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ὁ γοῦν Κικέρων ἐλπίδων μεστὸς ἐπὶ τὴν
πολιτείαν φερόμενος ὑπὸ χρησμοῦ τινος ἀπημβλύνθη τὴν ὁρμήν. ἐρομένῳ γὰρ
αὐτῷ τόν ἐν Δελφοῖς θεὸν ὅπως ἂν ἐνδοξότατος γένοιτο, προσέταξεν ἡ
Πυθία τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν, ἀλλὰ μὴ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν δόξαν, ἡγεμόνα
ποιεῖσθαι τοῦ βίου.
[2]
καὶ τόν γε πρῶτον ἐν
Ῥώμῃ χρόνον εὐλαβῶς διῆγε καὶ ταῖς ἀρχαῖς ὀκνηρῶς προσῄει καὶ
παρημελεῖτο, ταῦτα δὴ τὰ Ῥωμαίων τοῖς βαναυσοτάτοις πρόχειρα καὶ συνήθη
ῥήματα, Γραικὸς καὶ σχολαστικὸς ἀκούων. ἐπεὶ δὲ φύσει φιλότιμος ὢν
καὶ παροξυνόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῶν φίλων ἐπέδωκεν εἰς τὸ
συνηγορεῖν ἑαυτόν, οὐκ ἠρέμα τῷ πρωτείῳ προσῆγεν, ἀλλ᾽ εὐθὺς ἐξέλαμψε
τῇ δόξῃ καὶ διέφερε πολὺ τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων ἐπ᾽ ἀγορᾶς.
[3]
λέγεται δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς οὐδὲν ἧττον νοσήσας
τοῦ Δημοσθένους πρὸς τὴν ὑπόκρισιν, τοῦτο μὲν [p. 94] Ῥωσκίῳ
τῷ κωμῳδῷ, τοῦτο δ᾽ Αἰσώπῳ τῷ τραγῳδῷ προσέχειν ἐπιμελῶς. τόν δ᾽
Αἴσωπον τοῦτον ἱστοροῦσιν ὑποκρινόμενον ἐν θεάτρῳ τόν περὶ τῆς
τιμωρίας τοῦ Θυέστου βουλευόμενον Ἀτρέα, τῶν ὑπηρετῶν τινος ἄφνω
παραδραμόντος, ἔξω τῶν ἑαυτοῦ λογισμῶν διὰ τὸ πάθος ὄντα τῷ σκήπτρῳ
πατάξαι καὶ ἀνελεῖν.
[4]
οὐ μικρὰ δὲ πρὸς τὸ
πείθειν ὑπῆρχεν ἐκ τοῦ ὑποκρίνεσθαι ῥοπὴ τῷ Κικέρωνι. καὶ τούς γε τῷ
βοᾶν μεγάλα χρωμένους 1 ῥήτορας ἐπισκώπτων ἔλεγε δι᾽ ἀσθένειαν ἐπὶ τὴν
κραυγὴν ὥσπερ χωλοὺς ἐφ᾽ ἵππον πηδᾶν. ἡ δὲ περὶ τὰ σκώμματα καὶ τὴν
παιδιὰν ταύτην εὐτραπελία δικανικὸν μὲν ἐδόκει καὶ γλαφυρὸν, χρώμενος δ᾽
αὐτῇ κατακόρως πολλοὺς ἐλύπει καὶ κακοηθείας ἐλάμβανε δόξαν.
Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives. with an English Translation by. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1919. 7.
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