Ctesias

“ A Ctesias might have studied his art there, never a Sophocles. The greatest tragic genius, accustomed to these artificial death scenes, could not help degenerating into bombast and rodomontade. But as these were incapable of inspiring true heroism, so were the complaints of Philoctetes incapable of producing effeminacy. The complaints are human, while the deeds are heroic. Both together make the human hero, who is neither effeminate nor callous, but appears first the one and then the other, as now Nature sways him, and now principle and duty triumph. ”

“ The earliest Greek travellers, such as Herodotus and Ctesias, only saw the ruins of these magnificent structures and of their rich adornment of enamels, frescoes, and sculptured figures; and yet how great was their wonder! We can hardly reflect without emotion upon what we have lost in great works in stone and metal carried out in the style of which certain fragments from Tello and a few terra-cotta statuettes give us some faint idea. ”

“ Ctesias affirms, that Parysatis, cutting a bird of this kind into two pieces with a knife, one side of which had been smeared with the drug, the other side being clear of it, ate the untouched and wholesome part herself, and gave Statira that which was thus infected; but Dinon will not have it to be Parysatis, but Melantas, that cut up the bird and presented the envenomed part of it to Statira; who, dying with dreadful agonies and convulsions, was herself sensible of what had happened to her, and aroused in the king's mind suspicion of his mother, whose savage and implacable temper he knew. ”

“ Empedocles of Agrigentum left a work on the phenomena of nature, of which a few fragments still remain, and there were also others who, if they did not enter into the details of what we now call natural history, treated generally of the nature of things, and opened the field to those who would study the subject in its particular parts. The empire of Persia was still the dominant power, and was carrying the civilization of the East to every part of the known world when Ctesias wrote his great works, of which, unhappily, only a few fragments remain. ”

“ Of a rich banquet, and denies the end.
And in his Rich Men he says—
A. Others may also burst when fed too well
Not Ctesias alone.—
B. What should hinder it?
A. For he, as wise men say, loves the beginning
Of any feast, but ne'er can make an end of it.
And in his play called The Graces he includes a man called Cranaus in his list of great eaters; saying—
Men do not come and ask at random now,
Does Cranaus eat less than Ctesias?
Or do they both keep constantly devouring?
And Philetærus, in his Atalante, says—
If it were needful, I could run more stadia
Than e'er were run by Sotades ”

“ Why, what is the matter with him?’
‘That I am asking you—not as regards his bodily health; that is sound enough, as you say, thank the gods. But there is some trouble—something preying on his mind: have you not noticed it?’
‘I am sorry to hear you say it,’ replied Cestus, slowly shaking his head; ‘but I am not so well acquainted with his ways and humours as you are.’
‘He has no ways and humours,’ she retorted swiftly, with a slight but significant rearing of her form—‘at least no strange ways or humours. He is ever open, cheerful, and light-hearted, without a shadow of ill-humour. ”

“ You comprehend me perfectly. It is a positive pleasure to arrange details with an intelligent person like yourself, Cestus.’
‘You are flattering, patron. Who is this individual who is so unfortunate as to stand in your displeasure?’
‘I repeat it is a pleasure to do business with you, Cestus,’ resumed Afer calmly. ‘Previous to the actual execution of your task, I shall require you to act a little part. I shall [pg 67] require you, in fact, to clean and adorn yourself in order to make a visit.’
‘Oh, oh!’ murmured Cestus doubtfully. ”

“ Fate cut you out for a great man, and a thousand Fabricii could not stay you.’
‘No names—walls have ears!’ said the knight sternly.
‘True,’ replied Cestus. ‘It was my delight which let it slip. Euge, Cestus! Five hundred sestertia for simply helping an old man on the road to the Elysian fields—why, patron, the pay is so princely, and the task so light, that I feel somewhat ashamed of accepting the terms.’
‘You are perfectly at liberty to return whatever your conscience considers to be superfluous,’ remarked Afer.
‘Well, we will see how matters turn out,’ answered Cestus, with a grin. ”

“ New-born qualities of heroism transfigured her, and clothed her with a new beauty. The routine of her humble life had never lighted her fair face with such an unexpected spirit of dauntlessness. That brief glance filled his heart with pride and rapture such as he never felt before, and nerved him with the strength of a Titan. Her unruffled mien flooded his mind with the parting words of Cestus, and he thrilled with joy. Surely, none but noble blood could so nobly withstand such a terrible test. ”

“ A thousand fears and forebodings tore his mind, whilst nervous dread and hate shook him till his frame quivered like a leaf. With his faculties at their utmost stretch he watched and listened for what should follow.
After a close scrutiny, as if to assure himself, Afer entered the shop, and Cestus observed, with satisfaction, that the lynx-eyed Erotion remained in the roadway. The further the Greek was away the freer he breathed, for he knew his profound subtlety of old. ”

“ Luck is with you, Cestus! But how of Tibia, my sister?’
‘Did you not see her in the house?’
‘She is breathing like yourself, then! No, I saw her not, nor any live being, though I looked in every room. More fortune, Cestus; for they are all just as you would wish them, even to—and this bonny wench, kinsman. This is the little lass I saw last, as a bit of a chit, with her doll of rags?’
‘The same, Cestus—Neæra; she has grown,’ said Masthlion.
‘Grown! You say true. ”

“ Alive—ay, but if alive, most likely in a living death—Oh!’
‘Stay a moment,’ said Cestus soothingly, ‘the danger is great; but yet I have hope. I have not told you that the maid has caught the eye of a youth, and they are betrothed. I had a suspicion that something ill was brewing to the girl, and they will bear witness that I did my utmost to persuade them to come to Rome at once, where she might be in safety; but they flatly refused to move until the potter came back from the island. ”

“ Masthlion’s heavy brows were knitted: his eyes gazed, nay, almost glared intensely into his visitor’s face. It would be almost impossible to describe the mixture of feelings which agitated his whole frame. Wonder and relief were dominant, and anguish lay numb beneath. Suddenly his visage cleared, and he clutched the arm of Cestus convulsively, with such a grasp of iron that the Suburan winced.
‘Marvel of marvels!’ he gasped; ‘what, Cestus, is it [pg 189] thou? From where? Thou art not dead, then—the gods be praised.’
‘I’m glad on’t, kinsman, if it hath pleased thee,’ said Cestus. ”

“ Seek him, and bring him hither back with thee, that I may tell him what I did, for my mind torments me more than my crushed body. He had a granddaughter, a little child—a little goddess; I can tell him of that child—bid him come with haste! Fourteen years ago I stole her from his door and sold her. She yet lives—a slave!”’
In spite of himself; in spite of the numberless plausible tales and previous disappointments, Fabricius felt his heart beat violently, and a tremor seize his limbs. Cestus’s small keen eyes noted the change of colour on his cheek. ”

“ It is no small indication of the general conduct of Demosthenes, and it is an evidence of the most flagrant kind, which must condemn Ctesiphon at once: for it is not possible that he who has descended to such sordid bribery can be that man of consummate virtue which Ctesiphon has presumed to represent him in his decree.
And what can be conceived surprising or extraordinary that we have not experienced? Our lives have not passed in the usual and natural course of human affairs: no, we were born to be an object of astonishment to posterity. ”

“ To the Celtic mind, when its analytical powers had come to birth, and man was sufficiently self-conscious to reflect upon himself, the problem of his own nature pressed for some solution. In these solutions the breath, the blood, the name, the head, and even the hair generally played a part, but these would not in themselves explain the mysterious phenomena of sleep, of dreams, of epilepsy, of madness, of disease, of man’s shadow and his reflection, and of man’s death. ”

“ And now, after these arguments, and others of a similar kind, how can Celsus escape appearing in a ridiculous light, when he imagines that there never has been in the past, nor will be in the future, a greater or less number of evils? For although the nature of all things is one and the same, it does not at all follow that the production of evils is a constant quantity. ”

“ The writer, who was a bald, shrivelled, and short-sighted old man, did not immediately perceive the cause of the sudden stoppage of his customer’s eloquence, and casting a longing look at a large open book at his elbow, cried out testily, ‘Well, well, what next?—oh it’s you, is it? you’ll have to wait outside till I’ve finished!’
‘A love letter, eh! All right, I’m sorry to interrupt,’ replied Cestus, giving a leer at the young female who tossed her head.
He went outside and waited till she came forth, and then returned to take her place at the scribe’s table. ”

“ Had this been the case, however, the fact would surely have been mentioned either by Diogenes or Sextus, who both refer to the ten Tropes of Aenesidemus.
The Tropes claim to prove that the character of phenomena is so relative and changeable, that certain knowledge cannot be based upon them, and as we have shown, there is no other criterion of knowledge for the Sceptic than phenomena. [2] All of the Tropes, except the tenth, are connected with sense-perception, and relate to the difference of the results obtained through the senses under different circumstances. ”

“ It would amount to the same thing if I did.’
‘You are trifling, Cestus,’ said the potter somewhat sternly. ‘It is a sore trial to be bereft of an only child at any time, but that does not now constitute the whole matter. While she was a child all was well, but when she found a lover it behoved me to think that she and I were not all concerned in the matter. Had she been my own flesh and blood she could not have been more to me. Yet she is only a charge ”

“ That the same mental representations are not found in different animals, may be inferred from their differences in constitution resulting from their different origins, and from the variety in their organs of sense. Sextus takes up the five senses in order, giving illustrations to prove the relative results of the mental representations in all of them, as for example the subjectivity of color [2] and sound. [3] All knowledge of objects through the senses is relative and not absolute. ”

“ Philology, however, that science which in our time has had so many successes, has not been abandoned by her good fortune in touching the Celt; philology has brought, almost for the first time in their lives, the Celt and sound criticism together. The Celtic grammar of Zeuss, whose death is so grievous a loss to science, offers a splendid specimen of that patient, disinterested way of treating objects of knowledge, which is the best and most attractive characteristic of Germany. ”

“ Some reptile has bitten my noble patron and changed his nature. Poor Cestus, then, may go and hang himself, or throw himself to fatten the pike in the Tiber; but no—you cannot, surely, refuse poor Cestus, thus empty and naked before you.’
‘Silence!’ cried he of the toga, as fiercely as he could, without attracting the attention of the passers-by. ‘Good-for-nothing spendthrift, you have had enough to have made you [pg 26] wantless for the remainder of your life, with an ordinary amount of care in its use!’
‘I only follow the fashion of many of my betters, patron. ”

“ Have you told your wife and the girl what you mean to do?’
‘No; but it means only the telling,’ replied Masthlion, with the faintest hesitation.
‘I am not so sure of that; and besides it is your duty not to run any risk on their account.’
‘Nothing venture nothing win. As I have told you, you have got silly fancies into your head. The risk I run does not trouble my conscience on the score of those I leave behind me; so have done, Cestus, and trouble me no more.’
Cestus approached him, and taking his arm with one hand he pointed to the door with the other. ”

“ Listen! You will have to improve your outward appearance, in order to represent an honest mechanic in his holiday clothes—that is, as nearly as possible. That done, you will have to go as far as the Janiculum and ask an audience of a certain patrician who dwells there. He had once a granddaughter who was lost when a child.’
‘Ah, now I smell a rat! You are going to outdo yourself,’ cried Cestus eagerly. ”

“ But as Celsus, by his statements, has declared that we do not do so, but that we call only the foolish, I would say to him, “If you had charged us with withdrawing from the study of philosophy those who were already preoccupied with it, you would not have spoken the truth, and yet your charge would have had an appearance of probability; but when you now say that we draw away our adherents from good teachers, show who are those other teachers save the teachers of philosophy, or those who have been appointed to give instruction in some useful branch of study.” ”

“ Cestus held up his hands in affected admiration.
[pg 69] ‘You are inspired, patron! But hold; how if the old man will not come forth with me? What then comes of all this fine scheme?’
‘Nothing,’ replied Afer calmly. ‘We shall have to wait and devise again.’
‘I care not for this complicated notion. I prefer to have not so many cooks to the broth. There is nothing so sure, and so easy, as a little dust of a certain kind in his wine or meat.’
The knight shook his head.
‘It is too effective, my Cestus, and too common. It would not fail to be talked about. No ”