Why do you still long for the quiet you elsewhere enjoyed; for places familiar to you? Stay a little, and these will become familiar to you in their turn;
πῶς οὖν γένωμαι φιλόστοργος;— ὡς γενναῖος, ὡς εὐτυχής· οὐδέποτε γὰρ αἱρεῖ ὁ λόγος ταπεινὸν εἶναι οὐδὲ κατακλᾶσθαι οὐδʼ ἐξ ἄλλου κρέμασθαι οὐδὲ μέμψασθαί ποτε θεὸν ἢ ἄνθρωπον.
and then, if you are so mean-spirited, you may weep and lament again on leaving these. “How, then, am I to preserve an affectionate disposition?” As becomes a noble-spirited and happy person. For reason will never tell you to be dejected and broken-hearted, or to depend on another, or to reproach either God or man.
οὕτως μοι γίνου φιλόστοργος ὡς ταῦτα τηρήσων· εἰ δὲ διὰ τὴν φιλοστοργίαν ταύτην, [τ]ἥντινά ποτε καὶ καλεῖς φιλοστοργίαν, δοῦλος μέλλεις εἶναι καὶ ἄθλιος, οὐ λυσιτελεῖ φιλόστοργον εἶναι.
Be affectionate in such a manner as to observe all this. But if, from affection, as you call it, you are to be a slave and miserable, it is not worth your while to be affectionate.
καὶ τί κωλύει φιλεῖν τινα ὡς θνητόν, ὡς ἀποδημητικόν; ἢ Σωκράτης οὐκ ἐφίλει τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ; ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐλεύθερος, ὡς μεμνημένος, ὅτι πρῶτον δεῖ θεοῖς εἶναι φίλον.
And what restrains you from loving any one as a mortal,—as a person who may be obliged to quit you?
διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲν παρέβη τῶν πρεπόντων ἀνδρὶ ἀγαθῷ οὔτʼ ἀπολογούμενος οὐθʼ ὑποτιμώμενος οὔτʼ ἔτι πρόσθεν βουλεύων ἢ στρατευόμενος.
Pray did not Socrates love his own children? But it was as became one who was free, and mindful that his first duty was to gain the love of the gods.
ἡμεῖς δὲ πάσης προφάσεως πρὸς τὸ ἀ[γ]γεννεῖς εἶναι εὐποροῦμεν, οἱ μὲν διὰ παῖδα, οἱ δὲ διὰ μητέρα, ἄλλοι δὲ διʼ ἀδελφούς.
Hence he violated no part of the character of a good man, either in his defence or in fixing a penalty on himself. Nor yet before, when he was a senator or a soldier.
διʼ οὐδένα δὲ προσήκει δυστυχεῖν, ἀλλὰ εὐτυχεῖν διὰ πάντας, μάλιστα δὲ διὰ τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἡμᾶς κατασκευάσαντα.
But we make use of every pretence to be mean-spirited; some on account of a child; some, of a mother; and some, of a brother. But it is not fit to be unhappy on account of any one, but happy on account of all;
ἄγε, Διογένης δʼ οὐκ ἐφίλει οὐδένα, ὃς οὕτως ἥμερος ἦν καὶ φιλάνθρωπος, ὥστε ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοσούτους πόνους καὶ ταλαιπωρίας τοῦ σώματος ἄσμενος ἀναδέχεσθαι;
and chiefly of God, who has constituted us for this purpose. What!
ἀλλʼ ἐφίλει πῶς; ὡς τοῦ Διὸς διάκονον ἔδει, ἅμα μὲν κηδόμενος, ἅμα δʼ ὡς τῷ θεῷ ὑποτεταγμένος.
did Diogenes love nobody, who was so gentle and benevolent as cheerfully to undergo so many pains and miseries of body for the common good of mankind? Yes, he did love them; but how? As became a minister of Zeus; at once caring for men, and obedient to God. Hence the whole earth, not any particular place, was his country. And when he was taken captive he did not long for Athens and his friends and acquaintance there, but made himself acquainted with the pirates, and endeavored to reform them;
διὰ τοῦτο πᾶσα γῆ πατρὶς ἦν ἐκείνῳ μόνῳ, ἐξαίρετος δʼ οὐδεμία· καὶ ἁλοὺς οὐκ ἐπόθει τὰς Ἀθήνας οὐδὲ τοὺς ἐκεῖ συνήθεις καὶ φίλους, ἀλλʼ αὐτοῖς τοῖς πειραταῖς συνήθης ἐγίνετο καὶ ἐπανορθοῦν ἐπειρᾶτο. καὶ πραθεὶς ὕστερον ἐν Κορίνθῳ διῆγεν οὕτως ὡς πρόσθεν ἐν Ἀθήναις καὶ εἰς Περραιβοὺς δʼ ἂν ἀπελθὼν ὡσαύτως εἶχεν.
and when he was at last sold into captivity, he lived at Corinth just as before at Athens;
οὕτως ἐλευθερία γίνεται. διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἐξ οὗ μʼ Ἀντισθένης ἠλευθέρωσεν, οὐκέτι ἐδούλευσα.
and if he had gone to the Perrhaebeans, he would have been exactly the same. Thus is freedom acquired. Hence he used to say, “Ever since Antisthenes made me free I have ceased to be a slave.”
πῶς ἠλευθέρωσεν; ἄκουε, τί λέγει· ἐδίδαξέν με τὰ ἐμὰ καὶ τὰ οὐκ ἐμά. κτῆσις οὐκ ἐμή· συγγενεῖς, οἰκεῖοι, φίλοι, φήμη, συνήθεις τόποι, διατριβή, πάντα ταῦτα ὅτι ἀλλότρια.
How did he make him free? Hear what he says: “He taught me what was my own and what not. An estate is not my own.
σὸν οὖν τί; χρῆσις φαντασιῶν. ταύτην ἔδειξέν μοι ὅτι ἀκώλυτον ἔχω, ἀνανάγκαστον· οὐδεὶς ἐμποδίσαι δύναται, οὐδεὶς βιάσασθαι ἄλλως χρήσασθαι ἢ ὡς θέλω.
Kindred, domestics friends, reputation, familiar places, manner of life, all belong to another.” “What is your own, then?” “The right use of the phenomena of existence. He showed me that I have this, not subject to restraint or compulsion;
τίς οὖν ἔτι ἔχει μου ἐξουσίαν; Φίλιππος ἢ Ἀλέξανδρος ἢ Περδίκκας ἢ ὁ μέγας βασιλεύς; πόθεν αὐτοῖς; τὸν γὰρ ὑπʼ ἀνθρώπου μέλλοντα ἡττᾶσθαι πολὺ πρότερον ὑπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων δεῖ ἡττᾶσθαι.
no one can hinder or force me in this, any otherwise than as I please. Who, then, after this, has any power over me,—Philip, or Alexander, or Perdiccas, or the Persian king? Whence should they have it? For he that is to be subdued by man must first be subdued by things.
οὗτινος οὖν οὐχ ἡδονὴ κρείττων ἐστίν, οὐ πόνος, οὐ δόξα, οὐ πλοῦτος, δύναται δʼ, ὅταν αὐτῷ δόξῃ, τὸ σωμάτιον ὅλον προσπτύσας τινὶ ἀπελθεῖν, τίνος ἔτι οὗτος δοῦλός ἐστιν, τίνι ὑποτέτακται;
He, therefore, of whom neither pleasure, nor pain, nor fame, nor riches can get the better; and he who is able, whenever he thinks fit, to abandon his whole body with contempt and depart, whose slave can he ever be?
εἰ δʼ ἡδέως ἐν Ἀθήναις διῆγεν καὶ ἥττητο ταύτης τῆς διατριβῆς, ἐπὶ παντὶ ἂν ἦν τὰ ἐκείνου πράγματα, ὁ ἰσχυρότερος κύριος ἂν ἦν λυπῆσαι αὐτόν.
To whom is he subject?” But if Diogenes had taken pleasure in living at Athens, and had been subdued by that manner of life, his affairs would have been at every one’s disposal;
πῶς ἂν δοκεῖς τοὺς πειρατὰς ἐκολάκευεν, ἵνʼ αὐτὸν Ἀθηναίων τινὶ πωλήσωσιν, ἵνʼ ἴδῃ ποτὲ τὸν Πειραιᾶ τὸν καλὸν καὶ τὰ μακρὰ τείχη καὶ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν;τίς ὢν [ε]ἴδῃς, ἀνδράποδον;
and whoever was stronger would have had the power of grieving him. How would he have flattered the pirates, think you, to make them sell him to some Athenian, that he might see again the fine Piraus, the Long Walls, and the Citadel? How would you see them,—as a slave and a miserable wretch? And what good would that do you? “No; but as free.” How free?
δοῦλος καὶ ταπεινός· καὶ τί σοι ὄφελος; — οὔ· ἀλλʼ ἐλεύθερος. — δεῖξον, πῶς ἐλεύθερος. ἰδοὺ ἐπείληπταί σου τίς ποτε οὗτος ὁ ἐξάγων σε ἀπὸ τῆς συνήθους σοι διατριβῆς καὶ λέγει δοῦλος ἐμὸς εἶ· ἐπʼ ἐμοὶ γάρ ἐστι κωλῦσαί σε διάγειν ὡς θέλεις, ἐπʼ ἐμοὶ τὸ ἀνεῖναί σε, τὸ ταπεινοῦν· ὅταν θέλω, πάλιν εὐφραίνῃ καὶ μετέωρος πορεύῃ εἰς Ἀθήνας.
See, somebody lays hold on you, takes you away from your usual manner of life, and says: “You are my slave; for it is in my power to restrain you from living as you like. It is in my power to afflict and humble you.
τί λέγεις πρὸς τοῦτον τὸν δουλαγωγοῦντά σε; ποῖον αὐτῷ καρπιστὴν δίδως; ἢ οὐδʼ ὅλως ἀντιβλέπεις, ἀλλʼ ἀφεὶς τοὺς πολλοὺς λόγους ἱκετεύεις, ἵνα ἀφεθῇς;
Whenever I please you may be cheerful once more, and set out elated for Athens.” What do you say to him who thus enslaves you? What rescuer can you find? Or dare you not so much as look up at him; but, without making many words, do you supplicate to be dismissed? Why, you ought even to go to prison, man, with alacrity, with speed, outstripping your conductors.
ἄνθρωπε, εἰς φυλακήν σε δεῖ χαίροντα ἀπιέναι, σπεύδοντα, φθάνοντα τοὺς ἀπάγοντας. εἶτά μοι σὺ μὲν ἐν Ῥώμῃ διάγειν ὀκνεῖς, τὴν Ἑλλάδα ποθεῖς; ὅταν δʼ ἀποθνῄσκειν δέῃ, καὶ τότε μέλλεις ἡμῶν κατακλαίειν, ὅτι τὰς Ἀθήνας οὐ μέλλεις βλέπειν καὶ ἐν Λυκείῳ οὐ περιπατήσεις;
Instead of this do you regret living at Rome and long for Greece? And when you must die, will you then, too, come crying to us that you shall no more see Athens, nor walk in the Lyceum? Is it for this that you have travelled? Is it for this that you have been seeking for somebody to do you good?
ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἀπεδήμησας; τούτου ἕνεκα ἐζήτησάς τινι συμβαλεῖν, ἵνʼ ὠφεληθῇς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ; ποίαν ὠφέλειαν; συλλογισμοὺς ἵνʼ ἀναλύσῃς ἑκτικώτερον ἢ ἐφοδεύσης ὑποθετικούς; καὶ διὰ ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν ἀδελφὸν ἀπέλιπες, πατρίδα, φίλους, οἰκείους, ἵνα ταῦτα μαθὼν ἐπανέλθῃς;
What good,—that you may the more easily solve syllogisms and manage hypothetical arguments? And is it for this reason you left your brother, your country, your friends, your family, that you might carry back such acquirements as these?
ὥστʼ οὐχ ὑπὲρ εὐσταθείας ἀπεδήμεις, οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἀταραξίας, οὐχ ἵνʼ ἀβλαβὴς γενόμενος μηκέτι μηδένα μέμφῃ, μηδενὶ ἐγκαλῇς, μηδείς σε ἀδικῇ καὶ οὕτως τὰς σχέσεις ἀποσῴζῃς ἀπαραποδίστως;
So that you did not travel to learn constancy nor tranquillity; not that. secured from harm, you might complain of no one, accuse no one;
καλὴν ἐστείλω ταύτην τὴν ἐμπορίαν, συλλογισμοὺς καὶ μεταπίπτοντας καὶ ὑποθετικούς· κἄν σοι φανῇ, ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ καθίσας πρόγραψον ὡς οἱ φαρμακοπῶλαι.
that no one might injure you; and that thus you might preserve your human relations, without impediment. You have made a fine traffic of it, to carry home hypothetical arguments and convertible propositions! If you please, too, sit in the market, and cry them for sale, as mountebanks do their medicines. Why will you not rather deny that you know even what you have learned, for fear of bringing a scandal upon such theorems as useless?
οὐκ ἀρνήσῃ καὶ ὅσα ἔμαθες εἰδέναι, ἵνα μὴ διαβάλῃς τὰ θεωρήματα ὡς ἄχρηστα; τί σοι κακὸν ἐποίησεν φιλοσοφία; τί σε ἠδίκησε Χρύσιππος, ἵνʼ αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόνους ἔργῳ αὐτὸς ἀχρήστους ἐξελέγχῃς; οὐκ ἤρκει σοι τὰ ἐκεῖ κακά, ὅσα εἶχες αἴτια τοῦ λυπεῖσθαι καὶ πενθεῖν, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἀπεδήμησας, ἀλλὰ πλείω προσέλαβες;
What harm has philosophy done you,—in what has Chrysippus injured you,—that you should demonstrate by your actions that such studies are of no value?
κἂν ἄλλους πάλιν ἔχῃς συνήθεις καὶ φίλους, ἕξεις πλείονα τοῦ οἰμώζειν αἴτια, κἂν πρὸς ἄλλην χώραν προσπαθῇς. τί οὖν ζῇς; ἵνα λύπας ἄλλας ἐπʼ ἄλλαις περιβάλῃ, διʼ ἃς ἀτυχεῖς;
Had you not evils enough at home? How many causes for grief and lamentation had you there, even if you had not travelled? But you have added more; and if you ever get any new acquaintance and friends, you will find fresh causes for groaning;
εἶτά μοι καλεῖς τοῦτο φιλοστοργίαν; ποίαν, ἄνθρωπε, φιλοστοργίαν; εἰ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν, οὐδενὸς κακοῦ αἴτιον γίνεται· εἰ κακόν ἐστιν, οὐδέν μοι καὶ αὐτῇ ἐγὼ πρὸς τὰ ἀγαθὰ τὰ ἐμαυτοῦ πέφυκα, πρὸς κακὰ οὐ πέφυκα.
and, in like manner, if you attach yourself to any other country. To what purpose, therefore, do you live,—to heap sorrow upon sorrow, to make you wretched? And then you tell me this is affection. What affection, man? If it be good, it cannot be the cause of any ill; if ill, I will have nothing to do with it.
τίς οὖν ἡ πρὸς τοῦτο ἄσκησις; πρῶτον μὲν ἡ ἀνωτάτω καὶ κυριωτάτη καὶ εὐθὺς ὥσπερ ἐν πύλαις, ὅταν τινὶ προσπάσχῃς, οὐδενὶ τῶν ἀναφαιρέτων, ἀλλά τινι τοιούτῳ γένει, οἷόν ἐστι χύτρα, οἷον ὑάλινον ποτήριον, ἵνʼ ὅταν καταγῇ, μεμνημένος [μὴν] μὴ ταραχθῇς.
I was born for my own good, not ill. “What, then, is the proper training for these cases?” First, the highest and principal means, and as obvious as if at your very door, is this,—that when you attach yourself to anything, it may not be as to a secure possession. “How, then?” As to something brittle as glass or earthenware;
οὕτως καὶ ἐνθάδʼ, ἐὰν παιδίον σαυτοῦ καταφιλῇς, ἐὰν ἀδελφόν, ἐὰν φίλον, μηδέποτε ἐπιδῷς τὴν φαντασίαν εἰς ἅπαν μηδὲ τὴν διάχυσιν ἐάσῃς προελθεῖν ἐφʼ ὅσον αὐτὴ θέλει, ἀλλʼ ἀντίσπασον, κώλυσον, οἷον οἱ τοῖς θριαμβεύουσιν ἐφεστῶτες ὄπισθεν καὶ ὑπομιμνῄσκοντες, ὅτι ἄνθρωποί εἰσιν.
that when it happens to be broken, you may not lose your self-command. So here, too, when you embrace your child, or your brother, or your friend, never yield yourself wholly to the fair semblance, nor let the passion pass into excess; but curb it, restrain it,—like those who stand behind triumphant victors, and remind them that they are men.
τοιοῦτόν τι καὶ σὺ ὑπομίμνῃσκε σεαυτόν, ὅτι θνητὸν φιλεῖς, οὐδὲν τῶν σεαυτοῦ φιλεῖς· ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος σοι δέδοται, οὐκ ἀναφαίρετον οὐδʼ εἰς ἅπαν, ἀλλʼ ὡς σῦκον, ὡς σταφυλή, τῇ τεταγμένῃ ὥρᾳ τοῦ ἔτους· ἂν δὲ χειμῶνος ἐπιποθῇς, μωρὸς εἶ.
Do you likewise remind yourself that you love what is mortal; that you love what is not your own. It is allowed you for the present, not irrevocably, nor forever; but as a fig, or a bunch of grapes, in the appointed season.
οὕτως κἂν τὸν υἱὸν ἢ τὸν φίλον τότε ποθῇς, ὅτε οὐ δέδοταί σοι, ἴσθι, ὅτι χειμῶνος σῦκον ἐπιποθεῖς. οἷον γάρ ἐστι χειμὼν πρὸς σῦκον, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι πᾶσα ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν ὅλων περίστασις πρὸς τὰ κατʼ αὐτὴν ἀναιρούμενα.
If you long for these in winter, you are foolish. So, if you long for your son, or your friend, when you cannot have him, remember that you are wishing for figs in winter. For as winter is to a fig, so is every accident in the universe to those things with which it interferes.
καὶ λοιπὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς οἷς χαίρεις τινί, τὰς ἐναντίας φαντασίας σαυτῷ πρό[σ]βαλε. τί κακόν ἐστι μεταξὺ καταφιλοῦντα τὸ παιδίον ἐπιψελλίζοντα λέγειν αὔριον ἀποθανῇ, τῷ φίλῳ ὡσαύτως αὔριον ἀποδημήσεις ἢ σὺ ἢ ἐγὼ καὶ οὐκέτι ὀψόμεθα ἀλλήλους;
In the next place, whatever objects give you pleasure, call before yourself the opposite images. What harm is there, while you kiss your child, in saying softly, “To-morrow you may die;”
— ἀλλὰ δύσφημά ἐστι ταῦτα. — καὶ γὰρ τῶν ἐπαοιδῶν ἔνιαι, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ὠφελοῦσιν, οὐκ ἐπιστρέφομαι, μόνον ὠφελείτω. σὺ δὲ δύσφημα καλεῖς ἄλλα ἢ τὰ κακοῦ τινος σημαντικά;
and so to your friend, “To-morrow either you or I may go away, and we may see each other no more”? “But these sayings are ominous.” And so are some incantations; but because they are useful, I do not mind it; only let them be useful.
δύσφημόν ἐστι δειλία, δύσφημον ἀγέννεια, πένθος, λύπη, ἀναισχυντία· ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα δύσφημά ἐστιν. καίτοι γε οὐδὲ ταῦτα ὀκνεῖν δεῖ φθέγγεσθαι ὑπὲρ φυλακῆς τῶν πραγμάτων.
But do you call anything ominous except what implies some ill? Cowardice is ominous; baseness is ominous; lamentation, grief, shamelessness. These are words of bad omen; and yet we ought not to shrink from using them, as a guard against the things they mean. But do you tell me that a word is ominous which is significant of anything natural?
δύσφημον δέ μοι λέγεις ὄνομα φυσικοῦ τινὸς πράγματος σημαντικόν; λέγε δύσφημον εἶναι καὶ τὸ θερισθῆναι τοὺς στάχυας· ἀπώλειαν γὰρ σημαίνει τῶν σταχύων· ἀλλʼ οὐχὶ τοῦ κόσμου. λέγε δύσφημον καὶ τὸ φυλλορροεῖν καὶ τὸ ἰσχάδα γίνεσθαι ἀντὶ σύκου καὶ ἀσταφίδας ἐκ σταφυλῆς.
Say, too, that it is ominous for ears of corn to be reaped; for this signifies the destruction of the corn, but not of the world. Say, too, that the fall of the leaf is ominous;
πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα τῶν προτέρων εἰσὶν εἰς ἕτερα μεταβολαί· οὐκ ἀπώλεια, ἀλλὰ τεταγμένη τις οἰκονομία καὶ διοίκησις. τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ἀποδημία, [καὶ] μεταβολὴ μικρά·
and that confectionery should be produced from figs, and raisins from grapes.
τοῦτο θάνατος, μεταβολὴ μείζων ἐκ τοῦ νῦν ὄντος οὐκ εἰς τὸ μὴ ὄν, ἀλλʼ εἰς τὸ νῦν μὴ ὄν.
For all these are changes from a former state into another,—not a destruction, but a certain appointed economy and administration. Such is absence, a slight change;
— οὐκέτι οὖν ἔσομαι; — οὐκ ἔσει· ἀλλʼ ἄλλο τι, οὗ νῦν ὁ κόσμος χρείαν ἔχει. καὶ γὰρ σὺ ἐγένου οὐχ ὅτε σὺ ἠθέλησας, ἀλλʼ ὅτε ὁ κόσμος χρείαν ἔσχεν.
such is death, a greater change,—not from what now is nothing, but to what now is not. “What, then; shall I be no more?” True; but you will be something else, of which at present the world has no need; for even you were not produced when you pleased, but when the world had need of you.
διὰ τοῦτο ὁ καλὸς καὶ ἀγαθὸς μεμνημένος, τίς τʼ ἐστὶ καὶ πόθεν ἐλήλυθεν καὶ ὑπὸ τίνος γέγονεν, πρὸς μόνῳ τούτῳ ἐστίν, πῶς τὴν αὑτοῦ χώραν ἐκπληρώσῃ εὐτάκτως καὶ εὐπειθῶς τῷ θεῷ.
Hence a wise and good man, mindful who he is and whence he came, and by whom he was produced, is attentive only how he may fill his post regularly and dutifully before God.
ἔτι μʼ εἶναι θέλεις; ὡς ἐλεύθερος, ὡς γενναῖος, ὡς σὺ ἠθέλησας· σὺ γάρ με ἀκώλυτον ἐποίησας ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς.
“Dost thou wish me still to live? Let me live free and noble, as thou desirest;
ἀλλʼ οὐκέτι μου χρείαν ἔχεις; καλῶς σοι γένοιτο· καὶ μέχρι νῦν διὰ σὲ ἔμενον, διʼ ἄλλον οὐδένα, καὶ νῦν σοι πειθόμενος ἀπέρχομαι.
for thou hast made me incapable of restraint in what is my own. But hast thou no further use for me? Farewell! I have stayed thus long through thee alone, and no other;
πῶς ἀπέρχῃ; πάλιν ὡς σὺ ἠθέλησας, ὡς ἐλεύθερος, ὡς ὑπηρέτης σός, ὡς ᾐσθημένος σου τῶν προσταγμάτων καὶ ἀπαγορευμάτων.
and now I depart in obedience to thee.” “How do you depart?” “Still as thou wilt; as one free, as thy servant, as one sensible of thy commands and thy prohibitions. But, while I am employed in thy service, what wouldst thou have me to be,—a prince, or a private man; a senator, or a plebeian;
μέχρι δʼ ἂν οὗ διατρίβω ἐν τοῖς σοῖς, τίνα με θέλεις εἶναι; ἄρχοντα ἢ ἰδιώτην, βουλευτὴν ἢ δημότην, στρατιώτην ἢ στρατηγόν, παιδευτὴν ἢ οἰκοδεσπότην; ἣν ἂν χώραν καὶ τάξιν ἐγχειρίσῃς, ὡς λέγει ὁ Σωκράτης, μυριάκις ἀποθανοῦμαι πρότερον ἢ ταύτην ἐγκαταλείψω.
a soldier, or a general; a preceptor, or a master of a family?
ποῦ δέ μʼ εἶναι θέλεις; ἐν Ῥώμῃ ἢ ἐν Ἀθήναις ἢ ἐν Θήβαις ἢ ἐν Γυάροις; μόνον ἐκεῖ μου μέμνησο.
Whatever post or rank thou shalt assign me, like Socrates, I will die a thousand times rather than desert it. Where wouldst thou have me to be,—at Rome, or at Athens; at Thebes, or at Gyaros? Only remember me there. If thou shalt send me where men cannot live conformably to nature, I will not depart unbidden, but upon a recall as it were sounded by thee.
ἄν μʼ ἐκεῖ πέμπῃς, ὅπου κατὰ φύσιν διεξαγωγὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ σοὶ ἀπειθῶν ἔξειμι, ἀλλʼ ὡς σοῦ μοι σημαίνοντος τὸ ἀνακλητικόν· οὐκ ἀπολείπω σε· μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλʼ αἰσθάνομαι, ὅτι μου χρείαν οὐκ ἔχεις.
Even then I do not desert thee; Heaven forbid! but I perceive that thou hast no use for me.
ἂν δὲ διδῶται κατὰ φύσιν διεξαγωγή, οὐ ζητήσω ἄλλον τόπον ἢ ἐν ᾧ εἰμὶ ἢ ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ἢ μεθʼ ὧν εἰμί.
If a life conformable to nature be granted, I will seek no other place but that in which I am, nor any other company but those with whom I dwell.” Let these things be ready at hand, night and day. These things write; these things read;
ταῦτα νυκτός, ταῦτα ἡμέρας πρόχειρα ἔστω· ταῦτα γράφειν, ταῦτα ἀναγιγνώσκειν· περὶ τούτων τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖσθαι, αὐτὸν πρὸς αὑτόν, πρὸς ἕτερον μή τι ἔχεις μοι πρὸς τοῦτο βοηθῆσαι; καὶ πάλιν ἄλλῳ προσελθεῖν καὶ ἄλλῳ.
of these things talk both to yourself and others. [Ask them,] “Have you any assistance to give me for this purpose?”
εἶτα ἄν τι γένηται τῶν λεγομένων ἀβουλήτων, εὐθὺς ἐκεῖνο πρῶτον ἐπικουφίσει σε, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπροσδόκητον.
And, again, go and ask another and another. Then, if any of those things should happen that are called disagreeable, this will surely be a relief to you, in the first place, that it was not unexpected.
μέγα γὰρ ἐπὶ πάντων τὸ ᾔδειν θνητὸν γεγεννηκώς. οὕτως γὰρ ἐρεῖς καὶ ὅτι ᾔδειν θνητὸς ὤν, ᾔδειν ἀποδημητικὸς ὤν, ᾔδειν ἔκβλητος ὤν,
For it is much to be able always to say, “knew that I begot one born to die.” Thus do you say too, “knew that I was liable to die, to travel, to be exiled, to be imprisoned.” If afterwards you turn to yourself, and seek from what quarter the event proceeds, you will presently recollect: “It is from things uncontrollable by will, not from what is my own.
ᾔδειν εἰς φυλακὴν ἀπότακτος ὤν. εἶτʼ ἂν ἐπιστρέφῃς κατὰ σαυτὸν καὶ ζητήσῃς τὴν χώραν, ἐξ ἧς ἐστι τὸ συμβεβηκός, εὐθὺς ἀναμνησθήσῃ, ὅτι ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἀπροαιρέτων, τῶν οὐκ ἐμῶν· τί οὖν πρὸς [σ]ἐμέ; εἶτα τὸ κυριώτατον τίς δʼ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐπιπέπομφεν;
What then is it to me?”
ὁ ἡγεμὼν ἢ ὁ στρατηγός, ἡ πόλις, ὁ τῆς πόλεως νόμος. δὸς οὖν αὐτό· δεῖ γάρ με ἀ[ι]εὶ τῷ νόμῳ πείθεσθαι ἐν παντί.
Then, further, which is the chief point: “Who sent this,—the commander, the general, the city, the public law? Give it to me, then, for I must always obey the law in all things.”
εἶθʼ ὅταν σε ἡ φαντασία δάκνῃ (τοῦτο γὰρ οὐκ ἐπὶ σοί), ἀναμάχου τῷ λόγῳ, καταγωνίζου αὐτήν, μὴ ἐάσῃς ἐνισχύειν μηδὲ προάγειν ἐπὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἀναπλάσσουσαν ὅσα θέλει καὶ ὡς θέλει.
Further yet, when any delusive appearance molests you (for this may not depend on you), strive against it, and conquer it through reason. Do not suffer it to gain strength, nor to lead you indefinitely on, beguiling you at its own will. If you are at Gyaros, do not represent to yourself the manner of living at Rome,—how many pleasures you used to find there, and how many would attend your return;
ἂν ἐν Γυάροις ᾖς, μὴ ἀνάπλασσε τὴν ἐν Ῥώμῃ διατριβὴν καὶ ὅσαι διαχύσεις ἦσαν ἐκεῖ διάγοντι, ὅσαι γένοιντʼ ἂν ἐπανελθόντι· ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖ τέτασο, ὅπως δεῖ τὸν ἐν Γυάροις διάγοντα, ἐν Γυάροις ἐρρωμένως διάγειν. κἂν ἐν Ῥώμῃ ᾖς, μὴ ἀνάπλασσε τὴν ἐν Ἀθήναις διατριβήν, ἀλλὰ περὶ μόνης τῆς ἐκεῖ μελέτα.
but dwell rather on this point,—how he who must live at Gyaros may live there nobly. And if you are at Rome, do not represent to yourself the manner of living at Athens; but consider only how you ought to live where you are.
εἶτʼ ἀντὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπασῶν διαχύσεων ἐκείνην ἀντείσαγε, τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ παρακολουθεῖν, ὅτι πείθῃ τῷ θεῷ, ὅτι οὐ λόγῳ, ἀλλʼ ἔργῳ τὰ τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐκτελεῖς.
Lastly, for all other pleasures substitute the consciousness that you are obeying God, and performing not in word, but in deed, the duty of a wise and good man. How great a thing is it to be able to say to yourself: “What others are now solemnly arguing in the schools, and can state in paradoxes, this I put in practice.
οἷον γάρ ἐστιν αὐτὸν αὑτῷ δύνασθαι εἰπεῖν νῦν ἃ οἱ ἄλλοι ἐν ταῖς σχολαῖς σεμνολογοῦσιν καὶ παραδοξολογεῖν δοκοῦσι, ταῦτα ἐγὼ ἐπιτελῶ· κἀκεῖνοι καθήμενοι τὰς ἐμὰς ἀρετὰς ἐξηγοῦνται καὶ περὶ ἐμοῦ ζητοῦσιν καὶ ἐμὲ ὑμνοῦσιν·
Those qualities which are there discoursed, disputed, celebrated, I have made mine own. Zeus hath been pleased to let me recognize this within myself, and himself to discern whether he hath in me one fit for a soldier and a citizen, and to employ me as a witness to other men, concerning things uncontrollable by will.
καὶ τούτου με ὁ Ζεὺς αὐτὸν παρʼ ἐμαυτοῦ λαβεῖν ἀπόδειξιν ἠθέλησεν καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ γνῶναι, εἰ ἔχει στρατιώτην οἷον δεῖ, πολίτην οἷον δεῖ, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις προάγειν με μάρτυρα τῶν ἀπροαιρέτων. ἴδετε, ὅτι εἰκῇ φοβεῖσθε, μάτην ἐπιθυμεῖτε ὧν ἐπιθυμεῖτε. τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἔξω μὴ ζητεῖτε, ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ζητεῖτε· εἰ δὲ μή, οὐχ εὑρήσετε.
See that your fears were vain, your appetites vain. Seek not good from without; seek it within yourselves, or you will never find it. For this reason he now brings me hither, now sends me thither; sets me before mankind, poor, powerless, sick; banishes me to Gyaros; leads me to prison; not that he hates me,—Heaven forbid! for who hates the most faithful of his servants?—nor that he neglects me, for he neglects not one of the smallest things;
ἐπὶ τούτοις με νῦν μὲν ἐνταῦθα ἄγει, νῦν δʼ ἐκεῖ πέμπει, πένητα δείκνυσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, δίχα ἀρχῆς, νοσοῦντα· εἰς Γύαρα ἀποστέλλει, εἰς δεσμωτήριον εἰσάγει. οὐ μισῶν· μὴ γένοιτο· τίς δὲ μισεῖ τὸν ἄριστον τῶν ὑπηρετῶν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ; οὐδʼ ἀμελῶν, ὅς γε οὐδὲ τῶν μικροτάτων τινὸς ἀμελεῖ, ἀλλὰ γυμνάζων καὶ μάρτυρι πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους χρώμενος.
but to exercise me, and make use of me as a witness to others. Appointed to such a service, do I still care where I am, or with whom, or what is said of me,—instead of being wholly attentive to God and to his orders and commands?”
εἰς τοιαύτην ὑπηρεσίαν κατατεταγμένος ἔτι φροντίζω, ποῦ εἰμι ἢ μετὰ τίνων ἢ τί περὶ ἐμοῦ λέγουσιν; οὐχὶ δʼ ὅλος πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τέταμαι καὶ τὰς ἐκείνου ἐντολὰς καὶ τὰ προστάγματα;
Having these principles always at hand, and practising them by yourself, and making them ready for use, you will never want any one to comfort and strengthen you.
ταῦτα ἔχων ἀεὶ ἐν χερσὶ καὶ τρίβων αὐτὸς παρὰ σαυτῷ καὶ πρόχειρα ποιῶν οὐδέποτε δεήσῃ τοῦ παραμυθουμένου, τοῦ ἐπιρρωννύντος.
For shame does not consist in having nothing to eat, but in not having wisdom enough to exempt you from fear and sorrow.
καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν οὐ τὸ φαγεῖν μὴ ἔχειν, ἀλλὰ τὸ λόγον μὴ ἔχειν ἀρκοῦντα πρὸς ἀφοβίαν, πρὸς ἀλυπίαν.
But if you once acquire that exemption, will a tyrant or his guards or courtiers be anything to you? Will offices or office-seekers disturb you, who have received so great a command from Zeus?
ἂν δʼ ἅπαξ περιποιήσῃ τὸ ἄλυπον καὶ ἄφοβον, ἔτι σοι τύραννος ἔσται τις ἢ δορυφόρος ἢ Καισαριανοὶ ἢ ὀρδινατίων δήξεταί σε ἢ οἱ ἐπιθύοντες ἐν τῷ Καπιτωλίῳ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀπτικίοις τὸν τηλικαύτην ἀρχὴν παρὰ τοῦ Διὸς εἰληφότα;
Only do not make a parade over it, nor grow insolent upon it; but show it by your actions; and though no one else should notice it, be content that you are well and blessed.
μόνον μὴ πόμπευε αὐτὴν μηδʼ ἀλαζονεύου ἐπʼ αὐτῇ, ἀλλʼ ἔργῳ δείκνυε· κἂν μηδεὶς αἰσθάνηται, ἀρκοῦ αὐτὸς ὑγιαίνων καὶ εὐδαιμονῶν.
25. Consider which of your undertakings you have fulfilled, which not, and wherefore; which give you pleasure, which pain, in the reflection; and, if possible, recover yourself where you have failed. For the champions in this greatest of combats must not grow weary, but should even contentedly bear chastisement. For this is no combat of wrestling or boxing, where both he who succeeds and he who fails may possibly be of very great worth or of little, indeed may be very fortunate or very miserable, but this combat is for good fortune and happiness itself. What is the case, then? Here, even if we have renounced the contest, no one restrains us from renewing it, nor need we wait for another four years for the return of another Olympiad; but recollecting and recovering yourself, and returning with the same zeal, you may renew it immediately; and even if you should again yield, you may again begin; and if you once get the victory, you become like one who has never yielded. Only do not begin by forming the habit of this, to do it with pleasure, and then, like quails that have fled the fighting-pit, go about as if you were a brave champion, although you have been conquered throughout all the games. “I am conquered in presence of a girl. But what of it? I have been thus conquered before.” “I am excited to wrath against some one. But I have been in anger before.” You talk to us just as if you had come off unhurt. As if one should say to his physician, who had forbidden him to bathe, “Why, did not I bathe before?” Suppose the physician should answer him, “Well, and what was the consequence of your bathing? Were you not feverish? Had you not the headache?” So, when you before railed at somebody, did you not act like an ill-natured person; like an impertinent one? Have not you fed this habit of yours by corresponding actions? When you were conquered by a pretty girl, did you come off with impunity? Why, then, do you talk of what you have done before? You ought to remember it, I think, as slaves do whipping, so as to refrain from the same faults. “But the case is unlike; for there it is pain that causes the remembrance. But what is the pain, what the punishment, of my committing these faults? For when was I ever thus trained to the avoidance of bad actions?” Yet the pains of experience, whether we will or not, have their beneficial influence.
25. σκέψαι, ὧν προέθου ἀρχόμενος, τίνων μὲν ἐκράτησας, τίνων δʼ οὔ, καὶ πῶς ἐφʼ οἷς μὲν εὐφραίνῃ ἀναμιμνῃσκόμενος, ἐφʼ οἷς δʼ ἄχθῃ, καὶ εἰ δυνατόν, ἀνάλαβε κἀκεῖνα ὧν ἀπώλισθες. οὐ γὰρ ἀποκνητέον τὸν ἀγῶνα τὸν μέγιστον ἀγωνιζομένοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ πληγὰς ληπτέον· οὐ γὰρ ὑπὲρ πάλης καὶ παγκρατίου ὁ ἀγὼν πρόκειται, οὗ καὶ τυχόντι καὶ μὴ τυχόντι ἔξεστιν μὲν πλείστου ἀξίῳ, ἔξεστι δὲ ὀλίγου εἶναι καὶ νὴ Δία ἔξεστιν μὲν εὐτυχεστάτῳ, ἔξεστι δὲ κακοδαιμονεστάτῳ εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς εὐτυχίας καὶ εὐδαιμονίας. τί οὖν; οὐδʼ ἂν ἀπαυδήσωμεν ἐνταῦθα, κωλύει τις πάλιν ἀγωνίζεσθαι οὐδὲ δεῖ περιμεῖναι τετραετίαν ἄλλην, ἵνʼ ἔλθῃ ἄλλα Ὀλύμπια, ἀλλʼ εὐθὺς ἀναλαβόντι καὶ ἀνακτησαμένῳ ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν εἰσφέροντι προθυμίαν ἔξεστιν ἀγωνίζεσθαι· κἂν πάλιν ἀπείπῃς, πάλιν ἔξεστιν, κἂν ἅπαξ νικήσῃς, ὅμοιος εἶ τῷ μηδέποτε ἀπειπόντι. μόνον μὴ ὑπὸ ἔθους τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἡδέως αὐτὸ ἄρξῃ ποιεῖν· καὶ λοιπὸν ὡς κακὸς ἀθλητὴς περιέρχῃ νικώμενος τὴν περίοδον ὅμοιος τοῖς ἀποφυγοῦσιν ὄρτυξιν. ἡττᾷ με φαντασία παιδισκαρίου καλοῦ. τί γάρ; πρῴην οὐχ ἡττήθην; προθυμία μοι γίνεται ψέξαι τινά. πρῴην γὰρ οὐκ ἔψεξα; οὕτως ἡμῖν λαλεῖς ὡς ἀζήμιος ἐξεληλυθώς, οἱονεί τις τῷ ἰατρῷ κωλύοντι λούσασθαι λέγοι πρῴην γὰρ οὐκ ἐλουσάμην; ἂν οὖν ὁ ἰατρὸς αὐτῷ ἔχῃ λέγειν ἄγε, λουσάμενος οὖν τί ἔπαθες; οὐκ ἐπύρεξας; οὐκ ἐκεφαλάλγησας; καὶ σὺ ψέξας πρῴην τινὰ οὐ κακοήθους ἔργον ἔπραξας; οὐ φλυάρου; οὐκ ἔθρεψάς σου τὴν ἕξιν ταύτην παραβάλλων αὐτῇ τὰ οἰκεῖα ἔργα; ἡττηθεὶς δὲ τοῦ παιδισκαρίου ἀπῆλθες ἀζήμιος; τί οὖν τὰ πρῴην λέγεις; ἔδει δʼ οἶμαι μεμνημένον, ὡς οἱ δοῦλοι τῶν πληγῶν, ἀπέχεσθαι τῶν αὐτῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὅμοιον· ἐνταῦθα μὲν γὰρ ὁ πόνος τὴν μνήμην ποιεῖ, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ποῖος πόνος, ποία ζημία; πότε γὰρ εἰθίσθης φεύγειν τὸ κακῶς ἐνεργῆσαι;
26. Are not you ashamed to be more fearful and mean-spirited than fugitive slaves? To what estates, to what servants, do they trust, when they run away and leave their masters? Do they not, after carrying off a little with them for the first days, travel over land and sea, contriving first one, then another, method of getting food? And what fugitive ever died of hunger?
26. οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ δειλότερος ὢν καὶ ἀγεννέστερος τῶν δραπετῶν; πῶς ἐκεῖνοι φεύγοντες ἀπολείπουσι τοὺς δεσπότας, ποίοις ἀγροῖς πεποιθότες, ποίοις οἰκέταις; οὐχὶ δʼ ὀλίγον ὅσον πρὸς τὰς πρώτας ἡμέρας ὑφελόμενοι εἶθʼ ὕστερον διὰ γῆς ἢ καὶ θαλάττης φέρονται ἄλλην ἐξ ἄλλης ἀφορμὴν πρὸς τὸ διατρέφεσθαι φιλοτεχνοῦντες;
But you tremble, and lie awake at night, for fear you should want necessaries. Foolish man! are you so blind?
καὶ τίς πώποτε δραπέτης λιμῷ ἀπέθανεν; σὺ δὲ τρέμεις, μή σοι λείπῃ τὰ ἀναγκαῖα, καὶ τὰς νύκτας ἀγρυπνεῖς.
Do not you see the way whither the want of necessaries leads? “Why, whither does it lead?” Whither a fever or a falling stone may lead,—-to death. Have you not, then, often said this to your companions? Have you not read, have you not written, many things on this point? And how often have you arrogantly boasted that you are undisturbed by fears of death! “Ay; but my family, too, will perish with hunger.”
ταλαίπωρε, οὕτως τυφλὸς εἶ καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν οὐχ ὁρᾷς, ὅποι φέρει ἡ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἔνδεια; ποῦ γὰρ φέρει; ὅπου καὶ ὁ πυρετός, ὅπου καὶ λίθος ἐπιπεσών, εἰς θάνατον. τοῦτο[ν] οὖν οὐ πολλάκις σὺ αὐτὸς εἶπες πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους, πολλὰ δʼ ἀνέγνως τοιαῦτα, πολλὰ δʼ ἔγραφες; ποσάκις δʼ ἠλαζονεύσω, ὅτι πρός γε τὸ ἀποθανεῖν μετρίως ἔχεις;
What then? Does their hunger lead any other way than yours? Is there not the same descent, the same state below?
— ναί· ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἐμοὶ πεινήσουσιν. — τί οὖν; μή τι καὶ ὁ ἐκείνων λιμὸς ἀλλαχοῦ που φέρει; οὐχὶ καὶ ἡ αὐτή που κάθοδος;
Will you not, then, in every want and necessity, look with confidence there, where even the most rich and powerful, and kings and tyrants themselves, must descend? You indeed may descend hungry, perhaps, and they full of indigestion and drunkenness. For have you often seen a beggar who did not live to old age, nay, to extreme old age?
τὰ κάτω τὰ αὐτά; οὐ θέλεις οὖν ἐκεῖ βλέπειν θαρρῶν πρὸς πᾶσαν ἀπορίαν καὶ ἔνδειαν, ὅπου καὶ τοὺς πλουσιωτάτους καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς τὰς μεγίστας ἄρξαντας καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς βασιλεῖς καὶ τυράννους δεῖ κατελθεῖν, καὶ σὲ πεινῶντα, ἂν οὕτως τύχῃ, ἐκείνους δὲ διαρραγέντας ὑπὸ ἀπεψιῶν καὶ μέθης;
Chilled by day and night, lying on the ground, and eating only what is barely necessary, they yet seem almost to become incapable of dying. But cannot you write? Cannot you keep a school? Cannot you be a watchman at somebody’s door? “But it is shameful to come to this necessity.”
τίνα πώποτʼ ἐπαίτην ῥᾳδίως εἶδες μὴ γέροντα; τίνα δʼ οὐκ ἐσχατόγηρων; ἀλλὰ ῥιγῶντες τὰς νύκτας καὶ τὰς ἡμέρας καὶ χαμαὶ ἐρριμμένοι καὶ ὅσον αὐτὸ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον σιτούμενοι ἐγγὺς ἥκουσιν τῷ μηδʼ ἀποθανεῖν δύνασθαι,
First, therefore, learn what things are shameful, and then claim to be a philosopher; but at present do not suffer even another to call you so. Is that shameful to you which is not your own act; of which you are not the cause; which has happened to you by accident, like a fever or the headache? If your parents were poor, or left others their heirs, or, though living, do not assist you, are these things shameful for you?
σὺ δʼ ὁλόκληρος ἄνθρωπος χεῖρας ἔχων καὶ πόδας περὶ λιμοῦ δέδοικας οὕτως; οὐκ ἀντλεῖν δύνασθαι, οὐ γράφειν, οὐ παιδαγωγεῖν, οὐ θύραν ἀλλοτρίαν φυλάττειν; — ἀλλʼ αἰσχρὸν εἰς ταύτην ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἀνάγκην. — μάθε οὖν πρῶτον, τίνα τὰ αἰσχρά ἐστιν, καὶ οὕτως ἡμῖν λέγε σαυτὸν φιλόσοφον. τὸ νῦν δὲ μηδʼ ἂν ἄλλος τις εἴπῃ σε, ἀνέχου.
Is this what you have learned from the philosophers? Have you never heard that what is shameful is blamable; and what is blamable must be something which deserves to be blamed? Whom do you blame for an action not his own, which he has not himself performed?
αἰσχρόν ἐστί σοι τὸ μὴ σὸν ἔργον, οὗ σὺ αἴτιος οὐκ εἶ, ὃ ἄλλως ἀπήντησέν σοι, ὡς κεφαλαλγία, ὡς πυρετός; εἴ σου οἱ γονεῖς πένητες ἦσαν ἢ πλούσιοι μὲν ἦσαν, ἄλλους δὲ κληρονόμους ἀπέλιπον καὶ ζῶντες οὐκ ἐπαρκοῦσιν οὐδέν, σοὶ ταῦτα αἰσχρά ἐστιν;
Did you, then, make your father such as he is; or is it in your power to mend him? Is that permitted you? What, then; must you desire what is not permitted, and when you fail of it be ashamed?
ταῦτα ἐμάνθανες παρὰ τοῖς φιλοσόφοις; οὐδέποτε ἤκουσας, ὅτι τὸ αἰσχρὸν ψεκτόν ἐστιν, τὸ δὲ ψεκτὸν ἄξιόν ἐστι τοῦ ψέγεσθαι; τίνα ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ αὑτοῦ ἔργῳ, ὃ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐποίησεν;
Are you thus accustomed, even when you are studying philosophy, to depend on others, and to hope nothing from yourself? Sigh, then, and groan, and eat in fear that you shall have no food to-morrow.
σὺ οὖν ἐποίησας τοῦτο, τὸν πατέρα τοιοῦτον; ἢ ἔξεστίν σοι ἐπανορθῶσαι αὐτόν; δίδοταί σοι τοῦτο; τί οὖν; δεῖ σε θέλειν τὰ μὴ διδόμενα ἢ μὴ τυγχάνοντα αὐτῶν αἰσχύνεσθαι;
Tremble, lest your servants should rob you, or run away from you, or die.
οὕτως δὲ καὶ εἰθίζου φιλοσοφῶν ἀφορᾶν εἰς ἄλλους καὶ μηδὲν αὐτὸς ἐλπίζειν ἐκ σεαυτοῦ;
Thus live on forever, whoever you are, who have applied yourself to philosophy in name only, and as much as in you lies have disgraced its principles, by showing that they are unprofitable and useless to those who profess them.
τοιγαροῦν οἴμωζε καὶ στένε καὶ ἔσθιε δεδοικώς, μὴ οὐ σχῇς τροφὰς αὔριον· περὶ τῶν δουλαρίων τρέμε, μὴ κλέψῃ τι, μὴ φύγῃ, μὴ ἀποθάνῃ.
You have never made constancy, tranquillity, and serenity the object of your desires; have sought no teacher for this knowledge, but many for mere syllogisms. You have never, by yourself, confronted some delusive semblance with, “Can I bear this, or can I not bear it? What remains for me to do?” But, as if all your affairs went safe and well, you have aimed only-to secure yourself in your present possessions. What are they?
οὕτως σὺ ζῆθι καὶ μὴ παύσῃ μηδέποτε, ὅστις ὀνόματι μόνον πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν προσῆλθες καὶ τὰ θεωρήματα αὐτῆς ὅσον ἐπὶ σοὶ κατῄσχυνας ἄχρηστα ἐπιδείξας καὶ ἀνωφελῆ τοῖς ἀναλαμβάνουσιν· οὐδέποτε δʼ εὐσταθείας ὠρέχθης, ἀταραξίας, ἀπαθείας· οὐδένα τούτου ἕνεκα ἐθεράπευσας, συλλογισμῶν δʼ ἕνεκα πολλούς· οὐδέποτε τούτων τινὰ τῶν φαντασιῶν διεβασάνισας αὐτὸς ἐπὶ σεαυτοῦ δύναμαι φέρειν ἢ οὐ δύναμαι; τί μοι τὸ λοιπόν ἐστιν;,
Cowardice, baseness, worldliness, desires unaccomplished, unavailing aversions. These are the things which you have been laboring to secure. Ought you not first to have acquired something by the use of reason, and then to have provided security for that? Whom did you ever see building a series of battlements without placing them upon a wall?
ἀλλʼ ὡς πάντων ἐχόντων σοι καλῶς καὶ ἀσφαλῶς περὶ τὸν τελευταῖον κατεγίνου τόπον, τὸν τῆς ἀμεταπτωσίας, ἵνʼ ἀμετάπτωτα σχῇς τίνα; τὴν δειλίαν, τὴν ἀγέννειαν, τὸν θαυμασμὸν τῶν πλουσίων, τὴν ἀτελῆ ὄρεξιν, τὴν ἀποτευκτικὴν ἔκκλισιν· περὶ τῆς τούτων ἀσφαλείας ἐφρόντιζες.
And what porter is ever set where there is no door? But you study! Can you show me what you study? “Not to be shaken by sophistry.” Shaken from what? Show me first what you have in your custody; what you measure, or what you weigh;
οὐκ ἔδει προσκτήσασθαι πρῶτον ἐκ τοῦ λόγου, εἶτα τούτῳ περιποιεῖν τὴν ἀσφάλειαν; καὶ τίνα πώποτʼ εἶδες τριγχὸν περιοικοδομοῦντα μηδενὶ τειχίον περιβαλλόμενον αὐτὸ αὐτοῦ; ποῖος δὲ θυρωρὸς καθίσταται ἐπὶ οὐδεμιᾷ θύρᾳ;
and then accordingly show me your weights and measures, and to what purpose you measure that which is but dust.
ἀλλὰ σὺ μελετᾷς ἀποδεικνύειν δύνασθαι· τίνα; μελετᾷς μὴ ἀποσαλεύεσθαι διὰ σοφισμάτων· ἀπὸ τίνων;
Ought you not to show what makes men truly happy, what makes their affairs proceed as they wish; how we may blame no one, accuse no one; how acquiesce in the administration of the universe?
δεῖξόν μοι πρῶτον, τί τηρεῖς, τί μετρεῖς ἢ τί ἱστάνεις· εἶθʼ οὕτως ἐπιδείκνυε τὸν ζυγὸν ἢ τὸν μέδιμνον.
Show me these things. “See, I do show them,” say you; “will solve syllogisms to you.” This is but the measure, O unfortunate! and not the thing measured. Hence you now pay the penalty due for neglecting philosophy. You tremble; you lie awake;
ἢ μέχρι τίνος μετρήσεις τὴν σποδόν; οὐ ταῦτά σε ἀποδεικνύειν δεῖ, ἃ ποιεῖ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εὐδαίμονας, ἃ ποιεῖ προχωρεῖν αὐτοῖς τὰ πράγματα ὡς θέλουσιν, διʼ ἃ οὐ δεῖ μέμφεσθαι οὐδενί, ἐγκαλεῖν οὐδενί, πείθεσθαι τῇ διοικήσει τῶν ὅλων; ταῦτά μοι δείκνυε.
you advise with everybody, and if the result of the advice does not please everybody, you think that you have been ill-advised. Then you dread hunger, as you fancy;
ἰδοὺ δεικνύω, φησίν, ἀναλύσω σοι συλλογισμούς. τοῦτο τὸ μετροῦν ἐστιν, ἀνδράποδον· τὸ μετρούμενον δʼ οὐκ ἔστιν.
yet it is not hunger that you dread, but you are afraid that you will not have some one to cook for you, some one else for a butler, another to pull off your shoes, a fourth to dress you, others to rub you, others to follow you;
διὰ ταῦτα νῦν τίνεις δίκας ὧν ἠμέλησας [φιλοσοφίας]· τρέμεις, ἀγρυπνεῖς, μετὰ πάντων βουλεύῃ· κἂν μὴ πᾶσιν ἀρέσκειν μέλλῃ τὰ βουλεύματα, κακῶς οἴει βεβουλεῦσθαι.
that when you have undressed yourself in the bathing-room, and stretched yourself out, like a man crucified, you may be rubbed here and there; and the attendant may stand by, and say, “Come this way; give your side;
εἶτα φοβῇ λιμόν, ὡς δοκεῖς. σὺ δʼ οὐ λιμὸν φοβῇ, ἀλλὰ δέδοικας μὴ οὐ σχῇς μάγειρον, μὴ οὐ σχῇς ἄλλον ὀψωνητήν, ἄλλον τὸν ὑποδήσοντα, ἄλλον τὸν ἐνδύσοντα, ἄλλους τοὺς τρίψοντας, ἄλλους τοὺς ἀκολουθήσοντας,
take hold of his head; turn your shoulder;” and that when you are returned home from the bath you may cry out, “Does nobody bring anything to eat?” and then, “Take away; wipe the table.” This is your dread, that you will not be able to lead the life of a sick man. But learn the life of those in health,—how slaves live, how laborers, how those who are genuine philosophers; how Socrates lived, even with a wife and children; how Diogenes; how Cleanthes, at once studying and drawing water [for his livelihood]. If these are the things you would have, you can possess them everywhere, and with a fearless confidence. “In what?” In the only thing that can be confided in;
ἵνʼ ἐν τῷ βαλανείῳ ἐκδυσάμενος καὶ ἐκτείνας σεαυτὸν ὡς οἱ ἐσταυρωμένοι τρίβῃ ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν, εἶθʼ ὁ ἀλείπτης ἐπιστὰς λέγῃ μετάβηθι, δὸς πλευρόν, κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ λάβε, παράθες τὸν ὦμον, εἶτʼ ἐλθὼν ἐκ τοῦ βαλανείου εἰς οἶκον κραυγάσῃς οὐδεὶς φέρει φαγεῖν;, εἶτʼ ἆρον τὰς τραπέζας, σπόγγισον. τοῦτο φοβῇ, μὴ οὐ δύνῃ ζῆν ἀρρώστου βίον, ἐπεί τοι τὸν τῶν ὑγιαινόντων μάθε, πῶς οἱ δοῦλοι ζῶσιν, πῶς οἱ ἐργάται, πῶς οἱ γνησίως φιλοσοφοῦντες, πῶς Σωκράτης ἔζησεν, ἐκεῖνος μὲν καὶ μετὰ γυναικὸς καὶ παίδων, πῶς Διογένης, πῶς Κλεάνθης ἅμα σχολάζων καὶ ἀντλῶν.
in what is sure, incapable of being restrained or taken away,—your own will. But why have you contrived to make yourself so useless and good for nothing that nobody will receive you into his house, nobody take care of you;
ταῦτα ἂν θέλῃς ἔχειν, ἕξεις πανταχοῦ καὶ ζήσεις θαρρῶν. τίνι; ᾧ μόνῳ θαρρεῖν ἐνδέχεται, τῷ πιστῷ, τῷ ἀκωλύτῳ, τῷ ἀναφαιρέτῳ, τοῦτʼ ἔστι τῇ προαιρέσει τῇ σεαυτοῦ.
but although, if any sound, useful vessel be thrown out of doors, whoever finds it will take it up and prize it as something gained, yet nobody will take you up, but everybody esteem you a loss. What, cannot you so much as perform the office of a dog or a cock?
διὰ τί δʼ οὕτως ἄχρηστον καὶ ἀνωφελῆ σαυτὸν παρεσκεύακας, ἵνα μηδείς σε εἰς οἰκίαν θέλῃ δέξασθαι, μηδεὶς ἐπιμεληθῆναι; ἀλλὰ σκεῦος μὲν ὁλόκληρον καὶ χρήσιμον ἔξω ἐρριμμένον πᾶς τις εὑρὼν ἀναιρήσεται καὶ κέρδος ἡγήσεται, σὲ δʼ οὐδείς, ἀλλὰ πᾶς ζημίαν.
Why, then, do you wish to live any longer if you are so worthless? Does any good man fear that food should fail him?
οὕτως οὐδὲ κυνὸς δύνασαι χρείαν παρασχεῖν οὐδʼ ἀλεκτρυόνος. τί οὖν ἔτι ζῆν θέλεις τοιοῦτος ὤν;
It does not fail the blind; it does not fail the lame. Shall it fail a good man? A paymaster is always to be found for a soldier, or a laborer, or a shoemaker, and shall one be wanting to a good man?
φοβεῖταί τις ἀνὴρ ἀγαθός, μὴ λείπωσιν αὐτῷ τροφαί; τοῖς τυφλοῖς οὐ λείπουσι, τοῖς χωλοῖς οὐ λείπουσι· λείψουσιν ἀνδρὶ ἀγαθῷ; καὶ στρατιώτῃ μὲν ἀγαθῷ οὐ λείπει ὁ μισθοδοτῶν οὐδʼ ἐργάτῃ οὐδὲ σκυτεῖ· τῷ δʼ ἀγαθῷ λείψει;
Is God so negligent of his own institutions, of his servants, of his witnesses, whom alone he uses for examples to the uninstructed, to show that he exists, and that he administers the universe rightly, and doth not neglect human affairs, and that no evil can happen to a good man, either living or dead? What, then, is the case, when he doth not bestow food?
οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ἀμελεῖ τῶν αὑτοῦ ἐπιτευγμάτων, τῶν διακόνων, τῶν μαρτύρων, οἷς μόνοις χρῆται παραδείγμασιν πρὸς τοὺς ἀπαιδεύτους, ὅτι καὶ ἔστι καὶ καλῶς διοικεῖ τὰ ὅλα καὶ οὐκ ἀμελεῖ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων καὶ ὅτι ἀνδρὶ ἀγαθῷ οὐδέν ἐστι κακὸν οὔτε ζῶντι οὔτʼ ἀποθανόντι;
What else than that, like a good general, he hath made me a signal of retreat? I obey, I follow, speaking well of my leader, praising his works. For I came when it seemed good to him;
— τί οὖν, ὅταν μὴ παρέχῃ τροφάς; — τί γὰρ ἄλλο ἢ ὡς ἀγαθὸς στρατηγὸς τὸ ἀνακλητικόν μοι σεσήμαγκεν; πείθομαι, ἀκολουθῶ, ἐπευφημῶν τὸν ἡγεμόνα, ὑμνῶν αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα.
and, again, when it seems good to him, I depart; and in life it was my business to praise God within myself and to every auditor, and to the world. Doth he grant me but few things? Doth he refuse me affluence?
καὶ γὰρ ἦλθον, ὅτʼ ἐκείνῳ ἔδοξεν, καὶ ἄπειμι πάλιν ἐκείνῳ δοκοῦν καὶ ζῶντός μου τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἦν, ὑμνεῖν τὸν θεὸν καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπʼ ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ πρὸς ἕνα καὶ πρὸς πολλούς.
It is not his pleasure that I should live luxuriously; for he did not grant that even to Hercules, his own son; but another reigned over Argos and Mycene, while he obeyed, labored, and strove.
οὐ παρέχει μοι πολλά, οὐκ ἄφθονα, τρυφᾶν με οὐ θέλει οὐδὲ γὰρ τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ παρεῖχεν, τῷ υἱεῖ τῷ ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλʼ ἄλλος ἐβασίλευεν Ἄργους καὶ Μυκηνῶν, ὁ δʼ ἐπετάσσετο καὶ ἐπόνει καὶ ἐγυμνάζετο.
And Eurystheus was just what he was,—neither truly king of Argos, nor of Mycene; not being indeed king over himself. But Hercules was ruler and governor of the whole earth and seas; the expeller of lawlessness and injustice; the introducer of justice and sanctity. And this he effected naked and alone.
καὶ ἦν Εὐρυσθεὺς μέν, ὃς ἦν, οὔτε Ἄργους οὔτε Μυκηνῶν βασιλεύς, ὅς γʼ οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ, ὁ δʼ Ἡρακλῆς ἁπάσης γῆς καὶ θαλάττης ἄρχων καὶ ἡγεμὼν ἦν, καθαρτὴς ἀδικίας καὶ ἀνομίας, εἰσαγωγεὺς δὲ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ὁσιότητος· καὶ ταῦτα ἐποίει καὶ γυμνὸς καὶ μόνος.
Again, when Ulysses was shipwrecked and cast away, did his helpless condition at all deject him? Did it break his spirit? No; but how did he go to Nausicaa and her attendants, to ask those necessaries which it seems most shameful to beg from another?As some lion, bred in the mountains, confiding in strength.
ὁ δʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς ὅτε ναυαγὸς ἐξερρίφη, μή τι ἐταπείνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ ἀπορία, μή τι ἐπέκλασεν; ἀλλὰ πῶς ἀπῄει πρὸς τὰς παρθένους αἰτήσων τὰ ἀναγκαῖα, ὧν αἴσχιστον εἶναι δοκεῖ δεῖσθαι παρʼ ἄλλου; ὥς τε λέων ὀρεσίτροφος. τίνι πεποιθώς;
H. Confiding in what? Not in glory, or in riches, or in dominion, but in his own strength; that is, in his knowledge of what is within him and without him.
οὐ δόξῃ οὐδὲ χρήμασιν οὐδʼ ἀρχαῖς, ἀλλʼ ἀλκῇ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ, τοῦτʼ ἔστι δόγμασι περὶ τῶν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν καὶ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν.
For this alone is what can render us free and incapable of restraint; can raise the heads of the humble, and make them look with unaverted eyes full in the face of the rich and of the tyrants; and this is what philosophy bestows.
ταῦτα γάρ ἐστι μόνα τὰ τοὺς ἐλευθέρους ποιοῦντα, τὰ τοὺς ἀκωλύτους, τὰ τὸν τράχηλον ἐπαίροντα τῶν τεταπεινομένων, τὰ ἀντιβλέπειν ποιοῦντα ὀρθοῖς τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς πρὸς τοὺς πλουσίους, πρὸς τοὺς τυράννους.
But you will not even set forth with confidence; but all trembling about such trifles as clothes and plate. Foolish man! have you thus. wasted your time till now? “But what if I should be ill?”
καὶ τὸ τοῦ φιλοσόφου δῶρον τοῦτο ἦν, σὺ δʼ οὐκ ἐξελεύσῃ θαρρῶν, ἀλλὰ περιτρέμων τοῖς ἱματιδίοις καὶ τοῖς ἀργυρωματίοις; δύστηνε, οὕτως ἀπώλεσας τὸν μέχρι νῦν χρόνον;
It will then be for the best that you should be ill. “Who will take care of me?” God and your friends. “I shall lie in a hard bed.” But like a man. “I shall not have a convenient room.” Then you will be ill in an inconvenient one. “Who will provide food for me?” They who provide for others too; you will be ill like Manes.
τί οὖν, ἂν νοσήσω;— νοσήσεις καλῶς. — τίς με θεραπεύσει; — ὁ θεός, οἱ φίλοι. — σκληρῶς κατακείσομαι. — ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀνήρ. — οἴκημα ἐπιτήδειον οὐχ ἕξω. — ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ οὐ νοσήσεις; — τίς μοι ποιήσει τὰ τροφεῖα; — οἱ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ποιοῦντες· ὡς Μάνης νοσήσεις. — τί δὲ καὶ τὸ πέρας τῆς νόσου;
“But what will be the conclusion of my illness,—any other than death?” Why, do you not know, then, that the origin of all human evils, and of baseness and cowardice, is not death, but rather the fear of death?
— ἄλλο τι ἢ θάνατος; ἆρʼ οὖν ἐνθυμῇ, ὅτι κεφάλαιον τοῦτο πάντων τῶν κακῶν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ ἀγεννείας καὶ δειλίας οὐ θάνατός ἐστιν, μᾶλλον δʼ ὁ τοῦ θανάτου φόβος;
Fortify yourself, therefore, against this. Hither let all your discourses, readings, exercises, tend. And then you will know that thus alone are men made free.
ἐπὶ τοῦτον οὖν μοι γυμνάζου, ἐνταῦθα νευέτωσαν οἱ λόγοι πάντες, τὰ ἀσκήματα, τὰ ἀναγνώσματα, καὶ εἴσῃ, ὅτι οὕτως μόνως ἐλευθεροῦνται ἄνθρωποι.