B 536. A24 P53 1923 Philostratus , the Athenian, 2nd/3rd cent. Life and times of » — ^ T 1 _ _ -C m - . ^ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/lifetimesofapollOOphil STANFORD UNIVERSITY PUBLICATIONS UNIVERSITY SERIES LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE Volume II Number 1 A Life and Times of Apollonius of Tyana Rendered mto English from the Greek of Philostratus the Elder BY CHARLES P. EELLS STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY 1923 " Stanford University Press PREFACE In the last half of the fifth century that engaging “man of letters, imperial functionary, country gentleman and bishop,” Sidonius Apol- linaris, sent a copy of Philostratus’ “Life of Apollonius” to his friend Leo, the chancellor of a Frankish king at Toulouse, with this message : “Throw aside your endless labors and steal a respite from the burdens and bustle of the Court, so that you may really study this long-expected volume as it deserves. When once absorbed in it you will wander with our Tyanean over Caucasus and Indus, to the Brahmins of India and to the naked ^ philosophers of Nubia. It describes the life of very much such a man as you are, with due respect to your Catliolic faith. Courted by sovereigns, but never courting them; eager for knowledge; aloof from money-getting; fasting at feasts ; linen-clad among wearers of purple ; rebuking luxury ; self-contained; plain-spoken; shock-headed in the midst of perfumed nations; revered and admired for his simplicity by the satraps of tiara-ed kings, who themselves were reeking with myrrh and malobathrum and polished with pumice-stone ; taking from the flocks nothing to eat or to wear ; and notwithstanding all these peculiarities not distrusted but honored wherever he went throughout the world, and although royal treasures were placed at his disposal accepting from them merely those gifts to his friends which it suited him better to bestow than to receive. In short, if we measure and weigh realities, no philosopher’s biography equal to this has ever ap¬ peared in the times of our ancestors, so far as I know; and I am certain that in my time it finds a worthy reader in you.” This appreciative tribute might well stand as the prelude of our own book, but the obloquy heaped upon Apollonius ever since, and the suspicion with which he is still regarded, when he is remembered at all, seem to require a more extended introduction. He was born in Tyana, a Greek city of Asia Minor, three years before ' the birth of Christ, and he lived about a hundred years, until the reign of Nerva. As with Moses, no man knoweth his grave unto this day. Devoted to philosophy from his boyhood, he studied it after the unequalled method of those days, by listening to lectures and to disputations of rival thinkers in every market-place and from the steps of every temple. He chose as his own the philosophy of Pythagoras, and enthusiastically practiced its aus¬ terities, maintaining absolute silence for five years as a mental discipline, avoiding all relations with women, giving away his patrimony, and wear¬ ing only linen garments. In the phraseology of today he was a vegetarian 4 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA and a total abstainer. He claimed that by this mode of life his senses were made abnormally acute, so that he had a premonition of future events and became aware of the minds of men and of distant happenings ; and he suc¬ cessfully set up that defense when he was tried for sorcery before the emperor. He prayed to the Sun three times a day, offering incense but never sacrificing victims. He believed in the immortality of the soul, in metempsychosis, and in a supreme deity, the creator of the universe. Indeed it may be argued that in the deities whom he worshipped he saw merely phases and agencies of this supreme deity, for in referring to the gods collectively he is frequently quoted by Philostratus as using indis¬ criminately the words ‘^gods” or ‘‘god and the Indian sage larchas with his evident approval likens the universe to a ship of which the creator is the master and the subordinate gods are petty officers. All his life long his advice and help were constantly sought by cities, temples, and rulers everywhere, and were freely given without reward. He journeyed over the known world from the Atlantic ocean to the Ganges river, and south to the Cataracts of the Nile, acquiring and imparting wisdom. In middle age, when his travels were not half completed, he told his disciples that he had already seen more of the earth’s surface that any other man had ever done. During his long and laborious life he wrought many wonders, and many men regarded him as an incarnate divinity. The kings of Persia and of India vied with each other to do him honor. After his death the emperor Hadrian built a temple and endowed a priesthood for his worship at Tyana. The emperor Aurelian vowed to do the like, calling him the most godlike, holy, and venerable of mankind, endowed with more than mortal powers, and declaring: “if I live I will publish at least a summary of his wonderful deeds, not because they need anything my words can give, but to make them as familiar to all lips as they are marvellous.” Another emperor, Alexander Severus, with questionable taste, set the image of Apollonius in his private chapel or lararium, among his tutelary deities, in company with Orpheus, Abraham, and Christ ! This very history we owe to the reverence paid to his memory by the empress Julia Domna, the wife of / Septimius Severus, who commissioned Philostratus to write it and supplied him with most of the materials. For two hundred years after his death Apollonius was generally acclaimed as more divine than human, until in the reign of Diocletian a Roman pro-consul Hierocles attempted to sweep back the rising tide of Christianity by publishing his “Candid Words to Christians,” in which he drew an unfavorable comparison of Christ with Apollonius. The nascent Church easily confuted this attack, but could not forget nor forgive it ; and not content with its victory over its rash assail¬ ant it stigmatized the long-dead philosopher as a charlatan inspired and* aided by the devil. This chorus of detraction has been very persistent. As PREFACE 5 late as the time of Charles the Second, when one Charles Blount tried to publish in England a translation of Philostratus’ biography, he complains in his preface that the clergy would only let him print the first two of its eight books, and that the Catholic priesthood was especially active in its opposition. It cannot be denied that the work contains many statements which tax our credulity. Its ideas of natural history and of demonology are those which were universally prevalent in the first century of our era, and which lasted with little change until the eighteenth. Apollonius’ exorcism of ghouls, satyrs, hobgoblins and plagues may perhaps have been honest self- deception. His resuscitation of the apparently dead girl in Rome is attrib¬ uted to possibly natural causes by Philostratus himself. Mesmerism or sleight of hand may account for other strange occurrences ; but no such ready explanation can be given of his instantaneous transits from Smyrna to Ephesus, and from Rome to Puteoli ; or of his watching in Ephesus the simultaneous assassination of Domitian in Rome; or of his vanishing before the eyes of the emperor and of the crowded courtroom, after his trial, in proof of which Philostratus cites the court-records then extant. Apollonius either had such command of occult forces as has been claimed in modern times for his instructors, the so-called Adepts of India, or he was a singularly successful impostor, — highminded, altruistic, but an impostor. The judicious Gibbon says of him that “his life is related in so fabulous a manner by his disciples that we are at a loss to discover whether he was a sage, an impostor or a fanatic;” and Professor Basil L. Gildersleeve in his “Essays and Studies” declares that to disengage the real Apollonius from the romance of Philostratus is quite impossible. We do not attempt to solve the riddle of Apollonius’ interesting personality, but we do insist that Philostratus and his predecessor Damis acted in entire good faith in por¬ traying him. It seems unfair to hold either of them answerable for this doubt in order to acquit Apollonius. The theory that this biography is an ingenious romance like DeFoe’s “Robinson Crusoe,” composed presumably as an anti-Christian polemic, attributes to the imperial court of Rome at the beginning of the third century the hostility and fear which actuated Hierocles’ intemperate zeal at its close. Aside from the consideration that such a literary tour de force was foreign to the taste of classical writers, we find no historical justification for this belief, and no other conceivable motive is assigned. The third century saw the greatest expansion of the Church, and yet fifty years after Philostratus wrote the Christians in Rome constituted less than one-fifth of the population, and far less than one-fifth in power and influence. Why would the empress publish such an elaborate tract to undermine the faith of an infant sect, one of hundreds in the empire, few of whose adherents would see the book or be able to read it? 6 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA The book itself contains no allusion to Christianity, and apparently Apol¬ lonius had never heard of Christ, although he was born and bred in Asia Minor, spent much of his after-life there, visited Syria, and was insatiable in his search and study of new systems of philosophy. If any attack on the Church was intended by this history it was too covert to be effective, which was not a usual fault of controversial literature in those days. The internal evidence of the book is even more convincing that it is what it purports to be, a faithful and painstaking compilation from Damis’ notes, and from all other available memoirs and records, including the voluminous corre¬ spondence of Apollonius himself which had been preserved and collected. If either Philostratus or Damis consciously exaggerated the miracles of Apollonius, they must have been astounded by their own moderation, like Warren Hastings in the begum’s treasure-house. They rarely describe any exercise of his supernatural powers, and never enlarge upon them, seeming to take them for granted as being well-known. Damis was an Assyrian, a kind of Asiatic Boswell, who attached himself to Apollonius at the outset of his pilgrimage to the Sages of India. Both were young men then, and they remained inseparable companions in travel and adventure until just before Apollonius’ death. Damis’ mental attitude toward his master was that of a faithful and affectionate dog. Every night he noted down all the sayings and doings and sights of that day, in unwearying detail. This huge mass of memoranda, which he entitled “Droppings from the Manger,” became an heirloom of his family and was brought by them to Julia Domna, who employed Philostratus to condense it into a narrative, “paying especial attention to the style of composition,” as he tells us complacently, because the Assyrian lacked style. We are tantalized on every page by a reminder of the unconsidered trifles which he discarded in making his selections. What a storehouse of information now would be the original unstylish manuscript of Damis ! Even in its pruned and abridged condition the story is the most vivid and comprehensive presentation of the daily life of the first century which has come down to us. Rome, Greece, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, Spain, Egypt, Nubia, Sicily, and the islands of the ^gsean Sea pass in a panorama before our eyes, with all sorts and conditions of men in their habit as they lived, and working out their own answers to the problems which still perplex us. It is a wonderful picture, and after making every allowance for error and deception the central figure remains essentially vital and dominating. The original text employed for this version is Ant. Westermann’s edition of the text of C. L. Kayser, as published by A. F. Didot at Paris in 1849. BOOK ONE. Pythagoras and his philosophy — Origin and sources of this biogra¬ phy — Birth and education of Apollonius — His mode of life — His eloquence— Resigns his patrimony — Sets out to visit the Magi at Babylon and the Brahmins of India — Damis joins him AT Nineveh — Journey to Babylon — Entertained there by King Vardanes. 1. The admirers of Pythagoras the Samian all say of him that long before his existence as an Ionian he was born in Troy as Euphorbus, and that after dying as Homer describes he subsequently came to life again in Ionia. They tell of him that he wore no garments derived from animals subject to death and that he kept himself pure by neither eating nor sacrificing any living creature, and that he did not stain his altars with blood, but offered to the gods only honey-cakes and incense and hymns, being well assured that they were better pleased with such tributes than by hecatombs of victims and the sacrificial knife in the priest’s basket ; for he had fellowship with the gods, and had learned directly from them what human conduct pleases them and what offends them. His eulogists also claim that he was inspired by the gods in teaching the wonders of the physical world, and that while others only guess at the divine nature and reach conflicting opinions concerning it, Apollo himself had appeared to him without disguise; and Athene and the Muses, and other gods, whose shapes and names we do not know as yet, had companied with him, though not declaring themselves. All the teachings of Pythagoras his disciples treat as laws, and they venerate him as the messenger of Zeus. They main¬ tain scrupulous silence on the subject of divine things, for they hear many sacred mysteries which would be incomprehensible to any who had not learned that silence itself is sometimes full of meaning. Empedocles of Agrigentum is believed to have also adopted this system of philosophy, for that passage of his, “Earewell, my friends ! Henceforward I shall be A god, exempted from mortality !” and that other line, ‘^Once I was born a maiden ; once a boy and moreover the ox made of dough which he is said to have sacrificed at Olympia, all indicate his Pythagorean opinions. But I must omit other 8 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA interesting accounts of the disciples of Pythagoras in order that I may take up at once my chosen subject. 2. Although Apollonius lived neither long ago nor very recently, and his mode of life was similar to that of Pythagoras, and he came nearer to divine wisdom, subjecting even tyrants to his will, he is not yet properly appreciated for the true wisdom which he developed by sound and philo¬ sophical reasoning. Some, who entirely misconceive him, think of him as a wizard who learned magic by rote, because he knew familiarly the Magi of Babylon, the Brahmins of India and the naked sages of Egypt. But Empedocles, and Pythagoras himself, and Democritus dwelt with the Magi and often wrought miracles, without ever being suspected of witchcraft. After Plato had visited Egypt he inserted in his writings many quotations from the priests and seers of that country, like a painter filling in with colors the outlines he has sketched, but for all that he was never accused of practising magic, in spite of the extreme jealousy which his wisdom excited. No more should the fact that Apollonius foresaw and foretold many events convict him of forbidden practices; unless Socrates is also to be charged with them because he claimed to foresee things by the aid of his guardian genius; and Anaxagoras as well, because of his prophecies. It is common knowledge that when drought had long prevailed at Olympia Anaxagoras came into the market-place there wrapped in a sheepskin, whereby he gave warning of the rain which came down soon after; and that he foretold that a certain house would fall down, which it actually did at the time he had appointed; and that he prophesied that the day would be turned into night, and that a shower of stones would fall from the sky at ^gospotami — all of which forecasts came true. We all con¬ cede to Anaxagoras that power of predicting future events by his wisdom, and yet men are unwilling to credit Apollonius with a similar gift, and say that what he did was only done by sorcery. This widespread ignorance of the man seems intolerable to me, and my purpose in this history is to investigate carefully whatever he said and did, and under what circum¬ stances, and by what system of philosophy he acquired the reputation of an inspired and godlike being. I have collected my materials partly from those cities which cherish his memory; partly from those temples whose antique rites he restored ; partly from what others have recorded of him, and partly from his letters which he used to write to kings, professors, and philosophers, to Eleans, Delphians, Indians, and Egyptians, on theology, ethics, customs and laws, in all which matters he corrected any laxity of observance ; but the most accurate and detailed information has come to me in the following manner. BOOK ONE 9 3. A certain man named Damis, from the ancient city of Nineveh, having some education, studied philosophy under Apollonius, and kept a record of many travels in which he claims to have been his companion, setting down his expressions of opinion, his conversations and his predictions ; and these commentaries, which have never before been published, some kinsman of Damis brought to the notice of the empress Julia, the con¬ sort of the emperor Septimius Severus. Because she loved and fostered all literary pursuits, and I was admitted to her circle, she commissioned me to edit tliat narrative, paying especial attention to the style of composi¬ tion, for the man from Nineveh wrote clearly enough but with small attempt at elegance. Moreover I chanced to find a book by Maximus the ^gean containing all the doings of Apollonius in the city of JEg3^; and the will written by Apollonius himself still exists, from which may be learned by what divine inspiration he pursued philosophy. Little credence however should be given to Moeragenes, for although he has written four volumes about Apollonius he knew very little of his history. This sum¬ mary of my authorities indicates how I have collected scattered sources of information and have endeavored to combine them in a consecutive biography. May this work bring honor to the man who is its subject, and benefit to the lovers of learning, who can certainly discover in it some things they never knew. 4. Apollonius was born at Tyana, a Greek city among the tribe of Cappa¬ docians. His father, also named Apollonius, was of ancient family, de¬ scended from the founders of that city, and having unusually large proper¬ ty even in that wealthy community. While his mother was pregnant with him she had a vision of Proteus, the Egyptian god who turns himself into various shapes, according to Homer. Unterrified by the apparition she asked it what her child would be, and he replied ''myself V’ On her asking "Who are you?” he answered: "the Egyptian god, Proteus.” I need not describe the wisdom of Proteus to those who know from the poets how subtle he was, and how many-sided and elusive, and how he seemed to know and to foreknow everything. It will be well to bear Proteus in mind, as it develops from our story how our hero was more far-seeing than he, and how he vanquished all his dangers and difficulties when they seemed most overwhelming. 5. He is said to have been born in that meadow where a temple dedi¬ cated to him now stands, and the notable manner of his birth should not be passed over in silence. When his mother was near her time she was 10 'APOLLONIUS OF TYANA warned by a dream to go into the meadow to gather flowers ; and after coming there she fell asleep on the grass, while her maids wandered about looking for blossoms ; whereupon the swans which fed there formed a circle round her as she slept, and all sang together with spread wings after their fashion, while the breeze murmured gently through the grass. Waked by the singing she sprang up, and brought forth her child then and there, for anything startling may hasten birth even before the time. Those living there declare that at the moment of her delivery a lightning flash was seen to strike the earth and then to glance upward till it vanished in the sky; whereby, as I think, the gods indicated and foreshadowed the glory of the man, and his superhuman quality, and his fellowship with the gods, and all that he would be. 6. There is a pool called Asbama near Tyana which they say is sacred to Zeus the avenger of perjury. Its spring flows icy-cold but bubbling like a boiling kettle, and though its water is pleasant and health-giving to true men, it overtakes oath-breakers with instant punishment, for it attacks their eyes and hands and feet, and they are smitten with dropsies and wastings, so that they cannot leave the pool, but are held there wailing by the water until they confess their guilt. Now the natives assert that Apol¬ lonius was the son of this Zeus, though he calls himself the son of Apollonius. 7. When he was old enough to learn his letters he showed a strong memory and acute intellect. He spoke Attic Greek, uncorrupted by the local dialect, and he attracted all eyes by his remarkable physical beauty. On his reaching the age of fourteen years, his father took him to Tarsus to be taught by a well-known rhetorician, Euthydemus the Phoenician, who undertook his education. Apollonius liked his tutor, but he thought the manners of the city disgusting and unsuited to the study of philosophy, for nowhere are any people more given over to luxury, or more light- minded and insolent, and they think more of the quality of their linen than the Athenians do of knowledge. The Cydnus river flows through the city, and the indolent citizens settle along its banks like so many ducks, where¬ fore Apollonius wrote in a letter to them : “Stop fuddling yourselves with water!” He induced his father to send his tutor and himself to ^gse, a neighboring city where the quiet was more conducive to philosophizing, and the tastes of the people were more suitable for young men, and there was a temple of ^sculapius in which the god sometimes manifested him¬ self. There Apollonius discussed philosophy with Platonists and Stoics and Peripatetics, and listened besides to the doctrines of Epicurus, thinking BOOK ONE 11 even them worth his study ; but he embraced the teachings of Pythagoras with incredible ardor. It happened that the master of the Pythagorean school there was not of the highest type, and did not exemplify his philo¬ sophic preaching by his practice, for he was addicted to gluttony and to women, and behaved more like Epicurus than like Pythagoras. He was named Euxenus, of Heraclea in Pontus, and he had committed to memory the tenets of Pythagoras in the same way that parrots learn human speech ; for those birds say the prayers “good speed to you,” and “farewell,” and “God bless you,” without understanding what they chatter, or meaning what they say, but merely because their tongues are capable of framing the words. However, as eaglets while their wings are weak stick close to their parents and learn from them how to fly, but when strong of wing they soar higher than the old birds, especially when they see them greedy and drawn to earth by the scent of carrion ; so Apollonius while he was a boy gave attention to Euxenus and learned from him by listening to what he repeated by rote; but on reaching his sixteenth year he flew to the Pythagorean life winged by some higher power. Yet he did not cease to love Euxenus, for he obtained from his father a suburban villa for him with pleasant gardens and fountains, and said to him : “Live here after your own fashion, but I will live like Pythagoras.” 8. Euxenus remarked that it was an ambitious undertaking, and asked him how he would begin, and he replied: “as physicians do, when by purging the bowels they ward off disease from some patients, and cure others.” From that time on he abstained from animal food as unclean and dulling the mind, and he lived on dried fruits and vegetables, declaring that whatever the earth produced from its own bosom was pure. He also pronounced wine to be a pure drink, as coming from the kindly vine, but inimical to mental concentration because it clouds the ether of the soul. Having thus purified his system by this diet he also decided to go bare¬ footed, and discarding all clothing derived from animals he wore a linen robe, let his hair grow long, and spent his time in the temple ; where all the inmates marvelled at him, and HIsculapius himself told his priest that he delighted to have Apollonius present when the sick were healed. Then the Cilicians and their neighbors flocked to yEgse to see him, and the saying originated about him which is still a proverb in Cilicia : “Where are you running? To see the lad?” I 9. The biographer of a man so honored by the gods should not leave out his doings in the temple. A young Assyrian had come to .Tlsculapius to be cured, but he continued his dissipation in spite of his illness, and spent or 12 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA rather squandered his life in drinking, so that he suffered from a dropsy, and took no thought of reducing it, while he devoted himself to wine¬ drinking. For this reason ^sculapius ignored him and would not appear to him even in dreams. While he complained of this neglect one day the god showed himself and said: “Consult Apollonius and be cured.” Ac¬ cordingly the youth came to Apollonius and asked : “What can your wis¬ dom do for me, for ^sculapius commands me to consult you?” The answer was : “It can help you very much. Do you wish to be well ?” “By Zeus,” said the youth, “^sculapius has promised me that, but he does not perform it!” “Speak reverently,” said Apollonius; “he gives health to those who really wish it, but you on the contrary are aggravating your illness, for in abandoning yourself to dissipation you pile dainties into your soaked and exhausted stomach, and add mud to the water you have already.” And here I think he spoke more plainly than the learned Heraclitus, who said, when he was suffering from the same disease, that what he needed was something which could turn a rainstorm into a drought, an obscure and puzzling remark, whereas Apollonius cured the young man by giving him good advice which was also intelligible. 10. One day seeing the altar reeking with blood, and sacrifices laid upon it, and slaughtered Egyptian oxen and huge swine which were being skinned and cut up, and two golden bowls besides, inlaid with most bril¬ liant and precious Indian rubies, Apollonius went to the priest and asked him : “What is the meaning of all this ? Somebody is making a great effort to please the god 1” The priest replied : “You will be all the more surprised when I tell you that this person is sacrificing so liberally without ever having prayed at this shrine, or having waited here the usual time, or having received health from the god, or having obtained any of his wishes, for he came only yesterday. And yet he sacrifices in this unstinted way, and he says that he will give still greater offerings, if ^sculapius will be favor¬ able to him. He is a very rich man who has more property in Cilicia than all the other Cilicians put together. He asks the god to restore an eye which he has lost.” Apollonius, gazing at the ground as he used to do in later years, inquired the man’s name, and on learning it he said : “It seems to me, priest, that this man should not be admitted to the temple on any account. He comes here because he is a guilty wretch, and he has suffered that accident in no honest way. The very fact that he sacrifices so lavishly in advance of any favor from the god indicates that he is not doing it in worship, but to buy off punishment for some base and horrid crime.” Thus spoke Apollonius. That night yEsculapius appeared to his priest and said : “Send that fellow and his gifts away, for he does not deserve to keep his BOOK ONE 13 other eye !” On making inquiries the priest learned that this Cilician’s wife had a daughter by a former husband, and that this man had a guilty passion for the girl and lay with her, not making any secret of it, and that the girl’s mother on finding them together had put out both her daughter’s eyes, and one of her husband’s, by thrusting cloak-pins into them. 11. Apollonius made use of the following argument to prove that no sacrifices or offerings to the gods should exceed a moderate limit. A number of people having gathered in the temple soon after that Cilician had been driven away, Apollonius catechized the priest thus : “Are not the gods just?” he asked. “Most just, certainly,” was the reply. “And wise as well?” “Of course,” the priest replied, “for what is wiser than divine wis¬ dom?” “Do they know the affairs of men, or do they not?” asked Apol¬ lonius. The priest answered : “In that respect the gods excel men most of all ; for by reason of our limitations we do not even understand our own affairs, but the gods know both their own and ours.” Then said Apol¬ lonius : “All you have said, priest, is quite right and entirely true ; but since they know everything, it seems to me that a petitioner coming to the temple with a sense of what is best for himself would offer a prayer like this : ‘O ye gods ! give me what I ought to have !’ For good gifts are the due of good men, and they should be denied to undeserving men. The gods, who deal justly, when they find a man upright and stainless, send him away crowned, perhaps not with golden crowns, but with every bless¬ ing. Whereas the man who is branded with crime and corrupt they leave to the punishment which he has earned, being all the more offended by his daring to bring his impurity into their temples.” Then turning to the image of the god he exclaimed: “O ^sculapius, you practice a secret science known only to yourself in not allowing rascals to enter here, even though they pile up for you the riches of India and of Sardis. For they do not make such sacrifices and offerings out of reverence for the divine majesty, but to redeem themselves from that vengeance which you, who are justice itself, do not spare them.” Many such discourses he uttered in the temple while still a lad. 12. Another characteristic incident occurred during his stay at 7Egx. The prefect of Cilicia at that time was an overbearing and licentious man, and having heard of the comeliness of Apollonius while he happened to be hold¬ ing court at Tarsus he put off all business on hand and went to 2Egce, pretending to be ill and to be seeking the aid of ^Tisculapius. Meeting Apol¬ lonius as he walked alone he said : “Commend me to the god.” Apollonius replied: “What need have you of commendation if your are sincere? The 14 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA gods show favor to all worthy men without requiring an intercessor.” The other said : ‘T ask it because the god has made you his guest, but he has not yet received me.” Apollonius replied : “My love of virtue has recom¬ mended me to him, and by practicing it as well as a young man may I have become a servant of ^sculapius and one of his household. In the same way, if virtue is dear to you, you too may approach the god with confi¬ dence and may ask of him what you will.” The prefect said : “By Zeus, so I will, but after asking something from you first.” Apollonius asked : “What have you to ask of me ?” The prefect answered : “That which is usually asked of beautiful boys ; to let others enjoy your beauty, and not to be miserly of the prime of your ‘ youth!” and with wanton gestures and watery eyes he employed every lewd and infamous suggestion. Sternly glaring at him Apollonius shouted : “You are mad, you scoundrel !” The prefect flamed with rage and threatened to have him beheaded, but Apol¬ lonius only smiled and exclaimed: “Your day is at hand I” and in fact on the third day thereafter the lictors executed that evil-doer on the highway for plotting sedition against Rome with Archelaus, the king of Cappadocia. These and other similar stories of Apollonius were collected by Maximus of ^gse, a man who was honored in imperial letters as a great orator. 13. On receiving word of his father’s death he hastened to Tyana, where he entombed him with his own hands at the side of his mother, who had also died not long before. The very considerable estate left by his father was divided between Apollonius and his brother, who was a dissipated drunkard, but had full control of his portion, being in his twenty-third year; whereas Apollonius, only twenty years old, was legally subject to guardians. After going back for a time to ZEgse he converted the temple there into a Lyceum and an Academy, for it resounded with every type of philosophical discussion ; but when he had attained manhood and was his own master he returned to Tyana. Someone there told him that he ought to make his brother economical and to reform his morals, but he said : “That seems like a very presumptuous undertaking : for how shall I, the younger brother, venture to correct my elder ? However, I will relieve his distresses as far as I can.” He began by giving him half of his patri¬ mony, saying that his brother’s necessities were greater than his because he himself required very little. Then cautiously following it up with persua¬ sions to reform, he said : “The father who brought us both up, and used to admonish us, is dead, and now you are the only one left to me, as I am to you. So if I fall short in any way you must warn me and set my conduct right; and on the other hand, if you should fail in any respect, please BOOK ONE 15 listen to my remonstrances.” In this way, very much as trainers tame wild and stubborn colts, he tamed his brother and reclaimed him from his many vices, although he had been a slave to wine and gaming, and consorted with low women, swaggering about so proud of his hair that he dyed it. After his brother’s affairs had yielded so well to his management Apollo¬ nius turned his attention to his other relatives, aiding those of them who were needy with the rest of his inheritance, and reserving only a little for himself. He remarked that Anaxagoras of Clazomene, who had invested his money in flocks and herds, was a better philosopher for sheep than for men ; and that Crates the Theban, who had thrown all his money into the sea, had benefited neither men nor sheep. A saying of Pythagoras was commonly quoted with approval, that no man should have to do with any woman but his wife ; and Apollonius said that this rule was excellent for others, but for his own part he would not even marry, and would have no dealings with Venus of any kind; for that in this respect he had gone far beyond Sophocles, who said in his old age that he had escaped from an insane and cruel master, but he himself through the exercise of virtue and chastity had not been dominated by that master even in his youth, and though young and full-blooded he had overcome and controlled the crazy tyrant. Nevertheless some writers still persist in falsely accusing him of unchastity, and say that he lingered among the Scythians for a year because he had a love-affair there, although in fact he never went to Scythia at any time, and never did have a love-affair in his life. Not even Euphrates dared to accuse him of unchastity, though he published many other calum¬ nies about him, as we shall show when our narration has to do with Euphrates. He fell out with Apollonius because the latter had chided him for always acting upon mercenary motives, and had rebuked his greed for money and his making mejxhandise, of philosophy ; but these subjects must be left, to be taken up in their due course. 14. Euxenus having asked Apollonius why he had written nothing yet, though full of noble thoughts, and expressing himself so clearly and readily, he replied: “Because so far I have not practiced silence.” from that time on he resolved to be mute, and did not speak at all, though his eyes and mind took in everything and stored it away in his memory. Even after he had become a centenarian he remembered better than Simonides, and used to sing a hymn in praise of the memory, in which he said that all things fade away in time, but time itself is made fadeless and undying by recollection. Nevertheless his company did not lose its charm during his term of silence, for his eyes and hands and the movements of his head indicated his thoughts in the conversation, and he did not appear gloomy 16 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA or sullen, but retained his kindly and gentle demeanor. He said afterward that this conduct, which he continued for five years, was very irksome to him, for while he had much to say he did not say it, and he was obliged to ignore many annoying things, and often, when provoked to reproof, he had to tell himself '‘hold your tongue and your temper \” and in that way he had refrained even from noticing insults. 15. Part of this period of silence he spent in Pamphylia and part in Cilicia, but though living among such dissolute people he never spoke, and could not be induced to open his mouth. Whenever he came to a riotous town, and many of them used to fight over the trivial performances in their theatres, the disturbance always ceased when he appeared in the sight of the mob and manifested his rebuke by hand or look ; so that the crowd instantly became as still as in the religious mysteries. To quiet a crowd fighting about racehorses or actors may be no great matter, for the ringleaders of such factions will blush at seeing a wise man, and will try to act sensibly; but when a city is famine-stricken it is not easy to make the people forget their hunger, and to soothe their wrath, even by a powerful and persuasive speech. Yet it was enough for Apollonius in such a case merely to stand mute before their eyes. On one occasion he came to Aspendus, the third largest city of Pamphylia, situated on the Eurymedon river, where nothing but vetches, and other things which never are eaten except from dire necessity, was being sold in the market to feed the people ; for the men in power had hoarded all the grain so that they might make a profit by exporting it. He found a mob of citizens of all ages raging around the prefect of the province and about to burn him alive, re¬ gardless of his clinging to the statue of the emperor Tiberius, which at that time was more dreaded and inviolate than the image of Olympian Zeus himself. But this was of Tiberius, in whose reign a man was convicted and punished for sacrilege because he had beaten his own slave at a time when the slave happened to be carrying a silver coin stamped with the emperor’s likeness. Apollonius intervened at once by going to the prefect and asking him by signs what was the matter. He replied that he was not the guilty party, but on the contrary was suffering the same priva¬ tion as exasperated the people, and that unless he was allowed to speak to them he must die, and the people would all die with him. Apollonius turned to the surrounding crowd and indicated to them by nodding that they should listen to the prefect ; whereupon they not only stilled their clamor, but they laid down their torches upon the altars standing near, out of the reverence which he inspired in them. Taking courage, the prefect cried out: "This one and that” (mentioning several men by name) "are re- BOOK ONE 17 sponsible for the existing famine, for they have collected all the grain, and are hoarding it in different places throughout the province.” A cry was raised in the crowd to go and attack these hoards, but Apollonius by his gestures prevailed on them not to do that, but instead to send for the accused persons, and induce them to surrender the grain without violence. When these men were brought before him he could hardly restrain himself from breaking his vow of silence, so moved was he by the tears of the multitude, for women and children were in the throng, and old men, com¬ plaining that they were dying of starvation. Still keeping to his resolution, he wrote his reproof on his tablets and gave it to the prefect, who read it aloud in these words: “Apollonius to the food-peddlers of Aspendus : the earth is mother of us all, for she is impartial, but you by your injustice have made her the mother of none but yourselves ; and if you do not stop it, I shall not permit you to stand on her any longer.” This terrified the culprits so that they filled the market-place with grain, and the city revived. 16. When the period of his silence had expired he visited Antioch the Great, and entered there the temple of Daphnsean Apollo, where the Assyrians locate the Arcadian myth, asserting that Daphne the daughter of Ladon was metamorphosed there ; because a river called Ladon does flow there, and a laurel-tree is honored as being the very tree into which the maiden was transformed. Immensely tall cypresses also surround the temple, and the spot yields gentle and perennial springs, in which Apollo is supposed to bathe. The tradition is that the earth produced the first sprout of these cypresses in memory of the Assyrian boy Cyparissus, and the beauty of the trees lends credit to such an origin. It may be thought that I seek to decorate my story by relating such fables ; but I do so, not for their intrinsic merit, but because Apollonius observing that the temple was beautiful, but that it contained no religious earnestness, and that its inmates were only ignorant and semi-barbarous men, said : “Apollo, trans¬ form these dumb creatures too into trees, for if they were cypresses they would at least give forth some sound !” On seeing how softly and still the springs flowed, he remarked : “This place is so voiceless that it does not even let the streams murmur.” Looking at the Ladon river, he said : “Not only was your daughter metamorphosed, Ladon, but you are too ; for from being a Greek and an Arcadian you seem to be turned into a barbarian.” When he was disposed to discourse to the people there he avoided crowded and noisy resorts, saying that he required not mobs but men for hearers ; nevertheless he frequented the more sacred places, and dwelt in those temples which were kept open. At sun-rise he performed certain religious rites in private, sharing them with none, except those who had practiced 18 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA silence for four years like himself. After completing them, if he happened to be in a Greek city whose ceremonies were familiar to him, he would assemble the priests, to discuss religious observances with them, correcting any error they might have made in departing from the ancient ritual. On the other hand, if the rites were unfamiliar and peculiar, he would inquire of the priests the origin of such procedure and for what purpose it had been established, and after learning its history and suggesting any desirable improvement which occurred to him, he would ask in turn for any ques^ tions they might have. He used to say that those who professed his philosophy should converse with the gods at daybreak; then later in the day should discourse concerning them, and during the remainder of the day they might discuss affairs of men. After answering any questions asked him by his companions, when the conversation had gone far enough, he would take his stand for public disputation precisely at noon, and never sooner. When he had discoursed to the people for a suitable time, he would be oiled and rubbed, and then would plunge into cold water, for he called hot baths the senility of mankind. Once when the baths had been closed to the townsmen of Antioch because of the great offenses committed in them, he said: ''The emperor has added many years to your lives, ye men of Antioch, because of your depravity !” And when the Ephesians wanted to stone their prefect because their public baths were not heated enough, he said : "You find fault with the prefect because the baths are bad ; but I find fault with you because you use hot baths at all.” 17. His style of speaking was not lyrical and swollen with poetic expres¬ sions ; nor was it full of unusual words or affectedly Attic, for he disliked being more than moderately Attic ; nor did he indulge in subtlety or pro¬ lixity, and he was never known to equivocate or to walk back and forth before his audience ; but when he discoursed he spoke as from a tripod, and would say "I know,” or "thus I think,” or "where does that lead you?” or "you must know.” His expressions of opinion were concise and clear-cut as a diamond; his words were remarkably well-chosen and apt, and what he uttered had the ring of royal edicts. Being twitted by a quibbler with never asking questions, he said : "While I was young I did ask them, and now it is not my business to ask but to teach what I have learned.” And when the other retorted "how then shall a wise man debate?” he answered : "Like a law-giver, who ought first to convince himself that he is right, and then to tell his people what they must do.” By this method he was eagerly listened to at Antioch, and brought men to his own way of thinking who had been utterly opposed to every sort of study. BOOK ONE 19 18. Planning a longer pilgrimage after these experiences he resolved to go to India to visit the Sages there who are called Brahmins and Forest- dwellers, for he said that a young man should leave home and travel among foreigners. He also expected to learn much by conferring with the Magi at Babylon and Susa on the road to India. On telling this to his disciples, of whom he had seven, they used every argument to change his mind, but he said : have consulted with the gods about my going, and I am telling you what has been decided, to ascertain whether you would venture where I shall. Since you are faint-hearted, farewell, and philoso¬ phize hereabouts. As for me, I must go where desire of knowledge and the divine inspiration send me.” With these words he departed from Antioch, taking as his only companions two servants whom he had re¬ tained from his father’s household, one of whom wrote rapidly, and the other an excellent hand. 19. Fie came to ancient Nineveh, where stands a statue in barbaric cos¬ tume representing lo, the daughter of Inachus, with little budding horns standing out from her temples. As he stood looking at it and knowing more about that statue than the priests and seers themselves, he was accosted by Damis, the Ninevite whom I have mentioned as being from the beginning his companion in this pilgrimage and in all his activities, and as having recorded much of his history. Marvelling at him, and envying his proposed journey, Damis suggested: “Let us both go, Apol¬ lonius, you following God and I following you. You will find me useful, if for no other reason than that I know the road to Babylon, and all the cities on the way, having just returned from there; and I know the villages too, in which there are many things worth seeing; and then too there are all the languages, spoken by the barbarians, such as Arme¬ nians and Medes and Persians and Caducians ; I understand them all.” “I too understand them all, my friend,” said Apollonius ; “although I have never studied them.” When Damis expressed surprise at this, he said : “Do not wonder at my understanding the languages which men speak, for I even know the things which they do not speak.” On hearing this the Assyrian worshipped him and regarded him as a superior being; and he gained in wisdom while he dwelt with him by laying up in his memor); all he learned. This Assyrian was only moderately skilled in rhetoric, for having been taught among barbarians his diction was not carefully trained, but he excelled in taking notes of lectures and conversations, and in describing what he heard or saw, and in making memoranda ; so that no one could equal him in that kind of work. Fie wrote his memoirs with 20 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA the intention that nothing relating to Apollonius should be forgotten, and that whatever he might say, even casually, should be noted down. This was the purpose of his book which he entitled “Droppings from the Man¬ ger.” His reply to one who criticized this assiduity of his is worth telling. This indolent and captious person ridiculed him, saying that it was all well enough to record some such matters as the deliberate opinions and teachings of the Master, but that making a collection of such trifles as he did, was like a dog licking up every crumb that drops from the table, to which Damis answered : “At a divine banquet where the gods are feast¬ ing, undoubtedly they too have attendants who see to it that no drop of ambrosia which falls is wasted.” Such was the friend and companion whom Apollonius found and with whom he associated during the greater part of his life. 20. At their entrance into Mesopotamia the tax-collector stationed at the bridge at Zeugma called them into his office and asked what they were bringing into the country. Apollonius answered: “I am bringing Temperance, Virtue, Justice, Chastity, Fortitude, Exercise,” stringing out many names of virtues, all of feminine gender; whereupon the tax-gatherer, intent on revenue, said : “Show me these maids so that I may set down their values in my books.” Apollonius said: “That may not be, for those are not maid-servants but their mistresses whom I am bringing.” Now the Tigris and the Euphrates, flowing out of Armenia from the furthest Taurus, encompass that great stretch of land which is called Mesopotamia (between the rivers) for that reason, and which contains some cities and many villages, together with Armenian and Arabian tribes who wander about in hordes, believing themselves to be islanders because they are shut in by those rivers. They are accustomed to say that they have gone down to the sea when they come to the rivers, supposing the land enclosed by them to constitute the whole world. After making the circuit of that tract of land which I have mentioned the Tigris and Euphrates empty into the actual sea, although many geographers assert that a great part of the Euphrates loses itself in marshes in which its stream is absorbed by the earth; and others adopting a bolder theory declare that it runs underground and comes to the surface in Egypt to mingle with the Nile. If I could make my account of their journey complete by omitting nothing recorded by Damis, I would tell of their adventures among those barbarians, but my limits conflne me to more im¬ portant and memorable events; although I may at least allude to two subjects; namely, the fortitude shown by Apollonius in travelling through BOOK ONE 21 savage tribes prone to robbery and not then subdued by the Romans ; and the knowledge which enabled him to comprehend the language of animals as the Arabs do. He learned this accomplishment in journeying among the Arabs, who know and practice the art with great skill. Even to this day it is peculiar to Arabs that they hearken to the voices of birds as foretelling future events like oracles, and they interpret animals, because as some say they eat the liver of dragons, or as others say, the heart. 21. After passing Ctesiphon and entering the territory of Babylon, they encountered a guard set by the king which no one was allowed to pass without declaring who he was, of what nationality and why he had come. The eunuch commanding this garrison as satrap was one of those who are called I think the “King’s Eyes.” The Median king who had recently possessed himself of the throne did not feel secure, but was alarmed by every rumor, true or false, and lived in fear and trembling. Apollonius and his companion were therefore brought before the satrap, who was reclining under an awning stretched over his litter, being on the point of starting on some expedition. Seeing a man covered with the dust and tan of travel he shrieked like a timid woman and hid his face, not daring to look at Apollonius, and saying “Who has sent you to us, and where do you come from?” as if he were addressing a spirit. Apollonius replied: “I have come of my own accord to see whether anything can make men of you, even though you have no such ambition.” Then the satrap asked again who he was who dared so to enter the king’s dominions. Apollonius replied : “All the earth is mine, and I may journey in it where I please.” The satrap said : “I will put you to the torture if you do not answer plainly.” Apollonius replied : “You may, so long as you do it with your own hands, for you yourself would be tortured by handling a man.” Then the eunuch, surprised by seeing that he needed no interpreter and ■N was answering him readily and easily, said in a changed and wheedling tone: “In the name of the gods, who are you?” Thereupon Apollonius said: “Since you ask me this time decently and not like a savage, I will tell you who I am. I am Apollonius of Tyana, on my way to the king of the Indians to learn about them, but I would also like to meet your king, for those who have been with him say that he is not a bad sort, if he is that Vardanes who not long ago recovered the kingdom which he had lost.” “It is he, godlike Apollonius,” said the satrap, “and we have long heard of you. The king will come down from his golden throne itself for such a Sage, and will arrange to send you on to India, each man mounted on a camel. I make you my guest, and you may take as much as you like of this wealth, not only once but ten times over pointing at the same 22 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA time to a treasure-chest of gold. When Apollonius declined the gift, the satrap said: “Take at least this jar of Babylonian wine, which the king sends to us ten satraps, and take slices of roast pork and antelope-meat, flour and bread, and anything else you like, for from here you have a jour¬ ney of many stadia through villages where no supply of grain can be pro¬ cured.” Then recollecting himself, the eunuch went on : “Good gods ! What am I doing, absent-mindedly offering this man a rich supper when I know that he never eats flesh nor drinks wine?” “But you may offer me plain food of bread and dried fruits,” said Apollonius, and the satrap said: “Then I will give you raised bread and great amber-colored dates, and every vegetable that the Tigris nourishes.” Apollonius said: “Herbs growing wild in the fields are really better-flavored than vegetables which have been cultivated with any amount of care and skill.” “Better-flavored usually,” said the satrap, “but this land of ours about Babylon is full of v/ormwood and produces only bitter and unpalatable herbs without cultiva¬ tion.” So Apollonius accepted the vegetables, and in taking leave of the satrap said to him : “My good man, try not only to end well but to begin well ;” a gentle reminder of his original threats to torture him, and of the rude words he had heard from him at first. 22. About twenty stadia further on, they came upon the largest lioness they had ever seen, which had just been killed by a party of hunters from a nearby village, who were shouting over it as a great curiosity. It cer¬ tainly proved to be so, for when ripped open it was found to contain eight cubs. Now the normal period of gestation in lionesses is six months, and each lioness produces only three litters in her life, having three cubs in the first litter, two in the second and only one cub in the third, which is said to be unusually large and fierce. No credence should be given to the fable that young lions gnaw their way out of the womb through their mother’s body, for the natural instinct to preserve the race is common to all parents and their offspring. After silently observing the beast for some time, Apollonius said to Damis : “We shall spend one year and eight months of our pilgrimage with the king of this country, for he will not let us go sooner; and besides it will be for our advantage to make that stay. The cubs stand for the eight months and the lioness for the year, as perfect things are to be compared with perfect.” “Why is that?” asked Damis; “for Homer tells us that eight fledgling sparrows were eaten by a serpent in Aulis, and that the mother eaten after them made nine ; and that Calchas drew from them the prediction that Troy would be taken after nine years had gone by. So take care that our stay be not prolonged to nine years on the same calculation as Homer and Calchas made !” Apollonius an- BOOK ONE 23 swered : ‘‘Homer was quite right in likening the young sparrows to years, for they had been hatched and were living, but how should I liken to years these incomplete and unborn creatures which perhaps would never have been brought forth? For such abnormal embryos are born with diffi¬ culty and soon die. Trust to my prediction then, and let us go forward, thanking the gods for this omen.” 23. Being now come into the Cissian district and drawing near Babylon, some god sent Apollonius in his sleep a vision of fishes dragged out of the water and flapping about on the beach, wailing and lamenting their ab¬ sence from home in human speech, and begging for help from a dolphin passing near the shore, as pitifully as men in a foreign land. Unperturbed by this dream, Apollonius fathomed its meaning and purpose at once, but to frighten the timid Damis he told it to him, pretending to fear that it portended evil. Damis began to cry out as if he had dreamed it himself, and besought Apollonius to journey no further, “or we too,” as he said, “may die far from home like those fish, bewailing our woes in a strange land, and uselessly begging some chief or king to avert our doom, while he ignores us as the dolphin did the fish !” Apollonius answered smilingly : “You are not yet a philosopher if you entertain such fears. Now I will interpret the dream to you. There are Eretrian Greeks living in this Cissian district who were brought here out of Euboea by Darius five hundred years ago, after being captured like the fishes in the vision, for they were surrounded by nets and taken in that way. Now that I have come where they are the gods evidently are laying on me the duty of helping them as much as I can. Perhaps too the souls of the original Greeks who suffered that misfortune are pleading with me to aid their descendants in this region. So we will turn aside from our road and look for that lonely well around which they live.” This well is said to yield a mixture of bitumen and oil and water, which when drawn and left standing will settle and separate themselves. Apollonius himself speaks of this expedition of his into Cissia in the letter which he wrote to a sophist of Clazomene ; for he was so thoughtful and humane that after seeing those Eretrians there he remembered the sophist, and wrote to tell him what he had seen, and what he had done for them ; and throughout the entire letter hq urges him to sympathize with these Eretrians, and not to withhold his tears when he tells of them in his speeches. 24. Damis’ account of the Eretrians agrees with this letter. They live in Media no further from Babylon than a runner could cover in one day. The district has no cities, for all Cissia lives in villages, except a tribe 24 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA of nomads, who hardly ever dismount from their horses. The area inhab¬ ited by the Eretrians is in the heart of the district and is surrounded by a moat filled from the river, which they themselves are said to have dug around their village to protect them from the barbarians living in Cissia. Their bituminous soil produces bitter crops, and the men there are very short-lived, for the water charged with bitumen has the effect of clogging the bowels. A ridge adjoining the village and rising above the alkaline flats gave them their food supply, for they sow it and consider it their own land. Damis says that according to the people there 780 Eretrians were captured, not all capable of bearing arms, for there were women and old men in the number, and children, too, I believe; but that most of the Eretrians had made their escape into Caphareus and the recesses of the Euboean mountains. Of those taken, only about 400 men and ten women reached Cissia, the rest having perished in their forced march through the mountains of Ionia and Lydia. As their ridge afforded them a quarry, and there were some good stone-cutters among them, they built themselves temples after the Greek model, and a market-place large enough for their needs, and they erected altars, two to Darius, one to Xerxes, and several to Daridseus. They reckoned the years from their captivity down to Daridseus as eighty-eight, according to Greek computation; and their antique tombs are inscribed as in Greece : ‘‘So-and-so, son of such-a-one,” and the inscriptions are in Greek letters, though Damis says they do not understand them now. There were ships carved on the tombs of those immigrants who in Euboea had been gatherers or dyers of Tyrian purple, or ferrymen, or sailors ; and they read the following epitaph inscribed on the sepulchre of certain seafaring men and shipmasters : “We who once ploughed the deep ^gean Sea Now rest entombed in Persia’s dreary land. Farewell, Eretria, best-beloved and free; Farewell Euboea’s neighbor Athens : thee We see no more, nor thee, our native strand.” Damis reports that Apollonius rebuilt the ruined tombs and enclosed them, and poured libations, and made all customary offerings for the dead, save only the slaughtering and burning of victims : then shedding tears and deeply moved he said in the midst of the assembled people: “Eretrians, driven hither by the scourge of fate, ye are properly en¬ tombed at last, though far from your fatherland: but the tyrants who forced you away died unburied around your island in the tenth year of your exile ; and their undoing in the Gulf of Euboea was the retribution of the gods for you.” In a postscript to the letter which he sent to the sophist he wrote : “While still a young man, I looked after those Eretrians of BOOK ONE 25 yours, Scopelianus, and did all I could for their living and their dead.” What help did he give to the living? The barbarians near the ridge, after the Eretrians had planted it, made a practice of carrying off the crops in summer, so that they were farming for other people and were left without food themselves. Now when Apollonius came to the king he obtained pro¬ tection for them in the exclusive use of that ridge. 25. Concerning Babylon itself and his doings there I find the following particulars worthy of note. Babylon is encircled by a wall four hundred and eighty stadia^ in circumference, a plethron^ and a half high and half a plethron thick. The Euphrates divides the city into two equal parts, and a subway is carried under the river to connect by a private passage the royal palaces built on opposite sides. A Median empress, who formerly reigned there, spanned the river in this way, as no river was ever spanned before. Having collected in readiness stones, copper, bitumen, and all other materials known to man for resisting the pressure of water, she piled them on the banks of the river, diverted the whole stream into marshes, and excavated a trench twelve feet deep across the channel thus laid bare, to make a tunnel through which she might descend from the upper world and pass over to her palaces from one shore to the other. She arched this trench over on a level with the river-bottom, and when the foundations, walls, and roof of the passage were built, as bitumen is hardened and toughened by contact with water the Euphrates was turned back over its sticky roof, and so the tunnel was finished. The palace roofs are sheathed with polished copper, which seems to emit rays by its own brilliance, and the bed-chambers and banqueting-halls and porticos are decorated in silver and cloth of gold, and with beaten gold, instead of paintings. The figures in their tapestries are taken from Greek myths, Andromeda and Amymon, and especially Orpheus, who is a great favorite with them, presumably because of his tiara and his trousers, but certainly not for his skill in music or his magical songs. Datis, too, is depicted there tearing up the island of Naxos from its roots in the sea; and Artaphernes besieging Eretria, and the boasted triumphs of Xerxes at the capture of Athens and at Ther¬ mopylae; and also other subjects more suited to the genius of the Medes, such as rivers lifted above the ground, and the bridging of the Hellespont, and the piercing of Mount Athos. Damis tells of their entering the great hall, whose vaulted ceiling imitates the sky and is covered with sapphires of celestial blue, overlaid with images of their gods, done in gold and shining out from that background as if floating in air. The king usually ^ 1 sta(lium==6 plethra. * 1 plethron=100 ft. approx. 26 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA holds his court in this hall, and four golden wry-necks hung from the ceil¬ ing, which birds are symbolical of the goddess of retribution, to admonish the king not to exalt himself above mankind. The Magi who frequent the palace claim to have suspended these there, and call them the tongues of the gods. 26. Apollonius himself has told all that is necessary about the Magi, how he conversed with them, and learned some things from them, and taught them some. Damis says that he did not know the nature of the discussions which the Master had with the Magi, for he had been forbidden to accom¬ pany him when he went to them, but he reports that they met every day at noon and at midnight, and that once when he asked Apollonius what he thought of them, he answered : “They are certainly wise, but they are not wise on every subject.” 27. However, we shall see more of them later. On his entering Babylon the satrap commanding the guard at the great gate, on learning that he came to visit the city, tendered to him a golden image of the king to be worshipped, without which ceremony no one was allowed to enter. Only ambassadors of the Roman emperor were exempted, but any one else com¬ ing from the barbarians, or to see the city, was arrested ignominiously if he did not adore the image. Such are the preposterous regulations which those officers are required to enforce among barbarians. On seeing the image Apollonius asked: “Who is that?” and on being told that it repre¬ sented the king, he said: “Well, if this man whom you worship shall earn my regard as a good man, it will certainly be a great honor to him.” With these words he was passing on through the gate when the astonished satrap overtook and grasped him, and asked through an interpreter what was his name and country, and his vocation, and why he had come. After noting his answers on a tablet, with a description of his person and costume, he ordered him to wait, while he himself hastened to those men who are called “the King’s Ears,” and told them of him, and how he had refused to worship the image, and was not like any other of mankind ; whereupon they directed the officer to bring the traveller before them, but in an honorable manner and without affront. 28. On his appearing before them, the oldest among them asked him why he had slighted the king, and he answered : “I have not slighted him yet.” Being then asked if he intended to slight him thereafter, he answered : “I certainly shall do so, if after conversing with him I find him not to be a BOOK ONE 27 good and decent man.” When asked what gifts he had brought to the king, he named over constancy and justice and other virtues, and they asked: “Do you bring him those gifts because he lacks them?” “Not at all,” said he, “but so that he may learn how to use them if he has them.” They re¬ joined: “It was by using them that he recovered this kingdom which you see, after he had lost it ; and he restored his dynasty, not without toil and trouble.” Apollonius asked how long it was since he had recovered the throne, and they replied : “Three years lacking two months.” Then with his characteristic exaltation of mind Apollonius said: “O keeper of the king’s person, or whatever it befits you to be called, when Darius, the father of Artaxerxes and of Cyrus, had held this throne for about sixty years, and felt the end of his life drawing near, he is said to have sacrificed to Justice, invoking- her as ‘Lady and Mistress, whosoever you may be !’ as if conscious that though he had sought justice long, he did not know her, nor think he had attained her ; and he brought up his sons so unwisely that they waged war upon each other, in which one of the brothers was wounded and the other was slain. Yet this present monarch, who has hardly had time to learn how to sit on his royal throne,, you imagine to have acquired all the virtues, and you magnify him, although it would be better, not for me, but for yourselves, to try to improve him.” At that, the barbarian stared at the man next him, and said: “Some god brings this man here as an unhoped¬ for gift, for our good king by association with his excellence will become much kinder to us, and more gentle and forbearing, because this man radiates those qualities.” They entered the inner palace forthwith and carried the welcome news that before the doors stood a Greek who was a wise man and an incomparable adviser. 29. At the time this word was brought to the king he was ofifering sacri¬ fice in the presence of the Magi, who direct all such religious ceremonies ; and summoning one of them he said : “That dream has come true which I told you of this morning when you came to my bedside to salute me.” Now the king’s dream was, that he imagined himself to be Artaxerxes, the son of Xerxes, and to have been transformed into his likeness, from which he greatly feared that some change of fortune was impending, for so he interpreted that change of his shape. When he heard that the new arrival was a Greek and a Sage, he called to mind how Themistocles the Athenian had come from Greece in former days to dwell with Artaxerxes, and had brought him to great honor while showing his own worth ; wherefore stretching out his right hand, he cried : “Call him in ! It will be a good beginning for him to join me in sacrifice and prayer!” 28 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 30. Then Apollonius entered, followed by a long train of persons who thought to please the king by so doing, as they knew that he was gratified by receiving this new guest. In passing through the palace he did not even glance at any of those objects which usually attract men’s attention, but kept steadily on as if travelling, and he said to Damis : ‘‘You asked me not long ago what was the name of the woman in Pamphylia who was a close friend of Sappho, and who is said to have composed those hymns in the .T^olian and Pamphylian modes which are still sung in honor of the Pergean Artemis.” Damis replied : “I did ask it, but you did not tell me.” Apollonius said : “I did not tell you the name, my friend; but I explained fully to you the structure and words of the hymns, and how the ^olian mode developed into that most stately measure used by the Pamphylians. Then our conversation turned to some other subject, and you did not repeat the question. That accomplished woman was named Damophyle, and she is said to have had a company of maidens like Sappho, and to have com¬ posed love-songs as well as hymns. In her hymn to Artemis she imitated Sappho, and it is sung like the Sapphic odes.” He showed thus how far he was from being overawed by the display and magnificence of the king, when he did not bestow a glance upon their splendors, but spoke of other matters as if only they were before his eyes. 31. The king saw him coming at a distance, for the hall of sacrifice was of great dimension, and he made some remark to his attendants indicating that he recognized the man. Then when he drew nearer the king ex¬ claimed to them : “This is Apollonius, whom my brother Megabates says he saw at Antioch, the object of the greatest honor and reverence of all good men there, and he described him to me just as we see him now!” After Apollonius had come up and made his salutation the king addressed him in Greek, directing him to sacrifice with him ; for he was about to slaughter in honor of the Sun one of the finest white horses of the Nisaean breed, decked with golden trappings as if for a procession. “Sacrifice in your own way, O King, but let me sacrifice in mine,” replied Apollonius. Then taking incense he prayed: “O Sun, conduct me over so much of the earth as to thee and me seems best, and make me everywhere to know good men ; but let me not know evil men, nor let them know me.” With these words he threw the incense on the altar-fire, noting closely how it divided itself, and how it smoked, and where and in how many places it burned up in jets of flame ; then perceiving how the fire showed clear and auspicious, he said : “O King, go on now to perform your sacrifice after the custom of your BOOK ONE 29 country, for my customs are these,” and he withdrew at once from the room, to have no complicity in bloodshed. 32. Returning when the sacrifice was ended, he asked : ‘'O King, do you know the Greek language thoroughly, or only so much as may suffice for a little conversation, not to appear discourteous to any Greek who may come here?” “Thoroughly,” said the king, “as well as I do my native tongue of this land. So tell me what your plans are, for that I think is why you ask the question.” “You are right,” said Apollonius, “so listen to them. The Indians are the objective point of my journey, but I was un¬ willing to pass you by ; especially as I had heard that you were such a man as I now perceive you to be, even on this short acquaintance. I also wished to investigate that wisdom which has been acquired by the Magi among your people, and to learn whether they are as versed in knowledge of the divine as they are reported to be. The father of my philosophy was Pythag¬ oras the Samian, who has taught me my method of worshipping the gods, and to apprehend them by my mind whether they are appearing visibly or not ; and to converse with them ; and to wear a linen garment made from a fleece which is grown from the ground, instead of that shorn from sheep, for it springs pure from the pure, as the gift of earth and water. I have also adopted the practice of wearing my hair long by the teaching of Pythagoras, and my abstinence from animal food is due to the same wis¬ dom. Because of these peculiarities I could never be a boon-companion or a sharer in ease and luxury with you or any one else ; but I will undertake for you the solution of difficult and intricate questions of policy, for I not only recognize the right course when I see it, but I can predict it in ad¬ vance.” These were the Master’s words to the king, as reported by Damis, and Apollonius gives the same account in one of his letters, as he also repeated in his letters many of his other discourses. 33. The king assured him that he rejoiced and gloried in his coming more than if he had added the riches of Persia and the Indies to his own, and that he wished him to be his guest, and an inmate of the palace. Apollonius asked him: “If you should come to my country of Tyana, O King, and I invited you to stay at my house, would you do so?” “By no means,” said the king, “unless the house were large enough to accommodate my atten¬ dants and my guards, as well as myself.” “I must answer your invitation in the same way,” said Apollonius, “for if I should be housed unsuitably to my condition I would live uncomfortably. Superfluity galls philosophers more than deficiency would you. So let some private citizen lodge me, who has what I am used to, and I will spend as much time with you as you like.” 30 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 34. The king yielded lest he might annoy him by persisting, and Apol¬ lonius found lodgings with a respectable Babylonian of good family. While they were at supper one of those eunuchs who carry the royal messages came to the Master and said : “The king offers you ten gifts, and leaves their selection to you, so that you may be suited. He only stipulates that you do not ask for anything of small value, for he wishes to give to you and to us a proof of his munificence.” After expressing gratitude for the offer, Apollonius asked when he was to express his wishes, and the mes¬ senger replied “tomorrow and went in haste to invite all friends and kinsmen of the king to be present to witness the requests to be made, and the honors to be heaped upon the Master. Damis says that he felt quite sure that Apollonius would ask for nothing, knowing his character and that his customary prayer was : “O ye gods, grant me to have little and to stand in need of nothing;” and yet, when he saw him meditating and apparently absorbed in thought, he fancied that he intended to ask the king for something and was considering what it should be. Later in the evening he said to Damis : “I am wondering why the barbarians suppose eunuchs to be chaste, and admit them to their harems.” “Why, any boy knows that, Apollonius,” said Damis; “the harems are open to them, even if they should try to lie with the women, because a surgical operation has de¬ prived them of the power of intercourse.” The Master asked : “Do you think that they have been deprived of passion, or merely of the power to gratify it?” “Of both,” said Damis, “for after those organs have been removed by which the body is excited, passion cannot attack anyone.” After a short pause the Master said : “You will find out tomorrow, Damis, that even eunuchs have passions, and that the desire of the eyes has not been extinguished in them, but remains hot and smouldering; for some¬ thing is going to happen which will disprove your theory. Even if there were any human skill so sovereign and effective as to expel such thoughts from the mind, I would not for all that call eunuchs chaste, when they are merely forced to abstain by some necessity, and are deprived of passion by a compulsory operation. Chastity is shown when a man has desires and is tempted by his senses, but nevertheless refrains from indulging them, and controls himself, rising superior to his passions.” Damis replied: “We can consider those questions some other time, Apollonius; but just now you must decide what answer to give tomorrow to that splendid offer of the king. Very likely you will not ask for anything, but remember in what land we are, and that we are entirely at his mercy; and beware lest you seem to reject his gifts from some false pride. You should prevent any such unjust suspicion of treating him with disdain, and then too you should BOOK ONE 31 reflect that although our resources are enough to take us to India they will not bring us back, and we have no other way of readily getting more.” With these plausible arguments he sought to induce Apollonius not to refuse the king’s bounty. 35. As if yielding to his persuasion, Apollonius remarked : “Are you going to leave out the examples of other philosophers, Damis? For instance, ^schines the son of Lysanias sailed all the way to Dionysius in Sicily to get money ; and Plato is said to have dared the passage of Charybdis three times for the sake of Sicilian wealth; and Aristippus of Gyrene, and Helicon of Cyzicus, and Phyto the fugitive from Rhegium, all dived so deeply into the treasure- vaults of Dionysius that they could hardly come up again. Then too they say that Eudoxus the Cnidian once journeyed to Egypt for the express purpose of getting money there, and wrangled over it with the king ; and not to traduce any more philosophers, Speusippus the Athenian was said to be so mercenary that when he attended the wedding of Cassander in Macedonia he collected money from the guests for reciting to them his insipid verses. It seems to me, Damis, that a philosopher is ex¬ posed to worse dangers than sailors or warriors are ; for malice calumniates him, whether he is silent or he speaks, whether he is earnest or remiss, whether he is seeking or satisfied, whether he salutes some one or does not. Such a man must therefore always be on his guard, and should remember that if a philosopher indulges in laziness or irritability or wine or women or any other similar impropriety he may perhaps be excused, but if he shows himself eager for money he will never be pardoned, but will be shunned as one addicted to all other vices as well ; the argument being that he would not crave money except to gratify his appetites for dainties and dress and drink and debauchery. Perhaps you think that it is a less offense to err in Babylon than in Athens or Olympia or Delphi, forgetting that for the philosopher Greece is everywhere, and that to him no country is de¬ serted or barbarous, where he lives within the sight of Virtue; and though he sees few men about him he is watched by myriads of eyes. Now if your companion was an athlete, Damis, such as a wrestler or boxer, who intended to compete at the Olympic games or in Arcadia, would you wish him to be sound and strong? Of if the Pythian or Nemsean games were coming on, would you expect him to go into training for them, because those are all famous contests held at well-known places in Greece? but if Philip should institute similar games for the cities he had taken, or if his son Alexander should do the like to commemorate his victories, would you wish your friend to train less diligently, and to be careless about winning, because he was going to compete at Olynthus, or in Macedon, or Egypt, 32 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA instead of before Greeks in Greek arenas?” Damis says that he was so overcome by this reasoning that he was ashamed of what he had said, and asked pardon of Apollonius for his presumption in so advising and urging him, without due regard for his character. But Apollonius, stopping him, said: “Never mind ! I did not mean to reprove you by speaking so to you, but to make my position clear to you.” 36. When a eunuch came to summon him to the king’s audience he re¬ turned the answer : “I will com^e as soon as my religious rites have been duly performed ;” and accordingly after completing his offerings and prayers he proceeded to the palace, attracting everyone’s notice by his appearance. On his entrance the king said : “I grant you ten gifts, for I think you such a man as never yet came here out of Greece.” Apollonius replied : “I do not refuse all of them, O King, for I will gladly accept one gift more pleasing to me than many times ten others.” Thereupon he recounted the history of the Eretrians, beginning with Datis, and went on : “I ask then that these poor people be not driven from their lands and their ridge, and that they may have undisturbed possession of that area which Darius allotted to them; for it is not right that after being dragged from their fatherland they should not be left in possession of even the wretched patch of ground which was granted to them in exchange.” The king nodded assent, saying: “Until today those Eretrians have been foes to me and to my predecessors, for they began the war originally, and they have been disregarded in the hope that all their tribe would disappear. Henceforward they are on the list of my friends, and I will set over them as a satrap a good man, who will protect their rights in the land. But why do you not accept the other nine gifts ?” Apollonius answered : “Because I have not yet made any friends here, O King.” And on the king asking if he needed nothing for himself, he replied : “Yes, dried fruits and bread, which to me are sweet and wholesome fare.” 37. At this point in the conversation a confused clamor of eunuchs and women was heard in the palace, for a eunuch had been taken lying with one of the royal concubines and acting like an adulterer, wherefore the custodians of the harem were dragging him out by the hair, as the king’s slaves in disgrace are usually treated. When the chief eunuch reported to the king that he had noticed for some time an undue familiarity of the culprit with that woman, and had warned him not to speak with her, nor touch her neck or her hand, nor pay any more attention to her than to any of the other women, but that now he had been caught lying with her and BOOK ONE 33 trying to play the man, Apollonius looked at Damis to remind him that this settled the question between them whether or not even eunuchs could feel the tender passion. But the king said to those standing near: “It would be a shame, gentlemen, if when Apollonius is with us we should undertake to decide a question of morals, without referring it to him. What punishment then, Apollonius, do you require this criminal to under¬ go?” “What else but that he should live on?” was the unexpected answer of Apollonius. The king flushing up said : “Does not the wretch who has crept thus into my bed deserve the penalty of death many times over?” Apollonius replied : “I did not suggest any leniency for him, O King, but the punishment of a lingering death. For if he drags out a miserable exist¬ ence, longing for impossibilities, he will care for neither food nor drink, nor for those shows which you and your household take delight in ; and he will start from sleep with palpitating heart, an affliction to which those in love are especially subject. What disease could waste him like that, or what starvation could so gnaw at his vitals? Unless he clings to life at every cost he will beg the boon of death from you, or will kill himself, for never will he cease to curse this day on which he has not been allowed to die quickly.” Such was the wise and moderate opinion of Apollonius, and in accordance with it the king ordered that the eunuch might live. 38. Soon after, when the king was planning a hunt in the parks in which lions, bears and leopards are preserved by those barbarians, he invited Apollonius to take part in it, but he replied : “O King, have you forgotten that I do not even attend your sacrifices ? Besides, it is no pleasure for me to lie in wait for beasts harassed by beaters, and fenced in so that they cannot protect themselves in their own way.” Again, when the king sought his advice how to strengthen and secure his throne, he replied : “By bestowing honors on many, and trust on few.” • On another occasion the prefect of Syria had sent envoys to the king relative to two villages near Zeugma, I think, which he claimed had once belonged to Antiochus and Seleucus, and that therefore they had come under his own jurisdiction, as the representative of the Roman Empire, the successor of those monarchs ; and he complained that though the neigh¬ boring Armenians and Arabs left those towns in peace, the king of Babylon had overstepped the boundaries of his already ample dominions, to drain those villages by taxes as if they belonged to him instead of to Rome. After causing the envoys to withdraw out of hearing, the king said to Apollonius : “The fact is that those kings they mention granted these villages to my ancestors as places in which to maintain in captivity the wild beasts which 34 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA are caught in our country and taken to them across the Euphrates. Now these people are ignoring that grant, and are grasping at new and unfair pretexts. What do you think is the purpose of this embassy ?” Apollonius replied : ‘‘It strikes me as being fair and reasonable, O King, if that pur¬ pose is to obtain from you an amicable surrender of villages situated on their own side of the river, which they could take anyway, whether you are willing or not.” He went on to say that it would not do to quarrel with the Roman Empire for the sake of those villages which were more insig¬ nificant than many owned by commoners, or even to be provoked into war with it over weighty issues. Again, when the king had fallen ill, Apollonius sat by him and dis¬ coursed concerning the soul with such power and inspiration that the king took courage and said to those present: “Apollonius has relieved me of anxiety about my kingdom before this, and now he has relieved my fear of death.” 39. When the king showed him that covered way laid under the Eu¬ phrates, and asked him what he thought of such a miracle, Apollonius cooled his enthusiasm for the marvelous by saying : “The real miracle, O King, would be for you to wade such a deep and impassable river.” Then the king exhibited to him the walls of Ecbatana, which he called the abode of the gods. Apollonius said: “I am sure that it is not the abode of gods, O King, and whether it is even an abode for men is doubtful. The city where the Spartans live is built without any walls at all.” After holding court among the towns the king boasted to Apollonius that he had devoted two days to hearing one case, but the Master remarked: “You were very slow in finding where justice lay.” At another time, when large remittances of revenue had been received from the provinces, the king opened his treasury to him and exhibited the gold in it, thinking to excite in him some envy; but without being at all impressed by what he saw, Apollonius said : “All this is wealth to you, O King, but to me it is only chaff.” Then the king asked : “What ought I to do, to make a wise use of it?” and he answered : “Do not hoard it, but employ it, for you are a king.” 40.. Having had many such colloquies with the king, whom he found dis¬ posed to follow his advice ; and moreover having seen all he wished of the Magi, the Master said : “Come now, Damis, let us continue our journey to the Indians. Those who land among the Lotus-eaters lose their wish for home by that food, and although we are not fond of any of the products of this country, we are lingering here longer than we should.” “I cer¬ tainly think so too,” said Damis, “but I have been keeping track of the BOOK ONE 35 time you divined from that lioness, and waiting for it to elapse, which has not quite happened yet. We have spent only a year and four months here. Would it be propitious for us to go away directly?” The Master replied: ‘‘The king will not let us go before the end of the eight months, Damis, for you see how hospitable he is, and too good to rule barbarians.” 41. As they were determined to go, the king at last consented to their departure, and Apollonius, reminding him of the gifts which he had refused to accept until he had made friends in that country, said : “O best of kings, I have so far paid nothing to my host, and I am also under obligation to the Magi. Please therefore be mindful of them, and for my sake show favor to those wise men, who moreover are most devoted to your inter¬ ests.” Greatly delighted by this request, the king said : “Tomorrow I will show you that they have become of enviable condition, and highly re¬ warded. Now although you want nothing for yourself which I can give you, at least let these men” (pointing to Damis and their attendants) “re¬ ceive from me money, and whatever else they wish.” When they also de¬ clined to accept any gifts, the Master said : “You see, O King, how many hands I have, and that they are all alike !” “At least you will take a guide for the journey, and camels to ride,” said the king, “for the distance is too great to travel on foot.” “Be it so, O King,” said Apollonius, “for they tell me that the journey cannot be made except by riding those animals, which will keep in good condition if they feed at long intervals, when forage is scarce. I suppose they must carry water too, stored in leather bags as if it was wine.” “You have to pass through a three days’ stretch of country where no water can be found,” said the king, “but after that rivers and springs abound. The best route is by way of the Caucasus, for that region will furnish ample supply of all you need, and besides it is in friendly relations with us.” On the king asking what present he would bring back to him from India, the Master replied: “A welcome gift, O King; for if my companionship with those Sages shall have made me wiser, I shall come back to you better than I am now.” At this the king embraced him, saying : “Only come back to me, for that will be gift enough !” 36 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA BOOK TWO. Continues journey to India — Crosses Caucasus and Indus — Stay WITH PhRAOTES^ king OF InDIA^ AT TAXILA - RESUMES JOURNEY TO Brahmins — Reaches Hyphasis river. 1. In early summer they set out on their journey from Babylon riding on camels, with a guide and a man to care for the camels, and by the king’s munificence they were well supplied with all requisites. The region through which they went was productive and the villagers received them hospitably, for the leading camel bore a disc of gold between its eyes, to * show all whom they met that the king was sending forth one of his friends. 2. As they drew nearer the Caucasus Damis says that the earth itself seemed to breathe out a sweeter fragrance. We give this name of Caucasus to the mountains beginning at the Taurus range and extending through Armenia and Cilicia to Pamphylia and Mycale, as far as the sea where the Carians dwell, which point should be considered as the end of the Cau¬ casus, and not its beginning, as some call it. The height of the ridge at Mycale is not very great, but the topmost peaks of Caucasus rise so high that one would think they might cleave the sun. Between the Caucasus proper and the further range of Taurus all Scythia is enclosed, from the boundary of India to the Masotis and the east shore of the Black sea, a distance of about 20,000 stadia, all of which great tract of land is shut in by this elbow of the Caucasus. That the Taurus chain in our own land stretches beyond Armenia was for some time in doubt, but the fact that leopards have been caught in the incense-bearing region of Pamphylia, to my own knowledge, confirms the fact ; for leopards delight in incense and follow up its scent from a great distance from Armenia through the hills in search of the drops of styrax gum, when the wind blows from that quarter, and the sap is exuding from the trees. It is said that a leopardess was once caught in Pamphylia having a gold collar around its neck in¬ scribed in Armenian characters : “Arsaces the king to the Nysian god.” At that time Arsaces was king of Armenia, and he probably, on seeing what a fine beast she was, had dedicated her to Bacchus, who was called Nysian from the city of Nysa in India, not only by the Indians, but by all the peo¬ ples of the East. After some taming she had submitted to patting and stroking, until she became excited by the coming of spring, which is the BOOK TWO 37 mating season for leopards ; when she had escaped to the mountains, collar and all, to find a mate; and she was caught in southern Taurus because the odor of spices had enticed her there. Besides that boundary ridge be¬ tween Media and India, the Caucasus extends another spur as far as the Erythraean Sea. 3. Many of the myths relative to the Caucasus which have been sung by Greek poets are also current among the barbarians : as, for instance, that Prometheus was chained there for showing kindness to mankind, and that some Hercules, who must not be confounded with the Theban, was so ex¬ asperated by this cruelty that he slew with arrows the eagle which fed on Prometheus’ entrails. Some s;ay that the prison of Prometheus was a cav¬ ern which is pointed out on the trail over the pass, and Damis says that fetters of some unknown metal are still fastened to its rocky walls. Others say that he was chained to the highest summit of the mountain, which has two peaks a stadium apart, and that each hand was clamped to one of those peaks, which shows how huge he was. This myth has such influence among the natives of the region that they detest eagles to this day, and set on fire with blazing arrows any nests which those birds make in the crags, and they also snare them, saying that in so doing they are avenging Prometheus. 4. Damis says that beyond the Caucasus they saw men four cubits high, and darker in color than those on this side ; and that across the Indus river they saw others of five cubits ; and that half-way to that river they had a memorable experience. While they were pursuing their journey by moon¬ light one night, their path was beset by the ghastly apparition of an Empusa, which assumed first one shape and then another, sometimes van¬ ishing altogether. Apollonius recognized its nature at once, and not only reviled the spectre himself, but exhorted his companions to do the same, as that is a safeguard against such visitations, whereupon the Empusa fled squeaking as ghosts do. 5. Crossing the summit of the pass on foot, because of the steepness of the trail, the Master asked of Damis : “Tell me where we were yesterday.” “On the plain,” said Damis. Apollonius went on : “And now where are we today?” “On the Caucasus, if I am not mistaken,” said Damis. Apol¬ lonius asked : “When were you ever in a lower place than this ?” “That question is really not worth asking,” said Damis, “for yesterday we were going through gorges deep among the hills, and today we are near the sky.” “Do you think, then,” asked the Master, “that our road yesterday 38 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA was the lower, and today’s is the higher?” ^^Certainly,” said Damis, ^^unless I am out of my wits.” The Master continued : “What do you con¬ sider to be the difference between the two roads, or how much better off are you today than yesterday?” Damis replied: “Yesterday I was travelling a road used by many, and today one used by few.” “What of that, Damis ?” asked the Master ; “for even in a city one may avoid the main streets, and walk where men are few.” “I did not mean it in that sense,” said Damis, “but that yesterday we were passing among villages and human society, and today we are climbing in a sort of untrodden and unearthly wilder¬ ness, which our guide tells me the barbarians regard as the abode of the gods ;” and he looked up at the peaks of the mountain. Bringing him back to the starting point, the Master asked once more : “Can you tell of any thoughts of the divine which have come to you by your nearness to heaven?” “None,” said Damis. Apollonius said : “And yet when you are uplifted like a god on such a lofty pedestal, you should conceive clearer ideas of the sky and the sun and the moon, which seem almost near enough to you to be touched by your staff, so close to heaven are you brought.” Damis said: “What I knew yesterday about divine things I know today as well, but no other conception of them has come to me.” The Master said : “Then, Damis, you are still down there where you were then, and you have gained nothing by your elevation ; for you are as far from heaven as you were yesterday. You see now that my first questions had some meaning, though you did think them absurd.” Damis said : “I certainly had supposed that I might descend a wiser man than I came up, Apollonius, for I have heard that Anaxagoras of Clazomene studied the heavens on Mount Mimas in Ionia, and that Thales the Milesian did the same on Mycale, near here, and others are said to have used Mt. Pangseus and Mt. Athos as places for meditation ; but I, who have climbed higher than any of them, will go down no wiser than I was.” “None of them did either,” said the Master, “for though such watch-towers may show the sky more blue, larger stars, and the sun rising from the night, those sights are just as visible to shepherds and goat herds. But how the divine majesty may view the human race, and how it desires to be worshipped by us, and what virtue may be, and uprightness and self-control, neither Athos will show to its climbers, nor will that Olympus, glorified by the poets, unless the soul discerns them. When that comes pure and undefiled to the quest, I say that it soars high above this Caucasus itself.” 6. Soon after passing the mountains they came upon a tribe of men who ride on elephants and keep herds of those animals ; a simple folk dwelling between the Caucasus and the Cophen river. Some of them also rode BOOK TWO 39 camels of the kind which the Indians use for racing, and which can go a thousand stadia a day without kneeling to rest. An Indian mounted on such a camel came to their guide and inquired where they were going, and on learning the purpose of their journey, he told it to the other nomads, who raised a joyful shout and called them nearer, and on their approach held out to them a wine which they make very skilfully from dates, and honey obtained from the same trees, together with slices of lion and leopard meat which had just been skinned. The party accepted all these offerings except the meat, and went on eastward through villages of those Indians. 7. As they were breakfasting at a spring, Damis filled a cup with the wine presented by the Indians, and said: ‘T offer you this cup of Zeus the Preserver, Apollonius, for it is a long time since you have had a drink. I suppose you will not refuse this kind of liquor, as you do wine made from grapes and he poured a libation from it in mentioning Zeus. Apollonius said, smilingly: ‘‘We hold aloof from money, do we not, Damis?” “We certainly do,” said Damis, “as you have often shown by your own example.” Apollonius continued : “Is it only gold and silver coin which we are to abstain from, because such money does not tempt us, although every one else from kings to commoners clutches at it; but if some one offers us copper, or debased and counterfeit coin instead of silver, are we to accept that, because it is not what most people desire? The Indians actually do make use of copper and bronze coinage, and every one who comes to India must buy things with that money. What if those kind nomads just now had offered us such coins as that, and you saw me declining it, Damis, would you have urged me to take it, and would you have assured me that real money is only what the Romans and the Median king mint, but that this was quite a different thing which had been invented by the Indians ? And supposing you did persuade me by such an argument, what would you think of me? That I was an impostor, who had discarded philosophy as runaway soldiers fling down their shields? For that matter, as Archilochus says, the owner of a shield who throws it away may find another no worse than the first, but how can a man pick up philosophy again, when he has once despised and rejected it? Bacchus may forgive me so long as I am not tempted by any kind of wine, but if I should prefer date-wine to grape- juice he would doubtless resent it, and say that I had insulted his gift. Where we are now we are not far from him, for you just heard from the guide that the mountain of Nysa is near, where I under¬ stand that Bacchus still works many miracles. Moreover, Damis, it is not alone wine made from grapes which intoxicates men, for date-wine inspires 40 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA the same madness, and we have already seen many Indians overcome by it, and staggering in dances, or drowsily singing, quite as revellers do with us when they are going home late from a drinking bout. It is obvious that you yourself think that this drink is wine, for you offered a libation of it to Zeus, with a prayer, just as you would with wine. These remarks apply only to myself, Damis, and I have no objection if you and your companions drink it, in the same way that I acquiesce in your eating meat ; for abstain¬ ing from those things does not do you any good, so far as I can see ; but it is well for me to keep the vows which I made to philosophy in my boy¬ hood.” This suited Damis and the attendants, who enjoyed the feast, think¬ ing that they would travel more comfortably after a good meal. 8. They crossed the Cophen river in boats while their camels waded, as the river is not deep there. On the further side they found themselves in the dominions of the king of India, near the Nysa mountain, which rises in a lofty peak like Mt. Tmolus in Lydia, although its ascent is not difficult because the approaches to it have been cleared by cultivation. Damis says that on climbing it they found an area consecrated to Bacchus, which the god himself had planted round with laurels, encircling ground enough for a small temple, and had married ivy and grapevines to the laurels, and set up his own image in the center, knowing that in time the trees would meet to form a roof, which has now become so closely woven that it lets in neither wind nor rain upon the shrine. Inside it are sickles and baskets and wine vats, with all their belongings, made of gold and silver, and sacred to Bacchus as god of the vintage. The statue of Bacchus shows him as an Indian lad, carved in white stone, and when he begins his orgies he shakes the mountain, and the towns set about its foot hear him and join in the revelry. 9. Concerning this Bacchus there is a dispute between the Indians and the Greeks, and another among the Indians themselves. We say that the Theban Bacchus went to India warring and revelling all the way, and we adduce as evidence, among other proofs, the votive offering treasured at Delphi, which is a disc of Indian silver work inscribed : “Bacchus the son of Zeus and Semele to the Delphic Apollo from India.” On the other hand, the Indians inhabiting the Caucasus and the Cophen river country say that the Bacchus who came to them was an Assyrian, who had learned the mystic rites of the Theban. While those who inhabit the region between the Indus and the Hydraotes and the adjoining territory extending to the Ganges assert that the original Bacchus was the son of the Indus River, and that it was by his teaching that the Theban Bacchus adopted the BOOK TWO 41 thyrsus and indulged in orgies ; that the Theban claimed to be the son of Jove and to have grown in his father’s thigh until ready for birth, and that he was presented by the Indian Bacchus with Mount Merus, near Nysa; and that he had brought vine-cuttings from Thebes and planted them at Nysa in honor of the Indian Bacchus, and that Alexander had celebrated the rites of Bacchus there. The people of Nysa say that Alexander did not ascend their mountain, though wishing to do so, as being an eager anti¬ quarian ; but he feared that if his Macedonians were shown the vines, which they had not seen for so long, they might become homesick, or might revive their thirst for wine after being so long accustomed to water; so he marched past Nysa, merely sacrificing and praying at the foot of the mountain. I am very well aware that I shall be criticized for writing this account, inasmuch as none of Alexander’s companions on that expedition confirms it, but it is my duty to set down the truth, and if they had made it theirs they would not have deprived Alexander of this additional honor ; for while they agree in saying that he climbed the mountain and revelled there in orgies, I think it more to his glory not to have climbed it, so that he might maintain the discipline of his army. 10. Damis says that they did not see the rock of Aornus, which is not far from Nysa but ofif the road, as their guide feared to go so far out of their way, but that he heard that it had been taken by assault by Alexander, and that it was not called Aornus (birdless) because of its height, for it is only fifteen stadia high, and even peacocks fly higher than that, but because there is a cleft in its top which drags down into itself all passing birds, as may be seen at Athens in the porch of the Parthenon, and in many places in Phrygia and Lydia; and for that reason it is called the birdless rock, and is so in reality. 11. On their way toward the Indus they met a boy about thirteen years old riding on an elephant and grievously goading the animal, and as they wondered at him Apollonius said, “What constitutes a good rider, Damis?” to which he replied : “What else but sticking on the horse to control him, and to guide him by the reins, and to restrain his outbreaks, and to see that he does not set his foot into a hole or a ditch or a quick-sand, in going over soft or marshy ground?” Apollonius asked: “Do we require nothing more of a good horseman, Damis?” “Yes, by Zeus,” said Damis, “to give his horse a loose rein when climbing a hill, and not to give him his head but to hold him in when going down hill ; to pat his neck and ears, and not to be always whipping him ; this seems to me to constitute a good horse¬ man, and I would recommend such a rider.” “Then what should a cavalry- 42 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA man do ?” asked Apollonius, and Damis replied : “All of those things, Apol¬ lonius, and besides he should know how to slash and to parry, to charge and to retreat, and to dodge the enemy ; and he must train his horse not to be frightened when a shield rattles, or when helmets glitter, or a bugle blows, or a war cry is raised ; all this too belongs to good horsemanship.’’ Apollonius asked: “What then have you to say of this lad on the ele¬ phant ?” Damis answered : “That his skill is much more remarkable than such horsemanship. Merely to see so small a boy set on so huge a beast, controlling it by that goad which you see him drive into the elephant as if it were an anchor, without any fear of the beast’s appearance or height or enormous strength, by Athene ! seems to me something marvellous, and I would not have believed it if anyone had told me of it!” Apollonius asked : “Supposing some one would sell us that boy then, Damis ; would you buy him ?” “I would, by Zeus ! if he cost all I own ; for to sit as if in a tower ruling the most gigantic beast which the earth feeds seems to me indicative of a free and noble nature,” answered Damis. Then Apollonius asked : “But of what use would the boy be to you unless you should buy the elephant too ?” Damis replied : “I would give him charge of my house and my property, for he would manage them much better than I do.” Apollonius asked: “Are you yourself not equal to managing your own affairs?” “In the same way that you are, Apollonius,” answered Damis, “for like you I have given up my property, and wander about in search of knowledge, and to see foreign lands.” “Well, Damis,” said Apollonius, “supposing you had bought the boy and you owned two horses, a race¬ horse and a charger, which of them would you put him on?” “The race¬ horse, probably,” replied Damis, “for I see others do so. How could he manage a warhorse used to heavy armor, when he could not carry a cavalry shield, nor a breastplate nor a helmet? And how could he hold a lance in rest, when he can hardly shoot an arrow or throw a javelin, and he seems barely old enough to speak plainly?” Apollonius said then: “So there is something else which controls and impels that elephant, Damis, and not that rider whom you worship almost beyond wonder and on Damis’ asking: “What may that be, Apollonius, for I see nothing on the elephant but the boy?” the Master said: “This is by far the most docile of all animals, and when once it has been tamed by a man it lets him do anything to it, and always shows him the same obedience. It delights to take food from his hand like a puppy ; it caresses him with its trunk when he comes near; it lets him put his head into its jaws, holding them open as long as he likes, as we saw done among the nomads. Yet it is said to lament over its bondage at night, not with its usual trumpeting but with a mournful and piteous moaning ; yet if the man comes to it while mourn¬ ing so, the elephant stops its complaining as if ashamed. Thus it is its BOOK TWO 43 own master, Damis, and its tractable disposition manages and rules it more than its rider does.” 12. Damis says that when they reached the Indus river they saw a herd of elephants crossing the stream. They were told that one variety of this animal lives in swamps, another in the uplands, and a third variety in the plains, and that the last kind are taken for use in war. They go into battle equipped with towers which hold ten or fifteen Indians each, and the Indians shoot arrows and throw darts from them as from a castle, and meantime the beast itself uses its proboscis like a hand and hurls javelins with it. The Indian elephants are as much larger than the African, as the African elephants are larger than a Nissean horse. Other writers have often told before how very long lived the elephant is, but Damis says that they saw one near Taxila, the largest city in India, which the natives kept anointed with unguents and wreathed with fillets because it was one of the elephants which had fought for Porus against Alexander, and because Alexander had dedicated it to the; Sun for its bravery in that battle. It had gold bands welded around its tusks, and inscribed in Greek letters “Alexander son of Zeus dedicates Ajax to the Sun;” for Alexander had named this elephant Ajax, thinking so huge a beast deserved that mighty name. According to the reckoning of the natives three hundred and fifty years had elapsed since that battle, not counting how old he was when he fought in it. 13. Juba, the former king of Libya, records that the Libyans once fought among themselves mounted on elephants, those of one faction having a tower carved on their tusks, while the tusks of the other faction were plain ; and that at nightfall the elephants with carved tusks gave way and fled into Mt. Atlas; and that four hundred years afterward he himself had captured one of those fugitive elephants which still bore that tower mark deeply cut and not effaced by time. Juba argues that the tusks are actually horns, because they grow from the lower part of the animal’s temples, and are never whetted against other objects, and moreover when their growth is attained they are permanent, and do not fall out as teeth do, to be re¬ placed by others. I do not think this reasoning sound, for stags’ horns at least, if not all horns, are regularly shed and grow again; and though men’s teeth do fall out and new ones grow in their place, no tusks or eye¬ teeth of any other animal drop naturally, or would be renewed if they did ; for nature has inserted them in the jaws to serve as weapons. Moreover horns take on a new wrinkle around their base every year, as we see in goats and sheep and oxen ; but a tooth grows out smooth and always 44 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA remains so, unless some accident mars it, for it has a somewhat crystalline substance and quality. Then too only cloven- footed creatures produce horns, whereas the elephant is a five-toed animal with a much divided hoof, and as its toes spread out it stands on a sort of cushion. Further, in all horned animals nature builds up the outer horn around a core of spongy bone, but she forms the elephant’s tusk solid and uniform throughout, and if it is cut open it shows a little tube at the center as in teeth. The tusks of swamp elephants are porous and discolored, and they are unsuited for carving because filled with hidden cavities, and covered with unmanage¬ able excrescences. Those of mountain elephants are smaller but quite white, and have no- qualities which interfere with carving; but the tusks of plains elephants are the choicest of all, being very large and white and easily cut, and taking readily any shape designed by the artist. With reference to the intelligence of elephants, the Indians consider those caught in the marshes to be dull and stupid; and the mountain elephants to be vicious and treacherous, not to be depended on by man unless they want something from him ; but those from the plains are said to be reliable and docile, and quick in imitation, so that they learn even to write and to dance, and to swing to and fro in time to the flute, and to rear up from the ground. 14. Seeing that herd of about thirty elephants crossing the Indus, and using the smallest one as their leader, with the larger ones carrying their young on their projecting tusks, having their trunks thrown over them like straps to hold them on, Apollonius said to Damis : “Those animals are acting of their own volition and by their natural prudence and sagacity, without anyone to direct them ; and do you see how like baggage- wagons they are carrying their calves hoisted and strapped down ?” “I do see how wisely and how skilfully they are handling them, Apollonius,” said Damis ; “Why then should there be that foolish discussion among quibblers whether or not parental affection is natural, when elephants show that it is inborn ? These animals have certainly not learned such care from men, as some elephants are taught things, for they have never lived with men ; yet they care for and bring up their young, because of the love implanted in them by nature.” “You need not confine that statement to elephants, Damis,” said Apollonius, “for to this animal, in point of sagacity and judg¬ ment, I assign a place second only to man; but I think even a stronger case is made by bears, which though very savage beasts, will do anything for their cubs ; and by wolves, which naturally live by the chase, and yet the female guards her whelps in the den, while the male goes out to hunt, and brings his prey to feed them ; and by leopardesses too, which from innate BOOK TWO 45 craving delight to become mothers, for then they domineer over their mates and rule the family ; and the males endure all their tyrannies patiently, out of love for theii; cubs. Moreover it is said of lionesses that they accept leopards as their lovers, and entertain them in the lions’ lairs in the plains, but when their pregnancy is nearly over they run away to the hills where the leopards range; for the cubs they bring forth are spotted like their sires ; and for that reason the lionesses hide them from the lions and suckle them in distant thickets, pretending to go there to hunt by them¬ selves ; for any such cubs which the lions discover they tear to pieces as bastards. You have of course read how one of Homer’s lions glares fiercely about and nerves himself to fight for his litter of cubs. It is said that in this region and about the Erythraean Sea the tigress, that most fero¬ cious of animals, will go even on board a ship in search of her stolen cubs, and if she finds them she carries them away rejoicing; but if the ship shall have sailed away with them, she stands screaming on the beach, and some¬ times dies there. Who does not know how birds act? How eagles and storks never build their nests without inserting shining stones in them, eagle-stones for eagles and lamp-stones for storks, to help out the hatch¬ ing and to drive away serpents? If we consider marine animals, it may not be surprising that the kindly dolphins should love their young, but is it not strange to find that trait in whales and seals, and other kinds which bring forth their young alive ? I saw a seal at ^gse which was kept to catch fish, and which mourned so bitterly over her dead pup which she had brought forth in her cage, that she refused food for three days, although naturally the most voracious of creatures. The whale likewise hides her young in the cavern of her jaws when a greater danger threatens than she can drive away. A viper has been seen licking the little snakes which she had brought forth, and caressing them with her flickering tongue. For we should not believe the ridiculous statement that young serpents are born without mothers, Damis ; it is contrary both to reason and to observation.” Then Damis said in reply: “You concede then that Euripides should be commended for that verse of his, where he makes Andromache say ‘To every man his children are the life !’ ” “I concede it,” said Apollonius, “for it is well said and wisely; but it would have been a much better and wiser sentiment if it were extended to all living creatures.” “Then,” said Damis, “you would correct the line, Apollonius, so as to read : ‘To all that breathes its offspring are the life!’ “and I agree with you that is better.” 46 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 15. “But tell me, did we not say at the outset of this conversation that there is great sagacity in elephants, and judgment in what they do?” “Yes,” said Apollonius, “and we were right in saying so, for unless judg' ment guided these animals’ actions neither they nor the men among whom they live would survive.” “Why then,” asked Damis, “do they cross the river so stupidly and awkwardly? For, as you see, the smallest of them all goes first, then a somewhat larger one follows him, and then a larger still, and all the largest ones bring up the rear in a body. Whereas they should rather march in inverse order, and use the biggest as their pioneers and bulwarks.” Apollonius replied: “But Damis, in the first place they are apparently fleeing from pursuit of hunters, whom we will find some¬ where following up their trail, and it is best for them to have a strong rear¬ guard against their pursuers, as in warfare; so that in that matter these animals should be rated as good tacticians. Then, so far as the crossing is concerned, if the largest had gone over the stream first, they would not have made sure that all could get across ; for the fording would be rapid and easy for the very tall ones, but difficult and perhaps impossible for any which did not stand higher than the surface of the water. But when the smallest has crossed over it shows that there is no difficulty for the others. Then too if the bigger ones had entered the river first they would have deepened the passage for the smaller ; for necessarily the mud would be packed down by the weight of such animals and the size of their feet; while the smaller ones do not affect the crossing by the larger, as they do not tread the river bed so deeply.” 16. I find in Juba’s account that hunted elephants aid each other, and defend any exhausted one ; and if they bring him off, they stand about him plastering his wounds with aloe-juice like so many surgeons. Our travellers used to philosophize in this fashion very often, choosing their topics from any occurrence which seemed worth discussion. 17. Damis confirms what Nearchus and Pythagoras tell of the Acesines river, that it empties into the Indus, and that it breeds serpents seventy cubits long; but I will defer that subject until we come to the dragons, and Damis’ description of the method of hunting them. When the party had reached the Indus and were about to cross, our travellers asked their Babylonian guide how they would cross it, and what he knew of the river, and he confessed that he had never sailed on it and did not know where the crossing was. “Why then,” said they, “have you not engaged a guide ?” BOOK TWO 47 “Because a guide is already provided,” said he; and he produced the king’s letter arranging for one. Damis says that they wondered then at King Vardanes’ kindness and friendly solicitude, for he had written this letter to the satrap of the Indus, although not under his rule, in which he reminded him of past favors, and said that he was not asking for any return, as he was not one to seek recompense for kindness, but that if he would take care of Apollonius, and see that he was conducted where he wished to go, he would consider it a favor. He had also given money to the guide for their travelling-expenses, so that if he saw Apollonius need¬ ing anything, he could supply him without looking elsewhere. On receiv¬ ing the letter the Indian official said that a great honor had been done him, and that he would look after his guest as solicitously as if the king of India himself had recommended him. So he sent them his own barge, kept for his official journeys, together with other vessels to transport the camels, and a guide to conduct them through all that region as far as the Hydra- otes river, dispatching* at the same time letters to his own monarch asking him to show himself not less courteous than Vardanes to this god-like Greek. 18. They crossed the Indus in these boats, sailing nearly forty stadia, for the ferry is of that width. Damis tells of the river that it rises in the Cau¬ casus and is larger in its headwaters than any other river in Asia, besides receiving many navigable streams in its course ; and thus becoming a twin of the Nile it inundates India, and by spreading silt over silt it enables the Indians to cultivate their lands after the Egyptian fashion. I am sorry to gainsay those writers who tell of the snows of Ethiopia and of the Cataract mountains of the Nile, but I do not agree with them, in view of the fact that the Indus acts just like the Nile without any snowfall on the moun¬ tains above it. Besides, I know that God has set the Ethiopians and the Indians at the opposite horns of all the earth, but making them both dark- colored, these by the rising sun and those by the setting; and that this would not happen unless both races were warm in winter as well as in summer. But if the sun is hot upon the earth through all the year, how can any one suppose that snow falls there, and falls in such abundance as to make the rivers of those lands overflow their banks ? Even if snow could fall in regions so exposed to the sun, how can one believe that it pours forth such a sea? Blow that it feeds the river which floods all Egypt? 19. Damis says that they met with many hippopotami and many croco¬ diles in crossing the Indus, as those do who sail on the Nile; and that flowers grow in that river such as grow in the Nile; and that the climate 48 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA near the Indus is warm in winter, and so hot in summer as to be stifling, but that God has most beneficently provided against this heat by frequent rains. He says further that they learned from the natives that their king comes to the river when it begins to flood and sacrifices to it black bulls and horses, white being less esteemed than their own hue of black among the Indians ; and that after those sacrifices he sinks in the river a measure such as they measure wheat in, but made of gold. The Indians did not understand why the king did so, but our travellers conjectured that the measure was sunk either to insure the measuring of abundant crops by the farmers, or to impose due measure on the river so that it would not flood the land too deeply. 20. After reaching the further side of the river the guide furnished by the satrap led them by the shortest route to Taxila, where is the residence of the king of India. Damis says that the dwellers on that side of the Indus wear garments made of a native linen, and sandals made from bark, and a leather cap when it rains ; and that the upper classes wear a fine linen (byssus), which they say is obtained from a tree having a stem like the poplar and leaves like the willow. Apollonius says that he was much pleased with this byssus because it resembled the dingy cloak of a philosopher; and in Egypt too this byssus from India is sold for use in many sacred ceremonies. Taxila is as large a city as Nineveh, but, like the Greek cities, it is only moderately fortified with walls. It is the royal seat of the monarch who rules the kingdom formerly held by Porus. Outside the walls they saw a temple not much less than one hundred feet high, built of pink marble, wherein stood a shrine, smaller than one would expect in so great a pillared temple, but marvelously elaborated. On one of the temple walls were fastened bronze tablets depicting the exploits of Porus and of Alexander; showing elephants, horses, warriors, helmets and shields all done in copper and silver and gold and black bronze, while the lances and javelins and swords were all of steel; and the artistic quality of the work is as excellent as if it were done by Zeuxis or Polygnotus or Euphranor, who were masters of shading and life-likeness and perspective and high relief. Damis says that the way in which those materials are blended to produce the effect of colors shows skill equal to that of those artists. In addition to that, the design of the work exhibits a very pleasing trait in the giver of these tablets, for though Porus set them up after Alexander’s death, the Macedonian is depicted in them as victorious, and showing mercy to the wounded Porus, returning to him once more the vanquished India. It is told of Porus that he mourned the death of Alexander, lament¬ ing him as a kind and generous sovereign ; and that so long as Alexander BOOK TWO 49 lived after departing from India Porus never issued any proclamation as king, although Alexander had resigned all authority to him; and that in ruling the Indians he did not assume the kingly style, but acted always as a very modest deputy, endeavoring in every way to do what Alexander would wish. 21. At this point I must find room to tell more of the traditions concern¬ ing Porus. When Alexander was about to invade India, many advisers urged Porus to seek allies among the tribes dwelling beyond the Hyphasis and the Ganges, saying that the Macedonian would not fight all India, if it combined against him; but Porus answered:' “If I have such subjects that they are not able to defend themselves without dependence on others, I would better not reign at all !” When word came that Alexander had made a captive of Darius, he said: “He has captured a king but not a man.” His groom had trained an elephant for him to ride in battle, and told him : “This one will take you along, O King !” but Porus replied : “Nay, I will take him along, if I am the man I have been!” To those who begged him to offer sacrifices to the river, so that it would not float the Macedonian boats or allow Alexander to pass, he said : “That is no prayer for men with weapons in their hands.” After the battle, in which he seemed to Alexander to be really divine and more than human, one of his kinsmen said to him: “If you had humbled yourself to Alexander on his arrival, Porus, you would not now have been vanquished in battle, nor would so many Indians have been slain, nor yourself have been wounded.” The answer of Porus was : “When I heard that Alexander sought honor, I knew he would think me ,a slave if I submitted to him, but a king if I fought him; and I would rather be admired than pitied. Neither was I mistaken, for by showing myself to Alexander as I was, I have lost all and recovered all in the same day.” Such a man is this Indian described to us ; and they say too that he was the most comely of his countrymen, and taller than any man since the heroes of/ the Trojan War, and that he was still a youth when he fought with Alexander. 22. While Apollonius was waiting in the temple (for some time passed while word was being sent to the king that guests had come) he said to Damis: “Is the art of painting of any value?” “If it is true to nature,” answered Damis. Then Apollonius asked : “What does this art accom¬ plish?” and Damis replied, “It blends all sorts of colors, blue with green, and white with black, and red with yellow.” “Very true,” said Apollonius, “but why does it blend them ? Certainly not merely to set them off against each other as women make waxwork?” “To imitate something,” said 50 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Damis ; ''to represent a dog, or a horse, or a man, or a ship, or anything else under the sun. It even represents the Sun himself, riding in a four- horse chariot as he is shown here, or carrying his fire across the sky, when it pictures the upper-air and the dwelling-places of the gods.” "Painting, then, is imitation, Damis?” asked Apollonius. "Nothing more,” he replied, "for unless it succeeds in that it is meaningless, putting colors together merely at random.” "How about those appearances we see in the sky when the clouds are twisted into shapes like centaurs, and goat-stags, and wolves and horses ?” asked Apollonius ; "would you not say that such things as well are wrought by some imitative art?” "It would seem so,” said Damis. Apollonius went on : "Then Zeus himself is an artist, Damis, who leaves the winged chariot in which he rides while ruling the affairs of gods and men, and spends his time shaping such things in sport, like boys playing in the sand.” Damis blushed to see his opinion reduced to this absurdity, but Apollonius, without ridiculing him, for he was never discourteous in debate, said: "Would you not rather say, Damis, that such appearances in the sky are accidental, and signify nothing so far as any divine agency is concerned ; but that we ourselves, being naturally inclined to seek resemblances, do so shape and trace them ?” Damis replied : "Let us prefer that opinion, Apollonius, for it is more probable and much bet¬ ter.” Apollonius continued : "The art of imitation then is two-fold, Damis, and we may say that one of its aspects is the art of painting, which imitates both by the imagination and the hand, whereas the other traces resem- • blances by the imagination alone.” "Not two-fold,” said Damis, "for we ought to say that the first aspect is the entire art, that is to say the art of painting which creates by mind and hand, and that the second aspect is included in this, since one who is no painter may conceive and shape pic¬ tures in his mind, when he is incapable of reproducing them by his hand.” 'Ts that, Damis, because his hand is disabled by some wound or ailment?” asked Apollonius. "Not necessarily,” replied Damis, "but it may be because he has never handled graver, or brush, or colors, and is entirely ignorant of painting.” "Then we both agree in this, Damis,” said Apollonius, "that the faculty of imitation comes to men by nature, but painting by art. The same thing may be said of the plastic art. Doubtless you do not limit the art of painting to the use of colors ; for the ancient artists were content with one color, and then the art gradually went on to four, and finally to more ; but the art of drawing without colors, using only light and shade for its effects, should also be classed as painting, since these simple ele¬ ments also portray likeness, and form, and intelligence, and modesty, and audacity, though from their lack of color they cannot reproduce blood or the bright hues of hair or beard, but only such outlines as differentiate a dark man from a light one. For instance, if we should draw one of these BOOK TWO 51 Indians in chalk he would neverdieless betray his blackness, for his flat nose, and coarse hair, and prominent cheek-bones, and a certain expression about his eyes, would make what we saw seem black, and would convey the idea of an Indian to any but the most inattentive observer. So I would say that those who view pictures need the imitative faculty as much as the artist does, for nobody appreciates a painted horse or ox who does not have in his mind a clear image of the animal represented. No one would be a competent judge of the Ajax whom Timomachus has painted as insane, unless he had formed a mental conception of Ajax, and how he sat despairing and meditating suicide after slaying the sheep at Troy. Now these cunningly wrought figures made for Porus we must consider to be¬ long not only to the coppersmith’s craft, for they are like painting; nor only to the art of painting, for they are done by metal-workers ; so we must think of their creator as painter and graver combined; such as Vulcan is described by Homer in making the shield of Achilles; for like that shield these tablets are crowded with figures of slayers and the slain, and you would say that the earth in them is soaked with blood, though it is made only of copper.” 23. While he was speaking messengers came from the king with an inter¬ preter to say that the king invited them to be his guests for three days, but that it was not lawful for foreigners to remain in the city longer than that ; and thereupon they conducted the party to the palace. I have already mentioned the walls which defend the city. Damis says that it is irregularly intersected by narrow alleys, like Athens, and that it is built up with houses which seem from outside to be of only one story, but on entering them they are found to be excavated so that they have as many rooms below ground as above. 24. They saw the temple of the Sun in which that elephant named Ajax had been dedicated, and in it were seen statues of Alexander in gold, and others of Porus in black bronze. Shining gold representing rays of the Sun glittered on the red marble walls of the temple. The inner shrine itself was entirely composed of pearls set in the conventional patterns which all barbarians use for sacred objects. 25. He says that they found no pretentious decoration of the outside of the palace, nor any courtiers or body-guards, but only a few servants such as might be seen in the house of any well-to-do citizen, and some three or four persons who were seeking audience of the king; and that they were 52 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA more pleased by this setting than they had been by the Babylonian sumptu¬ ousness ; and still more so when they went inside, for the halls and porticos and all the palace were very simply furnished. 26. All this led Apollonius to believe that the Indian king was a philoso¬ pher, and he said to him through the interpreter : King, I am delighted to see that you cultivate philosophy.” “On the other hand,” said the king, “I am much more delighted that you should have that opinion of me.” Apollonius inquired: “Has this simplicity been enjoined upon you by precedent, or have you yourself brought the throne back to it?” The king replied: “I have made our simple customs more simple; and although I possess more than any, I am content with little, and treat my superfluity as belonging to my friends.” “May your wealth increase, if you prize your friends higher than gold and silver,” said Apollonius, “for they will give you great happiness in return.” “More than that,” said the king. “I share my wealth with my enemies too ; for with that money I subsidize predatory barbarians living next my frontiers who used to annoy my sub¬ jects by forays; but now by that means they have become a defense of my realm, not raiding it themselves, and preventing depredations by other barbarians beyond them who are savages.” On Apollonius inquiring whether Porus too had paid such subsidies, the king answered : “Porus was fond of war, but I of peace.” By this conversation he entirely won Apollonius, who was so impressed by him that later, in upbraiding Eu¬ phrates for conduct unbecoming to a philosopher he exclaimed : “Let us reverence the Indian Phraotes !” which was the name of that king. Phraotes thought as highly of Apollonius, for some time after, when a satrap wished to present the king with a crown of gold set with many- colored gems, in return for some great favor shown him, the king said : “Even if I had ever been a man who desired such trinkets, I would refuse it now, and toss it off my head, since I have met Apollonius. But as I never did enjoy being crowned with such things, how could I be so un¬ mindful of that noble guest, and so forgetful of myself, as to wear them now ? Apollonius asked him about his mode of life, and he replied : “I drink no more wine than I pour in libation to the Sun ; and I let others eat the game I take in hunting; the exercise I get from it being all I want. My food is made from vegetables, and palm-tree pith, and dates, with what plants the river water irrigates. I get much of my food from trees which I cultivate with these hands of mine.” Apollonius was vastly pleased to hear all this, and often glanced at Damis. BOOK TWO 53 27. After giving them full information concerning the route which led to the Brahmins, the king gave orders that the Babylonian guide should be kept as his guest, as he usually did with those coming from Babylon ; but that the guide furnished by the Indian satrap should be given travel¬ ling money and sent back. Then taking Apollonius by the hand, and dis¬ missing the interpreter, he said: “Will you not invite me to be your table-companion He asked this in Greek, and when Apollonius inquired with surprise why he had not spoken that language from the first, he answered : “I feared that I would seem presumptuous, as if I had forgot¬ ten who I am, and that nature meant me for a barbarian ; but since I see that I please you as you do me, I cannot restrain myself any longer, and I will ascertain in many interviews with you how much conversational Greek I know.” “But why did you not ask me to be your table-companion, instead of asking me to invite you ?” inquired Apollonius ; and the king replied : “Because I think you more distinguished than I am, for wisdom has a more truly royal dignity than kings.” Thereupon he led Apollonius and his companions to the place where he was accustomed to bathe. This was a garden about a stadium in length, in the centre of which a bathing- pool had been hollowed out to receive some springs of cool sweet water, and on each side was a gymnasium where the king exercised with javelin and quoits in Greek fashion ; for he kept himself in good condition, being twenty-seven years of age, in the bloom of life, and in vigorous training. After taking enough exercise, he would dive into the pool and swim. When the party had bathed here, they went to a banquet wearing wreaths of flowers, for such is the custom of the Indians when they dine in the king’s hall. 28. I will here set down something of their mode of feasting which is minutely described by Damis. The king reclines on a couch, and near him recline not more than five of his kindred, but all the other guests sit during the meal. A circular table is set in the midst, which is about knee-high, like an altar, of a sizeVhich thirty men could encircle by taking hands like a chorus. On this table are scattered laurel leaves, and another leaf like myrtle, which the Indians use as perfume. Fish and fowl are set on it, with lions, antelopes and swine, served up whole ; but only the hind-quarters of tigers, for they are unwilling to eat the rest of that animal, because they say that as soon as it is born it lifts its fore-paws to the rising sun. Each guest rising in turn goes from his seat to the table and selects or carves for himself his portion of the dishes set on it, which he brings back to his place and eats there, accompanying it with a great deal of bread. When 54 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA I all have had enough to eat, gold and silver bowls are passed around to them, one for every ten guests, from which they drink, stooping their heads to it like sheep at a trough. During the drinking they introduce some sports which are hazardous but exciting, and requiring skill. One of them is for a boy to leap nimbly into the air like a stage-dancer, at the same instant that a spear is thrown up at him when he is well off the ground which the boy dodges by turning a somersault over it, but if he makes the least error he risks a wound. The thrower of the spear goes about among the guests beforehand to show them the weapon and let them try its edg'e. Other sports at such feasts are to shoot an arrow through a finger-ring, or at a hair, or to outline with arrows the archer’s own son as he stands against a plank ; and they succeed in all these feats even when they are intoxicated. 29. The guests near Damis were astonished by these exploits, and espe¬ cially admired the marksmanship, but Apollonius, who was reclining near the king and partaking of his dishes, paid little attention to the sports, and turning to the king he asked: “Tell me, O King, how did you learn the Greek language so well ? And whence in this country did you derive your philosophy? I suppose you are not indebted to teachers for it, as it is hardly likely that there are any teachers of such learning among the Indians.” Then the king said smilingly : “The ancients used to ask every one who came to them in ships whether he was a pirate, so general did they think that crime to be, although so heinous. But you seem to me to ask all you meet whether they are not philosophers, you are so ready to give credit to the first comer for that most precious gift of gods to men. I am aware too that among your fellow countrymen being a philosopher is much the same as being a pirate; for few of them are to be found like you, and it is said that most of them have stripped off their philosophy from someone else like a cloak; and putting it awkwardly on themselves, they strut proudly about trailing their borrowed finery. And just as pirates revel while they know that retribution will soon overtake them, so these philosophical impostors are said to indulge in gluttony and debauchery and display. I suppose the reason of their abundance is that your laws punish with death the counterfeiter of money, and impose some severe penalty on the substituter of a spurious child ; but no law of yours, so far as I know, penalizes those who substitute a spurious philosophy, or counterfeit it, and no magistrate has jurisdiction of such an offense.” 30. “Among us few become philosophers, and all who do must undergo this test. When the lad is eighteen years old, which I believe is the age BOOK TWO 55 of manhood with you as it is with us, he must go across the Hyphasis river to those Sages to whom you are going; but before doing so he must publicly announce that he intends to devote himself to the study of philoso¬ phy, and any one is at liberty to forbid that intention, if the candidate shall not have come there pure. By pure I mean in the first place one whose father and mother are blameless, and who for three generations has had no ancestor who was lewd, or intemperate, or dishonest in business. If no blot or blemish appears in his forebears, the lad himself must be investigated as to his personal qualities, to ascertain whether he has a good memory, and has a really modest nature or is merely assuming it; then whether he is intemperate, or greedy, or boastful, or giddy, or self- conceited, or foul-mouthed ; and if he is submissive to his father and his mother, to his masters and his tutors ; in short, whether or not he badly employs his youth. So far as relates to his ancestors and parents, informa¬ tion is obtained from witnesses, and from the public records ; for when any Indian dies a magistrate, on whom the duty is imposed by law, goes to his house and enters on his official tablets how the man has lived. If the magistrate should fail to go, or should not make the correct record, he would be disqualified from ever holding office again, for having falsified a human life. The youth’s disposition is ascertained by inspecting him; for a man’s eyes reveal a great deal of his character, and many indications impressed upon the eyebrows and cheeks are to be noted and considered, from which those versed in reading human nature can perceive a man’s disposition like a reflection in a mirror. In order that philosophy may be highly prized among us, and that such an ambition may be held in honor by the Indian youths, it is necessary to try the aspirants in every way and to subject them to many tests. This gives you a general idea how we select such students for their education, and how we verify their professed devotion to philosophy ; and now I will tell you my own experience.” 31. ‘‘My grandfather was a king of the same name as myself, but my father v/as a private citizen. When he was left an orphan in his boyhood two of his kinsmen became regents to rule on his behalf, according to Indian law, and they administered his government so badly and so tyran¬ nically, by the Sun ! that they became unpopular and the disaffection was general. They were sacrificing to the Indus at the usual celebration when certain conspirators of the nobility attacked and slew them, and then seizing upon the throne shared it among themselves. His kinsmen feared for my father’s safety, as he was not yet sixteen years old, so they sent him across the Hyphasis river to the king of that country, who ruled more subjects than I do, and whose realm is much wealthier than this. He 56 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA offered to adopt my father as his son, but my father refused, saying that he would not strive against his fate, which had already deprived him of one kingdom ; and he begged the king to allow him to go to those Sages whom you are to visit, in order to learn from them their philosophy, whereby he might more easily endure his personal misfortunes. The king then offered to replace him on his father’s throne, but he replied : Tf you ever see that I have really become a philosopher, you may reinstate me; otherwise please leave me as I am.’ Thereupon the king went with him in person to the Sages and offered them high favor if they would undertake the lad’s education, since he showed already so brilliant a mind. They were more influenced by the promising qualities which they discerned in the pupil than by anything the king could offer them, in deciding to instruct him in their philosophy ; and they became his willing teachers, and he their eager scholar. Seven years later the king fell mortally ill, and sending for my father, he associated him in the kingship with his own son, and be¬ trothed to him his marriageable daughter. After his protector’s death my father perceived that the king’s son was fond of adulation, and of wine, and had other similar frailties, besides being very jealous of himself; so he said to him : ‘Take all the kingdom and rule alone, for it is absurd that one who could not keep his own throne should rashly presume to intrude himself into another’s. Only give me your sister and I will ask no more of your kingdom.’ Having obtained her in marriage, he passed his life near the Sages, in seven pleasant towns which the king had given to his sister as her dowry. I was born of this marriage, and when I was grounded in Greek literature my father took me to the Sages, sooner perhaps than my age justified, for I was then only twelve years old; but they taught me as if I were their owm son, for they much prefer pupils who come to them instructed in Greek literature, as being already united with them by similarity of tastes. t 32. “My parents dying one after the other when I was nineteen, the Sages advised me to go to my towns and look after my property ; but before I reached them my good uncle had already deprived me of them, not even leaving to me the estates which my father had bought with his own money, and asserting that all these properties belonged to the Crown, and that as for myself, it was a great favor that he allowed me to live. Through con¬ tributions from my mother’s freedmen, I managed to live modestly with four slaves. I was reading the tragedy of the Heracleidae one day, when a courier came from here, bringing a letter from an intimate friend of my father, which summoned me across the Hydraotes river to join him in the project of recovering this kingdom for me, and saying that he had great BOOK TWO 57 hopes of success if I acted promptly. It really seemed as if some god had suggested to me that tragedy which I was reading, and I followed the omen. Crossing the river, I learned that one of those usurpers of the throne had died, and the other was besieged in this very palace. I hastened my advance accordingly, and in every village I came to I proclaimed whose son I was, and that I had come to recover my kingdom. The villagers everywhere took up my cause and joyfully acknowledged me, thinking me very like my grandfather, and they escorted me with sword and spear, so that we grew in number daily. When at last we reached these city gates the guards there received me so enthusiastically that they came to wel¬ come me outside the walls, bearing torches which they had lighted at the altars of the Sun; and they marched hither with me, singing in chorus paeans to my father and my grandfather. The drone inside the palace they strangled on the city wall, in spite of my remonstrances that he should not suffer such a disgraceful death.” 33. Commenting on this story, Apollonius said : “You have exactly re¬ produced the return of the Heracleidse, and we should acknowledge the divine providence of the gods, in so revealing themselves as the allies of ♦ a worthy man returning to claim his own. But I would like you to en¬ lighten me on one point about the Sages. Are they the same men who philosophized to Alexander about the heavens, when they had been taken prisoner and were brought before him?” The king replied: “No; those were the Oxydracans, which are a tribe that still lives independently, and is very quarrelsome, though they claim to cultivate philosophy, of which they really know very little. The true Sages dwell between the Hyphasis and the Ganges, in a region which Alexander did not reach; not because he was afraid of them, but probably because the omens were not propitious. Even if he had passed the Hyphasis, and had succeeded in overrunning their territory, he never could have taken the tower which they inhabit, if he had commanded ten thousand Achilleses and thirty thousand Ajaxes. The Sages do not contend in battle with invaders, but they sweep them away with hurricanes and thunderbolts, for they are holy and beloved of the gods. The tradition is that when Bacchus and the Egyptian Hercules overran India they entered that region with all their forces, and made battering rams with which they tried to storm the Sages’ tower ; and that the Sages made no apparent resistance, but sat there serenely until the assailants drew too near, when a great wind thrust them back, and light¬ ning zigzagging down crashed through their defenses. Then Hercules is said to have flung away in his flight the identical shield of gold which the Sages still keep hung up in a shrine ; and this they do not merely out of 58 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA respect for Hercules, but because of the device on the shield, which depicts Hercules marking out the earth’s limits at Gibraltar, and setting up the mountains there as pillars to exclude the ocean. This proves that it was not the Theban Hercules, but the Egyptian, who went to Gibraltar and there established the boundaries of the earth.” 34. A song, to flute accompaniment, interrupted the conversation at this point, and on Apollonius’ asking the king the meaning of this diversion, he answered : “When the king goes to bed, the Indians sing to him their exhortations to have fortunate dreams, and to wake good-tempered, and kind to his subjects.” “But what is your opinion of the proceeding?” asked Apollonius, “for this flute-playing is addressed to you.” “I do not make light of it,” replied the king. “It is a custom which I must comply with respectfully ; but the exhortation is superfluous for me, because a king’s moderation and fairness give him more pleasure than they do to his subjects.” After this conversation they went to their rest. 35. At early dawn the king unannounced entered the bedroom v/here Apollonius and his companions slept, and feeling his way to the Master’s bed, addressed him, asking what he was meditating upon, “for I suppose you are not asleep,” said he, “because you drink only water and despise wine.” “Do you think then that water-drinkers do not sleep?” asked Apollonius. The king replied : “That they sleep, yes, but their slumber is light, and might be said to rest only on their eyelids and not on their minds.” “Nay, on both,” rejoined Apollonius, ‘“and perhaps more on their minds ; for unless the mind is at rest, the eyes will not fall asleep either. That is why madmen cannot sleep, because of their mental agitation ; and as their frenzy shifts from one delusion to another, their glare grows more baleful and wilder, like that of sleepless dragons. Since the question ex¬ plains the function of sleep and the nature of its revelations to men, O King, let us ascertain in what respect a water-drinker is worse off than a wine-drinker, in the matter of sleeping.” “Do not quibble,” replied the king. “I grant you that a drunkard certainly will not sleep well, because his disordered mind excites him and confuses him ; so that all intoxicated persons who try to sleep feel now raised to the ceiling, and then dropped under the floor, and dizzy all the time ; so that they have all the sensations of Ixion. My idea is not that a toper sleeps well, but that a moderate wine- drinker will do so, and that he will do it much better than a total abstainer.” BOOK TWO 59 36. t Apollonius called out to Daniis : “Here is a very acute debater speaking to me ; a strong wrestler in dialectics !” “So I perceive,” said Damis, “and your telling me that, after I have listened to him, is very like what they call kicking a bruise. His argument greatly appeals to me, and it is late enough now for you to wake up, and go through with the dis¬ cussion.” Apollonius sat up in bed and said : “I will follow closely in your tracks, and show you how great an advantage we water-drinkers have in the matter of refreshing sleep. You have expressed very well how disturbed are the minds of drunkards, and how they are not far removed from insanity; for we all know that they think they see twin moons and twin suns. But those who have drunk less, while they are quite sober and have no such illusions, are nevertheless enlivened and ex¬ hilarated by their wine, very often when they have no especial occasion for' gaiety. Men in that condition sometimes imagine how well they would argue cases in court, though they have never uttered a word in court in their lives ; and they fancy themselves wealthy, when they have not a penny. And yet such fancies are of the nature of insanity, O King. Joy itself may disturb the mind, and I have known many men who could not sleep because of some great good fortune, but would wake up with a start; whence comes the proverb that riches bring cares. Some soporifics are known, which, if swallowed or rubbed on the body, make a man sleep stretched out like a corpse. After such a slumber one is dazed when he wakes, and does not know where he is. You will readily concede then, un¬ less you prefer argument to decision, that any potion which is swallowed, or rather which is poured into mind and body at the same time, cannot induce genuine and natural sleep, for it will either be profound and death-like, or be restless and broken by dreams, which are intrusive even if they happen to be pleasant. On the other hand, those who drink water as I do see things as they are, and neither imagine nor describe things which do not exist, and while showing themselves neither too buoyant, nor plunged in stupor or silliness, nor bursting with unreasonable mirth, they are sober and rational, as clear-headed and consistent in the evening as when the market-place is crowded ; and' they are not drowsy even if they sit up half the night to study, because their sleep does not overcome them, as it crushes down like a tyrant the head heavy with wine. They are always alert and masters of themselves, and when they go to bed they fall asleep at once with unclouded mind, neither elated by prosperity nor despairing in adversity ; for a sober head is equal to either fortune, and is unl)alanced by neither extreme of feeling, so that it sleeps sweetly and wakes from its slumbers without any aches.” 60 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 37. “Then too the man whose mind is not hazy with wine reads more clearly the presages of dreams, which are held to be the nearest to the divine of all human experiences ; for he receives and observes them undefiled. For this reason those men who explain dreams, whom the poets call interpreters of visions, will not attempt to explain any vision before in¬ quiring at what time it appeared. If it was seen early in the morning, in the sleep toward dawn, their conclusion is that it was the forecast of a clari¬ fied mind, which had slept off its intoxication of the previous evening; but if the vision has appeared during the first sleep, or in the middle of the night, when the dreamer was still oppressed and sunk in wine, they wisely decline to interpret it. I have evidence that the gods are of that opinion too, and that they grant the power of prophecy to none but sober minds. Amphiaraus was once a soothsayer among the Greeks, O King.” “I have heard of him,” said the king, “if you refer to the son of Oicles, whom the earth swallowed up alive on his return from Thebes.” “It was he, O King,” said Apollonius; “and he now utters oracles at Athens, and sends them in visions to those who consult him. His priests interdict the sup¬ pliant from food for one day, and from wine for three days, so that he may receive those visions with a clear intelligence. Now if wine were a suitable drink to induce sleep, the wise Amphiaraus would certainly have directed his devotees to be brought to his shrine after a different preparation, and as full of wine as a jar. I could cite many other ora¬ cles which are celebrated among the Greeks and among barbarians, in which the priest gives responses from the tripod after drinking water, but never after wine. For that matter you may even regard me, and all other water-drinkers, as being divinely inspired, O King; for when we are possessed by the Nymphs we revel in sobriety, as the Bacchantes do in wine.” Then the king said : “Will you accept me too as a fellow- reveller of yours?” And Apollonius replied: “If it will not make you seem to your subjects lacking in royalty; for in a king a moderate and somewhat relaxed philosophy makes an admirable combination, as you yourself exemplify; whereas, if over-strict and carried to an extreme, it might seem beneath your station, and the evil-disposed might even call it an affectation.” 38. Conversing thus they went out of doors, as it was by that time broad day-light. Apollonius was aware that the king had appointments to keep with envoys, and other similar duties to discharge, so he said : “Do what your throne requires of you, O King, and leave me to the Sun for the present, for I must make my accustomed praye;rs to him.” “May BOOK TWO 61 he listen favorably to your prayers,” said the king, “whereby he will show favor to all to whom philosophy is dear. I will await your return before deciding some controversies in which your advice will be of great assistance.” 39. On returning to the king later in the morning Apollonius asked what cases he had decided, and the king replied : “I have rendered no deci¬ sions today, as the omens were not favorable.” Apollonius inquired : “Do you then inspect omens before deciding cases, as you do before undertaking journeys or wars?” “Yes, by Zeus!” said the king; “for there is danger there too, that the judge may stray from justice.” It seemed to Apollonius that the king had again spoken well, and he asked him what controversy he was to decide, saying: “I see that you have not made up your mind, and are doubtful how to decide it.” “I confess that I am uncertain,” said the king, “and that is why I need your advice. The facts are that one man sold another a field in which there was a buried treasure, which was unknown to both of them. Sometime after the transfer the ground of the field gaped open, revealing a chest full of gold, which the seller claims because he would not have sold the land at any such price, if he had known that it contained enough to support him; and the buyer claims ownership of everything found in the field as in¬ cluded in his conveyance of it. The contention of each of them seems to be fair, but it would be weak-minded in me to order them to divide the gold between them, in the way any old woman would decide the question.” Apollonius said : “It is evident that they are no philosophers, since they wrangle over money. The best way for you to solve the problem, O King, is to bear in mind that the gods’ first care is for sincere-^ philosophers ; and their second is for upright men, who deal fairly by their fellows. To philosophers they impart a clear understanding of things human and divine ; and to the upright in the second class they give a sufficient livelihood, so that they may not be tempted to dishonesty by want of the necessaries of life. My advice is therefore that those two men should be weighed as in a balance, O King, and that the past life of each of them should be investigated ; for I believe the gods would not have deprived the seller of the field if he had not been vicious; nor would they have revealed to the other what was hidden underground, if he had not been a better man than the vendor.” Next day, when both suitors came to plead their cause, it was learned that the seller was a violent man, who had neglected sacrifices which he should have made to the gods in that very field ; but the purchaser was shown to be fair-minded, and a most devout worshipper of the gods. So the opinion of Apollonius was justi- 62 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA fied, and judgment was given in favor of the upright defendant, that the gods had bestowed that treasure on him. 40. After the case had been decided Apollonius drew near to the king and said: “This is the third of the three days for which you made me your guest, O King, and tomorrow I must leave the city, to comply with the law.” The king replied : “The law does not expel you so soon, for you arrived in the afternoon and so you can stay all day tomorrow.” “I am delighting in your hospitality,” said Apollonius, “but you seem to be evad¬ ing the law, out of partiality for me.” “I would like to nullify it altogether, out of partiality for you,” said the king ; “but tell me this, Apollonius : did not those camels, which they say you rode, carry you here all the way from Babylon?” “They certainly did,” said Apollonius, “Vardanes supplied us with them.” “Are they able to carry you any further then, after having already travelled so many stadia from Babylon?” asked the king. Apollo¬ nius did not reply, but Damis said : “The Master has not yet any notion how far he must go, or what sort of people he is to depend on for hospi¬ tality on the road. He fancies the journey to the Indian Sages to be child’s-play, as if he would find Vardanes and you everywhere. He does not admit to you what the condition of the camels really is, but they are actually in so sorry a plight that they ought rather to be carried by us, than we by them. We need others, for if these should give out any¬ where in the deserts of India, we would have to stay there too, driving vultures and wolves from the camels, but with no one to drive them from us, when we shall have perished beside them.” Thereupon the king said : “I will see that that does not happen, for I will give you fresh ones (I think you will need four), and the satrap of the Indus shall send the four others back to Babylon. I have a herd of camels near the Indus which are all white.” “And will you not furnish a guide as well, O King?” asked Damis. “Of course,” said the king, “and I will give the guide a camel and travelling-money; and moreover I will write to larchas, the oldest of the Sages, to treat Apollonius as one in no way inferior to himself, and to receive you others as philosophers and companions of this godlike man.” ♦ The king then offered them gold and jewels and garments and many other such things. Apollonius said that they had money enough left, of that which Vardanes had given their guide without their knowledge, but that they would accept the garments, because they reminded them of well-worn Attic cloaks. Then picking up one of the jewels, he exclaimed: “O rarest of stones ! How opportunely and providentially have I discovered you !” recognizing in it apparently some hidden and divine virtue. Damis and his companions also refused the gold, but they selected not a few BOOK TWO 63 gems to dedicate to the gods after their return home, whenever that might be. 41. They spent the next day there, for the king would not let them go, and he gave them the following letter for larchas : “Phraotes the king, to his master larchas and his companions. Greeting : ‘‘Apollonius, who is himself a very wise man, believes you to be wiser than he, and comes to you to avail himself of your instruction. Teach him therefore all your wisdom before you let him go. None of your teaching will be wasted, for he speaks and he remembers best of all men. Let him see the throne on which I sat when you gave me this kingdom, father larchas. His companions too are worthy of honor as followers of such a man. Farewell to each and all of you.” 42. In two days travel from Taxila they came to the place where Porus is said to have fought with Alexander, and Damis says they saw there an arch, leading into no enclosure, which had been erected to commemorate that victory. On it Alexander is shown standing in a four-horse chariot, such as he rode in at Issus against the satraps of Darius. He says that two other arches are seen standing not far apart, on one of which is set a statue of Porus, and on the other Alexander, marking probably the spot where they met after the battle, for one figure is shown making obeisance and the other as holding out his arms to embrace. 43. After crossing the Hydraotes river and passing through many tribes, they reached the Hyphasis ; but about thirty stadia before coming to that river they came upon altars bearing this inscription: “To my father Jupiter Ammon, and to my brother Hercules, and to the provident Athene, and to Olympian Zeus, and to the Samothracian Cabiri, and to the Sun of India, and to the Delphic Apollo.” Damis says that a bronze column has also been erected at the same spot, inscribed : “Here Alexander halted.” We may believe the altars to have been set up by Alexander to mark the limits of his empire, but the column was probably erected by the Indians living beyond the Hyphasis, to boast that Alexander had advanced no further. 64 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA BOOK THREE. Journey from the Hyphasis — Reception by Brahmins — ^^Their home AND LIFE — Incidents of Apollonius’ stay — His return by way OF THE Persian gulf and the Euphrates river to Babylon, Nineveh, and Antioch, thence to Cyprus and Paphos. 1. I extract from Damis’ journal these items regarding the Hyphasis river, telling how it extends through India and what remarkable things it contains. The source of this river bursts from the plain, forming at once a navigable stream, but further in its course it becomes impassable for boats, because close-set reefs of rock lie just under its surface, over which the water boils in rapids where no boat can live. It is as broad as the Danube, which is reckoned the largest river in Europe, and it has trees of similar appearance growing on its banks ; but from the Indian trees a sap distils which the natives use as a perfume at weddings, and if the wedding- guests fail to anoint the bridal-couple with this juice the marriage is con¬ sidered incomplete, and the union to be unfavored by Venus. Damis says that the forests bordering on this river, and the peacock-fish peculiar to it, are also sacred to Venus. They name that fish after the bird because it has a blue crest, and spotted scales, and a golden tail which it curves upward at will. In this river is found a creature like a white worm, from which an oil is extracted which takes fire spontaneously, and can only be kept in a glass jar. This worm is caught for the king exclusively, to be used by him in besieging towns ; for when this oil touches the stockade a fire starts which is inextinguishable by any means devised by man. 2. He says too that wild asses are taken in its marshes, which have a horn in their foreheads with which they fight like bulls, and not badly ; and that the Indians make drinking cups from this horn, which have such virtue that the man who drinks from one will for one whole day neither fall ill, nor feel pain if wounded, nor be burned by passing through fire, nor even be* affected by poisons which he could not swallow at any other time without harm. These cups are reserved for the king, and only the king may hunt those animals. Apollonius writes that he saw this beast and admired its appearance, and that when Damis asked him if he believed that story about the horn cups, he said : ‘T will believe it when I find that the king who rules this country never dies. If any one could bring to me or anyone BOOK THREE 65 else a drink capable of warding off illness, and so salutary, why should he not rather be expected to pour it out for himself, and to drink himself drunk with it every day ? Hardly anyone would blame him for such intoxication.” 3. Damis says that they saw a woman there who was black from the crown of her head to her breasts, and entirely white from her breasts to her toes ; and that he turned away from that horrid sight, but Apollonius extended his hand to her, as if quite familiar with such things. A woman of that description in India is always sacred to Venus; piebald girls being consecrated to that goddess from birth, like an Apis among the Egyptians. 4. He says that on leaving the river valley they climbed over the range of the Caucasus which extends toward the Erythraean Sea, and that it is thickly wooded with spice trees, and the spurs projecting into the plain produce cinnamon, growing like young vine-shoots ; and that a she-goat is used as a scout in finding these plants, for she is so fond of cinnamon that if a little is held out toward her she whimpers for it like a dog, and follows after the hand with outstretched nose: and if her keeper drags her away she bleats as if robbed of a lotus. High on the mountain cliffs grow incense¬ bearing trees, and many spices, including pepper-trees, which the apes frequent, never mistaking it for any other tree, and I will explain what use is made of this fact. The pepper-tree resembles the agnus of the Greeks in its clusters of berries and its general appearance, and it grows in pre¬ cipitous rocks inaccessible to man, where apes dwell in caves and nooks of the cliffs. The Indians prize these apes because they harvest pepper for them, so they defend them from lions with dogs and weapons. A sick lion will lie in wait for an ape to use as medicine, its flesh being a remedy for the diseases of lions ; or if the lion is decrepit he needs one for food, for lions which are too old to kill stags and boars have to eat apes, and employ their last-remaining strength in catching them. The Indians try to prevent this, and take up arms against the lions in defense of the apes, as a reward which the apes have earned from them. The native method of procuring the pepper is to gather the berries from the few trees which grow below the cliffs, wherever they can be reached, and then to clear a space about each tree, on which they fling the berries down as if getting rid of a useless thing to which they attach no value. Meantime the apes are watching these proceedings from the inaccessible cliffs, and when night comes they imitate these actions of the natives by plucking the berries from their own pepper- trees in high glee, and throwing them down on the places cleared by the men. Next day the Indians come and take away those piles of spices, which 66 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA have been gathered without any labor of their own, while they were asleep at their ease. 5. Damis says that after crossing those mountains they saw a plain in¬ tersected by ditches filled with water, some of which led at a right angle from the Ganges river, and others crosswise to them, serving as boundaries of the farms, as well as to irrigate the fields when the ground was thirsty. The soil of this plain is said to be the best in India, and it constitutes more¬ over the largest province, being fifteen days’ journey across to the Ganges, and eighteen from the sea to the mountains of the apes, which bound it. This whole region is level, with a black soil which produces any crop, for they saw in it wheat stalks standing like canes, beans three times as large as those of Egypt, and sesame and millet all of wonderful growth. He says too that those nuts grow there, of which many are kept in our temples as curiosities ; and vines, the grapes of which are small indeed, like those of the Lydians and Mseonians, but yielding a pleasant wine which has a de¬ licious bouquet, even when first pressed. They saw there a tree like a laurel, which produces a pod like a very large pomegranate, containing a pulp blue as hyacinth blossoms, which has the sweetest perfume of any¬ thing the seasons grow. 6. On descending the mountains he says they happened on a dragon- hunt, which should be described here, for it would be absurd that writers on sporting subjects should tell us minutely all about hares, and how they are taken, and might be taken; and that I should omit the account of a rare and marvellous chase, which the man of whom I am writing stopped to watch. The entire circuit of India is infested with immense dragons ; its mountains swarm with them, and its marshes as well, and no little hill is without them. The marsh-dragons are sluggish, about thirty cubits long, and have no standing crest on their heads, being more like a she- dragon, blackish on the back and less scaly than the other kinds. Homer has described them more accurately than most poets, for he says that the dragon which dwelt by the fountain at Aulis was tawny-backed, whereas other poets say that its twin, dwelling in the Nemaean grove, was crested, a thing which we will not easily find in marsh-dragons. 7. The great dragons which live at the base of the mountains, or in the isolated hills, go down into the plains to find their prey, and are in every way superior to those of the marshes, for they grow to greater length, and they flow along the ground swifter than the swiftest streams, so that no BOOK THREE 67 creature can escape from them. They grow a crest, which is only slightly prominent in the younger ones, but increases with their years, until it stands high above their heads. At that age they become red, and are bearded, with serrated backs, and they lift their heads far from the ground, and their scales gleam like silver. The pupils of their eyes are fiery stones, which are said to have wonderful virtue in many magic spells. A dragon of the plains of this sort is taken by hunters after it has swallowed an elephant, which meal thus becomes fatal to both beasts. Dragons are sought for their eyes and skins and teeth, the latter being very like the tusks of the largest wild boars, but more slender and curved, and with points as perfect as in great fishes. 8. The mountain-dragons glitter as if their scales were gold, and they attain greater length than those of the plains. Their bristling beards are golden too, and their eye sockets are more cavernous than in plains- dragons, and deeply set in them smoulder dreadful and pitiless eyes. They rattle like brass when they writhe about in their caverns, and fire brighter than a torch flashes from their flaming crests. They too prey on elephants, and they are taken by hunters in the following manner. Before the entrance of the dragon’s lair the men hang up a scarlet cloak, em¬ broidered in gold with magic hieroglyphics, which induces drowsiness in the dragon, until its otherwise unwinking eyes are closed. Then they sing to it many spells of mysterious might by which it is worked upon to thrust its head out of the cavern, and laying it on the hieroglyphics, it falls asleep ; whereupon the hunters attack its prostrate form, and cut off its head with axes, and then from the amputated head they make booty of the stones which it carries in its eyes. Damis says that the stones in the eyes of mountain-dragons are iridescent, flashing with every color, and that they are endowed with the power of conferring invisibility, which is at¬ tributed to the ring of Gyges. It sometimes happens that a hunter is • overcome by his own spells, and the wakeful monster drags him into the den, axe and all, while the mountain fairly quivers. Similar dragons are said to inhabit the mountains near the Erythraean Sea, where travellers say they have heard their frightful hissing, and have seen them come down to the sea and swim far from shore. It is hard to ascertain, and in¬ credible to tell, how long these creatures live; and this summary em¬ braces all I have been able to learn about them. 9. According to Damis the great city of Paraca lies at the foot of the mountains, and many dragons’ skulls hang in its central square, as its 68 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA townsmen practice this method of hunting from boyhood. They are also said to understand the language and communications of animals, from eating dragons’ heart as some say, and others dragons’ liver. During their march our travellers heard what they thought was a flute which some shepherd was playing to collect his flock ; but the flock turned out to be white does, which had their feeding-place there, and which those Indians milk, considering their milk more nutritious than any other. 10. After four days’ journey from this city through a fertile and well- cultivated region Damis says that they reached the tower of the Sages, whereupon the guide made his camel kneel down, and leapt from it in great trepidation, dripping with sweat. Apollonius recognizing the place was amused at the man’s alarm, and said : ‘‘Although this man has reached port at last after voyaging over a wide sea, he does not seem to like the looks of the harbor, and fears what he may find on shore.” As he spoke he ordered his own camel to kneel also, being quite expert in such performances by that time. The reason for the guide’s fear was that he had unwarily come closer to the Sages than he ought, for the Indians hold them in greater awe than they do the king, because the king of that country consults them on everything he should say or do, as men seek responses from oracles ; and the Sages indicate to him what is best to be done, and discourage or if necessary forbid whatever is undesirable. 11. When they were about to seek lodgings in the nearest village, which was less than a stadium from the Sages’ hill, Damis says that they saw a lad running toward them, the blackest Indian they ever saw, with a white crescent in the space between his eyebrows. I understand that the same peculiarity was afterwards shown in Meno, the Ethiopian protege of the Sophist Herodes, while he was young, but as he approached manhood its whiteness grew duller, and it disappeared with his boyhood. Damis says that this Indian carried a golden anchor, which Indian heralds bear to denote their office, instead of a wand, because it holds things firmly. 12. Running up to Apollonius, the lad addressed him in Greek, which did not seem in itself very surprising, because everyone in that village speaks Greek : but when he greeted him by name it astonished the others, and inspired Apollonius with confidence of attaining the objects of his journey. Looking at Damis he said: “We have come to men who really are wise, for they clearly see future events;” and at once he asked the lad what he was to do, being impatient to converse with them. The lad replied: BOOK THREE 69 “These other men are to lodg^e in this village, but you are to come with me directly, for so they order.” This “they” seemed Pythagorean to Apollonius, and he followed him gladly. 13. Damis says that the hill on which the Sages dwell rises above the plain as high as the Acropolis at Athens, and that it is defended in the same way by a natural encircling cliff, in which are visible everywhere the im¬ pressions of cloven hoofs, and side and front faces, and here and there what look like the backs of falling men. For when Bacchus was besieging the hill with Hercules, he ordered his satyrs to assault it, thinking them strong enough to shake it, but they were smitten by the thunderbolts of the sages, and were hurled in all directions, and after their attack had been repulsed their shapes remained imprinted on the rocks. He says that he saw a cloud surrounding the hill, which permits the Sages dwelling within it to be visible or invisible, as they choose; and that he does not know if there is more than one path up the hill, for the encircling mist kept him from seeing whether the barrier of the cliff was continuous or not. 14. Apollonius himself says that he ascended for the most part on the south side, guided by the Indian lad, and that the first notable thing he saw was a well about four fathoms deep, which was filled to the top with an intensely blue light, and that when the noon-day sun stood over it that light was drawn upward by its rays and was carried high in air, where it shone like a brilliant rainbow. He learned afterward concerning this well that the earth under it was sandarac, and that its water was held sacred by the Sages, so that no one ever drank it or drew it, and that oaths are generally sworn by the well in all India roundabout. Near it is a pit of fire, which sends up a lead-colored flame giving out neither smoke nor smell, and this pit never overflows but bubbles up just enough to be always brim¬ ful of fire. Here the Indians are cleansed of involuntary sins, wherefore the Sages name the well and the pit the “well of trial” and the “fire of pardon.” * He says that he also saw two jars made of black stone, one for rains and one for winds; and that if the rain-jar is uncovered when India is suffer¬ ing from drought it sends out clouds which moisten all the land ; and if there is too much rain the jar is stopped and holds it in. The wind-jar apparently has the same property as bolus’ leather bag, for by loosening the stopper they let out one wind at a time, to breathe for its season, and thence the earth is invigorated. He says that he also saw images of the gods, which would not be strange if they had been Indian or Egyptian deities, but they are the most ancient gods known to the Greeks, Athene 70 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA the city guardian, the Delian Apollo, the Limnsean Bacchus, Bacchus of Amyclse, and all the gods of earliest times ; and he says the Indians shape these gods and worship them after the Greek fashion. The Sages claim th^t they dwell in the middle of India, and that the summit of their hill is the exact central point. On it they maintain a sacred fire, which they say is extracted from the sun’s rays, and daily at noon they chant a hymn to that luminary. 15. Apollonius himself has told what kind of men the Sages are, and what life they lead on their hill, for in one of his addresses to the Egyptian Gymnosophists he said : ‘T have seen the Indian Brahmins living on the earth, and at the same time not on it ; fortified without walls, and owning nothing, yet having the wealth of all the world.” These statements are somewhat too rhetorical to be definite, but Damis tells that they sleep on the ground, after scattering herbs on it which each chooses for himself, and that he himself has seen them gliding about in the air at a height of two cubits above the ground ; not for the sake of exciting wonder, for those men despise any display, but because they commune more fitly with the sun when they are separated from the earth. The fire which they derive from the sun’s rays, although it is actual flame, they do not burn upon an altar, nor keep alive on hearths, but it is seen flickering high in air, like sun¬ light reflected from rippling water. During the day they pray to the Sun that the seasons of the year which he controls may visit the earth in due sequence, so that India may prosper; and at night they pray to that fire derived from the sun, not to be quenched by the darkness, but to remain as they have received it. This is what Apollonius meant by the Brahmins being on the earth and at the same time not on it ; and when he said that they are defended without walls, he meant tlie airy shelter under which they live ; for though they seem to dwell under the open sky, yet at will they draw a shadow over themselves, or are wet by the rain, or are in bright sunshine, all as they may wish. His saying that they own nothing yet have the wealth of the world Damis interprets to mean that the same fountains which burst from the ground for Bacchic revellers, when Bac¬ chus simultaneously convulses the earth and them, also spring up for these Sages, who both drink of them themselves, and give to others their water to drink. Apollonius rightly said that not having they have, since without any preparation they supply themselves instantly with anything they wish. They let their hair grow long, like the ancient Lacedaemonians and Thurians and Tarentines and Melians and others among whom Spartan customs were prized ; and they cover the head with a white turban, and go barefoot and wear a sleeveless garment. The earth produces spontaneously BOOK THREE 71 the wool for their clothing, which is as white as Pamphylian wool, but softer, and an oil like olive oil distils from it. They wear this raiment in their religious ceremonies, and if any one but those Sages tries to pull that wool from the ground the earth refuses to let it go. By the virtues of the ring and the staff which each of them carries they have power to do all things, but both of these are treasured as mysteries. 16, When Apollonius reached them the other Sages greeted him warmly by clasping hands, but larchas remained seated on a lofty throne of black bronze inlaid with various designs in gold. The chairs of the others were likewise of bronze, but were not so high and were not ornamented with designs, so that they sat at a lower level than larchas, who on seeing Apollonius saluted him in Greek, and asked for the letters from the Indian king. Apollonius expressed surprise that he knew of them beforehand, whereupon larchas remarked that one letter would be missing in the epistle, referring to a delta which the writer had accidentally left out, as was found to be the case. After reading the letter he said : “What is your idea of us, Apollonius ?” and the Master replied : “Could I have shown it better than by making such a journey to visit you as no man else of my people ever made ?” larchas asked : “Why do you suppose that we know more than you ?” He answered : “b think that all your attainments are wiser and more divine ; but if I shall have found nothing more among you than I know already, I shall at least have learned this, that nothing more remains for me to learn.” The ‘Indian said in answer: “Others usually ask those who come to them whence they come, and why; but your first proof of our knowledge will be that we are not ignorant concerning our visitor. Observe this then, to begin with.” Whereupon he repeated the pedigree of Apollonius on his father’s side, and on his mother’s, and then narrated all he had done at ^gse, and how Damis had come to him, and what they had done and seen others doing on their journey, all these inci¬ dents being recounted in a clear and unhesitating narrative, as if he had been their travelling companion. Apollonius was astounded, and asked him how he knew, and larchas replied : “You yourself have already some of this wisdom before you come here, but not yet all of it.” “Will you teach me all your wisdom then?” asked Apollonius. “Freely,” he answered, “for it befits wisdom better to teach it, than to grudge and to hide what is worthy to be known ; and besides I perceive that you have an excellent memory, Apollonius, and that is the goddess whom we most adore.” “Can you discern then what qualities I have?” asked Apollonius, and larchas replied : “We perceive all the phases of the mind, tracing them by in¬ numerable indications. But since it is nearly noon, and we must make 72 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA ready what will please the gods, let us now give our attention to them, and afterward we may converse on whatever subject you like. You may be present at all our ceremonies.” ‘‘By Zeus !” said Apollonius, “I would be unfair to the Caucasus and the Indus, which I have traversed on your account, if I did not try to take my fill of all your doings.” “Take your fill then,” said the Sage, “and now let us go.” 17. Having come to a fountain, which Damis, who saw it later, compares with that of Dirce in Boeotia, they laid aside their garments, and anointed their heads with a certain amber-like preparation, which heated them so that their bodies steamed and dripped with a profuse perspiration, like bathers in a hot-room. Then they plunged into the water, and being thus purified they marched in procession to the temple, wreathed and full of song. Standing in a circle like a chorus, with larchas as their leader, the Sages lifted their staves and struck the earth with them, which swelling like a wave shot them into the air to the height of two cubits, while mean¬ time they chanted a hymn like that psean of Sophocles which is sung to ^sculapius at Athens. When they descended again to earth larchas called the lad who bore the anchor and said: “See to the companions of Apol¬ lonius.” The lad went to them far swifter than the swiftest bird, and re¬ turning reported : “I have done so.” The Sages were resting in their chairs, having performed most of their sacred rites, and larchas said to the lad: “Bring out the throne of Phraotes for the philosopher Apollonius, so that he may sit on it while conferring with us.” 18. When he was seated on it, the Sage said : “Ask what you choose, for you have come to men who know everything.” Apollonius thereupon asked whether they also knew themselves, supposing that larchas like the Greeks would think self-knowledge difficult; but he replied with a confidence unexpected by Apollonius : “We know everything, for the reason that we have learned ourselves first of all. None of us attained philosophy until he first knew himself.” Recalling how he had heard from Phraotes that everyone desirous of becoming a philosopher undertook the task only after close self-examination, Apollonius conceded this proposi¬ tion, especially as he had proved it in his own case. His next question was, what they thought themselves to be, and the Sage replied “Gods !” and on Apollonius asking why, he said : “Because we are good men !” This answer seemed to Apollonius so full of wisdom that he afterward said the same thing in his defense before Domitian. BOOK THREE 73 19. Continuing his questions, he asked : “What do you think of the soul ?” larchas replied : “What Pythagoras has taught you, and we taught the Egyptians.” Then Apollonius inquired : “Pythagoras declared himself to have been Euphorbus. Do you mean that you too, before you entered your present body, were a Trojan, or a Greek, or some one else?” The Sage replied: “Troy was ruined by those Greeks who sailed thither, but the fables which are told of that war have been the ruin of you modern Greeks, for you reckon as heroes only those who fought at Troy, and you ignore a greater number of heroes, and more godlike ones, whom your own land, and India, and Egypt have given birth to. But since you have asked me concerning a previous existence, tell me which of those who fought against Troy, and of those who took her side, you rate the highest.” Apollonius replied : “Achilles, the son of Peleus and Thetis, in my opinion. Pie is extolled by Homer as the most beautiful and mighty of all the Greeks, and he sings of his great deeds. He lauds such men as Ajax and Nireus too, but he represents them as inferior to Achilles in beauty and in valor.” larchas said : “Liken my ancestor to him, Apollonius, or rather my former incarnation, for in that sense Pythagoras meant that he him¬ self had been Euphorbus.” 20. “When the people who are now the Ethiopians formerly inhabited this region,” he went on, “they were an Indian race, and Ethiopia did not yet exist ; but Egypt extended beyond Meroe and the Cataracts as far as the sources of the Nile in that direction, and to the mouths of the river in the other. While the Ethiopians dwelt here as the subjects of King Ganges the earth supported them abundantly, and the gods had care of them; but when they had murdered that king they were regarded by the other Indians as accursed, and the earth refused theim sustenance, rotted the seed they sowed before it headed out, made their women’s offspring abortions, gave little feed to their flocks, and wherever they built a city the ground gave way and overthrew it. Moreover the ghost of Ganges haunted them wherever they went, horrifying the people, and never leav¬ ing them in peace, until they sacrificed to the Earth those assassins whose hands had shed his blood. That Ganges was ten cubits tall, and beautiful as no mortal had ever been. He was the son of the river Ganges, and when his father was flooding India he himself made the channel for him to the Erythraean Sea, transforming him into the benefactor of the land ; wherefore the land brought forth everything abundantly while he lived, and avenged him dead. Now since Homer brings Achilles to Troy for the sake of Helen, and tells how he took twelve cities by sea and eleven 74 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA by land, and how he flamed with wrath because his concubine was taken from him by the king, and how at that time he showed a merciless and savage disposition, let us see how Ganges compares with him in those respects. Ganges is famous as the founder of sixty cities, which are the most powerful of all in this land. No one will assert that it is more glorious to overthrow cities than to found them. Once when the Scythians from beyond the Caucasus invaded this country he drove them back. To show himself a valiant hero in freeing his native land is far nobler than to reduce a city to slavery, and that too for the sake of a woman who very probably was not even carried off against her will. Having made a treaty of alliance with the king of that region which Phraotes now rules, he would not cancel the treaty, notwithstanding that king had most wickedly and shamelessly abducted his wife ; for he said that he had taken such a solemn oath, that in spite of his private wrongs he would do the king no harm.” 21. 'T might tell you much more of this hero, if I did not shrink from sounding my own praises, for I myself am that very man. I gave proof of this at four years of age; for Ganges had secretly buried seven diamond swords in the ground, so that no calamity should invade the land, and the gods commanded sacrifices to be offered at the spot where the swords had been buried, but they did not reveal where it was ; and I, a mere child, guided the interpreters of the divine message to the hiding place, identi¬ fying the spot exactly, and told them to dig, and that the swords had been deposited there. 22. “Do not wonder at the coincidence, that I after being once an Indian should be reincarnated as an Indian again. Now this lad” (pointing to a youth about twenty years old) “above all men is a born philosopher, vigorous as you see and in excellent bodily condition, and he bears patiently fire or wounds, and yet for all that he detests philosophy.” “What is wrong with him then, larchas?” asked Apollonius, “for it is hard to believe that one so well fitted for it by nature should not delight in philosophy, nor be eager to learn, and yet be one of your companions.” “He is not here of his own choice,” said larchas ; “he is an unwilling captive, and is kept in confinement like a caged lion, and he glares at us with savage eyes even when we are soothing and petting him. That youth was formerly the Palamedes who fought at Troy, and who was so hateful to Ulysses and to Homer that Ulysses had him waylaid and stoned to death, and Homer did not think him a worthy subject for his poem. Now because the knowledge which he then had did not save him, and he got no praise from Homer, who has conferred fame on many insignificant BOOK THREE 75 individuals, and because he was slain by Ulysses without any provocation, he detests philosophy and mourns his lot. He really is Palamedes yet, and is even able to write, though he has never learned his letters.” 23. While they were conversing thus a messenger came to larchas to say that the king would arrive early in the evening to consult him on his affairs. larchas said : “Let him come, for he will go away benefited by meeting a notable Greek.” Thereupon he resumed the conversation, and asked Apollonius : “Are you willing to tell us of your own previous existence, and who you then were?” Apollonius answered: “I rarely think of that, because it did me little honor.” larchas went on : “Do you consider it dishonorable then to have been the steersman of an Eg}^ptian vessel? For I see that is what you were.” “You are right, larchas,” said Apollonius, “for that is exactly what 1 was. I consider that calling to be not merely dishonorable but outcast. It should be thought as respectable as holding office, or commanding an army, and yet it is looked down upon because of the bad name of sea-faring men; so that in that day nobody thought that even my best conduct entitled me to any credit.” “What other creditable thing would you say you did,” asked larchas, “beyond the way in which you managed your ship, in the gale which blew her off her course in sailing around Malea and Sunium, when you skilfully antici¬ pated the changes of the wind from ahead or astern, and steered the vessel safely past the sunken reefs in the Eubcean gulf, where many spikes of rock stand out?” 24. Apollonius answered : “Since you require me to speak of steers- manship, I will tell you one thing I think I did well in those days. At one time pirates were infesting the Phoenician coast, and lurked in cities to spy out each vessel’s cargo. Seeing that my ship was full-laden with a valuable freight the pirates’ emissaries asked me privately what share I had in the freight-money, and I told them a thousand drachmas, as we were four steersmen on board. Then they asked me, ‘do you own a house?’ and I answered, ‘a wretched cabin on Pharos island, where Proteus used to live.’ Then they asked : ‘would you not prefer solid ground to the sea, and a house instead of a cabin, and ten times your share of the freight money, with a release from the countless dangers which beset steersmen on stormy waves ?’ I answered that I certainly would like that, but that I could not bcj tempted to piracy, since I had acquired much skill and was rated as entitled to wreaths for my steers- manship. When they persisted and offered me a purse of ten thousand drachmas to carry out their plan, I asked them to let me know what 76 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA the plan was, as if I was ready to fall in with it. They said then that they had been sent by pirates to induce me not to thwart their seizure of the vessel, and not tq sail directly to our destination when I cast off from there, but to touch at a certain cape behind which the pirate ships would be in hiding ; and they offered to swear that they not only would not kill me, but would spare the lives of any on board for whom I might intercede. I thought if not at all safe to seem to oppose them, for fear that they would change their plan, and attack the vessel as soon as she put to sea, in which event we would be sunk somewhere in deep water; so I signified my consent to their scheme, and made them swear to do as they had promised. After the oaths had been given, for we were conferring in a temple, I said: ‘Go off at once to notify the pirate ships, for we are to sail tonight;’ and I strengthened their confidence in me by throwing in a reference to the bribe, asking them to count out full-weight coins to me, but not before they had taken the vessel. So they went away, but I steered wide of the cape and took my vessel far out to sea.” “Do you think that conduct honest?” asked larchas. “I certainly do, and humane besides,” answered Apollonius, “for in my opinion refusing to betray the lives of men, and to rob my owners of their goods, and to be corrupted by a bribe, includes many virtues, in spite of my being a sailor.” 25. Then the Sage said smiling: “You seem to believe that uprightness consists merely in abstaining from wrong-doing ; and so I think do all the Greeks. For, as I have heard from some Egyptians who came here once, the prefects who are sent to you from Rome poise over your heads an axe ready to fall before they know whether those whom they are to rule deserve punishment or not ; but you call them upright so long as they do not actually sell their decisions. I understand that slave dealers have similar standards, and that if they come to you bringing Carian slaves, and under¬ take to describe their dispositions, they think it high commendation to say that they do not steal. That is your way of classifying the magistrates whom you say you obey ; and you adorn them with the highest testimonials, in your opinion, when you give the same praise to them as to those slaves. Neither do your loftiest poets permit you to be just and honorable, even if you should wish to be, for Minos, the most brutal of men, who enslaved every coast and island with his ships, these poets arm with the rod of jus¬ tice, and they set him up as a judge of souls in Hades ; while the same poets deprive Tantalus of food and drink, because he was a kindly man, and shared with his friends the immortality granted him by the gods. Some of them even insult that noblest and most godlike of men by suspending rocks above his head, though it would be more suitable, as I think, if they sur- BOOK THREE 77 rounded him with a lake of that nectar which he so generously and benevo¬ lently gave away.” On saying this he pointed to a statue about four cubits high standing at his left hand, inscribed “Tantalus,” and representing a man of fifty years dressed in Argolic costume, except that he threw his cloak back in Thessalian fashion. He was holding out a goblet large enough to satisfy one man’s thirst, in which foamed brimful a draught of unmingled fluid. I will soon tell how the Sages esteem this fluid, and on what occasions they drink it. It surely must be believed that although the poets blame Tantalus for not holding his tongue, and for giving nectar to mortals, the gods do not do so, for if the gods disliked him he never would have been considered a good man by those Indian Sages, who of all men are the dearest to the gods, and do nothing without divine approval. 26. An uproar arose in the village while they were speaking thus, for the king had arrived there, escorted with more than Median splendor, and swelling with importance. Whereupon larchas indignantly remarked: “If it had been Phraotes coming here, you would have noticed a stillness as profound as in the Mysteries.” Apollonius inferred from this that the king was excelled by Phraotes, not in small degree but by the whole stretch of his philosophy. Seeing that the Sages were unconcerned, and were making none of the preparations which seemed requisite for the king’s reception that afternoon, he asked : “Where will the king lodge ?” They replied “here, for we are to converse upon the subjects he comes about tonight, which is a more suitable time for taking counsel.” “Then will not a table be made ready against his arrival?” asked Apollonius. “Directly,” they answered, “and it will be lavishly set with everything to be found in the region.” “Do you then live lavishly?” asked Apollonius. They replied: “We ourselves live meagrely, for we are content with little, though we might have more ; but it is necessary to offer the king a great deal, for such is his taste. He will eat no flesh here however, for that is not permitted in this place, but he will have any sweetmeats and vegetables and fruits which India produces at this season, or which next year’s seasons will offer. But here he comes.” 27. The king came in glittering with gold and jewels, and accompanied by his brother and his son. Apollonius was about to rise at his coming, but larchas held him down in his chair, saying that was not their custom. Damis says that he himself stayed in the village that day and was not present on the occasion, but that he heard from Apollonius the account which he reports in his notes. He says that the Sages kept their seats, and that the king approached them with outstretched hand like one begging a 78 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA favor, and that they nodded as if granting his prayer, whereupon he manifested excessive joy over this intimation, as if he had come to the oracle of God ; and that no more attention was paid to the king’s brother or to his son, a very handsome youth, than if they had been the slaves of the attendants. Then larchas rose, and raising his voice invited the king to take refreshments, and on his gratefully accepting the invitation four Pythian tripods glided in of their own accord, like the moving tripods which Homer describes, afid behind them came cup-bearers of dark bronze resembling the figures of Ganymede or of Pelops among the Greeks. Meantime the earth spread under the guests herbage softer than couches, and there appeared before them sweetmeats and loaves and vegetables, and every fruit which the season furnished, all in due order and more temptingly served than if cooks had prepared them. Two of the tripods flowed with wine, another jetted hot water, and the fourth cold water. Among the Greeks the rubies brought from India are so small that they are set in rings or strung in necklaces, but among the Indians goblets and wine-coolers are carved from them, and vases large enough to satisfy four thirsty men in summer. Damis says that the bronze cup-bearers mixed wine and water in due proportion, and carried the goblets about as at a wine party, and that the guests reclined as at a banquet. The king did not take the head of the table, which is the place of honor among Romans and * Greeks, but each one reclined wherever he happened to be. 28. As the wine went round larchas said : “O King, I invite you to drink to the health of this noble Greek,” pointing to Apollonius, who lay near him, and intimating by his gesture that he was high-minded and godlike. The king said : ‘T have heard that he and those companions of his in the village are on intimate terms with Phraotes.” larchas said : “What you have heard is true and correct, for Phraotes is entertaining him here too as his guest.” “On what business is he here?” asked the king. “The same business which Phraotes himself transacts here,” replied larchas. The king rejoined : “that is equivalent to saying that your guest is worth¬ less, if he employs himself in the way which prevents Phraotes himself from being equal to his station.” Then larchas said : “Think more reasonably of philosophy and of Phraotes, O King. During your boy¬ hood your immaturity gave you some excuse, but now that you have grown to be a man, avoid hasty and foolish criticisms.” Then Apollonius said, while larchas interpreted for him : “What have you gained by despising philosophy, O King?” The king answered: “Complete man¬ hood for myself, and to be one and the same with the Sun !” Thinking to take down his conceit, Apollonius said : “If you studied philosophy you BOOK THREE 79 would not think so.” “But since you are a philosopher, my good sir,” said the king, “what opinion have you of yourself?” “To the extent that I am a philosopher I am a good man,” replied Apollonius. Then said the king, lifting his hand toward the sky: “By the Sun! You have come here full of Phraotes!” Turning that to suit his purpose Apollonius replied: “I have not made my journey in vain, if I am full of Phraotes ; but if you should meet him now you would say that he is quite full of me. Indeed he wished to write to you a letter of introduction for me, but when he said that you were a good man I asked him to save himself the trouble of writ¬ ing it, especially as no one at all had written to introduce me to him.” 29. At this the king abandoned his insolent manner, for on hearing that he had been complimented by Phraotes he sunk his prejudices, and said in a subdued tone : “You are welcome, best of guests :” and Apollonius answered : “Hail to you too, O King, for now you seem to have come at last.” “Who has induced you to come to us ?” asked the king. “These wise and divine men,” was the reply. “But what do they say about me among the Greeks, O guest?” asked the king. “As much as is said here about the Greeks,” said Apollonius. The king said : “But I think nothing worth mentioning is done among the Greeks.” “I will report that,” said Apol¬ lonius, “and they will crown you forthwith at the Olympic games.” 30. Then leaning toward larchas he said : “Let him go on drinking his fill. But tell me, why do you treat those with him, his brother as you say he is, and his son, as unworthy of eating with the rest of the company, or of any other attention ?” larchas answered : “Because they expect to reign some day, so they must be taught by neglect not to neglect others.” Seeing that there were eighteen Sages, Apollonius again asked larchas what that number signified, seeing it was not the square of any number, nor one of those numbers which are held in certain dignity and honor, such as ten or twelve or sixteen and the like. The Sage said in reply: “We are neither slaves to a number, nor is the number to us ; but we Sages are counted according to our wisdom and virtue, and are more numerous at one time and fewer at another. I am told that my grandfather in his day was chosen to be one of seventy-seven Sages, of whom he was the youngest of all ; and that when he had reached his hundred and thirtieth year he was the only one left here, because none of his colleagues had survived, and no other qualified and philosophic mind existed in India. When the Egyptians congratulated him on being one of the most fortunate of men, because he had occupied this throne alone for four years, he begged them to give over reproaching the Indians for the scarcity of their philosophers. 80 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA It is true, Apollonius, that we have heard through the Egyptians how by the rules of the Elean and the Olympic games the judges presiding over them are invariably ten in number, but we do not approve of the method which leaves their selection to blind chance, for it might happen that the worst candidate would be elected. But even if they should choose them by ballot among the best-qualified, would they not still be wrong? Quite as much so, for if the limit of ten cannot be altered, either they will fail to confer due honor on some, when there are too many qualified candidates ; or on the other hand if they are compelled to elect unsuitable men for any of the ten places it will lower the dignity of them all. The Eleans would be wiser if they varied the number of their judges as occasion arose, but never varied their excellence.’’ 31. The king had been persistently endeavoring to interrupt this con¬ versation by constantly interjecting some foolish and ignorant remark. At last he asked them what they were talking about and Apollonius replied : ‘‘We are discussing weighty matters which are held in high honor among the Greeks ; but you would think them of small importance, for you say that you have no regard for anything Greek.” “It is true that I have no regard for them,” said the king, “but for all that I would like to under¬ stand what you are saying, for I think you are speaking of the Athenians, those slaves of Xerxes.” Then said Apollonius : “We are in fact speak¬ ing of other subjects; but since you have thrown out a reference to the Athenians, which is out-of-place and untrue, I would like you to tell me this. Have you slaves, O King?” “Twenty thousand of them,” said the king, “and I never bought one of them. They were all raised on my estates.” Again Apollonius asked, through larchas as an interpreter, whether he fled from his slaves, or they from him. The king replied insultingly : “That question is what one might expect from a slave, but yet I answer that a runaway is a slave, and a bad one at that, but a master never runs from one whom he has the power to torture and scourge.” Apollonius went on : “Then Xerxes, O King, by your definition was the slave of the Athenians, and being a bad slave he ran away from them; for when he had been defeated by them in a naval battle in the straits, and feared that the boat-bridge across the Hellespont would not be safe, he fled from them in a single ship.” “And yet,” said the king, “he had burned Athens with his own hands.” To which Apollonius rejoined : “But he paid such a penalty for that deed as no one else ever did, for he fled before that very people whom he thought he had destroyed. When I think of his expectations at the outset of the war, I see that he might well have appeared to some then as a kind of Zeus ; but as a fugitive at its close he BOOK THREE 81 seems to me the wretchedest of men. If he had fallen at the hands of the Greeks, who would have been more highly honored than he? Or for whom would the Greeks have built a grander mausoleum? And think of the games and musical contests which would have been instituted in memory of him! If the Greeks exalted to divine honors Melicertas or Palaemon, who died before reaching manhood, or Pelops, that foreigner from Lydia, who enslaved Arcadia and Argolis and the Isthmus, what distinction would have been withheld from the dead Xerxes by warriors eagerly appreciating a valiant spirit, and deeming it an honor to them¬ selves to honor those whom they had defeated.” 32. When Apollonius said that, the king could not restrain his tears, and replied: “O dearest of men, what heroes do you show the Greeks to be!” Apollonius asked: ‘‘Why then are you so prejudiced against them?” and the king answered : “Those who come here from, Egypt slander the Greeks, boasting that they themselves are holy and wise, and that they originated whatever rites and mysteries the Greeks celebrate, and assert¬ ing that there is nothing sound in the Greeks, who are an arrogant and promiscuous and utterly lawless rabble, credulous of myths and portents, and beggars as well, only they do not pride themselves on their poverty as honorable, but use it as an excuse for stealing. However, I know better now from you, and learning how just and how devoted to honor they are, I am a friend of the Greeks henceforth, and cannot help applauding them and giving them my best wishes, but I have loH all faith in Egyptians.” Then larchas said : “I knew very well that you were misinformed by those Egyptians, O King, but I did not correct your impressions of the Greeks, for I waited until you should meet some such man as this to set you right. Now that you have been converted by this philosopher, let us drink from the cup of Tantalus, and then take a nap, so that we may do tonight what we have to do. Whenever you come here again I will gratify you to your heart’s content with sayings of the Greeks, in which they abound above all men.” Thereupon, taking precedence of his guests, he was the first to bend his head to the goblet held out by the statue of Tantalus, which furnished drink abundantly to them all ; for the fluid welled up in it as in a perennial spring. Apollonius drank of it in his turn, for that drinking was ordained by the Sages in token of friendship, and they use Tantalus as the cup-bearer because of all men he seems to have given the greatest proofs of friendship. 33. When all had shared that draught, the earth received them on couches which she spread under them ; but rising at midnight they first chanted 82 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA hymns to that radiance of the Sun, while they floated in the air as they had done at noon, and then they discussed with the king what he wished to ask. Damis says that Apollonius was not present at that conference, which he supposes related to some state secrets. After the sacred rites had been again performed at sunrise the king came to Apollonius and invited him to the palace to be his guest, offering to send him back to the Greeks so loaded with favors that they would envy him. Apollonius thanked him and replied that he did not bestow his company upon a man who had nothing in common with him, and that moreover he had already been too long away from home and the friends he had left there would feel neglected. When the king said fawningly that he begged him to come, and persisted in importuning him, Apollonius said : “When a king speaks more humbly than he should, he has some hidden purpose in what he asks.” Then larchas coming up said: “You are offending this holy dwelling, O King, by trying to carry away from it any man against his will, and especially this prophet, who foresees that association with you would not be to his advantage and perhaps would not bring any gain to you either.” 34. The king thereupon withdrew to the village, as the Sages’ rules did not permit him to remain with them longer than one day, and larchas said to his messenger : “We will admit Damis, too, to our mysteries. Bring him therefore, and make arrangements for the others in the village.” When Damis arrived they were seated as usual and were allowing Apol¬ lonius to question them. He asked of what substance they thought the universe is composed, and they replied : “Of the elements.” “Of four then?” he asked, and larchas said: “Not four, but five.” “What is the fifth element, then, besides water, earth, air, and fire?” asked Apollonius. “The ether,” answered larchas, “in which it must be thought that the gods have their origin, for all air-breathers are mortal, but beings who breathe the ether are immortal and divine.” Apollonius then asked which element existed first, and larchas said : “They all began simultaneously, for no living thing is born piecemeal.” “Do you then think the universe to be a living thing?” asked Apollonius; and larchas replied: “Yes, if you rightly understand it, for it gives birth to all living things.” “Should we call it female, or both male and female ?” asked Apollonius. “It is of both sexes,” said larchas, “for it is self-impregnated, and acts as both father and mother in creating life, and its desire for itself exceeds all other passion of sepa¬ rate beings for each other, so that each part of it unites and harmonizes with the rest. Nor is there anything unreasonable in its union with itself. As every living being contrives to move itself by means of its hands and BOOK THREE 83 feet, and has an inner intelligence by which it is impelled, so we may sup¬ pose that the various parts of the universe, through the aid of its indwelling mind, furnish whatever is necessary for the generation and birth of all things. The ills occasioned by drought, for instance, may be so occasioned through the soul of the universe, because justice has been despised and re¬ jected by mankind. This animal is served not by one hand, but by many and mysterious ones, and though it is too huge to be bridled, it is tractable and easily guided.” 35. 'T can use no adequate illustration of this most abstruse and incom¬ prehensible of all subjects, but let us take as an example such a vessel as the Egyptians build and send into our seas to trade their wares for ours. An ancient law, which is still in force, was enacted by King Erythras when the Erythraean Sea was under his sway, forbidding Egyptians to voy¬ age on that sea in war ships, and restricting them to only one cargo-boat at a time. So the Egyptians have devised a vessel which accomplishes as much as other people require many ships to do. After fastening the ribs to the keel according to the plan of the vessel, and having joined to them the planking of the sides, and stepped the mast, they construct many cabins like those on deck. On board the vessel are numerous steersmen com¬ manded by the oldest and most experienced, and there are many officers of the forecastle, and the best and most active rowers, and sailors for the rigging. There is also on board an armed force, for the ship must be pro¬ tected against the savages of the coast, who inhabit the right shore of the entrance to the gulf, in case they should come off to plunder her. Let us imagine the universe to be like that, and compare her to such a vessel. The first and supreme place of command must be given to God the Creator of this animal, and the secondary places to those gods who govern its various parts ; on which point we may accept the views of the poets that there are many gods in the sky, many in the sea and in rivers and springs, many on the earth, and some, too, under the earth ; but let us eliminate from our consideration of the universe that underground region, if there is one, which they describe as being so horrible and deadly.” 36. When the Sage concluded thus, Damis says that he himself was so deeply thrilled with amazement that he shouted aloud, for he never would have believed that an Indian could be such a master of the Greek language, or that even if he had the words he could explain such subjects with such a flow of polished eloquence. He says too that the Sage’s look and his smile were wonderful, and that he seemed divinely inspired in the exposi¬ tion of his thoughts; and that Apollonius, though he spoke simply and 84 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA unassumingly, contributed almost as much to the discussion as the Sage himself, and when he spoke seated, as he often did, he looked like larchas. 37. When the other Sages had applauded larchas’ opinions, as well as his eloquence, Apollonius began once more by asking which they thought the more extensive, the sea or the land, and larchas replied: “Limiting the comparison to the actual seas, the land is more extensive, for it includes them; but if the land is compared with all waters there are, we would call the land the less, because the water underlies it.” 38. At this point in the conversation their messenger came to the Sages, leading in certain persons who sought their assistance. A woman, whom he brought forward, asked relief for her sixteen-year-old son, who she said had been possessed by a demon for two years, its special manifestation being in his cheating and lying. When one of the Sages asked her reasons for thinking so, she replied : “The demon loves that boy because he is very beautiful, and he does not let him act sensibly, or go to school, or to archery-practice, or stay at home ; but it drives him into desert regions, and the boy does not even retain his natural voice, for his tones are deep and harsh like a man’s, and the eyes he looks out of are more like some one’s else than like his own. When I weep and beat my breast and scold the boy about these things, as I ought, he does not appear to know me; but when I was thinking of coming up here, for I formed that plan last year, the demon confessed who he was, using the boy as a mouthpiece. He said that he was the ghost of a man who was slain in battle some time ago, and that he had loved his wife when he died, but three days after his death she disgraced his bed by marrying another man, and so the love of women became hateful to him, and he had changed him¬ self into this boy. He promised that if I would not complain to you of him he would give the boy many rich and fine things, and I let myself be deluded for a time by these assurances ; but now he has put me out of my own house, and keeps it for himself, with no right or honest intention.” The Sages asked her if the boy were near by, and she said no, and that she had made many attempts to bring him, “but that demon threatens cliffs and chasms and death to my son if I bring him here to judgment.” “Take heart,” said the Sage, “he will not kill him when he reads this,” and he drew from his robe and handed to the woman a scroll addressed to the demon, adjuring him with direful threats. BOOK THREE 85 39. Then came forward a cripple about thirty years old who had been a very bold lion-hunter, but by the charge of a lion his hip had been dis¬ located so that one leg was shorter than the other. By stroking the hip with their hands the Sages restored to the young man the ability to walk naturally. Another, whose eyes had flowed out, went away with his sight fully recovered ; and another who had a paralyzed hand left their presence cured. Then a woman, who was in difficult labor with her seventh child, was relieved on her husband’s petition by this means. The Sage instructed the husband to carry a live hare in his bosom into the room where his wife lay in labor, and after walking around her bed with the hare to take it outside at once, for the womb would come forth with the child if the hare were not taken out of doors immediately. 40. Next, a father complained that although sons had been born to him, they all died when they first began to drink wine, and larchas told him : “It is better for them that they should die, for if they had lived they would not have escaped madness, being conceived evidently from too inflam¬ matory seed. Your children should avoid wine, so that they may not ever develop a taste for it. If another child shall be born to you, which I per¬ ceive did happen seven days ago, you must look for an owl’s nest, and taking its eggs you must give them to the child to eat, soft-boiled. If it eats them before it has tasted wine, a disgust for wine will be created in it, and it will be very abstemious, and as if tempered by merely natural heat.” Constantly seeing such cures, and being filled with wonder at the universal knowledge of the Sages, Apollonius and Damis asked many questions of them daily, and were questioned by them in turn. 41. Both took part in the general colloquies, but Damis says that only Apollonius held private studies with larchas, in which they devoted them¬ selves to astrology and divination, and dealt with the knowledge of future events, and formulated sacrifices and invocations in which the gods take delight ; and that from that instruction Apollonius wrote four volumes on divination by astrology (which books Moeragenes also mentions), and that he also wrote on the subject of sacrifices, and how they may be made most suitably and acceptably to each of the gods. It has always seemed to me that the science of the stars, and all such divination, transcends human powers, and I have never found anyone who possessed it. I have discovered his work on sacrifices in many temples, and in many cities, and in many homes of wise men, and why should any one paraphrase what has therein been reverently expressed by such a man with his habitual clear- 86 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA ness? Damis also says that larchas gave to Apollonius seven rings, engraved respectively with the names of the seven planets, and that Apol¬ lonius used to wear each of them on its own day of the week. 42. At one time, when the conversation had turned on the knowledge of future events, Apollonius being greatly inclined to that science, to which he often led their discussions, larchas said in eulogy of him : ‘‘My dear Apollonius, those who delight in divination become divine themselves * thereby, and practice their art for the safety of mankind. To be able to foresee by one’s own powers the things which others have to visit an oracle to learn, and to predict those things to those who do not know them, this seems to me to make the man truly blest, and gifted with the powers of the Pythian Apollo. And as the method of consulting oracles requires of each worshipper, who approaches the god for that purpose, that he must come purified to the shrine, or else he will hear the dread word, ‘Leave the temple !’ so I think that the man who undertakes to foretell future events must keep his body sound and his soul unspotted from any uncleanness, and not have his mind warped by scars of sins. He must prophesy in purity befitting to himself and to the sacred tripod which he bears in his bosom, and so he will utter clearer and truer predictions. So it is not strange that you have such a grasp of this science, when you carry so much of the immortal ether in your soul.” 43. Turning to Damis, he said jocularly: “Have you no gift of prophecy, Assyrian, even after long companionship with such a man ?” “Certainly, as much as I need, by Zeus!” exclaimed Damis, “for when I first happened to meet Apollonius, and saw how filled he was with wisdom and gravity and self-control and true steadfastness, and later when I had discovered his strength of memory, and his many-sided knowledge, and his intense eagerness to learn even more, he seemed to me more than human, and I foresaw that his companionship would make me wise, in place of being ignorant and foolish, and make me civilized, in place of being a barbarian, and that by being his disciple and devoting myself to study under his guidance I would see India and you ; and that having become Greek through him I might ultimately be admitted to intimacy by the Greeks. Treat your own prophecies, which deal with momentous issues, as equal to those of Delphi or Dodona or whatever oracle you choose; but let mine, since it is only Damis who utters them, and he prophesies only on his own account, be on a par with those of some fortune-telling old woman, who predicts about sheep and such like.” This jesting provoked a burst of laughter from the Sages. BOOK THREE 87 44. When the laughter subsided larchas reverted to the original conver¬ sation about divination, and remarked that it is the source of many bless¬ ings to men, but that its greatest boon is in medicine ; “for learned physi¬ cians would never have acquired their knowledge of that science if ^sculapius, the son of Apollo, had not handed down to his own sons the remedies suitable for dififerent diseases, compounded according to his father’s directions and oracles, and if he had not since taught his disciples which herbs should be applied to ulcers, and which to dry and scaly erup¬ tions, and the proper doses of medical potions to reduce dropsies, and to check hemorrhages, and to halt tuberculosis and other corroding diseases of that sort. Then, too, who will deny that the antidotes of poisons, and the prescribing of poisons themselves in the treatment of disease, are due to divination? It seems to me that no man would have dared to mingle the deadliest of all substances with salutary ones for a patient, without prophetic knowledge of what the result would be.” 45. Damis also took notes of a conversation there concerning certain beasts and springs and men which are said to be found among the Indians ; and I will not leave it out, though it may be desirable neither to believe nor to disbelieve all that was said. A question asked by Apollonius was : “Is the animal called martichoras found in this vicinity?” To which larchas replied : “What have you heard to be the nature of that animal ? For some description of its appearance must be given.” Apollonius replied : “They give extraordinary and incredible accounts of it, such as that it is a quadruped having a man’s head, a lion’s size, and a tail with spines like thorns a cubit long which it hurls like darts against its pursuers.” He also asked about the liquid gold which is said to flow from a spring, and about a certain precious stone which has the properties of a magnet, and about men who live underground, and about the pigmies and the umbrella¬ footed men ; but to all these questions larchas answered : “Why should I tell you of animals and plants and springs, things which you yourself might have seen in coming here, if they exist. It is for you to tell of such marvels to others, but I never heard yet of any dart-throwing beast, or of any springs of gold.” 46. “As to the gem which attracts other stones to itself and holds them, there is no question about that, for you may examine it, and test all its wonderful properties. The largest of such gems is of the size of my thumb nail, and it is formed in cavities four cubits deep in the ground. It gen¬ erates so much gas in forming that the ground swells up, and often cracks 88 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA open. No one can find it by looking for it, for it conceals itself, if it is not scientifically extracted ; and we Sages are the only ones who can suc¬ cessfully mine for the pantarhe, as it is called, and we do it by using both charms and spells. It turns night into day like a flame, for it is fiery and refulgent, and if looked at by daylight it dazzles the eyes with ten thousand scintillations. Its light is due to an unspeakably powerful emanation, and it attracts everything in its vicinity. But why say, in its vicinity? For you may sink in rivers or the sea as large stones as you like, not close together but scattered far and wide at random, and if that gem be let down to them it will collect them all together by its inherent force, so that they will hang from it in a cluster like a swarm of bees.” So saying he showed them the gem, and demonstrated its powers. 47. Damis reports that pigmies do in fact live underground as every one says they do, but that they are only found on the farther side of the Ganges, where he did not go. On the other hand, umbrella-footed men, or long-headed men, such as are described in the “Commentaries” of Scylax, certainly do not exist among the Indians or anywhere else in the world. 48. Fie also says that the gold which griffins extract is ore studded with flakes of gold looking like sparks, which the creature quarries out by the strength of its beak. These animals are found in India, and are held sacred to the Sun, and those Indian artists who depict that deity yoke figures of griffins to his four-horse chariot. Moreover he says that they have the size and strength of lions, and as they have wings besides, they attack and vanquish not only lions, but elephants and dragons. They do not fly very hig'h, only about as high as short-winged birds, and they are not feathered like birds, the frame work of their wings being covered with a flame- colored membrane, which enables them to fly in circles and to fight in the air. Only the tiger is not to be caught by them, because it is swift as the wind. 49. He says that the phoenix, which comes to Egypt every five-hundredth year, flies about in India during all the rest of its life, and that there is only one of them at a time, and that it is generated by the sun’s rays, being of the size and shape of an eagle and shining with gold, and that near the sources of the Nile it sits on a nest which it builds from spices. The Indians confirm what the Egyptians tell of its being attracted into Egypt, and they add that while the phoenix is being burned up in its nest, it sings to BOOK THREE 89 itself for five days. Those who listen very skilfully to swans say that they do the same thing. 50. Apollonius continued to hold such intercourse with the Sages during the four months of his sojourn there, being admitted to all their confer¬ ences, public and private. When he decided to depart, they induced him to send the guide and the camels back to Phraotes with a letter, and they themselves escorted him with another guide, and with camels of their own supplying, congratulating both themselves and him on this prolongation of his visit. When they finally bade him farewell, they told him that men would believe him to be a god, not only after his death, but while he still lived; and they turned back toward their place of meditation with their eyes fixed on the Master, and grieving over their reluctant separation. Apollonius kept the Ganges to his right and the Hyphasis to his left during his ten days’ march from the sacred hill to the sea. On their way they saw many ostriches and buffalos, many asses and lions and leopards and tigers, and a different kind of ape from those found in the pepper-trees, these being black and bristly, shaped like a dog and about as large as a small man. Conversing as usual on what they saw, they reached the coast at a point where stood a few small trading stations, with cargo vessels like the Etruscan, lying near. The Erythraean Sea is intensely blue, and as I have said it gets its name from King Erythras, who called it after himself. 51. On arriving there Apollonius sent the camels back to larchas with this letter : ‘‘Apollonius to larchas and the other Sages, Greeting: “I came to you by land and you have now presented me with the sea, and by sharing your wisdom with me you have enabled me to traverse the sky. Even among the Greeks I shall be mindful of these teachings, so that I will converse with you as if face to face, unless I shall have drunk from the cup of Tantalus in vain. Earewell, best of philosophers.” 52. Going on board a ship they set sail with a gentle and favoring wind, and were greatly interested in the way that the Hyphasis river pours through its outlet into the sea with great violence. Toward the end of its course, as I have said, it forces its way over reefs and through gorges with overhanging cliffs, until it breaks through to the sea by a single pass, which makes a dangerous current for coasting vessels venturing too near shore. 90 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 53. Damis says that they also sailed by the mouth of the Indus, where stands the city of Patala, surrounded by the river, and where the fleet of Alexander came which was commanded by the famous admiral Nearchus. Damis confirms the statements of Orthagoras concerning the Erythraean Sea, that the constellation Ursa Major is not visible there, and that those sailing on it cast no shadow at noon, and that any familiar stars which can be seen have altered their relative positions. Damis saw all this too, so it must be credited, and be ascribed to the nature of the sky there. Damis also mentions the small island of Biblus, where the mussels are very large, and sea mice and oysters and other marine creatures growing among the rocks reach ten times the size they do in Greece ; and a gem is found there, a pearl hidden in a white shell, which takes the place of the heart in an oyster. 54. He says that they sailed thence to Pegadae, in the country of the mountain dwellers, where the rocks are copper, and the sand is copper, and the rivers wash down copper gravel. They thought the earth there might have gold in it, because the copper is of such excellent quality. 55. He says they came to fish-eaters whose city is named Stobera, and who are clad in the skins of great fishes, and even the sheep of that country taste of fish, and have an unnatural diet, for their shepherds feed them on fish as those of Caria feed theirs on figs. The Carmani of India, who are a civilized people, live alongside a sea so abounding in fish that they never dry them or salt them, as the people on the Black Sea do ; and they are able to sell only a small proportion of those they catch, throwing the rest of them back into the water while they are still alive and flapping. 56. He says that their vessel also touched at Balara, which is a trading post embowered in myrtles and palm trees, and that they saw laurels there too ; and the whole region is full of springs, with orchards and flower gardens in all directions, and with harbors sheltered from every wind. Opposite that coast lies a haunted island called Selera, with a channel of only a hundred stadia between. It is haunted by a Nereid, a horrible ghoul who carries off many sailors, and does not allow any ship to moor her cable to the island. 57. I must tell what he says of a new kind of pearl, since even Apollonius did not reject the story as childish, and it is well-told, at any rate, and one BOOK THREE 91 of the most marvellous sea yarns. It is to the effect that on the seaward side of that island there is a very deep pocket in the sea bottom which pro¬ duces an extremely fat and white-shelled oyster containing no pearls. Waiting for a calm sea, and further smoothing the surface by spreading over it a coating of oil, the fishermen dive for these oysters, each man being equipped like a sponge-fisher, and carrying moreover a small iron slab and an alabaster box of ointment. He seats himself beside an oyster and rubs ointment on its as a bait, whereupon it opens its shell, being intoxicated by the perfume, and is promptly pierced by a needle and exudes a fluid which the fisherman catches on the excavated grooves of the iron slab. There it gradually hardens, and takes on the appearance of a natural pearl ; and yet this pearl is nothing but white blood from the Erythraean Sea. They say that the Arabs of the opposite coast have also adopted this method of pearl-fishing. Damis says that after passing this place the gulf swarms with sea monsters, and that whales are there in herds, and to keep them off each boat has bells hung at bow and stern, the sound of which frightens the creatures and prevents their coming near the vessels. 58. Voyaging to the mouth of the Euphrates, they entered it and sailed up that river to Vardanes in Babylon; and after being entertained by him as hospitably as before, they returned to Nineveh. Finding Antioch char¬ acteristically insolent, and quite indifferent to anything Greek, they went to the sea coast near Seleucia and took ship for Cyprus, and thence to Paphos. After admiring the symbolically-posed statue of Venus there, and after teaching her priests much concerning the sacred ceremonies of their worship, Apollonius sailed to Ionia, where he was received with the admiration which was his due, and with great honor by all who valued philosophy. 92 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA BOOK FOUR. He visits Ionia — Ephesus — Smyrna — Ephesus again, where he REMOVES THE PLAGUE - TrOY AND THE TOMB OF AcHILLES - ^OLIA, Lesbos, Athens — Thessalonia — Corinth and the Isthmus — Olympia — ^Sparta — Malea — Crete — First visit to Rome — Resus¬ citates DEAD GIRL - DEPARTURE FOR SpAIN. 1. In Ionia, when they saw the Master on his way to Ephesus, even the artisans left their work and followed after him, marvelling at his wisdom, or his beauty, or his mode of life, or his bearing, or at all of these things put together. In everybody’s mouth were the responses concerning him which had been uttered by the oracles of Colophon and of Branchidse and of the shrine at Pergamum ; all of which agreed in saying that Apollonius shared the wisdom of Apollo himself, and was a man altogether wise, and that the god directed many health seekers to go to Apollonius, for so he wished and the Fates decreed. Envoys from various cities came to him, to ask him to be their guest, and to advise them on their mode of life, and on the placing of altars and statues ; and he directed them in all such mat¬ ters, sometimes by letter and sometimes by promising to come in person. When Smyrna sent her envoys too, but without saying why she wanted him, merely begging him to come, he asked the messengers why they needed him, and they replied, ‘ho see him and to be seen;” whereupon Apollonius said : “I will come, and do you, O ye Muses, make us love each The first time that he discoursed to the Ephesians, he addressed them from the platform of the temple, not using the Socratic method, but urg¬ ing and exhorting them to change their ways, and counselling them to devote themselves entirely to philosophy, and to inspire Ephesus with studiousness, rather than with the indolence and insolence which he had found there. For the citizens were passionately fond of watching dancers, and of indulging in pyrrhic dances themselves, so that the whole city was filled with the sound of flutes, filled with effeminate men, and filled with noise ; and even though they might be alienated from him, he felt it unbe¬ coming to ignore their follies, and he succeeded in putting an end to them, by making them distasteful to the majority. BOOK FOUR 93 3. His other discourses were delivered in the groves near the colonnades of the gymnasium. On one occasion he was discussing community of goods, and was teaching that men should offer and accept mutual aid. The sparrows were sitting quietly in the trees roundabout, when another sparrow flew to them and piped up as if inviting the others to do some¬ thing, and as soon as they heard him all the birds began to chirp, and took wing and flew away. Apollonius knew why they had flown away, but made no comment on it, and went on with his subject; then seeing his audience all looking after the birds, and that some superstitious persons among them were drawing presages of evil from the sparrows leaving, he gave them the explanation: “A boy who was carrying grain in a trough fell down, and after picking up the spilled grain very carelessly, he went away, leaving a good deal of it scattered in the road. That first sparrow found it, and came to invite these others to be his guests at that unexpected treat.” Many of his hearers ran away to investigate, while Apollonius went on with his discourse about community of goods to those who remained. When the investigators came back shouting and filled with wonder, he said: ‘‘You see how the sparrows help each other along, and enjoy things in common ; but instead of our following their example, if we see any¬ body sharing with another what he has, we call him wasteful, and extrava¬ gant, and things like that, and those whom he feeds we call parasites, and sponges. What alternative have we left, then, but to stay at home, and to cram our bellies in private, as if we were fattening geese, and so stuff our¬ selves till we burst?” 4. At that time the plague was making its appearance in Ephesus, and he foresaw and having foreseen he foretold its coming long before it be¬ came prevalent. In the middle of his discourse he would often exclaim : “O Earth, remain like thyself!^’ and other such like interjections, some¬ times adding strange commands like “Save these people!” or “You shall not pass there!” but his hearers paid no attention to these ejaculations, thinking he was speaking mystically; and all the more so because they saw him constantly going about from temple to temple to ward off the pest, by praying that it might not prevail. Having reached the conclusion that he could do nothing more for them, in the face of their own indiffer¬ ence to the danger, he set out on a journey through the rest of Ionia, straightening out difficulties everywhere, and always addressing his audi¬ ences on subjects of practical value to themselves. 94 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 5. As he drew near to Smyrna the lonians came out from the city to meet him, for they happened to be celebrating there the festival of the United lonians (Panionia), and they presented to him a resolution, in¬ viting him to take part in their assembly. On reading it he found among the movers and seconders some names which were by no means Ionic, for a man named Lucullus had offered the resolution, and Fabricius and other foreign names had supported it; so he wrote the convention a letter re¬ buking this inconsistency. The severity of his rebuke may be gathered from the original letter, which is still extant. 6. Coming before the Panionian assembly on another occasion, he asked : “What bowl is that ?” They replied : “The Panionian whereupon, filling it and pouring a libation, he prayed : “O ye tutelary deities of Ionia, grant to this beautiful colony that it may safely sail the seas, and that no evil from that side may ever attack this coast, nor the earth-shaking ^geon ever smite its cities !” This he said by divine inspiration, as I suppose, fore¬ seeing the destruction which was to come in after times upon Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos and many other cities of Ionia. 7. Seeing that the people of Smyrna were studiously inclined in every branch of letters, he encouraged that taste in them, and labored to increase their eagerness to learn, urging them to seek distinction in their own attainments rather than in the beauty of their city; because, though it might be the most beautiful of all cities under the sun, situated on the sea, and possessing all that the west wind blows out of, yet even then the crown of its excellence should be in its citizens, rather than in its porticos and paintings and more gold than there is. He told them too that buildings always remain in the same place, and are to be seen only where they stand, but good men are conspicuous everywhere, and are honored everywhere, and shed lustre on their city wherever they may go throughout the world. He compared such beautiful cities to that statue of Zeus which Phidias carved at Olympia, and which still sits as the artist designed it; but good men visiting foreign lands are like that Zeus whom Homer imagined under many forms, more nobly conceived than that ivory statue, which is only seen on earth, while the poet’s conception shines in the skies every¬ where. 8. Moreover, he debated with the Smyrniotes on sound methods of city government, as he perceived that they disagreed upon that subject, and had BOOK FOUR 95 not been able to reach any conclusion. He declared that a properly admin¬ istered city needed discordant harmony, which expression struck them as being paradoxical, and a contradiction in terms. Seeing that most of them did not understand his meaning, he said : ‘‘Black and white will never be one and the same, nor will anyone ever successfully mingle bitter and sweet ; but agreement will disagree concerning the best way of managing public affairs. Let me explain. Of course any such discussion as calls out the townsmen to use swords and paving-stones on each other should be forever banished from the city, for it stands in need of the training of youths, and laws, and men always ready to speak and to act. But a mutual rivalry in public service, wherein each strives to excel the others, one by giving better counsel, another by better discharge of official duty, another by skilful diplomacy, another by constructing finer buildings than any other ^dile, such discord as this is salutary, in my opinion, and such dis¬ putes between citizens result in gain to the community. In old days the Spartans thought it silly for citizens to wrangle over public policy, for they gave themselves up entirely to military training and they all were devoted to that, and engaged in nothing else; but it seems the best plan to me for each citizen to do for his city what he best knows, and to his • • • • • « • best ability. If one man distinguishes himself by his eloquence, and another by his sagacity, and another by spending money for the benefit of the public, and another by his benevolence, and another by that severity which has no mercy for evildoers, and another by not soiling his hands^ with bribes, that city will flourish, and, better still, it will endure. 9. While saying this he saw a three-masted vessel leaving the harbor, with its sailors all engaged in different tasks for taking it out to sea. Calling his hearers’ attention to it, he went on : “You observe the crew of that ship, how some of them who are oarsmen are getting into skiffs to tow her, and others are hauling in the anchors and making them fast, and others are setting the sails to catch the wind, ancl others are lookouts at stern and bow. If any one of them all should fail in his duty, or perform it unskilfully, the vessel will sail badly, and the crew will seem as danger¬ ous to her safety as a storm ; but if they are emulous of each other, and each strives not to be outdone by the next man, the ship will find good harbors, and her whole voyage will seem to be made up of fair weather and favoring winds, so that their own seamanship will make them think they are under Neptune’s protection.” 10. He was drawing all Smyrna together to listen to such discourses, when the plague broke out virulently among the Ephesians, who finding 96 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA no remedy of any avail against it, sent envoys once more to Apollonius, entreating him to be their physician in the epidemic. The conditions ad¬ mitted of no delay, so merely saying 'det us go,” he appeared instantly at Ephesus ; in the same way, I suppose, as Pythagoras was at one and the same time among the Thurians and among the Metapontines. He called the Ephesians together at once, and bade them “Be of good courage, for I shall put a stop to the disease today!” Thereupon he conducted the entire multitude of citizens of every age to the amphitheatre, where now stands the statue of Hercules the Averter of Evil. They found there what looked like an old beggar, slyly blinking his eyes, ragged and haggard, and carrying a wallet of breadcrusts. Apollonius stationed the Ephesians around this object, and commanded them: “Gather up all the stones you can find, and smite with them this thing which is hateful to the gods 1” The Ephesians were taken aback by this order, and remained quiet, for they thought it would be a crime to put to death so woe-begone a stranger, for he was begging for life, and making many pleas for sympathy. Apol¬ lonius persisted in urging them to stone the intruder, and not to let him escape ; so at last some of those on the outside of the ring began to throw stones, whereat the beggar, who had been blinking until then, glared sav¬ agely about with flaming eyes. All knew him then for a demon, and hurled stones upon him until they piled up a great heap where he had been standing. After a short pause, Apollonius ordered them to remove the stones and see what a wild beast they had slain. When they did so, the beggarman whom they supposed they had stoned had vanished, but in his stead lay a dog shaped like a mastiff, and as large as the largest lion, which had been crushed by the stones, and foamed at the mouth as if rabid. The statue of Hercules the Averter of Evil was afterwards erected on the spot where that apparition was stoned. 11. Having freed the Ephesians from the plague in this manner, and con¬ sidering his work in Ionia done, he journeyed toward Greece, and arriving at Pergamum, he enjoyed a stay in the temple of yEsculapius. There he showed those who sought help of the god how they might obtain visions of good omen, and he also healed many of them himself. Erom there he went to the site of Troy, where he visited the tombs of the Achaian heroes, being familiar with all the traditions of the ancients concerning them. He said much in commemoration of their exploits to those who accompanied him, and after he had also offered for them many pure and bloodless sacrifices, he directed his companions to return to the vessel without him, as he intended to pass the night at the burial mound of Achilles. They tried to dissuade him from doing so (for even then Dios- BOOK FOUR 97 coridas and Phsedimi, and a whole company of that kind were already going about with Apollonius), and they asserted that the frightful ghost of Achilles still appeared there, and the inhabitants of the region were certain of it. But he said : ''I have always understood that Achilles is very fond of company, for Nestor of Pylos was a great favorite of his because he always had something interesting to say ; and he called Phoenix his foster-father and his squire and all such honorable titles because Phoenix delighted him with his remarks ; and he even looked indulgently at Priam, his deadliest foe, after hearing him speak ; and when enraged at Ulysses he nevertheless behaved so moderately in an interview with him that Ulysses thought him beautiful rather than terrible. I think that his shield and his fiercely-nodding plume which they tell about are got up by him to alarm the Trojans, because he does not forget what he suffered through their treacherous conduct about his marriage. As for me, I have nothing in common with the Trojans, and I will converse with him more agreeably than even those former comrades of his. If he kills me, I shall lie down with Memnon and Cycnus, and perhaps Troy will bury me in a hollow grave like Hector’s.” Speaking thus half in jest and half in earnest to his companions, he went back to Achilles’ tomb alone, while the others went down to the ship, as it was then nightfall. 12. He returned to them at dawn, saying: “Where is Antisthenes of Paros?” which was the name of one of them who had come to him at Troy the week before. When Antisthenes answered the summons, Apol¬ lonius asked him: “Young man, have you any connection with Troy?” “A great deal,” he replied, “for I am of Trojan ancestry.” “Of the race of Priam?” asked Apollonius, and the other replied: “Precisely, and for that reason I consider myself a noble, and of noble family.” “Then it is quite natural,” said Apollonius, “that Achilles should forbid me to associate with you, for after he had instructed me to inform the Thessalians of his grievance against them, I asked him what else I could do to gratify him, and he said : ‘Do not impart your wisdom to that young Parian, for he is a thorough-going descendant from Priam, and he never ceases to praise Hector.’ ” So Antisthenes went away sorrowful. 13. The land-wind began to blow at sunrise, and the ship was about to sail, when many more persons applied for passage in her notwithstanding her small size, for they were eager to voyage with Apollonius because it was now autumn, and the sea was not safe, and they all thought him to be a man superior to tempest and to fire and to peril of every nature ; so they begged him to take them as his shipmates. As there were more of them 98 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA I than the ship could accommodate, and he saw another larger vessel, one of many near the tomb of Ajax, he said : “Let us go on board that one, for the more one is safe with the better.” They did so, and after rounding the Trojan cape he directed the steersman to lay his course for ^olis opposite Lesbos, and to land at the point nearest to Methymna, saying: “Achilles says that Palamedes is buried at that spot, and that there is an image of him a cubit long, but looking older than Palamedes was.” On disembark¬ ing there he said to his shipmates: “Men of Greece, let us revere this great man from whom has come all wisdom: In that we shall be wiser than the Achseans, for they slew him without justification, but we honor him for his excellence.” They all leaped down from the ship then, and going to the tomb he dug there and discovered the image which he had described, on the base of which was the inscription: “To the godlike Palamedes.” After setting this up, as I myself have seen it, and after building about it a shrine like those used by worshippers of Enodia, capable of holding ten feasters at a time, he offered this prayer : “Forget the re¬ sentment with which you once burned against the Achseans, Palamedes, and grant that many men may become wise. So may it be, Palamedes, by whom is wisdom ; by whom are the Muses ; by whom am 1.” 14. The vessel touching at Lesbos, he visited the shrine of Orpheus there. Orpheus is said to have delighted in uttering oracles at that place, until Apollo himself took him in hand. For when men no longer came for oracles to Apollo at the Grynsean shrine, or the Clarian, or wherever else stood a tripod of his, and Orpheus had a monopoly of uttering oracles be¬ cause his head had been recently brought there out of Thrace, Apollo came to him in the midst of his prophesying and said : “Stop interfering with me, for I have stood your soothsaying long enough !” 15. After that, while they were sailing over the Euboean sea, which had , seemed even to Homer to be treacherous and difficult of navigation, the water was smooth and quieter than was to be expected at that time of year, and he conversed concerning the islands among which they were passing, many of them being famous, and concerning shipbuilding and navigation, as is usual at sea. When Damis dissented from some of these remarks, and interrupted some, and did not permit the other passengers to ask questions, Apollonius perceived that he wished some other subject to be broached, and said : “Damis, why do you interfere with our conver¬ sation ? It cannot be because you are seasick or suffering from the tedium of the voyage, for you see how the sea smooths itself before the ship and floats it on. Why, then, are you dissatisfied?” “Because,” said Damis, BOOK FOUR 99 “when a great subject presses for discussion, about which questions should be asked, we are inquiring here of stale and worn-out topics.” Apollonius asked him: “What is this subject which you think everything else should be put aside for?” Damis replied: “You have conversed with Achilles, and no doubt you have learned from him much which we do not know ; and yet you have not told us of it, nor how Achilles appeared, but you talk of islands we pass, and you tell us how to build ships.” Apollonius said : “If you will not think that I am blowing my own trumpet, I will tell you everything.” 16. Then the others united in begging for the story, and were eager to hear it, so he said : “To bring about my meeting with Achilles I did not dig a trench like Ulysses, nor did I evoke his ghost by shedding the blood of lambs, but I offered those prayers by which the Indian Sages say they invoke departed heroes, and then I said: ‘O, Achilles, the vulgar herd say that you are dead, but I do not at all agree with that opinion, nor does Pythagoras, the source of my philosophy. If we are right, appear to us. My eyes will be of great service to you, if you use them as witnesses that you still live !’ Thereupon the earth about the mound quivered slightly, and out came a youth about five cubits high, clad in a Thessalian mantle. His bearing did not seem at all haughty, as so many imagine Achilles to have been. He was grave in manner and yet not gloomy; and as for his beauty, no one yet has been found to praise it adequately, as it seems to me, notwithstanding all that Homer says of it, for it is indescribable, and the one who sings of it is more likely to make a complete failure than to celebrate it as it deserves. This apparition which I speak of quickly in¬ creased in size until it was twice as large and more, seeming to me at its greatest about twelve cubits high, and his beauty grew with his growth. He said that he had never cut his hair, but had kept it inviolate by direction of the Spercheian river, from which river he had first sought an oracle, and his cheeks still wore their first down. Addressing me, he said : T have come to you gladly, for I have needed such a man for some time. The Thessalians have long neglected to offer sacrifices to me, but I do not wish to be provoked by them, for if I were they would perish more completely than the Greeks did once on this very spot. So I employ mild expostulation not to scorn their time-honored customs, nor to show them¬ selves worse than these present-day Trojans here, who still sacrifice to me, although I deprived them of so many champions. They offer me the first fruits of their crops, and they try to propitiate me by supplication, holding an olive branch ; but I will not be propitiated, for the fraud which they perpetrated on me shall always stand in the way of the restoration 100 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA of Troy, and that renewal of its ancient glory, which has come to so many other destroyed cities. So long as they dwell here they shall be as badly off as if Troy had been taken yesterday. Lest I should treat the Thes¬ salians in the same way, I appoint you my envoy to carry my message to their commonwealth!’ T will carry it,’ I said, ‘since the object of my mission is to save them; but I have something to ask of you, Achilles.’ ‘I understand,’ said he; ‘you are evidently going to ask about occurrences at Troy. You may therefore put to me five such questions as you may wish to ask, and as the Fates allow to be answered.’ Then I asked him first whether he had found burial, as the poets declare. He replied: ‘I am resting in the way most welcome to me and to Patroclus, for we met first as lads in coming here and now one golden urn contains us both, com¬ mingled as one ; but as to that lament of the Muses and the Nereids which poets say is made for me, the Muses never even came here, but the Nereids do come still.’ Then I asked if Polyxena had been immolated upon his tomb, and he said that it was true, but that she had not been immolated by the Achseans ; that on coming to his tomb she had voluntarily set up a sword and fallen on it, so carried away was she by their mutual love. My third question was: ‘Did Helen come to Troy, Achilles, or did Homer choose to invent that?’ He answered : ‘We were long mistaken on that point, and we sent envoys to the Trojans, and began the war for her on the theory that she was in Troy, when really she was staying in Egypt in the home of Ppoteus after her abduction by Paris; but when we had learned that fact we continued the war for Troy itself, not to withdraw in disgrace.’ Com¬ ing to my fourth question, I said that I marvelled that Greece should have produced at one time so many and such valiant heroes as Homer brings against Troy, and Achilles replied: ‘The barbarians on the other side were not much inferior to us, the whole earth so abounded with valor.’ For the fifth, I asked : ‘How does it happen that Homer did not know of Pala- medes ; or if he did know, does not mention him in speaking of you ?’ He replied: ‘If Palamedes did not come to Troy, there was no such thing as Troy! But because that wisest and bravest of men was slain to please Ulysses, Homer does not bring him into his poems, so that he may not sing the dishonor of Ulysses.’ Achilles went on to lament for Palamedes as very great and very beautiful, conspicuous in youth and in warlike fame, ex¬ celling all in self-control, and a favorite of the Muses. ‘Care for his tomb, Apollonius,’ he said, ‘for there is a certain bond of union between philoso¬ phers. Care for his tomb, and restore to its pedestal the statue of Pala¬ medes, which has been shamefully cast down. It is lying in ^olis near Methymna, a city of Lesbos.’ With these words, after adding what I told you about the youth from Paros, he vanished with a little flash of light, for the cocks were already beginning to crow.” BOOK FOUR 101 17. Such were the occurrences of the voyage, and having sailed into the Piraeus at the time of the Mysteries, when the Athenians celebrate the most frequented festivals of any Greeks, Apollonius went directly from the ship to the city. On the way he met many students of philosophy who were coming toward the harbor of Phaleron ; some of whom had stripped them¬ selves to enjoy the sun, which is still warm at Athens in the autumn ; others were absorbed in reading ; others were practicing declamation, and others were debating with each other. Not one of them passed him, for they all recognized Apollonius and turned back with him, with joyful greetings ; and a group of about ten young men who met him pointed to the Parthenon and said : “By yonder Athene ! we were just on our way to the Piraeus to sail to Ionia to find you !” 18. It was the day of the Epidauria, on which it is still the Athenian cus¬ tom, after making proclamation and sacrificing victims, to hold a special initiation into the Mysteries in honor of yEsculapius at a second sacrifice ; it being the anniversary of his special initiation by them when he had come from Epidaurus to Athens after the initiations were over. But the great mass of participants flocked about Apollonius and paid no attention to the ceremonies, being more interested in him than they were in going away** initiated ; wherefore he directed them to attend to the ceremonies, and he promised to meet them again later, for he wished to be initiated himself. But the chief priest refused to admit him to the rites, saying that under no circumstances would he initiate a sorcerer, and that the Eleusinian Mys¬ teries should never be revealed to anyone who was not orthodox in his theology. Apollonius, who was quite his match in such matters, replied : “You have not yet mentioned the greatest objection which you have against me, namely, that although I know more of the Mysteries than you do, I have nevertheless come to you to be initiated, as though you were wiser than I.” Those who were present congratulated him for answering boldly and as befitted his dignity, and when the priest saw that his exclusion was offensive to so many persons he changed his tone, and said : “You may be initiated after all, for you have acted like a wise man in coming here.” Then Apollonius retorted : “I shall be initiated it is true, but it will be hereafter, and another priest will initiate me,” adding prophetically the name of the future chief priest of the Mysteries, who was given the rule of the temple four years later. 19. Damis reports that many discourses were delivered at Athens by Apol¬ lonius, and that he did not take notes of all of them, but only of the most 102 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA important ones delivered on the weightiest subjects. As he knew that the Athenians were fond of sacrifices, he gave his first lecture on religious rites, and how each of the gods might be acceptably worshipped, whether by day or by night, by sacrifice, or by libation, or by prayer. A book by him is still extant in which he treats that subject in his own words. He chose this as his topic for discourse to the Athenians, because it was a question worthy^ of his wisdom and of their own, and next that he might confute the slanders and ignorance of that chief priest of the Mysteries ; for how could it be thought that he was not orthodox in theology when his theme was an inquiry into the proper mode of worshipping the gods ? 20. While discoursing on libations he was interrupted by a pretty lad, who came from Corcyra and traced his lineage back to Alcinous the Phseacian, who entertained Ulysses, but he was so notoriously dissolute that a cart-singer’s ballad had been sung about him. Apollonius was laying down the proposition that no one should drink from the cup used for libations, but that it should be reserved for the gods alone, untouched by other lips. He went on to say that a handle should be affixed to the cup, and that the libation should be poured from the side where the handle is, and where men would be least likely to put the cup to their mouths. At this point that youth broke in with a loud and rude laugh. Fixing him with his eye, Apollonius said : ‘‘That insult does not come from you, but from the demon which possesses you without your knowing it.” The lad really was possessed by a demon, for he would laugh at things which seemed amusing to no one else, and then would change to weeping without any reason, and would talk to himself or sing. Many supposed that he was impelled to do these things by boyish exuberance, when he was merely prompted by the demon. In interrupting Apollonius he seemed to be acting with his usual freakishness ; but when Apollonius looked stead¬ fastly at him the demon uttered loud shrieks of fear and wrath, like those who are burned or tortured, and it offered to swear that it would leave the lad, and never enter any human being again. Apollonius commanded it, as a master would command a slave who is cunning, clever, impudent, and notorious for other like faults ; and he wrath fully ordered it to come forth from the lad in such a way that it could be known ; whereupon the demon cried out : “I will throw down that statue,” indicating one of the statues near the palace portico wher^ this was occurring. The statue first swayed on its base and then fell ; and who could describe the shout which went up over it, and the applause of the wondering crowd? The lad rubbed his eyes as if waking from sleep, and looked up at the sunlight, appearing overcome with shyness at finding every one staring at him. He no longer had that BOOK FOUR 103 wanton or disordered look, and he reverted to his natural disposition, as if he had swallowed a medicine. Discarding his gauzy, effeminate garments, and all his other extravagances, he came to love simplicity and a plain cloak, and modeled himself entirely on the ways of Apollonius. 21. Damis says that Apollonius criticized the way in which the Athenians kept the Dionysia, which they celebrate in the last of February and begin¬ ning of March. He had supposed that they met in the theater to listen to solos and to skilful music of choruses and marches, such as are given in comedies and tragedies. When he discovered that they wound in sinuous dances led by a clarionet, and that they took the parts of Hours, or Nymphs, or Bacchantes, on the same stage with the poetry and mysticism of Orpheus, he determined to reprimand them for it, and said: /‘Cease to dance away the traditions of the men who fought at Salamis, and all your other buried heroes. If this is Spartan dancing, go on with it, ye warriors, it is training for battle, and I will dance with you. But if it is as wanton and effeminate as it looks, what shall I say of those trophies won from the enemies of Athens? If you have so far degenerated from the ancestors of yours who hung them there, the trophies will stand as wit¬ nesses against you, rather than against the Medes and Persians. How do you come by your saffrons and purples and scarlets? The Acarnanians were not clad so, nor did any knight of Colonus use to ride in such attire. Why need I stop with those examples ? A Carian woman commanded one of Xerxes’ ships against your city, wearing the dress and armor of a man, and with nothing womanly about her ; but you, softer than Xerxes’ women, are taking up arms against yourselves. Those old men and youths, and even boys, who once entered the temple of Agraulos and swore to die in battle for their country, will now perhaps swear to revel for their country and to carry a thyrsus, but never a helmet ; being, as Euripides says, shame¬ fully shining in she-shape. I hear that you act the part of winds, too, when you are said to spread your garments like sails and wave them high in air ; but you should at least have some respect for the winds, for they have been your allies, and have blown hard for you ; so do not feminize your kinsman Boreas, who is the most masculine of all winds. He would never have fallen in love with Orithyia if he had seen her dancing like this.” 22. He also effected another reform at Athens. The Athenians used to meet in the amphitheatre under the Acropolis, and be absorbed in watch¬ ing men kill each other in the arena, which at that time was a greater passion with them than it is now at Corinth ; and they brought gladiators there, bought at high prices, who had been adulterers, sodomites, burglars, 104 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA cut-purses, kidnapers and vile criminals of every sort, whom they trained in the use of arms, and compelled to fight each other. Apollonius rebuked this practice, and when the Athenians had invited him to be present at one of these shows, he replied that he would not go to a place which was polluted and soaked with blood. He sent that message by a letter in which he wrote that he wondered that their goddess had not already abandoned her Acropolis “when you shed such filthy blood before her eyes. You seem to me to be preparing to celebrate the Panatheneia by sacrificing hecatombs of men to the goddess, instead of oxen as heretofore. O Bacchus, will you come down into the amphitheatre where such blood is shed? Do these philosophic Athenians pour libations to you there ? Keep far aloof, rather, Bacchus, for Cithseron is purer !” I find these instances of his most serious philosophizing at Athens. 23. He next went to the Thessalians to execute his mission from Achilles, at the time when they were gathered at Pylse in charge of the Amphictyonic Council. They were greatly alarmed by his message, and decreed that they would renew their due sacrifices at the tomb of Achilles. Apollonius could hardly refrain from embracing the sepulchre of Leonidas the Spartan, he so admired the man. When he came to the mound where the Spartans are said to have been buried under countless darts he overheard his companions discussing among themselves which was the highest point in Greece, Mount CEta standing before their eyes having suggested the question. Climbing the burial mound, he said to them: “This point I think the highest, for those who fell here for liberty made it as high as CEta, and exalted it above many an Olympus. But though I reverence these men so highly, I still set Megistias the Acarnanian above them, for he foresaw the fate in store for them, and yet he asked to share it with those heroes, not fearing death, but only fearing that he might not be allowed to die with them.” 24. He visited all the temples in Greece, including the shrines at Bran- chidse and Pythia and Abse, and he also entered the temples erected to Amphiaraus, and to Trophonius, and climbed to the abode of the Muses on Mount Helicon. When he entered any temple, and corrected the ritual there, the priests gathered round him, and distinguished men followed him about, for cups of his wise instruction stood always ready, from which they drank thirstily. The Olympic games were soon to be held, and the Eleans sent him an invitation to attend them, to which he replied : “You seem to me to detract from the dignity of the Olympic games, when you invite people to come to them who are already on their way there.” Being on the Isthmus of Corinth, with the sea roaring around Lechaion, he said : BOOK FOUR 105 “This neck of land will be cut through, or rather it will not;” thus pre¬ dicting the making of the canal across the Isthmus before long, which Nero planned seven years later, when he left his imperial palace and came into Greece to enter himself as a competitor in the Pythian and the Olympic games, at which he obtained prizes on the Isthmus as a harpist and as a herald, and at Olympia as a tragedian. At that time the emperor is said to have resolved on the task of piercing the Isthmus by a navigable chan¬ nel to join the ^gean sea with the Adriatic, so that no vessels need double the Malean cape, for the Isthmus would open a way for them through the canal, whereby many of them would have their course shortened. What sequel had this prediction of Apollonius ? The canal, beginning at Lechaion, had been excavated about four stadia by industrious digging, when Nero stopped work on it, some say because certain Egyptians who had calculated the sea-levels declared that the sea above Lechaion would pour through and flood ^gina; and others say that he feared revolution in the empire. This result was what Apollonius meant by saying that the Isthmus would be cut and not be cut. 25. At that time Demetrius was devoting himself to philosophy at Corinth. He was a man who had concentrated in himself all the vigor of the Cynic school, and who was afterward spoken of with no small honor by Favorinus in many of his discourses. He had the same regard for Apol¬ lonius as Antisthenes is said to have had for Socrates, as a philosopher. So he followed him about, desirous of learning, and intent upon his teach¬ ings. He even turned over to Apollonius his most promising disciples, one of whom was Menippus the Lycian, twenty-flve years old, of remarkable intellect and physical beauty, whose body was that of a symmetrical and free-born athlete. It was common gossip that Menippus was the lover of a foreign woman, who to all appearance was beautiful, and still young, and who claimed to be wealthy, but who in reality had none of those quali¬ ties, for all was illusion. She had met him as he was walking alone on the , road to Cenchreae, and she was a lamia or ghoul, who had taken on the semblance of a woman. She clasped his hand and said that she had loved him long, and that she was a native of Phoenicia, living in a suburban quar¬ ter of Corinth which she named, adding: “If you will come there this even¬ ing I will welcome you with singing, and with such wine as you never drank, and no rival shall disturb you, but we will live together, beauty be¬ side beauty.” He was seduced by these overtures, for though strong in philosophy, he was susceptible to Venus, so he went to her that evening, and thenceforward he was constantly at her side as her lover, not suspecting in the least that she was a lamia. By looking on Menippus like a sculptor. 106 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Apollonius outlined and divined the youth in his mind, and after arriving at complete knowledge of him, he said to him : '‘You are beautiful, and are courted by a beautiful woman, as you think, when the fact is that you are cherishing a serpent, as the serpent does you.” While Menippus won¬ dered what he could mean, Apollonius went on : “She is your mistress but not your wife. Why is that ? Do you think she loves you ?” “Yes, by Zeus !” said Menippus, “all her actions prove it !” “Are you willing to marry her then?” asked Apollonius, and Menippus answered: “I would indeed be happy to marry the woman who loves me as she does.” “When will the wedding be ?” asked Apollonius. “The matter is in train,” replied Menip¬ pus, “and perhaps it will be tomorrow.” Waiting then until the time of the wedding feast, Apollonius came there as the guests arrived, and he asked : “Where is that tender bride whom you have come to see ?” “Here she is,” said Menippus, rising with a blush. Apollonius asked : “Whose are this silver and gold and the other ornaments of the occasion, yours or hers ?” “They are hers,” said Menippus, “for there is nothing of mine here except this cloak,” showing his mantle. Then Apollonius turned to the assembled guests and said: “Did you ever see the gardens of Tantalus, which are and are not?” They answered: “We have seen the description of them in Homer, but of course none of us has ever descended into Hades where they are.” “You may suppose then that they are like all this estab¬ lishment,” said Apollonius, “for none of these things is substantial either, but all are deception. You will understand that better when I say that this fair bride is one of those fiends whom the people call a lamia. These beings love and are fond of sexual pleasure, but still more of eating human flesh, and they use the seduction of the senses to entice those victims whom they mean to feast upon.” “Hold your tongue and leave the house !” shrieked the bride, pretending to be horrified by what she heard ; and she was going on to revile philosophers as fools when suddenly all the show of gold cups and silver plate changed to airy nothings and vanished before their eyes, and the cooks and the butlers and the rest of the household evaporated under the exorcism of Apollonius. Then the lamia simulated weeping, and be¬ sought him not to torment her, or force her to confess what she was, but he insisted, never relaxing his compulsion, until she admitted that she was a lamia and that she was fattening up Menippus with dainties so that she might devour his body, and that she made a practice of feeding on bodies which were young and beautiful, because their blood was untainted. This exploit of Apollonius is widely known, but it seems desirable to give this full account of it again because many of those who are familiar with his doings in Central Greece have merely heard generally that at some time he had unmasked a lamia at Corinth, but do not know what he found her BOOK FOUR 107 doing, and that Menippus was the one for whose sake he acted. This is the story as it is told by Damis and copied from him by me. 26. About that time he had an altercation at Corinth with Bassus, whom he suspected with good reason of having murdered his own father, and who had an unbridled tongue, although he professed to be a philosopher. Apollonius silenced his abuse by attacking him with voice and pen, and his accusation that the man was a parricide was generally accepted as true, because a person of Apollonius’ stamp would never have descended to slander, nor make unsupported charges. 27. The following things occurred during his stay at Olympia. On his arrival there he was met by envoys from the Spartans, sent to invite him to their city. There was nothing of the Spartan type about them, however, for they bore themselves more daintily than that people are supposed to do, and seemed of very luxurious habits. After observing these men with their polished legs and their hair shining with oil, and how they were clad in soft raiment and not even bearded, he wrote to the Ephors of Sparta to suggest that they make proclamation forbidding the use of pitch as a depilatory in the public baths, and banishing therefrom the female hair- removers, and generally restoring the ancient practices. They did so, and from that time the Spartan schools of wrestling flourished once more, and competitions and meals in common were revived and Sparta became like herself again. When he learned that they had reformed their way of living, he wrote them from Olympia a letter more laconic than a Spartan dispatch : ‘'Apollonius to the Ephors, Greeting : It is heroic not to err ; noble to admit one’s error.” 28. On seeing the Phidian statue of Zeus at Olympia he addressed it : “Hail, good Zeus ! for thou art so good that thou impartest thyself to men.” He also interpreted the bronze Milo, and the meaning of its accessories. Milo is represented as standing on a discus with both feet united, holding a pomegranate in his left hand, and stiffly extending the fingers of his right hand as though he were thrusting them through something. The gen¬ erally accepted opinion at Olympia and throughout Arcadia is that this pose indicates his invincibility as an athlete, who could not be stirred from his foothold, and that his grasp of the pomegranate typifies the firm grip of his fingers, and that his fillet l^etokens chastity, and the union of the joints of his extended fingers signifies that no one could separate them by 108 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA pulling at one. Apollonius said that all these theories were wisely devised, but that the true one was wiser yet. “To explain to you the meaning of this Milo, the Crotonians in this figure show the athlete as a priest of Juno. The fillet explains itself, as he was a priest. The pomegranate is the only tree sacred to Juno; and as to the discus, Juno’s priests always invoke her standing on a round shield. The position of the right hand has the same significance, and the joining of the fingers and the want of separation of the feet are merely due to the archaic style of the moulder.” 29. On attending the Olympic games he strongly approved of the care with which the Eleans managed them, and of the discipline which they main¬ tained, wherein they expected to be judged as rigidly as the contending athletes, and how they took great care that nothing should go wrong, by either omission or commission. When asked by his companions what he thought of the Eleans as managers of the games, he replied: “I do not know if they are wise [sophous], but they certainly are masters of their craft [sophistas] .” 30. How he criticized conceited writers, and set them down as unlearned, if they ventured on a subject beyond their powers, may easily be gathered from this instance. A young man with a high opinion of himself, whom he happened to meet in a temple, said to him : “I wish you would honor me with your attendance at a recital which I am to give tomorrow.” Apollonius asked what he intended to recite, and he replied : “An oration upon Zeus which I have composed,” showing the scroll tucked under his cloak, and evidently pluming himself on its size. “What do you mean to praise in Zeus ?” asked Apollonius ; “is it this Phidian Zeus sitting here, and that there is nothing in all the world to match it?” “That of course,” said the young man, “but many things before that and many after it ; for the seasons of the year, and everything on the earth and above it, and the winds and the stars, all things are from Zeus.” “You seem very enthusi¬ astic in your praises,” said Apollonius. The other said: “That is why I have even included in my list praises of gout, and blindness, and deafness.” “Then do not deprive dropsy and catarrh of their share in your laudation,” said Apollonius. “If you start in to praise things of that kind, it might be a good plan to follow funerals, eulogizing the disease of which the corpse died, which might lessen the grief of the parents and children and the rest of the family.” Seeing the young man already somewhat subdued by these words, he went on: “My dear author, which subject will a eulogist praise with greater discrimination, what he knows, or what he does not know ?” “What he knows,” said the youth. “How can any one praise with BOOK FOUR 109 discrimination what he does not understand ?” Then Apollonius inquired : “Did you then compose the eulogy for your father’s funeral not long ago?” “I tried to do so,” answered the youth, “but he seemed to me so great and noble a character, besides being the most beautiful man I ever saw, skilful in managing his affairs, invariably acting with wisdom under all circumstances, that I abandoned the idea of delivering the eulogy, lest I should fail in doing justice to him.” Then Apollonius burst out wrathfully, as was his manner with bores: “You off-scouring! You recognize your incapacity to eulogize your own father adequately, though you knew him as well as you know yourself, and yet you undertake so * flippantly to apply your measuring-rod to the praises of the father of gods and men, the creator of all things about us and above us, without any awe of him whom you ignorantly praise, and unaware of your audacity in try¬ ing to do what far transcends the powers of man I” 31. At Olympia Apollonius discoursed upon the most useful subjects, such as wisdom, and manliness, and self-control, and every other virtue, and he delivered his discourses from the temple platform, filling all hear¬ ers with admiration both of his opinions and of his mode of expressing them. At one of those times the Spartan envoys, gathering about him before the statue of Zeus, solemnly constituted him the guest of their city, the father of their city’s youth, the pride of their old men, and the guide of their civil life. When a Corinthian, to tease them, asked them if they would not celebrate for him a theophany (a ceremony of Delphi at which the statues of the gods were exhibited to the people), they answered: “By Castor and Pollux, we are quite ready to do so !” but Apollonius induced them to give up the idea, that he might not excite jealousy. After crossing the Taygetus, and seeing Sparta flourishing, with the laws of Lycurgus actually in force there, he was not unwilling to debate with the Spartan magistrates on any subject which they selected. Thus, on his arrival, they asked him how the gods should be worshipped, and he replied: “As our masters.” Then they asked, “and the demi-gods ?” to which he replied, “as our ancestors;” and when they asked him the third question, “and how men?” he answered, “that is no question for Spartans!” At another time they asked him what he thought of their laws, and he replied : “They are the best of teachers, and they would have been the most successful of teachers, if their scholars had not been inattentive.” When they asked what he would advise them concerning manliness, he said : “Why need you ask about manliness?” no APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 32. At the time of his visit it happened that a young Spartan was accused before the Ephors of failing in civic duty. He was a descendant of that Callicratidas who had commanded the fleet at Arginusae, and being ab¬ sorbed in commerce he did not enter public life, but built ships and sailed them to Carthage and to Sicily. Hearing that he was to be prosecuted for this, Apollonius thought it a pity to allow the youth to be punished, and said to him : “My good lad, why do you go about looking so anxious and pensive ?” He replied : “A criminal charge has been lodged against me, that I have devoted myself to commerce, and have neglected public duties.” Apollonius asked, “was your father or your grandfather a mer¬ chant?” “Of course not,” the young man replied, “they were all gymna- siarchs and Ephors and high officials. Callicratidas, one of my ancestors, was even the admiral of the fleet.” “Do you mean the one who fought at Arginusse?” asked Apollonius, and the other replied: “That is the man. He was killed while commander-in-chief in that action.” Apollonius asked: “Then that death of your great-grandfather did not give you a distaste for the sea?” The other answered: “Not at all; my voyages are not for the purpose of fighting.” Apollonius continued : “But can you mention any kind of men who are worse off than merchants and ship¬ masters? In the first place they sail about in quest of some market which is poorly supplied, and when they find it they sell and are sold in a crowd of hucksters and brokers. They lend their money at an outrageous rate of interest, and then worry how to get their principal back. If they succeed in doing that they call it a good voyage, and they dilate upon the fact that they have not wrecked their vessel, intentionally or otherwise. On the other hand, when their receipts are not large enough to pay what they owe, they take to their boats and send the ship, with other people’s cargo, on the rocks, impudently calling it the act of God, and rather pleased than otherwise to deprive the owners of it. Even if that description is not true of all mariners and seafaring men, why is it not disgraceful that a Spartan, born of a family which has been cherished in Sparta’s bosom, should lurk in a ship’s hold, unmindful of Lycurgus and of Iphitus, and thinking only of freight and tonnage? If nothing else, at least he ought to remember that Sparta herself, so long as she fought on land, seemed to touch the sky, but when she sought success at sea, her glory vanished, sunk on land as well as at sea.” This exhortation so crushed the youth that he threw himself face downward on the , ground and wept, to hear how he had degenerated from his ancestors. Eorthwith he sold the ships in which he had passed his life, and when Apollonius saw that he had come to his senses and loved the land, he brought him before the Ephors and pro¬ cured the dismissal of the charge. ' ' BOOK FOUR 111 33. He also did this among other things at Sparta. A letter from the emperor was brought to the Spartans accusing their community of having too much abused the liberty allowed them, which letter was occasioned by biased reports from the proconsul of Greece. The Spartans were at a loss to know what answer they should make, and the citizens disputed among themselves whether they should deprecate the emperor’s displeasure, or should answer him boldly. Not being able to agree, they asked Apollonius’ advice upon the tone of their reply, and coming before their assembly he said briefly: ‘‘Palamedes invented letters not merely for the purpose of writing, but also for the purpose of learning what should not be written.” By this saying he induced the Spartans to show themselves neither too bold nor too obsequious, in answering the emperor. 34. Having spent some time in Sparta after the Olympic games, he went to Malea toward the end of winter, intending to proceed to Rome in the early spring. While waiting there, he dreamed that a prodigious old woman embraced him and begged his company before he should go to Italy, saying* that she had been the nurse of Zeus, and wearing a wreath made up of every product of earth and sea. Pondering over this dream, he understood that it directed him to sail first to Crete, which is called the nurse of Zeus because he was brought forth there, although the wreath might also signify another island. There being many vessels at Malea bound for Crete, he took passage on one which would accommodate his “commune,” as he used to call his companions and their servants, for he was mindful of them as well. After sailing past Cydonia the vessel touched at Cnossus, for his companions wished to explore the labyrinth which is still shown there, and is said to have held the Minotaur. Apollonius made no difficulties, but said that for his own part he would not be a witness of the injustice of Minos. Thence he went to Gortyna, being desirous of see¬ ing Mount Ida, which he climbed, visiting all the sacred places on it, and he went also to the Lebensean temple which is dedicated to Bisculapius. Just as Asia goes to Pergamum, so all Crete gathers at this shrine, and many pilgrims from Libya sail over to it as well, for it is built on the shore of the Libyan Sea near Ph^estus, where a gravel bar breaks the force of the waves. The temple is said to be called Lebenaean, or the “standing lion,” because the cape jutting out from it bears the shape of a lion, made up of many rocks piled together accidentally ; and the fable is told of the cape that this lion is one of those which were once harnessed to Rhea’s chariot. One day at noon, while Apollonius was discoursing at this temple to a large assembly of worshippers, a violent earthquake shook all 112 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Crete, and thunder roared from underground instead of from the clouds, and the sea withdrew about seven stadia from the shore. Many in the gathering were apprehensive that the returning wave would drag down the temple, and would wash them away, but Apollonius said : “Be of good courage ; for the sea has brought forth land.” They imagined that he was assuring them that the elements were in accord, so that the sea would do no harm to the land; but a few days later people coming from Cydoniatis reported that at about noon of the day when that portent occurred an island had been thrown up out of the sea, in the strait between Thera and Crete. We omit the rest of Damis’ rather voluminous account of the Mas¬ ter’s stay in Crete, and come at once to the serious difficulties which hap¬ pened to him in Rome after leaving that island. 35. Nero was opposed to the study of philosophy, which seemed to him a meddlesome business, used as a disguise for fortune-telling; and in fact the philosopher’s cloak was sometimes stigmatized in the law courts as the “soothsayer’s veil.” To say nothing of others, Musonius of Babylon, who was inferior only to Apollonius himself, had been imprisoned for being a philosopher, and was still in jail, in danger of his life. Indeed it was no fault of the man who thrust him into jail that he did not die there, for only the strength of his constitution kept him alive. Philosophy was at this pass when Apollonius came to Rome. 36. At the grove in Aricia, a hundred and twenty stadia from the City, he happened on Philolaus of Cittium, who was a finished speaker, but too faint-hearted to be steadfast. Philolaus, having fled ^ from Rome like a fugitive himself, was urging every philosopher he met to do the like. He came to Apollonius, to tell him to yield to necessity and to stay away from Rome, because philosophy was odious there ; and he whispered all that had occurred, looking over his shoulder the while lest he should be overheard. “You now,” he said, “are the thing they most abhor, as you go along escorted by your troop of philosophers, unconscious that Nero has sta¬ tioned spies at every gate, who will arrest you and these disciples of yours before you can even enter the city.” “What do they say are the emperor’s favorite pursuits, Philolaus?” asked Apollonius, and the other answered: “He drives a chariot in public, and he sings in the Roman theatres, and he consorts with gladiators, and he even comes out as a gladiator himself, to cut men’s throats in the arena.” Then Apollonius said : “My dear fellow, do you think that a more interesting spectacle than so shameless an emperor can be offered to educated men? Plato says that man is the plaything of God, but an emperor who has become the plaything of men, flaunting his BOOK FOUR 113 own dishonor before the mob, what a subject of discussion does he not afford to philosophers !” “That is very true,” said Philolaus, “if it could only be observed in safety ; but you may be arrested and die in prison, and Nero may have eaten you raw, before you have ever seen him do any of those things. It will cost you dear to come across him, even dearer than it cost Ulysses to meet the Cyclops, although he lost many of his comrades through his curiosity because he did not keep away from a foul and dis¬ gusting sight.” Apollonius asked : “Then do you think that this monster, if he acts so, is less blinded than the Cyclops?” Philolaus answered: “Ulysses might do as he liked, but as for you, have mercy on these com¬ panions of yours !” 37. He cried that out in a shrill and tearful voice, and fearing that the young disciples would be infected by Philolaus’ fright and would lose their courage as he had done, Damis drew Apollonius aside and said: “That hare will ruin the spirit of our young men, by filling them with fear and trembling over everything before them.” Apollonius replied : “Of all the many favors which have often come to me from the gods unasked, I would call this which is offered now the greatest, for it gives a touchstone which will surely prove those of our young men who are really devoted to philosophy, and those of them who would rather do something else.” Indeed, the disciples of too infirm a purpose were detected at once; for some of them, intimidated by what Philolaus had said, pretended illness, and others said that they had spent all their travelling money ; and others that they were homesick ; and others that they had been warned by dreams against going further ; until out of thirty-four disciples who had started with the Master for Rome, only eight were left, for the others deserted him, making their escape from both Nero and philosophy. 38. Calling together the faithful remnant, among whom was that Menip- pus who had to do with the lamia, and Dioscorides the Egyptian, and Damis, Apollonius thus addressed them : “I will not speak ill of those who have left us, but rather will commend you, who are men of my own temper. Neither will I censure as a coward any of those who have turned back out of fear of Nero; but each of you who have overcome this fear I will call a philosopher, and I will teach him whatever I know. First of all, I think that we should offer prayers to those gods through whom these different courses have been decided on by us, and by our late comrades. I think too that we should choose those gods to be our guides, for we have no safe dependence anywhere but on the gods. We are about to go to that city which rules so much of the earth, and how is it possible to go there unless 114 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA conducted by the gods, especially when so savage a tyranny is established there that philosophers are not permitted to live ? But do not think it fool¬ hardy for us to take the road up to Rome, down which so many philoso¬ phers are fleeing. In the first place, I do not consider anything in human experience so terrible that a wise man need be afraid of it ; and secondly, I would not propose lessons in fortitude which could be studied without danger. Moreover, though I have traversed more of the earth’s surface than any other man has yet done, and I have seen very many beasts of India and of Arabia, yet as to this beast, which is commonly called a tyrant, I do not know how many heads it has, nor whether it has hooked claws and sharp teeth. It is said to be of urban habits, dwelling in the center of cities, and yet to be more savage than beasts of forest and fell in this, that even lions and tigers when petted do sometimes grow tame, and change their natures, but the tyrant is made even more ferocious by petting, and gulps down everything within reach. No other beast has ever been known to devour its mother, but Nero is sated with that food. It is true that Orestes and Alcm^eon did the same, yet they found some ex¬ cuse for their crime in their fathers, one of whom had been murdered by his wife, and the other had been sold for a necklace by his. Through his mother’s exertions this Nero was adopted by the old emperor, and made heir to the throne, and then he murdered her by the artificial shipwreck of a vessel, built by him for the purpose, in which she was killed when she had almost reached the shore. Whoever believes that Nero is to be feared for such actions, and deserts philosophy because anything opposed to such an emperor’s will must be unsafe, should know that those are more to be feared who have attained to wisdom and self-control ; for they are favored by the gods. He should consider tyrannical actions to be as imbecile as those of a drunken man, whom we regard as idiotic but not terrifying. Let us go on to Rome, then, if we are strong of heart, for to Nero’s edict forbidding philosophy we may oppose the saying of Sophocles : 'Zeus has never laid these commands on me,’ neither have the Muses nor prophetic Apollo. It is very likely that Nero himself is familiar with those iambics, for they say that he has a taste for tragedy.” If that passage of Homer is recalled where a single speech so unites the warriors that they all become one helmet and one shield, it will be found exemplified in these disciples. United by the words of Apollonius, they were made strong enough to die for philosophy, and to prove them¬ selves better than the runaways. 39. On their reaching the city gate the guards stationed there asked no questions of them, although they noticed and wondered at their bearing, for BOOK FOUR 115 their appearance was priestly and not at all like the common herd. The party seated themselves in the inn nearest the gate, and were refreshing themselves with food, for evening had set in, when an intoxicated reveller came in who had a voice by no means unpleasant. His business was to wander about through Rome singing Nero’s songs, and to be paid for doing so. If any one did not listen attentively to his singing, or did not pay the regular fee for listening, this singer was empowered to arrest such an offender for impiety. He had a lyre, and all the accessories required in playing on it, and he was also carrying in a little casket a harpstring worn with playing, which had once been stretched on a lyre, and which he de¬ clared had been taken from Nero’s lyre and bought by himself for two minse, and that he himself would sell it to no one but a first-rate harpist, who had competed at the Pythian games. After the usual prefatory patter, and after singing a short hymn of Nero’s, he added other selections from the Orestia and from the Antigone, and from various other tragedies com¬ posed by the emperor, inflecting his metres with wanton turns and twists like Nero. Thinking them to be careless in listening, he exclaimed that Nero’s majesty had been violated by them, and that they were enemies of the divine voice. Nevertheless they continued to pay little attention to him, and when Menippus asked Apollonius how he was affected by what the man had said, he replied : “About as much as I was by his singing ! How¬ ever, Menippus, let us not lose our temper over such things. We will pay him the usual fee for his singing, so that he may offer sacrifice to Nero’s Muses.” 40. They heard no more from the drunken musician, but early next morn¬ ing one of the consuls. Telesinus, sent for Apollonius and asked: “What kind of clothing is that you wear?” “Pure and derived from no mortal creature,” he answered. The consul asked : “What especial knowledge have you ?” and Apollonius answered : “I know divination, and what prayers and what sacrifices should be offered to the gods.” “Is there anyone who does not know how to pray and to sacrifice, O philosopher?” asked the consul. “Many do not,” replied Apollonius, “and even for the man who knows how to do them correctly, it is an advantage to be assured of that fact by an expert.” Telesinus happened to be well posted in theology, and at once surmised from the conversation that this must be x4pollonius. Re¬ calling the rumors which he had heard concerning him, he thought it best not to ask his name in public, lest he might prefer to keep it secret, so he turned to the subject of theology, which he was very well qualified to dis¬ cuss, and asked him as a theologian : “What prayer do you make when you approach the altars?” Apollonius replied: “I pray that justice may 116 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA prevail : that the laws be not transgressed ; that wise men may be kept poor, and that everyone else may be rich but honest.” Telesinus asked: '‘Do you believe, then, when you ask such great boons, that your prayer will be granted?” "By Zeus, yes,” said Apollonius. "All those supplica¬ tions are included in one prayer, for on reaching the altars, I pray thus : 'O ye gods, give me what is suitable for me !’ So, if I am a good man, I shall obtain even more than I have said, but if the gods rate me among the bad, they will award me the opposite; nor would I blame them if they adjudged me deserving of evil, when I myself was not good.” Telesinus was impressed by hearing these sentiments, and wishing to show his good will he said : "You shall have access to all the temples in Rome, and I will give written instructions to the ministering priests to receive you cordially, and to defer to you, as to one who can teach them more than they know.” Apollonius asked : "Would they not receive me cordially, then, without your writing to them to do so?” "By Zeus, no!” replied the consul, "for that is my function, to issue such permits.” Apollonius said: "I am glad that so important a duty is in the hands of a high-minded man ; but I would like you to know this about me. I prefer to sojourn in temples which are not kept sedulously locked away from the people, and none of the gods refuses me hospitality, but they all let me share their roof. I would like to enjoy this privilege here, which even barbarians have always allowed me.” Telesinus replied : "The barbarians are in advance of the Romans in earning such praise, and I would like the same thing to be said of this city.” So Apollonius dwelt in the temples, changing from one to another at intervals. When he was criticized for moving about so he said : "The gods themselves do not abide all the time even in heaven, for they go at one time to Ethiopia, at another to Olympus, and then to Mount Athos. If the gods visit all nations of men, why is it not logical for men to visit all the gods? If masters neglect their slaves no one blames them, for it may be that they think them not worthy of their attention ; but if slaves are not attentive to their masters in every possible way, they may expect destruction at their hands, for being abominable to them and thralls accursed by the gods.” 41. While Apollonius discoursed in the temples the attendance of wor¬ shippers of the gods increased there daily, and men gathered about him, hoping for more frequent answers to prayer. The authorities found noth¬ ing suspicious in his dissertations, because they were delivered in public places, and spoken openly to all comers. He did not knock at the doors of the powerful, nor court their favor ; but when they came to him he received them courteously, and spoke to them just as he did to everyone else. BOOK FOUR 117 42. Demetrius, who had shown such reverence for him at Corinth as I have described, came to Rome about this time, and was constantly seen in Apollonius’ company, while at the same time he used to inveigh openly against Nero; the result being that not only Demetrius became suspected by the authorities, but Apollonius too was looked upon as a possible insti¬ gator of his attacks. This condition of things was aggravated by Demetrius’ conduct at the inauguration of a gymnasium, which Nero admired more than any other in Rome. On that occasion, when Nero, with senators and knights, was celebrating the day by holding a feast in the gymnasium, Demetrius came in and loudly abused all users of baths, for weakening and defiling themselves thereby, and he declared any such build¬ ing to be a foolish waste of money. All that saved him from instant death for this insult was the fact that Nero had outdone himself that day in the sweetness of his singing, which he was exhibiting in the tavern forming part of the gymnasium, naked except for a loin cloth, like the lowest of potboys. For all that, Demetrius did not come off scot-free for his speech, because Tigellinus, the prefect of Nero’s pretorian guard, banished him from Rome, as if his words had demolished the baths ; and moreover he caused Apollonius to be shadowed, in the hope of catching him too in some questionable utterance for which he might be punished. 43. Nevertheless Apollonius displayed neither contempt nor anxiety, as most men do who try to escape such danger ; but he continued to discuss his subjects thoroughly, and Telesinus and others studied philosophy with him, believing it to be quite safe under such a master, even though philosophy was under a cloud. Nevertheless he was a suspected man, as I have said, and the more so because of a remark of his concerning a portent. It thundered during an eclipse of the sun, which is unusual in eclipses, and Apollonius said, gazing at the sky : '‘A great event is about to happen, but it will not happen.” His hearers did not understand the saying, but it was clear enough three days later, when lightning struck the table at which Nero was reclining at supper, and passed through the chalice which he held in his hands, not far from his mouth. This lightning- stroke, which came so near without hitting, was the great event which he said would happen and not happen. Tigellinus, when he heard of this prediction, began to stand in awe of the Master, as of one who knew the counsels of the gods, and he decided not to arrest him, for fear of some mysterious visitation on himself, but he continued his espionage with all the eyes which government employs, whether he was speaking or silent. 118 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA sitting or walking, and was constantly informed what he ate and with whom, and whether he sacrificed or not. 44. When that disease which physicians call influenza became epidemic in Rome, which induces coughing and chokes the voice in speaking, crowds of suppliants thronged the temples because Nero’s throat too was in¬ flamed, and he had become hoarse. This popular frenzy interfered with Apollonius’ usual habits, but he made no complaint, and when Menippus showed irritation over it, he counselled modejLation, and mollified him by asking him to excuse the gods for enjoying comedians. On this being re^ ported to Tigellinus, he had Apollonius brought before the praetor’s court to answer to the charge of impiety toward Nero. A prosecutor was em¬ ployed against him, who had already been the ruin of many such offenders, and had great skill in that sort of Olympic games. He held in his hand the scroll on which the charge was written, and shaking it at Apollonius as if it were a sword, he shouted that it was a sharp weapon which would de¬ stroy him; but when Tigellinus unrolled it he found the parchment utterly blank, with no trace of writing on it, which made him think Apollonius supernatural. Domitian is also said to have had the same opinion of him afterward. Tigellinus ordered Apollonius to be removed to a more private room of the pretorium, in which that magistrate hears the most important cases in secret session ; and when they were quite by themselves there he insisted upon knowing all about him. Apollonius named his father and his birthplace ; and when asked why he practiced philosophy, he said that he followed it in order to know the gods, and to understand human nature ; for it was harder to know some one else than to know himself. The prefect then asked : “How do you unmask demons and phantoms ?” and he answered : “Exactly as I do murderers and persons guilty of sacrilege.” By which epithets he was reflecting on Tigellinus, who was Nero’s prompter to every cruelty and excess. The prefect asked : “Will you prophesy for me if I ask you?” “How should I, since I am not a prophet?” replied Apollonius. “And yet they tell me that you are the man who foretold that a great event would happen and would not happen,” said the prefect. Apollonius replied : “Your information is correct, but you should not attribute that remark to prophecy, but to the knowledge which God imparts to wise men.” “Why do you not fear Nero?” asked the prefect, and Apollonius answered: “Because the same God who made him ter¬ rible has also made me intrepid.” “What is your opinion of Nero?” the prefect then asked, and Apollonius answered : “Better than yours, for you prize his singing, and I his silence.” Staggered by these replies, Tigellinus said : “You may go at liberty, on giving bail to appear when called for.” BOOK FOUR 119 Apollonius answered : “Who will give bail for a body which none will imprison?” These words seemed superhuman and godlike to Tigellinus, and fearing to provoke a contest with the gods, he cried : “Go where you like ! You are too strong to be controlled by me.” 45. Apollonius also wrought this miracle at Rome: A marriageable maiden had died, to all appearance, and her betrothed was following her bier, lamenting their uncompleted nuptials, as is the custom, and all the city was mourning with him, for the girl was of consular family. Apol¬ lonius happening upon this mournful sight, said : “Set down the bier, and I will put an end to your tears for the maiden !” He asked at the same time what her name was, and many supposed that he intended to deliver the customary funeral oration, in order to increase their grief ; but by merely touching the body, and murmuring a few words over her, he woke the girl from her seeming death, and she found her voice at once, and returned to her father’s house, like Alcestis when called back to life by Hercules. Her family offered him one hundred and fifty thousand denarii, but he told them that he presented it to the maiden as her dowry. Now whether he had discerned in her a spark of life which had been hidden from her physicians (for Zeus is said to have sent a shower of rain which was steaming from her upturned face), or whether he actually called back and rekindled her departed spirit, is hard to decide, not only for me, but for those who were present at the time. 46. During that same period the philosopher Musonius was suffering im¬ prisonment by Nero. He is said to have been one of the most advanced thinkers in philosophy, but Apollonius held no direct communication with him because Musonius had opposed it, to avoid danger to both of them. Still they corresponded by letter, through Menippus and Damis, who used to visit the prisoner. Omitting letters which they exchanged on unimpor¬ tant subjects, I will quote some weightier ones which may prove of interest : “Apollonius to the philosopher Musonius ; greeting : “I wish I might visit you, and share your cell and your conversation, if I could be of any service to you. Unless you doubt that Hercules brought Theseus back from Hades, write what you would like. Farewell.” “Musonius to the philosopher Apollonius ; greeting : “The credit of your good intentions will remain ; but a man will have pleaded his own cause, and will have proved himself innocent of any crime. Farewell.” 120 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA “Apollonius to the philosopher Musonius; greeting: “After Socrates the Athenian had declined to be rescued from prison by his friends, he was tried and put to death. Farewell.” “Musonius to Apollonius the philosopher; greeting: “Socrates died because he had not prepared his defense ; but I will defend myself. Farewell.” 47. Nero departed for Greece, after publishing an edict that no philoso¬ pher should be permitted to teach in Rome ; so Apollonius turned his steps toward those western regions of the world which are said to be bounded by the Pillars of Hercules, where he might see Cadiz, and the tides of the ocean. He had also heard something of the philosophy of the men living there, how they had made great progress in theological studies, and all his disciples went with him, delighted with the journey and with the man. BOOK FIVE 121 BOOK FIVE. Cadiz and vicinity — Sails for Sicily — Lilyb^um — Syracuse^ Catana and Mount ^tna — Sails again to Corinth — Athens — • Rhodes — Alexandria — Consulted there by Vespasian — Dissen¬ sions WITH Euphrates — Travels through Egypt to Ethiopia TO VISIT Gymnosophists. 1. Leaving out fable, I will set down what most deserves to be heard and told concerning the pillars which Hercules is said to have placed at the limits of the world. The extreme capes of Europe and of Africa wall in a strait sixty stadia in width, which lets in the ocean to the inner sea. The African cape is named Abinna, and lions seek their prey about the peaks of mountains further inland which are visible above it, while the cape itself is the boundary between the Getulians and the Tingi, two sav¬ age tribes of Africa. In sailing toward the ocean this cape extends for nine hundred stadia to the mouth of the Salex river, and it is hard tO' say how much further it goes, for the land on the other side of the river is an uninhabited desert. The European cape, which is named Calpis, is on the right hand side in sailing toward the ocean, and is six hundred stadia in length, terminating at the ancient city of Cadiz. 2. The ocean-tides I myself have observed in the land of the Celts quite as they are described, and I have compared various theories to explain why so prodigious a body of water ebbs and flows ; but I believe that Apollonius discovered the true cause. In a letter to the Indian Sages he says that when the tide rises the ocean is being forced up by winds, which blow into it under water through many apertures in its bottom and sides, and that it lowers again when the wind is drawn back, as in breathing. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the sick, near Cadiz at least, for the souls of the dying do not leave their bodies while the tide is rising, which would not be the case unless the air were being drawn toward the earth. The various changes of the moon, into new, full and waning, I have noted in the ocean tides, for they wax and wane according to the lunar phases. 3. Among the Celts day changes to night and night to day by slow grada¬ tion between light and darkness, as it does here, but near Cadiz and the Pillars of Hercules day or night is said to break upon the sight with the 122 APOLLONIUS OB^ TYANA suddenness of a lightning flash. The Islands of the Blessed are supposed to lie at the furthest point of Africa, opposite the uninhabited part of Cape Abinna. 4. Cadiz is set at the far edge of Europe. The people there are greatly given to religious observances, for they have even erected an altar to old age, and they are the only men who sing triumphant pseans to Death. They have other altars besides, to Poverty, and to Skill, and to the Egyp¬ tian Hercules, and some to the Theban Hercules. Their tradition is that the Egyptian Hercules got no further than Erytheia when he captured Geryon and his oxen ; but that the Theban Hercules was eager in searching for knowledge, and explored all the world to its outer limits. Damis says that the men of Cadiz are of Greek origin, with similar education to ours, and that of all the Greeks they hold the Athenians in highest esteem, and they offer sacrifices to the Athenian Menestheus. Believing Themistocles, the winner of the naval battle, to have been greatly distinguished for wis¬ dom and valor, they have set up a bronze statue which represents him as pondering upon the response of the oracle. 5. Damis says that they saw two trees there, having an appearance half¬ way between a pine tree and a stone-pine, which are the only specimens of their kind in the world. They are growing from the grave where Geryon was buried, whence they are called Geryoneas. They exude blood from their bark, as the sun-poplar does gold. The island on which the temple of Hercules stands is no larger than the temple itself, and has no rocky projec¬ tions, so that it looks like a polished base of the building. Damis says that both of the Hercules are worshipped in the same temple, but it contains no statue of either; only two perfectly plain bronze altars dedicated to the Egyptian ; and a stone altar to the Theban, on which are carved the hydra, and the mares of Diomede, and the twelve labors of Hercules. Damis says that the golden olive tree wrought by Pygmalion, which is also set up in this temple, is truly admirable for the skilful workmanship of its foliage, and still more of its fruit, which is set thick with emeralds. He says that a golden belt of Telamonian Teucer is also shown there, though how and why Teucer should have voyaged to that ocean Damis did not know and could not ascertain. In the temple they also found pillars squared like anvils, more than a cubit high, made of an alloy of gold and silver blended to a uniform color, and having their capitals engraved with characters neither Indian nor Egyptian which seemed undecipherable. The priests admitted that they could make nothing of them, but Apollonius said : “The Egyptian Hercules does not allow me to withhold my knowledge. These BOOK FIVE 123 pillars rivet together the land and the sea. Hercules inscribed them with this charm in the abode of the Fates, so that no strife shall ever arise be¬ tween those elements, and they shall never hold lightly the friendship which they entertain for each other.” 6. He says further that they sailed up the Bsetis river, which illustrates very well the action of the tide, for when it rises the river flows backward toward its source, as if a wind were driving it up from the ocean. He says that the Baetis district, from which the river takes its name, is one of the very finest of regions, rich in towns and in pasture lands, and that water is conducted from the river to each town, and that all kinds of crops grow luxuriantly in the region, which enjoys a mild climate like that of Athens in the autumn at the time of the Mysteries. 7. He also says that Apollonius had many conversations about things they saw there, of which the following should be recorded. Once when they were sitting in the temple of Hercules Menippus, referring to Nero, said laughingly : “What are we to think of that gentleman’s chances at the Greek games? What prizes has he carried off at them? Have not the highly cultivated Hellenes roared with laughter in going to those assem¬ blies?” To which Apollonius replied: “I hear from Telesinus that our good Nero stands greatly in awe of the lash of the Elean judges ; and that when his toadies urged him to give orders beforehand that any victory he might win at the Olympic games should be proclaimed triumphantly in Rome by the public crier, he said : What would be all right, if only the Eleans would not be prejudiced by it, for they are said to scourge any ostentation, and to have a higher opinion of their own function than they have of me !’ and he went on to say other things much more foolish than that. I assure you that Nero will win prizes at Olympia, for who would dare to vote against him? Fortunately he will not win prizes at the real Olympic games, for they are not being held at the regular time. They should have been held last year, according to unbroken rules, but Nero ordered the Eleans to postpone them until he might come, as if they were celebrating those rites in honor of himself, instead of Zeus. And what do you think of his commanding them to hold a competition in acting, and in lyre-playing, when they have no theatre or stage suitable for such purposes, only a stadium hollowed out by nature and entirely open to the sky ? And that he is ambitious of a prize for things which he ought to hide, laying aside the dignity of an Augustus or a Caesar, to assume the costume of Amoebeus or of Terpnus? And that he is so solicitous of acting the part of Creon or of Qidipus without a flaw, that he is worried lest he may for- 124 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA get and take the wrong door, or that his robe or his sceptre may not be just right? And that he is so unmindful of Rome’s honor, and of his own, that instead of enacting laws he sings songs and begs for applause outside his palace gates, when he should be within them, sitting on his imperial throne and holding sway over land and sea? The tragedians, among whom he now enrolls himself, are a numerous company, Menippus. What if one of them, after acting QEnomaus or Cresphontes, should be so carried away by his part that when he had left the stage he attempted to order people about, and fancied himself really a king ; what would you think of his state of mind? Would you not say that he needed hellebore and every other kind of medicine to restore his sanity? And when the emperor degrades himself into a singer, and acts the actor, smoothing his voice, trembling before some Elean or Delphian, and yet so bad a tragedian that he is afraid of being hissed by his own subjects, what have you to say of the calamity of being ruled by such a disgrace to mankind? As a Greek, Menippus, which sovereign would you prefer, Xerxes the destroyer, or Nero the singer? You will see how many Iliads of woes oppress the Greeks, if you reckon up how much they are spending for his songs ; and how, in spite of all that, they are thrust out of their own houses, and are not allowed to own anything of beauty, either vase or slave; and what wrongs they suffer in their wives and children from Nero’s quest of vile pleasures in every family ; and if there were nothing else, how many men will be jailed because of his acting and his singing, on such charges as: ‘You did not come to hear Nero!’ or ‘if you did come, you listened indif¬ ferently,’ or ‘you laughed,’ or ‘you did not applaud,’ or ‘you have not offered sacrifices for his voice, so that it may be clearer at Delphi !’ I fore¬ saw some time ago, by divine inspiration, that the Isthmus would be pierced, or rather would not be pierced, and I hear that they are digging there now.” Damis replied : “It seems to me, Apollonius, that this conception of a canal across the Isthmus far surpasses everything else that Nero has achieved, for you know what a great undertaking it is.” “It seems so to me too, Damis,” said Apollonius, “but since he never will accomplish it, he will be discredited as both a bad singer and a bad digger. Comparing the deeds of Xerxes with his, I prefer Xerxes, not because he built a bridge across the Hellespont, but because he actually crossed on it; whereas Nero I see will never sail through the Isthmus, nor complete his canal. Unless truth itself has perished, it is impressed on me that he has fled from Greece full of panic.” 8. Thereafter, when a post-runner came to Cadiz, to order sacrifices to be offered in honor of the good news of the threefold victory which had been won by Nero at Olympia, the people there understood that the BOOK FIVE 125 emperor had succeeded in some sort of notable contest in Arcadia, because, as I have said, their ambition is to imitate Greek culture ; but none of the other cities around Cadiz had any notion what the Olympic games were, nor what a contest or a game might be, nor why they were to offer sacri¬ fices ; so they fell into absurd errors, supposing this famous victory to have been gained in war, and that Nero had captured a tribe called Olympians; for none of them had ever been present at a tragedy or a lyre-playing. 9. Damis tells the story how the townsmen of Hispala in Boetica were frightened by a tragic actor, which is worth repeating. While the towns were rivalling each other in offering sacrifices in honor of Nero’s victories, for the addition of the Pythian prizes had been announced in the mean¬ time, one of those tragedians who had not dared to compete with Nero came to these western cities to earn money, and he acquired quite a reputa¬ tion for his acting among the most civilized of them, partly because his audiences had never seen a tragedy before, and partly because he assured them that he was imitating Nero’s singing exactly. When he came to Hispala he seemed alarming to the audience while he merely stood silent on the stage, but when they saw him striding about on his high clogs, wearing a gaping mask, and wrapped in a portentous cloak, many of them were thoroughly scared at the sight ; and then, when he began to shout at the top of his lungs, nearly all of them actually ran away, as if some demon had yelled at them. Such, and so primitive, are the ways of the barbarians who live there. 10. When the prefect of the Boetic province asked leave to visit Apol¬ lonius, the Master told him that such intimacy would have no charm for one who was not devoted to philosophy. As he persisted in his request, and was said to be a good man and alienated by Nero’s play¬ acting, Apollonius wrote to him to invite him to come to Cadiz. He laid aside all his official pomp at once, and came with a few of his closest friends. No one knew what Apollonius and he said to each other in pri¬ vate, after exchanging salutations; but Damis suspects that they were conspiring against Nero, for after holding confidential interviews with him for three days the prefect embraced Apollonius and went away, and Apollonius called after him: “Farewell, and remember Vindex !” What did he mean by that? Vindex, who is said to have stirred up the western peoples against Nero while he was singing in Greece, was a man ready and able to snap the harpstrings which Nero was foolishly twanging; for he delivered against him a harangue to the army commanded by him, which seemed drawn from the purest well of philosophy to attack the tyrant. In 126 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA it he said that Nero was nothing of a singer, and yet was a better singer than he was an emperor. He described his folly, his greed, his brutality, all his depraved indulgences, but the most blood-thirsty crime of all he refused to condemn, for he said that Nero’s murder of his mother was only just retribution for her giving birth to such a son. Now Apollonius, fore¬ seeing the delivery of this harangue, associated with Vindex this prefect of the adjacent province, almost taking up arms himself for Rome. 11. While disaffection was thus swelling in the west, Apollonius turned his course thence to the Tyrrhenian sea and to Africa. Having travelled part of the way on foot and part by ship, he landed in Sicily in the neigh¬ borhood of Lilybseum. During the journey from that point to Messina, and to the strait where the meeting of the Tyrrhenian sea with the Adriatic creates the perilous Charybdis, Damis says that they heard that Nero had fled from Rome, that Vindex was dead, and that several rivals were claiming the empire, some of whom were Roman-born, and others of various nationalities. When his companions asked Apollonius what would be the result, and whose prize the empire would finally be, Apollonius replied: '‘Of many Thebans!” drawing a parallel between the power which was to be briefly held by Vitellius, and Galba, and Otho, and the rule of those Thebans who maintained sovereignty for a short time over the affairs of Greece. 12. It is plain from what has already been said that Apollonius foresaw such things by divine inspiration, and that those who consider him a sorcerer are mistaken; and there is this further distinction to be made. Sorcerers, whom I rate as the most ill-starred of men, boast that they can alter the decrees of fate by torturing wax-figures, or by weird sacrifices, or by enchantments, or magic ointments, and many have professed to have such powers even when they were being tried for such offenses. But Apollonius acquiesced in what the Fates had ordained, and he predicted those events as inevitable; nor did he predict them by means of charms, but through the revelations of the gods. When he saw among the Indian Sages the tripods and wine-bearers and other automatically-moving con¬ trivances which I have described, he did not ask how they were con¬ structed, or show any curiosity about them ; and although he expressed admiration, he had no wish to copy them. 13. Shortly before their arrival at Syracuse a woman of no mean par¬ entage had given birth there to a monstrosity such as had never yet been / BOOK FIVE 127 born, a child having one body and three heads, each set upon its own neck. Some thick-witted interpreters of the prodigy maintained that all Sicily, which is three-cornered (Trinacria), would perish, unless it should achieve union and harmony; for many Sicilian cities were quarreling with each other, and within themselves, and orderly life had deserted the island. Others said that this birth was the many-headed Typhon, threatening the overturning of Sicily. Apollonius sent Damis to verify the fact, as the child was on public exhibition and open to inspection of any who might explain the portent; and when Damis reported that it really was a three¬ headed boy, Apollonius called his companions together and told them: “This birth signifies those three emperors of Rome whom I called Thebans the other day. None of them will possess the entire empire, but after seiz¬ ing the throne two of them will perish in Rome itself, and the other at the frontier of Roman territory, changing their roles more rapidly than actors of tyrants’ parts do on the stage.” This prophecy soon had its fulfilment, for Galba was slain in the city while trying for the throne ; Vitellius died there too in a vain dream of empire, and Otho, perishing among the western Gauls, did not even obtain honorable burial, but lies in an unmarked grave ; and all these changes were effected by Fate within the year. 14. From Syracuse they went to Catana near Mount ^tna, and Damis says that they were told by the Catanians that they believed Typhon to be chained in the mountain, and that the flames come from him which light up ^tna. The party however reached a more probable opinion, and one more worthy of philosophers, to which they were led by Apollonius. Fie asked them: “Is there any truth in mythology?” Menippus replied: “The poets certainly endorse it.” Apollonius asked: “What is your opinion of ^sop?” They replied: “That he is nothing but a maker of myths and a story-teller.” “Are there any well-constructed fables?” asked Apol¬ lonius, and they replied : “Yes, the fables told by poets, who tell them as if they really had occurred.” “How about ^sop’s fables?” asked Apol¬ lonius. “They are all about frogs and asses, and nonsense such as delights children and old women,” they answered. “And yet,” said Apollonius, “^sop’s fables seem to me to be the wiser ; for those fables about heroes, upon which all poetry is based, actually demoralize their hearers, because poets describe unnatural passions, and marriages of brothers with sisters, and quarrels between gods, and children eaten, and disgraceful tricks and squabbles ; so that by representing these things as true they incite anyone who is amorous or jealous or ambitious to follow the example of their fables, ^sop showed his wisdom in the first place by cutting loose from the crowd of singers of such things, and choosing his own road; and 128 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA secondly, like those who entertain their guests well on simple fare, he makes use of lowly objects to inculcate lofty lessons, and when he has told his story he adds the moral, ‘this ought to be done,’ or ‘this ought not to be done and lastly he has a higher regard for truth than the poets have, for they strive to make their fables plausible, but he tells a story which everyone knows not«to be true, and by this very fact that he is not telling what is true he attains truth. A poet in telling his fable, leaves it to the intelligence of his hearers to find out whether it is true or not; but anyone who adds a moral after telling a fictitious story, as ^sop used to do, acknowledges that he has made up his story to benefit his hearers. Another point in his favor is that he describes brute beasts as gentler and more deserving of attention than we would otherwise think them to be, and through familiarity with these fables, on which we are brought up from childhood, we form mental impressions of each kind of animal ; how one is of kingly nature, and another is foolish, and another is sly, and another is honest. After a poet has said ‘Fate is varied and complex,’ or has cut some such caper, he leaves the stage; but ^sop, by adding to his fable an oracular moral, sends away his audience converted to his proposition.” 15. “While I was still quite a little boy, Menippus, my mother told me a fable about vEsop’s wisdom. She said that he was once a shepherd who pastured his flock near a temple of Mercury, and that he earnestly prayed there to be endowed with wisdom. Many others came to Mercury to ask for the same gift, and offered for it gold, or silver, or an ivory wand or some other precious thing, ^sop was too poor to have any of those things, and he was sparing even of what he had, so he would offer a libation of the milk of one sheep, or would lay a handful of honeycomb upon the altar, and he thought that a nosegay of myrtle and roses and violets might be laid there too, for he said : ‘Why, O Mercury, should I neglect my flock to weave garlands ?’ All the suppliants having met on the day appointed for the distribution of wisdom. Mercury, as the dispenser of knowledge and wealth, said to one of them, ‘you take philosophy ;’ and to the one who had offered most he said, ‘you shall sit with orators ;’ and to the next in liber¬ ality he said, ‘I give you the province of astronomy;’ and to another, ‘you shall be a musician ;’ and to another, ‘you a poet of heroic epics ;’ and to another, ‘you an iambic poet and when, notwithstanding his matchless cleverness, he had unwittingly disposed of every branch of wisdom before he came to ^sop, he recalled how the Hours, who had once nursed him « on the peak of Olympus, had told him in his cradle the fable of a calf, which the calf itself had told a man, about itself and the Earth; and he remembered how this fable had tempted him to covet Apollo’s oxen. So he BOOK FIVE 129 gave to ^sop the only art which was left in the box of wisdom, the art of story-telling, saying: ‘Take as your own the first things I learned/ Hence came to Hisop the great variety of his art, and such was the origin of fable-writing/’ 16. “But perhaps I have allowed the talk to wander, for when I meant to bring your thoughts to a more scientific theory of yEtna, and one much truer than the multitude professes, I find I have been led aside into a com¬ mendation of fables. Yet this digression is not entirely foreign to the subject, for the fable which we are to refute is not one of yTisop's, but rather one of those sung and dramatized by the poets. It is they who say that some Typhon or Enceladus is chained under the mountain, and is breathing out these flames in his death-agony. I grant that there have been giants, and that remains of such a race have been discovered in many parts of the world, when their tombs have been opened; but I do not admit that they ever fought with the gods, although it is possible that they may have desecrated their statues and their temples. It is madness to say, and madness to believe, that they ever scaled heaven, or that they expelled the gods from it. Nor can that other fable be accepted, although it may be more reverent, that Vulcan labors at his forge in yEtna, and pounds on some sort of anvil there ; for there are many other fiery mountains in the world, and it would be too rash for us to assign Vulcans and giants to each of them. 17. “What then is the explanation of such mountains ? Earth which con¬ tains a native mixture of sulphur and bitumen emits smoke spontaneously, but does not take fire. If, however, it has crevices through which air can penetrate the mass, its torch is kindled, and as the fire spreads it flows like water down the mountain-sides, and pours over the fields until the accumulated lava reaches the sea, forming outlets for itself like those of rivers. Just as on this mountain there is a place called the Field of the Holy, because lava flowed harmlessly all round those who stood there ; so we may believe the whole earth to be a place of safety for the righteous, and that even the sea itself can be traversed, not only by those who sail, but by those who try to swim across it.” tiis discourses always ended in salutary reflections of this sort. 18. After philosophizing in Sicily as long as he thought requisite for his observations, he sailed for Greece at about the rising of Arcturus, in the middle of September. When the vessel touched at Leucadia after an un¬ eventful passage he said to his companions : “Let us leave this ship here, for 130 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA it is better not to finish our journey to Achsea in her.” None but those who knew the man attached any importance to these words ; and he himself, with those who wished to travel in his company, was carried in a Leu- cadian ship to Lechseum, at Corinth, but the vessel from Syracuse was wrecked in entering the Crissean bay. 19. Having been initiated into the Mysteries at Athens, which was done by that chief priest whose appointment he had foretold to his predecessor, he chanced to meet there the philosopher Demetrius. Since his speech about the bath constructed by Nero Demetrius had been living at Athens, with so little attempt at concealment that he did not leave Greece even when Nero was strutting about the games there. He told Apollonius that he had seen Musonius in fetters and compelled to dig on the Isthmian canal, and how he himself had lamented over him, but Musonius, lifting his mattock and driving it hard into the ground, had raised his head and said: ‘'Are you grieved to find me digging at the Isthmus for Greece, Demetrius? What would your agony be then, if you saw me singing to a lyre like Nero?” But we must pass over Musonius’ doings, numerous and notable as they are, that I may not seem to be correcting Damis, who tells them too imperfectly. 20. The winter having been spent in visiting all the temples of Greece, Apollonius planned a journey to Egypt in the spring, and after he had criticized many shortcomings, and had given advice to many cities, and had bestowed many commendations, for he did not grudge praise where it was due, he went down to the harbor of Piraeus. There was a ship with sails spread ready to sail for Ionia, but the charterer would not allow him to go on board, as he had hired the entire vessel for his own purposes. When Apollonius asked what cargo he was taking he replied : “Images of the gods for Ionia, some made of gold and marble, and some of gold and ivory.” “Do you intend to dedicate them to the gods, or what?” asked Apollonius, and the other replied : “Not I ; but to sell them to those who will dedicate them.” Apollonius asked: “Are you afraid that we will rob the ship of your images, my good man ?” The other answered : “I am not afraid of that, but I think it would be wrong for a ship with such a cargo to carry a number of passengers, for it might be filled with foul talk such as people use at sea.” “But indeed, my dear fellow,” said Apollonius, “for you seem to be an Athenian, the gods remained with those vessels which your city sent against the barbarians, and they did not consider themselves desecrated notwithstanding the ships were filled with nautical license; and yet you unreasonably exclude philosophers from your ship. BOOK FIVE 131 whom the gods especially delight in, and that too when you yourself are trading in gods. The ancient furnishers of images carried on no such business as that; nor did they go about from city to city 'peddling deities. They carried about only their hands and their tools for the task of carving marble and ivory, and when the figures were blocked-out they brought them into the temples which they were to adorn and there they completed their work. Do you not think that you yourself are committing sacrilege by lugging the gods about to ports and market places in this way, like trash from Hyrcania or Scythia, of which the less said the better? A few empty-headed persons carry an image of Ceres or Bacchus hung about their necks, and say that they are fed by those gods they wear ; but to feed on the gods themselves, as you do, and never to be cloyed even with such food, seems to me an unholy business, and I would think you mad if you do not fear the consequences.” After this rebuke to the man he sailed in another vessel. 21. On reaching Chios he stepped from that vessel into another lying alongside, which was about to sail for Rhodes, without even setting his feet on shore, and his disciples followed him into it in silence, for they were zealous to govern their conduct by his example as well as by his precepts. Having crossed to Rhodes with a favoring wind, he said these things there. As they drew near to the Colossus bestriding the harbor entrance, Damis asked him if he knew of anything more impressive than that, and he answered : “A sound and honest philosopher !” Canus the flute-player was then living at Rhodes, who was reputed the best musician of the kind in the world. Apollonius sent for him and asked him : “What does a flute-player accomplish ?” “He pleases his audi¬ ence,” was the reply. Apollonius said : “But many of the audience would rather be rich than listen to a flute. Can you make those auditors ieel rich then, who you know would like the sensation?” “By no means,” Canus replied, “however much I might wish to.” Apollonius continued : “Can you make your young hearers beautiful, for all would like to be thought beautiful when they are young?” Canus answered: “Nor that either, no matter how much of Venus I may throw into my flute-notes.” “What is it, then which you think pleases your hearers ?” asked Apollonius, and Canus replied : “Only that if any one is sad, his melancholy may be soothed by the music; or if he is cheerful, he may be made gayer; if he is in love, he may grow more ardent ; if he is a pious worshipper, he may be more filled with the divine, and anyway he will be a better hymn-singer.” Apollonius rejoined: “You can do all that, Canus, with your flute which is made of 132 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA gold and bronze and the bone of stags and asses ; but is there anything but the flute itself which lends power to its music ?” “There is, Apollonius,’’ he answered, “for the tune, and the measure, and the changes of modulation, and the quality of the notes, all affect the hearers, and give pleasing sensations to each of them.” Apollonius said : “I understand now what your art means to you, Canus ; that is to say, the variety and change in every measure, which you yourself lend grace to, and teach that skill to your pupils. But the flute seems to me to require still more than you have mentioned, for it must be well-blown, and well-mouthed, and well-fingered. It is well-blown, when the note is sharp and clear, with no sound from the throat, which affects the music so disagreeably. It is well-mouthed when the lips quite take in the mouth-piece of the flute, and the cheeks do not puff out. I think the fingering of the flute is especially important, the hand not being cramped so as to interfere with its free action, nor the fingers slow in flying over the intervals between the stops, for the sudden transition from measure to measure is principally effected by rapid finger¬ ing. If you succeed in all these points, Canus, play on confidently, for Euterpe will be with you.” 22. An uneducated young man who had recently become wealthy was building a home in Rhodes, for which he was accumulating all sorts of pictures' and marbles from every quarter, and Apollonius asked him how much his tutors and schooling had cost. “Not a drachma,” he replied. Apollonius then asked him how much his house had cost, and he answered : “Twelve talents, and I intend to spend as much more on it.” “What do you expect from this dwelling then?” asked Apollonius. The young man re¬ plied : “It will be a splendid palace of pleasure, with avenues and groves about it, so that I shall rarely go to the forum, and my visitors will salute me as reverently as if they were entering a temple.” Apollonius asked again : “Which should a man be most esteemed for, his own qualities or his surroundings?” “For his wealth,” replied the youth, “because wealth is the mightiest thing in the world.” “But is it better for the custodian of wealth to be well-trained, or untaught?” asked the Master, and when the youth made no reply, Apollonius went on: “It seems to me, young man, that you do not own your house, but the house owns you. When I enter a temple I would much rather see a statue of ivory and gold in it, even if the shrine be small, than a cheap clay image in an imposing edifice.” 23. Noticing a portly youth, who prided himself on surpassing every one in eating and in wine-drinking, he asked him : “Are you the man who is so devoted to the pleasures of the table?” “I am the man,” said the youth, BOOK FIVE 133 ‘'and I offer sacrifices so that I may be able to keep it up !” “What benefit do you expect from all this feeding?” asked Apollonius. “Being admired and stared at,” the youth answered, “for you know that Hercules is as famous for his feasts as for his fights.” The Master said: “Yes, because he was Hercules ; but you pitiable creature, what prowess have you ? The only chance you have to attract attention is to burst!” 24. Such were his doings at Rhodes, and he had the following experiences in Alexandria, after he had crossed over thither. The Alexandrians had a very exalted opinion of Apollonius, even before he came, and they were of one mind in thirsting for his teaching. The people of Upper Egypt too, being especially devoted to theology, were praying that he would visit their country ; for since there was constant passing back and forth between Upper and Lower Egypt, his fame had spread throughout the land, and all Egyptians were pricking up their ears for him. So when he left the ship and walked into the city they gazed at him as if he were a god, and where the road was narrow they left it free for him, as they would for a religious procession. As he passed along, with a larger following than the governor of a province, he met a dozen convicted robbers being led to execution, and looking on them he said : “Not all of those men are guilty, for one of them has been condemned on false evidence.” Then addressing the execu¬ tioners who were conducting them, he said : “I charge you to slacken your speed, and to go more slowly to the city moat; and to put that man to death last of all, for he is innocent of the crime. You will act piously if you spare them for a good part of the day; and it would even be better not to execute them at all.” He kept on spinning out his remarks more than was usual with him ; but his reason for doing so was soon apparent, for after eight of the men had been beheaded, a horseman rode at full speed to the moat crying “Spare Phario !” This convict, although not a robber, had falsely confessed guilt to avoid being tortured; but others when put to the torture had declared his innocence. I need not describe the sensation in Egypt over this, and how that people, who are always fond of the marvellous, applauded Apollonius. 25. As soon as he mounted the steps into the temple, its general design and the reason given for each part impressed him as appropriate for an abode of the gods, and as being a model of architecture. The oblations of bulls' blood, and the geese and other sacrificial victims were very distaste¬ ful to him, and he did not regard them as feasts for the gods. One of the priests asked him upon what theory he refused to sacrifice in that manner, and he replied : “It is rather for you to explain to me upon what theory 134 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA you do SO.” The priest exclaimed : '‘Who is so clever that he can improve on the Egyptian ritual ?” And Apollonius answered : "Any philosopher can, who has visited the Sages of India. But I will make a burnt sacrifice of an ox today, and I would like you to enjoy the savor of it with me. You should not dislike a share of it, if the gods themselves enjoy it.” He pro¬ ceeded to melt in the altar-fire the figure of an ox, moulded from incense, saying: "Watch the sacrifice!” "Where is it?” asked the Egyptian; "I do not see any here.” Apollonius replied: "Were the lamidae, and the Telliadse, and the Clytiadse, and the prophetic school of the Melampodidse all so deluded then, my dear friend, when they laid down so many rules for us about observing fire, and when they drew from it so many omens ? Or is it your idea that the flames of pine-wood or cedar are oracular and qualified to reveal the future, and that a flame fed with the richest and purest tears of incense is not far preferable? Surely if you were skilled in the art of divination by means of fire you could see many signs even in the orb of the Sun at its rising ;” thus criticizing the Egyptian’s ignorance of pyromancy. 26. Because the Alexandrians were passionately fond of horse-races, and crowded the amphitheatres to watch them, where there were bloody faction-fights, the Master sternly rebuked them for it, and mounting the temple steps he cried : "How long will you persist in courting death, not in defense of your children and your altars, but so that you may pollute your temples by entering them dripping with blood, and may die disgrace¬ fully inside your city walls? We hear that Troy was overthrown by means of one horse, which the Achseans fabricated for the purpose ; but chariots and horses both are harnessed for your destruction, if they keep your conduct unbridled. No Atreus nor Ajax is slaying you. You kill each other, something the Trojans were not guilty of, even in their cups. The Olympic games offer prizes for wrestling and boxing and the pancratium, but no one is killed there in fights over the athletes, although there might be some excuse for people losing their self-control under such excitement ; but you draw swords on each other about horses, and you actually make piles of paving-stones beforehand, in anticipation of such affrays. May fire devour the city which is dishonored by the yells of the slayers and the slain, and whose soil is soaked with blood I Have some respect for your own Nile, the universal drinking-bowl of Egypt! But why speak of the Nile to men who would rather set a gauge to measure floods of blood than of water?” Damis says that he frequently exhorted them in this way on the same subject. BOOK FIVE 135 27. While Vespasian was preparing to assume the empire in the countries adjoining Egypt, and was advancing toward Egypt itself, men like Dion and Euphrates there, of whom I shall soon speak, were calling on the popu¬ lace to welcome his arrival. Now during the fifty years which had elapsed since the foundation of the Roman empire by Augustus, grievous tyranny had gone on increasing, so that not even Claudius, who reigned for thirteen years in the middle of that period, could be considered a good ruler, al¬ though he came to the throne at the age of fifty, when a man’s mind is usually soundest, and he was thought to love every kind of learning. In spite of his age he indulged in many youthful follies, and handed over the empire to women as a pasture, and through them he was brought to an ignominious death which he made no effort to prevent, although fore¬ warned and expecting it. Apollonius was as pleased with the prospect of change as Euphrates and Dion were, but he did not make it the subject of any of his public addresses, thinking that kind of propaganda to be more suited to political orators. A priestly procession issued from the city gates to welcome the approaching emperor, and it was accompanied by the high¬ est officials of Egypt, the prefects of the various provinces, and all the philosophers and sages, except Apollonius, who refused to take part in those celebrations and continued to meditate in the temple. The emperor received them kindly and courteously, and after making them a short address, he asked : “Is not Apollonius of Tyana here in Alexandria?” “He is here,” they answered, “and engaged in our improvement.” The emperor asked : “How can I meet him, for I am greatly in need of such a man ?” Dion replied : “He will meet you in the temple, for so he promised me be¬ fore I came away.” “Let us go there at once,” said the emperor, “to pray to the gods, and to meet that remarkable personage.” This gave rise to the rumor that during his siege of Jerusalem Vespasian had formed the ambi¬ tion to claim the empire, and that he had sent for Apollonius to advise him in the undertaking, but that the philosopher had declined to enter Judea because its inhabitants had polluted it by what they had done and by what they had suffered; and that for that reason Vespasian, after assuming the empire, had come to Egypt for those conferences with the Master which I shall narrate. 28. After sacrificing, and without waiting to give the customary audience to the cities, Vespasian turned to Apollonius and said beseechingly: “Make me emperor!” “I have done so already,” he replied, “for when I prayed for an emperor who should be upright and high-minded and self- controlled, venerable for his gray hair, and the father of sons like himself, 136 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA it was none but you whom I was begging from the gods.” The crowded assemblage of people in the temple shouted universal applause of this speech, and the emperor, hugely delighted, asked : “What did you think of Nero’s reign?” Apollonius answered: “Nero may have known how to tune a lyre, but he disgraced the empire by relaxing and tightening its strings.” Vespasian asked : “Do you then expect a ruler to maintain exact balance?” Apollonius replied: “It is not I but God who has balanced equilibrium between the two extremes. You will find these men good advisers in such matters,” indicating Dion and Euphrates, with whom he had so far had no falling-out. Lifting his hands, the emperor cried : “O Zeus, would that I might govern wise men, and they govern me !” Then turning to the Egyptians, he said : “You may draw from me as from the Nile !” In this wise was Egypt given new life, when she was exhausted by all she had endured. 29. On leaving the temple the emperor took Apollonius by the hand and led him to the palace, saying : “Perhaps I seem to some people to be act¬ ing like a boy, although I have come to the throne at the age of sixty; so I speak to you in my own defense, in order that you may defend me to others. I recall that I had no great regard for money even in my youth, and that I discharged the duties of the various offices and magistracies of the Roman government with sufficient moderation and modesty to seem neither conceited nor obsequious. I plotted no rebellion even against Nero, seeing that he had received his sceptre from an emperor, although some¬ what irregularly; and out of respect for Claudius, who had made me a consul and one of his advisers, I did not oppose his successor. By Athene ! when I saw Nero so unmindful of his dignity, I could not restrain my tears in thinking to what an outcast Claudius had bequeathed his immense dominions. But now that Nero is out of the way, and I see that matters go on no better, and that the empire is held in such scorn as to be hung on Vitellius, I venture to claim it ; first, to demonstrate to the world that I am fit for such a station, and next because my rival is a sot. Vitellius’ bath is fuller of perfumery than mine is of water, so that I would think a sword- stab would let more ointment than blood out of him, and he pours goblet after goblet of wine down his throat till he is crazy. He fears that the dice will turn up wrong when he throws them, and yet he gambles away his throne in child’s play. A slave to harlots, he also forces matrons, saying that pleasure is heightened by danger. As to his fouler actions I will not mention them, nor allude to such subjects before you. The Romans shall not be under the power of such a man if I can prevent it ; and taking the gods as my guides I will act as becomes me. So I throw out my mooring- BOOK FIVE 137 cable to you, Apollonius, for they say that of all men you best know the gods ; and I summon you to be my companion in those enterprises on which hang dominion over land and sea, so that if the gods give auspi¬ cious omens I may accomplish them, but if they are unfavorable and against the Romans and me, I may not offend by striving against them.” 30. Apollonius was divinely inspired by this appeal, and cried : “O Capi- toline Jove, I recognize thee as the arbiter of this impending struggle! Defend this man for thy own sake, and thyself through him ; for it is fated that he shall rebuild thy temple which sacrilegious hands burned yester¬ day !” Turning to the astounded emperor he said: ‘‘What has happened will reveal itself in time, so do not ask me further of it now ; but go on to complete your righteous undertaking.” Now it had happened the day before, that Vespasian’s son Domitian had fought in Rome with Vitellius, in support of his father’s claim of the throne, and being beset in the Capitol had eluded his besiegers, but the temple was destroyed by fire; which event was revealed to Apollonius much sooner than if it had occurred in Egypt itself. After this conference Apollonius took his leave of the em¬ peror, telling him that the devotions which the Indian Sages had learned from their ancestors and taught to him did not permit him to do otherwise at noon than they did. But Vespasian was more ardent than before, and not letting slip his grasp of power, he held it confidently as something settled and promised, because of what he had heard from Apollonius. 31. At dawn next day, Apollonius entered the palace and asked the attend¬ ants what the emperor was doing. They told him that he had been up a long time, and had been busied in writing letters. On hearing that Apol¬ lonius went out, saying to Damis : “That man will be an emperor !” Re¬ turning at sunrise, he found Dion and Euphrates at the door, and when they eagerly inquired about his interview of the day before, he repeated to them the emperor’s justification of his course, but said nothing of his own opinion about the emperor. Being called in ahead of them he said : “O Emperor, your old friends Euphrates and Dion are outside, and are not unmindful of your interests. Call them in also to advise with you, for they are wise men.” “My doors are always open to wise men,” answered Vespasian, “but you may be sure that my mind too is open to you.” 32. He called them in and said: “My friends, yesterday I pleaded my cause before this illustrious man, Apollonius.” “We have listened to your defense from him, and it did not seem to lack justification,” said Dion. 138 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA ‘'Then, my dear Dion,” said Vespasian, “let us consult together today upon my plans, so that I may carry them all through in the best way, and con¬ sistently with the public welfare. Considering first how Tiberius turned his power into cruelty and oppression ; and then how his insane successor Caius shamefully trifled with every interest of Rome, raving like a bacchante, dressing like a Lydian, and holding triumphs for battles which were never fought; then next how Claudius, in spite of his good disposi¬ tion, was so infatuated by women that he neglected both the empire and his own life, for they are said to have murdered him; I need not speak of Nero after those few trenchant words of Apollonius, about the laxness and strictness with which Nero disgraced the throne; nor need I characterize the methods of Galba, who while adopting the wenchers Otho and Piso as his sons, was slain in mid-forum ; but if Vitellius, the lowest of them all, is left by us in possession of the throne, even Nero would rise from his grave to protest. Seeing then my friends how odious the empire has been made by those tyrants, I ask you to advise me how I may restore that monarchy which has been brought into such disrepute.” Apollonius remarked : “An extraordinarily skilful flute-player used to send his pupils to watch other less skilful players, so that they might learn how not to do it. In the same way, O Emperor, you have learned how not to rule, from those who have governed badly. Now let us take counsel how one should rule.” 33. By that time Euphrates had become secretly jealous of Apollonius, noticing how the emperor listened to every word from him more closely than suppliants of oracles do to their responses, so he lost his patience at that remark, and broke in with a shriller voice than usual : “It is not right to encourage rash impulses by flattery, or to let ourselves be recklessly run away with by men who drive with loose rein ! We ought rather to try to bring them back into the road, if we really are philosophers. As the start¬ ing-point of our deliberations, we ought clearly to ascertain whether those things should be done at all, which you command us to tell you how to do, before you know whether or not they will be thought advisable. It certainly is my opinion that Vitellius should be dethroned, for I know that the man is polluted and steeped in every vice. But though I also know that you are a good man, and that you excel in nobility of character, I do not think it fitting for you to undertake to correct the errors of Vitellius, without being made aware of your own. That monarchies become arbitrary I need not tell you, for you have said so yourself ; but this you should bear in mind, that when a young man unexpectedly comes to the throne he will indulge his whims, for to be despotic is as natural to youth as drinking or loving, and a young tyrant may not be altogether bad even though he may seem BOOK FIVE 139 cruel in his tyranny, and crude and licentious. But in an old man claiming sovereignty, all such tendencies are rated as heinous offenses, and although he may be kindly and accomplished, the credit for that is given, not to him, but to his age and ripeness. Moreover the general belief will be that he had failed of acquiring the sceptre in his youth, though his heart had long been set on it, and such failures are attributed either to bad luck or to faint¬ heartedness. So he will be thought either to have relinquished his earlier ambition to rule because he had lost faith in his destiny, or else to have submitted to the incumbent of the throne because perhaps he feared his ability. In your own case, we may dismiss the idea of bad luck, but how will you refute the charge of cowardice, especially when you were appar¬ ently afraid of Nero, the most dastardly and inert of men? Vindex’s up¬ rising against him should have appealed for its support to you first of all men, for you were in command of an army, and the forces which you were leading against the Jews would have been more usefully employed in bringing Nero to justice. The Jews had long been in revolt, not merely against the Romans but against the whole human race, for they are men who had developed an unsocial existence, having nothing in common with other men, either food, or libations, or prayers, or sacrifices ; further re¬ moved from us in those respects than Susa or Bactria, and more foreign than the Indians who lived far beyond their boundaries. There was no use in subduing their rebellion, when they would not be worth keeping in any event, but who would not pray to slay with his own hand that Nero who sang in the midst of slaughter, and was guilty of everything but blood¬ drinking? I used to prick up my ears at every sound from you, and if any traveller from those countries told how you had slain thirty thousand Jews in one battle, and fifty thousand in another, I would privately ask him: ‘What is the man about? Is there nothing more pressing to do than that?’ Now if you are going to make war upon Vitellius, whom you call a copy of Nero, go on with your purpose of dethroning him, which is excellent; but when it has been accomplished, follow it up in this way. Democracy is very popular among the Romans, and a great part of their success is due to their calling themselves a republic. Put an end to monarchy then, which you yourself find so objectionable, and confer on the Romans popular sovereignty, and on yourself the glory of being the founder of their liberties.” 34. At the close of this speech, seeing that Dion favored Euphrates’ opinion, for he showed it by nods and approving interjections, Apollonius asked him if he had anything to add to what had been said, and Dion replied: “A few words, by Zeus! partly agreeing, and partly dissenting. I believe 140 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA that I too have already remarked to you, Vespasian, that it would have been better to overthrow Nero than to straighten out that Jewish tangle; but you never seemed to entertain the thought of overthrowing him ; while, as the man who was restoring order in his dominions, you were actually strengthening him against his enemies everywhere. I agree too that Vitellius should be attacked, for it seems wiser to nip tyranny in the bud than to try to break it down after it has become firmly rooted. I even approve of popular sovereignty, for although that form of government may be less desirable than an aristocracy, prudent men will prefer it to a monarchy or an oligarchy; but I fear that the Romans have been so de¬ moralized by their tyrants that they are not capable of such a transition, nor qualified to use freedom well, and like people in the dark who suddenly see a dazzling light, they may not be able to lift their eyes to democracy. Wherefore I am of opinion that Vitellius should be driven from power, and that it be done as soon as may be possible and practicable, and that all warlike preparation should be made for that purpose, although actual hostilities probably will not be necessary, but it will be enough to warn him of the consequences to himself if he refuses to abdicate. When he is vanquished, which I think will be easy, give the Roman people the right to choose their own system of government. If they wish a democracy, let them have it. This renunciation by you will be more glorious than many empires, and many prizes at the Olympic games. Your name will be per¬ petuated in every quarter of the city; everywhere you will stand in bronze, and you will furnish us with a subject for eloquence with which neither Harmodius nor Aristogiton can be compared. On the other hand, if they vote for a monarchy, to whom but you could they offer the sceptre? Be¬ cause you had yielded it to the people, when you had it in your grasp, they would resign it to you in preference to anyone else.” 35. All kept silence after that, and the emperor’s countenance betrayed the dissatisfaction which he felt in seeing himself opposed in his plans, when he was already wielding the power and dignity of an emperor. Then Apollonius spoke: “You seem to me to make a great mistake in trying to unsettle the emperor’s matured policy ; and to be showing off like boys in this idle talk, which is both unpractical and untimely. If I had attained the power which he has, and you had stood up to urge such folly on me, while I was pondering how to use my power for the benefit of my subjects, your speech might have had some effect, for philosophic criticisms may amend philosophic hearers. But in the case of a man of consular rank, who has long been accustomed to command, and over whom destruction is hanging if he loses the empire, why need his counsellors' vilify him, if instead of BOOK FIVE 141 turning his back on fortune’s gifts he accepts what she freely offers him, and studies how he may use his power wisely? Suppose we saw an athlete endowed with high spirit, and a large and well-proportioned body, trained for the Olympic games and already on his way to them in Arcadia, and we should encourage him to meet his competitors, but should order him, in case he should win the prize, not to allow himself to be proclaimed the victor by the voice of the herald, nor to submit his head to the wreath of wild-olive ; we would seem insane, and trifling with another man’s exertions. For precisely the same reason, when we consider such a man as this, escorted by so many lances, surrounded by the glitter of so much brazen armor, and by such a force of cavalry, and when we note how courteous and moderate he is, and how worthy to achieve his ambition, let us speed him whither his purpose leads him, crying to him words of good cheer, and assuring him that he will succeed even better than he expects. Has not this occurred to you, that he is the father of two sons who are now com¬ manding armies, and who will become his bitterest enemies if he does not bequeath them the empire ; and that he has no alternative but to go on, if he would not war with his own flesh and blood? If, however, he accepts the throne, his sons will be dutiful, he will maintain their authority and they his, and he will have as his defenders his nearest and dearest, instead of mercenary or conscripted guards, hiding their enmity behind a mask of loyalty. It makes no difference to me what the form of government may be, for I live under the gods, but I would not wish the human flock to perish for lack of a just and moderate shepherd. For as one man con¬ spicuous for his virtue so modifies a democracy that it seems to be the realm of that one best man in it, so government by one man who directs all his actions to the public welfare is popular sovereignty. Euphrates says you did not dethrone Nero. Did you either, Euphrates, or you, Dion, or I? Yet no one blames us, or calls us cowards, although other philosophers have overthrown innumerable tyrannies, while we have not accomplished anything for freedom. So far as I am concerned, I did stand forth against Nero to his face, reproaching him bitterly, and openly inveighing against the murderous Tigellinus. I also built a citadel against Nero, in what I did in the west to aid Vindex ; but for all that I will not claim to have dethroned the tyrant, nor will I call you slacker than befits philosophers, because you did none of those things. A philosopher should speak his mind, but in doing so he should be careful to say nothing unwise or un¬ reasonable. A consular, planning the downfall of a tyrant, wants first of all fuller advice how he may take his enemy by surprise, and next a proper justification for breaking his oath of allegiance; for if he intends to turn his arms against the sovereign who gave him command of his troops, and whose interests he has sworn to defend by word and deed, he must first 142 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA defend his action before the gods, that he may have divine sanction for forswearing himself. Then too he will need more supporters, for such projects are not to be undertaken without supplies and weapons, and very ample funds besides, with which to win over those in power, especially when his antagonist wields all the resources of the world. Think of the delay imposed by such preparations ! of the necessary time involved ! You may very properly express your opinion on all those points, but let us not waste time in discussing matters which he has doubtless considered well, and which fortune has offered him without any effort of his own. Here is an unanswerable objection to your course. This very man, who has already taken over the empire, and who was crowned by your cities only yesterday in these temples, and who is actually administering the government freely and splendidly, you are instructing today tO' proclaim by the crier that henceforth he will be merely a private citizen, and that he has been mad in claiming the empire ! But if he shall persevere in the plans which he has made, he will continue to have the loyal support of those subordinates upon whom he relied in making them; and if you could persuade him to change his mind, he would make an active enemy of every man whom he would have betrayed by so doing.” 36. The emperor listened to him well-pleased, and said: “If you dwelt in my inmost heart you could hardly have expressed my thoughts more clearly. I shall follow your advice, for every word that comes from you seems to me inspired by the gods. Tell me then what a good ruler should do in my place.” Apollonius replied : “You ask more than I can tell you, for the art of ruling is man’s highest function and cannot be communi¬ cated, but if you follow these suggestions I think you will be doing rightly. Do not reckon as your wealth what you keep locked in your strong-box. » What better is that than so many heaps of sand? Nor the revenues exacted from your subjects, who usually weep when they pay their taxes; for gold coined from tears is counterfeit and tarnished. You will enjoy the truest wealth of princes when you help the needy, and protect the property of the well-to-do. Beware of your arbitrary power, so that you may use it as little as may be. Do not lop off the high and upstanding ears of grain, according to the pernicious advice of Aristotle, but rather do away with disaffection, as you would weed out thistles from a cornfield. Inspire fear in conspira¬ tors, not so much by inflicting punishments as by being ready and able to do so. Obey the law yourself, O Emperor. You will enact more moderate laws if you also are to observe them. Worship the gods even more than you have done hitherto, for they have granted you much, and you are asking much. Act like the emperor in all matters affecting the empire, but like a BOOK FIVE 143 private citizen in your personal affairs. I need not warn you against dice and drink and women, for it is well known that even in your youth you cared for none of these things. They tell me that you have two sons of excellent disposition, O Emperor. Restrain them carefully, for their mis¬ doings will all be imputed to you. You should even warn them that you will not leave them the empire, if they do not continue tO' be good and honorable, for so they will consider the throne not as their rightful heritage, but as a reward of their virtue. The luxury which has become naturalized in Rome — and there is a great deal of it — should be abated gradually, in my opinion; for it is hard to reform a whole city suddenly. You must regulate their tastes by degrees, correcting some errors publicly, and others in secret. Curb the pretensions of the freedmen and slaves whom possession of the throne will bring about you, so that the greater the master whom they serve, the humbler we may make their disposition. As to the prefects who go to the various provinces, I will not speak of those whom you personally appoint, for of course you will choose their qualifications with reference to their responsibilities ; but of those who obtain provinces by lot; some of whom I think should be sent where their lot indicates, when they are likely to be of service to the peoples whom they draw” {here oceurs a short hiatus in the text) “those who speak Greek to govern Greeks, and those who speak only Latin to govern people using that language. I will tell you why this occurs to me. When I was in Pelopon¬ nesus a man was governor of Greece who knew no Greek, and the Greeks could not understand what he said. He was misunderstood and he mis¬ understood them constantly; and his counsellors and magistrates who sat with him to try cases used to sell his decisions, using the governor like a slave. These suggestions are all that come to me at this time, O Emperor. If I think of anything else, we perhaps may have another conference. Act now as befits the crown, lest your subjects think you too inactive.” 37. Then said Euphrates : “I too acquiesce in what you have made up your mind to do, for what would be the use of advising against it? But this remains to be added, O Emperor. Love and cherish that philosophy which accords with nature, but shun the kind which boasts its familiarity with the gods. Such philosophers only excite us unduly, by inventing many crazy notions which they ascribe to the divine majesty.” This was aimed at Apollonius, who went away with his disciples without paying any atten¬ tion to it, having done his work. As the emperor saw that Euphrates was so exasperated that he might say something even more audacious, he fore¬ stalled him by giving orders to admit any who might have petitions to present, and that the council should meet as usual. 144 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Thus Euphrates only injured himself by his imprudence; for he showed the emperor that he was jealous and overbearing, and that he had started the discussion about democracy, not so much from conviction, as to contradict Apollonius’ views of government. Nevertheless he did not dis¬ miss him, nor manifest his irritation over the outbreak. Neither did he like Dion’s approval of that opinion of Euphrates, but he did not withdraw his favor from him, for Dion showed himself good-tempered in debate, and avoided ^wrangling, and diffused sweetness through his conversation as incense is breathed through temples, and moreover he excelled every¬ one else in extemporaneous speaking. As for Apollonius, the emperor not merely loved him, but he hung upon his words, whether he spoke of ancient times, or told of Phraotes the Indian, or described the rivers and the beasts of India, or foretold the intention of the gods concerning the empire. When Vespasian went away, after reviving Egypt and inspiring her with new hope, he wished to make Apollonius his travelling-companion, but the Master had other plans, for he had not yet seen Egypt, which lay spread before him, nor had he conferred with the Gymnosophists there, and he greatly desired to compare the wisdom of Egypt with that of India, and he said: ‘T have not drunk from the sources of the Nile.” Seeing his preparations for the journey into Ethiopia, Vespasian said: “Will you remember us?” “Yes, by Zeus!” he replied; “so long as you continue to be a good emperor, and remember yourself.” 38. One day, after the sacrifices in the temple were over, the emperor publicly gave him leave to ask him for gifts ; whereupon, as if about to request something, Apollonius asked : “What are you willing to give me, O Emperor?” “Ten things at this time,” he answered, “and all I have when you come to Rome.” Then Apollonius said : “It behooves me then to be as economical of what you have as if it were my own, and not to waste it now, since it is all to be kept for me till then. Take care of these men instead, O Emperor,” and he indicated Euphrates and his companions. The emperor told them to ask freely,, and Dion said with a blush, “O Emperor, restore me into favor with my instructor Apollonius, over my seeming opposition to him, for I have never had any controversy with him before.” The em¬ peror said approvingly: “I asked and obtained that for you yesterday, Dion; so now ask for something for yourself.” Then said Dion: “Las- thenes, of Apamea in Bithynia, used to be a companion of my studies, but he fell in love with the soldier’s cloak and a military career. Now he tells me that he wishes for the philosopher’s cloak once more, so grant his prayer to be released from the army. In doing so you will favor me by making him again a good man, and you will favor him by letting him lead BOOK FIVE 145 the life he has chosen.” “He shall be released at once,” said the emperor, “and because he loves philosophy and you, I grant him now the military premium due to soldiers who have served their time.” Next came the turn of Euphrates, who had written a letter setting forth what he wanted, and who handed it to the emperor for his private perusal, but the emperor read it aloud to them all, taking advantage of the opportunity to embarrass him. Euphrates had asked in it for various things for himself and some for others, partly in money, and partly in gifts to an equal amount. Then said Apollonius smiling: “When you advised a democracy, did you expect to ask so much from the emperor?” 39. Besides what Damis tells of the dissension between Euphrates and Apollonius, I learn from other sources that after the emperor’s departure they publicly assailed each other, Euphrates with angry abuse, and the Master more philosophically with arguments. His reasons for upbraiding Euphrates for conduct unworthy of himself or of any philosopher may be gathered from Apollonius’ letters to him, which are numerous. But I must not dwell on Euphrates, for I have not set out to castigate him as he deserves, but to write the biography of Apollonius for those who do not know it. The story of his aiming a blow with his staff at Apollonius dur¬ ing a debate, without touching him, is generally explained by the dexterity of the man assaulted, but in my opinion it was the assailant’s prudence which controlled just in time the anger which had overcome him. 40. Dion’s philosophy seemed unduly rhetorical to Apollonius, and better calculated to give his hearers pleasure than profit. To correct this tendency he advised him : “Do your spell-binding with a flute, or a lyre, rather than with your voice !” and in many of his letters to Dion he criticizes this effort to curry favor with the public. 41. He did not go to the emperor after his stay in Egypt, nor would he take up his abode with him later, although Vespasian sent for him, and often invited him by letter; and this was his reason. Nero had granted to Greece by edict a wiser liberty than could have been expected from him, under which its cities had taken up once more their Doric and Attic insti¬ tutions, and general prosperity revived through the peace between the cities, a long-felt want of Greece. When Vespasian came to the throne he did away with all that, assigning as his reason certain revolts and other offenses not deserving of such condign punishment, in the opinion of those 146 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA directly affected by it, and of Apollonius himself; wherefore he wrote this letter to the emperor : “Apollonius to the Emperor Vespasian, greeting: “You have reduced Greece to slavery, they tell me, and in doing so you think yourself better than Xerxes, not aware that you are worse than Nero. For when Nero had us at his mercy, he yielded to entreaty. Fare¬ well.’’ And also this : “Since you hate the Greeks so much that you have changed them from free men into slaves, why do you desire my companionship? Farewell.” And also this : “Nero the harpist freed the Greeks, but you the statesman have en¬ slaved them. Farewell.” This action made Vespasian detestable to Apollonius, but on hearing later that on the whole he was administering the empire well, he publicly expressed his pleasure, and seemed as grateful as if he had received a personal kindness. 42. Apollonius also did this notable thing in Egypt. A beggar was leading a lion about in a leash like a dog, which fawned on its master and on anyone else who came near. They begged their way about the towns, and even went into the temples, as the animal was pure, and did not lick up the blood of victims, nor try to get at their skinned and cut-up carcasses, con¬ tenting himself with honey-cakes, and rolls, and sweetmeats and cooked flesh. He would even drink wine at times, without being affected by it. Apollonius being seated in a temple, this lion came up to him and gently rubbed against his knees, soliciting him alone, of all the men there. Some thought that he was begging money, but Apollonius said : “He is begging me to tell you whose soul he has. He was that Amasis who was a king of Egypt in the Saitic province.” On hearing that the lion howled mournfully and groaned pitifully, crouching and actually shedding tears. Then Apollonius said, patting him : “I think this lion should be sent to Leon- topolis, and be kept in the temple there. I do not think it right that a king, who has been metamorphosed into an especially royal beast, should wander about as a beggar.” Thereupon the assembled priests made sacriflce for Amasis, and sent the animal into Egypt adorned with a collar and fillets, while they played on flutes and chanted hymns and sang about him. 43. Having stayed long enough in Alexandria he went on through Egypt to Ethiopia to make the acquaintance of the Gymnosophists. As Menippus BOOK FIVE 147 spoke Egyptian quite fluently by this time, he left him behind to keep an eye on Euphrates, and he also dissuaded Dioscorides from undertaking the journey, as he did not seem quite strong enough for so arduous an excur¬ sion. Calling the others together, several disciples having taken the places of those who had deserted him at Aricia, he told them of the projected expedition, prefacing his statement of it thus : “I need to make an Olympic address to you, my friends ; and by an Olympic address I mean this. On the approach of the time for the Olympic games, the Eleans train all the athletes for thirty days in Elis itself. Now before the Pythian games a Delphian addresses the assembled ath¬ letes there ; and in the same way before the Isthmian games a Corinthian addresses the athletes there, and both say the same thing: ‘Go into the stadium, and show that you are champions who deserve the prize !’ But at Olympia the Eleans say this to the athletes : ‘If your training has fitted you to come to Olympia, and if you have not exercised lazily or unfairly, go on with good courage. Those of you who have not been so trained may go where they like !’ ” His disciples understood this address, and about twenty of them re¬ mained with Menippus, while the others, about ten in number, after in¬ voking the gods and offering sacrifices for the successful result of the journey, went directly toward the Pyramids, mounted on camels, and keeping the Nile on their right hand. Sometimes they sailed on the river, to see all that it could offer ; nor did they pass in silence any city or temple or holy place in all Egypt, being taught or teaching of them with reverent discussion. Whatever boat carried Apollonius became like the sacred ship of envoys to an oracle. 148 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA BOOK SIX. Voyage up the Nile — Memphis — Memnon's statue — Sojourn with THE GyMNOSOPHISTS - JOURNEY TO THE CATARACTS OF THE NiLE — - Description of them — Animals and men of Ethiopia — Adven¬ ture WITH A SATYR - ReTURN TO ALEXANDRIA - CONFERENCES WITH Emperor Titus at Argos — Tarsus — Phcenicia — Cilicia — Ionia — Greece — Italy — Sardis — Antioch — Cnidos — Hellespont — ■ Tarsus again. 1. Ethiopia occupies the western horn of all that part of the earth where the sun is vertically overhead, as India does the eastern horn ; and it ad¬ joins Egypt at Meroe, stretching thence along an unexplored region of Libya to that sea which girdles the world and is called by poets the ocean. Ethiopia gives to Egypt the Nile river, which begins at the Cataract mountains, and brings out of Ethiopia all Egypt which it inundates. Its area cannot be compared with India, but neither can any other continent of land, of all those named by men. Even if we should add all Egypt to Ethiopia, as we might say the river itself does, both of them together do not equal India, should such a comparison be possible with so vast a territory. The rivers of the two countries resemble each other, so far as concerns the essential characteristics of the Indus and of the Nile; for each floods the fields in the season of the year when the soil needs water most ; they are the only rivers which support the crocodile and the hippo¬ potamus ; the traditions of Bacchic orgies are alike with both, and fre¬ quent sacrifices are offered both to the Indus and to the Nile. Moreover the belief in the similarity of India and Ethiopia is confirmed by their spices and their lions, and by the fact that the elephant is caught and trained to work in both. Beasts are common to both countries which are not found elsewhere, and the men are black, such as no other land produces, and both have tribes of pigmies, and of barking men, and other wonders scattered through them. The griffins of India and the ants of Ethiopia, although unlike in appearance, agree in their habits, for in- each they are said to choose gold-bearing earth for their dens, and to guard the gold there. Without carrying this parallel further, let us . return to our Subject and follow our hero. 2. On reaching the boundary between Egypt and Ethiopia, at a place called Sycaminus, they found lying unguarded at a fork of the road, linen BOOK SIX 149 and ivory and roots and myrrh and spices and uncoined gold. This prac¬ tice has continued to our own times ; and the explanation is that Ethiopians deposit at this market-place the products of their own country, which the Egyptians take away, leaving in their stead Egyptian goods of equal value, so that each party exchanges what they have for what they need. The natives along the border are not very black, being in color half-way be¬ tween the two races, lighter than Ethiopians and darker than Egyptians. After inquiring into this method of barter, Apollonius said : ‘'Our thrifty Greeks say that they cannot live unless penny begets penny, and they fix prices on their wares by screwing them up and beating them down, each excusing himself by the plea that he must get a dowry for his daughter, or that he has a grown son to set up in business, or that he must pay his club- dues, or build a house, or that he is ashamed to be worse off than his father.” He thought that people happy where wealth was a disgrace ; where all were of the same condition ; where black iron lay unmined while men lived in fellowship, and all the land seemed one ! 3. With such discourses, drawing useful morals from the daily happen¬ ings of travel, he went on toward the statue of Memnon. Their guide was a young Egyptian named Timasion, of whom Damis gives these particu¬ lars. He was already in vigorous youth, though hardly more than a boy, when his stepmother fell in love with him and tried to seduce him. Having been chastely resisted, she prejudiced the lad’s father against him, not by such accusations as Phaedra made, but by saying that he was effeminate and liked men-lovers better than women. In this way he was driven from home in Naucratis, where this had befallen him, and was living near Mem¬ phis, where he had procured a boat of his own and was earning his living with it on the Nile. As he drifted down stream he met Apollonius coming up against the current, and when he saw that the vessel was filled with philosophers, whom he recognized by their cloaks, and by the scrolls which they were studying, he begged permission to join them, because he was eager to acquire knowledge. Apollonius said : “My friends, this is a good lad. Let him have the reward which he seeks and while the youth was coming alongside the Master told his disciples sitting* near him, in a low voice, the story of the stepmother. As the boats came together Timasion gave some directions to his steersman about his cargo, and then saluting the passengers he leapt aboard. Apollonius gave him a seat opposite his own and said : “Young Egyptian, for you seem to be of that nationality, tell us what of evil or good you have done. Your age will serve as an ex¬ cuse for your faults, and as the reward of your merits you shall have my approval, and may study philosophy with these men and with me.” Seeing 150 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Timasion blush and open his mouth to speak, and then close it again, he went on asking one question after another, as if he knew nothing at all about him. Then taking courage, Timasion said : '‘O ye gods ! What shall I say of myself? I am not bad, and yet I am not sure that I ought to call myself good, for at my age it is no merit not to have done wrong.” Then Apollonius exclaimed : “Bless me, my boy, you answer me as if you had been brought up by the Indian Sages, for the divine larchas had the same way of thinking ! How did you come by it, and who taught you, for you look as if you had kept yourself from sinning?” When the lad began to tell how his stepmother had persecuted him, and how he had resisted her blandishments, the disciples cried out, because Apollonius by divine inspira¬ tion had already told them the same thing. Timasion said to them: “What is the matter with you, my dear sirs? What I have told you is neither surprising nor amusing, as it seems to me.” Then Damis replied: “We are surprised at something else which you do not yet know ; and it is greatly to your credit, my lad, that you think you have done nothing won¬ derful.” “Do you sacrifice to Venus, my boy?” asked Apollonius. “Yes, by Zeus, every day,” replied the youth, “for I think that goddess is the most powerful influence over either men or gods.” Immensely pleased by that reply, Apollonius said to the others : “Let us award the wreath for self-control to this boy, rather than to Theseus’ son Hippolytus; for Hippolytus scorned Venus, and for that reason perhaps the passion of love never tempted him, and no Cupid made merry with him, so that he was of boorish and unsoftened nature. But this lad here, though he acknowledges his devotion to the goddess, was not overcome by his temptress, and has kept aloof from her, dreading the wrath of the goddess herself if he should succumb to a forbidden love. When a man hates any god as Hippolytus did Venus, I do not think his action deserves the honored name of self-control, for the essence of self-control is reverence for all gods, as we see at Athens, where altars are erected even to unknown gods.” This embraces all that Damis tells of Timasion, except that he used to call him Hippolytus, from the eyes with which he had regarded his stepmother. He seemed moreover to have kept in good training, and to have been especially graceful in gymnastic exercise. 4. Under this youth’s guidance Damis says they came to the temple built around the statue of Memnon, of whom he writes that Memnon was the son of Aurora, and did not die at Troy, nor even go there, but that he ended his life in Ethiopia, after reigning over that people during five gen¬ erations of his subjects, who are the longest-lived of all men. They mourn him yet, and lament that he was cut off from them by so untimely a death BOOK SIX 151 in the prime of life. Damis says that the site of his statue looks like one of those antique forums whose ruins are still seen in long-abandoned cities, exhibiting delicately-chiseled columns and fragmentary walls, with seats and doorways, and statues of Hermes, ruined partly by time and partly by depredation. The statue of Memnon is carved from black stone and repre¬ sents a beardless youth facing the rising sun, with feet joined together in the archaic style of sculpture of the period of Daedalus, and with hands flattened on the arms of the chair, for he is seated as if in the act of rising. Damis says that this posture of the body, and the expression of the eyes, and something about the mouth, all indicate that he is on the point of speak¬ ing, yet they saw nothing very remarkable in the statue at first glance, for its action did not seem significant. But when the first ray of the sun touched it, which occurred just at sunrise, they could not control their astonishment, for it uttered a sound as soon as the sunbeam reached its lips, and it seemed to raise its gleaming eyes joyfully toward the light, like a basking man. Damis says that then they understood his attitude to be that of rising to greet the sun, as if to stand in the presence of a superior. Wherefore they offered sacrifices to the Ethiopian (burnt-face) Sun, and to Memnon of the Dawn, for so the priests named them, the one from its burning and heating, and the other after his mother. Then mounting their camels they rode on toward the abode of the Gymnosophists. 5. On their way they came across a man dressed in Memphian costume who was wandering about instead of following a fixed course, and those near Damis asked him who he was, and why he roamed about so. Then Timasion said : ‘‘You would better ask me than him, for he cannot bear to tell you his plight, because he is ashamed of the misfortune he is in; but as I happen to know and sympathize with him I will tell you all that has happened to him. He accidentally killed a man in Memphis, and the Memphian law requires that an involuntary homicide, who must flee some¬ where, shall go into exile to the Gymnosophists. If they shall have purified him from his deed, he may return home free from guilt, after first going to the victim’s tomb and making some small sacrifice there. But before he is received by the Gymnosophists, he must wander about their borders here as a suppliant, until they have compassion on him.” Then Apollonius asked Timasion what the Gymnosophists thought of this fugitive, and he replied : “I do not know, but he has been suing here for their pardon seven months now, without obtaining it yet.” Apollonius rejoined : “Such men as you describe are no Sages, if they are unwilling to purify this man, and do not know that the Philiscus whom he slew was a descendant of Thamus the Egyptian, who once ravaged the lands of the Gymnosophists.” 152 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Timasion asked in astonishment: “What do you say?” “I say what hap¬ pened, young man,” said Apollonius. “The Gymnosophists had revealed to the Memphians that Thamus was plotting revolt against them, whereby his schemes were thwarted, and he in despair collected a band of robbers from the region around Memphis, and devastated the territory where those philosophers dwell. I perceive that the Philiscus killed by this man was the thirteenth in descent from Thamus, and to those whose lands his ancestor had ruined he was plainly accursed. Where is their wisdom then, if they hesitate to cleanse this man from that involuntary slaying, which was really done in their interest, and for which they ought to crown him, even if he had done it intentionally?” Dumfounded, the wanderer asked him: “Who are you, stranger?” and Apollonius replied: “I am he whom you will find among the Gymnosophists. But since it is not permitted to me to converse with one who is still stained with blood, do you, Timasion, tell him to be of good courage, for he will soon be purified if he comes to my tent.” On his coming there accordingly, those rites were performed over him which Empedocles and Pythagoras enjoin for expiation in such cases, and he was sent home cleansed of the offense. 6. Leaving this camp at sunrise they arrived before noon at the school of the Gymnosophists. According to Damis, these dwell on a low ridge not far from the bank of the Nile, and they are as much excelled in wisdom by the Indian Sages as they themselves excel the Egyptians. They go as naked as men do who bask in the sun at Athens. Trees are rare in that vicinity, but there is one grove of no great extent in which they meet to discuss the affairs of the community. Their temples are not collected in one locality, as among the Indians, but are scattered along the ridge, and are held in the highest reverence, as the Egyptians declare. They especially worship the Nile, deeming that river to be both land and water. Living in the open air with nothing over them but the sky, they require no roof or other shelter for themselves, but they have built as a lodging for their guests a small colonnade, about as large as those at Elis under which the athlete waits for the noontime proclamation. 7. At this point Damis tells of something Euphrates did, which we cannot describe as childish, but prompted by a jealousy incompatible with philoso¬ phy. Having heard Apollonius say that he intended to compare the wis¬ dom of India with that of Egypt, he sent Thrasybulus of Naucratis to the Gymnosophists to slander him. Thrasybulus told them that his own visit was one of friendship, and warned them of the coming of Apollonius, which would bring no small danger to them, for Apollonius was wiser than BOOK SIX 153 the Indian, Sages themselves, whose praises were always on his lips, and he had devised innumerable traps for them, and conceded nothing to sun or sky or earth, for he moved and drove and changed those things about at will. 8. After telling these lies Thrasybulus went away, leaving them con¬ vinced of the truth of what he had told them ; so when Apollonius arrived, though they did not flatly refuse to confer with him, they sent him word that they were engaged in matters of great moment, which required all their attention, but that they would hold discussions with him as soon as they had leisure, and when they had ascertained what was his motive in coming, and what questions he intended to ask ; and that meantime he was to lodge in the colonnade. Apollonius replied to the messenger : “Do not talk to me of a roof, for here is a climate which permits anyone to live naked” (implying that they went naked not by way of self-denial but of necessity). “I am not surprised that they do not know already why I have come and what I wish to ask; and yet the Indian Sages did not have to ask me that !” Then lying under a tree he conversed with his companions on whatever topics they suggested. 9. Damis took Timasion aside from the others and asked him privately: “If I am not mistaken, you once spent some time with these Gymno sophists, my dear fellow. What subjects does their wisdom embrace?” “Many very important subjects,” Timasion replied; and Damis said: “But surely this way of dealing with us does not indicate wisdom, for to be' unwilling to discuss philosophy with such a man as Apollonius, and to treat him with disrespect, I can only call conceit, comrade.” Timasion answered : “I never saw any conceit in them before, although I have visited tliem here twice. They have always shown themselves moderate and courteous to all who came. For instance less than fifty days ago Thrasybulus was staying here, who is a man of no standing as a philosopher, and yet they welcomed him because he said that he was a disciple of Euphrates.” Damis exclaimed: “What is that you say, boy? Did you see Thrasybulus of Naucratis at this school?” “I certainly did,” answered Timasion, “and what is more I carried him down the river from here in my boat.” “I see it all now, by Athene !” cried Damis indignantly ; “it is plain that he has set some snare for us.” Timasion said : “When I asked the Master yesterday who he was, he did not think me worthy of that confidence. Tell me yourself who he is, unless some sacred mystery is involved, and perhaps I may be able some¬ how to unravel what you wish to find out.” On learning from Damis that the Master was Apollonius of Tyana, Timasion said: “You have hit the 154 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA mark; for while Thrasybulus was floating down the Nile with me, I asked him why he had come up here, and he told me of his unworthy cunning, saying that he had filled these Gymnosophists with such suspicion of Apol¬ lonius that he would be snubbed if he came here. I do not know what grudge he had against him, but I think it ill-bred and unmanly to slander a man behind his back in such fashion. Now I will call on these men to pay my respects, and as I am on good terms with them, I may find out how the land lies.” On returning to the party in the evening, Timasion said nothing to Apollonius of his visit, except that he had saluted them, but he privately reported to Damis that the Gymnosophists were coming to them next day, full of what they had heard from Thrasybulus. 10. After some colloquies not deserving to be reported, the party went to sleep that night where they had supped. Next morning, having worshipped the Sun at early dawn in his usual way, Apollonius was engaged in private meditation on some deep subject when Nilus the youngest of the Gymnoso¬ phists ran up to him and said ; '‘We are on our way to you !” "Quite right, too,” he replied, "for I have travelled all the way from the sea to meet you;” and he followed Nilus at once, exchanging the usual polite inquiries, until they met the other Gymnosophists near the colonnade. "Where shall we have our conference?” he asked, and Thespesio answered "there,” pointing to the grove. Thespesio was the oldest of the Gymnosophists and preceded them all, while they followed him with slow and measured pace, as judges at the Olympic games follow their leader. After seating them¬ selves wherever they happened to be, for they did not arrange themselves in any order, they all looked at Thespesio as the host of the occasion, and he began thus: "They say that you have watched the Pythian and the Olympic games, Apollonius (for Stratocles of Pharos told us that he had met you there) ; and that Delphi welcomes its visitors with flutes and songs and lyres, and entertains them with comedies and tragedies, and finally after all that, offers them the naked athletic games ; but that Olympia eschews all such amusements, as frivolous and unsuited to the occasion, and shows only its athletes, naked as Hercules prescribed, to all who come. You may take that as an illustration of our wisdom, as compared with that of the Indians. Like the Pythians, they solicit guests by catering to popu¬ lar taste with all sorts of jugglery, but we are naked as at Olympia. Our ground spreads out no soft couches, and flows with no milk or wine, as if for bacchantes ; nor will our air float us on high, but we live with no bed but earth under us, and we receive from it only its natural productions, which it offers us freely and not compelled against its will. However, to show you that we do not lack power to work miracles, let that tree” (point- BOOK SIX 155 ing as he spoke to an elm, the third tree from the one under which they were sitting) ‘'address by name the learned Apollonius!” And the tree did name him as it was bidden, in a clearly articulated feminine voice. This prodigy was intended to lessen Apollonius’ estimate of the Indian Sages, as he was accustomed to cite their doings and sayings on all occasions. Thespesio went on to say that it sufficed for a philosopher to be uncontaminated by any animal food, and by the delight of the eyes, and by that envy which teaches hand and mind to be unjust, but that the truth has no need of wonder-working or magic. “Look at the Delphic Apollo, which in the utterance of oracles monopolizes central Greece,” said he. “There, as you know, any one who asks a response of the god asks his question in few words, and Apollo speaks what he knows, without indulg¬ ing in any display of miracles, although he might easily shake all Parnassus, or change the ‘Castalian spring into wine, or turn back the flow of the Cephisus river. He despises such advertising, and utters the truth simply. Let us not suppose that gold and splendid gifts come to his shrine because he craves such votive offerings ; or that twice as large a temple would give him more delight than the one he has. Once this god dwelt under a humble roof, a little cabin which was built for him by bees piling up wax, and birds bringing feathers. Frugality is the teacher of wisdom and the teacher of truth, and if you follow that you will show yourself really wise, and you will forget the fables which you heard among the Indians. Such expres¬ sions as ‘do this’ or ‘do it not ;’ ‘I know,’ or ‘I do not know ;’ ‘this thing but not that;’ what need have they of stage-tricks? Not the thunderclap, but the lightning-smitten mind I Among other paintings, you have seen the Hercules of Prodicus, where Hercules is represented as a youth who has not yet chosen his way of life ; with Pleasure and Virtue each pulling at him, to draw him iri her direction. Pleasure, with rosy cheeks and curly hair and painted eyes, is adorned with gold and necklaces and purple robe ; and with golden sandals in which she is depicted as dancing ; while Virtue is represented as worn-out, harsh-visaged, with squalor in place of adorn¬ ment, unshod, thinly clad, nay, she would be shown naked, if the artist were not mindful of the dignity due to womanhood. Imagine yourself now, Apollonius, to be standing between the Indian wisdom and that of our own land, and that you hear that other one promising that she will spread flowers under you to sleep on, and will give you milk to drink, by Zeus ! and will feed you on honey-comb, and that you may expect nectar from her, and wings whenever you like, and that she will wheel in tripods for your drinking, and golden thrones, and that everything will come to you of its own accord, without any exertion of yours. On the other hand, it befits our philosophy that your bed shall be on the bare ground, and that you live by labor, naked like us, so that nothing unearned by your own 156 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA efforts will seem either sweet or worth having ; and that you must be no braggart, nor seeker after notoriety, and must abstain even in your dreams from visions which exalt you above the earth. But if you shall make your choice with diamond-clear judgment, as Hercules did, not scorning truth, nor rejecting the poverty which nature teaches, then you may boast that you have vanquished many lions, beheaded many hydras, slain many a Geryon and a Nessus, and have outdone all his other exploits. If you turn away, and choose the conjurers’ side, you will seduce the eyes and ears of the multitude^ but you will be thought no wiser than anyone else, and you will become the spoils of war of any naked philosopher of Egypt!” 11. When he closed, all eyes were turned on Apollonius, his disciples being certain that he would demolish the speaker, and those of Thespesio wondering what he could find to say. After complimenting the orator on his fluency and force, he asked: “Have you anything more to add?” The other replied : “Nothing. I have said my say and on Apollonius asking, “Has any other Egyptian anything to say?” Thespesio replied : “You have heard them all by my voice.” Then after a short pause, and fixing his eyes on what had been said, Apollonius began thus : “Ye Sages of Egypt, what Prodicus shows the youthful Hercules to have done, when the choice was offered to him, has been vividly described to you with philosophic penetration, but it does not apply to me. I have not come here to consult you on the choice of a plan of life, for long ago I chose for myself the plan which most appealed to me. Being the oldest here except Thespesio, I might rather be the one to select a system of philosophy for all of you, if I had not found that you had already made your choice. But notwithstanding my age, and my progress in knowledge, I do not hesitate to submit to your judgment the correctness of my choice, by explaining to you those doctrines which are the best I have ever dis¬ covered. I found something sublime in the teachings of Pythagoras, that through his inner consciousness he knew himself as he was, and also knew who he had been ; and that he came to the altars pure ; and that he kept his body undefiled by animal food and clean of any clothing derived from mortal creatures; and that first of all men he originated the practice of taciturnity by curbing his tongue as if he had set an ox upon it ; and that in every way he had established k sound and inspired system of philosophy. Wherefore I hastened to embrace his principles ; not selecting one of two systems, as you urge me to do, most excellent Thespesio, for philosophy spread before me all her theories of every kind, each arrayed in its own attractions, and she commanded me to examine them all, and to make my selection with care. All of them were so deeply and divinely beautiful that BOOK SIX 157 each of them might dazzle anyone; but I fixed my eyes intently on each one, and they themselves encouraged me by drawing me toward them and promising me what they would give. One of them said that without any effort of mine she would pour out on me an endless stream of delights. Another promised peace after striving. Another that she would mingle toil and joy. Everywhere glittered pleasures, and a loose rein to appetites, and a hand outstretched with riches, and no withholding of the eyes, but loves and desires and all such temptations were laid before me. But there was one of them who demanded for herself the rejection of all that, and she was bold, and sharp-tongued, and elbowed all the rest aside. In her I recognized the unutterable vision of that wisdom by which Pythagoras in his day had been enthralled. She did not stand crowded with the others, but apart and mute, and when she saw that I did not yield to their induce¬ ments, and did not yet know hers, she said : ‘Young man, I am distasteful, and filled with privations. To reach my abode, you must elect to shun every table set with animal food, and to forget wine entirely, that you may not cloud the goblet of wisdom which is poured for the minds of total abstainers ; nor will you wish for any blanket, nor for wool shorn from living things ; though I do allow you bark sandals, and whatever couch may happen. If I should find you enslaved by lusts, I have abysses into which justice, the servant of knowledge, will drive and thrust you; and I am so rigid with those who devote themselves to me that I even have gags ready for their tongues. Learn from me now what rewards shall be yours if you endure so far. Instinctive self-control ; uprightness ; envy of none; to terrify tyrants instead of submitting to them; to have your simple sacrifices seem more acceptable to the gods than the shedding of bulls’ blood for them by others ; and when you shall have become purified, I will impart to you the knowledge of future events ; and I will so en¬ lighten, your eyes that you will discern God, and know the demi-gods, and exorcise those shadowy phantoms which assume the shapes of men.’ This is why I chose that way of living, ye Sages of Egypt, and having strictly followed it under the guidance of Pythagoras, I have neither deluded others, nor been myself deluded. For I have become what one should be who devotes himself to that philosophy, and I have obtained all those rewards which she promised me as her disciple. “In meditating on the origin of art, and the beginnings whence it came, I traced it to men most deeply imbued with knowledge of the gods, and who had best explored the soul, whose springs of being are the eternal and the unbegotten. This description did not seem to fit the Athenians, for they have corrupted those teachings of Plato on the soul which he delivered to them with such inspired wisdom, and they have adopted views on that subject which are opposed to his, and not at all sound. So I cast about for 158 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA whatever city or race of men there might be, among whom not here and there a man, but all of every age would think alike about the soul. Thus, led by my youth and lack of information, I turned my eyes toward you, who were reported to be marvellously wise on every subject. I men¬ tioned that idea to my preceptor, but he discouraged it by saying: Tf you were a lover, or likely to be, and you should meet a handsome youth, and being struck by his beauty you should ask him who his father was, and he should tell you that he was a general and a breeder of race-horses, and that his grandfathers were chorus-leaders ; but notwithstanding his statements you should insist that his father was the captain of a trireme, or a phylarch, do you suppose that your favorite would be won over by that? Would he not rather dislike you for denying his parentage, and for giving him an alien and spurious ancestry? In the same fashion, you are in love with knowledge which the Indians have developed, and you do not call it after its natural parents, but after those who are only its parents by adoption; and you are ascribing to the Egyptians more excellence than if, as their song says, the Nile flowed upward to them mixed with honey!’ This advice took me to the Indians before coming to you, in the belief that men like them were more subtle in intellect, and enjoyed a clearer light, and thought more accurately of nature and of the gods, because they were closer to the divine, and dwelt near the warm and vivifying essence of life. When I had met them, their revelations affected me as the genius of yEschylus is said to have affected the Athenians. This tragic poet, flnding his art in a crude and unregulated condition, brought the distant choruses to the front of the stage, eliminated prolix soliloquies of actors by substi¬ tuting explanatory dialogue, and made the innovation that his characters should die behind the scenes, so that murder would not be committed before the audience. It might seem that improvements such as these could have occurred to a less gifted poet, but he should not be denied the credit of wisdom even in this. Then taking thought of his own style, so that his utterances should be suited to tragedy; and taking thought of his art, how it might aspire to sublimity, instead of being scoffed at and trampled under foot, he invented masks which portrayed the countenances of heroes, and set his actors on buskins so that they might stalk like the personages they represented, and he was the first to clothe his heroes and heroines in cos¬ tumes suitable for their characters. The result was that the Athenians called him the Father of Tragedy, and even after his death they invited him to the Dionysia, for by public vote his plays were brought again upon the stage, and again he won the prize. Now the pleasure of tragedy is short-lived, however well it may be presented, for it gives delight no longer than the narrow space of one day, and that only at the season of the Dionysia ; but the pleasure derived from philosophy, under the system BOOK SIX 159 established by Pythagoras, and gifted with such divination as the Indians practiced before Pythagoras, is not transitory, but unending and incal¬ culable. Wherefore I feel that I have not paid too dearly for my devotion to that well-rounded philosophy, which the Indian Sages wheel out, after mounting it suitably on a lofty and divine pedestal. How just my admira¬ tion for them is, and my estimate of their wisdom, and their blessedness, it is now time to tell you. I found them to be men living on the earth and yet not on the earth ; defended without walls ; possessing nothing, yet having the wealth of all the world. If I am speaking in enigmas, it is allowable by the philosophy of Pythagoras, which permits riddles because he found that they encourage taciturnity. You yourselves became the disciples and upholders of Pythagoras, when you adopted ,the doctrines of the Indians. Long ago you were Indian, too, but being ashamed of the reason for which the anger of your land drove you hither, you wished to be thought anything rather than Ethiopians coming from India, and you did all you could to disguise that fact. You discarded all the garments you had brought with you, as though with your clothes you could do away with being Ethiopians, and you decided to worship the gods in Egyptian fashion, rather than by your ancestral rites ; and you deliberately set about disparaging the Indians, so that you might not be suspected of coming from them, if you calumniated them. You have not abandoned this bad habit yet, for this very day you have given a sample of it, full of insult and ridicule, by asserting that the Indian Sages have discovered nothing valuable, but merely stage-tricks, and delusions of eye or ear ; and when you know nothing as yet of my philosophy, you exhibit your want of sense by expressing your opinion of it. I shall say nothing on my own behalf, for I wish to be what the Indians think me; but I will not allow you to assail them, and if you really have any of the wisdom of the man from Himera (Stesichorus), who when he sang an ode to Helen, contradicting one which he had sung before, called it a palinode, or recantation, you also would say instantly : ‘that speech of mine is not true !’ and you would cor¬ rect your previous opinion of those Sages. But if you are to be slower than that in singing your palinode, you should at least spare your invectives against those holy men, whom the gods endow with their own attributes, and who have not disowned those gifts. “You said something about the Delphic oracle, Thespesio ; how simply and without accessories it utters its responses ; and you gave as an illus¬ tration the temple built of wax and feathers. Those materials do not seem to me to have been thrown together without an architect, for the god who was making the house and its plan, as his own builder, issued the order : ‘Bring feathers, you birds, and wax, you bees !’ Then deeming those materials too scanty and inadequate to do justice to his skill, as I suppose. 160 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA he required another temple, and another, extending hundreds of feet in frontage, in one of which he is said to have hung golden wrynecks, en¬ dowed with some persuasion of the Sirens. At Delphi he has accumulated the most famous of votive offerings to adorn his shrine, nor does he scorn the sculptor’s art, which has brought colossal statues for his temples, some of gods, some of men, some of horses and bulls and other animals. Then there is depicted Glaucus* coming with a goblet-tray, and the taking of Troy’s citadel painted on the wall by Polygnotus. I suppose he did not think Lydian gold necessary as an ornament for the Delphic temple, but he brought it there, for the sake of the Greeks probably, to show them the wealth of the barbarians, so that they might go after that instead of devastating each other’s fields. He has made use of Grecian decoration as well, wherewith to glorify Delphi as befits his wisdom. It must have been for the purpose of effect that he turns the responses of his oracle into metrical verse; for otherwise he would give his answers in the style you indicate, — ‘do this,’ or ‘do it not ;’ ‘go,’ or ‘go not ;’ ‘make the treaty,’ or ‘do not make it.’ These utterances would be brief, or as you say, even naked. But that he may appear to speak majestically, and more as his suppliants imagine a god would speak, he has chosen the poetic form ; and not because it is suited to conceal his ignorance, for he says that he knows the number of grains of sand, having counted them all, and that he has by heart all the dimensions of the sea. Do you reckon all these embellishments as charlatanry then, Thespesio, when Apollo gravely and proudly displays them? If I may say it without offense, even those old women with sieves who hang about shepherds and herdsmen, telling them that they can cure their sickly flocks by witchcraft, wish to be called wise-women, wiser in fact than genuine diviners ; and you seem to me very much like them, when I compare your knowledge with that of the Indian Sages, who are god¬ like and honored like the Delphic oracle, while you ! !— But I will say no more, for I love moderation in words as they do, and I will respect it as both the servant and the ruler of my tongue, striving to say what is in my power with their commendation and love, and leaving untouched by detrac¬ tion the heights which I cannot attain. You are pleased with the fable you have read in Homer’s story of the Cyclops that the earth feeds those most savage and lawless beings without sowing, or cultivation ; and you do not doubt that if some Edonians or Lydians become bacchantes the earth will yield them springs of milk and wine to give them drink; and yet would you take away from those Sages, who revel in all knowledge, the gifts which come freely to them from the ground? Self-moving tripods roll into the banquets of the gods too, and Mars, rough and ill-disposed as he is, has never yet vilified Vulcan for making them, nor have the gods ever heard such an accusation as: ‘Vulcan, it is a sin for you to beautify the BOOK SIX 161 feasts of the immortals, and to surround them with miracles !’ Nor has he ever been arrested for fabricating his golden waiting-maids, because he had spoiled the metal by breathing life into it. Every art seeks embellish¬ ment, since the very existence of art originated in the desire to adorn. It has even been thought decorative for a philosopher to go barefoot, and to wear a threadbare cloak, and to carry a wallet. Going naked, as you do, requires a clout, which, however small and simple, is worn after all as dress, and does not differ in principle from that other extreme which they call display. So far as the Sun is concerned, and the Indian Sages’ tra¬ ditional ways of worshipping him, and how he may prefer to be wor¬ shipped, let those 'questions settle themselves. Earth-gods love pits, and cavern-ceremonies ; but the Sun’s chariot is the air, and those who seek to adore him rightly should be raised above the ground when they sing, and should float with the god above the earth: something we would alf like to do, but only the Indian Sages can.” 12. Damis says that he drew a long breath when Apollonius closed, and that the Egyptians were so agitated that Thespesio, black as he was, blushed vividly, and the others showed their consternation at the bold and eloquent words which they had listened to; but Nilus, the youngest of them, was so carried away with admiration that he leapt to his feet, and ran to Apollonius with outstretched hand, and begged him to tell of his conferences with the Sages. Apollonius replied to him : shall grudge you no information, for I perceive that you are teachable and eager to learn all you can.” He was unwilling however to pump what he had learned from the Indians upon Thespesio, or anyone who had called their wisdom non¬ sense ; until finally Thespesio said to him : ‘Tf you were a trader, or a ship- man, who had brought wares from there, would you expect to sell them to us on the strength of their coming from India, without letting us see them or giving us a taste, or showing a sample?” Apollonius answered: ‘T would show them to any who really cared to see them ; but if a man came to the seashore as soon as I landed and disparaged my wares, stigmatizing them as imports from a country which produced nothing worth buying, and he abused me moreover for bringing such a cargo of trash, and he induced all the rest to agree with him, would not I or anyone else who had anchored or moored his ship in such a harbor cast her loose at once, and put to sea with all sail spread, preferring to commit his fortunes to the winds, rather than to the ignorance and rudeness of such men?” “But, captain,” said Nilus, “I am clutching at your cable and begging you for some of the wares which you have brought ; or rather, let me come aboard to serve as a deckhand, or a watchman of your cargo.” 162 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 13. In the effort to check such suggestions, Thespesio said : ^‘Apollonius, I am glad that you resent what you have heard, for in that case you will more readily excuse us for also resenting your criticisms of our knowledge, which you uttered before you knew anything about it.” Apollonius was somewhat puzzled by this remark, for he was not yet aware of the machina¬ tions of Euphrates and Thrasybulus, but intuitively seizing on the fact, as he always did, he said : “Such a thing could never have occurred with the Indians, Thespesio. They would never have listened to such insinuations from Euphrates, for those Sages know things beforehand. I have never given Euphrates any just cause of complaint, but evidently he has found my advice neither pleasing nor easy to follow, when I warned him against cupidity, and his eagerness to make money out of philosophy. He took that as an insult, and he has never missed an opportunity to injure me. As you have credited his false reports of my intentions toward you, I must tell you that he slandered you before ever he slandered me. The person slandered runs no small risk, in my opinion, because he will be disliked when he is entirely innocent; but there is no question about those who give ear to slander, for they convict themselves, in the first place, of partiality for falsehood, and of setting as high a value on it as on the truth ; and next, of inclination to gossip and credulity, which are disgraceful weaknesses even in the young; and finally they show that they are envious, because listening to calumny is induced by envy, and they are more guilty of slander than the slanderer himself when they believe his backbiting to be true of others. Men are naturally more ready to do things which they do not disbelieve concerning others. No man of such tendencies should obtain power or rule the people, for under him even a free republic becomes a tyranny; nor should he be a judge, for he will decide no case properly; nor command a vessel, for the crew will mutiny ; nor lead an army, for his adversary will defeat him; nor try to be a philosopher, for with such a disposition he will reach no sound opinions. Euphrates has robbed you of something too, — your reputation for wisdom. How can anyone who has trusted his lies claim credit for wisdom, when they have shown their lack of it by believing his incredible statements?” Then Thespesio said, to soothe him: “Enough of Euphrates and of his rascality! We will try to reconcile you with him, for we reckon it the part of wisdom to remove controversies between wise men. But who will reconcile you with me, for a slandered person must necessarily be angered by the lies?” “Say no more !” replied Apollonius. “Let us discuss some serious question, by which we will the sooner be made friends.” BOOK SIX 163 14. As Nilus was very eager to listen to the Master, he said: “It certainly is a good way for you to begin the discussion by telling us of the journey which you made to the people of India, and the discussions which you must have had thereon fascinating subjects.” Thespesio said: “I too wish very much to hear of the wisdom of Phraotes, for you are said to bring from India some beautiful extracts from his conversations.” Thereupon, beginning with his experiences in Babylon, Apollonius gave them a full account of his journey, and they listened with delight, under the spell of his story. At noon, however, they broke up the conference, for at that hour the Gymnosophists too engage in religious ceremonies. 15. While Apollonius and his party were at supper, Nilus came to them with vegetables, rolls and dried fruits, which were carried partly by him¬ self and partly by others, and he said very politely : “The Sages send you these tokens of hospitality; and they have sent them to me as well, for I will sup with you, but not without an invitation because I am inviting myself, as the saying goes.” “You bring a very delightful gift of hospi¬ tality, my boy,” replied Apollonius : “yourself and your disposition, for you are manifestly an honest thinker, and you love the precepts of the Indian Sages and of Pythagoras ; so lie down here by me and eat with us.” “I will lie down,” said Nilus, “but you will not have food enough to satisfy me.” “You must be very voracious, and of a mighty appetite,” said Apol¬ lonius. “The very mightiest,” rejoined Nilus, “for no matter how ample or how savory the fare may be which you set before me I shall not be sated by it, but in a few minutes will come to get another supper. What else can you call me but insatiable and greedy?” “Fill yourself up then,” said Apollonius; “furnish part of the subjects for conversation yourself, and I will supply my share.” 16. After supper Nilus said: “Hitherto I have marched under the banner of the Gymnosophists, very much as if I had enlisted in a corps of archers or slingers ; but now I shall put on heavy armor, and bear your device on my shield.” “But, my Egyptian,” Apollonius replied, “I fear that Thespesio and the others will reproach you with deserting from their camp to ours more hastily than befits the choice of a life work, and without knowing much about us.” “No doubt they will,” said Nilus. “If I am to be blamed for having chosen, perhaps I would also be blamed for not choosing; and they will be most blameworthy when they choose what I do. For if they, who are older and wiser, have not already chosen like me, when they have more to gain by it, they will justly incur the greater blame, 164 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA because they have not chosen the better part.” ‘‘That is no narrow-minded sentiment, young man,” said Apollonius, “but, for the very reason that they have such age and wisdom, you should question whether they may not have been right in choosing as they have done, and in rejecting the other course which you prefer; and whether you yourself may not be too rash, in setting up your own opinion against theirs.” Quite unexpectedly to Apol¬ lonius the youth made this reply: “I have not been lacking in any deference due from a young man to his elders, and while I believed them wiser than other men I have followed their guidance. I will tell you how I was led to join them. My father once sailed the Erythraean Sea as the volunteer master of the ship which the Egyptians send to India, and from conversations which he had with Indians living on the coast, concerning the Sages of that country, he told me very much the same of them as you have. What he said was substantially that those Sages were the wisest men in the world, and that the Ethiopians had been originally immigrants to Egypt from India, and still cherished the knowledge handed down to them by their ancestors, keeping their eyes fixed upon that fatherland of theirs. So I came naked to these naked philosophers while still a boy ; and I resigned my share of my father’s property to those who wanted it, asking only to learn the wisdom of the Indian Sages, or at least its twin here. These men did in fact seem wise to me, though not so wise as I had imagined the Indians to be, and when I asked them why they did not teach the philosophy of the Indian Sages, they began to revile them in quite the same way that they did to you today. They admitted me into their fellow¬ ship while I was very young, as you see ; probably because they feared that I would abandon them, in order to sail the Erythraean Sea like my father before me : and by the gods ! I would not have failed to do so, for it was in my mind to find my way somehow to the Sages’ hill. But now some deity has sent you here to rescue me, so that I may absorb the wisdom of the Indians without crossing the sea or chumming with sailors. This selec¬ tion of my mode of life was not made today. I made it long ago, although this way of obtaining it is not what I had expected. Fancy a hunter turning back, when he is on the point of overtaking his quarry! Now if I bring them before you here, and endeavor to persuade them to adopt the same opinions as I have, tell me what precipitancy there will be in that. Youth should not bar me from doing so, and is a better adviser than old age in such changes. The man who recommends to another the philosophy which he himself has embraced, is not liable to the charge of urging on him something which he does not believe ; but the man who selfishly keeps his blessings to himself, wrongs those blessings when he prevents many others from enjoying them.” BOOK SIX 165 17. Replying to this impetuous outburst of Nilus, Apollonius said: “As you wish to get knowledge from me, will you not first bargain with me about the tuition-fee?” “I am ready to bargain,” said Nilus, “name your terms.” Apollonius said : “My terms are that you may follow the choice you have made, but that you do not irritate the Gymnosophists by advice which you can not persuade them to adopt.” “I will obey you,” said Nilus, “so let that promise be my entrance-fee.” That being settled, Nilus asked how long he would remain with the Gymnosophists, to which Apollonius replied : “As long as their wisdom is sufficient for their visitor. After that we will make our way to the Cataracts, in search of the sources of the Nile. I would like not only to see the beginnings of the river, but to hear its roaring.” 18. After this conversation, and some reminiscences of India, they fell asleep on the grass, and when they had offered the usual prayers at dawn, Nilus led them to Thespesio. They exchanged salutations with him, and all took seats in the grove and began a discussion, Apollonius being the first speaker. He said: “Yesterday’s conversations show how desirable it is not to make a secret of our knowledge. Having learned from the Indians as much of their wisdom as I thought requisite for me, I am grateful to my teachers and go about everywhere imparting to others what I have received from them. In the same way I will be of service to you, if you too send me away instructed in your knowledge, for I shall never cease to quote your opinions everywhere to the Greeks, and to write them to the Indians.” “Ask what you will then,” said the Gymnosophists ; “learn¬ ing everywhere is the result of inquiry.” 19. Then said Apollonius : “I will ask you first about the gods. What lesson have you sought to inculcate by giving to the natives hereabouts images of the gods which, with few exceptions, are absurd and ridiculous ? Indeed hardly any of them have been made artistically, and such as gods should be ; and the rest of your temples exhibit a worship of dumb and senseless animals instead of gods.” Thespesio replied indignantly: “In what way would you say that such images are made in your own country ?” “They are made to give the most beautiful and reverential representation of the deities,” said Apollonius; and Thespesio said: “Perhaps you are referring to the Olympian Zeus, and the statue of Athene, and the Cnidian Aphrodite, and the Juno of Argos, and other masterpieces of beauty and of grace like those.” Apollonius replied : “Not only to them ; but my conten¬ tion is that in every other country but Egypt the sculptor’s art has attained 166 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA a suitable dignity, whereas you caricature the gods, instead of worshipping them.” Thespesio asked: “Did your Phidias and your Praxiteles ascend into heaven and sketch the gods, so that they might reproduce them in the highest style of their art? Or did they acquire their skill in representing them by some other method ?” “By another method, and one abounding in wisdom,” replied Apollonius. “What can that be, for you could hardly name a better one than copying the original ?” asked Thespesio, and Apol¬ lonius answered : “Imagination, a wiser teacher than imitation, has created those statues. Imitation portrays what it sees, but imagination what it cannot see, although to embody its ideal it may take nature as its model. Then too, awe will often interfere with imitation, but never with imagina¬ tion, which strives for its ideal unperturbed. The artist who conceives a figure of Zeus must imagine him as surrounded by the heavens and the hours and the stars, as Phidias endeavored to do in making his statue. He who tries to reproduce Athene must conceive her as thinking of armies, and of counsel, and of the arts, and of her birth from Jove. But if you take into your temples the likeness of a hawk, or an owl, or a jackal, or a dog, in place of Hermes, and Athene, and Apollo, such images may confer dignity on birds and beasts, but they degrade the gods far lower than the reverence which is their due.” Thespesio said: “You are evi¬ dently passing judgment upon our system without having investigated it. If ever there was a wise idea, it was that of the Egyptians in representing the gods, that they should not presumptuously venture to copy them, but that they should figure them symbolically and metaphorically, so that they may seem even more august.” Smiling at this, Apollonius said : “My dear sirs, you have gained a great deal from the wisdom of the Egyptians and of the Ethiopians if a dog or an ibis or a he-goat seems to you more august and commensurate with the divine majesty than statues of human shape would be ; for so I understand from the wise Thespesio. I ask you then, what majesty or awfulness is there in these shapes? Perjurers, and temple- robbers, and the mob which hangs around altars for scraps, must certainly despise idols of that sort, but never fear them. If such figures are made more august by the thought underlying them, how much more august still would the gods of Egypt become if no images of them were set up at all. You might employ another more spiritually-minded system of worshipping your deities, by building temples to them and setting up altars, which you might consecrate or not as you prefer, and whenever, and for as long a time, and with such rites and ceremonies as you may prescribe, but without bringing into them any statues whatever. In this way you would leave the imaging of the gods to the fancy of the worshippers in the temples, and imagination outlines and presents them better than any art can do ; but under your system your gods are not beautiful, either in art or in fancy.” BOOK SIX 167 Thespesio answered: “Your Athenian Socrates must have been as senile and foolish as we are, for he treated a dog and a goose and a plane-tree as gods, and used to swear by them.” Apollonius said: “He was not at all foolish, but inspired and very wise ; for he did not swear by them as gods, but to avoid swearing by the real gods.” 20. Then, to change the subject, Thespesio asked Apollonius concerning the Spartan scourges, and whether the Spartans were actually beaten with them in public, and he answered : “Most vigorously, Thespesio, and they beat the freest and noblest of them all.” “How do they treat their slaves then, when those require punishment?” asked Thespesio, to which Apol¬ lonius replied : “They no longer put them to death, as Lycurgus directed in his time, but they use the same scourge on them too.” “What does the rest of Greece think of that?” asked Thespesio. Apollonius replied: “They gather there and watch it done with keen enjoyment, as they collect for the feast of Hyacinthus or for the Gymnopocdia.” Thespesio asked : “Then it does not humiliate those worthy Greeks to see their former masters publicly lacerated with scourges, when they remember that they themselves have been ruled by the men who are lashed before the eyes of all? They tell us that you exercised great influence in Sparta ; why did you not abolish that custom?” Apollonius answered: “Whenever I saw a way to change anything for the better, I used to advocate it, and they readily acquiesced. They may be the most independent of the Greeks, but they are the only Greeks who will follow good advice. Now the practice of scourging is maintained in honor of the Scythian Diana, by direction of the oracles as they say; and I think it madness to oppose the commands of the gods.” Thespesio said: “But surely you do not ascribe wisdom to the gods of Greece, when you say that they order scourging for the lovers of liberty?” And Apollonius answered : “They did not order scourging, but that Diana’s altar should be sprinkled with human blood ; which is a tribute paid to her among the Scythians as well. By a shrewd interpretation of this inexorable sacrifice, the Spartans have reduced it to this test of endurance, thus avoiding human slaughter, but each man sheds his blood in honor of the goddess.” Thespesio inquired: “Why do they not sacrifice strangers to Diana, as the Scythians used to do?” “Because imitation of barbarian customs is foreign to the Greek character,” answered Apol¬ lonius. Thespesio rejoined: “And yet sacrificing one or two foreigners would seem more humane than their enforcement of the exclusion law against all foreigners.” Apollonius said: “Let us keep our hands off Lycurgus, Thespesio. We must understand the man’s purpose in that law, and that when he excluded foreigners he did not intend that the Spartans 168 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA should refuse to associate with other men, but that their peculiar institu¬ tions could not be maintained, if foreigners should reside in Sparta.” Thespesio said : “1 would think the Spartans to be such as they wish to be thought, if they preserved their ancestral customs notwithstanding their intercourse with foreigners. They ought to deserve credit for constancy by maintaining the same standards, though foreigners were with them, and not by keeping them away. For all that, though they boast of preserv¬ ing the purity of their institutions by excluding foreigners, they seem to have copied the ways of those Greeks whom they most disliked. Their naval establishment and their levy of tribute on their allies were taken by them from the Athenians. In fact they were led to do the very thing which they went to war with the Athenians to oppose, for though they van¬ quished the Athenians in the war, they were vanquished by their institu¬ tions. Their importation of that foreign goddess from the Taurians and Scythians was in itself the adoption of barbarian customs. If they did that in obedience to oracles, why invent the scourge? Why submit them¬ selves to a test of endurance suitable only to slaves? To sacrifice one of her youths upon the altar as a willing victim would have shown a more Spartan disregard of death,^ in my opinion; for it would have given a stronger proof of her fortitude, and would have discouraged Greece from attempting to meet her in the field. And if it was her policy to save her young men for war, the Scythian law prescribing death for sixty-year-old men might better have been enforced among the Spartans than among the Scythians, if their readiness to die was sincere and not an affectation. These criticisms of mine are not aimed at them, however, but at you, Apollonius. If we once begin to pick flaws in ancient institutions, whose origin is lost in antiquity ; and to take the gods to task because they delight in them, many absurd results will follow from such a course of reasoning. We might even object to the Eleusinian Mysteries, because they have this thing and not that ; or to the way the Samothracians initiate, because that and not the other thing is done by them ; or to the Dionysia, or the Phallus, or the statue at Cyllene ; and we would soon come to find fault with every¬ thing. So let us go on to any other topic you may choose, in obedience to Pythagoras’ maxim, which is also ours, that it is surely desirable to keep silence on matters of this sort, if not altogether.” Apollonius replied : “If you were willing to really consider the subject, Thespesio, Sparta would be found to offer you many excellent practices, which she has originated with sound judgment, and better than any other Greeks ; but since you bar that, on the ground that it is wrong to discuss such matters, let us pass to another subject which I consider very important, and I will ask you some¬ thing about justice.” BOOK SIX 169 21. “That is a subject which interests everyone, wise or unwise,” remarked Thespesio, “so let us discuss it. But in order not to confuse the argument by weaving into it the opinions of the Indians, and then leaving it unset¬ tled, explain to us at the outset what they think of justice, which you doubtless ascertained while you were with them. Then if their opinion is sound we will assent to it ; or if we should advance any sounder view you may assent to that, which would furnish us with an additional illustration of justice.” “That is a most admirable suggestion of yours, Thespesio,” replied Apollonius, “and it is entirely in accord with my own wishes : so listen to the discussion we had there. I was telling them that in a former existence, when my soul controlled a different body, I was steersman of a large vessel, and that in my opinion I had acted very justly on one occasion, when pirates had offered me a large bribe if I would betray the vessel by steering it where they were to lie in wait for the cargo, and I actually promised them to do so, but instead I eluded the ambush by taking a circuitous route.” “Did the Indians agree with you that this conduct of yours was just?” asked Thespesio, and Apollonius answered: “No, they laughed at the idea, and said justice does not consist in merely not being unjust.” “That very properly was not enough for the Indians,” said Thespesio, “for prudence does not consist in not planning something im¬ prudently ; nor valor in not deserting the line of battle, nor chastity in not committing adultery, nor does a man deserve honor merely because he has not been prosecuted for crimes. The half-way stage between reward and punishment does not amount to virtue.” “By what standards, then, and for what actions shall we crown the just man, Thespesio?” asked Apol¬ lonius; and Thespesio replied: “Might not your debate about justice have been held more suitably and more effectively on the occasion when the monarch of that great and fortunate country happened to interrupt your discussion of the science of government, which is an accomplishment es¬ pecially dependent upon justice?” “If it had been Phraotes who came,” said Apollonius, “you might blame us fairly for not discussing justice in his presence ; but you know from what I told you yesterday how besotted and inimical to all philosophy that other man is, so what was the use of boring him? Or what good would it have done us to carry on a serious argument before a man who thought of nothing but personal indulgence? Justice should be analyzed by philosophers like ourselves, not by kings and commanders; so let us now go on to discover what justice really is, since you say that my conduct with the .ship, which I thought just, did not amount to that, nor does any one’s conduct, who only refrains from unjust actions.” “And very rightly, too,” said Thespesio, “for the Athenians or 170 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA the Spartans never voted a crown to any one because he was not a de¬ bauchee, nor made any one a citizen because he did not rob temples. What then constitutes a just man, and by what actions does he become such? I know of no man who ever obtained a civic crown as a reward of his justice, nor even that any popular vote was ever sought for crowning a just man, because he had shown justice in doing this or that. Whoever recalls what happened to Palamedes at Troy, or to Socrates at Athens, will think that justice does not prosper well among men, for because those men were most just they suffered the greatest injustice. It is true that they were condemned to death upon charges of crime, of which they were con¬ victed by perjured evidence; but his justice alone ruined Aristides, the son of Lysimachus, in ancient days, for that great man was banished for no other reason than his possession of that virtue. I know why justice seems preposterous ; for when Zeus and the Fates ordained Justice to protect men from each other, they forgot to arrange to protect her from them. The instance of Aristides is enough to convince me that justice is one thing and not to be unjust is another. For tell me, you who come from Greece, is not this Aristides the man who sailed to the islands of the allies of Athens, to apportion the tribute they should pay her, and he did arrange it all fairly, and then sailed back to Athens in the same old thread-bare cloak ?” ‘Tt was he,” replied Apollonius, ‘‘and by his example an affectation of poverty became the fashion for a time.” “Well,” said Thespesio, “suppose that two Athenian orators were eulogizing Aristides, when he returned from those allies, and one of them asked that a crown be voted him for not coming back enriched by wealth which he had extorted for himself, instead of being the poorest man in Athens — poorer even than before he went ; but the other orator offered some such resolution as this : ‘Whereas Aristides has fixed tributes which are not in excess of our allies’ ability to pay, and which are proportionate to their respective territories ; and he has taken care that they remain loyal to Athens, and not dissatisfied with their relative contributions ; now therefore it is decreed that he be crowned for his justice.’ Do you not think that Aristides himself would have dis¬ approved the sentiment of the first speaker, as quite unworthy of what he had accomplished, to be crowned for not having misbehaved himself ; and that perhaps he would have been pleased with the second resolution, as one drawn up after his own mind ? For he had kept in view the interests of the Athenians as well as those of their allies, in seeing to it that the tributes were adjusted fairly; and this was more evident after his banishment, when the Athenians imposed heavier contributions upon the islands than he had fixed, and the island fleets, which had been Athens’ strongest weapon, were disintegrated, the Spartan fleets obtained command of the sea, and Athens’ power was gone, because her tributaries all hastened to BOOK SIX 171 arrange new alliances and deserted her. So if you reason soundly, Apol¬ lonius, a just man is not defined as a man who is not unjust, but as a man who acts justly himself, and also prevents others from acting unjustly. From such justice other virtues flow, especially when it is applied to courts and to law-making. Such a man will be far more upright as a judge, than those who take their judicial oath upon sacrificed victims; and as a law¬ maker, he will legislate like Solon or Lycurgus, who too were governed by justice in formulating their laws.” 22. Damis reports this dissertation of the Gymnosophists on justice, and says that Apollonius concurred in their remarks, for it was his custom to express his agreement with sound views. Concerning the immortality of the soul, and concerning the natural world, they reached conclusions which were very like Plato’s opinions expressed in his Timaeus. After a long dis¬ cussion of the laws of the Greeks, Apollonius said: ‘'The object of my journey here is not only to visit you, but to visit the sources of the Nile. A man might be excused for ignorance of them if he only came to Egypt, but one who comes as far as I have into Ethiopia would be justly censured if he failed to see them, and to imbibe some inspiration from them.” “Go , there rejoicing,” said Thespesio, “and pray to the sources for your dearest wish, because they are divine. I understand that Timasion, who formerly lived in Naucratis and now is of Memphis, will be your guide, and he knows the sources well, and is so pure that he needs no sprinkling. Nilus, we wish to have a private conversation with you.” The meaning of these last words did not escape Apollonius, for he understood that they did not like Nilus’ predilection for himself ; so to give them an opportunity for their talk he went away to prepare to start on his journey at daybreak. Nilus soon rejoined him, but said nothing of his conversation with the Sages, although he often chuckled to himself ; and none of them asked him why he laughed, for they all respected his reticence. 23. They had some unimportant conversation after supper, and then slept where they lay, but at dawn they bade farewell to the Gymnosophists, and took the road leading toward the mountains, having the Nile on their right hand. In the course of the journey they made these observations which are worthy of note. The Cataract mountains are earthy, like Mount Tmolus in Lydia, and the Nile rushes down them in a torrent, building up Egypt with the soil which it rends away from them. The roar of the river, as it falls headlong from the cliffs and plunges at once into the gorge of the Nile, seems unendurable and ear-splitting, so that many who have ap¬ proached too near have found themselves deafened when they retreated. 172 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 24. As the party went forward, the foothills of the mountains came in sight, covered with trees, whose leaves and bark and gum the Ethiopians eat as they would fruit. They saw lions and leopards and beasts of that description near the trail, which did not molest the party, but got out of their way as if afraid of man. They also saw deer, gazelles, ostriches, zebras in great numbers, and still more numerous wild cattle (buffalos?) and ox-goats (gnus?). Of these animals the wild cattle are a combination of the bull and the stag ; and the ox-goats are a compound of the animals whose names they bear. The party often came across bones of these beasts, and their half-eaten carcasses ; for lions, after gorging themselves with a recent kill, would abandon the remnants, trusting to the success of their next hunt, as I suppose. 25. In that region dwell nomadic Ethiopians who live in communities in wagons ; and near them are the elephant hunters, who sell elephants’ flesh cut up in lumps, and who take their name from that trade. The Nasamones and cannibals and pigmies and umbrella- footed men are also tribes of Ethiopia, but they border on the Ethiopian Sea, where no vessel enters unless it is driven from its course and forced to go there. 26. In the midst of a philosophical discussion about animals, and how differently nature provides for them, the party heard a sound like distant thunder, as if muffled and rumbling in the clouds. Timasion cried: “Sirs, a cataract is near by, the last one as you come down the river, and the first in going up.” Damis reports that about ten stadia further on they saw the river issuing from the mountains, no smaller than the Marsyas and the Mseander, where they come together; and that as they went on along the trail, after praying to the Nile, they saw no more animals, which being naturally alarmed by noise sought quiet waters rather than those tumbling in thunder over precipices. Going on fifteen stadia further they heard another cataract, the roar of which was intolerable to their ears, though it was some distance away, for it was twice as wide as the first one and fell over higher cliffs. Damis says that his ears and those of his com¬ panions were so stunned that he stopped dead, and begged Apollonius to go no further, but that Apollonius went on boldly with Timasion and Nilus as far as the third cataract. On his return, he reported that the sum¬ mits there overhang the Nile at a height of nearly eight stadia, and that the river bank in front of the cliffs is a mound of stones piled up in a wonder¬ ful way, and that the jets of water, bursting from the face of the cliff and seeming to hang there, fall upon the stony bank and thence are hurled BOOK SIX 173 boiling and foaming into the Nile. As this cataract is very much higher than the first two, and its roar is re-echoed by the cliffs, the observers’ sufferings from noise made their study of the river a bewildering task. Damis says that the road beyond this point, leading to the actual sources of the river, is impassable and even unthinkable; and that they were told many stories of demons there, like Pindar’s poetic account of the demon stationed at the source to regulate the flow of the Nile. 27. On their way back from the Cataracts, as they were eating supper one night about dusk in a small native village, mingling serious conversation with merry, they heard a loud outcry among the village women, calling to each other to take hold of hands and follow, and also calling to their men to make a combined attack upon something; and the men were snatching up clubs and stones and any weapon that came to hand, and were shouting that their women would be violated. It seems that a kind of satyr had been hovering about the village for ten months, who was crazy about women, and was said to have already killed two of them whom he seemed especially to desire. The rest of the party were terrified, but Apollonius said : ‘‘Don’t be frightened, for it is only some satyr ramping about here.” “By Zeus,” said Nilus, “we Gymnosophists have not succeeded yet in pre¬ venting that ramper’s outrages, although we have been trying to do so for some time.” “And yet,” said Apollonius, “there is a remedy against such unruliness, which they say Midas once employed. He was himself of satyr blood, as was shown by his ears, and when a satyr presumed on his relationship by taking liberties with him and ridiculing his ears, not only singing a song about them, but playing it on a flute, some one, his mother I fancy, told Midas that if a satyr was made drunken and slept it off, he would wake up sober and friendly. So Midas poured wine into a fountain- basin near his palace, where the satyr could get at it, and he drank there and was caught. That story may be true, so let us go to the headman of the village, and if they have any wine, let us mix it for this satyr, and he will fare like that other one of Midas.” They thought it a good plan, and after the natives had poured four jars of wine into the watering trough where the village cattle drank, Apollonius summoned the satyr with mystic spells. No one actually saw him, but they saw the wine gradually lower in the trough, as though he was drinking, and when it was gone, Apollonius said : “Now we may make peace with this satyr, for he is asleep.” There¬ upon he conducted the natives to a cave of the Nymphs, not a hundred paces from the village, and showed them the satyr sleeping there ; but he ordered them to refrain from blows or curses, “for he has given over his follies now,” he said. Such a deed as this of Apollonius was not a mere in- 174 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA cident of the journey (odou par ergon), by Zeus, but it was his preliminary exploit (parodou ergon)'; and this narrative of it should be kept in mind by any reader who comes across that letter of his, written to a wanton youth, in which he says that in Ethiopia he tamed a satyr which was also a demon. There can be no doubt that satyrs exist, and that they are libidinous. I knew in Lemnos a man of my own age, to whose mother a satyr was said to resort, of the kind described in this story. His back was apparently covered with an untanned fawn skin, the forelegs of which passed around his neck and were tied over his chest. But I will say no more on the subject, for I would not excite any doubt, either of Damis’ account or of my own credulity. 28. As soon as he returned from Ethiopia Apollonius’ bickering with Euphrates was renewed, and was aggravated continually by daily attacks which the latter made upon him, and which he turned over to Menippus and Nilus to answer. He had a low opinion of Euphrates’ ability, and he was greatly occupied with the education of Nilus. 29. After the capture of Jerusalem by Titus, in which it had been filled with corpses, the neighboring cities offered him a civic crown, but he dis^ claimed the honor, saying that the victory was not his, but that his hands had been used by God to manifest his wrath against the Jews. Apollonius applauded this renunciation, because Titus showed wisdom and knowledge of both human and divine affairs as well as much self-restraint in refusing to be crowned for bloodshed, and he wrote a letter which he sent to him by Damis, in these words : ‘‘Apollonius to Titus, the commander of the Romans, greeting: “I bestow on you the crown of self-control, because you have declined to be heralded for waging war, or for shedding the blood of your enemies ; and because you have learned for what reasons crowns should be given. Farewell.” Overjoyed by this letter, Titus sent this answer: “I thank you on behalf of both my father and myself ; and I will re¬ member what you have written ; for if I have taken Jerusalem, you have taken me.” 30. Being soon designated as emperor at Rome, and thought to have earned it by those victories, Titus went thither, to be associated with his father in the government of the empire. Before going he sent for Apol¬ lonius to meet him at Argos, for he thought that even a short conference BOOK SIX 175 with him would be valuable ; and on his arrival he embraced him, saying : “My father has written me a full account, how he made you his adviser. Here is the letter, in which he calls you his benefactor, and says that you have made our family what we are. Now at thirty years of age I have been given the same rank as my sixty-year-old father, and he has summoned me to rule, when I am not sure that I have yet learned to obey. I fear that I am undertaking more than I should.” Laying his hand on Titus’ neck, the muscles of which stood out like an athlete’s, Apollonius asked : “Who will compel the bull to submit so powerful a neck to the yoke ?” “He who brought me up as a calf,” replied Titus, meaning his father, and that he would obey only the man who had trained him to obedience from boyhood. Apollonius said: “I rejoice to see you willing to obey your father. Even those who have not been born his sons submit gladly to his rule. I rejoice, too, that you are to honor his palace by residence there, where you yourself will be honored with him. For when youth and age wield the sceptre jointly, what lyre or flute can make such sweet and blended harmony? The qualities of the older man supplement those of the younger, so that age will be invig'orated and youth will be restrained.” 31. “And as for me, what advice will you give me upon government and king-craft, Apollonius?” asked Titus, and Apollonius replied: “The same that you have already thought out for yourself. By obedience to your father you will become more and more like him. But at this time I will give you Archytas’ advice, for it is high-minded and deserves to be learned by heart. He was a Tarentine trained in the school of Pythagoras, and in writing on the education of boys he says: ‘Let fathers be the model of virtue for their sons, for fathers will march more steadily toward the virtues if their sons are keeping step with them.’ I will also send with you my comrade Demetrius, who will be on hand whenever you want him, to advise you how a g'ood ruler should act.” “What knowledge has that man, Apollonius?” asked Titus, and Apollonius replied: “He is outspoken and sincere, and no respecter of persons ; for he has all the good qualities of Cynic philosophy.” Seeing Titus disconcerted by the word “cynic” (dog¬ like), he added: “Homer thought that the youth Telemachus needed not less than two dogs, and he sent them both, although they lacked reason, to accompany the lad into the assembly of the Ithacans. But the dog who will abide with you will bark not irrationally but wisely to guard you from others, and from yourself as well, if you go wrong in any way.” “Let me have that dog at my heels, then,” said Titus, “and he may even bite me, if he sees me acting badly.” “I have written him a letter, for he is now philosophizing in Rome,” said Apollonius. “Send it,” said Titus, “but I 176 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA wish some one would write you a letter to induce you to become my trav¬ elling companion to Rome.” Apollonius answered: “I will come when it will be better for both of us.” 32. Sending away his attendants, Titus said: ‘'Now that we are alone, Apollonius, may I ask you some very important questions?” “The more important they are, the more confidently you may ask them,” replied Apol¬ lonius. Titus said: “I wish to ask you about guarding my life, and of whom I should be most watchful ; unless you think me cowardly in being apprehensive on those subjects already.” “Nay, I think on the contrary that you are cautious and prudent,” said Apollonius, “for such precautions are extremely necessary.” Then looking toward the sun, he swore by it that he himself would have brought that subject up if he had not been asked about it, for he had a revelation from the gods to warn Titus to be on his guard against his father’s greatest enemies, so long as his father lived, and after his death to be on his guard against his own nearest kins¬ men. “How will I come by my death?” asked Titus, and Apollonius answered : “As they say Ulysses did ; for death is said to have come from the sea to him too.” Damis interpreted this to mean that Titus should beware of the spines of a sea urchin, by which Ulysses is said to have been fatally pricked; but two years later, when Titus had succeeded his father as emperor, he died of eating a sea-hare. That fish secretes juices more deadly to human beings than anything else in sea or land. Nero used to serve it up at his banquets to those most under his displeasure, and Domi- tian gave it to his brother Titus, not because he objected to share the throne with a brother, but because that brother was gentle and honorable. After this private conversation on these subjects Titus and Apollonius embraced each other publicly, and the Master called after the departing Titus: “O Emperor, prevail over your foes by your arms, and over your father by your virtues !” 33. This was the letter which he wrote to Demetrius : “Apollonius the philosopher to Demetrius the dog, greeting: “I have presented you to the emperor Titus, to teach him imperial conduct. Confirm to him what I have told him of you, and be everything to him except angry. Farewell.” 34. Until then the people of Tarsus had detested Apollonius, because he had continually reproved them, and because their license and luxury could not endure the vigor of his discourses; but at this time he made BOOK SIX 177 them so attached to him that they called him the founder of their city, and the prop of their commonwealth. While the emperor Titus was hold¬ ing public sacrifices at Tarsus, the assembled townsmen petitioned him about matters of the highest importance to their city, and he replied that he would report these requests to his father, and would act as their envoy in urging them upon him. Apollonius came forward and said to him : ‘Tf I shall prove to you that some of these men are your father’s enemies, as well as yours, and that they sent emissaries to Jerusalem to stir up revolt, and that they are secret agents of your most open foes, what punishment will they get?” “Instant death,” he answered. “What else could it be?” “Are you not ashamed, then,” said Apollonius, “to be so prompt in taking vengeance on your subjects, but to be slow in showing them kindness? To decide the one matter on your own responsibility, but to postpone deciding the other until you consult your associate?” Vastly pleased, the emperor said : “I grant their petition now. My father will not be offended by my yielding to justice and to you.” 35. All these peoples Damis says Apollonius had visited up to that time, eager in his efforts for others, and eagerly welcomed, but that his journeys thereafter, while many, were not so long, nor to other countries than he already knew. After his return from Ethiopia he sojourned in Lower Egypt for some time, then among the Phoenicians, then the Cilicians, the lonians, the Achaeans, and once more in Italy ; never failing to show him¬ self equal to his reputation. Self-knowledge may be hard to attain, but I think it still harder for a philosopher to maintain consistently his own high level. He will not reform evilly-disposed men, unless he shall have first learned to keep himself unchanged. However, I have said enough on this subject in other books, in which I have taught those who read with some attention that a really manly man will be neither unstable nor dominated. Not to become tedious by repeating minutely all his philosophic utterances, nor on the other hand to seem to skip through our account of the man, which we are giving with great pains, for the benefit of those who do not know of him, our intention is to report only the more weighty occurrences which deserve to be recorded. We may liken such reports to the visits of great physicians. 36. A young man, who entirely lacked instruction himself, was teaching birds to talk like men, and to whistle like flutes ; and in order to train them he kept them in his house. Apollonius on meeting him asked what his occupation was, whereupon he began to tell of his nightingales and blackbirds, and what good talkers his curlews were, and in doing so be- 178 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA trayed his own uncultured speech, until Apollonius said to him : “I think you are spoiling your birds, by not letting them use their natural notes, which are sweeter than any musical instrument can imitate, and at the same time you are making those pupils of yours stammer, for you are the worst speaker in Greece yourself. Judging by your companions, and your surroundings, young man, you are one of the luxurious rich, and if so, you are in a fair way to lose your property. Blackmailers suck honey from such men as you, by inserting the sting of their poisonous tongues. Of what use will your passion for birds be then? All the songs of all your nightingales will not help you to ward off those importunate swarms. You must pump your property over them, and throw gold to them like sops to Cerberus, and do so again, and again, to shut their mouths, until you will be brought to hunger and want. You should face the other way, and change your mode of life, if you would not find yourself soon fleeced of your wealth, and living in such poverty that your birds will mourn rather than sing. The way to prevent such a downfall is not diflicult. Every city has a class of men known as schoolmasters, whose acquaintance you have yet to form. If you give them a little of your money, it will bring you in a great deal, for they will teach you the easily-acquired art of public speak¬ ing. If I had seen you in your boyhood, I would have advised you to knock at the doors of philosophers and sophists, and to fortify your estate with every kind of knowledge ; but though you are too old for such an education now, you can at least learn to speak for yourself. Equipped with a higher education, you would have been like a formidable heavy-armed warrior ; but by learning this accomplishment you will at least acquire the weapons of an archer or a slinger, and you will smite blackmailers like the sneaking dogs they are.” The young man properly appreciated this advice, gave up wasting his time on birds, and engaged masters, through whom both his mind and his tongue were polished. 37. Two fables were current among the Sardians, one that the Pactolus river used to bring down gold dust to Croesus, and the other that there were trees before the earth was created. Apollonius remarked that the first tradition was credible, because there might have been gold-bearing sand on Mount Tmolus which the wash of the rains would carry into the Pactolus, until it had been at last exhausted by this process, as usually happens to such deposits. But he smiled at the other fable, saying : ‘‘You claim that trees are more ancient than the earth, but in all my long study of philosophy I never learned that the stars were older than the sky implying that nothing could exist before the medium which contains it. BOOK SIX 179 38. The prefect of Syria was stirring up strife in Antioch which created such distrust among the citizens that the town-assembly was rent into factions ; and when on top of that a severe earthquake occurred, the towns¬ men were distracted, and offered up prayers for their common safety, a frequent result of divine portents. Apollonius stood forth among them and said: “God has manifestly brought about your reconciliation, so see to it that you have nothing to do with feuds in future, from fear that the same calamities may happen again and he went on to warn them of the prob¬ able consequences of such conduct, and that they should beware of the fate of others. 39. This incident also should be recorded. A man was offering sacrifices to the Earth, so that he might be rewarded by finding some hidden treas¬ ure, and he did not scruple to pester Apollonius for the same purpose. Meditating on the man’s cupidity, the Master said to him : “I see that you are an excellent business man.” “On the contrary I am a very unlucky one,” he replied, “for I have hardly any property at all, not enough to support my family.” Apollonius said: “Then you must be feeding a lot of lazy servants, for you are evidently no incompetent.” Tears came to the man’s eyes as he said : “I have four daughters, and must find for them that many dowries, but so far I have scraped together only twenty thou¬ sand drachmas, and if I divide that among the girls it will be only a trifle for each of them, while I shall starve to death.” Moved to sympathy for him, Apollonius said : “I hear that you are sacrificing to the Earth, and between her and me you shall be looked after.” Thereupon he went into the outskirts of the city in the guise of a fruit-buyer, and seeing there a well-planted olive orchard which pleased him by the vigor and growth of its trees, and which had a garden attached to it where he noticed bee-hives and flowers, he entered the garden, as if to examine something there more closely, and then returned to the city, invoking Pandora. There he called on the owner of the orchard, who had amassed his ill-gotten wealth by informing against the property of Phoenicians, and he asked him : “What did you pay for that orchard of yours, and how much have you spent on it ?” The man replied that he had bought the property the year before for fifteen thousand drachmas, and had spent no more on it. Apollonius per¬ suaded him to sell it to him for twenty thousand drachmas, which would give him a profit of five thousand. When he told the treasure-seeker of this bargain, the man did not like it, and in fact did not think it worth the money, arguing that so long as he kept his twenty thousand drachmas he would have that much anyway, but a farm would be subject to frost, and 180 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA hail, and all the other chances of injury to the crops. But when he had found a jar of three thousand gold darics in the garden near the hives, and the olive trees yielded a fine crop when other orchards were failures, he shouted pseans to Apollonius, and his home was crowded with wooers. 40. I also find this incident about him interesting. A man fell in love with the statue of Venus, which stands naked at Cnidos, and he used to make offerings to it, and promised to give more if she would marry him, all which seemed to Apollonius extraordinarily senseless conduct. As the Cnidians did not object to it, but said on the contrary that their goddess would be made all the more famous by being courted, he took thought how the temple might be purified of that mania. When the Cnidians asked him if he could suggest any improvement in their mode of prayer, or of sacrifice, he answered : “I will improve your eyesight, but the traditional ceremonies of the temple are well enough as they are.” Then sending for that degenerate he asked him if he believed in the gods. The man replied that he believed in them so firmly that he was actually in love with one of them, adding something about celebrating his wedding, but Apollonius said: “Those poets are deluding you with their fables about Anchises and Peleus marrying goddesses. My opinion about loving and being loved is that gods mate with goddesses, men with women, and beasts with their females, like with like in all cases, to produce true and natural offspring ; but union with any of a different class is neither love nor marriage. The case of Ixion should have warned you not to think of loving anyone unlike yourself. He is rolled through the sky like a wheel, and unless you stay away from this temple you will be scourged in misery through all the world, without even the consolation of complaining that the gods have punished you beyond your deserts.” This quenched the madness of the avowed suitor, and after expiating his offense by sacrifice he kept away from the temple. 41. At one time the cities on the left shore of the Hellespont were being shaken by frequent earthquakes, and Egyptian and Chaldaean soothsayers flocked to them, to collect money on the pretext of offering a sacrifice cost¬ ing ten talents to Earth and to Neptune. The panic-stricken townsmen were trying to get the money together from the public treasuries, and by house-to-house solicitation, for the soothsayers refused to make any sacri¬ fice for them until the stipulated sum should all be deposited in safe hands. Apollonius thought that he ought to look after those Hellespontines, and he went through their cities tracing out the guilt which had excited the divine wrath. After satisfying himself on that point, he dispersed those BOOK SIX 181 exploiters of the misfortunes of others, and by instituting sacrifices pro¬ portioned to each man’s means, he removed the impending danger at small expense, and the earth was quieted. 42. About that time Domitian published an edict forbidding the making of eunuchs, and also forbidding the planting of vines, and ordering all vines already planted to be uprooted. Apollonius, who was then visiting the lonians, said to them: “These regulations do not affect me person¬ ally, for perhaps I am the only man alive who has no use for either sexual organs or wine ; but our most excellent sovereign may have overlooked the fact that the same edict which spares the man castrates the soil.” This saying encouraged the lonians to send legates to the emperor about their vines, to protest against the law which compelled them to lay waste their land, and forbade replanting. 43. This too he is said to have done at Tarsus. A mad dog had bitten a boy, constraining him thereby to act in all ways like a dog, barking and howling, and going on all-fours, using his hands as paws to run about. After he had suffered from this madness for thirty days, Apollonius arrived in Tarsus, and came at once to see him. He gave orders that the dog which was the origin of the malady should be looked for, but they told him that no one had seen the animal ; for the attack had been made outside the city walls, where the lad was practicing spear-throwing, and that they could get no description of the dog from the patient because he was delirious. After a short pause, Apollonius said : “Damis, it is a shaggy white shepherd dog, like an Amphilochian. It stands shivering near that spring over there, for it craves the water, and at the same time is afraid of it. Go and bring it to me at the wrestling-ground near the river ; all you have to do is to tell it that I have sent you for it.” When Damis brought the dog it crouched whimpering at Apollonius’ feet like a suppliant at an altar, but he soothed and patted it, keeping the boy at his side all tlie time ; and not to conceal the great mystery from the people’s knowledge, he said to the bystanders : “The soul of Telephus the Mysian has entered into this lad, and the Fates ordain the same afflictions to him.” Then he ordered the dog to lick the bitten place, so that the biter might in turn become the healer. The boy at once turned to his father, and recognized his mother, and spoke to his boy-friends, and drank of the Cydnus river. Nor did Apollonius neglect the dog, for after praying to the river on its behalf, he led it across the stream. When it reached the other side the dog stood on the bank and barked, which mad dogs never do, and it laid back its ears and wagged its 182 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA tail, because it felt well again. Water is the cure for rabies, if the rabid dog can be brought to face it. Such deeds the Master did, for cities and for temples, with the people and for the people ; for the sick, for the dead, for the wise and the simple, and for rulers who chose him as their adviser in virtue. BOOK SEVEN 183 BOOK SEVEN. Ephesus — Conspires with Nerva against Domitian — Aware that THE EMPEROR HAS ORDERED HIS ARREST, HE SAILS FOR ROME - LaNDS AT PuTEOLi — Discussions there with Demetrius — ^Continues HIS VOYAGE TO ROME - ArRESTED ON ARRIVAL AND BROUGHT BEFORE ^LiANUs — Consultation with him concerning charges — Im¬ prisoned — Conduct as a prisoner — Private interview with the Emperor Domitian — Chained and insulted by him for con¬ tumacy — Proves to Damis that he can free himself at will — Is RELEASED FROM FETTERS BY THE EMPEROR - SeNDS DaMIS TO Demetrius. 1. I recognize that tyranny is the most searching test of philosophers, and I am ready to note how much or how little manhood each of them has shown under it. My subject also brings me to this comparison, for during Domitian’s reign Apollonius was beset by accusations and prosecutions. I will explain later why and whence these charges originated, and the nature of each of them ; but as I am bound to describe the words and the demeanor by which he escaped sentence, convincing the tyrant instead of being himself convicted, I intend first to recount all the notable doings of philosophers in opposition to tyrants which I have been able to discover, and compare them with what Apollonius did, so that we may form a more correct estimate of him. 2. Zeno of Elea, who is considered the originator of dialectics, was cap¬ tured while endeavoring to overthrow the tyranny of Nearchus the Mysian, but though stretched on the rack he named none of his confeder¬ ates, accusing instead loyal supporters of the tyrant as the traitors, whereby they were put to death as though the charge had been true ; and thus he freed Mysia by destroying tyranny with its own weapons. Plato claims to have begun the struggle for freedom of the Sicilians by joining Dion’s enterprise. Phyto when he had been banished from Rhegium took refuge with the tyrant Dionysius in Sicily, and having been treated by him with greater honor than a fugitive could expect, he learned the tyrant’s plans, and that he meant to attack Rhegium. He tried to warn the Rhegians of this by a letter, but he was detected, and the tyrant bound him on a siege-machine / 184 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA which he moved against the city wall of Rhegium, supposing that the townsmen would spare the machine for fear of hitting Phyto ; but he called to them to shoot, for that he was the target of their liberty. Heraclides and Pytho, who slew Cotys of Thrace, were both young men, but by frequenting the disputations of the academy they became philosophers, and therefore inspired with the spirit of liberty. Who does not know how Callisthenes the Olynthian was put to death because he offended the Macedonians, by praising and blaming them both in one day, when their power was at its height ? Diogenes of Sinope and Crates of Thebes were two other philoso¬ phers ; of whom Diogenes upbraided Philip immediately after the battle of Chaeronea for his treatment of the Athenians, in that he, who called himself a Heraclides, had destroyed in battle that people who had taken up arms for the Heraclidse. The other. Crates, when Alexander told him he would rebuild Thebes for his sake, answered that he had no use for a fatherland which the next captain of a clump of spears could overthrow. Many other such instances might be cited if I could find space for them, but I must offset them with criticism, not because they are not lofty and often-quoted, but because they fall below what Apollonius did, al¬ though they are the best examples to be seen in others. 3. The exploits of Zeno the Elean and of the slayers of Cotys were not especially praiseworthy, for it is an easy matter to enslave Thracians and Mysians and Getse, but it is foolish to endeavor to liberate them, for they have not even a wish for liberty, and they think slavery no disgrace. I will not venture to say that Plato acted under an unwise impulse in giving his. efforts to restore order to Sicily, rather than to Athens, and that he might expect to be betrayed and sold when he was acting treacherously himself ; for he has many admirers to whom that would be unpalatable. Phyto had the hardihood to take sides against Dionysius, when he was striving to establish himself in Sicily; and being sure of death for that anyway, even if he were not shot by the Rhegians, I think there was no great glory in his preferring to die for their liberty, rather than be put to death in prison. Callisthenes cannot well escape the charge of perversity, for in both praising and abusing the same men, he either abused those whom he thought praiseworthy, or he praised those whom he should have de¬ nounced. Furthermore, an abuser of good men must necessarily be malignant, and a flatterer who commends knaves must share the guilt of their wrong-doing, since bad men are made worse by praise. If Diogenes had said to Philip before the battle of Chaeronea, what he 0 BOOK SEVEN 185 did say after the battle, he might have saved the king from the blame of making war on the Athenians. He did not help matters by coming to upbraid him after it was all over. Lastly, Crates should be blamed by every patriot, for not encouraging Alexander’s suggestion, when he was consulted about rebuilding Thebes. 4. Apollonius was not actuated by fear for an endangered fatherland, nor by despair of his own life, nor was he provoked to make imprudent utterances, nor did he fight for Mysians or Getse, nor was his foe the chief of a single island or of a petty principality. He took the field against the monarch whom every sea and land obeyed when his tyranny was harsh, and he did so for the sake of that emperor’s cruelly oppressed subjects. When he opposed Nero for the same reason, his action might be regarded as skirmishing rather than hand-to-hand fighting, for at that time he went no further in undermining the empire than encouraging Vindex, and strik¬ ing fear into Tigellinus; and indeed some may say that it was no very glorious exploit to attack Nero, who lived the life of any harpist or flute- player. But what will they say of Domitian, who was full of vigor, and who scorned those pleasures which are excited by musical instruments, and by the harmonies which soothe the savage breast ? The agonies of others, and the moans of the tortured, he perverted into his own monstrous de¬ light. The people’s distrust of tyrants, and the tyrant’s distrust of every¬ one, he called his safeguard ; and his method of ruling was to stop work at nightfall and begin to slaughter, whereby the senate was maimed of its most distinguished men, and philosophy was so intimidated that many philosophers fled in disguise to furthest Gaul; others to the deserts of Scythia and of Africa, and some were even frightened into publicly defend¬ ing his excesses. But as Tiresias is represented by Sophocles as saying of himself to QEdipus : ‘T do not live a slave to thee, but to Apollo.” So Apollonius made philosophy his mistress, and fearing nothing for himself, but pitying the destruction of others, he emancipated himself from the outbreaks of Domitian. He combined against the emperor whatever youth there was in the senate, and all the sagacity he could find there, and going through the provinces he philosophized to the leading men, that the power of tyrants is not immortal, and that the more feared they are, the more easily they are overturned. He discoursed to them of that Attic Panathenaion, which made Harmodius and Aristogiton famous, and of the expedition from Phyle which dethroned thirty tyrants at one blow ; and he told them too of the traditional achievements of the Romans, and how the t ancient republic shoved tyrants out of the city with their shields. 186 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 5. Some tragedian came to Ephesus to act in the play of Ino, and in the audience was the prefect of Asia, who was conspicuous among consulars notwithstanding his youth, but who was too weak-spirited to join in Apollonius’ plans. The actor was declaiming those iambics in which Euripides says that tyrants are long in growing, but are quickly crushed ; when Apollonius leaping to his feet, pointed to the prefect, and called out : “That coward understands neither Euripides nor me!” 6. When word came how strenuously Domitian had acted to purify the temple of Vesta at Rome, by putting three Vestals to death for unchastity, and for not keeping themselves pure from marriage, when they should have guarded innocently the Palladium and the undying fire, Apollonius said: “O Sun, would that thou too mightst be purified from all the wanton mur¬ ders with which at this time the whole earth is filled !” These things were not said behind the walls of private houses, as timid men might whisper them, but they were openly delivered in address or in prayer, within the hearing of all. 7. When Domitian executed his relative Sabinus, and married Julia, the widow of the slain man, who was his own niece and a daughter of his brother Titus, Ephesus was offering public sacrifices in honor of the wed¬ ding, when Apollonius, interrupting the ceremonies, exclaimed : “O mar¬ riage night of the Danaids of old, why is there only one of you !” 8. He acted with the same boldness in what went on at Rome. In that city Nerva was thought to be conspicuously qualified for the throne which he afterward filled with credit as Domitian’s successor, and Rufus and Orfitus were held in the same estimation. Accusing these men of con¬ spiracy against himself, Domitian exiled the last two to the islands, and ordered Nerva to reside at Tarentum. Apollonius had long been a close friend of all three, and while Titus reigned as his father’s associate, and afterward as his successor, he used to exhort them in his letters to fling away ambition, representing those emperors to them as admirable men ; but he urged them to revolt from Domitian because of his brutality, and he endeavored to intensify their love of public liberty. Rearing the conse¬ quences to them if he should send such sentiments by letter, for slaves and friends and wives had betrayed many men in high station, and no man’s home protected his privacy, he spoke confidentially to the most prudent of his disciples, as opportunity offered, saying : “I am making you the bearer BOOK SEVEN 187 of a secret message of the utmost importance. You must go to Rome to this man or that, and find means to speak with him, and urge these argu¬ ments upon him, just as I repeat them to you.” He was delivering a dis¬ course upon the subject of fate and destiny at Smyrna, near the grove through which flows the river Meles, when word reached him that his friends had shrunk from actual hostilities, and had been betrayed to the tyrant, after their procrastination had compelled them to abandon their plans. 9. Foreseeing that Nerva would become emperor in time, Apollonius in that lecture was admonishing his hearers that not even tyrants could forcibly thwart the decrees of the Fates ; and turning toward a bronze statue of Domitian which stood near the river, he cried : “O fool ! Flow little have you -learned of fate and necessity ! The man who is destined to reign after you will revive even if you slay him !” These utterances were re¬ ported to Domitian by informers hired by Euphrates. None of the audi¬ ence understood which of those three men was intended by this prophecy ; and the emperor, alarmed for his own safety, determined to put them all to death, and to find a plausible pretext for doing so, he summoned Apollonius to Rome, to defend himself from the charge of being their accomplice. In deciding upon this course he expected that one of two things would happen : either Apollonius would obey the summons and be convicted, in which case the execution of those others would seem war¬ ranted in some sort by the disclosures of that trial ; or else he would go into hiding by some crafty trick, and then their execution would appear even more justifiable, because of the flight of their accomplice. 10. By his usual divine inspiration Apollonius was cognizant of these de¬ signs of the emperor, and that he had actually written to the prefect of Asia to have him arrested and sent to Rome. He told his disciples that it was necessary for him to make a secret journey, and they recalled the old story of Abaris, and fancied that he had some similar intention; but with¬ out telling even Damis what he had in mind he sailed to Achcea, with him as his only companion. After touching at Corinth, where he made his cus¬ tomary noonday sacrifice to the Sun, they set sail again toward evening and went on toward Sicily and Italy, where on the fifth day of voyaging with favoring wind and smooth water he landed at Dicsearchia (Puteoli). There he found Demetrius, who seemed the most venturesome of philosophers in dwelling at so short a distance from Rome ; and though the Master knew him to be keeping out of the way of the tyrant, he said to him jocularly : “1 have caught you luxuriating in the most delightful spot in happy Italy, 188 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA if it Still is happy ; the spot where Ulysses in Calypso’s arms is said to have forgotten his smoky home in Ithaca.” Demetrius embraced him with a joyful shout, and cried : “O ye gods ! how can philosophy endure being in danger in the person of such a man!” '‘What danger is she in?” asked Apollonius; and Demetrius replied: "Because you have come here, and with your eyes open, too, for I know your mind as I do my own ! But do not let us talk here. We will go where we can find privacy, and Damis may come, too, for I regard him as the lolaus of your adventures, my Hercules.” 11. Speaking thus he conducted them to the villa once owned by Cicero and situated near the city. They sat down under a plane-tree in the gar¬ den, while locusts were chirping about them in the refreshing breeze, and Demetrius said as he watched the insects : "Happy creatures, and truly wise ! The Muses taught you that song, which has never yet provoked prosecution or informers; and they have made you too unappetizing for hunger, and have exempted you from human malice among these trees, on which you joyously sing of your good fortune to each other and to the Muses I” Apollonius understood the drift of these words, and meaning to rebuke them, as more unenterprising than he had a right to expect, he asked : "Is it because you did not dare to eulogize locusts in public that you are hiding yourself here, as if the people had established some law forbid¬ ding any one to praise locusts?” "I did not say that to praise them,” Demetrius answered, "but to remind you that while they may sing as they like, we may not even open our mouths, and that philosophy is found to be a crime. The complaint which was lodged by Anytus and Meletus against Socrates set forth : 'Socrates is a criminal because he corrupts youth, and is introducing strange gods.’ But the complaint against us philosophers is : 'So and so is a criminal because he is wise, and upright, learned in knowl¬ edge human and divine, well-versed in law.’ As you are the wisest of us all, so much the more crafty is the indictment against you. Domitian is trying to make you out an accomplice of those offenses charged against Nerva and his friends, for which they have been exiled.” "Why have they been exiled, then?” asked Apollonius. "For that worst crime of all nowadays, according to their accuser’s opinion,” replied Demetrius. "He says that they have been detected in a conspiracy to seize his throne, and that you encouraged their plot by sacrificing a boy.” "Really?” asked Apollonius, "that I would seek to overturn the empire with a eunuch?” "Not that ex¬ actly,” replied Demetrius, "but that you sacrificed a boy so that you might divine the future of the enterprise, by inspecting his youthful entrails; and you are further complained of because of your costume, and of your mode BOOK SEVEN 189 of life, and of the worship which those things have brought you. I have this information direct from Telesinus, who is a very good friend of both of us.” “It will be a godsend to come across Telesinus,” said Apollonius, “if you mean that philosopher who was a consul under Nero.” “He is the man,” replied Demetrius, “but how will you meet him? Tyrants are very suspicious of all men of rank who have any dealings with persons charged with your offense. To evade the edict against all philosophers which was recently published. Telesinus has left Rome, preferring to be banished as a philosopher, rather than to remain as a consular.” “I would not wish him to be exposed to any additional danger on my account,” said Apollonius ; “he is in peril enough on account of his philosophy.” 12. “But tell me this, Demetrius, what do you think I can say or do to shake off my own apprehensions?” “The best way is not to joke about it,” replied Demetrius, “and not to call your expectations fears ; for if you thought them terrifying you would not be here, but would have fled as soon as you heard of them.” “Would you have fled then, Demetrius, if you were in my place?” asked Apollonius, and Demetrius replied: “By Athene, I would not, if there were any judge who would try the case fairly; but here there is no such thing as justice, nor any judge who would listen to my defense, or listen to any evidence at all, for that matter, but he would sentence me to death, although I may be entirely innocent. Do not ask of me then to choose so futile and slavish a death, rather than one worthy of philosophy. By a death worthy of philosophy, I mean death to free a city, or to aid one’s parents, or children, or brothers, or other kins^ men, or in fighting for friends, whom wise men should hold dearer than any ties of kindred or passion. But to be put to death not for actualities, but for imaginary crimes invented to make tyranny seem just, is far worse than to be rolled through the sky on the fabled wheel of Ixion. The very fact that you have come here voluntarily will probably be the first thing to be urged against you. You may imagine that it will be taken as evidence of your innocence, from the presumption that you would not have dared to come if you were in any way at fault ; but far from that, Domitian will think that you are impudently braving him, in reliance on some occult power. Ten days have not elapsed since he sent for you, as I am told, yet here you are presenting yourself for trial before you could possibly have heard that you were wanted. That too will lend weight to the accusation against you, for it will seem that you learned the news by sorcery, which will con¬ firm the story about the boy. Beware lest you make yourself an illustration of that lecture of yours in Ionia, about fate and necessity, and that when some cruel fate has been ordained for you, you do not go spell-bound to 190 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA meet it, refusing to see that self-preservation is the truest wisdom. If you have not forgotten what happened in Nero’s time, you know what my con¬ duct was then, and that I have no coward fear of death. But there was some lenience in those days. Nero’s lyre seemed out of tune with the rev¬ erence due to his imperial station, but then he did not play it badly, and he often remitted some sentences when he had played it particularly well, and he sometimes abstained from death penalties. For instance, he did not have me executed, when I unsheathed the sword of justice against myself by those speeches of yours and mine which I delivered about the bath-house ; and his reason for sparing me was that his singing voice was sweeter than usual just then, and he fancied he had warbled unusually well. But now, for what melody of voice, for what lyre, shall we offer sacri¬ fices ? Everything is hostile to the Muses and filled with the gall of bitter¬ ness, so neither his own mercy nor any mediator will easily appease the emperor, in spite of Pindar’s praise of the lyre, that it soothes the frenzy of Mars and diverts his thoughts from battle. Although this emperor of ours has indeed instituted a competition in music, in which he was to publicly crown the winners, yet he also put to death the worst of the performers for their playing and singing on the last occasion. In addition to all that, you must look out for the interests of those princely friends of yours as well as your own. You will destroy them at once if you either show yourself unduly confident or if you offer any explanation which is not accepted. Safety lies at your feet. You see here many ships, bound for Libya, for Egypt, for Phoenicia, for Cyprus, or sailing direct to Sardinia, or to even more distant places. Your safest course by far will be to go aboard one of these vessels, and sail to one of those places. Tyrants are less disposed to attack famous men when they see them trying to live in obscurity.” 13. Convinced by this appeal of Demetrius, Damis said to him : ‘Tt would be a great advantage to the Master if you were accompanying him as his friend instead of my doing so. My influence amounts to nothing, when I counsel him not to rush upon drawn swords, and not to trust himself to a despot more brutal than ever existed before. If we had not met you, I would never have known his intention in making this journey; for I always follow him more unquestioningly than anyone else follows himself ; and if you should ask me whither I am sailing, or why, I would tell you that I am absurdly traversing Sicilian seas and Tyrrhenian gulfs without knowing why. If I had deliberately assumed the risk after a full explana¬ tion of the plan, I could answer the question by saying that Apollonius is in love with death, and I sail with him as his rival ; but as I know nothing about it, and I can speak at present only of what I do know, I will say it BOOK SEVEN 191 for his sake. Philosophy will suffer no great loss by my death, for I am like the squire of some valiant man-at-arms, whose only honor is that he fol¬ lows such a hero ; but if any one slays the Master, and tyrants are swift to make out a case and to destroy, a monument may well be erected to com¬ memorate the downfall of philosophy, for she will have lost in him the greatest philosopher of all. Many an Anytus and Meletus are enlisted against us, with accusations on every side against the friends of Apollonius, charging one with smiling when the Master inveighed against tyranny, and another with applauding his speech, and another with urging him to say more, and another with going away pleased with what he had heard. I believe that a man should be as ready to die for the sake of philosophy as for those altars and homes and tombs, for which many famous heroes have gladly laid down their lives ; but neither I, nor anyone else who loves philosophy and Apollonius, should die for the purpose of dealing her so mortal a blow as that.” 14. Apollonius’ answer was : ‘‘Damis may be excused for urging caution in the present crisis, for since he is an Assyrian, who has lived next door to the Medes where despotism is worshipped, he has no deep convictions about liberty. But as for you, Demetrius, I do not see how you can defend your¬ self in the court of Philosophy, for suggesting fears which even if they were well-founded, you should rather dissuade him from, than to scare a man who fears things not likely to happen. A wise man might die for the motives you have mentioned, and so might a fool as well. The laws com¬ mand us to die for liberty. Nature decrees that we die for family and friends and loved ones. Nature and law enlist the service of all men ; nature as volunteers ; law as conscripts. It is the philosopher’s privilege to die for his convictions, for the principles which he has thought out for himself ; and to do so without any compulsion of law or persuasion of nature, actuated solely by his own constancy and faith. If any attempt shall be made to destroy those beliefs, fire or axe may fall on the philoso¬ pher, yet none of such arguments shall overcome him or force him to a lying recantation. What he has proved he will hold fast to, as resolutely as to the Mysteries into which he has been initiated. I know a great deal about men, knowing everything as I do, but all that I do know relates partly to good men, partly to wise ones, partly to myself, partly to the gods, but nothing to tyrants. You may readily see that I have not come here incon¬ siderately. I fear no danger to my own person, for I could not be slain by tyranny even if I were willing ; but I understand the risk my action in¬ volves for those friends of mine, and whether the tyrant chooses to make me out out their leader or their tool, I will take whichever part he assigns 192 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA me. If I should fail in my duty to them by showing myself either reluctant or slack in defending the case, what would honorable men think of me? Who would not be justified in killing me, for playing false to the friends for whom all my prayers to the gods have been offered? I will show you that I could not possibly escape the imputation of treachery if I did so. Tyrants have two methods. Some execute accused persons without a trial, and some only after sentence. The first are like swift-footed and pouncing beasts, the second are duller ones and sluggish. That both are savage is obvious to all who take Nero as an example of the violent and hasty kind, and Tiberius as one of those who lie in wait. Nero slew his victims without warning; Tiberius held them long in terror of death before it fell. The worst tyrants, in my opinion, are those who hide behind a pre¬ tense of legality and of regularly pronounced but unjust sentences. They do nothing outside the forms of law, but they condemn as surely as those who slay without trial, while they give the name of justice to their long- drawn-out vengeance. Their wretched victims, because they are executed pursuant to a sentence, are robbed of that popular sympathy which should be spread like a pall over those who die unjustly. I see that the outward show of this present tyranny is law-abiding, but its action seems to me a mockery of justice. It first condemns men in advance, and then summons them to trial, as if their fate had not already been decided. The man con¬ victed by the judgment rendered in such a trial may protest that the judge has murdered him by deciding against the evidence; but if he fails to ap¬ pear for trial how can he avoid seeming to confess his guilt by default? In this emergency, the fate of those noble friends of mine depends entirely upon me. If I abandon their defense as well as my own, what place on earth would grant me absolution? Suppose I thought this advice sound which you have given me and I acted on it, and my friends were put to death in consequence, what prayers for a prosperous voyage could I put up, after making such an exhibition of myself? Where would I land? To whom would I flee ? I suppose that it would be necessary to expatriate my¬ self from every place in the Roman empire and to betake myself to friends living quite out of sight, like Phraotes, or the king of Babylon, or the god¬ like larchas, or the noble Thespesio. But, my dear friend, if I should go to the Ethiopians, for instance, what could I say to Thespesio? If I said nothing to him about what I had done, I would show myself a liar, or rather a slave. If I did venture to tell him, I would have to say something like this : ‘Thespesio, I find in myself none of those qualities which Euphrates falsely attributed to me. He told you that I was a braggart, and a sorcerer, conceited enough to think that I knew as much as the Indian Sages ; but I am nothing of all that, nothing but the betrayer and murderer of my friends, and there is no faith in me. Such am I, and I have come to BOOK SEVEN 193 you to be crowned with the crown of virtue, if there is one, for having" so overturned the greatest houses in Rome, that none will live in them ever¬ more !’ I see that you blush to hear that, Demetrius. Try then to imagine Phraotes, and me fleeing into India to a man like him. How could I face him? What excuse could I make to him, for deserting them? Should I confess that at my first visit to him I had been an honorable man, ready to die for my friends, but that since then I had allowed you to persuade me to discard as worthless this most godlike of human qualities? If I went to larchas, he would not even ask, but just as ^olus in anqient days ordered Ulysses to quit his island as an outcast, for making wrong’ use of his gift of good weather, so larchas would drive me from his hill with the accusation that I had desecrated the cup of Tantalus, for they expect every man who stoops his head to that to share the dangers of his friends. I know how skilful you are in turning sharp corners in debate, Demetrius, and so you seem about to suggest something like this to me : ‘Do not go to any of those men, but to some other with whom you have no acquaintance, and then your flight will turn out well, for you will conceal yourself more easily where you are not known.’ Let us see then what merit this idea has, and this is my opinion of it. I think that no philosopher lives isolated, or to himself alone, and that no solitude can be imagined in which he will not at least be conscious of himself. Whether that famous Delphic inscription came from Apollo direct, or through some man who knew himself well and therefore laid down that rule for everyone else, I think that man wise who knows himself, and who has his conscience to support him, so that he neither fears what terrifies the crowd, nor dares to do what others are not ashamed of doing. Slaves of tyranny do not hesitate sometimes to sacri¬ fice to it their dearest friends, dreading what they should not fear, and daring to do what they ought to shun. Philosophy does not permit such errors, for it follows the Delphic inscription, and that maxim of Euripides as well, which says that remorse slays the man who meditates upon his crimes. Conscience brought the spectres of the Furies before Orestes’ eyes, while he raved about his sin in slaying his mother. The mind decides what is to be done, but the conscience is mistress of the mind’s decisions. If the mind decides well, conscience cheers the man with song and approval through every temple, every village, every abiding place of gods or men, and soothes his sleep with music, bringing him a melodious choir from the land of dreams. But if the mind’s footing slips into foulness, conscience does not allow the man to look others boldly in the face, nor to speak with clear voice, and it shuts him out from temples and from prayers. It does not even let him lift his hands to the images of the gods, but holds them down, as the law holds down threatening fists. It exiles him from every gathering of men. It terrifies his sleep, so that everything 194 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA he remembers to have seen or heard or said during the day it gives him back in airy dreams, turning vague and fancied terrors into something real and horrible. I think that I have now explained clearly, and with manifest truth, how conscience would scourge me if I were false to those friends, whether the men I fled to knew me or not. I will not be false to myself either, but I will grapple with the tyrant, making my own that saying of good old Homer : ‘Mars is impartial.’ ” 15. Damis declares that he was induced by these words to take courage and confidence once more, and that Demetrius did not oppose the Master’s decision, but commended it, invoking the gods to aid him in the danger he was to encounter, and to aid philosophy as well, for whose sake he was about to face it. When he proposed to take them to his lodgings Apol¬ lonius declined, saying: “It is drawing toward evening, and we must be at the harbor for ships bound for Rome at nightfall, according to their regulations. We will sup together some other time, when I am in good standing. At present you would get into trouble by eating with one whom the emperor has declared to be his enemy. I do not even wish you to accompany me to the harbor, lest you should be suspected of being an accomplice because you were seen talking with me.” Demetrius yielded, and after embracing him went away, looking back at him and wiping away his tears. Apollonius glanced at Damis, and said : “If you have as much courage and confidence now as I have, come and let us both go aboard our ship ; but if you are down-hearted, there is still time for you to stop here, where until we meet again you will be with Demetrius, who is a faithful friend to us both.” Damis replied: “What should I think of myself, if after all you have said today about your friends, and your sharing the dangers which threaten them, your eloquence had no effect on me, and I should turn away and desert you in your peril, when I have never failed you yet?” “You say well,” said Apollonius, “so let us go. I will make no change in my own costume, but you should transform yourself into something more like a native, by cutting your hair shorter, and putting on this linen dress instead of your philosopher’s cloak, and taking off those bark sandals. My reason for suggesting this is that I shall have to undergo many hardships before my trial, but I do not wish you to be arrested and subjected to the same experiences, as you might be if your appearance were suspicious. I wish you to be my constant companion, and to be present on all occasions, not so much in the character of a philosopher as of a friend.” Acting on this advice, Damis changed his Pythagorean garb, and he says that he did not lay it aside because he had changed his mind about it or was afraid, but in order to take a necessary precaution. BOOK SEVEN 195 16. Three days after leaving Puteoli they entered the mouth of the Tiber, whence it is a short sail to Rome. At that time the prefect of the pretorian guard was ^lianus, an old friend of Apollonius, who had seen much of him in Egypt. He said nothing openly in his favor to Domitian, as the nature of his office did not permit him to commend him to the emperor, or to intercede as a friend for the man whom the emperor re¬ garded as an enemy. Nevertheless he employed in his behalf every secret means of protection in his power, justifying himself upon the ground that so far he had been accused behind his back. “O Emperor,” he said, “sophists are all empty talk and charlatan trickery ; and as they get no enjoyment out of life they court death, not waiting for it to come to them in its own due time, but hastening it by provocation of those who wield the sword of justice. I think this was the reason that Nero was not induced by Demetrius to execute him; for seeing that he was eager to die, Nero commuted his death sentence, not from lenity, but because of his contempt for him. Eor the same reason he exiled to the island of Gyara Musonius the Tyrrhenian, who constantly harangued against his government. The Greeks are so devoted to such sophists that they all used to make pilgrimages there to see him ; and now they go there to see his spring, for he discovered a spring on the island where no water had been found until then, and the Greeks revere it as they do the fountain of Pegasus on Mount Helicon.” 17. ^lianus continued to alleviate the emperor’s wrath with such remarks until Apollonius came, and on his arrival he began to act more artfully. He ordered him to be arrested and brought before him, but when the accuser vilified the prisoner as a conjurer and a magician, ^lianus told him to reserve his attacks for the trial before the emperor. Thereupon Apollonius remarked : “If I am a magician, why am I on trial ; and if I am on trial, how can I be a magician ? unless perhaps he says that calumny is invincible even by rnagic arts.” At that the accuser became so excited that he was about to make some very injudicious retort, when ^lianus stopped him by saying : “I will avail myself of the interval before the trial by questioning this sophist concerning his state of mind in private, and without your attendance. If he is willing to plead guilty the trial will be cut short, and you may go home in peace. If he denies his guilt, the em¬ peror will judge his case.” Thereupon he withdrew with Apollonius into an inner room of the Praetorium, where the more important cases are in¬ vestigated, saying to the others : “Leave us here, and retire out of ear¬ shot, for such is the emperor’s order,” 196 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 18. When they had been left alone, he said: ‘^Apollonius, in the days when this emperor’s father, Vespasian, went to Egypt to offer sacrifices, and to consult you about his plans, I was a young man whom the emperor took with him there as a military tribune, for even at that age I had some experience in war. While he was giving audience to those cities, you hon¬ ored me with such intimacy as to tell me privately where I was born, and what my name was, and who was my father. You also foretold that I would hold this office, which is generally thought the highest in the empire, and greater than all other preferments put together ; though to me it seems burdensome, and the most unhappy position in life. I am the mainstay of a cruel tyranny, but if I overthrow it I must dread the vengeance of the gods. It is proof of my good will for you, that I tell you where and how my affection for you began, and I assure you that it will never be ex¬ tinguished while that memory lasts. For the purpose of conferring confi¬ dentially with you concerning the charges which your accuser has formu¬ lated, I have invented a plausible pretext for this interview, that you may know that you can rely upon my favorable use of the powers which have been entrusted to me, and that you may learn what you have to expect from the emperor. I do not know how he will decide your case. His mental attitude is that of one who wishes to condemn, but dares not do so with¬ out cause; and he is trying to find through you an excuse for inflicting death on those consular friends of yours. He wants what he should not have, and his way of getting it is to warp the course of justice. So I, too, must pretend to be very eager for your conviction, for if he should sus¬ pect me of being remiss, I do not know which of us would die first.” 19. To this Apollonius replied: “As we are speaking frankly to each other, and you have revealed your inmost thought to me, I ought to do the same ; especially as you philosophize upon your position in the way nearest my heart. You have shown as much sympathy for me, by Zeus ! as if you felt yourself in the same danger ; so I will speak out freely. I might have taken refuge in many parts of the earth which are beyond your jurisdic¬ tion. I could have betaken myself to Sages wiser than I am, and have worshipped the gods in the right way by going to races of men who are dearer to them than the people are here, and where there are no informers, nor any prosecutions; for they require no courts, because they neither do nor suffer any injury. But I feared the imputation of treachery to my friends, if through my refusal to stand my trial those should perish, who have incurred danger by my instigation. So I have come here to defend myself. Please tell me what charges I have to meet.” BOOK SEVEN 197 20. “There are several different counts in the indictment,” said ^lianus. “They complain of your costume, and of your mode of life generally ; and that you have worshippers ; and that on one occasion you foretold a plague at Ephesus ; and that you have preached against the emperor privately and publicly, under what you claim to be divine inspiration. The final charge is the least credible of all, for I know that you do not countenance the shedding of blood of even sacrificial victims, although the emperor is quite ready to believe the slander. It is that you visited Nerva on his estate in the country, and there you cut up an Arcadian boy by way of sacrifice, to procure the emperor’s dethronement; and that you encouraged Nerva’s enterprise by these rites, which were conducted at night under a waning moon. As this is by far the most serious charge, we need pay little attention to the others; for all the complaints about clothes and mode of life and divination are incidental to this, and are inserted merely to excite preju¬ dice against you, and to lend probability to your performing that sacrifice. You must be prepared to disprove that ; but do so in such a way as to show no disrespect for the emperor.” Apollonius replied : “You may infer that I entertain no disrespect, from my coming here to plead my case before him. Even if I were audacious enough to exalt myself above tyrants, I would yield to the opinion of such a man as you, who are so much my friend. To seem odious to an enemy is not very serious, for an enemy’s hatred arises not so much from one’s public offenses as from his own private injuries; but to be accused of misconduct toward a friend is far worse than all the combined attacks of one’s enemies, for one must become odious to his friends too, if he treats them unfairly.” .T^lianus expressed pleasure at this speech, and took courage himself by encouraging him, becoming convinced that the Master was proof against fear, even if the Gorgon’s head should be held up before him. Then calling Apollonius’ guards, he told them : “My orders are that this man be kept in custody until the emperor learns of his arrival and hears from him what he has said to me,” assuming at the same time a very angry look. He went from there to the palace, and engaged in the duties of his office. 21. Here Damis recounts an incident like that told of Aristides the Athenian in some respects, but different in others. When the Athenians were voting with oyster-shell ballots on the question of banishing Aristides for his virtue, he met a rustic in the city gateway who asked him to write on his shell a vote against Aristides, as he did not know how to write, and did not know whom he was addressing, but did know that he hated Aristides because he was just. Now when Apollonius was being led 198 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA away to prison a tribune, who knew him very well, spoke insolently to him, asking him why he was arrested. On his replying that he did not know, the tribune went on: “I know very well. You are suspected of ambition for divine honors, because men worship you.” “Who has wor¬ shipped me?” asked Apollonius. “I have,” said the other, “when I was a boy in Ephesus, and you freed us from the plague.” “Both you and the rescued city of Ephesus were right in doing so,” said Apollonius. The tribune said : “That is why I have prepared a defense for you which will exonerate you. Let us go outside the walls, and I will try to behead you with my sword. If I succeed, the charge against you is refuted, and your name will be cleared ; but if you can overawe me so that the sword drops from my hand, it necessarily follows that you are superhuman, and the case against you will be proved.” He was even more of a clown than the man who voted against Aristides, for he grimaced and grinned as he spoke, but Apollonius paid no attention, and went on conversing with Damis about the way in which the Delta of the Nile divides the river into several channels. 22. yElianus, when he had sent for him, committed him to the jail in which prisoners move about unshackled, and notified him that when the / emperor had leisure he wished to have a personal interview with him be¬ fore his trial. On entering the prison after leaving the prefect Apollonius said to Damis : “Let us converse with the prisoners here, for what else is there to do, until the emperor sends to question me?” “They will think us intrusive,” said Damis, “if we interrupt their preparation of their de¬ fense ; and besides it is not right to thrust ourselves upon dejected persons.” “On the contrary,” replied Apollonius, “such persons are the very ones who most need to be cheered by conversation. You remember the passage in Homer, where he says that Helen dropped Egyptian drugs into the chalice to cheer agony of mind; but I think that when Helen, who was educated in Egyptian knowledge, soothed sadness with her chalice, she mingled the healing of conversation with the wine.” “That is quite likely,” said Damis, “if she had in fact visited Egypt, and knew Proteus there ; or as Homer says, dwelt with Polydamna the wife of Thon. But let us leave them alone awhile, for I have something to ask you.” “I know what you wish to ask me,” said Apollonius. “You wish to hear all about what I said to ^lianus, and he said to me, and whether he seemed dangerous or friendly.” Thereupon he repeated to Damis the entire conversation, and Damis said reverently : “I do not question now that the bright goddess Ino in ancient days gave her veil to Ulysses, to take the place of his ship when he had fallen overboard and he was measuring the sea with BOOK SEVEN 199 strokes of his swimming arms ; for I am sure that some deity has stretched his hand out to us, too, in this time of our dangers and trials, ,so that we have not sunk beyond all hope of safety.” Apollonius said to rebuke him: “How long will you persist in this timidity of yours, and in forgetting that philosophy subdues all she encounters, but she herself is subdued by nothing?” “But the man we have to deal with is destitute of all percep¬ tion,” said Damis, “so that he will not be subdued by us, and he believes in nothing that can subdue him !” You have noticed, then, that he is puffed up with vain conceit and folly, have you, Damis?” asked Apollonius, and Damis answered: “Indeed I have. How could I help seeing it?” “Then the better you know the tyrant, the more you should despise him,” said Apollonius. 23. Here someone, a Cilician, I believe, interrupted their conversation with the words : “Sirs, my wealth is my danger !” Apollonius replied : “If you got your wealth criminally, by robbery, or by poisoning people, or by breaking open tombs built for ancient princes, which are often full of gold and jewels, you ought not only to be tried but to be executed. Property acquired in such ways may be wealth, but it is infamous and blood-stained. On the other hand, if you have come by it honestly, through inheritance or fair trade, and not by cheating, who is so oppressive as to extort your lawful property from you by means of a criminal prosecu¬ tion ?” The man replied : “My wealth came to me by inheritance from a number of relatives, so that it is now concentrated in my branch of the family. I do not say that it belongs to the public, for it is my own ; but I do not treat it as mine exclusively, for I share it with all deserving men. Now informers are inventing the charge against me that such accumu¬ lations of wealth as mine are contrary to the emperor’s interests, because I might use it as a war fund if I should get up a rebellion ; or it might be enough to turn the scale in favor of some other rebel, if I joined him. The complaint against me declares oracularly that wealth in excess of a stated amount makes any owner of it disloyal ; and that even if it is merely above the average, it will make him independent, and presumptuous, and regard¬ less of law ; and that the magistrates, who are sent to administer provinces, do not even slap such individuals, but are either actually bribed, or cringe to the power of their money. “For my part, I thought everything delightful when I was a young man, and until I owned a hundred talents I had no anxieties about prop¬ erty ; but when five hundred talents came to me in one day, from an uncle who died leaving me his heir, my disposition underwent a change, just as horses when broken in lose their wild and undisciplined natures. 200 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Then as my riches increased, bringing me gains by land and by sea, I be¬ came such a slave to my fears about them, that I lavished them in all direc¬ tions ; sometimes on informers, whom I felt compelled to propitiate with such dogs-meat; sometimes on magistrates to purchase their protection against blackmail ; sometimes on my kinsmen, so that they should not covet my property; sometimes on my very slaves, to prevent their disaffection through fancying themselves ill-treated. Besides I had a flock of showy dependents pasturing on me, who in their zeal for my interests took charge of most of my affairs themselves, and volunteered their advice to me about the rest. Yet in spite of my fortifying my possessions with such precautions, and my reinforcing them with such a garrison, here I am, in peril of my life because of them, and it is doubtful whether I can save my neck.” Apol¬ lonius replied: “Be of good cheer! Your riches will serve to ransom your body. They have brought you here, but by giving them up they will set you free as well, not only from this prison, but from the servility to black¬ mailers and slaves, to whom you have been subjected by them.” 24. Another prisoner complained that he had been sent there because, when he was sacrificing at Tarentum as prefect of the city, he had failed to add to his public prayers the statement that Domitian was the son of Athene. To him Apollonius said : “That must have been because you supposed that Athene had no children, as she is an ever-virgin goddess. Perhaps you do not know that she once gave birth to a dragon, for the Athenians.” 25. One man was confined in the prison on the following charge. He was the owner of a small farm in Acarnania, near the mouth of the Achelous river, and having sailed in his boat to the Echinades islands he saw that one of them had become joined to the mainland, and he planted it with fruit trees and choice vines, and built himself a cabin on it suitable for camping in, and conducted water enough from the mainland to supply the island. This started a rumor in Acarnania that he was a guilty wretch, who had been driven by remorse for some unspeakable crime to exile himself from his other farm, which he would not have abandoned unless he had polluted it ; like Alcmseon the son of Amphiaraus, who took up his abode at the mouth of the Achelous to expiate his guilt after slaying his mother. They suspected that if this man had not committed the same crime, he had doubtless done something equally horrible, and not very different. He protested that he was living on his island for no such reason as that, but only because he enjoyed the restfulness of it, but nevertheless they arrested him on suspicion, and jailed him. BOOK SEVEN 201 26. After many other prisoners had come to Apollonius with similar com¬ plaints, for there were about fifty of them in all, some of whom were ill, spme prostrated by grief, some awaiting execution, some calling for their children or their parents or their wives, he said to Damis : “These men seem to need that medicine I spoke to you of awhile ago. Whether it be Egyptian or grows in other lands, philosophy gathers it from her gardens, so let us offer it to these poor creatures, before they die of despair.” “We will,” said Damis, “for they certainly need it.” Then Apollonius called them together and said : “Gentlemen and fellow-lodgers : you fill me with pity because you are destroying yourselves, before you know whether the charges against you will do so or not. You seem to be committing suicide in anticipation of the death sentence which you expect to receive. You face your fears boldly, but for all that you are afraid. This is not right. You should remember the words of Archilochus the Parian, who defines forti¬ tude as patience in adversity, and says that it is a gift of the gods, for it lifts us above these afflictions, as sailors surmount the waves by their skill when the billows are actually curling over their ship. Do not reckon these hardships frightful which have overtaken you against your will, and which I have come to of my own accord. If you are conscious of your guilt, you ought rather to bewail the day on which your nature inclined to sinful and cruel deeds betrayed you; but if you, for one, say that you did not live on that island in the Achelous for the reason which your accuser asserts ; and you, for another, say that you never plotted against the emperor with your wealth ; and you, that you did not mean to deprive the emperor of his relationship to Athene; and none of you confesses the truth of the charges under which you await trial here, what is the use of this groaning over things which do not exist? As for your calling upon your dear ones you should rather be strengthened by them, because they will be the recompense for the fortitude you may show now. Do you answer me that it is a hardship to be shut up here, and to live in prison, even if it is all you may have to endure, and not merely the first instalment of your woes? Out of my knowledge of human nature, I will answer you with a sentiment which works something like a doctor’s prescription, for it builds up our strength, and keeps death at a distance. Every man in the world is in prison for the whole term of what we call life ; for this soul of ours, so long as it is shut up in a mortal body, has much to endure, and is a slave to every accident that befalls the man. Moreover the inventors of housebuilding apparently did not perceive that they were only surrounding themselves with still another prison ; and those who inhabit royal palaces, in which they are safely guarded, are actually in stricter confinement than 202 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA those victims are, whom they themselves consign to chains. Then when I consider cities, with their walls, they impress me as being general prisons, for confining all their citizens, inside which they go about the market¬ place, and gather in town-meeting, and attend shows, and march about in processions. Even the savages who live in Scythian carts are as much prisoners as we, for they are shut in by Danubes and Thermodons and Tanaises, which are rivers not easy to cross, unless they are frozen stiff; and they live in carts, in which they must crouch while carried about. Unless it is a nursery tale, the ocean is a chain fastened round the whole earth. Come, ye poets ! It is your province to tell these repiners, how Saturn once upon a time was fettered by the wiles of Zeus ; and how Mars, though the greatest of warriors, was at one time chained in heaven by Vulcan, and at another on earth by the sons of Aloeus. Let us bear in mind all these precedents, and the many wise and holy men besides whom brutal mobs have shackled, and whom tyrants have trampled in the mire, and let us too endure these afflictions of ours, so that we may not be outdone in fortitude by the men who have endured those.” These exhorta¬ tions worked such a change in the prisoners that many of them began to eat again, and wiped away their tears, and went in hope that no harm would come to them, since Apollonius was with them. 27. He was discoursing to them on the same theme next day, when a spy was admitted who had been sent by Domitian to overhear what he might say. The man looked downcast, and as if he was in as much danger as he said he was ; but his speech was glib enough, after the manner of in¬ formers, who learn by rote eight or ten professional patters. Apollonius detected the snare, and held forth on subjects which would not interest him, such as rivers, and mountains, and trees, and wild beasts, all of which entertained the others, but furnished no material to the spy, who tried to induce Apollonius to say something derogatory of the emperor; but Apollonius remarked : ‘^My good man, you may say of him anything you like, for I shall not inform on you ; but if I have any criticism of the emperor to make, I shall make it to his face.” 28. Other incidents occurred during his imprisonment there, some of them deliberately planned and others accidental, but none of them came to anything, or are worth my repeating, although Damis gives a full account of each, lest he might leave out something of importance, I sup¬ pose. This is worth noting, however. During the evening of the fifth day of his detention, a man who spoke Greek came to the prison and asked for BOOK SEVEN 203 him, and told him privately : ‘‘The emperor will speak with you tomorrow. This intimation comes from ^lianus, you understand.’’ “I do understand, without your telling,” replied Apollonius, “for none but he would know it.” The messenger added: “Instructions have been given to the jailer to do for you whatever you ask.” “That is very kind,” said Apollonius, “but I always live in the same way, whether here or outside, for I discourse on whatever occurs to me, and I lack nothing.” “Not even someone to advise you how to deal with the emperor ?” asked the other, and Apollonius said : “I would like that very well, if he does not tell me to flatter him.” The other said : “What if he should tell you not to treat him disdainfully, and not to arch your eyebrows?” “Such advice would be excellent, and is what I have proposed for myself,” said Apollonius. Then the messenger said : “That is why I came, and I am glad to find you disposed to moderation; but you must prepare yourself for the emperor’s voice, and for his savage stare. His voice is harsh, even when he tries to speak gently; his eyebrows project over his eyes, and his cheeks are yellow with bile. He makes the most of these intimidating features, but there is no need to be alarmed by them, Tyanean, for they are natural for the most part, and always the same.” Apollonius replied : “When Ulysses entered the cave of Polyphemus, he had no previous warning how huge he was, or what food he ate, or how his voice thundered, yet he withstood it all, and proved his manhood before he left the cavern. I shall be satisfied if I come out with safety for my¬ self and for those friends for whose sake I have come into this danger.” After this conversation with his visitor, and after repeating it to Daniis, he went to sleep. 29. Toward dawn a clerk of the imperial court entered and said to him: “The emperor summons you to come to the palace at the time of full mar¬ ket, Apollonius, not for your trial at this time, but because he wishes to see what kind of man you are, and to have a private interview.” “Why do you tell that to me ?” asked the Master, and the clerk asked : “Are you not Apollonius, then?” “Certainly I am, and from Tyana too,” he answered. “Then to whom should I say it?” asked the clerk, and he replied: “To the men who are to take me there, for seeing I am in prison that is the only way that I can go anywhere.” The clerk said : “The orders have already been given them, and I myself will be here at the time of starting. I have come now to give you warning, for the arrangement was only made late last evening.” 30. When the clerk had gone Apollonius lay back on his couch and said to Damis : “I need sleep, for I lay awake last night trying to recall some- 204 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA thing which Phraotes said to me.” Damis replied: ‘‘You would much better stay awake, to think what you will say in that interview which has just been announced to you, and which is so momentous.” Apollonius answered : “How can I think what to say, when I do not know yet what he will ask?” “Will you plead for your life offhand then?” asked Damis. “By Zeus, yes,” he replied, “for I am living it offhand too. But I must tell you Phraotes’ instructions, as well as I can recall them, for you will agree with me that they are applicable to our present circumstances. Phraotes’ orders to his lion-tamers are, that they must never strike the lions, because lions once beaten never forget the injury; nor must they pet them, because they would become spoiled ; but they could make them docile by stroking them softly and showing the whip at the same time. When he told me about it, we were not discussing lions, but he suggested it as the right way to curb tyrants, and thought that no one who used it would be forced to go to extremes.” “That instruction squares very well with the nature of ty¬ rants,” said Damis ; “but ^sop tells of another lion, in a den, who he says was not really ill though he pretended to be, and who used to pounce on any beasts which came to see him ; and the fox asked the question : ‘what in¬ ference should we draw from the fact that nobody comes away from him and there is no track of anyone going out ?’ ” Apollonius said to that : “I think the fox would have shown greater wisdom, if he too had entered the den, and had made his own tracks out without being* caught.” Then he snatched a short nap, hardly closing his eyes. 31. When the sun rose he worshipped that luminary as well as he might in prison, and then conversed with all who came to him, on whatever subject they wished to ask him about. A little before noon the clerk of the court came to tell him that they should go at once to the palace-gate, lest his name should be called before they reached there. “Let us start without delay,” said Apollonius, and went quickly forward, with four pikemen following him, at a greater distance than guards usually go. Damis brought up the rear, secretly very anxious, but trying to look merely thoughtful. Every one they met stared at Apollonius, for his dress was unusual, and they evidently wondered at the sight of him, as if awestruck by something super¬ natural; moreover, his coming into danger for his friends conciliated even his former critics. While he stood waiting before the palace-gate, he watched the throng of courtiers and courted who were noisily pressing in and out of the doors, and he said to Damis : “It reminds me of a bath-house, where the outsiders crowd in to get clean, and the washed ones inside crowd out.” BOOK SEVEN 205 This comparison was certainly original with Apollonius, for it also appears in one of his letters. On seeing an infirm old man who was seeking an office, and to obtain it was degrading himself by truckling to the emperor, he said : “Not even Sophocles, Damis, has persuaded this old fellow to renounce a mad and brutal master.” “We have chosen the same master, Apollonius,” said Damis, “and we are standing before his doors too, this very minute.” Apollonius replied : “You seem to think that ^acus guards these doors as he does those of Hades, for you look dead enough.” “I am not dead yet, but I soon will be,” said Damis. Then Apollonius said : “I see that you are not yet prepared for death, Damis, though you have lived with me so long, and have devoted yourself to the study of philosophy. I had supposed that you were ready to face it, and that you knew all the art I have, of rallying your forces to meet it. Pugilists and warriors need not merely courage, but that skill which can avail itself of favorable chances in the fight; and in the same way philoso¬ phers should select suitable conditions for dying, so that they may meet death at the chosen time with dignity and deliberation. I have often told others in your hearing, and have wearied you with the repetition, that if any one shall decide to slay me, I will select the mode of death which will be best for me, and most advantageous to philosophy.” 32. The conversation ended there, for officials charged with that duty then conducted him into the palace, where the emperor had arranged to speak with him by putting off all other business in hand; but Damis was not allowed to accompany him. The emperor had just completed a sacrifice to Athene in the hall of Adonis, and was still wearing a wreath of olive- shoots; and the hall bloomed with beds of those flowers which the Syrians grow indoors for the rites of Adonis. Still bending over the sacrifice, the emperort looked over his shoulder as Apollonius entered, and was so amazed by the appearance of the man that he cried; “^lianus, you have brought me a divinity !” Quite at his ease Apollonius seized on the exclamation to say: “O Emperor, I had supposed that Athene had pro¬ vided for you in the same way that she once did for Diomedes at Troy, when she cleared from his eyes that mist which dulls our mortal sight, so that he could discern gods as well as men. But evidently she has not yet withdrawn that veil from you, for if she had you would know her better, and moreover you would not introduce figures of men among the statues of the gods.” The emperor asked : “When was that mist taken from your eyes, philosopher?” “Long ago,” he answered; “as soon as I became a philosopher.” “Why then do you treat as gods those men who are my bit- 206 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA terest enemies ?” asked the emperor ; and Apollonius replied : “What quar¬ rel can you have with the Indians larchas, or Phraotes ? For they are the only men whom I consider godlike, or worthy to be called divine ?” “Do not try to change the conversation to Indians,” said the emperor, “but answer me about Nerva, that intimate friend of yours, and about his accomplices in crime.” Apollonius began: “I will speak in his behalf, but” — when the emperor interrupted him: “You need not speak in his behalf, for he is convicted already. I want you to give me some reason why you yourself are not guilty as an accomplice of the same crimes.” “Listen then,” said Apollonius, “if you wish to hear what my relations with him were, for why should I hide the truth?” 33. The emperor was expecting to hear revelations of great importance, and to obtain all the evidence needed for putting those consulars to death ; and seeing that he was misled by this hope, Apollonius continued: “Of my own knowledge, Nerva is one of the most law-abiding and inoffensive of men, and the most loyal to you ; a good administrator, but so timid about assuming responsibility that he refuses to accept office. When you speak of his accomplices, unless I am mistaken you refer to Rufus and Orfitus. They too, so far as I know, are law-abiding, and averse from money-get¬ ting, but rather sluggish in their activities, and not men either to plan rebellion or to join it.” Bursting with rage, the emperor shouted: “Do you accuse me then of slandering those men, whom you call loyal and sluggish, and whom I have found to be most infamous assailants of my throne ? No doubt if I should ask them about you, they too would assure me that you are not a sorcerer, nor an agitator, nor a vagabond, nor a money- grubber, nor a man who sets himself above the laws. You filthy scoundrels are all in that same villainous conspiracy together ! When your case is tried, the whole plot will be brought to light; for I know already, as well as if I had been one of the conspirators present there, what oath was sworn by each of you, and on what victim you swore it, and when, and with what fearful rites.” Unterrified even by this outburst, Apollonius said : “It is shameful and illegal for' you, O Emperor, to sit in judgment on men whose guilt you are convinced of, or to form any such opinion before you hear the evidence. But if you intend to act as judge, let me begin my defense now. You have a bad opinion of me, O Emperor, for you say worse things of me than my accuser does. He merely undertakes to prove his charges, while you take everything for granted without any proof at all.” “You may begin your defense when you like,” said the emperor, “but I know how I will end it, and how you would better start in.” BOOK SEVEN 207 34. He began at once to inflict outrages upon Apollonius, by causing his hair and beard to be clipped off, and ordering him to be shackled among the lowest criminals. While they were shearing him he said : “O Emperor, I never thought my hair would become a source of danger to me and while they were fettering him he said : “If you think me a sorcerer, how do you expect to keep me in irons ; and if you do keep me in irons, why should you call me a sorcerer ?” The emperor retorted : “I shall keep you in them, unless you change yourself into water, or into some beast or tree and Apollonius replied : “I would not change myself so, even if I could, for I will never desert the cause of those unjustly persecuted men. In the shape I have I will submit myself to everything you may do to this body, until I shall have delivered my plea for them.” “Who then will plead for you?” demanded the emperor, and Apollonius answered: “Time, and the inspiration of the gods, and that love of philosophy in which I live.” 35. This was the opening skirmish of his defense, which occurred at the private hearing before Domitian, as it is related by Damis. Some hostile writers say that his trial took place first, and that he was not shackled or sheared until after that, and they have forged a long-winded letter in the Ionic dialect, in which, as they assert, Apollonius humbly begged Domitian to release him from his fetters. It is true that Apollonius wrote his last will in Ionic, but I have never come across any letter of his written in that dialect, nor have I ever found him verbose in any of his letters, all of which have the brevity of a Spartan military dispatch. Besides, he vanished from the courtroom after winning his case, and how could he have been shackled then, after his acquittal had been pronounced? However, our story has not yet reached the proceedings at the trial, and we will first tell of the conversation on the subject of his shearing, which is noteworthy. 36. Two days after he had been put in irons a man came to him in the prison, who said that he had bought admission to see him, and that he had come to advise him how to save himself. He was a Syracusan, and em¬ ployed as the mind and tongue of Domitian, for the same purpose as that other previous spy, but was more apt to inspire confidence ; for the other beat about the bush, but this man came straight to the point. “Ye gods !” he cried, “who would have thought that Apollonius would be shackled?” “The man who shackled me,” said Apollonius, “for otherwise he would not have done it.” The other went on : “who would have thought that your ambrosial locks would be sheared?” “I did,” said Apollonius; “I grew 208 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA them for the purpose.” “How can you endure such treatment?” asked the other, and he replied : “As a man should, who has come here neither will¬ ingly nor unwillingly.” “How does your leg stand it?” the man asked. Apollonius answered : “I don’t know, for my mind is busy on other mat¬ ters.” “But the mind is affected by pain, as much as the body,” said the other. “Not at all,” replied Apollonius; “for the mind of such a man as I am either does not feel pain at all, or overcomes it.” “What then is your mind engaged with ?” the other asked, and he replied : “With that very thing, not to pay attention to such trifles.” His visitor referred again to his hair and tried to bring the conversation back to that subject, but Apollonius said: “Young man, it is lucky for you that you were not one of the Greeks at the siege of Troy ! I can imagine how bitterly you would have wept over Achilles cutting off his hair for Patroclus, if it is true that he did ; and how you would have swooned away upon the cuttings. If you lament so the loss of my hair, which was grizzled and sunburnt, think of the grief you would have felt for his curled and golden locks !” The man’s secret purpose in this conversation was to learn what affliction Apollonius felt most, and especially to get him to abuse the emperor for what had occurred. Foiled so far in this intent, he said : “The emperor dislikes you for many reasons, but most of all because you were mixed up in the alleged crimes of which Nerva and his confederates are accused. Then too, rumors have reached him of speeches against himself, which you delivered in Ionia, and which were meant to stir up sedition ; but it is said that he is willing to overlook that, and that his wrath against you is due to the other more serious charges, although the man who has informed about the speeches is very famous.” “He must be like a victor at the Olympic games in his specialty, if he has earned fame by his skill in slander,” said Apollonius ; “I recognize him by that, as that fellow Euphrates, who is always trying to' do me an ill turn ; but he has succeeded better in it on other occasions. Once when he heard that I was about to visit the Gymnosophists in Ethiopia, he slandered me to them ; and if I had not discovered his artifices in time, I might per¬ haps have been compelled to turn back without even seeing them.” The Syracusan said with great surprise: “Do you consider that the risk of appearing dishonorable to those Gymnosophists through his trickery was so much more serious a matter than the emperor’s enmity?” “By Zeus, yes !” replied Apollonius, “for I went there to learn, but I have come here only to teach.” “To teach what?” the other asked, and he replied: “That I am a good and honorable man, which is something the emperor does not yet know.” “There are some things you could teach him which would be greatly to your interest,” the other said, “and if you had told BOOK SEVEN 209 them to him before you came here, you would not have been fettered.” Apollonius perceived that the object of the Syracusan’s suggestions was the same as the emperor’s, expecting that he would bear false witness against the consulars to procure his own release, so he said : “My dear friend, if I have been put in irons for telling Domitian the truth, what would have hap¬ pened to me if I lied to him? In his opinion truth deserves chains, but in mine falsehood does.” 37. The Syracusan left the prison complimenting him as a super-philoso¬ pher, for so he called him as he went away ; and turning to Damis Apol¬ lonius said: “Do you understand what that Pytho was doing?” Damis re¬ plied : “I understood very well that he was setting traps and snares for you ; but I do not understand what you mean by Pytho, nor why you apply the name to him.” Apollonius said : “Pytho is said to have been a Byzan¬ tine orator, who excelled in giving plausible reasons for bad designs, and he was sent by Philip, the son of Amyntas, as an envoy to the Greeks, to bring about their subjugation. Passing by the other cities he went at once to Athens, where the art of oratory had then reached its highest development, and there he told them that they had done Philip an injustice in opposing him, and that they were making a great mistake in defending the liberty of Greece. Pytho was eloquent on this subject, but Demosthenes the Pseanian, who was the only speaker in opposition to his audacious argu¬ ments, calls it one of his triumphs that he withstood him. In this case I do not claim credit for myself because I did not let myself be led where the man wished me to go, but nevertheless I called him Pytho because he came in the pay of a tyrant to persuade me to act shamefully.” ' 38. Damis says that Apollonius said much more to the same effect, but that he himself was very anxious about this ominous treatment, and saw no escape for the Master except by some such miracle as the gods had occa¬ sionally granted to prayer in even more desperate conditions. So a little before noon he said to him: “O Tyanean,” (for it pleased the Master to be so addressed) “what will happen to us ?” “Nothing more than has happened to us already, for no one will kill us,” replied Apollonius. “Who is so invulnerable as that? And when will you be freed from your chains?” asked Damis. “So far as any decision of the emperor is concerned, I am to be freed today,” said Apollonius : “And so far as my own decision goes, I can be free this instant !” and with the word he drew his leg out of the shackles, and went on : “This shows you that I am free whenever I like, so keep your courage up.” Damis says that then for the first time he fully recognized the Master’s superhuman and supernatural quality, when with- 4^ 210 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA out offering any sacrifice (for how could sacrifice be offered in that prison?), and without invoking the gods, or uttering a syllable of incanta^ tion, he had set his fetters at nought ; for thrusting his leg back into them he showed himself chained fast as before. 39. The more simple-minded of mankind attribute such doings to magic, and seek its aid in many human affairs. Athletes ask charms to help them win, and so do all their competitors. Charms really do not affect the result, but the winners attribute their lucky success to magic, disparaging their own efforts in their abasement; and they persist in believing its efficacy, though it has failed them. “If I had only sacrificed this thing, or burned that, I could not have helped getting the prize \” So they say, and so they believe. Sorcery sits likewise on the merchant’s doorsill, and we see him ascribing to some wizard any profitable stroke of business, and blaming his own parsimony if he makes a losing venture, because he had not spent enough on incantations. Magic has an especial attraction for lovers. When those afflicted by that delusive ailment will even consult old women about it, no wonder that they pin their faith to sorcerers, and prick up their ears at promises of Venus’ girdle to wear, or of gems from the depths of the earth or moon or stars, or of all the spices of India, none of which have any effect, but they cost exorbitantly. If the love-affair prospers, either because the beloved object reciprocates the lover’s passion, or is won over by his gifts, the magic he has employed is extolled by him as infallible in all cases. On the other hand, if his wooing fails, the blame is thrown on some omission ; that he omitted to burn this, or sacrifice that, or melt down the other thing, each of which was of course a potent and indispensable charm. Many of those who scoff at magic have gone so far as to write volumes setting forth the methods by which they produce wonderful miracles and similar portents. Young people who take my advice will avoid such writers too, lest they learn to make light of sacred subjects. But I have wandered far enough afield, for why should I dwell longer on a practice which is forbidden by nature as well as by law. 40. After the Master’s demonstration of his ability to free himself at will, they conversed until nearly noon, when a man came in shouting : “By the intercession of ^lianus the emperor orders your release from these irons, Apollonius, and allows you to remain in your former prison until your trial, which will probably be on the fifth day from today.” “Who will take me away from here?” asked Apollonius. “I will,” said the man, “follow me.” The inmates of the unshackled prison all crowded around him when BOOK SEVEN 211 they saw him restored to them once more, after they had given np all hope for him. He was held in the same affection by them as a father is loved by his children, whom he gently and considerately corrects, and tells of his own boyish experiences, and they showed it ; while Apollonius himself never ceased to aid them by his counsels. 41. Next day he said to Damis : “The trial will come off on the day set for it; and I want you to go to Puteoli, by the land route, which will be the best for you to take ; and after you have greeted Demetrius go down to the sea-shore opposite the island of Calypso, and there you will see me appear.” “Alive, or how ?” asked Damis. Apollonius replied with a laugh : “Alive, in my opinion; though perhaps you may think me resurrected.” Damis says that he left him reluctantly, neither sure that he would be killed, nor very confident that he would not. After travelling three days he reached Puteoli, and there he was told of a rain-storm at sea, which had raged during those three days, sinking several ships bound to that port, and driving others to Sicily or the straits ; so then he knew why the Master had told him to go by land. 42. What follows Damis says he heard Apollonius tell Demetrius and himself. A beautiful boy had come to Rome from Messene in Arcadia, and many had fallen in love with him, especially Domitian. His other suitors were so ardent that they did not hesitate to woo him in rivalry with the emperor, but the boy was circumspect, and preserved his chastity from all of them. There was nothing unusual in his rejecting gold and trinkets and horses and other baits of that kind, by which lads are beguiled, for it might be thought that he was merely enhancing his price ; but when more • was bid than all the eyes of emperors have gloated over, and he still re¬ fused, he was thrown into prison, by the pique of his imperial lover. There he drew near to Apollonius several times, looking as if he had some¬ thing to say, but shame kept him silent, and he could not find courage. Noticing this conduct, Apollonius said to him: “You have been put in prison just like us hardened criminals, but you are hardly old enough to commit a crime.” “Nay,” said the lad, “I am to die, because our laws pun¬ ish chastity with death.” “That was the case in Theseus’ time too, for he slew his own son Hippolytus for being chaste,” said Apollonius. The lad said : “Like him, my father has destroyed me, for though I am an Arcadian, born in Messene, he would not educate me in Greece, but sent me to Rome to study law, and when I came here for that purpose the emperor looked on me with evil eyes.” Pretending to misunderstand this expression, Apollonius asked: “How is that? Did the emperor fancy that 212 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA your eyes are blue, when I see they are black? or that you have a crooked nose, though it is really as straight as in Hermes’ statues? or that your hair is not of its actual color, which seems sunny to me, and holds the light? Your mouth is well-shaped too, whether it is speaking or silent, and your head is well-poised and proud. What else does the emperor find in all this, that you say he looks on you with evil eyes ?” ^‘Those very things have been my ruin,” said the boy, ‘‘for he is smitten with desire for me, and shows no mercy for the beauties which he praises, for he wishes to violate me like the lovers of women.” Out of liking for the lad, Apollonius did not go on to quiz him, for he saw that the boy was blushing and speak¬ ing with modesty, so he asked him: “Have you any slaves at home in Arcadia?” “Yes indeed, many of them,” the boy replied. “What relation do you bear to them?” he asked, and the boy said : “Such as the laws pre¬ scribe, since I am their master.” Apollonius then asked : “Which is right ; that slaves should obey their master, or that they overrule the wishes of the lord of their bodies?” The lad saw where these questions were leading, and cried : “I know how irresistible and how brutal the power of tyrants may be, and they wish to impose their will upon free men for that very reason; but I am lord of my own body, and I will preserve it inviolate.” “But how 'can you?” asked Apollonius, “for your lover has the power to overcome your youth with the sword?” “By offering my throat to it, for a sword should be used on that,” the boy replied. Apollonius commended his answer and said : “It is very plain to see that you are an Arcadian 1” He tells of this lad in a letter, describing him as much more attractive than I have done here, and praising him to his correspondent for his mod¬ esty ; and he adds that the lad was not put to death by the tyrant, but sailed away to Malea admired for his constancy, and that he was held in higher honor among the Arcadians than those are among the Spartans who show most fortitude in enduring the scourge. BOOK EIGHT 213 BOOK EIGHT. Trial before Domitian for sorcery, sacrilege and conspiracy — Ac¬ quitted — Vanishes from sight in court-room — His defense, as PREPARED BUT NOT DELIVERED - APPEARS TO DemETRIUS AND DamIS AT PUTEOLI DIRECTLY AFTER HIS TRIAL - ThEIR REJOICINGS - SaILS TO Sicily and Greece — Enthusiastic welcome at Olympic games — Visits Labadea and Aulis — Stay in Greece — While lecturing IN Ephesus he sees Domitian's death at Rome — Summoned to ADVISE Emperor Nerva, he declines — Sends away Damis — Disap¬ pears, PLACE AND time OF DEATH UNKNOWN - VARIOUS LEGENDS — ■ Apparition at Tyana. 1. Let us now go to the court to hear the Master present his defense. The sun has risen, and entrance to the tribunal is already open for notables. Courtiers tell us that the emperor has eaten no breakfast, being absorbed in thought on the possible developments of the trial, very likely ; for he is fingering some scroll, now angrily, now more uncertainly. He acts like one enraged with the laws, because they have invented the impedi¬ ments of courts. 2. We shall find Apollonius there too, looking more like one about to debate some abstract proposition, than like a man on trial for his life; though we might have expected that from his conduct up to this point. While the clerk was conducting him to the court, he asked him where they were going, and when the clerk replied that he was taking him to the court-room, he asked: ‘‘Against whom am I to plead?” The clerk answered : “Against your accuser, but the emperor will decide the case.” “He may judge my case,” said Apollonius, “but who will judge the emperor, for I intend to show that he is doing grievous wrong to philoso¬ phy.” “What does the emperor care for philosophy, even if he does wrong it ?” asked the clerk. “But philosophy cares a great deal about the emperor, that he shall govern the state properly,” answered Apollonius. The clerk wished him success, for he was very well-disposed toward him, as he had shown from the beginning of their acquaintance; and then he asked: “How much water will you measure out for the time of your argument? I must know that before the trial begins.” Apollonius replied: “If he lets me say all that the cause demands, not even the Tiber would be enough 214 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA to pour into the clepsydra. But if I am limited to answering questions, the length of my examination depends on the questioner.” “You have ac¬ quired two very opposite accomplishments, since you are ready to speak either briefly or at length on the same subject,” said the clerk. “They are not opposite but alike,” he replied ; “for any man capable of the one will not fail in the other. To combine both in due proportion may not be a third accomplishment, but it is easily the first of oratorical excellences ; and I know still a fourth one, which is to keep silence in court.” “That last accomplishment would not help you much, nor any one else whose head is at stake,” said the clerk. “And yet when Socrates the Athenian was on trial, it was very serviceable to him,” said Apollonius. “How was it serv¬ iceable,” asked the clerk, “for he was sentenced to death because he kept silence?” “He did not die, though the Athenians thought that he did,” Apollonius replied. 3. The next occurrence showed in what spirit he would accept whatever tyranny might inflict on him. As he was about to enter the court-room, another clerk came up and said : “Tyanean, you must enter stripped of everything!” “Are we going to take a bath or try a case?” asked Apol¬ lonius, and the other replied : “The order does not relate to your clothes ; but the emperor forbids you to bring in any amulet, or scroll, or other writing whatever.” “Not even a rod, for the backs of those who have in¬ duced him to make such an absurd order ?” asked Apollonius. Whereupon his accuser clamored : “O Emperor ! this sorcerer threatens to beat me, because I induced you to make that order 1” “Then you are more of a sorcerer than I am,” said Apollonius ; “for you say that you have persuaded the emperor that I am one, and I have not yet been able to persuade him that I am not.” While the accuser was abusing Apollonius in this fashion, a freedman of Euphrates was at his elbow, whom his patron had sent to testify concerning Apollonius’ utterances in Ionia, and furnished with money to pay the accuser. 4. After these preliminary altercations the trial began. The court-room had been arranged with seats as if for a panegyric oration, and all the leading men in Rome were present, for the emperor was very desirous to prove Apollonius’ complicity in the conspiracy of Nerva and his associates before as large an audience as possible. Apollonius disregarded the em¬ peror so completely that he did not even look at him, and when the accuser assailed him with vituperation for such irreverence, and demanded that he gaze upon the god of all men, Apollonius raised his eyes toward the ceiling, • to indicate that he looked to Zeus, and that he considered the man who was BOOK EIGHT 215 willing to receive such impious adulation to be baser than the flatterer him¬ self. Then the accuser shouted : “Measure out his water now, O Emperor ! If you let him speak all he likes, he will choke us! I hold in my hand the scroll in which the counts of the accusation are set forth, which he is to reply to. Let him answer them one by one.” 5. This plan met with the emperor’s approval, and he directed the de¬ fendant to plead in accordance with the accuser’s method. He dismissed all but four of the charges, as not of sufficient importance to be tried, and he ordered the examination to proceed on those four remaining counts, which he considered the most serious, and hardest to answer. His first question was : “Why do you not wear the same garments as other men do, instead of your very peculiar and conspicuous costume?” Apollonius answered : “Because the same earth which feeds me, clothes me too, and I do not wish to add to the woes of animals.” Next he asked: “Why do men call you a god ?” The answer was : “Every man believed to be good is honored with the title of god.” I have shown in the chapters on India where he got that idea. The third question related to the plague at Ephesus. “By what inspiration or calculation did you foretell the plague to the Ephesians?” He answered: “I was the first to feel a premonition of the impending calamity, because my diet was lighter than that of others ; but if you wish, I will go on to tell the reasons why plagues occur.” The emperor feared that he would attribute such visitations to his own tyranny, and incestuous marriage, and all his other infamous actions, so he said : “I am not asking for your opinion on that subject.” Having now come to the fourth question, which concerned Nerva and his associates, he did not burst out with it at once, but only after long hesitation and deep thought ; and when he did ask it, his mind seemed dazed. His manner of asking it, too, was contrary to the general expectation, for everyone supposed that he would finally drop all finesse, and would not only call those men by name, but would yell savagely about the alleged sacrifice. Far from that, he fairly crawled into the subject, saying: “Tell me, why did you sacrifice that boy, when you went out of the house into the fields that day ?” Apol¬ lonius answered as if reproving a schoolboy: “Don’t ask such questions! If I went out of a house, of course I went into the fields ; and if I did that, I sacrificed a boy ; and if I sacrificed him, I ate him ! Let witnesses worthy of belief prove all that !” At that answer a louder shout of applause went up than befitted the imperial court-room, and the emperor, convinced that the audience sided with the defendant, and being himself much impressed by his ready and skilful replies, said: “I acquit you of these charges; but you must remain until I can confer with you privately.” Bracing himself. 216 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Apollonius said : “I thank you, emperor. These scoundrelly accusers have caused whole cities to be destroyed, islands to be crowded with exiles, the mainland to be filled with mourning, the army with cowardice, and the senate with suspicion. Let me go, then ; or if not, send some one to arrest my body, for my soul cannot be kept in captivity. Nay, you will not keep my body either: “ ‘For you do not slay me, since I am fated not to die !’ ” With these words he vanished from sight before the whole court¬ room; believing it to be his best course under the circumstances, be¬ cause the emperor evidently intended to ask him questions not merely about his case, but about all the surrounding circumstances, for he thought himself very magnanimous in not having sentenced him to death; and Apollonius foresaw that he might not handle him so easily another time. He also thought it desirable not to conceal his pdwets any longer, but that it should be known that he was master of his own fate, and could not be held against his will. Moreover his anxiety for Nerva and his friends was now relieved, for since the tyrant had not dared to question him about them, what plausible pretext could he find for executing them on charges which he had failed to establish in court? I have found this account in the court record of the proceedings. 6. He had written out a defense, which he had intended to read by the clepsydra, if occasion demanded, but the tyrant changed that plan by requiring him to answer the questions separately, as I have related, and I cannot resist quoting the entire address here. I am well aware that it will be criticized by admirers of conventional oratory, as being less polished than they consider in good taste, and too vainglorious in language and in sentiment. But when I carefully weigh the man’s quality, I think he would not have acted like the wise man he was if he had attempted to express his character by stringing together evenly-balanced antitheses, and imitating with his throat the rhythm of castanets. Such tricks are the stock-in-trade of professional rhetoricians, and are not always advisable even for them. In -court trials, if the oratorical effort is too apparent, it may convey the injurious impression that the speaker is playing upon the sympathies of the judges; when if it were successfully disguised it might win. The truer eloquence consists in concealing from the hearers that it is eloquent. A wise man conducting his own defense (and no wise man will prosecute in court what he can censure outside) needs a different style from the professional advocate, and should ^deliver an address which has been carefully prepared, but does not seem so. It should be serious, almost haughty, and without making any appeal to pity; for how should BOOK EIGHT 217 anyone be suspected of trying to produce sympathy who does not ask for it? Such an oration will this defense by Apollonius seem, to those who listen attentively to that renowned man, and to me. It was composed by him thus: 7. “O Emperor, this case involves great issues for both of us. You are in such peril as never any emperor was before, if you suppose that you can persecute philosophy without suffering for it, and I am in greater peril than was even Socrates at Athens; whose accusers charged him with being an innovator in theology, but they did not call him a god, nor think him one. Since such great danger threatens each of us, I will not hesitate to offer you the same advice which I have adopted for myself. Ever since this accuser has brought us into opposition a mistaken opinion concerning you as well as myself has been generally entertained. It has been thought that you will be so influenced by your animosities, in judging this case, that you will put me to death, whatever death may be; and on the other hand, that I would avoid being brought to trial, by using some of the ex^ pedients open to a fugitive ; and they are innumerable, O Emperor ! Though I heard these rumors, they have not induced me to think so badly of you, nor to object to your trying the case because you would not decide it fairly. I have come to make my defense in obedience to the laws, and I recommend to you a similar obedience. The law forbids you to condemn without hearing both sides, or to sit as my judge with the preconceived opinion that I have been guilty of some crime against you, or to imagine that a naked philosopher is challenging the Roman emperor in arms, when you would laugh if you were told that your throne was threatened by some king of Babylon or of Armenia, or by any other of such rulers, who have, as I have seen, countless horsemen and archers, gold-mines and hordes of men. Nor is it right for you to accept unquestioningly, on the word of an Egyptian backbiter, statements which you have never heard from Athene, whom you declare to be your special protector ; unless by Zeus, their flat¬ tery and lying has already served these scoundrels so well, as to persuade you that the gods may be suitable advisers for you in trifling matters like sore eyes, or fevers, or colic, which they cure as doctors do by laying hands on the afflicted part; but that when your throne and your life are at stake, they are not the ones to consult, for guarding you against your foes, or instructing you what weapons to employ. So as your substitutes for the aegis of Minerva, and the thunderbolts of Jove, you take informers, who tell you they know more about your affairs than the gods do, and that they wake and sleep for you, if indeed they find time to sleep at all, and 218 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA who pile up one imaginary danger on another, composing for your ear constant Iliads of woe. To keep race-horses ; to be drawn in state through the forum by teams of white mules ; to dine in luxury off gold and silver plate ; to take their pleasure in women and boys bought for twenty or thirty thousand drachmas apiece ; to commit adultery too, so long as they are not caught at it, and to marry the wives whom they have debauched, if they are caught at it; and then to be applauded for their glorious triumphs, when the life of some innocent philosopher or consular has been sworn away by them, and taken by you ; let such wages be given to these villains for their greed and shamelessness by which they show their contempt for law and for public opinion. But when they boast of superhuman powers, and claim to know more than the gods themselves, I do not acclaim them, but shudder to hear them. If you should agree with me in that opinion, they will prob¬ ably make the same charge of unsoundness in theology against you, which they have made against me ; for that will be their last resort when there is no one else to inform against. I may seem to be attacking them rather than defending myself, but let me say this much in championship of the laws, for if you do not treat the laws as supreme, your own supremacy will not endure. ^Whom shall I invoke as my sponsor in this cause? If I call upon Zeus, under whose favor I know my life is passed, these men will say that I am weaving spells to bring him down from heaven to earth. So I will make my defense with the aid of a man whom the multitude call dead, but I deny it. He is your father, who honored me as you honor him, for I made him emperor, as he made you. Let him stand beside me as the sponsor for my defense, O Emperor, for he knows my character much better than you do. Before he reached the throne he came to Egypt, to sacrifice to the gods of that land, and to consult with me about obtaining the empire. He found me with my hair long, and dressed as I am now, but he found no fault with my appearance, thinking that everything about me was right enough. Instead of that, he told me that he had come all that distance because I was there ; and he thanked me when he went away, after confiding to me what he would have told to no one else, and after listening to words from me which no other would have dared to say. His intention to claim the throne was confirmed by me, after it had been shaken by other advisers, who really meant well, though you would hardly think so, for if they had dissuaded him from ascending the throne, they would have de¬ prived you of your succession which you now enjoy. It was due to my advice that he did not reject the supreme power which knocked at his door unsought, and that he has enabled you to inherit it. Acknowledging that he approved my opinion, he exalted himself by it and has exalted you. BOOK EIGHT 219 If he thought me a sorcerer, he would never have chosen me to share his anxieties. When he came to me he did not say, ‘Constrain the Fates and Zeus to bestow the empire on me, and make them show portents on my behalf, such as making the Sun rise in the west, and set where he usually rises !’ I would not have thought him fit to reign, if he had believed me capable of such witchcraft, or if he had sought empire by magic, when it should be attained by valor. I discoursed publicly in the temples, whereas the sorcerer tribe always shun those holy abodes of the gods, which are inimical to them in the exercise of their arts ; and they shroud their pro¬ ceedings in night and thick darkness, so that their dupes may use neither eyes nor ears. Your father also debated with me privately in the presence of Euphrates and Dion, one of whom was my worst enemy, and the other my closest friend, for I shall never cease to list Dion among my friends. Who would have dared to suggest magic at such a time to those men, who if they were not wise, at least professed to be? Who would not shun the suspicion of forbidden practices, in a mixed company of friends and foes ? The fact is that our deliberations were quite inconsistent with sorcery. Can you imagine that because your father was ambitious to rule he trusted more to magic than to his own efforts, and that he used my agency to bring pressure to bear on the gods, so that he might attain his ends? Instead of that he was convinced that power was within his grasp before he came to Egypt, and after he arrived there he had deeper subjects to discuss with me, for he sought to learn from me concerning legislation, and the rights of property, and how the gods should be worshipped, and what blessings might reasonably be hoped from them by law-abiding rulers. Sorcerers are bitterly opposed to all such speculations, for where such ideas prevail their art is done for. This point too should be considered, O Emperor, that all arts and sciences existing among men, while they have different activities, agree in this, that they are universally carried on to make money ; some little, some much, some merely a livelihood ; and this is true not only of the mechanical trades, but of the learned and quasi-learned professions. True philosophy is the only exception to this rule. Among learned professions I would class poetry, music, astronomy, higher education, and oratory other than forensic; and I would class as quasi-learned professions painting, model¬ ling, sculpture, steersmanship, and agriculture if it studies the seasons ; none of which arts fall far short of learning. But besides these, O Em¬ peror, there is the pseudo-learned science of sorcery; which must not be mistaken for the science of divination, for this, if it is genuine, should be highly honored, although I am not sure that it is a science. I maintain that sorcerers practice a sham science, because making people believe that they see things which are not there, and that they do not see things which are 220 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA before their eyes, depends entirely on the imagination of those whom they impose upon. The entire success of that art is based upon the folly of its dupes and of the lookers-on ; but it is an art, because all its practitioners are greedy of gain. Every conjuring trick which they exhibit has been invented to get money ; and they try to extort unheard-of sums by getting eager seekers into their clutches through their professions of omnipotence. But what wealth of mine have you discovered, O Emperor, that you should suspect me of practicing that pseudo-science, especially since your father believed me to be superior to all mercenary motives? As proof of that, here is a letter to me from that great and godlike man, in which, among other things, he commends me for my poverty : ‘‘‘The emperor Vespasian to the philosopher Apollonius, greeting: “If all were willing to practice philosophy as you do, Apollonius, it would be a very fortunate thing both for philosophy and for poverty: because philosophy would become disinterested, and poverty would become popular. Farewell.’ “Imagine that your father is here, testifying thus in my behalf, attrib¬ uting to me disinterested philosophy, and voluntary poverty. He was no doubt recalling what happened in Egypt, when Euphrates and several other sham philosophers openly beset him, begging for money, while I not only did not ask for any, but I rebuffed them for their unprofessional conduct. I began to despise wealth in my boyhood, and on the day after I obtained my patrimony, which was by no means small, I gave it all away to my brother and friends and needy relatives, to inure myself to privation from the start. I will say nothing of Babylon, or of India across the Caucasus and the Hyphasis river, except to say that my conduct in those lands was consistent with my principles ; but that I have never been mercenary in this part of the world I am willing to leave to the evidence of this Egyptian informer. Though he says that I planned and executed atrocious crimes, he makes it plain that I have not enriched myself by such means, and that I never accepted pay for them ; and, in fact, he thinks me such a fool as to be a sorcerer who commits that crime gratis which others sell at a high price. I must have offered some such bargain as this : ‘Come all ye fools ! I am a magician, not for pay, but for nothing ! Each of you shall get everything he wants, while I assume the risk and the lawsuits !’ “Not to drift into aimless discussion in this way, I will ask the prose¬ cutor which point in the complaint against me he wishes to take up first. That question is unnecessary, however, because at the outset of his speech he has enlarged upon the way I dress, and actually discussed what food I eat, and what I do not eat. Defend this part of my case yourself, divine Pythagoras, for this attack is aimed at both of us ; at you because you began that mode of life, and at me because I have followed your example. O Em- BOOK EIGHT 221 peror, the earth supplies all the wants of men, and so long as they consent to maintain a truce with animals they lack nothing. Some things they gather wild from her, and other things they obtain by cultivation, for she feeds her children according to the season ; but deaf to her invitation they sharpen a knife against the animals, to get food and clothing. The Indian Brahmins did not countenance this cruelty, and they taught the Gymnoso- phists of Egypt to abstain from it. Pythagoras was the first Greek to sojourn in Egypt, where he learned this doctrine from the Sages there. Thenceforth he left animals in their natural state, to be cared for by the earth, and he fed himself on her plants, declaring that such products, being untainted, are suitable nourishment for body and mind. Moreover he maintained that the clothing commonly worn is unclean, because it is obtained from mortal creatures, and therefore he wore linen, and he wove himself sandals of bark for the same reason. Among other advantages which he gained from this purity, the greatest was that he learned to know his own soul. He became conscious that he had been born before, as one of the sons of Panthus, in the days when Troy was besieged because of Helen, and that he had been thought the most beautiful and promising of them all, and that he had died so young as to give even Homer cause for grieving over it; and that thereafter he had passed through several existences, according to the law of Nemesis, which governs transmigra¬ tions of the soul, until he finally returned to human shape, and was born as the son of Mnesarchides of Samos, changing from a barbarian into a civilized man, and from a Trojan into an Ionian; but yet so unaffected by death that he did not forget that he had been Euphorbus. I have already said that he was the father of my philosophy, and that I have adopted this mode of life, not on my own initiative, but as his heir. I do not criticize the gluttons who take delight in eating flamingos and pheasants and pea¬ cocks, which they fatten for their banquets; I have filed no complaint against men who pay more for a fish than nobles used to give for a blooded horse ; I have coveted no one’s purples, or soft Pamphylian robes ; and yet, O ye gods, I am prosecuted as a criminal for eating asphodel salad, and dried fruits, and food which tempts me by its simplicity ! ‘‘Not even my clothing has been spared, for my accuser has stripped it off me, because it might serve some purpose of a sorcerer ! For that matter, if any one answers me that there is no difference between animate and inanimate things, which would make a man pure or impure, why is linen better than wool? Wool is clipped from the gentlest of animals, which the gods love best of all, and have not disdained to shepherd them, and by Zeus ! the gods or else the fabulists once even honored them with a golden- fleeced variety ; while on the other hand flax is sown wherever chance wills, and there is no fable about gold in connection with it. Nevertheless, linen 222 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA seems uncontaminated to the Indians and the Egyptians, because it is not derived from a living creature, and so it furnishes Pythagoras and me with raiment suitable for discoursing, and for prayer, and for sacrificing. It is also a pure coverlet to sleep under, so that the dreams of those who live as I do make their predictions come truer. “I am next required to speak in defense of the hair which I used to have, against the charge that it was somewhat sunburnt. This Egyptian’s opinion should not be taken on a question of such refinement. Submit it to golden-haired and well-combed youths, who are the delight of lovers and sweethearts with whom they revel. Let them, and those who admire such hair and the ointments dripping from it, declare that they are in the height of style and that I am altogether unlovely, and no lover of love. To such judges I will reply: ‘You poor things, do not call this Dorian fashion a crime ! The practice of wearing long hair comes to us from the Spartans, and was universal among them at the time of their greatest glory. Their king Leonidas wore his so, because it looked manly, so that he might ap¬ pear majestic to his friends and terrible to his foes; and Sparta prides her¬ self as much on Leonidas as she does on Lycurgus or on Iphitus. Steel should spare the locks of a philosopher, and not be applied to the region where are all the organs of sensation, and divine perceptions, and whence are uttered prayers, and speech the interpreter of wisdom. Empedocles used to strut through the streets of Greece composing hymns, with the purplest of fillets bound about his hair, in the hope that he would grow from a man into a god; but when I let my hair go neglected, and had no occasion for any such hymns about it, I am arrested for doing so, and put upon my trial. What did Empedocles sing about? Was it to celebrate his own praises, or the happy condition of the men of his time who were never arrested on such a charge? “That is all I have to say about my hair, which has already been sheared close. Malignity did not wait for this accusation, which has im¬ posed on me the necessity of defending myself from another charge, a frightful one, and it may well horrify not you alone, O Emperor, but Zeus himself. That charge is, that men suppose me to be a god, and that dupes blinded by my magic openly proclaim me one. Before making such an indictment the accuser should have specified by what arguments, or miracu¬ lous words, or deeds, I have induced any one to worship me. I have never intimated to any Greek from what body my soul has migrated, nor into what shape it will migrate, although I know ; nor have I ever circulated any such ideas about myself as he charges me with ; nor have I ever uttered oracles, or lyric responses, like so many enthusiasts ; nor do I know of any city whose townsmen have voted to assemble and offer sacrifices to Apol¬ lonius, although I have been highly honored in every city which has sought BOOK EIGHT 223 my aid in any difficulty. Their requests to me have only been that their sick might be cured ; or that a way more pleasing to the gods be suggested for terminating their ceremonies, or for offering their sacrifices ; or that rioting might be suppressed, and respect for law might be increased, and things like that. The only reward I ever asked for such service was that they should become better men than they had been, and in doing so I was helping you. Just as herdsmen benefit the owners of the cattle by keeping them from straying, and shepherds fatten the flocks for the profit of the farmer, and bee-keepers ward off diseases from the hives that their masters may not lose the swarm, in the same way I improved your cities by check¬ ing their deterioration. Even if they had believed me to be a god the mis¬ take would have been to your advantage, so long as they were willing to listen to me, if no other reason than the fear of disobeying a god. As mat¬ ter of fact, they did not believe any such thing, but they did believe that man has some kinship with God, through which he alone of all living things can know the gods, and can study his own nature, and his relationship to God. Man even likens the appearance of God to his own, as his sculpture and painting show, and he is conscious that his virtues come to him from God, and that all who partake of them are godlike and divine. “The first to apply to men the epithets of ‘righteous,’ ‘Olympian,’ and the like attributes of deity more freely than accords with the human frailty of their recipients, were the Athenians; but the Delphic Apollo, and not they, should be called the originator of this practice. When Lycurgus of Sparta entered his temple soon after formulating the code of laws by which Sparta was established, Apollo’s salutation to him began by expressing doubt of his quality, saying that he was not sure whether to call him god or man ; but becoming more definite as it went on, the oracle ended by hailing him as a god, because he was a good man. But Lycurgus incurred no prosecution, or risk of it, from the Spartans on the charge that he claimed to be a god, because he had not contradicted Apollo when he called him one. On the contrary, they vied with the oracle, which had only con¬ firmed their previous opinion. “As to India and Egypt, the Egyptians among other slanders misrepre¬ sent the Indians’ ideas of the right mode of living, but they agree so com¬ pletely with their doctrines concerning the creator of the universe that they teach it to foreigners, while giving India credit for it. This doctrine of the origin of the universe, and of matter, recognizes God as the creator, and that the basis of his plan of creation is that he is goodness. Creation and goodness being so bound up together, I am convinced and maintain that all good men have in them something of the divine essence. The world which is dependent on God the creator may be defined as everything in sky and sea and land, and each man has an equal share of it, except of luck. There is 224 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA also a world, proportioned to his wisdom, which is dependent on each good man, and you yourself, O Emperor, will admit that its maintenance re¬ quires a godlike man. What then is the nature of this world? Undisci¬ plined minds always choose the most unreasonable course. To them respect for the laws is antiquated, self-restraint is non-existent, worship of the gods is absurd, and they love gossip and luxury, which beget indolence, a ruinous adviser in every undertaking. Giddy minds are impelled in many directions, and nothing can correct their instability, not even man- dragora, or any other soporific drug.^ To manage a world made up of such dispositions requires a man who has become a god in wisdom. Only such a man is equal to the task of winning such minds from their propensi¬ ties, which are made more inveterate by the example of their fellows, and to wean them moreover from love of money, for which they thirst until they can hold their mouths open under the spout of riches. Such a man might even succeed in restraining them from bloodshed, though neither I nor the Creator of all can take away their inclination to it. “Let the charge be made against me too about Ephesus, O Emperor, that it was saved, and let this Egyptian himself suggest a punishment which will fit the crime. What he complains of under that head is sub¬ stantially this, that among the Scythians or Celts who dwell along the Danube or the Rhine a city has been built in no way inferior to the city of Ephesus in Ionia, and that this stronghold of barbarians who are not subject to your rule was about to be depopulated by a plague, and Apol¬ lonius saved it. “To a philosopher it would be a sufficient defense for my doing so, that an emperor would rather subdue his enemies by the sword than by disease. May no city be allowed to perish so by your neglect, O Emperor, or by mine ; and may I never see again how the plague fills the temples with its victims ! But even if it should be admitted that barbarians are to look after themselves, and that we should make no effort to cure them because they are our natural enemies, and are bound by no treaty to our people ; even then who will say that Ephesus should not have been saved, a city which derives its origin from the purest Attic sources, and which has outstripped all the cities of Ionia and Lydia, extending over the inter¬ vening land until it has reached the sea, and filled with the genius of philosophers and rhetoricians, through whom that wisdom-loving city has grown strong, not in hordes of horsemen but in tens of thousands of population? What philosopher could possibly refuse to aid such a city, knowing as he must do that Democritus once relieved the people of Abdera from plague ; recalling how Sophocles the Athenian is said to have laid the winds when they blew too long ; and having heard that Empedocles averted a cloud-burst from the Agrigentines by scattering it? BOOK EIGHT 225 “But the accuser interrupts me here, as you perceive, O Emperor, by saying that he does not complain of me for saving the Ephesians, but for having foretold that the plague was about to attack them ; for that he says transcended human knowledge, and must have been miraculous, and I could never have obtained such exact information of the future except by the forbidden art of magic. What would Socrates have said to such a charge, if it had been brought against those predictions which he ascribed to his guardian genius? What would Thales say for himself, or Anaxagoras, lonians both of them, one of whom used often to foretell how the olive crops would turn out, and the other predicted changes of weather ? Would they admit that they had need of magic art for their prophecies? They had to face other charges, but not a word was said in any part of their indict¬ ments that they were wizards because they could forecast what would happen. Such an accusation would have been laughed at, and no one would believe it of philosophers, even in Thessaly, where they suspect old women of bringing the moon down out of the sky, “How then did I anticipate the calamity which hung over Ephesus ? You have heard the accuser himself say that I do not use the same food as other men do, and in beginning my defense I said that I use a lighter diet be¬ cause I like it better than the food which pleases others. This mode of life keeps my senses indescribably acute, O Emperor, and leaves nothing opaque to them, so that it makes whatever is occurring, or is about to occur, as perceptible as if reflected in a mirror. A wise man will not wait until the ground sends forth its miasma to infect the air, when the plague begins to flow, but he will anticipate its coming, not so soon as the gods do, but far sooner than the generality of men. Gods see the distant future, most men see the present, but Sages see what is drawing near. Ask me in private what are the causes of plague, O Emperor, for the knowledge is too abstruse to be divulged to the crowd. You may ask whether this mode of life of mine is in itself sufficient to lend penetration to the senses, and to give a man immense and startling powers. There are many proofs that it is so, and not the least of them is what occurred in this very plague at Ephesus. There I not only unmasked the disease, which had assumed the shape of an old beggar-man ; but after detecting it I vanquished it, not by curing its victims, but by banishing it from the city. Whose aid I invoked in doing so is shown by the statue which I erected at Ephesus to com¬ memorate the event. It is the figure of Hercules the Averter of Evil, whom I associated with myself in the task because his wisdom and courage once freed Elis from an epidemic by purging the emanations which the earth was giving off by the compulsion of Augeas. Do you think, O Emperor, that any man who sought fame as a sorcerer would attribute his own achievements to a god? What admirers of his skill would he have left, if 226 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA he did yield the credit to some deity? Then again, what sorcerer would invoke Hercules? Those ill-starred wretches claim the aid of the gods of the lower regions by their trenches and their incantations, but Hercules will have none of them, for he is pure and of good will to men. I once invoked him on another occasion in the Peloponnesus, when a lamia prowled about Corinth there, devouring beautiful youths, and he helped me in that conflict, not for high pay, but satisfied with honey-cakes and in¬ cense, and because he is glad to render service to mankind. He sought no other reward for his labors under Eurystheus. Be not impatient at hear¬ ing of the exploits of Hercules, O Emperor, for Athene herself watched over him for his benevolence, and for bringing deliverance to men. ''As you call on me to take up my defense against that charge of sacrificing a boy, for that gesture of your hand indicates as much, listen now to the truth of the matter. Ready as I am to do anything for the safety of those friends of mine, I have never offered any sacrifice in their behalf; nor would I ever sacrifice any living thing for any purpose; nor would I touch a bloody offering, nor offer any prayer in sight of a sacrificial knife, or of the victim which it bespeaks. You see in me no Scythian, O Emperor, nor any unsocial outcast, nor have I ever dwelt with Taurians or Massagetse, and if I did I would make them give up their human sacrifices. What pitch of frenzy would I have reached, if I, the chief expounder of divination and of its scope and limitations ; I, who know better than anyone that the gods reveal their designs to pure and wise men without the need of divination, if I, notwithstanding all that, should have set my hand to slaughter, and to handling unholy and impure entrails ! The divine voice of my guardian genius would have repudiated me as un¬ clean ! "Aside from the horrid nature of such a sacrifice, if you turn to what the accuser said a little time ago, you will find that he himself absolves me from this charge. As he has said that I predicted the plague to the Ephesians without resorting to any sacrifice, what need had I of a victim to ascertain what I might know without such rites? What need of necromancy was there, for a conspiracy which he says had been entered into with confidence long before that, by myself and the others? If the purpose of this charge is to implicate Nerva and his co-defendants, I re¬ iterate what I said before, when you asked me about it: that I consider Nerva worthy of any preferment and of every honor, but that he is not capable of administering any high office, because his physical strength is so impaired by illness that he is not equal to managing his own affairs. He has always expressed admiration of your vigor and intellect; which is not surprising, for human nature leads us to prize any quality which is beyond our own powers. Nerva had great respect for me, and I never BOOK EIGHT 227 found him laughing or joking in my presence, as is usual among friends; and when I am with him he speaks with embarrassment, as boys do to their parents and teachers, and he blushes too ; and because he knows that I especially like moderation, he carries it to such an extent that he seems somewhat too diffident. How can it be believed that Nerva is aspiring to govern the empire, when it is more than he can do to manage his household ? Or that he is conspiring with me in momentous enterprises, when he is too shy to talk to me on commonplace subjects? Or that he makes me a confidant of schemes which he would confide to no one if he thought as I do? And how can a philosopher like me be suspected of dis¬ carding philosophy and of trusting to soothsaying to fortify such a man’s resolution? If I were told that Orfitus, or Rufus, whom I know to be hon¬ orable and sensible men, though a trifle dull-witted, was ambitious to make himself emperor, I would find it hard to say which suspicion would be more unlikely, against them or against Nerva; but if they are charged with being his backers, I would certainly rather believe that he was trying for the throne, than that he had selected them to help him get it. “When my accuser charges me with such activities, he should at least indicate what motive I could have for being an accomplice in revolutionary plots. He admits that I have had no money from them, and that my ad¬ herence to their cause has not been obtained by any rewards. But it may be said that avarice has induced me to put off my demands on them, until they succeed in seizing power, when I may ask for much and get more than is possible now. What reason is there for believing such suggestions, O Emperor ? Recall your own reign, and those of your brother and of your father who ruled before you, and of Nero under whom they held command. Except for my absence in India, I passed thirty-eight years of my life as a public character under those emperors, before you succeeded them as sole ruler, and during all that time I never entered an emperor’s doors, except those of your father in Egypt before he came to the throne, and when he declared that he had come there to consult me. Neither was I obsequious in my speeches to emperors, nor to the public about emperors, nor did I parade the letters which emperors had written to me, nor boast that they might write to me, and never did I degrade myself by flattering any emperor in hope of reward. If you were listing men as either rich or poor, and asked me in which class I rate myself, I would say that I am the richest man in the world, for contentment equals the wealth of Pactolus and of Lydia. How can it be imagined that I am waiting for those conspirators to succeed in their problematic seizure of the throne, in order to present my bill for services to them, when I never did accept any gift from anyone of all you other emperors, whom I knew to be actually in power? What advantage could I expect from revolution^ 228 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA when I have always refused present offers of preferment? And yet this Euphrates exemplifies how much profit a philosopher may get by toadying to the great. Do you ask why I say that he has got money from them? They are gushing fountains of wealth for him, and already he is well- known at the banks as a dealer, wholesale and retail, a tax-farmer, a usurer, selling himself and being sold, in all those capacities. He sticks like a leech to the door-posts of the great, more constant in attendance than the janitors themselves, and often staying there longer than they do, like a hungry hound. He never wastes a drachma on any philosopher ; but he uses his wealth to attack everybody else, stuffing this Egyptian here with fees, and sharpening against me this accuser’s tongue, which ought to be cut out ! However, I will leave Euphrates to be dealt with by you, for unless you like flatterers, you will find him worse than I have described him. 'T have now come to the last point of my defense. Need you ask what it is, or to what it is directed? The complaint contains a mournful dirge for an Arcadian boy, who it says was cut up at night by me; but whether that means that I did it in my sleep or not I do not know. It goes on to say that this boy came of a good family, and was beautiful, like all Arcadian boys, even when dirty, and that I murdered him, while he screamed and begged for life, and that then I prayed to the gods to grant me a true revelation of the future, and I lifted to them my hands, reeking with that boy’s blood ! Up to that point they are accusing me, but then they proceed to indict the gods, who they say hearkened to me when I in¬ voked them in that manner, and caused the entrails to show favorable omens, and did not strike me dead for my blasphemy. How can I charac¬ terize the horror of merely listening to such a statement ? ^‘As to defending myself from the charge, I ask first, who was this Arcadian boy? If he was not of obscure birth, and did not look like a slave, the accuser might have ascertained who his parents were, and from what tribe he came, and what Arcadian city brought him up, and from what altars he was torn, to be sacrificed at Rome ; but he tells us not a word of all this, though he is a pastmaster in lying. The only conclusion possible from this is that the charge relates to some slave, for only slaves have no name, nor parents, nor city, nor farm, and are without any means of identification. If the boy was a slave, what slave-dealer sold him? Who bought him from Arcadians? If persons of that nationality are peculiarly valuable to sorcerers for slaughtering purposes, the boy must have cost a good deal of money, and some agent must have been sent from here to the Peloponnesus to get us an Arcadian. We would have no diffi¬ culty in buying Pontic or Lydian or Phrygian slaves in this market, for one meets them on the road, coming here in gangs. Those nations, in com- BOOK EIGHT 229 mon with almost all barbarians, do not consider slavery disgraceful, be¬ cause they have always been under foreign rule, and are so yet. With Phrygians it is actually a national custom to sell their own flesh and blood into slavery, and then to dismiss them from their minds. But the Greeks love freedom still, and no Greek will sell a slave to be sent out of the country, so that slave-exporters and slave-stealers are unknown there. This is especially true of the Arcadians, for besides being the most liberty- loving of Greeks, they are always short of slaves themselves. Arcadia is large, and both its mountains and foothills are covered with forests, so that they need many farm-laborers and goat-herds and swine-herds and shepherds and cow-herds, and men to look after their cattle and horses, and the woods keep many wood-cutters busy, who are trained to the work from boyhood. Even if conditions there were different, and they exported slaves like others, what peculiar contribution would a dissected Arcadian furnish to that science of necromancy, of which so much has been said? Arcadians are not so conspicuous for their wisdom among Gre'eks that their entrails would be likely to convey more information than other people’s. On the contrary, they are the greatest louts in the world, very like their own hogs in eating acorns, and in most other respects. ‘‘Perhaps I have been more diffuse than usual in telling of the Arcadians, and have wandered away from my subject into the Pelopon¬ nesus; but what other kind of defense befits such an accusation? I never have sacrificed ; I never do sacrifice ; I never touch blood even when it has been shed by a priest upon an altar. Pythagoras estab¬ lished that rule, and all his followers obey it ; and so do the Gymnosophists of Egypt, and the Sages of India, from whom the first principles of the Pythagorean philosophy were derived. Those who sacrifice according to this precept are manifestly acceptable to the gods, who bestow on them long life, and perfect health, immune from diseases, and enable them to grow in wisdom day by day, exempt from tyranny, and with no wish un¬ gratified. It seems not unreasonable to believe that the gods require men to be good, so that their offerings may be pure ; and that because they are of the same mind as I concerning sacrifices, they have sown incense-bearing trees in the most innocent part of the world, in order that we may make our oblations to them of that substance, and may banish steel from their temples, and blood from their altars. Nevertheless this accuser asserts that I have been so utterly unmindful of the gods as to offer this sacrifice, con¬ trary to all my principles ; and such a sacrifice moreover as no human being would offer. “The time which he alleges for it shows my innocence of itself. If I was outside the walls at all on the day when he says it occurred, I will admit that I offered the sacrifice, and what is more, that I ate the victim. 230 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA You have often asked me, however, O Emperor, if I was not staying in Rome at that time. You yourself were here too, O best of Emperors, but you would not say that you offered such a sacrifice. The accuser also was here, yet he will not confess that he did the murder, though he was living in Rome ; and there were many thousand other men here as well, whom it would be much simpler to exile wholesale than to try, if being here is proof of their guilt. The very circumstance of a man’s coming to Rome shows that he is not engaged in any criminal conspiracy; for life in the city, where there are eyes everywhere, and where every rumor true or false is listened to, gives no opportunity to plot sedition except by court¬ ing death ; while it does very quickly teach prudent and law-abiding men to be cautious even in their lawful acts. ^What then was I doing on that night, accuser? If I were you, and that question were asked me, as you are here to ask it, I would have to reply that I was contriving prosecutions and criminal charges against honorable men, and ‘plotting how to convict the innocent, and how to delude the emperor by false witnesses, so that my name might become famous, and his be fouled with blood. If you should ask that ques¬ tion of me in my character as a philosopher, I would say that I was ap¬ preciating that laughter of Democritus which he bestowed on all human affairs. But finally, since you are asking about me, myself, I answer that I was sitting by the bedside of Philiscus of Melos, who had been my dis¬ ciple for four years, and who was so seriously ill at that time that he died soon after. By Zeus ! How often I longed for some spell which might save his life, or that I knew those songs of Orpheus, if such there were, which could revive the dead ! I would even have journeyed to Hades for his sake, if the way had been open to me, so closely had he attached himself to me by all his qualities, befitting a philosopher and after my own heart. The consular Telesinus will also testify that I was there at that time, O Em¬ peror, for he shared my vigil in Philiscus’ room that night. If you discredit Telesinus begause he is tainted with philosophy, I will call as witnesses the attending physicians, who were Seleucus of Cyzicus, and Stratocles the Sidonian. Ask them whether I am telling the truth. Moreover, more than thirty students accompanied them there, all of whom will testify probably to the same effect. I would ask that the kinsmen of Philiscus be brought here to corroborate these others, but you would charge me with seeking to ad¬ journ the trial, because directly after his death they left Rome and returned to Melos for the funeral. Let the other witnesses named come forward and give their evidence.” (Here the witnesses mentioned are examined and testify as stated.) ‘‘The evidence of these witnesses shows how little truth there is in the allegations of this indictment, for it demonstrates that on that night I BOOK EIGHT 231 was not in the fields but in this city ; not outside the walls, but in a dwell¬ ing- house ; not with Nerva, but with Philiscus ; not putting anyone to death, but praying hard for a life ; not aiding ambitions but philosophy ; not plot¬ ting sedition against you, but trying to save a man of my own kind. “What about that Arcadian then? What about those fables of vic¬ tims? Why this attempt to deceive you with such an invention? It is because your acceptance would make it true, even if it never had hap¬ pened. But I ask you, O Emperor, what you will make of the absurdity of such a sacrifice? There once were famous diviners who were skilled in the art of reading entrails, men like Megistias the Acarnanian, and Aristander the Lycian, and Silanus the Ambracian. Megistias was the sacrificer for Leonidas, king of Sparta, and Aristander had the same post with Alexander of Macedon, and Silanus with Cyrus, the younger. If there had been any very significant or scientific or reliable indication to be found by examining human entrails, the requisite victim could easily have been procured from their kingly patrons, who abounded with cup-bearers and captives, and who were accountable to no one for their misdeeds, and in no danger of prosecution for manslaughter. It is obvious that those diviners thought as I do, who am here on trial for my life on such a charge, that the entrails of brute beasts, which have been unconscious of their im¬ pending doom to the last, are not likely to be distorted, because they are slain before they realize it. But how can a man, morbidly apprehensive of death before it approaches, possibly reveal in his entrails any divine or well omened message, when he has seen his death impending and displayed be¬ fore his eyes ? “To understand how correct and reasonable this theory of mine is you should listen to this explanation, O Emperor. Those skilled in reading entrails declare that the tripod of their science rests upon the liver, which is formed from impure blood, because the heart retains all uncontaminated blood, and distributes it throughout the body by means of the blood-con¬ veying veins. Now anger excites the bile, dropping it on the liver, and fear drives it into the liver’s recesses. Seething under the stimulation of mental excitement, and crowded out of its ducts, the bile drips down upon the underlying liver, and overspreads the smooth surface of that organ, which is the part consulted by diviners. When it is driven inward by terror, it draws in with it the polish of that smooth surface, and the purer part of the blood retires before it, so that the liver becomes saturated with spleen, as the blood makes its way out through the surrounding membrane, being lighter than the turbid fluid. If then the victim would furnish no reliable indication, what motive could there be for such sacrifices, O Emperor? Human nature itself prevents their furnishing such an indication, by the effects of the dread of death; and all who die prove it, for brave men die 232 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA angry and cowards die afraid. Wherefore the science of entrail-reading, even among barbarians if they are not entirely devoid of knowledge, pre¬ fers for its purpose the bodies of goats and lambs, because they are silly creatures not far removed from senseless; but it does not consider cocks and swine and bulls suitable for its revelations, because they are excitable. I know that the accuser is irritated by my addressing these arguments to your superior intelligence, but you seem to be listening with interest to what I am saying, and if I fail to make myself clear in any respect, please ask me to explain it. “I have now said everything which seems to me requisite to reply to this accusation by the Egyptian ; and as I must now deal with the charges made by Euphrates concerning my speeches in Ionia, I ask you in the first place, O Emperor, to decide which of us is the better philosopher in the matter. He exerts himself to calumniate me, and I think him un¬ worthy of notice. He thinks you an arbitrary tyrant, and I a just ruler. He offers you a sword against me, and I appeal to your reason. The pre¬ texts for his slanders are addresses delivered by me in Ionia, which he asserts were meant to weaken your authority. In lecturing upon the Eates and upon Necessity, I used as an illustration to confirm my proposition the history of monarchs, because the doings of such as you seemed the most conspicuous examples to be drawn from human life. I dilated upon the resistless force of the Fates, and how the thread they spin is so inexorable that if they have allotted empire to one man which is held by another, and the ruler shall have slain his predestined successor, to keep him from his throne, the slain man would come to life again, so that the decree of the Fates may be fulfilled. We public speakers usually exaggerate our para¬ doxical statements, for the benefit of those who distrust plausible orators, and that proposition was tantamount to saying that if a man is destined to be a carpenter he will be a carpenter, even though his hands are cut off ; or that the runner who is fated to win a race at the Olympic games will win it, if he breaks his leg; or that the archer for whom the Fates have ordained success will not miss his mark even if he loses his eyes. Taking kings for my example, I instanced Laius, and Astyages the Mede, and many others who, though they seemed to have taken every precaution to maintain themselves in power by putting to death their sons or grandsons, as they fancied, had after all been dethroned by those descendants when they emerged from concealment at the appointed time. If I were willing to stoop to flattery, I would tell you that I had in mind your own ex¬ perience, when you were beset by 'Vitellius in this very place, and the temple of Zeus on the Capitol was burned, and Vitellius said that if only you did not escape his clutch all would go well with him, although you were then merely a boy, and nothing to what you are now ; and how BOOK EIGHT 233 nevertheless, because the Fates were against him, he perished by his own devices, and now’ you possess all that he held then. But the style of flattery is distasteful to me, because it seems to lack finish and elegance, so I will break that string, and ask you to imagine that I thought not at all of your own history and was merely discoursing generally upon Fate and Neces¬ sity. Euphrates charges me with derogating from your power by doing so. The gods in general allow such things to be said of them and even Zeus hears with equanimity the poets sing of him such passages as in the Iliad : ‘Woe is me, when my Sarpedon is to be overcome !’ and the like, in which he is represented as saying that he has yielded his son to the Fates ; and when they say in the Psychostasia that Zeus adorned Sarpedon’s brother Minos with a golden sceptre when he died, and made him judge of souls in Hades, but could not save him from the Fates. Why then should you take offense, when the same thing is said of you, O Emperor, which the everlasting gods acknowledge of themselves? They do not slay poets for speaking of it. It behooves us all to be submissive to the Fates, and not to repine at mutations of fortune, nor question what Sophocles has said best of all : * * “ ‘The gods alone know not decay nor death ; All else besides almighty time destroys.’ “Men’s fortunes are pivoted, O Emperor, and a day is the span of their happiness. A has what I once had, and B has what A had, and even while having they have it not. In view of that, O Emperor, give over banishments ; give over bloodshed ; treat philosophy as you will, for if it is genuine it will take no harm ; but wipe away men’s tears, for now from the islands of the sea, and far louder from the mainland, comes the echo of lamentation from tens of thousands, each of whom has cause to lament. These woes without number all have their source in the tongues of in¬ formers, who make you suspect everyone, O Emperor, and make everyone suspect you.” 8. At the end of the draft of this proposed defense written by the Master, I find the last words of the speech which he actually delivered in the court¬ room : “For you do not slay me, since I am fated not to die;” and also the words immediately preceding that quotation which serve to introduce it. After he had vanished from the court in that supernatural and unspeakably surprising way, the tyrant did not act as most of those present supposed that he would. They expected him to yell savagely, and to order instant pursuit, and to proclaim Apollonius as interdicted through- 234 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA out the empire. He did none of these things, but seemed anxious to con¬ ciliate public opinion, realizing at last that he was not able to cope with this man. We may judge from what followed whether or not he meant to indicate contempt for him, for he seemed dumbfounded rather than scornful. 9. Immediately after the trial he took up another case in which a city I believe was suing some individual about a will ; but he kept forgetting not only the names of the parties, but the nature of the suit ; and his ques¬ tions were unmeaning, and his rulings quite irrelevant, showing that the tyrant was agitated and confused, and the more so because he had been led by flatterers to believe that nothing ever escaped him. 10. Having produced this effect upon the tyrant, and having exhibited as the plaything of his wisdom the man at whom the whole world, Greek or barbarian, trembled, Apollonius left the court before noon, and in the afternoon of the same day he appeared to Demetrius and Damis at Puteoli. This was his reason for directing Damis to go there without waiting for the trial, and to go by land. Damis was an indispensable com¬ panion, but he did not tell him of his plans beforehand, merely instructing him to do what would fit in with them. 11. Damis had arrived at Puteoli on the day before the trial, and had discussed with Demetrius all that had happened previous to his leaving Rome. This news made Demetrius more apprehensive than he need have been, considering that it had to do with Apollonius, and on the following day he continued to question Damis about the same matters, while they walked along that part of the seashore where tradition places the home of Calypso. They had no hope that Apollonius would come to them, for the tyrant was pitiless ; but for all that they were not neglecting his instruc¬ tions, knowing what they did of the man. At last they seated themselves sadly in the Cave of the Nymphs, where there is a basin of white stone enclosing a spring of water which never overflows, and never subsides be¬ low the margin, nO' matter how much water is drawn from it. After arguing about the nature of this spring rather less earnestly than usual, owing to their anxiety concerning the Master, the conversation reverted once more to the occurrences previous to the trial. 12. When Damis burst into tears, groaning some words like ‘‘O ye gods ! when shall we see that good and noble comrade of ours again ?” Apollonius BOOK EIGHT 235 was actually within hearing, having just reached the entrance of the cave, and he called out to them: “You will see him directly! In fact, you are seeing him now !” “Do we see you alive?” asked Demetrius, “for if you are dead, our weeping is not yet done.” Apollonius held out his hand to him, saying: “Take hold of that ! If it slips through your fingers, I am a ghost come from the abode of Persephone, such as the gods of the lower regions sometimes vouchsafe to broken-hearted mourners. But if it remains solid in your grip, then try to persuade Damis too that I am a living man, and have not yet discarded my body !” They hung back no longer, but leaping to their feet they threw their arms about the Master, kissing him, and ask¬ ing him about the case; for Demetrius supposed that it could not have come to trial at all, or he would have been executed, whether innocent or guilty, and Damis was inclined to believe that it had been taken up before the appointed day, never dreaming that it had occurred that very morning. To their questions Apollonius replied : “My dear friends, I have pleaded my case and won it. My defense began a few hours ago, shortly before noon today.” “How could you come so far then in so short a time?” asked Demetrius. “You may attribute my speed to divine help,” said Apollonius. “Imagine any mode of conveyance you like, except wax wings or a ram !” Then said Demetrius : “I believe that everywhere and always some god presides over all you say and all you do, and that your present safety is due to that assistance. But what defense did you urge? What case did the accuser make out against you? How did the judge behave? What questions did he ask? What rulings did he make in your favor, and what against you? Tell us all about it at once, so that I may repeat everything to Telesinus, who never stops asking about you. He was drinking with me at Antium about two weeks ago, when he fell asleep with his head on the table, at the middle wine-cup; and he dreamed that a flood of fire was overwhelming the world, intercepting or overtaking everyone while they tried to escape, for it flowed like water ; but that you had no such trouble as the others, for you waded through it and it divided before you into a path. On waking from this vision he poured a libation to the propitious gods, and bade me be of good cheer about you.” “I am not surprised that Telesinus should be watching over me in his sleep,” said Apollonius, “for not long ago he did it when he was awake. You shall hear how the trial went, but not here; for evening is coming on, and it is time to return to the city, and conversation shortens the road for walkers very agreeably. Let us go, and we can talk over what you are asking about as we go along, and I will tell what took place today in court. Both of you know what happened before that; you, Damis, because you were there, and you, Demetrius, because you have heard it from Damis not only once, but over 236 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA and over again, by Zeus ! unless my memory of you fails ! I will go on from the point where your information leaves off, beginning with their calling me into court, and my entering it naked.” He then went on to tell them everything that had been said, down to his quotation, “For you do not slay me,” etc., and then he described how he had left the court-room. 13. At that, Demetrius exclaimed : “I had been under the impression until now that you had come safely off ; but to do it in the way you have done is only the beginning of danger for you ! The emperor will certainly interdict you, and you will be caught, because every refuge will be closed to you !” In order to quiet Demetrius’ anxieties, Apollonius said : “If you two could only make your escape from him as easily as I can ! I know his state of mind. He has listened to nothing but flattery since he was born, and now at last he has heard the voice of rebuke. A tyrannical disposition is excited by servility, and it is crushed by reproof. But I must And some place to rest, for I have not bent my knees since the con¬ test began.” Then said Damis : “I was so apprehensive of danger to the Master, Demetrius, that I did my best to dissuade him from making that journey to Rome from which he has now returned ; and you too urged him not to expose himself voluntarily to such desperate peril. When it came to his being fettered, and I thought the end had come, he told me that he could be free whenever he liked, and thereupon he showed me his legs un¬ shackled. Then for the first time I realized how superhuman he is, exceed¬ ing all our earthly wisdom ; and now, if I ever find myself encompassed by even worse dangers than that, I shall have no fear so long as I am under his protection. But it is almost dark now, so let us go to our lodging, where we can give the Master the care which he needs.” Apollonius said : “All I need is sleep, and I do not care whether there is anything else there or not.” He offered a prayer to Apollo and the Sun, and then entered the house where Demetrius had his lodging. There, after washing his feet, and telling them to go to supper, out of consideration for Damis, as they evidently had been fasting, he threw himself down on a bed, and fell asleep while invoking slumber with a line from Homer, as if he had no reason whatever for misgiving. 14. Next morning at dawn Demetrius asked him what place of conceal¬ ment he had chosen, imagining meantime that the ringing in his ears was the hoof-beats of horsemen already at hand to wreak the tyrant’s ven¬ geance on Apollonius; but the Master replied: “Neither the emperor nor anyone else will pursue me, and I shall take ship for Greece.” Demetrius said : “It is by no means safe to go there, for it is too exposed. How can BOOK EIGHT 237 you hide yourself in the open, from the man whom you could not escape even if you kept out of sight?” “I have no use for concealment,” replied Apollonius; “if the whole earth is the tyrant’s, as you think, it is better to die in the open than to live in hiding.” Turning to Damis, he asked : “Do you know of any ship about to sail to Sicily?” Damis answered: “Yes, for this lodging is near the harbor, and the crier is close by our door. A ship is just casting off, as I can tell from the shouts of the crew, and from their activity over getting in the anchors.” “Let us go on board of her then, Damis,” said Apollonius, “and we will sail first to Sicily, and then to the Peloponnesus.” “That suits me,” said Damis, “let us go.” 15. Bidding farewell to the foreboding Demetrius, and telling him to maintain such confidence as a man should feel concerning men, they sailed away to Sicily with a favoring wind. Passing by Messina they reached Taormina on the third day, and were carried from there to Syracuse. In the autumn they set sail from Syracuse for the Peloponnesus ; and after a six days’ voyage at sea, they arrived at the outlets of the Alpheus, through which that river discharges its fresh water into the Adriatic and Sicilian sea. There they left the vessel, as they wished to attend the Olympic games, and they took up their quarters in the temple of Zeus, not proceed¬ ing further afield than Scillus. The news swiftly spread through Greece that the Master still lived, and that he had come to Olympia. This report seemed incredible at first, for they had given up all hope of human aid for him, when they heard that he had been chained; and after that various rumors had reached them ; that he had been burned alive ; that he had been dragged about while still living by hooks set in his collarbone ; that he had been hurled from a precipice or into the sea. But when his arrival was confirmed, Greece had never come to any Olympic games with such eagerness as it flocked on that occasion to see him. Elis and Sparta came from near at hand, and Corinth from the far end of the Isthmus. The Athenians came too, for though they were outside the Peloponnesus and so were later in arriving than those from the cities nearest to the fountain of Pisa, all the most honored Athenians swarmed about the temple, with those students who resort to Athens from all over the world. Some even came to Olympia from Megara at that time, and many from Boeotia and Argos, and all the most noted Phocians and Thessalians. Some of those who came had consorted with Apollonius in the past, and wished to renew their instruction in his philosophy, expecting to hear more wonderful sayings from him than ever. Others, who were unacquainted with him until then felt themselves disgraced to have it known that they had not heard such a man. He decided to say nothing to excite applause, in answer to the N 238 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA many inquiries how he had managed to escape from the tyrant; and he merely replied that he had saved himself by his defense ; but many new¬ comers from Italy noised abroad what had occurred in the court-room, and Greece was almost disposed to worship him from a belief in his divinity, strengthened as it was by his refraining from any boasting of what he had done. 16. One of those students who came from Athens remarked that the emperor was in high favor with Athene, to which Apollonius rejoined : “Stop talking of such partialities at Olympia, for you are slandering the goddess in her father’s presence !” When the youth persisted in annoying him by saying that the goddess was justified in her favor because the emperor was the honorary Archon of her namesake city of Athens, Apol¬ lonius exclaimed : “Would that he were of the Panathenaia as well !” This shut the youth up, for the first answer intimated that he degraded the gods by asserting that they favored tyrants, and the second hinted that it would be inconsistent with the honors decreed by the Athenians to Harmodius and Aristogiton, when the city voted to set up their statues in the market-place for slaying a tyrant at the Panathenaia, if now the Athenians should truckle to tyrants by choosing one as Archon. 17. When Damis notified him that their finances were at so^ low an ebb that very little travelling money was left, he replied : “I will see to that tomorrow and next day he entered the temple and said to the priest : “Give me a thousand drachmas from the treasury of Zeus, unless you think that he will be too angry about it.” The priest’s answer was : “He will not be angry about that, but only because you do not take more !” 18. He said to a Thessalian named Isagoras who was in his company at Olympia: “Tell me, Isagoras, is a natio'nal assembly like these games any¬ thing noteworthy?” “Indeed it is,” replied Isagoras. “It is of all human institutions the most cherished by the gods, and the most delightful.” “Of what material is it composed then?” asked Apollonius. “If I asked you the same question concerning this statue, you would say that it is composed of gold and ivory.” “But a national assembly is an incorporeal thing, Apollonius, so what material could it have?” asked Isagoras. “Very im¬ portant material, and of many kinds,” replied Apollonius. “There are groves, and temples, and stadia, that go to make it up, and a stage perhaps, and tribes of men, some from near-at-hand, others from places further away or overseas. Then many arts and inventions go to its making, too ; BOOK EIGHT 239 and true wisdom, poets, deliberations and discussions, atliletic games, and sometimes musical competitions, as is the traditional practice at Delphi.” Isagoras said: “It is plain that a national assembly is not merely a material thing, Apollonius, but it contains more admirable elements than even cities do, and it collects and combines the best of all good things, and the most famous of all famous things.” Thereupon Apollonius asked: “Are we then to believe that a national assembly consists of the men in it, as some think ships and walls to be, Isagoras, or should we reach a different opinion about it?” “I think that opinion should be adopted as a complete definition, Apollonius,” replied Isagoras, and Apollonius rejoined: “On the contrary, any one who considers the matter as I do would think it incomplete; for to my mind men need ships as much as ships need men, and no one would ever think of crossing the sea if there were no such thing as a ship; and walls protect men as much as men protect walls. By the same reasoning, a national assembly is not only a collection of men, but it includes also the place where they meet. The choice of place is more important, because while walls and ships are entirely built by the hands of men, these places of assembly have been vulgarized by men’s hands, and their primitive charm has been destroyed, after their natural beauty had caused them to be selected originally for such assemblies. All these gymnasia and porticos and fountains and edifices have been built by human hands, like walls and ships ; but this river Alpheus and the race-course and the stadium and the groves were here long before men were. The river supplied water for drinking and bathing. The race-course was a spacious field in which horses might be exercised. The stadium was a hollow in the hills a stadium long, enclosing an area where athletes might sprinkle themselves with dust and might wrestle or box. And lastly the groves furnished wreaths to the victors, and a run¬ ning-track for training. Hercules had in mind these natural advantages, as well as the scenic beauty of Olympia, when he chose this place for those games which are celebrated here to this day.” 19. After continuously discoursing at Olympia for forty days on a great variety of subjects, he made this public announcement: “Men of Greece, I shall address you in your several cities, on the subjects of public assem¬ blies, and of the Mysteries, and of sacrifices and libations, all of which re¬ quire those who participate in them to be well-instructed. But at present I must go to Lebadea, for I have never yet conversed with Trophonius, al¬ though I once went to his temple.” Thereupon he went into Boeotia, leaving none of his admirers behind him. At Lebadea there is a cavern sacred to Trophonius, the son of Apollo, to which none are admitted except seekers 240 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA after oracles. The cavern is not found in the temple, but in the hillside a little higher up. It is enclosed with iron pickets set in a circle, and the only way to descend into it is to sit on the edge and slide down. Pilgrims to it go there dressed in white, and carrying honey cakes in their hands as peace-offerings to the serpents which crawl up to visitors. The serpents come up out of the ground, some not far from the cave, but others emerge a long way off, even further than Locri and Phocis, though most of them remain within the limits of Boeotia. On entering the temple Apollonius said : ‘T would like to descend into the cavern, to consult the god concerning philosophy.” The priests refused permission, telling their worshippers that they never would let a sorcerer explore the holy place; but to the Master himself they made the excuse that those were unlucky and inauspicious days. So during that day Apollonius discoursed at the springs of Hercyne, concerning the origin of the oracle, and its method ; for it is the only oracle which gives its responses directly to the person consulting it. But after dark he went to the cavern with his escort of young men, and after pulling up four of the pickets which barred the entrance he descended into it, wearing a cloak as if going to a disputation. Trophonius enjoyed this visit so much that he appeared to his priests and sternly rebuked them for treating the Master as they had done ; and he ordered them all to follow Apollonius to Aulis, promising that he himself would there come up from the earth, to the greatest wonder of men. On the seventh day thereafter Trophonius did come up out of the ground at Aulis after a longer delay than any visitor to the oracle had ever experienced, and holding a scroll which answered most appropriately the question which Apollonius had asked him. When he descended into the cavern Apollonius had asked : ‘‘O Trophonius, what system of philosophy do you consider the soundest and purest?” and the scroll contained the precepts of Pythagoras, showing that the oracle agreed with that philosophy. 20. That scroll is still preserved in Antium, a seaside city of Italy, which is held in great respect on that account. I admit that I have learned the foregoing facts about it from the people at Lebadea ; and my theory about the presence of the scroll at Antium is that it was brought in later years to the emperor Hadrian, together with certain letters written by Apollonius, for he did not succeed in collecting them all, and that it was left by that emperor in his palace at Antium, which was to him the most delightful of Italian palaces. BOOK EIGHT 241 21. The disciples whom the Greeks used to call ‘'Apollonians” came to the Master out of Ionia, and when reinforced by his followers among native Greeks they formed a band of young men who were remarkable both for their numbers and for their eager thirst for philosophy. They neglected rhetoric, giving little attention to professors of that science, which merely trains the tongue, but they all crowded to hear Apollonius impart his wis¬ dom. It is said that Gyges and Croesus threw open the doors of their treasure-vaults, so that all in need might draw therefrom, and in the same way the Master allowed every seeker to partake of his knowledge, and to question him on every subject. 22. Some blamed him for avoiding official receptions, and for preferring to draw his audiences away into sequestered places. One said jocularly that he drove his sheep away, whenever he heard lawyers coming, to which he retorted : ‘^Quite so, by Zeus ! so that the wolves may not attack the flock!” Why did he say that? Because he saw lawyers exerting great influence over the masses, by which they made their way from poverty to riches, and fostered enmities because they were their stock-in-trade. Where¬ fore he kept his young men out of their company, and reproved very sharply any who consorted with them, as if to wash the foul stain away. He always had a poor opinion of them, but in the prisons of Rome he con¬ ceived such a hatred of the legal profession from his sympathy with the wretches chained and dying there, that he attributed their woes to in¬ formers and to conceited lawyers, rather than to the tyrant himself. 23. One day when he was lecturing on philosophy in Greece a portent appeared in the sky, a ring (stephanus) like a rainbow which surrounded the sun and dimmed its light. Everyone was convinced that this phenome¬ non was ominous of a change in the government, and for that reason the proconsul of Greece summoned Apollonius into Boeotia from Athens, and said to him: “Apollonius, I hear that you have great skill in all matters concerning the gods.” Apollonius replied : “If so, you have heard too that I have skill in the affairs of men.” “I have heard that, and I believe it to be true,” said the proconsul. Apollonius continued: “Since you grant that, my knowledge of human affairs leads me to advise you not to pry too inquisitively into the intentions of the gods.” The proconsul persisted in urging him to say what he thought of the portent, and expressed his own apprehensions that everything would be turned to darkness, to which Apollonius answered : “Take courage, for somehow light will dawn upon that darkness.” 242 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA 24. After spending two years in Greece he thought that he had been there long enough, and he sailed to Ionia with his disciples. In Asia he dis¬ coursed for the most part in Smyrna and Ephesus, although he also visited other cities, in none of which was he thought unwelcome, but deserving to be missed, and a great benefit to right-thinking men. 25. While he was there the gods were casting Domitian down from the front seat of the world. He had just murdered the consular Clemens, to whom he had given his sister in marriage, and on the third or fourth day after that death he had compelled the widow to follow her husband. One of her freedmen, Stephanus, whose name was pre-figured by the portent above mentioned, became so exasperated by those murders, or by all his cruelties combined, that he attacked the tyrant in the same spirit as had been displayed by the most liberty-loving Athenians. Domitian was leaving the court-room one day when Stephanus came to him, with his left hand bound in splints as if it had been broken, but hidden in the bandages he had a dagger lying along his fore-arm. He said to the emperor : “I must speak to you in private, O Emperor, for I have urgent news to tell you.” Thinking that such information required immediate attention, the tyrant led the way into the banqueting hall where public business was transacted, and there Stephanus said to him : “Clemens that mortal enemy of yours was not put to death as you were told, but he is living in a hiding-place I know of, where he is organizing a conspiracy against you The emperor was so startled by this unexpected statement that he uttered a loud shout, and Stephanus availed himself of his agitation to draw the dagger from his bandaged hand, and to stab him in the thigh, inflicting a wound not in the right place to cause immediate death, but not misplaced for what followed. Although, wounded the emperor was vigorous in other respects, and not yet forty-five years of age, and grappling with Stephanus he threw him down and lay on him, gouging out his eyes, and pounding his face with the stand of a gold goblet used for libations, which happened to be within reach, and invoking at the same time the aid of Athene. Per¬ ceiving by the sounds that he was reduced to extremity his bodyguard crowded in and killed the already swooning emperor. 26. While this was being done at Rome it was visible to Apollonius in Ephesus. He was lecturing near the groves of the gymnasium a little before noon, at the very time that this death was occurring in the em¬ peror’s palace. It was first noticed that he lowered his voice as if BOOK EIGHT 243 Startled ; then he went on with his discourse, but less forcibly than usual, as if his attention was distracted from what he was saying. At last he stopped short, as though forgetting what he had to say and he gazed fixedly at the ground in front of him as he descended three or four steps of the platform, crying: “Smite the tyrant! Smite him!” not like one getting a reflection of the fact from some mirror, but precisely as if the actual scene was passing before his eyes, and he fancied himself a sharer in the deed. All Ephesus was astounded, for all Ephesus had come to hear him speak ; but he pulled himself together, like a man who had watched some doubtful struggle till it reached its end, and he called out : “Be of good cheer, ye men of Ephesus! for the tyrant has been slain today! But why do I say today? Just now, by Athene! just now, when I first spoke, after my pause !” The Ephesians thought him to be raving, and though they wished that his words might be true, they feared that they might get into trouble by listening to him. He went on : “No wonder that you do not believe it so soon, for even in Rome they do not all know it yet — but they are begin¬ ning to — the rumor is spreading — now thousands of them do believe it! Now twice as many jump for joy! Now more than twice those ! and more than four times that! and now, all the tribes of all the city! The message will be sent here too, and until it comes let your sacrifices of gratitude for the event be delayed ; but as for me I will worship the gods now, for what I have seen.” They remained incredulous until the arrival of the courier, who confirmed the clairvoyance of the Master by reporting the death of the tyrant, and the day and hour of its occurrence, and the slayers whom the Master had cheered on, all exactly as if the gods had revealed every par¬ ticular to him while he was lecturing. 27. A month later he was notified by a letter from Nerva that he had taken over the Roman Empire by the procurement of the gods and of Apollonius, and that he would more easily retain it if Apollonius would come to him as his adviser. The Master wrote him in reply what seemed at the time to be a dark saying: “O Emperor, we shall confer with one another for a very long time, where we shall neither rule nor be ruled.” He was perhaps aware that he himself would be shifted from among men very soon, and that Nerva’s reign would be short, for it lasted indeed only one year and four months, though renowned for the highest moderation. 28. That he might not appear lacking in consideration for so good a friend and prince, Apollonius soon afterward wrote to Nerva a letter of advice upon the art of government, and calling Damis he said to him : “I need your services in this matter, for though the counsels in this letter are 244 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA addressed to the emperor, they are written in so enigmatical a style that they will have to be explained to him, either by myself in person, or by you acting as my interpreter.” Damis says that he discovered when it was too late that this statement was only a pretext, for the letter was very clearly written concerning affairs of state, and might as well have been sent by any other messenger. What then was the purpose of this subter¬ fuge? During all his life Apollonius is said to have repeated frequently this maxim : “Live unobserved ; but if that is impossible, at least die unobserved.” In order to procure Damis’ absence, so that he might pass away without a witness, he invented the necessity of his taking the letter to Rome. Damis says that he himself was much agitated over the leave- taking, although he had no inkling of what would happen ; but that Apol¬ lonius, who knew it well, said none of those things to him which men usually say at parting with those they will see no more, he seemed to be so sure that he would live forever ; but that he did leave with him this last word : “Keep me before your eyes, Damis, even if you should be philoso¬ phizing all alone.” 29. With that monition end the memoranda which Damis the Assyrian has left us concerning Apollonius of Tyana. Many others have professed to tell how he died, if he did die, but nothing of it is told by Damis. Nevertheless I must not pass over those accounts in silence, for his end is the necessary completion of my biography. Neither has Damis told us anything of the Master’s age, and some traditions say that he reached eighty years, some more than ninety, and others far more than a hundred, and that he aged gradually while preserving perfect health in all his body, and that he was even more beautiful as an old man than he had been in his youth. In wrinkles themselves there may be a certain attractiveness, which notabty bloomed in him, as is proved by his statues in his temple at Tyana, and by those orations which celebrate the old age of Apollonius as more charming than the youth of Alcibiades. 30. Some traditions say that he died at Ephesus in the care of two maid¬ servants, for his freedmen whom I mentioned in the beginning had died before that; and that when he had emancipated one of these women, the other had upbraided him for not being equally kind to her ; and that Apollonius had said to her : “On the contrary, you must be her slave, for only so can good-fortune come to you and that on his death she did become the slave of the other woman, who on some slight provocation sold her to a slave-dealer, from whom someone bought her who fell in love with her, and married her, although she was by no means beautiful, and BOOK EIGHT 245 that she had children by him. Others say that the Master’s end came at Lindus in Rhodes, where he entered the temple of Athene, and there vanished from the sight of men. Another account tells that it occurred in Crete, and more marvellously than in the Lindus story. It tells how he was lingering in Crete more reverenced than ever before, and that he made his way at dead of night into the temple at Dictynna. Dogs are kept in this temple to guard the treasures deposited there, which animals the Cretans think a match for bears or any other such savage beasts. The story goes that these dogs did not bark at his coming, but fawned upon him more af¬ fectionately than upon their own keepers ; and that the chief priests of the temple laid hands upon him, and chained him as a sorcerer and robber, accusing him of administering some narcotic to their hounds ; and that he freed himself from his chains about midnight, and after calling to his captors, like one who had nothing to conceal, he hastened to the temple doors which flung themselves open to receive him, and when he had passed through they came together and locked themselves again behind him, while the sound of girlish voices re-echoed from the temple, singing: “Come from earth ! Come to heaven ! Come !” That is to say : “Ascend from earth!” 31. Even after that he continued to philosophize upon the immortality of the soul so far as to teach that this doctrine is true, but he did not permit inquisitiveness concerning so stupendous a fact. After he had left the world of men, his mutation was the subject of much speculation, though no one ventured to express a doubt of his immortality. This gave rise to many discussions concerning the soul, at Tyana especially, for there the young men were entirely devoted to philosophy, and one disputatious and stub¬ born youth who had come there would not concede that the soul is im¬ mortal, saying: “Sirs, I have now been praying to Apollonius constantly for ten months past, that he would reveal to me the truth about the soul, but he is so dead that he has not shown himself to me for all my prayers, nor has he given me any proof of his own immortality.” After speaking thus, he held forth again on the same subject five days later, and then fell asleep where he sat, while his companions who had been listening to him were absorbed in their books, or engaged in drawing geometrical figures on the ground. Suddenly he leapt wildly to his feet, half-awake and drip¬ ping with perspiration, and cried out: “You have convinced me now!” When the others asked what had befallen him he exclaimed : “Do you not see Apollonius the Sage standing there, listening to what you say, and chanting marvellous words about the soul ?” “Where is he ?” they asked : “for he is not visible to us anywhere, although we long for a sight of him 246 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA more than for the wealth of all mankind !” Then the youth said : “It would seem that he has manifested himself only to me, because of my lack of faith. Listen then to his divine revelation : “ ‘Thy soul is deathless, and not thine but God’s ; After the body’s death it leaps from it Like race-horse from the mark, and eagerly It mingles with the unsubstantial air ; But what is this to thee, before the time? All will be plain when thou shalt cease to breathe ; Why seek to learn while yet a living man ?’ ” This clear revelation has been set by Apollonius over the hidden mysteries of the soul, in order to so resolve our doubts that we may go on rejoicing, and aware of our own nature, to whatever goal the Fates may decree. I do not remember to have come across any tomb or cenotaph of his, although I have visited nearly every part of the world; but everywhere I have met with his inspired sayings. A temple dedicated to him has been founded at Tyana by an emperor at his own cost, for emperors have not grudged such honors to him as they have themselves received. INDEX OF NAMES, THINGS AND PLACES [Roman Numerals indicate Books; Arabic, Chapters.] Abae : a city of Phocis, having an oracle of Apollo, IV, 24. Abaris : a philosopher who was said to have flown from Scythia to Athens, riding on a broomstick, VII, 10. Abdera : a city of Thrace, home of De¬ mocritus, VIII, 7. Abinna : Libyan promontory, V, 1. Acarnania : now Carnia, VII, 25. Acesines : river of India tributary of Hy- daspes (now Chinab), II, 17. Achaea: V, 18, 26; VI, 35; VII, 10; pro-consul of, VIII, 23 ; tombs of Achaeans at Troy, IV, 11; III, 19; IV, 13, 16; VII, 36. Acharnae : a town of Attica, IV, 21. Achelous : river in ^tolia, VII, 25, 26. Achilles : III, 20 ; interview with his ghost, IV, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16; cuts off his hair, VII, 36; tomb at Troy, IV, 23; beauty. III, 19; his shield, II, 22. Acrisius : King in Argos, father of Danae, VIII, 7, Adonis : Hall of Adonis, in imperial pal¬ ace at Rome, VII, 32. Adrastea': (Nemesis), I, 25; governs transmigrations, VIII, 7. Adriatic sea, IV, 24; V, 11; VIII, 15. ^acidae : descendants of uEacus, espe¬ cially Achilles, V, 26. JEacus : judge in Hades, VH, 31. yEgae : city of Cilicia where Apollonius was educated, I, 3, 7-13; H, 14; HI, 16. 2Egaean sea, I, 24; IV, 6, 24. ^gina: island, IV, 25. yEgospotami : city in Chersonese, I, 2. E^lianus: Nero’s praetorian prefect, se¬ cret friend of A, VH, 16-20, 22, 28, 32, 40 ; earlier friendship, VH, 18. Eiolis : opposite Lesbos, IV, 13, 16; music, I, 30. Eiolus: god of the winds, HI, 14; VH, 14. Eischines : son of Lysanias, Socratic phi¬ losopher, avaricious, I, 35. Eischylus : improvements in tragedy, VI, 11. Eisculapius : son of Apollo, receives and transmits his medicines, HI, 44; ap¬ pears, I, 7-13 ; initiated at Athens, IV, 18; sung by Sophocles, HI, 17; temple at Eigae, I, 17 ; and at Crete, IV, 34; and Pergamum, IV, 1, 18, 34. Eisop: his merits as fabulist', V, 14; ori¬ gin of his talent, V, 15, 16; fable of lion, VH, 30. Eitna : Mt., V, 14, 16. Africa : deserts a refuge for philosophers under Nero, VH, 4. Agraulus : temple at Athens, IV, 21. Agrigentum : city of Sicily, now Gir- genti; I, 1; VHI, 7. Ajax: HI, 19; his tomb, IV, 13; painted by Timomachus, H, 22; elephant named for him, H, 24. Alcestis : revived by Hercules, IV, 45. Alcibiades: VIII. 29. Alcinous : king of Phaeacians, IV, 20. Alcmaeon: matricide, IV, 38; VH, 25. Alexander : son of Philip, I, 35 ; captures Rock of Aornus, H, 10; did not climb Mt. Nysa, H, 9; nor conquer Indian Sages, H, 33 ; fought' with Porus, II, 12, 20, 21, 42; fleet at Patala, III, 53; wished to rebuild Thebes, VH, 2, 3 ; Aristander his diviner, VIII, 7 ; statue at Taxila, H, 24; historians in error, H, 9; son of Jupiter Ammon, H, 43. Alexandria : V, 24-26, 43. Aloeus : his sons bind Mars, VH, 26. Alpheus : river of Elis, VHI, 15, 18. Amasis : Egyptian king, V, 42. Amoebeus : actor imitated by Nero, V, 7. Amphiaraus : son of Oicles and father of Alcmaeon, VII, 25 ; utters oracles in visions at Athens, 1 1, 37 ; IV, 24. Amphictyons : council at Pylae in charge of Thessalians, IV, 23. Amymone : a daughter of Danaus, I, 25. Anaxagoras : of Clazomene ; watches on Mt. Mimas, H, 5; spends money on sheep, I, 13; prophesies, I, 2; VHI, 7. Anchises : loved by Venus, VI, 40. Andromeda : I, 25. Animals : sacrificed by barbarians, VHI, 7 ; and by Egyptians, V, 21 ; their voices intelligible, I, 20, 38; HI, 9. Anthesteria : feast of flowers held in honor of Bacchus at Athens in Febru¬ ary and March, IV, 21. Antigone : tragedy written by Nero, IV, 39. 248 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Antioch : city in Syria, I, 16, 17, 18, 31 ; luxurious. III, 58; riotous, VI, 38. Antiochus : Soter, king of Syria, I, 38. Antisthenes : from Paros, descendant of Priam, Apollonius’ disciple, IV, 12, 13, 16. Antisthenes : follower of Socrates, IV, 25. Antium : city of Italy, VIII, 12, 20; fa¬ vorite resort of Emperor Hadrian, VIII, 20. Ants : dig gold in Ethiopia and guard it, VI, 1, 2. Anytus : an accuser of Socrates, VII, 11, 13. Aornus : rock in India over which birds cannot fly, II, 10. Apes : III, 50 ; gather pepper for In¬ dians, III, 4. Aphrodite: see Venus. . Apis : Egyptian deity. III, 3. Apollo : his oxen, V, 15 ; stops Orpheus’ oracles, IV, 15 ; temples at Amyclae, III, 14; Antioch, I, 16; Delos, VIII, 14; Delphi, II, 43; III, 42; VI, 10, 11, 14, 15; VII, 14; VIII, 7, 22; Grynea, IV, 14; Colophon and Branchidse, IV, 1; god of eloquence, IV, 38. Apollonius of Tyana: his birth, family, and youth, I, 4 et seq. ; doings at Aspen- dus, I, 15 ; at Antioch, I, 16, 17 ; at Nineveh, I, 19; in Mesopotamia, I, 20; in Media, I, 21-24; at Babylon, I, 25-41; journey over Caucasus, II, 1-5; through India, II, 6-17 ; visit with Phraotes, II, 18-41 ; journey to Sages from Taxila, II, 42-III, 9; sojourn with Sages, III, 10-51 ; return by Persian gulf to Babylon, thence to Ionia, III, 52-58 ; honored in Ionia, IV, 1 ; doings at Ephesus, IV, 2-4, 10; at Smyrna, IV, 5-9; goes to Greece, IV, 11; do¬ ings on the way, IV, 11-16; at Athens, IV, 17-22 ; in Thessaly, IV, 23 ; in tem¬ ples of Greece on Isthmus, IV, 24; at Corinth, IV, 25, 26 ; at' Olympia, IV, 27-31; at Sparta, IV, 31-33; in Crete, IV, 34; in Italy, IV, 35-38; at Rome, IV, 39-46 ; goes to Spain, IV, 47 ; do¬ ings at Cadiz, V, 1-10; in Sicily, V, 11-17; in Greece, V, 18-20; at Rhodes, V, 21-23; at Alexandria, V, 24-42; journey to Ethiopia, V, 43; doings in Ethiopia, VI, 2-27 ; return to Alexam dria, VI^ 28; interviews with Titus, VI, 29-34; other travels, and doings in them, VI, 35-43 ; opposes Domitian, VII, 4-9 ; being summoned goes to Rome, VII, 10-16; interviews there with ^lianus, VII, 16-20; in prison. VII, 21-30, 36-42; interview with Domitian, VII, 31-34; trial, VIII, 1-7; acquitted, returns to Greece, VIII, 10-15; doings at Olympia, VIII, 15-18; elsewhere in Greece, VIII, 19-23; in Asia Minor, VIII, 24-28; his death, VIII, 29, 30; his apparition, VIII, 31. Generosity to brother and relatives : I, 13 ; VIII, 7 ; never visited Scythia, T, 13 ; steersman in previous existence, III, 23 ; what he did then. III, 24 ; VI, 21 ; despises wealth, VIII, 7 ; friend of Scopelianus, I, 23, 24; his disciples, I, 18; IV, 11, 12, 25, 37, 47; V, 21, 43; VIII, 21, 22; mode of life, I, 8; VIII, 7 ; silent five years, I, 14, 15 ; his philos¬ ophy, VI, 16; follower of Pythagoras, I, 32; IV, 16; VII, 11; VIII, 7; more divine, I, 2; style of discourse, I, 10; predictions, IV, 4, 6, 18, 24, 34, 43 ; VII, 12, 18, 19, 30, 37; VI, 3, 13; VII, 9, 10, 41 ; VIII, 23, 26, 31 ; raises the dead, IV, 45; supernatural knowledge, I, 10, 12, 22, 39; II, 23, 24; IV, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12, 16, 20, 34; V, 5, 10, 11, 24, 30, 42; VI, 3, 5, 39, 41 ; VII, 10, 38, 41 ; VIII, 23, 27 ; knew languages without learn¬ ing them, I, 19 ; understood language of animals, I, 20 ; IV, 3 ; V, 42 ; inter¬ preted dreams, I, 23 ; IV, 34 ; instan¬ taneous transit from Smyrna to Ephe¬ sus, IV, 10; from Rome to Puteoli, VIII, 10, 12; commands demons, IV, 10, 20, 25; II, 4; VI, 43; turns writ¬ ings blank, I'V, 44; could not be con¬ fined against his will, IV, 44 ; VI, 27; VII, 35, 38; VIII, 5, 13; im¬ pressed strangers, I, 21, 28, 31; IV, 1, V, 24; VII, 31, 32; his books on sacri¬ fices, III, 41; IV, 19; on astrology. III, 41 ; his letters, I, 2, 3, 7, 23, 24, 32; HI. 51 ; IV, 5, 22, 26, 27, 46 ; V, 2, 10, 39, 40, 41 ; VI, 27, 29, 31, 33 ; VII, 8, 31, 35, 42 ; VIII, 20, 27, 28; hymn to memory, I, 14; addresses to the Egyptians, III, 15; last will, I, 3 ; VII, 35 ; defense prepared for trial before Domitian, III, 18 ; VIII, 7, 8 ; mode of speaking, I, 17 ; III, 36 ; VIII, 6; his statues and temple, VIII, 59; I, 5; prayers, IV, 40; I, 11; de¬ clared soul immortal, VIII, 31. Conversations : with .^lianus at Rome on preparing his defense, VII, 18-20; with an Assyrian youth on care of health, I, 9; with Vardanes on mode of sacrifice, I, 31 ; on plan of travel, I, 32; on gifts, I, 36, 41 ; of the eunuch’s pun¬ ishment', I, 37 ; on mode of strengthen¬ ing his power, I, 38; on marvels, judg¬ ing and treasures, I, 39 ; on travelling, I, 41 ; with Canus at Rhodes on flute-play¬ ing, V, 21 ; in prison, on riches, VII, INDEX 249 23; on Athene, VII, 24; on his de¬ fense, VII, 28; with prefect of Cilicia, I, 12; with Damis (see Damis), with Demetrius at Puteoli, that philosopher should not fear death, VII, 11-14; with disciples, I, 18; IV, 11, 23, 37; with Domitian, VII, 32-34; with Euxenus, on choice of philosophy, I, 7, 8 ; with his brother, I, 13 ; with priest at Athens concerning initiation, IV, 18 ; with a treasure-seeker, VI, 39; with the man in love with a statue, VI, 40; with larchas concerning the Brahmins, III, 16; on self-knowledge. III, 18; on larchas’ previous existence, III, 19-21 ; on his own. III, 23, 24; on the youth who hated philosophy. III, 22 ; concern¬ ing justice. III, 25; concerning the In¬ dian king. III, 26, 30; on the number of the Sages, III, 30; on the elements and the world, III, 34, 35; on divina¬ tion, III, 42; on wonders of India, III, 45-47 ; with Phraotes on philoso¬ phy, II, 29, 30; on the Greeks, III, 29, 30, 31 ; with Isagoras on national assemblies, VIII, 18; with young men on the Eleans, IV, 29; on commerce, IV, 32; on riches and learning, V, 22; on voracity, V, 23; on taste for study, VI, 36; on Athene, VIII, 16; with the Spartans on reverence for gods, heroes, and men, IV, 31 ; with Menippus on his bride, IV, 25; with a trader on hypocrisy, V, 20 ; with an Arcadian boy in prison, VII, 42; with Nilus, VI, 15-17 ; with Philolaus, not to fear Nero’s cruelty, IV, 36; with Phraotes on his mode of life, II, 25 ; on the study of philosophy in India, II, 29, 30; on Phraotes’ history, II, 31, 32; on the Sages of India, II, 33; on total absti¬ nence, II, 35-37; on judging, II, 38, 39; of the journey from Taxila, II, 40 ; with the proconsul of Achaia on the portent, VIII, 23; with a Babylonian revenue- officer, I, 20; witk a priest on sacrifices, I, 10, 11; how true sacrifice is offered, V, 25 ; with the satrap of Media, I, 21 ; with the Babylonian gate-keepers, I, 27 ; with the court-clerk, VIII, 2; with a Syracusan spy in prison, VII, 36; with Telesinus on philosophy, IV, 20; with Thespesio on philosophy, VI, 10-12, and on slander, VI, 13, and on worship of the gods, VI, 19, and on Spartan insti¬ tutions, VI, 20, and on justice, VI, 21; with Tigellinus concerning his own knowledge, IV, 44; with Timasion, VI, 3, and concerning the Memphian homi¬ cide, VI, 5; with Titus, VI, 30-32 ; with a tribune, VII, 21; with Vespasian, Euphrates, and Dion on the empire, V, 28-37. His discourses ; at Ephesus on com¬ munity of goods, IV, 2; at Smyrna on concord, IV, 8 ; concerning his interview with the ghost of Achilles, IV, 16 ; at Athens on correcting the Dionysia, IV, 21 ; at Olympia on Milo’s statue, IV, 28 ; on the virtues, IV, 31; that tyrants should not be feared, IV, 38; on Nero’s shamelessness, V, 7 ; on .T^sop, V, 14, 15 ; on volcanoes, V, 16, 17 ; at Alexan¬ dria, on rioting, V, 26 ; on Greek money¬ making, VI, 2; on Sardian fables, VI, 37 ; at Smyrna on Necessity and Fate, VII, 9 ; VIII, 7 ; on consoling the wretched, VII, 26; at Ephesus on the death of Domitian, VIII, 26. Arabs : pearl-fishing, III, 57 ; understand language of birds and animals, I, 20, 38. Arcadians : beautiful, VIII, 7 ; boy al¬ leged to have been sacrificed, VII, 11, 20, 32; VIII, 5, 7. Arcadia : description, VIII, 7 ; subdued by Pelops, III, 31. Archelaus : king of Cappadocia, I, 12. Archilochus : philosopher, threw away his shield, II, 7 ; his saying on patience, VII, 26. Archytas : of Tarentum, a Pythagorean, VI, 31. Arginusse : islands off the coast of Asia Minor, where the Athenian fleet de¬ feated the Spartans 406 B. C., IV, 32. Argolis : subdued by Pelops, III, 31; cos¬ tume, III, 25. Argos: city in Argolis, VI, 30; VIII, 15. Aricia : grove near Rome, IV, 36 ; V, 46. Aristander : a Lycian, Alexander’s divin¬ er, VIII, 7. Aristides : of Athens, son of Lysimachus, just, VI, 21; banished on that account, VII, 21. Aristippus : of Gyrene, philosopher, avari¬ cious, I, 35. Aristogiton : see Harmodius. Aristotle : saying disapproved, V, 36. Armenia : 11,2; I, 19, 20, 38, Arsaces : a king of Armenia, II, 2. Art: originates in adornment, VII, 11, 17, 18; all arts practiced for gain, VIII, 7, Artaphernes : besieged Eretria, I, 25. Artaxerxes : Mnemon, son of Darius, I, 28. Artaxerxes : son of Xerxes, I, 29. Artemisia : queen of Caria accompanied Xerxes, IV, 22, Asbama : pool near Tyana sacred to Zeus, I, 6. 250 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Asclepiadae : physicians taught by ^Escu- lapius, III, 41 ; their visits, VI, 35. Aspendus : city of Pamphylia, famine, I, 15. Asses: wild in India, III, 2; in Ethiopia, VI, 24. Assyrians : plant indoor gardens, VII, 32; legends, I, 16. Astyages : the Mede, VIII, 7. Athene: (Minerva) her aegis, VIII, 7; gives birth to dragon for Athenians, VII, 24; removes mist from Diomedes’ eyes, VII, 32; claimed as mother by Domitian, VII, 24; favors Hercules, VIII, 7; born of Zeus, VI, 19; guardian of Athens, III, 14; IV, 22; foreseeing, II, 43; her statues, VI, 19; her temple at Lindus, VIII, 30. Athens : badly built, II, 23 ; crowded at season of Mysteries, IV, 17 ; philoso¬ phers sun themselves naked there, IV, 17; VI, 6; burnt by Xerxes, I, 25; Acropolis, III, 13; IV, 17, 22; altars of the unknown gods, VI, 3, 5 ; gap in pronaos of Parthenon draws in birds, II, 10; palace porch, IV, 20; amphi¬ theatre under citadel, IV, 22; mild cli¬ mate, V, 6; language, I, 17. Athenians : by popular vote have ^schy- lus’ plays acted again after his death, VI, 11; meet Apollonius, VIII, 15; had degenerated, VI, 21 ; imitated by Gadi- tani, V, 4; fight for freedom of Greece, VII, 37 ; fond of sacrifices, IV, 19 ; ef¬ feminate dancing, IV, 21 ; flock to amphitheatre, IV, 21 ; watch gladiator shows there, IV, 22; impose excessive tribute on allies, VI, 20, 22 ; ruined thereby (id). Athletes : rely on sorcery for success, VII, 39. Athos : Mt, I, 25 ; II, 5 ; IV, 40. Atlas : Mt., II, 13. Atridae : V, 26. Augeas : king of Elis, VIII, 7. Augustus : emperor, V, 7, 21. Aulis : city of Boeotia, III, 6 ; VIII, 19. Aurora : mother of Memnon, VI, 4. Babylon : described, I, 23-40 ; region abounds in wormwood, I, 21. Bacchus : repulsed by Indian Sages, II, 32 ; III, 13 ; Assyrian, II, 9 ; Bacchus, son of the river Indus, II, 9 ; temples at Limnae, III, 14; at Nysa, II, 2, 7-9; controversies concerning his identity, II, 9 ; Theban Bacchus, son of Zeus and Semele, II, 9. Bactra : city on Oxus river, now Balka, V, 33. Barking men in Ethiopia, VI, 1, 2. Beans : Indian compared with Egyptian, III, 5. Bears: care for their young, II, 14; hunted at Babylon, I, 37. Black sea: II, 2; III, 55. Baetica : district of Spain, V, 6; very fer¬ tile, V, 9; its prefect conspires against Nero, V, 10. Baetis : river in Spain near Cadiz, V, 6. Balara: trading station on Persian gulf, III, 56. Bassus : a vicious Corinthian, IV, 26. Biblus : small island in Persian gulf, III, 53. Blest : islands of the, off N. W. coast of Africa, V, 3. Boeotia: VIII, 15, 19, 23. Boreas : related to the Athenians, IV, 21. Brahmans : see Sages of India. Buffalos : boagroi, or wild oxen, in text ; animals of Ethiopia, VI, 24; of India, III, 50. Byssus : “fine linen,” of India, made from poplar-like tree, II, 20. Cabiri : divinities worshipped in Samo- thrace, II, 43. Cadiz: (Gadeira in text) II, 33; IV, 47; V, 1 et seq.; celebrates death joyfully, V, 4. Caducians : barbarians living between Nineveh and Babylon, I, 19. Caius : the emperor, “Caligula,” V, 32. Calchas : the Seer of the Iliad, I, 22. Callicratidas : commander of Athenian fleet in sea-fight at Arginusas islands, IV, 32. Callisthenes : Olynthian, philosopher, slain by Alexander, VII, 2, 3. Calpe : now Gibraltar, V, 1. Calumniators : and their dupes, VI, 13. Calypso: VII, 10, 41; VIIi; 11. Camels : white, in India, II, 40 ; racing, II, 6 ; their nature, I, 41 ; mode of travel, II, 1 ; ridden by Apollonius, II, 8, 17 ; III, 10, 50, 51; V, 43; VI, 4. Canus : a flute-player at Rhodes, V, 21. Caphareus : cape in Euboea, I, 24. Capitol: at Rome, V, 30; VIII, 7. Cappadocia : I, 4. Carians : I, 21 ; II, 2 ; fed sheep on figs, III, 55 ; doubtful reputation as slaves, III, 25 ; queen with Xerxes expedition, IV, 21. Carmani : coast tribe of India, III, 55. INDEX 251 Carthage: IV, 32. Cassander : of Macedon, I, 35. Castalian fountain, VI, 10. Catana : Sicilian city, now Catania, V, 14. Cataracts : of Nile, and mountains caus¬ ing them (Catadoupoi in text), II, 18; III 20; VI 1, 17, 23, 26, 27. Catarrh : or influenza, epidemic at Rome, IV, 44. Caucasus : mountains, I, 41 ; II, 2-9, 18 ; III, 4, 16, 20. Celts: V, 2, 3; VII, 4; VIII, 7. Cenchrese : harbor of Corinth, IV, 25. Cephisus : river in Bceotia, VI, 10. Ceres: (Demeter), V, 20. Chaeronea : battle, VII, 2, 3. Chaldsean soothsayers mercenary, VI, 41. Charybdis : I, 34; V, 11. Chios : island, V, 21 ; shaken by earth¬ quake, IV, 6. Chrysippus : stoic philosopher, his dis¬ ciples at TEgse, I, 7. Cicadse : locusts, called happy by Deme¬ trius, VII, 11. Cicero: villa at Puteoli, VII, 11. Cilicia: I, 8-15; II, 2; VI, 35; wealthy Cilician, VII, 23. Cinnamon: in India, III, 4; found by means of goats,' (id). Cissia : region in Media, described, I, 24 ; inhabited by Eretrians, I, 23. Cithseron : Mt'., IV, 22. Clarus : city in Ionia with oracle of Apol¬ lo, IV, 14. Claudius : emperor, V, 27, 29, 32. Clemens : consular slain by Domitian, VIII, 25. Clepsydra : water-clock used at trials, VIII, 2, 4, 6. Cloak: Attic (tribon) worn by Apollo¬ nius, II, 40; charlatan’s disguise, IV, 35 ; philosophic garb, V, 38 ; VI, 3 ; VII, 15. Clouds : their wonderful forms, II, 22. Clytiadae : diviners, V, 25. Cnidus : city of Caria, I, 34 ; VI, 40. Cnossus : city of Crete, IV, 34. Coins : of India, II, 7 ; counterfeit, II, 29. Colonus : a deme of Attica near Athens, IV, 21. Colophon : in Ionia, with oracle of Apollo, IV, 1. Colossus : of Rhodes, V, 21. Colpites : coast tribe of India, VI, 16. Conscience : power of, VII, 14. Cophen : river in India (now Cabool), tributary of Indus, II, 6, 8, 9. Corcyraean youth healed IV, 20. Corinth: IV, 25, 26; VII, 10; VIII, 7, 15; gladiator shows, IV, 22. Cotys : king of Thrace, VII, 2, 3. Crates : cynic philosopher, opposes Al¬ exander, VII, 2, 3 ; throws patrimony into the sea, I, 13. Creon: V, 7. Cresphontes : V, 7. Crete : IV, 34 ; Apollonius said to have died there, VIII, 30; earthquake, IV, 34; nurse of Zeus, IV, 34. Crisaean : bay south of Phocis, now gulf of Salona, V, 18. Crocodiles: of Indus and Nile, 'II, 19; VI, 1. Croesus: VI, 37; VIII, 21. Crotona : IV, 28. Ctesiphon: in Assyria, I, 21. Cyclops : attacked by Ulysses, IV, 36 ; VI, 11. Cycnus : slain by Achilles, IV, 11. Cydnus : river at Tarsus, I, 7 ; VI, 43. Cydonia : city of Crete, IV, 34. Cyllene : mountain in Arcadia, VI, 20. Cyparissus : an Assyrian youth, I, 16. Cyprus: III, 58; VII, 12. Cyrus : son of Darius, I, 28 ; had Silanus as diviner, VIII, 7. Daedalus : VI, 4. Damis : of Nineveh, companion of Apol¬ lonius’ travels, I, 19 ; VII, 13 ; de¬ scribes them, I, 3; VIII, 29; his mem¬ oranda entitled “Droppings from the Manger” (Ekphatnismata) , I, 19; his learning, I, 19; offers himself as com¬ panion, I, 19 ; admitted by the Sages, III, 34; jokes with them on his pre¬ science, III, 42; shows peevishness, IV, 15; assists Apollonius, IV, 37, 38, 46; V, 13; VI, 3, 5, 43; frightened by cata¬ racts VI, 26 ; sole companion of Apollo¬ nius to Rome, VII, 10 ; conversation on length of stay in Babylon, I, 22, 40 ; on a dream, I, 23 ; on Damophyle, I, 30 ; on eunuchs, I, 34 ; on accepting money, I, 35 ; on study of the gods, II, 5 ; on wine-drinking, II, 7 ; on horses and elephants, II, 11, 15; on animals’ love for their young, II, 14; on painting and imitation, II, 22 ; on the Isthmian canal, V, 7 ; on dying for philosophy, VII, 11-15; on change of dress, VII, 15 ; on consoling prisoners ; VII, 22 ; on 252 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Phraotes’ argument, VII, 30 ; on a de¬ crepit office-seeker, VII, 31; on Pytho, VII, 37 ; on the approaching trial, VII, 38; with Timasion on Euphrates, VI, 9 ; with Demetrius and Apollonius on avoiding trial, VII, 11-13; on the re¬ sult of trial, VIII, 11-14; purse-bearer, VIII, 17; last interview, VIII, 28. Damophyle : poetess of Pamphylia, I, 30. Danaids : VII, 7. Danube: (Ister) river of Scythia, VIII, 7 ; not easily crossed, VII, 26 ; greatest river in Europe, III, 1. Daphne : daughter of Ladon, I, 16 ; myth transferred from Arcadia to Antioch, I, 16. Daridaeus : I, 24. Darius Hystaspis, I, 23, 35. Darius : Nothus, I, 28. Darius III : II, 21, 42. Datis : uprooting Naxos from the sea, I, 25, 36. Delphi : inscribed disc there, II, 9 ; mu¬ sical contests at Pythian games, IV, 39; V, 7; VI, 10, 11, 14; inscription, VII, 14; temple, IV, 24; III, 43. Delta; of the Nile, VII, 22. Demetrius : Cynic philosopher, associate of Apollonius, IV, 25 ; assails Nero, IV, 42; VII, 16; banished from Rome, IV, 42; V, 19; commended to Titus, VI, 31, 33 ; at Puteoli with Apollonius, VII, 10-15, 41, 42; VIII, 10-14. Democritus : frees Abdera from plague, VIII, 7 ; visits the Magi, I, 2 ; laughing philosopher, VIII, 7. Demons and demoniac possession : III, 56; IV, 10; III, 38; IV, 20, 25; at sources of Nile, VI, 26. Demosthenes : honored for confuting Py¬ tho, VII, 37. Diana : Pergsean Artemis, I, 30 ; Scy¬ thian, VI, 20. Dicsearchia : Italian city, now Puteoli, VII, 10, 16, 41 ; VIII, 10. Dictynna : town in Crete with temple to Artemis, VIII, 30. Didyma, oracle at, extols Apollonius, IV, 1. Dion: (Chrysostomus) Egyptian philoso¬ pher, friend of Apollonius, V, 37, 38; VIII, 7 ; meets Vespasian at Alexan¬ dria V, 27, 28; conferences with him, V, 31-38; controversy with Apollonius, V, 34; adjusted, V, 38; his quality, V, 37, 38, 40. Dio : a Syracusan, VII, 2. Diogenes : rebukes Philip of Macedon, VII, 2, 3. Diomedes : Tydides, Minerva clears his sight, VII, 32. Diomedes : of Thrace, his mares, V, 5. Dionysia : feasts in honor of Bacchus at Athens, VI, 11, 20; Anthesteria, IV, 21. Dionysius : tyrant of Syracuse, .Tlschines goes to him, I, 35; slays Phyto, VII, 2,3. Dioscorides : Egyptian disciple of Apollo¬ nius, IV, 11, 38; V, 43. Dirce : fountain in Boeotia, III, 17. Diviners: III, 42; divination a science, VIII, 7. Dodona : temple at’, IV, 24. Does: white does milked by Indians, III, 9. Dogs: Amphilochian, VI, 42; Molossian, IV, 10 ; guard temple at Dictynna, VIII, 30 ; cure of rabies, VI, 43. Domitian: Emperor: besieged in Capitol by Vitellius, V, 30; VIII, 7 ; assailed by Apollonius, VII, 4—9; summons Apollo¬ nius to Rome, VII, 9; trial of Apollo¬ nius before him, IV, 44; VIII, 1-8; Archon of Athens, VIII, 16 ; slays Clemens, VIII, 25; his cruelty, VII, 4; edict against vines and eunuchs, VI, 42 ; love for Arcadian boy, VII, 42; calls himself son of Minerva, VII, 24, 32; described, VII, 28 ; VIII, 16, 25 ; exiles Nerva and his associates, VII, 8; mar¬ ries Julia, VII, 7 ; poisons his brother Titus, VI, 32; purifies temple of Vesta, VII, 6; slain, VIII, 25. Dorians : began fashion of long hair, VIII, 7. Dragons : at Aulis and Nemea, I, 22; III, 6; in India, II, 17; III, 48; how hunted there. III, 6-9. Dreams: I, 5, 23, 29; IV, 34; VIII, 12, 31 ; their interpreters, II, 37. Eagles : II, 3, 14; I, 7. Eagle-stone (setites) protects eagles’ nests, II, 14. Earth : sacrifices and prayers to it, VI, 39, 41. Earthquakes : at Antioch, VI, 38 ; at Crete, IV, 34 ; in Hellespont, VI, 41 ; in Ionia, IV, 6. Ecbatana : of the Magi, in Persia, I, 24 ; its walls, I, 39. Echinades : islands in Ionian sea, VII, 25. Edoni : tribe of Thrace, VI, 11. Egypt: II, 18; VII, 16; adjoins Ethiopia, VI, 1 et seq; former extent. III, 20; INDEX 253 Helen was there, IV, 16; VII, 22; sea- coast, VI, 35 ; divided into nomes, V, 27 ; encouraged by Vespasian, V, 28, 37 ; its drugs, VII, 22, 26; barter with Ethi¬ opians, VI, 2; Egyptians slander Greeks, III, 32, and Indians, VIII, 7 ; how they represent their gods, VI, 19 ; trade with India, III, 35 ; oppose Isth¬ mian canal, IV, 24; mercenary sooth¬ sayers, VI, 41. Elephants : of Ethiopia, VI, 25 ; of India and Libya compared, II, 12; Vl, 1; ele¬ phant Ajax dedicated to the Sun by Alexander, II, 12, 24; whether tusks are horns, II, 13 ; sagacity, II, 13, 15 ; long-lived, II, 12, 13 ; mutual aid, II, 16; ridden by Indians, II, 6, 11, 21; hunted and eaten in Ethiopia, VI, 25 ; nature and use, II, 11, 12, 13; swal¬ lowed by dragons in India, III, 8; and slain by griffins. III, 48. Eleusinian: Mysteries, IV, 17, 18; V, 19; VI, 20. Elis : freed from plague by Hercules, VIII, 7 ; Eleans invite Apollonius to Olympic games, IV, 24 ; meet him, VHI, 15 ; their methods. III, 30 ; Olym¬ pic games, IV, 29 ; V, 7, 43 ; VI, 6. Empedocles : apparently Pythagorean, I, 1, 2; method of expiation, VI, 5; so¬ journ with Magi, I, 2; dispersed cloud¬ burst, VIII, 7; walked singing in pur¬ ple, VIII, 7. Empusa : hobgoblin assuming various shapes, H, 4; IV, 25: Enceladus : Titan chained under ^tna, V, 16. Enodia : Hecate, IV, 13. Ephesus : colonized by Athenians, VIH, 7 ; worshipped Apollonius, IV, 1 ; VII, 21; he predicts plague there, IV, 4; VH, 20; VIII, 5, 7; frees the city from it, IV, 10; VII, 21; VIII, 7; discourses there, IV, 2 ; VIII, 24, 26 ; said to have died there, VHI, 30 ; celebrates Dom- itian’s wedding, VH, 7 ; play acted, VII, 5 ; qualities of citizens, II, 5 ; fond of baths, I, 16. Epicurean philosophy : I, 7. Epidauria : feast of ^sculapius at Ath¬ ens, IV, 18. Epitaph : of Eretrians, I, 24. Eretria : Greek city of Euboea taken by Darius, I, 25 ; Eretrians carried into Media, I, 23, 24; Apollonius aids them, I, 24, 36. Erythia : island near Cadiz with temple of Hercules, V, 4. Erythras : legendary king who gave name to Erythraean sea. III, 35, 50. Erythraean sea (Rub rum Mare) includ¬ ed Indian ocean, Persian gulf, and Gulf of Arabia, II, 2. 14; III, 4, 8, 20, 35, 50, 52, 53, 57; VI, 16. Ethiopia: II, 18; IV, 40; V, 37; de¬ scribed, VI, 1 ; ef seq., its animals, VI, 24 ; barter with Egyptians, VI, 2 ; tribes, VI, 25, 27 ; formerly people of India, III, 20; VI, 11, 12, 16; very long- lived, VI, 4; snow not possible there, II, 18; Ethiopian sea, VI, 25. Euboea : dangerous to ships. III, 23 ; IV, 15 ; Eretrians brought from there, I, 23, 24. Eudoxus : philosopher of Cnidus, goes to Egypt, I, 35. Eunuchs: not exempt from lust, I, 34, 37 ; prohibited by Domitian, VI, 42. Euphorbus : son of Panthus at Troy; b}/ re-birth became Pythagoras, I, 1 ; III, 19; VIII, 7. Euphranor : celebrated painter, 1 1, 20. Euphrates : river, its course, I, 20 ; mouth, III, 58; tunnel under it at Babylon, I, 25, 38. Euphrates : of Tyre, philosopher in Egypt, originally friendly with Apol¬ lonius, V, 27, 28 ; discussion before Vespasian, V, 31-38; controversy with Apollonius, I, 13 ; V, 33 ; develops hatred and plots against him, V, 37, 38, 39, 43; VI, 7-9, 13, 28; VH, 9, 14, 36; VIII, 3, 7; mercenary, V, 38; VIII, 7; rebuked therefor by Apollonius, II, 26 ; V, 39; VI, 13. Euripides : Heraclidas, II, 32 ; Ino, VII, 5; references, IV, 21; V, 14; VII, 14; II, 14. Eurymedon : river of Pamphylia, I, 15. Eurystheus ; orders labors of Hercules, VIII, 7. Euterpe: V, 21. Euthydemus : rhetorician, instructor of Apollonius at Tarsus, I, 7. Euxenus : of Pontus, nominal Pythago¬ rean, instructor of Apollonius at JEgx, I, 7, 8, 14. Fables : that 'trees existed before the earth, VI, 37; about giants, V, 16; of TEsop’s skill, V, 15; fables of Greece in Median tapestry, I, 25. Favorinus : sophist, IV, 25. Fates (MoirjE, Parcae) : IV, 1, 16; V, 5, 12; VI, 21, 43; VII, 8, 9, 12; VHI, 7, 31. 254 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Fire : used for divination, I, 31 ; V, 25 ; fire of pardon in India, III, 14; Sun- fire, III, 14, 15. Flute-playing: art of, V, 21. Forest-dwellers : Hylobii, a name for In¬ dian Sages, I, 18. Funeral orations, IV, 45, 30. Furies : Erinnyes, VII, 14. Gaetuli : tribe of Africa, V, 1. Galba : Emperor, V, 11, 13, 32. Ganges: river, II, 9, 21, 33; III, 5, 20, 47, 50. Ganges : king of India, son of Ganges river. III, 20. Ganymede : III, 27. Gaul : refuge of philosophers under Domitian, VII, 4. Gazelles, in India and Ethiopia : II, 28, 33 ; VI, 24. Geryon : dwelt in Erythia, V, 4, 5 ; slain by Hercules, VI, 10 ; trees on his grave, V, 5. Getse : VII, 3. Giants : bones found, V, 16. Glaucus : VI, 11. Gods : wander about, IV, 40 ; how should be worshipped, I, 11, 16; IV, 31; V, 25; VI, 19; just, II, 39; how prayed to, IV, 40 ; altar to unknown gods at Athens, VI, 3 ; infernal deities send ghosts to mourners, VIII, 12 ; good men to be reckoned as gods, III, 18 ; VII, 32 ; God the creator of the uni¬ verse, III, 35 ; VIII, 7. Gorgon : head, VII, 20. Gortyna: city of Crete, IV, 34. Greece: freed by Nero, re-enslaved by Vespasian, V, 41 ; Greeks maligned by Egyptians, III, 32; sculpture of gods, VI, 19; love of liberty, VIII, 7; eager for money, VI, 2; servile to Roman magistrates. III, 25. Griffins : in India dig and guard gold, III, 48; VI, 1, 2. Grynea : city of ^Eolis with oracle of Apollo, IV, 14. Gyara : island in ^gsean sea used as place of exile from Rome, VII, 16. Gyges: of Lydia, his ring. III, 8; wealth, VIII, 21. Gymnopsedia : festival at' Sparta, VI, 20, Gymnosophists : “naked philosophers” of Ethiopia ; wiser than Egyptians, VI, 6 ; Apollonius goes to them, V, 37, 43 ; his reception, VI, 7-9; debates with him. VI, 10-22; esteemed by him, VII, 36; miraculous power, VI, 10 ; are of In¬ dian origin. III, 20; VI, 11, 12, 16; taught by Indians, VIII, 7 ; duty to purify involuntary homicides, VI, 5 ; their territory devastated, VI, 5 ; make no bloody sacrifices, VIII, 7 ; their place and practices described, VI, 6. Hades: HI, 35; IV, 25; VH, 31; VHI, 7, 12. Hadrian : emperor, especially fond of Antium, VHI, 20; collected Apol¬ lonius’ letters {id.). Harmodius and Aristogiton: V, 34; VH, 4; VHI, 16. Hector : buried in underground vault, IV, 11. Helen: Achilles went to Troy on her ac¬ count, HI, 20; Stesichorus writes of her, VI, 11 ; not at Troy but in Egypt, IV, 16; VH, 22; VHI, 7. Helias : a variety of poplar tree, V, 5. Helicon : of Cyzicus, an avaricious phi¬ losopher, I, 35. Helicon : mountain, IV, 24 ; VH, 16. Hellespont : bridged by Xerxes, HI, 31 ; V, 7 ; shaken by earthquake, VI, 41. Heraclidse : fought for by Athens, VH, 2; their return, H, 33. Heraclides. and Pytho : slay Cotys, VH, 2. Heraclitus : philosopher, I, 9. Hercules : a Theban, H, 3, 33 ; V, 4, 5 ; revives Alcestis, IV, 45 ; averter of evil (Apotropseus, Averruncus), IV, 10; VIII, 7; painted by Prodicus, VI, 10, 11 ; set up pillars at boundary of earth, V, 1; freed Elis from plague, VHI, 7; his reward from Eurystheus, VHI, 7 ; slew Geryon and drove his oxen, V, 4; VI, 10; not an infernal deity, VHI, 7; his labors, V, 5; VI, 10; slew Nessus, VI, 10 ; founded Olympic games, VI, 10; VIII, 18; released Prometheus, II, 3 ; brought Theseus back from Hades, IV, 46 ; voracious, V, 23 ; Egyptian Hercules different, H, 3, 33 ; repulsed by Indian Sages he lost his shield, HI, 13 ; worshipped at Cadiz, V, 4, 5. Hercyne : fountain of Boeotia, VHI, 19. Herodes : Attic sophist, Meno his disciple, HI, 11. Himera : town of Sicily, where Stesicho¬ rus was born, VI, 11. Hippolytus : son of Theseus, unaffected by love, VI, 3, 5 ; destroyed by curse of Theseus, VII, 42. INDEX 255 Hippopotami: of Indus and Nile, II, 19; VI, 1. Hispalis : city of Bsetica in Spain, V, 9. Homer: pretends Helen was at Troy, IV, 16; neglects Palamedes, HI, 22; exalts his heroes, IV, 16; references to Iliad, I, 22; HI, 6; V, 26; VII, 32; VHI, 13; IV, 38; VIII, 7; I, 1; H, 14; VH, 14; HI, 27; VI, 11; II, 22; VIH, 5, 8, 12; to Odyssey, 1,4; IV, 15, 25; VI, 11, 31; VH, 22 ; VHI, 7 ; reference generally, HI, 19; IV, 7, 16. Horses: of Diomedes, V, 5; Nisaean, I, 31; II, 12; good horsemanship, II, 11; IV, 21. Hours : nurse youthful Mercury, V, 15. Hyacinthia : feast at Sparta in honor of Hyacinthus, VI, 20. Hydraotes : river, tributary to Indus (now Ravi), II, 9, 17, 32, 43. Hymn : of Sophocles to ^sculapius, HI, 17 ; sung in temple of Dictynna, VIII, 30. Hyphasis : river, tributary of Indus (now Sutlej), II, 21, 30, 31, 33, 43; III, 1, 50, 52; VHI, 7. Hyrcanians : V, 20. lamidae : traditional diviners by fire in Elis, V, 25. larchas : chief of Indian Sages, H, 40, 41; HI, 16-49; VI, 3; VII, 14; divine, VH, 32 ; formerly King Ganges, HI, 21. Ichthyophagi : coast tribe of India, III, 55. Ida : mountain in Crete, IV, 34. Image : of king worshipped on entering Babvlon, I, 27 ; of emperor revered, I, 15. Imitation : in painting and sculpture, H, 22, VI, 19. India : H, 2, 6, et seq. ; its animals, HI, 50; gems, II, 40; HI, 27, 46; marvels, III, 45-49 ; most fertile in Ganges val¬ ley, III, 5; coast, VI, 16; HI, 50-57 ; largest country, VI, 1 ; king foolish and subject to Sages, III, 26-33 ; VI, 21 ; apes, H, 10; HI, 50; dragons, II, 17; HI, 6, 8; elephants, II, 12-16, 11, 6, 24, Indian Sages: Brahmins, I, 2, 18; II, 27, 30, 31; cure the sick, HI, 38-40; not conquered by Alexander, H, 33 ; eat no animal food, VHI, 7; wear vegetable wool. III, 15; repulsed Bacchus and Hercules, II, 33; their feasts. III, 27; theory of universe. III, 34, 35; VIII, 7; speak Greek, II, 31; HI, 12, 36; wiser than Gymnosophists, VI, 6, 8, 10, II, 16, 18, 21; dwell on hill, H, 33; III, 10, 13, 14; dreaded by Indians, HI, 10; advise king on state affairs, HI, 32; their number. III, 30; shed no blood in sacrifice, VHI, 7 ; their temple, VI, 6; mode of life, HI, 15, 17; wor¬ ship the Sun, HI, 14, 15 ; float in air during worship, III, 17 ; marvellous mechanisms, HI, 37 ; command of nat¬ ural laws ; III, 12-17, 23-33, 38, 39. Indians : discipline of young philoso¬ phers, II, 30; art, and appearance, II, 22; coinage, H, 7; sports and feasts, H, 28; HI, 27; nomadic tribes, H, 6; use anchor as herald’s insignia, HI, 11 ; use apes to gather pepper, II, 10; hunt dragons, HI, 6, 8 ; milk wild white does, HI, 9; piebald women dedicated to Venus, HI, 3 ; irrigate farms’, HI, 5 ; marvellous productions. III, 1, 2. Indus : river, II, 4, 9, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19, 40; III, 53; VI, 1. Informers: VI, 36, 39; VH, 8, 23, 27, 36; VIII, 5, 7. Inscriptions : on altar and column at Hyphasis, H, 43 ; on column at Erythia, V, 5 ; on gold disc at Delphi, H, 9; on leopard’s collar, II, 2; on elephant’s tusk, H, 12, 16; on Eretrian tomb in Media, I, 24. Island: rose from ^gaean sea near Thera, IV, 34. Ino : see Leucothea. lo : daughter of Inachus, statue at Nin¬ eveh, I, 19. lolaus : companion of Hercules, VII, 10. Ionia: HI, 58; IV, 1, et seq.; V, 20; VI, 35; VH, 12, 36; VIII, 3, 7, 21, 24; sends legation to Domitian, VI, 42. Iphitus: king of Elis, IV, 32; VHI, 7. Isagoras : a Thessalian, VIII, 18. Issus : city of Cilicia, where Alexander defeated the Persians, II, 42. Isthmian games at Corinth, V, 43 ; Nero won prize, IV, 24; address to athletes, V, 43. Isthmus : of Corinth, VIII, 15 ; Nero at¬ tempts canal, IV, 24; V, 7, 19. Ivory : H, 13 ; bartered by Ethiopians, VI, 2; Phidias statue of Zeus at Olym¬ pia composed of ivory and gold, VHI, 18. Ixion : rolled on wheel, H, 35 ; VI, 40 ; VH, 12. Jerusalem : besieged by Vespasian, V, 27; taken by Titus, VI, 29, 34; inhabi¬ tants repulsive to Apollonius, V, 27, 33. 256 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Juba : Libyan king, writes of elephants, II, 13, 16. Julia: daughter of Titus, married by her uncle Domitian, VII, 7. Julia Domna, Empress, wife of Sep- timius Severus, patroness of letters, I, 3. Juno: Argive, VI, 19; Milo, her priest, IV, 28; pomegranate sacred to her {id). Jupiter : see Zeus. Justice: of what it consists. III, 25; VI, 21. Labyrinth: in Crete, IV, 34. Lacedjemon : see Sparta. Ladon : river near Antioch, I, 16. Laius : king of Thebes, VIII, 7. Lamia : a ghoul, IV, 25 ; VIII, 7. Lamp-stone: (lychnites) shining stone said to be inserted in storks’ nests to protect nestlings, II, 14. Lasthenes : of Apamea, friend of Dion, V, 38. Lawyers : (agoraioi) detested by Apol¬ lonius, VIII, 22. Lebadea : city of Boeotia, VIII, 19, 20. Lebena: in Crete, with temple to .T^scu- lapius, IV, 34. Lechseum : harbor of Corinth, IV, 24 ; V, 18. Lemnos : island, satyr appeared there, VI, 27. Leonidas : king of Sparta, wore long hair, VIII, 7 ; had Megistias as di¬ viner, VIII, 7 ; his tomb at Thermo¬ pylae, IV, 23. Leontopolis : city of Egypt, V, 42. Lesbos: island, IV, 13, 16; head of Or¬ pheus brought there, IV, 14; his oracle, IV, 14. Leucadia : island, V, 18. Leucothea : Ino, daughter of Cadmus, made a sea-goddess by Neptune, VII, 22. Libya : partly unexplored, VI, 1 ; Libyans visit temple at Lebena, IV, 34; ele¬ phants, II, 12, 13, 16 ; VI, 1 ; Geog¬ raphy, V, 1, 3, 11. Lilybaeum : city in Sicily, now Marsala, V, 11. Lindus : in Rhodes, where Apollonius is said to have vanished in the temple of Athene, VIII, 30. Lions: ^Esop’s lion, VII, 30; tame lion at Alexandria, V, 43 ; lions of Ethiopia, VI, 24; enemies of apes in India, III, 4; nature of lionesses, I, 22; breed with leopards, II, 14 ; hunted at Babylon I, 37 ; eaten in India, II, 6, 28 ; plentiful there. III, 50 ; and in northwest Africa, V, 1. Leopards: love their young, II, 14; breed with lionesses, II, 14; taken in Pam- phylia, II, 2 ; follow scent of storax gum great distances, II, 2 ; eaten in India, II, 6; hunted at Babylon I, 37; plentiful in Ganges plain. III, 50, and in Ethiopia, VI, 24. Letters : Greek, used by Median Ere- trians, I, 24 ; unknown characters in Erythian inscription, V, 5 ; letters writ¬ ten by Apollonius; see Apollonius. Liver : organ used for divination, VIII, 7; effect of fear and anger on it. {id). Locri : VIII, 19. Lotus-eaters: I, 39; goats fond of lotus, III, 4. Lycurgus : of Sparta, how received by Delphic oracle, VIII, 7 ; his laws, IV, 31, 32; VI, 20, 21; VIII, 7. Lydia: VIII, 7; gold in Lydia, VI, 11, 17 ; chasms there draw birds down, II, 10; costume, V, 32. Macedonians : praised and blamed by Callisthenes, VII, 2, 3 ; in India with Alexander, II, 9, 21. Maeander : river of Phrygia, VI, 26. Maeotis : sea of Azof, II, 2. Magi : Sages of Babylon, I, 2, 18, 25, 26, 29, 32, 39, 40. Malea : cape at S. E. extremity of Greece, III, 23; IV, 24, 34; VII, 42. Mars: (Ares), untaught, VI, 11; lyre softens his wrath, VII, 12; bound in heaven by Vulcan and on earth by sons of Aloeus, VII, 26. Marsyas : river of Phrygia, VI, 26. Martichoras : fabulous animal described, III, 45; not found in India {id). Massagetae : inhospitable people near the Oxus, VIII, 7. Maturity : age of, among Greeks and In¬ dians, II, 30; at Tyana, I, 13. Maximus : of ^gae, wrote on Apollonius, I, 3, 12. Medes : worship tyranny, VII, 14; trophies in Athens, IV, 21 ; sovereigns in Babylon, I, 21, 25 ; Media, II, 2. Medicines: gift of divination. III, 44; soporifics, II, 36 ; exhilarants, VII, 22, 26; mandragora for insanity, VIII, 7. Megabates : brother of Babylonian King Vardanes, I, 131. INDEX 257 Megara : city on Isthmus of Corinth, VIII, 15. Megistias : diviner of Leonidas, VIII, 7; his bravery at Thermopylae, IV, 23. Melampodidae : a family of diviners, legendary descendants of Melampus, V, 25. Meles : river at Smyrna, VII, 8, 9. Meletus : accuser of Socrates, VII, 11, 13. Alelicertes : Greek equivalent of Phoeni¬ cian Melkarth worshipped as deity, III, 31. Melos : island, VIII, 7 ; men long-haired, III, 15. Memnon : of Ethiopia, son of Aurora, VI, 4; slain by Achilles, IV, 11; temple in Ethiopia, VI, 3, 4; vocal statue, VI, 4. Memory, I, 14. Memphis : in Egypt, VI, 3 ; law of homi¬ cide, VI, 5. Menestheus : king at Athens, worshipped at Cadiz, V, 4. Menippus : of Lycia, disciple of ^ Apol¬ lonius, freed by him from lamia, IV, 25, 38, 39, 44; V, 7, 14, 15, 43; VI, 28. Meno: foster-son of Herodes, III, 11. Merchants: use sorcery, VII, 39; their calling disgraceful, IV, 32 ; VI, 2. Mercury (Hermes) : his statues, VI, 19; distributes wisdom, V, 15. Meroe : in Egypt, III, 20; VI, 1. Merus : mountain near Nysa in India, II, 9. Mesopotamia, I, 20. Messana: in Sicily, now Messina, V, 11; VIII, 15. Messene: in Arcadia, VII, 42. Metapontum : city in Italy, IV, 10. Methymna : city of Lesbos, IV, 13, 16. Midas : captures satyr, VI, 27. Miletus : shaken by earthquake, IV, 6. Milo : of Crotona, his statue at Olympia explained, IV, 28; priest of Juno, (id). Mimas : mountain cape of Ionia, II, 5. Minerva: see Athene. Minos: of Crete, very cruel. III, 25; IV, 34; made judge in Hades by Zeus, VHI, 7. Minotaur : IV, 34. Mnesarchides : of Samos, father of Py¬ thagoras, VHI, 7. Moeragenes : wrote incorrectly of Apol¬ lonius, I, 3 ; HI, 41. Muses: abode on Helicon, IV, 24; Nero’s Muses worshipped, IV, 39; do not la¬ ment Achilles, IV, 16; taught locusts to sing, VH, 11. Musonius : of Babylon, philosopher im¬ prisoned by Nero, IV, 35, 46; exiled, VH, 16; put to work on Isthmian canal, V, 19; letters to and from Apol¬ lonius, IV, 46. Mycale : cape of Caria, and mountain, H, 2, 5. Mysians : VH, 2, 3. Mysteries: at Athens, IV, 17, 18; V, 19; Eleusinian, VI, 20. Nasamones : a tribe of Ethiopia, VI, 25. Naucratis : city of Egypt, VI, 3. Naxos: island, I, 25. Nearchus, a tyrant of Mysia, VH, 2. Nearchus : admiral of Alexander’s fleet, H, 17; HI, 53. Nemean games: celebrated biennially in Arcadia, I, 34. Neptune: (Poseidon), the Earthshaker, IV, 6; VI, 41; protector (Asphalios), IV, 9. Nereids: visit Achilles’ tomb, IV, 16; ter¬ rible demon. III, 56. Nero: emperor; sings, IV, 42; V, 7, 10, 19, 28; VH, 4, 12; his songs, IV, 39; attacked by influenza, IV, 44; con¬ spiracy against him, V, 10; spares De¬ metrius, IV, 42; VH, 16; nearly struck by lightning, IV, 43; frees Greece, V, 41 ; visits Greece, IV, 24, 47 ; contends in Greek games, IV, 24; V, 7, 8; builds gymnasium at Rome, IV, 42 ; de¬ throned, V, 11; begins Isthmian canal, IV, 24; V, 7, 19; matricide, IV, 38; per¬ secutes philosophers, IV, 35 et seq. 47 ; his barbarity, V, 7, 10, 29, 32, 33 ; VH, 14; his tastes, IV, 36; V, 7; tragedian, IV, 24, 38, 39 ; V, 7 ; poisons guests, VI, 32 ; avoided by Apollonius, VHI, 7. Nerva : conspires with Apollonius against Domitian, VH, 8, 20, 32, 36; exiled therefor, VII, 8, 11; Domitian seeks pretext to execute him, VH, 9, 14, 18, 32, 36; VHI, 5; becomes emperor, VHI, 27; description, VH, 33; VHI, 7 ; correspondence with Apollonius, VHI, 27, 28; his reign, VIH, 27. Nessus : centaur slain by Hercules, VI, 10. Nestor: loved by Achilles, IV, 11. Negroes : in India and in Ethiopia, HI, 11; VI, 1, 2. Nile: HI, 20; V, 26, 37, 43; VI. 3, 6, 9; its cataract's, VI, 23, 26 ; divides at Del- 258 AP01.L0NIUS OF TYANA ta, VII, 21; said to be joined by Eu¬ phrates, I, 20 ; its sources in Ethiopia, VI, 17, 22, 26; regulating divinity sta¬ tioned there, VI, 26 ; compared with Indus, II, 18, 19 ; VI, 1 ; Phoenix builds nest at sources, III, 49; its delta, VII, 21. Nilus : youngest Gymnosophist, VI, 10, 12; joins Apollonius, VI, 12-28; his story, VI, 16. Nineveh: in Assyria, I, 3, 19; II, 20; III, 58. Nireus : III, 19. Nymphseum : in Ethiopia, VI, 27 ; near Puteoli, VIII, 11. Nysa : mountain in India, II, 2, 7, 8, 9. Ocean : bound about earth like chain, VII, 26; reason of its tides, V, 2. CEdipus: V, 7; VII, 4. (Enomaus : subject for tragedy, V, 7. (Eta : mountain between Thessaly and ^tolia, IV, 23. Oil : generates unquenchable fire in India, III, 1. Olympia : city of Elis, and Olympic games there, I, 35; III, 30; IV, 7, 24, 27-31; V, 8, 26, 35, 43; VI, 10; VIII, 7; 15-18; address to athletes, V, 43; games postponed by Nero, V, 7 ; he wins prizes there, IV, 24; V, 7, 8. Olympus : mountain, II, 5 ; IV, 23, 40 ; V, 15. Olynthus : city of Macedonia, I, 35. Onagers: wild asses of India, III, 2; of Ethiopia (zebras), VI, 24. Oracles: VI, 10, 11, 14, 15; VIII, 19. Orestes : matricide, IV, 38 ; VII, 14. Orestia : title of tragedy composed by Nero, IV, 39. Orfitus : a Roman consular, conspirator with Nerva, VII, 8, 11; description, VII, 33; VIII, 7. Oritse : “mountain-dwellers,” a tribe of India, III, 54. Orithyia : loved by Boreas, IV, 21. Orpheus: shrine on Lesbos, IV, 14; loved by Medes. I, 25 ; songs revive dead, VIII, 7; poetry, IV, 21. Orthagoras : III, 53. Ostriches : in India, III, 50 ; in Ethiopia, VI, 24. Otho : Emperor, V, 11, 13, 32. Owls : eggs cure dipsomania. III, 40. Oxydracse : people of India subdued by Alexander, II, 33. Ox-goats: (butragus) animal of Ethi¬ opia, probably gnus, VI, 24. Pactolus : river of Lydia, brought down gold, VI, 37 ; VIII, 7. Pain : philosophic mind superior to it, VII, 36. Painting: art of, II, 22; done in various metals, II, 20, 22, 25; I, 25. Palsemon : a sea-deity into which Meli- certes was transformed. III, 31. Palamedes : VI, 21 ; Apollonius replaces his statue by Achilles’ direction, IV, 13, 16; neglected by Homer, III, 22; why, IV, 16; reborn in India, III, 22; was at Troy, IV, 16; invented writing, IV, 33 ; hence called author of the Muses and of Apollonius, IV, 13 ; killed by Ulysses, IV, 16. Palladium : VII, 6. Pamphylia : I, 15 ; II, 2 ; costume. III, 15; VIII, 7; stately measure of hymns, I, 30. Panathenaea : festivals at Athens in honor of Athene, IV, 22; VII, 4; VIII, 16. Pandora : VI, 39. Panegyris : translated “national assem¬ bly,” any general gathering, VIII, 18. Pangaeum : mountain in Macedonia, II, 5. Panionia : festival of united lonians at Mycale, IV, 5, 6. Pannonia : Hungary, VHI, 7. Pantarbes : Indian gem, resembling a magnet, HI, 45, 46. Panthus : Trojan, father of Euphorbus, VHI, 7. Paphos : city of Cyprus with temple of Venus, HI, 58. Paraca : city of India, HI, 9. Paris : took Helen to Egypt, IV, 16. Parnassus : mountain, VI, 10. Parthenon : H, 10. Patala : city of India at mouth of Indus, ‘ HI, 53. Patroclus : mourned by Achilles, VH, 36; buried with him, IV, 16. Peacocks : “sacred birds,” H, 10 ; “Pseo- nian birds,” VHI, 7. Peacock-fish: (taos) found in Hyphasis river, HI, 1. Pearls : of India, HI, 53 ; how procured, III, 57. Pegades : city of India, HI, 54. Pegasus : VH, 16. Peleus : with Thetis, VI, 40. INDEX 259 Peloponnesus: III, 31; IV, 24; V, 7, 19, 36; VIII, 7, 14, 15. Pelops : subdued Peloponnesus, III, 31; like figure of cup-bearer. III, 27. Pepper : trees harvested by apes in India, III, 4. Pergamum : city of Mysia with temple of yEsculapius, IV, 1, 18. Peripatetic philosophers, I, 7. Persephone: VIII, 12. Persia, and the Persians : I, 19, 24, 33 ; IV, 21. Phsedimus : disciple of Apollonius, IV, 11. Phaedra : destroys Hippolytus, VI, 3. Phaestus : city of Crete, IV, 34. Phalerum : western harbor of Athens, IV, 17. Phario : Egyptian rescued by Apollonius, V, 24. Pharos : island at Alexandria, III, 24. Phasis : river of Colchis, VIII, 7. Pheasants : “birds from Phasis,” VIII, 7. Phidias : the sculptor, IV, 7 ; VI, 19. Philip : of Macedon, son of Amyntas, I, 35 ; rebuked by Diogenes, VII, 2, 3 ; sends Pytho to Athens, VII, 37. Philiscus : of Melos, philosopher dear to Apollonius, VIII, 7. Philiscus : Egyptian slain at Memphis, VI, 5. Philitia : at Sparta, translated “meals in common,” IV, 27. Philolaus : philosopher expelled from Rome by Nero, IV, 36, 37. Philosophers : how they should act, VII, 12, 14; dress at Athens, IV, 17; ban¬ ished by Nero, IV, 35; and by Domi- tian, VII, 4; compared with robbers, II, 29; meditate in mountains, II, 5; some are avaricious, I, 35 ; need fear nothing, IV, 38; VII, 14, 21. Philosophy: its promises, VI, 11. Philostratus : Lemnius, the elder, pf Athens, writer of this book, tells of its sources, I, 2, 3. Phocis : its people, VIII, 15, 19. Phoenix: lives in India, III, 49; goes to Egypt once' in fifty years {id). Phoenix : esteemed comrade of Achilles, IV, 11. Phoenicians : III, 23 ; IV, 25 ; VI, 35, 39 ; VII, 12. Phraotes : king of India, intercourse with Apollonius, II, 25-41; III, 18, 50; V, 37; VI, 14, 21; VII, 30; divine, VII, 32; letter to larchas, II, 41; III, 26; very wise. III, 28; VII, 14; his throne, II, 41 ; III, 17 ; his mode of life, II, 26, 27 ; his history, II, 31, 32. Phrygia : II, 10; inhabitants sell their families into slavery, VIII. 7. Phyle: citadel of Attica, VII, 4. Physiognomy: II, 30. Phyto : of Rhegium, philosopher slain by Dionysius, VII, 2, 3; avaricious, I, 35. Pigmies: of Ethiopia, VI, 1, 2, 25; of India, III, 45, 47; VI, 1. Pillars : of Hercules, II, 33 ; IV, 47 ; V, 1, 3, 5. Pindar: VI, 26; VII, 12. Piraeus : principal harbor of Athens, IV, 17; V, 20. Pirates: in ^gaean sea. III, 24; preva¬ lence of piracy, II, 29. Pisa: fountain of Elis, VIII, 15. Piso : adopted by Galba, V, 32. Plato: went to Egypt, I, 2; doctrine of the soul, VI, 11; of the universe, VI, 22 ; went to Sicily, I, 35 ; VII, 2, 3 ; quotation, IV, 36; his school of philos¬ ophy, I, 7. Plethron : Greek standard of measure¬ ment, approximately 101 English feet, I, 25. Poets: III, 6, 35; IV, 16; V, 14; VI, 1; VII, 26; corrupt mankind. III, 25; V, 14; VI, 40. Polydamna : wife of Thon in Egypt, VII, 22. Polygnotus : painter, II, 20; VI, 11, 14. Polyphemus : attacked by Ulysses, VII, 28. Polyxena : IV, 16. Pomegranate: tree sacred to Juno, IV, 28. Porus : king of India, fought with Alex¬ ander, II, 12, 42; defeated but rein¬ stated by him, II, 20; warlike, II, 26; his words and appearance, II, 21 ; pic¬ tures and statue, II, 22, 24. Praxiteles : sculptor, VI, 19. Priam : received kindly by Achilles, IV, 11; but his descendants disliked by him, IV, 12. Prodicus: sculptor, VI, 10, 11. Prometheus : chained on Caucasus, II, 3. Proteus: Egyptian deity, I, 4; III, 24; IV, 16; VII, 22. Proverbs: I, 8, 34; II, 36; IV, 25; V, 7; VI, 11, 18. 260 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Puteoli : see Diccuarchia. Pygmalion : his golden olive-tree at Ery- thyia, V, 5. Pylaea : autumn meeting of Amphictyonic council, IV, 23. Pythagoras : of Samos ; allows enigmas, VI, 11 ; saying concerning women, 1, 13 ; philosophy, I, 1, 32; III, 19; VI, 11; VIII, 7; confirmed by oracle, VIII, 19; sojourned with Magi, I, 2; his earlier existence, I, 1; III, 19; VIII, 7; ex¬ piations, VI, 5 ; silence, VI, 20 ; no bloody sacrifice, VIII, 7 ; his wisdom came from India, VIII, 7 ; simultane¬ ously in Thurii and Metapont'um, IV, 10; Pythagorean silence, I, 1, 14, 16; VI, 11; dress, I, 32; VII, 15; VIII, 7, 17 ; report of Acesines river confirmed, II, 17; believed in immortality, IV, 16; philosophy adopted by Apollonius, IV, 16; VI, 11. Pythian : games, celebrated every four years at Delphi in honor of Pythian Apollo, I, 35; IV, 39; V, 43; VI, 10; Nero contended there, IV, 24; V, 7; won, V, 9 ; address to athletes, V, 43. Pytho : Byzantine orator sent by Philip to Athens, confuted by Demosthenes, VII, 37. Pytho, with Heraclides, slew Cotys the Thracian tyrant, VII, 2. Rhea: IV, 34. Rhegium : now Reggio, in Italy, I, 34 ; VII, 2, 3. Rhine : VIII, 7. Rhetoric : study neglected by Apollonius’ disciples, VIII, 21. Rhodes : visited, V, 21, 22, 23. Rites : of Egyptians, V, 25 ; of Indians, II, 19. Rome : visited, IV, 39-46 ; again, VII, 10-VIII, 8; magistrates ignorant of Greek, V, 36; Roman names frequent in Ionia, IV, 5 ; Roman envoys exempt¬ ed from worshipping king’s image at gate of Babylon, I, 27. Rufus : Roman consular conspired with Nerva, VII, 8, 11; described, VII, 32, 33 ; VIII, 7. Sabinus : put to death by Domitian, VII, 7. Sais : nome of Egypt, V, 42. Salamis : III, 31 ; IV, 21. Salex : river of N. W. Africa, V, 1. Samothrace : VI, 20. Samos : island, shaken by earthquake, IV, 6; VIII, 7. Sappho : I, 30. Sardis: city of Lydia, I, 11; VI, 37. Sardinia : VII, 12. Sarpedon : son of Zeus and brother of- Minos, VIII, 7. Saturn : bound by Zeus, VII, 26. Satyrs : in Ethiopia, VI, 27 ; at Lemnos, VI, 27 ; captured by Midas, VI, 27 ; ac¬ companied Bacchus in India, III, 13. Scillus : city of Elis, VIII, 15. Scopelianus : sophist of Clazomene, friend of Apollonius, who wrote him letters, I, 23, 24. Scylax : wrote false reports of India, III, 47. ‘Scythians : V, 20; VI, 20; VII, 26; VIII, 7, 33; invade India, III, 20; Scythia a desert, VII, 4; adjoins India, II, 3 ; not visited, I, 13. Seals : affection for young, II, 14. Sea-hare: poisoned Titus, VI, 32; used by Nero on enemies (id). Sea-urchin : caused Ulysses’ death, VI, 32. Selera : island in Persian gulf. III, 56. Seleucia: city of Cilicia, III, 58. Seleucus : of Cyzicus, physician at Rome, VIII, 7. Seleucus : ruler of Babylonia, died 280 B. C., I, 37. Self-knowledge: difficult, IV, 44; VI, 35; beginning of wisdom. III, 18. Semiramis : I, 25. Serpent: of Aulis, I, 22; III, 6; numer¬ ous at Trophonius’ cave in Bceotia, VIII, 19. Ships : Egyptian, III, 35 ; VI, 16 ; casting off described, IV, 9; Etruscan, III, 50; in Persian gulf have bells to drive away sea-monsters. III, 57. Sicily: I, 34; IV, 32; V, 11, 18; VII, 2, 3, 10, 41 ; VIII, 15 ; torn by dissension, V, 13 ; Sicilian sea, VII, 13 ; VIII, 15. Silanus : of Ambracia, diviner for Cyrus, VIII, 7. Silence: a virtue, VIII, 2; Pythagorean, see Pythagoras. Simonides : poet, I, 14. Sirens: VI, 11, 14. Slaves : Carian, III, 25 ; Hyrcanian, Scythian, V, 20; Pontic, Lydian, Phry¬ gian, VIII, 7 ; relations to masters, VII, 42; laws of Lycurgus permit kill¬ ing them, VI, 20. INDEX 261 Smyrna : invites Apollonius, IV, 1 ; he discourses there, IV, 5-10; VII, 8; VIII, 24; shaken by earthquake, IV, 6; beautiful, IV, 7. Socrates: his accusation, VII, 11; in¬ structor of Antisthenes, IV, 25 ; method of swearing, VI, 19; just, VI, 21; re¬ fuses rescue, IV, 46; VIII, 2; not dead, VIII, 2, 3; prophesied, I, 2; VIII, 7; followers, IV, 2. Solon : Athenian legislator, VI, 21. Sophists : their art, VII, 16. Sophocles : paean to vEsculapius, III, 17 ; laid the winds, VIII, 7 ; quotations, I, 13; II, 23; IV, 38; VII, 4, 31; VIII, 7. Sparta : (Lacedaemon) citizens meet Apol¬ lonius, VIII, 15; invite him, IV, 27; are recalled by him to primitive sim¬ plicity, IV, 31 ; defeat Athenians, VI, 20, 21 ; wear hair long. III, 15 ; VIII, 7 ; degenerate, VI, 20 ; use scourges, VI, 20; VII, 42; freest of Greeks, VI, 20 ; magistrates, IV, 32 ; devoted to war-training, IV, 8; VI, 20; original mode of life, IV, 27, 32; Spartan danc¬ ing, IV, 21 ; city without walls, I, 39 ; heroes at Thermopylae, IV, 23 ; answer Nero’s letter, IV, 33. Sperchius : river of Thessaly to which Achilles vowed long hair, IV, 16. Speusippus : Athenian philosopher, sings at Cassander’s wedding, I, 34. Spice-trees: II, 2; III, 4;. VIII, 7. Springs : of oil, bitumen and water, min¬ gled, in Babylonia, I, 23 ; spring fatal to perjurers, I, 6; no gold-bearing spring in India, III, 45 ; marvellous springs on Indian Sages’ hill. III, 14. Statuary art : antique, V, 20 ; VI, 4. Stephanus : freedman of Clemens, assas¬ sinated Domitian, VIII, 25 ; name fore¬ told by portent, VIII, 23. Stesichorus : palinode to Helen, VI, 11. Stobera : city of India, III, 55. Stoic philosophers : I, 7. Stoning: to death, I, 16; III, 22; IV, 8, 10; V, 26. Storax (or styrax) : certain fragrant gum, II, 2. Storks : II, 14. Stratocles of Pharos : VI, 10. Stratocles : of Sidon, physician at Rome, VIII, 7. Sun-worship : at Babylon, I, 31 ; at Tax- ila, II, 24, 26; tigers worship Sun, II, 28; Alexander dedicates elephant, II, 12, 24; Indian Sages worship. III, 14, 15, 17, 33; VI, 11; obtain sacred fire from it. III, 14, 15 ; Phraotes swears by Sun, II, 31 ; so does Apollonius, VI, 32; VII, 6 ; Indian king aspires to be one with Sun, III, 23 ; Memnon’s statue worships, IV, 4; worship by Apollo¬ nius daily, I, 16, 31; II, 38; V, 30; VI, 4, 10, 18; VII, 10, 31; VIII, 13; grif¬ fins sacred to Sun, III, 48; Gymnoso- phists worship, VI, 14. Sunium: cape of Attica, III, 23. Susa: in Persia, I, 18; V, 33. Swans : I, 5 ; III, 49. Sycaminus : between Egypt and Ethiopia, VI, 2. Symbols : barbarians represent deities by, II, 24; VI, 19. Syracuse: V, 13, 18; VIII, 15; VII, 36. Syria : prefect of, I, 37 ; VI, 38 ; Syrians slavish, VII, 14. Tanais: river of Scythia, now the Don, VII, 26. Tantalus: IV, 25; revered by Indian Sages as truest friend, III, 25 ; his statue and cup. III, 25, 32, 51 ; VII, 14. Taormina (Tauromenium) : VIII, 15. Tarentum : in Italy, now Taranto, VII, 8, 24; Tarentines wear long hair. III, 15. Tarsus : in Cilicia, dissolute, I, 7 ; Apol¬ lonius began studies there (id.), citi¬ zens first hated Apollonius, then wor¬ shipped him, VI, 34, 43. Taurians : inhospitable tribe of Scythia, VI, 20; VIII, 7. Taurus: mountain range in Asia, I, 20; II, 2. Taxila : chief city of India, II, 12, 20, 23, 32, 42. Taygetus: mountain in Laconia, IV, 31. Telemachus: son of Ulysses, VI, 31. Telephus : king of Mysia, his soul enters boy, VI, 43 Telesinus : consul under Nero, friend of Apollonius, IV, 40, 43; V, 7; VIII, 12; banished by Domitian as philosopher, VII, 11; VIII, 7. Telliadae: a famous family of diviners, descended from Tellias of Elis, V, 25. Terpnus : apparently a popular actor, imitated by Nero, V, 7. Teucer: his golden belt at Erythia, V. 5. Thales : of Miletus, watched on Mycale, II, 5; prophesied, VIII, 7. Thamos : Egyptian robber, VI, 5. 262 APOLLONIUS OF TYANA Thebes: in Boeotia; Alexander offered to rebuild, VII, 2, 3. Themistocles : visited Persian court, I, 29; statue at Cadiz, V, 4. Theophania : festival at Delphi when statues of Apollo and other gods were exhibited, IV, 31. Thera : island in ^gsean sea, IV, 34. Thermodon : river of Scythia, now Ter- meh, VII, 26. Thermopylae : I, 25 ; IV, 23. Theseus : brought back from Hades by Hercules, IV, 46; cursed Hippolvtus, VH, 42. Thespesio : eldest Gymnosophist and their spokesman, VI, 10-22; VH, 14. Thessalians: Achilles indignant, IV, 16; sends Apollonius to them, IV, 12, 23 ; they obey, VHI, 15 ; costume, HI, 25 ; credulous of the power of witches, VHI, 7. Thirty tyrants : at Athens, VH, 4. Thon, in Egypt, VH, 22. Thracians : VH, 3 ; IV, 14. Thrasybulus : of Naucratis, disciple of Euphrates, VI, 7, 8, 9, 13. Thurians : wore long hair, HI, 15 ; IV, 10. Tiber: VH, 16; VHI, 2. Tiberius: emperor; cruel, I, 15; V, 32; sly, VH, 14; his statues revered, I, 15. Tigellinus: Nero’s praetorian prefect, hostile to Apollonius and subdued by him, IV, 42-44; V, 35; VH, 4. Tigers: care for young, H, 14; worship rising Sun, H, 28; Indians eat hind¬ quarters (id.) ; many seen in India, HI, 50 ; swifter than griffins HI, 48. Tigris : river, I, 20, 21. Timasion : Egyptian guide, VI, 3-9, 22-26. Timomachus : painter, H, 22. Tingi: African tribe, V, 1. Tiresias: of Sophocles, VH, 4. Titus : takes Jerusalem, correspondence with Apollonius, VI, 29; VH, 8; inter¬ views, VI, 30-34; his death foretold, VI, 32; emperor, VI, 30; referred to in conference with Vespasian, V, 35, 36; and in defense before Domitian, VHI, 7. Tmolus: mountain in Lydia, gold-bear¬ ing, H, 8; VI, 23, 37. Tragedy: improvements at Athens, VI, 11. Troy: visited, IV, 11; Memnon did not go there, VI, 4; nor Helen, IV, 16; VH, 22; Trojan horse, V, 26; heroism there exaggerated, HI, 19; giants in those days, H, 21; Trojans still offer¬ ing sacrifices to Achilles, IV, 16 ; he is implacable (id.), his tomb there, IV, 11. Trophonius: his oracle at Lebadea, IV, 24; described, VHI, 17-19; approved Pythagorean doctrines, VHI, 19. Tyana : in Cappadocia, I, 4, 13, 33 ; VHI, 29, 31. Typhon : chained under JEtna, V, 13, 14, 16. Tyrant: a strange beast, IV, 38; dispo¬ sition, VH, 14; resisted by philoso¬ phers, VH, 2, 3 ; not difficult to resist, VH, 42; how dealt with, VII, 29. Tyrrhenian: sea, V, 11; gulf, VH, 13; Musonius a Tyrrhenian, V, 19. Ulysses: relations with Achilles, IV, 11; receives wind-bag from yEolus, VH, 14; lives with Calypso, VH, 10; en¬ counters Cyclops, IV, 36; VH, 28; Homer neglects Palamedes on his ac¬ count, HI, 22; IV, 16; aided by Leu- cothea, VH, 22 ; death by sea-urchin, VI, 32; waylays Palamedes, HI, 22. Umbrella-footed men (Sciapodes) : in Ethiopia, VI, 25 ; not found in India, HI, 45, 47. Unguent: used at Indian weddings, HI, 1 ; another kind, HI, 17. Ursa Major: constellation not visible in Erythraean Sea, HI, 53. Vardanes : king of Babylon, reinstated, I, 21 ; dealings with Apollonius, I, 29- 41; H, 1, 17, 40; HI, 58; letter to Satrap of Indus, II, 17. Venus: (Aphrodite), Hippolytus rejected her, VI, 3, 4, 5 ; piebald women in India dedicated to her, HI, 3 ; god¬ dess of marriage, HI, 1 ; statue at Pa¬ phos, HI, 58 ; at Cnidos, VI, 19, 40. Vespasian: emperor; comes to Egypt to consult Apollonius, V, 27 ; VH, 18 ; VHI, 7 ; dealings witli him there, V, 28-38 ; letters between them, V, 41 ; VHI, 7 ; his sons, V, 35 ; took freedom from Greece, V, 41; war with Jews, V, 33; praised, VI, 30, 31, 32; V, 41; sets out his policy, V, 29. Vesta: her temple at Rome, VH, 6. Vindex : revolts against Nero in west, V, 10, 11, 33, 35; VH, 4. Vines : in India, Lydia and Masonia, HI, 5 ; Domitian forbids their cultivation, VI, 42; planted by Bacchus at Nysa, H, 9. INDEX 263 Vipers, care for young, II, 14. Vitellius: emperor, V, 11, 13, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34; VIII, 7. Volcanoes; their causes, V, 17. Vulcan: makes Achilles’ shield, II, 22; said to have forge under ^tna, V, 16; skilful, VI, 11, 17; ensnares Mars, VII, 26. Vultures in India: II, 40. Water: drinkers of water have advan¬ tage over wine-drinkers, II, 35-37; measured into clepsydra for court ad¬ vocates, VIII, 2, 4, 6. Whales : protect their young, II, 14. Wine: of Babylon, I, 21; made from dates, II, 6, 7 ; over-indulgence cured, III, 40. Wise men : conduct, I, 35 ; oppose ty¬ rants, VII, 1-3 ; foresee, VIII, 7. Wolves: care for cubs, II, 14; feed on carrion, II, 40. Women: in labor, how relieved. III, 39; avoided by Apollonius, I, 13. Wool; produced by plant in India, III, 15. World : elements and origin. III, 34, 35 ; VIII, 7. Wrynecks: (iynges), I, 25; VI, 11, 14; VIII, 7. Xerxes : burns Athens, III, 31 ; V, 7 ; flees from Salamis, III, 31 ; Eretrians erect altar to him, I, 24; invasion of Greece, IV, 21 ; conquest, V, 41 ; bridges Hellespont, V, 7 ; his victories, I, 25. Zeno: of Elis, frees Mysia from tyrant, VII, 2, 3. Zeugma : frontier city at bridge over Euphrates, I, 20, 37. Zeus : temple of Capitoline Jove burned by Vitellius, V, 30; VIII, 7; praise of Zeus, IV, 30; Olympian Zeus, I, 15; 11, 43; IV, 7, 28 ; VI, 19; VIII, 15, 17; avenger of perjury (Orkios), I, 6; preserver (Soter), II, 7; good, IV, 28; contrives capture of Saturn, VII, 26; born in Crete, IV, 34 ; Alexander erected altar in India to Jupiter Am¬ mon as his father, II, 43. Zeuxis : the painter, II, 20. a ■ .■> ■ V -3:. '' :^ '?•■"• ■ •■ :'o. m^y-- n ■ "y mmwLV • ■ . rw.'X^’.'l.. - * / 7' , ' ..>'■' .-• '. W!/. . , . .^•i*.-A ^»n9BK/./'% -i. -' it'. <*>^6 ifclsi -:.. ■ ‘‘* ■• -iJ ;SS|Sii#:^->ifcisii ' y||i#p lif ."' '-' ■;' ■■ /'-■/■ . 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I B536 .A24P53 1923 Life and times of Apollonius of Tyana, Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 00007 5079 DATE DUE GAYLORD PRINTED IN U.S.A.