^r^Tp^g? ^■'

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The Characters of Theophrastus

A 'Translation^ with Introduction

By

Charles E. Bennett

and

William A. Hammond

Professors in Cornell University

Longmans, Green, and Co.

91 and 93 Fifth Avenue, New York

London and Bombay

1902

Copyright y igo2, by / ^^^y

Longmans, Green, and Co.

All rights reserved

EDUC.

PSYCH.

LIBRARY

[October, 1902]

Tht Univtrsity Priss Cambridge^ U. S. A.

ro

THOMAS DAT SEYMOUR

In Profound Esteem

Preface

THIS translation of The Char- acters of Theophrastus is in- tended not for the narrow circle of classical philologists, but for the larger body of cultivated persons who have an interest in the past.

Within the last century only three English translations o^'The Characters have appeared; one by Howell (Lon- don, 1824), another by Isaac Taylor (London, 1836), the third by Pro- fessor Jebb (London, 1870). All of these have long been out of print, a fact that seemed to justify the prep- aration of the present work.

Preface

The text followed has been, in the main, that of the edition published in 1897 by the Leipziger Philolo- gische Gesellschaft, A few coarse passages have been omitted, and occasionally a phrase necessary to the understanding of the context has been inserted. Apart from this the translators have aimed to render the original with as much precision and fidelity as is consistent with English idiom.

Charles E. Bennett.

William A. Hammond.

Ithaca, N.Y.,

August, 1902.

VIU

Contents

Page

Introduction xl

Epistle Dedicatory i

The Dissembler (l.y^ 4

The Flatterer (II.) 7

The Coward (XXV.) ii

The Over-zealous Man (IV.) ... 14

The Tactless Man (XII.) .... 16

The Shameless Man (IX.) .... 18

The Newsmonger (VIII.) 21

The Mean Man (X.) 24

The Stupid Man (XIV.) 27

The Surly Man (XV.) 29

The Superstitious Man (XVI.) ... 31

The Thankless Man (XVII.) ... 35

The Suspicious Man (XVIII.) ... 37

^ Numerals in parenthesis give the corresponding numbers of the characters as published in the edition of the Leipziger Philologische Gesellschaft.

ix

Contents

Page

The Disagreeable Man (XX.) ... 39

The Exquisite (XXI.) 41

The Garrulous Man (III.) .... 46

The Bore (VII.) 48

The Rough (VI.) 51

The Affable Man (V.) 54

The Impudent Man (XL) .... 56

The Gross Man (XIX.) 58

The Boor (IV.) 60

The Penurious Man (XXII.) ... 63

The Pompous Man (XXIV.) .... 66

The Braggart (XXIII.) 68

The Oligarch (XXVI.) 71

The Backbiter (XXVIII.) .... 74

The Avaricious Man (XXX.) ... 77

The Late Learner (XXVII.) ... 81

The Vicious Man (XXIX.) .... 84

Introduction

"XT THAT stories are new?" ^^ asks Thackeray, subtle • " observer of men. .

" All types of all characters uity of ^^ march through all fables : Modern tremblers and boasters ; vie- ^^^«^'^''- tims and bullies ; dupes and knaves ; long-eared Neddies, giving themselves leonine airs ; TartufFes wearing virtuous clothing; lovers and their trials, their blindness, their folly and constancy. With the very first page of the human story do not love, and lies too, begin ? So the tales were told ages before ^sop ; and asses under lions' manes roared in Hebrew ; and sly foxes flattered in Etruscan ; and wolves in sheep's clothing gnashed their teeth in San- scrit, no doubt. The sun shines xi

Introduction

to-day as he did when he first began shining; and the birds in the tree overhead, while I am writing, sing very much the same note they have sung ever since there were finches. There may be nothing new under and including the sun ; but it looks fresh every morning, and we rise with it to toil, hope, scheme, laugh, struggle, love, suffer, until the night comes and quiet. And then will wake Morrow and the eyes that look on it; and so da capoTh All this is very true ; the changes which may be observed in human nature are small, and the old types of Theophrastus are all about us nowadays and really look and act much the same as they did to the eyes of the ancient Peri- patetic. Offices and institutions have somewhat changed, and many char- acter-types due to new vocations have come into being since then, e,g, the newsboy, the bishop, the reporter, the hotel-clerk, and the xii

Introduction

jockey. But these are only accidents of civilization, and the peculiarities

of office or the type of pro- Accidental

fessional character do not and Essen- touch, the vital essence of '^'""^ '^^^^ human nature, although they may modify its expression. When one speaks of a coward, one means an intrinsic quality in human kind which is essentially the same whether found in a hoplite or in a modern infantryman, but which may express itself differently in the two cases. The types described by The- ophrastus are types of such intrinsic qualities, and his pictures of ancient vices and weaknesses show men much as we see them now. They are not merely types of professions or callings.

Apart from slight variations similarity of local coloring and institu- creeland tions, the descriptions of the Modern old Greek philosopher might "^yP^^ apply almost as well to the present xiii

Introduction

inhabitants of London or Boston as to the Athenians of 300 b.c. Then, as now, the flatterer plied his wily trade, indulging in smooth compliment of his hero's person or actions. " As# he walks with an acquaintance, he says : * Behold ! How the eyes of

all men are turned upon Flatterer Y^^ ' There is not a man

in the city who enjoys so much notice as yourself. Yesterday your praises were the talk of the Porch. While above thirty men were sitting there together and the conversation fell upon the topic : " Who is our noblest citizen ? " they all began and ended with your name.' " " If his friend essay a jest, the flatterer laughs and stuffs his^ sleeve into his mouth as though he| could not contain himself." But the flatterer of old could be subtle too. " He buys apples and pears, carries them to his hero's house, and gives them to the children, and in xiv

Introduction

the presence of their father he kisses them, exclaiming : ' Chips of the old block!*** and "while his talk is directed to others in the company, his eye is ever fixed upon his hero.** " Then as now there existed the offi- W cious man, always over-ready to undertake the impossible or to interfere in the affairs ]i'u?Man of others. " At a banquet, he forces the servants to mix more ^ wine than the guests can drink. If he sees two men in a quarrel, he rushes in between, even though he knows neither one.** " If the doc- tor leave instructions that no wine be given the patient, he administers 'just a little,* on the plea that he wants to set the sufferer right.'* There existed, of course, then as now, the tactless person, who " selects a man's busiest hour for a The Tact- lengthy conference, and who ^^^^ ^^" sings love ditties under his sweet- heart's window as she lies ill of a

XV

Introduction

fever." " At a wedding, he declaims against womankind, and when a friend has just finished a journey, he^ invites him to go for a walk." " If he happens to be standing by when a slave is flogged, he tells the story of how he once flogged a slave of his, who then went and hanged himself." There was the mean man, too, who, • if his servant broke a pot or plate, • The Mean deducted its value from the ^^» poor fellow's rations. " He ,

permits no one to take a fig from his garden or cross his field, or even to * pick up windfalls under his fruit trees. He forbids his wife to lend salt or lamp-wicks or a pinch of cum- min, marjoram, or meal, observing that these trifles make a large sum in a year."

There was also the thankless man whose pessimism is so gloomy as to The Thank- cloud all view of his bless- less Man ings. " When a friend ; has sent him something from his xvi

Introduction

table, he says to the servant who brings it : ' He grudged me a dish of soup and a cup of wine, I sup- pose, and so couldn't invite me tojr dinner/ " " If he secures a slave at a bargain after long dickering with the owner, he says : ' I imagine I have n't got much at this price/ And to the person who brings him the glad tidings that a son is born to him, he retorts, ' If you only add : "And half your fortune's gone," you '11 hit it.' "

Then we have the man who is osten-* tatious in trivial things. " When he • has sacrificed an ox, he Fetty ,

winds the head and horns vanity with fillets, and nails them up, oppo- site the entrance of his house." " When he parades with the cavalry he gives all his accoutrements to his . squire to carry home, and throwing back his mantle stalks proudly about the market-place in his spurs." M When he is master of the prytany, . b xvii

Introduction

he craves the privilege of announc- ing to the people the result of the sacrifice ; and as soon as he has delivered to the people the momen- tous intelligence that the sacrifice has resulted well, he hies him home and recounts his triumph to his wife in an ecstasy of joy.

The foregoing are but illustrations of the happy skill with which Theo- phrastus has delineated a number of character- types which are as universal as human nature and know no limits of age or of country. Here and there we meet a type in the Greek for which we have no exact counter- part in our customary modern modes of thought. Such a type may be seen in Theophrastus*s " The Disa- greeable Man," a person who seems a sort of general nuisance with a touch of the bore and the braggart. As a rule, however, the types are singularly like those we know to-day, and it is not difficult at once to pro-

Introduction

vide them with appropriate modern labels. The treatment, though al- most invariably brief, is invariably- vigorous and trenchant. With at few bold strokes the character is) drawn. There is absolutely no pre-i tense of style, as we ordinarily under-' stand it; yet each type is in its way) a gem. Through them all runs that) fidelity to truth which was the un-^ failing inspiration of all Greek art.' It is this which makes The Charac-x ters a unique creation and vindicates/ their position as a part of the world's literature.

It is largely for this reason that these slight sketches are here produced in English.exhibitingasthevdo, _., „

L^ ^L -.u T^he Ear-

when we compare them with /^-^^^ ^^_ what we see around us, the es- tempt at sential identity of human na- Character- ture in ages widely separated '^^^ ^^^ from each other in time and manners.^

^ " I gather, too, from the undeniable testimony of his [Aristotle's] disciple, Theophrastus, that

Introduction

There is, furthermore, an accidental interest in the work of Theophrastus,> due to the fact that it is the first re-J corded attempt at systematic char-A acter-writing. Characters, to be sure, are portrayed in Homer and in the tragedians, but they are in-i cidental to the narrative or to the ; dramatic plot, whereas in Theo- j phrastus the business is with the^ / delineation of a character as such. / He tells us what a man does, simply • S as an illustration of what he is, and I this method of writing had a very I ^^g intimate bearing on the evo-

infiuence lution of the New Comedy ofTheo- under the leadership of Me- \ p rastus nander. There is a tradition.

there were bores, ill-bred persons, and detractors even in Athens, of a species remarkably correspond- ing to the English, and not yet made endurable by being classic ; and, altogether, with my present fastidious nostril, I feel that I am the better off for possessing Athenian life solely as an inodorous fragment of antiquity."" George Eliot in Theo- phrastus Such, p. 27, Cabinet Edition. XX

Introduction

in fact, that Theophrastus was the teacher of Menander, who in turn furnished models for Terence in his delineation of conventional drama- tic types. The influence of Theo- . phrastus was further directly and | potently exerted on the so-called character-writers of the seventeenth! century in England and France. The I simple methods of these character- writers and their uninvolved sketches \ were succeeded by the more elaborate \ art of the novelists, in whose works , individuals rather than types are de- scribed by exhibiting their develop- ment in long periods of time and under great diversity of circum- stances.

We have little information as to the personal history of Theophrastus, beyond what we learn from The Youth the extant fragments of his ofTheo- wri tings and from the meagre P^^^^^^^ biography of Diogenes of Laerte. He was born at Eresus, a village on xxi

Introduction

the island of Lesbos, in 371 b.c, and his father was one Melantas, a fuller by trade. He first went to school to Alcippus in his native island, but afterwards travelled to Athens, the intellectual metropolis, and became a pupil of Plato at the Academy, with whom he appears to have studied until the Master's death. Theophrastus was then in his twenty- fifth year. At that time he attached himself to Aristotle, who was some twelve years his senior and who had also been a member of the Academy, until Plato died scribens. During the twelve years which elapsed from the death of Plato until Aristotle cj-f^g^_ established the new school phrastus of the Lyceum {\n23S ^-^O? and Theophrastus was probably

with his new leader, at least part of the time, in Stagira or at the Macedonian court, where the youth- ful Alexander was under the tutorial discipline of Aristotle. Theophrastus xxii

Introduction

was an intimate friend of Callisthenes, the unfortunate fellow-student and companion of Alexander, and it is probable that the two studied to- gether at Pella. The story is told that Aristotle, in speaking of these two pupils, said: "Callisthenes needs a spur, but Theophrastus,^ a bridle." Many years later, when Aristotle was dead and Cassander (see Character VII.) had gained control of Alexander's throne, Theo- phrastus was invited to an office at the court where he had spent his student days, and Ptolemy Soter, Cassander's political ally, sent him an invitation to the court of Egypt, But he declined these calls into the social and political world, and main- tained steadfastly his devotion to phi- losophy.

1 The original name of Theophrastus, according to tradition, was Tyrtamus, but owing to his di- vine speech Aristotle gave him the name which has come down to us.

Introduction

It was a fashion for the rectors or presidents of the great schools of Theo- Athens, such as the Cyno- phrastus sarges, the Academy, and the Chosen by Lyceum, before their death

Aristotle , ^u *

to be ^° name their successors m

President officc. And SO when Aris- of^h^ totle was asked who should yceum gucceed him in the presidency of the Lyceum, tradition tells of the delicate way in which he left record of his wish. His two most distin- guished pupils were Theophrastus of Lesbos and Eudemus of Rhodes. Aristotle replied to the question as to his successor by asking for two sorts of wine, — Lesbian and Rhodian. After tasting of them he said: "They are both excellent ; but the Lesbian is the sweeter." Thereby it was known that he had decided in favor of Theophrastus, who on the death of Aristotle (322 b.c.) succeeded to the presidency of the L^xeum, over which he continued to preside for xxiv

Introduction

thirty-five years. His administration was one of almost unparalleled suc- cess. Diogenes Laertius reports that two thousand students thronged to him. Although not born at Athens, he was one of the most popular and beloved members of that somewhat exclusive community. This is il- lustrated by the story of Agonides, who preferred against him a charge of atheism, — a charge similar to that which brought Socrates to martyrdom and drove Aristotle into exile and caused his early death ; but instead of injuring Theophrastus, Agonides narrowly escaped paying a fine for his folly. Amongst his contempo- raries Theophrastus was a great per- sonal force by reason of his amiable character, his charities and lavish benefactions, the amenity of neath of his manners, his great eru- 'theo- dition, and gifts of oratory. P^^'^'^^' He died in 287 B.C. in the eighty- fifth year of his age, and Diogenes

XXV

Introduction

Laertius says that " the whole pop- ulation of Athens, honoring him greatly, followed him to the grave." Theophrastus was one of the great- est polygraphs of antiquity. Two His Writ- hundred and twenty-seven ingsand works^ are attributed to him. Gentus npj^g range of his learning is similar to that of Aristotle's, with the emphasis laid rather more strongly on the side of natural science. His genius, however, is not marked by Aristotle's profundity. He served his age rather as a great popular- izer of science ; he was not an originator of epoch-making ideas or theories. Yet as a local and popu- lar force he surpassed Aristotle. His influence on subsequent ages, however, is less marked. Of the 227 works (containing 232,908 lines)

1 The following treatises are extant, either entire or in considerable parts: 0« Sensation^ i bk. ; On Smells^ I bk. ; Moral Characters^ i bk. j History of Plants y 2 bks.

xxvi

Introduction

attributed to Theophrastus, frag- ments of nine only are now ex- tant, excluding certain insignificant remains.

It is doubtless true, however, that he influenced his own time as much by his administrative ability in the conduct of the Lyceum and by his oral utterances as by his written treatises. His prodigious industry was no doubt partially inspired by Aristotle as well as by the swift, stirring movement of the age immedi- ately preceding and following the death of Alexander, in which his liter- ary manhood was passed. " Time," he says, " is the most valuable thing a man can spend." He expressed his sense of the value of order in the apothegm : " Better trust a horse without bridle than a discourse with- out arrangement." His estimate of oral converse at table is recorded in a rather brusque and un-Athenian remark said to have been made by xxvii

Introduction

him to a silent neighbor at dinner : " Sir, if you are an ignorant man, your conduct shows wisdom ; but if you are a wise man, you act like a fool." The genuinely kind character of Theophrastus, however, is amply illustrated by the provisions of his will, which evidences also his very considerable wealth. He had inherited from Aristotle the largest private library then known. This library, to which he had him- self made notable additions, he bequeathed to Neleus, his nephew (Theophrastus never married), and by Neleus it was taken to Asia Minor, where it was hidden in a cellar to avoid the rapacity of the agents of the Attalid dynasty, who were seiz- ing all available books for the Royal Library at Pergamon. And hereby hangs the curious old story of the loss of Aristotle's works for one hundred and fifty years, until they were redis- covered, worm eaten, in the cellar of xxviii

Introduction

Neleus at Scepsis. A Museum, — temple of the muses, — had been built by Theophrastus as the home of the Lyceum. In his will he provided that this should be maintained and beautified, that statues of the illustri- ous dead (particularly of Aristotle) should be completed, for which com- missions had already been given to the renowned sculptor Praxiteles ; further, that tablets with maps of the world engraved on them should be erected in the lower colonnade. In acknowledgment of the claims of re- ligion, he also directed that an altar should be placed there. He devised the garden, promenade, and houses adjoining the garden to the joint con- trol of Hipparchus, Neleus, Strato, and their successors, as a trust, en- joining that a school of philosophy should be maintained in them, and that the property should never be alienated from this purpose nor claimed as private possession. After xxix

Introduction

piously making provision for certain friends and the support of faithful attendants, he further directed that he should be buried in the school garden without unnecessary expense or ceremony.

Theophrastus is more generally known for his character sketches than <ffig for his scientific work, al- Char- though his treatises on bot- acters ^^^ represented the highest attainments made by science in that field during antiquity and the Middle Ages. The treatise here translated (tjOlkol xapaK:Ti7/D€9) sets forth thirty types of character striking to the A Frap- Greek mind. They are mentfrom probably a fragment or ex- a Larger ^j-act made by some epitoma- tor rrom a larger treatise which was suggested by the abstract ethical analyses of Aristotle, as exhibited in the Nicomachean Ethics^ and by the concrete dramatic repre- sentations of the New Comedy. The

Introduction

stage suggests the form, and Aris- totle's treatise the content. The^l represent nioraland„„!iocial defects I and weaknesses, though not revolting vices', i)ut tHey' do this in a Mimetic mimetic way by exhibiting Delinea- persons as acting or speaking. ^''^J/ Theophrastus was a con- and So- temporary of Philemon and cial De- Menander, and his life was -^^^'"^ spent in the era of the revival of com- edy and the elaboration of current moral types for humorous presenta- tion on the stage. So the characters of Theophrastus are, as it were, dramatis ■personae of his time. Ha-^CLW^ ^s how a given type of man speaks and) acXs^,;,, the dramatization of his charac- ters would require scarcely anything' more than stage setting. His por-| trayal is not satire, but imitation ; notj caricature, but realistic delin- „ ,.

r 1 • r TV /r Realism |

eation from lire. Moreover, this description of generic types rather ^ than of individuals belongs to the xxxi

Introduction

literary fashion of his age. Looked at from this mimetic point of view, The Characters of Theophrastus are historically all the more important, because our knowledge of Menander, the " tenth muse," is so meagre, rest- ing, as it does, upon scanty Greek fragments and a few Latin adap- tations.

These thirty sketches at the be- ginning of the post-classical age Greek ^o not represent, properly Notion of Speaking, vices, and yet they^ ^^" were vices to the mind of the\

Greek, who measured his morality largely by the canons of good form. Any violation of good taste or breachi of courtesy was morally vicious, i The disposition was to maintain ini close unity the natures of beauty andl goodness (fcaX o/cdy a^ta) ; moderns discriminate sharply between the aes-»^ thetic and the moral. The social virtues of gentle breeding and the^ graces of politeness toward their' xxxii

Introduction

fellow men had for the classical. Greeks an ethical nature, as is wit-/ nessed in Aristotle's Ethics, Man- ners and morals were not sundered. What we call a social weakness, or de- V feet, or boorish crudity, Theophrastus '| called a vice. It is necessary to bear ; this in mind when one reads the " moral characters," ^ as they are called in the Greek title.

/•Amongst these characters there are

ino virtues, and one may ask : Why is it that in his portrayal of virtues

^ypes Theophrastus has al- not Delin- together omitted any descrip- ^^^^^

^tion of good men ? The answer is not to be found in the supposition that such characters were originally included in the work, but have since perished. The real ground for the omission is probably to be discovered

* A character (xapda-a-flu "to engrave") Is the in- dividuality which is engraved by habits and temper- ament on a man or group of men, and in a literary sense (as used by Theophrastus) it is the verbal delineation of this individuality. ^ xxxiii

Introduction

in the nature of the conditions under which Theophrastus wrote. These, as we have already indicated, were closely connected with the develop- ment of the New Comedy. The portrayal of a good character may be edifying, and may serve the conditions of tragedy, but it does not suit the purposes or surroundings of the comic stage, where the ludicrous elements of weak, eccentric, or faulty personalities are the materials em- ployed. The aim of TheophrastusS is both to amuse^aiid to instruct, but[ his instruction is given by exposing to ridicule certain faults which he elevates into the striking tangibility j of concrete character. The serious T:he Sub- ^ig^i^Y ^^^ excellence of the ject-matter good man, while it may suit °f^^^ the heroic conditions of the

Sketches • ^i r

epic, the grave purpose or

tragedy, or the aims of moral allegory,

offers no material for such sketches

as these. Theophrastus has no con-

xxxiv

Introduction

cern either with the grossly immoral or with the helplessly weak ; the former awaken only disgust and hate, while the latter stir only feelings of pity, and neither of these emotions can be kept active in the true art of comedy. Rightly speaking, the art of Theophrastus has to do only with folly or with such eccentricities and weaknesses as have a humorous aspect. And it is only moral im- perfections of this sort that we actually find in ^he Characters, As to the serious function of instruc-~^ tion which Theophrastus no doubt aims to combine with that /^/^/^^/^^^ of entertainment, there is no an instru- more skilful mode of indue- ^entofin- ing moral betterment than ^'''"^''^'' the discovery and exposure of the ludicrous. Most men would rather incur the charge of immorality than be exposed to the belittling laugh or derision of a community ; they would rather be rogues than fools. The por-

XXXV

Introduction

trait-painter of moral life makes use of the ludicrous when he desires to catch the popular attention, and there is nothing, one may safely say, that makes society at large prick up its ears and fall to gossiping so much as a satire in which some well-known person is subjected to ridicule. \ Moral folly is much the same every- where ; it is only the fooFs costume

that changes in different Folh countries. The folly of the

miser is seen in his cheating himself of the real goods of life and in robbing himself of the respect of his fellows ; the folly of the coward, in gaining personal safety by losing rep- utation for manliness ; the folly of the flatterer, in his shallow self-serving which men see through, while they nudge their fellows and laugh at his weakness ; the folly of the vain man, in the way in which he assumes im- pressive proportions to his own mag- nifying eye, while to others his per- XXX vi

Introduction

sonality looks as small as it is; the folly of the tactless man, in consulting his own convenience rather than his neighbor's, whereby he becomes a butt for his gaucherie ; the folly of the boor, in his trampling awkwardly on the established usages of the polite world and thereby drawing upon him- self the smilingly derisive attention of all observers. Throughout the list these characters represent some type of social foible or folly. In regard to the literary art of Theo- phrastus, as exhibited in these sketches, it must be looked q-^g ^/^^^_ at from the standpoint of an ary Art of innovation in Greek letters ; '^^"' it is rare that any man both begins and perfects an art. There | is nothing in the world so interest- ing as a character, but there is also . nothing that is so difficult to portray « briefly. Theophrastus was an acute observer_and he was a plain realist.! Hisart consists in the truthfulness xxxvii

Introduction

\

of his vision and in the direct sim- plicity with which he gives it expres- sion. He does not seek to create a laugh by exaggeration or by the trick of a ludicrous situation that has no moral significance. /His art is i not possible without wit, keenness, and fineness of feeling./ There is no, exhibition of the satirist's lash; but his criticism is made with that geni-i ality which is more telling than the severest invective. VThese are not individual portraits, y They lack,' therefore, the detailed finish of such a portrait as is given in the much- 1 elaborated modern novel with its varied facilities for exhibiting the in- dividuality of one or several persons. ■^On the contrary, these are merely outline sketches, ^as Theophrastus himself calls them, and are descrip- tive of a class, not of an individual, r A simple line, however, does not constitute a sketch ; to exhibit a character, the sketch must not only xxxviii

Introduction

^^^S^3-L)y^^om^\^t^, The coward, ^^ e, g.y is sketched in his fear at sea, where his timid imagination invents dangers, and he wishes to be put ashore ; he is sketched on the field of battle, where he tries to impress his comrades by a courage that he does not feel ; but when he hears the shouts of war and sees the soldiers fall, he shrinks faint-hearted to his tent and there searches for the sword he has himself hid ; and again when the danger is over he resumes his bold exterior and proclaims his daring rescue of a comrade. We have here a pictorial sketch which, with its life and action, appeals to the reader^s eye. The coward is shown from various points of view, always in new^ lights, but he is always the coward. The canons of this species of literary art may_ be summarized as 7-^^

follows '^U — Faithfulness to Canons of

reality: The character must ^^^ ^^^ be an accurate report of nature xxxix

Introduction

I and not a caricature. It must be y executed in the spirit of realism. 2. — Brevity : It must be slight and ) swift, essentially of the nature of a sketch. 3. — Humor: It must have the sprightliness of statement that amuses while it instructs. 4. — -Type : It must be illustrative of a generic or typical fault. In other words, the character must give embodiment to some fault that touches human nature in an essential and universal way. 5. — Concreteness : The fault as an abstraction must be translated by / the artist's power into a concrete per- sonal form. The foible must be revealed in a genre picture of a living personality.

Since Theophrastus, this form of character-writing has been cultivated^ Imitators ^^ various times^but it flour- of Theo- ished most amongst the phrastut ^linQj. essayists of the seven- \ teenth century .>^ It is of too slight a nature in itself to make a serious im- xl

Introduction

pression on any literary epoch. It suited, however, the temper of the seventeenth century, as the sprightly essay possessing no serious depth and aiming to touch life at many points. The chief imitators of Theophrastus and exponents of character-writing at this time were Bishop Hall, Bish- op Earle, Sir Thomas Overbury, Nicholas Breton, Samuel Butler, and La Bruyere. Bishop Hall, contrary to the example of Theophrastus, in- cludes virtues as well as vices in hisV book entitled Characters of Vertues and Vices (London, 1608). In the general structure of his composition he follows the model of Theophras- tus closely. In the description of\ vices, however, he is much more' entertaining than in his sketches of virtues, which are rather homilies and, as the panegyrics of a tedious preacher, provoke one to yawn. Vir- » tue is not fitting material for this / species of writing. The brilliant xli

Introduction

but ill-starred Sir Thomas Overbury, in his Characters or Witty Descrip- tions of the Properties of Sundry Per- sons (London, 1614; went through eighteen editions), departs from the usage of Theophrastus in depict- ing for the most part amusing acci- dents of character and humorous peculiarities of trades and pro- fessions. Bishop Earle, on the other hand, in his Micro-cosmographie (London, 1628) confined his character delineation to mores hominum, to ethi- cal types of men as such, in a spirit similar to that of his Greek model. The best known of all the imitators of Theophrastus, if he can be called , „ , an imitator at all, is La Bru- yere, m his Les car ac teres ou les mceurs de ce siecle (Paris, 1688). The caracteres of La Bruyere are really satires on certain thinly dis- guised contemporaries of his own and are executed in a spirited method totally different from that of Theo- xlii

Introduction

phrastus, but to which a translation of T^he Characters of Theophrastus is added. La Bruyere was a lover of the ancient classics, although his translation or paraphrase was hardly- more than a pretext for writing down his own description of the manners of his time. It furnished him, per- haps, the first suggestion and the first impulse to the portrayal of the vices and weaknesses of his contem- poraries on a much larger scale than Theophrastus had attempted.

xliii

A

Character^ of

Theophra^tu^

Epistle Dedicatory

Theophrastus to Polycles:

MANY a time ere now I have stopped to think and won- der,— I fancy the marvel will never grow less, — why it is that we Greeks are not all one in character, for we have the same climate throughout the country, and our people enjoy the same education. I have studied human nature a long time, my dear Poly- cles, for I have lived nine and ninety years ; ^ I have conversed with many men of divers char-

^ This dedication is now thought to be spurious. The Characters were probably written in 319 B.C., at which time Theophrastus was not more than fifty-three years of age. I I

Characters of Theophrastus

acters, and have been at great pains to observe both good and bad. I have fancied, therefore, I ought to set down in writing how men live and act. I shall describe their characters, each after its kind, and show you their be- setting weaknesses. I dare say, Polycles, our children will be the better, if we leave them me- morials of this sort ; and as they study these patterns of good -^ and ill, they will elect, I think, to live and hold communion with men of the highest type. In this way they will strive to maintain the level of the highest. I turn now to my task. Yours it is to follow me and see if what I say is true. I begin my book with a description of the Dissemhlery

* This allusion to patterns of good men is a further proof of the spurlousness of the Epistle Dedi- catory, no such types seem to have been written by Theophrastus. See Introduction,

Characters of Theophrastus

omitting any preface and details about the word. And first of all I shall lay down a definition of dissembling, and with this in view shall describe the dissembler in his character and manner of life, exhibiting in such clearness, as I can, his various traits.

Characters of Theophrastus

I The Dissembler

(^Elpcovela)

DISSEMBLING, generally speaking, is an affectation, whether in word or action, V intended to make things seem ' other than they really are. The dissembler is a man, for instance, who accosts his enemies and en- gages readily in talk with them, to show that he bears no grudge, and who praises to their faces the very men he slanders behind their backs ; and when these lose a suit at court, he professes sym- pathy for their misfortune. When men malign him, or the opposi- tion 's loud, he is ever ready with forgiveness. When others have suffered such ill- treatment as to have just cause for indignation, his comments on their wrongs are couched in non- 4

Characters of Theophrastus

committal terms. And when a man is anxious to have an inter- view with him, he bids him come again, pretending that he has just reached home, that the hour is late, or that his health is too feeble to bear the strain.

He never admits anything he is doing, but at most will say that he is considering it. When a friend would borrow of him, or would solicit his contribution, he says "Business is dreadfully dull"; though at other times, when business is really dull, he re- ports a thriving trade. If he has received a bit of news, he will not admit he has heard it; and when he has witnessed an occur- rence, he will not admit he has seen it ; or if he does ad- mit it, he protests he can't re- call it. And of one matter, he says he will examine it ; of an- 5

Characters of Theophrastus

other, that he does n't know ; of others, that he is amazed ; of yet others, that he had thought of that himself before. In short, he is a master of phrases like these : " I can't believe it"; "I fail to com- prehend"; "I 'm dumfounded"; "By your account the fellow has become a different man " ; " He certainly did n't tell me that " ; "The thing's improbable"; "Tell that to the marines!" ; "I'm at a loss how I can either doubt your story or condemn my friend " ; " But see whether you 're not too credulous."

Characters of Theophrastus

II "The Flatterer

F

LATTERY is a cringing sort of conduct that aims to pro- mote the advantage of the flatterer. The flatterer is the kind of man who, as he walks with an acquaintance, says : " Be- hold ! how the people gaze at you ! There is not a man in the city who enjoys so much no- tice as yourself. Yesterday your praises were the talk of the Porch. While above thirty men were sit- ting there together and the con- versation fell upon the topic : ' Who is our noblest citizen ? ' they all began and ended with your name." As the flatterer goes on talking in this strain he picks a speck of lint from his hero's cloak ; or if the wind has lodged a bit of straw in his locks, 7

Characters ofTheophrastus

he plucks it off and says laugh- ingly, " See you ? Because I have not been with you these two days, your beard is turned gray. And yet if any man has a beard that is black for his years, it is you."

While his patron speaks, he bids the rest be silent. He sounds his praises in his hearing and after the patron's speech gives the cue for applause by " Bravo ! " If the patron makes a stale jest, the flatterer laughs and stuffs his sleeve into his mouth as though he could not contain himself.^

If they meet people on the street, he asks them to wait until master passes. He buys apples and pears, carries them to his hero's

/ 1 " A piece of witte bursts him with an overflow- ing laughter, and hee remembers it for you to all companies." Earle's Micro-cosmo- graphie^ *< The Flatterer.*' 8

Characters of Theophrastus

house and gives them to the children, and in the presence of the father, who is looking on, he kisses them, exclaiming : " Bairns of a worthy sire ! " When the patron buys a pair of shoes, the flatterer observes : " The foot is of a finer pattern than the boot " ; if he calls on a friend, the flatterer trips on ahead and says : " You are to have the honor of his visit ** ; and then turns back with, " I have announced you." Of course he can run and do the errands at the market in a twinkle.

Amongst guests at a banquet he is the first to praise the wine and, doing it ample justice, he ob- serves : " What a fine cuisine you have ! " He takes a bit from the board and exclaims : " What a dainty morsel this is ! " Then he inquires whether his friend is chilly, asks if he would like a 9

Characters of Theophrastus

wrap put over his shoulders, and whether he shall throw one about him. With these words he bends over and whispers in his ear. While his talk is directed to the rest, his eye is fixed on his patron. In the theatre he takes the cush- ions from the page and himself adjusts them for the comfort of the master. Of his hero's house he says : " It is well built" ; of his farm : " It is well tilled " ; and of his portrait : "It is a speak- ing image."

lo

Characters of Theophrastus

III "The Coward

c

OWARDICE is a certain shrinking of the heart. A coward is a man who, as he sails along, imagines that the cliiFs in the distance are pirate ships ; if the waves are high, he asks if there's anybody in the ship's company who has not been initi- ated into the mysteries.^ He bends over toward the helmsman and inquires whether he intends to keep to the high sea, and what he thinks of the weather ; and to his companion says that he is in terror in consequence of a dream he has had ; and he takes oiF his tunic and gives it to his slave, and begs to be set on shore.

1 Apparently the reference is to the Samothra- cian mysteries, initiation in which was thought to ensure protection at sea in time of danger. II

Characters of Theophrastus

In a campaign, when the infantry- march forth, he bids his comrades stand by him and look sharp, urging the importance of finding out whether yonder object be the foe or not. When he hears the sound of battle, and sees men fall, he says to those about him that, in his haste, he has forgotten to take his sword ; then he runs back to his tent, sends his servant out and bids him see where the enemy are ; meanwhile he hides his weapon^ under his pillow, and then wastes a long time hunt- ing for it. While in his tent, seeing one of his companions brought wounded from the field, he runs out, bids the fellow " Cheer up ! '' and lends a hand to carry the stretcher. And then

* The sight of a sword wounds him more sen- sibly than the stroke, for before that comes hee is dead already." Earle's Micro-cosmo- graphie^ "The Coward.''

12

Characters of Theophrastus

he stays to tend the sufferer, washes his wounds, and sits by his side driving away the flies, — anything but fight the enemy.

When the trumpeter sounds the signal for a fresh onset, he ex- claims as he sits in his tent : " Plague take him ! He won't let the poor fellow get to sleep with his eternal bugling." Then, stain- ing himself with blood from the other's wound, he meets the troops as they return from battle, and pretending to have been in the thick of the fight, he ex- claims, " I Ve saved a comrade ! "

■^ And then he takes his demesmen and tribesmen Into the tent, and assures each one of them that he himself brought the wounded man to the tent with his own

hand

13

Characters of Theophrastus

IV TheOver-zealousMan

(TlepLepyta')

o

VER-ZEALOUSNESS is an excess in saying or do- ing,— with good intentions, of course. The over-zealous man is one who gets up in public and engages to do things which he can- not perform. In cases where no doubt exists in the mind of any one else, he raises some objection — only to be refuted.

At a banquet, he forces the ser- vants to mix more wine than the guests can drink. If he sees two men in a quarrel, he strives to part them though he knows neither one. Leaving the main road he leads his friends upon a by-path and presently cannot find his way. He accosts his commander and inquires when he 14

Characters of Theophrastus

is going to draw up the troops for battle, and what orders he intends to issue for day after to-morrow.

He goes and tells his father that his mother is already asleep in her chamber. If the doctor gives instructions that no wine be given a patient, he administers "just a little," on the plea that he wants to set the sufferer right. And when a woman dies, he has carved on the tombstone her husband's name, and her father's and her mother's, along with the woman's own name and her native place, and adds : " Worthy people, all of them." In court, as he takes the oath, he remarks to the by-stand ers, " I have done this many a time before."

n

Characters of Theophrastus

V The Tactless Man

TACTLESSNESS is the fac- ulty of hitting a moment that is unpleasant to the persons concerned. The tactless man is the sort of person who selects a man's busy hour to go and confer with him. He sere- nades his sweetheart when she has a fever. If an acquaintance has just lost bail-money on a friend, he hunts him up and asks him to be his surety. After a verdict has been rendered he appears at the trial to give evidence. At a wedding where he is a guest he declaims against womankind.

When a friend has just finished a

long journey he invites him to

go for a walk. He has a faculty

for fetching a higher bidder for

i6

Characters- of Theophrastus

an article after it has been sold ; and in a group of companions he gets up and explains from the be- ginning a story which the others have just heard and have com- pletely understood. He is anx- ious to give himself the trouble to do what nobody wants done, and yet what nobody likes to decline.

When men are in the midst of religious offerings and are making outlay of money, he goes to collect his interest. If he hap- pens to be standing by when a slave is flogged, he tells the story of how he once flogged a slave, who then went away and hanged himself. If he is arbitra- tor in a dispute, he sets both con- testants by the ears just at the moment when they are ready to settle their difi^erences. When he wants to dance he takes a partner who is not yet merry.

2 17

Characters of Theophrastus

VI The Shameless Man

s

HAMELESSNESS may be defined as contempt for de- cency, joined with meanness of purpose. Your shameless fellow is one who robs a man and then returns to borrow money of him. He sacrifices a victim to the gods, and instead of making Hs supper from it, he salts the meat down and then gets a meal at the house of a friend. He calls a servant, and, taking bread and meat from the table, says in a voice that all can hear ; *' Try that, Tibios ! '*

When he goes to market, he re- minds the butcher of all the patronage he has given him, and as he stands by the scales, throws in an extra piece, if he iS

Characters of Theophrastus

can, or if not, a soup-bone. If he secures these, he rests con- tent. If he fails, he snatches a piece of tripe from the bench and makes off with it laugh- ing. He buys theatre tickets for friends that are staying in town and goes along with them to the performance, but does , not contribute his share of the expense ; and the next day you '11 find him taking his children and their tutor, too.

When anybody has found a bargain in any line, he demands to have a share. He goes to the neigh- bors and borrows barley, or some- times even bran, and actually endeavors to make those who lend him these articles deliver them at his house. A favorite trick of his is to march up to the tubs in a private bath-house, draw a bucket of warm water, 19

Characters of "Theophrastus

dash it over his head, despite the loud protests of the attendant, and then say, as he leaves : " That *s a good bath ; no thanks to you ! "

20

Characters of Theophrastus

VII The Newsmonger

(AoyoTToiia)

N

EWSMAKING is the con- coction of false stories of what people say and do, at the gossip's caprice. The news- monger is one who straightway strikes an attitude and assumes a smiling air when he meets a friend, and asks : " Where have you been ? What news ? How is the situation ? Have you any fresh word about it ? " and then going straight on, he asks : "Is there no later report ? Well ! the current rumors are good."

And without letting his friend reply, he keeps right on : " What ! you have n't heard a word about it ! Then I think I have a feast of news for you." He always has in readiness some unheard-of sol-

21

Characters of Theophrastus

dier or a slave belonging to one Asteus, a piper, or Lycon, an obscure contractor, just back from the battle-field; and it is from one of these that he has heard the tidings. The authorities for his reports are of the sort that you can never get hold of Such are the men he quotes when he tells how Polyperchon and the king carried the day and Cas- sander was taken prisoner.

If anybody asks : "Do you believe this?" he replies, "Why the story is noised all about the city, is constantly gaining ground, and the whole population is of one mind ; everybody is agreed about the battle ; it must have been a regular Death's feast.** He reads a proof of it too in the faces of men in authority ; for they all wear a changed look. He says he overheard that a man

22

Characters of Theophrastus

had come from Macedonia who knows the whole history of the battle, and that he has been con- cealed now five days in a house with the authorities. There is a convincing pathos in his voice — you can imagine it ! — as he tells his story and exclaims : " Luck- less Cassander ! ^ ill-starred hero ! Lo ! the fickleness of fortune ! Vain it was that he rose to power. But what I say is strictly between ourselves." Then he trips off and repeats the story to every man in town.

^ Cassander, the son of Antipater (died 319 B.C.) became Involved in a struggle with Polyperchon, whom Antipater on his death- bed had appointed regent. Cassander met with many reverses, but finally (301 B.C.) secured undisputed possession of Macedonia and Greece.

23

Characters of Theophrastus

VIII The Mean Man

{MiKpoXoyLo)

M

EANNESS is undue spar- ing of expense. The mean man is the sort of person who will go to a creditor's hous€ and demand a half-penny interest before the month is up. At dinner he counts the glasses each guest drinks, and amongst his fellow banqueters he pours the smallest offering to Artemis.

He counts up the price a friend pays for a cheap purchase, exclaiming that it takes his last penny. I£^ servant breaks a pot or plate he deducts its value from his rations. If his wife has lost a three-farth- ing piece, he turns the furniture, beds, and cupboards round and round, and hunts between the boards of the floor. When he 24

Characters of Theopbrastus

has anything to sell he puts the price so high that the buyer gets no bargain. Jie^-permits no one to take a fig from his garden or to cross his field, or even pick up an olive or a date that has fallen to the ground. He examines his boundary marks every day to see thaflhey"h'ave not been touched.

And he is always ready in case of default to use the right of seizure and to collect compound interest. When he gives a banquet to his townsmen he cuts the meat in small pieces and sets a portion before each guest. He goes to market, but buys nothing. He forbids his wife to lend salt or a lamp^wick or a pinch of cum- min, marjoram, or meal, a fillet or a sacrificial wafer, observing that these trifles make a large sum in the course of a year. 25

Characters of Theophrastus

In a word, one may see that the mean man's money chest is mouldy from being unopened, the key rusty, his cloak too scant to reach his thigh ; that he uses a mean little oil jar, has his hair cropped to the scalp ; he does not wear his boots until midday, and charges the fuller to use plenty of earth on his coat to keep it from soon getting soiled aeain.

26

s

characters of Theophrastus

IX The Stupid Man

(^Kvatcr6r)(TLa)

TUPIDITY one may define as sluggishness in what a man says or does. The stupid man computes a sum, sets down the total, and then asks his neigh- bor: "How much does it all make ? '* When he is defendant in a suit and should go to court, he forgets all about it and puts off to his farm. When he goes to a play at the theatre he is the only spectator that is left behind on the benches asleep. He gets up in the night to go out, after he has gorged himself, and is bitten by the neighbor's dog. He takes a thing and puts it away, but when he comes to look for it he cannot find it. If the death of a friend is announced to him that he may go to the funeral, 27

Characters of Theophrastus

with a sorrowful air and tears in his eyes he says : " Thank God 1 " When he goes to receive pay- ment of a debt, he takes witnesses with him. In the winter season he quarrels with his slave because cucumbers have not been provided. He forces his children to wrestle and to run until they fall into a fever. When he is roughing it in the country and himself cooks the vegetables, he puts salt in the pot twice and so makes the dish impossible. When it rains and others declare that the sky is darker than pitch, he exclaims : " How sweet it is to consider the stars 1 " And if he is asked, what is the mortality of the city, — how many bodies have passed through the Sacred Gates, — he replies : " Would that you and I had as many."

28

Characters of Theophrastus

X The Surly Man

(^AvddSeLo)

S

URLINESS is sullen rudeness of speech. The surly man is one who, when you ask him, "Who is that gentleman?" retorts " Don't bother me ! " and when you greet him on the street refuses to return your salutation. When he has anything for sale, he will not tell the purchaser what he charges, but instead in- quires, " How much do I get for it?" When one would show him some attention and sends him a gift for the holidays, he says he is not in need of presents.

He accepts no excuse when by acci- dent you smutch his clothes, or push against him in a crowd, or chance to tread upon his foot. If you ask for his contribution to

Characters of Theophrastus

some object, he refuses to make one, though afterwards he may- bring it around, declaring, how- ever, that he 's throwing the money away. Sometimes he stumbles in the street, and then he curses the stone that tripped him up.

And he's not a man to tarry many minutes for a friend who has an appointment with him. Sing- ing, declamation, and dancing are amusements for which he has no taste ; and it 's exactly like him to refuse to join even in prayer to the gods.

30

Characters of Theophrastus

XI "The Superstitious Man

(^AeccnBai/JLovLo)

SUPERSTITION Is a crouch- ing fear of unseen powers. The superstitious man is the sort of person who begins the day only after he has sprinkled himself, washed his hands with holy water, and taken a sprig of laurel in his mouth. If a weasel cross his path, he will not got a step further until some one else has crossed, or until he has thrown three stones over the way. If he sees a snake in his house, he prays to Sabazius ^ (provided it is a copperhead) or, if it be a sacred serpent, he straightway builds a shrine upon the spot.

1 A Thracian and Phrygian deity, whose worship was introduced at Athens in the fifth cen- tury. Sabazius represented the active powers of nature, and hence was often identified with Dionysus.

31

Characters of Theophrastus

As he passes by the consecrated stones at the cross-roads, he pours oil on them from his flask, falls on his knees, and prays before he goes further. If a mouse should gnaw through a leather flour-bag, he goes to the seer and asks what he shall do. If the seer bids him give the bag to the cobbler to be sewn up, he pays no heed to him, but goes his way and offers up the bag as a holy sacrifice.

He is given to purifying his house often by religious rites and insists it is haunted by Hecate. When . he takes a walk and hears an owl ( hoot, he is terrified and cries out : " Athena ! thine is the power ! " and so walks on. He wilLnot* step on a grave, nor go u£^ a \ corpse, nor to a woman in con- finement, but says it is not well to risk pollution. He orders

- his domestics to mull the wine on 32

Characters of Theophrastus

the fourth and seventh of the month, while he goes out and buys myrtle, incense, and holy cakes ; on his return he spends the livelong day in crowning the images of Hermaphroditus.

When he has had a vision, he goes to the soothsayer, the seer, or the augur, to ask to what god or goddess he must pray. He goes to the Orphic mysteries to be initiated into them. You will be sure to find him amongst the people who frequent the beach to besprinkle themselves. Every month he goes there with his wife, or if his wife is busy, then with the nurse and children.

If he observes any one at the cross- roads crowned with garlic, on his return he washes himself from head to foot, summons a priestess, and gives orders to celebrate rites 3 33

Characters of Theophrastus

of purification either with an onion or a small dog. When- ever he sees a madman or an epileptic, he shakes with terror and spits in his bosom.

34

Characters of T'heophrastus

XI I The Thankless Man

(M.efd.yjnfjLOLp Co)

T

HANKLESSNESS is an

improper criticism of what one receives. The thankless man, when a friend has sent him something from his table, says to the servant who brings it, " He grudged me a dish of soup and a cup of wine, I suppose, and so would n't invite me to dinner." When his sweetheart kisses him, he says, " I wonder if you really do love me so in your heart.**

He blames Zeus, not for raining, but for not raining before. When he picks up a purse in the street, he says, " But I never found a treasure!** If he secures a slave at a bargain after long dickering with the owner, he says, " I ima- gine I haven*t got much at this 35

Characters ofTheophrastus

price." To the person who brings the glad tidings that a son is born to him, he retorts, " If you only add, ' And half your fortune 's gone,' you '11 hit it."

When he wins his case in court and secures a unanimous verdict, he abuses his attorney for having omitted many points in his brief. When his friends make him up a purse, and wish him joy, " Why so ? " he exclaims. " Is it because I shall have to pay you all back and be grateful into the bargain, as though you had done me a favor ? "

36

Characters of Theophrastus

XIII The Suspicious Man

(^A-TnaTva)

S

USPICION is a kind of belief that everybody is fraudulent. The suspicious man is the sort of person who sends a servant to market and then sends another to watch him and find out the price he pays. When he carries the money himself, he sits down every hundred yards and counts it over. Afters he is in bed he asks his wife whether she locked the chest and shut the cupboard, and whether the hall-door bolt was pushed well in. If she an- swers "Yes ! " he gets up, never- theless, and lights a lamp ; naked and barefoot he goes around and examines everything. Even then he finds it hard to go to sleep. When he goes to collect interest, he takes witnesses along, 2>7

Characters of Theophrastus

lest his debtors deny the claims. He has his cloak dyed, not by the best workman, but by the fuller who can furnish good security. If any one asks the loan of a wine-set, he prefers not to lend it; but if a member of his family or a near relative wants it, he makes the loan ; yet he scarcely does so until he has had it assayed and weighed and has received a guar- antee for its safe return. He orders his footman not to fall behind him, but to go in front so that by watching him he may pre- vent his running away. If a pur- chaser has bought goods of him and says : " Charge the amount to me ; I have no time now to send the money," he replies : " Do not trouble yourself about it ; when you have finished your business, I will go with you and get my pay."

38

Characters of Theophrastus

XIV The Disagreeable Man

CA.r,S{a)

D

ISAGREEABLENESS we

may define as a kind of conduct which is annoying, although it may not be injurious. The disagreeable man will go to a friend and wake him out of a sound sleep to have a talk with him. He detains passengers who are on the point of embarking; others who have come to see him he bids wait until he has taken his walk. He takes the baby ^ from its nurse, chews its food for it and feeds it, dandles it on his knee while he cooes to it and calls "^ it "Papa's little rascal!"

At table he tells the company how he once took hellebore and was 39

Characters of Theophrastus

physicked through and through, and how his bile was blacker than the soup on the table. And he asks before the family : " I say, mammy, what day was it when you were confined and I was born ? " He says he has cool cistern water at his house and a garden full of tender vege- tables ; that his cook is a perfect chef^ and that his house is a regular hotel, for it is always full of com- pany, and his guests are like leaky sieves, — do the best he can, it is impossible to fill them.

When he gives a dinner he exhibits his jester and shows him off be- fore the company. To enliven his guests over their cups, he says that further pleasures have been arranged for them.

40

Characters of Thepphrastus

XV The Exquisite

(MLKpO<j)L\OTlfJL{a)

E

XQUISITENESS is a striving for honor in small things. The exquisite when invited to dinner, is eager to sit by his host. When he cuts off his son*s hair for an offering to the gods, no place but Delphi will answer for the ceremony. His attendant must be an Ethiopian.^ When he pays a mina^ of money he makes a point of offering a freshly minted piece. If he has a pet daw in the house, he must needs buy it a ladder and a brazen shield, that the daw may learn to climb the ladder carrying the shield.

1 Among the Athenians, Ethiopian slaves were

evidently highly prized.

2 About ^i8 of our money.

41

Characters of Theophrastus

When he has sacrificed an ox, he winds the head and horns with fillets, and nails them up opposite the entrance, in order that those who come in may see what he has been doing. When he pa- rades with the cavalry, he gives all his accoutrements to his squire to carry home, and throwing back his mantle stalks proudly about the market-place in his spurs. When his pet dog dies, he raises a monument to the creature, and has a pillar erected with the in- scription : " Fido, Pure Mal- tese." ^ In the Asclepieion^ he dedicates a brazen finger,^ pol- ishes it, crowns it with flowers, and anoints it every day with oil.

1 This breed of dogs is still known to dog-fanciers.

^ The temple of Asclepios (Aesculapius).

^ Fingers or hands of marble or metal were

common among the Athenians as votive

offerings.

42

characters of Theophrastus

And he has his hair cut frequently. His teeth are always pearly white. While his old suit is still good, he gets himself a new one ; and he anoints himself with the choicest perfumes.

In the agora he frequents the banker's counters. If he visits the gym- nasia, he selects those in which the ephebi^ practise; and, when there 's a play, the place he chooses in the theatre is close beside the generals.

He makes few purchases for himself, but sends presents to his friends at Byzantium, and Spartan dogs to Cyzicus, and Hymettian honey to Rhodes ; and when he does these things, he tells it about the town. Naturally, his taste runs

^ Young men between eighteen and twenty years of age, who were in training for the duties of citizenship.

43

Characters of Theophrastus

to pet monkeys, parrots, Sicilian doves, gazelles* knuckle-bones, Thurian jars, crooked canes from Sparta, hangings inwrought with Persian figures, a wrestling-ring sprinkled with sand, and a tennis- court. He goes around and offers this arena to philosophers, soph- ists, fighters, and musicians, for their exhibitions ; and at the per- formances he himself comes in last of all, that the spectators may say to one another, " That 's the gentleman to whom the place belongs.'*

And, of course, when he is a prytanis ^ he demands of his colleagues the privilege of announcing to the people the result of the sacrifice ; then putting on a fine garment and a garland of flowers, he ad-

* One of the committee of fifty which, in rotation, were charged with the administration of affairs at Athens.

44

Characters of Theophrastus

varices and says : " O men of Athens, we prytanes have made sacrifice to the mother of the gods ; ^ the sacrifice is fair and good. Receive ye each your por- tion." When he has made this announcement, he returns home and tells his wife all about it in an ecstasy of joy.^

L Cybele.

'' A portion of Character XIX has been incorpo- rated here, as belonging more fitly in this connection.

45

Characters of Theophrastus

XVI The Garrulous Man

G

ARRULITY Is incessant heedless talk. Your garru- lous man is one, for instance, who sits down beside a stranger, and after recounting the virtues of his wife tells the dream he had last night, and everything he ate for supper. Then, if his efforts seem to meet with favor, he goes on to declare that the present age is sadly degenerate, says wheat is selling very low, that hosts of strangers are in town, and that since the Dionysia^ the weather is good again for shipping ; and that, if Zeus would only send more rain, the crops would be much heavier, and that he 's proposing to have a farm

1 The festival of Dionysus.

46

Characters of Theophrastus

himself next year ; and that life 's a constant struggle, and that at the Mysteries ^ Damippus set up an enormous torch ;^ and tells how many columns the Odeon has, and " Yesterday,'' says he, " I had an awful turn with my stomach," and " What day 's to-day ? " and " In Boedromion ^ come the Mys- teries, and in Pyanopsion^ the Apaturia, and in Poseideon^ the country Dionysia,'* and so on ; for, unless you refuse to listen, he never stops.

The religious celebration held in honor of

Demeter (Ceres). Ancient works of art often exhibit representations

of votive torches. They are usually depicted

as wound with serpents. Various months of the Attic year.

47

Characters of Theophrastus

XVII The Bore

(AaXta)

WE may define a bore as a man who cannot refrain from talking. A bore is the sort of fellow who, the mo- ment you open your mouth, tells you that your remarks are idle, that he knows all about it, and if you *11 only listen, you *11 soon find it out. As you attempt to make answer, he suddenly breaks in with such interruptions as : " Don't forget what you were about to say" — "That reminds \ me" — "What an admirable thing talk is ! " — " But, as I omitted to mention " — " You grasp the idea at once " — "I was watching this long time to see whether you would come to the same conclu- sion as myself." In phrases like this he 's so fertile that the person 48

Characters of Theophrastus

, who happens to meet him cannot even open his mouth to speak.

When he has vanquished a few stray- victims here and there, his next move is to advance upon whole companies and put them to flight in the midst of their occupations. He goes upon the wrestling ground or into the schools, and prevents the boys from making progress with their lessons, so incessant is his talk with the teachers and the wrestling-masters.

If you say you are going home, he 's pretty sure to come along and escort you to your house.

Whenever he learns the day set for the session of the Assembly he noises it diligently abroad, and recalls Demosthenes*s famous bout with Aeschines in the archon- ship of Aristophon. He mentions, too, his own humble effort on a 4 49

Characters of Theophrastus

certain occasion, and the approval which it won among the people. As he rattles on he launches in- vectives against the masses, in such fashion that his audience either becomes oblivious or begins to doze, or else melts away in the midst of his harangue.

When he 's on a jury he 's an ob- stacle to reaching a verdict, when he's in the theatre he prevents attention to the play ; at a feast he hinders eating, remarking that silence is too much of an effort, that his tongue is hung in the middle, and that he could n't keep still, even though he should seem a worse chatterer than a magpie ; and when he 's made a butt by his own children, he sub- mits, — when in their desire to go to sleep they say, " Papa, tell us something, in order that sleep may come."

50

characters of Theophrastus

XVIII The Rough

(^Attovolo)

ROUGHNESS is coarse con- duct, whether in word or act. The rough takes an oath lightly and is insensible to insult and ready to give it. In char- acter he is a sort of town bully, obscene in manner, ready for any- thing and everything. He is willing, sober and without a mask, to dance the vulgar cordax^ in comic chorus. At a show he goes around from man to man and collects the pennies, quarrelling with the spectators who present a pass and therefore insist on seeing the performance free.

He is the sort of man to keep a hostelry, ^ or brothel, or to farm

1 A lewd dance.

2 Inn-keepers were In ill-repute in antiquity.

51

Characters of Theophrastus

the taxes. There is no business he considers beneath him, but he is ready to follow the trade of crier, cook, or gambler. He does \ not support his mother, is caught at theft and spends more time in jail than in his home. He is the type of man who collects a crowd of bystanders and ha- rangues them in a loud brawling voice ; while he is talking, some are going and others coming, with- out listening to him ; to one part of the moving crowd he tells the beginning of his story, to another part a sketch of it, and to another part a mere fragment. He regards a holiday as the fittest time for the full exhibition of his roughness.

He is a great figure in the courts as plaintiff or defendant. Some- times he excuses himself on oath from trial but later he appears with a bundle of papers in the 52

Characters of Theophrastus

breast of his cloak, and a file of documents in his hands. He en- joys the role of generalissimo in a band of rowdy loafers ; he lends his followers money and on every shilling collects a penny interest per day. He visits the bake- shops, the markets for fresh and pickled fish, collects his tribute from them, and stuffs it in his cheek.

S3

Characters of "Theophrastus

XIX The Affable Man

(^ApeaKeLo)

A

FFABILITY is a sort of demeanor that gives pleas- ure at the sacrifice of what is best. The affable man is the kind of person who hails a friend at a distance, and after he has told him what a fine fellow he is, and has lavished brimming ad- miration on him, seizes both his hands, and is unwilling to let him go. He escorts the friend a step on his way, and as he asks " When shall we meet again ? " tears himself away with praises still falling from his lips.

When summoned to court he wishes to please not merely the man in whose interest he appears, but his adversary too, that he may seem to be non-partisan ; and of stran- 54

Characters of Theophrastus

gers he says that they pronounce juster judgment than his towns- men. If he's invited out to dinner he asks his host to call in the children, and when they come, he declares they 're as like their father as one fig is like another, and he draws them toward him, kisses them, and sets them by his side. Sometimes he joins in their sports, shouting " Strike ! " and "Foul!"; and sometimes he lets them go to sleep in his lap in spite of the burden.-^

1 The remainder of the Greek text of this char- acter has been thought to belong more properly with <<The Exquisite,'' No. XV.

55

Characters of Theophrastus

XX "The Impudent Man

(BSeXvpca)

I

MPUDENCE is easy to define; it is conduct that is obtrusively offensive. The impudent man is one who, on meeting respect- able women in the street, insults them as he passes. At a play, he claps his hands after all the rest have stopped, and hisses the play- ers when others wish to watch in silence. When the theatre is still, he suddenly stands up and dis- gorges, to make the audience look around. When the market-place is crowded, he steps up to the stalls where nuts, myrtle-berries, or fruits are for sale, and begins to pick at them as he talks to the merchant; he calls by name people whom he does n't know, and stops those intent upon some errand. When a man has just 56

Characters of Theophrastus

lost an important case and is now leaving the court, he runs up and tenders his congratulations.

He buys his own provisions,^ too, and hires his own musicians, showing his purchases to every man he meets and inviting him to come and share the feast. Again, he takes his stand before a barber's booth or a perfumer's stall, and proclaims unblushingly his in- tention of getting drunk.

1 To do one's own marketing was considered a sign of niggardliness; hence such business was ordinarily delegated to slaves.

57

Characters of Theophrastus

XXI The Gross Man

G

ROSSNESS is such neglect of one's person as gives of- fence to others. The gross man is one who goes about with an eczema, or white eruption, or diseased nails, and says that these are congenital ailments ; for his father had them, and his grand- father, too, and it would be hard — to foist an outsider upon their family. He 's very apt to have sores on his shins and bruises on his toes, and to neglect these things so that they grow worse.

His armpits are hairy like an an- imal's for a long distance down his sides ; his teeth are black and decayed. As he eats, he blows his nose with his fingers. As he talks, he drools, and has no sooner 58

characters of Theophrastus

drunk wine than up it comes. After bathing he uses rancid oil to anoint himself; and when he goes to the market-place, he wears a thick tunic and a thin outer garment disfigured with spots of dirt.

When his mother goes to consult the soothsayer, he utters words of evil omen ; and when people pray and offer sacrifices to the gods he lets the goblet fall, laughing as though he had done something amusing. When there 's playing on the flute, he alone of the com- pany claps his hands, singing an accompaniment and upbraiding the musician for stopping so soon.

Often he tries to spit across the table, — only to miss the mark and hit the butler.

59

Characters of Theophrastus

XXII The Boor

QKripoiKia)

B

OORISHNESS is ignorance of good form. The boor is the sort of man who takes a strong drink and then goes to the Assembly. He insists that myrrh has not a whit sweeter smell than onions. His boots are too big for his feet and he talks in a loud voice.

He distrusts even friends and kins- men, while his most important secrets are shared with his do- mestics, and he tells all the news of the Assembly to his farm hands. Nothing awakens his ad- miration or startles him on the streets so much as the sight of an ox, an ass, or a goat, and then he stands agape in contemplation.^

^ *' Hee is sensible of no calamitie but the burn- ing of a stacke of come or the overflowing 60

Characters of Theophrastus

He Is the sort of man who snatches a bite from the pantry and drinks his liquor straight.

He has clandestine talks with the cook and helps her grind the meal for his household. At breakfast he throws bits to the animals about the table. He answers the knock at the door himself and then whistles for his dog, takes him by the nose, and says: " Here 's the keeper of my house and grounds ! " When a man offers him a coin he declines it, saying it is too worn, and takes another piece in its stead.

After loaning a plough, basket, sickle, or sack, he goes after it, unable to sleep for thinking of it. When he goes to town he inquires of

of a medow, and thinks Noah's flood the greatest plague that ever was, not be- cause it drowned the world, but spoyl'd the grasse." Earle's Micro-cosmographiey " A Plaine Country Fellow." 6i

Characters of Theophrastus

any chance passer-by : " What are hides selling for ? What 's the price of bacon ? Does the celebration of New Moon come to-day ? " Then he remarks he must go down street and have his hair cut, and while in town must also run into the shop of Archias and buy the bacon. He sings in the public baths and wears hob-nailed boots.

62

Characters of Theophrastus

XXI 1 1 The Penurious Man

(^A-vekevdepCa)

PENURIOUSNESS is the grudging of expense and is due to great love of money and little love of honor. The penurious man, after a victory on the tragic stage, sets up a wooden chaplet to Dionysus, on which he inscribes his own name. If con- tributions from the public are asked for, he is silent or rises and quits the company. When he gives his daughter in marriage, he sells the sacrificial oflFerings, ex- cepting the parts that belong by law to the priests. At the wed- ding, he employs only servants who will eat at home.

As trierarch ^ he takes the pilot's blankets and spreads them on

1 Commander of a galley.

63

Characters of Theophrastus

deck for himself, while he puts his own away. He is the sort of man who keeps his children from school when a festival comes, and makes excuses for them on the plea of ill-health, that he may- avoid the fee for tuition.

When he goes to market, he brings the meat home with him, carry- ing the vegetables in the folds of his cloak. He stays indoors when he sends his tunic to the cleaner. If he catches sight of a friend coming towards him and soliciting contributions, he sneaks off through a by-street and goes home by a roundabout way. He employs no maid for his wife, although she brought him a dowry, but hires a child from the woman's market to accompany her on her errands.

He keeps his patched shoes until they are twice worn out, saying they 64

Characters of Theophrastus

are still good, and tough as horn. When he gets up, he dusts the house and makes the beds, and when he sits down he lays aside the coat he is wearing in order to spare it.

65

Characters of "Theophrastus

XXIV The Pompous Man

POMPOUSNESS is contempt for everybody save one's self. If you have urgent business, the pompous man will tell you that he will meet you after dinner on his walk. If he has done you a favor, he reminds you of it. When elected to office he declines, say- ing under oath he has no leisure. He is not disposed to make the first call on anybody. Trades- men and hired men he orders to come to him by daybreak.

As he passes along the street, he does not greet the men he meets ; he lowers his eyes and when it suits him raises them again. If he entertains friends he does not dine with them, but instructs some of his underlings to attend to the duties of entertainment. 66

Characters of Theophrastus

He sends a messenger ahead when he makes a call, to say that he approaches. He allows no one to enter while he is at his oil-rub, his bath, or his dinner. When he is casting an account, he in- structs a slave to set down the items, foot up the total, and ar- range it in a statement for him. He does not write in a letter: " You would do me a favor," but " I want this done," and " I have sent for this and wish to have it," and " See to it that my orders are followed precisely," and " Have this done immediately."

67

Characters of Theophrastus

XXV The Braggart

(^ AXa^oveCd)

B

RAGGING is pretending to have excellences that one does not really possess. The braggart is the man who stands on the wharf and tells the by- standers how much capital he has invested in ships at sea, and tells how extensive is his busi- ness of loaning money, and how much he has made and lost by different ventures. As he talks thus magnificently, he sends his slave to his banker, where he has — exactly one shilling to his credit. On a journey he imposes on his travelling companion by telling him that he once served with Alexander, and how intimate were their relations, and how many jewelled cups he brought back from his campaigns. 68

Characters of Theophrastus

As regards the Asiatic artists, he counts them better than those in Europe. And all this he tells you without having once set foot outside his native city. He claims further to have three letters from Antipater^ bidding him come to Macedonia; but he declares that, though he has been guaranteed the privilege of exporting wood free of duty, he has refused to go, sim- ply to avoid being suspected by his fellow-citizens of foreign lean- ings. The Macedonians, he says, in urging him so to come, ought to have considered this point.

In time of famine, he says, his expen- ditures for the poor amounted to over five talents ; for he had n't the heart to refuse. When he 's with strangers, he often bids some one place the reckoning counters on

1 A general of Alexander. Upon Alexander's death he became king of Macedonia. 69

Characters of Theophrastus

the table, and computing by six hundreds and by minae, glibly mentioning the names of his pre- tended debtors, he makes a total of twenty-four talents, saying that the whole sum had gone for voluntary contributions, and that, too, with- out including subscriptions for the navy or for other public objects.

At times he goes to the horse- market where blooded stock is for sale, and makes pretence of wanting to buy ; and stepping up to the block, he hunts his clothes for two talents, up- braiding his servant for com- ing along without any money. Though he lives in a rented house, he represents it to those who do not know as the family homestead ; yet adds that he thinks of selling it as being too small for the proper entertain- ment of his friends. 70

o

Characters of Theophrastus

XXVI "The Oligarch

LIGARCHY IS a love of power that clings tightly to personal advantage. The oligarch rises in the people's councils, when assistants to the archon are elected for the man- agement of a fete, and says : " These men must have absolute control." And although others have suggested ten, he insists that one is enough, but he must be a man. The only line of Homer that stays in his memory is : " A crowd's rule is bad ; let there be one ruler." He knows no other verse. He is, however, an adept at such phrases as this : "We must hold a caucus and make our plans ; we must cut loose from mob and market ; we must throw aside the annoyance 71

Characters of "Theophrastus

of petty office and of insult or honor at the masses' whim ; we or they must rule the state."

At midday he goes out with his mantle thrown about him, his hair dressed in the mode and his nails fashionably trimmed ; he promenades down Odeon Way ejaculating : " Sycophants have made the city no longer habit- able. What outrages we endure in court from our persecutors ! Why men nowadays go into office, is a marvel to me. How un- grateful the mob is ! although one is always giving, giving."

If, at the Assembly, a naked, hungry vagabond sits next to him, he complains of the out- rage. "When," he asks, "is a stop to be put to this ruin of our property by taxation for fetes and navy ? How odious is this crew 'of demagogues ! The- 72

Characters of Theophrastus

seus," he says, " was the fore- front of all this offending, for out of twelve cities, he brought the masses into one, to overthrow the monarchies. He met his just reward, — he was the first to fall a victim at their hands/' This is the way he talks to for- eigners and to citizens of his own temper and party.

73

characters of Theophrastus

XXVII The Backbiter

B

ACKBITING is a disposition^ to vilify others. When the backbiter is asked " Who is so and so ?" he begins, like the genealogists, with the man's ancestry. " His father's name was originally Sosias , ^ but amongst the soldiers it became Sosistratus, and upon registra- tion in the deme, it was again changed to Sosidemus. His mother was a Thracian, — gentle blood ! you see. At any rate this jewel's name was Krinokoraka. Women of that name are of gentle blood in Thrace, so people say !

^ ** Scandal, like other virtues, is in part its own reward, as it gives us the satisfaction of mak- ing ourselves appear better than others, or others no better than ourselves." Benj. Franklin, Works, ed. Sparks, II., p. 540.

2 Apparently a slave's name. 74

Characters of Theophrastus

The man himself, with an ancestry like that, is a foul fellow fit for the whipping-post." In a com- pany where his companions are maligning a man, he of course takes up the attack and says : " For my part I hate him of all men. He is a bad character, as one may see from his face, and as for his meanness, it has no parallel and here is a proof: His wife brought him a dowry of talents of money and yet after the birth of their first child, he gave her but three pence a day for household expenses and forced her to bathe in cold water on the festival of Poseidon in mid- winter." When he is seated with a group, he loves to talk about an acquaintance who has just risen and gone, and his biting tongue does not spare even the man's kinsfolk. Of his own rela- tives and friends, he says the 75

Characters of Theophrastus

vilest things and even maligns the dead. Backbiting is what he calls frankness of speech, democ- racy, and freedom ; and there is nothing he enjoys so much.

76

A

Characters of Theophrastus

XXVIII The Avaricious Man

VARICE Is greedy love of gain. When the avaricious man gives a dinner, he puts scant allowance of bread on the table. He borrows money of a stranger who is lodging with him. When he distributes the portions at table, he says it is fair for the laborer to receive double and straightway loads his own plate. He engages in wine traffic, and sells adulterated liquors even to his friend. He goes to the show and takes his children with him, on the days when spectators are admitted to the galleries free. When he is the people*s delegate, he leaves at home the money pro- vided by the city, and borrows from his fellow commissioners. 77

Characters of Theophrastus

He loads more luggage on his porter than the man can carry, and provides him with the smallest rations of any man in the party. When presents are given the delegates by foreign courts, he demands his share at once, and sells it. At the bath he says the oil brought him is bad, and shouts : " Boy, the oil is rancid ; '* and in its stead takes what belongs to another. If his servants find money on the high- way, he demands a share of it, saying : " Luck's gifts are com- mon property.'* When he sends his cloak to be cleaned, he bor- rows another from an acquain- tance and keeps it until it is asked for. He also does this sort of thing : he uses King Fru- gal's measure with the bottom dented in, for doling out supplies to his household and then se- cretly brushes off the top. He 78

Characters of Theophrastus

sells underweight even to his friend, who thinks he is buying according to market standard.

When he pays a debt of thirty pounds, he does so with a dis- count of four shillings. When, owing to sickness, his children are not at school the entire month, he deducts a proportionate amount from the teacher's pay ; and during the month of Anthes- terion he does not send them to their studies at all, on account of the frequent shows, and so he avoids tuition fees. If he re- ceives coppers from a slave who has been serving out, he demands in addition the exchange value of silver. When he gets a state- ment from the deme's^ adminis- trator, he demands provision for his slaves at public cost.

1 The deme was a local division. 79

Characters of Theophrastus

He makes note of the half- radishes left on the table, to keep the servants from taking them. If he goes abroad with friends, he uses their servants and hires his own out; yet he does not con- tribute to the common fund the money thus received. When others combine with him to give a banquet at his house, he se- cretly includes in his account the wood, figs, vinegar, salt, and lamp-oil, — trifles furnished from his supplies. If a marriage is announced in a friend's family, he goes away a little beforehand, to avoid sending a wedding pres- ent. He borrows of friends such articles as they would not ask to have returned, or such as, if returned, they would not read- ily accept.

80

Characters of Theophrastus

XXIX The Late Learner

THE late learner has a fond- ness for study late in life. He commits whole passages of poetry to memory when sixty years of age ; but when he essays to quote them at a banquet his memory trips. From his son, he learns " Forward march ! " " Shoulder arms ! " " 'Bout face ! " At the feast of heroes he pits himself against the boys in the torch-race ; and of course when he is invited to the temple of Hercules, he throws aside his mantle, and makes ready to lift the steer, that he may bend back its neck. He goes to the wrestling-grounds and joins in the matches. 6 8i

Characters of Theophrastus

At the shows he stays one perform- ance after another until he has learned the songs by heart. If he is dedicated to Sabazius, he is eager to be declared the fairest ; if he falls in love with some dam- sel, he makes an onset on her door, only to be assaulted by a rival and hauled before the court. He makes a trip to the country on a mare he has never before ridden, and, essaying feats of horsemanship on the road, he falls and breaks his head.

He joins a boys* club too, and en- tertains the members at his house ; he plays " ducks and drakes " with his servant, and competes at archery and javelin-throwing with his children's tutor, and he expects the tutor, as though ig- norant of these sports, to learn them from him. He wrestles at the baths, turning a bench nimbly 82

Characters of Theophrastus

about to create the impression that he has been well trained in the art ; and if women happen to be standing near, he trips a dance, whistling his own music.

S3

Characters of Theophrastus

XXX The Vicious Man

{^LXoTTOvrjpia)

V

ICIOUSNESS is love of what is bad. The vicious man is one who associates with men convicted in public suits, and who assumes that, if he makes friends of these fellows, he will gain in knowledge of the world, and so will be more feared.

Of upright men, he declares that no one is by nature upright, but that all men are alike, and he even reproaches the man who is honorable. The bad man, he asserts, is free from prejudice, if one will but make the trial, and, while in some respects he admits that men speak truly of such a man, in others he refuses to allow it. " For,'* says he, " the fellow is clever, 84

Characters of Theophrastus

companionable, and a gentleman;" in fact, he maintains that he never met so talented a person. He supports him, therefore, when he speaks in the assembly or is de- fendant in court, and to those sitting in judgment he 's apt to say that one must judge not the man, but the facts ; and he de- clares that his friend is the very watch-dog of the people, " for he watches out for evil-doers " ; and he adds : " We shall no longer have men to burden themselves with a care for the common weal, if we abandon men like him."

It's the vicious man's way to constitute himself the patron of all worthless scamps and to sup- port them before the court in des- perate cases ; and, when he passes judgment, he puts the worst con- struction on the arguments of the opposing counsel.

85

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