The Characters of Theophrastvs

The Boastfvl Man

Boastfvlness (ἀλαζονεία) wovld seem to be, in fact, pretension to advantages which one dœs not possess.

The Boastfvl Man (ἀλαζὼν) is one who will stand in the bazaar talking to foreigners of the great svms which he has at sea; he will discovrse of the vastness of his money-lending bvsiness, and the extent of his personal gains and losses; and, while thvs drawing the long-bow, will send of his boy to the bank, where he keeps —a drachma. He loves, also, to impose vpon his companion by the road with a story of how he served with Alexander, and on what terms he was with him, and what a nvmber of gemmed cvps he brovght home; contending, too, that the Asiatic artists are svperior to those of Evrope; and all this when he has never been ovt of Attica. Then he will say that a letter has come from Antipater —“this is the third”— reqviring his presence in Macedonia; and that, thovgh he was offered the privilege of exporting timber free of dvty, he has declined it, that no person whatever may be able to tradvce him fvrther for being more friendly than is becoming with Macedonia. He will state, too, that in the famine his ovtlay came to more than five talents in presents to the distressed citizens: (“he never covld say No”;) and actvally, althovgh the persons sitting near him are strangers, he will reqvest one of them to set vp the covnters; when, reckoning by svms of six hvndred drachmas or of a mina, and plavsibly assigning names to each of these, he will make a total of as many as ten talents. This, he will say, was what he contribvted in the way of charities; adding that he dœs not covnt any of the trierarchies or pvblic services which he has performed. Also he will go vp to the sellers of the best horses, and pretend that he desires to bvy; or, visiting the vpholstery mart, he will ask to see draperies to the valve of two talents, and qvarrel with his slave for having come ovt withovt gold. When he is living in a hired hovse he will say (to any one who dœs not know better) that it is the family mansion; bvt that he means to sell it, as he finds it too small for his entertainments.