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I am trying to locate the source and original Greek of this quote attributed to Diogenes: "A beautiful whore is like poisoned honey".

Aryeh
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1 Answers1

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It comes from Diogenes Laërtius' biography of Diogenes of Sinope (i.r. the Cynic) in his Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, 61:

Handsome courtesans he would compare to a deadly honeyed potion.

You can find the Greek on Perseus:

τὰς εὐπρεπεῖς ἑταίρας ἔλεγε θανασίμῳ μελικράτῳ παραπλησίας εἶναι.

Diogenes (the Cynic, not the author of the biography) is the unnamed subject, and ἔλεγε is the verb, "he said" or even "he used to say." This makes "the fair courtesans" (τὰς εὐπρεπεῖς ἑταίρας) the subject of the indirect sentence ("he used to say that fair courtesans"). At the end εἶναι ("to be") is the linking verb of the indirect statement, and παραπλησίας ("equal to, analogous to, the same as") is the predicate adjective. Finally, παραπλησίας frequently takes a dative as its object, which is how you get θανασίμῳ μελικράτῳ ("deadly honey-drink").

cmw
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  • Many thanks! Would it be too much to ask for help parsing the Greek? – Aryeh Dec 14 '22 at 17:27
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    @Aryeh Sure, is there something in particular you have trouble with, or just to see what matches with what? It's in indirect speech coming off ἔλεγε, if that makes it clearer. – cmw Dec 14 '22 at 17:34
  • I think it makes sense now. I was expecting πόρνη, the word ἑταίρα was new to me. Also expected "honey" rather than "honeyed"; μελικράτος is very nice! – Aryeh Dec 14 '22 at 17:41
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    @Aryeh I went ahead and added a short grammatical commentary on the line, but glad you got it. Feel free to ask if any further questions arise. – cmw Dec 14 '22 at 17:44
  • Many thanks for the edited expanded explanation, would upvote once more if I could! – Aryeh Dec 14 '22 at 17:45
  • Any idea why Diogenes used the more euphemistic ἑταίρα rather than the more direct πόρνη, as would seem to be more fitting with his style? – Aryeh Dec 14 '22 at 17:52
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    @Aryeh I have a meeting in a minute, but I'll respond soon. But the short of it is that there's nothing unusual about it. – cmw Dec 14 '22 at 17:58
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    Just to clarify, the subject here is Diogenes the Cynic, not the author Diogenes Laertius. – TKR Dec 14 '22 at 19:15
  • Curiously similar to the Book of Proverbs V, 3:-For the lips of a strange woman (= harlot) drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. – Jonathan Hadfield Dec 14 '22 at 21:32
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    @Aryeh On second thought, it might make for an interesting follow up question if you ask about the differences between porne and hetaira. – cmw Dec 14 '22 at 22:39
  • @JonathanHadfield I think "honeyed-words" and "sweet-talking" are pretty common idioms. I don't know the origin, but to "sweet-talk" in Thai has a Lothario connotation, i.e. "you're just buttering me up to get in my pants." – cmw Dec 14 '22 at 22:41
  • @JonathanHadfield indeed! Here's the original, in case anyone is curious:

    כִּי נֹפֶת תִּטֹּפְנָה שִׂפְתֵי זָרָה וְחָלָק מִשֶּׁמֶן חִכָּהּ:

     – Aryeh Dec 15 '22 at 08:16
  • @JonathanHadfield It's actually 2 verses (3-4). That was 3, here's 4:

    וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ מָרָה כַלַּעֲנָה חַדָּה כְּחֶרֶב פִּיּוֹת:

     – Aryeh Dec 15 '22 at 08:17
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    Thank you, Aryeh, (whose common Hebrew name means ‘lion’for those who are interested). I should have checked the Hebrew original, which is not really a parallel, by looking it it up in Mishlei. Again for those who are interested, the Hebrew, fairly literally translated, means - Pvbs. 5, 3. the lips of a strange woman drip (as) an honey(comb) and her mouth (is) smoother than oil; 4. Her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5. But her feet go down to death; her steps grasp [take hold on] Sheol. יוֹנָתָן – Jonathan Hadfield Dec 15 '22 at 11:54