Oration to the Greeks 24 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Otto 6:100–102

Τί μοι συμβάλλεται πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ὁ κατὰ τὸν Εὐριπίδην μαινόμενος καὶ τὴν Ἀλκμαίωνος μητροκτονίαν ἀπαγγέλλων, ᾧ μηδὲ τὸ οἰκεῖον πρόσεστι σχῆμα, κέχηνέ τε μέγα καὶ ξίφος περιφέρει καὶ κεκραγὼς πίμπραται καὶ φορέει στολὴν ἀπάνθρωπον; Ἐῤῥέτω καὶ τὰ Ἀκουσιλάου μυθολογήματα, καὶ Μένανδρος τῆς ἐκείνου γλώττης ὁ στιχοποιός. Τί μοι καὶ τεθηπέναι τὸν μυθικὸν αὐλητήν; Τί δέ μοι καὶ Ἀριστόξενον τὸν Θηβαῖον Ἀντιγενίδην πολυπραγμονεῖν; Παραχωροῦμεν ὑμῖν τὰ μὴ ὠφέλιμα· καὶ ὑμεῖς ἢ πείσθητε τοῖς δόγμασι ἡμῶν, ἢ κατὰ τὸ ὅμοιον τῶν ὑμετέρων ἡμῖν ἐκχωρήσατε.

English · Claude translation

What good does it do me when someone raves on stage in the manner of Euripides and recites Alcmaeon's murder of his mother, a man who does not even keep his own bearing, who gapes wide, carries a sword about, bursts with shouting, and wears an inhuman costume? Away too with the myths of Acusilaus, and with Menander, the versifier of that kind of speech! Why should I admire the mythical flute-player? Why should I busy myself about Aristoxenus or Antigenides of Thebes? We leave to you what is useless; and you should either be persuaded by our teachings, or likewise give up yours to us.

About this passage

Source

Otto 6:100–102 · Johann Carl Theodor Otto, ed., Tatiani Oratio ad Graecos, Corpus apologetarum Christianorum saeculi secundi 6 (Jena: Mauke, 1851) · Greek text: J. C. T. Otto, Tatiani Oratio ad Graecos (Corpus apologetarum Christianorum saeculi secundi 6, 1851), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Otto, CorpApol 6. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1851); made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Notes

Translation notes

Alcmaeon killed his mother Eriphyle; Euripides wrote two plays about him.
Acusilaus of Argos was an early mythographer; Menander the writer of comedies. “The versifier of that kind of speech” is literally “the versifier of his tongue,” an obscure phrase.
Aristoxenus was a musical theorist, and Antigenides of Thebes a famous flute-player.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (dittography: καὶ printed twice): καὶ καὶ Ἀριστόξενον → καὶ Ἀριστόξενον.

Cite this passage

Tatian, Or. Graec. 24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tatian-oration/24/).

Plain text

Tatian, Or. Graec. 24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tatian-oration/24/).