The Eloquence of Silence:
Narrative Power in Lucian’s Demonax

Stephen A. Maiullo (The Ohio State University)

At the end of his text about the philosopher Demonax's career, Lucian constructs a scenario in which his Cynic sage strolls into an acrimonious debate in the Athenian assembly only to silence all dissent by his presence alone (Dem. 64).  Nearly every previous episode builds toward a witticism that shows Demonax’s philosophical and rhetorical superiority over his interlocutors.  Why should this last narrative end so differently?

This paper explores the relationship between humor and narrative structure in Lucian’s Demonax. Bract Branham in his study Unruly Eloquence (1989) shows that one source of Lucian’s humor is the deliberate juxtaposition of genres and characters speaking from differing traditions. In the case of Demonax, he notes that “Demonax uses wit Lucianically to provoke his interlocutors to consider themselves and their situations from unexpected and often incongruous perspectives.” (62)  While it is true that Demonax uses humor “Lucianically,” what is funny about the Demonax, and in particular Dem. 64, is that Lucian uses humor “Demonactically” to inspire his audience to consider themselves from the perspective of Demonax’s interlocutors. This, I argue, has three important implications: first, that the overall structure of the text, a series of chreiai framed as biography, allows Lucian to exert control over the narration in the text silently and undetected; second, that Lucian deliberately conflates his audience with Demonax’s and invites them to share the narrative space in which Demonax usurps narratorial power and challenges the traditional views of his interlocutors; third, that the punch line of the text is Dem. 64 in which this narrative structure dissolves and Lucian emerges as a Demonax figure himself.

The text offers two levels of narration, through which the constant interplay between narrators and audiences bolsters the text’s movement. The first level of narration consists of Lucian’s brief biographical sketch of Demonax. The second level of narration is the raison d’être of the text. Lucian presents Demonax’s witticisms and stresses Demonax’s transformation from a silent observer into a skilled speaker who usurps his interlocutor's performance and power. Lucian’s direct narration invites his audience to share narrative space with Demonax’s interlocutor. The two audiences become the same: both Demonax’s primary performative audience and Lucian’s secondary audience equally receive Demonax’s lessons in Cynic paideia.

At Dem. 64, Lucian subverts these established narratorial levels by deliberately keeping the two audiences distinct. Demonax still speaks a non-verbal chastising message, but his silence grinds Lucian’s audience-blending program to a halt. Lucian’s voice is no longer shadowed by Demonax, and he emerges as the primary speaker. In the last scene before Demonax’s death, Lucian shows that he too has learned from the master’s example and takes narratorial control from him. Lucian’s audience is blindsided: the predictable narration has taken an unpredictable turn. Lucian has become the Cynic’s perfect student, he has been able to ‘out-Demonax’ Demonax: he has questioned and transgressed the very boundaries he himself has established within his own text.  He has shown exactly what it means to be a good Cynic and in so doing has also demonstrated the eloquence of silence.