Notes on Dio Chrysostom O'Sullivan, James N Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies; Summer 1977; 18, 2; Periodicals Archive Online pg. 147

Notes on Dio Chrysostom 
James N. O'Sullivan 

I N GRBS 17 (1976) 154-56 Professor Highet suggests a number of 
changes in the text of Dio Chrysostom. My view of most of the 
places affected differs from his. In this paper I shall try to defend 

the transmitted text of a number of those passages, except for 3.86, 
where I would modify Professor Highet's solution. For convenience 
I shall follow him in basing my comments on von Arnim's edition 
(2 vols., Berlin 1916, 1919). 

3 86 .J.. \' " 1 1 A' A 1 '\ \ . • ~LI\tav y€ JL'T/V a7TaV'TWV V€VOJLLK€ TWV aVTOV KT7JJLaTWV Kal\l\LCTOV 
,. 1 ,'"'' ~ [' f1 \ 1 ] 't'" 1 t' Kat t€pWTaTOV. OV yap OVTWC atCXpov €LVat TO aOl\€V€LV OVo€ €7TLKLVOVVOV 

1 , A'.J.. " , t""" A. 1 , A XP'T/JLaTWV a7TOp€LV WC ~LI\WV, ovo av OVTWC 771 XOP'T/Y'l{- KaL TOLC CTpaTO-
It' ,- .. , \ t' I t'.J.. \ 1 "t' I, _, A 

7T€OOLC KaL TrJ al\l\rJ ovvaJL€L OLa~VI\aTT€'V T7Jv €VOaLJLOVtaV we 771 7TtCT€L TWV 

~lAwv. 

TO {JaCLA€VEtV del. Wilamowitz : TOLe {JaCl.AeVCLV Weil. 

Highet would read OV7'we < ae~aAh > 7'fj XOP'T/yll{- ••• Since it does not 
seem that OV7'we ••• we ••• can mean Cas well (securely) ... as .. :, he 
is very probably right in thinking that something has fallen out after 
OV7'wc. I see no objection, either, to the suggestion that the missing 
word was a form of ac~aA~e, which is supported not only by 3.96 

(quoted by Highet) but also by the much nearer 3.897'OLC JLtv 7'VXOVCLV 

OVK ac~a'\te €lKfj f-LE7'aOL06vaL Ovv&'JLEWe; it is worth noting that in this 
whole passage Dio does not seem to be striving for any great variety 
of vocabulary. I am not, however, happy with < aecpa,\te >: with it one 
would have to understand ElvaL, and this would divert to itself the 
<Xv that surely belongs to oLa~v'\&.7'7'ELV (why &V with this understood 
ElvaL, though not with alc.xpov ElvaL just above?). 

There is a way of providing OVTWC with a form of ac~a'\~c, leaving 
<Xv to SUXCPVA&'7'7'ELV, and getting a common construction with that verb: 
read OV7'we < &ccpa'\~>, the adjective being predicative, agreeing with 
EvljaLf-Lovlav. Cf Pluto Rom. 21F OU7" a~T7''T/7'OV ~av7'ov 8Le~vA~Ev 

OUTE ••• j Comp.Ages. et Pomp. 663D aEt 8L€~V'\~EV EavTov avlK'T/7'OVj 

Mor. 14E, 85B, 87D. 

147 



148 NOTES ON DIO CHRYSOSTOM 

8 8 • \ ~ \ ""I,. , \ , • -" \ , • • E1TEL OE E'I'TJ 1TaVCELV 'TOVC 1TELC0I-'EVOVC avrcp ayvoLac KaL 1ToV'Y}pLac 
\ , \' 't' \ ,- A 't' \ "\ • A 0 ., , t" 

KaL aKOl\anaC, OVOELC avrcp 1TPOCEtXEV OVOE EKEI\EVEV LaC aL aV'TOV, OVO 

" , \ \ \ '.1. (J " "\ \ av EL 1TOI\V 1TpOCI\TJ'I'EC aL apyvpLOV EI-'EIV\EV, • • • 

oM' <<<Xv> El von Arnim : oME El codd. 

Highet proposes the deletion of apyVpLOv: "Diogenes never 
suggested that his spiritual cures would make his patients rich: he 
would have scorned the idea. Delete apyvpLov as an addition by a 
reader who did not know that 1Tpodal-'fMvw can be used without an 
object, as in Dem. 2.7." He does not say what he would do with 
1ToAv: with aPi'VpLOV deleted, what would 1ToAv be if not object of 
1TpocA~t/JEcOaL? In any case suspicion of the text comes from mis­
understanding it, as the Loeb translator also did: 'no matter how 
much richer he might become thereby'. The Greek means 'not even 
if he was (had been) going to get a lot of money besides' (the 1TpOC­

means 'in addition to the cure'): those in need of intellectual and 
spiritual improvement would not seek that improvement, 'not even 
if you paid them'. There is nothing in the Greek about long-term 
wealth. 

11 96 ~"I,. \ .,.. , • A ~ \ , f, , -" \ " 
• • Ka'Tv-oyOOlTJC OVV Ei'EyOVEL avrcp OLa 'Tovrwv a1TaV'TWV EVaJ\W'TOC WV, 

II t' _ \ \ \' "8 A , , ,- \ 

a'TE OELVCP TTJV 1TOI\EI-'LKTJV 'TEXVYJV' WC'TE appwv a1TTJV'TTJCEV avrcp Ka'Ta 

, \ t" \ \ \ - " \ • .I. ' , , I-'ECOV 'TO 1TEOLOV. KaL 'TO I-'EV 1TpW'TOV EVEKI\WEV WC 'l'EvyWV, a1T01TELpWI-'EVOC 
, A" ~\ A Q \' ,,\ , "t'\' .I.' 

avrov, al-'a OE K01TwcaL pOVI\0I-'EVOC, O'TE I-'EV 1TEP'I-'EVWV, O'TE OE a1T0'l'EVYWV' 
, \ ~ \ ., Q ~ , \ , \' .,. '.1. • \ 

E1TEt. OE Ewpa ppaOVVOV'Ta KaL a1TOI\EL1T0I-'EVOV. OV'TWC V1TOC'TpE'I'ac avroc 
~ ".' • ~ , '" \ "I,. , J/ ~, 'Q __ \ \ , , 
'IKEV E1T avrov OVoE 'Ta 01Tl\a 'rEpELV E'T£ ovval-'EVOV, KaL CVl-'paJ\WV a1TEK'TEt.VE 

, '"" • \ ", eo, - flO " \ ~ \ II 
KaL 'TWV 01TI\WV EKpaTTJCEV, WC KaL 'Tovro I-'TJPOC EtpTJKE. 'TOVC OE L1T1TOVC 

~ ,_.1: ' .I. '''E • \Q A ~, " _f_ \ , 
OLWS"aL fLEV 'l'TJCL 'TOV K'TOpa. OV l\apELV OE, KaKEWWV aJ\OV'TWV. 

Highet sees ov Aaf3Eiv ~', KaKE{vwv aMv'Twv as self-contradictory and 
goes on, "The horses, like Hector himself, were tired: Dio remembers 
Iliad 17.75-78 and rationalizes it. Read KaI-'VOV'Twv." I have found no 
basis for Kal-'VOV'TWV in the Iliad; and I see nothing wrong with 
aAoV'Twv: ov negatives not just Aaf3Eiv but also the dependent par­
ticiple: 'it was not the case that they too having fallen prey to him he 
got them into his hands'. Cf Pluto Mor. 614D (Quaest.conv. 1.4) OV~' 
• , '\ Q'" "0" -, ".I. h V1TOKOVLE'TaL, 'TTJv l\apTJv WC1TEP ELW EV EV'TOVOV 1TOLWV KaL a'l'vK'TOV, were 

1TOLcI)V would contradict OV~' t}1TOKOV{E'TaL unless it too were negatived 
by ov~': here, and in Dio, the participle and the verb on which it 
depends express aspects of a single complex activity. and it is this 



JAMES N. O'SULLIVAN 149 

activity as a whole that is negatived. In Dio the Kal of KaKElvwv means 
< as well as Achilles' and a'\&VTWV echoes EO&'\WTOC used of Achilles in 
the first sentence of the paragraph. 

The Loeb translation is also wrong here: 'but he did not bring them 
in though they too were caught'. 

18 8 ,\ '1' , ,.\ ~ ,,, a ''1' () , a ~ \ \ \ 
• . jLEI\'YJ OE KaL EI\EyEta KaL LajLpOt KaL o£ vpajLpoL Tep jLEV CXOI\'YJv 

ayov'TL 7ToAAov afLa' T~ DE 7Tp&TT€W T€ Ka~ aJLa [TaC 7Tp&fELC] KaL TO(,C 
\ , "1: ~ """" \ \ , I\OYOVC av~ €W OLavOOVJLEVCP OVK av € 'Tj 7TPOC aVTa CXOI\Tj. 

TaC 7Tp&,fEtC sed. von Arnim. 

Highet would read afLa TaLc 7TP~€CL. There is no pressing need for 
emendation: aJLa is adverbial, expressing the simultaneity of progress 
in 7TP~€LC and in '\&YOL, and TaC 7TP~€LC as well as TO(,C '\&yovc is 
governed by avf€Lv: 'to engage in public affairs and to promote his 
political career and at the same time develop his rhetorical powers', 
i.e. 'to engage in politics and to develop his powers as an orator while 
at the same time making progress in his career'. 

30 4 \. ~ "\ \ , " " ft.... , • • Kat 'YJJLac €K€I\€V€ I\€Y€LV, OTav COL €VTVXWJL€V, OTt COV jLEjLVTJjLEVOC 

€T€'\€l.JTa. Kat yap TO CVJI€tJla, aVT{jJ Kat (j,aMy€c(JaL EWC vCTaTov 7Tapi· 
JL€WEV. 

Highet objects to CVV€LVat: "the infinitive of CVVLTjJLL (= 'under­
stand') is shown, for instance by Herodotus 3.46.1, 3.63.4, and 5.80.1, 
to be cvvLEva,," lEvaL is, to be sure, the present infinitive of iTjJLL, but 
the second aorist infinitive is €tvaL (Ar. Ran. 133). The simple form is 
rare, but -€LVaL is common: in plato e.g. aV€LVaL Grg. 492n; La. 179A; 

Ly. 209B; Resp. 368c, 538B; Symp. 179c; Soph. 235A; ac/J€LVaL Phlb. SOn, 
62E; Resp. 327c, 599A; ic/J€LVaL Prt. 338A; JLdhLVaL Phlb. SOn; fVV€LVaL 

(cvv-) era. 414n; Epin. 979B; Leg. 683B. 

30 18 • , ~ \ \ -, \ ~ 't: \ - > \ \ '\ • • OJLOtWC O€ KaL TatC TvxaLC T€ Kat OO~ aLC Kat 'TLJLatc al\l\Tjl\wv 
f' rI - / ., \ , 'R " \ ~\ V7T€P€X€WJ WC7TEp TOLC cWJLaetv. HvaL yap TOVC JLEV paCtl\EaCJ TOVC OE 
''1' , \ \ \ \' \ ~ \ , , 
WLWTaC J KaL TOVC JL€V 7TI\OVCtOVC, TOVC O€ a7TOpovc. 

Highet regards a'\'\~'\wv as corrupt, saying "All men cannot be 
superior to one another: read a'\'\ovc a'\'\wJI iJ7T€PEX€LV." He believes, 
it seems, that this would mean ' ... some are superior to others', 
whereas it would in fact be Greek for ' ... some are superior to one 
group, others to another' and that would be nonsense here. 

The idea of reciprocity in a'\'\~'\wJI does seem inappropriate at first 



150 NOTES ON 010 CHRYSOSTOM 

reading, but the word can, I believe, be defended and need be regarded 
neither as corrupt nor as an instance of loose usage. Men cannot, it is 
true, be superior to one another in one and the same respect, but here 
we have what are probably intended to be understood as three 
distinct features of life: TVX(XLC • •• 06~a£c ••• 'T£l-'aLc. Just as in the 
preceding paragraph one can think of the prisoners as ringing the 
changes on the physical characteristics mentioned, some being small 
and good-looking, others large and ugly, and so on, so one is probably 
meant here to envisage one man as being, say, honoured above others 
but otherwise dogged by misfortunes that those others escape, and 
so on: A is above B in one respect, B above A in another; they can in 
fact be said to be superior to one another. 

If a'\'\~'\wv is, after all, used loosely, without any notion of reciproc­
ity, then it may be compared with the use of ETTa,\,\"1,\o£ = 'one close 
after another' rather than the impossible 'close after one another': 
see LSJ S.v. ETTa,\A"1,\OC I, and R. C. Jebb on Sophocles, Antigone 57 
(Jebb's generalisation stumbles at Achilles Tatius 2.11.3). 

30 26 ,~~ "" " '0' ',I,.' .-• • ••• €V rn YTl €PYJP-Tl OlJCTl KaTotKt(a£ TOlJC av PWTTOlJC €'f' YJTTOCt 
~ '''\ Q ~ , ~ , " ~,~ 

T£l-'atC Kat Ol\fJ<fJ, O£KatotC O€ Kat VOI-'O£C TOtC aVTotC' 

~HKalo£c, which Professor Highet would change to StKa£c, should be 
kept. It is to be taken as a substantive, on the same footing as vop-Otc, 

with the postponed TOLC, and for the sense see LSJ s.v. stK(XLOC B.L2. 

"The infinitive of TTapHp-t = 'pass over' is TTaptEVat" (Highet). But 
TTap€'ivat is the second aorist infinitive of TTapl"1l-'t (see on 30.4 above) 
and gives faultless sense: 'pass over' (LSJ 1[.2). 

3 3 1 'E' 0 'r ' "\ \, , \, ~ - " •• yw alJl-'a",w 'T£ TTOT €C'T£ TO VI-'€T€POV Kat 'T£ TTPOCOOKWVT€C "1 

Q \' , , '0' ~ --, , 0 '~r ~ , fJOVI\0P-€VOt TOVC TOtoVTOVC av PWTTOVC otatl.€Y€C a£ Vp-tV ","1THT€, TTOT€POV 

',I,. , "0 l \ ,1,.0' O"~ - ,,\ , " " €V'f'WVOVC Ot€C € € vat Kat 'f' €yy€C at "1otoV TWV aI\l\WV, €TTHTa WCTT€P 

" 0 ~ " \ "" , ~ "'" I '" , JI OPV€WV TTO HT€ aKOV€W I-'€I\<POOVVTWV VI-'£V "1 ovval-'tV al\l\"1v €X€W ••• 

"The adverb of sequence, ~TT€£Ta, makes no sense. A subordinate 
clause of explanation is needed, introduced by ETTHS~ y€" (Highet). 
But ~TT€tTa also expresses consequence. This use is specially common in 
questions, with a connotation of surprise, contemptuous disbelief 
vel sim. (LSJ S.V. ETTHTa II.3; cf Eha II), and here, of course, we have an 



JAMES N. O'SULLIVAN 151 

indirect question. Dio is saying' ... whether you think ... , and really 
then (if that is the only merit you see in orators) long to hear .. .'. In 
view of my bracketed conditional elaboration, it is also worth com­
paring LSJ S.v. €1TEL'ra 1.4.b (which, by the way, hardly belongs under 
'of mere Sequence'). 

48.14. EILOL <8£ > IL€A£L /LEV Kat TOU Kal)' uJLac, /LEAEL 8£ Kat TOU KaT' 

EP.CWTOV. El yap qnAococf>oc 1TO~I.LTE[ac arpap.Evoc OlJK EDvv-ry87J 1TapeXELV 
t - 1\ _" \ >I" \",/" fi • \. op.OIJoovcaIJ 1TOI\W, TOVTO OEtIJOV "lOT] Kat a'f'VKTOIJ, WC1TEp Et vav1T7JYoc EV 

'\1 , , , - \' , • f3 1 '/'" VTJt 1TI\EWV p.7J 1TapEXot T7JV vavv 1TI\EOVCaV, Kat Et KV EpV7JTT]C 'f'aCKWV 
., \, \ \ .... " \1 '" \ f3' '" "~I t -€tvat 1TpOC aVTO TO Kvp.a a1TOKI\WOL, "I I\a WV otKLav OLKOOOP.OC, opWV 

1Tt1TTOVcaV, 0 DE TOVTOV P.EV ap.EAot, KOVtWV DE Kat xptwv OrOLTO TL 1TOLEtV. 

"Such a failure," writes Professor Highet, "is distressing but not 
literally inescapable, acpvKTOIJ. Read acpopT]TOIJ." But is not Dio saying 
that if someone who claims to be a philosopher undertakes to bring 
about political harmony in his city and fails, the resulting stigma will 
be 'terrible and inescapable'? That is why in his role as political 
admonisher Dio is concerned for himself. Highet seems to see TOVTO 

as referring to failure viewed as a prospect which could, of course, 
be avoided, by avoidance of the whole effort or by a better approach. 
It refers in fact (in what could be seen as exaggerated terms) to the 
situation obtaining after the hypothetical failure (arpap.Evoc ..• 

€Dvv-ry8T]), to the stigma that the philosopher will never escape from 
or live down. acpvKToc of what one is already caught up in (this dis­
tinction between 'avoiding' altogether and 'escaping out of' is not 
made in LSJ) occurs also in Pluto Mor. 614D (Quaest.conv.1.4); Mar. 
422c Tip METeAAcjJ amhT]v 1TEPLTL8Etc acpvKTov; cf 433D WC ~v aqwKTa ... , 
,\ ,\ , , A t 927 ' '/'" ". l' , ", " ,/,. aVTOC aVTOIJ a1TEKTEWEV; n. E a'f'''lIJ 0 ELXEV T] CVIJOLaLT7JCLC a'f'VKTOIJ 

(as one would not discover until already captivated).l 

UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE 

April, 1977 

1 While investigating instances of a<!>vKToc and related words, I found that LS) cite 
ci"€Kq,'''lKTovc, civa7TollpacTovc and ci"a7TOCTaTOVC (s.vv.) from P!ut. Mor. 166E (De superst. 4), 
taking them as passive (wrongly, in my view) and giving no proper indication that the 
text and interpretation (precisely whether the words in question are active or passive in 
force, i.e. refer to slaves or masters) are in serious doubt.