Are you not ashamed to produce such accusations2 with such violence before such a judge, to bring forward frivolous3 and self-contradictory accusations, and then in the same breath to blame me on both charges at once? Is it not a sheer contradiction to object to my wallet and staff on the ground of austerity, to my poems and mirror on the ground of undue4 levity5; to accuse me of parsimony6 for having only one slave, and of extravagance in having three; to denounce me for my Greek eloquence7 and my barbarian8 birth? Awake from your slumber9 and remember that you are speaking before Claudius Maximus, a man of stern character, burdened with the business of the whole province. Cease, I say, to bring forward these empty slanders10. Prove your indictment11, prove that I am guilty of ghastly crimes, detestable sorceries, and black art-magic. Why is it that the strength of your speech lies in mere12 noise, while it is weak and flabby in point of facts?
I will now deal with the actual charge of magic. You spared no violence in fanning the flame of hatred13 against me. But you have disappointed all men’s expectations by your old wives’ fables14, and the fire kindled15 by your accusations has burned itself away. I ask you, Maximus, have you ever seen fire spring up among the stubble, crackling sharply, blazing wide and spreading fast, but soon exhausting its flimsy fuel, dying fast away, leaving not a wrack16 behind? So they have kindled their accusation1 with abuse and fanned it with words, but it lacks the fuel of facts and, your verdict once given, is destined17 to leave not a wrack of calumny18 behind. The whole of Aemilianus’ calumnious19 accusation was centred in the charge of magic. I should therefore like to ask his most learned advocates how, precisely20, they would define a magician.
If what I read in a large number of authors is true, namely, that magician is the Persian word for priest, what is there criminal in being a priest and having due knowledge, science, and skill in all ceremonial law, sacrificial duties, and the binding21 rules of religion, at least if magic consists in that which Plato sets forth22 in his description of the methods employed by the Persians in the education of their young princes? I remember the very words of that divine philosopher. Let me recall them to your memory, Maximus:
When the boy has reached the age of fourteen he is handed over to the care of men known as the Royal Masters. They are four in number, and are chosen as being the best of the elders of Persia, one the wisest, another the justest, a third the most temperate23, a fourth the bravest. And one of these teaches the boy the magic of Zoroaster the son of Oromazes; and this magic is no other than the worship of the gods. He also teaches him the arts of kingship.
1 accusation | |
n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
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2 accusations | |
n.指责( accusation的名词复数 );指控;控告;(被告发、控告的)罪名 | |
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3 frivolous | |
adj.轻薄的;轻率的 | |
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4 undue | |
adj.过分的;不适当的;未到期的 | |
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5 levity | |
n.轻率,轻浮,不稳定,多变 | |
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6 parsimony | |
n.过度节俭,吝啬 | |
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7 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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8 barbarian | |
n.野蛮人;adj.野蛮(人)的;未开化的 | |
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9 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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10 slanders | |
诽谤,诋毁( slander的名词复数 ) | |
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11 indictment | |
n.起诉;诉状 | |
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12 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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13 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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14 fables | |
n.寓言( fable的名词复数 );神话,传说 | |
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15 kindled | |
(使某物)燃烧,着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 ); 激起(感情等); 发亮,放光 | |
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16 wrack | |
v.折磨;n.海草 | |
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17 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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18 calumny | |
n.诽谤,污蔑,中伤 | |
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19 calumnious | |
adj.毁谤的,中伤的 | |
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20 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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21 binding | |
有约束力的,有效的,应遵守的 | |
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22 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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23 temperate | |
adj.温和的,温带的,自我克制的,不过分的 | |
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