Hence all Athens, high and low, admired him
enormously and always viewed him as a superior
being. Yet in office he ran counter to public opinion
and won from the masses quite as much hatred as
his prototype Socrates. 
by his freedom of speech and action.
He too had his Anytus and his Meletus who combined
against him and brought the same charges that their
predecessors brought against Socrates, asserting that
he had never been known to sacrifice and was the
only man in the community uninitiated in the Eleusinian mysteries. In reply to this, with right good

 Eupolis, quoted in the note on “Nigrinus” 7. 



 

courage he wreathed his head, put on a clean cloak,
went to the assembly and made his defence, which
was in part good-tempered, in part more caustic than
accorded with his scheme of life. Regarding his
never having offered sacrifice to Athena, he said:
“Do not be surprised, men of Athens, that I have not
hitherto sacrificed to her: I did not suppose that she
had any need of my offerings.’”” Regarding the other
charge, the matter of the mysteries, he said that he
had never joined them in the rite because if the
mysteries were bad, he .would not hold his tongue
before the uninitiate but would turn them away from
the cult, while if they were good, he would reveal
them to everybody out of his love for humanity. So
the Athenians, who already had stones in both hands
to throw at him, became good-natured and friendly
toward him at once, and from that time on they
honoured, respected and finally admired him. Yet
in the very beginning of his speech he had used a
pretty caustic introduction, “Men of Athens, you see
me ready with my garland: come, sacrifice me like
your former victim, for on that occasion your offering
found no favour with the gods!”

 

I should like to cite a few of his well-directed
and witty remarks, and may as well begin with
Favorinus
 An eunuch from Arles, of considerable repute as a
sophist. and what he said to him. When
Favorinus was told by someone that Demonax was
making fun of his lectures and particularly of the
laxity of their rhythm, saying that it was vulgar and
effeminate and not by any means appropriate to
philosophy, he went to Demonax and asked him:
“Who are you to libel my compositions?” “A


 

man with an ear that is not easy to cheat,” said
he. The sophist kept at him and asked: “What
qualifications had you, Demonax, to leave school
and commence philosophy?” “Those-you lack,” he
retorted.

 

Another time the same man went to him and
asked what philosophical school he favoured most.
Demonax replied: “Why, who told you that I was
a philosopher?” As he left, he broke into a very
hearty laugh; and when Favorinus asked him what
he was laughing at, he replied: “It seemed to me
ridiculous that you should think a philosopher can
be told by his beard when you yourself have none.”
 
When the Sidonian sophist
 Otherwise unknown. 
was once showing.
his powers at Athens, and was voicing his own
praise to the effect that he was acquainted with all
philosophy—but I may as well cite his very words:
“If Aristotle calls me to the Lyceum, I shall go
with him; if Plato calls me to the Academy, I shall
come; if Zeno calls, I shall spend my time in the
Stoa; if Pythagoras calls, I shall hold my tongue.”
 Alluding to the Pythagorean vow of silence. 
Well, Demonax arose in the midst of the audience
and said: “Ho” (addressing him by name), “Pythagoras is calling you!”
 
When a handsome young fellow named Pytho,
who belonged to one of the aristocratic families
in Macedonia, was quizzing him, putting a catchquestion to him and asking him to tell the logical
answer, he said: “I know thus much, my boy—
it’s a poser, and so are you!” Enraged at the
pun, the other said threateningly: “I'll show you
in short order that you’ve a man to deal with!”




 

whereupon Demonax laughingly inquired: “Oh,
you will send for your man, then?”