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Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96

   https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/438

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 In Defense of Mimes, a speech that both continued a literary tradition of debating the value of theatrical entertainment and responded to contemporary tensions over spectacular entertainment as a venue for popular unrest. Here, in a discussion of laughter, Choricius refers to a large festival at Caesarea involving pantomimes that was held outside the city and attended by all its residents.

Text

(94) πῶς οὖν ἄν τις ἐπιτήδευμα λοιδορήσειεν, ᾧ πρόσεστιν ἔργον κοινὸν μὲν ἀνθρώπου τε καὶ θεοῦ, πόρρω δὲ γένους ἀλόγου; ἐντεῦθεν ἄνδρες ἐν λόγοις τε καὶ νόμοις ἀχθέντες οὐκ ἀποκνοῦσι τοιαῦτα καιροῦ καλοῦντος ἐπιτηδεύειν. (95) καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐνταῦθα τοῦτο πεποιηκότας τί δεῖ πρὸς εἰδότας εἰπεῖν; ἀποβλέψατε δὲ πρὸς τὴν Καίσαρος πόλιν, ἣν ἐκαλλώπισε πανταχόθεν ἡ φύσις. ὡραία τε γὰρ καὶ μεγάλη καὶ λόγοις ἀνθοῦσα καὶ πλούτῳ καὶ παντοδαποῖς ἀξιώμασι πολλῶν τε καὶ καλῶν πόλεων ἡγεμὼν ἅμα καὶ μήτηρ. οἱ ταύτην οἰκοῦντες μικρὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄστεος—γινώσκετε, οἶμαι, τὸν χῶρον οἱ μὲν ἑωρακότες, οἱ δὲ πεπυσμένοι—ἐγκύκλιον ἄγουσιν ἑορτὴν οὐδὲ τοῦ λαχόντος τὴν πόλιν ἰθύνειν ἀπόντος· ἡδεῖα δὲ καὶ πλήρης ἁβρότητος ἡ πανήγυρις αὕτη· ἀφικνεῖται γὰρ ἅπασα τῆς πόλεως ἡ σκηνή, παραγίνονται δὲ καὶ ῥήτορες ἄνδρες τὰ μίμων ὑποκρινόμενοι οὐ φαύλως βεβιωκότες οὐδ’ εὐγλωττίᾳ λειπόμενοι τῶν ὁμοτέχνων. (96) ἆρ’ οὖν, εἰ τῷδε τῷ πράγματι στιγμὴ προσῆν ἀδοξίας, ἄρχοντος ἐναντίον καὶ ἀστῶν καὶ ξένων ἄνδρες ἐκεῖνοι τοῦτο ἂν ἐπετήδευον; οὐδεὶς ἂν λέγειν ἀποτολμήσειε, κἂν πάνυ δύσερις ᾖ.1

Textual Note

Ed. Foerster and Richsteig 1929 with ref. to Pernet 2019

Translation

(94) How could someone rebuke a habit (sc. laughter) on which the livelihood of both human and divine depends, yet has nothing to do with the irrational species? And so men trained in literature and law do not shrink from such a practice when the moment calls for it. (95) What is the purpose of discussing those who have done it here, in front of people who already know? Turn your eyes to Caesarea, which nature has made beautiful in every respect. Attractive and enormous she is, blossoming in culture and wealth and various honors, a leader as well as a mother to many lovely cities. Her residents celebrate a festival on a regular basis not far from the city—I suppose you know what I am talking about, you who have seen or heard about that place—and the official who manages the city does not stay away. It is an enjoyable and extravagant party. The city’s cast of thousands is all there in attendance, and professional orators, not men who have lived impoverished lives, play the role of mimes without falling short of their skilled colleagues in eloquence. (96) Therefore, if the stigma of disrepute adhered to this practice, would those men engage in it in front of the city’s leader, its citizens, and foreign visitors? No one would dare to say so, even if he was extremely argumentative.2

Translation Note

Trans. J. L. Rife with ref. to Pernet 2019

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: 32.94-32.96, p: 365.12-366.5.Link to Zotero Bibliographic RecordLink to HathiTrust Bibliographic record
  • 2 Choricius of Gaza, Choricios de Gaza, L’Apologie des mimes: édition critique, traduction française, princeps et commentaire: étude sur le mime, ed. Christian Pernet, Sapheneia: Contributions à la philologie classique 20 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2019), p: 66-69.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record

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 ppLink to Zotero Bibliographic RecordLink to Worldcat Bibliographic record
About This Text

 

How to Cite This Entry

Joseph L. Rife, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published January 20, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/438.

Bibliography:

Joseph L. Rife, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96.” 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/438.

About this Entry

Entry Title: Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96

Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:

  • Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
  • Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
  • David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96”
  • Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96”

Additional Credit:

  • TEI encoding by Joseph L. Rife
  • URNs and other metadata added by Joseph L. Rife
  • Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
  • Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife
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