Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96
created: This entry is taken from Speeches 32.94-32.96 written by Choricius of Gaza in 52
edition published: 2023-01-20-06:00
language: grc; grc
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2023 by the contributors (Joseph L. Rife, et al.) and the Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project. It is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Some texts quoted in this entry may be in the public domain in the United States. No copyright is asserted for these quotations. Some texts quoted in this entry may have copyright restrictions and are reused under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

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

τὴν Καίσαρος πόλιν

, and

Caesarea

are directly attested at Choricius of Gaza, Speeches 32.94-32.96. This passage was written ca. 525-527 CE possibly in Gaza. 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.

(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.

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

(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.

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

Works Cited

[...] 32.94-32.96 365.12-366.5
[...] 66-69

Additional Bibliography

[...]

[* Unknown, Exhibit of the Whole World and its Peoples 32]

[none]

[none]

[Culture and Society

Entertainment

Law and Government

Paganism]