We are not therefore to lament those who die in the bloom of their years, as if they were spoiled of things which we call enjoyments in a longer life; for it is uncertain, as we have often said, whether they are deprived of good or evil, for the evil in the world far exceeds the good. The good we obtain hardly and with anxious endeavor, but the evil easily befalls us; for they say evils are linked together, and by a mutual dependence of causes follow one another, but the good lie scattered and disjoined, and with great difficulty are brought within the compass of our life. Therefore we seem to have forgot our condition; for not only is it true, as Euripides hath it, thatThe things we do possess are not our own;but in general no man can claim a strict propriety in any thing he hath:—When Gods do riches lend, it is but justThat when they please we should resign our trust.We ought not therefore to take it amiss if they demand those things which they lent us only for a small time; for even your common brokers, unless they are unjust, will not be displeased if they are called upon to refund their pawns, and if one of them is not altogether so ready to deliver them, thou mayst say to him without any injury, Hast thou forgot that thou receivedst them upon the condition to restore them? The same parity of reason holds amongst all men. The Gods have put life into our hands by a fatal necessity, and there is no prefixed time when what is so deposited will be required of us, as the brokers know not when their pawns will be demanded. If therefore any one is angry when he is dying himself, or resents the death of his children, is it not very plain, that he hath forgot that he himself is a man and that he hath begotten children as frail as himself? For a man that is in his wits cannot be ignorant that he is a mortal creature, and born to this very end that he must die. If Niobe, as it is in the fable, had had this sentence always at hand, that she must at length die, and could notIn the ever-flowering bloom of youth remain,Nor loaded with children, like a fruitful tree,Behold the sun’s sweet light,—she would never have sunk to such a degree of desperation as to desire to throw off her life to ease the burthen of her sorrow, and call upon the Gods to hurry her into the utmost destruction. There are two sentences inscribed upon the Delphic oracle, hugely accommodated to the usages of man’s life, KNOW THYSELF, and NOTHING TOO MUCH; and upon these all other precepts depend. And they themselves accord and harmonize with each other, and each seems to illustrate the energy of the other; for in Know thyself is included Nothing too much; and so again in the latter is comprised Know thyself. And Ion hath spoken of it thus:—This sentence, Know thyself, is but a word;But only Jove himself could do the thing.And thus Pindar:—This sentence briet, Do nothing to excess,Wise men have always praised exceedingly.
οὐ χρὴ οὖν τοὺς ἀποθνήσκοντας νέους θρηνεῖν ὅτι τῶν ἐν τῷ μακρῷ βίῳ νομιζομένων ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστέρηνται· τοῦτο γὰρ ἄδηλον, ὡς πολλάκις εἴπομεν, εἴτʼ ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστερημένοι τυγχάνουσιν εἴτε κακῶν· πολλῷ γὰρ πλείονα τὰ κακά. καὶ τὰ μὲν μόγις καὶ διὰ πολλῶν φροντίδων κτώμεθα, τὰ δὲ κακὰ πάνυ ῥᾳδίως στρογγύλα γὰρ εἶναί φασι ταῦτα καὶ συνεχῆ καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα φερόμενα κατὰ πολλὰς αἰτίας, τὰ δʼ ἀγαθὰ διεχῆ τε καὶ δυσκόλως συνερχόμενα πρὸς αὐτοῖς τοῦ βίου τοῖς τέρμασιν. ἐπιλελησμένοις οὖν ἐοίκαμεν ὅτι οὐ μόνον, ὥς φησιν Εὐριπίδης, τὰ χρήματα οὐκ ἴδια κέκτηνται βροτοί, ἀλλʼ ἁπλῶς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων οὐδέν. διὸ καὶ ἐπὶ πάντων λέγειν χρὴτὰ τῶν θεῶν δʼ ἔχοντες ἐπιμελούμεθα.ὅταν δὲ χρῄζωσʼ αὔτʼ ἀφαιροῦνται πάλιν.οὐ δεῖ οὖν δυσφορεῖν, ἐὰν ἃ ἔχρησαν ἡμῖν πρὸς ὀλίγον, ταῦτʼ ἀπαιτῶσιν οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ τραπεζῖται, καθάπερ εἰώθαμεν λέγειν πολλάκις, ἀπαιτούμενοι τὰ θέματα δυσχεραίνουσιν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποδόσει, ἐάνπερ εὐγνωμονῶσι. πρὸς γὰρ τοὺς οὐκ εὐμαρῶς ἀποδιδόντας εἰκότως ἄν τις εἴποι ἐπελάθου ὅτι ταῦτʼ ἔλαβες ἐπὶ τῷ ἀποδοῦναι; τοῦτο δὴ τοῖς θνητοῖς ἅπασι συμβέβηκεν. ἔχομεν γὰρ τὸ ζῆν ὥσπερ παρὰ καταθεμένοις θεοῖς ἐξ ἀνάγκης, καὶ τούτου χρόνος οὐδείς ἐστιν ὡρισμένος τῆς ἀποδόσεως, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τοῖς τραπεζίταις τῆς τῶν θεμάτων, ἀλλʼ ἄδηλον πόθʼ ὁ δοὺς ἀπαιτήσει. ὁ οὖν ἢ αὐτὸς μέλλων ἀποθνήσκειν ἢ τέκνων ἀποθανόντων ὑπεραγανακτῶν πῶς οὐ καταφανῶς ἐπιλέλησται ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ἄνθρωπός ἐστι καὶ τὰ τέκνα θνητὰ ἐγέννησεν; οὐ γάρ ἐστι φρένας ἔχοντος ἀνθρώπου ἀγνοεῖν ὅτι ὁ ἄνθρωπος ζῷόν ἐστι θνητόν, οὐδʼ ὅτι γέγονεν εἰς τὸ ἀποθανεῖν. εἰ γοῦν ἡ Νιόβη κατὰ τοὺς μύθους πρόχειρον εἶχε τὴν ὑπόληψιν ταύτην ὅτι καὶ ἡθαλέθοντι βίῳβλάσταις τε τέκνων βριθομένα γλυκερὸνφάος ὁρῶσατελευτήσει, οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἐδυσχέραινεν ὡς καὶ τὸ ζῆν ἐθέλειν ἐκλιπεῖν διὰ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς συμφορᾶς, καὶ τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπικαλεῖσθαι ἀνάρπαστον αὐτὴν γενέσθαι πρὸς ἀπώλειαν τὴν χαλεπωτάτην. δύʼ ἐστὶ τῶν Δελφικῶν γραμμάτων τὰ μάλιστʼ ἀναγκαιότατα πρὸς τὸν βίον, τὸ γνῶθι σαυτὸν καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν· ἐκ τούτων γὰρ ἤρτηται καὶ τἄλλα πάντα. ταῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ἀλλήλοις συνῳδὰ καὶ σύμφωνα, καὶ διὰ θατέρου θάτερον ἔοικε δηλοῦσθαι κατὰ δύναμιν. ἔν τε γὰρ τῷ γιγνώσκειν ἑαυτὸν· περιέχεται τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὸ γιγνώσκειν ἑαυτόν. διὸ καὶ περὶ μὲν τούτου φησὶν ὁ Ἴων οὕτωςτὸ γνῶθι σαυτὸν τοῦτʼ ἔπος μὲν οὐ μέγα,ἔργον δʼ ὅσον Ζεὺς μόνος· ἐπίσταται θεῶν,ὁ δὲ Πίνδαροςσοφοὶ δέ φησὶ καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν ἔπος αἴνησανπερισσῶς
He therefore that hath these impressed upon his mind as the precepts of the Pythian oracle, can easily conform himself to all the affairs of life, and bear them handsomely; considering his nature, so that he is neither lifted up to arrogance upon a prosperous event, nor when an adverse happens, is dejected into complaint through pusillanimity and that fear of death which is so congenial to us; both which proceed from the ignorance of those things which fall out in human life by necessity and fatal decree. The Pythagoreans speak handsomely to this purpose—Against those evils thou shouldest not repine,Which are inflicted by the powers divine.Thus the tragedian Aeschylus:—He store of wisdom and of virtue hath,Whom nothing from the Gods provokes to wrath.Euripides thus:—He that is passive when the Fates commandIs wise, and all the Gods doth understand.In another place so:—He that can bear those things which men befall,Him wise and modest we may justly call.
ταῦτʼ οὖν ἐν διανοίᾳ τις ἔχων ὡς πυθόχρηστα παραγγέλματα πρὸς πάντα τὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα ῥᾳδίως ἐφαρμόζειν δυνήσεται καὶ φέρειν αὐτὰ δεξιῶς, εἴς τε τὴν αὑτοῦ φύσιν ἀφορῶν καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ πέρα τοῦ προσήκοντος ἐν τοῖς προσπίπτουσιν ἢ διαίρεσθαι πρὸς ἀλαζονείαν ἢ ταπεινοῦσθαι καὶ καταπίπτειν πρὸς οἴκτους καὶ ὀλοφυρμοὺς διὰ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀσθένειαν καὶ τὸν ἐμφυόμενον ἡμῖν τοῦ θανάτου φόβον παρὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν εἰωθότων ἐν τῷ βίῳ συμβαίνειν κατὰ τὴν τῆς ἀνάγκης ἢ πεπρωμένης μοῖραν. καλῶς δʼ οἱ Πυθαγόρειοι παρεκελεύσαντο λέγοντεςὅσσα δὲ δαιμονίῃσι τύχαις βροτοὶ ἄλγεʼ ἔχουσιν,ἣν ἂν μοῖραν ἔχῃς, ταύτην ἔχε μηδʼ ἀγανάκτεικαὶ ὁ τραγικὸς Αἰσχύλοςἀνδρῶν γάρ ἐστιν ἐνδίκων τε καὶ σοφῶνκἀν τοῖσι δεινοῖς μὴ τεθυμῶσθαι θεοῖςκαὶ ὁ Εὐριπίδηςὅστις δʼ ἀνάγκῃ συγκεχώρηκεν βροτῶνσοφὸς παρʼ ἡμῖν καὶ τὰ θεῖʼ ἐπίσταταικαὶ ἐν ἄλλοιςτὰ προσπεσόντα δʼ ὅστις εὖ φέρει βροτῶν,ἄριστος εἶναι σωφρονεῖν τέ μοι δοκεῖ
But many there are who blame all things; and whatsoever unexpectedly happens to them, they think is procured them by the malignity of Fortune and the spite of some evil genius. Wherefore they are querulous and cry out upon every occasion, inveighing against the bitterness of their mishaps. Their complaints we may not unfitly obviate with this expression,—The Gods do hurt thee not, but thou thyself,—even thou thyself through perverseness and want of good instruction. And by reason of this false and deceiving opinion they accuse any kind of death; for if one die upon his travel, they exclaim after this manner:—The wretch, his father being absent, dies;Nor did his aged mother close his eyes.If he die in his own country, with his parents about him, they lament that he is ravished out of their hands, and hath left them nothing but regret for his loss. If he die silent, giving them no instructions at parting, they complain thus:— His tender dying words I (lid not hear, Which I in my remembrance still should bear. If he spoke any thing before he breathed out his soul, they keep those last accents as fuel to maintain their sorrow still kindled. If he die a sudden death, they cry out that he is snatched away; if chronical pains waste him, they will tell you that the slow distemper hath emaciated him to death. Thus every appearance, take it which way you will, is sufficient to stir up your complaints. These thingsthe poets have introduced, and the chiefest among them, Homer, who sung after this manner:—As a poor father, helpless and undone,Mourns o’er the ashes of an only son,Takes a sad pleasure the last bones to burn,And pours in tears ere yet they close the urn.And whether these things are justly lamented doth not yet appear. But see what he elsewhere sings:—Born in his elder years, his only boy,Who was designed his riches to enjoy.
οἱ δὲ πολλοὶ πάντα καταμέμφονται καὶ πάντα τὰ παρὰ τὰς ἐλπίδας αὐτοῖς συμβεβηκότα ἐξ ἐπηρείας τύχης καὶ δαιμόνων γενέσθαι νομίζουσι. διὸ καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ὀδύρονται, στένοντες καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀτυχίαν αἰτιώμενοι. πρὸς οὓς ὑποτυχὼν ἄν τις εἴποιθεὸς δέ σοι πῆμʼ οὐδὲν ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς σὺ σοίκαὶ ἡ διὰ τὴν ἀπαιδευσίαν ἄνοια καὶ παραφροσύνη. διὰ ταύτην γοῦν τὴν διηπατημένην καὶ ψευδῆ δόξαν πάντα καταμέμφονται θάνατον. ἐὰν μὲν γὰρ ἐν ἀποδημίᾳ τις ὢν ἀποθάνῃ, στένουσιν ἐπιλέγοντεςδύσμορος, οὐδʼ ἄρα τῷ γε πατὴρ καὶ πότνιαμήτηρὄσσε καθαιρήσουσινἐὰν δʼ ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας πατρίδος παρόντων τῶν γονέων, ὀδύρονται ὡς ἐξαρπασθέντος ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν καὶ τὴν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ὀδύνην αὐτοῖς ἀφέντος. ἐὰν δʼ ἄφωνος μηδὲν προσειπὼν περὶ μηδενός, κλαίοντες λέγουσινοὐδέ τί μοι εἶπας πυκινὸν ἔπος, οὗ τέ κεν αἰείμεμνῄμηνἐὰν προσομιλήσας τι, τοῦτʼ ἀεὶ πρόχειρον ἔχουσιν ὥσπερ ὑπέκκαυμα τῆς λύπης. ἐὰν ταχέως, ὀδύρονται λέγοντες ἀνηρπάσθη. ἐὰν μακρῶς, μέμφονται ὅτι καταφθινήσας καὶ τιμωρηθεὶς ἀπέθανε. πᾶσα πρόφασις ἱκανὴ πρὸς τὸ τὰς λύπας καὶ τοὺς θρήνους συνεγείρειν. ταῦτα δʼ ἐκίνησαν οἱ ποιηταί, καὶ μάλιστα τούτων ὁ πρῶτος Ὅμηρος λέγωνὡς δὲ πατὴρ οὗ παιδὸς ὀδύρεται ὀστέα καίων,νυμφίου, ὅς τε θανὼν δειλοὺς ἀκάχησε τοκῆαςἄρρητον δὲ τοκεῦσι γόον καὶ πένθος ἔθηκεκαὶ ταῦτα μὲν οὔπω δῆλον εἰ δικαίως ὀδύρεται, ἀλλʼ ὅρα τὸ ἑξῆςμοῦνος τηλύγετος πολλοῖσιν ἐπὶ κτεάτεσσι.
Who knows but that the Deity, with a fatherly providence and out of tenderness to mankind, foreseeing what would happen, hath taken some purposely out of this life by an untimely death? So we should think that nothing has befallen them which they should have sought to shun,— For nought that cometh by necessity is hard, neither of those things which fall out by a precedent ratiocination or a subsequent. And many by a timely death have been withdrawn from greater calamities; so that it hath been good for some never to have been born at all; for others, that as soon as life hath been blown in it should be extinguished; for some, that they should live a little longer; and for others again, that they should be cropped in the prime of their youth. These several sorts of deaths should be taken in good part, since Fate is inevitable. Therefore it becomes men well educated to consider that those who have paid their debt to mortality have only gone before us a little time; that the longest life is but as a point in respect of eternity, and that many who have indulged their sorrow to excess have themselves followed in a small while those that they have lamented, having reaped no profit out of their complaints, but macerated themselves with voluntary afflictions. Since then the time of our pilgrimage in this life is but short, we ought not to consume ourselves with sordid grief, and so render ourselves unhappy by afflicting our minds and tormenting our bodies; but we should endeavor after a more manly and rational sort of life, and not associate ourselves with those who will be companions in grief and by flattering our tears will only excite them the more, but rather with those who will diminish our grief by solemn and generous consolation. And we ought to hear and keep in our remembrance those words of Homer wherewith Hector answers Andromache, comforting her after this manner:— Andromache, my soul’s far better part, Why with untimely sorrows heaves thy heart No hostile hand can antedate my doom, Till Fate condemns me to the silent tomb. Fix’d is the term to all the race of earth, And such the hard condition of our birth: No force can then resist, no flight can save, All sinkalike, the fearful and the brave. Which the poet expresseth in another place thus: The thread which at his birth for him was spun.
τίς γὰρ οἶδεν, εἰ ὁ θεὸς πατρικῶς κηδόμενος τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου γένους καὶ προορώμενος τὰ μέλλοντα συμβήσεσθαι προεξάγει τινὰς ἐκ τοῦ ζῆν ἀώρους; ὅθεν οὐδὲν φευκτὸν νομιστέον αὐτοὺς πάσχειν(δεινὸν γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν ἀναγκαίων βροτοῖςοὔτε τῶν κατὰ προηγούμενον λόγον συμβαινόντων οὔτε τῶν κατʼ ἐπακολούθησιν) καὶ ὅτι οἱ πλεῖστοι θάνατοι πρὸ ἄλλων δυσχερῶν μειζόνων γίγνονται, καὶ ὅτι τοῖς μὲν οὐδὲ γενέσθαι συνέφερε, τοῖς δʼ ἅμα τῷ γενέσθαι ἀποθανεῖν, τοῖς δὲ προελθοῦσιν ἐπὶ μικρὸν τοῖς δʼ ἀκμάζουσι. πρὸς πάντας δὴ τούτους τοὺς θανάτους ἐλαφρῶς ἑκτέον, εἰδότας ὅτι τὴν μοῖραν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκφυγεῖν πεπαιδευμένων δʼ ἐστὶν ἀνθρώπων προσειληφέναι ὅτι βραχὺν χρόνον προειλήφασιν ἡμᾶς οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄωροι τοῦ ζῆν ἐστερῆσθαι· καὶ γὰρ ὁ μακρότατος βίος ὀλίγος ἐστὶ καὶ στιγμαῖος πρὸς τὸν ἄπειρον αἰῶνα καὶ ὅτι πολλοὶ τῶν ἐπὶ πλέον πενθησάντων μετʼ οὐ πολὺ τοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτῶν κατοδυρθεῖσιν ἐπηκολούθησαν, οὐδὲν ἐκ τοῦ πένθους ὄφελος περιποιησάμενοι, μάτην δʼ ἑαυτοὺς, καταικισάμενοι ταῖς κακουχίαις. βραχυτάτου δὲ τοῦ τῆς ἐπιδημίας ὄντος ἐν τῷ βίῳ χρόνου, οὐκ ἐν ταῖς αὐχμηραῖς λύπαις οὐδʼ ἐν τῷ κακοδαιμονεστάτῳ πένθει διαφθείρειν ἑαυτοὺς δεῖ ταῖς ὀδύναις καὶ ταῖς τοῦ σώματος αἰκίαις παρατεινομένους, ἀλλὰ μεταβάλλειν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖσσον καὶ ἀνθρωπικώτερον, πειρωμένους καὶ σπουδάζοντας ἐντυγχάνειν ἀνδράσι τοῖς συλλυπουμένοις καὶ διεγείρουσι τὰ πένθη διὰ κολακείαν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀφαιρουμένοις τὰς λύπας διὰ τῆς γενναίας καὶ σεμνῆς παρηγορίας, ἐπακούοντας καὶ ἔχοντας ἐν νῷ τὸ Ὁμηρικὸν τοῦτʼ ἔπος, ὅπερ ὁ Ἕκτωρ πρὸς τὴν Ἀνδρομάχην ἀντιπαρηγορῶν αὐτὴν εἶπεν ὡδίδαιμονίη, μή μοί τι λίην ἀκαχίζεο θυμῷοὐ γάρ τίς μʼ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν ἀνὴρ Ἄιδι προϊάψει,μοῖραν δʼ οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναιἀνδρῶν,οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλόν, ἐπὴν τὰ πρῶταγένηταιταύτην δὲ τὴν μοῖραν ἐν ἄλλοις ὁ ποιητής φησιγεινομένῳ ἐπένησε λίνῳ, ὅτε μιν τέκε μήτηρ
Having these things fixed in our minds, all vain and fiuitless sorrow will be superseded; the time that we have all to live being but very short, we ought to spare and husband it, and not lay it out too prodigally upon sorrow, but rather spend it in tranquillity, deserting the mournful colors, and so take care of our own bodies, and consult the safety of those who live with us. It is requisite that we should call to mind what reasons we urged to our kinsmen and friends when they were in the like calamities, when we exhorted them to suffer these usual accidents of life with a common patience, and bear mortal things with humanity; lest being prepared with instructions for other men’s misfortunes, we reap no benefit ourselves out of the remembrance of those consolations, and so do not cure our minds by the sovereign application of reason. For in any thing a delay is less dangerous than in sorrow;, and when by every one it is so tritely said, that he that procrastinates in an affair contests with destruction, I think the character will more fitly sit upon him who defers the removing his troubles and the perturbations of his mind.
ταῦτα πρὸ διανοίας λαβόντες τῆς ἀπράκτου καὶ κενῆς ἀπαλλαγησόμεθα βαρυπενθείας, ὀλίγου δὴ παντάπασι τοῦ μεταξὺ χρόνου τῆς ζωῆς ὄντος. φειστέον οὖν, ὅπως εὔθυμόν τε καὶ ἀπαρενόχλητον τοῦτον ταῖς πενθικαῖς λύπαις διαγάγωμεν, τὰ τοῦ πένθους παράσημα μεθέμενοι καὶ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἐπιμελείας φροντίσαντες καὶ τῆς τῶν συμβιούντων ἡμῖν σωτηρίας. καλὸν δὲ καὶ μεμνῆσθαι τῶν λόγων, οἷς κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἐχρησάμεθά ποτε πρὸς συγγενεῖς ἢ φίλους ἐν ταῖς παραπλησίοις γενομένους συμφοραῖς, παραμυθούμενοι καὶ πείθοντες τὰ κοινὰ τοῦ βίου συμπτώματα κοινῶς φέρειν καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα ἀνθρωπίνως, καὶ μὴ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἐπαρκεῖν πρὸς ἀλυπίαν δύνασθαι, ἑαυτοῖς δὲ μηδὲν ὄφελος εἶναι τὴν τούτων ὑπόμνησιν, διʼ ὧν δεῖ τὸ ἀλγοῦν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀποθεραπεύειν παιωνίοις λόγου φαρμάκοις, ὡς πάντων μᾶλλον ἢ ἀλυπίας ἀναβολὴν δεῖ ποιεῖσθαι. καίτοι γε τὸν ἐν ὁτῳοῦν ἀμβολιεργὸν ἄταις φησὶ παλαίειν, τὸ κυκλούμενον τοῦτο παρὰ πᾶσιν ἔπος· πολὺ δʼ οἶμαι μᾶλλον τὸν ὑπερτιθέμενον τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀχθεινὰ πάθη καὶ δυσάντητα πρὸς τὸν ἐπιόντα χρόνον.
We ought also to cast our eyes upon those conspicuous examples who have borne the deaths of their sons generously and with a great spirit; such as were Anaxagoras of Clazomenae, Demosthenes of Athens, Dion of Syracuse, King Antigonus, and many others who have lived either in our times or in the memory of our fathers. They report of Anaxagoras that, when he was reading natural philosophy to his pupils and reasoning with them, sudden news was brought him of the death of his son. He presently stopped short in his lecture, and said this to his auditors, I knew that I begot my son mortal. And of Pericles, who was surnamed Olympius for his wisdom and the strength of his eloquence, when he heard that both his sons were dead, Paralus and Xanthippus, how he behaved himself upon this accident Protagoras tells us in these words. “When his sons,” saith he, “being in the first verdure of their youth and handsome lads, died within eight days, he bore the calamity without any repining; for he was of a pacific temper, from whence there was every day an accession of advantages towards the making him happy, the being free from grief, and thereby acquiring a great reputation amongst his fellow-citizens. For every one that saw him bear this calamity with so brave a resolution thought him magnanimous, and indeed entertained an higher opinion of him than he strictly deserved; for he was conscious to himself of some weakness and defects in cases of this nature.” Now after he had received the news of the death of his sons, he put on a garland according to the custom of his country, and being clothed in white, he made an harangue to the people, was the author of safe and rational counsels, and stirred up the courage of his Athenians to warlike expeditions. Chronicles tell us, that when an express came out of the field to Xenophon the Socratic as he was sacrificing, which acquainted him that his son perished in the fight, he pulled the garland from his head, and enquired after what manner he fell; and it being told him that he died gallantly, making a great slaughter of his enemies, after he had paused awhile to recollect his thoughts and quiet his first emotion of concern with reason, he adorned his head again, finished the sacrifice, and spoke thus to the messengers: I did not make it my request to the Gods, that my son might be immortal or long-lived, for it is not manifest whether this was convenient for him or not, but that he might have integrity in his principles and be a lover of his country; and now I have my desire. Dion of Syracuse, as he was consulting with his friends concerning some affairs, heard a great noise; and crying out and asking what was the matter, he was told the accident, that his son was killed with a fall from the top of the house. He was not at all surprised or astonished at the disaster, but commanded the dead body to be delivered to the women, that they might bury it according to custom. But he went on with his first deliberations, and re-assumed his discourse in that part where this accident had broken it off. It is said that Demosthenes the orator imitated him upon the loss of his only and dearest daughter; about which Aeschines, thinking to upbraid him, spoke after this manner: Within seven days after the death of his daughter, before he had performed the decencies of sorrow, and paid those common rites to the memory of the deceased, he put on a garland, clothed himself in white, and sacrificed, thereby outraging decency, though he had lost his only daughter, the one which had first called him father. Thus did Aeschines with the strokes of his oratory accuse Demosthenes, not knowing that he rather deserved a panegyric upon this occasion, when he rejected his sorrow and preferred the love of his country to the tenderness and compassion he ought to have for his relations. King Antigonus, when he heard the death of his son Alcyoneus who was slain in battle, looking steadily upon the messengers of these sad tidings, after a little interval of silence and with a modest countenance, spoke thus: O Alcyoneus, thou hast fallen later than I thought thou wouldst, so brisk wast thou to run upon the thickest of thy enemies, having no regard either to thy own safety or to my admonitions. Every one praiseth these men for the bravery of their spirit, but none can imitate what they have done, through the weakness of their minds which proceeds from want of good instruction. But although there are many examples extant, both in the Greek and Roman stories, of those who have borne the death of their relations not only with decency but courage, I think these that I have related to be a sufficient motive to thee to keep tormenting grief at a distance, and so ease thyself of that labor which hath no profit in it and is all in vain.
ἀποβλέπειν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς εὐγενῶς καὶ μεγαλοφρόνως τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς γενομένους θανάτους καὶ πράως ὑποστάντας, Ἀναξαγόραν τὸν Κλαζομένιον καὶ Δημοσθένη τὸν Ἀθηναῖον καὶ Δίωνα τὸν Συρακόσιον καὶ τὸν βασιλέα Ἀντίγονον, καὶ συχνοὺς ἄλλους τῶν τε παλαιῶν καὶ τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς. τούτων γὰρ Ἀναξαγόραν παρειλήφαμεν, ὥς φασι, φυσιολογοῦντα καὶ διαλεγόμενον τοῖς γνωρίμοις, ἀκούσαντα παρά τινος τῶν ἀναγγειλάντων αὐτῷ τὴν περὶ τὸν υἱὸν τελευτήν, μικρὸν ἐπισχόντα πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας εἰπεῖν ᾔδειν ὅτι θνητὸν ἐγέννησα τὸν υἱόν. Περικλέα δὲ τὸν Ὀλύμπιον προσαγορευθέντα διὰ τὴν περὶ τὸν λόγον καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν ὑπερβεβλημένην δύναμιν, πυθόμενον ἀμφοτέρους αὐτοῦ τοὺς υἱοὺς μετηλλαχέναι τὸν βίον, Πάραλόν τε καὶ Ξάνθιππον, ὥς φησι Πρωταγόρας εἰπεῖν οὕτως τῶν γὰρ υἱέων νεηνιέων ἐόντων καὶ καλῶν, ἐν ὀκτὼ δὲ τῇσι πάσῃσι ἡμέρῃσι ἀποθανόντων νηπενθέως ἀνέτλη· εὐδίης γὰρ εἴχετο, ἐξ ἧς πολλὸν ὤνητο κατὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέρην εἰς εὐποτμίην καὶ ἀνωδυνίην καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖσι πολλοῖσι δόξαν· πᾶς γάρ τίς μιν ὁρέων τὰ ἑωυτοῦ πένθεα ἐρρωμένως φέροντα, μεγαλόφρονά τε καὶ ἀνδρήιον ἐδόκεε εἶναι καὶ ἑωυτοῦ κρέσσω, κάρτα εἰδὼς τὴν ἑωυτοῦ ἐν τοιοῖσδε πράγμασι ἀμηχανίην τοῦτον γὰρ εὐθὺς μετὰ τὴν προσαγγελίαν ἀμφοτέρων τῶν υἱέων οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐστεφανωμένον κατὰ τὸ πάτριον ἔθος καὶ λευχειμονοῦντα δημηγορεῖν βουλὰς τʼ ἐξάρχοντʼ ἀγαθὰς πρός τε τὸν πόλεμον ἐπιπαρορμῶντα τοὺς Ἀθηναίους. Ξενοφῶντα δὲ τὸν Σωκρατικὸν θύοντά ποτε, παρὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ πολέμου πυθόμενον ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Γρύλλος ἀγωνιζόμενος ἐτελεύτησε, περιελόμενον τὸν στέφανον ἐξετάζειν τίνα τρόπον ἐτελεύτησε. τῶν δὲ ἀπαγγειλάντων ὅτι γενναίως ἀριστεύων καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν πολεμίων κατακτείνας, μικρὸν παντελῶς διασιωπήσαντα χρόνον καὶ τῷ λογισμῷ τὸ πάθος παρακατασχόντα, ἐπιθέμενον πάλιν τὸν στέφανον ἐπιτελεῖν τὴν θυσίαν, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀγγέλους εἰπεῖν ὅτι θεοῖς ηὐξάμην οὐκ ἀθάνατον οὐδὲ πολυχρόνιον γενέσθαι μοι τὸν υἱὸν τὸ γὰρ τοιοῦτον ἄδηλον εἰ συμφέρει, ἀγαθὸν δὲ καὶ φιλόπατριν, ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονεν. Δίωνα δὲ τὸν Συρακόσιον συνεδρεύοντα μετὰ τῶν φίλων, κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν θορύβου γενομένου καὶ μεγάλης κραυγῆς, πυθόμενον τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ τὸ συμβεβηκὸς ἀκούσαντα ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ καταπεσὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ στέγους ἐτελεύτησεν, οὐδὲν ἐκπλαγέντα τὸ μὲν σωμάτιον κελεῦσαι τοῦ μεταλλάξαντος ταῖς γυναιξὶ παραδοῦναι πρὸς τὴν νόμιμον ταφήν, αὐτὸν δὲ περὶ ὧν διεσκέπτετο μὴ παραλιπεῖν. τοῦτον ζηλῶσαι λέγεται καὶ Δημοσθένην τὸν ῥήτορα, τὴν μόνην καὶ ἀγαπητὴν ἀπολέσαντα θυγατέρα, περὶ ἧς φησιν Αἰσχίνης, κατηγορεῖν αὐτοῦ δόξας, ταυτί. ἑβδόμην δʼ ἡμέραν τῆς θυγατρὸς αὐτῷ τετελευτηκυίας, πρὶν πενθῆσαι καὶ τὰ νομιζόμενα ποιῆσαι, στεφανωσάμενος καὶ λευκὴν ἐσθῆτα ἀναλαβὼν ἐβουθύτει καὶ παρενόμει, τὴν μόνην ὁ δείλαιος καὶ πρώτην αὐτὸν πατέρα προσειποῦσαν ἀπολέσας. οὗτος μὲν οὖν ῥητορικῶς προθέμενος αὐτοῦ κατηγορῆσαι ταῦτα διεξῆλθεν, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι διὰ τούτων αὐτὸν ἐπαινεῖ τὸ πενθεῖν παρωσάμενον καὶ τὸ φιλόπατρι πρὸ τῆς τῶν ἀναγκαίων συμπαθείας ἐπιδειξάμενον. Ἀντίγονον δὲ τὸν βασιλέα πυθόμενον τὴν Ἀλκυονέως τοῦ υἱοῦ τελευτὴν ἐν παρατάξει γενομένην μεγαλοφρόνως τε πρὸς τοὺς ἀπαγγείλαντας αὐτῷ τὴν συμφορὰν ἀπιδεῖν καὶ μικρὸν ἐπισχόντα καὶ κατηφιάσαντα προσειπεῖν ὦ Ἀλκυονεῦ, ὀψίτερον μετήλλαξας τὸν βίον, οὕτως ἀφειδῶς ἐξορμῶν πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους καὶ οὔτε τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας οὔτε τῶν ἐμῶν παραινέσεων φροντίζων Τούτους δὴ τοὺς ἄνδρας θαυμάζουσι μὲν τῆς μεγαλοφροσύνης πάντες καὶ ἄγανται, μιμεῖσθαι δʼ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων οὐ δύνανται διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀπαιδευσίας ἀσθένειαν τῆς ψυχῆς. πλὴν πολλῶν ὄντων παραδειγμάτων τῶν διὰ τῆς ἱστορίας ἡμῖν παραδιδομένων τῆς τε Ἑλληνικῆς καὶ τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς τῶν γενναίως καὶ καλῶς ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀναγκαίων τελευταῖς διαγενομένων ἀποχρήσει τὰ εἰρημένα πρὸς τὴν ἀπόθεσιν τοῦ πάντων ἀνιαροτάτου πένθους καὶ τῆς ἐν τούτῳ πρὸς οὐδὲν χρήσιμον ματαιοπονίας.
For that virtuous men die in the prime of their years by the kindness of the Gods, to whom they are peculiarly dear, I have already told thee in the former part of my discourse, and will give a short hint of it now, bearing witness to that which is so prettily said by Menander:— He whom the Gods do love dies young. But perhaps, my dear Apollonius, thou wilt thus object to me: My young Apollonius was blessed by fortune in his life, and I ought first to have died that he might bury me; for this is according to nature. According to our human nature, I confess; but Providence hath other measures, and that supreme order which governs the world is very different; for thy son being now made happy, it was not requisite according to nature that he should tarry in this life longer than the time prefixed him, but that, having consummated the term of his duration, he should perform his fatal journey, Nature recalling him to herself. But he died untimely, youmay say. Upon that account he is the happier, not having been sensible of those evils which are incident to life. For Euripides said truly:—The time of being here we style amiss;We call it life, but truly labor ’tis. Thy Apollonius died in the beautiful flower of his years, a youth in all points perfect, who gained the love, and provoked the emulation of all his contemporaries He was dutiful to his father and mother, obliging to his domestics, was a scholar, and (to comprehend all in a word) he was a lover of mankind. He had a veneration for the old men that were his friends, as if they had been his parents, had an affection for his companions and equals, reverenced his instructors, was hospitable and mild to his guests and strangers, gracious to all, and beloved by all, as well for his attractive countenance as for his lovely affability. Therefore, being accompanied with the applauses of thy piety and his own, he hath only made a digression from this mortal life to eternity, as if he had withdrawn from the entertainment before he grew absurd, and before the staggerings of drunkenness came upon him, which are incident to a long old age. Now if the sayings of the old philosophers and poets are true, as there is probability to think, that honors and high seats of dignity are conferred upon the righteous after they are departed this life, and if, as it is said, a particular region is appointed for their souls to dwell in, you ought to cherish very fair hopes that your son stands numbered amongst those blest inhabitants.
ὅτι γὰρ οἱ ταῖς ἀρεταῖς διενεγκόντες ὡς θεοφιλεῖς νέοι μετέστησαν πρὸς τὸ χρεὼν καὶ πάλαι μὲν διὰ τῶν πρόσθεν ὑπέμνησα λόγων, καὶ νῦν δὲ πειράσομαι διὰ βραχυτάτων ἐπιδραμεῖν, προσμαρτυρήσας τῷ καλῶς ὑπὸ Μενάνδρου ῥηθέντι τούτῳὃν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν ἀποθνῄσκει νέοςἀλλʼ ἴσως ὑποτυχὼν ἂν φαίης Ἀπολλώνιε φίλτατε,σφόδρʼ ἦν ἐπιτεταγμένος ὁ νεανίσκος Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ μοίραις, καὶ σὲ ἔδει ὑπʼ ἐκείνου τελείου γενομένου κηδευθῆναι μεταλλάξαντα τὸν βίον· τοῦτο γὰρ εἶναι κατὰ φύσιν, τὴν ἡμετέραν δηλονότι καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην, ἀλλʼ οὐ κατὰ τὴν τῶν ὅλων πρόνοιαν καὶ τὴν κοσμικὴν διάταξιν. ἐκείνῳ δὲ τῷ μακαρισθέντι οὐκ ἦν κατὰ φύσιν περαιτέρω τοῦ ἀπονεμηθέντος αὐτῷ χρόνου πρὸς τὸν ἐνθάδε βίον περιμένειν, ἀλλʼ εὐτάκτως τοῦτον ἐκπλήσαντι πρὸς τὴν εἱμαρμένην ἐπανάγειν πορείαν, καλούσης αὐτῆς, φησίν, ἤδη πρὸς ἑαυτήν. ἀλλʼ ἄωρος ἐτελεύτησεν; οὐκοῦν εὐποτμότερος διὰ τοῦτο καὶ κακῶν ἀπείρατός ἐστιν·ὁ βίος γάρ φησὶν Εὐριπίδης ὄνομʼ ἔχει μόνονμόρος γεγώς.οὗτος δʼ ἐπὶ τῆς εὐανθεστάτης ἡλικίας προαπεφοίτησεν ὁλόκληρος ἠίθεος, ζηλωτὸς καὶ περίβλεπτος πᾶσι τοῖς συνήθεσιν αὐτῷ, φιλοπάτωρ γενόμενος καὶ φιλομήτωρ καὶ φιλοίκειος καὶ φιλόσοφος, τὸ δὲ σύμπαν εἰπεῖν φιλάνθρωπος, αἰδούμενος μὲν τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τῶν φίλων ὥσπερ πατέρας, στέργων δὲ τοὺς ὁμήλικας καὶ συνήθεις, τιμητικὸς δὲ τῶν καθηγησαμένων, ξένοις δὲ καὶ ἀστοῖς πραότατος, πᾶσι δὲ μείλιχος καὶ φίλος διά τε τὴν ἐξ ὄψεως χάριν καὶ τὴν, εὐπροσήγορον φιλανθρωπίαν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος μὲν τῆς τε σῆς εὐσεβείας καὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ τὴν πρέπουσαν εὐφημίαν ἔχων πρὸς τὸν ἀεὶ χρόνον προαπεφοίτησε τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου, καθάπερ ἔκ του συμποσίου, πρὶν εἴς τινα παροινίαν ἐκπεσεῖν τὴν τῷ μακρῷ γήρᾳ παρεπομένην. εἰ δʼ ὁ τῶν παλαιῶν ποιητῶν τε καὶ φιλοσόφων λόγος ἐστὶν ἀληθὴς ὥσπερ εἰκὸς ἔχειν, οὕτω καὶ τοῖς εὐσεβέσι τῶν μεταλλαξάντων ἔστι τις τιμὴ καὶ προεδρία καθάπερ λέγεται, καὶ χῶρός τις ἀποτεταγμένος ἐν ᾧ διατρίβουσιν αἱ τούτων ψυχαί, καλὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχειν σε δεῖ περὶ τοῦ μακαρίτου υἱέος σου, ὅτι τούτοις συγκαταριθμηθεὶς συνέσται.
Of the state of the pious after death, Pindar discourseth after this manner:—There the sun shines with an unsullied light,When all the world below is thick with night.There all the richly scented plants do grow,And there the crimson-colored roses blow;Each flower blooming on its tender stalk,And all these meadows are their evening walk.There trees peculiarly delight the sense,With their exhaled perfumes of frankincense.The boughs their noble burdens cannot hold,The weight must sink them when the fruit is gold.Some do the horse unto the manege bring,Others unto tlle tuneful lute do sing;There’s plenty to excess of every thing.The region always doth serene appear,The sun and pious flames do make it clear,Where fragrant gums do from the altars rise,When to the Gods they offer sacrifice.And proceeding farther, in another lamentation he spake thus concerning the soul:—Just we that distribution may call,Which to each man impartially doth fall.It doth decide the dull contentious strife,And easeth the calamities of life.Death doth its efforts on the body spend;But the aspiring soul doth upwards tend.Nothing can damp that bright and subtile flame,Immortal as the Gods from whence it came.But this sometimes a drowsy nap will take,When all the other members are awake.Fancy in various dreams doth to it show,What punishments unto each crime is due;What pleasures are reserved for pious deeds,And with what scourges the incestuous bleeds.
λέγεται δʼ ὑπὸ μὲν τοῦ μελικοῦ Πινδάρου ταυτὶ περὶ τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἐν ᾍδου,τοῖσι λάμπει μὲν μένος ἀελίου τὰν ἐνθάδε νύκτακάτω,φοινικορόδοις ἐν λειμώνεσσι προάστιον αὐτῶνκαὶ λιβάνῳ σκιαρὸν καὶ χρυσοκάρποισι βεβριθός.καὶ τοὶ μὲν ἵπποις γυμνασίοις τε τοὶ δὲ πεσσοῖς,τοὶ δὲ φορμίγγεσι τέρπονται, παρὰ δέ σφισινεὐανθὴς ἅπας τέθαλεν ὄλβος,ὀδμὰ δʼ ἐρατὸν κατὰ χῶρον κίδναταιαἰεὶ θύα μιγνύντων πυρὶ τηλεφανεῖ παντοῖαθεῶν ἐπὶ βωμοῖς.καὶ μικρὸν προελθὼν ἐν ἄλλῳ θρήνῳ περὶ ψυχῆς λέγων φησὶνὀλβίᾳ δʼ ἅπαντες αἴσᾳ λυσίπονον τελευτάν.καὶ σῶμα μὲν πάντων ἕπεται θανάτῳ περισθενεῖ,ζωὸν δʼ ἔτι λείπεται αἰῶνος εἴδωλον· τὸ γάρἐστι μόνονἐκ θεῶν. εὕδει δὲ πρασσόντων μελέων, ἀτὰρεὑδόντεσσιν ἐν πολλοῖς ὀνείροιςδείκνυσι τερπνῶν ἐφέρποισαν χαλεπῶν τε κρίσιν.
Divine Plato hath spoken many things of the immortality of the soul in that book which he calls his Phaedo; not a few in his Republic, his Menon, and his Gorgias; and hath some scattered expressions in the rest of his dialogues. The things which are written by himin his Dialogue concerning the Soul I will send you by themselves, illustrated with my commentaries upon them, according to your request. I will now only quote those which are opportune and to the present purpose, and they are the words of Socrates to Callicles the Athenian, who was the companion and scholar of Gorgias the rhetorician. For so saith Socrates in Plato: “Hear then,” saith he, “a most elegant story, which you, 1 fancy, will think to be a fable, but I take it to be a truth, for the things which I shall tell you have nothing but reality in them. Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, as Homer tells us, divided amongst themselves the kingdom which they received by inheritance from their father; but there was a law established concerning men in the reign of Saturn, which was then valid and still remains in force atnongst the Gods, that that mortal which had led a just and pious life should go, when he died, into the fortunate islands of the blest, and there dwell in happiness, free from all misery; but he that had lived impiously and in contempt of the Gods should be shackled with vengeance, and be thrust into that prison which they call Tartarus. In the time of Saturn, and in the first beginning of Jove’s empire, the living judged the living, and that the same day that they were to die; whereupon the decisions of the bench were not rightly managed. Therefore Pluto and his curators under him came out of these fortunate islands, and complained to Jupiter that men were sent to both places who were not worthy. I, saith Jupiter, will take care that this thing be not practised for the future; for the reason that the sentences are now unjustly passed is that the guilty come clothed to the tribunal, and whilst they are yet alive. For some of profligate dispositions are yet palliated with a beautiful outside, with riches, and titles of nobility; and so when they come to be arraigned, many will offer themselves as witnesses to swear that they have lived very pious lives. The judges are dazzled with these appearances, and they sit upon them too in their robes; so that their minds are (as it were) covered and obscured with eyes and ears, and indeed with the encumbrance of the whole body. The judges and the prisoners being clothed is thus a very great impediment. Therefore in the first place the foreknowledge of death is to be taken away; for now they see the end of their line, and Prometheus has been commanded to see that this be no longer allowed. Next they ought to be divested of all dress and ornament, and come dead to the tribunal. The judge himself is to be naked and dead too, that with his own soul he may view the naked soul of each one so soon as he is dead, when he is now forsaken of his relations, and has left behind him all his gayeties in the other world; and so justice will be impartially pronounced. Deliberating on this with myself before I received your advice, I have constituted my sons judges, Minos and Rhadamanthus from Asia, and Aeacus from Europe; these therefore, after they have departed this life, shall assume their character, and exercise it in the field, and in the road where two ways divide themselves, the one leading to the fortunate islands, and the other to the deep abyss; so Rhadamanthus shall judge the Asians, and Aeacus the Europeans. But to Minos I will grant the authority of a final appeal, that if any thing hath escaped the notice of the others, it shall be subjected to his cognizance, as to the last resort of a supreme judge; that so it may be rightly decided what journey every one ought to take. These are the things, Callicles, which I have heard and think to be true; and I draw this rational inference from them, that death in my opinion is nothing else but the separation of two things nearly united, which are soul and body.”
ὁ δὲ θεῖος Πλάτων πολλὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ Περὶ ψυχῆς περὶ τῆς ἀθανασίας αὐτῆς εἴρηκεν, οὐκ ὀλίγα δʼ ἐν τῇ Πολιτείᾳ καὶ τῷ Μένωνι καὶ τῷ Γοργίᾳ καὶ σποράδην ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις διαλόγοις. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ Περὶ ψυχῆς διαλόγῳ ῥηθέντα κατʼ ἰδίαν ὑπομνηματισάμενός σοι παρέξομαι, ὡς ἐβουλήθης· ἔσται δὲ πρὸς τὸ παρὸν καίρια καὶ χρήσιμα τὰ λεχθέντα πρὸς Καλλικλέα τὸν Ἀθηναῖον, ἑταῖρον δὲ καὶ μαθητὴν Γοργίου τοῦ ῥήτορος φησὶ γὰρ ὁ παρὰ τῷ Πλάτωνι Σωκράτης, ἄκουε δή, φασί, μάλα καλοῦ λόγου, ὃν σὺ μὲν ἡγήσει, ὡς ἐγὼ οἶμαι, μῦθον, ἐγὼ δὲ λόγον· ὡς ἀληθῆ γὰρ ὄντα σοι λέξω ἃ μέλλω λέγειν. ὥσπερ γὰρ Ὅμηρος λέγει, διενείμαντο τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁ Ζεὺς καὶ ὁ Ποσειδῶν καὶ ὁ Πλούτων, ἐπειδὴ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς; παρέλαβον ἦν οὖν νόμος ὅδε περὶ ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἐπὶ Κρόνου, καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ νῦν ἔτʼ ἔστιν ἐν θεοῖς, τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸν μὲν δικαίως διελθόντα τὸν βίον καὶ ὁσίως, ἐπειδὰν τελευτήσῃ, εἰς μακάρων νήσους ἀπιόντα οἰκεῖν ἐν πάσῃ εὐδαιμονίᾳ ἐκτὸς κακῶν, τὸν δʼ ἀδίκως καὶ ἀθέως εἰς τὸ τῆς δίκης τε καὶ τίσεως δεσμωτήριον, ὃ δὴ Τάρταρον καλοῦσιν, ἰέναι. τούτων δʼ οἱ δικασταὶ ἐπὶ Κρόνου καὶ ἔτι νεωστὶ τοῦ Διὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος ζῶντες ἦσαν ζώντων, ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ δικάζοντες μέλλοιεν τελευτᾶν. ἔπειτα αἱ δίκαι πως οὐ καλῶς ἐκρίνοντο. ὃ τʼ οὖν Πλούτων καὶ οἱ ἐπιμεληταὶ οἱ ἐκ μακάρων νήσων ἰόντες ἔλεγον πρὸς τὸν Δία ὅτι φοιτῷέν σφισιν ἄνθρωποι ἑκατέρωσε ἀνάξιοι. εἶπεν οὖν ὁ Ζεὺς ἀλλʼ ἐγώ ἔφη παύσω τοῦτο γιγνόμενον. νῦν μὲν γὰρ κακῶς αἱ δίκαι δικάζονται. ἀμπεχόμενοι γάρ ἔφη οἱ κρινόμενοι κρίνονται· ζῶντες γὰρ κρίνονται. πολλοὶ οὖν ἴσως ἦ δʼ ὃς πονηρὰς ψυχὰς ἔχοντες ἠμφιεσμένοι εἰσὶ σώματά τε καλὰ καὶ γένη καὶ πλούτους, καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἡ κρίσις ᾖ, ἔρχονται αὐτοῖς πολλοὶ μαρτυρήσοντες ὡς δικαίως βεβιώκασιν. οἱ οὖν δικασταὶ ὑπό τε τούτων ἐκπλήττονται, καὶ ἅμα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀμπεχόμενοι δικάζουσι, πρὸ τῆς ψυχῆς τῆς ἑαυτῶν ὀφθαλμούς τε καὶ ὦτα καὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα προκεκαλυμμένοι. ταῦτα δὴ αὐτοῖς; πάντʼ ἐπίπροσθεν γίγνεται, καὶ τὰ αὑτῶν ἀμφιέσματα καὶ τὰ τῶν κρινομένων. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν παυστέον ἐστὶ προειδότας αὐτοὺς τὸν θάνατον· νῦν γὰρ προΐσασι. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν καὶ δὴ εἴρηται τῷ Προμηθεῖ, ὅπως ἂν παύσῃ αὐτό. ἔπειτα γυμνοὺς κριτέον ἁπάντων τούτων· τεθνεῶτας γὰρ δεῖ κρίνεσθαι. καὶ τὸν κριτὴν δεῖ γυμνὸν εἶναι, τεθνεῶτα, αὐτῇ τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτὴν τὴν ψυχὴν θεωροῦντα ἐξαίφνης ἀποθανόντος ἑκάστου, ἔρημον ἁπάντων τῶν συγγενῶν, καὶ καταλιπόντα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς πάντα ἐκεῖνον τὸν κόσμον, ἵνα δικαία ἡ κρίσις ᾖ. ἐγὼ οὖν ταῦτʼ ἐγνωκὼς πρότερος ἢ ὑμεῖς ἐποιησάμην δικαστὰς υἱεῖς ἐμαυτοῦ, δύο μὲν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας, Μίνω τε καὶ Ῥαδάμανθυν, ἕνα δʼ ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης, Αἰακόν. οὗτοι οὖν ἐπειδὰν τελευτήσωσι, δικάσουσιν ἐν τῷ λειμῶνι, ἐν τῇ τριόδῳ ἐξ ἧς φέρετον τὼ ὁδώ, ἡ μὲν εἰς μακάρων νήσους, ἡ δʼ εἰς Τάρταρον. καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας Ῥαδάμανθυς κρινεῖ, τοὺς δʼ ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης Αἰακός Μίνῳ δὲ πρεσβεῖα δώσω ἐπιδιακρίνειν ἐὰν ἀπορῆτόν τι τὼ ἑτέρω, ἵνʼ ὡς δικαιοτάτη ἡ κρίσις ᾖ περὶ τῆς πορείας τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ταῦτʼ ἐστίν, ὦ Καλλίκλεις, ἃ ἐγὼ ἀκηκοὼς πιστεύω ἀληθῆ εἶναι· καὶ ἐκ τούτων τῶν λόγων τοιόνδε τι λογίζομαι συμβαίνειν, ὅτι ὁ θάνατος τυγχάνει ὤν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ δυοῖν πραγμάτοιν διάλυσις, τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ σώματος ἀπʼ ἀλλήλοιν.
These collections, my dear Apollonius, I have joined together with all the accuracy I could, and out of them composed this consolatory letter I now send thee, which is very necessary to dispel thy melancholy humor and put a period to thy sighs. I have paid likewise that deference which became me to the ashes of thy son, who is the darling of the Gods, such an honor being most acceptable to those whom fame hath consecrated to immortality. Thou wilt therefore do handsomely to believe the reasons I have urged to thee, and gratify thy deceased son, by shaking off this unprofitable sorrow, which eats into thy mind and afflicts thy body, and again returning to that course of humor which nature hath chalked out and the former customs of thy life have made familiar to thee. For as, when thy son lived amongst us, he could not without the deepest regret see thee or his mother sad, so now that he is amongst the Gods enjoying the intimacy of their conversation, such a prospect from thence must be much more displeasing. Therefore take up the resolutions of a good and generous man and of one who loved his son, and so extricate thyself, the mother of the lad, thy kinsmen and friends at once from this great infelicity. Betake thyself to a more tranquil sort of life; which, as it will be acceptable to thy son, will also be extremely pleasing to all of us who have that concern for thee that we ought to have.
ταῦτά σοι συναγαγών, Ἀπολλώνιε φίλτατε, καὶ συνθεὶς μετὰ πολλῆς ἐπιμελείας ἀπειργασάμην τὸν παραμυθητικόν σοι λόγον, ἀναγκαιότατον ὄντα σοι πρός; τε τὴν τῆς παρούσης λύπης ἀπαλλαγὴν καὶ τοῦ πάντων ἀνιαροτάτου πένθους παῦλαν. περιέχει δὲ καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν θεοφιλέστατον υἱόν σου Ἀπολλώνιον πρέπουσαν τιμήν, ποθεινοτάτην οὖσαν τοῖς ἀφιερωθεῖσι, τὴν διὰ τῆς ἀγαθῆς μνήμης καὶ τῆς ἀδιαλείπτου πρὸς τὸν ἀεὶ χρόνον εὐφημίας. καλῶς οὖν ποιήσεις καὶ τῷ λόγῳ πεισθεὶς καὶ τῷ μακαρίτῃ σου υἱῷ χαρισάμενος καὶ μεταβαλὼν ἐκ τῆς ἀνωφελοῦς περὶ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν κακώσεως καὶ καταφθορᾶς ἐπὶ τὴν συνήθη σοι καὶ κατὰ φύσιν διαγωγὴν ἐλθεῖν. ὡς γὰρ οὐδὲ συμβιῶν ἡμῖν ἡδέως ἑώρα κατηφεῖς ὄντας οὔτε σὲ οὔτε τὴν μητέρα, οὕτως οὐδὲ νῦν μετὰ θεῶν ὢν καὶ τούτοις συνεστιώμενος εὐαρεστήσειεν ἂν τῇ τοιαύτῃ ὑμῶν διαγωγῇ. ἀνδρὸς οὖν ἀγαθοῦ καὶ γενναίου καὶ φιλοτέκνου φρόνημα ἀναλαβὼν σεαυτόν τε καὶ τὴν μητέρα τοῦ νεανίσκου καὶ τοὺς συγγενεῖς καὶ φίλους ἔκλυσαι τῆς τοιαύτης κακοδαιμονίας, εἰς γαληνότερον μετελθὼν βίου σχῆμα καὶ προσφιλέστερον τῷ τε υἱῷ σου καὶ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν τοῖς κηδομένοις σου κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον.