Volume 19, 2007 - Brown University

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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
Lucian’s Allusive Journey 117 into A True Story’s truly fictive narrative. Through the use of allusion and satire, Lucian puts his reader’s intellect “into more alert condition for the labour which is to follow” (I.1): questioning and criticizing the truths deduced from literature. References Hall, Jennifer. 1981. Lucian’s Satire. New York: Arno Press. Herodotus. 1954. The Histories. Trans. Aubrey De Selincourt. Penguin Books. Homer. 1990. The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. Penguin Books. Homer. 1961. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. Anchor Books. Jones, C. P. 1986. Culture and Society in Lucian. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Lucian. 1959. Lucian VI. Trans. K. Kilburn. Harvard University Press. Lucian. 2004. Chattering Courtesans and Other Sardonic Sketches. Trans. Keith Sidwell. Penguin Books. Swain, Simon. 1996. Hellenism and Empire. Oxford: Claredon Press.
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