Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

116 Elizabeth Broadwin
philosophy which Lucian most consistently expresses, both when he is in a
humorous vein and when he adopts a more serious tone . . . is that philosophy is
only of use in so far as it contributes towards the practical conduct of life” (Hall,
173). The aspect of the Neo-Pythagorean thought that Lucian parodies is outside
the realm of the practical.
Lucian’s treatment of philosophy is very much tied to his concern with
modes of knowledge and the truth. In the prologue to A True Story Lucian says,
“When I have come across all of these writers, I have not blamed the men for
telling lies. I could see that even those who profess to be philosophers are now
habituated to this” (Lucian, 2004: I.3). Lucian finds the same fault in philosophy
and in history: the depiction of fiction as the truth. Philosophers should be concerned
with wisdom, ethics, and aesthetics. Lamptown is thus better suited for a
truly fictive narrative like Lucian’s than for a philosophical one. According to
Jones, “the prominence of philosophy in [Lucian’s] work is due not only to his
reading . . . but also to the fact that the society and the culture of the day
swarmed with philosophers as much as with sophists” (Jones, 1986: 32). When
Lucian says he does not blame writers for telling lies because even philosophers
have become habituated to it, he does not exculpate writers but rather
facetiously attacks philosophy.
Lucian’s primary concern, like a true rhetorician from the second
Sophistic, is with monumental texts and figures such as Homer, Herodotus, and
Aristophanes, from earlier periods of Greek history. This distinction between
history, writing that is perceived as history, and fiction elucidates Lucian’s
disparate treatment of Homer, Herodotus and Aristophanes in A True Story.
Under the artifice of a travel narrative, Lucian creates a hierarchy of truths
among those works that claim to offer the truth but in reality convey fictive
narratives such as Herodotus’ Histories; those works which have been perceived
as the truth though do not claim to offer it, such as Homer’s Odyssey; and works
of pure fiction, such as Aristophanes’ The Birds, which are rightfully accepted
as fiction. Lucian reproduces many elements from the works which he satirizes
into his own narrative: from Homer he takes his narrative progression and
movement within the text such as the storms, days of sailing and so on; from
Herodotus, he takes his fanciful ethnographic accounts; and from Aristophanes,
Lucian takes his tone of parody and satire. Through this mimetic process Lucian
warns his readers of the danger and futility of viewing fictive narratives as
truthful ones.
Lucian’s parody and mimetic quality make readers of A True Story aware
of the processes by which they obtain knowledge. Lucian satirizes those whose
words have been accepted as the truth and offers a view of earlier literature that
emphasizes its aesthetic value. Homer, Herodotus, and Aristophanes present
knowledge in the form of fictive narratives but to read their words as absolute
and concrete truth is to take away from their true aesthetic value. Lucian’s stress
on the aesthetic quality of these texts that have wrongfully been categorized as
containing historical and geographic truths is manifested in their incorporation