Argumentative Oath in Eupolis
During the democratic period, the Greeks would
customarily crown the valiant accomplishment of an extraordinarily brave warrior
meeting the expectations of the nation. They would thus honor brave men and
admit their privilege. The poet Eupolis was one who earned such an honor by
showing bravery in the battle of
Later, some envious people accused him of having
harbored ill will for his nation. By this, they intended to remove from the
hearts of the nation the respect he commanded. They wanted the public to abhor
him. Eupolis tried to defend himself against such accusations in a poem. Two of
the relevant verses are being translated here:
No, by the crown
embellishing my head, bestowed upon me at the Battle of Marathon, none of my
foes can prove that I am harboring ill will [for my nation].[1]
We see that the poet has taken an oath by the crown
he received from his nation. He seeks to prove that he did not bear ill will
for them. It is as if he says: “How can I bear ill will for my people after
they honored me greatly.”
We see in this example, and among other similar
ones, that an oath is not specific to the deities. This brings down the
foundation of Longinus’ viewpoint. Those who considered the oath of Demosthenes
and Eupolis as belonging to the same genre are correct. Both of them have used
oaths by way of evidence and examples. They did not intend in their oaths the glorification
of the muqsam bihī. If the muqsam bihī itself contain any kind of
glory, it is a mere coincidence and not the intention of the oath-taker to
establish it. An oath in and of itself does not speak of glorification of the muqsam
bihī. On the contrary, sometimes it implies the negation of glory in the muqsam
bihī. ‘Urwah b. Murrah, whose verse we have already mentioned in the
eleventh chapter, takes an oath by the Markhah tree in order to exemplify
weakness and insignificance.
[1]. The
name of the Greek poet according to Farāhī is Bāliyūs [in Arabic]. He is
perhaps the poet Eupolis. For Longinus, in his work, discusses and compares
oaths taken by Demosthenes and Eupolis. See: Dionysius Longinus on the Sublime:
in Greek, together with the English translation by William Smith, D.D.
(Baltimore: Edward Matchett Printer, 1810).
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