Source edition
Lucian, Vol. 6. Kilburn, Kenneth, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959 (unrenewed copyright).
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a rhetorical address in which the speaker self-deprecatingly criticizes an audience that praises only the "novelty" or "strangeness" of a work rather than its intrinsic artistry and skill. Disappointed that his own recent recitation was lauded merely for being novel rather than for its composition, the speaker introduces two historical anecdotes to illustrate his point. The first is the story of the painter Zeuxis and his masterpiece "The Female Centaur." When the spectators raved only about the unusual subject matter instead of his masterful painting technique, Zeuxis withdrew the painting in anger. The second anecdote concerns King Antiochus, who achieved an unexpected victory against the Galatians by deploying war elephants. Realizing that the victory was due to the novelty of the beasts rather than his own military genius, the king felt ashamed and ordered that only an elephant be carved on the victory monument. Through these analogies, the work satirizes the public's tendency to be captivated by superficial novelty and emphasizes the true value of artistic craftsmanship.