hyper hou patri tǭ sǭ dikas ep᾿ autous ōplismenǭ didontes, authir ēsan oiktroi kai hiketai.) syn gynaixin ekathidon" ho de tǭ polemǭ nikōn eleǭ para pleii- 1hoton hēttato, kai anitę̄ tę̄s hiketeias, kai symmiachous epoiei, kai politeias ēxiou, kai metedidou gerōn, kai Hyy: ti idasato tois palamnaioi? ᾿Rōmaïkę̄:, anēr tǭ megalophrhrone! kai gennaiǭ tę̄: physeōs epi to praon ē
some were driven inward, others outward. And they do not stop until those who drive them hand them over in turn to the peoples opposite. But when they fall suddenly upon people who do not expect them, they cause trouble for a time, as long ago to the Assyrians and Medes and Palestinians. And now this people came to us not to make war but to beg, since they had been uprooted again. Meeting with gentler things — not the arms of the Romans but their customs, as was perhaps right toward suppliants — the ignorant race paid back the expected return: it grew insolent and was ungrateful for the kindness. For this they paid the penalty to your father when he armed himself against them, and were again pitiable suppliants and sat down with their women. And he, victor in the war, was for the most part defeated by pity: he raised them from their supplication, made them allies, thought them worthy of citizenship, gave them a share of privileges, and allotted to those bloodstained men some Roman land — a man who, through the greatness and nobility of his nature, inclined toward mildness
Notes and citation
Summary: The Goths came to Rome as suppliants, rebelled, were defeated by Theodosius, and were then pardoned and settled as allies on Roman land.
- Synesius refers to the Gothic crossing of the Danube (376), the war that followed, and Theodosius's settlement with the Goths (382). The Scythian raid on the Assyrians, Medes and Palestinians is Herodotus 1.103–106. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): Ῥαις. Ὁ. ἡμῶν Ῥῖο ὑμῶν ΒδΡεὶ οἰκέτας Ἰγίοη. Ε οἱ Ἀεθὰ. πρὸς Ῥεῖδν. 2., ΔΙ11ὸς Ῥτίπιο ἔαϊ! ἰπ τους οἰκ. Ῥάτ. Ο, Βαιούς. Ὠεὶπ Μοη. Ο. γενόμενος Ῥατ. Α. → .
Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 1.105 (Herodotus, Histories; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 61 (Krabinger 1:61; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/61). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/61
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 62
62Krabinger 1:62
χρησάμενοι. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἀρετῆς γε τὸ βάρβαρον οὐ ξυνίνσιν. ἀρξάμενοι γὰρ ἐκεῖθεν ),. τὸ μέχρι τοῦδε παταγελῶσιν ἡμῶν, εἰδότες ὧν τε ἦσαν (ἄξιοι παρ᾽ ἡμῶν, καὶ ὧν ἡξιωθησαν" τό τε κλέος τοῦτο γείτοσιν αὐτῶν ἤδη τὴν ἐφ᾽ ἡμὰς ὡδοποίησε. - ἴαί τινες ἐκφοιτῶσιν ἱπποτο- ᾿ξόται ξένοι παρὰ τοὺς ῥᾳδίου; ἀνθρώπονς, φιλοφροσύ- “μὴν αἰτοῦντες, παράδειγμα ἐκείνους τοὺς χείρους. ποιούμενοι. Καὶ προβαίνειν ἔοικε τὸ κακὸν εἷς τὴν καλου- Ἃ μένην; ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν πειθανάγκην. Φιλοσοφίᾳ 1τ0γὰρ οὐ διενεκτέον ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀνομάτων, ὑπηρεσίαν τῇ διανοίᾳ ξυτούσῃ, κἂν χαμιόθεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὰ πρά-,γματα. συμπορίξηται τρανύν τε καὶ ἐφαρμόξουσαν. Πῶς οὖν οὐ χαλεπὸν ἀναμαχεσαμένους τὸ κλέος, ᾿Εξελάᾳν ἐνθένδε κύνας ἢ Ἀηρεσσιφορήτου;;
chrēsamenoi. ᾿All᾽ aretēs ge to barbaron ou xyninsin. arxamenoi gar ekeithen ),. to mechri toude patagelōsin hēmōn, eidotes hōn te ēsan (axioi par᾽ hēmōn, kai hōn hēxiōthēsan" to te kleos touto geitosin autōn ēdē tēn eph᾽ hēmas hōdopoiēse. - iai tines ekphoitōsin hippoto- ᾿xotai xenoi para tous rhądiou? anthrōpons, philophrosy- “mēn aitountes, paradeigma ekeinous tous cheirous. poioumenoi. Kai probainein eoike to kakon heis tēn kalou- Ha menēn? hypo tōn pollōn peithanankēn. Philosophią 1t0gar ou dienekteon hyper tōn onomatōn, hypēresian tę̄ dianoią xytousę̄, kan chamiothen autēn eis ta pra-,gmata. symporixētai tranyn te kai epharmoxousan. Pōs oun ou chalepon anamachesamenous to kleos, ᾿Exelaąn enthende kynas ē Aēressiphorētou??
in his dealings. But the barbarian does not understand virtue. Beginning from then, they have laughed at us to this day, knowing what they deserved from us and what they were thought worthy of; and this fame of theirs has already made the road to us for their neighbours. And some foreign mounted archers now come out to these easy-going men, asking for kind treatment, taking those worse men as their example. And the evil seems to be advancing toward what most people call “persuasion by force”; for philosophy should not quarrel about names, if it seeks the service of thought, even if it fetches it from the ground, clear and fitting, for the matter in hand. How, then, shall we not, once we have fought back for our glory, “drive away from here the dogs borne on by the fates”?
Notes and citation
Summary: The pardoned Goths despise Rome, and their example draws other barbarians; Rome must recover its glory and drive them out.
- “Mounted archers” are probably the Huns. The quotation is Iliad 8.527. The construction of the last sentence is damaged; it is translated by sense.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 8.527 (Homer, Iliad; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 62 (Krabinger 1:62; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/62). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/62
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 63
63Krabinger 1:63
τὸ γενόμενον ἀπ᾽ αὐτῇς ἐκλιπὲς. καὶ ἡθμηροι αὐτὸ τὔθυρίσι τοῖρ. ἀρίτο "ὁ.. ἶ. Θυμὸς δὲ μέγα!. ἐσὶ ἐρίων, βασιλήων. τς ' ᾿Θυμοῦ οὖν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας ὅ), καὶ ἢ᾽ γεωργήσονὅσιν ἐξ ἐπιτάγματοι, ὥπερ πάλαι Ἶ. Πᾳκεδαιμονίοις ΝΜῖεσύνιοι. ὅ τὰ ὅπλα καταβαλόντες. εἰλώτευον, καὶ φεύξονται τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν αὖθις, τοῖς πέραν τοῦ Ἶ. ποταμρῦ διαγγέλλοντες, ὡς οὐκ ἐκεῖνα. ἔτι͵ παρὰ 'Ῥωμιαίοις͵ τὰ μείλιχα " ἀλλ᾽ ἐξηγεῖταί 1}) τις αὐτῶν, νέος τε καὶ γενναῖο!,; ἴ ἰ. ᾿Ζεινὸς ἀνὴρ, τάχα κεν καὶ ἀναίτιον αἰτιόῳτο.. σ
to genomenon ap᾽ autę̄s eklipes. kai hēthmēroi auto tythyrisi toir. arito "ho.. i. Thymos de mega!. esi eriōn, basilēōn. ts ' ᾿Thymou oun epi tous andras ho), kai ē᾽ geōrgēsonosin ex epitagmatoi, hōper palai I. Pąkedaimoniois NMiesynioi. ho ta hopla katabalontes. eilōteuon, kai pheuxontai tēn autēn hodon authis, tois peran tou I. potamry diangellontes, hōs ouk ekeina. eti͵ para 'Rhōmiaiois͵ ta meilicha " all᾽ exēgeitai 1}) tis autōn, neos te kai gennaio!,? i i. ᾿Zeinos anēr, tacha ken kai anaition aitioǭto.. s
… “Great is the wrath of kings.” Let the king, then, be wrathful against these men, and either they will farm under orders, as the Messenians of old laid down their arms and served the Lacedaemonians as helots, or they will flee again by the same road, bringing word to those beyond the river that the Romans' old mildness is no more, but that a young and noble man leads them — “a terrible man, who might even blame the blameless.”
Notes and citation
Summary: If the emperor turns his anger on the Goths, they will either farm as subjects or flee back across the Danube.
- The opening words are garbled in the scan (they seem to introduce Homer) and are marked …. The quotations are Iliad 2.196 and 11.654. The river is the Danube.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 2.196 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Homer, Il. 11.654 (Homer, Iliad; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 63 (Krabinger 1:63; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/63). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/63
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 64
64Krabinger 1:64
ἘΠῚ μὲν ὁ πολεμικὸς παντὸς “ιᾶλλον.- "εἰρηνικός" μόνῳ γὰρ ἕξεςιν εἰρήνην ἄγειν τῷ δυναμένῳ" τὸν ἀδικοῦντα κακῶσαι, καὶ φαίην ἄν ἔγωγε, τὸν βασιλέα “τοῦτον. πάντα ἐκ ποντῶν' τὰ αἰ εἰρήνην συγμεπροςῦσθαι, ΩΝ ᾿πολιῤθδεεαὶ “ γὰρ," εἰ" μὴ πολεμήσει. Ἔει μὴν εἰρήνῃ πολέμου μαϊαριώτερον, ὅτι' καὶ "διὰ ἢ «ὃν! "εἰρήνην τὰ τοῦ". πολέμου παρασκευἄξεται.. Τέλος οὖν ὄν, τῶν δι᾽ αὐτὸ δικαίως ἂν προτιμῷτο. Παλῶ; “ἦν ἔχει τῷ σώματι τῇς ἡγεμονίας, διχῇ διαιρεθέντι κατὰ τὸν ὄχλον τὸν ὡπλισμένον καὶ ἄοπλον Ἢ, ἀνὰ μέρος ἑαυτὸν ἑκάτῳ διδόναι καὶ συνεῖναι μετὰ τὰς μαχίλιους ταῖς πόλεσι καὶ τοῖς; δήμοις, οἷς διὰ τῶν μαχίμων ἄδειαν “γεωργίας καὶ πολιτείας ἐἐπορισάμεθα. ΙΣυνέξαι δὲ τοῖς μὲν ἐπιφοιτῶν, ὅσοις οἷόν τε τῶν ἰθνῶν καὶ ὅσαὶϊς 5. οἷόν τε τῶν πόλεων" εἰς ὃ δὲ μὴ ἀφικνεῖται τοῦ ἀρχοῖ μέμου, καὶ τούτου ὃ) δὴ ἐπιμελήσεται τῷ πεφηνότι δυνατῷ καὶ καλλίετῳ τῶν,τρόπών. 1. Τὸ δὲ χρῆμα τῶν πρεσβειῶν ἄλλως τε ἱερὸν καὶ δεῦρο τοῦ παντὸς ἄξιον, αἷς ὁμιλῶν βασιλεὺ, οὐδέν.
EPI men ho polemikos pantos “iallon.- "eirēnikos" monǭ gar hexesin eirēnēn agein tǭ dynamenǭ" ton adikounta kakōsai, kai phaiēn an egōge, ton basilea “touton. panta ek pontōn' ta ai eirēnēn sygmeprosysthai, ŌN ᾿polirthdeeai “ gar," ei" mē polemēsei. Eei mēn eirēnę̄ polemou maïariōteron, hoti' kai "dia ē «hon! "eirēnēn ta tou". polemou paraskeuaxetai.. Telos oun on, tōn di᾽ auto dikaiōs an protimǭto. Palō? “ēn echei tǭ sōmati tę̄s hēgemonias, dichę̄ diairethenti kata ton ochlon ton hōplismenon kai aoplon Ē, ana meros heauton hekatǭ didonai kai syneinai meta tas machilious tais polesi kai tois? dēmois, hois dia tōn machimōn adeian “geōrgias kai politeias eeporisametha. ISynexai de tois men epiphoitōn, hosois hoion te tōn ithnōn kai hosaiïs 5. hoion te tōn poleōn" eis ho de mē aphikneitai tou archoi memou, kai toutou ho) dē epimelēsetai tǭ pephēnoti dynatǭ kai kallietǭ tōn,tropōn. 1. To de chrēma tōn presbeiōn allōs te hieron kai deuro tou pantos axion, hais homilōn basileu, ouden.
Such a man, then, being warlike, is more peaceful than anyone; for only one who is able to harm the wrongdoer can keep peace. And I would say that for this king all things from every side will contribute to peace; for [he would be besieged] if he will not make war. Yet peace is more blessed than war, because it is for the sake of peace that the things of war are prepared. Being the end, it would rightly be preferred to what exists for its sake. It would be well, since the body of the empire is divided in two, into the armed and the unarmed multitude, for him to give himself to each part in turn, and after the fighting men to be with the cities and the peoples, for whom, through the fighting men, we have secured safety for farming and civic life. He will be with them by visiting as many nations and as many cities as he can; and the part of his realm which he does not reach, this too he will care for by the means that has proved possible and finest. The business of embassies is both sacred in other ways and here worth everything: by meeting them the king will know nothing
Notes and citation
Summary: A king strong in war secures peace, which is war's goal; he should visit the civilian population and govern distant parts through embassies.
- A few words in the third sentence are damaged and translated by sense. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): Ῥ. Ποιὰ, μὲν τοι νυΐρ. δίεπε 4. πολιμνθύήσεται οοηΐ. (απιε- Ρατὶββ. εἰ Βατοςο. μὲν Νίοη, ΑΟ, τχαγίωμν. Τατ πολεμήσῃ Ῥατ. Β. εἰ Υἱηά... → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 64 (Krabinger 1:64; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/64). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/64
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-regno-64) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 65
65Krabinger 1:65
τι.) μεῖον εἴσεται τῶν ἀγχοῦ τὰ. Χύῤῥω, οὐδὲ ὄψεως αἰσθύσει τὴν᾽ ὑπὲρ τῇς ἀρχῆς προμιήθειαν᾽ ὁριεῖται' ᾿ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐγερεῖ τὸ πεπτωκὸς, οὐκ ἰδὼν, καὶ ἐπιδώσει τοῖν. ἀπορουμένοις τῶψ. δήμων, καὶ «ἀνήσει «λειτουργιῶν.. τοὺς πάλαι λειτουργίαις πονοῦντας, καὶ ὑπισχνούμενον ἐκρήξει καὶ ὄντα ἀνελεῖ πόλεμον, καὶ, τὶ ὁ ἄλλο προ-Β διοικήσεται.. Ταῦτα παρὰ τῶν πρεσβειῶν ἕξει. δίκῦν θεοῦ λοτ το, ον τ ἄκος πάντ᾽ ἐφορᾷν καὶ πάντ᾽, ἑπακούειν ὃ)" αἷς εὐπρότοδος ἴστω καὶ πατὴρ ὧς 'ὕπιος,. τοῦτο μὲν ἤδη καὶ γείτοσι καὶ μιὴ γείτοσιν ). Ὁμήρου γάρ' αὐτὸ καθαπαξ περὶ τοῦ κατ᾽ αὐτὸν εἰρηνικοῦ βασιλέως λίγονεοι ἤκουσα ». Καὶ πρῶτόν γε ἐπιτετάχθων. καὶ δεδιδάχθων δι οἱ “ρατιῶται φείδεσθαὶ τε καὶ ἤκιτα λυπυηροὶ γίνεσθαι τοῖς ἀευπόλοις τε καὶ ἀγροδιαίτοις, μεμνημένοι πόνων
ti.) meion eisetai tōn anchou ta. Chyrrhō, oude opseōs aisthysei tēn᾽ hyper tę̄s archēs promiētheian᾽ horieitai' ᾿alla kai egerei to peptōkos, ouk idōn, kai epidōsei toin. aporoumenois tōps. dēmōn, kai «anēsei «leitourgiōn.. tous palai leitourgiais ponountas, kai hypischnoumenon ekrēxei kai onta anelei polemon, kai, ti ho allo pro-B dioikēsetai.. Tauta para tōn presbeiōn hexei. dikyn theou lot to, on t akos pant᾽ ephorąn kai pant᾽, hepakouein ho)" hais euprotodos istō kai patēr hōs 'hypios,. touto men ēdē kai geitosi kai miē geitosin ). Homērou gar' auto kathapax peri tou kat᾽ auton eirēnikou basileōs ligoneoi ēkousa ». Kai prōton ge epitetachthōn. kai dedidachthōn di hoi “ratiōtai pheidesthai te kai ēkita lypyēroi ginesthai tois aeupolois te kai agrodiaitois, memnēmenoi ponōn
less of what is far off than of what is near, nor will he limit his forethought for the empire to what his eyes perceive; he will raise up what has fallen without seeing it, give to those peoples who are in need, relieve of public burdens those long worn out by them, break off a threatened war and end one in progress, and arrange anything else beforehand. These things he will have from the embassies … “who sees all and hears all.” To them let him be easy of access, and “gentle as a father,” to neighbours and those not neighbours alike; for I have heard Homer say this, once and for all, of the peaceful king of his time. And first let the soldiers be commanded and taught to spare the townspeople and the country-dwellers and to be least burdensome to them, remembering for the sake of whose toils
Notes and citation
Summary: Through embassies the king relieves distress throughout the empire; he must be accessible and gentle, and his soldiers must spare the civilians.
- A line in the middle is garbled (marked …); it compared the king to the sun, “who sees all and hears all” (Iliad 3.277). “Gentle as a father” is Odyssey 2.47 and 2.234. Krabinger's critical apparatus at the foot of the page has been removed by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Krabinger's critical apparatus (foot of page) leaked into the text): Ο.»». ΧΧΥΙ. 1. οὐδὲ τι Μοι. τ. γεῖθα καὶ μὴ γείτ. ἀοοαηῖ Ὥ. ἴω Υἱηά, ᾿ → .
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 3.277 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Homer, Od. 2.47 (Homer, Odyssey; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Regn. 65 (Krabinger 1:65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/65). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-regno/65
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-regno-65) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of the staged edition (OCR, corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.