Else how can you say, like Socrates, “If it so pleases God, so let it be”? Do you think that Socrates, if he had fixed his desires on the leisure of the lyceum or the academy, or the conversation of the youth there, day after day, would have made so many campaigns as he did, so readily? Would not he have lamented and groaned: “How wretched am I! now must I be miserable here, when I might be sunning myself in the lyceum”?
ἢ πῶς ἔτι δυνήσῃ εἰπεῖν τὸ τοῦ Σωκράτους εἰ ταύτῃ φίλον τῷ θεῷ, ταύτῃ γινέσθω; δοκεῖς, Σωκράτης εἰ ἐπεθύμει ἐν Λυκείῳ ἢ ἐν Ἀκαδημείᾳ σχολάζειν καὶ διαλέγεσθαι καθʼ ἡμέραν τοῖς νέοις, εὐκόλως ἂν ἐστρατεύσατο ὁσάκις ἐστρατεύσατο; οὐχὶ δʼ ὠδύρετʼ ἂν καὶ ἔστενεν τάλας ἐγώ, νῦν ἐνθάδʼ ἀτυχῶ ἄθλιος δυνάμενος ἐν Λυκείῳ ἡλιάζεσθαι;
Was that your business in life, then, to sun yourself? Was it not to be truly successful; to be unrestrained and free? And how could he have been Socrates, if he had lamented thus? How could he after that have written Paeans in a prison?
τοῦτο γάρ σου τὸ ἔργον ἦν, ἡλιάζεσθαι; οὐχὶ δὲ τὸ εὐροεῖν, τὸ ἀκώλυτον εἶναι, τὸ ἀπαραπόδιστον; καὶ πῶς ἂν ἔτι ἦν Σωκράτης, εἰ ταῦτα ὠδύρετο; πῶς ἂν ἔτι ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ παιᾶνας ἔγραφεν;
In short, then, remember this, that so far as you prize anything external to your own will, you impair that will. And not only power is external to it, but the being out of power too; not only business, but leisure too. “Then must I live in this tumult now?”
ἁπλῶς οὖν ἐκείνου μέμνησο, ὅτι, πᾶν ὃ ἔξω τῆς προαιρέσεως τῆς σαυτοῦ τιμήσεις, ἀπώλεσας τὴν προαίρεσιν. ἔξω δʼ ἐστὶν οὐ μόνον ἀρχή, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀναρχία, οὐ μόνον ἀσχολία, ἀλλὰ καὶ σχολή.
What do you call a tumult? “multitude of people.” And where is the hardship? Suppose it to be the Olympic Games. Think it a public assembly. There, too, some bawl out one thing, some another; some push the rest. The baths are crowded. Yet who of us is not pleased with these assemblies, and does not grieve to leave them? Do not be hard to please, and squeamish at what happens. “Vinegar is disagreeable, for it is sour.
νῦν οὖν ἐμὲ ἐν τῷ θορύβῳ τούτῳ διεξάγειν. τί λέγεις θορύβῳ; ἐν πολλοῖς ἀνθρώποις; καὶ τί χαλεπόν; δόξον ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ εἶναι, πανήγυριν αὐτὸν ἥγησαι. κἀκεῖ ἄλλος ἄλλο τι κέκραγεν, ἄλλος ἄλλο τι πράσσει, ἄλλος τῷ ἄλλῳ ἐνσείεται. ἐν τοῖς βαλανείοις ὄχλος· καὶ τίς ἡμῶν οὐ χαίρει τῇ πανηγύρει ταύτῃ καὶ ὀδυνώμενος αὐτῆς ἀπαλλάσσεται;
Honey is disagreeable, for it disorders my constitution. I do not like vegetables.” “So I do not like retirement, it is a desert; I do not like a crowd, it is a tumult.” Why, if things are so disposed that you are to live atone or with few, call this condition repose, and make use of it as you ought.
μὴ γίνου δυσάρεστος μηδὲ κακοστόμαχος πρὸς τὰ γινόμενα. τὸ ὄξος σαπρόν, δριμὺ γάρ· τὸ μέλι σαπρόν, ἀνατρέπει γάρ μου τὴν ἕξιν· λάχανα οὐ θέλω. οὕτως καὶ σχολὴν οὐ θέλω, ἐρημία ἐστίν, ὄχλον οὐ θέλω, θόρυβός ἐστιν.
Talk with yourself, judge of the appearances presented to your mind; train your mental habits to accuracy. But if you happen on a crowd, call it one of the public games, a grand assembly, a festival. Endeavor to share in the festival with the rest of the world. For what sight is more pleasant to a lover of mankind than a great number of men?
ἀλλʼ ἂν μὲν οὕτως φέρῃ τὰ πράγματα, ὥστε μόνον ἢ μετʼ ὀλίγων διεξαγαγεῖν, ἡσυχίαν αὐτὸ κάλει καὶ χρῶ τῷ πράγματι, εἰς ὃ δεῖ· λάλει σεαυτῷ, γύμναζε τὰς φαντασίας, ἐξεργάζου τὰς προλήψεις. ἂν δʼ εἰς ὄχλον ἐμπέσῃς, ἀγῶνα αὐτὸ λέγε, πανήγυριν, ἑορτήν, συνεορτάζειν πειρῶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
We see companies of oxen or horses with pleasure. We are highly delighted to see a great many ships. Who is sorry to see a great many men? “But they stun me with their noise.” Then your hearing is hindered;
τί γάρ ἐστιν ἥδιον θέαμα τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ ἢ ἄνθρωποι πολλοί; ἵππων ἀγέλας ἢ βοῶν ἡδέως ὁρῶμεν, πλοῖα πολλὰ ὅταν ἴδωμεν, διαχεόμεθα· ἀνθρώπους πολλοὺς βλέπων τις ἀνιᾶται;
and what is that to you? Is your faculty of making a right use of the appearances of things hindered too? Or who can restrain you from using your desire and aversion, your powers of pursuit and avoidance, conformably to nature? What tumult is sufficient for this?
ἀλλὰ κατακραυγάζουσί μου. οὐκοῦν ἡ ἀκοή σου ἐμποδίζεται. τί οὖν πρὸς σέ; μή τι καὶ δύναμις ἡ ταῖς φαντασίαις χρηστική; καὶ τίς σε κωλύει ὀρέξει καὶ ἐκκλίσει χρῆσθαι κατὰ φύσιν, ὁρμῇ καὶ ἀφορμῇ; ποῖος θόρυβος πρὸς τοῦτο ἱκανός;
Do but remember the general rules. What is mine; what not mine? What is allotted me? What is it the will of God that I should do now? What is not his will?
σὺ μόνον μέμνησο τῶν καθολικῶν· τί ἐμόν, τί οὐκ ἐμόν; τί μοι δίδοται; τί θέλει με ποιεῖν ὁ θεὸς νῦν, τί οὐ θέλει;
A little while ago it was his will that you should be at leisure, should talk with yourself, write about these things, read, hear, prepare yourself. You have had sufficient time for this. At present he says to you, “Come now to the combat. Show us what you have learned; how you have wrestled.” How long would you exercise by yourself? It is now the time to show whether you are of the Lumber of those champions who merit victory, or of those who go about the world conquered in all the circle of games.
πρὸ ὀλίγου χρόνου ἤθελέν σε σχολάζειν, σαυτῷ λαλεῖν, γράφειν περὶ τούτων, ἀναγιγνώσκειν, ἀκούειν, παρασκευάζεσθαι· ἔσχες εἰς τοῦτο ἱκανὸν χρόνον. νῦν σοι λέγει ἐλθὲ ἤδη ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα, δεῖξον ἡμῖν, τί ἔμαθες, πῶς ἤθλησας. μέχρι τίνος γυμνασθήσῃ μόνος; ἤδη καιρὸς γνῶναί σε, πότερον τῶν ἀξιονίκων εἶ τις ἀθλητῶν ἢ ἐκείνων, οἳ τὴν οἰκουμένην περιέρχονται νικώμενοι.
Why, then, are you out of humor? There is no combat without a tumult. There must be many preparatory exercises, many acclamations, many masters, many spectators.
τί οὖν ἀγανακτεῖς; οὐδεὶς ἀγὼν δίχα θορύβου γίνεται. πολλοὺς δεῖ προγυμναστὰς εἶναι, πολλοὺς τοὺς ἐπικραυγάζοντας, πολλοὺς ἐπιστάτας, πολλοὺς θεατάς.
“But I would live in quiet.” Why, then, lament and groan as you deserve. For what greater punishment is there to those who are uninstructed and disobedient to the orders of God, than to grieve, to mourn, to envy; in short, to be disappointed and unhappy? Are you not willing to deliver yourself from all this? “And how shall I deliver myself?”
— ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ ἤθελον ἐφʼ ἡσυχίας διάγειν. — οἴμωζε τοίνυν καὶ στένε, ὥσπερ ἄξιος εἶ. τίς γὰρ ἄλλη μείζων ταύτης ζημία τῷ ἀπαιδεύτῳ καὶ ἀπειθοῦντι τοῖς θείοις διατάγμασιν ἢ τὸ λυπεῖσθαι, τὸ πενθεῖν, τὸ φθονεῖν, ἁπλῶς τὸ ἀτυχεῖν καὶ δυστυχεῖν; τούτων οὐ θέλεις ἀπαλλάξαι σεαυτόν;καὶ πῶς ἀπαλλάξω;
Have you not heard that you must absolutely control desire, and apply aversion to such things only as are controllable by will; that you must consent to resign all,—body, possessions, fame, books, tumults, power, exemption from power? For to whichsoever your disposition is, you are a slave; you are under subjection; you are made liable to restraint, to compulsion; you are altogether the property of others.
— οὐ πολλάκις ἤκουσας, ὅτι ὄρεξιν ἆραί σε δεῖ παντελῶς, τὴν ἔκκλισιν ἐπὶ μόνα τρέψαι τὰ προαιρετικά, ἀφεῖναί σε δεῖ πάντα, τὸ σῶμα, τὴν κτῆσιν, τὴν φήμην, τὰ βιβλία, θόρυβον, ἀρχάς, ἀναρχίαν; ὅπου γὰρ ἂν κλίνῃς, ἐδούλευσας, ὑπετάγης, κωλυτὸς ἐγένου, ἀναγκαστός, ὅλος ἐπʼ ἄλλοις.
But have that maxim of Cleanthes always ready,—Conduct me, Zeus; and thou, O Destiny. Is it your will that I should go to Rome? Conduct me to Rome. To Gyaros? To Gyaros. To Athens? To Athens. To prison?
ἀλλὰ τὸ Κλεάνθους πρόχειρον ἄγου δέ μʼ, ὦ Ζεῦ, καὶ σύ γʼ ἡ Πεπρωμένη. θέλετʼ εἰς Ῥώμην; εἰς Ῥώμην. εἰς Γύαρα; εἰς Γύαρα. εἰς Ἀθήνας; εἰς Ἀθήνας. εἰς φυλακήν; εἰς φυλακήν.
To prison. If you once say, “When may I go to Athens?” you are undone. This desire, if it be unaccomplished, must necessarily render you disappointed; and if fulfilled, vain respecting what ought not to elate you; if, on the contrary, you are hindered, then you are wretched through incurring what you do not like.
ἂν ἅπαξ εἴπῃς πότε τις εἰς Ἀθήνας ἀπέλθῃ;, ἀπώλου. ἀνάγκη γε ταύτην τὴν ὄρεξιν ἀτελῆ μὲν οὖσαν ἀτυχῆ σε ποιεῖν, τελειωθεῖσαν δὲ κενόν, ἐφʼ οἷς οὐ δεῖ ἐπαιρόμενον· πάλιν ἂν ἐμποδισθῇς, δυστυχῆ, περιπίπτοντα οἷς οὐ θέλεις.
Therefore give up all these things. “Athens is a fine place.” But it is a much finer thing to be happy, serene, tranquil, not to have your affairs dependent on others.
ἄφες οὖν ταῦτα πάντα. καλαὶ αἱ Ἀθῆναι. ἀλλὰ τὸ εὐδαιμονεῖν κάλλιον πολύ, τὸ ἀπαθῆ εἶναι, τὸ ἀτάραχον, τὸ ἐπὶ μηδενὶ κεῖσθαι τὰ σὰ πράγματα.
“Rome is full of tumults and visits.” But prosperity is worth all difficulties. If, then, it be a proper time for these, why do not you withdraw your aversion from them?
θόρυβος ἐν Ῥώμῃ καὶ ἀσπασμοί. ἀλλὰ τὸ εὐροεῖν ἀντὶ πάντων τῶν δυσκόλων. εἰ οὖν τούτων καιρός ἐστιν, διὰ τί οὐκ αἴρεις αὐτῶν τὴν ἔκκλισιν; τίς ἀνάγκη ὡς ὄνον ξυλοκοπούμενον ἀχθοφορεῖν;
What necessity is there for you to be made to carry your burden, by being cudgelled like an ass? Otherwise, consider that you must always be a slave to him who has the power to procure your discharge,—to every one who has the power of hindering you,—and must worship him like your evil genius.
εἰ δὲ μή, ὅρα ὅτι δεῖ σε δουλεύειν ἀεὶ τῷ δυναμένῳ σοι διαπράξασθαι τὴν ἔξοδον, τῷ πᾶν ἐμποδίσαι δυναμένῳ κἀκεῖνον θεραπεύειν ὡς Κακοδαίμονα.
The only way to real prosperity (let this rule be at hand morning, noon, and night) is a resignation of things uncontrollable by will; to esteem nothing as property; to deliver up all things to our tutelar genius and to fortune;
μία ὁδὸς ἐπὶ εὔροιαν ( τοῦτο καὶ ὄρθρου καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτωρ ἔστω πρόχειρον), ἀπόστασις τῶν ἀπροαιρέτων, τὸ μηδὲν ἴδιον ἡγεῖσθαι, τὸ παραδοῦναι πάντα τῷ δαιμονίῳ, τῇ τύχῃ, ἐκείνους ἐπιτρόπους αὐτῶν ποιήσασθαι,
to leave the control of them to those whom Zeus hath made such; to be ourselves devoted to that only which is really ours,—to that which is incapable of restraint,—and whatever we read or write or hear, to refer all to this.
οὓς καὶ ὁ Ζεὺς πεποίηκεν, αὐτὸν δὲ πρὸς ἑνὶ εἶναι μόνῳ, τῷ ἰδίῳ, τῷ ἀκωλύτῳ, καὶ ἀναγιγνώσκειν ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἀναφέροντα τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν καὶ γράφειν καὶ ἀκούειν.
Therefore I cannot call any one industrious, if I hear only that he reads or writes; nor do I call him so even if he adds the whole night to the day, unless I know to what he applies it. For not even you would call him industrious who sits up for the sake of a girl;
διὰ τοῦτο οὐ δύναμαι εἰπεῖν φιλόπονον, ἂν ἀκούσω τοῦτο μόνον, ὅτι ἀναγιγνώσκει ἢ γράφει, κἂν προσθῇ τις, ὅτι ὅλας τὰς νύκτας, οὔπω λέγω, ἂν μὴ γνῶ τὴν ἀναφοράν. οὐδὲ γὰρ σὺ λέγεις φιλόπονον τὸν διὰ παιδισκάριον ἀγρυπνοῦντα· οὐ τοίνυν οὐδʼ ἐγώ.
nor, therefore, in the other case do I. But if he does it for fame, I call him ambitious; if for money, avaricious;
ἀλλʼ ἐὰν μὲν ἕνεκα δόξης αὐτὸ ποιῇ, λέγω φιλόδοξον, ἂν δʼ ἕνεκα ἀργυρίου, φιλάργυρον, οὐ φιλόπονον.
if from the desire of learning, bookish; but not industrious. But if he applies his labor to his ruling faculty, in order to treat and regulate it conformably to nature, then only I call him industrious.
ἂν δʼ ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον ἡγεμονικὸν ἀναφέρῃ τὸν πόνον, ἵνʼ ἐκεῖνο κατὰ φύσιν ἔχῃ καὶ διεξάγῃ, τότε λέγω μόνον φιλόπονον.
Never praise or blame any person on account of outward actions that are common to all; but only on account of principles.
μηδέποτε γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν μήτʼ ἐπαινεῖτε μήτε ψέγετε, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ δογμάτων. ταῦτα γάρ ἐστι τὰ ἴδια ἑκάστου, τὰ καὶ τὰς πράξεις αἰσχρὰς ἢ καλὰς ποιοῦντα·
These are the peculiar property of each individual, and the things which make actions good or bad.
τούτων μεμνημένος χαῖρε τοῖς παροῦσιν καὶ ἀγάπα ταῦτα, ὧν καιρός ἐστιν.
Mindful of this, enjoy the present and accept all things in their season. If you meet in action any of those things which you have made a subject of study, rejoice in them. If you have laid aside ill-nature and reviling; if you have lessened your harshness, indecent language, inconsiderateness, effeminacy; if you are not moved by the same things as formerly, or in the same manner as formerly,—you may keep a perpetual festival, to-day for success in one affair, tomorrow for another.
εἴ τινα ὁρᾷς, ὧν ἔμαθες καὶ διεσκέψω, ἀπαντῶντά σοι εἰς τὰ ἔργα, εὐφραίνου ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς. εἰ τὸ κακόηθες καὶ λοίδορον ἀποτέθεισαι, μεμείωκας, εἰ τὸ προπετές, εἰ τὸ αἰσχρολόγον, εἰ τὸ εἰκαῖον, εἰ τὸ ἐπισεσυρμένον, εἰ οὐ κινῇ ἐφʼ οἷς πρότερον, εἰ οὐχ ὁμοίως γʼ ὡς πρότερον, ἑορτὴν ἄγειν δύνασαι καθʼ ἡμέραν, σήμερον, ὅτι καλῶς ἀνεστράφης ἐν τῷδε τῷ ἔργῳ, αὔριον, ὅτι ἐν ἑτέρῳ.
How much better a reason for sacrifice is this than obtaining a consulship or a government! These things you have from yourself and from the gods. Remember this,—who it is that gave them, and to whom and for what purpose.
πόσῳ μείζων αἰτία θυσίας ἢ ὑπατεία ἢ ἐπαρχία. ταῦτα ἐκ σοῦ αὐτοῦ γίνεταί σοι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν θεῶν. ἐκεῖνο μέμνησο, τίς ὁ διδούς ἐστι καὶ τίσιν καὶ διὰ τίνα.
Habituated once to these reasonings, can you still think that it makes any difference what place God allots you? Are not the gods everywhere at the same distance? Do not they everywhere see equally what is doing?
τούτοις τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς ἐντρεφόμενος ἔτι διαφέρῃ, ποῦ ὢν εὐδαιμονήσεις, ποῦ ὢν ἀρέσεις τῷ θεῷ; οὐ πανταχόθεν τὸ ἴσον ἀπέχουσιν; οὐ πανταχόθεν ὁμοίως ὁρῶσιν τὰ γινόμενα;
5. A wise and good person neither quarrels with any one himself, nor, as far as possible, suffers another to do so.
5. ὁ καλὸς καὶ ἀγαθὸς οὔτʼ αὐτὸς μάχεταί τινι οὔτʼ ἄλλον ἐᾷ κατὰ δύναμιν.
The life of Socrates affords us an example of this too, as well as of other things; since he not only everywhere avoided quarrelling himself, but did not even suffer others to quarrel.
παράδειγμα δὲ καὶ τούτου καθάπερ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἔκκειται ἡμῖν ὁ βίος ὁ Σωκράτους, ὃς οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς πανταχοῦ ἐξέφυγεν μάχην, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἄλλους μάχεσθαι εἴα.
See in Xenophon’s Banquet how many quarrels he ended; how, again, he bore with Thrasymachus, with Polus, with Callicles; how with his wife, how with his son, who attempted to confute him, and cavilled at him.
ὅρα παρὰ Ξενοφῶντι ἐν τῷ Συμποσίῳ πόσας μάχας λέλυκεν, πῶς πάλιν ἠνέσχετο Θρασυμάχου, πῶς Πώλου, πῶς Καλλικλέους, πῶς τῆς γυναικὸς ἠνείχετο, πῶς τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐξελεγχόμενος ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, σοφιζόμενος.
For he well remembered that no one is master of the ruling faculty of another; and therefore he desired nothing but what was his own. “And what is that?”
λίαν γὰρ ἀσφαλῶς ἐμέμνητο, ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἀλλοτρίου ἡγεμονικοῦ κυριεύει. οὐδὲν οὖν ἄλλο ἤθελεν ἢ τὸ ἴδιον.
Not that any particular person should be dealt with conformably to nature, for that belongs to others; but that while they act in their own way, as they please, he should nevertheless live conformably to nature, only doing what belongs to himself, in order to make them live conformably to nature also.
τί δʼ ἔστι τοῦτο; οὐχ ἱκ … ος οὗτος … κατὰ φύσιν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀλλότριον· ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἐκείνων τὰ ἴδια ποιούντων, ὡς αὐτοῖς δοκεῖ, αὐτὸς μηδὲν ἧττον κατὰ φύσιν ἕξει καὶ διεξάξει μόνον τὰ αὑτοῦ ποιῶν πρὸς τὸ κἀκείνους ἔχειν κατὰ φύσιν.
For this is the point that a wise and good person has in view. To have the command of an army? No; but if it be allotted him, to properly apply his own powers in that sphere. To marry? No; but if marriage be allotted him, to act in this sphere also according to the laws of nature.
τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν, ὃ ἀεὶ πρόκειται τῷ καλῷ καὶ ἀγαθῷ. στρατηγῆσαι; οὔ· ἀλλʼ, ἂν διδῶται, ἐπὶ ταύτης τῆς ὕλης τὸ ἴδιον ἡγεμονικὸν τηρῆσαι. γῆμαι; οὔ· ἄλλʼ, ἂν διδῶται γάμος, ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὕλῃ κατὰ φύσιν ἔχοντα αὑτὸν τηρῆσαι.
But if he expects perfection in his wife or his child, then he asks to have that for his own which really belongs to others.
ἂν δὲ θέλῃ τὸν υἱὸν μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν ἢ τὴν γυναῖκα, θέλει τὰ ἀλλότρια μὴ εἶναι ἀλλότρια. καὶ τὸ παιδεύεσθαι, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν μανθάνειν τὰ ἴδια καὶ τὰ ἀλλότρια.
And wisdom consists in this very point, to learn what things are our own and what belong to others. What room is there then for quarrelling, to a person thus disposed? For does he wonder at anything that happens? Does it appear strange to him? Does he not prepare for worse and more grievous injuries from bad people than actually happen to him?
ποῦ οὖν ἔτι μάχης τόπος τῷ οὕτως ἔχοντι; μὴ γὰρ θαυμάζει τι τῶν γινομένων; μὴ γὰρ καινὸν αὐτῷ φαίνεται; μὴ γὰρ οὐ χείρονα καὶ χαλεπώτερα προσδέχεται τὰ παρὰ τῶν φαύλων ἢ ἀποβαίνει αὐτῷ; μὴ γὰρ οὐ κέρδος λογίζεται πᾶν ὅ τι ἀπολείπουσιν τοῦ ἐσχάτου;
Does he not reckon it so much gained if they come short of the last extremities? Such a one has reviled you. You are much obliged to him that he has not struck you. But he has struck you too.
ἐλοιδόρησέν σε ὁ δεῖνα. πολλὴ χάρις αὐτῷ, ὅτι μὴ ἔπληξεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔπληξεν. πολλὴ χάρις, ὅτι μὴ ἔτρωσεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔτρωσεν. πολλὴ χάρις, ὅτι μὴ ἀπέκτεινεν.
You are much obliged to him that he has not wounded you too. But he has wounded you too. You are much obliged to him that he has not killed you. For when did he ever learn, or from whom, that he is a gentle, that he is a social, animal;
πότε γὰρ ἔμαθεν ἢ παρὰ τίνι, ὅτι ἥμερόν ἐστι ζῷον, ὅτι φιλάλληλον, ὅτι μεγάλη βλάβη τῷ ἀδικοῦντι αὐτὴ ἡ ἀδικία; ταῦτα οὖν μὴ μεμαθηκὼς μηδὲ πεπεισμένος, διὰ τί μὴ ἀκολουθήσῃ τῷ φαινομένῳ συμφέροντι;
that the very injury itself is a great mischief to him who inflicts it? As, then, he has not learned these things, nor believes them, why should he not follow what appears to be for his interest?
βέβληκεν ὁ γείτων λίθους. μή τι οὖν σὺ ἡμάρτηκας; ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐν οἴκῳ κατεάγη. σὺ οὖν σκευάριον εἶ;
Your neighbor has thrown stones. What then; is it any fault of yours? But your goods are broken. What then; are you a piece of furniture? No, but your essence consists in the faculty of will. What behavior then is assigned you in return?
οὔ, ἀλλὰ προαίρεσις. τί οὖν σοι δίδοται πρὸς τοῦτο; ὡς μὲν λύκῳ ἀντιδάκνειν καὶ ἄλλους πλείονας λίθους βάλλειν· ἀνθρώπῳ δʼ ἐὰν ζητῇς, ἐπίσκεψαί σου τὸ ταμιεῖον, ἴδε τίνας δυνάμεις ἔχων ἐλήλυθας· μή τι τὴν θηριώδη; μή τι τὴν μνησικακητικήν;
If you are considering yourself as a wolf, then to bite again, to throw more stones. But if you ask the question as a man, then examine your treasure; see what faculties you have brought into the world with you.
ἵππος οὖν πότʼ ἄθλιός ἐστιν; ὅταν τῶν φυσικῶν δυνάμεων στέρηται· οὐχ ὅταν μὴ δύνηται κοκκύζειν, ἀλλʼ ὅταν μὴ τρέχειν. ὁ δὲ κύων; ὅταν πέτεσθαι μὴ δύνηται;
Are they fitted for ferocity; for revenge? When is a horse miserable? When he is deprived of his natural faculties; not when he cannot crow, but when he cannot run. And a dog? Not when he cannot fly, but when he cannot hunt. Is not a man, then, also unhappy in the same manner;
ἀλλʼ ὅταν μὴ ἰχνεύειν. μή ποτʼ οὖν οὕτως καὶ ἄνθρωπος δυστυχής ἐστιν οὐχ ὁ μὴ δυνάμενος λέοντας πνίγειν ἢ ἀνδριάντας περιλαμβάνειν (οὐ γὰρ πρὸς τοῦτο δυνάμεις τινὰς ἔχων ἐλήλυθεν παρὰ τῆς φύσεως), ἀλλʼ ὁ ἀπολωλεκὼς τὸ εὔγνωμον, ὁ τὸ πιστόν;
not he who cannot strangle lions or perform great athletic feats (for he has received no faculties for this purpose from nature); but he who has lost his rectitude of mind, his fidelity? This is he who ought to receive public condolence for the misfortunes into which he is fallen; not, by Heaven! either he who has the misfortune to be born or to die; but he whom it has befallen while he lives to lose what is properly his own;
τοῦτον ἔδει συνελθόντας θρηνεῖν, εἰς ὅσα κακὰ ἐλήλυθεν· οὐχὶ μὰ Δία τὸν φύντα ἢ τὸν ἀποθανόντα, ἀλλʼ ᾧ ζῶντι συμβεβήκει ἀπολέσαι τὰ ἴδια, οὐ τὰ πατρῷα, τὸ ἀγρίδιον καὶ τὸ οἰκίδιον καὶ τὸ πανδοκεῖον καὶ τὰ δουλάρια (τούτων γὰρ οὐδὲν ἴδιον τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀλλότρια, δοῦλα, ὑπεύθυνα ἄλλοτε ἄλλοις διδόμενα ὑπὸ τῶν κυρίων),
not his paternal possessions, his paltry estate or his house, his lodging or his slaves, for none of these are a man’s own; but all these belong to others, are servile, dependent, and very variously assigned by the disposers of them.
ἀλλὰ τὰ ἀνθρωπικά,τοὺς χαρακτῆρας, οὓς ἔχων ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ ἐλήλυθεν, οἵους καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν νομισμάτων ζητοῦντες, ἂν μὲν εὕρωμεν, δοκιμάζομεν, ἂν δὲ μὴ εὕρωμεν, ῥιπτοῦμεν.
But his personal qualifications as a man, the impressions which he brought into the world stamped upon his mind; such as we look for in money, accepting or rejecting it accordingly. “What impression has this piece of money?” “Trajan’s.” “Give it me.” “Nero’s.” Throw it away. It is false; it is good for nothing. So in the other case.
τίνος ἔχει τὸν χαρακτῆρα τοῦτο τὸ τετράσσαρον; Τραιανοῦ; φέρε. Νέρωνος; ῥῖψον ἔξω, ἀδόκιμόν ἐστιν, σαπρόν. οὕτως καὶ ἐνθάδε. τίνα ἔχει χαρακτῆρα τὰ δόγματα αὐτοῦ; ἥμερον, κοινωνικόν, ἀνεκτικόν, φιλάλληλον. φέρε, παραδέχομαι, ποιῶ πολίτην τοῦτον, παραδέχομαι γείτονα, σύμπλουν.
“What stamp have his principles?” “Gentleness, social affection, patience, good-nature.” Bring them hither. I receive them. I make such a man a citizen; I receive him for a neighbor, a fellow-traveller.
ὅρα μόνον, μὴ Νερωνιανὸν ἔχει χαρακτῆρα. μή τι ὀργίλος ἐστίν, μή τι μηνιτής, μή τι μεμψίμοιρος; ἂν αὐτῷ φανῇ, πατάσσει τὰς κεφαλὰς τῶν ἀπαντώντων.
Only see that he have not the Neronian stamp. Is he passionate? Is he resentful? Is he querulous? Would he, if he took the fancy, break the heads of those who fell in his way?
τί οὖν ἔλεγες, ὅτι ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν; μὴ γὰρ ἐκ ψιλῆς μορφῆς κρίνεται τῶν ὄντων ἕκαστον; ἐπεὶ οὕτως λέγε καὶ τὸ κήρινον μῆλον εἶναι.
Why then do you call him a man? For is everything determined by a mere outward form? Then say, just as well, that a piece of wax is an apple, or that it has the smell and taste too.
καὶ ὀδμὴν ἔχειν αὐτὸ δεῖ καὶ γεῦσιν· οὐκ ἀρκεῖ ἡ ἐκτὸς περιγραφή. οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἡ ῥὶς ἐξαρκεῖ καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοί, ἀλλʼ ἂν τὰ δόγματα ἔχῃ ἀνθρωπικά.
The external figure is not enough; nor, consequently, is it sufficient to constitute a man that he has a nose and eyes, if he have not the proper principles of a man. Such a one does not understand reason, or apprehend when he is confuted. He is like an ass. Another is dead to the sense of shame.
οὗτος οὐκ ἀκούει λόγου, οὐ παρακολουθεῖ ἐλεγχόμενος· ὄνος ἐστίν. τούτου τὸ αἰδῆμον ἀπονενέκρωται· ἄχρηστός ἐστιν, πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ ἄνθρωπος. οὗτος ζητεῖ, τίνα ἀπαντήσας λακτίσῃ ἢ δάκῃ· ὥστε οὐδὲ πρόβατον ἢ ὄνος, ἀλλά τί ποτε ἄγριον θηρίον.
He is a worthless creature; anything rather than a man. Another seeks whom he may kick or bite; so that he is neither sheep nor ass. But what then? He is a wild beast. “Well, but would you have me despised, then?” By whom,—by those who know you? And how can they despise you who know you to be gentle and modest?
τί οὖν; θέλεις με καταφρονεῖσθαι; — ὑπὸ τίνων; ὑπὸ εἰδότων; καὶ πῶς καταφρονήσουσιν εἰδότες τοῦ πρᾴου, τοῦ αἰδήμονος; ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγνοούντων; τί σοι μέλει; οὔ τινι γὰρ ἄλλῳ τεχνίτῃ τῶν ἀτέχνων. — ἀλλὰ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐπιφυήσονταί μοι.
But perhaps by those who do not know you? And what is that to you? For no other artist troubles himself about those ignorant of art.
—τί λέγεις τὸ ἐμοί; δύναταί τις τὴν προαίρεσιν τὴν σὴν βλάψαι ἢ κωλῦσαι ταῖς προσπιπτούσαις φαντασίαις χρῆσθαι ὡς πέφυκεν;—
“But people will be much readier to attack me.” Why do you say me? Can any one hurt your will, or restrain you from treating, conformably to nature, the phenomena of existence? Why, then, are you disturbed and desirous to make yourself appear formidable? Why do you not make public proclamation that you are at peace with all mankind, however they may act; and that you chiefly laugh at those who suppose they can hurt you?
οὔ. — τί οὖν ἔτι ταράσσῃ καὶ φοβερὸν σαυτὸν θέλεις ἐπιδεικνύειν; οὐχὶ δὲ παρελθὼν εἰς μέσον κηρύσσεις, ὅτι εἰρήνην ἄγεις πρὸς πάντας ἀνθρώπους, ὅ τι ἂν ἐκεῖνοι ποιῶσι, καὶ μάλιστʼ ἐκείνων καταγελᾷς, ὅσοι σε βλάπτειν δοκοῦσιν; ἀνδράποδα ταῦτα οὐκ οἶδεν οὐδὲ τίς εἰμὶ οὐδὲ ποῦ μου τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ κακόν· οὐ πρόσοδος αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὰ ἐμά.
“These wretches neither know who I am, nor in what consist my good and evil; nor how little they can touch what is really mine.” Thus the inhabitants of a fortified city laugh at the besiegers. “What trouble, now, are these people giving themselves for nothing!
οὕτως καὶ ἐχυρὰν πόλιν οἱ οἰκοῦντες καταγελῶσι τῶν πολιορκούντων· νῦν οὗτοι τί πρᾶγμα ἔχουσιν ἐπὶ τῷ μηδενί; ἀσφαλές ἐστιν ἡμῶν τὸ τεῖχος, τροφὰς ἔχομεν ἐπὶ πάμπολυν χρόνον, τὴν ἄλλην ἅπασαν παρασκευήν.
Our wall is secure; we have provisions for a very long time, and every other preparation.” These are what render a city fortified and impregnable; but nothing but its principles render the human soul so.
ταῦτά ἐστι τὰ πόλιν ἐχυρὰν καὶ ἀνάλωτον ποιοῦντα, ἀνθρώπου δὲ ψυχὴν οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ δόγματα. ποῖον γὰρ τεῖχος οὕτως ἰσχυρὸν ἢ ποῖον σῶμα οὕτως ἀδαμάντινον ἢ ποία κτῆσις ἀναφαίρετος ἢ ποῖον ἀξίωμα οὕτως ἀνεπιβούλευτον;
For what wall is so strong, what body so impenetrable, what possession so unalienable, what dignity so secured against stratagems? All things else, everywhere else, are mortal, easily reduced; and whoever in any degree fixes his mind upon them must necessarily be subject to perturbation, despair, terrors, lamentations, disappointed desires, and unavailing aversions.
πάντα πανταχοῦ θνητά, εὐάλωτα, οἷς τισιν τὸν ὁπωσοῦν προσέχοντα πᾶσα ἀνάγκη ταράσσεσθαι, κακελπιστεῖν, φοβεῖσθαι, πενθεῖν, ἀτελεῖς ἔχειν τὰς ὀρέξεις, περιπτωτικὰς ἔχειν τὰς ἐκκλίσεις.
And will we not fortify, then, the only citadel that is granted us; and withdrawing ourselves from what is mortal and servile, diligently improve what is immortal and by nature free? Do we not remember that no one either hurts or benefits another; but only the views which we hold concerning everything? It is this that hurts us;
εἶτα οὐ θέλομεν τὴν μόνην δεδομένην ἡμῖν ἀσφάλειαν ἐχυρὰν ποιεῖν; οὐδʼ ἀποστάντες τῶν θνητῶν καὶ δούλων τὰ ἀθάνατα καὶ φύσει ἐλεύθερα ἐκπονεῖν; οὐδὲ μεμνήμεθα, ὅτι οὔτε βλάπτει ἄλλος ἄλλον οὔτε ὠφελεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸ περὶ ἑκάστου τούτων δόγμα, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ βλάπτον, τοῦτο τὸ ἀνατρέπον, τοῦτο μάχη, τοῦτο στάσις, τοῦτο πόλεμος;
this that overturns us. Here is the fight, the sedition, the war. It was nothing else that made Eteocles and Polynices enemies, but their views concerning empire, and their principles concerning exile;
Ἐτεοκλέα καὶ Πολυνείκη τὸ πεποιηκὸς οὐκ ἄλλο ἢ τοῦτο, τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ τυραννίδος, τὸ δόγμα τὸ περὶ φυγῆς, ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἔσχατον τῶν κακῶν, τὸ δὲ μέγιστον τῶν ἀγαθῶν.
that the one seemed the extremest evil, the other the greatest good. Now, the very nature of every one is to pursue good, to avoid evil; to esteem him as an enemy and betrayer who deprives us of the one and involves us in the other, though he be a brother, or a son, or father.
φύσις δʼ αὕτη παντός, τὸ διώκειν τὸ ἀγαθόν, φεύγειν τὸ κακόν· τὸν ἀφαιρούμενον θατέρου καὶ περιβάλλοντα τῷ ἐναντίῳ, τοῦτον ἡγεῖσθαι πολέμιον, ἐπίβουλον, κἂν ἀδελφὸς ᾖ, κἂν υἱός, κἂν πατήρ.
For nothing is more nearly related to us than good. So that if good and evil consist in externals, there is no affection between father and son, brother and brother;
τοῦ γὰρ ἀγαθοῦ συγγενέστερον οὐδέν· λοιπὸν εἰ ταῦτα ἀγαθὰ καὶ κακά, οὔτε πατὴρ υἱοῖς φίλος οὔτʼ ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφῷ, πάντα δὲ πανταχοῦ μεστὰ πολεμίων, ἐπιβούλων, συκοφαντῶν.
but all is everywhere full of enemies, betrayers, sycophants. But if a right choice be the only good, and a wrong one the only evil, what further room is there for quarrelling, for reviling? About what can it be? About what is nothing to us. Against whom? Against the ignorant, against the unhappy, against those who are deceived in the most important respects.
εἰ δʼ οἵα δεῖ προαίρεσις, τοῦτο μόνον ἀγαθόν ἐστιν, καὶ οἵα μὴ δεῖ, τοῦτο μόνον κακόν, ποῦ ἔτι μάχη, ποῦ λοιδορία; περὶ τίνων; περὶ τῶν οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς; πρὸς τίνας; πρὸς τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας, πρὸς τοὺς δυστυχοῦντας, πρὸς τοὺς ἠπατημένους περὶ τῶν μεγίστων;
Mindful of this, Socrates lived in his own house, patiently bearing a furious wife, a senseless son. For what were the effects of her fury? The throwing as much water as she pleased on his head, the trampling a cake under her feet. “And what is this to me, if I think such things nothing to me?
τούτων Σωκράτης μεμνημένος τὴν οἰκ[ε]ίαν τὴν αὑτοῦ ᾤκει γυναικὸς ἀνεχόμενος τραχυτάτης, υἱοῦ ἀγνώμονος. τραχεῖα γὰρ πρὸς τί ἦν; ἵνʼ ὕδωρ καταχέῃ τῆς κεφαλῆς ὅσον καὶ θέλει, ἵνα καταπατήσῃ τὸν πλακοῦντα· καὶ τί πρὸς ἐμέ, ἂν ὑπολάβω, ὅτι ταῦτα οὐκ ἔστι πρὸς ἐμέ;
This very point is my business; and neither a tyrant, nor a master; shall restrain my will; nor multitudes, though I am a single person; nor one ever so strong, though I am ever so weak. For this is given by God to every one, free from restraint.”
τοῦτο δʼ ἐμὸν ἔργον ἐστὶ καὶ οὔτε τύραννος κωλύσει με θέλοντα οὔτε δεσπότης οὔτε οἱ πολλοὶ τὸν ἕνα οὔθʼ ὁ ἰσχυρότερος τὸν ἀσθενέστερον· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀκώλυτον δέδοται ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἑκάστῳ.
These principles make friendship in families, concord in cities, peace in nations. They make a person grateful to God, everywhere courageous, as dealing with things merely foreign and of minor importance.
ταῦτα τὰ δόγματα ἐν οἰκίᾳ φιλίαν ποιεῖ, ἐν πόλει ὁμόνοιαν, ἐν ἔθνεσιν εἰρήνην, πρὸς θεὸν εὐχάριστον, πανταχοῦ θαρροῦντα, ὡς περὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων, ὡς περὶ οὐδενὸς ἀξίων.
But we, alas! are able indeed to write and read these things, and to praise them when they are read;
ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς γράψαι μὲν καὶ ἀναγνῶναι ταῦτα καὶ ἀναγιγνωσκόμενα ἐπαινέσαι ἱκανοί, πεισθῆναι δʼ οὐδʼ ἐγγύς.
but very far from being convinced by them. In that case, what is said of the Lacedemonians,—Lions at home, foxes at Ephesus, may be applied to us, too; lions in the school, but foxes out of it.
τοιγαροῦν τὸ περὶ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων λεγόμενον οἴκοι λέοντες, ἐν Ἐφέσῳ δʼ ἀλώπεκες καὶ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν ἁρμόσει· ἐν σχολῇ λέοντες, ἔξω δʼ ἀλώπεκες.
6. It vexes me, say you, to be pitied. Is this your affair, then, or theirs who pity you? And further, how is it in your power to prevent it? “It is, if I show them that I do not need pity.” But are you now in such a condition as not to need pity, or are you not?
6. ἀνιῶμαι, φησίν, ἐλεούμενος. — πότερον οὖν σὸν ἔργον ἐστὶ τὸ ἐλεεῖσθαί σε ἢ τῶν ἐλεούντων; τί δʼ; ἐπὶ σοί ἐστι τὸ παῦσαι αὐτό; — ἐπʼ ἐμοί, ἂν δεικνύω αὐτοῖς μῆ ἄξιον ἐλέου ὄντα ἐμαυτόν.
“think I am. But these people do not pity me for what, if anything, would deserve pity, my faults; but for poverty, and want of power, and sicknesses, and deaths, and other things of that kind.” Are you, then, prepared to convince the world that none of these things is in reality an evil;
— πότερον δʼ ἤδη σοι ὑπάρχει τοῦτο, τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἐλέου ἄξιον ἢ οὐχ ὑπάρχει; — δοκῶ ἔγωγε, ὅτι ὑπάρχει. ἀλλʼ οὗτοί γʼ οὐκ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐλεοῦσιν, ἐφʼ οἷς, εἴπερ ἄρα, ἦν ἄξιον, ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτανομένοις, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ πενίᾳ καὶ ἀναρχίᾳ καὶ νόσοις καὶ θανάτοις καὶ ἄλλοις τοιούτοις.
but that it is possible for a person to be happy, even when he is poor, and without honors and power? Or are you prepared to put on the appearance of being rich and powerful? The last of these is the part of an arrogant, silly, worthless fellow.
— πότερον οὖν πείθειν παρεσκεύασαι τοὺς πολλούς, ὡς ἄρα οὐδὲν τούτων κακόν ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ οἷόν τε καὶ πένητι καὶ ἄρχοντι καὶ ἀτίμῳ εὐδαιμονεῖν, ἢ σαυτὸν ἐπιδεικνύειν αὐτοῖς πλουτοῦντα καὶ ἄρχοντα;
Observe, too, by what means this fiction must be carried on. You must hire some poor slaves, and get possessed of a few little pieces of plate, and often show them in public; and though they are the same, endeavor to conceal that they are the same; you must have gay clothes and other finery, and make a show of being honored by your great people; and endeavor to sup with them, or be thought to sup with them; and use some vile arts with your person, to make it appear handsomer and genteeler than it really is. All this you must contrive, if you would take the second way not to be pitied.
τούτων γὰρ τὰ μὲν δεύτερα ἀλαζόνος καὶ ψυχροῦ καὶ οὐδενὸς ἀξίου. καὶ ἡ προσποίησις ὅρα διʼ οἵων ἂν γένοιτο· δουλάριά σε χρήσασθαι δεήσει καὶ ἀργυρωμάτια ὀλίγα κεκτῆσθαι καὶ ταῦτα ἐν φανερῷ δεικνύειν, εἰ οἷόν τε, ταὐτὰ πολλάκις καὶ λανθάνειν πειρᾶσθαι ὅτι ταὐτά ἐστιν, καὶ ἱματίδια στιλπνὰ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην πομπὴν καὶ τὸν τιμώμενον ἐπιφαίνειν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν τούτων καὶ δειπνεῖν πειρᾶσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἢ δοκεῖν γε, ὅτι δειπνεῖς, καὶ περὶ τὸ σῶμα δέ τινα κακοτεχνεῖν, ὡς εὐμορφότερον φαίνεσθαι καὶ γενναιότερον τοῦ ὄντος·
And the first is impracticable as well as tedious, to undertake the very thing that Zeus himself could not do,—to convince all mankind what things are really good and evil. Is this granted you? The only thing granted you is to convince yourself; and you have not yet done that; and yet do you undertake to convince others? Why, who has lived so long with you as you have with yourself?
ταῦτά σε δεῖ μηχανᾶσθαι, εἰ τὴν δευτέραν ὁδὸν ἀπιέναι θέλεις ὥστε μὴ ἐλεεῖσθαι. ἡ πρώτη δὲ καὶ ἀνήνυτος καὶ μακρά, ὃ ὁ Ζεὺς οὐκ ἠδυνήθη ποιῆσαι, τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἐπιχειρεῖν, πάντας ἀνθρώπους πεῖσαι, τίνα ἐστὶν ἀγαθὰ καὶ κακά.
Who is so likely to have faith in you, in order to be convinced by you, as yourself? Who is more truly a well-wisher or a friend to you than yourself?
μὴ γὰρ δέδοταί σοι τοῦτο; ἐκεῖνο μόνον σοι δέδοται, σαυτὸν πεῖσαι. καὶ οὔπω πέπεικας· εἶτά μοι νῦν ἐπιχειρεῖς πείθειν τοὺς ἄλλους;
How is it, then, that you have not yet convinced yourself? Should you not now revolve these things? What you were studying was this: to learn to be exempt from grief, perturbation, and meanness, and to be free.
καὶ τίς σοι τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ σύνεστιν ὡς σὺ σαυτῷ; τίς δὲ οὕτως πιθανός ἐστί σοι πρὸς τὸ πεῖσαι ὡς σὺ σαυτῷ; τίς δʼ εὐνούστερον καὶ οἰκειότερον ἔχων ἢ σὺ σαυτῷ;
Have you not heard, then, that the only way that leads to this is to give up what is beyond the control of will; to withdraw from it, and confess that it belongs to others?
πῶς οὖν οὔπω πέπεικας σαυτὸν μαθεῖν; νῦν οὐχὶ ἄνω κάτω; τοῦτʼ ἔστι περὶ ὃ ἐσπούδακας; οὐ μανθάνειν, ὥστε ἄλυπος εἶναι καὶ ἀτάραχος καὶ ἀταπείνωτος καὶ ἐλεύθερος;
To what order of things belongs another’s opinion about you? “Things uncontrollable by will.” Is it nothing then to you? “Nothing.”
πρὸς ταῦτα οὖν οὐκ ἀκήκοας, ὅτι μία ἐστὶν ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ φέρουσα, ἀφεῖναι τὰ ἀπροαίρετα καὶ ἐκστῆναι αὐτῶν καὶ ὁμολογῆσαι αὐτὰ ἀλλότρια;
While you are still piqued and disturbed about it, then, do you consider that you are convinced concerning good and evil? Letting others alone, then, why will you not be your own scholar and teacher? Let others look to it, whether it be for their advantage to think and act contrary to nature;
τὸ οὖν ἄλλον τι ὑπολαβεῖν περὶ σοῦ ποίου εἴδους ἐστίν; — τοῦ ἀπροαιρέτου. — οὐκοῦν οὐδὲν πρὸς σέ; — οὐδέν. — ἔτι οὖν δακνόμενος ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ταρασσόμενος οἴει πεπεῖσθαι περὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν;
but no one is nearer to me than myself. What means this? I have heard the reasonings of philosophers, and assented to them; yet, in fact, I am not the more relieved. Am I so stupid?
οὐ θέλεις οὖν ἀφεὶς τοὺς ἄλλους αὐτὸς σαυτῷ γενέσθαι καὶ μαθητὴς καὶ διδάσκαλος; ὄψονται οἱ ἄλλοι, εἰ λυσιτελεῖ αὐτοῖς παρὰ φύσιν ἔχειν καὶ διεξάγειν, ἐμοὶ δʼ οὐδείς ἐστιν ἐγγίων ἐμοῦ.
And yet, in other things to which I had an inclination, I was not found very stupid; but I quickly learned grammar and the exercises of the palaestra, and geometry, and the solution of syllogisms. Has not reason, then, convinced me? And yet there is no one of the other things that I so much approved or liked from the very first. And now I read concerning these subjects, I hear discourses upon them, I write about them, and I have not yet found any principle more sure then this.
τί οὖν τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι τοὺς μὲν λόγους ἀκήκοα τοὺς τῶν φιλοσόφων καὶ συγκατατίθεμαι αὐτοῖς, ἔργῳ δʼ οὐδὲν γέγονα κουφότερος; μή τι οὕτως ἀφυής εἰμι; καὶ μὴν περὶ τὰ ἄλλα, ὅσα ἐβουλήθην, οὐ λίαν ἀφυὴς εὑρέθην, ἀλλὰ καὶ γράμματα ταχέως ἔμαθον καὶ παλαίειν καὶ γεωμετρεῖν καὶ συλλογισμοὺς ἀναλύειν.
What, then, do I need? Is not this the difficulty, that the contrary principles are not removed out of my mind? Is it not that I have not strengthened these opinions by exercise, nor practised them in action;
μή τι οὖν οὐ πέπεικέ με ὁ λόγος; καὶ μὴν οὐκ ἄλλα τινὰ οὕτως ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐδοκίμασα ἣ εἱλόμην καὶ νῦν περὶ τούτων ἀναγιγνώσκω, ταῦτα ἀκούω, ταῦτα γράφω· ἄλλον οὐχ εὑρήκαμεν μέχρι νῦν ἰσχυρότερον τούτου λόγον.
but, like arms thrown aside, they are grown rusty, and do not suit me? Yet neither in the palaestra, nor writing, nor reading, nor solving syllogisms, am I contented with merely learning; but I apply in every way the forms of arguments which are presented to me, and I invent others;
τί οὖν τὸ λεῖπόν μοι ἐστίν; μὴ οὐκ ἐξῄρηται τἀναντία δόγματα; μὴ αὐταὶ αἱ ὑπολήψεις ἀγύμναστοί εἰσιν οὐδʼ εἰθισμέναι ἀπαντᾶν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα, ἀλλʼ ὡς ὁπλάρια ἀποκείμενα κατίωται καὶ οὐδὲ περιαρμόσαι μοι δύναται;
and the same of convertible propositions. But the necessary principles by which I might become exempted from fear, grief, and passion, and be unrestrained and free, I do not exercise, nor bestow on them the proper care.
καίτοι οὔτʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ παλαίειν οὔτʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ γράφειν ἢ ἀναγιγνώσκειν ἀρκοῦμαι τῷ μαθεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἄνω κάτω στρέφω τοὺς προτεινομένους καὶ ἄλλους πλέκω καὶ μεταπίπτοντας ὡσαύτως.
And then I trouble myself what others will say of me; whether I shall appear to them worthy of regard; whether I shall appear happy. Will you not see, foolish man, what you can say of yourself;
τὰ δʼ ἀναγκαῖα θεωρήματα, ἀφʼ ὧν ἔστιν ὁρμώμενον ἄλυπον γενέσθαι, ἄφοβον ἀπαθῆ, ἀκώλυτον, ἐλεύθερον, ταῦτα δʼ οὐ γυμνάζω οὐδὲ μελετῶ κατὰ ταῦτα τὴν προσήκουσαν μελέτην.
what sort of person you appear to yourself in your opinions, in your desires, in your aversions, in your pursuits, in your preparation, in your intention, in the other proper works of a man?
εἶτά μοι μέλει, τί οἱ ἄλλοι περὶ ἐμοῦ ἐροῦσιν, εἰ φανοῦμαι αὐτοῖς ἀξιόλογος, εἰ φανοῦμαι εὐδαίμων;
But instead of that, do you trouble yourself whether others pity you? “Very true. But I am pitied without reason.” Then are you not pained by this?
ταλαίπωρε, οὐ θέλεις βλέπειν, τί σὺ λέγεις περὶ σαυτοῦ; τίς φαίνῃ σαυτῷ; τίς ἐν τῷ ὑπολαμβάνειν, τίς ἐν τῷ ὀρέγεσθαι, τίς ἐν τῷ ἐκκλίνειν· τίς ἐν ὁρμῇ, παρασκευῇ, ἐπιβολῇ, τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ἀνθρωπικοῖς ἔργοις;
And is not he who is in pain to be pitied? “Yes.” How, then, are you pitied without reason? For you render yourself worthy of pity by what you suffer upon being pitied. What says Antisthenes, then? Have you never heard?—“It is kingly, O Cyrus, to do well and to be ill spoken of.” My head is well, and all around me think it aches. What is that to me?
ἀλλὰ μέλει σοι, εἴ σε ἐλεοῦσιν οἱ ἄλλοι; — ναί· ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν ἀξίαν ἐλεοῦμαι. — οὐκοῦν ἐπὶ τούτῳ ὀδυνᾷ; ὁ δέ γε ὀδυνώμενος ἐλεεινός ἐστιν; — ναί. — πῶς οὖν ἔτι παρὰ ἀξίαν ἐλεῇ; αὐτοῖς γὰρ οἷς περὶ τὸν ἔλεον πάσχεις κατασκευάζεις σεαυτὸν ἄξιον τοῦ ἐλεεῖσθαι.
I am free from a fever; and they compassionate me as if I had one. “Poor soul, what a long while have you had this fever!”
τί οὖν λέγει Ἀντισθένης; οὐδέποτʼ ἤκουσας; βασιλικόν, ὦ Κῦρε, πράττειν μὲν εὖ, κακῶς δʼ ἀκούειν.
I say, too, with a dismal countenance, Ay, indeed, it is now a long time that I have been ill. “What can be the consequence, then?” What pleases God. And at the same time I secretly laugh at those who pity me. What forbids, then, but that the same may be done in the other case? I am poor, but I have right principles concerning poverty. What is it to me, then, if people pity me for my poverty? I am not in power and others are;
τὴν κεφαλὴν ὑγιᾶ ἔχω καὶ πάντες οἴονται ὅτι κεφαλαλγῶ. τί μοι μέλει; ἀπύρετός εἰμι καὶ ὡς πυρέσσοντί μοι συνάχθονται· τάλας, ἐκ τοσούτου χρόνου οὐ διέλειπες πυρέσσων. λέγω καὶ ἐγὼ σκυθρωπάσας ὅτι ναί· ταῖς ἀληθείαις πολὺς ἤδη χρόνος, ἐξ οὗ μοι κακῶς ἐστιν. τί οὖν γένηται; ὡς ἂν ὁ θεὸς θέλῃ. καὶ ἅμα ὑποκαταγελῶ τῶν οἰκτειρόντων με.
but I have such opinions as I ought to have concerning power and the want of power. Let them see to it who pity me. I am neither hungry, nor thirsty, nor cold. But because they are hungry and thirsty, they suppose me to be so too. What can I do for them?
τί οὖν κωλύει καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁμοίως; πένης εἰμί, ἀλλὰ ὀρθὸν δόγμα ἔχω περὶ πενίας. τί οὖν μοι μέλει, εἴ μʼ ἐπὶ τῇ πενίᾳ ἐλεοῦσιν; οὐκ ἄρχω, ἄλλοι δʼ ἄρχουσιν. ἀλλʼ ὃ δεῖ ὑπειληφέναι, ὑπείληφα περὶ τοῦ ἄρχειν καὶ μὴ ἄρχειν.
Am I to go about making proclamation, and saying, Do not deceive yourselves, good people, I am very well; I care for neither poverty, nor want of power, nor anything else but right principles? These I possess unrestrained, and care for nothing further. But what trifling is this! How have I right principles when I am not contented to be what I am; but am in agony as to how I shall appear? “But others will get more, and be preferred to me.”
ὄψονται οἱ ἐλεοῦντές με, ἐγὼ δʼ οὔτε πεινῶ οὔτε διψῶ οὔτε ῥιγῶ, ἀλλʼ ἀφʼ ὧν αὐτοὶ πεινῶσιν ἢ διψῶσιν οἴονται κἀμέ. τί οὖν αὐτοῖς ποιήσω; περιερχόμενος κηρύσσω καὶ λέγω μὴ πλανᾶσθε, ἄνδρες, ἐμοὶ καλῶς ἐστιν· οὔτε πενίας ἐπιστρέφομαι οὔτε ἀναρχίας οὔτε ἁπλῶς ἄλλου οὐδενὸς ἢ δογμάτων ὀρθῶν· ταῦτα ἔχω ἀκώλυτα, οὐδενὸς πεφρόντικα ἔτι;
Well, what is more reasonable than that they who take pains for anything should get most in that particular direction in which they take pains?
καὶ τίς αὕτη φλυαρία; πῶς ἔτι ὀρθὰ δόγματα ἔχω μὴ ἀρκούμενος τῷ εἶναι ὅς εἰμι, ἀλλʼ ἐπτοημένος ὑπὲρ τοῦ δοκεῖν;
They have taken pains for power; you, for right principles. They, for riches; you, for a proper use of the phenomena of existence. See whether they have the advantage of you in that for which you have taken pains, and which they neglect; if they judge better concerning the natural bounds and limits of things;
ἀλλʼ ἄλλοι πλειόνων τεύξονται καὶ προτιμηθήσονται. — τί οὖν εὐλογώτερον ἢ τοὺς περί τι ἐσπουδακότας ἐν ἐκείνῳ πλεῖον ἔχειν, ἐν ᾧ ἐσπουδάκασιν; περὶ ἀρχὰς ἐσπουδάκασιν, σὺ περὶ δόγματα· καὶ περὶ πλοῦτον, σὺ περὶ τὴν χρῆσιν τῶν φαντασιῶν.
if their desires are less often disappointed than yours, their aversions less often incurred; if they aim better in their intentions, in their purposes, in their pursuits; if they preserve a becoming behavior as men, as sons, as parents, and so on with the other relations of life. But if they are in power, and you not, why will you not speak the truth to yourself; that you do nothing for the sake of power, but that they do everything?
ὅρα, εἰ ἐν τούτῳ σου πλέον ἔχουσιν, περὶ ὃ σὺ μὲν ἐσπούδακας, ἐκεῖνοι δʼ ἀμελοῦσιν· εἰ συγκατατίθενται μᾶλλον περὶ τὰ φυσικὰ μέτρα, εἰ ὀρέγονταί σου ἀναποτευκτότερον, εἰ ἐκκλίνουσιν ἀπεριπτωτότερον, εἰ ἐν ἐπιβολῇ, ἐν προθέσει, εἰ ἐν ὁρμῇ μᾶλλον εὐστοχοῦσιν, εἰ τὸ πρέπον σῴζουσιν ὡς ἄνδρες, ὡς υἱοί, ὡς γονεῖς, εἶθʼ ἑξῆς κατὰ τὰ ἄλλα τῶν σχέσεων ὀνόματα.
It were very reasonable that he who carefully seeks anything should be less successful than he who neglects it! “No; but since I take care to have right principles, it is more reasonable that I should excel.”
εἰ δʼ ἄρχουσιν ἐκεῖνοι, σὺ δʼ οὐ θέλεις σαυτῷ τὰς ἀληθείας εἰπεῖν, ὅτι σὺ μὲν οὐδὲν τούτου ἕνεκα ποιεῖς, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ πάντα, ἀλογώτατον δὲ τὸν ἐπιμελούμενόν τινος ἔλαττον φέρεσθαι [οὐ] ἢ τὸν ἀμελοῦντα;
Yes, in respect to what you take pains about, your principles. But give up to others the things in which they have taken more pains than you. Else it is just as if, because you have right principles, you should expect to aim an arrow better than an archer, or to forge better than a smith. In that case cease to take pains about principles, and apply yourself to those things which you wish to possess, and then begin crying, if you do not succeed;
⟨οὔ,⟩ ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ φροντίζω ἐγὼ δογμάτων ὀρθῶν, εὐλογώτερόν μέ ἐστιν ἄρχειν. — ἐν ᾧ φροντίζεις, ἐν δόγμασιν· ἐν ᾧ δʼ ἄλλοι μᾶλλόν σου πεφροντίκασιν, ἐκείνοις παραχώρει. οἷον εἰ διὰ τὸ δόγματα ἔχειν ὀρθὰ ἠξίους τοξεύων μᾶλλον ἐπιτυγχάνειν τῶν τοξοτῶν ἢ χαλκεύων μᾶλλον τῶν χαλκέων.
for you deserve to cry. But now you claim that you are engaged and absorbed in other things;
ἄφες οὖν τὴν περὶ τὰ δόγματα σπουδὴν καὶ περὶ ἐκεῖνα ἀναστρέφου, ἃ κτήσασθαι θέλεις, καὶ τότε κλαῖε, ἐάν σοι μὴ προχωρῇ· κλαίειν γὰρ ἄξιος εἶ.
and they say well that no man can be of two trades. One man, as soon as he rises and goes out, seeks to whom he may pay his compliments, whom he may flatter, to whom he may send a present, how he may please the favorite;
νῦν δὲ πρὸς ἄλλοις γίνεσθαι λέγεις, ἄλλων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, οἱ πολλοὶ δὲ τοῦτο καλῶς λέγουσιν, ὅτι ἔργον ἔργῳ οὐ κοινωνεῖ.
how, by doing mischief to one, he may oblige another. Whenever he prays, he prays for things like these; whenever he sacrifices, he sacrifices for things like these.
ὁ μὲν ἐξ ὄρθρου ἀναστὰς ζητεῖ, τίνα ἐξ οἴκου ἀσπάσηται, τίνι κεχαρισμένον λόγον εἴπῃ, τίνι δῶρον πέμψῃ, πῶς τῷ ὀρχηστῇ ἀρέσῃ, πῶς κακοηθισάμενος ἄλλον ἄλλῳ χαρίσηται.
To these he transfers the Pythagorean precept,—Let not the stealing god of Sleep surprise. Where have I failed in point of flattery? What have I done,—anything like a free, brave-spirited man?
ὅταν εὔχηται, περὶ τούτων εὔχεται· ὅταν θύῃ, ἐπὶ τούτοις θύει· τὸ τοῦ Πυθαγόρου μὴ δʼ ὕπνον μαλακοῖσιν ἐπʼ ὄμμασι προσδέξασθαι ἐνταῦθα παρατέθεικεν.
If he should find anything of this sort, he rebukes and accuses himself. “What business had you to say that? For could you not have lied? Even the philosophers say there is no objection against telling a lie.” But, on the other hand, if you have in reality been careful about nothing else but to make a right use of the phenomena of existence;
πῇ παρέβην; τῶν πρὸς κολακείαν. τί ἔρεξα; μή τι ὡς ἐλεύθερος, μή τι ὡς γενναῖος; κἂν εὕρῃ τι τοιοῦτον, ἐπιτιμᾷ ἑαυτῷ καὶ ἐγκαλεῖ τί γάρ σοι καὶ τοῦτο εἰπεῖν; οὐ γὰρ ἐνῆν ψεύσασθαι; λέγουσιν καὶ οἱ φιλόσοφοι, ὅτι οὐδὲν κωλύει ψεῦδος εἰπεῖν.
then, as soon as you are up in the morning, consider what you need in order to be free from passion; what, to enjoy tranquillity? “In what do I consist,—merely in body, in estate, in reputation? None of these. What, then? I am a reasonable creature.
σὺ δʼ εἴπερ ταῖς ἀληθείαις οὐδενὸς ἄλλου πεφρόντικας ἢ χρήσεως οἵας δεῖ φαντασιῶν, εὐθὺς ἀναστὰς ἕωθεν ἐνθυμοῦ τίνα μοι λείπει πρὸς ἀπάθειαν; τίνα πρὸς ἀταραξίαν; τίς εἰμι; μή τι σωμάτιον, μή τι κτῆσις, μή τι φήμη; οὐδὲν τούτων. ἀλλὰ τί; λογικόν εἰμι ζῷον.
What, then, is required of me?” Meditate upon your actions. Where have I failed in any requisite for prosperity? What have I done, either unfriendly or unsocial? What have I omitted that was necessary in these points?
τίνα οὖν τὰ ἀπαιτήματα; ἀναπόλει τὰ πεπραγμένα. πῇ παρέβην τῶν πρὸς εὔροιαν; τί ἔρεξα ἢ ἄφιλον ἢ ἀκοινώνητον ἢ ἄγνωμον; τί μοι δέον οὐκ ἐτελέσθη πρὸς ταῦτα;
Since there is so much difference, then, in your desires, your actions, your wishes, would you yet have an equal share with others in those things about which you have not taken pains, and they have?
τοσαύτης οὖν διαφορᾶς οὔσης τῶν ἐπιθυμουμένων, τῶν ἔργων, τῶν εὐχῶν ἔτι θέλεις τὸ ἴσον ἔχειν ἐκείνοις, περὶ ἃ σὺ μὲν οὐκ ἐσπούδακας, ἐκεῖνοι δʼ ἐσπουδάκασιν;
And do you wonder, after all, and are you out of humor, if they pity you? But they are not out of humor, if you pity them. Why? Because they are convinced that they are in possession of their proper good;
εἶτα θαυμάζεις, εἴ σʼ ἐλεοῦσιν, καὶ ἀγανακτεῖς; ἐκεῖνοι δʼ οὐκ ἀγανακτοῦσιν, εἰ σὺ αὐτοὺς ἐλεεῖς. διὰ τί; ὅτι ἐκεῖνοι μὲν πεπεισμένοι εἰσίν, ὅτι ἀγαθῶν τυγχάνουσιν, σὺ δʼ οὐ πέπεισαι.
but you are not convinced that you are. Hence you are not contented with your own condition, but desire theirs; whereas they are contented with theirs, and do not desire yours. For if you were really convinced that it is you who are in possession of what is good, and that they are mistaken, you would not so much as think what they say about you.
διὰ τοῦτο σὺ μὲν οὐκ ἀρκῇ τοῖς σοῖς, ἀλλʼ ἐφίεσαι τῶν ἐκείνων· ἐκεῖνοι δʼ ἀρκοῦνται τοῖς ἑαυτῶν καὶ οὐκ ἐφίενται τῶν σῶν. ἐπεί τοι εἰ ταῖς ἀληθείαις ἐπέπεισο, ὅτι περὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ σὺ ὁ ἐπιτυγχάνων εἶ, ἐκεῖνοι δʼ ἀποπεπλάνηνται, οὐδʼ ἂν ἐνεθυμοῦ, τί λέγουσι περὶ σοῦ.