Πῶς δεῖ Ἱστορίαν συγγράφειν

Sections

1 – 1 2 – 3 4 – 4 5 – 5 6 – 7 7 – 7 8 – 8 9 – 9 9 – 9 10 – 10 11 – 11 12 – 13 13 – 13 14 – 14 15 – 15 16 – 16 17 – 18 19 – 19 20 – 20 21 – 21 22 – 23 23 – 23 24 – 24 25 – 25 26 – 26 27 – 27 28 – 28 29 – 29 30 – 30 31 – 31 32 – 32 33 – 34 35 – 36 37 – 37 38 – 38 39 – 39 40 – 40 41 – 42 43 – 44 45 – 46 47 – 48 49 – 49 50 – 51 52 – 54 55 – 56 57 – 58 59 – 61 62 – 63

İngilizce İngilizce Yunanca Yunanca

24 Yet we can put up with all these things as far as they are faults of expression and arrangement of material; but to misplace localities even, not just by parasangs but by whole days’ marches, what fineness of style does that resemble? One man, for example, who had never met a Syrian nor even heard as they say “barber-shop gossip” about such things, assembled his facts so carelessly that when speaking of Europus he said: “Europus is situated in Mesopotamia, two days’ journey from the Euphrates; it was colonised by men of Edessa.” Europus was actually situated on the Euphrates itself, on the farther shore from Mesopotamia. Even this was not enough for him: my own birthplace, Samosata, this fine writer in the same book lifted, acropolis, walls and all, and transplanted to Mesopotamia, so as to surround it by both rivers, which passed close to it on either side and almost touched the walls. How ridiculous, Philo, if I were now to argue a proof with you that I am not a Parthian or from Mesopotamia, where this wonderful historian has taken and transplanted me!