Eunapius

“ Now as the renown of both men increased and kept pace they encountered one another by chance or met in their courses like planets, and round them in a circle sat an audience as though in some great seat of the Muses. Now Iamblichus was waiting to have questions put to him rather than to ask them, but Alypius, contrary to all expectation, postponed all questioning about philosophy and giving himself up to making an effect with his audience [30] said to Iamblichus: "Tell me, philosopher, is a rich man either unjust or the heir of the unjust, yes or no? For there is no middle course." ”

“ EPIPHANIUS was a native of Syria, and he was reputed to be very skilful in distinguishing and defining controversial themes, but as an orator he was slack and nerveless. Nevertheless, as the rival of Prohaeresius in the sophistic profession he actually attained to great fame. For human beings are not content to admire one man only, but so prone are they to envy, so completely its slave, that when a man excels and towers above the rest they set up another as his rival; and thus derive their controlling principles from opposites just as in the science of physics. ”

“ When Maximus had completed this rite he hastened to Sosipatra, and bade her observe carefully whether she had the same sensations in future. But she replied that she no longer felt them, and described to Maximus his own prayer and the whole ceremony; she also told him the hour at which it took place, as though she had been present, and revealed to him the omens that had appeared. And when he fell to the earth in amazement and proclaimed Sosipatra visibly a goddess, she said: "Rise, my son. The gods love you if you raise your eyes to them and do not lean towards earthly and perishable riches." ”

“ And just as the most charming and sweetest songs flow gently and smoothly, as they insinuate themselves into all men's ears and reach even irrational animals, as they tell of Orpheus, even so the eloquence of Chrysanthius was modulated to suit all ears and was in harmony with and adapted to all those diverse temperaments. But it was not easy to rouse him to philosophical discussions or competitions, because he perceived that it is especially in such contests that men become embittered. ”

“ Now when the practice of Christianity was gaining ground and usurping all men's minds, there arrived from Rome after a long interval a prefect of Asia named Justus, already well on in years, a man of noble and beautiful character, who had not cast aside the time-honoured ritual of his ancestors, for he was an ardent disciple of that happy and blessed form of worship. He was constant in his attendance at the temples, wholly under the sway of every kind of divination, and took great pride in his zeal for these things and his success in restoring them. ”

“ JULIAN OF CAPPADOCIA, the sophist, flourished in the time of Aedesius, and was a sort of tyrant at Athens. For all the youths from all parts flocked to him, and revered the man for his eloquence and his noble disposition. For there were indeed certain other men, his contemporaries, who in some degree attained to the comprehension of true beauty and reached the heights of his renown, namely Apsines of Lacedaemon who won fame as a writer on rhetoric, and Epagathus, and a whole host of names of that sort. ”

“ But as his guardian deity began to warm to the work and to aid him by playing its part, he again surveyed the scene, and beheld in the farthest row of the audience, hiding themselves in their cloaks, two men, veterans in the service of rhetoric, at whose hands he had received the worst treatment of all, and he cried out: "Ye gods! There are those honourable and wise men! Proconsul, order them to propose a theme for me. Then perhaps they will be convinced that they have behaved impiously." ”

“ Pergamon was the birthplace of ORIBASIUS, and in fact this contributed to his renown, just as is the case with those who are born at Athens; for whenever such men win a name for eloquence, the report spreads far and wide that their Muse is Attic and that this paragon is a home product. Oribasius came of a good family on both sides, and from his boyhood he was distinguished because he acquired every kind of learning that conduces to virtue and perfects it. When he reached early manhood he became a pupil of the great Zeno and a fellow-disciple of Magnus. ”

“ But since Anatolius descending on Greece was more formidable than the famous Persian expedition, that oft-told tale, and the danger stared not indeed all the Greeks but the sophists in the face, all the others (among whom was included a certain Himerius, a sophist from Bithynia; the author knew him only from his writings) toiled and spared no pains or effort, as each one studied the constitution of the theme that he approved. In this crisis Prohaeresius, who trusted in his genius, offended them deeply because he neither showed ambition nor published his secret theory. ”

“ He was a man who tried with all his might to reproduce the style of the ancients in his oratory, and did his utmost to reach the level of a saner Muse. But though he knocked diligently at her door, it was seldom opened. Nay, if ever it did creak open a little, it was but a thin and feeble spark of the divine afflatus that slipped forth from within. But at this his audience would grow frenzied with enthusiasm, unable as they were to receive calmly even a single drop squeezed from the fount of Castalia. ”

“ When the later emperors offered him the very highest of all honours ----for they bade him use the honorary title of pretorian prefect----he refused, saving that the title of sophist was more distinguished. And this is indeed not a little to his credit, that though he was a man who longed most ardently for renown, he enslaved himself only to that renown which an orator can win, and held that any other sort is vulgar and sordid. He, too, when he died, had attained to a very great age, and he left in the minds of all men the profoundest admiration for his talents. ”

“ Such was the man's whole disposition, whether it was that in him the Platonic Socrates had come to life again, or in his ambition to imitate him he carefully formed himself from boyhood on his pattern. For an unaffected and indescribable simplicity was manifest in him and dwelt in his speech, and moreover there was about every word of his a charm that enchanted the hearer. In intercourse he was amiable to all men, so that everyone went away from him with the conviction that he was especially beloved. ”

“ An exception must be made of one of her sons; his name was Antoninus, and I mentioned him just now; he crossed to Alexandria, and then so greatly admired and preferred the mouth of the Nile at Canobus, that he wholly dedicated and applied himself to the worship of the gods there, and to their secret rites. He made rapid progress towards affinity with the divine, despised his body, freed himself from its pleasures, and embraced a wisdom that was hidden from the crowd. ”

“ Now there was one Philometor, a kinsman of hers, who, overcome by her beauty and eloquence, and recognizing the divinity of her nature, fell in love with her; and his passion possessed him and completely overmastered him. Not. only was he completely conquered by it but she also felt its onslaught. So she said to Maximus, who was one of the most distinguished pupils of Aedesius and was moreover his kinsman: "Maximus, pray find out what ailment I have, that I may not be troubled by it." When he inquired: "Why what ails you?" ”

“ And any man who is a genuine philosopher can meet and converse with Oribasius, that so he may learn what above all else he ought to admire. Such harmony, such charm radiates from Oribasius and attends on all intercourse with him.
IONICUS was a native of Sardis, and his father was a celebrated physician. As a pupil of Zeno he attained to the highest degree of industry and diligence and won the admiration of Oribasius. ”

“ But Julian surpassed them all by his great genius, and he who was second to him was a bad second. He had numerous pupils who came, so to speak, from all parts of the world, and when dispersed in every country were admired wherever and whenever they established themselves. But most distinguished of them all were the inspired Prohaeresius, Hephaestion, Epiphanius of Syria, and Diophantus the Arab. It is fitting that I should also mention Tuscianus, since he too was one of Julian's pupils, but I have already spoken of him in my account of the reign of the Emperor Julian. ”

“ HIMERIUS was a native of Bithynia, yet the author never knew him, though he lived in the same period. He travelled to the court of the Emperor Julian to declaim before him, in the hope that he would be regarded with favour on account of the emperor's dislike of Prohaeresius; and when Julian left this world, Himerius spent his time abroad. Then, on the death of Prohaeresius, he hastened to Athens. He was an agreeable and harmonious speaker. His style of composition has the ring and assonance of political oratory. Sometimes, though rarely, he rises as high as the godlike Aristeides. ”

“ The old men, on receiving Greek hospitality and a place at a Greek table, were smitten and captivated by the exceeding beauty and charm of the little girl Sosipatra, and they said: "Our other powers we keep to ourselves hidden and unrevealed, and this abundant vintage that you so highly approve is laughable and mere child's-play which takes no account of our superhuman abilities. ”

“ Hence those who pursued modes of life directly opposed to one another would applaud in him qualities that were directly opposed, and everyone without exception was convinced that it was his views that Libanius admired; so multiform was he, so completely all things to all men. He too avoided marriage, though in fact a woman lived with him, a person of a social position inferior to his own.
His style of eloquence in his declamations was altogether feeble, lifeless, and uninspired, and it is very evident that he had not had the advantage of a teacher ”

“ Now a great and violent quarrel arose on account of the extraordinary genius of Prohaeresius, and the faction of all the other sophists so gained the upper hand that they drove him from Athens into exile by bribing the proconsul; and so they themselves held sway over the domain of oratory. But after being driven into exile, and that in the utmost poverty, like Peisistratus he came back again. But the latter had wealth to aid him, while for Prohaeresius his eloquence sufficed, even as Hermes in Homer escorted Priam to the hut of Achilles, though it was in the midst of his foes. ”

“ For they, when they behold the beloved and the adored beauty of her visible countenance, bow their heads, too weak to fix their gaze on that which they desire, and dazzled by its rays. But if they see her sandal or chain or ear-ring, they take heart from these and pour their souls into the sight and melt at the vision, since they can endure to see and love the symbols of beauty more easily than the beauty itself ”

“ But in my account of the sainted Julian I have related these matters more fully. When Constantius had succeeded to the throne and had been allotted his proper portion of the Empire, that is to say the countries that extend from Illyricum to the East, he at once relieved Ablabius of his authority, and gathered about himself a different set of favourites. Ablabius spent his time in luxury on an estate that he had long before made ready in Bithynia, which provided him a safe retreat of regal splendour and complete idleness; meanwhile all men marvelled that he did not aspire to be emperor. ”

“ After the passing of Eustathius, Sosipatra returned to her own estate, and dwelt in Asia in the ancient city of Pergamon, and the famous Aedesius loved and cared for her and educated her sons. In her own home Sosipatra held a chair of philosophy that rivalled his, and after attending the lectures of Aedesius, the students would go to hear hers; and though there was none that did not greatly appreciate and admire the accurate learning of Aedesius, they positively adored and revered the woman's inspired teaching. ”

“ But now Anatolius was at hand and had made his entry into Athens. When he had with great courage offered sacrifices [120] and formally visited all the temples, as the divine ordinance commanded, he summoned the sophists to the competition. When they were in his presence they one and all strove to be the first to declaim; so prone to self-love is man! But Anatolius laughed at the boy pupils who were applauding them, and commiserated the fathers whose sons were being educated by such men. Then he called on Prohaeresius who alone was left. ”

“ Chrysanthius, however, remained more immovable than a statue, resolved not to alter in the least the conclusions that had originally been firmly fixed in his mind. Thereupon all the people of Asia flocked in haste to Maximus, not only those who at the time held office or had been relieved of their offices, but also the leading men in the various senates. The common people too blocked the streets before the house of Maximus, leaping and uttering shouts, as is from of old the custom of the mob whenever it would win someone's favour. ”

“ Thus, then, Acacius quickly rose to the first rank in his profession, and after winning a great reputation as one who would prove to have excelled Libanius, he passed away while still a young man. Yet all men, at least all who truly loved learning, revered him no less than if he had attained to old age. ”

“ But even in the face of these difficulties he displayed the greatness of his genius. For he had their books so thoroughly by heart that they fretted at the scantiness of their erudition, since there was nothing that they could teach the boy. Now since they had nothing to teach him and Julian had nothing to learn from them, he begged his cousin's permission to attend the schools of the sophists and lectures on philosophy. ”

“ However, the genius of Prohaeresius seemed to possess a sort of tyranny over men's minds, and the power of his eloquence to have extraordinary good fortune. For either all intelligent men chose him as their teacher, or those who had attended his school forthwith became intelligent, because they had chosen Prohaeresius.
Now in these days the throng at the imperial court produced a man who passionately desired both fame and eloquence. He came from the city of Berytus and was called Anatolius. ”