Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 8.12-8.14
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/437
Context
Choricius was a leading figure of the rhetorical flowering at Late
Antique Gaza. Although we know nothing of his career, his evident professional success,
references within his writings, and his reputation for stylistic sophistication among
Byzantine scholars all point to the status and influence of Choricius among classicizing
intellectuals of the Near East during roughly the second quarter of the 6th century. He
apparently had personal experience with Alexandria and Caesarea, but his teaching and
lecturing was chiefly based in Gaza. Among his surviving works are declamations,
laudatory and apologetic speeches, funeral oratory, and treatises. This passage comes
from his eulogy to his teacher, the illustrious Procopius of Gaza. Choricius here
recounts how the talented youth was attracted by many cities before settling back in
Gaza. In particular Caesarea, he claims, was both a center of learning and a beautiful
city with lovely baths.
Text
(12) ταῦτα δικαίως ἂν εἴποι Ῥητορικὴ τοσούτου χηρεύουσα παιδευτοῦ
κέντρον ἐμβαλόντος ἐρωτικὸν ταῖς μεγίσταις τῶν πόλεων καὶ λόγων ὀρεγομέναις. ἐπόθησε
τοῦτον ἡ παρὰ τὸν Ὀρόντην κειμένη πόλις ἡ Λιβανίου μήτηρ, ὅμοια πέπονθεν ἡ Φοινίκων
μητρόπολις. παρῆλθεν ἑκατέρας τὸ φίλτρον ἡ Καίσαρος τὰ μὲν
βιαζομένη, τὰ δὲ κολακεύουσα, τὰ δὲ πειρωμένη χρυσίῳ πολλῷ δελεάζειν, οἵαις ἀεὶ μηχαναῖς
ἐραστὴς πρὸς ἄγραν κέχρηται παιδικῶν, ἕως ὀψὲ μὲν εἷλε τὸ θήραμα, ἑλοῦσα δὲ φυλάττειν
οὐκ εἶχεν ἰσχυροτέροις ἀγόμενον λίνοις, πόθῳ τῆς ἐνεγκούσης. (13) καὶ τὰ τροφεῖα καλῶς
ἀπέδωκε τῇ πατρίδι τοσαύτας ὁμοῦ καὶ τοιαύτας ἐν δευτέρῳ θέμενος πόλεις. καίτοι χωρὶς
ἀξιωμάτων λαμπρῶν καὶ μεγέθους κατασκευῆς, οἷς αἱ πόλεις ἐκεῖναι σεμνύνονται, ἴδιον
ἑκάστη πλεονέκτημα κέκτηται πρὸς ἔρωτα δεινὸν ἐρεθίσαι· ἡ μὲν Ἀντιόχου τὸν ὁμώνυμον
χῶρον τῆς Ἀπόλλωνος ἐρωμένης, ὅπου χαρίεντα καὶ διαφανῆ καὶ πότιμα νάματα πλάτανός τε
πολλὴ καὶ κυπάριττοι πλείους ἀμφιλαφεῖς τε καὶ ὑψηλαὶ καὶ ὀρνίθων ᾠδαὶ καὶ αὖραι τὰ
σώματα διαψύχουσαι. ἡ μὲν οὖν Ἀντιόχου δέλεαρ ἔχει τὸ ἄλσος, ἡ δὲ Τυρίων τὰς Χάριτας,
οὕτω γὰρ ἄξιον προσειπεῖν τὰς πηγάς, ἡ Καίσαρος δὲ λουτρῷ
καλλωπίζεται, ὅπερ ἡδὺ μὲν ὁρῶντί σοι δόξει, τερπνότερον δὲ λελουμένῳ. (14) ὑπὸ τοιούτων
Σειρήνων ἑλκόμενος εἴχετο τῆς θρεψαμένης δεινὸν εἰκότως ὑπολαβὼν τὸν ῥήτορα μὲν τῶν
Ἀχαιῶν Ἰθάκης ἐρᾶν κραναῆς περ ἐούσης, αὑτὸν δὲ τοιαύτης ὑπερφρονῆσαι πατρίδος τά τε
ἄλλα καλῆς καὶ νικώσης ἀρεταῖς οἰκητόρων, ὅτῳ μάλιστα τρόπῳ πόλις κοσμεῖται.1
Textual Note
Ed. Foerster and Richsteig 1929Translation
(12) Such things Rhetoric would plausibly say if she was deprived of
so great an educator (as Procopius), who aroused passionate competition among the
greatest cities desiring speeches. The city lying by the river Orontes, Libanius’
mother, Antioch, yearned for him; the capital of Phoenicia had felt the same. And
Caesarea had surpassed both of them as a love-charm sometimes
working by force, sometimes by flattery, and sometimes baiting him with much gold—the
sorts of tricks that a lover of learning uses on the hunt. Until recently,
(Caesarea) drew in her quarry but after catching him was
unable to keep hold of him, because he was drawn away by stronger lines, by his desire
for his birthplace (Gaza). (13) He richly paid back his homeland for his upbringing by
putting so many and such great cities in second place. Indeed, apart from the brilliant
honors and enormous structures in which those cities take pride, each one has its own
particular advantage to attract (someone) with strong temptations. The city of Antioch
has the place with the same name as Apollo’s lover (i.e., Daphne), where there are
graceful, clear, and drinkable streams, many plane trees and more cypresses,
wide-spreading and towering, and the songs of birds, and breezes that refresh the body.
While the allure of Antioch is the grove, the city of Tyre has the Graces, for its
springs deserve to be called that. And Caesarea is adorned with
baths, which are pleasant for you to behold, and where it is even more enjoyable for you
to bathe. (14) Although Procopius was attracted by such Sirens, he settled at the city
that nurtured him. He reasonably considered it strange that the rhetor of the Achaeans
would love Ithaca, “rocky though it is,” but disdain the virtues of the residents of an
otherwise so beautiful and prominent homeland, which are the best adornment for a
city.2
Translation Note
Adapted from Litsas 1980Discussion Note
Choricius quotes “rocky though it is” (κραναῆς περ ἐούσης, 14) from Homer, Odyssey 9.27.Works Cited
- 1 Choricius of Gaza, Choricii Gazaei opera, ed. Eberhard Richtsteig and Richard Foerster, Bibliotheca scriptorum graecorum et latinorum Teubneriana (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1929), section: 8.12-8.14, p: 113.15-114.21.
- 2 Choricius of Gaza and Fotios K. Litsas, Choricius of Gaza: An Approach to His Work. Introduction, Translation, Commentary (Ph.D., Chicago, University of Chicago, 1980), p: 216-217.
Additional Bibliography
- Robert J. Penella, Introduction, in Rhetorical Exercises from Late Antiquity: A Translation of Choricius of Gaza’s Preliminary Talks and Declamations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres, 2009), xii + 323 pp
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 8.12-8.14,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published January 20, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/437.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 8.12-8.14.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published January 20, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/437.About this Entry
Entry Title: Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 8.12-8.14
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- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
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