Thesauros Literature satire Ἑρμότιμος ἢ Περὶ Αἱρέσεων

Ἑρμότιμος ἢ Περὶ Αἱρέσεων

Ἑρμότιμος ἢ Περὶ Αἱρέσεων Lucian of Samosata

18–19

LYCINUS
Did you see them behaving also as I said just now I saw your master behaving, Hermotimus? I mean lending money and making bitter demands to be repaid, quarrelsome and most contentious in conversations and generally showing off as they usually do? Or is this of little importance to you, so long as the dress is decent, the beard long, and the hair close-cropped? Then this is to be our strict rule and law for the future in these matters according to Hermotimus: we are to distinguish the best men by their appearance, their walk, and their hair, and whosoever has not these signs and does not look sulky and meditative is to be spurned and rejected!
 
You’re surely making fun of me, Hermotimus; you’re trying to see if I can spot the catch.
HERMOTIMUS
Why do you say that?
LYCINUS
Because, my dear friend, this test of yours from appearances is for statues. They at any rate are much more prepossessing and comely in their dress, if a Phidias or Alcamenes or Myron has made them in the most handsome style. But if these are the surest, critical tests, what would a blind man do if he wanted to take up philosophy? How does he recognise the one who has made the better choice—he can see neither bearing nor gait?
HERMOTIMUS
My argument is not addressed to the blind, Lycinus, and I have no interest in them.

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