Aelius Aristides - Works

Works

The extant works of Aristides include 55 orations and declamations (including those discovered by Morelli and Mai), and two treatises on rhetorical subjects. Some of his orations are eulogies on the power of certain divinities, others are panegyrics on towns, such as Smyrna, Cyzicus, Rome; one among them is a Panathenaicus, and an imitation of that of Isocrates. Others again treat on subjects connected with rhetoric and eloquence. The six orations mentioned above, have attracted considerable attention in the mid-19th century, on account of the various stories they contain respecting the cures of the sick in temples, and on account of the apparent resemblance between these cures and those said to be effected by Mesmerism. The first edition of his works is that of Eufrosino Bonino (Florence, 1517). A list of the orations extant, as well as of the lost works of Aristides, is given in Fabricius (Bibliotheca Graeca vi p. 15, &c.), and more completely by Westermann (Geschichte der Griechischen Beredsamkeit, p. 321, &c.). Aristides as an orator is much superior to the majority of rhetoricians in his time, whose great and only ambition was to shine and make a momentary impression by extempore speeches, and a brilliant and dazzling style. Aristides, with whom thought was of far greater importance than the form in which it appeared, expressed that difference between himself and the other rhetoricians, at his first interview with the emperor, M. Aurelius.

He despised the silly puns, the shallow witticisms and insignificant ornaments of his contemporaries, and sought nourishment for his mind in the study of the ancients. In his panegyric orations, however, he often endeavored to display as much brilliancy of style as he could. On the whole his style is brief and concise, but too frequently deficient in ease and clearness. His sentiments are often trivial and spun out to an intolerable length, which leaves the reader nothing to think upon for himself. His orations remind one of a man who is fond of hearing himself talk. Notwithstanding these defects, however, Aristides is still unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries. His admirers compared him to Demosthenes, and even Aristides did not think himself much inferior. This vanity and self-sufficiency made him enemies and opponents, among whom are mentioned Palladius, Sergius, and Porphyrius. But the number of his admirers was far greater, and several learned grammarians wrote commentaries on his orations. Besides Athanasius, Menander, and others, whose works are lost, we must mention especially Sopater of Apamea, who is probably the author of the Greek Prolegomena to the orations of Aristides, and also of some among the Scholia on Aristides, which contain a great many things of importance for mythology, history, and antiquities. They also contain numerous fragments of works now lost. The greater part of these Scholia are probably compilations from the commentaries of Arethas, Metrophanes, and other grammarians.

According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary, the remainder of his surviving writings, although praised by his contemporaries, is of primary interest for the incidental light they cast on the social history of Asia Minor in the second century AD. His Sacred Tales may also be of interest for researchers of ancient medicine or ancient religion. A complete English translation was published by C.A. Behr in between 1981 and 1986.