Do away, then, with all this that is excessive and
invidious, Lycinus—that sort of thing is not in
keeping with your character, for you have not as a
rule been ready and quick to praise. Now, however, you have somehow changed all at once and
are lavish with it; you who were so niggardly before
have become a spendthrift in compliments! Do not
be ashamed, either, to reshape the essay after it has
been put into circulation. Even Phidias, they say,
did that when he made the Zeus for the people of
Elis! The chryselephantine statue at Olympia. He stood behind the door when he first
unveiled and exhibited his work, and listened to
those who criticized or commended any part. One
would criticize the nose as too thick, another the
face as too long, and so it went. Then, when the
spectators had left, Phidias locked himself up once
more, and corrected and reshaped the statue to suit
the opinion of the majority; for he did not think
that the advice of so many folk was trivial, but that
always of necessity the many could see better than
the one, even if that one were Phidias. The story, which is patently apocryphal, occurs nowhere else. Lucian may have heard it from a guide at Olympia. For a similar story regarding Apelles, see Pliny, Nat. Hist. 35, 84-85. 



 

That is what she told me to tell you, and what I
myself recommend as your friend and well-wisher.