,selected ,essays of ,plutarch ,,selected ,,essays ,,of ,,plutarch ,,translated ,,with ,,introduction ,,by ,t4 ,g4 ,,tucker ,,litt4,d4 7,,camb471 ,,hon4 ,,litt4,d4 7,,dublin7 ,,professor ,,of ,,classical ,,philology ,,in ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,melbourne ,volume ,i4 ,,oxford ,,at ,,the ,,clarendon ,,press #aiac ,,henry ,,frowde1 ,m4,a4 ,,publisher ,,to ,,the ,,university ,,of ,,oxford ,,london1 ,,edinburgh1 ,,new ,,york1 ,,toronto ,,melbourne ,,and ,,bombay ,,preface ,the essays here rendered into ,english have not been selected as the very best pieces in ,plutarch's ,moralia1 but1 first1 as typical examples of his writing in that kind1 and1 second1 as covering between them a tolerably large field of interesting matter4 ,the ,moralia offer us perhaps the best of all extant material for judging the civilization of the middle classes of society just before and after the year #ajj of our era4 ,from them and from ,pliny's ,letters we are able to form a fairly complete picture of a large part of that sounder social element which lay between the froth and the dregs4 ,in the ,introduction some remarks are offered concerning ,plutarch's literary style4 ,here it will suffice to say that the ,english version does not seek to be either more formal or more vivacious1 either more imposing or more humorous1 than the original4 ,an attempt has been made to preserve the tone as faithfully as the substance4 ,in making ,plutarch write as he does in the following pages the translator hopes that il ne luy a au moins rien prest qui le desmente ou qui le desdie4 ,it is fair to add that no modern version of the ,moralia has been consulted for the purposes of this rendering4 ,in the ,introduction1 however1 one cannot fail to owe much suggestion to ,grard and ,volkmann4 ,in the spelling of ,greek proper names every modern scholar must follow his own best judgement4 ,it does not follow that1 because it is necessary to say #8,plato' and usual to say #8,parmenio'1 it is equally judicious to say #8,chilo'4 ,nor can any safe rule be laid down for a choice between #8,pisistratus' and #8,peisistratus'4 ,perhaps the most advisable course is to safeguard1 as far as possible1 the pronunciation of those who are unfamiliar with ,greek1 and the spelling #8,pheidias' may do something towards correcting the common ,english tendency to pronounce the first syllable as it is pronounced in #8fiddle'4 ,notes upon the proper names will be found after the text by readers who may require them4 ,the text generally adopted is that of ,bernardakis in the ,teubner series1 but recourse has been had throughout to ,wyttenbach1 and in a number of places which are commonly acknowledged to be corrupt the translator has ventured on a modest emendation of his own4 ,these places are marked in the translation by an asterisk in the margin1 and the readings adopted will be found at the end of the book in an appendix on the ,greek text4 ,critics would have saved themselves much trouble if they had observed that1 though hiatus is regularly avoided in the genuine writings of ,plutarch1 no hiatus is created by a word ending in iota or upsilon1 vowels which carry a semi-vowel glide in themselves4 ,the orthodox order1 ,greek and ,latin titles1 and sectional references of the pieces here chosen are as follows4 ,the ,english titles belong to the present version4 ,,on ,,bringing ,,up ,a ,,boy 7 3 ,de liberis educandis71 #a-ad ,c4 ,,on ,,the ,,student ,,at ,,lectures 7 3 ,de recta ratione audiendi71 #cg ,c-#dh ,d ,,on ,,fawner ,,and ,,friend 7 3 ,quomodo adulator ab amico internoscatur71 #dh ,e-#gd ,e4 ,,advice ,,to ,,married ,,couples 7 3 ,coniugalia praecepta71 #ach ,b-#adf4 ,,dinner-,,party ,,of ,,the ,,seven ,,sages 7 3 ,septem sapientum convivium71 #adf ,b-#afd ,d4 ,,on ,,garrulousness 7 3 ,de garrulitate71 #ejb ,b-#eae4 ,,concerning ,,busybodies 7 3 ,de curiositate71 #eae ,b-#ebc ,b4 ,,on ,,moral ,,ignorance ,,in ,,high ,,places 7 3 ,ad principem ineruditum71 #ggi ,d-#ghb ,f4 ,,on ,,old ,,men ,,in ,,public ,,life 7 3 ,an seni respublica gerenda sit71 #ghc ,b-#gig ,f4 ,,introduction ,the age in which ,plutarch was educated and in which he wrote his ,ethica is1 from the literary point of view1 closely similar to the so-called #8,augustan' age of ,english writing4 ,of all the periods of ,english style and thought1 he would probably have found himself most at home in that of ,pope1 ,addison1 and ,steele1 or in its continuation with ,goldsmith and ,johnson4 ,he flourished at a time when intellectual interests were remarkably keen1 if not very profound2 when literature1 if for the most part it ventured on no high imaginative flights1 did at least aim at some practical bearing upon the conduct of life2 when men found entertainment1 and probably some measure of moral or social help1 in the readable essay or the friendly epistle2 when facts1 merely as such1 were accepted as interesting if interestingly set forth2 and when ,philosophy1 if she deigned to keep her feet upon the ground and to speak as one of the mortals1 met with a due welcome from either sex4 ,an eighteenth-century ,plutarch might conceivably have written the moral papers of ,johnson without ,johnson's ponderousness1 or have contributed to the ,spectator papers more full than ,addison's of those #8ideas' in which ,matthew ,arnold found that writer so deficient4 ,he might have written1 though in a prose form1 the ,essay on ,man1 being meanwhile as willing as ,pope to owe the bulk of his matter to other minds1 but not so willing as ,pope to play the expositor without first playing the earnest and critical student4 ,plutarch did not1 so far as we are aware1 try his hand at verse4 ,to judge by his comments upon poetic duty and by his quotations--which are regularly taken from the best writers of a classical age already far remote--his conception of the poetic office was too exalted to permit of his dabbling in that domain4 ,had he done so1 and had he followed the fashion of his times1 he would perhaps have come nearer to our #8,augustans' even than in his prose4 ,in poetry it was the age of description1 reflection1 satire1 and moralizing1 in the highest degree sensible1 studiously informed with #8wit'--in the broader ,queen ,anne sense of that word--and characterized by extreme deftness of pointed and quotable phrase1 but in no sense creative1 imaginative1 or inspired4 ,its ideal contents consisted of #8what oft was thought1 but ne'er so well expressed'4 ,the attitudes of both prose-writer and poet belonged to the intellectual and aesthetic spirit of the period1 and so far as that spirit finds an individual embodiment in the ,greek half of the ,roman ,empire1 it finds him in ,plutarch of ,chaeronea4 ,it would be difficult to suggest with any precision the place which ,plutarch might have filled in ,victorian literature4 ,a distinguished and popular #8man of letters' and an educator of public opinion he assuredly would have been4 ,given a width of reading1 a persistent self-culture1 and a careful but unpedantic style1 corresponding to those which he practised in his own generation1 he might have made--as he did then--an admirable biographer and essayist4 ,he might have been a contributor of substantial papers to the quarterlies and other higher reviews4 ,he might1 and probably would1 have been an eminent lecturer2 possibly1 with a broad practical ,christianity substituted for his broad practical ,platonism1 a preacher not only eminent but also in the best sense popular4 ,he would certainly have made a brilliant expositor of whatever he undertook to expound4 ,he was no ,plato or ,aristotle2 he would have been no ,carlyle or ,herbert ,spencer2 but he might have been much that ,macaulay was outside of politics4 ,as to the date of ,plutarch's birth there can be no certainty4 ,approximately it may be put down as ,a4 ,d4 #dh4 ,it is accepted that his death did not occur before the year #abj2 it may have taken place somewhat1 though not much1 later4 ,born in the days of ,claudius1 he lived through the reigns of ,nero1 ,galba1 ,otho1 ,vitellius1 ,vespasian1 ,titus1 ,domitian1 ,nerva1 and ,trajan1 and saw at least the first three years of the rule of ,hadrian4 ,he must have been nearly fifty before the last tyrant of the early ,empire fell1 but the remainder of his life was spent under the most beneficent rgime1 and amid the greatest peace and prosperity1 ever experienced in the ancient world4 ,the pax ,romana was at its profoundest1 the sense of security at its fullest2 the fact of general well-being was everywhere most palpable4 ,there was at the same time1 or in consequence1 a vigorous revival of intellectual life4 ,at no period of antiquity would it have been possible for a man of studious habits and of mild and genial disposition to enjoy a leisure so undisturbed or a society so free from those forms of preoccupation which preclude an engrossing interest in things purely of the mind4 ,for the orator who is fired by the natural heat of democratic politics1 for the patriotic poet from whom thrilling verse must be wrung by the wrongs1 the decline1 or the yet unrealized aspirations of his country1 there was indeed no stimulation or scope4 ,but for the cultivation of the humanities1 for the indulgence of a taste for art and belles-lettres1 for the satisfaction of intellectual curiosity1 for the search after interesting knowledge--physical1 mathematical1 antiquarian1 historical1 philological--and for the thoughtful observation of men and manners1 the time was almost ideal4 ,in the absence of anxious and absorbing problems of the present there was leisure for a contemplative and critical survey of the past1 and for making acquaintance with #8the best that had been thought and said' by it4 ,since the immediate human environment was no longer distracted and distracting with the clamorous urgencies of external or internal strife and danger1 it was possible to look abroad over a wider field1 to contemplate the more spacious world of man and his work1 of ,nature and her facts1 beauties1 and marvels4 ,it was therefore the age of the encyclopaedist1 the traveller1 the commentator1 the describer1 the collector--collector of curiosities1 of objects of art1 of books1 of stories from history1 of apophthegms1 of pointed and interesting quotations4 ,the prevailing aim was mental and social culture4 ,this was the one object of education1 however much its professors might dissent from each other according to the degrees of philistinism in their respective temperaments4 ,the aim of contemporary education--generally realized with more definiteness than educational aims are wont to be in modern times--was to turn the pupil into a gentleman1 to equip him for the art of living and conducting himself as such4 ,there could1 of course1 hardly fail to be those who regarded this kalokagathia too much from the exterior point of view1 while others fixed their attention more decidedly1 and often perhaps too exclusively1 upon the inward and spiritual grace4 ,there were also considerable differences between the ,greek and ,roman conceptions of a gentleman4 ,but in the main this end was universally avowed--to turn the raw material of the boy into a man both capable and clubbable1 whether from a public or a private standpoint4 ,the things to be sought were the right accomplishments1 the right morals1 and the right manners4 ,the accomplishments included1 beyond all else1 literary information and culture1 argumentative dexterity1 and a capacity for speech4 ,the right morals were based mainly upon reasoned self-command4 ,the right manners were chiefly those of urbanity1 dignity1 and that care of the person1 the voice1 the dress1 and the deportment upon which all ages have insisted according to their several lights or tastes4 ,it might be that the teaching #8philosopher'1 whose concern was with the soundness of the morals1 had his quarrel with the teaching #8sophist'1 whose business was with the rhetoric and its excellence for exhibition purposes or for the gaining of various forms of influence4 ,the philosopher might think the sophist superficial1 showy1 and often actually pernicious1 while the sophist might look upon the philosopher as visionary1 pedantic1 and often a positive clog upon practical efficiency4 ,nevertheless no typically cultured person of the day would have questioned that1 in order to be complete--or1 as ,coleridge calls it1 #8orbicular'--education must include its due measure of both forms of teaching4 ,after his years of infancy the boy1 under the supervision of his paedagogus--ideally a slave of superior character1 but too often a person who was merely useless for harder work--passed into a school1 where he was first taught his letters and then proceeded to the reading1 learning1 and recital of classical poetry1 to the study of music1 and to some acquaintance with elementary arithmetic and geometry4 ,next1 taken in hand by the rhetorical teacher in a higher school1 he was made to write and deliver descriptions and essays1 mostly on trite and unreal themes of a historical or pseudo-historical nature1 to develop his powers of invention on either side of a chosen topic1 and to cultivate a fastidious diction1 pointed phrase1 and the elocutionary arts and graces4 ,from artificial harangues and the #8speaking of a piece' he advanced to the imaginary pleading of forensic cases1 in which the law was often as fictitious as the facts4 ,when1 upon reaching the age for assuming the toga virilis1 he was emancipated from the custody of the paedagogus and the discipline of the school1 his formal education commonly ceased4 ,if he proceeded further1 as many did1 to what may be considered as the equivalent of a university course1 he might elect to study philosophy1 to study #8sophistic'1 or to dally with both in such measure as seemed likely to set off the abilities or consolidate the culture of a gentleman4 ,even in the more mature years of life the intellectually-disposed grandee had a habit of maintaining near his person a salaried philosopher as a kind of domestic monitor1 and audiences of wealth and fashion readily gathered in ,rome and elsewhere to listen to lectures on philosophy by professors who properly understood the art of clear and pleasant exposition4 ,for the most part the typical ,roman1 less genuinely impassioned than the ,greek for thought pure and simple1 looked upon any #8specializing' in philosophy as likely to lead either to too cloistered a virtue or to the acquisition of eccentric1 if not dangerous1 views4 ,a certain modicum of philosophical knowledge might be an adornment to life1 and a certain modicum of philosophical training might impart a steadiness to character1 but the study must not be pursued to the point at which the student himself stood in danger of becoming a #8philosopher'4 ,with the ,greeks philosophical specializing was commonly subject to no such reprehension1 partly because of the inborn ,hellenic ardour for study and esteem of learning1 partly because in this domain1 even more than in the rhetorical1 the ,greeks were the accepted teachers throughout the ,roman sphere4 ,this1 or nearly this1 was the attitude of the educational world in the first decades of the second century1 and it was in this world that ,plutarch of ,chaeronea became a figure of special eminence and distinction4 ,for in whatever light the modern reader may regard ,plutarch as a man of letters1 to his own times he was first and foremost an educator4 ,it is from this point of view that we must consider both his ,parallel ,lives and his ,moral ,essays1 if we are to perceive in them that unity of character and purpose which he intended all his work to possess4 ,plutarch1 then1 was born about ,a4 ,d4 #dh in the very heart of ,greece1 at the comparatively small town of ,chaeronea1 famous as the scene of the decisive victory of the ,macedonians over the southern ,greeks1 and also of that in which the forces of ,mithridates were routed by ,sulla4 ,his family must have been of high local standing1 and the fact that his father--a man of cultivated tastes and refined manners--was the owner of the #8finest kind of horses' is enough to show1 to those who appreciate the significance of the word hippotrophia1 that he must have been possessed of considerable means4 ,the same conclusion may be drawn both from what ,plutarch himself incidentally reveals concerning his brothers1 ,lamprias and ,timon1 as well as other members of the family circle1 and also from what is known of his own life and upbringing4 ,that as a boy he passed through the orthodox curriculum1 is obvious from his wide acquaintance with literature and his intelligent1 if not particularly profound1 references to both music and mathematics4 ,when of an age to receive an education in philosophy1 he was placed1 or placed himself1 chiefly under the distinguished ,ammonius1 an ,alexandrian philosopher of a broad semi-,platonist1 semi-,peripatetic school1 who had become established in a prominent intellectual and public position at ,athens4 ,it was the accepted rule for the student to attend1 but not necessarily to confine himself to1 the lectures of a selected teacher4 ,often he lived in that teacher's house1 or at least1 in intimate connexion therewith4 ,if the philosopher was strictly conscientious he felt it his duty to watch over the developing character of his pupil1 to visit him with any deserved reproof1#a to serve as his father confessor1 to answer his questions1 and to meet his moral and intellectual difficulties4 ,the familiar phrase #8guide1 philosopher1 and friend' perhaps describes the relations with unusual exactness4 ,we find both ,plutarch and his brother in the company of ,ammonius at ,delphi when ,nero1 in the year #ff1 graced that city with his imperial and artistic presence4 ,his formal education completed1 we discover little of the younger manhood of ,plutarch1 except that he must have been in high local estimation1 partly1 perhaps1 from the position of his family1 but doubtless no less on account of his own conspicuous gifts4 ,had this not been the case1 he would hardly have been appointed as one of a delegation of two sent on a mission to the ,roman proconsul of the province4 ,at what age he was first entrusted with civic functions as aedile1 or with a ,delphic priesthood 7then merely a ceremonial office open to any layman71 or with other public positions1 we cannot say4 ,we can only be sure that to his learning he added a recognizable capacity for public business4 ,however many hours he may have devoted to study and to the compilation of those ample commonplace-books which evidently served him in such good stead1 he prided himself on carrying his philosophic attainments into the local ,chamber or on to the local platform4 ,in his judgement this procedure was not only a vindication of philosophy and a method of keeping the faculties energetic2 it was also a patriotic duty4 ,as has been already said1 this was an age of travel4 ,facilities of transport were plentiful2 the seas and main roads were secure from pirate or enemy2 journeys were at least as expeditious as at any modern time until the employment of steam4 ,we know of visits made by ,plutarch to ,alexandria1 various parts of ,greece1 ,rome1 and the north of ,italy4 ,rome he must have visited at least twice1 and in this metropolis and #8epitome of the world' he made acquaintance with a large circle of men of distinction1 transacted public business 7presumably on behalf of his native town1 of which he may have been sent as representative71 delivered lectures1#b and apparently acted as a sort of consulting physician to morally perturbed members of ,roman society4 ,he must have spoken always in ,greek1 for he confesses that--like most other ,greek writers--he had given almost no attention to ,latin2 nor is any such avowal needed from a person who1 even after looking into the language1 believed sine patris to be the ,latin for #8without a father'4 ,greek1 however1 was then as much the universal language of the cultured as1 until recently1 ,french was the universal accomplishment of fashion1 diplomacy1 and the traveller4 ,the ,rome with which ,plutarch was immediately acquainted was the ,rome of ,vespasian and of the earlier half of ,domitian's reign4 ,had his sojourn in the capital taken place some fifteen or twenty years later1 it is in the highest degree probable that he would have been further known to us through an acquaintance with ,pliny or some other ,roman writer of that date4 ,that a ,greek1 and especially one who had a difficulty in reading ,latin1 should make no mention of contemporary ,latin authors--that in his heart he should rather despise them--is only characteristic of the ,hellenic attitude of the time4 ,but that the amiable ,pliny1 who has an appreciative word to say of almost every one within his social horizon1 including comparatively obscure philosophers like ,euphrates1 should say nothing of so eminent a figure as ,plutarch1 amounts to evidence that the two had never met4 ,a man who could make close friends of consulars like ,sosius ,senecio and ,mestrius ,florus1 and who enjoyed an intimacy with ,paccius and ,fundanus1 could not have failed to win the notice of the ,horace ,walpole of his day4 ,quintilian1 ,silius1 ,statius1 ,martial1 ,pliny1 ,suetonius1 and ,juvenal were all writing when ,plutarch was already the coryphaeus of ,greek culture1 and if not one of them mentions his name1 it is because he was living in remote ,chaeronea and forgathering only with his chosen circle of philosophers1 men of letters1 artists1 or musicians in that town or in ,athens1 ,corinth1 and other ,greek centres near at hand4 ,to ,chaeronea ,plutarch must have retired by middle life4 ,there he married ,timoxena1 a lady of position1 but of quiet tastes1 had issue four sons and a daughter1 identified himself with the civic and religious concerns of his town1 delivered lectures1 imparted instruction on the lines of a modified or latitudinarian ,platonic philosophy1 industriously read the books in his moderate but useful library1 made copious extracts therefrom1 wrote his ,lives and those occasional papers known as his ,ethica or ,moral ,essays1 and enjoyed the discussion of many a knotty question--often perhaps of little or no importance beyond the fact of its forming a problem--in the agreeable society of his relatives or his cultivated friends and guests4 ,at such gatherings he was the leader1 doubtless dominating the conversation--though in his more courteous way--somewhat as ,johnson dominated the coterie described by ,boswell4 ,often1 we gather1 he varied this quiet course of life by means of excursions to other ,greek cities--,athens1 ,sparta1 ,aedepsus--where he most probably delivered an occasional lecture1 and where1 as we are certain1 he thoroughly enjoyed himself in table-talk4#c ,that he gave philosophical education1 though apparently not of a systematic and pedagogic kind1 to persons of both sexes is known from his own references to the practice4 ,whether he did so for money or not1 we cannot tell4 ,the later ,platonists by no means felt bound to adopt the attitude of ,socrates and ,plato towards the taking of fees4 ,the world had changed1 and the res angusta was often more powerful than a principle which had ceased to appear entirely rational4 ,but there is every reason to suppose that ,plutarch was a man of independent means2 we know further that a genial frugality was the rule of his household1 and that he entertained a becoming contempt for the obsequious or the advertiser4 ,the day of the endowed professor1 whether of philosophy or sophistic1 was still to dawn for ,greece under ,marcus ,aurelius1 and it never dawned at all for so small a town as ,chaeronea4 ,we may take it therefore that1 whether with or without fee or present1 ,plutarch was able to choose his own pupils--in all likelihood the sons and daughters of his friends--and that1 in dealing with them or with a wider audience1 he maintained the fullest dignity and independence1 and practised all the amiable candour which he explicitly recommends4 ,for any lack of originality1 of speculative audacity1 of profundity 7or the obscurity which is so often mistaken for that virtue71 ,plutarch fully compensates4 ,to his generation he served as a milch-cow of practical philosophy on its ethical side4 ,he browsed on literature and thought1 secreted the most valuable constituents1 and yielded the cream to his hearers or readers4 ,so far as he belonged to a philosophic school1 it was that of the ,old ,academy4 ,in other words1 he would have labelled himself a ,platonist4 ,it is probable that he was as much attracted by the superb literary style of ,plato1 the nature of the man1 and the nobility of his conceptions1 as by anything capable of crystallization into a philosophy4 ,these qualities attracted even the dilettante1 while in the more specially philosophic world time had done much to refract the real ,plato1 to extract dogma from him1 and to create a large ,aberglaube about his writings4 ,be that as it may1 there is much in ,plato that ,plutarch does not accept1 and there is much outside of ,plato to which he gives a welcome4 ,towards ,stoics and ,epicureans--whose doctrines1 like those of the ,christians1 would logically withhold men from public activity--he is distinctly1 though never virulently1 hostile1 and when his pen ranges itself against particular schools1 it is against these4#d ,it is easier1 in fact1 to say to what sect ,plutarch did not belong than to associate him definitively with any other4 ,nevertheless it is as a ,platonist that he would have classed himself1 and it is especially by the later ,neo-,platonists that he was quoted as a divinely gifted writer who lent literary charm and potency to wisdom4 ,so broad1 however1 was his teaching1 and in many respects so adaptable even to ,christianity1 that early writers of the ,church had no scruple in borrowing liberally from him4#e ,into whatever shape he may have systematized his views1 and however popular his treatment of them1 ,plutarch ranked with the philosophers4 ,if he was opposed to ,stoicism and ,epicureanism1 he was1 like other philosophers1 no less opposed to sophistic4 ,to him the representatives of that art were apt to seem shallow and showy4#f ,he held1 with the ,socratics in general1 that the basis of right action is knowledge1 and he had no belief in empiricism4 ,not that he rejected either established moral views or established religion4 ,he was no sceptic1 still less an atheist4 ,as ,friedlnder has well argued1 there was no ancient cult of atheism4 ,plutarch1 indeed1 is remarkably receptive in the matter of deities4 ,the ,egyptian worship of ,isis and ,osiris1 which had made great progress throughout the ,roman ,empire1 appeared to him equally tenable with the worship practised by his own ancestors4 ,in the polytheism in which he acquiesced1 such divinities were only other forms of those known in ,hellas1 and he found no difficulty in reconciling and combining the two sets of notions and cults4 ,he was deeply tinged with ,orientalism1 though his culture and his natural good taste made him despise corybantic demonstrations and what ,friedlnder has called #8dirty mortifications'4 ,he held the ,eranian belief in daemonic agencies1 which acted upon mankind from the one side as the gods did from the other4 ,if he appears to rise to the conception of #8,god' in the singular1 the word is rather to be taken as denoting the sum of divine wisdom and beneficent dispensation4 ,like all the best minds of his own and many a previous generation1 he found moral difficulties in accepting the characters ascribed to the deities in the best literature of earlier ,greece1 and therefore1 while approving of the established education in poetry1 he necessarily felt some qualms as to the possible effects4 ,poetry served in the schools #8as introduction to philosophy1 history1 geography1 and astronomy'1 and it had much to do with the formation of religious and ethical notions4 ,homer1 ,pindar1 ,sophocles1 and ,menander were #8learned and wise'1 and boys were brought to regard them as inspired4 ,hence ,plutarch's treatise on ,poets as ,moral ,teachers of the ,young4 ,the point of view in that essay is not1 indeed1 entirely rational4 ,it was not so easy for ,plutarch as it is for us to realize that moral and religious ideas in ,greek literature had passed through an evolution corresponding to the development of intellect and society4 ,instead of frankly recognizing the limitations of ,homer or the inconsistencies of the dramatists in this respect1 he puts a highly ingenious constraint upon the connexion between any dubious sentiment and its context4 ,it is only when he fails in such a tour de force that he consents to censure the poet4 ,in this procedure he was by no means the first4 ,the battle of the #8takers of objection' 77 and the #8solvers of difficulties' 77 was centuries old4 ,that ,plutarch should range himself as far as possible with the solvers is a circumstance which would naturally follow both from his love of literature and from his constitutionally reverential temperament4 ,as has been often observed1 the purpose running through the ,parallel ,lives and the ,moral ,essays is one and the same4 ,the philosophy of ,plutarch was ethical4 ,for logic and dialectic he shows no liking4 ,his object was to relate philosophy to life1 to bring home a philosophy which could be lived4 ,by philosophy he meant the best conduct of life1 based on an understanding of the nature of virtue-- 1 the right1 the honourable1 the becoming4 ,from philosophy we are to learn not only what is due to ourselves1 but what is due to the gods1 to the laws1 to parents1 children1 friends1 enemies1 fellow-citizens1 and strangers4 ,the ,essays1 like those of ,seneca or ,bacon1 deal with separable components or manifestations of right and wrong character1 with duties and circumstances3 the ,lives meanwhile afford us concrete examples or object lessons from history4#g ,yet life1 even that of a philosopher1 is not made up entirely of preaching and exhortation1 least of all when the philosopher is at the same time a man of the world and a man of letters4 ,plutarch felt a lively interest in all such posers as were mooted in the talk of the table or of the loungers' club4 ,he therefore includes among his occasional papers--whether written by request or under the fashionable fiction of a request--a number of treatises on physical1 antiquarian1 literary1 and artistic topics which can hardly be said to bear with any immediateness upon the ethical perfection of the reader4 ,as a change1 therefore1 from the treatment of ,superstition or ,inquisitiveness or ,the ,restraint of ,anger1 of ,rules for ,married ,couples and ,rules of ,health and rules for ,the ,student at ,lecture1 he may in a spare moment discuss such matters as ,the ,face in the ,moon or questions in ,roman custom4 ,the majority of the pieces in the present selection speak for themselves4 ,with the one exception to be mentioned immediately1 they all bear the impress of the man4 ,there is the same moral broadmindedness and sobriety1 the same shrewd sense of le bonhomme ,plutarque1 the same faculty for popularizing#h without descending to vapidity1 the same knack of relieving the sermon by means of anecdote1 quotation1 or interesting item of information at the point where the discourse threatens to become tedious4 ,it is true that the ,german critic1 in his indefatigable search for the unecht1 has impugned the authorship of the ,dinner-,party of the ,seven ,sages#i on grounds unintelligible to those who do not expect a dinner-table conversation to be a systematic treatise1 and who are satisfied to believe that a mixture of serious talk1 banter1 and narrative1 and a frequent transition of subject1 are precisely the things for which one would look on such an occasion4 ,every feature of the style is ,plutarchan1 and1 if ,plutarch did not write the piece1 we can only feel unmixed regret that he did not1 and unmixed surprise that its real author should sacrifice the credit of his performance4 ,with the article on ,the ,bringing-up of a ,boy the case is different4 ,wyttenbach has sufficiently pointed out its frequent feebleness of argument1 its turbid arrangement1 the exceeding triteness of its ideas1 and its unaccountable omissions4 ,to us moderns it is of great interest for the light which it throws on the education of the period1 and for its incidental revelations of the conditions of domestic life and the domestic affections4 ,otherwise it is a puerile performance and savours of nothing but the student essay4 ,if it be argued that it is one of ,plutarch's juvenile works1 the answer is that it is unlike him to be disingenuous2 and disingenuous he must be1 if in his early youth he pretends to have #8often impressed upon parents' this or that4 ,antiquity produced far too many amateur essays in imitation of great authors--imitations actually ascribed to those authors by a recognized fiction of the schools--for us to do an injustice to ,plutarch when an easier solution lies so close to our hands4 ,perhaps1 again1 the piece on ,fawner and ,friend#aj suffers from an occasional longueur1 but there are few writers who do not at some less felicitous moment perpetrate paragraphs less vivacious than their average4 ,as a stylist ,plutarch is apt to be underrated4 ,he is1 it is true1 no laborious atticist1 and makes no point of writing like a purist in the classic manner of a ,plato or a ,lysias4 ,but this does not mean that he is in the least negligent in either word or sentence4 ,on the contrary1 his words are selected with extreme care1 and his sentences--where the text is sound1 as for the most part it is--are rounded off and interlinked as watchfully as any natural writing need require4 ,it is true that his vocabulary is large and his expression full1 but1 when his words are properly weighed and their metaphorical and other differentiations duly perceived1 no understanding reader will call him verbose4#aa ,he displays an immense command of language1 but no word plays an idle part1 and if 7like ,cicero1 whom in many respects he resembles7 he is fond of joining what are erroneously called synonyms1 it needs but little appreciation of verbal values to realize that the added words invariably carry some amplification1 some more precise definition1 or some emphasis helpful to a full grasp upon the sense4 ,it is true also that his sentences are apt to appear--like the sentences of ,ruskin's earlier days--somewhat lengthy2 nevertheless they commonly atone by lucidity of construction for any demand they may make upon sustained attention4#ab ,in a modern ,english dress they must necessarily be broken up1 but a practised reader of ,plutarch finds no more difficulty with them in the original than he would find with a passage of ,demosthenes or ,plato4 ,to one who becomes familiar with them they are at least as agreeable as the staccato brevities of ,seneca4 ,what chiefly exacts some effort from the reader of ,plutarchan ,greek is the fact that its words are extraordinarily charged with metaphor and allusion4#ac ,his choice of one word rather than another is always nicely calculated4 ,this truth once recognized1 a reader cannot fail to admire both the consistency with which the writer maintains his similitude while he is upon it1 and also the copious resources of vocabulary upon which he draws for the purpose4 ,meanwhile1 despite any length of sentence and fullness of praise1 ,plutarch neither irritates with tricks and mannerisms nor wearies with pedantry and ponderousness4 ,a pedant he could not be4 ,he is no writer of ,johnsonese4 ,to him the best words are those which best suit their context1 and he has no objection whatever to a dash of the colloquial or a touch of the homely or nave4 ,it is one of his characteristic merits that he knows when to take the higher and when the lower road of diction4 ,he also knows when he is in danger of stylistic monotony4 ,plutarch was a teacher1 but1 like all truly intelligent members of that profession1 he recognized that the most uninspiring attitude to adopt is the severely and unremittingly pedagogic4 #8,the knack of style1' it has been said1 #8is to write like a human being1' and ,plutarch1 a professor of humanity without a chair1 is always and entirely human4 ,that his pen must have moved with extraordinary facility is evident from the number of his publications4 ,apart from his ,lives 7of which not all are extant71 his ,moralia include over eighty pieces1 long or short1 and it is certain that many others had disappeared#ad before the present collection became available in its eleventh-century ,,ms4 ,it is not here implied that he is never culpable1 never over-loaded4 ,there are times1 though rare ones1 at which we feel that his memory or his notebook has been unduly exploited4 ,we feel that he might have spared us an illustration which does not illustrate or a similitude which is deficient in similarity4 ,to a certain extent he is a ,euphuist1 and though ,guevara perhaps owed nothing directly to him 7as he did to ,seneca#ae71 it is manifest that ,plutarch sometimes strains a point in order to achieve an over-ingenious comparison4 ,the contagion of the thing1 like that of ,euphuism in the ,elizabethan age1 was in the air1 and ,plutarch assuredly does not err more often or more heinously with one generation than ,shakespeare did with another4 ,wide reading and natural fecundity easily slip into sins which narrow resources and slow invention are impotent to commit4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there are numerous signs that the pendulum of classical interest is swinging in the direction of the literature of the early ,empire4 ,the exclusive toujours perdrix of the ,attic and ,ciceronian periods has apparently begun to jade the palate1 and writers like ,seneca and ,plutarch are coming into their own once more4 ,there was a time when these authors were perhaps better known than any others4 ,that they were worthy of prime consideration is manifest from the immense influence which they exercised upon the ardent and inquiring spirits of the sixteenth and following centuries1 in ,england no less than on the ,continent4 ,authors who could make such an appeal to ,montaigne1 to the ,elizabethan dramatists1 to ,bacon1 or to ,jeremy ,taylor1#af are surely not to be despised because they belong stylistically to a #8silver' age1 or because their strength lies mostly in the fact that they are a mine of ideas1 wise saws1 and pointed moral instances4 ,seneca1 as being a writer of ,latin1 was naturally the earlier and more widely read1#ag but from the publication of the editio princeps of ,plutarch by ,aldus in #aeji our author sprang into peculiar estimation among the recovered spirits of antiquity4 ,it was1 however1 due to ,amyot that both his ,lives and his ,essays became accessible to those who had little or no ,greek4 ,the ,essays were rendered into idiomatic ,french by that admirable translator in the year #aegb1ah and ,montaigne was by no means the only reader among nous autres ignorans who made the ,plutarch of ,amyot his breviary1 and who #8drew his water incessantly' from him4 ,it was not the literary etiquette of the ,elizabethan age to acknowledge all the obligations one might owe even to a contemporary1 much less to the ancients1 and the stores of ,plutarch might be rifled without much fear of detection1 and certainly with no fear of reproach4 ,when ,lyly1 in ,euphues and his ,ephoebus1#ai takes it in hand to bring up a child in the way he should go1 he is in a large measure simply translating1 expanding1 and emphasizing the pseudo-,plutarch on the ,bringing-up of a ,boy and interspersing the discourse with pickings from other essays1 particularly that on ,garrulousness4#bj ,montaigne1 of course1 with his bland unreserve1 credits ,plutarch via ,amyot with a multitude of observations1 while ,bacon1 when following the new vogue of the essay1 sometimes refers us to #8,plutarke'1 and at least on one occasion informs us that #8,mountaigny saith' a thing which on reference to the said #8,mountaigny' we find to be ,plutarchan4 ,though it is no part of the present ,introduction to examine in detail the influence of the philosopher of ,chaeronea upon modern writers1 or to make an inventory of his contributions to ,english literature1 it is at least worth asking whether an author whom genius once delighted to exploit1 and from whom so many good things have filtered down to us through various channels1 may not be well worth reading at first hand4 ,to ,professor ,mahaffy#ba ,plutarch #8is a pure and elevating writer1 full of precious information1 and breathing a lofty moral tone'1 and to ,professor ,gilbert ,murray#bb he is #8one of the most tactful and charming of writers1 and one of the most lovable characters in antiquity'4 ,said ,emerson#bc3 #8,plutarch will be perpetually rediscovered from time to time as long as books last4' ,footnote #a3 ,the reproof might ostensibly be general1 but its particular application was readily felt4 ,musonius1 we are told by ,epictetus1 made all his hearers feel #8as if some one had been talking to him about them'4 ,footnote #b3 ,see ,concerning ,busybodies1 #ebb ,e4 ,footnote #c3 ,over and above his resemblances to ,macaulay as a writer of essays and biographical history1 there is a distinct similarity between their conversational tastes4 ,we can imagine a ,plutarch fully at home with ,macaulay at one of those astonishing early ,victorian breakfast-parties where a man might be asked if he #8knew his ,popes'1 and where he might be endured while he recited them4 ,plutarch's ,table-,talk1 like his ,dinner-,party of the ,seven ,sages1 reveals for contemporary ,greek society the same deliberate cult of intellectual conversation sharpened by challenge and debate4 ,in such conversation he must himself have played a conspicuous part4 ,nevertheless1 it may fairly be gathered that the ,greek or ,graeco-,roman interlocutors in the reign of ,trajan were the more ingenuously athirst for reciprocal enlightenment1 however dubiously we may regard the value of the information or misinformation actually gained4 ,nor is it easy to believe that ,plutarch would have thought it etiquette to indulge in the protracted monologues to which the more modern society submitted with such grace as it best could4 ,footnote #d3 e4g4 in his ,de repugnantiis ,stoicorum and his ,non posse suaviter vivi secundum ,epicurum4 ,yet1 as ,mahaffy says1 #8it would be hard to say whether the number of ,stoic dogmas which he rejects exceeds that which he quotes with approval' 7,the ,greek ,world under ,roman ,sway1 pp4 #cjj sqq474 ,footnote #e3 ,volkmann names in particular ,clement of ,alexandria and ,basil4 ,footnote #f3 ,this does not mean that he had no friends among the rhetorical teachers 7the contrary is shown by his reference to #8our ,niger' in praec4 san41 #af71 but only that he distrusted the type4 ,he refused to approve of a fluent and polished style as an end in itself4 ,pliny describes how the amazingly voluble ,isaeus would offer his audience a choice of subject and allow it to dictate the side which he should take4 ,he would then rise and demonstrate his extemporizing powers with much show of rhetorical ornament4 ,footnote #g3 ,volkmann says of the ,lives1 #8,das ,werthvolle an ihnen sind nicht die historischen ,details1 die er giebt1 sondern die eingestreuten ,reflexionen1 die ethischen ,betrachtungen1 das ,eingehen auf individuelle ,stimmungen und ,leidenschaften der grossen ,mnner4' ,footnote #h3 ,aulicis tantum scripsit1 non doctis1 says ,scaliger4 ,footnote #i3 ,volkmann guesses that it is ein ,produkt der spteren ,sophistik4 ,if so1 we may congratulate the ,sophist on his perfect reproduction of ,plutarch's style and of his non-sophistic tone4 ,footnote #aj3 ,bacon's ,essay ,of ,followers and ,friends owes almost nothing to ,plutarch beyond the title4 ,we do1 however1 find him borrowing the words #8for there is no such ,flatterer as a ,man's selfe'4 ,footnote #aa3 ,as ,volkmann happily puts it1 he writes #8with comfortable breadth'4 ,footnote #ab3 ,the sentences would doubtless have been easier still if ,plutarch had not felt bound to follow the fashion of the time and elaborately avoid hiatus4 ,footnote #ac3 ,perhaps this is why ,plutarch1 as seen through ,amyot1 appeared to ,montaigne #8close and thorny1' while his sense was nevertheless #8closely-jointed and pithily-continued'4 ,footnote #ad3 ,stobaeus 7sixth century7 had access to much of ,plutarch that is now lost4 ,footnote #ae3 ,see an observation of ,professor ,summers1 ,seneca ,select ,letters1 ,introduction1 p4 lxxiv4 ,footnote #af3 ,plutarch #8is the theme of more than #bcj allusions or direct references on the part of ,jeremy ,taylor' 7,sandys1 ,a ,history of ,classical ,scholarship1 i4 #cjj74 ,footnote #ag3 ,he was familiar reading of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries1 and appears in the ,gesta ,romanorum4 ,later the ,adagia of ,erasmus draw freely upon him4 ,footnote #ah3 #8,il a en quelque sorte cr ,plutarque1' says ,demogeot4 ,footnote #ai3 ,euphues appeared in #aegi4 ,jusserand 7,the ,english ,novel in the ,time of ,shakespeare1 p4 #abg7 remarks that ,euphues #8addresses moral epistles to his fellow men to guide them through life'1 but he appears to be unaware that ,lyly borrowed this object1 as well as so large a quantity of his matter1 from ,plutarch4 ,footnote #bj3 ,we meet1 for example1 with the story of ,zeno1 #8the olde man in ,athens that amiddest the pottes could hold his peace4' ,footnote #ba3 ,history of ,greek ,classical ,literature1 ii4 #dbg4 ,footnote #bb3 ,the ,literature of ,ancient ,greece1 p4 #cif4 ,footnote #bc3 ,quoted by ,sandys 7,a ,history of ,classical ,scholarship1 i4 #cjj74 ,,contents ,dinner-,party of the ,seven ,sages #bg ,on ,old ,men in ,public ,life #fe ,advice to ,married ,couples #if ,concerning ,busybodies #aac ,on ,garrulousness #acj ,on the ,student at ,lectures #aeg ,on ,moral ,ignorance in ,high ,places #ahj ,fawner and ,friend #ahg ,on ,bringing up a ,boy #bda ,notes on ,persons and ,places #bfg ,appendix3 ,notes on the ,greek ,text #bie ,in the following imaginary #8,dinner-,party of the ,seven ,sages' the supposed narrator is a certain ,diocles of ,corinth1 a professional diviner and expiator of omens connected with the court of ,periander1 who was despot of ,corinth from #fbe ,b4 ,c4 to #ehe ,b4 ,c4 ,the dramatic date is towards the close of that period4 ,it must not be assumed that ,plutarch is pretending to be historical1 and anachronisms must be disregarded4 ,the ,seven ,sages are here ,thales1 ,bias1 ,pittacus1 ,solon1 ,chilon1 ,cleobulus1 ,anacharsis 7see ,notes on ,persons and ,places74 ,the list varies with different writers1 but ,thales1 ,bias1 ,pittacus1 and ,solon are invariably1 and ,chilon is regularly1 included in the canon4 ,periander is himself sometimes made one of the number1 and a certain ,myson also appears4 ,the qualities which constituted a #8sage' in this connexion were those of keen practical sense and insight1 and a power of crystallizing the results into pithy maxims4 ,he was not a #8philosopher' in the later sense of that word4 ,,dinner-,,party ,,of ,,the ,,seven ,,sages ,we ,sidenote3 #adf ,b may be sure1 ,nicarchus1 that in process of time facts will become so obscured as to be altogether beyond ascertainment1 seeing that in the present instance1 where they are so fresh and recent1 the world accepts accounts of them which are pure concoctions4 ,in the first place1 the party at dinner did not consist--as you have been told--merely of seven1 but of ,sidenote3 ,c more than twice that number4 ,i was myself included1 both as being professionally intimate with ,periander and as the host of ,thales1 who had taken up his quarters with me by ,periander's directions4 ,in the second place1 whoever related the conversation to you1 reported it incorrectly4 ,presumably he was not one of the company4 ,inasmuch1 therefore1 as ,i have plenty of spare time and my years do not warrant me in putting off the narrative with any confidence1 ,i will--since you are all so eager--tell you the whole story from the beginning4 ,periander ,sidenote3 ,d had prepared his entertainment1 not in the city1 but in the banquet-hall at ,lechaeum1 close to the temple of ,aphrodite1 the festival being in her honour4 ,for after having refused to sacrifice to ,aphrodite since the love-affair which led to his mother's suicide1 he was now for the first time1 thanks to certain dreams on the part of ,melissa1 induced to pay honour and court to that goddess4 ,inasmuch as it was summer-time and the road all the way to the sea was crowded with people and vehicles1 and therefore full of dust and a confusion of traffic1 each of the invited guests was supplied with a carriage and pair handsomely caparisoned4 ,thales1 however1 on seeing the carriage at the door1 simply ,sidenote3 ,e smiled and sent it away4 ,accordingly we turned off the road and proceeded to walk quietly through the fields1 a third member of our party being ,niloxenus of ,naucratis1 a man of high character who had formed a close acquaintance with ,solon and ,thales in ,egypt4 ,his presence was due to his having been sent on another mission to ,bias4 ,of its purpose he was himself unaware1 although he suspected that the sealed document of which he was the bearer contained a second problem for solution4 ,he had been instructed1 in case ,bias could do nothing1 to show the missive to the wisest of the ,greeks4 #8,it is a godsend to me1' ,sidenote3 ,f said ,niloxenus1 #8to find you all here1 and1 as you perceive'--showing us the paper--#8,i am bringing the letter to the dinner4' ,at this ,thales remarked with a laugh1 #8,in case of trouble1 once more to ,priene6#bd ,for ,bias will solve the difficulty1 as he did the first1 without assistance4' #8,what do you mean1' said ,i1 #8by 8the first08' #8,the king1' replied ,thales1 #8sent him an animal for sacrifice1 and bade him pick out and send back the worst and best portion of the meat4 ,thereupon our friend1 with excellent judgement1 took out and sent the tongue2 and he is manifestly held in high repute and admiration in consequence4' ,sidenote3 #adg #8,that is not the only reason1' said ,niloxenus1 #8,bias does not object--as you do--to be1 and to be called1 a friend of kings4 ,in your own case the king not only admires you on general grounds1 but he was hugely delighted with your method of measuring the pyramid4 ,without any fuss or the need of any instrument1 you stood your stick at the end of the shadow thrown by the pyramid1 and the fall of the sunlight making two triangles1 you showed that the pyramid stood in the same ratio to the stick as the one shadow to the other4#be ,but1 as ,i observed1 you were charged with being a king-hater1 and ,sidenote3 ,b certain outrageous expressions of yours concerning despots were reported to him4 ,for example1 when asked by the ,ionian ,molpagoras what was the strangest sight you had seen1 you answered1 8,an aged despot40 ,again1 at a drinking-party1 when the talk fell upon animals1 you stated that among wild animals the worst was the despot1 and among tame animals the sycophant4 ,however much a king may claim to differ from a despot1 he does not welcome language of that kind4' #8,nay1' said ,thales1 #8the former remark belongs to ,pittacus1 who once made it in a playful attack on ,myrsilus4 ,my own observation ,sidenote3 ,c was that ,i should regard as a strange sight1 not an aged despot1 but an aged navigator4 ,none the less1 my feelings at the altered version are those of the young fellow who1 after throwing at the dog and hitting his step-mother1 remarked1 8,not so bad1 after all40 ,yes1 ,i regarded ,solon as very wise in refusing to act the despot4 ,our ,pittacus also1 if he had kept clear of monarchy1 would not have said that 8it is hard to be good04 ,as for ,periander1 his despotism may be regarded as an inherited disease1 from which he is making a creditable recovery1 inasmuch as up to the present he keeps wholesome company1 cultivates the society of sensible men1 and will have nothing to say to that 8cutting down of the tall poppies0 suggested by my fellow-countryman ,sidenote3 ,d ,thrasybulus4 ,a despot who desires to rule over slaves rather than men is no better than a farmer who is ready to reap a harvest of darnel and cammock in preference to wheat and barley4 ,among the many undesirable features of despotic rule1 the one desirable element is the honour and glory1 in a case where the subjects are good but the ruler is better1 and where they are great but he is regarded as greater4 ,if he is satisfied with safety without honour1 his right course would be to rule over a herd of sheep1 horses1 or oxen1 not over human beings4 ,however1 ,sidenote3 ,e your visitor here has launched us upon an inopportune topic4 ,we are walking to a dinner1 and he should have remembered to moot questions suited to the occasion4 ,for you will doubtless admit that there is a certain preparation necessary for the guest as well as for the host4 ,the people of ,sybaris1 ,i understand1 send their invitations to the women a year in advance1 so that they may have plenty of time to prepare their dress and their jewelry before coming to dinner4 ,in my own opinion one who is to play the diner in the proper way requires still more time for real and true preparation1 inasmuch as it is harder to arrive at the appropriate adornment of character than at the useless and superfluous adornment of the person4 ,when a man of sense comes to ,sidenote3 ,f dinner1 he does not bring himself to be filled like a vessel1 but to contribute something either serious or sportive4 ,he is to listen or talk about such matters as the occasion asks of the company1 if they are to find pleasure in each other's society4 ,an inferior dish may be put aside1 and if a wine is poor1 one may take refuge with the ,nymphs4#bf ,but when your table-companion is an ill-bred bore who gives you a headache1 he utterly ruins the enjoyment of any wine or dish or musical entertainment4 ,sidenote3 #adh ,nor have you the resource of an emetic for that kind of annoyance1 but in some cases the mutual antipathy lasts all your life1 an insulting or angry incident at your wine having resulted in a kind of nausea4 ,chilon was therefore quite right when1 on receiving his invitation yesterday1 he only accepted after ascertaining the full list of the guests4 ,as he remarked1 when people cannot help going to sea or on a campaign1 and a shipmate or tentmate proves disagreeable1 they are obliged to put up with him2 but no sensible man will form one of an indiscriminate wine-party4 ,the mummy which the ,egyptians regularly bring in and exhibit at their parties1 bidding you ,sidenote3 ,b remember that you will very soon be like it1 may be an unwelcome and unseasonable boon-companion2 yet the custom is not without its point4 ,even if it may not incite you to drink and enjoy yourself1 it does incite to mutual liking and regard4 8,life10 it urges1 8is short in duration2 do not make it long by vexations40' ,after talk of this nature on the way we arrived at the house4 ,as we had anointed ourselves1 ,thales decided not to take a bath1 but proceeded to visit and inspect the race-tracks1 the wrestling-grounds1 and the handsomely decorated park along the shore4 ,not that he was greatly taken with anything of that kind1 but he would not appear to despise or slight ,periander's display ,sidenote3 ,c of public spirit4 ,the other guests1 as soon as each had anointed himself or bathed1 were being led by the servants through the cloister into the dining-room4 ,anacharsis1 however1 was seated in the cloister1 and in front of him stood a girl1 who was parting his hair with her hands4 ,upon her running to meet ,thales in the frankest possible manner1 he kissed her and said with a laugh1 #8,that's right3 make our foreign visitor beautiful1 so that he may not frighten us by looking like a savage1 when he is really a most civilized person4' ,upon my asking him who the child was1 he replied1 #8,don't you know the wise and far-famed ,sidenote3 ,d ,eumetis8 ,that1 by the way1 is her father's name for her1 though most people call her ,cleobuline1 after him4' #8,i presume1' said ,niloxenus1 #8your compliment refers to the girl's cleverness in constructing riddles4 ,some of her puzzles have found their way as far as ,egypt4' #8,not at all1' rejoined ,thales4 #8,those are merely the dice with which1 on occasion1 she plays a match for fun in conversation4 ,there is more in her than that3 an admirable spirit1 a practical intellect1 and an amiable character1 by which she renders her father's rule over his fellow country-men more gentle and popular4' #8,yes1' remarked ,niloxenus1 #8one ,sidenote3 ,e can see it by looking at her simplicity and unpretentiousness4 ,but how is it she is attending to ,anacharsis so affectionately8' #8,because1' was the answer1 #8he is a man of virtue and learning1 and has given her zealous and ungrudging instruction in the ,scythian manner of dieting and purging the sick4 ,i should say that at the present moment1 while looking after the gentleman so amiably1 she is getting some lesson and talking it over4' ,as we were just approaching the dining-room1 we were met by ,alexidemus of ,miletus1 the natural son of the despot ,thrasybulus4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,he was coming out in a state of excitement and angrily muttering something which conveyed no meaning to us4 ,when he saw ,thales he collected himself a little1 stopped1 and said3 #8,look how we have been insulted by ,periander6 ,he would not allow me to take ship home when ,i was anxious to do so1 but begged me to stay for the dinner2 and1 when ,i come to it1 he assigns me a degrading place at table1 and lets ,aeolians1 islanders1 and goodness knows whom1 take precedence of ,thrasybulus4 ,for since ,i was commissioned by ,thrasybulus1 it is evident that1 in my person1 he means to insult and humiliate ,sidenote3 #adi him1 by treating him as if he were nobody4' #8,i see1' said ,thales1 #8what you are afraid of4 ,in ,egypt they say of the stars1 according to their increase or decrease of altitude in the regions they traverse1 that they become #8better' or #8worse' than themselves4 ,you are afraid that in your own case your place at table may mean a similar loss of brightness and eminence1 and you propose to show less spirit than the ,lacedaemonian1 who1 upon being put by the director in the last place in a chorus1 remarked1 8,a capital way of making even this place one of honour40 ,when we take our places1' continued ,thales1 #8we should not ask who have seats above us1 but how we are to make ourselves agreeable to our immediate neighbours4 ,as a means of immediately securing a beginning of friendly feeling on their part1 we should cultivate1 ,sidenote3 ,b or rather bring with us1 instead of irritation1 a tone of satisfaction at being placed in such good company4 ,the man who is annoyed with his place at table is more annoyed with his next neighbour than with his host1 and he earns the dislike of both4' #8,that1' retorted ,alexidemus1 #8is mere talk4 ,in practice ,i notice that even you sages are greedy for precedence'--and therewith he passed us and went off4 ,upon our expressing surprise at the man's peculiar behaviour1 ,thales said1 #8,a crazy person1 constitutionally wrong-headed4 ,when he was still a mere lad and a quantity of valuable perfume had been presented to ,thrasybulus1 he emptied it into a big wine-cooler1 poured in some neat wine1 and drank it off1 thereby bringing ill-odour upon ,sidenote3 ,c ,thrasybulus instead of the contrary4' ,at this point an attendant came up and said1 #8,periander requests you to take ,thales here along with you and examine an object which has just been brought to him1 to see whether it is a mere matter of accident or signifies something portentous4 ,he appears himself to be greatly agitated1 regarding it as a pollution1 and as a smirch upon the festival4' ,whereupon he proceeded to lead us to one of the apartments off the garden4 ,here a youth1 apparently a herdsman1 still beardless and with considerable handsomeness of person1 opened a leather wrapper and displayed a baby thing which he told us was the offspring of a mare4 ,the upper parts1 as far as the neck and arms1 were human1 the lower parts equine2 its voice when it cried was that ,sidenote3 ,d of a new-born child4 ,niloxenus1 exclaiming #8,heaven help us6' turned away from the sight2 but ,thales took a prolonged look at the young fellow1 and with a smile remarked--in accordance with his regular habit of twitting me in connexion with my profession--#8,i suppose1 ,diocles1 you are thinking of setting your purifications to work and giving trouble to the averting powers1 in the belief that a great and terrible thing has happened8' #8,of course ,i am1 ,thales1' said ,i1 #8for the token indicates strife and discord1 and ,i am afraid it may affect no less a matter than marriage and its issue4 ,as you see1 before we have expiated the original offence1 the goddess is giving warning of a second4' ,sidenote3 ,e ,to this ,thales made no answer1 but began to move off--laughing4 ,upon ,periander coming to the door to meet us1 and putting questions as to what we had seen1 ,thales turned from me1 took him by the hand1 and said3 #8,anything ,diocles bids you do1 you will perform at your leisure4 ,my own advice is to be more careful as to your herdsmen4' ,on hearing this speech ,periander appeared to be greatly delighted1 for he burst out laughing and hugged and kissed ,thales1 who observed3 #8,i should say1 ,diocles1 that the sign has found its fulfilment already2 for you see what a serious misfortune has befallen us in the ,sidenote3 ,f refusal of ,alexidemus to be present at dinner4' ,when we had actually entered the room1 ,thales1 speaking in a louder tone1 said3 #8,and where was the seat to which the gentleman objected8' ,upon the place being pointed out1 he went round and occupied it himself1 taking me with him1 and remarking3 #8,why1 ,i would have paid something for the ,sidenote3 #aej privilege of sharing the same table with ,ardalus4' ,the ,ardalus in question was a ,troezenian1 a flute-player and priest of the ,ardalian ,muses1 whose worship was established by the original ,ardalus of ,troezen4 ,thereupon ,aesop--who happened to have arrived recently on a simultaneous mission from ,croesus to ,periander and to the god at ,delphi1 and was present on a low stool close to where ,solon was reclining above--said1 #8,a ,lydian mule1 having caught sight of his reflection in a river and conceived an admiration for the size and beauty of his body1 gave a toss of his mane and set out to run like a horse2 but after a while1 reflecting that he was the son of an ass1 he quickly ,sidenote3 ,b stopped his career and dropped his pride and conceit4' ,at this ,chilon1 speaking in broad ,laconian1 observed3 #8,ye're slow yersel1 an' ye're running the mule's gait4' ,at this point ,melissa came in and reclined beside ,periander1 whereas ,eumetis sat at her dinner4 ,thales1 addressing me--,i was on the couch above ,bias--said3 #8,diocles1 why don't you inform ,bias that our visitor from ,naucratis has come to him again with royal problems to solve1 so that he may be sober and capable of looking after himself when he receives the communication8' ,bias replied3 #8,nay1 our friend here has been trying for a long time to frighten me with that warning4 ,but ,i am aware that1 besides his other capacities1 ,dionysus is styled ,solver#bg in right of wisdom4 ,i feel ,sidenote3 ,c no fear1 therefore1 that my being 8filled with the god0 will cause me to make a less hopeful fight of it4' ,while jokes of this kind were passing between these great men over their dinner1 ,i was noticing that the meal was unusually frugal1 and ,i was led to meditate on the fact that to invite and entertain wise and good men means no additional expense1 but rather a curtailment of it1 since it eliminates fancy dishes1 out-of-the-way perfumes and sweetmeats1 and lavish decantings of costly wines4 ,though ,periander1 being a despot and a person ,sidenote3 ,d of wealth and power1 indulged in such things pretty nearly every day1 on this occasion he was trying to impress the company with a show of simplicity and modest expenditure4 ,he put aside and out of sight not only the display usually made in other things1 but also that used by his wife1 whom he made present herself in modest and inexpensive attire4 ,the tables were removed2 ,melissa caused garlands to be distributed2 and we poured libations4 ,after the flute-girl had played a short piece to accompany them1 and had then withdrawn1 ,ardalus1 addressing ,anacharsis1 asked if there were any flute-girls among the ,scythians4 ,instantly he replied1 #8,no1 nor ,sidenote3 ,e yet vines4' ,when ,ardalus rejoined3 #8,well1 but the ,scythians have gods2' #8,quite true1' said he3 #8gods who understand human language4 ,we are not like the ,greeks1 who imagine they speak better than the ,scythians1 and yet believe that the gods would rather listen to pieces of bone and wood4' #8,ah1' said ,aesop1 #8what if you knew1 ,sir ,visitor1 that the present-day flute-makers have given up using the bones of fawns and have taken to those of asses8 ,they maintain that these sound better--a fact which explains ,cleobuline's riddle upon the ,phrygian flute3 ,sidenote3 ,f ,with a shin that was horned ,did an ass that was dead ,deal a blow on my ear4 ,it is a wonderful thing that the ass1 who is otherwise particularly crass and unmusical1 should supply us with a bone particularly fine and melodious4' #8,now that1' said ,niloxenus1 #8is precisely the objection which the ,busirites bring against us of ,naucratis2 for asses' bones for flutes are already in use with us4 ,with them1 on the contrary1 it is profanation even to listen to a trumpet1 because it sounds like the bray of an ass4 ,you know1 ,i presume1 that the ass is treated contemptuously by the ,egyptians because of ,typhon8' ,a silence here occurred1 and1 as ,periander perceived that ,niloxenus1 though eager to enter upon the subject1 was shy ,sidenote3 #aea of doing so1 he said3 #8,to my mind1 gentlemen1 it is a commendable practice1 whether of community or ruler1 to take the business of strangers first and of citizens afterwards4 ,on the present occasion1 therefore1 ,i propose that for a short time we suspend any topics of our own1 as being local and familiar1 and that we treat ourselves as an ,assembly and #8grant an audience' to those royal communications from ,egypt1 of which our excellent friend ,niloxenus is the bearer to ,bias1 and which ,bias desires that you should join him in considering4' #8,yes1' said ,bias3 #8for where1 or with whom1 could one more readily face the risk--if it must be faced--of answering in a case like this1 especially when the king's instructions are that1 though ,sidenote3 ,b the matter is to begin with me1 it is to go the round of you all8' ,niloxenus thereupon offered him the document1 but ,bias bade him open it himself and read every word to the whole company4 ,the contents of the letter were to the following effect3 ,,amasis1 ,,king ,,of ,,egypt1 ,,to ,,bias1 ,,wisest ,,of ,,the ,,greeks ,the ,king of ,ethiopia is engaged in matching his wits against mine4 ,hitherto he has had the worst of it1 but has finally concocted a terrible poser in the shape of a command that ,i should #8drink up the sea'4 ,if ,i meet it with a solution1 ,i am to have a number of his villages and towns4 ,if not1 ,i am to surrender the cities in the neighbourhood of ,elephantine4 ,do you1 therefore1 take the matter ,sidenote3 ,c in hand and send ,niloxenus back to me at once4 ,any return which friends or countrymen of yours require from me will be made without hesitation on my part4 ,this part of the letter having been read1 ,bias was not long in answering4 ,after a few moments of meditation and a brief conversation with ,cleobulus1 who was close to him at table1 he said3 #8,do you mean to say1 my friend from ,naucratis1 that ,amasis1 though reigning over so many subjects and possessed of so large and excellent a country1 will be ready to drink up the sea in order to win a few miserable insignificant villages8' #8,take it that he will1 ,bias1' replied ,niloxenus1 #8and consider how it can be done4' #8,very well then1' said he3 #8let him tell ,sidenote3 ,d the ,ethiopian to stop the rivers that run into the ocean1 while he is himself drinking up the sea at present existing4 ,the command applies to the sea as it is1 not as it is to be later on4' ,bias no sooner made this speech than ,niloxenus was so delighted that he rushed to embrace and kiss him4 ,after the rest of the company had cheered and applauded1 ,chilon said with a laugh1 #8,sir ,visitor from ,naucratis1 before the sea is all drunk up and lost1 set sail and tell ,amasis not to be asking how to make away with all that brine1 but rather how to render his kingship sweet and drinkable for his subjects4 ,bias is a past master at teaching ,sidenote3 ,e such a lesson1 and1 if ,amasis learns it1 he will have no further occasion for his golden footpan#bh in dealing with the ,egyptians4 ,they will all be courting and making much of him for his goodness1 even if he is declared to be of a thousand times lower birth than he actually is4' #8,yes1 and by the way1' said ,periander1 #8it would be a good thing if all--8man after man01 as ,homer has it--were to contribute a similar offering to ,his ,majesty4 ,a bonus of the kind thrown in would not only make the returns on his venture more valuable to him1 but would also be the best thing in the world for us4' ,chilon thereupon asserted that ,solon was the right man to ,sidenote3 ,f make a beginning on the subject1 not only because he was senior to all the rest and was in the place of honour at the table1 but because1 having legislated for the ,athenians1 he held the greatest and completest position as a ruler4 ,at this ,niloxenus remarked quietly to me1 #8,people believe a good deal that is false1 ,diocles2 and they mostly take a delight in inventing for themselves1 and in accepting with avidity from others1 mischievous stories about wise men4 ,for instance1 it was reported ,sidenote3 #aeb to us in ,egypt that ,chilon had cancelled his friendship and his relations of hospitality with ,solon1 because ,solon declared that laws were alterable4' ,at this ,i answered1 #8,the story is ridiculous2 for in that case ,chilon ought to begin by disclaiming ,lycurgus and all his laws1 as having altered the whole ,lacedaemonian constitution4' ,after a brief delay ,solon said3 #8,in my opinion a king or despot would win most renown by furnishing his fellow-citizens with a popular1 in place of a monarchical1 government4' ,the second to speak was ,bias1 who said3 #8,by identifying his behaviour with the laws of his country4' ,thales came next with the statement that he considered a ruler happy #8if he died naturally of old age#84 ,fourth ,anacharsis3 #8,if good sense never failed him4' ,sidenote3 99 ,fifth ,cleobulus3 #8,if he trusted none of those about him4' ,sixth ,pittacus3 #8,if the ruler could get his subjects to fear1 not him1 but ,sidenote3 ,b for him4' ,next ,chilon said that #8the ruler's conceptions should never be mortal1 but always immortal#84 ,after hearing these dicta1 we claimed that ,periander himself should express an opinion4 ,with anything but cheerfulness1 and pulling a serious face1 he replied3 #8,well1 the opinion ,i have to add is that every one of the views stated practically disqualifies a man of sense from being a ruler4' ,whereupon ,aesop1 as if in a spirit of reproof1 said1 #8,you ought1 of course1 to have discussed this subject by yourselves1 and not to have delivered an attack upon rulers under pretence of being their advisers and friends4' ,sidenote3 ,c #8,don't you think1' said ,solon1 taking him by the head and smiling1 #8that one can make a ruler more moderate and a despot more reasonable by persuading him that it is better to decline such a position than to hold it8' #8,and pray who1' he replied1 #8is likely to follow you in the matter rather than the ,god1 whose opinion is given in the oracle delivered to yourself3 ,blessd the city that hearkens to one commander's proclaiming4' #8,true1' said ,solon1 #8but1 as a matter of fact1 the ,athenians1 though with a popular government1 do listen to one proclaimer ,sidenote3 ,d and ruler in the shape of the law4 ,you have a wonderful gift at understanding ravens and jackdaws1 but your hearing of the ,sidenote3 99 voice of modesty is indistinct4 ,while you think that a state is best off when it listens1 as the ,god says1 to 8one01 you believe that the best convivial party is that in which everybody talks on every subject4' #8,yes1' said ,aesop1 #8for you have not yet legislated to the effect that 8a slave shall not get tipsy0 is to stand on the same footing with those ,athenian ordinances of yours which say 8a slave shall not indulge in love or in dry-rubbing with oil04'#bi ,at this ,solon broke into a laugh1 and ,cleodorus the physician remarked3 #8,but1 in one respect1 talking when the wine is taking effect does stand on the same footing with dry-rubbing--it is very pleasant4' #8,consequently1' ,sidenote3 ,e broke in ,chilon1 #8it is the more to be avoided4' #8,yes1' said ,aesop again1#cj #8,thales did appear to recommend getting old as quickly as possible4' ,periander laughed1 and said3 #8,aesop1 we have been properly punished for dropping into other questions before bringing forward the whole of those from ,amasis1 as we proposed4 ,pray look at the rest of the letter1 ,niloxenus1 and take advantage of the gentlemen being all here together4' #8,as for that1' replied ,niloxenus1 #8whereas the command sent by the ,ethiopian can only be called a 8doleful ,sidenote3 ,f dispatch0--as ,archilochus would say--your friend ,amasis has shown a fine and more civilized taste in setting such problems4 ,he bade him name the oldest thing1 the most beautiful1 the greatest1 the wisest1 the most universal1 and--not stopping there--the most beneficent1 the most harmful1 the most powerful1 and the easiest4' #8,well1 and did his answers give the solution in each case8' #8,his replies were these1' said ,niloxenus4 #8,it is ,sidenote3 #aec for you to listen and judge2 for the king is very anxious neither to be guilty of pettifogging with the answers1 nor to let any slip on the part of the answerer escape without refutation4 ,i will read you the replies as given4 ,what is the oldest thing8--,time4 ,what the greatest8--,the universe4 ,what the wisest8--,truth4 ,what the most beautiful8--,light4 ,what the most universal8--,death4 ,what the most beneficent8--,god4 ,what the most harmful8--,evil genius4 ,what the strongest8--,fortune4 ,what the easiest8--,that which is pleasant4' ,well1 ,nicarchus1 after the reading of this second passage there was a silence4 ,then ,thales asked ,niloxenus if ,amasis was satisfied with the solutions4 ,upon his replying that he had ,sidenote3 ,b accepted some1 but was dissatisfied with others1 ,thales said1 #8,and yet not one of them is unassailable4 ,there are great blunders and signs of ignorance all through4 ,for instance1 how can ,time be the oldest thing1 seeing that1 while some of it is past and some present1 some of it is future8 ,time which is to come after us must be regarded as younger than the events and persons of the present4 ,again1 to call ,truth wisdom appears to me as bad as making out that the light is the eye4 ,next1 if he considered ,light beautiful--as indeed it is--how came he to ignore the sun8 ,as for the rest1 the answer concerning gods and evil spirits is bold and dangerous1 while in that ,sidenote3 ,c concerning ,fortune the logic is exceedingly bad4 ,fortune would not be so readily upset if it was the strongest and most powerful thing in existence4 ,nor yet again is ,death the most universal thing1 for in the case of the living it has no existence4 ,however1 to avoid seeming merely to criticize the work of others1 let us express views of our own and compare them with his4 ,i am ready to be the first to be questioned point by point1 if ,niloxenus so desires4' ,in relating the questions and answers ,i will put them exactly as they occurred4 ,what is the oldest thing8 #8,god1' said ,thales3 #8for ,he is without birth4' ,what is greatest8 #8,space3 for ,sidenote3 ,d while the universe contains everything else1 it is space that contains the universe4' ,what is most beautiful8 #8,the cosmos3 for everything duly ordered is part of it4' ,what is wisest8 #8,time3 for it is ,time that has either discovered things or will discover them4' ,what most universal8 #8,expectation3 for those who have nothing else have that4' ,what most beneficent8 #8,virtue3 for it makes other things beneficent by using them rightly4' ,what most harmful8 #8,vice3 for most things suffer from its presence4' ,what most powerful8 #8,necessity3 for it is invincible4' ,what most easy8 #8,the natural2 not pleasure1 for people often fail to cope with that4' ,the whole company being satisfied with ,thales and his ,sidenote3 ,e acumen1 ,cleodorus observed3 #8,it is questions and answers of this kind1 ,niloxenus1 that are proper for kings4 ,on the other hand1 the barbarian who gave ,amasis the sea to drink1 required the short answer made by ,pittacus to ,alyattes1 when he wrote the ,lesbians a letter containing an arrogant command4 ,the reply was merely a recommendation to eat onions and hot bread4'#ca ,here ,periander joined in2 #8,i may remind you1 ,cleodorus1 that even in old times the ,greeks had a habit of posing each ,sidenote3 ,f other with similar difficulties4 ,we are told1 for instance1 that there was a gathering at ,chalcis of the most distinguished poets among the wise men of the day1 in order to celebrate the funeral of ,amphidamas--a great warrior who had given much trouble to the ,eretrians and had fallen in the fighting for ,lelantum4 ,the verses composed by the poets were so well matched1 that it became a difficult and troublesome matter to judge between them1 and the reputation of the competitors--,homer and ,hesiod--caused the jury much diffidence and ,sidenote3 #aed embarrassment4 ,thereupon they had recourse to questions of the present kind1 and ,homer--as ,lesches tells us--propounded the following3 ,tell me1 ,muse1 of such things as neither before have befallen1 ,nor shall hereafter befall8 ,to which ,hesiod instantly replied3 ,when in eager pursuit of the prize the chariots1 one 'gainst the other ,are dashed by the ringing-hoof'd steeds round the tomb where ,zeus lieth buried4 ,this answer1 it is said1 won particular admiration and secured him the tripod4' #8,but pray what is the difference1' asked ,cleodorus1 #8between such questions and ,eumetis's riddles8 ,it is no doubt right ,sidenote3 ,b enough for her to set women such puzzles by way of amusement1 constructing them as other women plait their bits of girdles or hair-nets4 ,but for sensible men to treat them with any seriousness is absurd4' ,eumetis would apparently have liked to make some retort1 but she was too shy1 and checked herself1 her face mantled with blushes4 #8,nay1' said ,aesop1 by way of championing her1 #8it is surely more absurd to be unable to solve them4 ,take for example the one she set us just before dinner3 ,i saw a man glue bronze on a man2 with fire did he glue it4 ,can you tell me what that means8' #8,no1 and ,i don't want ,sidenote3 ,c to be told either1' answered ,cleodorus4 #8,and yet1' said ,aesop1 #8no one is so familiar with the thing1 or does it so well1 as you4 ,if you deny it1 cupping-glasses#cb will bear me out4' ,at this ,cleodorus laughed1 for he made more use of cupping-glasses than any medical man of the day1 and the estimation in which that remedy is held is especially due to him4 #8,i beg to ask1 ,periander1' said ,mnesiphilus the ,athenian1 a close friend and admirer of ,solon1 #8that the conversation1 like the wine1 shall not be limited to wealth or rank1 but shall be put on a democratic footing and made to concern all alike4 ,in what has just been ,sidenote3 ,d said about wealth and kingship there is nothing for us commoners4 ,we think1 therefore1 that you should take a government with equal rights1 and each of you again contribute some opinion1 beginning once more with ,solon4' ,it was decided that this should be done4 ,first came ,solon4 #8,well1 ,mnesiphilus1 you1 like every other ,athenian1 have heard what opinion ,i hold about such a government4 ,but if you desire to hear it again now1 it seems to me that a community is in the soundest condition1 and its popular government most securely maintained1 when the wrongdoer is accused and punished quite as much by those who ,sidenote3 ,e have not been wronged as by the man that has4' ,the second to speak was ,bias1 who said that the best popular government is #8that in which every one fears the law as he would a despot4' ,next came ,thales with #8that in which there are no citizens either too rich or too poor4' ,anacharsis followed with #8that in which1 while everything else is treated as equal1 superiority is determined by virtue and inferiority by vice4' ,in the fifth place ,cleobulus affirmed that a democracy is most soundly conducted #8when its public men are more afraid of blame than of the law#84 ,sixth1 ,pittacus3 #8,where the bad are not permitted to hold office and the ,sidenote3 ,f good are not permitted to decline it4' ,last of all ,chilon expressed the view that the best free government is #8that which pays least attention to the orators and most to the laws4' ,periander once more summed up at the end by saying that they all appeared to him to be praising #8that democratic government which most resembled an aristocratic4' ,upon the conclusion of this second discussion ,i begged that they would also tell us the proper way to deal with a household2 #8for while there are few who are at the helm of a kingdom or a commonwealth1 we all play our parts in the hearth and home4' ,sidenote3 #aee ,at this ,aesop said with a laugh3 #8,no6 not if in 8all0 you include ,anacharsis4 ,he has no home1 but actually prides himself on being homeless1 and on using a wagon--in the same way as they tell us the sun roams about in a chariot1 occupying first one and then another region of the sky4' #8,yes1' retorted ,anacharsis1 #8and that is why1 unlike any other--or more than any other--god1 he is free and independent1 ruling all and ruled by none1 but always playing the king and holding the reins4 ,you1 however1 fail to realize the surpassing beauty and marvellous ,sidenote3 ,b size of his car1 otherwise you would not have tried to raise a laugh by jocosely comparing it with ours4 ,it seems to me1 ,aesop1 that to you a home means those coverings of yours made by clay and wood and tiles4 ,you might as well regard a 8snail0 as meaning the shell instead of the animal4 ,it is therefore natural that you should find cause to laugh at ,solon1 when he beheld all the costly splendour in the house of ,croesus and yet refused to declare off-hand that its possessor was happy and blessed in his home2 8for0--he argued--8,i am more desirous of looking at the fine things in the man than at those in his house40 ,it appears1 moreover1 that you have forgotten your own fox4 ,that animal1 when she and the leopard were engaged in a dispute as to which was the more 8cunningly marked01 begged the judge to examine her on the inside1 inasmuch as she would be found to possess more 8marks of cunning0 from that point of view4 ,but you go inspecting the productions of carpenters ,sidenote3 ,c and stone-masons1 and regarding those as the 8home01 instead of the inward and domestic constituents in the case--the children1 wife1 friends1 and servants4 ,if these have good sense and good morals1 a man who shares his best means with them possesses a good and happy home1 even if it be but an ant-hill or a bird's-nest4' #8,that1' he continued1 #8is my answer to ,aesop and my contribution to ,diocles4 ,but it is only fair that each of the others should express his own views4' ,thereupon ,solon said that in his opinion the best household was #8that in which the resources are acquired without dishonesty1 ,sidenote3 ,d watched over without distrust1 and expended without repentance#84 ,according to ,bias it was #8that inside which the master behaves for his own sake as well as he does outside for the law's sake#84 ,according to ,thales1 #8that in which the master can find most time to himself#84 ,according to ,cleobulus1 #8where the master has more who love than fear him4' ,pittacus would have it that the best house is #8that which wants no luxury and lacks no necessity#84 ,chilon's view was that the house should be #8as like as possible to a state ruled by a king#81 and he went on to observe that when some one urged ,lycurgus to establish a republic at ,sparta1 he ,sidenote3 ,e answered3 #8,you begin by creating a republic at home4' ,this topic also having been dealt with1 ,eumetis left the room in company with ,melissa4 ,periander then pledged ,chilon in a capacious goblet1 and ,chilon in turn pledged ,bias4 ,at this ,ardalus got up1 and1 addressing ,aesop1 said3 #8,perhaps you will be good enough to pass yonder cup on to us1 seeing that these gentlemen are passing theirs to each other1 as if it were a ,bathycles's goblet1#cc and are giving no one else a turn4' #8,nay1' ,sidenote3 ,f replied ,aesop1 #8there is to be nothing democratic about this cup either1 for ,solon has been keeping it all to himself for quite an age4' ,thereupon ,pittacus1 addressing ,mnesiphilus1 asked why ,solon1 by not drinking1 was testifying against the verses in which he had written ,now do ,i welcome the tasks of the ,cyprus-born goddess and ,bacchus1 ,and tasks of the ,muses that bring cheer to the heart of mankind4 #8,because1' said ,anacharsis1 before ,mnesiphilus could speak1 #8he is frightened at that cruel law of your own1 ,pittacus1 where the words run1 ,if any one commit any offence when drunk1 the penalty to be double that paid by a man who was sober4' #8,and you1' retorted ,pittacus1 #8showed such wanton contempt of the law that last year1 when you had got intoxicated at that ,sidenote3 #aef party at ,delphi1 you asked for a prize and a victor's wreath4' #8,and why not8' asked ,anacharsis4 #8,a prize was offered to him who drank most1 and1 since ,i was the first to get tipsy1 ,i1 of course1 claimed the reward of victory4 ,otherwise will you gentlemen tell me what is the end and aim of drinking a large quantity of unmixed wine1 if it is not to get intoxicated8' ,pittacus laughed1 while ,aesop told the following story4 #8,a wolf1 having seen some shepherds eating a sheep in a tent1 came close up to them1 and said3 8,what a to-do you would have made if ,i had been doing that60' ,at this ,chilon remarked1 #8,aesop has properly taken his revenge4 ,a moment ago we put the muzzle on him1 and now he sees that others have taken the words out of ,mnesiphilus' mouth4 ,it was ,mnesiphilus who was requested to answer on behalf of ,solon4' #8,well1 in doing so1' said ,mnesiphilus1 #8,i speak with knowledge4 ,in ,solon's opinion ,sidenote3 ,b the concern of every art and faculty of man or ,god is with results rather than with agencies1 the end rather than the means4 ,a weaver1 ,i take it1 would consider his object to be a cloak or mantle rather than the arrangement of his shuttle-rods or the picking-up of his straightening-stones4 ,to a blacksmith it is rather the welding of iron and putting an edge on an axe than any of the processes necessary thereto1 such as the kindling of his charcoal or the preparation of lime4 ,still more would a master-builder object if1 instead of a ship or a house1 we declared his object to be the boring of wood or the mixing of mortar4 ,the ,muses would utterly scout the notion that their ,sidenote3 ,c concern is with a harp or flute1 instead of with the cultivation of character and the soothing of the emotions of their votaries by means of melodies properly attuned4 ,so--to come to the point--the object of ,aphrodite is not sexual intercourse1 nor that of ,dionysus wine and tipsiness1 but the friendly feeling1 the longing1 the companionship1 and the close mutual understanding which they produce in us by those agencies4 ,these are what ,solon calls divine 8tasks01 and he means that these are the objects which he appreciates and cultivates in his old age4 ,of reciprocal affection between men and women ,aphrodite is the creator1 using pleasure as the means of melting and commingling their souls at the same time with their bodies2 while in ordinary cases1 where persons are not very intimate or particularly acquainted1 ,dionysus uses wine as a kind of fire to soften and supple their dispositions1 and so provides a starting-point towards a blending in mutual friendship4 #8,but when such men meet together as ,periander has invited in your persons1 there is no need1 ,i take it1 of the goblet and the wine-ladle4 ,the ,muses set before you all1 in the form of conversation1 a mixing-bowl containing no intoxicant and yet abundance of pleasure1 grave or gay4 ,in this they stir friendly feeling1 blend it1 and pour it forth1 while for the most part the ,sidenote3 ,e ladle is allowed to lie undisturbed 8above the bowl0--a thing which ,hesiod forbids where the company is better qualified for drinking than for conversation4' #8,as for pledging one another1' he continued1 #8,i gather that with the ancients the ceremony consisted of one large goblet going the round1 each man drinking a measured 8allowance0 7as ,homer tells us71 and then letting his neighbour take his share1 as he would do with a sacrificial portion4' ,when ,mnesiphilus had finished1 the poet ,chersias--who had ceased to be under censure and had lately been reconciled to ,sidenote3 ,f ,periander through ,chilon's intercession--remarked1 #8,are we also to understand that1 when the gods were the guests of ,zeus and were pledging each other1 he poured in their drink by measure1 as ,agamemnon did for his chieftains8' #8,and pray1 ,chersias1' said ,cleodorus1 #8if ,zeus has his ambrosia brought--as you poets say he does--by doves which find the greatest difficulty in flying over the ,clashing ,rocks1 don't you think ,sidenote3 #aeg that his nectar is also scarce and hard to get1 and that consequently he is sparing of it and doles it out economically8' #8,perhaps so1' replied ,chersias4 #8,since1 however1 the question of household economy has again been mooted1 perhaps some one will deal with the remainder of the question4 ,and that1 ,i take it1 is to discover what amount of property will be sufficient to meet all needs4' #8,to the wise man1' said ,cleobulus1 #8the law has supplied the standard2 but in reference to weak characters ,i will repeat a story which my daughter told her brother4 ,the ,moon1 she said1 asked her mother to weave a tunic to fit her2 whereat the mother answered1 8,how can ,i possibly ,sidenote3 ,b weave one to fit8 ,at one time ,i see you as a full moon1 at another as a crescent1 and at another gibbous40 ,similarly1 my dear ,chersias1 there is no way of determining the amount of means requisite for a weak and foolish person4 ,his wants vary with his appetites and experiences1 his case being that of ,aesop's dog1 of whom our friend says that in winter he huddled and curled himself up with the cold1 and contemplated making a house2 but in summer it was different2 he stretched himself out when he slept1 thought himself a big fellow1 and decided that it was both a laborious and an unnecessary task to build so large a house to cover him4 ,don't you observe1 ,chersias'--he went on--#8that even insignificant people1 though they will at one moment draw themselves into a very modest compass1 with the idea of living a close and simple ,spartan life1 at another ,sidenote3 ,c time will fancy they are going to die of want unless they have all the money in the world--all the king's and all the private people's8' ,chersias having nothing to say1 ,cleodorus joined in4 #8,well1 but1' he said1 #8,i perceive that there is no equal distribution in the properties which even you sages respectively possess4' #8,yes1 my dear sir1' said ,cleobulus1 #8because the law1 like a weaver1 allots us the amount which properly and reasonably fits each case4 ,in your own profession1 substituting reason for law1 you feed ,sidenote3 ,d and diet and physic the sick by prescribing1 not the same quantity for everybody1 but the proper quantity for each case4' ,here ,ardalus interposed4 #8,i suppose1 then1' he asked1 #8it is at the bidding of some law that ,epimenides--the friend of you gentlemen and the guest of ,solon--abstains from other kinds of food and passes the day without breakfast or dinner by merely putting in his mouth a little of that 8anti-hunger essence0 which he makes up for himself8' ,this remark having arrested the attention of the party1 ,thales mockingly observed that ,epimenides was a sensible man for refusing to be troubled--as ,sidenote3 ,e ,pittacus was--with grinding and cooking his own food4 #8,you must know1' he said1 #8that when ,i was at ,eresus1 ,i heard my hostess singing to the mill3 ,grind1 mill1 grind2 ,for ,pittacus is grinding1 ,as he kings it over great ,mytilene4' ,then ,solon expressed his surprise that ,ardalus had not read the law ordaining the diet in question1 seeing that it was written in the verses of ,hesiod4 #8,for it is he who first supplied ,epimenides with hints for that form of nourishment1 by teaching him to make trial ,sidenote3 ,f ,how great and sustaining the food that in mallow and asphodel lieth4 #8,nay1' said ,periander1 #8do you imagine ,hesiod conceived of anything of the kind8 ,don't you suppose that1 with his habitual praise of economy1 he is merely urging us to try the most frugal dishes as being the most agreeable8 ,the mallow makes good eating1 and asphodel-stalk is sweet2 but ,i am told that anti-hunger and anti-thirst drugs--for they are drugs rather than foods--include among their ingredients some sort of foreign honey and cheese1 and a large number of seeds which are difficult to procure4 ,most certainly1 therefore1 ,hesiod would find that the 8rudder0 hung 8above the smoke0 and ,the works of the drudging mules and the oxen's labour would perish1 ,sidenote3 #aeh if all that provision is to be made4 ,i am surprised1 ,solon1 if your guest1 on recently making his great purification of ,delos1 failed to note how they present to the temple--as commemorative samples of the earliest form of food--mallow and asphodel-stalk along with other cheap and self-grown produce4 ,the natural reason for which ,hesiod also recommends them to us is that they are simple and frugal4' #8,not only so1' remarked ,anacharsis1 #8but both vegetables bear the highest possible character for wholesomeness4' #8,you are quite right1' said ,cleodorus4 #8,that ,hesiod possessed medical knowledge is manifest from the careful and well-informed manner in which he speaks about diet1 the mixing of wine1 good quality in water1 ,sidenote3 ,b bathing1 women1 and the way to seat infants4 ,but it seems to me that there is more reason for ,aesop to declare himself a pupil of ,hesiod than there is for ,epimenides4 ,it is to the speech of the hawk to the nightingale that our friend owes the first promptings to his admirably subtle wisdom in many tongues4 ,but for my part ,i should be glad to hear what ,solon has to say4 ,we may assume that1 in his long association with ,epimenides at ,athens1 he asked him what motive or subtle purpose he had in adopting such a diet4' #8,what need was there to ask him that question8' replied ,solon4 #8,it was self-evident that the next best thing to the ,sidenote3 ,c supreme and greatest good is to require the least possible food4 ,you allow1 ,i suppose1 that the greatest good is to require no food at all8' #8,not ,i1 by any means1' answered ,cleodorus1 #8if ,i am to say what ,i think1 especially with a table in front of us4 ,take away food1 and you take away the table--that is to say1 the altar of the ,gods of ,friendship and ,hospitality4 ,as ,thales tells us that1 if you do away with the earth1 the whole cosmos will fall into confusion1 so the abolition of food means the dissolution of house and home4 ,for with it you do away with the hearth-fire1 the hearth1 the wine-bowl1 all entertainment and hospitality--the most humanizing and essential elements in our mutual relations4 ,or rather you do away with the whole of life1 if life is 8a passing of the time on the part ,sidenote3 ,d of a human being involving a series of actions01 most of those actions being evoked by the need1 and in the acquirement1 of food4 ,of immense importance1 my good friend1 is the question ,sidenote3 99 of mere agriculture4 ,let agriculture perish1 and the earth that it leaves us becomes unsightly and foul1 a corrupt wilderness of barren forest and vagabond streams4 ,the ruin of agriculture means the ruin of all arts and crafts as well2 for she takes the lead of them1 and provides them with their basis and their ,sidenote3 ,e material4 ,do away with her1 and they count for nothing4 ,there is an end also to our honouring the gods4 ,men will thank the ,sun but little1 and the ,moon still less1 for mere light and warmth4 ,where will you find altar or sacrifice to ,zeus of the ,rain1 ,demeter of the ,plough1 or ,poseidon the ,fosterer of ,plants8 ,how can ,dionysus be ,boon-,giver1 if we need nothing that he gives8 ,what sacrifice or libation shall we make8 ,what offering of firstfruits8 ,all this means the overthrow and confounding of our most important interests4 ,though to cling to every pleasure in every case is to be a madman1 to avoid every pleasure in every case is to be a block4 ,by all means let the soul have ,sidenote3 ,f other pleasures of a superior kind to enjoy2 the body can find no pleasure more right and proper than that derived from taking food4 ,all the world recognizes the fact1 for this pleasure people take openly1 sharing with each other in the table and the banquet1 whereas their amorous pleasure is screened by night and all the darkness possible4 ,to share that pleasure with others is considered as shameless and brutelike as it is not to share in the case of the table4' ,here1 as ,cleodorus paused for a moment1 ,i joined in3 #8,and is there not another point--that in discarding food we also ,sidenote3 #aei discard sleep8 ,if there is no sleep1 there is no dreaming either1 and we lose our most important means of divination4 ,moreover1 life will be all alike1 and there will be practically no purpose in wearing a body round our soul4 ,most of its parts1 and the most important1 are provided as instruments to feeding--the tongue1 teeth1 stomach1 and liver4 ,none of them is without its work1 and none has other business to attend to4 ,consequently any one who has no need of food has no need of a body either4 ,which means that a person has no need of himself2 for it is thanks to the body that each of us is a 8self04' #8,such1' ,i added1 #8are our contributions on behalf of the belly4 ,if ,solon or any one else has objections to bring1 we will listen4' #8,of course ,i have objections1' replied ,solon4 #8,i have no ,sidenote3 ,b wish to be thought a poorer judge than the ,egyptians4 ,after cutting open a dead body1 they take out the entrails and expose them to the sunlight4 ,they then throw those parts into the river and proceed to attend to the rest of the body1 which is now regarded as purified4 ,yes1 therein in truth lies the pollution of our flesh4 ,it is its ,tartarus--like that in ,hades--full of 8dreadful streams01 a confused medley of wind and fire and of dead things4 ,for while itself lives1 nothing that feeds it can be alive4 ,we commit the wrong of murdering animate things and of destroying plants1 which can claim to have life through the fact that they feed and grow4 ,i say destroying1 because ,sidenote3 ,c anything that changes from what nature has made it into something else1 is destroyed2 it must perish utterly in order to become the other's sustenance4 ,to abstain from eating flesh1 as we are told ,orpheus did in ancient times1 is more a quibble than an avoidance of crime in the matter of food4 ,the only way of avoiding it1 and the only way of attaining to justice by a complete purification1 is to become self-sufficing and free of external needs4 ,if ,god has made it impossible for a thing to secure its own preservation without injury to another1 ,he has also endowed it with the principle of injustice in the shape of its own nature4 ,would it not1 therefore1 be a good thing1 my dear friend1 if1 when cutting out injustice1 we could cut out the belly1 the gullet1 and the liver1 which impart to us no perception ,sidenote3 ,d of anything noble and no appetite for it1 but partly resemble the utensils for cooking butcher's meat--such as choppers and stew-pans--and partly the apparatus for a bakery--ovens1 water-tanks1 and kneading-troughs8 ,indeed1 in the case of most ,sidenote3 99 people you can see their soul shut up in their body as if in a baker's mill1 and perpetually going round and round at the business of getting food4 ,take ourselves1 for example4 ,just now we were neither looking at nor listening to one another1 but we all had our heads down1 slaving at the business of feeding4 ,but now that the tables have been removed1 we have--as you perceive--become free1 and with garlands on our heads we are ,sidenote3 ,e engaged in sociable and leisurely conversation together1 because we have arrived at the state of not requiring food4 ,well then1 if the state in which we now find ourselves remains as a permanence all our lives1 shall we not be at perpetual leisure to enjoy each other's society8 ,we shall have no fear of poverty4 ,nor shall we know the meaning of wealth1 since the quest for luxuries is but the immediate consequence and concomitant of the use of necessaries4 #8,but1 thinks ,cleodorus1 there must be food so that there may be tables and wine-bowls and sacrifices to ,demeter and the ,maid4 ,then let some one else demand that there shall be war and fighting1 so that we may have fortifications and arsenals and ,sidenote3 ,f armouries1 and also sacrifices in honour of slaying our hundreds1 such as they say are the law in ,messenia4 ,another1 ,i suppose1 is aggrieved at the prospect of the healthfulness which would follow4 ,a terrible thing if1 because there is no illness1 there is no more use in soft bedclothes1 and no more sacrificing to ,asclepius or the ,averting ,powers1 and if medical skill1 with all its drugs and implements1 must be put away into inglorious hiding6 ,what is the difference between these arguments and the other8 ,food is1 in fact1 8taken0 as a 8remedy0 for hunger1 and all who use food are said to be 8taking care0 of ,sidenote3 #afj themselves and using some 8diet02 and this implies that the act is not a pleasant and agreeable performance1 but one which ,nature renders compulsory4 ,certainly one can enumerate more pains than pleasures arising from feeding4 ,further still2 whereas the pleasure affects but a small region of the body1 and lasts but a short time1 it needs no telling how full we become of ugly and painful experiences through the worry and difficulty of digesting4 ,homer had these in view1 ,i suppose1 when he used as a proof that the gods do not die the fact that they do not feed3 ,for they eat not the bread of corn1 nor drink they the wine that is ruddy1 ,and therefore blood have they none in their veins1 and are called the ,immortals4 ,food1 he gives us to understand1 is the necessary means not only ,sidenote3 ,b for living1 but for dying4 ,from it come our diseases1 feeding themselves with the feeding of our bodies1 which suffer quite as much from repletion as from want4 ,very often it is an easier business to get together our supply of victuals than to make away with them and get quit of them again when once they are in the body4 ,just suppose it were a question with the ,danaids what sort of life they would live and what they would do if they could get rid of their menial labour at filling the cask4 ,when we raise the question1 8,supposing it possible to cease from heaping into this unconscionable flesh all these things from ,sidenote3 ,c land and sea1 what are we going to do80 it is because in our ignorance of noble things we are content with the life which our necessities impose4 ,well1 as those who have been in slavery1 when they are emancipated1 do for themselves and on their own account what they used formerly to do in the service of their masters1 so is it with the soul4 ,as things are1 it feeds the body with continual toil and trouble2 but let it get quit of its menial service1 and it will presumably feed itself in the enjoyment of freedom1 and will live with an eye to itself and the truth1 with nothing to distract and deter it4' ,this1 ,nicarchus1 concluded the discussion as to food4 ,while ,solon was still speaking1 ,gorgos1 ,periander's brother1 entered the room4 ,it happened that1 in consequence of certain ,sidenote3 ,d oracles1 he had been sent on a mission to ,taenarum in charge of a sacrificial embassy4 ,after we had welcomed him1 and ,periander had taken him to his arms and kissed him1 he sat down by his brother on the couch and gave him a private account of some occurrence which appeared to cause ,periander various emotions as he listened to it4 ,at one part he was manifestly vexed1 at another indignant2 often he showed incredulity1 and this was followed by amazement4 ,finally he laughed and said to us1 #8,i should like to tell the company the news2 but ,i have ,sidenote3 ,e scruples about it1 because ,i heard ,thales once say that when a thing is probable we should speak of it1 but when it is impossible we should say nothing about it4' ,at this ,bias interposed1 #8,yes1 but here is another wise saying of ,thales1 that 8while we should disbelieve our enemies even in matters believable1 we should believe our friends even when the thing is unbelievable04 ,by enemies ,i presume he meant the wicked and foolish1 and by friends the good and wise4' #8,very well then1' said ,periander1 #8you must let every one hear it2 or rather you must pit the story you have brought us against those new-fangled dithyrambs and overcrow them4' ,gorgos then told us his story4 ,his sacrificial ceremony had occupied three days1 and on the ,sidenote3 ,f last there was an all-night festival with dancing and frolic by the sea-shore4 ,the sea was covered with the light of the moon1 and1 though there was no wind1 but a dead calm1 there appeared in the distance a ripple coming in past the promontory1 accompanied by foam and a very appreciable noise of surge4 ,at this they all ran in astonishment down to the place where it was ,sidenote3 99 coming to land4 ,this happened so quickly that1 before they could guess what was approaching1 dolphins were seen1 some of them massed together and moving in a ring1 some leading the way to the levellest part of the shore1 and others as it were ,sidenote3 #afa bringing up the rear4 ,in the middle there stood out above the sea1 dim and indistinct1 the shape of a body being carried4 ,so they came on1 until1 gathering together and coming to land at the same moment1 they put ashore a human being1 alive and moving2 after which they themselves retired in the direction of the promontory1 leaping out of the water more than ever and for some reason1 apparently1 frolicking and bounding for joy4 #8,many of our number1' continued ,gorgos1 #8fled from the sea in a panic1 but a few found the courage to approach along with myself1 and discovered that it was ,arion1 the harp-player4 ,not only did he utter his own name1 but his dress spoke for itself1 ,sidenote3 ,b for he was actually wearing the festal robes which he adopted when performing at the competitions4 ,well1 we brought him to a tent1 and1 inasmuch as there was nothing the matter with him except that he was evidently tired and overstrained from the rushing motion1 we heard him tell a story which no one would believe except us who actually saw the end of it4 #8,what ,arion told us was this4 ,he had for some time made up his mind to leave ,italy1 and had been made the more eager to do so by a letter from ,periander4 ,accordingly1 when a ,corinthian merchant-vessel appeared on the scene1 he at once went on board and put to sea4 ,they had a moderate wind for three days1 when he perceived that the sailors were forming a plot to make away with him1 and was afterwards secretly informed ,sidenote3 ,c by the pilot that they had resolved to do the deed that night4 ,at this1 being helpless and at a loss what to do1 he acted upon a kind of heaven-sent impulse4 ,he decided that he would adorn his person and--while still alive--put on his own shroud in the shape of his festal attire4 ,then1 in meeting his death1 he would sing a finale to life1 and in that respect show no less spirit than the swan does4 ,accordingly1 having dressed himself and given notice that he felt moved to perform the ,pythian hymn on behalf of the safety of himself and the ship and crew1 ,sidenote3 ,d he took his stand on the poop by the bulwarks4 ,after some prelude invoking the gods of the sea1 he began to sing the piece4 ,just before he was half-way through1 the sun began to set into the sea and the ,peloponnese to come into sight4 ,thereupon the sailors no longer waited for night1 but advanced to their murderous deed4 ,arion1 seeing their knives unsheathed and the pilot beginning to cover his face from the sight1 ran back and hurled himself as far as possible from the vessel4 ,before1 however1 his body had all sunk into the water1 a number of dolphins ran under him and bore him up4 ,at first he was filled with bewilderment1 distress1 and alarm2 but when he found himself riding easily1 and saw many of them gathering about ,sidenote3 ,e him in a friendly way1 and taking turns at the work as if it were a necessary duty belonging to them all2 and when the long distance at which the vessel was left behind showed how great was their speed2 he said that what he felt was not so much fear of death or desire of life1 as eagerness to be rescued1 so that he might become recognized as the object of divine favour1 and might have his reputation as a religious man assured4 ,at the same time1 observing that the sky was full of stars1 and that the moon was rising bright and clear1 while the sea ,sidenote3 ,f on all sides was waveless and a kind of path was being cut for his course1 he was led to reflect that ,justice has more eyes than one1 and that ,god looks abroad with all those orbs upon whatever deeds are done by land or sea4 ,by these reflections 7he told us7 he found relief from the weariness which was by this time beginning to weigh upon his body1 and when at last1 dexterously avoiding and rounding the lofty and precipitous headland which ran out to meet them1 they swam close in by the shore and ,sidenote3 #afb brought him safely to land like a ship into harbour1 he realized beyond doubt that he had been steered on his voyage by the hand of ,god4 #8,when ,arion had told us this story1' continued ,gorgos1 #8,i asked him where he thought the ship would put in4 ,he answered that it would certainly be at ,corinth1 but that it was left far behind2 for1 after throwing himself off it in the evening1 he believed he had been carried over sixty miles and a calm had fallen immediately4' ,gorgos added1 however1 that after ascertaining the names of the captain and pilot1 and also the ship's flag1 he had sent out vessels and soldiers to the various landing-places to keep a watch4 ,moreover1 he had ,arion with ,sidenote3 ,b him in hiding1 so that they might not hear of his rescue beforehand and make their escape4 #8,the event1' he said1 #8has proved truly miraculous2 for no sooner did we arrive here than we learned that the ship had been seized by the soldiers1 and the traders and sailors arrested4' ,thereupon ,periander ordered ,gorgos to get up and go out at once and place the men in custody where no one would approach them or tell them of ,arion's escape4 #8,well now1' said ,aesop1 #8you gentlemen make fun of my jackdaws and crows for talking4 ,do dolphins behave in this outrageous way8' ,to which ,i replied1 #8,a different matter1 ,sidenote3 ,c ,aesop6 ,a story to the same effect as this has been believed and written among us for more than a thousand years1 ever since the times of ,ino and ,athamas4' ,solon here interposed3 #8,well1 ,diodes2 let us grant that these events are in the sphere of the divine and beyond us4 ,but what happened to ,hesiod is on our own human plane4 ,you have probably heard the story4' #8,for my part1 no1' ,i answered4 #8,well1 it is worth hearing4 ,hesiod and a ,milesian--,i think it was--shared the same room as guests in a house at ,sidenote3 ,d ,locri4 ,the ,milesian having been found out in a secret intrigue with the host's daughter1 ,hesiod fell under suspicion of having all along known of the offence and helped in concealing it4 ,though in no way guilty1 he fell a victim to cruel circumstance at a critical time of anger and misrepresentation4 ,for the girl's brothers lay in wait for him at the ,nemeum in ,locris and killed him1 together with his servant1 whose name was ,troilus4 ,their bodies having been pushed into the sea1 that of ,troilus1 which was carried out into the current of the river ,daphnus1 was caught by a low wave-washed rock projecting a little above the water4 ,the rock still bears his name4 ,meanwhile the ,sidenote3 ,e dead body of ,hesiod was picked up immediately off the shore by a shoal of dolphins1 who proceeded to carry it to ,rhium1 close to ,molycrea4 ,it happened that the ,locrians were engaged in the ,rhian festival and fair1 which is still a notable celebration in those parts4 ,at sight of the body being borne towards them they were naturally amazed1 and when1 on running down to the shore1 they recognized the corpse--for it was still fresh--they could think of nothing but tracking out the murder1 so high was the renown of ,hesiod4 ,their object was soon achieved4 ,they discovered the murderers1 threw them into the sea1 and razed their house to the ground4 ,meanwhile ,hesiod was buried near the ,nemeum4 ,most strangers1 however1 are ignorant of his tomb1 which has been concealed because the people of ,sidenote3 ,f ,orchomenus are in quest of it1 from a desire1 it is said1 to recover the remains and bury them in their own country in accordance with an oracle4 #8,if1 then1 dolphins show such affectionate interest in the dead1 it is still more natural for them to render help to the living1 especially if they have been charmed by the flute or the singing of tunes4 ,for1 of course1 we are all aware that music is a thing which these animals enjoy and court1 swimming and gambolling beside a ship as its oarsmen row to the tune of song and flute in calm weather4 ,they take a delight also in children when ,sidenote3 #afc swimming1 and they have diving matches with them4 ,hence there is an unwritten law that they shall not be harmed4 ,no one hunts them or injures them2 the only exception being that1 when they get into the nets and do mischief to the catch1 they are punished with a beating1 like naughty children4 ,i further remember hearing some ,lesbians tell of a girl having been rescued from the sea by a dolphin4 ,i am not1 however1 sure as to the exact details1 and1 since ,pittacus knows them1 he is the right person to tell us about them4' ,pittacus thereupon assured us that the story had good warrant and was mentioned by many authorities4 #8,an oracle was given to the colonizers of ,lesbos that1 when on the voyage they came across the reef known as ,mesogeum1 they should then and ,sidenote3 ,b there throw a bull into the water as an offering to ,poseidon1 and a live virgin to ,amphitrite and the ,nereids4 ,there were seven chiefs1 all of whom were kings1 ,echelaus--whom the ,pythian oracle had assigned as leader of the colony--making an eighth4 ,echelaus was still a bachelor4 ,when as many of the seven as had unmarried girls cast lots1 the lot fell upon the daughter of ,smintheus4 ,upon getting near the place1 they decked her in fine clothes and gold ornaments1 and1 after offering prayer1 were on the point of lowering her into the water4 ,now it happened that one of the party on the ship--assuredly a gallant young man--was in love with her4 ,his name has been preserved to us as ,enalus4 ,this youth1 in the passion of the ,sidenote3 ,c moment1 seized by an eager but utterly hopeless desire to succour the girl1 darted forward at the right instant and1 throwing his arms about her1 cast himself along with her into the sea4 ,now from the first there was spread among the contingent a rumour1 lacking certainty1 but nevertheless widely believed1 that they were safe and had been rescued2 and at a later date1 it is said1 ,enalus appeared in ,lesbos and told how they had been carried by dolphins through the sea and cast ashore without harm upon the mainland4 ,he had other still more miraculous experiences to tell1 which held the crowd spellbound with amazement1 but for all of which he gave actual evidence4 ,for when an enormous wave was rushing sheer round ,sidenote3 ,d the island and people were terrified1 he alone ventured to face it4 ,sidenote3 99 ,on its retiring1 a number of polypi followed him to the temple of ,poseidon4 ,from the largest of these he took a stone which it was carrying1 and offered it as a dedication4 ,that stone we call ,enalus4 #8,speaking generally1 the man who knows the difference between impossible and unfamiliar1 between unreasonable and unexpected1 will be most a man after your own heart1 ,chilon2 he will neither believe nor disbelieve without discrimination1 but will carefully observe your own rule of 8nothing in excess04' ,anacharsis next made the remark that1 as ,thales believed ,sidenote3 ,e all the greatest and most important components of the universe to contain soul1 there was no reason to wonder if the most splendid actions were brought to pass by the will of ,god4 #8,for the body is the instrument of the soul1 and soul is the instrument of ,god4 ,and as1 though many of the motions of the body proceed from itself1 the most and the finest are produced by the soul1 so again is it with the soul4 ,while it performs many actions on its own motion1 in other cases it is but lending itself1 as the aptest of all instruments1 to the use of ,god1 for ,him to direct and apply it as ,he chooses4 ,it would1' said he1 #8be ,sidenote3 ,f a very strange thing if1 while fire1 wind1 water1 clouds1 and rain are ,god's instruments1 by which ,he often preserves and nourishes and often kills and destroys1 ,he has never on any occasion at all used animals as ,his agents4 ,on the contrary1 it is natural that1 in their dependence upon the divine power1 they should lend themselves more responsively to motions from ,god than does the bow to the ,scythian or the lyre and flute to the ,greek4' ,after this the poet ,chersias mentioned1 among other cases of persons rescued in hopeless situations1 that of ,cypselus1 ,periander's father4 ,when he was a newborn babe1 the men who had been sent to make away with him were turned from their purpose because he smiled at them4 ,when they changed their minds and came back to look for him1 he was not to be found1 his mother having hidden him in a chest4 #8,it is for this reason ,sidenote3 #afd that ,cypselus built the house at ,delphi1 believing that the god had then stopped him from crying so that he might elude the search4' ,at this ,pittacus1 addressing ,periander1 observed1 #8,i have to thank ,chersias1 ,periander1 for mentioning that house2 for ,i have often wanted to ask you the meaning of those frogs which are carved in such large size at the base of the palm-tree4 ,what reference have they to the god or to the dedication8' ,periander having bidden him ask ,chersias1 who knew the reason and was present when ,cypselus consecrated the house1 ,chersias said with ,sidenote3 ,b a smile1 #8,no3 ,i will give no information until these gentlemen have told me the meaning of their ,nothing in excess and ,know thyself1 and of those words which have kept many people from marrying1 made many distrustful1 and reduced some to positive dumbness--the words ,give a pledge1 and ,mischief is nigh4' #8,why do you need us to tell you that1' said ,pittacus1 #8seeing that you have so long admired the stories in which ,aesop practically deals with each of those maxims8' #8,nay1' replied ,aesop1 #8he does need it1 when he is joking at me4 ,but when he is in earnest1 he proves that ,homer was their inventor4 ,he says that ,hector 8knew himself01 inasmuch as1 though ,sidenote3 ,c he attacked the rest1 ,ajax1 ,telamon's son1 he would not fight1 but he shunned him1 and that ,odysseus recommends 8nothing in excess0 since he urges ,diomede ,nay1 prithee1 ,tydeus' son2 nor praise me much nor reprove me4 ,as for a pledge1 not only is it the general opinion that he is reprobating it as a misguided and futile thing when he says ,sorry1 ,i trow1 to take are the pledges that sorry folk offer1 but our friend ,chersias here tells us how 8,mischief0 was hurled from heaven by ,zeus because she was present when he was tripped ,sidenote3 ,d up through pledging his word in connexion with the birth of ,heracles4' ,here ,solon interposed4 #8,well1 ,homer was a very wise man1 and we should do well to take his advice3 ,already the night is here2 night bids1 and 'tis good to obey her4 ,let us therefore pour an offering to the ,muses and to ,poseidon and ,amphitrite1 and then--with your permission--break up the party4' ,this1 ,nicarchus1 terminated the party on that occasion4 ,footnote #bd3 ,the home of ,bias4 ,footnote #be3 ,according to another account he waited till the shadow was equal in length to the stick4 ,the pyramid was then also equal in height to the length of its shadow4 ,footnote #bf3 ,the divinities of spring-water4 ,footnote #bg3 ,the title ,lusios or ,luaios was popularly interpreted ,deliverer 7from care or difficulty74 ,footnote #bh3 ,see note on ,amasis4 ,footnote #bi3 i4e4 anointing himself1 not in connexion with bathing1 but with exercise in the wrestling-schools4 ,footnote #cj3 ,the precise remark is uncertain1 the text here being corrupt4 ,footnote #ca3 ,equivalent to a command to #8go weep'4 ,footnote #cb3 ,in antiquity these vessels were of bronze4 ,footnote #cc3 ,which was bequeathed #8to the wisest'4 ,it was given to ,thales1 who passed it on to another1 and the process was repeated till it came back to ,thales1 whereupon he dedicated it to ,apollo4 ,,on ,,old ,,men ,,in ,,public ,,life ,it is well known1 ,euphanes1 that as an admirer of ,pindar you ,sidenote3 #ghc ,b are fond of quoting his #8fine and forcible words'3 ,when struggle is afoot1 excuses ,cast a deep cloud on valour4 ,in connexion with the struggles of public life timidity and weakness can find plenty of excuses1 but as a last and most desperate plea they urge #8advancing years'4 ,this is their pretext par excellence for blunting ambition and putting it out of countenance4 ,they argue that there is a fitting close to a public1 as much as to an athletic1 career4 ,for these reasons ,sidenote3 ,c ,i think it well to take my own ordinary reflections upon #8old men in public life' and lay them before yourself4 ,they may prevent either of us from deserting that long companionship which has hitherto followed a common path1 and from abandoning that public life which may be regarded as a familiar friend from youth up1 in order to adopt another which is unfamiliar1 and with which there is no time for us to become thoroughly intimate4 ,i would have us abide by our original principle1 and determine that life and the worthy life shall end together4 ,it is not for us to convert the brief remainder into a confession that the bulk of our time has been wastefully applied to no good purpose4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,it is not1 indeed1 true--as some one told ,dionysius--that #8despotism is a fine shroud'4 ,in his case the combination of absolutism with injustice was only made all the more complete a calamity by the fact that it never ceased4 ,it was therefore a shrewd remark of ,diogenes1 when at a later date he saw ,dionysius' son in a humble private station at ,corinth4 #8,dionysius1' said he1 #8you are far from receiving your deserts4 ,instead of living a free and fearless life here with us1 you ought to have been there1 housed in the despot's palace and made to live in it1 like your father1 till old age4' ,it is different with constitutional and democratic statesmanship4 ,when a man has learned to show himself a profitable subject as well as a profitable ruler1 he ,sidenote3 ,e does indeed obtain at death a #8fine shroud'1 in the shape of the good name earned by his life4 ,for this--to quote ,simonides-- ,is the last thing to sink beneath the ground1 except in cases where high human interests and noble zeal are earlier to fail and die than natural desires4 ,are the active and divine elements of our being more evanescent than the passionate and corporeal8 ,that were an unworthy view to hold2 as unworthy as to accept the doctrine that the ,sidenote3 ,f only thing of which we never weary is making gain4 ,on the contrary1 we should improve upon ,thucydides1 and regard as #8the only thing that never ages' not #8the love of honour#81 but that public spirit and activity which even ants and bees maintain till the end4 ,no one has ever seen old age convert a bee into a drone4 ,yet there are some who claim that public men who have passed their prime should sit and be fed in seclusion at home1 allowing their practical abilities to rust away in idleness4 ,sidenote3 #ghd ,cato used to say that1 to the many plagues of its own from which old age suffers1 there is no justification for deliberately adding the disgrace of vice4 ,there are many vices1 but none can do more than weak and cowardly inactivity to disgrace a man in years--a man who skulks away from the public offices to look after a houseful of women1 or to supervise gleaners and reapers in the country4 ,where now ,is ,oedipus8 ,where the famed riddles now8 ,it is one thing to wait till old age before commencing public life1 and to be like ,epimenides1 who--so they say--fell asleep a youth and fifty years afterwards awoke an old man4 ,if1 in ,sidenote3 ,b such a case1 one were to divest himself of that quiet habit which has lasted all his life1 and were to plunge into struggles and worries with which he was unfamiliar1 and for which he was not trained by intercourse with public affairs or with mankind1 there would be room for remonstrance4 ,we might say1 as the ,pythian priestess said1 #8,you come too late' in your quest of office and leadership4 ,you are past the time for knocking at the door of the ,presidency4 ,you are like some blundering reveller whose surprise visit is not made till night2 or like some stranger who is in quest1 not of a new district or country1 but of a new life1 about which you know nothing4 ,if ,simonides says ,the ,state is a man's teacher1 it is true only of those who have the time to change their teacher and learn a new lesson--a lesson slowly and laboriously acquired by means of many a struggle and experience1 and only when it ,sidenote3 ,c can take its hold sufficiently early on a natural genius for bearing toils and troubles with equanimity4 ,to resume4 ,we find that1 on the contrary1 it is striplings and youths whom sensible men do their best to keep out of public business4 ,witness our laws1 under which the crier in the ,assembly1 when inviting speech and advice1 calls upon the platform in the first instance not an ,alcibiades or a ,pytheas1 but persons over fifty4 ,foolish audacity and lack of experience ,sidenote3 ,d are nowhere so out of place as in a deliberator or a judge4#cd ,cato1 when past eighty and on his defence1 said it was hard to have to defend himself before one set of people after having lived with another4 ,it is agreed on all hands that the measures of ,caesar--the conqueror of ,antony--became considerably more regal and good for the public towards the end of his life4 ,once1 when by stern application of custom and law he was correcting the rising generation1 and they made an outcry1 his own words were3 #8,young men1 listen to an old man to whom old men listened ,sidenote3 ,e when he was young4' ,it was in old age1 too1 that the statesmanship of ,pericles reached its greatest influence4 ,this was the time when he induced the ,athenians to enter upon the war1 and when he successfully opposed their ill-timed eagerness to fight a battle against sixty thousand men-at-arms1 by all but sealing up the public armouries and the locks of the gates4 ,as for what ,xenophon writes of ,agesilaus1 it is best to quote verbatim4 #8,is there any youth with whom this old man did not compare to advantage8 ,who in the prime of life was so formidable to an enemy as ,agesilaus was at the most advanced age8 ,of whom was the foe so glad to be rid as of ,agesilaus1 though he was old ,sidenote3 ,f when his end came8 ,who inspired such courage in his own side as ,agesilaus1 although close upon the end of life8 ,what young man was more regretted by his friends than ,agesilaus1 though he died when full of years8' ,well1 if time was no hindrance to the great actions of men like these1 what of us1 who nowadays enjoy the luxury of a public life which admits of no despots1 no fighting1 no sieges1 but only of warless contests and of ambitions which are for the most part settled by just means according to law and reason8 ,are we ,sidenote3 #ghe to play the coward8 ,must we confess that we are the inferiors1 not merely of the commanders and popular leaders of those days1 but of the poets1 leaders of thought1 and actors8 ,take ,simonides4 ,he won choric victories in old age1 as is evident from the last lines of the epigram3 ,and withal to ,simonides fell the glory and prize of the poet2 ,fell to ,leoprepes' son1 come to his eightieth year4 ,take ,sophocles4 ,it is said that1 when his sons charged him with being in his dotage1 he read in his defence the entrance ode of the ,oedipus at ,colonus1 beginning3 ,to this land of the steed1 ,o stranger1 ,to the goodliest homes on earth1 ,thou hast come--to the white ,colonus1 ,fond haunt of the nightingale1 ,where her clear voice trills its sorrow ,in the green of the leafy dell4444 a lyric which won such admiration that he left the court1 as it ,sidenote3 ,b might have been the theatre1 amid the applause and cheers of the audience4 ,a little epigram1 admitted to be by ,sophocles1 contains the words3 ,five years and fifty ,sophocles had seen1 ,ere for ,herodotus he wrought a song4 ,take ,philemon1 the comic poet1 and ,alexis4 ,they were still putting plays upon the stage1 still winning crowns1 when death overtook them4 ,take ,polus1 the tragedian4 ,eratosthenes and ,philochorus inform us that1 shortly before his end1 and when ,sidenote3 ,c he was seventy1 he acted eight tragedies in four days4 ,is it1 ,i say1 creditable that old men of the platform should show a poorer spirit than old men of the stage8 ,that they should retire from the sacred contests--for #8sacred' these veritably are--and give up the rle of the public man in exchange for goodness knows what other part8 ,from king1 say1 to farmer is a descent indeed4 ,demosthenes calls it cruel treatment of the ,paralus1 to make that sacred warship carry cargoes of timber1 vine-stakes1 and cattle for ,meidias4 ,but suppose a public man abandons the ,presidentship of ,games1 his seat on the ,federal ,board1 his high place in the ,sacred ,league1 and is found ,sidenote3 ,d measuring out barley-meal and olive-cake1 or shearing sheep4 ,it cannot but look as if he were needlessly courting the status of #8old worn-out horse'4 ,as for leaving a public career to engage in vulgar and petty trade1 one might as well take some self-respecting lady1 strip off her gown1 give her an apron1 and keep her in a tavern4 ,turn public ability to mere business and money-making1 and its rank and character ,sidenote3 ,e are lost4 ,or if1 as a last alternative1 people choose to talk of #8ease and enjoyment'1 when they mean luxurious self-indulgence2 if they recommend the public man to adopt that process of idle senile decay1 ,i hardly know which of two ugly comparisons will best hit off such a life4 ,shall ,i say it is a case of sailors taking #8,aphrodite-holiday' and keeping it up for ever1 without waiting till their ship is berthed1 but deserting it while still on the voyage8 ,or is it a case of #8,heracles-chez-,omphale'--as some sorry humourists depict him--wearing a saffron gown and quietly allowing ,lydian handmaids to fan him and braid his hair8 ,are we to treat our public man in that way8 ,to strip off his ,sidenote3 ,f lion's-skin1 lay him on a couch1 and feast him1 with lute and flute lulling him all the while8 ,or should we not take warning by the retort of ,pompey the ,great to ,lucullus8 ,the latter1 after his campaigns and public services1 had given himself up to baths1 dinners1 social entertainments in the daytime1 profound indolence1 and new-fangled notions in the way of house-building4 ,meanwhile he accused ,pompey of a fondness for place and power unsuited to his years4 ,pompey replied that for an old man effeminacy was more unseasonable than office4 ,when he was ,sidenote3 #ghf ill and the doctor ordered him fieldfares--the bird being then out of season and difficult to procure--and when some one told him that ,lucullus had a large number in his preserves1 he refused to send for or receive one1 exclaiming1 #8,what8 ,pompey could not live but for the luxury of ,lucullus8' ,it may be true that nature ordinarily seeks pleasure and delight4 ,but1 with an old man1 the body has become incapable of all pleasures except a few which are essential4 ,not only is it the case that ,the ,queen of ,love turns weary from the old1 ,sidenote3 ,b as ,euripides has it4 ,though they may retain the appetite for eating and drinking--generally in a dulled or toothless form--they find a difficulty in whetting the edge or sharpening the teeth even of that4 ,it is in the mind that one must lay up a stock of pleasures1 though not of the mean and ignoble kind indicated by ,simonides1 when he told those who reproached him with avarice that1 though age had robbed him of other joys1 he had still one left to support his declining years--the joy of money-making4 ,in public activity there are pleasures of the greatest and noblest sort1 such as we may believe to be the only1 or the chief1 enjoyment of the gods themselves--,i mean those which result from a beneficent deed or a fine achievement4 ,nicias the painter was so taken up with his artistic work that he was often obliged to ask his servants whether he had had his ,sidenote3 ,c bath or his breakfast4 ,archimedes stuck so closely to his drawing-board that1 in order to anoint him1 his attendants had to drag him away and strip him by force4 ,he then went on drawing his diagrams in the ointment on his body4 ,carus the flutist 7an acquaintance of your own7 used to say that people did not know how much more pleasure he himself got from playing than he gave to others2 otherwise an audience would be paid to listen instead of paying4 ,can we fail to perceive how great are the pleasures derived from fine actions and public-spirited achievements by those who put high qualities to use8 ,nor is it by means of those effeminate titillations which soft and agreeable movements exert upon the flesh4 ,the ticklings of the flesh ,sidenote3 ,d are spasmodic1 fickle1 intermittent1 whereas the pleasures of noble deeds--the creations of the true statesman's art--will bear the soul aloft in grandeur and pride and joy1 as if1 ,i will not say upon the #8golden wings' of ,euripides1 but upon those #8celestial pinions' described by ,plato4 ,remember the instances of which you have so often heard4 ,epaminondas1 when asked what had been his most pleasurable experience1 replied1 #8,having been victorious at ,leuctra while ,sidenote3 ,e my father and mother were still alive4' ,when ,sulla first reached ,rome after purging ,italy of its civil wars1 he could not sleep a wink that night4 ,as he has written in his own ,notes and ,recollections1 so elated was his mind with the greatness of his joy and happiness1 that it seemed to walk on air4 ,if we admit1 with ,xenophon1 that #8no hearing is so agreeable as praise#81 no sight1 recollection1 or reflection is so fraught with gratification as the contemplation of exploits of our own in the conspicuous public arena of office and statesmanship4 ,not but what1 when ,sidenote3 ,f a grateful goodwill testifies to our achievements1 and when there is a rivalry of commendation productive of well-earned popularity1 our merit acquires a gloss and brilliance which adds to our sense of pleasure4 ,therefore1 instead of permitting our reputation to wither in our old age like an athlete's crown1 we must be constantly adopting new devices and making fresh efforts to enliven the sense of past obligation1 to enhance it1 and to make it permanent4 ,we must act like the craftsmen who were required to provide for the security of the ,delian ship4 ,they used to replace unsound timbers by others1 and1 by means of insertions and repairs1 were regarded as keeping the vessel immortal and indestructible from ,sidenote3 #ghg the oldest times4 ,reputation is like flame4 ,there is no difficulty in keeping it alive2 it merely requires a little feeding with fuel4 ,but let either of them become extinct and cold1 and it will take some trouble to rekindle4 ,lampis1 the shipowner1 was once asked how he made his fortune4 #8,making the big one1' he answered1 #8was easy enough2 but it was a long and hard business to make the little one4' ,so with political power and reputation4 ,though not easy to get in the first instance1 anything will suffice to maintain and increase them when once they are great4 ,it is as with a friend1 when once he becomes such4 ,he does not look for a large number of important services in order to retain his friendship2 ,sidenote3 ,b small tokens1 consistently shown1 will keep his constant affection4 ,nor are the confidence and friendship of the people perpetually calling for you to open your purse1 to play the champion1 or to hold an office4 ,they are retained by mere public spirit--by being in no haste to desert or shirk the burden of care and watchfulness4 ,campaigns are not matters of everlastingly facing the enemy1 fighting1 and besieging4 ,they have also their times of sacrifice1 their occasional social gatherings1 their periods of ample leisure1 when jest and nonsense are toward4 ,and why should one look upon public life with dread1 as being laborious1 wearisome1 and devoid of consolations1 seeing that the theatre1 processions1 awards1 #8dances of the ,muses and ,gladsomeness1' and honour ,sidenote3 ,c after honour to the gods relax the stern brow of the ,bureau or the ,chamber1 and yield a manifold return of inviting entertainment8 ,in the next place jealousy1 the greatest bane of public life1 is less severe upon old age4 ,for1 to quote ,heracleitus1 #8dogs bark at the man they do not know4' ,though jealousy may fight with the beginner at the doors of the platform and refuse him access1 no savageness or fierceness is shown to a man of familiar and established reputation1 but he finds friendly admittance4 ,for this reason some have compared jealousy to smoke4 ,in the case of beginners1 during the process of kindling1 it pours forth in clouds2 when they are in full blaze1 it disappears4 ,and while ,sidenote3 ,d people resist and dispute other forms of superiority--in merit1 birth1 or public spirit--through a belief that any acknowledgement to others means so much derogation to themselves1 the primacy which is due to time--#8seniority' in the proper sense--is conceded without a grudge4 ,respect paid to the aged has the unique quality of doing more honour to the giver than to the recipient4 ,moreover it is not every one who expects to attain to the power derived from wealth1 eloquence1 or wisdom2 whereas no public man despairs of winning the esteem and distinction to which age gradually leads4 ,imagine a navigator1 who has managed his ship safely in the face of contrary winds and waves1 and then1 when the weather ,sidenote3 ,e becomes fair and calm1 wishes to lay her to4 ,it is just as strange when a man has fought his ship in a long battle with jealousies1 and then1 after they are quietly laid1 backs out of public life1 and1 in abandoning his activities1 abandons his partners and associates4 ,the more time there has been1 the more friends and fellow-workers he has made2 but he is neither in a position to lead them with him off the stage1 as a poet does his chorus1 ,sidenote3 ,f nor has he the right to leave them in the lurch4 ,a long public life is like an old tree4 ,to pull it up is no easy task1 because of its many roots and its entanglement with many interests1 which involve worse wrenching and disturbance when you leave them than when you stay4 ,and if political conflict does leave you some remnant of jealousy or antagonism to face when you are old1 it is better to quell it by means of your position than to turn your back and retire without armour or weapons of defence4 ,people are not so ready to attack you out of jealousy when you are still in action as they are out of contempt when you give it up4 ,sidenote3 #ghh ,we may also appeal to the great ,epaminondas and his remark to the ,thebans4 ,it was winter at the time1 and the ,arcadians were inviting them to enter the city and live in the houses4 ,this he refused to allow1 observing3 #8,at the present time they come to look at you and admire your wrestling and military exercises2 but if they see you sitting by the fire and chewing your beans1 they will regard you as no better than themselves4' ,so with an aged man4 ,when making a speech1 transacting business1 or receiving honours1 he is a dignified spectacle2 but when he lies all day on a couch or sits in the corner of a public ,sidenote3 ,b resort talking drivel and wiping his nose1 he is an object of contempt4 ,this is precisely what ,homer teaches1 if you read him rightly4 ,nestor1 who was campaigning at ,troy1 received high respect and honour2 whereas ,peleus and ,laertes1 the stay-at-homes1 were despised1 and counted for nothing4 ,nay1 even intellectual power begins to fail those who have let themselves relax4 ,idleness gradually renders it feeble and flaccid1 in the absence of some necessary exercise of thought to keep the logical and practical faculty perpetually alive and in trim4 ,like glossy bronze1 'tis use that makes it shine4 ,bodily weakness may be a drawback to public activity in the ,sidenote3 ,c case of those who1 in spite of their years1 make the platform or the ,cabinet their goal4 ,but it is more than compensated by the advantage of their caution and prudence4 ,they do not dash into public affairs with the expression of opinions prompted by error or vanity as the case may be1 and carrying the mob with them in as excited a condition as a stormy sea2 but they deal in a mild and reasonable fashion with such matters as arise4 ,it is for this reason that1 in times of disaster or alarm1 communities feel the need of a ,board of ,government consisting of senior men4 ,often they have fetched back from the country ,sidenote3 ,d an old man who neither asked nor wished it1 and have compelled him to put his hand to the helm and steer the ship of ,state into safety1 while they thrust aside generals and popular leaders1 despite all their ability to shout1 to talk without taking breath1 and also1 no doubt1 to make #8sturdy stand and doughty fight' against the enemy4 ,when ,chares1 the son of ,theochares--a man in the prime of bodily strength and condition--was brought into the ring in opposition to ,timotheus and ,iphicrates by the public speakers of ,athens1 with the claim that #8this is the kind of general the ,athenians should have'1 ,timotheus ,sidenote3 ,e replied3 #8,by no manner of means4 ,no doubt that is the sort needed to carry the general's baggage2 but the general should be one who 8sees before and after01 and whose calculations as to policy no distractions can disturb4' ,sophocles said #8he was glad that old age had enabled him to escape from sexual passion--a fierce and mad master4' ,but in public life we have to escape1 not from one master--the love of women--but from many madder still2 from contentiousness1 vanity1 and the desire to be first and greatest--a malady most fertile in envy1 jealousy1 and ,sidenote3 ,f feud4 ,some of these feelings are abated or dulled1 some are altogether chilled and quenched1 by old age4 ,and though old age may do something to diminish our zest for action1 it does more to guard us from the intemperate heat of passion1 so that we can bring a sober and steady reason to bear upon our thoughts4 ,by all means1 in dealing with one who begins to play the youth when his hair is grey1 let it be--as it is considered--sound warning to say3 ,misguided man1 stay quiet in thy bed4 ,sidenote3 #ghi ,let us remonstrate with an old man when he rises from a long privacy1 as from a bed of sickness1 and bestirs himself to obtain a command or an official post4 ,but suppose a man has lived a life of public action and thoroughly played the part4 ,to prevent him from going on till #8finis and the torch'1 to call him back and bid him change the road he has long followed1 is utterly unfeeling1 and bears no resemblance to the case just given4 ,if an old man has his wreath on and is scenting himself in readiness to marry1 there is nothing unreasonable in trying to dissuade him by quoting the lines addressed to ,philoctetes3 ,but1 pray1 where is the bride1 where the young maid1 ,would welcome thee8 ,rare bridegroom thou1 poor soul6 ,nay1 they are fond of making jests of the kind at their own ,sidenote3 ,b expense3 ,i'm marrying old1 and for the neighbours' good3 ,i know it4 ,but when a man has been long married1 and has lived with his wife for years without a fault to find1 to tell him that he should divorce her because he is old1 and that he should live by himself or get a wretched concubine in place of his lawful spouse1 is the very extreme of absurdity4 ,in the same way when an aged man seeks to enter politics--,chlidon the farmer1 ,lampon the ship's captain1 or some philosopher from the ,garden#ce--there is some reason in admonishing him1 and keeping him to the state of inactivity to which he has been used4 ,but it is urging a public man to act ,sidenote3 ,c with injustice and ingratitude1 when we take hold of a ,phocion1 a ,cato1 or a ,pericles1 and say1 #8,sir ,athenian--or ,sir ,roman-- ,thine age is wither'd and thy head o'erfrosted2 therefore sue for a divorce from statesmanship1 have done with the worrying business of the platform and the ,board of ,war1 and make haste into the country1 to live with farming 8for a waiting-maid0 or to occupy the rest of your days with thrift and the keeping of accounts4' ,well1 but 7it may be asked7 what of the soldier in the comedy with his ,discharged6 ,no pay6 because of my white hair8 ,quite true1 my friend4 ,the ,war-,god's servants must be in the prime of manly vigour4 ,their business is with ,war and war's baleful work1 in which1 though an old man's grey hair may be hidden by his ,sidenote3 ,d helmet1 ,yet in secret his thews are aweary1 and1 though the spirit be willing1 the strength can no longer respond4 ,but the ministers of ,zeus--the ,god of ,council1 of ,assembly1 of the ,state--are not asked for deeds of hand and foot1 but for counsel and foresight4 ,we ask them for advice1 not such as to evoke roars of mere noise in the ,assembly1 but full of sense and shrewdness1 and safe to follow4 ,in their case the despised white hair and wrinkles become the visible tokens of experience4 ,they suggest moral force1 and are therefore a help to persuasion4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,it is the part of youth to obey2 of old age to guide2 and that state is safest where ,best are the old men's counsels1 ,and best the young man's spear4 ,homer's ,and first he summon'd to council the old men mighty-hearted ,by the side of the ship of ,nestor1 is a touch greatly admired4 ,for the same reason the ,select ,board associated with the kings at ,sparta was called by the ,pythian oracle #8elder-born'1 but by ,lycurgus #8old men' sans phrase1 while the ,roman ,council is called ,senatus down to the present time4 ,the law crowns a man with the circlet and the wreath1 ,nature crowns him with grey hair1 and both are the venerable emblems of sovereign rank4 ,moreover1 the words ,sidenote3 ,f geras1 #8prerogative1' and gerairein1 #8honour with prerogative'--derived from geron1 #8old man'--retain a dignified sense1 not because the old man's bath is warmed and his bed a softer one1 but because he amounts to a king in the state by virtue of his wisdom2 and wisdom is like a late-fruiting plant1 it is only in old age that nature brings out its special excellence and perfect quality4 ,when the king of kings prayed to the gods ,would that among the ,achaeans were ten such as he to advise me6 ,sidenote3 #gij --meaning ,nestor--not one of the #8valorous' and #8prowess-breathing' ,achaeans complained4 ,they all admitted that not only in statesmanship1 but in war also1 age was of great moment1 since ,more worth is one sage thought than many a hand1 and one rational and cogent judgement achieves the finest and most important results in public affairs4 ,now kingship1 the most complete and comprehensive form of public activity1 is full of cares1 labours1 and preoccupations4 ,seleucus1 it was said1 used to declare that if ordinary people knew what a business it was merely to write and read so many letters1 they would not pick up the crown if they found it ,sidenote3 ,b lying in the street4 ,and the story goes that1 when ,philip was proposing to encamp in an excellent position1 but was told that there was no fodder for the pack-animals1 he exclaimed3 #8,good ,heavens6 what is our life worth1 when we are obliged to suit it to the convenience of our asses8' ,ought we then to give the same advice to a king when he has grown old8 ,bid him lay aside the crown and the purple1 take to a cloak and a crutched stick1 and live in the country1 for fear people should think it officious and unseasonable of him to be reigning when he is grey8 ,but we have no right to talk in this way about an ,agesilaus1 or a ,numa1 or a ,darius4 ,neither then should we compel a ,solon ,sidenote3 ,c to leave the ,council of the ,areopagus1 nor a ,cato the ,senate1 nor yet urge a ,pericles to leave popular government to look after itself4 ,it is contrary to reason that in our youth we should bounce upon the platform1 spend upon the public all the passionate licence of our ambition1 and then1 when age arrives and brings the wisdom of experience1 desert and betray our public standing like a woman whom we have used at our pleasure4 ,in ,aesop1 when the hedgehog wanted to pick off his ticks1 the fox would not let him4 #8,these are glutted1' said he1 #8and ,sidenote3 ,d if you get rid of them1 hungry ones will be at you in their place4' ,so with public life4 ,if it is perpetually shedding the old men1 it will necessarily be plagued with young ones1 who are thirsting for notoriety and power but devoid of political sense4 ,how can they be otherwise1 if they are to have no elderly statesman to watch and learn from8 ,a ship's captain is not made by treatises on navigation4 ,he must often have stood upon the quarter-deck and watched the struggle with wave and wind and stormy nights1 when ,the sailor on the brine longs sore ,for ,tyndareus' twin sons4 ,and can the handling of a ,state and the persuading of ,assembly ,sidenote3 ,e or ,council be rightly left to a young man because he has read a book or taken down a lecture on statesmanship in the ,lyceum8 ,though he has not taken his stand many a time beside rudder-rope and tiller1 leaned first to this side and then to that1 while generals and public leaders were pitting their knowledge and experience against each other1 and so learned his lesson in the midst of dangers and difficulties8 ,beyond question1 ,no6 ,for the education and training of the young1 if for no other reason1 old men should play a public part4 ,a teacher of letters or of music himself reads or plays a passage over first by way of example ,sidenote3 ,f to his pupils4 ,so the authority on statesmanship must guide a young man1 not simply by talking or suggesting from outside1 but by the practical administration of public business4 ,it is by deeds as well as by words that he will mould him to the true shape1 filled with the breath of life4 ,it is training of this kind--not in the schools where you practise safe forms of wrestling under mannerly professors1 but in contests truly ,olympian and ,pythian--that makes one1 as ,simonides puts it1 ,keep pace1 as with the steed the wearied colt2 ,sidenote3 #gia --,aristeides with ,cleisthenes1 ,cimon with ,aristeides1 ,phocion with ,chabrias1 ,cato with ,fabius ,maximus1 ,pompeius with ,sulla1 ,polybius with ,philopoemen4 ,it was by attaching themselves when young to older men1 by using them as supports to their own growth1 by being raised to their standard of statesmanlike achievement1 that they acquired the political experience which brought them fame and power4 ,when certain professors declared that the claim of ,aeschines1 the ,academic philosopher1 to have been a pupil of ,carneades was contrary to fact1 he replied1 #8,o yes3 ,i was a disciple of ,carneades at the time when age had taken all the fuss and noise ,sidenote3 ,b out of his teaching and reduced it to practical and serviceable shape4' ,with the statesmanship of an old man1 however1 it is not merely the talking1 but the deeds1 that lose all ostentation and itch for notoriety4 ,they tell us that1 when the iris has grown old and exhausted all crude exuberance of perfume1 its fragrance gains in sweetness4 ,so with the views and suggestions of the old4 ,there is no crudeness in them1 but always a quality of quiet solidity4 ,for this reason1 as ,i have said1 we must have elderly men in public life4 ,plato speaks of mixing water with neat wine as the bringing of a #8frenzied god' to sanity by the ,sidenote3 ,c #8chastening of another who is sober'4 ,so when young spirits in the ,assembly are a-boil with the intoxication of glory and ambition1 we need the old men's caution to qualify them and to eliminate their mad excess of fire4 ,there is another consideration4 ,it is an error to suppose that statesmanship is like a voyage or a campaign--carried on for an ulterior object and discontinued when that is attained4 ,statesmanship is not a public burden1 to be borne only so long as needs must4 ,it is the career of a civilized being with a gift for citizenship and society1 and with a natural disposition to live a life of public influence1 worthy aims1 and social helpfulness for as long as occasion calls4 ,the right course therefore is to be a public man1 not to have been one2 just as it is right to speak the truth1 not to ,sidenote3 ,d have spoken it2 to act honestly1 not to have so acted2 to love one's country and fellow-citizens1 not to have loved them4 ,those are ,nature's objects1 and where men are not utterly demoralized by idleness and effeminacy1 her promptings are such as these3 ,thy sire begat thee for rich use to men1 and ,ne'er let us cease from service to mankind4 ,to urge the plea of ill-health or disablement is to blame disease and injury1 not old age4 ,young men are often sickly1 old men often vigorous4 ,it is therefore not the old whom we should discourage1 but the incapable4 ,it is the capable whom ,sidenote3 ,e we should encourage1 not the young4 ,aridaeus was young1 and ,antigonus old2 but while ,antigonus annexed nearly the whole of ,asia1 ,aridaeus was like the #8super' upon the stage--a king with nothing to say1 and a butt for whoever happened to be in power4 ,to demand of the sophist ,prodicus or the poet ,philetas--who1 young though they might be1 were thin1 sickly1 and constantly taking to their beds through ill-health--that they should take up public life1 were folly4 ,but it were folly also to hinder old men like ,phocion1 or ,masinissa the ,african1 or the ,roman ,cato1 from holding office or military command4 ,the ,sidenote3 ,f ,athenians being set upon an ill-timed war1 ,phocion ordered that every man under sixty should take up arms and serve4 ,when this made them angry1 he said1 #8,there is no hardship4 ,i1 who am to be with you in command1 am over eighty4' ,and of ,masinissa ,polybius relates that he died when he was ninety1 leaving a child of four1 of whom he was the father4 ,shortly before his death he beat the ,carthaginians in a great battle1 ,sidenote3 #gib and the next day was seen in front of his tent eating a loaf of cheap coarse bread4 ,to expressions of surprise he answered that he did so to keep himself in training4 ,for like to goodly bronze1 it shines in use1 ,while a house crumbles1 if left idle long1 says ,sophocles4 ,we may say the same of that glossy brightness of the mind1 to which we owe calculation1 memory1 and sound judgement4 ,for the same reason it is said that wars and campaigns make better kings than inactivity4 ,attalus1 the brother of ,eumenes1 was so thoroughly enervated by long peace and ,sidenote3 ,b idleness that ,philopoemen1 one of his intimates1 had simply to shepherd him and keep him fat4 ,in fact1 the ,romans used to inquire of arrivals from ,asia1 whether #8the king had any influence with ,philopoemen'4 ,it would be hard to find a ,roman general more able than ,lucullus1 so long as he kept his intellect braced with action4 ,but he surrendered himself to a life of inactivity1 stayed at home1 thought of nothing1 and became as lifeless and shrunken as a sponge in a calm4 ,afterwards1 in his old age1 he so tamely accepted a certain freedman1 ,callisthenes1 for his keeper1 that the man ,sidenote3 ,c was thought to be bewitching him with spells and drugs1 till at last his brother ,marcus drove the fellow away and himself took to managing and tutoring him for the short remainder of his life4 ,on the other hand1 ,darius1 the father of ,xerxes1 used to say that he became his wisest in times of danger2 and ,ateas the ,scythian declared that1 when he had nothing to do1 he could see nothing to distinguish him from his grooms4 ,when some one asked the elder ,dionysius if he had time to spare1 he replied3 #8,heaven forbid ,i ever should6' ,whereas a bow1 they tell us1 is broken by stringing it tight1 a mind is broken by leaving it loose4 ,if a musician gives up listening ,sidenote3 ,d for pitch1 a geometrician the solving of problems1 an arithmetician the constant habit of calculation1 old age will enfeeble the ability along with the loss of its exercise1 although the art in these cases is not a #8practic' one1 but a #8theoretic'4 ,in the case of the special ability of the statesman--his caution1 wisdom1 and justice1 together with an experienced knack of hitting the right language at the right time2 that is to say1 a faculty for creating persuasion--it is kept in good condition by constant speech1 action1 calculation1 and judicial decision4 ,it would be a dire mistake for it to abandon such activities ,sidenote3 ,e and permit all those important virtues to leak away from the mind4 ,for it naturally means a decline of kindly interest in man and society--a thing which should be without limit or end4 ,suppose your father had been ,tithonus4 ,suppose1 though he was immortal1 old age had made him require close and constant care4 ,you would not1 ,i imagine1 have run away and repudiated the task of tending him1 talking to him1 and helping him1 just because you had #8borne the burden for a long time'4 ,well1 your fatherland--or #8motherland' as it is called in ,crete--has claims prior to those of parents1 and greater4 ,your country's life has been a long one1 but she is not without old age4 ,she is ,sidenote3 ,f not sufficient to herself1 but is in perpetual need of watchful and considerate help4 ,she therefore grasps at the statesman and holds him back3 ,clutching his garment she stays him1 though eager he be for departure4 ,you are aware that ,i have performed my public duty at many a ,pythian festival4 ,but you would not say #8,plutarch1 you have done enough in the way of sacrifices1 processions1 and choruses4 ,you are now in years2 it is time to put off your wreath2 age entitles you to leave the shrine alone'4 ,well1 look at your own duty in the same way4 ,in the sacred service of the ,state you are coryphaeus and prophet1 and it is not for you to abandon that worship of ,zeus1 ,god of ,state and ,assembly1 in which you have been so long initiated and are so thoroughly versed4 ,sidenote3 #gic ,permit me now to leave the arguments for quitting public life1 and to examine another point4 ,we must beware of inflicting upon our old age an unbecoming or exacting task1 when so many portions of public work are so well suited to that time of life4 ,if it had been proper for us to go on singing all our days1 there are at our disposal many keys and modes1 or1 as the musicians call them1 #8systems4' ,our right course in our old age would have been to cultivate1 not a mode both high and sharp1 but one combining ease with appropriate character4 ,and since ,nature prompts mankind to act and speak--even more ,sidenote3 ,b than it prompts the swan to sing--until the end1 our duty is not to lay action aside1 like a lyre of too high a pitch1 but to lower the key and adapt it to such forms of public effort as are light1 unexacting1 and within an old man's compass4 ,we do not leave our bodies entirely without muscular exercise because we cannot use the spade and the jumping-weights1 or hurl the discus1 or practise fencing1 as we used to do4 ,we swing or walk1 and in some cases the breathing is exercised and warmth stimulated by playing a gentle game of ball1 or by conversation4 ,on the one hand1 then1 do not let us allow ourselves to become ,sidenote3 ,c stiff and torpid from inactivity4 ,on the other1 let us not undertake any and every official position1 clutch at any and every kind of public work1 and bring such an exposure upon old age that it is driven to exclaim in despair3 ,right hand1 how fain art thou to grasp the spear6 ,how vain thy longing1 in thy strengthlessness6 ,even in the prime of strength a man wins no credit if he tries to take on his shoulders the whole pack of public business1 and ,sidenote3 ,d refuses--like ,zeus1 according to the ,stoics--to leave anything to others2 if he insinuates himself everywhere and has his finger in everything1 through an insatiable greed for notoriety or through jealousy of any one who contrives to get a share of honour and power in the community4 ,but when a man is quite old1 then1 apart from the discredit1 wretchedly hard work is entailed by that itch for office which is always courting every ballot-box1 that meddlesomeness which lies in wait for every opportunity of acting on a jury or a committee1 that ambition which snaps up every appointment as delegate or proctor4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,such work is a heavy tax on an old man1 even when people are well-disposed4 ,but the opposite may very well be the case4 ,for young men hate him because he leaves them no opportunities and prevents them from coming to the front2 while the rest of the community looks upon his itch for office and precedence with the same disapproval as upon the itch of other old men for money and pleasure4 ,when ,bucephalus was growing old1 ,alexander1 being unwilling to overwork him1 used to ride some other horse while reviewing the phalanx and getting it into position before the ,sidenote3 ,f battle4 ,then1 after giving the word for the day1 he changed his mount to ,bucephalus1 and at once led the charge and tried the fortunes of war4 ,in the same way a sensible public man--in this case handling his own reins--will1 when in years1 hold aloof from unnecessary effort1 leaving more vigorous persons to deal with the minor matters of state1 but himself playing a zealous part in great ones4 ,athletes keep their bodies from all contact with necessary labours and in perfect trim for useless ones4 ,we1 on the contrary1 will leave petty little details alone1 and will keep ourselves in reserve for matters of moment4 ,no doubt1 as ,homer says1 ,to the young all labours are seemly1 and the world gives consent and approval1 calling them #8public-spirited' and #8energetic' when they do a large number of little things1 and #8noble' and #8lofty-minded' when they do brilliant and distinguished things4 ,at that time of life there are ,sidenote3 #gid occasions when a venturesome aggressiveness is more or less in season and wears a grace of its own4 ,but what when an elderly man consents to perform routine services to the public1 such as letting out taxes1 or superintending harbours and markets8 ,what when he seizes opportunities of being sent on a mission to some governor or other powerful personage--a position for which there is no necessity1 which contains no dignity1 and which necessitates time-serving and complaisance8 ,to my mind1 my friend1 his case is one for regret and commiseration2 some may even think it distressingly vulgar4 ,not even positions of authority are any longer a suitable ,sidenote3 ,b sphere for him1 unless they are of high rank and importance2 such a position1 for example1 as you now hold in the ,presidentship of the ,areopagite ,council1 not to mention the distinguished rank of ,amphictyon1#cf which your country has imposed upon you all your life1 with its ,welcome toil and labour sweet to bear4 ,even these honours we should not seek1 but should make from holding them4 ,we should ask1 not for them1 but to be excused from them4 ,it should seem1 not that we are taking office to ourselves1 but that we are surrendering ourselves to office4 ,the ,emperor ,tiberius used to say that a man over sixty should be ashamed of holding out his wrist to a physician4 ,but he should ,sidenote3 ,c be more ashamed of holding out his hand to the public in solicitation of its #8vote and influence'4 ,that situation is as humiliating and ignoble as the contrary is honourable and dignified--,i mean when your country chooses you1 calls you1 and waits for you1 and when you come down amidst respect and welcome1 a #8reverend signior' indeed1 to meet your distinction with gracious acceptance4 ,similarly with speaking in the ,assembly4 ,a man of advanced age should not be perpetually springing upon the platform and crowing back to every cock that crows4 ,young men are like horses1 and he should not1 by constantly grappling with ,sidenote3 ,d them and irritating them1 lose control of their respect1 or encourage the practice and habit of resistance to the reins4 ,he should sometimes leave them to make a restive plunge for distinction1 keeping out of the way and not interfering1 unless the matter at stake is vital to the public safety or to decency and honour4 ,in that case he should not wait to be called1 but should let some one take him by the hand1 or carry him in his chair1 and push his way at more than full speed1 like ,appius ,claudius in ,roman history4 ,the ,romans had been defeated by ,pyrrhus in a great battle1 and ,appius heard that the ,senate ,sidenote3 ,e was listening to proposals for a truce and a peace4 ,this was more than he could bear1 and1 though blind of both eyes1 along he came in his chair through the ,forum to the ,senate ,house4 ,he went in1 planted himself before them1 and said3 #8,hitherto ,i have been distressed at the loss of my sight2 now ,i could pray to be also unable to hear--that you are meditating so ignoble and disgraceful a transaction4' ,thereupon1 partly by reproaches1 partly by advice and encouragement1 he persuaded them to have ,sidenote3 ,f immediate recourse to arms and to fight ,pyrrhus to a finish for the prize of ,italy4 ,again1 when it became manifest that1 in acting the demagogue1 ,peisistratus was aiming at absolutism1 and yet no one ventured to resist or prevent it1 ,solon brought out his weapons with his own hands1 piled them in front of his house1 and called upon the citizens to help4 ,and when ,peisistratus sent and asked him what gave him the confidence to do so1 he replied1 #8,my age4' ,things so vital as these1 it is true1 are rousing enough to fire even the most worn-out of old men1 so long as he possesses the breath of life at all4 ,otherwise he will sometimes1 as ,i have said1 be showing good taste if he declines to perform paltry and menial tasks which bring more worry to the doer than good ,sidenote3 #gic to the persons for whom they are done4 ,there are also occasions when he will wait for the citizens to call for him1 feel the need of him1 and come to his house to fetch him4 ,he is wanted1 and therefore his appearance on the scene will carry more weight4 ,but for the most part1 though present1 he will be silent and will leave the younger generation to do the speaking1 while he acts as umpire to the match of political ambition4 ,and if it goes beyond bounds1 he will offer a mild reproof and courteously put an end to outbreaks of self-assertion1 recrimination1 or ill-temper4 ,when a motion is wrong1 he will reason with and correct the mover1 but without blaming him4 ,when it is right1 he will commend it without reserve and will cheerfully acquiesce1 often surrendering an argumentative victory in order that ,sidenote3 ,b a young man may get on in the world and be in good heart4 ,in some cases he will supply a deficiency while paying a compliment1 like ,nestor with his ,no man1 ,i trow1 will find fault with thy words among all the ,achaeans3 ,none say thee nay4 ,yet not to an end hast thou brought all the matter4 ,true 'tis1 thou art yet but young1 and myself might be thine own father4 ,there is a practice still more statesmanlike4 ,one may not merely teach a lesson openly in public by means of a reproval unaccompanied by any sting of humiliation or injury to prestige4 ,still more may be done in private for persons with good political abilities4 ,we may offer them kindly suggestions and assistance ,sidenote3 ,c towards the bringing forward of useful arguments and public measures1 encourage them to high aims1 help them to acquire a distinguished tone of mind1 and--as riding-masters do with their horses--see that at first the people shall be gentle and docile for them to mount4 ,and if so be a young man should make a failure1 instead of leaving him to despond1 we may rouse and comfort him4 ,it was in this way that the spirits and courage of ,cimon were revived by ,aristeides1 and those of ,themistocles by ,mnesiphilus1 when they began by incurring ill-odour and a bad name for forwardness and recklessness4 ,it is also said of ,demosthenes that1 when he was in great distress at his failure ,sidenote3 ,d in the ,assembly1 he was taken to task by a very old man who had heard ,pericles1 and who told him that he had no right to despair of himself1 seeing that he possessed gifts so much like those of that eminent person4 ,so when ,timotheus was hissed for his innovations and treated as guilty of an outrage on music1 ,euripides bade him keep up his courage1 since he would soon be dictating to his audience4 ,at ,rome the term of the ,vestal ,virgins is divided into three stages--one for learning1 one for the performance of the ceremonies1 and the third for teaching4 ,so with the votaries of ,sidenote3 ,e ,artemis at ,ephesus2 each is called first a novice1 next a priestess1 and then a past-priestess4 ,in the same way the complete statesman is during the first part of his public career still engaged in learning the mysteries2 during the last part he is engaged in teaching and initiating4 ,whereas to superintend the athletics of others is to take no part in them oneself1 it is otherwise with those who train a youth in public business and the political arena1 and who make sure that for the good of his country he shall ,be speaker of words and eke doer of deeds4 ,they perform good service1 not in some petty inconsiderable ,sidenote3 ,f part of public life1 but in one to which ,lycurgus devoted his first and foremost attention--training the young to give to every old man the same unfailing obedience as to a lawgiver4 ,what had ,lysander in his mind1 when he declared that the finest form of old age is to be found at ,lacedaemon8 ,did he mean that at ,lacedaemon elderly people had the best opportunities of doing nothing1 of lending money1 of sitting together and playing dice1 or of meeting together at an early hour to drink8 ,surely not4 ,he meant that all persons at that time of life hold1 as it were1 a magisterial position2 that they are1 in a sense1 public fathers or guardians1 who not only look after matters of state1 but take active cognisance of everything a young ,sidenote3 #gif man may do in connexion with his training-school1 his pastimes1 or his style of living4 ,such a position makes them an object of fear to wrong-doers1 and of respect and affection to the well-behaved4 ,for young men make a point of cultivating their society1 because of the way in which they encourage steadiness and nobility of character by sympathy and approbation and without jealousy4 ,the last-named feeling is not a becoming one at any time of life4 ,but whereas in the case of a young man it finds plenty of respectable names--#8rivalry'1 #8emulation'1 #8ambition'--in an old man it is a coarse and vulgar sentiment altogether out of place4 ,the aged statesman should therefore be entirely free from jealousy4 ,he should be no malignant old tree1 ,sidenote3 ,b unequivocally snubbing the shoots and checking the growth of plants which spring up beside or beneath it1 but should give them a kindly welcome and every opportunity to cling to him and twine about him4 ,he should hold young people upright1 lead them by the hand1 and foster them1 not only by wise suggestion and advice1 but by surrendering to them political tasks which bring honour and distinction1 or which afford scope for services of an innocent nature and yet welcome and gratifying to the public4 ,when a task is a stubborn and arduous one1 or when it is like a medicine which stings and gives pain at the moment1 while its beneficial effects are not produced till afterwards1 he ,sidenote3 ,c should not prescribe it for young people4 ,instead of subjecting them in their inexperienced state to the uproars of an unreasonable mob1 he should himself accept the unpopularity attaching to salutary measures4 ,by this means he will render a youth both more well-disposed and also more zealous in other duties4 ,meanwhile it must be remembered that statesmanship does not consist solely in holding office1 acting as envoy1 shouting loudly in the ,assembly1 and indulging in a fine frenzy of speeches and motions on the platform4 ,the generality of people may think that these make a statesman1 just as they think that talking ,sidenote3 ,d from a chair and delivering lectures based on books make a philosopher4 ,but they fail to discern the sustained statesmanship or philosophy which is revealed consistently day after day in actions and conduct4 ,as ,dicaearchus used to say1 the word peripatein1 #8walk'1 has now come to be used of persons taking a turn in the colonnades rather than of those who are walking into the country or to see a friend4 ,it is the same with acting the statesman as it is with acting the philosopher4 ,for ,socrates to play the philosopher there was no arranging of forms1 seating himself in a chair1 or observing a fixed time--arranged with his associates--for a discussion or discourse4 ,he played the philosopher while joking with you1 perhaps1 or drinking with you1 ,sidenote3 ,e or possibly campaigning with you1 or at market with you1 and finally when he was in prison and drinking the poison4 ,he was thus the first to show that life affords scope for philosophy at every moment1 in every detail1 in every feeling and circumstance whatsoever4 ,statesmanship should be regarded in the same light4 ,foolish persons1 even if they are ,ministers of ,war1 or ,secretaries1 or platform-speakers1 should not be considered as acting the statesman1 but as courting the mob1 or making a display1 or creating dissension1 or doing public service because they must4 ,but when a man possesses public spirit and broad interests1 and is a keen patriot and a #8state's man' in the literal sense1 even if he has never worn official garb1 he is playing the statesman all the time4 ,he does so by stimulating men of ,sidenote3 ,f ability1 giving advice to those who need it1 lending his help to deliberation1 discouraging bunglers1 and fortifying persons of sense4 ,and this does not mean that he goes to the ,assembly ,theatre or ,senate ,house out of pride of place when canvassed or pressed1 and1 when he gets there1 merely puts in an appearance--if he does so--by way of pastime1 as he might at a show or entertainment4 ,it means that1 even if not present in body1 he ,sidenote3 #gig is present in spirit2 that he asks how the business goes1 and is pleased or vexed as the case may be4 ,aristeides at ,athens and ,cato at ,rome held few public offices2 but they made their whole life a perpetual service to their country4 ,though ,epaminondas won many a distinguished success as commander-in-chief1 he is no less famous for what he did in ,thessaly at a time when he held no command or office4 ,the generals had plunged the phalanx into a difficult situation4 ,the enemy was attacking them with his missiles1 ,sidenote3 ,b and they were in confusion4 ,epaminondas was therefore summoned from the ranks1 and1 after allaying the panic of the army by words of encouragement1 he proceeded to make an orderly disposition of the phalanx--which was in a state of turmoil--extricated it with ease1 posted it so as to confront the enemy1 and compelled him to change his tactics and retire4 ,once when ,king ,agis was in ,arcadia1 and was in the act of leading his army into action in full order of battle1 one of the elder ,spartans shouted out that he was proposing to #8mend one error by another'1 meaning 7as ,thucydides says7 that #8his ,sidenote3 ,c present unseasonable ardour was intended to repair the discredit of his retreat' from ,argos4 ,agis listened1 took the advice1 and retired4 ,menecrates actually had a seat placed for him every day at the doors of the ,government ,office1 and the ,ephors frequently rose and consulted him upon questions of the first importance2 so great was his reputation for wisdom and shrewdness4 ,the story goes that1 when he had completely lost all physical strength and was for the most part confined all day to his bed1 upon the ,ephors sending for him to the ,agora1 he got up and set out to walk4 ,as he was toiling slowly along1 he met ,sidenote3 ,d some children on the way1 and asked them3 #8,do you know anything more binding than to obey a master8' ,upon their replying1 #8,lack of the power1' his reason told him that this brought his service to an end1 and he turned back home4 ,for though zeal should not fail so long as ability lasts1 we must not put pressure upon it when left helpless4 ,once more1 ,scipio1 whether in the field or in politics1 constantly sought the advice of ,gaius ,laelius to such an extent as to make some people say of his achievements that ,scipio was the actor1 but the author was ,gaius4 ,and ,cicero himself acknowledges that the greatest and finest of the successful measures of his consulship were devised with the help of the philosopher ,publius ,nigidius4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,there is1 then1 nothing to prevent an aged man from advancing the public good in many a department of statesmanship4 ,he has the best of means thereto3 reason1 judgement1 plain-speaking1 and #8thought discreet#81 as the poets say4 ,it is not merely our hands and feet or the strength of our bodies that are part and parcel of the possessions of the ,state4 ,most important are the mind and the beauties of the mind--temperance1 justice1 and wisdom4 ,it is monstrous that1 as these come late and ,sidenote3 ,f slowly to their own1 our house and farm and other goods and chattels should get the benefit of them1 while1 in a public way1 to our country and our fellow-citizens1 we make ourselves of no further use because of #8time'4 ,for what time takes away from our powers of active effort is less than what it adds to those of guidance and statesmanship4 ,it is for this reason that1 when ,hermes is represented in an elderly form1 though he has no hands or feet1 his virile parts are tense--an indirect way of saying that there is little need for old men's bodies to be hard at work1 so long as their power of reasoned speech is--as it ought to be--vigorous and generative4 ,footnote #cd3 ,the text here is corrupt4 ,footnote #ce3 i4e4 ,epicurean4 ,footnote #cf3 ,member of a religious council which met at ,delphi and represented the chief states of all ,greece4 ,,advice ,,to ,,married ,,couples ,sidenote3 #ach ,b ,,to ,,pollianus ,,and ,,eurydice ,,with ,,plutarch',s ,,best ,,wishes4 ,when they were shutting you in your bridal chamber1 the ancestral ritual was duly applied to you by the priestess of ,demeter4 ,i believe that now1 if reason also were to take you in hand and join in the nuptial song1 it would prove of some service1 and would support the tune as prescribed4 ,in the musical world they used to call one of the modes for the flute #8the ,horse-and-,mare'1 because1 apparently1 the strains in that key were provocative of union between those animals4 ,well1 philosophy has many excellent sermons to give1 but none ,sidenote3 ,c more worthy of serious attention than that upon marriage4 ,by it she exerts a spell upon those who come together as partners in life1 and renders them gentle and tractable to each other4 ,i have1 therefore1 taken the main points of the lessons which you have repeatedly heard1 brought up as you have been in the company of ,philosophy4 ,i have arranged them in a series of brief comparisons to make them easier to remember1 and am sending them as a present to you both4 ,in doing so ,i pray that the ,muses may graciously lend aid to ,aphrodite1 since1 if it is their province to see that a lyre or a harp shall be in tune1 it is no less so to provide that the music of the married home shall be harmonized by reason and philosophy4 ,when people in olden times assigned a seat with ,aphrodite to ,hermes1 it was because ,sidenote3 ,d the pleasure of marriage stands in special need of reason2 when to ,persuasion and the ,graces1 it was in order that the married pair might obtain their wishes from each other by means of persuasion1 and not by contention and strife4 ,,the ,,rules3 #a4 ,solon bade the bride eat a piece of quince before coming to the bridegroom's arms--apparently an enigmatical suggestion that1 as a first requirement1 a pleasant and inviting impression should be gathered from an agreeable mouth and speech4 #b4 ,in ,boeotia1 after veiling the bride1 they crown her with a wreath of thorny asparagus4 ,as that plant yields the sweetest eating from among the roughest prickles1 so a bride1 if the groom does not run away in disgust because he finds her difficult and vexatious at first1 will afford him a sweet and gentle companionship4 ,one who shows no patience with the girl's first ,sidenote3 ,e bickerings is as bad as those who let the ripe grapes go because once they were sour4 ,many a young bride is affected in the same way4 ,first experiences disgust her with the bridegroom1 and she makes as great a mistake as if1 after enduring the sting of the bee1 she were to abandon the honeycomb4 #c4 ,it is especially at the beginning that married people should beware of quarrel and friction4 ,let them note how vessels which have been mended will at first easily pull to pieces on the slightest occasion1 but as time goes on and they become solid at the seams1 it is as much as fire and iron can do to separate ,sidenote3 ,f the parts4 #d4 ,fire is readily kindled in chaff1 dry rushes1 or hare's fur1 but quickly goes out unless it gets a further hold upon something capable both of keeping it in and feeding it4 ,so with that fierce blaze of passion which is produced in the newly-married by physical enjoyment4 ,you must not rely upon it nor expect it to last1 unless it is built round the moral character1 gets a hold upon your rational part1 and so obtains a permanent vitality4 #e4 ,doctoring the water is no doubt a quick and easy way of ,sidenote3 #aci catching fish1 but it renders them bad and uneatable4 ,so when women work artificially upon their husbands with philtres and spells1 and control them by the agency of pleasure1 they have but crazy simpletons and dotards for their partners4 ,while ,circe derived no good from the men she had bewitched1 and made no use of them when turned into swine and asses1 she found the greatest pleasure in the rational companionship of the wise ,odysseus4 #f4 ,a woman who is more desirous of ruling a foolish husband than of obeying a wise one1 is like a traveller who would rather lead a blind man than follow one who possesses sight and knowledge4 ,sidenote3 ,b #g4 ,why should people disbelieve that ,pasiphae1 though consort to a king1 fell in love with an ox1 when they see that some women find a strict and continent husband wearisome1 and prefer to live with one who is as much a mass of ungoverned sensuality as a dog or a goat8 #h4 ,when a rider is too weak or effeminate to vault upon a horse1 he teaches the animal itself to bend its legs and crouch4 ,in the same way some men who marry high-born or wealthy women1 instead of improving themselves1 put indignities upon their wives1 in the belief that they will be more easily ruled when humbled4 ,the proper course is1 while using the rein1 to maintain the dignity of the wife1 as one would the full height of the horse4 ,sidenote3 ,c #i4 ,when the moon is at a distance from the sun1 we see it bright and luminous4 ,when it comes near him1 it fades and is lost to view4 ,with a properly conducted woman it is the contrary4 ,she should be most visible when with her husband2 in his absence she should keep at home and out of sight4 #aj4 ,herodotus was wrong in saying that when a woman lays aside her tunic she lays aside her modesty4 ,on the contrary1 a chaste wife puts on modesty in its place4 ,between married persons the token of greatest regard is greatest modesty4 #aa4 ,if two notes are taken in accord1 the lower of the two is ,sidenote3 ,d the dominant4 ,so1 though every action in a well-conducted house is performed by both parties in tune1 it will reveal the husband's leadership and priority of choice4 #ab4 ,the ,sun vanquished the ,north ,wind4 ,when the wind endeavoured to take off the man's cloak by violence and blowing a gale1 he only tightened his mantle the more and held it the closer4 ,but when1 after the wind1 the sun became hot1 the man began to grow warm4 ,when at last he sweltered1 he took off not only his cloak but his tunic4 ,the parable applies to the generality of women4 ,when their husbands take violent measures to do away with extravagant indulgence1 they show ,sidenote3 ,e fight and temper2 but if you reason with them1 they give it up peaceably and practise moderation4 #ac4 ,cato expelled from the ,senate a man who had kissed his own wife in the presence of his daughter4 ,this1 perhaps1 was too severe a step4 ,but if--as is the case--it is unseemly to be fondling and kissing and embracing each other in company1 it is surely more unseemly to be scolding and quarrelling in company1 and1 while treating your love-passages as a sacred secret between you and your wife1 to make an open display of fault-finding ,sidenote3 ,f and reproach4 #ad4 ,a mirror1#cg though decorated with gold and precious stones1 is of no use unless it shows you your form true to life4 ,similarly there is no advantage in a rich wife1 if her conduct does not represent that of her husband and harmonize with it in character4 ,if the reflection which it offers is glum when you are joyful1 but wears a merry grin when you are gloomy and distressed1 the mirror is faulty and bad4 ,a wife is a poor thing and out of place if she is in the dumps when her husband is disposed for frolic or love-making1 but is all fun and laughter when he is serious4 ,in the former case she is disagreeable2 in ,sidenote3 #adj the latter1 she slights you4 ,geometers tell us that lines and surfaces make no movement by themselves1 but only in conjunction with the bodies to which they belong4 ,in the same way a woman should be free from peculiar states of mind of her own1 but should act as the husband's partner in his earnestness and his jest1 in his preoccupation and his laughter4 #ae4 ,a man who dislikes to see his wife eating with him1 teaches her to satisfy her appetite when she gets by herself4 ,similarly one who is never a merry companion to her1 nor shares in her sport and laughter1 teaches her to look for private pleasures apart from him4 ,sidenote3 ,b #af4 ,when the ,persian kings are dining or feasting1 their legitimate wives sit at their side4 ,but when they wish to amuse themselves or get tipsy1 they send those wives away and summon their minstrel-women and concubines4 ,the practice is a right one1 at least to the extent that they do not permit their wives to take part in wanton and licentious scenes4 ,so1 if a private man1 who lacks self-control or good-breeding in his pleasures1 is guilty of a lapse with a common woman or a menial1 the wife should not be indignant and resentful1 but should reflect that1 out of respect for her1 he finds some other woman to share his riot and lasciviousness4 ,sidenote3 ,c #ag4 ,when kings are fond of music1 they make many musicians2 when of learning1 learned men2 when of athletics1 gymnasts4 ,so when the love of a husband is for the person1 his wife will be all for dress2 when for pleasure1 she becomes lewd and wanton2 when for goodness and virtue1 she shows herself discreet and chaste4 #ah4 ,when a ,lacedaemonian girl was once asked whether she had already embraced a man1 she answered1 #8,no1 indeed2 but he has embraced me4' ,such1 ,i believe1 is the right attitude for a lady--not to shun or dislike caresses1 when the husband begins them1 nor yet to begin them of her own accord4 ,the one course is bold and immodest1 the other disdainful and ,sidenote3 ,d unaffectionate4 #ai4 ,the woman ought not to possess private friends1 but to share those of the man4 ,but first and greatest are the gods1 and it is therefore right for the wife to reverence or acknowledge only those gods who are recognized by the husband4 ,her street-door should be kept shut to out-of-the-way forms of worship and alien superstitions4 ,no deity finds gratification in ceremonies which a woman performs in secret and by stealth4 #bj4 ,plato holds that a community is in a state of blissful well-being when the expressions #8mine' and #8not mine' are scarcely ever heard1 inasmuch as the citizens enjoy1 as far as ,sidenote3 ,e possible1 the common use of everything worth considering4 ,much more ought such language to be abolished from the married state4 ,in the same way1 however1 in which medical men tell us that a blow on the left side produces an answering sensation in the right1 it is proper for a wife to sympathize with her husband's concerns and the husband with the wife's4 ,in this way1 just as ropes1 when interwoven1 lend each other strength1 so1 through each party reciprocating the other's goodwill1 the partnership will be maintained by both combined4 ,nature blends us through the body in such a way as to take ,sidenote3 ,f a portion from each1 and by commingling produce an offspring common to both1 so that neither can define or distinguish an #8own' part from #8another's'4 ,the same sort of partnership between married persons should assuredly exist in respect of money also4 ,they should pour it all into a single fund1 and blend it in such a way that they never think of one part as #8own' and one as #8another's'1 but treat it all as #8own' and none of it as #8another's'4 ,and as we call a mixture #8wine'1 though it may contain a greater proportion of water1 so the property of the house should be said to belong to the man1 even though the wife may contribute the larger share4 #ba4 ,helen loved wealth1 and ,paris loved pleasure3 ,odysseus was wise1 and ,penelope discreet4 ,hence the union of the latter ,sidenote3 #ada pair was happy and enviable1 while that of the former brought upon ,greeks and ,asiatics an #8,iliad of ,woes'4 #bb4 ,when the ,roman was admonished by his friends for having divorced a wife who was chaste1 rich1 and beautiful1 he stretched out his shoe and remarked3 #8,yes1 and this looks fine and new1 but no one knows where it chafes me4' ,the wife must not rely upon her dowry1 her birth1 or her beauty4 ,the matters in which she touches her husband most closely are conversation1 character1 and companionship4 ,instead of making these harsh and vexatious day after day1 she must render them ,sidenote3 ,b compatible1 soothing1 and grateful4 ,physicians are more afraid of fevers which spring from vague causes gradually accumulating1 than of those for which there is a great and manifest reason4 ,so it is these little1 continual1 daily frictions between man and wife1 which the world knows nothing of1 that do most to create the rifts which ruin married life4 #bc4 ,king ,philip was once enamoured of a ,thessalian woman who was charged with bewitching him4 ,olympias thereupon became eager to get this person into her power4 ,when1 upon presenting herself1 she not only turned out to be a handsome woman1 but spoke with considerable nobility and good sense1 ,sidenote3 ,c ,olympias said3 #8,those calumnies are all nonsense6 ,your witchcraft lies in yourself4' ,how irresistible a thing is a married and lawful wife1 if1 by treating everything--dowry1 birth1 philtres1 the very girdle#ch of ,aphrodite--as lying in herself1 she conquers affection by means of character and virtue6 #bd4 ,on another occasion1 when a youthful courtier had married a handsome woman of bad repute1 ,olympias remarked1 #8,the fellow has no judgement2 otherwise he would not have married with his eyes4' ,marriage should not be made with the eyes2 neither should it with the fingers1 as it is in the case of some1 who reckon up the amount of the dower1 instead of calculating the companionable quality1 of the wife they are ,sidenote3 ,d marrying4 #be4 ,to young men who are fond of looking at themselves in the mirror ,socrates recommended that the ugly should correct their defects by virtue1 while the handsome should avoid spoiling their beauty by vice4 ,it is a good thing for the married woman also1 while she is holding the mirror1 to talk to herself1 and1 if she is plain1 to ask1 #8,and what if ,i show myself indiscreet8' if beautiful1 #8,and what if ,i show myself discreet as well8' ,the plain woman may pride herself on being loved for her character1 and the handsome woman on being loved more for her character than her beauty4 #bf4 ,when the ,sicilian despot sent ,lysander's daughters a set of costly mantles and chains1 he refused to accept them4 #8,these bits of ornaments1' said he1 #8will rather take from my ,sidenote3 ,e daughters' beauty than set it off4' ,lysander1 however1 was anticipated by ,sophocles in the lines3 ,nay1 'twould not seem1 poor fool1 to beautify1 ,but to unbeautify1 and prove thee wanton4 ,as ,crates used to say1 #8,adornment is that which adorns1' and that which adorns is that which adds to a woman's seemliness4 ,this is not done by gold or jewels or scarlet1 but by whatever invests her with the badges of dignity1 decorum1 and modesty4 #bg4 ,in sacrificing to ,hera as goddess of marriage1 the gall is not burned with the other portions of the sacrifice1 but is ,sidenote3 ,f taken out and thrown down at the side of the altar--an indirect injunction of the legislator that gall and anger should have no place in the married state4 ,the austerity of the lady of the house1 like the dryness of wine1 should be wholesome and palatable1 not bitter like aloes or unpleasant like a drug4 #bh4 ,xenocrates being somewhat harsh in character1 though otherwise a high type of man1 ,plato recommended him to sacrifice to the ,graces4 ,now ,i take it that a woman of strict morals stands in special need of the graces in dealing with her ,sidenote3 #adb husband1 so that--as ,metrodorus used to say--she may live with him on pleasant terms and not #8in a temper because she is chaste'4 ,a woman should no more forget to be amiable because she is faithful1 than to be neat because she is thrifty4 ,decorum in a woman is rendered as disagreeable by harshness as frugality is by sluttishness4 #bi4 ,a wife who is afraid to laugh and joke with her husband for fear of seeming bold and wanton1 is as bad as the woman who1 from fear of being thought to use ointments on her head1 does not even oil it1#ci and1 to avoid seeming to rouge her face1 does not even wash it4 ,we find that when poets and orators avoid appealing to the vulgar by bad taste and affectation in ,sidenote3 ,b respect of their diction1 they practise every art to attract and stir the hearer with their matter1 their treatment1 and their moral quality4 ,so the lady of the house1 because she avoids and deprecates--as she is quite right to do--extravagant or meretricious demonstration1 ought all the more to bring the graces of character and conduct into play in dealing with her husband1 thus habituating him to proper ways1 but in a pleasurable manner4 ,if1 however1 a wife shows herself strait-laced and rigidly austere1 her husband must put the best face upon it4 ,when ,antipater required ,phocion to perform an improper and ,sidenote3 ,c degrading action1 he answered1 #8,i cannot serve you both as your friend and your toady4' ,in the same way1 when a woman is staid and strait-laced1 our reflection should be1 #8,the same woman cannot behave to me as both a wife and a mistress4' #cj4 ,by a national custom the ,egyptian women wore no shoes1 so that they might keep at home all day4 ,in the case of most women1 to deprive them of gold-worked shoes1 bangles1 anklets1 purple1 and pearls1 is to make them stay indoors4 #ca4 ,theano1 in putting on her mantle1 once showed a glimpse of her arm4 ,upon some one saying1 #8,a beautiful forearm6' she retorted1 #8,but not for the public6' ,a well-conducted woman will keep1 not only her forearm1 but her speech1 from ,sidenote3 ,d publicity4 ,she will be as shy and cautious about her utterances to the outside world as if they were an exposure of her person1 inasmuch as1 when she talks1 they are a revelation of feelings1 character1 and disposition4 #cb4 ,pheidias1 in representing the ,elean ,aphrodite with her foot upon a tortoise1 meant women to take it as a symbol of home-keeping and silence4 ,a woman should talk either to1 or through the medium of1 her husband2 nor should she resent it if1 like a player on the clarinet1 she finds a more impressive utterance through another tongue than through her own4 #cc4 ,when rich or royal persons pay respect to a philosopher1 they do honour both to themselves and to him4 ,but when a philosopher pays court to rich people1 he is not conferring ,sidenote3 ,e distinction upon them1 but lowering his own4 ,the same is the case with women4 ,by submission to their husbands they win regard2 by seeking to govern them they demean themselves worse than the men so governed4 ,meanwhile it is only right that the husband1 in controlling the wife1 should not be like an owner dealing with a chattel1 but like the mind dealing with the body--sympathetic with the sympathy of organic union4 ,it is possible to care for the body without being a slave to its pleasures and desires1 and it is possible to rule a wife and yet do things to please and gratify her4 #cd4 ,compound objects are classified by philosophers as follows4 ,in some the parts are distinct1 as in a fleet or army4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,in some they are conjoined1 as in a house or ship4 ,in others they form an organic unity1 as in all living creatures4 ,we may say much the same of marriage4 ,the marriage of love is the #8organic unity'2 the marriage for a dowry or for children is that of persons #8conjoined'2 marriage without sharing the same couch is that of persons #8distinct'1 who may be said to ,sidenote3 #adc dwell together1 but not to live together4 ,with persons marrying1 there should be a mutual blending of bodies1 means1 friends1 and relations1 in the same way as1 according to the scientists1 when liquids are mixed1 the mixture runs through the whole4 ,when the ,roman legislator forbade married couples to exchange presents1 he did not mean that they should not impart to each other1 but that they should look upon everything as joint property4 #ce4 ,at ,leptis in ,africa it is a traditional custom for the bride1 on the day after marriage1 to send to the bridegroom's mother to borrow a pot4 ,the latter refuses1 saying she has none4 ,the intention is that the bride may realize from the first the #8step-mother' attitude of her mother-in-law1 so that1 if anything more disagreeable happens afterwards1 she may not be vexed or irritated4 ,the wife should understand this fact and apply ,sidenote3 ,b treatment to its cause1 which is1 that the mother is jealous of her son's affections4 ,there is but one treatment for this state of mind4 ,while winning the special affection of her husband for herself1 she must avoid detaching or lessening his affection for his mother4 #cf4 ,mothers appear to be more fond of their sons1 because those sons are able to help them1 and fathers of their daughters1 because daughters need their help4 ,maybe also it is out of compliment to each other that both parties desire to be seen making much of that which is more akin to the other4 ,this1 perhaps1 is a trait of no importance1 but there is another which is charming4 ,i mean1 when the wife's respect is seen to incline rather to the husband's parents than to her own1 and when1 ,sidenote3 ,c in case of anything troubling her1 she refers it to them and conceals it from her own people4 ,if you are thought to trust1 you are trusted2 if you are thought to love1 you are loved4 #cg4 ,the ,greeks who accompanied ,cyrus received the following order from their commanders3 #8,if the enemy come shouting to the attack1 await them in silence2 if they come in silence1 charge to meet them with a shout4' ,when a husband has his fits of anger1 if he raises his voice1 a sensible wife keeps quiet2 if he is silent1 she soothes him by talking to him in a coaxing way4 #ch4 ,euripides is right in blaming those who have the lyre ,sidenote3 ,d played to them at their wine4 ,music is more properly called in to cure anger and grief than to encourage further abandonment on the part of those who are taking their pleasure4 ,so ,i would have you believe that it is a wrong principle to share the same bed for the sake of pleasure1 and yet1 when you are angry or fall out1 to sleep apart4 ,that is exactly the time to call in the ,goddess of ,love1 who is the best physician for such cases4 ,this is practically the teaching of the poet1 when he makes ,hera say3 ,and their tangled strife will ,i loosen1 ,when to their couch ,i bring them1 to meet in love and in union4 ,sidenote3 ,e #ci4 ,at all times and everywhere a wife should avoid offending the husband1 and a husband the wife2 but especially should they beware of doing so when together at night4 ,in the story1 the wife1 in the vexation of her throes1 used to say to those who were putting her to bed3 #8,how can this couch cure a trouble which befell me upon it8' ,so quarrels1 recriminations1 and tempers which are begotten in the chamber are not easily got over in another place or at another time4 #dj4 ,there appears to be a truth in ,hermione's plea3 ,sidenote3 ,f #8,tis wicked women's visits have undone me4 ,this occurs in more than one way1 but especially when connubial quarrels and jealousies offer to such women not only an open door1 but an open ear4 ,at such a time1 therefore1 should a sensible woman shut her ears1 keep out of the way of slanderous whispers which add fuel to the fire1 and be ready to apply the well-known saying of ,philip4 ,we are told that when his friends were trying to exasperate that monarch against the ,greeks--on the ground that1 though he treated them well1 they abused him--he remarked1 #8,well1 and what1 pray1 if we treat them badly8' ,so1 when the scandalizers say1 #8,your husband grieves you1 in spite of all your affection and chastity1' you ,sidenote3 #add should retort1 #8,and what1 pray1 if ,i begin to hate and wrong him8' #da4 ,a man caught sight of a slave who had run away some time before1 and gave chase4 ,when the slave was too quick1 and took refuge in a mill1 he observed1 #8,and in what better place could ,i have wished to find you than where you are8#8#dj ,so let a woman who is declaring for a divorce through jealousy say to herself1 #8,and where would my rival be more glad to see me8 ,and what would she be more pleased to see me doing1 than harbouring a grievance1 at feud with my husband1 and actually abandoning the house and the marriage-chamber8' ,sidenote3 ,b #db4 ,the ,athenians observe three sacred ploughings2 the first at ,sciron1 in memory of the oldest sowing of crops2 the second in the ,rharian district2 and the third--known as the ,buzygian festival--close to the ,acropolis4 ,more sacred than all of these is the connubial ploughing and sowing for the procreation of children4 ,it is a happy expression of ,sophocles1 when he calls ,aphrodite #8fair-fruited ,cytherea#84 ,man and wife should therefore be especially scrupulous in this connexion1 keeping pure from unholy and unlawful intercourse with others1 and forbearing to sow where they desire no crop to grow1 or1 if it does1 are ashamed of it and seek to conceal it4 #dc4 ,when ,gorgias the rhetorician once read to the ,greeks at ,olympia a discourse upon peace and harmony1 ,melanthius exclaimed1 #8,here is a man giving us advice about peace and ,sidenote3 ,c harmony1 when in private life he has failed to harmonize three people--himself1 his wife1 and his maidservant4' ,for ,gorgias1 it appears1 was enamoured1 and his wife jealous1 of the domestic4 ,a man's house ought to be in tune before he offers to set in tune a state1 a public meeting1 or friends4 ,the public is more likely to hear of offences against a wife than of offences committed by her4 #dd4 ,they say that the cat is driven frantic by the smell of unguents4 ,if it had been the case that women were provoked ,sidenote3 ,d out of their senses by the same means1 it would have been a monstrous thing for men not to abstain from unguents1 and to let their wives suffer so cruelly for the sake of a trifling gratification of their own4 ,now since1 though the husband's use of unguents does not so afflict them1 his dealings with other women do1 it is unjust to cause such vexation and distress to a wife for the sake of a little pleasure4 ,on the contrary1 husbands should come to their wives pure and untainted by other intercourse1 just as they would approach bees1 who are said to show disgust and hostility towards any one who has been so engaged4 #de4 ,people never dress in bright clothes when approaching ,sidenote3 ,e an elephant1 nor in red when approaching a bull1 since the animals in question are particularly infuriated by those colours4 ,of tigers it is said that1 if you beat drums all round them1 they go mad and tear themselves to pieces4 ,surely1 then1 inasmuch as some men cannot bear to see scarlet or purple clothes1 and some are irritated at cymbals and tambourines1 it is not asking too much for women to leave such things alone1 and not harass or exasperate their husbands1 but practise quietude and consideration in their society4 ,sidenote3 ,f #df4 ,when ,philip was once seizing upon a woman against her will1 she said1 #8,let me go4 ,all women are the same when you take away the light4' ,while this applies well enough to adulterers and sensualists1 it is particularly when the light is taken away that a wife should not be the same as any ordinary female4 ,her person may not be visible1 but her modesty1 chastity1 decorum1 and natural affection should make themselves palpable4 #dg4 ,plato used to recommend that respect should rather be paid by elderly men to the young1 so that the latter might behave modestly to them in return4 ,for1 said he1 #8where old men are shameless1' the young acquire no modesty or scruple4 ,a husband should bear this in mind1 and show more respect ,sidenote3 #ade to his wife than to any one else1 since the nuptial chamber will prove to be her school of propriety or its opposite4 ,the husband who indulges himself in certain pleasures1 while warning her against the same1 is as bad as the man who bids his wife fight on against an enemy to whom he has himself surrendered4 #dh4 ,as to love of display1 do you1 ,eurydice1 read and endeavour to remember what ,timoxena wrote to ,aristylla4 ,and you1 ,pollianus1 must not expect your wife to refrain from showy extravagance1 if she sees that you do not despise it in other ,sidenote3 ,b matters1 but that you take a pleasure in cups with gilding1 rooms with painted walls1 mules with decorated harness1 and horses with neck-trappings4 ,you cannot banish extravagance from the women's quarters when it has the free run of the men's4 ,you are at the right age to cultivate philosophy4 ,adorn your character1 therefore1 by listening to careful reasoning and demonstration in improving company and conversation4 ,be like the bees4 ,gather valuable matter from every source4 ,carry it home in yourself1 and share it with your wife by discussing it and making all the best principles agreeable and familiar to her4 ,while ,sidenote3 ,c ,thou unto her art father1 and honoured mother1 and brother1 it is no less a matter of pride to hear a wife say1 #8,husband1 thou unto me art guide1 philosopher1 and teacher of the noblest and divinest lessons4' ,it is studies of this kind that tend to keep a woman from foolish practices4 ,she will be ashamed to be dancing1 when she is learning geometry4 ,she will lend no ear to the incantations of sorcery1 when she is listening to those of ,plato and ,xenophon4 ,when any one promises to fetch down the moon1#da she will laugh at the ignorance and silliness of women who believe such things2 for she will possess a knowledge of astronomy1 and will have heard how ,aglaonice1 the daughter of ,hegetor of ,thessaly1 thoroughly understood ,sidenote3 ,d eclipses of the full moon1 how she knew beforehand the date at which it must be caught in the shadow1 and how she thereby cheated the women into believing that she was fetching it down herself4 ,we are told that no woman produces a child without the participation of the man1 though there are shapeless and fleshlike growths--called #8millstones'--which form themselves spontaneously from corrupted matter4 ,we must beware of this occurring in women's minds4 ,if they are not impregnated with sound doctrines by sharing in the culture of their husbands1 ,sidenote3 ,e they will of their own accord conceive many an ill-advised intention or irrational state of feeling4 ,as for you1 ,eurydice1 above all things do your best to keep touch with the sayings of wise and good men1 and to have continually in your mouth those utterances which you learned by heart in my school when a girl4 ,by so doing1 you will not only be a joy to your husband1 but the admiration of other women1 when they see how1 at no expense1 you can adorn yourself with so much distinction and dignity4 ,this rich woman's pearls1 that foreign lady's silks1 are not to be worn without paying a large price for them4 ,but the ornaments ,sidenote3 ,f of ,theano1 of ,cleobuline1 of ,gorgo the wife of ,leonidas1 of ,timoclea the sister of ,theagenes1 of the ,claudia of ancient history1 and of ,cornelia the daughter of ,scipio1 you may wear for nothing2 and with this adornment your life may be as happy as it is distinguished4 ,sidenote3 #adf ,sappho thought so much of her skill as a lyrist that she wrote--addressing a wealthy woman-- ,when thou art dead1 thou shalt lie with none to remember thy name3 ,for no portion hast thou in the roses ,pierian4444 ,you will assuredly have more occasion to think highly and proudly of yourself1 if you have a portion1 not only in the roses1 but also in the fruits1 which the ,muses bring as free gifts to those who prize culture and philosophy4 ,footnote #cg3 ,made of polished bronze4 ,footnote #ch3 ,which contained #8every charm3 love1 desire1 and sweet converse' 7,homer1 ,il4 xiv4 #bad74 ,footnote #ci3 ,the use of oil to soften the hair was practically universal4 ,footnote #dj3 ,a common punishment for a slave was to put him to hard labour in turning the mill1 in place of a horse or ass4 ,footnote #da3 ,a frequent pretence of ancient witches4 ,,concerning ,,busybodies ,if a house is stuffy1 dark1 chilly1 or unhealthy1 it is perhaps ,sidenote3 #eae ,b best to get out of it4 ,but if long association makes you fond of the place1 you may alter the lights1 shift the stairs1 open a door here and close one there1 and so make it brighter1 fresher1 and more wholesome4 ,even cities have sometimes been improved ,sidenote3 ,c by such rearrangement4 ,for instance1 it is said that my own native town1 which used to face the west and receive the full force of the afternoon sun from ,parnassus1 was turned by ,chairon so as to front the east4 ,empedocles1 the natural philosopher1 once blocked up a mountain gorge1 which sent a destructive and pestilential south wind blowing down upon the plains4 ,by this means1 it was thought1 he shut the plague out of the district4 ,well1 since there are certain injurious and unhealthy states of mind which chill and darken the soul1 it would be best to get rid of them--to make a clean sweep to the foundations1 and give ourselves the benefit of a clear sky1 light1 and pure air ,sidenote3 ,d to breathe4 ,if not1 we should reform and readjust them by turning them some other way about4 ,we may take the vice of the busybody as an instance in point4 ,it is a love of prying into other people's troubles1 a disease tainted--we may believe--with both envy and malice4 ,why so sharp-eyed1 my most malignant ,sir1 ,for others' faults1 yet overlook your own8 ,pray turn your pryingness the other way about1 and make it face inwards4 ,if you are so fond of the business of inquiring into defects1 you will find plenty to occupy you at home4 ,sidenote3 99 ,abundant as leaves on the oak or the water that rolls from ,alizon will you find the errors in your conduct1 the disorders in your heart and mind1 and the lapses in your duty4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,according to ,xenophon1 a good householder has a special place for the utensils of sacrifice1 and a special place for those of the table2 agricultural implements are stored in one room1 weapons of war in another4 ,in your own case you have one stock of faults arising from envy1 another from jealousy1 another from cowardice1 another from meanness4 ,these are the faults for you to inspect and examine4 ,block up the windows ,sidenote3 ,f and alleys of your inquisitiveness on the side towards your neighbours1 and open others which look into your own house--the male quarters1 the female quarters1 the living-rooms of the servants4 ,our busy curiosity will find occupation of a profitable and salutary1 instead of a useless and malicious1 kind1 if each one will say to himself3 ,how have ,i err'd8 ,what deed have ,i done8 ,what duty neglected8 ,as it is1 we are all of us like the ,lamia in the fable1 of whom ,sidenote3 #eaf we are told that at home she is asleep and blind1 with her eyes stowed away in a jar1 but that when she comes abroad she puts them in and can see4 ,outside1 and in dealing with others1 we furnish our malice with an eye in the shape of our meddlesomeness1 but we are continually being tripped up by our own misdeeds and vices1 of which we are unaware1 because we provide ourselves with no light or vision to perceive them4 ,it follows that the busybody is a better friend to his enemies than to himself4 ,while censoriously reproving their shortcomings and showing them what they ought to avoid or amend1 he is so taken up with faults outside that he overlooks most of those at home4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,odysseus refused even to talk to his mother1 until he had got his answer from the seer concerning the business which had brought him to ,hades4 ,when he had received the information1 he turned to her1 and also began to put questions to the other women1 asking who ,tyro was1 and the beautiful ,chloris1 and why ,epicaste met her death by ,tying a sheer-hung noose from the height of the lofty roof-tree4 ,not so we4 ,while treating our own concerns with the greatest indifference1 ignorance1 and neglect1 we begin discussing other people's pedigrees--how our neighbour's grandfather was a ,syrian and his grandmother a ,thracian4 #8,so-and-,so owes more than seven hundred pounds1 and cannot pay the interest4' ,we also make it our business to inquire about such matters as where ,so-and-,so got his wife from1 and what private talk was that between ,a and ,b in the corner4 ,socrates1 on the other ,sidenote3 ,c hand1 went about inquiring1 #8,by what arguments did ,pythagoras carry conviction8' ,so ,aristippus1 when he met ,ischomachus at ,olympia1 proceeded to ask by what kind of conversation ,socrates affected the ,athenians as he did4 ,when he had gleaned a few seeds or samples of his talk1 he was so moved that he suffered a physical collapse1 and became quite pale and thin4 ,in the end he set sail for ,athens1 and slaked his thirst with draughts from the fountain-head1 studying the man1 his discourses and his philosophy1 of which the aim was to recognize one's own vices and get rid of them4 ,but there are some to whom their own life is a most distressing ,sidenote3 ,d spectacle1 and who therefore cannot bear to look at it nor to reflect the light of reason upon themselves4 ,their soul is so fraught with all manner of vices1 that1 shuddering with horror at what lies within1 it darts away from home1 and goes prowling round other men's concerns1 where it lets its malice batten and grow fat4 ,it often happens that a domestic fowl1 though there is plenty of food lying at its disposal1 will slink into a corner and scratch ,where so appeareth1 mayhap1 one barley-grain in a dunghill4 ,it is much the same with the busybody4 ,ignoring the topics and questions which are open to all1 and which no one prevents him from asking about or is annoyed with him if he does ask1 ,sidenote3 ,e he goes picking out of every house the troubles which it is endeavouring to bury out of sight4 ,but surely it was a neat answer which the ,egyptian made to the man who asked him what he was carrying in that wrapper4 #8,that1' said he1 #8is why it is in a wrapper4' ,and why1 pray1 are you so inquisitive about a thing which is being concealed8 ,if it had not been something undesirable1 there would have been no concealment4 ,it is not usual to walk into another man's house without knocking at the door4 ,nowadays there are doorkeepers--formerly knockers were beaten upon the doors in order to give warning--the intention being that the stranger shall not surprise the lady of the ,sidenote3 ,f house or her daughter in the open1 or come upon a slave receiving punishment1 or the handmaids screaming4 ,but these are exactly the things which the busybody steals in to see4 ,at a staid and quiet household he would have no pleasure in looking1 even if he were invited4 ,his object is to uncover and make public those things to which keys1 bolts1 and the street-door owe their existence4 #8,the winds which vex us most1' says ,ariston1 #8are those which pull up our cloaks4' ,but the busybody strips off not only our mantles and tunics1 but our walls2 he spreads our doors wide open1 and makes his way like a piercing wind through the #8maiden of tender skin#81 prying and sneaking into ,sidenote3 #eag her bacchic revels1 her dances1 and her all-night festivals4 ,as ,cleon in the comedy had ,his hands in ,askthorpe and his thoughts in ,thefton1 so the busybody's thoughts are at one and the same time in the houses of the rich and the hovels of the poor1 in the courts of kings and the chambers of the newly-wed4 ,he searches into everybody's business--business of strangers1 and business of potentates4 ,nor is his search without danger4 ,if one were to take a taste of aconite because he was inquisitive as to its properties1 he would find that he had killed the learner before he got his lesson4 ,so those who pry into the troubles of the ,sidenote3 ,b great destroy themselves before discovering what they seek4 ,if any one is not satisfied with the beams which the sun lavishes so abundantly upon all1 but audaciously insists upon gazing unabashed at the orb itself and probing the light to its heart1 the result is blindness4 ,it was therefore wise of ,philippides1 the comic poet1 when ,king ,lysimachus once asked him1 #8,what can ,i give you of mine8' to reply1 #8,anything1 ,sire1 but your secrets4' ,the finest and most pleasant aspects of royalty are those displayed outwardly--its banquets1 wealth1 pomps and shows1 graces and favours4 ,but if a king has any secret1 keep away from it and leave it alone4 ,a king does not conceal his ,sidenote3 ,c joy when prosperous1 nor his laughter when jocose1 nor his intention to do a kindness or confer a boon4 ,when he hides a thing1 when he is glum1 unsmiling1 unapproachable1 it is time for alarm4 ,it means that he has been storing up anger1 and that it is festering2 or that he is sullenly meditating a severe punishment2 or that he is jealous of his wife1 or suspicious of his son1 or distrustful of a friend4 ,run1 run from that cloud which is gathering so black6 ,you cannot possibly miss the thunder and lightning1 when the matter which is now a secret bursts out in storm4 ,how1 then1 are we to escape this vice8 ,by turning our inquisitiveness--as we have said--the other way round1 and1 as far as possible1 directing our minds to better and more interesting objects4 ,if you are to pry1 pry into questions ,sidenote3 ,d connected with sky1 earth1 air1 or sea4 ,you are by nature fond of looking either at little things or at big things4 ,if at big things1 apply your curiosity to the sun2 ask where he sets and whence he rises4 ,inquire into the changes of the moon1 as if she were a human being4 ,ask where she loses so much of her light1 and whence she gets it back2 how ,once dim1 she first comes forth and makes ,her young face beauteous1 gathering to the full1 ,and1 when her greatest splendours she hath shown1 ,fades out1 and passes into naught again4 ,these1 too1 are secrets--the secrets of ,nature2 but ,nature has ,sidenote3 ,e no grievance against those who find them out4 ,are the big things beyond you8 ,then pry into the smaller ones4 ,ask how it is that some plants are always flourishing and green1 proudly displaying their wealth at every season1 while others are at one moment as good as these1 but at another have squandered their abundance all at once1 like some human spendthrift1 and are left bare and beggared4 ,why1 again1 do some plants produce elongated fruits1 some angular1 some round and globelike8 ,but perhaps you will have no curiosity for such concerns1 ,sidenote3 ,f because there is nothing wrong about them4 ,well1 if inquisitiveness absolutely must be always browsing and passing its time among things sordid1 like a maggot among dead matter1 let us introduce it to history and story1 and supply it with bad things in abundance and without stint4 ,for there it will find ,fallings of men and spurnings-off of life1 seductions of women1 assaults by slaves1 slanderings of friends1 concoctions of poisons1 envies1 jealousies1 shipwrecks of homes1 overthrows of rulers4 ,take your fill1 enjoy yourself1 and cause no annoyance or pain to any of those with whom you come in contact4 ,apparently1 however1 inquisitiveness finds no pleasure in scandals which are stale2 it wants them hot and fresh4 ,and ,sidenote3 #eah while it enjoys the spectacle of a novel tragedy1 it takes no sort of interest in the comedy or more cheerful side of life4 ,consequently the busybody lends but a careless and indifferent ear to the account of a wedding1 a sacrifice1 or a complimentary #8farewell'4 ,he says he has already heard most of the details1 and urges the narrator to cut them short or omit them4 ,but if any one will sit by him and tell him the news about the corruption of a girl or the unfaithfulness of a wife or an impending action at law or a quarrel between brothers1 there is no sleepiness or hurry about him1 but ,more words still doth he ask1 and proffers his ears to receive them4 ,as applied to the busybody1 the words ,how much more apt to reach the ear of man ,an ill thing than a happy6 are a true saying4 ,as a cupping-glass sucks from the flesh what ,sidenote3 ,b is worst in it1 so the inquisitive ear draws to itself the most undesirable topics4 ,to vary the figure3 cities have certain #8,accursed' or #8,dismal' gates1 through which they take out criminals on their way to death and throw the refuse and offscourings of purification1 while nothing sacred or undefiled goes in or out through them4 ,so with the ears of the busybody4 ,they give passage to nothing fine or useful1 but serve only as the pathway of gruesome communications1 with their load of foul and polluted gossip4 ,no chance brings other minstrel to my roof1 ,but always ,lamentation4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,that is the one ,muse and ,siren of the busybody1 the most pleasant of all music to his ear4 ,for his vice is a love of finding out whatever is secret and concealed1 and no one conceals a good thing when he has one2 on the contrary1 he will pretend to one which has no existence4 ,since therefore it is troubles that the busybody is eager to discover1 the disease from which he suffers is malignant gloating--own brother to envy and spite4 ,for envy is pain at another's good2 malignity is pleasure at another's harm2 and the parent of both is ill-nature--the ,sidenote3 ,d feeling of a savage or a brute beast4 ,so painful do we all find it to have our troubles revealed1 that there are many who would rather die than tell a physician of a secret disease4 ,imagine ,herophilus or ,erasistratus1 or ,asclepius himself--when he was a mortal man--calling from house to house with his drugs and his instruments1 and asking whether a man had a fistula or a woman a cancer in the womb6 ,inquisitiveness in their profession may1 it is true1 save a life4 ,none the less1 ,i presume1 every one would have scouted such a person1 ,sidenote3 ,e for coming to investigate other people's ailments without waiting till he was required and sent for4 ,yet our busybody searches out precisely these1 or even worse1 ailments2 and1 since he does so not by way of curing them1 but merely of disclosing them1 he deserves the hatred he gets4 ,we are annoyed and indignant with the collector of customs1#db not when he picks out and levies on those articles which we import openly1 but when1 in the search for hidden goods1 he ransacks among baggage and merchandise which are not in ,sidenote3 ,f question4 ,yet the law permits him to do so1 and he is the loser if he does not4 ,on the other hand1 the busybody lets his own concerns go to ruin1 while he is occupying himself with those of other people4 ,he rarely takes a walk to the farm2 it is too lonely1 and he cannot bear the quiet and silence4 ,and if1 after a time1 he does chance along1 he has a keener eye for his neighbour's vines than for his own4 ,he proceeds to ask how many of his neighbour's cattle have died1 or how much of his wine turned sour4 ,after a good meal of such news he is quickly off and away4 ,your true and genuine type of farmer has no desire to hear even the news which finds its own way from the city4 ,says he3 ,then1 while he digs1 he'll tell ,the terms o'the treaty4 ,he must now1 confound him1 ,go round and poke his nose in things like that6 ,sidenote3 #eai ,but to your busybody country life is a stale and uninteresting thing with nothing to fuss about4 ,he therefore flees from it1 and pushes into the ,exchange1 the ,market1 or the ,harbour4 #8,is there any news8' #8,why1 weren't you at market early this morning8 ,do you imagine there has been a revolution in three hours8' ,if1 however1 any one has a piece of news to tell1 down he gets from his horse1 grasps the man's hand1 kisses him1 and stands there listening4 ,but if some one meets him and says there is nothing fresh1 he exclaims1 as if he were annoyed3 #8,what8 ,haven't you been at market8 ,haven't you been near the ,board-,room8 ,and haven't you met the new arrivals from ,sidenote3 ,b ,italy8' ,the ,locrian magistrates therefore did right in fining any one who1 after being out of town1 came up and asked1 #8,is there any news8' ,as the butchers pray for a good supply of animals1 and fishermen for a good supply of fish1 so busybodies pray for a good supply of calamities1 for plenty of troubles1 for novelties and changes4 ,they must always have their fish to catch or carcass to cut up4 ,another good rule was that of the legislator of ,thurii1 who forbade the lampooning of citizens on the stage1 with the exception of adulterers and busybodies4 ,the one class bears a resemblance to the other1 adultery being a sort of inquisitiveness into ,sidenote3 ,c another's pleasure1 and a prying search into matters protected from the general eye1 while inquisitiveness is the illicit denuding and corrupting of a secret4 ,while a natural consequence of much learning is having much to say1 and therefore ,pythagoras enjoined upon the young a five years' silence1 which he called #8,truce to ,speech'1 the necessary concomitant of curiosity is speaking evil4 ,what the curious delight to hear1 they delight to talk about2 what they take pains to gather from others1 they joy in giving out to new hearers4 ,it follows that1 besides its ,sidenote3 ,d other drawbacks1 their disease actually stands in the way of its own desires4 ,for every one is on his guard to hide things from them1 and is reluctant to do anything when the busybody is looking1 or to say anything when he is listening4 ,people put off a consultation and postpone the consideration of business until such persons are out of the way4 ,if1 when a secret matter is towards1 or an important action is in the doing1 a busybody appears upon the scene1 they take it away and hide it1 as they ,sidenote3 ,e would a piece of victuals when the cat comes past4 ,often1 therefore1 he is the only person not permitted to hear or see what others may see and hear4 ,for the same reason the busybody can find no one to trust him4 ,we would rather trust our letters1 papers1 or seals to a slave or a stranger than to an inquisitive relation or friend4 ,bellerophon1 though the writing which he carried was about himself1 would not broach it1 but showed the same continence in keeping his hands off the king's letter as in keeping them off his wife4 ,yes1 inquisitiveness is as incontinent as adultery1 and not only incontinent1 but terribly silly and foolish4 ,to pass by so many women who are public property1 and to struggle to get at one ,sidenote3 ,f who is kept under lock and key1 who is expensive1 and perhaps ugly to boot1 is the very height of insanity4 ,the busybody is just as bad4 ,he passes by much that is admirable to see and hear1 many an excellent discourse or discussion1 to dig into another man's poor little letter or clap his ear to his neighbour's wall1 listening to slaves and womenfolk whispering together1 and incurring danger often1 and discredit always4 ,sidenote3 #ebj ,well1 if he wishes to get rid of his vice1 the busybody will find nothing so helpful as to think over the discoveries he has hitherto made4 ,simonides used to say that1 in opening his boxes after a lapse of time1 he found the fee-box always full and the thanks-box always empty4 ,so1 if one were to open the store-room of inquisitiveness after an interval1 and to contemplate all the useless1 futile1 and uninviting things with which it is filled1 he would probably become sick of the business1 so nauseating and senseless would it appear4 ,suppose a person to run over the works of our old writers and pick out their faultiest passages1 compiling and keeping a book full of such things as #8headless' lines of ,homer1 solecisms ,sidenote3 ,b in the tragedians1 the indecent and licentious language to women by which ,archilochus makes a sorry show of himself4 ,does he not deserve the execration in the tragedy3 ,perish1 thou picker-up of miseries6 ,execration apart1 his treasury1 filled with other men's faults1 possesses neither beauty nor use4 ,it is like the town which ,philip founded with the rudest riff-raff1 and which he called ,knaveborough4 ,with the busybody1 however1 it is not from lines of poetry1 but from lives1 that he goes gleaning and gathering blunders and slips and solecisms1 till the memory which he carries about is the dullest and dreariest record-box1 crammed with ugly things4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,at ,rome there are those who set no store by the paintings1 the statues1 or--failing these--the handsome children or women on sale1 but who haunt the monster-market1 examining specimens with no calves to their legs1 or with weasel-elbows1 three eyes1 or ostrich-heads1 and looking out for the appearance of any ,commingled shape and misformed prodigy4 ,yet if you keep on showing them such sights1 they will soon become surfeited and sick of it all4 ,in the same way those who make it their business to pry into other people's failures in their affairs1 blots on their pedigree1 disturbances and delinquencies in their homes1 will do well to remind themselves how thankless ,sidenote3 ,d and unprofitable their previous discoveries have proved4 ,the most effective way1 however1 of preventing this weakness is to form a habit--to begin at an early stage and train ourselves systematically to acquire the necessary self-control4 ,it is by habit that the vice increases1 the advance of the disease being gradual4 ,how this is1 we shall see1 in discussing the proper method of practice4 ,let us make a beginning with comparatively trifling and insignificant matters4 ,on the roads it can be no difficult matter to abstain from reading ,sidenote3 ,e the inscriptions on the tombs4 ,nor in the promenades can there be any hardship in refusing to let the eye linger upon the writings on the walls4 ,you have only to tell yourself that they contain nothing useful or entertaining4 ,there is ,a expressing his #8kind sentiments' towards ,b2 ,so-and-,so described as #8the best of friends'2 and much mere twaddle of the same kind4 ,no doubt it seems as if the reading of them does you no harm2 but harm you it does1 without your knowing it1 by inducing a habit of inquiring into things which do not concern you4 ,hunters do not permit young hounds to turn aside and ,sidenote3 ,f follow up every scent1 but pull them sharply back with the leash1 so as to keep their power of smell in perfectly clean condition for their proper work1 and make it stick more keenly to the tracks3 ,with nostril a-search for the trail that the beast gives forth from its body4 ,the same watchfulness must be shown in suppressing1 or in diverting to useful ends1 the tendency of an inquisitive person to run off the track and wander after everything that he can see or hear4 ,an eagle or a lion gathers its talons in when it ,sidenote3 #eba walks1 so as not to wear the sharp edge from their tips4 ,similarly let us treat the inquiring spirit as the keen edge to our love of learning1 and refrain from wasting or blunting it upon objects of no value4 ,in the next place let us train ourselves1 when passing another's door1 to refrain from looking in1 or from letting our inquisitive gaze clutch at what is passing inside4 ,xenocrates said--and we shall do well to keep the remark in mind--that whether we set foot or set eyes in another man's house makes no difference4 ,not only is such prying unfair and improper2 we get no pleasure from the spectacle4 ,unsightly1 stranger1 are the sights within1 is a saying which is generally true of what we see inside--a litter of pots and pans1 or servant-girls sitting about1 but nothing of ,sidenote3 ,b any importance or interest4 ,this furtive throwing of sidelong glances1 which at the same time gives a kind of squint to the mind1 is ugly1 and the habit is demoralizing4 ,when the ,olympian victor ,dioxippus was making a triumphal entry in a chariot1 and could not drag his eyes from a beautiful woman among the spectators1 but kept turning half round and throwing side glances in her direction1 ,diogenes--who saw it all--remarked1 #8,see how a bit of a girl gets the neck-grip on our great athlete6' ,inquisitive people1 however1 are to be seen gripped by the neck and twisted about by any kind of sight1 when they once develop a habit of squandering their glances in all directions4 ,this is assuredly no right use of the faculty of vision4 ,it should ,sidenote3 ,c not go gadding about like some ill-trained maidservant2 but when the mind sends it upon an errand1 it should make haste to reach its destination1 deliver its message1 and then come quietly home again to wait upon the commands of the reason4 ,instead of this1 the case is as in ,sophocles3 ,thereon the ,aenean driver's hard-mouthed colts ,break from control4 ,when the faculty of vision has not been tutored and trained in the proper manner as above described1 it runs away1 drags ,sidenote3 ,d the mind with it1 and often brings it into disastrous collisions4 ,there is a story that ,democritus deliberately destroyed his sight by fixing his eyes upon a red-hot mirror and allowing its heat to be focussed upon them4 ,his object1 it is said1 was to block up the windows toward the street1 and thus prevent the disturbance of his intellect by repeated calls from outside1 enabling it to stay at home and devote itself to pure thinking4 ,though the story is a fiction1 nothing is more true than that those who make most use of their mind make few calls upon the senses4 ,note how our halls of learning are built far out from the towns1 and how night has been styled the #8well-minded#81 from a belief ,sidenote3 ,e that quiet and the absence of distraction are a powerful aid to intellectual discovery and research4 ,suppose1 again1 that people are quarrelling and abusing each other in the market-place4 ,it requires no great effort of self-denial to keep at a distance4 ,when a crowd is running towards a certain spot1 it is easy for you to remain seated1 or else1 if you lack the necessary strength of mind1 to get up and go away4 ,there is no advantage to be got from mixing yourself with busybodies1 whereas you will derive great benefit from putting a forcible check upon your curiosity and training it to obey the commands of the reason4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,we may now go a step further1 and tax ourselves more severely4 ,it is good practice1 when a successful entertainment is going on in a public hall1 to pass it by2 when our friends invite us to a performance by a dancer or comedian1 to decline2 when there is a roar in the race-ground or the circus1 to take no notice4 ,socrates used to urge the avoidance of all foods and drinks which tempt one to eat when he is not hungry or to drink when he is not thirsty4 ,in the same way we shall do well to shun carefully all appeals to eye or ear1 when1 though they are no business of ours1 their attractions prove too much for us4 ,cyrus refused to see ,panthea1 and when ,araspes talked of her ,sidenote3 #ebb remarkable beauty1 his answer was3 #8,all the more reason for keeping away from her4 ,if ,i took your advice and went to see her1 she might perhaps tempt me to be visiting her again when ,i could not spare the time1 and to be sitting and looking at her to the neglect of much important business4' ,in the same way ,alexander refused to set eyes on ,darius' wife1 who was said to be strikingly handsome4 ,though he visited the mother--an elderly woman--he would not bring himself to see her young and beautiful daughter4 ,but what we do is to peep into women's litters and hang about their windows1 finding nothing improper in encouraging our curiosity and allowing it such dangerous ,sidenote3 ,b and unchecked play4 ,note how you may train yourself for other virtues4 ,to learn justice you should sometimes forgo an honest gain1 and so accustom yourself to keep aloof from dishonest ones4 ,similarly1 to learn continence1 you should sometimes hold aloof from your own wife1 and so secure yourself against temptation from another's4 ,apply this habit to inquisitiveness4 ,endeavour occasionally to miss hearing or seeing things which concern yourself4 ,when something happens at home1 and a person wishes to tell you of it1 put the matter off2 and when things have been said which appear to affect yourself1 refuse to hear them4 ,remember how ,oedipus was brought into the direst disasters by over-curiosity4 ,finding he was no ,corinthian1 but an alien1 he set to work ,sidenote3 ,c to discover who he was1 and so he met with ,laius4 ,he killed him1 married his own mother1 with the throne for dowry1 and then1 while apparently blessed by fortune1 began his search once more4 ,the endeavours of his wife to prevent him only made him question still more closely1 and in the most peremptory way1 the old man who was in the secret4 ,and at last1 when circumstances are already bringing him to suspect1 and the old man cries3 ,alas6 ,i stand on the dread brink of speech6 he is nevertheless in such a blaze or spasm of passion that he replies3 ,and ,i of hearing2 and yet hear ,i must4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,so bitter-sweet1 so uncontrollable1 is the excitement of curiosity--like the tickling of a wound1 at which one tears till he makes it bleed4 ,meanwhile if we are free from that malady1 and mild by nature1 we shall ignore a disagreeable thing and say3 ,sovran ,oblivion1 how wise art thou6 ,we must therefore train ourselves to this end4 ,if a letter is brought to us1 we must not show all that hurry and eagerness to open it which most people display1 when they bite the fastenings through with their teeth1 if their hands are too slow4 ,when a messenger arrives from somewhere or other1 we must not run to meet him1 nor get up from our seats4 ,if a friend ,sidenote3 ,e says1 #8,i have something new to tell you1' let us reply3 #8,better1 if you have something useful or profitable4' ,when ,i was once lecturing at ,rome1 the famous ,rusticus--who was afterwards put to death by ,domitian out of jealousy at his reputation--was among my hearers4 ,a soldier came through the audience and handed him a note from the emperor4 ,there was a hush1 and ,i made a pause1 to allow of his reading the letter4 ,this1 however1 he refused to do1 nor would he open it1 until ,i had finished my discourse and the audience broke up4 ,the incident caused universal admiration at his dignified behaviour4 ,but when one feeds his inquisitiveness upon permissible material until he makes it robust and headstrong1 he no longer ,sidenote3 ,f finds it easy to master1 when force of habit urges it towards forbidden ground4 ,such persons will stealthily open their friends' missives1 will push their way into a confidential meeting1 will get a view of rites which it is an impiety to see1 will tread in hallowed places1 and will pry into the doings and sayings of a king4 ,now with a despot--who is compelled to know everything--there is nothing that makes him so detested as the crew known as his #8ears' and #8jackals'4 #8,listeners' were first instituted by ,darius the ,younger1 who had no confidence in himself and looked upon every one with fear and suspicion4 #8,jackals' were ,sidenote3 #ebc the creation of the ,dionysii1 who distributed them among the people of ,syracuse4 ,naturally1 when the revolution came1 these were the first to be seized and cudgelled to death by the ,syracusans4 ,blackmailers and informers are a breed belonging to the ,busybody clan2 they are members of the family4 ,but1 whereas the informer looks to see if his neighbours have done or plotted any mischief1 the busybody brings to book and drags into public even the misfortunes for which they are not responsible4 ,it is said that the outcast derived his name of aliterios in the first instance from being a busybody4 ,it appears that when a severe famine once occurred at ,athens1 and when those who were in possession of wheat1 instead of bringing it in to the public ,sidenote3 ,b stock1 used to grind it 7alein7 secretly by night in their houses1 certain persons1 who went round watching for the noise of the mills1 were in consequence called aliterioi4 ,it was in the same way1 we are told1 that the informer won his name of sukophantes4 ,the export of figs 7suka7 being prohibited1 those who gave information 7phainein7 and impeached the offenders were called sukophantai4 ,busybodies would do well to reflect upon this fact4 ,it may make them ashamed of the family likeness between their own practices and those of a class which is a special object of loathing and anger4 ,footnote #db3 ,these were farmed4 ,,on ,,garrulousness ,sidenote3 #ejb ,b ,when philosophy undertakes to cure garrulity it has a difficult and intractable case in hand4 ,the remedy is reason1 which requires that the patient should listen4 ,but the garrulous person ,sidenote3 ,c does not listen1 for he is always talking4 ,herein lies the first trouble with an inability to keep silent2 it means an inability to listen4 ,it is the deliberate deafness of a person who appears to find fault with nature for giving him two ears and only one tongue4 ,euripides is1 of course1 right when he says of the unintelligent hearer3 ,i cannot fill a man who cannot hold ,my wise words1 poured and poured in unwise ears4 ,but there is more reason to say of the babbler3 ,i cannot fill a man who takes not in ,my wise words1 poured and poured in unwise ears1 --or rather poured over them1 since he talks though you do ,sidenote3 ,d not listen1 and refuses to listen when you talk4 ,for even if1 thanks to some ebb in his loquacity1 he does listen for a moment1 he immediately makes up for it several times over4 ,there is a colonnade at ,olympia which reverberates a single utterance time after time1 and is therefore known as the #8,seven-,voiced'4 ,say but the least thing to set garrulity sounding1 and it immediately dins you with its echoes3 ,stirring the strings o' the mind that none should stir4 ,the passage through the babbler's ears leads1 apparently1 not to his mind1 but to his tongue4 ,consequently1 while others ,sidenote3 ,e retain what is said1 the loquacious person lets it all leak away1 and goes about like a vessel full of noise but void of sense4 ,nevertheless1 if we are resolved to leave no stone unturned1 let us say to the babbler3 ,hush1 boy3 in silence many a virtue lies1 and1 first and foremost1 the two virtues of hearing and being heard4 ,the garrulous person can get the benefit of neither1 and makes a miserable failure of the very thing he is aiming at4 ,in other mental maladies--love of money1 love of glory1 love of pleasure--there is at least a chance of gaining the object pursued4 ,but with the babbler that result can hardly happen4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,what he desires is listeners1 and listeners he cannot get1 for they all run headlong away4 ,if1 when they are sitting in a lounge or taking a walk together1 they catch sight of him approaching1 they promptly pass each other the word to shift camp4 ,when a silence occurs at some meeting1 it is said that ,hermes has appeared upon the scene4 ,similarly1 when a chatterer comes in to a wine-party or a social circle1 everybody grows mum1 for ,sidenote3 #ejc fear of giving him an opportunity4 ,and if he begins of his own accord to open his lips1 then ,as ere the storm1 when the ,north wind blows ,by the headland that juts to the deep1 the prospect of being tossed and seasick is so distressing that up they get and out they go4 ,for the same reason he finds no welcome from neighbours at a dinner or from messmates on a journey or a voyage4 ,they merely tolerate him because they must4 ,for he sticks to you anywhere and everywhere1 seizing you by the clothes or the beard1 and slapping you in the ribs4 ,then are your feet most precious1 as ,archilochus would say--and not only ,archilochus1 but that wise man ,aristotle4 ,when the latter was himself once worried ,sidenote3 ,b by a chatterer1 who bored him with a number of silly stories and kept repeating1 #8,isn't it wonderful1 ,aristotle8' he retorted1 #8,the wonder is not at that1 but at any one tolerating you1 when he owns a pair of legs4' ,to another person of the kind1 who1 after a great deal of talk1 remarked1 #8,master1 ,i have wearied you with my chatter1' he replied1 #8,not at all2 ,i was not listening4' ,precisely so4 ,if a chatterer insists on talking1 the mind surrenders the ears to him and lets the stream pour over them on the outside1 while inwardly it goes its own way1 opening ,sidenote3 ,c and reading to itself a book of quite different thoughts4 ,it follows that he can get no hearer either to attend to him or to believe him4 ,a babbler's talk is as barren of effect as the seed of a person over-prone to sexualities is said to be4 ,and yet there is no part of us which ,nature has fenced with so excellent a barricade as the tongue4 ,in front of that organ it has planted a guard in the shape of the teeth1 so that1 if it will not obey orders and pull itself together inside when reason tightens the #8silence-working reins#81#dc we may check its rashness by biting it till it bleeds4 ,the phrase of ,euripides is that #8disaster is the end' not of an #8unchained' treasury or storeroom1 but of an #8unchained mouth#84 ,to recognize that a storeroom without a door1 or a purse without a fastening1 is of no use to the owner1 and yet to possess a mouth without lock or door1 but with as perpetual an outflow as the mouth of the ,sidenote3 ,d ,black ,sea1 is to set the lowest possible value on speech4 ,the result is that such a person meets with no belief1 though all speech has that object1 its final cause being to create precisely such credence in the hearer4 ,a chatterer is disbelieved even when he tells the truth4 ,for as wheat1 when shut in a bin1 is found to increase in bulk but to deteriorate in quality1 so1 when a story finds its way into a chatterer1 it generates a large addition of falsehood and its credibility is thereby corrupted4 ,again1 any self-respecting and well-behaved person will beware of drunkenness4 ,for while--as some put it--anger lives next door to madness1 drunkenness lives in the same house4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,or rather it is madness1 of shorter duration1 it is true1 but more culpable1 as being in a measure voluntary4 ,but the charge most seriously urged against drunkenness is its intemperate and irresponsible language3 ,for though right shrewd be a man1 wine eggs him on till he singeth2 ,it loosens him that he laughs with a feeble laughter1 and danceth4 ,yet if this were the worst--singing1 laughing1 and dancing--there would be1 so far1 nothing very terrible4 ,and he letteth slip some speech1 the which were better unspoken3-- ,sidenote3 ,f that is where the mischief and danger begin4 ,we may1 indeed1 believe that these lines of the poet give the solution of the question discussed in the philosophic schools as to the distinction between mellowness and intoxication3 mellowness produces unbending1 but drunkenness foolish twaddling4 ,as the proverb-makers put it1 #8,what is in the sober man's heart is on the drunken man's tongue4' ,hence when ,bias once kept silent at a carousal1 and a chatterer taunted him with stupidity1 he retorted3 #8,and1 pray1 who could keep silent over his wine1 if he were a fool8' ,a certain person at ,athens was ,sidenote3 #ejd once entertaining envoys from a king1 and1 as they were eager for him to get together the philosophic teachers1 he made every effort to gratify them4 ,while the rest took part in general discussion1 to which each contributed his quota1 ,zeno said nothing4 ,at this the visitors1 pledging him in friendly and courteous terms1 asked him1 #8,and what are we to say to the king about you1 ,zeno8' #8,merely1' replied he1 #8that there is one old man at ,athens who is capable of holding his tongue ,sidenote3 99 when drinking4' ,silence1 then1 goes with depth1 the capacity to keep a secret1 ,sidenote3 ,b and sobriety4 ,drunkenness1 on the other hand1 will be talking1 for it means folly and witlessness1 and therefore loquacity4 ,in fact1 the philosophic definition of intoxication calls it #8silly talk in one's cups#84 ,the blame1 therefore1 is not for drinking1 if one can drink and yet at the same time hold his tongue4 ,it is the foolish talk that converts mellowness into drunkenness4 ,well1 while the drunken man talks nonsense at his wine1 the babbler talks it everywhere--in the market-place1 in the theatre1 when walking1 when tipsy1 by day and by night4 ,as your doctor1 he is a greater infliction than the disease2 as your shipmate1 more disagreeable than the sea-sickness2 his praises are more annoying than another person's blame4 ,a tactful rogue is more pleasant company than an honest chatterer4 ,in ,sophocles1 when ,sidenote3 ,c ,ajax is beginning to use rough language1 ,nestor1 in endeavouring to soothe him1 says politely3 ,i blame thee not2 for though thy words are wrong1 ,thine acts are right4 ,but those are not our feelings towards the twaddler4 ,on the contrary1 the tactlessness of his talk spoils and nullifies anything acceptable in what he may do4 ,lysias once gave a litigant a speech which he had composed for him4 ,after reading it several times the man came back4 ,in a despondent tone he told ,lysias that1 when he first went through the speech1 it appeared wonderfully good1 but on taking it up a second and third time1 he found it extremely weak and ineffective4 #8,well1' said ,lysias laughing1 #8isn't it only once ,sidenote3 ,d that you have to speak it before the jury8' ,and consider how persuasive and charming ,lysias is6 ,for he is another who ,hath goodly portion1 ,i trow1 ,of the ,muses violet-tress'd4 ,of all things that are said about the great bard the truest is this--that ,homer alone manages never to cloy the appetite1 since he is always new1 and his charm always at its height4 ,nevertheless1 exclaiming on his own account in the words of ,odysseus3 ,sidenote3 99 ,but to me it is hateful ,to tell o'er a story again1 when once right plainly 'tis told you1 he is continually avoiding that tendency to surfeit which threatens talk of every kind1 carrying his hearers from one story to another1 and relieving their satiety by his constant freshness4 ,our babblers1 on the contrary1 bore us to death with their repetitions1 as if our ears were palimpsests for them to scrawl rubbish upon4 ,let this1 then1 be the first thing of which we remind them4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,it is with talking as it is with wine4 ,the purpose of wine is to create pleasure and friendly feeling2 but to insist upon our drinking it in great quantities and without qualifying it1 is to lead us into offensive and wanton behaviour4 ,so1 while talk plays the most pleasant and human part in our intercourse1 those who make a wrong and rash use of it render it inhuman and insufferable4 ,the means by which they imagine they are ingratiating themselves and gaining admiration and friendship1 only makes them a nuisance and wins them ridicule and dislike4 ,how destitute of charm would be a person who alienated his company and drove them away with the very #8girdle of charm'6 ,and how destitute of culture and tact is the man ,sidenote3 ,f who arouses annoyance and hostility by means of speech6 ,other infirmities and disorders may be dangerous or detestable or ridiculous4 ,garrulity is all three at once4 ,it is derided for relating what everybody knows2 it is hated for bearing bad news2 it is endangered through blabbing secrets4 ,this is the ,sidenote3 #eje reason why1 when ,anacharsis went to sleep after being entertained at dinner at ,solon's house1 he was seen to be holding his right hand over his mouth4 ,he believed--quite rightly--that the tongue requires a firmer control than any other member4 ,it would be difficult1 for instance1 to count up as many persons who have been ruined by sensuality1 as cities and dominions which have been brought to destruction by the divulgence of a secret4 ,when ,sulla was besieging ,athens1 he could not afford to spend much time upon it1 ,since other labour was urging1 ,mithridates having seized upon ,asia1 and the ,marian party ,sidenote3 ,b being again masters of ,rome4 ,it happened1 however1 that a number of old men were talking at a barber's1 to the effect that no watch was kept upon the ,heptachalcon and that the town was in danger of capture at that point4 ,they were overheard by spies1 who gave information to ,sulla2 and he promptly brought up his forces at midnight1 led in his army1 and almost razed the city to the ground1 filling it with carnage till the ,cerameicus flowed with blood4 ,his anger with the ,athenians was1 however1 due more to their words than to their deeds4 ,they would leap on to the walls1 and abuse him and ,metella1 and by jeering at him with ,sidenote3 ,c ,a mulberry is ,sulla1 sprinkled o'er with barley-meal1 and a number of similar scurrilities1 they brought upon themselves--to use a phrase of ,plato--#8a very heavy penalty' for that #8very light' thing1 their words4 ,it was1 again1 the talkativeness of one man that prevented ,rome from obtaining its freedom by the removal of ,nero4 ,all preparations had been made1 and only a single night was left before the despot was to perish4 ,it happened1 however1 that the man who was to perform the assassination1 when on his way to the theatre1 saw a prisoner at the palace doors on the point of being brought before ,nero4 ,as he was bewailing his fate1 our friend came up close and whispered to him1 #8,my good ,sidenote3 ,d man1 only pray that to-day may pass1 and to-morrow you will be offering me thanks4' ,the prisoner grasped the meaning of the hint1 and reflecting1 ,i suppose1 that ',tis a fool who forgoes what he holds1 to pursue what is out of his keeping1 chose the surer rather than the more righteous way of saving himself4 ,that is to say1 he informed ,nero of the expression used4 ,the man was thereupon promptly seized1 and underwent rack1 fire1 and lash while denying1 in the face of constraint1 what he had betrayed without any constraint4 ,the philosopher ,zeno1 for fear that bodily suffering might force him to reveal some secret in spite of himself1 bit through his tongue and spat it out at the despot4 ,leaena1 again1 has been gloriously rewarded for her self-command4 ,she was the ,sidenote3 ,e mistress of ,harmodius and ,aristogeiton1 and she shared in their plot against the despots--to the best of her hopes1 which was all a woman could do4 ,for she also was inspired with the bacchic frenzy of that glorious #8bowl of love#81 and the ,god had caused her also to be initiated into the secret4 ,well1 after they had failed and met their death1 she was put to the question and ordered to inform against those who still escaped detection4 ,she refused1 and the firmness with which she bore her sufferings ,sidenote3 ,f proved that1 in the love of those heroes for such a woman1 there was nothing unworthy of themselves4 ,the ,athenians therefore had a bronze lioness made without a tongue1 and set it up in the gates of the ,acropolis1 that courageous animal representing her indomitable firmness1 and the absence of a tongue her power of silence in keeping a solemn secret4 ,no uttered word has ever done such service as many which have been unuttered4 ,you may some day utter what you have kept silent1 but you cannot unsay what has been said2 it has been poured out1 and has run abroad4 ,hence1 ,i take it1 we have mankind to teach us how to speak1 but gods to teach us how to keep silent1 our lesson in that art being received at initiatory ,sidenote3 #ejf rites and mysteries4 ,odysseus1 who possessed most eloquence1 the poet has made most reticent2 he has done the same with his son1 his wife1 and his nurse4 ,you hear how she says3 ,like stubborn oak or like iron will ,i hold your secret and keep it4 ,in the case of ,odysseus himself1 as he sat beside ,penelope1 ,though in his heart he pitied his wife1 and was sore at her weeping1 ,steady within their lids stood his eyes as horn or as iron4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,so full of self-command was his body in every part1 under such perfect discipline and control did reason hold it1 that it forbade the eyes to shed a tear1 the tongue to utter a sound1 the heart to tremble or cry out with rage2 ,and his heart once more did obey1 and endure with a patient enduring1 inasmuch as reason had extended even to his irrational movements and made his very breath and blood amenable to its authority4 ,most of his comrades also were of the same character4 ,self-command and loyalty could no further go than in their case4 ,though harried and dashed upon the ground by the ,cyclops1 they would not denounce ,odysseus to him4 ,they would not betray the plot against his eye and the implement which had ,sidenote3 ,c been sharpened in the fire for that purpose2 but they chose to be eaten raw rather than tell a word of the secret4 ,pittacus1 therefore1 was not far out1 when1 upon the ,king of ,egypt sending him a sacrificial victim and bidding him pick out the #8fairest and foulest' part of the meat1 he took out and sent him the tongue1 as being the instrument of both the greatest good and the greatest evil4 ,euripides' ,ino1 making bold to speak for herself1 says that she knows how to be ,silent in season1 speak where speech is safe4 ,those1 indeed1 who are blessed with a noble and a truly royal education1 know first how to be silent and then how to talk4 ,the famous king ,antigonus1 when his son asked him at what ,sidenote3 ,d hour they were to break camp1 replied1 #8,what are you afraid of8 ,that you may be the only one to miss hearing the trumpet8' ,was it that he did not trust with a secret the man to whom he intended to bequeath his throne8 ,rather he meant to teach him self-mastery and caution in dealing with such matters4 ,the aged ,metellus1 on being asked a similar question during a campaign1 answered1 #8,if ,i thought my shirt knew that secret1 ,i would take it off and put it on the fire4' ,when ,eumenes heard that ,craterus was advancing1 he told the fact to none of his friends1 but pretended that it was ,neoptolemus1 whom his ,sidenote3 ,e soldiers despised1 whereas they entertained a great respect for the reputation of ,craterus and a high esteem of his ability4 ,as1 however1 no one else found out the truth1 they joined battle1 won the victory1 killed ,craterus without knowing him1 and only discovered who he was from his corpse4 ,so good a general was the silence of ,eumenes in the battle1 and so formidable the opponent whose presence it disguised1 that his friends admired instead of blaming him for not forewarning them4 ,even if some one does find fault1 it is better to be accused when mistrust has saved you than to be the accuser when trust proves your undoing4 ,what excuse can one possibly find for himself when blaming another for not holding his tongue8 ,if the matter ought not to ,sidenote3 ,f have been known1 it was wrong to tell it to any one else4 ,if you let the secret slip from yourself1 and yet ask another person to keep it1 you take refuge in the loyalty of some one else while abandoning loyalty to yourself4 ,and if he turns out as bad as you1 you are deservedly undone2 if better1 you are saved by a miracle1 through finding another person more faithful to you than yourself4 #8,but ,so-and-,so is my friend4' ,so is a second person his friend1 whom he again will trust as ,i trust him4 ,so with that person and a third1 and thus the talk will go on ,sidenote3 #ejg increasing and extending in link after link of weak betrayal4 ,the ,unit never goes beyond its own limit1 but is1 once and for all1 #8oneness'--whence its name4 ,but the number #8two' is the indefinite beginning of difference1 for by the duplication it at once shifts in the direction of multitude4 ,in the same way1 so long as a piece of information is confined to the first possessor1 it is really and truly a #8secret'4 ,but if it passes by him to a second1 it must be classed as a #8report'4 #8,winged words1' says the poet4 ,if you let go from your hand a thing with wings1 it is not easy to get it back into your grasp2 and if you let an observation slip from your lips1 it is impossible to seize and secure it1 but away it flies on nimbly-whirling wing1 and circulates in all directions from one set of people to another4 ,when a ship is caught by a wind1 they put a check upon it ,sidenote3 ,b and deaden its speed with cables and anchors2 but let a speech run--so to speak--out of port1 and it finds no place to cast and ride at anchor4 ,it is carried away with a roar1 till he who has uttered it is dashed and sunk upon some great and terrible danger4 ,from but a little torch-light ,ida's heights ,may all be set ablaze2 so1 tell but one1 ,and all the town will know it4 ,the ,roman ,senate had been engaged for a number of days ,sidenote3 ,c in debating a secret matter of policy4 ,as it gave rise to much mystification and conjecture1 a woman--otherwise irreproachable1 but still a woman--kept pestering her husband and imploring him to tell her the secret4 ,on her oath1 she would be silent3 if not1 might a curse fall upon her4 ,she wept and wailed because she was #8not trusted'4 ,from a desire to bring home her folly by a proof1 the ,roman said1 #8,have your way1 wife4 ,but the news is terribly ominous4 ,we have been informed by the priests that a lark has been seen flying about with a gold helmet and a spear4 ,we are therefore discussing the portent1 and are inquiring1 with the help of the augurs1 whether it is good or bad4 ,but mind you tell nobody4' ,with these words he went off to the ,forum4 ,the wife at once seized hold of ,sidenote3 ,d the first maid-servant to enter the room1 and1 beating her own breast and tearing her hair1 exclaimed1 #8,o my poor husband and country6 ,what will become of us8#81 her wish being to give the maid the opportunity of asking #8,why1 what has happened8' ,at any rate she took the question as put1 and told the tale1 adding the invariable refrain of every babbler1 #8,tell no one about it1 but hold your tongue4' ,the girl no sooner left her than she looked for the fellow-servant who had least to do1 and ,sidenote3 ,e imparted it to her4 ,she in turn told it to her lover1 who was paying her a visit4 ,the story went rolling on so rapidly that it reached the ,forum before the man who had invented it1 and he was met by an acquaintance1 who said1 #8,have you just come down from home8' #8,this minute1' he replied4 #8,then you haven't heard anything8' #8,no4 ,why8 ,is there any news8' #8,a lark has been seen flying about with a gold helmet and a spear1 and the magistrates are about to hold a ,senate meeting on the matter4' ,at this the man exclaimed with a laugh1 #8,o wife1 wife6 ,what a speed6 ,to think the story has got to the ,forum ahead of me6' ,first he interviewed the magistrates and relieved their anxiety2 then1 on going home1 ,sidenote3 ,f he proceeded to punish his wife by saying1 #8,wife1 you have been the ruin of me4 ,the secret is public property1 and the fault has been traced to my house4 ,and so ,i am to be exiled1 all because of your loose tongue4' ,upon her attempting to deny it by arguing #8,but there were three hundred who heard it as well as you'1 he retorted #8,pooh for your three hundred6 ,i invented it to try you1 all because of your persistence'4 ,in this case the man took safe precautions in putting his wife ,sidenote3 #ejh to the test1 by pouring into the leaky vessel not wine or oil1 but water4 ,it was otherwise with ,fulvius1 the close friend of ,augustus4 ,the emperor in his old age was lamenting to him over his desolate home and grieving because1 two of his daughter's children being dead1 and ,postumius1 the only one left1 being in exile on some calumnious charge1 he was being driven to adopt his wife's son as his successor1 although he felt compassion ,sidenote3 ,b for his grandson and was considering the question of recalling him from abroad4 ,fulvius divulged what he had heard to his wife1 and she to ,livia2 whereupon ,livia took ,caesar bitterly to task1 asking why1 if he had been so long of this mind1 he did not send for his grandson1 instead of putting her in a position of enmity and strife with the successor to the throne4 ,accordingly1 when ,fulvius came to him--as he regularly did--in the morning and said #8,good morning1 ,caesar'1 he replied #8,good-bye1 ,fulvius'4 ,fulvius took the hint1 went away home at once1 sent for his wife1 and said1 #8,caesar knows that ,i have betrayed his secret1 and ,i propose therefore to put myself to death4' #8,rightly too1' answered his wife1 #8seeing that1 after living with ,sidenote3 ,c me so long1 you failed to discover the looseness of my tongue and to guard against it4 ,but after me1 if you please'--and seizing the sword she despatched herself first4 ,the comic poet ,philippides therefore acted rightly when1 in answer to the friendly civilities of ,king ,lysimachus and his question #8,what is there of mine that ,i can share with you8#81 he replied #8,what you choose1 ,sire1 except your secrets4' ,on the other hand garrulity goes with the equally objectionable vice of inquisitiveness4 ,the babbler must find much to hear1 so that he may have much to tell4 ,especially must he go round tracking and hunting out hidden secrets1 so as to provide himself with a miscellaneous stock-in-trade for his foolish ,sidenote3 ,d talk4 ,then1 like a child with a piece of ice1 he neither likes to keep hold nor wants to let go4 ,or rather1 the secrets are reptiles1 which he grasps and puts in his bosom1 but which he cannot hold tight1 and so is devoured by them4 ,garfish and vipers--so we are told--burst in giving birth to their young4 ,so the escape of a secret is ruin and destruction to him who lets it out4 ,seleucus the ,victorious1 having lost all his army and resources in his fight with the ,gauls1 tore off his royal circlet with his own hands1 and fled away on horseback with three or four attendants4 ,after a long and circuitous ride away from the highroads1 he was at last so overcome by want that he approached a homestead1 and being fortunate enough to find the owner in ,sidenote3 ,e person1 asked him for bread and water4 ,the man not only gave him these1 but supplied him liberally and in the most friendly way with whatever else he had upon his farm4 ,in doing so he recognized the king's face4 ,so overjoyed was he at his fortunate opportunity of rendering him service1 that1 instead of restraining himself and playing up to the king's desire to be unknown1 he accompanied him as far as the road1 and1 on taking his leave1 said1 #8,good-bye1 ,king ,seleucus4' ,at this the king1 holding out his right hand and drawing the man towards him as if to kiss him1 gave a sign to one of the attendants to cut off his head with a sword2 ,and so1 with the word on his lips1 his head in the dust lay mingled1-- whereas1 if he had then had the patience to hold his tongue ,sidenote3 ,f for a little while1 he would in all probability1 when the king subsequently won success and power1 have earned a larger return for his silence than for his hospitality4 ,in this case1 it is true1 the man's hopes and kindly feeling formed some excuse for his lack of self-command4 ,most babblers1 however1 have no excuse at all for their own undoing4 ,for example1 people were once talking in a barber's shop about the despotism of ,dionysius1 and saying how firmly established it was against all assault4 ,at this the barber remarked laughingly1 #8,how can you say that1 when every few days ,i have my ,sidenote3 #eji razor at his throat8' ,no sooner did ,dionysius hear of this speech than he impaled the barber4 ,barbers1 by the way1 are generally a garrulous crew4 ,their chairs being the resort of the greatest chatterers1 they catch the bad habit themselves4 ,it was a neat quip that ,archelaus once gave to a loquacious barber4 ,after putting the towel round him1 the man asked1 #8,how shall ,i cut your hair1 ,sire8' #8,in silence1' he replied4 ,it was a barber also who reported the great disaster of the ,athenians in ,sicily1 he having been the first to hear it at the ,peiraeus from a slave1 who had run away ,sidenote3 ,b from the spot4 ,abandoning his shop1 he hurried at full speed to town1 ,lest another the glory might win by imparting the news to the capital1 while he might come but the second4 ,a panic naturally ensued1 and the people were gathered to an assembly1 where they set to work to trace the rumour to its source4 ,when1 however1 the barber was brought forward and questioned1 he did not even know the name of his informant1 but could only give as his authority a person unnamed and unknown4 ,thereupon the audience shouted in anger3 #8,to the rack and the wheel with the wretch6 ,the thing is a pure concoction6 ,who else has heard it8 ,who believes it8' ,the wheel ,sidenote3 ,c had been brought1 and the man had been stretched upon it1 when there appeared upon the scene the bearers of the disastrous news1 who had escaped from the very midst of the action4 ,at this they all dispersed1 to occupy themselves with their private griefs1 leaving the poor wretch bound upon the wheel4 ,when at a late hour towards evening he was set free1 he proceeded to ask the executioner #8whether they had also heard in what manner ,nicias1 the commander1 had met his death'4 ,such a hopeless and incorrigible failing does garrulity become through force of habit4 ,after drinking a bitter and evil-smelling medicine1 we are disgusted with the cup as well4 ,in the same way1 if you are the bearer of bad news1 you are regarded with disgust and hatred by those who hear it4 ,hence a pretty discussion in ,sophocles3 ,sidenote3 ,d ,a4 ,is it in ear or heart that thou art stung8 ,b4 ,why seek thus to define where lies my pain8 ,a4 ',tis the doer grieves thine heart1 ,i but thine ears4 ,be that as it may1 a speaker causes pain as well as a doer4 ,nevertheless there is no stopping or chastening a loose1 glib tongue4 ,on one occasion it was discovered that the temple of ,athena #8,of the ,bronze ,house' at ,sparta had been pillaged1 and an empty flask was found lying inside4 ,the crowd which had run together could make nothing of it1 when one of their number said1 #8,if you like1 ,i will tell you my notion as to the flask4 ,i fancy the robbers1 realizing all the danger they were to run1 first drank hemlock1 and then brought wine with them4 ,if they managed to escape detection1 they were to neutralize ,sidenote3 ,e the effects of the poison by drinking the unmixed wine1 and so get away in safety4 ,if they were caught1 they were to die an easy and painless death from the poison1 before they could be put to torture4' ,the theory was so ingenious and acute that it appeared to come of knowledge rather than conjecture4 ,he was therefore surrounded and questioned on every side--#8,who are ,sidenote3 ,f you8 ,who knows you8 ,how do you get to know all that8#8--till finally1 under this searching examination1 he confessed that he was one of the thieves4 ,were not the murderers of ,ibycus found out in the same way8 ,as they were sitting in the theatre1 a number of cranes happened to come in sight1 and they whispered laughingly to one another1 #8,here are the avengers of ,ibycus6' ,they were overheard by persons sitting near them1 and as a search was being made for ,ibycus1 who had been missing for a considerable time1 the words were seized upon and reported to the magistrates4 ,by this means the matter was brought home1 and the assassins carried off to prison1 where their punishment was due1 not to the cranes1 but to their own garrulity1 which played the part ,sidenote3 #eaj of an ,erinys or ,spirit of ,vengeance in compelling them to divulge the murder4 ,for as in the body1 when a part is diseased or in pain1 the neighbouring matter gathers towards it by attraction2 so is it with the babbler's tongue4 ,perpetually throbbing and inflamed1 it must keep drawing towards itself some secret or other which ought to be concealed4 ,we must therefore make ourselves secure4 ,let ,reason lie like a barrier in the way of the tongue1 to restrain its flow or prevent its slipping4 ,and let us show that we possess no less ,sidenote3 ,b sense than certain geese of which we are told4 ,it is said that1 when they cross from ,cilicia over the ,taurus ,range--which is full of eagles--they clap a bolt or bit upon their utterance4 ,that is to say1 they take in their mouths a good-sized stone1 and so fly over at night without being discovered4 ,now if it were asked ,who it is that is the vilest1 who most unredeemed of men1 it is the traitor who would always be named before any one else4 ,well1 ,euthycrates 7as ,demosthenes puts it7 #8roofed his house with the timber got from ,macedon#84 ,philocrates received a large sum of gold and proceeded to buy #8strumpets and fish#84 ,euphorbus and ,philagrus1 who betrayed ,eretria1 received lands ,sidenote3 ,c from the ,persian king4 ,but the babbler is a traitor who volunteers his services without pay1 not in the way of betraying horses or fortresses1 but of divulging secrets connected with lawsuits1 party feuds1 or political manuvres4 ,instead of any one thanking him1 he actually has to thank people for listening to him4 ,the line addressed to a man who was recklessly squandering his money by giving indiscriminate presents-- ,not generous1 you3 'tis your disease2 you love to be a-giving-- fits the prater also4 #8,you do not give this information out of friendliness and goodwill4 ',tis your disease2 you love to be a-talking and a-babbling4' ,these remarks are not to be regarded as simply an indictment of garrulity4 ,they are an attempt to cure it4 ,an ailment is ,sidenote3 ,d overcome by diagnosis and treatment1 but diagnosis comes first4 ,no one can be trained to avoid or to rid his mental constitution of a thing which causes him no distress4 ,that distress we learn to feel at our disorders1 when reason leads us to perceive the injury and shame which result from them4 ,thus in the present instance we perceive that the babbler is hated where he desires to be liked1 annoys where he wishes to ingratiate himself1 is derided where he thinks he is admired1 and spends without gaining anything by it4 ,he wrongs his friends1 assists his ,sidenote3 ,e enemies1 and ruins himself4 ,the first step1 therefore1 in physicing this disorder1 is to reflect upon the disgrace and pain which it causes4 ,the second is to consider the advantages of the contrary behaviour1 constantly hearing1 remembering1 and keeping at our call the praises of reticence1 the solemn and sacramental associations of silence1 and the fact that it is not by your unbridled talker at large that admiration1 regard1 and reputation for wisdom are won1 but by the man of short and pithy speech1 who can pack much sense into few words4 ,we find ,plato commending such persons1 and saying that1 in ,sidenote3 ,f their deliverance of crisp1 terse1 and compact utterances1 they resemble a skilful javelineer4 ,lycurgus1 again1 forced his fellow-citizens to acquire this gift of compression and solidity by applying the pressure of silence from their earliest childhood4 ,the ,celtiberians produce steel from iron by first burying it in the ground and then clearing away the earthy surplusage4 ,so is it with ,lacedaemonian speech4 ,it has no surplusage1 but is steadily hardened down to absolute effectiveness by the removal of everything unessential4 ,and this knack of theirs of saying a pithy thing1 or making a keen and nimble retort1 is the result of a great habit of silence4 ,sidenote3 #eaa ,we must not omit to give our chatterer examples of such brevities1 in order to show how pretty and effective they are4 ,for instance3 ,the ,lacedaemonians to ,philip3 ,dionysius at ,corinth2 and1 again1 when ,philip wrote to them #8,if ,i enter ,laconia1 ,i will turn you out#81 they wrote back1 #8,if4' ,when ,king ,demetrius shouted in his indignation1 #8,have the ,lacedaemonians sent only one envoy to me8#81 the envoy replied undismayed1 #8,one to one4' ,among our ancient worthies also we admire ,sidenote3 ,b the men of few words4 ,it was not the ,iliad or the ,odyssey or the paeans of ,pindar that the ,amphictyons inscribed upon the temple of the ,pythian ,apollo1 but the maxims ,know ,thyself3 ,nothing in ,excess3 ,give pledge1 and ,mischief is nigh1 which they admired for their simple and compact expression1 with its closely-hammered thought in small compass4 ,and does not the god himself show a love of conciseness and brevity in his oracles1 deriving his name of #8,loxias' from the fact that he would rather be obscure than garrulous8 ,do we not also particularly praise and admire those who can say1 by means of a symbol and without speaking a word1 all that ,sidenote3 ,c is necessary8 ,for instance1 when his fellow-citizens insisted upon ,heracleitus proposing some measure for the promotion of concord1 he mounted the platform1 took a cup of cold water1 sprinkled it with barley-meal1 stirred it with a slip of pennyroyal1 drank it off1 and went home4 ,this was his way of intimating that to be satisfied with the commonest things1 and to have no expensive wants1 is the way to maintain a community in peace and concord4 ,another case is that of ,scilurus1 the ,scythian king1 who left behind him eighty sons4 ,when he was dying1 he called for a bundle of small spears1 and bade them take and break it in pieces1 tied together as it was1 and in the mass4 ,when they gave up the task1 he himself drew the spears out one by one and snapped them all with ease1 thereby demonstrating ,sidenote3 ,d how invincible was their strength if harmoniously united1 how weak and short-lived if they did not hold together4 ,any one1 ,i believe1 who constantly recalls these and the like examples1 will cease to take a pleasure in chattering4 ,but--speaking for myself--there is a story of a certain slave which greatly discourages me1 when ,i reflect how hard it is to be so careful of our words as to make sure of our purpose4 ,the orator ,pupius ,piso1 not wishing to be troubled1 ordered his slaves to talk only in answer to questions1 and not a word more4 ,subsequently1 being anxious to welcome ,clodius in his official position1 he gave orders for him to be invited to dinner1 and prepared what was1 of course1 a splendid banquet4 ,when the hour arrived1 the other guests were all present and waiting for ,sidenote3 ,e ,clodius4 ,the slave who regularly carried the invitations was repeatedly sent out to see whether he was on his way4 ,when evening came and he was given up in despair1 ,piso said to the slave1 #8,of course you took him the invitation8' #8,i did1' he answered4 #8,then why has he not appeared8' #8,because he refused4' #8,then why did you not tell me so at once8' #8,because you did not ask me that question4' ,so much for the slave at ,rome1 whereas at ,athens he will tell his master while digging ,what terms are named i' the treaty1 so great in all things is the force of habituation4 ,to habituation let us now turn4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,we cannot check the babbler by taking1 as it were1 a grip on the reins4 ,the malady can only be overcome by habit4 ,in the first place1 therefore1 when questions are asked of your neighbours1 train yourself to keep silent until they have all failed to answer4 ,counsel hath other ends than running hath1 says ,sophocles1 and so has speech or answer4 ,in running1 the victor is the man who comes in first1 but here the case is different4 ,if another makes a satisfactory reply1 the proper course is to lend approval and a word of support1 and so win credit for good ,sidenote3 #eab feeling4 ,if he fails1 there is nothing invidious or inopportune in giving the information which he does not possess1 or in supplementing his deficiencies4 ,but above all things let us be on our guard1 when a question is put to another person1 that we do not anticipate him and take the answer out of his mouth4 ,in any case in which a request is made of another it is1 of course1 improper for us to push him aside and offer our own services4 ,by doing so we shall appear to be casting a slur on both parties2 as if the one were incapable of performing what is asked1 and as if the other did not know the right quarter from which to get what he asks for4 ,but it is especially in connexion with answers to questions that such impudent forwardness is an outrage on ,sidenote3 ,b manners4 ,to give the answer before the person questioned has time1 implies the remark1 #8,what do you want him for8#81 or #8,what does he know8#81 or1 #8,when ,i am present1 nobody else should be asked that question4' ,yet we often put a question to a person1 not because we need the information1 but by way of eliciting from him a few words of a friendly nature1 or from a wish to lead him on to converse1 as ,socrates did with ,theaetetus and ,charmides4 ,to take the answer out of another's mouth1 to divert attention to yourself and wrest it from another1 is as bad as if1 when a person desired to be kissed by some one else1 you ran forward and kissed him yourself1 or as if1 when he was looking at another1 you twisted him round in your own direction4 ,the right and proper ,sidenote3 ,c course1 even if the person who is asked for information cannot give it1 is to wait1 to take your cue to answer from the wish of the questioner--his invitation not having been addressed to you--and then to meet the situation in a modest and mannerly way4 ,if a person of whom a question is asked makes a mistake in answering it1 he meets with a due measure of indulgence2 but one who pushes himself forward and insists on answering first1 receives no welcome if he is right1 while1 if he is wrong1 he becomes an object of positive exultation and derision4 ,the second item of our regimen concerns the answering of questions put to ourselves4 ,our garrulous friend must be particularly careful with these4 ,in the first place he must not be deceived into giving serious replies to those who merely provoke him into a discussion in order to make a laughing-stock of him4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,sometimes persons who require no information simply concoct a question for the amusement and fun of the thing1 and submit it to a character of this kind in order to set his foolish tongue wagging4 ,against this trick he must be on his guard4 ,instead of promptly jumping at the subject as if he were grateful1 he should consider both the character of the questioner and the necessity for the question4 ,and when it is clear that information is really desired1 he must make a habit of waiting and leaving some interval between question and answer4 ,there will then be time for the inquirer to add anything he wishes1 and for himself to reflect upon his reply1 instead of overrunning and muddling the question1 hurriedly giving ,sidenote3 ,e first one answer and then another while the question is still going on4 ,the ,pythian priestess1 of course1 is accustomed to deliver oracles on the instant1 even before the question is asked1 inasmuch as the ,god whom she serves ,understandeth the dumb1 and heareth a man though he speak not4 ,but if you wish your answer to be to the purpose1 you must wait for the questioner's thought to be expressed1 and discover ,sidenote3 ,f precisely what he is aiming at4 ,otherwise it will be a case of the old saying3 ,asked for a bucket1 they refused a tub4 ,in any case that ravenous greed to be talking must be checked4 ,otherwise it will seem as if a stream1 which has long been banked up at the tongue1 is taking joyful advantage of the question to disgorge itself4 ,socrates used to control his thirst on the same principle4 ,he would not permit himself to drink after exercise without pouring away the first jugful drawn from the well1 thereby training his irrational part to wait until reason named the time4 ,sidenote3 #eac ,there are three possible kinds of answer to a question--the barely necessary1 the polite1 and the superfluous4 ,for instance1 to the inquiry1 #8,is ,socrates at home8#81 one person may reply1 in an offhand and apparently grudging way1 #8,not at home2' or1 if he is disposed to adopt the ,laconian style1 he will omit the #8at home' and merely utter the negative4 ,thus the ,lacedaemonians1 when ,philip had written to ask1 #8,do you ,sidenote3 99 receive me into your city8#81 wrote a large ,no on a piece of paper and sent it back4 ,another1 with more politeness1 answers1 #8,no1 but you will find him at the bankers' tables'--going so far1 perhaps1 as to add1 #8waiting for some strangers4' ,but1 ,sidenote3 ,b third1 our inordinate chatterbox--at any rate1 if he happens also to have read ,antimachus of ,colophon--will say1 #8,no2 but you will find him at the bankers' tables1 waiting for some strangers from ,ionia1 concerning whom he has had a letter from ,alcibiades1 who is near ,miletus1 staying with ,tissaphernes1 the ,great ,king's ,satrap1 the same who used formerly to help the ,lacedaemonians1 but who is now attaching himself to the ,athenians1 thanks to ,alcibiades2 for ,alcibiades is anxious to be recalled from exile1 and is therefore working upon ,tissaphernes to change sides4' ,in fact he will talk the whole eighth book of ,thucydides and will deluge the questioner with it1 until1 before he has done1 there is war with ,miletus and ,alcibiades has been exiled for ,sidenote3 ,c the second time4 ,here especially should loquacity be repressed4 ,it should be forced to follow in the footsteps of the question1 and to confine the answer within the circle of which the questioner's requirement gives the centre and radius4 ,when ,carneades1 before he became famous1 was once discoursing in the gymnasium1 the superintendent sent and requested him to lower his voice1 which was a very loud one4 ,upon his replying #8,give me my limit for reach of voice'1 the officer aptly rejoined #8,the person who is speaking with you'4 ,so1 in making an answer1 let the limit ,sidenote3 ,d be the wishes of the questioner4 ,in the next place remember how ,socrates used to urge the avoidance of those foods and drinks which induce you to eat when you are not hungry and to drink when you are not thirsty4 ,so those subjects in which he most delights1 and in which he indulges most immoderately1 are the subjects which the babbler should shun1 and whose advances he should resist4 ,for example1 military men are given to prosing about wars4 ,homer introduces ,nestor in that character1 making him relate his own deeds of prowess time after time4 ,take1 again1 those who have scored a victory in the law-courts1 or who have met with surprising success at the courts of governors or kings4 ,generally ,sidenote3 ,e speaking1 they are chronic sufferers from an itch to talk about it1 and to describe over and over again how they came in1 how they were introduced1 how they played their parts1 how they talked1 how they confuted some opponent or accuser1 and what eulogies they won4 ,their delight is more loquacious than that #8sleepless night' in the comedy1 and is perpetually fanning itself into new flame and keeping itself fresh by telling over the tale4 ,they are therefore prone to slip into such subjects at every pretext4 ,for not only ,where the pain is1 there also goes the hand2 ,sidenote3 ,f no less does the part which feels pleasure draw the voice and twist the tongue in its own direction1 from a desire to dwell perpetually on the theme4 ,it is the same also with amorous persons1 who chiefly occupy themselves with such conversation as brings up some mention of the object of their passion4 ,if they cannot talk to human beings about it1 they do so to inanimate things3 ,o bed most dear6 or ,bacchis thought thee a god1 thou blessed lamp2 ,and greatest god thou art1 methinks1 through her4 ,no doubt it makes not a pin's difference to the chatterer ,sidenote3 #ead what subject of conversation may arise4 ,nevertheless1 if he has a greater predilection for one class of subjects than for another1 he ought to be on his guard against that class and force himself to hold aloof from it1 since those are the subjects which can always tempt him furthest into prolixity for the pleasure of the thing4 ,it is the same with those matters in which the talker thinks that his experience or ability gives him a superiority over other people4 ,through egotism and vanity such a person ,giveth the most part of the day to that ,wherein he showeth to the most advantage4 ,with the much-read man it is general information2 with the ,sidenote3 ,b expert in letters1 the rules of literary art2 with the much-travelled man1 accounts of foreign parts4 ,these subjects also must therefore be shunned4 ,they are an enticement to loquacity1 which is led on to them like an animal towards its wonted fodder4 ,one admirable feature in the conduct of ,cyrus was that1 in his matches with his mates1 he challenged them to compete at something in which he was not more1 but less1 expert than they4 ,thus1 while he caused no pain by eclipsing them1 he also derived advantage from a lesson4 ,with the chatterer it is the other way about4 ,if any subject is mooted which gives him the opportunity of asking and learning something he does not know1 he cannot even pay so small a fee ,sidenote3 ,c for it as merely holding his tongue1 but he blocks the topic and elbows it aside1 working steadily round till he drives the conversation into the well-worn track of stale old twaddle4 ,we have had an example of this among ourselves1 where a person who happened to have read two or three books of ,ephorus used to weary every one to death1 and put any convivial party to rout1 by everlastingly describing the battle of ,leuctra and its sequel1 until he earned the nickname of #8,epaminondas'4 ,if1 however1 we are to choose between evils1 this is the least1 and we must divert loquacity into this channel4 ,talkativeness will be ,sidenote3 ,d less disagreeable when its excess is in an expert connexion4 ,in the next place such persons should habituate themselves to putting things in a written or conversational form when alone4 ,the case is not as with ,antipater the ,stoic4 ,he gained his sobriquet of #8,pen-,valiant' because1 being--as it would appear--unable and unwilling to come out and meet the vehement attacks made by ,carneades upon the ,porch1 he kept filling his books with written disputations against him4 ,but if the babbler turns to writing and valiantly fights shadows with his pen1 the occupation will keep him from attacking people at large and will render him daily more bearable to his company4 ,it will be as with dogs4 ,let them vent their anger on sticks and stones1 and they are less ferocious to human beings4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,another extremely beneficial course for talkers to adopt is to associate continually with their superiors and elders1 out of respect for whose standing they will develop a habit of holding their tongues4 ,as part and parcel of this training we should always vigilantly apply the following reflection1 when we are on the point of talking and the words begin running to our mouths3 #8,what is this remark that is so pressing and importunate8 ,with what object is my tongue so impatient8 ,what honour do ,i get by speaking1 or what harm by keeping quiet8' ,if the thought were an oppressive weight to be got rid of1 the matter would be ,sidenote3 ,f different2 but it remains with you just as much1 even if it is spoken4 ,when men talk1 it is either for their own sake1 because they want something1 or it is to help the hearer2 or else they seek to ingratiate themselves with each other by seasoning with the salt of rational conversation the pastime or business in which they happen to be engaged4 ,but if a remark is neither of advantage to the speaker nor of importance to the hearer1 if it contains nothing pleasant or interesting1 why is it made8 ,the ,sidenote3 99 meaningless and futile is as much to be avoided in words as it is in deeds4 ,over and above all this1 we should keep in lively recollection ,sidenote3 #eae the saying of ,simonides that he #8had often repented of talking1 but never of holding his tongue'4 ,we should remember also that practice is a potent thing and overcomes all difficulties4 ,people get rid even of the hiccoughs or a cough by resolutely resisting them4 ,yet this involves trouble and pain1 whereas silence not only1 as ,hippocrates says1 #8prevents thirst2' it also prevents pain and suffering4 ,footnote #dc3 ,the ,homeric 7#8glossy'7 is brought1 either in error or by a deliberate pun1 into relation with 7#8silence'74 ,,on ,,the ,,student ,,at ,,lectures ,,my ,,dear ,,nicander1 ,sidenote3 #cg ,c ,this is an article upon #8,the ,attitude of the ,student'1 which ,i have written and am sending to you4 ,its purpose is to teach you the right attitude towards your philosophic teacher1 now that you are a grown-up man and are no longer obliged merely to obey orders4 ,some young men are so ill-informed as to suppose that absence of restraint is the same thing as freedom1 whereas1 by unchaining ,sidenote3 ,d the passions1 it makes them slaves to a set of masters more tyrannical than all the teachers and mentors of childhood4 ,herodotus says that when women take off the tunic they also take off shame4 ,it is the same with some young men4 ,in laying aside the garb of childhood they also lay aside shame and fear4 ,no sooner do they unloose the cloak which controlled their conduct than they indulge in the utmost misbehaviour4 ,with you it should be otherwise4 ,you have been told over and over again that to #8follow ,god' and to #8obey reason' are the same thing4 ,understand1 therefore1 that with right-minded persons a coming of age does not mean rejection of rule1 but change of ruler4 ,for the hired or purchased#dd director of conduct they ,sidenote3 ,e substitute one that is divine--namely1 reason4 ,only those who follow reason deserve to be considered free2 for they alone live as they choose1 because they alone have learned to make the right choice1 whereas ignorant and irrational desires and actions give small and paltry scope to the will1 but great scope to repentance4 ,note what happens in the case of naturalized citizens4 ,entire ,sidenote3 ,f foreigners from another country will often grumble irritably at their experiences1 whereas those who have previously been denizens of the state1 and have therefore lived in intimate touch with the laws1 will accept their obligations with cheerful readiness4 ,so with yourself4 ,for a long time you have been growing up in the company of philosophy4 ,from the first you have been accustomed to a taste of philosophic reason in everything that you have been taught or told as a child4 ,it should therefore be in a well-disposed and congenial spirit that you come to ,philosophy1 who alone can adorn a youth with that finish of manhood which genuinely and rationally deserves the name4 ,you will not1 ,i believe1 object to a prefatory remark upon ,sidenote3 #ch the sense of hearing4 ,theophrastus asserts that it is the most susceptible of all the senses1 inasmuch as nothing that can be seen1 tasted1 or touched1 is the cause of such strong emotional disturbance and excitement as takes hold upon the mind when certain sounds of beating1 clashing1 or ringing fall upon the ear4 ,it is1 however1 more rational1 rather than more emotional1 than the other senses4 ,vice can find many places and parts of the body open for it to enter and seize upon the soul4 ,but the only hold that virtue can take is upon pure young ears ,sidenote3 ,b which have at all times been protected from the corruptions of flattery or the touch of low communications4 ,hence the advice of ,xenocrates1 that ear-guards should be worn by boys more than by athletes1 inasmuch as the latter merely have their ears disfigured by blows1 while the former have their characters disfigured by words4 ,not that he would wed us to inattention or deafness4 ,it is but a warning to beware of wrong communications1 and to see that others of the right nature have first been fostered in our character by philosophy and have mounted guard in that quarter which is most open to influence and persuasion4 ,bias1 the ancient sage1 was once bidden by ,amasis to send him that piece of meat from a sacrificial victim which was at the same time the best and the worst4 ,he replied by taking out and sending the tongue1 on the ground that speech can do both the greatest harm and the greatest good4 ,it is a general practice in fondling little children to take them by the ears1 and to bid ,sidenote3 ,c them do the same to us--an indirect and playful way of suggesting that we should be especially fond of those who make our ears the instruments to our advantage4 ,it is1 of course1 obvious that a youth cannot be debarred from any or every kind of hearing1 or from tasting any discourse at all4 ,otherwise not only will he remain entirely without fruit or growth in the way of virtue2 he will actually be perverted in the direction of vice1 his mind being an idle and uncultivated patch producing a plentiful crop of weeds4 ,propensity to pleasure and dislike of labour--the springs of innumerable forms of trouble and disease--are not of external origin1 nor imported ,sidenote3 ,d from teaching1 but they well up naturally from the soil4 ,if therefore they are left free to take their natural course2 if they are not done away with1 or turned aside1 by sound instruction2 if nature is not thus brought under control1 man will prove more unreclaimed than any brute beast4 ,the hearing of lectures1 then1 may be of great profit1 but at the same time of great danger1 to a young man4 ,this being so1 ,i believe it a good thing to make the matter one of constant discussion1 both with oneself and with others4 ,in most cases ,sidenote3 ,e we may notice a false procedure--that of cultivating the art of speaking before being trained to the art of listening4 ,it is thought that1 while speaking requires instruction and practice1 any kind of listening is attended with profit4 ,but not so4 ,whereas in ball-play one learns simultaneously how to throw and how to catch1 in the business of speech the right taking in is prior to the giving out1 just as conception is prior to parturition4 ,we are told that in the case of a hen laying a wind-egg her labour and travail end in nothing but an abortive and lifeless piece of refuse4 ,so when a young man lacks the ability to listen1 ,sidenote3 ,f or the training to gather profit through the ear1 the speech which he lets fall is wind-begotten indeed3 ,sans all regard and sans note it is lost in the clouds and dispersd4 ,he will take a vessel and tilt it in the right direction for receiving anything to be poured into it1 and so ensure a real #8in-pouring' instead of a pouring to waste4 ,but he does not learn to lend his own attention to a speaker and meet the lecture half-way1 so as to miss no valuable point4 ,on the contrary1 his behaviour is in the last degree ridiculous4 ,if he happens upon a person ,sidenote3 #ci describing a dinner1 a procession1 a dream1 or a brawling-match in which he has been engaged1 he listens in silence and is eager for more4 ,but if a teacher to whom he has attached himself tries to impart something useful1 or to urge him to some duty1 to admonish him when wrong1 or to soothe him when angry1 he is out of all patience4 ,if possible1 he shows fight1 and is ambitious to get the best of the argument4 ,otherwise he is off and away to discourses of a different and a rubbishy kind1 filling his ears--the poor leaky vessels--with anything rather than the thing they need4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,from the right kind of breeder a horse obtains a good mouth for the bit1 and a lad a good ear for reason4 ,he is taught to do much listening1 but to avoid much speaking4 ,we may quote the remark of ,spintharus in praise of ,epaminondas1 that he had scarcely ever met with any man either of greater judgement or of fewer words4 ,moreover1 we are told1 the reason why nature gave each of us two ears1 but only one tongue1 was that we should do less speaking than hearing4 ,a youth is at all times sure to find silence a credit to him2 but in one case it is especially so--when he can listen to another without becoming excited and continually yelping2 when1 even ,sidenote3 ,c if what is being said is little to his liking1 he waits patiently for the speaker to finish2 when1 at the close1 he does not immediately come to the attack with his contradiction1 but 7to quote ,aeschines7 waits a while1 in case the speaker might wish to supplement his remarks1 or perhaps to adjust or qualify his position4 ,to take instant objection1 neither party listening to the other but both talking at once1 is an unseemly performance4 ,on the other hand1 those who have been trained to listen with modest self-control will accept a valuable argument and make it their own1 while they will be in a better position to see through a worthless or false one and to expose it1 thereby ,sidenote3 ,d showing that they are lovers of truth1 and not merely contentious1 headstrong1 or quarrelsome persons4 ,it is therefore not a bad remark of some1 that there is more need to expel the wind of vanity and self-conceit from the young1 than to expel the air from a skin1 when you wish to pour in anything of value3 otherwise they are too swollen and flatulent to receive it4 ,the presence of envious and malicious jealousy is1 of course1 never to good purpose1 but always an impediment to proper action4 ,in the case of a student at lectures it is the most perverse of prompters4 ,words which ought to do him good are rendered vexing1 distasteful1 and unwelcome by the fact that there is nothing which an envious man likes so little as an ,sidenote3 ,e excellent piece of reasoning4 ,and note that1 when a man is piqued by fame or beauty belonging to others1 he is envious and nothing more2 what annoys him is another's good fortune4 ,but when he is irritated by admirable argument1 his vexation is at his own good1 since reason--if he has a mind to accept it--is as much to the good of one who hears as light is to the good of one who sees4 ,envy in other matters is the result of various coarse or low attitudes of mind2 envy of a speaker is born of inordinate love of glory and unfair ambition4 ,a person so disposed is prevented ,sidenote3 ,f from listening to reason4 ,his mind is perturbed and distracted4 ,at one and the same time it is looking at its own endowments1 to see if they are inferior to those of the speaker1 and at the rest of the company1 to see if they are wondering and admiring4 ,it is disgusted at their applause1 and exasperated at their approval4 ,the previous portions of the speech it forgets and ignores1 because the recollection is irksome4 ,the parts yet to come it awaits with trembling anxiety1 for fear they may prove better still4 ,when the speaker is at his best1 it is most ,sidenote3 #dj eager for him to stop4 ,when the lecture is over1 it thinks of nothing that was said1 but takes count of the expressions and attitudes of the audience4 ,from those who give praise it dances away in a frenzy2 and to those who carp and distort it runs to form one of the herd4 ,if there is nothing to distort1 it makes comparisons with others who have spoken #8better and more eloquently to the same purpose'4 ,in the end our friend has so cruelly mishandled the lecture that he has made it of no use or profit to himself4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,let the love of glory1 then1 be brought to terms with the love of learning4 ,let us listen to a speaker with friendly courtesy1 regarding ourselves as guests at a sacred banquet or sacrificial offering4 ,let us praise his ability when he makes a hit1 or be satisfied with the mere goodwill of a man who is making the public a present of his views and endeavouring to convince others by means of the arguments which have convinced himself4 ,when he goes right1 let us consider that his rightness is due not to chance or accident1 but to painstaking effort and learning4 ,let us take a pattern by it1 and not only admire it1 but emulate it4 ,when he is at fault1 let us stop and think for what reasons he is so1 and at what point he began to go astray4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,xenophon observes that good managers derive profit from their enemies as well as from their friends4 ,in the same way those who are attentive and alert derive benefit from a speaker not only when he is in the right1 but also when he is in the wrong4 ,paltry thought1 empty phrase1 affected bearing1 vulgar delight and excitement at applause1 and the like1 are more palpable to a listener in another's case than to a speaker in his own4 ,it is well1 therefore1 to take the criticism which we apply to him1 and apply it to ourselves1 asking whether we commit any mistake of the kind without being aware of it4 ,it is the easiest thing in ,sidenote3 ,d the world to find fault with our neighbour1 but it is a futile and meaningless proceeding1 unless made to bear in some way upon the correction or prevention of similar faults4 ,when lapses are committed1 let us always be prompt to exclaim to ourselves in the phrase of ,plato1 #8,am ,i1 perhaps1 as bad8' ,as in the eyes of our neighbour we see the reflection of our own1 so we should find a picture of our own speech in that of another4 ,in that way we shall avoid treating others with over-confident contempt1 and shall also look more carefully to our own deliverances4 ,there is another way in which comparison serves this useful ,sidenote3 ,e purpose4 ,i mean if1 when we get by ourselves after the lecture1 we take some point which appears to have been wrongly or unsatisfactorily treated1 and attack the same theme1 doing our best to fill in1 to correct1 to re-word1 or to attempt an entirely original contribution to the subject1 as the case may be--doing1 in fact1 as ,plato did#de with the speech of ,lysias4 ,while to argue against a certain deliverance is not difficult1 but1 on the contrary1 very easy1 to set up a better in its stead is an extremely hard matter4 ,as the ,lacedaemonian said on hearing that ,philip had razed ,olynthus to the ground3 #8,yes1 but to create a city as good is beyond the man's power'4 ,accordingly1 ,sidenote3 ,f when we find that in dealing with the same subject we can do but little better than the speaker in the case1 we make a large reduction in our contempt and speedily prune down that self-satisfied conceit which has been exposed during such process of comparison4 ,nevertheless1 though admiration1 as opposed to contempt1 certainly betokens a fairer and gentler nature1 it is a thing which1 in its own turn1 requires no little--perhaps greater--caution4 ,sidenote3 #da ,for while a contemptuous and over-confident person derives too little benefit from a speaker1 an enthusiastic and guileless admirer derives too much injury4 ,he forms no exception to the rule of ,heracleitus that #8,any dictum will flutter a fool#84 ,one should be frank in yielding praise to the speaker1 but cautious in yielding belief to the assertion2 a kindly and candid observer of the diction and delivery of the arguer1 but a sharp and exacting critic of the truth and value of his argument4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,while we thus escape dislike from the speaker1 we escape harm from the speech4 ,how many false and pernicious doctrines we unawares accept through esteeming and trusting their exponent6 ,the ,lacedaemonian authorities1 after examining a measure suggested by a man of evil life1 instructed another person1 famous for his conduct and character1 to move it--a very proper and statesmanlike encouragement to the people to be led more by the character of an adviser than by his speech4 ,but in philosophy we must put aside the reputation of the speaker and examine the speech in and by itself4 ,in lecturing1 as in war1 there is much that is mere show4 ,the speaker's grey hairs1 his vocal ,sidenote3 ,c affectations1 his supercilious airs1 his self-glorification2 above all1 the shouting1 applauding1 and dancing of the audience overwhelm the young and inexperienced student and sweep him along with the current4 ,there is deception in the language also1 when it streams upon the question in a delightful flood1 and when it contains a measure of studied art and the grandiose4 ,as1 in singing to the accompaniment of the flageolet1 mistakes are generally undetected by an audience1 so an elaborate and pretentious diction dazzles the hearer and blinds him to the sense4 ,i believe it was ,melanthius who1 when asked about ,sidenote3 ,d ,diogenes' tragedy1 replied3 #8,i could not get a sight of it2 it was hidden behind the words4' ,but with the discourses and declamations of the majority of our professors it is not merely a case of using the words to screen the thoughts4 ,they also dulcify the voice--modulating1 smoothing1 and intoning--till the hearer is carried away with a perfect intoxication4 ,they give an empty pleasure1 and are paid with an emptier fame4 ,their case1 in fact1 is one for the quip given by ,dionysius4 ,it was he1 ,i think1 who1 during the performance of a distinguished harp-player1 promised him a liberal reward1 but subsequently gave ,sidenote3 ,e him nothing1 on the ground that he had made a sufficient return4 #8,for as long a time as ,i was enjoying your singing'1 said he1 #8you were enjoying your expectations4' ,the deliverer of the lectures in question finds that they represent a joint contribution of the same kind4 ,he receives admiration as long as his entertainment lasts4 ,as soon as no more pleasure is forthcoming for the ear1 there is no more glory left for him4 ,the one party has wasted his time1 the other his professional life4 ,let us1 then1 strip aside all this empty show of language1 and make for the actual fruit4 ,it is better to imitate the bee than ,sidenote3 ,f the garland-maker4 ,the latter looks for the bright-coloured fragrant petals1 and1 by twining and plaiting them together1 produces an object which is pleasant enough1 but short-lived and fruitless4 ,bees1 on the contrary1 frequently skim through meadows of violets1 roses1 or hyacinths1 to settle upon the coarsest and bitterest thyme4 ,to this they devote themselves ,contriving yellow honey1 and then fly home to their proper business with something worth the getting4 ,so a student who takes his work in real earnest will pay no regard to dainty flowery words nor to showy ,sidenote3 #db theatrical matter4 ,these he will consider as fodder for drones who play the sophist4 ,for his own part he will probe with keen attention into the sense of a speech and the quality of the speaker4 ,therefrom he will suck such part as will be of service and profit4 ,he will remember that he has not come to a theatre or concert-hall1 but to a classroom in the schools1 and that his object is to get his life corrected by means of reason4 ,hence he should form a critical judgement of the lecture from his own case1 that is to say1 from a calculation of its effect upon himself4 ,has it been the chastening of a passion1 the lightening ,sidenote3 ,b of a grief8 ,has it been courage1 firmness of spirit1 enthusiasm for excellence and virtue8 ,upon rising from the barber's chair he will stand at the glass and put his hands to his head1 inspecting the trim and arrangement of the hair4 ,no less should he1 immediately on leaving a lecture in the philosophic school1 look at himself and examine his own mind1 to see if it has got rid of any useless and uncomfortable growth and become lighter and more at ease4 #8,there is no use'1 says ,aristo1 #8in either a bath or a speech1 unless it cleanses4' ,sidenote3 ,c ,by all means let a young man1 while profiting from a discourse1 find pleasure in the process4 ,but he must not treat the pleasure of the lecture as its end1 nor expect to come out of the philosopher's school with a beaming face and humming a tune4 ,he must not ask for scented unguents when what he needs is a lotion or a poultice4 ,on the contrary1 he should be grateful if a pungent argument acts upon his mind like smoke upon a hive1 and clears out all the darkness and mistiness that fill it4 ,though it is quite right for a speaker not to be altogether without concern for an attractive and persuasive style of language1 that should be a matter least regarded by the young student1 at any rate in the first instance4 ,later1 no doubt1 the case may be ,sidenote3 ,d different4 ,it is when they are no longer thirsty that persons engaged in drinking will turn a cup about and inspect the chasing upon it4 ,similarly during a breathing-time1 after taking our fill of the lesson1 we may be permitted to examine any uncommon elegance in the language4 ,but if from the very first1 instead of taking a grip upon the substance1 you insist upon #8good pure ,attic' expression1 you are like a person who refuses to take an antidote unless the vessel is made of the best ,attic earthenware2 or who declines to put on a thick cloak in winter unless the wool is from ,attic sheep1 preferring to sit1 stubborn and impracticable1 in the thin napless mantle of the #8style of ,lysias'4 ,perversities of this kind are responsible for a plentiful ,sidenote3 ,e lack of good sense and an abundance of loquacious claptrap in the schools4 ,young fellows keep no watch upon the life1 the practical action1 or the public services of a philosopher1 but make a great merit of diction1 phrase1 and fine method of statement1 while they possess neither the ability nor the desire to find out whether the statement is valuable or worthless1 whether it is vital or a mere futility4 ,the next rule concerns the propounding of difficulties4 ,a guest at a dinner is bound to accept what is put upon the ,sidenote3 ,f table1 and neither to ask for anything else nor to find fault4 ,when the feast consists of a discourse1 any one who comes to it should listen and say nothing1 if there is an understanding to that effect4 ,persons who cannot listen in a pleasant and sociable manner1 but keep drawing the speaker off to other topics1 interposing questions and mooting side-issues1 get no benefit themselves and confuse both the speaker and the speech4 ,when1 however1 he invites the audience to ask questions and advance difficulties1 any that are proposed should prove to be useful and important4 ,odysseus1 when in the suitors' company1 incurs ridicule through ,begging for morsels and scraps1 and not for a sword or a cauldron4 ,sidenote3 #dc regard it as a sign of lofty-mindedness not only to give1 but to ask for1 something of value4 ,it is1 however1 more a case for ridicule when a hearer poses a speaker with petty little problems of the kind often propounded by young men1 when they are talking claptrap in order to make a show of attainments in logic or mathematics--for example1 concerning #8division of the indeterminate' and the nature of #8lateral' or #8diagonal' ,sidenote3 ,b motion4 ,the proper answer to such persons is the remark of ,philotimus to a man who was suffering with abscesses and consumption1 but who had been talking to him for some time about requiring #8some little thing to cure a whitlow'4 ,perceiving the man's condition from his complexion and breathing1 ,philotimus observed3 #8,my good sir1 a whitlow is not the question with you4' ,nor in your case1 young sir1 is it worth while to be discussing such questions as yours1 but how you are to get rid of conceit1 swaggering about love-affairs1 and such-like nonsense1 and how you are to plant your feet on the way to a healthy and sober-minded life4 ,especially are you bound1 in putting your questions1 to accommodate yourself to a speaker's range of knowledge or natural ,sidenote3 ,c ability--to his special forte4 ,a philosopher who is more concerned with ethics should not be attacked with difficulties in natural science or mathematics1 nor should one who prides himself upon his scientific knowledge be dragged into determining hypothetical syllogisms or solving fallacies4 ,if you attempted to chop your wood with the key and to open your door with the axe1 it would not be thought that you were making sport of these implements1 but that you were depriving yourself of their respective powers and uses4 ,in the same way1 if you ask of a speaker a thing for which he has no gift or training1 while you make no harvest of what he possesses and offers1 ,sidenote3 ,d you not only do yourself harm to that extent1 but you incur condemnation for malicious ill-nature4 ,be careful also not to propound difficulties yourself in too great numbers or too frequently4 ,this is1 in a sense1 another way of showing off4 ,meanwhile1 to listen equably when some one else is mooting them1 shows that you are a clubbable person and a student4 ,this is assuming you have no harassing and urgent trouble of your own1 no mental disturbance to be controlled or malady to be comforted4 ,it may not1 after all1 be 7as ,heracleitus says7 #8better to conceal ignorance'1 but to bring it into the open and cure it4 ,if your mind is upset by a fit of anger1 an attack of superstition1 a violent quarrel with your friends1 or a mad amorous passion which ,stirreth the heart-strings that should rest unstirred1 ,sidenote3 ,e you must not run away from a discourse which searches it home1 and fly to others of a different nature4 ,on the contrary1 these are the very topics to which you should listen1 both at lectures and also by privately approaching the lecturer afterwards and asking for further light4 ,the opposite course is the one too generally followed4 ,so long as the philosopher is dealing with other persons1 his hearers are all delight and admiration4 ,but when he leaves those others alone and frankly administers some important reminder to themselves personally1 they are disgusted with him for not minding his own business4 ,generally speaking1 they think ,sidenote3 ,f a philosopher is entitled to a hearing inside his school1 as the tragedian is in the theatre2 but in matters beyond it they do not consider him in any way superior to themselves4 ,towards a sophist their attitude is natural enough2 for when he rises from his chair1 lays aside his books and his introductory manuals1 and makes his appearance in the practical departments of life1 he ranks in the popular mind as an unimportant and inferior person4 ,but towards a philosopher in the real sense their attitude is wrong4 ,they do not recognize that a tone of earnestness or jest1 a sign of approval or disapproval1 a smile or a frown1 ,sidenote3 #dd on his part--and1 above all1 his direct handling of their individual cases--are fruitful in good to those who have learned the art of listening with submission4 ,applause1 again1 has its duties1 which call for a certain caution and moderation4 ,a gentleman bestows neither too little nor too much of it4 ,a hearer shows churlishly bad taste when nothing whatever in a lecture will make him thaw or unbend2 when he is diseased with festering conceit and chronic self-complacency1 and is all the time thinking he could improve upon the deliverance2 when he neither makes any appropriate movement of the brow nor utters any sound to prove that he is ,sidenote3 ,b a considerate and willing listener2 when he is seeking a reputation for solidity and depth by means of silence1 an affected gravity1 and attitudes of pose1 under the notion that applause is like money1 and that whatever amount you give to another you take from yourself4 ,the fact is that there are many who take up the well-known saying of ,pythagoras and sing it to a false tune4 ,his own gain from philosophy1 he said1 was to #8wonder at ,sidenote3 99 nothing#82 whereas theirs is to #8praise nothing' or to #8honour nothing'4 ,with them wisdom lies in contempt1 and the way to be dignified is to be disdainful4 ,while1 by means of knowledge ,sidenote3 ,c and the ascertainment of the cause in a given case1 philosophic reason does away with the wonder and awe due to unenlightenment and ignorance1 it does not destroy a generous appreciation4 ,those whose excellence is genuine and firmly seated find it the highest honour to bestow honour1 the highest distinction to bestow distinction1 where honour and distinction are due4 ,such conduct implies that they have fame enough and to spare1 and are free from jealousy1 whereas those who are niggards of praise to others are in all probability pinched and hungry for praise of their own4 ,on the other hand1 the opposite type of hearer is the fluttering feather-head who uses no discrimination1 but punctuates with loud cheers at every word and syllable4 ,while he is frequently obnoxious to the disputant himself1 he is invariably a nuisance ,sidenote3 ,d to the hearers4 ,he worries them on to their feet against their judgement1 and drags them willy-nilly to join in the chorus because they are ashamed to refuse4 ,thanks to his applause deranging the lecture and making an imbroglio of it1 he gets no good from it1 but goes home with one of three descriptions to his credit--fleerer1 sycophant1 or ignoramus4 ,it is true that1 when hearing a case in court1 we must lean ,sidenote3 ,e neither towards hostility nor towards favour1 but towards justice as we best understand it4 ,but at a lecture on a subject of learning there is neither law nor oath to debar us from granting the speaker an indulgent reception4 ,the reason why the ancients placed the statue of ,hermes in the company of the ,graces was that speaking has a special claim to a gracious friendliness4 ,it is impossible for any one to be so complete a failure or so utterly astray as to offer us nothing deserving of a cheer1 in the shape of a thought1 a reference to others1 the mere choice of theme or purpose1 or1 possibly1 in the wording or arrangement of the matter1 ,as among urchin-foot or mid coarse broom ,the tender snowflake springeth into bloom4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,there are persons who1 for exhibition purposes1 can lend a fair measure of plausibility to a panegyric upon vomiting or fever1 or even a pot2 and surely a deliverance by a man who has some sort of claim to be thought1 or to call himself1 a philosopher cannot absolutely fail to afford a well-disposed or courteous audience some opportunity of finding relief in applause4 ,according to ,plato young persons in the bloom of life can always manage somehow to excite a lover's passion4 ,if they are white he calls them #8saint-like'2 if swarthy1 #8virile'4 ,sidenote3 #de ,a hook-nose is #8regal'1 a snub nose #8piquant'2 a sallow skin is a #8complexion of honey'4 ,he uses these pretty names1 and is pleased and satisfied4 ,love has1 indeed1 an ivy-like gift for clinging to any pretext4 ,much less will an eager and earnest student of letters ever fail in inventiveness4 ,in every speaker he will discover some grounds for reasonable applause4 ,in the speech of ,lysias1 though ,plato objects to its want of arrangement1 and though he has no praise for its inventiveness1 he nevertheless commends him for his manner of statement1 and because there is #8a clear round finish in the chiselling of every word'4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,we might find fault with ,archilochus for his subject-matter1 ,parmenides for his versification1 ,phocylides for his commonplaceness1 ,euripides for his garrulity1 ,sophocles for his inequality4 ,similarly one of the orators has no characterization1 another exerts no passion1 a third is lacking in grace and charm4 ,nevertheless each wins praise for a power to move and sway us in his own peculiar way4 ,the hearer1 then1 has ample scope for showing good feeling to a speaker4 ,in some instances it is sufficient if1 without further declaration by word of mouth1 we contribute a kindly eye1 a genial expression1 a friendly and agreeable mood4 ,there are certain things for which even the man who is a total failure may ,sidenote3 ,c look1 and which are but ordinary items of common etiquette for any and every audience4 ,i mean an upright posture in our chairs1 with no lolling or lounging2 eyes kept directly upon the speaker2 an air of businesslike attention2 composure of countenance1 with no sign1 ,i need not say of insolence or peevishness1 but of being taken up with other thoughts4 ,if in every exacting task beauty is made up of a number of factors happily combined in a due proportion and harmony1 ugliness is the prompt and immediate outcome of the faulty ,sidenote3 ,d omission or addition of this or that one element4 ,and in this particular matter of listening1 not only is there impropriety in a scowling brow1 a disagreeable expression1 a roving glance1 a twisting of the body1 and a crossing of the legs2 but nodding or whispering to a neighbour1 smiling1 yawning sleepily1 looking at the ground1 and actions of a similar nature1 are censurable and should be studiously avoided4 ,there are some who think that1 though the speaker has a duty1 the hearer has none4 ,they expect the former to present himself with his thoughts studiously prepared2 yet1 without a thought or care for their own obligations1 they drop casually in and take their seats1 for all the world as if they had come to a dinner to enjoy themselves while others are doing the work4 ,yet even a polite table-companion has his part to play1 much ,sidenote3 ,e more a polite hearer4 ,he is a partner in the speech and a coadjutor of the speaker2 and he has no right to be sharply criticizing the mistakes1 and taking every phrase and fact to task1 while himself free from responsibility for the impropriety and the frequent solecisms which he commits as a hearer4 ,in ball-play the catcher has to regulate his movements according to those of the thrower4 ,so1 in the case of a speech1 there is a certain consonance of action in which both speaker and listener are concerned1 if each is to sustain his proper part4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,our expressions in applauding must not1 however1 be used without discrimination4 ,it is an unpleasing phrase of ,epicurus when1 in speaking of the little epistles from his friends1 he says1 #8,we give them a rattling clapping4' ,but what of those who nowadays introduce such outr expressions into our lecture-rooms8 ,the ,capital6 ,well said6 and ,very true6 which were the terms of commendation used by the hearers of ,plato1 ,socrates1 and ,hypereides1 are not enough for these persons4 ,with their exclamations ,divine6 ,an inspiration6 or ,unapproachable6 they commit a gross impropriety1 libellously making out that the speaker requires far-fetched eulogies of an ,sidenote3 #df outrageous kind4 ,highly obnoxious also are those who accompany their attestations with an oath1 as if they were in a court of law4 ,and equally so those who blunder in their descriptive terms2 for instance1 when the lecturer is a philosopher and they call out1 ,a shrewd hit61 or an old man and they exclaim ,cleverly put6 or ,brilliant61 thus misapplying to a philosopher the expressions used at academic exercises1 where the speaking is not serious but merely an exhibition of adroitness4 ,to offer ,sidenote3 ,b to a sober discourse such meretricious praise is like crowning an athlete with a wreath of lilies or roses instead of laurel or wild olive4 ,once when the poet ,euripides was going over a song ,sidenote3 99 with an original setting for the benefit of the members of his chorus1 and one of them happened to laugh1 he observed3 #8,if you had not been an ignorant dolt1 you could not have laughed while ,i was teaching you a mixolydian#df piece4' ,so1 ,i take it1 a serious and practical philosopher might very well make short work of the airs and affectations of a hearer by saying1 #8,i presume your case is one of foolishness or ill breeding2 otherwise you would not have been piping out and jigging about at my remarks1 when ,i was teaching1 or admonishing1 or arguing concerning religion1 statesmanship1 or the duties of ,sidenote3 ,c office4' ,just frankly consider what it means1 when a philosopher is speaking1 and the shouting and hurrahing inside the building make people outside wonder whether it is a flute-player1 a harpist1 or a dancer who is being applauded4 ,meanwhile1 in listening to admonition and reproof1 the pupil must be neither insensible nor unmanly4 ,there are some who bear the philosopher's reproaches with an easy-going indifference1 laughing under the correction and applauding the corrector1 just as parasites applaud in sheer impudence and recklessness when they are abused by those who keep them4 ,the shamelessness which such persons display is no proper or genuine proof of courage4 ,when a jibe containing no insult1 and uttered in ,sidenote3 ,d a playful and tactful way1 is borne cheerfully and without annoyance1 it shows neither a want of spirit nor a want of breeding4 ,on the contrary1 it is exactly what a gentleman of the true ,spartan style would do4 ,but it is different when admonition takes in hand the correction of character by means of a stinging remedy in the shape of rational reproof4 ,if a young man does not cower under the lesson and feel his soul burning with shame1 till he breaks into a sweat and is ready to faint2 if1 on the contrary1 he is unperturbed1 gives a broad grin of self-depreciation1 and refuses to take the matter seriously1 then he is an extremely vulgar creature beyond all sense of shame1 a constant habituation to misconduct having made his soul no more capable of a bruise than a thick callus in the flesh4 ,these form the one class4 ,youths of the opposite disposition1 ,sidenote3 ,e if a single hard word is said to them1 turn deserters from philosophy and run away without a glance behind them4 ,while nature has given them1 in the shape of modesty1 an excellent start towards moral salvation1 they are so squeamish and timid that they throw their chance away4 ,unable to put up with reproof or to accept correction with spirit1 they turn away to listen to the soft and agreeable utterances of some time-server or sophist1 who charms them with melodious phrases as useless and futile as they are pleasing4 ,if a man runs away from the surgeon after the operation and objects to be bandaged1 he is submitting to the pain of the treatment but refusing to put up with its benefit4 ,so when a lesson has lanced and probed his ,sidenote3 ,f folly1 if he will not permit it to close and dress the wound1 he is abandoning philosophy after feeling the sting and the pain but before deriving any advantage therefrom4 ,euripides says that the wound of ,telephus was ,soothed by the filings ground from the same spear4 ,it is no less true that the sting implanted by philosophy in ,sidenote3 #dg a youth of parts is cured by the same reasoning that caused the wound4 ,while1 therefore1 it is right that the subject of reproof should feel some pain from the sting1 he must not be crushed or dispirited1 but1 after undergoing the first discomposing rites of purification1 he should look for some sweet and splendid revelation to follow the distress and confusion of the moment4 ,for though the reproof may appear to be unjust1 the proper course is to endure it with all patience until the speaker concludes4 ,then he may be met by a plea in self-defence1 and by ,sidenote3 ,b a request to reserve for some real fault all the vigorous candour which he has shown in the present instance4 ,to proceed to the next consideration4 ,in reading and writing1 playing the lyre1 or wrestling1 the first lessons are very harassing1 laborious1 and unsure2 but1 as we advance step by step1 it is much as in dealing with mankind4 ,by dint of frequent and familiar acquaintance we find that it all becomes pleasant and manageable1 and every word or action easy4 ,it is the same with philosophy4 ,no doubt the language and matter1 as first met with1 contain something both hard and strange4 ,but we must not take fright at the rudiments and prove so timid and spiritless ,sidenote3 ,c as to abandon the study4 ,on the contrary1 our duty is to grapple with every question1 to persevere1 to be resolved on making progress1 and then to wait for that familiarity which converts all right action into a pleasure4 ,it will not be long before it arrives1 casting upon the study a flood of light1 and inspiring an ardent passion for excellence4 ,to be without such passion and to put up with the ordinary type of life because one is driven from philosophy by a lack of mettle1 is to be a miserable or cowardly creature4 ,we may also expect that at first the argumentation will prove somewhat difficult for young and inexperienced students to understand4 ,for the most part1 however1 the obscurity and want of comprehension are due to themselves4 ,opposite dispositions ,sidenote3 ,d lead to the same mistake4 ,thus one class1 through bashfulness and a desire to spare the teacher1 will shrink from putting questions and making sure of the argument1 and will ostensibly assent as if they quite understood4 ,the others1 led by misplaced ambition and meaningless rivalry to make a show of cleverness and quickness1 pretend to have mastered a thing before they take it in1 and so will not take it in at all4 ,the consequence is that when the former--the modest and silent kind--go home1 they will worry themselves with their perplexities1 and in the end they will be driven perforce to trouble the speaker by harking back with their questions at a later date1 when they will feel still more ashamed4 ,meanwhile the bold and ambitious kind will be perpetually cloaking their ignorance and hiding the fact that it haunts them4 ,let us then thrust aside all this pretentious silliness1 and march ,sidenote3 ,e on towards learning4 ,let our business be to get an intelligent grasp upon valuable instruction4 ,and let us put up with the laughter of those who are thought to be clever4 ,remember how ,cleanthes and ,xenocrates1 though to all appearance slower than their fellow-pupils1 refused to give up or run away from their studies4 ,on the contrary1 they were the first to joke at their own expense1 comparing themselves to a narrow-necked bottle or a brass tablet1 inasmuch as1 though slow at taking their instruction in1 they were safe and sure at retaining it4 ,not only must we1 as ,phocylides puts it1 ,oft-times be baulked of our hope while seeking to come unto goodness2 we must also #8oft-times' be laughed at1 and bear with scoffing ,sidenote3 ,f and jeering1 meanwhile putting all our heart and energy into winning the struggle against our ignorance4 ,we must1 however1 be quite as careful not to err in the opposite direction4 ,some do so from sloth1 which makes them a wearisome infliction4 ,unwilling to trouble themselves when ,sidenote3 #dh alone1 they keep troubling the teacher by repeatedly asking for information on the same questions4 ,like unfledged birds in the nest1 they are perpetually agape to be fed from another's mouth1 and expect to receive everything ready masticated by someone else4 ,another kind1 in the misplaced quest of a reputation for alertness and acumen1 worry the lecturer with their fussy garrulity1 perpetually mooting some unimportant difficulty or demanding some unnecessary demonstration1 ,till a short journey so becometh long ,sidenote3 ,b --as ,sophocles says--not only to themselves but to every one else4 ,by continually arresting the teacher with superfluous and futile questions1 as if they were merely chatting with a companion1 they interfere with the continuity of the lesson by a series of checks and delays4 ,persons of this class are 7to quote ,hieronymus7 like wretched cowardly puppies1 who bite the skins and tear the odds and ends of wild animals at home1 but who never touch the animals themselves4 ,as for the former and lazy class1 let us give them this advice4 ,when they have managed to comprehend the main points1 let them piece the rest together for themselves1 using their ,sidenote3 ,c memory as a guide to independent thought4 ,and let them take the reasoning they hear from another as a beginning--a seed which they are to make grow and thrive4 ,the mind is not a vessel which calls for filling4 ,it is a pile1 which simply requires kindling-wood to start the flame of eagerness for original thought and ardour for truth4 ,suppose someone goes to borrow from his neighbour's fire1 and then1 on finding a large bright blaze1 persists in staying and basking on the spot4 ,it is the same when a man comes to another to borrow reason1 and does not realize that he must kindle a light of his own in the shape of thinking for himself1 but sits enchanted with enjoyment of the lecture4 ,he derives from the lesson ,sidenote3 ,d a ruddy glow or outward brilliance1 but he fails to drive out the mould and darkness from within by the warming power of philosophy4 ,if therefore any advice is needed for the hearing of lectures1 it is to remember the rule just given--to practise independent thought along with learning4 ,we shall thus attain1 not to the ability of a sophist or the #8well-informed' man1 but to a deep-seated philosophic power4 ,right listening will be for us the introduction to right living4 ,footnote #dd3 ,the paedagogus1 an attendant slave1 who accompanied the boy and watched over his conduct4 ,footnote #de3 ,in his ,phaedrus4 ,footnote #df3 i4 e4 in the mixolydian mode1 which was of a sad and dirgelike character4 ,,on ,,moral ,,ignorance ,,in ,,high ,,places ,sidenote3 #ggi ,d ,when ,plato was invited by the ,cyrenaeans to draw up a code of laws for their use and to organize their constitution1 he begged to be excused1 on the ground that it was difficult to legislate for so prosperous a people3 ,for nought so arrogant-- nor so impracticable and headstrong-- as human kind1 when prosperity--or what is so considered--lies within its grasp4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,no less difficult is the task of advising a ruler how to rule4 ,to admit reason1 he fears1 is to admit a ruler1 whose law of duty will make a slave of him and curtail the advantage he derives from power4 ,he has yet to learn a lesson from ,theopompus1 the ,spartan king1 who was the first to modify the powers of the throne by means of that of the ,ephors4 ,when his wife reproached him for proposing to leave to his children less authority than he had inherited1 he replied3 #8,nay1 greater1 because more assured4' ,by relaxing its excessive absolutism he escaped the ,sidenote3 ,f consequent ill-feeling1 and therewith its dangers4 ,but note4 ,theopompus1 in diverting into other channels a portion of the full stream of power1 deprived himself of just so much as he gave away4 ,but when philosophic reason becomes the established colleague and protector of a ruler1 it merely removes the perilous element and leaves the healthy--a process as necessary to power as to sound health4 ,in most cases1 however1 monarchs or rulers show as little wisdom as a tasteless sculptor1 who fancies that to represent a figure with a huge stride1 strained muscles1 and gaping mouth1 is to make it appear massive and imposing4 ,they imagine that ,sidenote3 #ghj an arrogant tone1 harsh looks1 short temper1 and exclusiveness give them the true regal air of awe and majesty4 ,in reality they are not a bit better than a colossal statue with the outward shape and form of a god or demigod1 while the inside is a mass of earth1 stone1 or lead4 ,indeed1 in the case of the statue1 these heavy materials serve to keep it erect and prevent it from warping2 whereas1 with an unschooled governor or chief1 the unreason within is often the cause of instability and collapse4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,his foundation being out of plumb1 the lofty power which he builds upon it is correspondingly unstable4 ,now it is only when the builder's square is itself faultless in line and angle1 that it can make other things true to line by adjustment to1 and comparison with1 itself4 ,so a ruler must begin by acquiring rule within himself4 ,let him set his own soul straight1 and make his own character firm1 and then begin adjusting his subjects thereto4 ,you cannot set upright1 when you are falling2 teach1 when you are ignorant2 discipline1 when unruly2 command1 when disobedient2 govern1 when ungoverned4 ,and yet it is a common error to suppose that the chief blessing of authority ,sidenote3 ,c is to be above authority4 ,to the ,king of ,persia every one was a slave except his own wife1 the very person whose master he ought to have been4 ,by whom1 then1 is the ruler to be ruled8 ,by the ,law1 ,sovereign of mortals and immortals all1 as ,pindar says2 not a law written outwardly in books or on wooden tables1 but a living law of reason in himself1 abiding with him1 watching him1 and never leaving his soul destitute of guidance4 ,the ,king of ,persia kept one chamberlain whose special function was to enter in the morning and say to him3 #8,rise1 ,sire1 and attend to matters which ,great ,oromazdes ,sidenote3 ,d meant for your concern4' ,the ruler who has learned wisdom and self-control hears the same voice of exhortation from within4 ,it was a saying of ,polemo that love is #8serving the ,gods in the care and protection of the young#84 ,with more truth it might be said that a ruler serves ,god in the care and protection of men1 by dispensing1 or safeguarding1 the blessings which ,god gives to mankind4 ,see'st thou yon boundless sky and air aloft1 ,how in soft arms it clasps the world about8 ,from it descend the first principles of seeds in due kind2 earth brings them forth2 their growth is fostered by rains or winds or the warmth of moon and stars2 while the sun brings everything ,sidenote3 ,e to beauty and tinctures all creation with that peculiar love-spell which is his4 ,but though the ,gods may lavish these great boons and blessings1 who can enjoy or use them rightly1 if there be no law1 justice1 or ruler8 ,justice is the end of law2 law is the work of the ruler2 and a ruler is an image of the ,god who orders all things4 ,he needs no ,pheidias or ,polycleitus or ,myro to fashion him1 but brings himself into likeness with deity ,sidenote3 ,f by means of virtue1 and so creates the fairest and most divine of effigies4 ,in the heavens the sun and moon were set by ,god as ,his own beauteous image2 and1 in a state1 the same shining embodiment is to be found in the ruler ,godfearing1 who justice upholdeth1 --that is to say1 when he holds1 not a sceptre1 but a mind which is the reason of ,god2 not when he holds the thunderbolt or trident with which some represent themselves in statue or picture1 rendering their folly odious to ,heaven by such impossible assertion4 ,for ,god visits with righteous wrath him who makes pretence of thunder or thunderbolt or darting sun-ray2 but when a man studies to emulate ,his goodness1 and to take ,sidenote3 #gha a pattern by ,his virtue and benevolence1 ,he delights in furthering him and bestowing a portion of ,his own righteousness1 justice1 truth1 and mercy4 ,not fire or light1 not the course of the sun1 the risings and settings of the stars1 everlastingness and immortality1 are more divine that these attributes4 ,for it is not by reason of length of life that ,god is happy1 but by reason of the virtue which rules4 ,this is #8divine'4 #8,noble'1 however1 is the virtue whose part it is only to obey4 ,when ,alexander was in sore distress at killing ,cleitus1 ,anaxarchus told him1 by way of comfort1 that ,right and ,justice were ,sidenote3 ,b but the #8assessors' of ,zeus--making out that any act was right and lawful for a king4 ,a false and pernicious salve for his repentance at his sin1 this encouragement to repeat it6 ,if we are to use such figures of speech1 ,right is no #8assessor' of ,zeus1 but ,he himself is ,right and ,justice1 the oldest and most consummate ,law4 ,what the ancients tell and write and teach is that1 without ,justice1 not even ,zeus can properly rule4 ,according to ,hesiod ,a virgin is she1 the incorruptible partner of feeling1 self-control1 and beneficence4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,hence are kings called #8merciful'1 for mercy best becomes those who are least afraid4 ,a ruler's fear should be of doing harm rather than of suffering it2 for the former action is the cause of the latter1 and this kind of fear on the part of a ruler is creditable to humanity4 ,there is nothing ignoble in a fear for his subjects and of possible injury to them4 ,such rulers are like ,dogs that keep ward o'er the sheep in the farmstead1 anxiously watching ,at sound of a fierce wild beast-- their anxiety being not for themselves1 but for their charges4 ,once when the ,thebans had recklessly abandoned themselves ,sidenote3 ,d to feasting and carousal1 ,epaminondas went the round of the walls and the military posts all by himself1 remarking that he was keeping sober and wakeful so that the rest might be drunk and asleep4 ,when ,cato1 after the defeat at ,utica1 gave orders that every one else should be sent to sea1 saw them on board1 prayed that they might have a prosperous voyage1 and then went back home and stabbed himself1 it was a lesson on the text1 #8,for whose sake should a ruler feel fear1 and for what should he feel contempt8' ,on the other hand1 ,clearchus1 despot of ,pontus1 used at bedtime to crawl like a snake into a chest4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,similarly1 ,aristodemus of ,argos crept into an upper room entered by a trap-door4 ,over this he would put the couch upon which he passed the night with his mistress4 ,meanwhile her mother dragged away the ladder from below1 bringing it back and putting it in place in the morning4 ,how1 think you1 must he have shuddered at the theatre1 at the ,government offices1 at the ,senate-,house1 at the banquet1 when he turned his own bedchamber into a prison8 ,yes1 kings are afraid for their subjects1 despots are afraid of them4 ,it follows that1 as they add to their power1 they add to their alarms2 the more people they rule1 the more people they fear4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,it is an improbable and unworthy view to hold of ,god--as some philosophers do--that ,he exists as an element in matter to which all sorts of things may happen1 and in entities which are subject to innumerable accidents1 chances and changes4 ,in reality ,he is stablished somewhere aloft #8on holy pedestal' 7as ,plato puts it7 in the realm of nature uniform and constant1 and there #8moves according to ,nature in a straight line towards the accomplishment of ,his end#84 ,and as in heaven the sun1 ,his beauteous counterfeit1 shows itself as ,his reflection in a mirror to those who have the power to see ,him through it1 so1 in the justice and reason which shine in a state1 ,he sets up a likeness of that which is in ,himself1 and1 by copying that likeness1 men ,sidenote3 #ghb whom philosophy has gifted and chastened model themselves after the highest pattern4 ,this condition of mind nothing can implant except reason acquired from philosophy4 ,otherwise we are in the position of ,alexander1 when he went to see ,diogenes at ,corinth4 ,in delight at his talent1 and in admiration of his proud and lofty spirit1 he exclaimed3 #8,if ,i had not been ,alexander1 ,i would have been ,diogenes4' ,and what did this virtually mean8 ,that he was vexed at his own high fortune1 splendour1 and ,sidenote3 ,b power1 because they were an obstacle to the virtue for which he could find no time1 and that he envied the cloak and the wallet1 which made ,diogenes as invincible and unassailable as he himself was made by armour and horses and spears4 ,and yet by the practice of philosophy he might have secured the moral character of a ,diogenes while retaining the position of an ,alexander4 ,nay1 he should have become all the more a ,diogenes for being an ,alexander1 since his high fortune1 so liable to be tossed by stormy winds1 required ample ballast and a master hand at the helm4 ,in the case of private men without strength or standing1 folly is so qualified by impotence that in the end no mischief is done4 ,it is as with a bad dream1 in which1 though the mind is excited with passion1 no harm results1 inasmuch as it is unable to rise and act in accordance with the desires4 ,when1 on the other ,sidenote3 ,c hand1 vice is adopted by power1 the passions acquire sinew and strength4 ,dionysius spoke truly when he said that the highest advantage of power was to give speedy effect to a wish4 ,a most parlous thing1 if you can give effect to a wish1 and yet wish what is wrong6 ,no sooner the word had been utter'd1 than straightway the deed was accomplish'd4 ,vice1 when enabled by power to run rapid course1 forces every passion into action1 converting anger into murder1 love into adultery1 greed into confiscation4 ,no sooner the word hath been utter'd1 than your opponent has met his doom4 ,no sooner a suspicion1 than the victim of slander is a dead man4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,scientists tell us that1 whereas lightning really follows and issues from thunder like blood from a wound1 it is perceived first because1 while the hearing waits for the sound1 the vision goes out to meet the light4 ,so with rulers4 ,the punishment outstrips the charge2 the condemnation does not wait for the proof4 ,for forthwith anger slips and loses hold1 ,like anchor's tooth in sand when seas swell high1 unless reason with all its weight puts a heavy drag on power2 unless1 that is1 the ruler acts like the sun1 whose motion is least ,sidenote3 ,e when its height is greatest1 namely1 at the time of its northern altitude1 its course being steadied by the diminished speed4 ,vice in high places cannot be hid4 ,when an epileptic is placed upon a height and made to turn round1 he is seized with giddiness and begins to totter1 his malady being betrayed thereby4 ,so with an unschooled and ignorant person4 ,after a brief uplifting by wealth or fame or place1 the same fortune which raised him up immediately reveals how ready he is to fall4 ,to put it another way2 when a vessel is empty1 you cannot detect the crack or flaw1 but when you begin to fill it1 the leak appears4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,so with a mind which is too unsound to hold power and authority2 its leaks are to be seen in its exhibitions of lust1 anger1 pretentiousness1 and ignorance4 ,yet why speak of this1 when holes are picked in eminent and distinguished men for the merest peccadilloes8 ,cimon was reproached for his addiction to wine1 ,scipio for his addiction to sleep1 and ,lucullus for his extravagance at table#dg4444 ,footnote #dg3 ,the rest of the essay is missing4 ,,fawner ,,and ,,friend 7,,with ,,an ,,excursus ,,on ,,candour7 ,,my ,,dear ,,antiochus ,,philopappus1 ,sidenote3 #dh ,e #8,every one1' says ,plato1 #8will pardon a man for admitting that he has a strong affection for himself1' but--not to mention ,sidenote3 ,f numerous other defects to which he is subject--there is one chief weakness which precludes him from giving a just and incorruptible verdict in his own case4 #8,the lover is blind where the beloved object is concerned1' unless he has learned the habit of prizing things1 not because they are his own or related to himself1 but because they are beautiful4 ,hence1 there is ample opportunity for the flatterer to obtain a place among our friends4 ,he delivers his attack from an excellent point of vantage in the shape of that self-love which makes every man his own ,sidenote3 #di first and greatest flatterer1 ready and willing to welcome such external testimony as will endorse his own conceits and desires4 ,for the man who is reprobated as a lover of toadies is an ardent lover of himself4 ,out of fondness for himself he not only entertains the wish to possess1 but also the conceit that he possesses1 all manner of qualities2 and though the desire may be natural enough1 the conceit is fallacious and calls for the greatest watchfulness4 ,and if truth is divine1 and--as ,plato asserts--the first principle ,sidenote3 ,b of #8all good things both with ,gods and men'1 the toady must be an enemy of the ,gods1 and especially of the ,pythian4 ,for1 in perpetual antagonism to the doctrine of ,know ,thyself1 he produces self-deception in a man1 self-ignorance1 and error as to his virtues and vices4 ,the virtues he renders defective and abortive2 the vices he renders incorrigible4 ,now if the flatterer had been like most other mischievous things1 and had solely or chiefly attacked mean and petty victims1 the harm would have been neither so great nor so difficult to prevent4 ,but it is into soft and sweet kinds of wood that worms prefer to bore1 and it is estimable and capable characters--characters with a love of approbation--that give access and supply nourishment to the flatterer who fastens upon ,sidenote3 ,c them4 #8,the breeding of the steed1' says ,simonides1 #8sorts not with ,zacynthus1#dh but with wheat-bearing plains4' ,similarly we do not find toadyism in attendance upon the poor1 the insignificant1 or the uninfluential1 but sapping and debilitating great houses and great fortunes1 and frequently subverting rulers and thrones4 ,consequently no slight effort or common precaution is required in considering how it can be most readily detected and so prevented from doing injury and discredit to friendship4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,vermin quit a dying man and desert the body when the blood which feeds them becomes exhausted4 ,so with the time-server4 ,you will never find him approaching a person whose fortune is destitute of sap and warmth4 ,it is the famous and influential whom he attacks2 it is out of them that he makes capital2 and when their circumstances change he promptly beats a retreat4 ,we should not1 however1 wait for that test2 it is then not merely useless but fraught with injury and danger4 ,it is a grievous thing to find out who is not your friend only at the moment when a friend is needed1 since the discovery does not enable you to exchange the uncertain and counterfeit for the genuine and certain4 ,you should possess friends as you possess coin--tested ,sidenote3 ,e before the occasion1 not waiting to be proved by the occasion4 ,discovery should not come through injury1 but injury should be prevented by our acquiring a scientific insight into the nature of the toady4 ,otherwise we shall be in the position of those who distinguish a deadly poison by tasting it2 we shall meet our death in the effort of judging4 ,one can neither approve of such a course1 nor yet of those who1 because they regard a #8friend' as implying a high and wholesome influence1 imagine that an agreeable associate is immediately and manifestly proved to be a time-server4 ,for there is nothing disagreeable or uncompromisingly severe about a friend1 nor does the high respect we pay to friendship depend upon harshness or austerity4 ,nay1 its high influence and claim to respect are actually an agreeable and desirable thing in themselves1 ,sidenote3 ,f ,and close at its side do the ,graces and ,longing ,desire set their dwellings4 ,not only may the unfortunate man say1 with ,euripides1 ',tis sweet to look into a friend's fond eyes1 but friendship is a comrade who adds as much pleasure and gratification to our blessings as it brings relief to the pains and perplexities of our mishaps4 ,according to ,euenus #8the best of ,sidenote3 #ej seasonings is fire#84 ,so1 by making friendship an ingredient of life1 ,god has rendered all things bright and sweet and enjoyable through its presence and participation4 ,how1 indeed1 could the fawner have wormed himself into our pleasures1 if he had seen that friendship refuses all admittance to what is pleasant8 ,the thing is absurd4 ,no2 the toady is like the mock-gilt and tinsel which merely mimic the sheen and lustre of gold4 ,it is in order to imitate the attractiveness and charm of a friend that he makes a constant show of agreeableness and amiability1 and never opposes or contradicts you4 ,it is therefore wrong1 ,sidenote3 ,b when a person praises you1 to suspect at once that he is simply a flatterer4 ,friendship is quite as much called upon to praise in season as it is to blame4 ,in fact1 perpetual peevishness and fault-finding is the negation of friendship and sociability2 whereas1 when affection bestows zealous and ungrudging praise upon our good deeds1 we also submit readily and cheerfully to its candid remonstrances1 being satisfied with the belief that the man who is glad to praise will only blame because he must4 ,sidenote3 ,c #8,it is a hard matter then1' we may be told1 #8to distinguish between flatterer and friend1 if they are equally pleasant and equally laudatory1 especially when we find that toadyism is often more than a match for friendship in the tendering of services4' ,naturally so1 we reply1 if the object of our search is the genuine toady1 with a past-master's skill at the business2 if1 that is1 we do not adopt the common view and mean by #8toady' your poverty-stricken trencherman1 who #8begins'--as some one has said--#8to declare himself with the first course1' and whose lickspittle character betrays itself by gross and vulgar ,sidenote3 ,d buffoonery at the first dish and the first glass4 ,it needed no test to expose ,melanthius1 the parasite of ,pherae4 ,it was enough that1 when asked #8how ,alexander was stabbed1' he replied1 #8,through the ribs1 into my belly4' ,nor is there any such need with those who besiege #8an opulent table'1 and whom ,not fire1 nor steel1 nor bronze can keep from making their way to a dinner4 ,nor yet with those female toadies of ,cyprus1 who1 after their transference to ,syria1 were ,sidenote3 ,e called #8pair o' steps' from the fact that they used to allow the king's wife to mount her carriage over their bent backs4 ,against whom1 then1 are we to be on our guard8 ,against the man who is not confessedly or apparently a toady2 one who is not to be found hanging about the kitchen1 nor to be caught watching the dial with a dinner in prospect2 one who is not to be made tipsy and then pitched into any corner2 but one who for the most part keeps sober and bustling1 thinking it his business to take part in all your doings1 and to be privy to your confidential talk--the man1 in short1 who acts the rle of friend1 not in the satyric#di or comic style1 but in the high tragic4 ,according to ,plato1 #8the extreme of dishonesty is to appear honest when you are not4' ,so with time-serving4 ,it is ,sidenote3 ,f to be regarded as dangerous1 not when confessed1 but when undetected2 when it wears a serious1 not an amusing1 air4 ,in this form1 unless we are careful1 it casts a slur of discredit even upon genuine friendship1 the points of coincidence being numerous4 ,when the ,mage was trying to escape and ,gobryes had plunged with him into a dark room and was grappling with him1 ,darius stood at a loss what to do4 #8,stab1' said ,gobryes1 #8though you stab both4' ,with us it is not so easy1 inasmuch as we can by no means give any sanction to the maxim3 #8,perish friend1 if so perish foe4' ,there are so many points of similarity to complicate the fawner with the friend that we must find it a most parlous business to tear the one from the other4 ,we may either be casting out the good thing along with the bad1 ,sidenote3 #ea or1 in trying to spare the right thing1 we may let the wrong one bring us to grief4 ,there are wild plants of which the seeds are similar in shape and size to those of wheat4 ,when the two are mixed it is difficult to sift these out2 they will not fall through smaller holes1 and1 if the holes are wider1 one falls through as much as the other4 ,no less difficult is it to separate time-serving from friendship1 when it blends itself with every feeling1 every movement1 need1 and habit4 ,friendship being the most pleasant and delightful thing in the world1 it follows that the toady also uses pleasure for his ,sidenote3 ,b bait4 ,to give pleasure is his main concern4 ,and since agreeableness and usefulness are concomitants of friendship--whence the saying that #8a friend is more indispensable than fire and water#8--it follows that the toady insists on rendering services1 and is all eagerness to show unfaltering promptitude and zeal4 ,but the surest foundation of friendship is similarity of pursuits and character4 ,the foremost agent in mutual attraction is similarity of temperament--the liking and disliking of the same things4 ,this the time-server perceives1 and therefore he adapts himself ,sidenote3 ,c like wax to the proper shape and form1 endeavouring by imitation to mould himself so as exactly to fit his victim4 ,his supple versatility1 his genius for mimicry1 is so great that it is a case of ,thou art ,achilles' self1 and not ,achilles' son4 ,and note his craftiest device4 ,he observes that candour is called 7what it appears to be7 #8the characteristic note of friendship'1 while lack of candour is the negation of friendship and spirit4 ,he does not fail1 therefore1 to imitate this quality also4 ,as a skilful chef will use some bitter or piquant juice for a sauce in order to prevent sweets from cloying1 so with the candour ,sidenote3 ,d of the toady4 ,it is not genuine1 nor is it useful2 it is given1 as it were1 with a wink1 and serves simply as an excitant4 ,the result is that he is as hard to detect as one of those creatures which possess the natural power of altering their colour so as to match the spot on which they happen to lie4 ,since1 therefore1 it is under cover of resemblances that he deceives us1 our proper course is to find in the non-resemblances a means of stripping off his disguise and showing that--as ,plato puts it--he is #8beautifying himself with borrowed forms and colours through lack of any of his own'4 ,let us begin at the very beginning4 ,in most instances1 we remarked1 friendship commences with similarity of temperament ,sidenote3 ,e and disposition1 a taste for very much the same habits and principles1 and a delight in the same pursuits1 occupations1 and pastimes4 ,such a similarity is implied in the lines3 ,most welcome to the old is old men's speech2 ,child pleaseth child1 and woman pleaseth woman1 ,sick men the sick1 and one who meets disaste ,brings solace to another suffering it4 ,the toady knows that it is natural to find pleasure in one's like and to be fond of his society4 ,this1 therefore1 is his first device ,sidenote3 ,f for approaching you and getting neighbours with you4 ,he acts like herdsmen on a pasture4 ,he works gently up to you and rubs shoulders with you in the same pursuits1 amusements1 tastes1 and way of life1 until you give him his chance and let yourself grow tame and accustomed to his touch4 ,he condemns such circumstances1 such conduct1 and such persons as he notices you dislike2 while of those that please you he cannot say too much in praise1 exhibiting boundless delight and admiration ,sidenote3 #eb for them4 ,he thus confirms you in your loves and hatreds1 as being the results1 not of feelings1 but of judgement4 ,how1 then1 is he to be exposed8 ,by what points of difference are we to prove that he is not1 nor is on the way to be1 our like1 but only a pretender thereto8 ,in the first place we must look for consistency and permanence in his principles4 ,we must see whether he takes pleasure in1 and gives praise to1 the same things at all times2 whether he directs and establishes his own life after one pattern1 as a frank and free lover of single-minded friendship and fellowship ought to do4 ,a friend does act in this manner4 ,on the other hand1 the time-server possesses no one fixed hearthstone to his character4 ,he does not live a life ,sidenote3 ,b chosen for himself1 but a life chosen for another4 ,moulding and adapting himself to suit others1 he possesses no singleness or unity1 but adopts all manner of varying shapes4 ,like water poured from one vessel into another1 he is perpetually flowing hither and thither and accommodating himself to the form of the receptacle4 ,the ape1 we are told1 is captured through endeavouring to imitate man by copying his motions in dancing4 ,the time-server1 on the contrary1 is one who allures and decoys others4 ,nor does his mimicry take the same form in all cases4 ,one person he will help to dance and sing3 with another he will share a taste for wrestling and athletics4 ,if he gets hold of a sportsman devoted to hunting1 he follows his lead1 and all but shouts1 in the words of ,phaedra1 ,sidenote3 ,c ,i long1 ye ,gods1 to cheer the hounds ,close-pressing on the dappled deer1 whereas he feels no interest whatever in the animal1 but is setting his toils to catch the huntsman himself4 ,if his next quarry is a young man with a taste for study and intellectual improvement1 he is all for books1 and grows a beard down to his feet2 it is a case of wearing the philosopher's cloak and his air of #8indifference'1#ej and of prating about ,plato's #8numbers' and #8right-angled triangles'4 ,if1 next1 there happens along some easy-going bibulous person with plenty of money1 ,then forthwith are his rags cast off by the wily ,odysseus4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,away goes the cloak2 shorn off is the beard--'tis a crop that bears no corn3 to the fore are wine-coolers and wine-cups1 laughter in the streets and mockery of the philosophic student4 ,we are told1 for instance1 that at ,syracuse1 when ,plato visited the place and ,dionysius was seized with a mania for philosophy1 the host of geometricians turned the palace into a perfect whirl of dust4#ea ,but when ,dionysius came to logger-heads with ,plato1 had had enough of philosophy1 and abandoned himself to drink and women and to silly talk and wanton ,sidenote3 ,e behaviour1 in a moment it was as if ,circe had transformed them every one1 and there came a reign of vulgarity1 oblivion1 and folly4 ,examples are also to be found in the conduct of time-servers on a large scale1 such as demagogues4 ,greatest was ,alcibiades4 ,at ,athens he joked1 kept horses1 and lived like a wit and a man of the world4 ,at ,lacedaemon he cropped his hair close1 wore a short cloak1 and bathed in cold water4 ,in ,thrace he fought and drank4 ,but when he attached himself to ,tissaphernes1 he indulged in luxury1 effeminacy1 and ostentation1 and sought to win the good graces of his company by adapting himself in all cases to their likeness and becoming one of them4 ,not so ,epaminondas or ,agesilaus4 ,despite ,sidenote3 ,f all their intercourse with so many persons1 communities1 and standards of conduct1 they everywhere maintained--in dress1 way of life1 speech1 and behaviour--their own proper character4 ,so with ,plato4 ,he was the same at ,syracuse as at ,athens1 the same to ,dionysius as to ,dion4 ,our easiest method of exposing the polypus-like changes of the time-server is to make a show of frequent changes on our own part1 finding fault with conduct of which we formerly approved1 and all of a sudden countenancing actions1 conduct1 ,sidenote3 #ec or talk which used to fill us with disgust4 ,we shall then perceive that he has no sort of settled and specific character2 that his loves1 hatreds1 pleasures1 and pains are not matters of his own feeling2 that he is merely a mirror reflecting extraneous moods1 principles1 and emotions4 ,for observe the man's ways4 ,should you speak disparagingly to him of one of your friends1 he will remark3 #8,you have been slow in finding the fellow out2 ,i never did like him4' ,if1 on the contrary1 you change your tone and speak in his praise1 he will declare that he is #8right glad and thankful on the man's behalf'1 because he #8believes in him'4 ,if you propose to adopt a different mode of life--if1 for example1 ,sidenote3 ,b you are converted from a political career to a life of quiet inactivity--he will say1 #8,we ought to have got quit of brawlings and jealousies long before this4' ,if1 on the other hand1 you appear eager for office and the platform1 he seconds you with1 #8,a very proper spirit6 ,a quiet life is pleasant1 no doubt1 but it lacks honour and distinction4' ,we ought immediately to answer that kind of man with the words3 #8,different1 sir1 dost thou show thyself now from the man thou wert erstwhile4 ,i do not want a friend who shifts his ground when ,i do and who nods when ,i nod--my shadow can do that better--but one who helps me to truth and sound judgement4' ,sidenote3 ,c ,such is one way of applying a test4 ,there is a second point of difference to be watched1 as against the points of resemblance4 ,it is not in all matters that a genuine friend is prompt to copy or commend us1 but only in the best4 ,not his to share our hates1 but share our loves1 as ,sophocles has it4 ,yes1 and to share our right conduct and high principles1 not our wrong and wanton deeds1 unless perhaps--as a result of familiar association--some contaminating effluence1 like that of ophthalmia1 affects him to some extent with a blemish or a fault against his will4 ,for instance1 it is said that ,sidenote3 ,d ,plato's stoop1 ,aristotle's lisp1 ,king ,alexander's crook of the neck and harshness of voice in conversation1 were tricks borrowed by their respective intimates4 ,there are persons who1 without knowing it1 pick up from both the temperament and conduct of their friends most of what is characteristic of them4 ,the time-server1 however1 is exactly like the chameleon4 ,as the latter assimilates himself to every colour but white1 so the time-server1 though utterly unable to arrive at a likeness to your valuable qualities1 leaves no discreditable one uncopied4 ,he is like a bad painter1 who1 because beauty lies beyond the reach of his weak capacity1 makes the strikingness of his portraiture ,sidenote3 ,e a matter of wrinkles1 moles1 and scars4 ,so the toady becomes an imitator of dissoluteness1 superstition1 irascibility1 harshness to servants1 and distrust of friends and relatives4 ,not only is he by nature and of his own accord prone to the lower course2 it is by imitating a baseness that he appears to be farthest from blaming it4 ,a man who takes the higher line1 and shows distress and vexation at his friends' misdeeds1 is dubiously regarded--a fact which accounts for the ruin of ,dion with ,dionysius1 of ,samius with ,philip1 and of ,cleomenes with ,ptolemy4 ,but when a man desires to be1 and to be thought1 agreeable and to be depended upon1 the worse the thing is1 the more display he makes of liking it1 as if the strength of his affection will not permit him to dislike even your vices1 but makes him your ,sidenote3 ,f natural sympathizer in all circumstances4 ,such persons therefore insist upon sharing even involuntary and accidental shortcomings4 ,when toadying an invalid1 they pretend to suffer with the same complaint4 ,in company with a person who is somewhat blind or deaf1 they pretend to be dim-sighted and hard of hearing1 like the flatterers of ,dionysius1 whose sight was so dull that they stumbled against each other and knocked over the dishes at dinner4 ,sometimes they work themselves into closer and more intimate touch with a trouble or a malady1 till they come to participate in afflictions of the most secret kind4 ,if they see ,sidenote3 #ed that the patron is unhappy in his marriage or on bad terms with his sons or his relatives1 they do not spare themselves1 but make lamentations about their own children1 or wife1 or relatives1 or friends1 on certain alleged grounds which they divulge as a miserable secret4 ,such similarity creates a closer understanding with their patron4 ,he has received a sort of hostage1 thereupon betrays to them some secret or other1 and1 because of that betrayal1 keeps friends with them and is afraid to leave his confidence to its fate4 ,i know of one time-server who1 when the patron divorced his wife1 turned his own wife also out of doors4 ,it was1 however1 found out--through a discovery ,sidenote3 ,b of the patron's wife--that he was visiting and sending messages to her in secret4 ,the toady must have been but little known to the man who thought that the lines3 ,body all belly1 and an eye that looks ,all round2 a thing that crawls upon its teeth1 were as apt a description for a crab as they are for the flatterer4 ,the picture is that of the parasite3 ,the friend of saucepan-time and dinner-hour1 as ,eupolis expresses it4 ,this point1 however1 we will reserve till its proper place4 ,meanwhile we must not omit to mention another shrewd trick played by the time-server when he imitates you4 ,if he goes so far as to copy some good quality in the person whom he ,sidenote3 ,c toadies1 he is careful to leave the advantage with him4 ,friends in the true sense are neither jealous nor envious of each other1 and1 whether they reach or fail to reach the same degree of excellence1 they accept the situation fairly and without a grudge4 ,but the toady--who never forgets to play second rle--lets his resemblance fall short of equality1 and owns to being distanced at everything but vices4 ,in vices1 however1 he insists on first prize4 ,if the patron is irritable1 he says1 #8,i am all bile2' if superstitious1 #8,i am a mass of fears2' if love-sick1 #8,i am frantic4' ,sidenote3 ,d #8,it was wrong of you to laugh1' he will say1 #8but ,i was absolutely dying with laughter4' ,but where virtues are concerned it is the other way about4 #8,i am a fast runner1 but you positively fly4' #8,i am a tolerable horseman1 but nothing to a centaur like our friend here4' #8,i have a neat turn for poetry1 and can write a line better than some1 but ,thunder is not for me1 'tis work for ,zeus4' ,he thus appears to do two things at once--to give an air of merit to his patron's tastes by imitating them1 and of unapproachableness to his ability by failing to match it4 ,so much for the differences between fawner and friend in the midst of their resemblances4 ,since1 as we have observed1 pleasure is another point in common--a good type of man taking as much delight in his friends as a weak man does in his flatterers--we may proceed to make a distinction here also4 ,the distinction lies in the relation between the pleasure and its end4 ,thus1 not only unguents ,sidenote3 ,e have an agreeable smell2 a medicine may have it also4 ,but there is the difference that the object of the former is pleasure and nothing else1 while in the other case the purgative1 warming1 or flesh-making quality happens to be combined with fragrance4 ,again1 a painter mixes engaging colours and dyes1 and there are also certain medical preparations with a taking appearance and an attractive colour4 ,where is the difference8 ,clearly our distinction will lie in the end for which they are used4 ,just so with the case before us4 ,in the agreeable relations of ,sidenote3 ,f friend with friend the pleasant-giving element is a kind of gloss upon a substance of high value and utility4 ,sometimes sportiveness1 the table1 wine1 and even mockery and nonsense are used by them as a seasoning to high and serious purposes4 ,hence such expressions as3 ,then had they joyance in talk and in speaking the one to the other2 or3 ,nor should aught else have parted us twain in our love and our joyance4 ,but1 with the time-server1 it is his function and end to be ,sidenote3 #ee perpetually dishing up in a spicy form something amusing1 something done or something said which pleases and is meant to please4 ,to put it briefly1 the toady thinks the purpose of his every action should be to make himself agreeable1 whereas the friend will only do what is right1 and therefore1 though often agreeable1 he is often the contrary1 not because he wishes it1 but because1 when it is the proper course1 he does not avoid it4 ,it is as with the physician4 ,when it helps matters he will throw in a pinch of saffron or spikenard1 and will frequently order a pleasant bath and an inviting diet4 ,but there are times when he will have none of these1 but will shake in a dash of castor ,or polium foul of odor1 that men e'en shudder to smell it4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,or he will pound a dose of hellebore and make you drink it off4 ,neither the unpleasantness in the one case nor the pleasantness in the other is the end in his mind1 but in both cases he has only one object in view for the patient1 and that object is his good4 ,in the same way there are times when a friend will lead you in the path of duty by inspiriting you with praise or gratifying you with courtesies1 as the speaker does in ,teucer1 ,telamon's son1 dear prince of a warrior people1 ,shoot as now thou dost1 or in3 ,how then should ,i1 if 'tis so1 be forgetful of godlike ,odysseus8 ,but when1 on the contrary1 you need calling to attention1 he will upbraid you in biting terms and with the plain-speaking of a guardian3 ,sidenote3 ,c ,foolish art thou1 ,menelaus ,zeus-foster'd3 no time is this present ,for folly like thine4 ,there are also times when he makes the deed accompany the word1 like ,menedemus1 when he taught the prodigal and dissolute son of his friend ,asclepiades a wholesome lesson by shutting the door in his face and refusing to speak to him4 ,similarly ,arcesilaus forbade ,bato the lecture-room for having attacked ,cleanthes in a verse of a comedy4 ,he was reconciled to him1 however1 when he repented and made his peace with ,cleanthes4 ,for though one must give a friend pain when it does him good1 one must not1 while giving the pain1 make an end of the friendship4 ,the sting should be used only as a medicine1 for the care and salvation of the patient4 ,a friend is therefore ,sidenote3 ,d like a musician4 ,in converting us to right and salutary courses he will sometimes loosen and sometimes tighten the strings4 ,pleasure you will get from him often1 profit always4 ,on the other hand1 the time-server1 who harps in a single key and is accustomed to strike no note but that of your pleasure and gratification1 has no notion of any action to check you or word to pain you4 ,he merely plays the accompaniment to your wishes1 with which both his time and his words are invariably in accord4 ,xenophon says of ,agesilaus that he welcomed praise from those who were no less ready to blame4 ,so we should regard that which gives pleasure and gratification as in the category of #8friend'1 if it can also on occasion oppose us and give us pain4 ,but a companionship which is uniformly pleasurable and maintains ,sidenote3 ,e a perpetual graciousness unqualified by any sting1 calls for suspicion4 ,we ought1 in fact1 to be ready to ask1 like the ,laconian on hearing praise of ,king ,charillus1 #8,how can a man be honest1 when he cannot be angry even with a rascal8' ,it is close to the ear1 we are told1 that the gadfly gets into a bull and the tick into a dog4 ,in the case of a man of ambition1 the time-server with his flatteries takes hold of his ears and sticks so fast that it is hard to rub him off4 ,particularly1 therefore1 in such circumstances must we keep our judgement vigilant4 ,it must be on the alert to see whether the praise is given to the ,sidenote3 ,f thing or to the man4 ,it is given to the thing when men praise us in our absence more than in our presence2 when they wish and strive for the same objects themselves1 and praise not only us but every one else who does the like2 when we do not find them doing and saying first one thing and then the opposite2 and--most important of all--when our sense does not tell us that we are repenting or ashamed of the things for which we are praised1 or wishing that we had rather done and said the ,sidenote3 #ef contrary4 ,this inward judgement1 which testifies against a flattery and refuses to accept it1 is immune from contamination1 and proof against the time-server4 ,it is a strange thing that most men1 when they meet with a misfortune1 cannot bear to be consoled1 but are better pleased with those who will join in the lamentations2 but when they are guilty of a blunder or a fault1 if you make them feel the sting of repentance by means of a reproof or a reprimand1 they think you an enemy and an accuser2 whereas1 if you eulogize their conduct1 they regard you as a loyal friend and receive you with open arms4 ,now when people give you praise and applause for something ,sidenote3 ,b you do or say1 whether in sober earnest or in careless jest1 the harm they do is only for the moment1 and only affects the matter in hand4 ,but when their praises go so far as to influence your moral being1 and their flatteries to affect your character1 they are as bad as servants who pilfer #8not from the stack1 but from the seed#84 ,for the moral disposition and the moral character--first principle and fountain-head of conduct--are the seed of actions1 and these they corrupt by clothing vice in the titles of virtue4 ,thucydides tells us that in the midst of war and faction #8the customary acceptation of words was arbitrarily changed to suit an end4 ,reckless daring came to be thought devoted courage2 ,sidenote3 ,c cautious hesitation1 an excuse for cowardice2 moderation1 weakness in disguise2 complete insight1 complete inertia#84 ,so1 when flattery is at work1 we should warily note how prodigality is called #8generosity'2 cowardice1 #8caution'2 light-headed caprice1 #8life and vigour'2 meanness1 #8moderation'2 the amorous man1 #8amiable and affectionate'2 the arrogant and irascible person1 #8a man of spirit'2 a poor meek creature1 #8civil and obliging'4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,remember1 how ,plato tells us that the lover--the flatterer of the beloved--calls a snub nose #8piquant'1 a hook-nose #8regal'1 a swarthy face #8virile'1 a white face #8saint-like'1 while #8honey-colour' is simply the coinage of a lover who indulgently invents a pretty name for pallor4 ,yet when an ugly man is persuaded that he is beautiful1 or a little man that he is tall1 his deception is short-lived1 and the harm which he sustains is slight and easily repaired4 ,but flattery may teach him to treat vices as if they ,sidenote3 ,e were virtues1 and to rejoice in them instead of sorrowing4 ,it may remove all sense of shame at misconduct4 ,such flattery spelled destruction to the ,siceliots1 when it called the cruelty of ,dionysius and ,phalaris a #8hatred of wickedness'4 ,it spelled ruin to ,egypt1 when it gave to ,ptolemy's effeminacy1 to his hysterical superstition1 to his shriekings and bangings of tambourines1 the name of piety and worship4 ,it came once within an ace of utterly subverting ,roman morals1 when it glossed over ,antony's dissolute and ostentatious self-indulgence with pretty terms as a #8festive and genial appreciation of the boons of unstinted ,sidenote3 ,f power and fortune'4 ,what made ,ptolemy tie on the mouth-strap and its pair of flutes8 ,what made ,nero cultivate the tragic stage and don the mask and buskin8 ,what else but praise from flatterers8 ,is not a king regularly called an ,apollo if he warbles1 a ,dionysius if he gets drunk1 a ,hercules if he wrestles8 ,and is he not so pleased with it1 that there is no way of disgracing himself to which flattery will not lead him8 ,it is therefore in the matter of praise that we should chiefly beware of the time-server4 ,he is himself alive to the fact1 and ,sidenote3 #eg is deft at avoiding suspicion4 ,if therefore he gets hold of some dull-witted and thick-skinned grandee1 he fools him to the top of his bent4 ,remember how ,strouthias makes a hobby-horse of ,bias and dances his fling upon the man's stupidity by praising him with3 ,you have drunk more than royal ,alexander1 or3 ,i laugh to think o' the quip you gave the ,cyprian4 ,but with persons of more discernment he perceives that in this direction they are particularly on the alert1 that in this quarter they keep a special watch4 ,he does not therefore adopt a direct line of attack with his flattery1 but fetches a circuitous course from a distance1 and ,advances noiselessly1 as when a beast ,sidenote3 ,b is tentatively approached and fingered4 ,at one moment he will describe how you have been praised by some one else1 using the public speaker's device of putting the words in another person's mouth4 ,he will say1 for instance1 that he had the great pleasure of being present in the market-place when some #8visitors'--or some #8elderly people'--were relating a good many admiring and complimentary stories about you4 ,at another time he will concoct a number of trivial and fictitious charges against you1 which he purports to have heard from others1 and he will say that he has hastened to find you and desires to know where you said such-and-such a thing or did so-and-so4 ,if you deny them--as you naturally will--he at ,sidenote3 ,c once has you in the trap for his compliments3 #8,it did surprise me that you should speak ill of a friend1 seeing that it is not your nature to do so even of an enemy2' or #8that you should have designs on other people's property1 when you are so liberal with your own'4 ,others1 again1 are like a painter who brings the light and bright parts into relief by the juxtaposition of dark and shaded portions4 ,by blaming1 abusing1 belittling1 and ridiculing the opposite qualities1 they give a concealed praise and encouragement to the defects of the person flattered4 ,to a spendthrift they disparage economy and call it stinginess4 ,to a grasping knave ,sidenote3 ,d who makes money by mean and shabby practices they depreciate honest self-support and call it want of enterprise and business capacity4 ,when they associate with some careless idler who shuns the busy centres of affairs1 they are not ashamed to style public life a #8meddling with other people's business'1 and public spirit a #8sterile vanity'4 ,sometimes1 in order to flatter a public speaker1 a philosopher is belittled1 or the favour of profligate women is won by miscalling faithful and loving wives #8provincial and unattractive'4 ,most pitiful in its baseness is the fact that the toady does not even spare himself4 ,as a wrestler crouches his body in order to throw another1 so he insidiously contrives to compliment his neighbour by disparaging himself4 ,sidenote3 ,e #8,i am a nervous wretch at sea1' says he4 #8,i cannot face trouble4 ,hard words make me frantically angry4 ,but our friend here has no nerves2 nothing troubles him4 ,he is a peculiar person1 always good-tempered1 never ruffled4' ,but if a man thinks himself particularly sensible1 and is so desirous of being severely matter-of-fact that--out of what he calls straightforwardness--he is always on the defensive with ,tydeus' son1 bepraise me not much1 nor1 prithee1 upbraid me1 the artist in flattery will not adopt this manner of approaching ,sidenote3 ,f him4 ,such cases are met by another device4 ,he will come and consult him1 as a person of superior wisdom1 about affairs of his own4 #8,though1' he will say1 #8there are others with whom ,i am more intimate1 ,i am compelled to trouble you4 ,for where are we to take refuge when we need advice8 ,in whom are we to put confidence8' ,then1 after listening to what he has to say1 he will take his leave with the remark that what he has received is #8not an opinion2 it is an oracle'4 ,and if he sees that you make pretensions to being a judge of literature1 he gives you something he has ,sidenote3 #eh written himself1 and asks you to read and correct it4 ,when ,king ,mithridates had a fancy for doctoring1 some of his courtiers actually put themselves in his hands to be lanced and cauterized4 ,this was flattery by deeds in place of words1 since he accepted their confidence as a sufficient voucher for his skill4 ,of many shapes are means divine1 and this negative class of praise requires to be countered with some craftiness4 ,the way to confute it is by deliberately offering counsel and suggestion which are nonsensical1 and making corrections ,sidenote3 ,b which are absurd4 ,if your man objects to nothing1 says #8,yes' to everything1 and exclaims #8,good6' #8,capital6' at every item1 he exposes himself as one who ,the watchword asks1 while other are his aims1 --those aims being to encourage your self-conceit with his laudations4 ,take another case4 ,painting has been styled #8silent poetry'4 ,so there is a way of praising by silent flattery4 ,the sportsman's purpose is better concealed from the game when he pretends to be upon other business--walking1 tending cattle1 or tilling the soil4 ,in the same way a toady drives home his eulogies most effectively when the eulogy is disguised under some different form of action4 ,it may be by giving up his seat1 or his place ,sidenote3 ,c at table1 when you appear upon the scene4 ,or if he is addressing the ,assembly or ,council1 and notices that some wealthy man desires to speak1 he may stop his speech and yield him the platform4 ,his silence indicates more clearly than the loudest acclamation that he regards the person in question as a better man and his intellectual superior4 ,such persons may therefore be seen taking possession of the front seats at an entertainment or in the meeting-hall1 not because they claim any right to them1 but in order that they may play the toady by giving up their places to rich people4 ,or you may see them begin the discussion at a congress or a board-meeting1 and subsequently give way to #8superior argument' and shift round with the ,sidenote3 ,d greatest readiness to the opposite view1 if their opponent is a person of influence1 wealth1 or note4 ,the clearest exposure of such complaisances and concessions is to be sought in the fact that it is not to knowledge or high abilities or age that the deference is paid1 but to riches and reputations4 ,when ,megabyzus took a seat at ,apelles' side and wanted to prate to him about #8line' and #8shading'1 the painter remarked1 #8,do you see those boys yonder grinding my mixing-earth8 ,when you were silent1 they were all eyes of admiration for your purple and your jewels4 ,but now that you have begun to talk about things ,sidenote3 ,e you do not understand1 they are laughing at you4' ,similarly ,solon1 when ,croesus questioned him about #8happiness'1 declared that ,tellus1 an ,athenian of humble rank1 as well as ,cleobis and ,biton1 were more favoured by fortune4 ,a flatterer1 on the contrary1 not only avers that a king1 a rich man1 or a man in power1 is prosperous and fortunate2 he also declares that he is pre-eminent in wisdom1 art1 and every form of excellence4 ,hence while there are persons who have no patience to listen when the ,stoics describe the sage as at the same time #8rich1 beautiful1 noble1 and king'1 a toady will make out that the rich man is at the same time an orator1 a poet1 and--if he so wishes--a painter and a musician4 ,he makes him out swift of foot and ,sidenote3 ,f strong of thew by letting himself be thrown in wrestling and outstripped in running1 as ,criso of ,himera did in a race against ,alexander--much to ,alexander's disgust when he detected it4 ,carneades used to say that the only thing that kings' and rich men's sons understand is how to ride2 they receive no proper instruction in anything else4 ,for their teacher flatters them in school with his praises1 and their antagonists in the wrestling-ring by courting defeat2 whereas a horse1 who neither knows nor cares whether you are in or out of office1 poor or rich1 pitches you head first if you cannot keep your seat4 ,it was therefore a silly and stupid thing for ,bion to say3 #8,if by ,sidenote3 #ei eulogizing a field we could make it bear a prolific crop1 would it not be a mistake for a man to go digging and moiling instead8 ,neither1 then1 is it irrational for you to praise a human being1 if your praise is productive of good fruit4' ,a field suffers no injury from being praised1 whereas insincere and undeserved compliment puffs a man up and ruins him4 ,on this point we have said enough4 ,the next consideration is that of candour4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,when ,patroclus1 on going out to fight1 dressed himself in ,achilles' armour and drove his team1 the one thing he let alone and did not venture to touch was the ,pelian spear4 ,so it might have been expected of the flatterer that1 when dressing himself up carefully for the part of #8friend'1 with its proper tokens and badges1 the one thing he would leave untouched and uncopied would be plain-speaking--a special attribute1 ,heavy and huge and stubborn1 to be wielded only by friendship4 ,but in his fear that laughter1 strong drink1 jest1 and fun may mean his betrayal1 we find him ,sidenote3 ,c putting a solemn face on the business1 flattering with a frown and administering dashes of blame and admonition4 ,here again1 therefore1 we must apply our tests4 ,in a comedy of ,menander1 the ,mock-,hercules comes in carrying a club which has no strength or solidity1 but is merely a hollow sham4 ,so1 ,i take it1 with the flatterer's plain-speaking4 ,on trial you will find that it is soft and without weight or vigour2 that it behaves like a woman's cushion1 which1 while seeming to offer a firm support to the head1 actually yields it more of its own way4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,this spurious candour1 with its hollow fullness1 its false and superficial puffiness1 is merely meant to shrink and collapse1 so as to induce the person who leans upon it to make himself more comfortable4 ,the genuine candour of a friend attacks only our misdeeds2 it hurts only out of care and protection2 like honey1 it merely stings our sores in cleansing them1 its general uses being grateful and sweet4 ,this1 however1 is a theme for special discussion4 ,with the flatterer it is different4 ,in the first place1 when he displays sharpness or heat or inflexibility1 it is in dealing with others than yourself4 ,he is severe upon his own servants2 he is terribly hard upon the misdeeds of his own relations2 he shows no admiration or respect for a stranger1 but treats ,sidenote3 ,e him with contempt2 his scandalizing is merciless when exacerbating other people4 ,his object is to make it appear that he detests low practices1 and that he would not consent to abate a jot of his candour in your behalf1 or to do or say anything to curry favour4 ,in the next place1 when there is something really and seriously wrong1 he pretends to be completely ignorant and unconscious of it1 while he will pounce upon some little immaterial shortcoming and take it rigorously and vehemently to task--if1 for instance1 he sees an implement carelessly placed1 or a fault of domestic management1 or negligence in the cut of your hair or the wearing of your clothes1 or lack of ,sidenote3 ,f proper attention to a dog or a horse4 ,but should you slight your parents1 neglect your children1 humiliate your wife1 despise your relatives1 and waste your money1 it becomes no business of his4 ,in such circumstances not a word does he venture to utter1 but he is like a trainer who permits an athlete to get drunk and dissipated1 while he is severe upon him in the matter of an oil-flask or a scraping-iron2 or like a grammar-master who scolds a boy for the state of his slate and pencil1 but pretends not to hear his slips of grammar and expression4 ,the toady is the kind of man who1 in dealing with a ridiculously incompetent public speaker1 has nothing to say about his matter1 but finds fault with his voice-production1 and blames him severely for spoiling ,sidenote3 #fj his larynx by drinking cold drinks2 or who1 when requested to peruse some miserable composition1 finds fault with the roughness of the paper and calls the copyist a slovenly wretch4 ,it was so in the case of ,ptolemy1 when he made pretence to literary tastes4 ,they would fight with him about some out-of-the-way word or bit of a verse or point of information1 and would keep it up till midnight4 ,but to his indulgence in cruelty and outrage1 to his tambourine-playing and initiating1 not one of ,sidenote3 ,b all their number offered any opposition4 ,imagine a man suffering with tumours and abscesses1 and some one taking a surgeon's knife and cutting--his hair or his nails6 ,that is what the flatterer does4 ,he employs his candour upon those parts which feel no pain or soreness4 ,there is a still craftier species1 who make their plain-speaking and fault-finding an actual means of pleasing4 ,when ,alexander was once making large gifts to a jester1 envy and vexation drove ,agis1 the ,argive1 to bawl out1 #8,how utterly absurd6' ,the king turned upon him angrily and asked1 #8,what is that you say8' #8,i confess1' was the reply1 #8to being annoyed and ,sidenote3 ,c indignant when ,i see how much alike all you sons of ,zeus are in your fondness for flatterers and ridiculous persons4 ,heracles found pleasure in his ,cercopes1 ,dionysus in ,sileni1 and we can see what a high regard you have yourself for people of the kind4' ,one day when the emperor ,tiberius entered the ,senate1 one of his flatterers got up and said that1 as free men1 they were bound to speak frankly and to treat important interests without reticence or reservation4 ,when he had thus aroused every one's interest and had secured silence and the attention of ,tiberius1 he said1 #8,listen1 ,caesar1 to the charge which we all make against you1 but which no one dares to utter openly4 ,you are neglecting yourself1 sacrificing your health and wearing it out by perpetually working and thinking for us1 and giving yourself ,sidenote3 ,d no rest day or night4' ,as he continued with a good deal more in the same strain1 the orator ,cassius ,severus is said to have exclaimed1 #8,such plain-speaking will be the man's death6' ,these devices1 however1 are of minor moment4 ,the matter becomes grave--as meaning ruin to foolish people--when a man is accused of the opposite disorders to those with which he is afflicted2 as when the parasite ,himerius used to scold the meanest and most avaricious plutocrat in ,athens by calling him a reckless prodigal1 bent on bringing himself and his children to starvation2 or when1 on the contrary1 a toady reproaches ,sidenote3 ,e a prodigal spendthrift with sordid parsimony1 as ,titus ,petronius did ,nero2 or when he urges a ruler who behaves with savage cruelty towards his subjects to divests himself of #8all that gentleness and ill-timed and mistaken clemency'4 ,to the same class belongs the man who pretends to look upon some silly nincompoop as a clever rogue of whom he is afraid and wary4 ,or if an ill-conditioned person who delights in perpetual fault-finding and scandalizing does happen to be led into praising some distinguished man1 he may take him to task and raise objections1 for #8it is a weakness of yours1 this praising ,sidenote3 ,f of even quite insignificant people4 ,what remarkable thing has he ever said or done8' ,love-affairs are favourite ground for the flatterer to play upon his victim by further inflaming his passion4 ,if he sees you at variance with your brothers1 or neglecting your parents1 or contemptuous towards your wife1 he offers neither remonstrance nor reproach1 but actually intensifies the bad feeling4 #8,no3 you don't appreciate yourself1' or1 #8,it is you that are to blame1 for always playing the humble servant4' ,but if anger ,sidenote3 #fa and jealousy provoke a tiff with a mistress of whom you are enamoured1 in comes flattery at once with a fine blaze of frankness1 and adds fuel to the fire by pleading cause and accusing the lover of all sorts of unloverlike1 unfeeling1 and unforgivable conduct3 ,o ingrate6 after all that rain of kisses6 ,thus1 when ,antony was becoming passionately enamoured of the ,egyptian queen1 his friends did their best to persuade him that the love was on her side1 and they upbraided him with being #8cold and supercilious'4 #8,the lady has forsaken all that royal state and that life of delightful enjoyments to go wandering ,sidenote3 ,b about on the march with you1 like any concubine4 ,but1 for thee1 the heart in thy breast is past all moving or charming1 and you leave her to suffer as she will4' ,it gratified ,antony to be thus put in the wrong2 no praise could please him like these accusations2 and unconsciously he became perverted to the standard of the man who pretended to be reproving him4 ,for candour of this kind is like the bite of a lascivious woman2 while pretending to give pain1 it arouses a provoking sensation of pleasure4 ,though unmixed wine is1 generally speaking1 a corrective of hemlock1 yet1 if you add it to that drug in the form of a mixture1 ,sidenote3 ,c you make it impossible to counteract the power of the poison1 the heat driving it rapidly to the heart4 ,so1 while aware that candour is a potent corrective of flattery1 your rogue actually uses #8candour' as his instrument for flattering you4 ,bias was therefore wrong in his answer to the question3 #8,what animal is the most dangerous8' when he replied1 #8,among wild animals1 the despot1 among tame animals1 the toady4' ,it would have been truer to say that1 among toadies1 those who merely frequent your bath and your table are tame1 while those who thrust the ,sidenote3 ,d tentacles of their slanderous and malicious meddling into bedchamber and boudoir are savage and unmanageable beasts4 ,the one method of protecting ourselves appears to lie in recognizing and never forgetting that our mental being is made up of two parts--one high-principled and rational1 the other irrational1 mendacious and passionate--and that a friend is the unfailing supporter and champion of the better part--a physician who promotes and watches over good health--while a flatterer acts as prompter to the passionate and irrational part1 exciting1 titillating1 coaxing1 and divorcing it from reason by inventing ,sidenote3 ,e low forms of self-indulgence on its behalf4 ,there are some kinds of food which yield no benefit to blood or breath1 and put no vigour into muscle or marrow1 but simply excite the sensual appetites and make the flesh flabby and unsound4 ,so with the advice of a fawner4 ,if does nothing to help sane thought and judgement2 but watch it1 and you will find it cosseting an amorous pleasure1 aggravating a foolish fit of anger or provoking an attack of envy1 puffing you up with vulgar and empty pride1 encouraging your doleful dumps1 or1 where there is a tendency to be ill-natured or mean-spirited or mistrustful1 making the ,sidenote3 ,f feeling more bitter or shy or suspicious by constantly suggesting and anticipating evil4 ,for he is perpetually in wait for some passion or other1 which he proceeds to feed up2 and whenever there is a festering or inflammation of your mental state1 you will always find him a kind of bubo1 bringing it to a head4 ,are you angry8 #8,then punish4' ,do you crave a thing8 #8,then buy it4' ,are you afraid8 #8,then let us run away4' ,are you suspicious8 #8,then trust the feeling4' ,if it is hard to catch him in connexion with such affections as these--their strength being so overpowering as to baffle the reason--he will give you a better opening in smaller matters2 for he will be just the same with them4 ,if you are apprehensive ,sidenote3 #fb of a headache or a surfeit1 and are doubtful as to bathing or taking food1 a friend will try to check you and will urge you to be cautious1 whereas the toady will drag you to the bath1 or ask them to put some novel dish on the table1 begging you not #8to keep so tight a hand upon your body as to be cruel to it'4 ,if he sees you inclined to shirk a journey1 a voyage1 or a piece of work1 he will say that there is no immediate hurry1 and that it will do just as well if you postpone the matter or send someone else4 ,if1 after promising a friend to make him a loan or a present of a sum of money1 you repent1 but have your scruples1 the toady ,sidenote3 ,b throws his weight into the less honourable scale2 he corroborates #8the argument of the purse'1 and makes short work of your sense of shame by urging you to be economical1 #8seeing that you have so many expenses and so many persons to support4' ,if1 therefore1 we are able to perceive our own covetousness1 shamelessness1 or cowardice1 we shall also be able to see when a man is a toady4 ,such he is when he is always playing the advocate to those passions and #8speaking his mind' when we deviate from them4 ,enough having been said upon this topic1 we may next proceed to the question of the practical services rendered4 ,in this ,sidenote3 ,c respect the flatterer makes his distinction from the friend a very obscure and perplexing matter2 he always appears so prompt and indefatigable in his zeal4 ,while a friend's way1 like the #8speech of truth' as described by ,euripides1 is #8single'1 open1 and unaffected1 that of the flatterer ,sick in itself1 needs antidotes full shrewd --uncommonly so1 indeed1 and plenty of them4 ,when you meet a friend1 he sometimes passes on without uttering or receiving a word1 and with no more than a glance or a smile2 he simply manifests by his expression1 and gathers from yours1 the kindly ,sidenote3 ,d understanding within4 ,but the toady is on the run to overtake you1 greets you from a long way off1 and1 if you catch sight of him and speak to him first1 he excuses himself over and over again1 calling his witnesses and taking his oath4 ,so in the matter of actions4 ,a friend will neglect many a trifle2 he is no precisian and makes no fuss2 he does not insist upon serving you at every turn4 ,but the other is persistent1 unremitting1 unwearied2 he leaves no opportunity or room for any one else to serve you2 he is eager to receive your orders1 and1 if he does not get them1 he is piqued1 nay1 absolutely heart-broken with disappointment4 ,a sensible man1 then1 may take these as some indications that a friendship is not sincere and single-minded1 ,sidenote3 ,e but is like a harlot who forces her embraces upon you before they are asked for4 ,the first place1 however1 in which to look for the difference is in promises4 ,it has already been well said by previous writers that a friend will put his promise in the form familiar in ,if ,i have power to achieve it1 and if 'tis a thing for achievement1 while a time-server will put it in this3 ,voice me the thought in thy mind4 ,the comedians present us with such characters3 ,nicomachus1 pit me against the soldier4 ,i'll make ripe pulp of him2 ,i'll make his face ,softer than sponge3 if not1 then flog me soundly4 ,in the next place no friend will be a party to your actions ,sidenote3 ,f unless he has first been a party to planning them4 ,he must first have looked into the business and helped to put it on a right and proper footing4 ,not so the flatterer4 ,even if you do grant him a share in weighing the matter and expressing an opinion about it1 he is not only so anxious to gratify you with his complaisance1 but is in such dread of leading you to suspect him of unreadiness to face the action1 that he leaves you to take your course1 or only lends spurs to your desire4 ,it is not easy to find a rich man or a grandee who is ready to say3 ,sidenote3 #fc ,give me a man1 a beggar--nay1 no matter1 ,lower than beggar1 if he means me well-- ,to put fear by1 and speak his heart to me4 ,like the tragedian1 he must have the support of a chorus of friends who keep his tune1 or of an audience who give applause4 ,merope in the tragedy advises3 ,get thee for friends such men as1 when they speak1 ,yield not2 but when a man will for thy pleasure ,make himself knave1 lock thou thy door against him4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,but such persons do the opposite4 ,if1 #8when you speak' you #8yield not'1 but oppose them for their good1 they abominate you2 but if #8for their pleasure' you are a #8knave' and a servile charlatan1 they receive you not merely inside their locked doors but inside their most secret passions and concerns4 ,the simple kind of flatterer1 it is true1 does not aim at so much4 ,what he asks in such important matters is not to be your adviser1 but your minister and servant4 ,but the more crafty person will stand still--puzzling over the question with puckered brow and appropriate changes of countenance--but will say nothing4 ,and if you give your own idea1 he will exclaim1 #8,how strange6 ,you just managed to anticipate me4 ,i was about to make exactly your suggestion4' ,sidenote3 ,c ,mathematicians tell us that lines and surfaces1 being mental perceptions and incorporeal1 have in themselves no such thing as bending1 stretching1 or motion1 but that they are bent1 stretched1 and changed in position along with the bodies of which they are the boundaries4 ,so you will discover that1 with the time-server1 his assent1 his opinion1 even his pleasure and anger1 are always dependent4 ,here1 therefore1 it is perfectly easy to detect the difference4 ,it is still more apparent in the manner in which a service is rendered4 ,with the good feeling of a friend1 as with a living creature1 its most vital functions lie ,sidenote3 ,d deep4 ,it is marked by no ostentatious display2 but very often1 like a physician who conceals the fact that he is doctoring you1 a friend does you a good turn by a word of intercession or by bringing about an understanding1 and so consults your interests without your knowing it4 ,arcesilaus was a man of this type4 ,not to mention other instances1 when ,apelles the ,chian was ill and ,arcesilaus had discovered how poor he was1 he came back later with twenty drachmae4 ,taking a seat close to him1 he exclaimed1 #8,there is nothing here beyond ,empedocles' four elements3 ,fire and water and earth and the gentle air of the heavens4 ,why1 even your bed is made all askew4' ,with that he moved his pillow and meanwhile slipped the coins under it4 ,when the ,sidenote3 ,e old woman in attendance found them and told ,apelles in amazement1 he laughed and said1 #8,it is that thief ,arcesilaus4'#eb ,and here we may note how philosophy produces #8children like unto their sires#84 ,cephisocrates1 who had been impeached1 was on his trial1 and beside him1 with the rest of his friends1 stood ,lacudes1 one of the coterie of ,arcesilaus4 ,the accuser having asked for his ring1 ,cephisocrates quietly dropped it at his side1 and ,lacudes1 who noticed the action1 put his foot upon it and hid it4 ,on that ring depended the proof of the charge4 ,when ,cephisocrates1 after his acquittal1 went shaking hands with members of the jury1 one of them1 who had apparently ,sidenote3 ,f seen what occurred1 bade him thank ,lacudes1 and gave an account of the affair1 which ,lacudes had mentioned to no one4 ,we may believe that it is the same with the ,gods1 and that for the most part they confer their benefits unperceived1 it being their nature to find pleasure in the mere act of bestowing favours and doing good4 ,but in a deed done by a flatterer there is nothing honest1 sincere1 single-minded1 or generous4 ,it is a case of sweating1 bawling1 bustling1 and of a tense look upon the face1 intended to convey the impression of arduous and urgent business4 ,the thing resembles1 in fact1 an overdone painting1 ,sidenote3 #fd which strives to secure realistic effect by the use of blatant colours and affected folds1 wrinkles1 and angles4 ,he is also offensive enough to relate how the business has meant running about and anxiety1 and he goes on to describe how he has got into trouble with other people and had no end of worry and some terrible experiences1 until you declare that the thing was not worth it all4 ,any obligation thrown in your teeth will cause an unbearable and distressing sense of annoyance1 but with an obligation from a time-server your sense of reproach and shame is felt at once1 from the very moment that the service ,sidenote3 ,b is being rendered4 ,a friend1 on the other hand1 if he has occasion to speak of the matter1 qualifies his account of it1 and about himself he says nothing4 ,for example1 the ,lacedaemonians once sent the people of ,smyrna some corn at a time of need1 and1 to their expressions of admiration of the kindness1 they replied1 #8,not at all6 ,to scrape this together we had only to vote the forgoing of one day's dinner for ourselves and our beasts4' ,a favour so rendered is not only a generous one2 it is made the more welcome to the recipients by the thought that no great harm is done to the benefactor4 ,it is not1 however1 by the flatterer's offensive way of rendering his services nor by the recklessness of his promises that one ,sidenote3 ,c can best recognize the breed2 an easier criterion consists in the creditable or discreditable nature of the service1 and in the different character of the pleasure or benefit4 ,a friend will not1 as ,gorgias asserted1 expect his friend to render him honest services and yet himself oblige that friend in many ways which are not honest3 ',tis his to share the wisdom1 not the folly4 ,rather1 therefore1 he will dissuade him also from improper courses4 ,and1 if he fails1 there is virtue in ,phocion's answer to ,antipater1 #8,you cannot use me both as friend and toady'--that is to say1 both as friend and not friend4 ,we must help a friend in his need1 not in his knavery2 in his planning1 not in his plotting2 with testimony1 not conspiracy4 ,yes1 and we must share in his misfortunes1 though not in his misdeeds4 ,we ,sidenote3 ,d should not choose even to be privy to the baseness of our friends2 how then to be a party to their misbehaviour8 ,when the ,lacedaemonians1 after their defeat by ,antipater1 were making terms1 they stipulated that1 though he might impose any penalty he liked1 he should impose no disgrace4 ,it is the same with a friend4 ,should occasion call for expense or danger or hard work1 he is foremost in his claim to be summoned and take a prompt and zealous part2 but when disgrace attaches to it1 he will as promptly beg to be spared and left alone4 ,but with the fawner it is the reverse4 ,in services of difficulty and danger he cries off1 and1 if you give him a tap to sound him1 his excuse--whatever ,sidenote3 ,e it may be--rings false and mean4 ,but in vile and degrading little jobs1 do as you like with him2 trample on him2 nothing shocks or insults him4 ,look at the ape4 ,he cannot watch the house like a dog1 nor carry like a horse1 nor plough the ground like an ox4 ,he is therefore the bearer of scurrilous insult and buffoonery and the butt of sport1 his function being to serve as a tool for laughter4 ,precisely so with the toady4 ,he is unequal to any form of labour and serious effort1 and incapable of helping you by a speech1 with a contribution1 or in a fight2 but in business which shuns the light he is promptitude itself--a most competent ,sidenote3 ,f agent in an amour1 an adept at ransoming a strumpet1 alert at checking the bill for a drinking-bout1 no sloven in the ordering of your dinner1 deft at attentions to your mistress1 and1 if you bid him show insolence to your wife's relations or bundle her out of doors1 he is beyond all pity or shame4 ,this1 therefore1 is another easy means of finding him out4 ,order him to do any disreputable and discreditable thing you ,sidenote3 #fe choose1 and he is ready to spare no pains in gratifying you accordingly4 ,a very good indication of the wide difference between our fawner and a friend may be found in his attitude towards your other friends4 ,the one is delighted to have many others giving and receiving affection with him1 and his constant aim is to make his friend widely loved and honoured4 ,he holds that #8friends have all things in common#81 and their friends1 he thinks1 ,sidenote3 ,b should be more #8in common' than anything else4 ,but the other--the false1 bastard1 and spurious article--realizes1 better than any one1 how he is himself sinning against friendship by--so to speak--debasing its coinage4 ,while1 therefore1 he is jealous by nature1 it is only against his like that he gives his jealousy play1 by striving to surpass them in grovelling and lickspittle tricks4 ,of his betters he stands in fear and dread1 we cannot say because he is ,plodding on foot against a ,lydian car1 but because1 as ,simonides has it1 he ,hath not e'en lead ,to match the pure refind gold4 ,if1 therefore1 light in weight1 surface-gilt and counterfeit1 he finds himself put in close comparison with genuine friendship1 ,sidenote3 ,c full-carat and mint-made1 he cannot bear the test1 and must be detected4 ,consequently he acts like the painter whose cocks in a picture were wretchedly done1 and who therefore ordered his slave to drive any real cocks as far from his canvas as possible4 ,in the same way the flatterer drives away real friends and prevents them coming near4 ,if he fails1 while openly he will fawn upon them and pay them court and deference as being his betters1 in secret he will throw out calumnious hints and suggestions4 ,and if the word in secret has given a scratch without at once absolutely producing a wound1 he never forgets ,medius's maxim4 ,this ,medius was what may be called the ,sidenote3 ,d fugleman or expert conductor of the chorus of toadies who surrounded ,alexander1 and was at daggers drawn with the highest characters4 ,his maxim was1 #8,be bold in laying on and biting with your slanders1 for even if the man who is bitten salves the wound1 the slander will leave its scar4' ,it was through these scars1 or rather because he was eaten up with gangrenes and ulcers1 that ,alexander put ,callisthenes1 ,parmenio1 and ,philotas to death4 ,meanwhile he surrendered himself unreservedly to a ,hagnon1 a ,bagoas1 an ,agesias1 or a ,demetrius1 and allowed them to give him a fall by salaaming to him and dressing him up after the fashion of an oriental idol4 ,so powerful an effect ,sidenote3 ,e has complaisance1 and apparently most of all with those who think most of themselves4 ,their wish for the finest qualities goes with the belief that they possess them1 and so the flatterer acquires both credit and confidence4 ,for while lofty places are difficult of approach or assault for all who have designs upon them1 the lofty conceit produced in a foolish mind by the gifts of fortune or talent offers the readiest footing to those who are small and petty4 ,as therefore we urged at the beginning of this treatise1 so we urge again here2 #8,let us make a clearance of self-love and self-conceit4' ,these1 by flattering us in advance1 render us more ,sidenote3 ,f amenable to flattery from outside3 we come prepared4 ,but if1 in obedience to the ,god1 we recognize how all-important the maxim ,know ,thyself is to each of us2 if we therefore examine our own nature1 training1 and education1 and observe how all alike fall short of excellence in countless ways1 and how they all contain a large admixture of weakness in the things we do or say or feel1 we shall be very slow in allowing the flatterer to abuse us at his pleasure4 ,alexander remarked that what made him give least credence to those who called him a ,god was his sleep and his sexualities1 his excesses in those things falling below his own standard4 ,on our own part we shall ,sidenote3 #ff always discover that at many a point and in many a way our qualities are ugly or a source of pain1 defective or misdirected4 ,we shall see ourselves in our true light1 and find that what we need is not a friend who will pay us compliments and eulogies1 but one who will bring us to book when we are really doing wrong4 ,but only then4 ,there are in any case very few with the courage to treat a friend with candour rather than complaisance2 yet among these few it will be hard to find such as understand their business4 ,it will be easier to find persons who imagine that they are using candour because they abuse and scold4 ,yet it is with plain-speaking as with any other medicine4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,when it is given at the wrong time the effect is to upset and pain you to no purpose4 ,in a certain sense it does painfully what flattery does pleasantly1 inasmuch as unseasonable blame works as much harm as unseasonable praise4 ,more than anything else it is a thing which drives a man headlong into the arms of the flatterer4 ,like water1 he turns from the steep unyielding surface and glides away into the receptive shallows4 ,candour1 therefore1 must be tempered by rational courtesy1 which will divest it of excess and over-severity4 ,the light must not be so strong that in our pain and distress at the invariable reproving and fault-finding we turn away to escape discomfort and fly to find shade with the flatterer4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,in shunning a vice1 ,philopappus1 our object should always be virtue1 not the contrary vice4 ,some people think they escape being shamefaced by being shameless2 that they escape being rustic by being ribald2 that their behaviour becomes furthest from timidity and cowardice when they appear nearest to impudence and insolence4 ,some plead to themselves that they would rather be irreligious than superstitious1 rather ,sidenote3 ,d knaves than simpletons4 ,their character may be likened to a piece of wood1 which1 through lack of the skill to straighten it1 they crook to the opposite side4 ,the ugliest way of refusing to flatter is to give useless pain4 ,our social intercourse must be boorishly ignorant of all the rules of good feeling when it is by being harsh and disagreeable that we avoid any creeping humbleness in our friendship1 just as if we were the freedman in the comedy1 who thinks that1 to be properly enjoyed1 #8speech on equal terms' means abusive speech4 ,since1 therefore1 it as an ugly thing when our striving to be agreeable lands us in flattery1 and an ugly thing when1 in the avoidance of flattery1 all the spirit of friendly sympathy is ruined by immoderate plain-speaking2 and since we ought to commit neither mistake1 but--in candour as in other things--draw #8success from moderation'1 mere logical sequence seems to ,sidenote3 ,e dictate the conclusion to our treatise4 ,plain-speaking1 we find1 is liable to be1 as it were1 tainted in various ways4 ,the first thing is to divest it of its selfish aspect1 by taking the greatest care not to let it appear as if your reproaches were due to a kind of injury or grievance of your own4 ,when the speaker is concerned about himself1 we regard his words as the outcome of anger1 not of goodwill2 as grumbling1 not as reproof4 ,for whereas candour is a mark of friendliness which compels respect1 grumbling is petty and selfish4 ,we therefore respect and admire the person who is frank1 while a fault-finder provokes recrimination and contempt4 ,though ,achilles ,sidenote3 ,f imagined he was speaking with but reasonable frankness1 ,agamemnon lost his temper2 but when ,odysseus attacked him bitterly in the words ,madman1 thou shouldst have commanded some other1 some pitiful army1 he patiently gave way1 the friendly purpose and good sense of the speech causing him to draw in his horns4 ,the reason was that1 while the plain-speaking of ,odysseus1 who had no private ,sidenote3 #fg grounds for anger1 was only for the sake of ,greece1 the vexation of ,achilles was thought to be chiefly on his own account4 ,nay1 ,achilles himself1 though possessed of no sweet or gentle temper1 but ,a terrible man1 who must blame1 e'en though it be blaming the blameless1 silently permitted ,patroclus to give him many such hard blows3 ,man of no pity1 no father of thine was ,peleus the horseman1 ,thetis no mother of thine2 from the green-grey sea wert thou gotten ,by beetling crags2 so comes it thy heart is void of all mercy4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,the orator ,hypereides used to urge the ,athenians to consider not merely whether he was angry1 but whether his anger was gratuitous4 ,so with the admonition of a friend4 ,when pure from any private feeling1 it is a thing of awe1 which we cannot face unabashed4 ,and if1 when a man is speaking his mind1 it is manifest that he is casting aside any wrongs his friend may have done to himself2 that it is other misdemeanours on his part which he is bringing home--other reasons for which he does not shrink from giving him pain--such candour produces an irresistible effect1 the sharpness and severity of the admonition being intensified by the kindliness of the admonisher4 ,doubtless1 ,sidenote3 ,c as has been well said1 #8it is most of all when we are angry or at variance with our friends that we should do or devise something to their advantage or credit'2 but we show no less true a friendliness if1 when we think ourselves slighted or neglected1 it is on behalf of other victims of neglect that we give them a plain-spoken reminder4 ,plato1 at a time when his relations with ,dionysius were strained and dubious1 asked for an interview4 ,dionysius granted it1 in the belief that ,plato was coming with a tale of grievance of his own4 ,the conversation1 however1 took the following shape4 #8,suppose1 ,dionysius1 you discovered ,sidenote3 ,d that some ill-disposed person had made a voyage to ,sicily with the intention of doing you an injury1 but that he could find no opportunity4 ,would you allow him to leave the country and get away scot-free8' #8,certainly not1 ,plato1' said ,dionysius3 #8enemies must be hated and punished not only for what they do1 but for what they propose to do4' #8,then suppose1' said ,plato1 #8some one comes here in a friendly spirit1 with the intention of rendering you a service1 but that you afford him no chance4 ,is it a proper thing to cast him aside with ingratitude and contempt8' ,upon ,dionysius asking who it was1 he answered1 #8,aeschines1 a man who1 in rightness of character1 will compare with any of ,socrates' associates1 and whose teaching cannot fail to set any hearer firmly on his feet4 ,though he has ,sidenote3 ,e made a long voyage for the sake of philosophic intercourse with you1 he has been left in neglect4' ,these words stirred ,dionysius so deeply that1 in admiration of his kindliness and magnanimity1 he promptly embraced ,plato with effusion and proceeded to pay to ,aeschines the most distinguished attentions4 ,in the second place1 our candour must be cleared of all excrescences1 so to speak4 ,we must allow it no coarse flavourings in the shape of insulting ridicule or buffoonish mockery4 ,when a surgeon is performing an operation1 a certain ease and neatness ,sidenote3 ,f should be incidentally apparent in his work1 but there should be no supple juggleries of the hand in the way of fantastic and risky fioriture4 ,in the same way candour admits of a dexterous touch of wit1 so long as it is so prettily put as to maintain our respect2 but impertinent and insolent buffoonery utterly destroys that feeling4 ,hence the harpist chose a polite as well as a forcible way of stopping ,philip's mouth1 when that monarch attempted to argue with him on a question of musical note4 #8,sire1' said he1 #8,heaven forbid you should ever become so badly off as to know more about these things than ,i do6' ,sidenote3 #fh ,epicharmus1 on the other hand1 chose the wrong way1 when ,hiero1 a few days after putting some of his familiars to death1 invited him to dinner4 #8,nay1 but1' said he1 #8the other day there was no invitation to your sacrifice of your friends4'#ec ,it was also a mistake for ,antiphon1 when the question3 #8,what sort of bronze is the best8' was under discussion in the presence of ,dionysius1 to say1 #8,that kind out of which they made the statues of ,harmodius and ,aristogeiton at ,athens4' ,no good is done by the stinging bitterness of such speeches1 nor is any pleasure given by their scurrilous pleasantry4 ,language of the ,sidenote3 ,b kind comes only from a want of self-command--which is partly insolent ill-nature--combined with enmity4 ,those who use it are courting their own destruction as well2 they are veritably dancing a #8dance at the well's edge'4 ,antiphon was put to death by ,dionysius2 ,timagenes was banished from ,caesar's friendship1 not because of any free word he ever uttered1 but because1 at dinner-parties or when walking1 he would perpetually and with no serious purpose whatever1 but ,for whatsoever him thought might move the ,argives to laughter1 advance some charge against his conduct as a friend1 merely by way of pretext for upbraiding him4 ,it is the same with the comic poets4 ,their work contained many serious and statesmanlike appeals to the audience2 but ,sidenote3 ,c these were so much mixed up with farce and ribaldry--like good food in a hotch-potch of greenstuff--that their plain-speaking lost all nutritive power and use1 with the result that the speaker was looked upon as an ill-natured buffoon1 and the hearer derived no benefit from the speech4 ,in other cases by all means have your fun and laugh with your friends1 but when you give them a piece of your mind1 let it be done with earnestness and with courtesy4 ,and if the matter is one of importance1 impart a cogent and moving effect to your words by your emotions1 gestures1 and tone of voice4 ,there is also the question of the right moment4 ,to disregard it is in all cases a serious mistake1 but is particularly ruinous to good results when you are #8speaking your mind'4 ,that we should beware of doing anything of the kind when wine and inebriation are to the fore1 is obvious4 ,it is to bring a cloud ,sidenote3 ,d over the bright sky1 if1 in the midst of fun and gaiety1 you moot a topic which puckers the brow and stiffens the face1 as if to defeat the #8,relaxing ,god'1 who--to quote ,pindar-- ,unbends the harassed brow of care4 ,nay1 there is actually great danger in such unseasonableness4 ,wine renders the mind perilously testy1 and tipsiness often takes command of candour and converts it into enmity4 ,moreover1 instead of showing spirit and courage1 it shows a want of manliness for a person who dare not speak his mind when sober to become bold at table1 like a cowardly dog4 ,there is1 however1 no need to dwell further upon this theme4 ,let us proceed4 ,there are many who1 when affairs are going well with their ,sidenote3 ,e friends1 neither make any claim nor possess the courage to put restraint upon them4 ,prosperity1 they think1 lies quite beyond the reach of admonition4 ,but should one stumble and come to grief1 they set upon him4 ,he is tame and humbled1 and they trample upon him4 ,the stream of their candour has been unnaturally dammed up1 and now they let the whole flood loose upon him4 ,he was once so disdainful1 and they so feeble1 that they thoroughly enjoy his change of fortune and make the most of it4 ,it is as well1 therefore1 to discuss this class also4 ,if ,euripides asks3 ,when fortune blesses1 what the need of friends8 the answer must be that it is the prosperous man who has most ,sidenote3 ,f need of friends to speak their minds and take down any excess of pride4 ,there are few who can be both prosperous and wise at the same time4 ,most men require to import wisdom from abroad2 they require that reasoning from outside should put compression upon them when fortune puffs them up and sets them swaying in the wind4 ,but when fortune reduces their inflated bulk1 the situation itself carries its own lesson and brings repentance home4 ,there is consequently no occasion for friendly candour or for language which bites and distresses4 ,when such reverses happen1 verily ,sidenote3 #fi ',tis sweet to look into a friend's fond eyes1 while he gives us solace and encouragement4 ,xenophon says of ,clearchus that in battle and danger there appeared upon his face a look of geniality which put greater heart into those who were in peril4 ,but to employ your mordant candour upon a man who is in trouble1 is like administering #8sharp-sight drops' to an eye suffering with inflammation4 ,it does nothing to cure or relieve the pain1 but only adds anger to it by exasperating ,sidenote3 ,b the sufferer4 ,for instance1 when a man is in health he is not in the least angry or furious with a friend for blaming his looseness with the other sex1 his drinking1 his shirking of work and exercise1 his continual bathings and ill-timed gorgings4 ,but when he is sick1 the thing is intolerable4 ,it is more sickening than the disease to be told1 #8,this is the result of your reckless self-indulgence1 your laziness1 your rich dishes1 and your women4' #8,what an unseasonable man you are6 ,i am writing my will2 the doctors are getting castor and scammony ready for me2 and you come preaching and philosophizing6' ,so1 when a man is in trouble1 the situation is not one for speaking your mind and moralizing4 ,what it requires is sweet reasonableness ,sidenote3 ,c and help4 ,when a little child has a fall1 the nurse does not rush up in order to scold it4 ,she picks it up1 washes off the dirt1 and straightens its dress4 ,it is afterwards that she proceeds to reprimand and punish4 ,an apposite story is told of ,demetrius ,phalereus1 when he was in banishment and was living at ,thebes in mean and obscure circumstances4 ,it was with no pleasure that he saw ,crates coming towards him1 inasmuch as he expected to hear some plain-spoken cynic abuse4 ,crates1 however1 accosted him gently1 and then spoke upon the subject of exile--how there was no calamity in it1 and how little need there was to be distressed1 ,sidenote3 ,d since it meant getting rid of cares1 with their dangers and uncertainties4 ,at the same time he urged him to have confidence in himself and his inner man4 ,cheered and heartened by such language1 ,demetrius exclaimed to his friends3 #8,alas1 for all that engrossing business which prevented me from getting to know a man like this6' ,to one in grief a friend should speak kind words1 ,but to great folly words of admonition4 ,such is the way of a noble friend4 ,but the mean and ignoble flatterer of the prosperous man is like those #8ruptures and ,sidenote3 ,e sprains' of which ,demosthenes tells us that #8when the body meets with an injury1 then you begin to feel them'4 ,he seizes upon your change of fortune with every appearance of delight and enjoyment4 ,if you do require any reminder when your own ill-advised conduct has brought you to the ground1 it should suffice to say3 ',twas not with approval of mine3 full oft did ,i seek to dissuade thee4 ,in what cases1 then1 ought a friend to be uncompromising8 ,when should he exert his candour to the full8 ,it is when the proper moment calls for him to stem the vehement course of pleasure1 anger1 or insolence2 to put the curb on avarice2 to ,sidenote3 ,f restrain a reckless folly4 ,it was in this way that1 when the precarious favours of fortune had corrupted ,croesus with the pride of luxury1 ,solon spoke his mind to him1 bidding him wait and see the end4 ,it was in this way that ,socrates was wont to put control on ,alcibiades1 to wrench his heart and draw genuine tears from him by bringing his errors home4 ,such was the method of ,cyrus with ,cyaxares4 ,such too1 when ,dion's splendour was at its height and he was drawing all men's eyes upon him by the brilliance and greatness of his exploits1 was ,sidenote3 #gj the method of ,plato1 who bade him keep anxious watch against ,self-will1 house-mate of ,solitude4 ,speusippus also urged ,dion in his letters not to be proud because he had a great name among children and women-folk1 but to take care and #8make glorious' the ,academy by adorning ,sicily with piety and justice and the best of laws4 ,but not so ,euctus and ,eulaeus1 the associates of ,perseus4 ,in his prosperity they followed him like the rest1 always assenting1 always complaisant4 ,but when he met the ,romans at ,pydna1 was defeated1 and fled1 they attacked him with bitter censure1 reminding him of his errors and oversights and throwing them one after the other in his teeth1 until the man became so utterly sore and ,sidenote3 ,b angry that he made an end of both by stabbing them with his dagger4 ,this1 then1 may serve for the general rule as to place and time4 ,but opportunities are often offered by a man himself1 and no one who cares for his friend should let these occasions slip or omit to use them4 ,sometimes a question asked1 a story told1 blame or praise of a similar action in the case of other people1 gives you the cue for a piece of plain-speaking4 ,for instance1 the story goes that ,demaratus visited ,macedonia at a time when ,sidenote3 ,c ,philip was at variance with his wife and son4 ,upon ,philip welcoming him and inquiring how far the ,greeks were in harmony with each other1 ,demaratus--who was his well-wisher and intimate friend--remarked1 #8,it becomes you excellently1 ,philip1 to be asking about the harmonious relations of ,athens and the ,peloponnese1 while you allow your own house to be so full of feud and discord4' ,a good hit was also made by ,diogenes4 ,philip was on his way to fight the ,greeks1 and ,diogenes1 who had entered the camp1 was brought before him4 ,philip1 being unacquainted with him1 asked him if he was a spy4 #8,certainly ,i am1' he replied4 #8,i am a spy upon the short-sighted foolishness which induces you to come1 without any compulsion1 and risk ,sidenote3 ,d your throne and person upon the cast of a single hour4' ,this1 however1 was perhaps somewhat too forcible4 ,another good opportunity for admonition occurs when a man has been abused for his mistakes by some one else and is feeling small and humbled4 ,a person of discretion will make a happy use of the occasion by sending the abusive parties to the right about and himself taking his friend in hand1 reminding him that1 if there is no other reason for being careful1 he should at least give his enemies no encouragement4 #8,how can they open their mouths or say another word1 if you cast aside once for ,sidenote3 ,e all these faults for which they abuse you8' ,by this means the abuser gets the credit of the pain1 and the admonisher that of the benefit4 ,some are more subtle4 ,they convert their familiar friends by blaming some one else1 accusing others of the things they know that those friends do4 ,once at a lecture in the afternoon our professor1 ,ammonius1 aware that some of his class had not lunched as simply as they might1 ordered his freedman to give his own boy a whipping1 on the charge that #8he must have vinegar with his lunch'4 ,meanwhile the glance he threw at us brought the reproach home to the guilty parties4 ,in the next place1 we should be cautious of speaking plainly to a friend before company4 ,remember the case of ,plato4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,socrates having handled one of his associates somewhat vigorously in conversation at table1 ,plato remarked1 #8,would it not have been better if this had been said in private8' #8,and1' retorted ,socrates1 #8would you not have done better if you had said that to me in private8' ,the story goes that1 when ,pythagoras once dealt rather roughly with a pupil before a number of persons1 the youth hanged himself1 and from that time ,pythagoras never again reproved anyone in another's presence4 ,a fault should be treated like a humiliating complaint4 ,the uncovering and ,sidenote3 #ga prescribing should be secret1 not an ostentatious display to a gathering of witnesses or spectators4 ,it is not the act of a friend1 but of a sophist1 to use another's slips to glorify oneself1 showing off before the company like those medical men who perform surgical operations in the theatre in order to advertise themselves4 ,and apart from the insult--which has no right to accompany any curative treatment--we have to consider the contentiousness and obstinacy of a man in the wrong4 ,not merely is it the case that--as ,euripides has it-- ,love1 when reproved1 ,is but more tyrannous1 ,sidenote3 ,b but if you make no scruple about offering reproof in public1 you drive any moral disease or passion into becoming shameless4 ,plato insists that1 if old men are to inculcate reverence in the young1 they must themselves first show reverence towards the young4 ,in the same way the friendly candour which most abashes is that which itself feels abashed4 ,let it be gently and considerately that you approach and handle the offender2 then you undermine and destroy his vice1 since regard is contagiously felt where regard is shown4 ,excellent1 therefore1 is the notion3 ,putting his head close down1 to the end that the rest should not hear it4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,least propriety of all is there in exposing a husband in the hearing of the wife1 a father before the eyes of his children1 a lover in the presence of the beloved1 or a teacher in that of his pupils4 ,he becomes frantic2 so sore and angry is he at being set right before persons in whose eyes he is all anxiety to shine4 ,when ,cleitus enraged ,alexander1 it was1 ,i imagine1 not so much the fault of the wine as that he appeared to be humbling him before a large company4 ,another case is that of ,aristomenes1 the tutor#ed of ,ptolemy4 ,once1 when an embassy was in the room1 ,ptolemy fell asleep and ,aristomenes gave him a hit to wake him up4 ,the flatterers seized the opportunity1 and affected to be indignant on the king's behalf4 #8,if1' said ,sidenote3 ,d they1 #8you did drop off1 thanks to hard work and want of sleep1 we ought to set you right privately1 not lay hands on you before so many people4' ,as the result1 he sent ,aristomenes a cup of poison and ordered him to drink it off4 ,aristophanes also tells us how ,cleon tried to exasperate the ,athenians against him by making it a charge that he ,abused the country before foreigners4 ,this1 then1 is another of the mistakes to be avoided1 if your desire is not so much to make a self-advertising display as to make your candour produce helpful and healing results4 ,in the next place1 your plain-speaker ought to bear in mind ,sidenote3 ,e the principle which ,thucydides makes the ,corinthians so properly express1 in saying that they #8had a right to find fault' with others4 ,it was ,lysander1 ,i believe1 who said to the man from ,megara1 when he was delivering himself at the ,federal ,council concerning the interests of ,greece1 #8,you need a country to back your talk4' ,in any case1 doubtless1 you need character for plain-speaking1 but in no case is this so true as when you are admonishing and lecturing other people4 ,plato used to say that it was by his life he admonished ,speusippus1 and the mere sight of ,xenocrates at lecture1 and a glance from him1 ,sidenote3 ,f sufficed to convert ,polemon to better ways4 ,when we lack weight and strength of character the result of any attempt at plain-speaking on our part is to draw upon ourselves the words3 ,why physic us1 thyself one mass of sores8 ,nevertheless it often happens that1 though a man's own character is as weak as that of his neighbour1 circumstances drive him to administer reproof4 ,in that case the civillest behaviour is to contrive somehow to imply that the speaker is included in the reproach4 ,in this tone are the words3 ,tydeus' son1 what ails us1 forgetting our prowess and valour8 ,sidenote3 #gb and3 ,but no match are we now for ,hector alone4444 ,socrates' way of quietly setting young men right was of the same kind4 ,he would not be taken as being himself free from ignorance1 but as feeling it a duty to share with them in the cultivation of virtue and the quest of truth4 ,we inspire affection and confidence when it is thought that1 being equally to blame1 we are applying to our friends the same correction as to ourselves4 ,but if1 when rebuking your neighbour1 you put on the superior air of a flawless and passionless being1 unless you are much the senior or possess an acknowledged eminence of character and reputation1 you do no good and only make yourself ,sidenote3 ,b offensive and a nuisance4 ,for this reason1 when ,phoenix introduced the story of his own misfortunes--how in anger he set to work to kill his father1 but speedily repented3 ,lest the ,achaeans should name me #8the man who murdered his father'-- it was of set purpose1 that it might not seem as if1 in reproving ,achilles1 he claimed to be an impeccable person whom anger had no power to corrupt4 ,in such cases the moral effect sinks in1 since we yield more readily to a show of fellow-feeling than to one of contempt4 ,another point4 ,since a mind diseased can no more bear unqualified candour and reproof than an inflamed eye can ,sidenote3 ,c be submitted to a brilliant light1 one most useful resource among our remedies is to add a slight tincture of praise4 ,for example3 ,ugly is this that ye do1 to cease from your valour and prowess1 ,all ye best of the host6 ,i would not move me to quarrel1 ,if 'twere some other who thus might hold his hand from the fighting1 ,some craven man2 but with you is my heart exceedingly anger'd3 or3 ,pandarus1 where is thy bow1 and where thy feathery arrows8 ,where thy glory1 the which no man among us doth challenge8 ,if a man is giving way1 there is also a vigorous rallying power in such language as ,where now ,is ,oedipus and all his far-famed rede8 or3 ,is #8t ,heracles1 ,he who hath borne so many a brunt1 speaks thus8 ,not only does it temper the harshness of the punishment ,sidenote3 ,d inflicted by the reproach2 it sets a man at rivalry with himself4 ,when reminded of the things which stand to his credit1 he is ashamed of those which degrade him1 and he finds an elevating example in his own person4 ,but when we make comparisons with others--with mates1 fellow citizens1 or kinsmen--the contentiousness which belongs to his failings is piqued and exacerbated4 ,it has a habit of retorting angrily1 #8,then why don't you go to my betters1 instead of harassing me8' ,we must therefore beware of belauding one person while we are speaking our minds to another--always1 of course1 with the exception of his parents4 ,thus ,agamemnon can say3 ,truly1 a son little like to himself hath ,tydeus begotten2 ,sidenote3 ,e or ,odysseus1 when in ,scyrus3 ,but thou o'ersham'st the brilliance of thy race1 ,wool-spinner6 thou1 whose sire was ,greece's hero6 ,by no means should we use reproof to answer reproof1 or plain-speaking in counter-attack to plain-speaking4 ,otherwise we quickly produce heat and create a quarrel4 ,moreover1 such disputatiousness is naturally regarded1 not as a return of candour1 ,sidenote3 ,f but as intolerance of it4 ,it is better1 therefore1 to listen with a good grace when a friend believes he is reproving you4 ,for this1 if at a later time some offence of his own calls for reprobation1 is the very thing which gives your plain-speaking its right--as it were--to speak4 ,when1 without bearing any grudge1 you remind him that it has not been his own habit to let his friends go wrong1 but to teach them better and set them right1 he will be the more ready to give in and accept the proffered correction2 for he will believe that it is good feeling and good intention1 not anger and fault-finding1 which prompt this payment in return4 ,sidenote3 #gc ,in the next place1 remember the saying of ,thucydides3 #8,well advised is he who accepts unpopularity in a great cause4' ,it is the duty of a friend to accept the odium of reproof when questions of great moment are at stake4 ,but if he is everywhere and always being displeased2 if he behaves to his intimates as if he were their tutor and not their friend1 his reproofs will possess no edge and produce no effect when it comes to matters of importance4 ,he will have frittered away his candour1 after the manner of a physician who takes a pungent or bitter drug ,sidenote3 ,b of a sovereign and costly character1 and parcels it out in a large number of petty doses for which there is no necessity4 ,no6 while a friend will1 for his own part1 carefully avoid such unremitting censoriousness1 the incessant niggling and pettifogging of some other person will afford him an opening to attack those faults which are more serious4 ,once when a man with an ulcerated liver showed the physician ,philotimus a sore on his finger1 the doctor observed1 #8,my good sir1 your case is not a matter of a whitlow6' ,so when some one is finding fault with a number of insignificant peccadilloes1 the real friend will be offered the opportunity of saying to him1 #8,what have his tippling and foolery to do with us8 ,my good sir1 let our friend here dismiss his mistress or stop dicing1 and he is otherwise an admirable fellow4' ,if a man finds that allowance is made ,sidenote3 ,c for his trifling errors1 he will take it in good part when a friend speaks his mind against those which are of more moment4 ,but to be everlastingly girding1 to be bitter and harsh on all occasions1 to be continually meddling and taking cognisance of every action1 is intolerable even to a child or a brother1 nay1 unendurable even to a slave4 ,again1 it is no more true of the folly of our friends than it is--despite ,euripides--of old age1 that ,all things are wrong with it4 ,our friends have their right actions1 and we should keep an eye upon these no less than upon their errors4 ,we should1 in fact1 begin by zealously praising them4 ,in dealing with iron we have first to soften it with heat before the chilling process ,sidenote3 ,d can impart to it the consistency and hardness of steel4 ,so with our friends4 ,first we warm and fuse them with praise2 then a quiet application of candour serves as a tempering douche4 ,we have1 for instance1 the opportunity of saying1 #8,is there any comparison between the other conduct and this8 ,do you see what good fruit comes of doing the right thing8 ,this is what your friends expect of you2 it is like you1 and what nature meant you for4 ,the other conduct is abominable2 away with it ,to the mountain or to the wave of the surging tumultuous ocean6#8 ,a sensible physician will always rather cure a sick man with sleep and feeding than with castor and scammony2 and a right-minded friend1 or a kind father or teacher1 prefers to use praise ,sidenote3 ,e rather than blame as his means of moral correction4 ,for a candid friend to cause least pain and work most benefit1 there is nothing like showing the least possible anger and treating the offender with polite good feeling4 ,we must not1 therefore1 sharply confute him if he denies a thing1 nor try to stop him if he defends himself4 ,on the contrary1 we must help him to contrive some kind of plausible excuse2 and1 when he refuses to own to the more discreditable motive1 we must ourselves concede him a less heinous one4 ,thus ,hector says to his brother3 ,not well is this wrath1 foolish man1 that thus thou hast stored in thy bosom1 ,sidenote3 ,f as if his retirement from the battle1 instead of being a dastardly running away1 was an exhibition of temper4 ,so ,nestor to ,agamemnon3 ,thou didst yield to the pride of thy spirit4 ,it is manifestly more courteous to say1 #8,you did not stop to think1' or1 #8,you failed to perceive1' than #8,you behaved badly'1 or #8,you behaved unfairly'2 to say1 #8,do not be hard upon ,sidenote3 #gd your brother1' than #8,do not be jealous of your brother'2 to say1 #8,flee from the woman's seductions1' than #8,stop trying to seduce the woman'4 ,this is the manner cultivated by curative ,sidenote3 99 candour2 the other belongs to vexatious candour4 ,suppose a person is about to do wrong and that we are called upon to check him--to stem the current of some vehement impulse4 ,or suppose that he is inclined to be unready in the performance of duty1 and we wish to brace him up and stimulate him4 ,we should do so by making charges which put the matter in an outrageously unbecoming light4 ,for instance1 in ,sophocles1 when ,odysseus is working upon ,achilles1 he makes out1 not that ,achilles is angry at the affair of the banquet1 but ,sidenote3 ,b ,now that thou hast the ,trojan burghs in sight1 ,thou art afraid4 ,and when1 in answer to this1 ,achilles is so enraged that he declares he is off home3 ,i know what 'tis thou flyest--not reproach3 ,hector is nigh1 and 'tis not well to stay4 ,in inciting to high courses and dissuading from low ones1 we may frighten a man with the reputation he will win3 a man of courage and spirit with that of coward2 a man of temperance and self-control with that of profligate2 a man of magnificent generosity with that of miser and cheeseparer4 ,where a thing is past cure1 we must show ourselves reasonable2 our candour ,sidenote3 ,c must display more sorrow and sympathy than blame4 ,but when we are preventing a misdeed or fighting against a passion1 we must be vigorous1 inflexible1 and insistent4 ,then is the right moment for incorruptible affection and genuine frankness4 ,to blame an action when it is done is no more than we find enemies doing to each other4 ,diogenes used to say that1 if you are to be kept right1 you must possess either good friends or red-hot enemies4 ,the one will warn you1 the other will expose you4 ,but it is better to avoid errors by taking advice than to repent of an error because of abuse4 ,for this reason ,sidenote3 ,d we must study tact even in the matter of candour4 ,as it is the most effective drug that can be employed in friendship1 so it stands in most need of unfailing discretion as to time and moderation as to strength4 ,and1 finally1 since1 as ,i have said1 it is in the nature of plain-speaking that it should often cause pain to the person under treatment1 we must take a pattern by the medical man4 ,he does not use his lancet and then leave the part to suffer2 he eases it with gentle lotions and fomentations4 ,similarly1 if our admonitions are to be tactful1 we do not administer a sharp sting and then run away4 ,we adopt a different strain1 and soothe ,sidenote3 ,e and calm the patient with courteous language1 much as sculptors put smoothness and gloss upon a statue where they have chipped it with hammer and chisel4 ,if we strike and gash a man with plain-speaking and then leave him in the rough--lumpy and uneven with anger--it is a hard matter afterwards to call him back and smooth him over4 ,this1 therefore1 is a result against which the admonisher must be especially on his guard4 ,he must not leave the patient too soon1 nor allow the last words of his conversation to be such as pain and exasperate his intimate friend4 ,footnote #dh3 i4e4 a rough and mountainous island4 ,footnote #di3 ,a #8satyric' drama was a half-comic interlude or sequel to tragedies4 ,footnote #ej3 ,in the ,stoic sense of adiaphoria4 ,footnote #ea3 ,since diagrams were often drawn with sticks in the dust4 ,footnote #eb3 ,the ,greek jest does not admit of translation4 ,the same word may mean both #8theft' and a #8stealthy act'4 ,footnote #ec3 ,the point lies in an ambiguity which is possible only in the ,greek4 ,the words may equally mean3 #8,you issued no invitation when sacrificing your friends1' and #8when sacrificing1 you did not invite your friends'4 ,footnote #ed3 ,or what ,french would call the gouverneur4 ,,on ,,bringing ,,up ,a ,,boy#ee ,i propose to offer some remarks upon the bringing-up of ,sidenote3 #a free-born children1 as a means of securing soundness of character4 ,perhaps the best starting-point is that at which they are brought into existence4 ,upon one who desires to become the father of reputable ,sidenote3 ,b children ,i would urge that he should be careful as to his consort4 ,she must be no mistress or concubine4 ,base birth1 whether on mother's or father's side1 is an indelible reproach4 ,it sticks to a man all the days of his life2 it offers a handle to those who are minded to discredit or vilify him2 and it is a wise saying of the poet that ,when the foundation of a stock is laid ,amiss1 needs must the issue be unhappy4 ,a sure fund of confidence for facing the world lies therefore in honourable birth1 and this must be a first consideration with all who are anxious for a right and proper procreation of children4 ,it is quite natural that those whose birth is of base metal which will not bear scrutiny should tend to be weak-spirited and abject4 ,the poet is quite right in saying3 ,sidenote3 ,c ,it slaves a man1 stout-hearted though he be1 ,to know his mother or his father base4 ,it is no doubt equally the case that persons of distinguished parentage become full of pride and self-assertion4 ,thus ,themistocles' son1 ,diophantus1 is reported to have said on many occasions and to many persons that he had only to wish for a thing and the ,athenian people voted for it4 #8,what he liked1 ,sidenote3 ,d his mother liked2 what his mother liked1 ,themistocles liked2 and what ,themistocles liked1 all ,athens liked4' ,a most praiseworthy pride was that exhibited by the ,lacedaemonians1 when they mulcted their own king ,archidamus for condescending to marry a woman of small stature1 their plea being that he intended to provide them with kinglets instead of kings4 ,in this connexion there is one observation which my predecessors also have duly made4 ,it is that those who approach their wives with a view to offspring should do so either while wholly abstaining from wine or at least after tasting it in moderation4 ,sidenote3 #b ,this explains the remark of ,diogenes on seeing a youth in a state of mad excitement3 #8,young fellow1 your father begat you when he was drunk4' ,so much for the question of birth4 ,we will now turn to that of upbringing4 ,speaking generally1 we must say of virtue what it is customary to say of the arts and sciences--that for right action three things must go together1 namely1 nature1 reason1 and habit4 ,by reason ,i mean instruction2 by habit ,i mean exercise4 ,the ,sidenote3 ,b first elements come from nature2 progress1 from instruction2 the actual use1 from practice2 the consummation1 from all combined4 ,in so far as any of these is defective1 character must necessarily be maimed4 ,nature without instruction is blind2 instruction without nature is futile2 practice without both is abortive4 ,in farming1 the soil must first be good2 next1 the farmer must know his business2 third1 the seeds must be sound4 ,similarly with education4 ,nature is the soil1 the teacher is the farmer1 ,sidenote3 ,c the lessons and precepts are the seed4 ,it may be confidently asserted that all three were harmoniously blended in the souls of those men whose renown is universal--,pythagoras1 ,socrates1 ,plato1 and others who have won imperishable glory4 ,blest indeed1 and divinely favoured1 is the man on whom ,heaven has bestowed each and all4 ,yet it would be a great1 or rather a total1 mistake to suppose that1 when natural gift is defective1 no right moral instruction and practice will lead one to improve his faulty nature in some attainable degree4 ,for while neglect will ruin an excellent natural gift1 teaching will correct an inferior one4 ,be careless1 and you miss a thing1 however easy3 take pains1 and you secure it1 however difficult4 ,you have only to glance at a number of everyday facts in order ,sidenote3 ,d to perceive how complete is the success of persistent effort4 ,drops of water will hollow a rock2 iron and bronze are worn away by the touch of the hands2 wood bent by pressure into a carriage-wheel can never recover its original straightness4 ,to straighten the curved sticks used by actors is impossible1 the unnatural form having become1 by dint of straining1 stronger than the natural4 ,nor are these the only examples to prove the efficacy of painstaking4 ,instances are countless4 ,soil may be naturally ,sidenote3 ,e good2 but neglect it1 and it becomes a waste4 ,indeed1 the better it is by nature1 the more hopeless a wilderness will your neglect make of it4 ,on the other hand1 it may be too hard and rugged2 yet cultivation will speedily cause it to produce excellent crops4 ,is there any tree which will not grow crooked and cease to bear fruit if left untended1 whereas1 when properly trained1 it bears well and brings its fruit to perfection8 ,does not bodily strength invariably become effete when you take your ease and neglect to keep in good condition1 whereas a feeble physique gains immensely in strength through gymnastic and athletic exercise8 ,is there any horse which a rider cannot render obedient by ,sidenote3 ,f a thorough breaking-in1 whereas1 if left unbroken1 it will prove stiff-necked and full of temper8 ,but why dwell longer on such cases1 when there are so many examples of the most savage creatures being tamed and made amenable to hard work8 ,when a ,thessalian was asked which of his countrymen were the gentlest in manner1 his answer was a good one3 ,those who are giving up war4 ,but it is useless to multiply instances4 ,character is long-standing habit1 and it would scarcely be beside ,sidenote3 #c the mark to speak of the virtues of the mind as the virtues #8of minding'4#ef ,one more illustration1 and we will dispense with further elaboration of the subject4 ,the ,spartan legislator ,lycurgus once took two puppies belonging to the same parents and brought them up in entirely different ways4 ,the one he turned into a gluttonous good-for-nothing1 the other into a keen and capable hunting-dog4 ,subsequently he got the ,lacedaemonians together and said to them3 #8,a great factor ,sidenote3 ,b in engendering virtue consists of habit and education--of instruction in the conduct of life--as ,i am about to prove to you here and now4' ,he then brought forward the two young dogs1 put down directly in front of them a plate of food and a hare1 and let the dogs loose2 whereupon the one darted after the hare1 while the other made for the plate4 ,the ,lacedaemonians1 who were not yet in the secret1 failed to perceive the meaning of his demonstration1 until he told them3 #8,both these dogs come from the same parents1 but the difference in their education has turned the one into a glutton and the other into a hunter4' ,no more need be said of habit and conduct of life4 ,we may ,sidenote3 ,c proceed to the question of nurture4 ,in my opinion mothers should nurse their own children and offer them the breast2 for their nursing will be of a more sympathetic and painstaking kind1 since their love is from the heart1 or1 as the saying goes1 #8down to the finger-tips1' whereas the affection of professional nurses and foster-mothers--who are paid for it--can only be spurious and factitious4 ,that it is the duty of the mother herself to suckle and nurse her offspring is evident from the arrangement of nature1 which has supplied every animal after parturition with the necessary provision of milk4 ,here ,providence further shows its wisdom1 inasmuch as it has furnished a woman with a pair of breasts1 ,sidenote3 ,d so that1 even if she bears twins1 there may be a double source for them to draw upon4 ,moreover she will by so acting become more tender and affectionate to her child4 ,it can1 indeed1 scarcely be otherwise2 the connexion of nurse and nursling is the means of raising affection to its highest pitch4 ,one can see how even a brute beast will yearn for its nursling1 if you tear them apart4 ,if possible1 then1 the mother should endeavour to nurse the child herself4 ,but if--as may sometimes happen--she is prevented by physical weakness1 or if other children are speedily on the way1 it is at least desirable not to accept as foster-mother or nurse the first that offers1 but to choose the best possible4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,to begin with1 her character should be ,greek4 ,it is as with the treatment of the body4 ,as soon as children are born1 we have to mould their limbs in order that they may grow straight and shapely4 ,similarly their characters ought to be regulated from the first4 ,for youth is supple and plastic1 and it is while the mind is still soft and yielding that it acts as a mould for instruction1 whereas it is always difficult to knead into shape ,sidenote3 ,f anything hard4 ,as it is in soft wax that we make the impression of a seal1 so it is in the minds of those who are still little children that we imprint a lesson4 ,that great thinker ,plato is right1 it seems to me1 in exhorting a nurse to use discretion in the tales she tells to young children2 otherwise their minds may become infected from the first with folly and corruption4 ,it is also sound advice which the poet ,phocylides gives in the words3 ,while yet but a child1 it behoveth ,to learn such deeds as are good4 ,another point which we cannot afford to omit concerns the slave children who are to serve the young master and to be brought up with him4 ,pains must be taken1 first1 of course1 that ,sidenote3 #d they shall be well-behaved1 but also that they shall talk ,greek1 and talk it with good articulation4 ,otherwise1 through rubbing against barbarians and bad characters1 he will pick up something of their vices4 ,the proverb-makers have good reason for saying3 ,if you have a lame man for a neighbour1 you will learn to limp4 ,when children reach the age to be put under a mentor1 it becomes especially necessary to take pains in the appointment of such a person4 ,otherwise we shall have them entrusted to some uncivilized or rascally fellow4 ,what actually happens ,sidenote3 ,b is often in the highest degree absurd4 ,respectable slaves are made into farmers1 skippers1 traders1 stewards1 or money-lenders1 while any low specimen who is found to be a glutton and a tippler and of no use in any kind of business is taken and put in charge of the sons4 ,a fit and proper attendant should possess the same qualities of mind as ,phoenix1 the attendant of ,achilles4 ,we now reach a topic more important and vital than any yet treated--that of the right teachers for our children4 ,the kind to be sought for are those whose lives are irreproachable1 whose characters are unimpugned1 and whose skill and experience ,sidenote3 ,c are of the best4 ,the root or fountain-head of character as a man and a gentleman lies in receiving the proper education4 ,as farmers put stakes beside their plants1 so the right kind of teacher provides firm support for the young in the shape of lessons and admonitions1 carefully chosen so as to produce an upright growth of character4 ,as things are1 the behaviour of some fathers is contemptible4 ,before making inquiry as to the proposed teachers1 they put their children into the hands of frauds and charlatans1 without knowing what they are about1 or1 maybe1 because they are not competent to judge4 ,in the latter case their behaviour is not so ridiculous1 but there is another case in which it is in the last degree absurd4 ,i mean1 when they know1 either from their own ,sidenote3 ,d observation or from the accounts of others1 how ignorant and ,sidenote3 99 bad certain educators are1 and yet entrust their children to them4 ,sometimes this is because they cannot resist the fawning of some obsequious flatterer2 sometimes it is done to gratify the whim of a friend4 ,it would be just as reasonable for a sick man to gratify a friend by rejecting the doctor whose science could save him1 and preferring the ignoramus who will kill him2 or for a man to dismiss the best ship's-captain and appoint the worst1 because a friend asked for it4 ,in the name of all that is sacred1 can any one called a #8father' set the pleasing of ,sidenote3 ,e somebody who asks a favour above the education of his children8 ,there was good sense in a frequent saying of famous old ,socrates1 #8,if it could be done1 one ought to mount the loftiest part of the city and shout3 ,good people1 what are you after8 ,why in such deadly earnest about making money1 while troubling so little about the sons to whom you are to leave it8' ,we may add that the conduct of such fathers is like that of a man who is anxious as to his shoe1 while his foot may look after itself4 ,many fathers go to such lengths in the way of fondness for their money and ,sidenote3 ,f want of fondness for their children1 that1 to avoid paying a larger fee1 they choose utterly worthless persons to educate their sons1 their object being an inexpensive ignorance4 ,this reminds one of ,aristippus and his neat and witty repartee to a foolish father4 ,questioned as to what fee he asked for educating the child1 he replied1 #8,forty pounds4' #8,good heavens6' said the father3 #8,what an extravagant demand6 ,for forty pounds ,i can buy a slave4' #8,very well1' was the answer3 #8then you ,sidenote3 #e will have two slaves--your son1 and the one you buy4' ,to put it shortly1 it is surely absurd to train little children to receive their food with the right hand1 and to scold them if they put out the left1 and yet to take no precautions that they shall be taught moral lessons of a sound and proper kind4 ,what the consequence is to these admirable fathers1 when they bring up their sons badly and educate them badly1 is soon told4 ,on coming of age and taking rank as men1 the sons show an utter disregard of a wholesome and orderly life1 and throw themselves headlong into low and irregular pleasures4 ,then ,sidenote3 ,b at last1 when it is of no use1 and when their wrongdoing has brought him to his wits' end1 the father repents of having sacrificed his children's education4 ,some of them take up with toadies and parasites1 wretched nondescripts who are the ruin and bane of youth2 others with haughty and expensive mistresses and strumpets1 whom they ransom from their employers4 ,some spend recklessly on gormandizing2 some are wrecked upon dice and carousals2 some go so far as to venture on the more daring vices--they commit adultery1 and think death not too much ,sidenote3 ,c to pay for a single pleasure4 ,had these last studied philosophy1 they would in all probability not have succumbed to temptation of this kind4 ,they would have been told of the advice of ,diogenes--who1 however coarse in his language1 is right in his facts--#8,go to a brothel1 my boy1 and you will find that the ,sidenote3 99 expensive article is not a bit better than the cheap one4' ,in brief1 then1 ,i assert--and it would be fairer to regard me as repeating an oracle than as giving advice--that in these matters the one and essential thing1 the first1 middle1 and last1 is a sound upbringing and right education4 ,it is this1 ,i say1 which leads to virtue and happiness4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,other blessings are on the human plane2 they are slight and not worth serious pursuit4 ,good birth is a distinction1 but the boon depends on one's ancestors4 ,wealth is a prize1 but its possession depends on fortune1 which often carries it off from those who have it and bestows it on those who never hoped for it4 ,moreover1 great wealth is a target exposed to any rogue of a servant or blackmailer who is minded to #8aim a purse' at it4 ,and1 worst of all1 even the basest of men have their share of it4 ,fame1 again1 is imposing1 but uncertain4 ,beauty1 though greatly courted1 is short-lived2 health1 though highly prized1 is unstable2 strength is a thing to be envied1 but it falls an easy prey to disease and age4 ,let us tell any one who prides himself ,sidenote3 ,e on his bodily strength that he is manifestly under a delusion4 ,how small a fraction is human strength of the might of other animals1 such as the elephant1 the bull1 and the lion6 ,meanwhile culture is the only thing in us that is immortal and divine4 ,in the nature of man there are two sovereign elements--understanding and reason4 ,it is the place of the understanding to direct the reason and of the reason to serve the understanding4 ,fortune cannot overcome them1 calumny cannot rob us of them1 disease cannot corrupt them1 old age cannot impair them4 ,the understanding is the only thing that renews its youth as it grows old1 and1 while time carries off everything else1 it brings old age one gift--that of knowledge4 ,when1 again1 war comes like a torrent1 tearing and sweeping everything away1 it is of our mental culture alone that it cannot rob us4 ,stilpo1 the ,megarian philosopher1 made what seems a memorable answer when ,demetrius1 after enslaving the city and razing it to the ground1 asked him if he had lost anything4 #8,o no6' said he1 #8for virtue is not made spoil of war4' ,the reply of ,socrates is evidently to the same tune and purpose4 ,sidenote3 #f ,it was ,gorgias1 ,i believe1 who asked him his opinion of the ,great ,king1 and whether he considered him happy4 #8,i have no knowledge1' said ,socrates1 #8as to the state of his character and culture4' ,he assumed that happiness depended upon these1 and not upon the gifts of fortune4 ,not only should the education of our children be treated as of the very first importance1 but ,i once more urge that we should insist upon its being of the sound and genuine kind4 ,from pretentious nonsense our sons should be kept as far aloof ,sidenote3 ,b as possible4 ,to please the many is to displease the wise1 an assertion in which ,i have the support of ,euripides3 ,i am not deft of words before the crowd1 ,more skilled when with my compeers and the few4 ',tis compensation3 they who #8mid the wise ,are naught1 surpass in gift of speech to mobs4 ,my own observation tells me that persons who make a business of speaking in a way to please and curry favour with the rabble1 generally prove correspondingly dissolute and pleasure-loving in their lives4 ,nor1 indeed1 should we expect anything else2 for if they have no regard to propriety when catering for the ,sidenote3 ,c gratification of other people1 it is not likely that they will permit right and sound principles to have the upper hand of their own voluptuous self-indulgence1 nor that they will cultivate self-control rather than enjoyment4 ,sidenote3 99 ,and how can children learn from them anything admirable8 ,among admirable things is the practice of neither saying nor doing anything at random2 and1 as the proverb goes1 #8admirable things are difficult4' ,meanwhile1 speeches made offhand are a mass of reckless slovenliness1 without a notion where to begin or where to end4 ,apart from other faults1 extempore speakers drop into a terrible prolixity and verbiage1 whereas premeditation keeps ,sidenote3 ,d a speech safe within the lines of due proportion4 ,when ,pericles1 #8as tradition informs us1' was called upon by the assembly1 he frequently refused the call1 on the ground that his thoughts were #8not arranged'4 ,demosthenes1 who took him for his own political model1 acted in the same way4 ,if the ,athenians called upon him to address them1 he would resist1 with the words1 #8,i have not arranged my thoughts4' ,this1 it is true1 may be unauthentic and a fabrication2 but in the speech against ,meidias we have an explicit statement as to the advantage of preparation4 ,his words are3 #8,i admit1 gentlemen1 that ,i come prepared2 and ,i have no wish to deny it4 ,i have even conned over my speech to the best of my poor ability4 ,it would have been insane conduct1 if1 after and amid such harsh treatment1 ,i had paid no regard to what ,i meant to say to you on the subject4' ,that impromptu speaking should be rejected altogether1 or1 ,sidenote3 ,e failing this1 that it should be practised only on unimportant subjects1 ,i do not say4 ,i am recommending a tonic regimen4 ,before manhood1 ,i claim that there should be no speaking on the spur of the moment4 ,but when the ability has taken firm root1 it is only right for speech to enjoy free play as occasion invites4 ,though persons who have been in prison for a long time may subsequently be liberated1 they are unsteady on their feet1 ,sidenote3 ,f a protracted habit of wearing chains making them unable to step out4 ,similarly if those who have for a long time kept their speaking under close constraint some day find it necessary to speak offhand1 they nevertheless retain the same style of expression4 ,but to let mere children make extempore speeches is to become responsible for the worst of twaddle and futility4 ,there is a story of a wretched painter who showed ,apelles a picture1 with the remark1 #8,i have just painted this at one ,sidenote3 #g sitting4' #8,i can see1' said ,apelles1 #8without your telling me1 that it has been quick work4 ,but my wonder is that you haven't painted more than one as good4' ,while 7to return to the original matter in hand7 we must be careful to avoid a style which is theatrical and bombastic1 we must be equally on our guard against one which is low and trivial4 ,if the turgid style is unbusinesslike1 too thin a style is ineffective4 ,just as the body should be not only healthy but also in good condition1 so language must be full of strength ,sidenote3 ,b and not simply free from disease4 ,keep on the safe side1 and you are merely commended3 face some risk1 and you are admired4 ,i take the same view of the mental disposition also4 ,one should neither be over-bold1 and so become brazen1 nor yet timid and bashful1 and so become mean-spirited4 ,the rule of art and taste is ,the middle course in all things4 ,sidenote3 99 ,while ,i am still upon the subject of this part of education there is an opinion which ,i desire to express4 ,a style consisting of single clauses ,i regard in the first instance as no slight evidence of poor taste1 and1 in the next1 as too finical a thing ever to ,sidenote3 ,c be maintained in practice4 ,here1 as in everything else that caters for ear or eye1 monotony is as cloying and irksome as variety is delightful4 ,there is no subject in the #8regular curriculum' of which the eye or ear of a freeborn boy should be permitted to remain uninformed4 ,but while he receives a cursory education in those subjects in order to taste their quality1 the most important place--complete all-round proficiency being impossible--must belong to philosophy4 ,we may explain by a comparison with ,sidenote3 ,d travel1 in which it is an excellent thing to visit a large number of cities1 but good policy to settle in the best4 ,as the philosopher ,bion wittily remarked1 when the suitors could obtain no access to ,penelope they satisfied themselves with her handmaids1 and when a man is unable to get hold of philosophy he makes dry bones of himself upon the remaining subjects1 which are of no account4 ,philosophy1 then1 should be put at the head of all mental culture4 ,the services which have been invented for the care of the body are two--medicine and gymnastics--the one imparting health1 the other good condition4 ,but for the weaknesses and ailments of the soul philosophy is the only thing to be prescribed4 ,it is from and with philosophy that we can tell what is becoming or disgraceful1 what is just or unjust1 ,sidenote3 ,e what course1 in short1 is to be chosen or shunned4 ,it teaches us how to behave towards the ,gods1 our parents1 our elders1 the laws1 our rulers1 friends1 wives1 children1 and servants3 that we should worship the ,gods1 honour our parents1 respect our elders1 obey the laws1 give way to our rulers1 love our friends1 be continent towards our wives1 show affection to our children1 and abstain from cruelty to our slaves4 ,above all1 it warns us against excess of joy when prosperous and excess of grief when unfortunate2 against dissoluteness in our pleasures1 or fury and brutality in our anger4 ,these ,i judge to be chief among ,sidenote3 ,f the blessings conferred by philosophy4 ,to bear adversity nobly is to act the brave man1#eg to bear prosperity unassumingly1 the ,sidenote3 99 modest mortal4 ,to get the better of pleasures by reason needs wisdom2 to master anger requires no ordinary character4 ,perfect men ,i take to be those who can blend practical ability ,sidenote3 #h with philosophy1 and who can achieve both of two best and greatest ends--the life of public utility as men of affairs1 and the calm and tranquil life as students of philosophy4 ,for there are three kinds of life3 the life of action1 the life of thought1 and the life of enjoyment4 ,when life is dissolute and enslaved to pleasure1 it is mean and animal2 when it is all thought and fails to act1 it is futile2 when it is all action and destitute of philosophy1 it is crude and blundering4 ,we should therefore do our best to engage both in public business and in the pursuit ,sidenote3 ,b of philosophy1 as occasion offers4 ,of this kind was the public career of ,pericles1 of ,archytas of ,tarentum1 of ,dion of ,syracuse1 and of ,epaminondas of ,thebes4 ,of these ,dion actually attached himself to ,plato as his pupil4 ,there is no need1 ,i think1 to deal at any greater length with mental cultivation4 ,it is1 however1 further desirable--or rather it is essential--that we should not neglect to possess the standard treatises1 but should collect a stock of them1 with the result of keeping our knowledge from starvation4#eh ,farmers stock ,sidenote3 99 their fertilizers1 and the employment of books is instrumental to culture in the same way4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,meanwhile we must not omit to exercise the body also4 ,our boys must be sent to the teacher of gymnastics and receive a sufficient amount of physical training1 both to secure a good carriage and also to develop strength4 ,good condition is the foundation laid in childhood for a hale old age1 and1 just as our preparations for wintry weather should be made while it is fine1 so we should store up provision for age in the shape of regular and temperate behaviour in youth4 ,physical exertion should1 however1 be so regulated that a boy does not become too exhausted to devote himself sufficiently to mental culture4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,as ,plato observes1 sleep and weariness are the enemies of study4 ,upon this topic ,i need not dwell1 but will pass on at once to the most important consideration of all--the necessity of training a boy for service as a fighting-man4 ,for this he must go through hard drill in hurling the javelin1 in shooting with the bow1 and in hunting4 #8,the goods of the vanquished1' it has been said1 #8are prizes offered to the victor4' ,there is no place in war for the physical condition of the cloister1 and a lean soldier accustomed to warlike exercises will break through ,sidenote3 99 a phalanx of fleshy prize-fighters4 ,sidenote3 ,e #8,well but1' some one may urge1 #8while you promised us a set of rules for the upbringing of free men1 it turns out that you have nothing to say concerning that of poor and common people1 but are satisfied to confine your suggestions to the rich4' ,there is a ready reply to the objection4 ,if possible1 ,i should desire the proposed education to be applicable to all alike4 ,but if there are cases in which limited private circumstances make it impossible to carry my rules into practice1 the blame should be laid upon fortune1 not upon him who offers the advice4 ,though a man is poor1 he should make every possible effort to bring up his children in the ideal way4 ,failing this1 he must come as near to it as he can4 ,after thus encumbering our discussion with this side-issue1 ,sidenote3 ,f ,i will now proceed with the connected account of such other ,sidenote3 99 matters as contribute to the right upbringing of the young4 ,and first1 children should be led into right practices of persuasion and reasoning3 flogging and bodily injury should be out of the question4 ,such treatment is surely more fit for slaves than for the free1 whom the smart1 or even the humiliation1 of a beating deprives of all life and spirit1 making their tasks a horror to them4 ,the freeborn find praise a more effective ,sidenote3 #i stimulus to the right conduct1 and blame a more effective deterrent from the wrong1 than any kind of bodily assault4 ,in the use of such praise and reprimand there should be a subtle alternation4 ,when a child is too bold1 it should first be shamed by reproof and then encouraged by a word of praise4 ,we may take a pattern by nurses1 who may have to make an infant cry1 but who afterwards comfort it by offering it the breast4 ,we must1 however1 avoid puffing children up with eulogies1 the consequence of excessive praise being vanity and conceit4 ,i have noticed more than one instance in which the over-fondness ,sidenote3 ,b of a father has proved to be a lack of fondness4 ,to make my meaning clear1 ,i will use an illustration4 ,being in too great haste for their children to take first place in everything1 they impose extravagant tasks1 which prove too great for their strength and end in failure1 besides causing them such weariness and distress that they refuse to submit patiently to instruction4 ,water in moderation will make a plant grow1 while a flood of water will choke it4 ,in the same way the mind will thrive under ,sidenote3 ,c reasonably hard work1 but will drown if the work is excessive4 ,we must therefore allow children breathing-time from perpetual tasks1 and remember that all our life there is a division of relaxation and effort4 ,hence the existence of sleep as well as waking1 of peace as well as war1 of fine weather as well as bad1 of holidays as well as business4 ,in a word1 it is rest that seasons toil4 ,the fact is obvious1 not merely in the case of living things1 but in that of the inanimate world4 ,we loosen a bow or a lyre1 so that we may be able to tighten it4 ,in fine1 the body is kept sound by want and its satisfaction1 the mind by relaxation and labour4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,there are some fathers who have a culpable way of entrusting their sons to attendants and teachers1 and then entirely omitting to keep the instruction of such persons under their own eye or ear4 ,this is a most serious failure in their duty4 ,every few days they should personally examine their children1 instead of confiding in the character of a hireling1 whose attention to his pupils will be more conscientious if he is to be brought continually to book4 ,in this connexion there is aptness in the groom's dictum that nothing is so fattening to a horse as the eye of the king4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,above all things one should train and exercise a child's memory4 ,memory serves as the storehouse of culture1 and hence the fable that ,recollection is the mother of the ,muses--an indirect way of saying that memory is the best thing in the world to beget and foster wisdom4 ,whether children are naturally gifted with a good memory1 or1 on the contrary1 are naturally forgetful1 the memory should be trained in either case4 ,the natural advantage will be strengthened1 or the natural shortcoming made up4 ,the former class will excel others1 the latter will excel themselves4 ,as ,hesiod well puts it3 ,sidenote3 ,f ,if to the thing that is little you further add but a little1 ,and do the same oft and again1 full soon it becometh a great thing4 ,this1 then1 is another fact for fathers to recognize--that the mnemonic element in education plays a most important part1 not only in culture1 but also in the business of life1 inasmuch as the recollection of past experience serves as a guide to wise policy for the future4 ,our sons must also be kept from the use of foul language4 #8,the word1' says ,democritus1 #8is the shadow of the deed4' ,more than that1 we must render them polite and courteous1 ,sidenote3 #aj for there is nothing so detestable as a boorish character4 ,one way in which children may avoid becoming disagreeable to their company is by refraining from absolute stubbornness in discussion4 ,credit is to be gained not merely by victory1 but also by knowing how to accept defeat where victory is harmful4 ,there is unquestionably such a thing as a #8,cadmean victory'4 propos ,i may quote the testimony of that wise poet ,euripides3 ,sidenote3 ,b ,when two men speak1 and one is full of anger1 ,wiser the one who strives not to reply4 ,this is the time to remember certain other habits quite as necessary--and more so--for the young to cultivate as any yet mentioned4 ,these are modesty of behaviour1 restraint of the tongue1 mastery of the temper1 and control of the hands4 ,let us see how important each of them is4 ,we may take an illustration to bring home the notion more clearly4 ,and we will begin with the last4 ,there have been those who1 by lowering their hands to ill-gotten gains1 have thrown away all the reputation won by their previous career4 ,this was the case with the ,lacedaemonian1 ,gylippus1 who was driven into exile from ,sparta ,sidenote3 ,c for secretly broaching the money-bags4 ,absence of anger1 again1 is a quality of wisdom4 ,socrates once received a kick from a very impudent and gross young buffoon1 but on seeing that his own friends were in such a violent state of indignation that they wanted to prosecute him1 he remarked3 #8,if a donkey had kicked me1 would you have condescended to kick him back8' ,the fellow did not1 however1 get off scot-free1 but finding himself universally reproached and nicknamed #8,kicker'1 he hanged himself4 ,when ,aristophanes brought out the ,clouds1 and poured all manner of abuse upon ,socrates1 one of those present asked3 #8,pray1 are you not indignant at his ridiculing you in this manner8' ,sidenote3 ,d #8,not ,i1 indeed1' replied ,socrates2 #8this banter in the theatre is only in a big convivial party4' ,a close counterpart of this attitude will be found in the behaviour of ,plato and of ,archytas of ,tarentum4 ,when the latter1 on his return from the war in which he had held command1 found that his land had gone out of cultivation1 he summoned his manager and remarked3 #8,you would have suffered for this1 if ,i had not been too angry4' ,when ,plato1 again1 was once worked into a passion with a greedy and impudent slave1 he called his sister's son ,speusippus and said1 #8,go and give this fellow a thrashing3 ,i am myself in a great passion4' ,but1 it may be argued1 it is difficult to reach so high a standard ,sidenote3 ,e as this4 ,i am well aware of it4 ,we can therefore only do our best to take a pattern by such conduct1 and minimize any tendency to ungovernable rage4 ,as in other matters1 we are no match for either the moral mastery or the finished character of those great models4 ,nevertheless we may act towards them as we might towards the ,gods1 serving as hierophants and torch-bearers of their wisdom and endeavouring to imitate in our nibbling way as much as lies in our power4 ,as for the control of the tongue--the remaining point to be considered according to our promise--any one who regards it as of trivial moment is very much in the wrong4 ,in a timely ,sidenote3 ,f silence there is a wisdom superior to any speech4 ,it is apparently for this reason that men in old times invented our mystic rites and ceremonies4 ,the notion was that1 through being trained to silence in connexion with these1 we should secure the keeping of human secrets by carrying into them the same religious fear4 ,moreover1 though multitudes have repented of talking1 no man has repented of silence1 and while it is easy to utter what has been kept back1 it is impossible to recall what has been uttered4 ,my own reading affords countless instances of the greatest disasters resulting from an ungoverned tongue4 ,i will content ,sidenote3 #aa myself with mentioning one or two typical examples4 ,when1 upon the marriage of ,philadelphus with his sister1 ,sotades composed a scurrilous verse1 he paid ample atonement for talking out of season by rotting for a long time in prison4 ,he thus purchased a laugh in others by long weeping of his own4 ,the ,sidenote3 99 story is closely matched by that of the sophist ,theocritus1 who endured similar1 but much more terrible1 consequences for a similar remark4 ,alexander had ordered the ,greeks to provide a stock of purple garments1 with a view to the thanksgiving ,sidenote3 ,b sacrifice on his return from his ,persian victories1 and the various peoples were contributing at so much per head4 ,hereupon ,theocritus observed3 #8,i have now become clear upon a point which used to puzzle me4 ,this is what is meant by ,homer's 8purple death0#8--words which earned him the enmity of ,alexander4 ,antigonus1 the ,macedonian king1 had but one eye1 and ,theocritus made him excessively angry by a taunt at this disfigurement4 ,eutropion1 the chief cook1 who had become a person of importance1 was sent to him by the king with a request that he would come to court and engage him in argument4 ,on receiving repeated visits from ,eutropion with this message1 he ,sidenote3 ,c remarked1 #8,i am well aware that you want to dish me up raw to the ,cyclops1' thus twitting the one with being disfigured1 the other with being a cook4 #8,then1' replied ,eutropion1 #8it will be without your head1 for you shall be punished for such mad and reckless language4' ,thereupon he reported the words to the king1 who sent and put ,theocritus to death4 ,the last and most sacred requirement is that children should be trained to speak the truth4 ,lying is a servile habit2 it deserves universal detestation and is unpardonable even in a decent slave4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,so far ,i have had no doubt or hesitation in what ,i have said of the modesty and good behaviour of children4 ,but upon the matter which now calls for mention ,i am dubious and undecided1 my judgement swaying in the balance first one way and then the other1 without finding it possible to turn the scale in either direction4 ,it concerns a practice which ,i can neither recommend nor discountenance without great reluctance4 ,nevertheless one must venture a word upon it4 ,the question is whether a man who is enamoured of a boy is to be allowed to keep intimate ,sidenote3 ,e company with him1 or whether1 on the contrary1 association with such a person is to be tabooed4 ,when ,i look at fathers whose disposition is uncompromisingly harsh and austere1 and who regard such association as an intolerable insult to their children1 ,i have many scruples in recommending it or speaking in its favour4 ,when1 on the other hand1 ,i think of ,socrates1 ,plato1 ,xenophon1 ,aeschines1 ,cebes1 and all those great men who have with one accord approved of love between males1 while they have led youths on to culture1 to public leadership1 and to ,sidenote3 ,f a virtuous character1 ,i change my mind and am inclined to copy those great exemplars4 ,euripides is on their side1 when he says3 ,nay1 men may feel passion of other sort1 ,love of a just1 chaste1 virtuous mind and soul4 ,nor must we omit the saying of ,plato1 partly serious and partly humorous1 that those who have shown special excellence should have the right to kiss any beautiful person they choose4 ,the proper course is to drive away those who are enamoured of the person1 but1 generally speaking1 give a sanction to those who are in love with the mind and soul4 ,while we must have nothing to say to the connexions in vogue at ,thebes or in ,elis1 or to the so-called #8abduction' of ,crete1 we may well imitate that kind ,sidenote3 #ab which is usual at ,athens or in ,lacedaemon4 ,on this matter it is for every man to hold such convictions as he has formed for himself4 ,i will now leave it1 and1 having spoken of the discipline and good behaviour of the boy1 will pass on to deal with the age of adolescence4 ,i shall do so in very few words1 for ,i have often expressed my disapproval of those who encourage vicious habits by proposing to put a boy under the charge of tutors and teachers1 whereas1 with a stripling1 they would permit his inclinations to range at will4 ,as a matter of ,sidenote3 ,b fact1 there is need of more anxious precautions in the case of the stripling than in that of the boy4 ,every one is aware that the faults committed by a boy are small matters1 which can be cured without difficulty--such as paying no heed to his tutor1 or trickery and inattention in school4 ,but the sins of adolescence often reach a flagrant and shocking pitch--stealing the father's money1 gormandizing1 dicing1 roistering1 drinking1 loose passion for young girls1 or corruption of married women4 ,the propensities of young manhood ought therefore to be carefully watched and kept closely under the chain4 ,when capacity for ,sidenote3 ,c pleasure is at its prime1 it rejects control1 kicks over the traces1 and requires the curb4 ,if therefore we do not take a firm hold upon this time of life1 we are giving folly a licence to sin4 ,this is the moment when wise fathers should be most watchful and alert2 when they should bring their lads within bounds by warnings1 threats1 or entreaties1 and by pointing out instances of disaster caused by devotion to pleasure1 and of praise and good repute won by continence4 ,these two things form what may be called first principles of virtue1 namely1 hope of honour and fear of punishment1 the one producing a greater eagerness ,sidenote3 ,d for the noblest pursuits1 the other a shrinking from bad actions4 ,one general rule of duty is to keep boys from associating with vicious persons2 otherwise they will pick up something of their vice4 ,this has been urged by ,pythagoras among a number of dark sayings4 ,since these also possess great value as aids to the attainment of virtue1 ,i will proceed to quote them1 adding their explanation4 ,do not taste black-tails#ei--keep no company with persons who are malignant and therefore #8black'4 ,do not ,sidenote3 ,e step over a beam--justice must be scrupulously respected and not #8overstepped'4 ,do not sit on a quart-measure--beware of idleness1 and see to the providing of daily bread4 ,do not clasp hands with every man--we should form no sudden connexions4 ,do not wear a tight ring--one should carry out the practice of ,sidenote3 99 life1 and not fasten it to any chain4 ,do not poke a fire with iron--do not irritate a wrathful man 7the right course being to let angry men go their own way74 ,do not eat the heart--do not injure ,sidenote3 ,f the mind with worry and brooding4 ,abstain from beans--avoid public life 7office in former times being determined by voting with beans74 ,do not put victuals in a chamber-vessel--clever speech ought not to be put into a wicked mind1 since speech1 which is the food of thought1 is polluted by the wickedness in a man4 ,do not turn back on coming to the border--when about to die1 and with the end of life close in sight1 behave calmly and without losing heart4 ,to return to the topic with which we were dealing before this digression4 ,while1 as ,i observed1 boys should be kept from every kind of vicious company1 especially should they be kept ,sidenote3 #ac from parasites4 ,i venture to repeat here what ,i am continually urging upon fathers4 ,there is no set of creatures so pernicious--none which so quickly and completely brings youth to headlong destruction--as parasites4 ,they are utter ruin to both father and son1 filling the old age of the one and the youth of the other with vexation4 ,to gain their purpose they offer an irresistible bait in the shape of pleasure4 ,in the case of rich men's sons1 the father preaches sobriety1 the parasite drunkenness4 ,the father urges temperance and economy1 the parasite profligacy and extravagance4 ,the father says3 #8,be industrious'2 the parasite says3 #8,be idle2 for life is only a moment altogether4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,one ought to live1 not merely exist4 ,why trouble about your father's threats8 ,he is an old driveller with one foot in the coffin1 and we will promptly pick him up on our shoulders and carry him off to his grave4' ,one person tempts him with a drab1 or with the seduction of a married woman1 plundering and stripping the father of all the provision for his old age4 ,they are an abominable crew2 their friendship is a sham2 of candour they have no idea2 they toady the rich and despise the poor4 ,they are drawn to young men like puppets on a string2 they ,sidenote3 99 grin1 when those who feed them laugh2 they counterfeit the possession of a mind1 and give a spurious imitation of details of real life4 ,they live at the rich man's beck1 and though fortune ,sidenote3 ,c has made them free1 their own choice makes them slaves4 ,if they are not insulted1 they regard it as an insult1 their maintenance in that case being without a motive4 ,if1 therefore1 a father is concerned for the obedient conduct of his children1 he must keep these abominable creatures at a distance4 ,and he must by all means do the same with vicious fellow-pupils1 who are capable of corrupting the most moral of natures4 ,while these principles are right and expedient1 ,i have a word to say upon a human aspect of the matter4 ,i have no desire1 all this time1 that a father's disposition should be altogether ,sidenote3 ,d harsh and unyielding4 ,i would have him frequently condone a fault in his junior and recollect that he was once young himself4 ,the physician mixes his bitter drugs with syrup1 and so finds a way to work benefit through the medium of enjoyment4 ,in the same way a father should blend his severe reprimande with kindliness1 at one time giving the boy's desires a loose or easy rein1 at another time tightening it4 ,if possible1 he should ,sidenote3 ,e take misdeeds calmly2 failing that1 his anger should be seasonable and should quickly cool down4 ,it is better for a father to be sharp-tempered than sullen-tempered2 to sulk and bear malice goes far to prove a lack of parental affection4 ,sometimes1 when a fault is committed1 it is a good thing to pretend ignorance1 turning to advantage the dim sight and defective hearing of old age1 and refusing to see or hear certain occurrences which one hears and sees4 ,we put up with the lapses of a friend4 ,is it strange to do so with those of a child8 ,a slave is often heavy-headed from a debauch1 without our taking him to task4 ,the other day you refused the boy money2 there are times to meet his requests4 ,the other day you were indignant2 there are times to be lenient4 ,perhaps he has cozened you through a servant2 ,sidenote3 ,f restrain your anger4 ,has he borrowed the team from the farm8 ,does he come reeking of yesterday's bout8 ,do not notice it4 ,smelling of perfumes8 ,say nothing4 ,such is the way to manage the restiveness of youth4 ,a son who cannot resist pleasure and is deaf to remonstrance should be put into matrimonial harness1 that being the surest way of tying a young man down4 ,the woman who becomes his wife should not1 however1 be to any great extent his superior either in birth or means4 ,keep to your own level is a sound maxim1 and a man who marries much above him finds himself1 ,sidenote3 #ad not the husband of the woman1 but the slave of the dowry4 ,a few words more1 and ,i will conclude my list of principles4 ,above all things a father should set an example to his children in his own person1 by avoiding all faults of commission or omission4 ,his life should be the glass by which they form themselves and are put out of conceit with all ugliness of act or speech4 ,for him to rebuke his erring sons when guilty of the same errors himself1 is to become his own accuser while ostensibly theirs4 ,indeed1 if his life is bad1 he is disqualified from reproving even a slave1 much more his son4 ,moreover1 he will naturally ,sidenote3 ,b become their guide and teacher in wrongdoing4 ,where there are old men without shame1 inevitably there are quite shameless young ones also4 ,to obtain good behaviour from our children we should therefore strive to carry out every moral duty4 ,an example to follow is that of ,eurydice1 who1 though belonging to a thoroughly barbarous country like ,illyria1 nevertheless took to study and self-improvement late in life for the sake of her children's education4 ,her maternal affection finds apt expression in the lines inscribed upon her offering to the ,muses3 ,sidenote3 ,c ,in that1 when mother to grown boys1 she won ,her soul's well-known desire--the skill to use ,the lore of letters--this ,eurydice ,from ,hierapolis sends to each ,muse4#fj ,to compass the whole of the foregoing elements of success is ,sidenote3 99 perhaps visionary--a counsel of perfection4 ,but to cultivate the majority of them1 though itself requiring good fortune as well as much care1 is at any rate a thing within the reach of a human being4 ,footnote #ee3 ,this article is in all probability not the work of ,plutarch4 ,see the ,introduction4 ,footnote #ef3 ,the play upon words 7thikas1 #8moral' and thikas1 #8of habit'7 is not adequately translatable4 ,footnote #eg3 ,the ,greek text is here corrupt2 the translation represents the probable sense4 ,footnote #eh3 ,the ,greek text is again faulty4 ,the sense here given is approximate4 ,footnote #ei3 ,these maxims were probably in the first instance merely hygienic1 or even popular superstitions1 but subsequently they received recondite interpretations4 ,footnote #fj3 ,the ,greek verse is doggerel1 and no attempt is made to better it in the ,english4 ,,notes ,,on ,,persons ,,and ,,places ,the following brief notes are intended to supply the bare amount of information necessary for an understanding of the text4 ,the pronunciation marks are1 of course1 added only for the sake of those who have no ,greek4 ,an accent marks the syllable which should bear the stress in the ,english pronunciation1 and the signs and 1 imply that the vowels are short or long respectively4 q4v4 see the note on that name4 baris3 a legendary ,scythian or #8,hyperborean' priest of ,apollo1 to whom miraculous powers were attributed in the way of cures and prophecy4 ,aeolians3 inhabitants of ,aeolis1 the ,,ne4 coast of the ,aegean1 with the island of ,lesbos4 ,aeschnes3 7#a7 a philosopher1 pupil of ,socrates 7hence ,aeschines ,socraticus74 ,in the eyes of ,plato he was a sophist1 for the reason that he took fees4 ,his character was not of the highest4 ,like ,plato1 he visited ,syracuse during the philosophic pose of the elder ,dionysius4 7#b7 ,athenian orator1 constant opponent of ,demosthenes1 who charged him with being bribed by ,philip4 ,died in exile #cad ,b4,c4 ,aeschylus3 the first in date and most severe in style of the three great ,attic tragedians1 #ebe-dff ,b4,c4 ,a master of condensed and sonorous language and of powerful situations4 ,aesop3 the famous writer 7or promulgator7 of fables1 c4 #fbj-efd ,b4,c4 ,said to have been an emancipated slave1 who spent some time at the court of ,croesus and was sent by him on a mission to ,delphi to distribute largess4 ,practically nothing definite is known of him4 ,his fables were most probably of ,indo-,persian origin4 ,those which now pass under his name are a comparatively late compilation from various sources4 ,agsilus3 ,agesilaus ,,ii1 king of ,sparta1 #cih-cfa ,b4,c42 the most important man in the ,greek world of his day4 ,his wars were numerous1 the most important being with the ,thebans4 ,his character was noble1 his ability great1 but his physique and appearance poor4 ,agis3 7#a7 ,agis ,,ii1 king of ,sparta1 #dbg-cii ,b4,c42 commander against the ,athenians in the ,peloponnesian ,war1 his greatest exploit being the victory of ,mantinea4 7#b7 ,base and toadying poet of ,argos1 who accompanied ,alexander into ,asia4 ,the histories of the expedition agree with ,plutarch as to his character4 ,alcibades3 a handsome noble of ,athens2 a type of ostentatious1 ambitious1 and unscrupulous brilliancy4 ,after a measure of military and political prominence he was banished from ,athens for sacrilege 7#dae ,b4,c474 ,becoming hostile to his country he first found a home at ,sparta1 thence migrated to ,asia ,minor and joined the ,persian satrap1 ,tissaphernes1 whom he endeavoured to bring over to the ,athenian side as a means to his own recall4 ,he returned to ,athens for a brief space in #djg ,b4,c41 then removed to ,thrace1 and thence again to the ,persian satrap4 ,alcmn3 son of ,amphiaraus 7q4v471 who avenged his father by putting to death his mother ,eriphyle4 ,alexander3 7#a7 the ,great1 of ,macedon4 7#b7 of ,pherae1 a despot who dominated ,thessaly from #cfi ,b4,c4 ,a cruel tyrant1 assassinated through the agency of his wife4 ,alexis3 poet of the #8,middle ,comedy'1 who had migrated from ,south ,italy to ,athens4 ,plutarch says that he lived to the age of #ajf1 and ,suidas that his plays numbered #bde4 ,alyttes3 king of ,lydia and father of ,croesus1 carried on wars with the ,greeks of the ,aegean coast of ,asia ,minor and had apparently some designs upon the islands4 ,amsis3 an insurgent ,egyptian general who secured the throne 7#efi ,b4,c474 ,his rule was beneficent and prosperous1 and he cultivated the friendship of the ,greeks1 handing over to them the town of ,naucratis 7q4 v474 ,when reproached with his humble origin he converted his bronze foot-pan into the effigy of a deity by way of instructive parable4 ,he was visited by ,solon and had amicable relations with ,croesus4 ,ammnius3 ,peripatetic philosopher from ,attica1 teacher of ,plutarch1 who speaks elsewhere of his great erudition4 ,amphiarus3 legendary seer of ,argos1 who accompanied the #8,seven' in their expedition against ,thebes4 ,a pious and just man1 who was led into this false step by the persuasions of his wife1 who had been bribed4 ,amphctyons3 members of a religious ,council meeting at ,delphi and representing the older ,greek communities4 ,amphdmas3 #8hero' 7i4 e4 demigod7 of ,chalcis in ,euboea1 conceived as a historical personage4 ,amphitrt3 wife of ,poseidon and queen-goddess of the sea4 ,anacharsis3 ,scythian prince 7of ,n4 ,thrace74 ,to ,greek literature he is the type of the observant and critical visitor from abroad4 ,a pattern of the simple life and direct thinking4 ,said to have visited ,athens about #fjj ,b4,c4 ,anaxarchus3 an easy-going and witty philosopher of the school of ,democritus 7q4 v472 in the suite of ,alexander on his ,asiatic expedition4 ,antgnus3 a general of ,alexander4 ,on the partition of the empire he received ,phrygia1 ,lycia1 and ,pamphylia1 but afterwards extended his rule over all the ,asiatic portion4 ,he fell before a combination of the other ,diadochi in #cja ,b4,c4 ,antmchus3 epic poet of ,colophon1 who wrote at great length on the story of ,thebes4 ,he also composed a voluminous elegy on #8,lyde'4 ,both pieces were crammed with mythological and other learning1 and ,plutarch appears to treat him as a type of the diffuse4 ,he was a contemporary of ,plato4 ,antpter3 7#a7 regent of ,macedonia during the ,asiatic expedition of ,alexander and after his death 7#ccd-cbj ,b4,c474 ,a war with a ,greek league headed by ,athens ended in the submission of the latter4 7#b7 ,a ,stoic philosopher of ,tyre2 a friend of ,cato the younger1 about the middle of the first century ,b4,c4 ,antiphn3 several persons were so named1 e4 g43 7#a7 an orator of the fifth century ,b4,c4 7#b7 ,an ,athenian tragic poet1 put to death by the elder ,dionysius at ,syracuse4 7#c7 ,a sophist1 epic poet1 and antagonist of ,socrates4 ,aplls3 7#a7 of ,colophon or ,cos1 fl4 c4 #cce-cje ,b4,c4 ,the greatest painter of antiquity1 especially favoured by ,alexander the ,great4 ,his maxim for draughtsmen nulla dies sine linea is famous4 7#b7 ,of ,chios1 apparently unknown beyond ,plutarch4 ,appius ,claudius 7,caecus73 ,roman censor #cab ,b4,c41 originator of the ,appian ,way4 ,arsps3 a ,mede1 friend of ,cyrus1 who became enamoured of ,panthea 7q4 v474 ,arcsilus3 latter part of third century ,b4,c42 first a disciple of ,theophrastus 7q4 v471 but took an independent line in philosophy as founder of the sceptical ,new ,academy4 ,a man of amiable character and a wit4 ,archelus3 king of ,macedonia #dac-cii ,b4,c42 a lover of art and literature and a patron of ,euripides and other ,athenian men of letters4 ,archidmus3 ,archidamus ,,ii1 king of ,sparta1 #dfi-dbg ,b4,c4 ,there were several other kings of the name4 ,archlchus3 of ,paros1 fl4 c4 #gaj-fge ,b4,c4 ,a lyrist of whom only fragments are extant2 particularly famous for his iambic lampoons4 ,archimdes3 the ,newton of antiquity2 an eminent scientist of ,syracuse #bhg-bab ,b4,c42 student of astronomy1 applied mathematics1 and engineering4 ,he served as mechanical engineer in defending his city from the ,romans1 by whose soldiers he was killed in ignorance4 ,archytas3 of ,tarentum1 in the early part of the fourth century ,b4,c41 noted as a mathematician and philosophic statesman of the ,pythagorean order4 ,both in generalship and civil business of state he was eminently successful and was trusted with extraordinary powers4 ,ars3 the ,greek ,war-,god1 answering generally to the ,roman ,mars4 ,ardaeus 7,arrhidaeus73 7#a7 feeble half-witted king of ,macedonia after his brother ,alexander's death4 7#b7 ,a general of ,alexander1 joint regent in #cba ,b4,c41 afterwards governor on the ,hellespont4 ,arn3 c4 #fjj ,b4,c42 the famous bard and harp-player of ,lesbos1 and supposed inventor of the dithyramb4 ,his favourite abode was at the court of ,periander4 ,aristarchus3 the prince of ,greek grammarians and critics2 flourished at ,alexandria #aha-adf ,b4,c4 ,chiefly known for his commentaries on the language and matter of ,homer1 and his recension of the divergent manuscripts4 ,aristeides 7,aristdes73 with the sobriquet of #8the ,just'2 a noble of ,athens1 statesman and general1 who figures in the stirring times of the war with ,persia4 ,died c4 #dgj ,b4,c4 ,aristppus3 of ,cyrene1 disciple1 but not imitator1 of ,socrates4 ,a student and teacher of ethics1 and founder of the ,cyrenaic philosophy and its cult of pleasure3 fl4 c4 #chj-cff ,b4,c4 ,for a time he was at the court of ,dionysius 7q4 v47 of ,syracuse4 ,arsto3 7#a7 the chief bearer of the name was a philosopher who became head of the ,peripatetic school about #bcj ,b4,c4 ,anciently considered a writer of more elegance than weight4 7#b7 ,a son of ,sophocles1 and probably himself a tragedian4 ,aristmnes3 practically regent of ,egypt from #bjb ,b4,c42 a sound adviser of the young ,ptolemy ,epiphanes 7q4 v471 who put him to death for his frankness in #aib ,b4,c4 ,aristphnes3 of ,athens1 #ddd-chj ,b4,c42 by far the greatest comic poet of antiquity4 ,his comedy was of the #8,old'1 or personal-political type4 ,eleven of his plays are extant4 ,arstphn3 painter1 brother of ,polygnotus 7who fl4 c4 #dbj ,b4,c474 ,aristotle3 of ,stageira1 but commonly domiciled in ,athens or in ,macedonia4 ,pupil of ,plato and subsequently tutor of ,alexander4 ,founder of the ,peripatetic school1 with its head-quarters in the ,lyceum 7q4 v474 ,his whole tone of mind is strikingly unlike that of his teacher1 being eminently precise1 logical1 and scientific4 ,his writing is without literary charm4 ,he aimed at sound and comprehensive knowledge as the basis of right principles in society1 conduct1 and the arts 7#chd-cbb ,b4,c474 ,asclpius3 7 ,aesculapius71 the ,greek #8hero' of medicine1 converted by legend into a son of ,apollo and ultimately into a god4 ,atreides 7,atrdes73 #8son of ,atreus'1 a title of ,agamemnon and ,menelaus4 ttlus 7brother of ,eumenes73 ,attalus ,philadelphus1 king of ,pergamus1 allied with the ,romans in the middle of the second century ,b4,c4 ,philopoemen was his controlling minister4 ,bacchldes3 lyric poet of ,ceos1 fl4 c4 #dgj ,b4,c41 principally at the court of ,hiero of ,syracuse4 ,in general he may be called a smoother and weaker ,pindar4 ,bagas3 a handsome young eunuch of ,darius1 afterwards taken into the service and affections of ,alexander4 ,bthycles3 an artist in metal-work1 of uncertain date1 but probably to be placed in the early part of the age of the ,seven ,sages4 ,bato3 comic poet of ,athens1 fl4 c4 #bhj ,b4,c42 satirized philosophers4 ,bias3 of ,priene2 precise date unknown1 but fl4 c4 #eej ,b4,c4 ,he is invariably included in the list of the ,seven ,sages4 ,bin3 fl4 c4 #bej ,b4,c41 a philosopher from ,olbia on the ,black ,sea1 who settled at ,athens1 tried various systems1 and ended by being a ,peripatetic4 ,he was noted for his keen sententious sayings1 but was of dissolute character4 ,has been called #8the ,greek ,voltaire'4 ,brss3 captive woman assigned to ,achilles1 but taken from him by ,agamemnon when he surrendered ,chryseis4 ,busrites3 the people of ,busiris 7modern ,abousir71 about the middle of the ,delta2 one of the traditional birthplaces of ,osiris4 ,calchas3 the seer of the ,achaean army before ,troy4 ,callsthnes3 philosopher and rhetorician2 accompanied ,alexander into ,asia1 where he used over-bold language in reproving him4 ,put to death #cbh ,b4,c4 ,he wrote an account of the expedition and other historical works4 ,calpso3 nymph1 on whose island the shipwrecked ,odysseus was detained for seven years4 ,carndes3 of ,cyrene1 #bac787-abi ,b4,c42 a student of ,stoicism1 but leader of the ,academics4 ,he was ambassador on behalf of ,athens 7#aee ,b4,c47 to ,rome1 where he delivered striking discourses on ethics4 ,his cardinal doctrine was the #8withholding of assent' to doctrines4 ,cato3 7#a7 the elder 7or #8the ,censor'71 #bcd-adi ,b4,c4 ,the type of severe old-fashioned ,roman morality2 soldier1 statesman1 orator1 and writer4 7#b7 ,the younger 7or #8,uticensis'71 #ie-df ,b4,c42 modelled himself on his great-grandfather in respect of the moral and simple life1 but was much inferior in gifts4 ,committed suicide #df ,b4,c41 when the struggle against the domination of ,julius ,caesar had become hopeless4 ,cbs3 of ,thebes1 a pupil of ,socrates and a persona in ,plato's ,phaedo4 ,he is chiefly known for his 7if it is his7 symbolic picture or #8table' of human life4 ,crmeicus 7--73 a suburb without1 and a broad street within1 the west walls of ,athens4 ,cercpes3 mythical gnomes1 mischievous and thievish1 who annoyed ,heracles by their monkey-like tricks4 ,chbras3 ,athenian commander at various times between #cib and #ceg ,b4,c41 gaining some successes by land and sea against the ,spartans4 ,an able tactician1 adventurous1 but of somewhat dissolute life4 ,chalcis3 chief town of ,euboea 7,negropont71 once a most important commercial centre4 ,chars3 ,athenian general1 of whose various operations we have records for #cfg-ccc ,b4,c4 ,a man of little principle4 ,he effected little against the ,macedonians1 and often followed independent and useless lines of action4 ,chrmdes3 uncle of ,plato1 who names one of his ,socratic dialogues after him4 ,at the supposed date he was a beautiful and charming youth1 and the discussion is upon #8self-control'4 ,chln3 of ,lacedaemon3 fl4 c4 #fjj-egj ,b4,c4 ,poet and coiner of maxims1 and shrewd man of affairs4 ,chryss3 captive woman assigned to ,agamemnon2 surrendered by him at the bidding of ,apollo1 in order to check a pestilence4 ,cimn3 son of ,miltiades1 became prominent as a commander against the ,persians in #dgg ,b4,c4 ,his chief exploit was the victory of ,eurymedon1 #dff ,b4,c4 ,a handsome1 liberal1 affable1 but somewhat self-indulgent person4 ,cnsias3 ,athenian dithyrambic poet1 much satirized by ,aristophanes and others4 ,his verse1 music1 and character appear all to have been of an inferior order4 ,claudia3 ,roman maiden1 who1 in full vindication of her chastity1 was enabled to move the vessel containing the image of ,cybele when it stuck fast in the ,tiber4 ,clenthes3 ,stoic philosopher1 pupil and successor of ,zeno 7q4 v47 #bfc ,b4,c4 ,the only fragment of his writing still extant is from a ,hymn to ,zeus4 ,clerchus3 7#a7 of ,heraclea on the ,black ,sea2 availed himself of faction to make himself despot and tyrant 7#cfe ,b4,c474 ,despite the precautions described by ,plutarch he was assassinated in #cec ,b4,c4 7#b7 ,of ,sparta1 leader of the #aj1jjj ,greeks in the expedition of ,cyrus the ,younger against ,babylon2 decoyed and put to death by the ,persians1 #dja ,b4,c4 ,the retreat was led by ,xenophon 7q4v474 ,cleisthnes3 ,athenian noble1 who adopted the popular cause and made important democratic changes in the constitution2 fl4 from #eaj ,b4,c4 ,cleitus 7,cltus73 a ,macedonian commander under ,alexander1 whose life he saved at the battle of ,grancus 7#ccd ,b4,c474 ,he was killed 7#cbh ,b4,c47 by ,alexander with a spear-thrust1 after a quarrel at a carousal1 in which he had spoken with excessive freedom to his chief4 ,cleobuln3 daughter 7as the name implies7 of ,cleobulus 7q4v474 ,though her father is said to have named her ,eumetis 7#8sagacious'71 the word may be suspected of being an afterthought4 ,cleoblus3 c4 #faj-efj ,b4,c4 ,a citizen of ,lindus in ,rhodes1 who became its despot4 ,his position may have been similar to that of ,pittacus 7q4v474 ,clemnes3 ,cleomenes ,,iii1 high-minded king of ,sparta1 #bdj-bbb ,b4,c4 ,on his defeat by the ,achaeans he fled to ,ptolemy ,euergetes1 with whom he was in alliance4 ,the next ,ptolemy 7,philopator7 suspected and imprisoned him4 ,clen3 a tanner of ,athens2 an able but coarse-grained leader of the popular party #dbh-dbb ,b4,c4 ,a special enemy of ,aristophanes 7q4v471 whose fiercest political attacks are delivered against him4 ,a self-sufficient amateur in military operations1 in one of which he was slain4 ,cldius3 ,p4 ,clodius ,pulcher2 a daring and unscrupulous person1 who became quaestor in #fa ,b4,c4 and tribune of the plebs in #ei ,b4,c4 ,the notorious and relentless enemy of ,cicero4 ,killed by ,milo on the high road #eb ,b4,c4 ,colnus3 a suburb of ,athens outside the north wall1 with a small hill1 grove1 and sanctuary4 ,clophn3 ,greek town of ,asia ,minor1 near the ,aegean coast1 about ten miles north of ,ephesus4 ,cornelia3 daughter of ,scipio ,africanus2 the famous #8mother of the ,gracchi'2 the type of matronly virtue1 dignity1 cultivation1 and high example4 ,crtrus3 a noble type of ,macedonian2 one of ,alexander's generals4 ,after the death of his chief 7#cbc ,b4,c47 he became colleague with ,antipater in the ,graeco-,macedonian portion of the empire4 ,see also under ,eumenes4 ,crats3 of ,thebes2 pupil of ,diogenes 7q4v47 at ,athens2 fl4 c4 #cbj ,b4,c4 ,a ,cynic philosopher in practice as well as theory1 he renounced his wealth and led the simple life in a cheerful manner4 ,a philosophic writer and a tragic poet4 ,croesus3 king of ,lydia #efj-edf ,b4,c4 ,a wealthy and powerful ruler1 who made war upon the ,persians when their empire was growing rapidly under ,cyrus4 ,was defeated and carried off in the train of the conqueror4 ,while in power he was in friendly or hostile relations with various ,greek states1 and was particularly noted for his liberality to the ,delphian oracle4 ,whether ,solon ever actually had the famous interview with ,croesus is chronologically doubtful1 but it is not impossible4 ,cyxares3 king of ,media1 appears in ,xenophon's ,cyropaedia as uncle of ,cyrus the ,great1 but the whole book is something of a romance4 ,cpslus3 father of ,periander1 established himself as despot of ,corinth c4 #fef ,b4,c4 ,his name was commonly associated with cypsele 7#8chest'74 ,the designs upon him in his infancy were those of a ,corinthian noble house1 and were made in consequence of an oracle foretelling danger from the child4 ,cyrus3 7#a7 the elder3 the famous ,persian monarch1 founder of the empire1 and subjugator of ,babylon4 ,the stories told of him in the ,cyropaedia of ,xenophon are largely romance4 7#b7 the younger3 satrap of ,lydia1 ,phrygia1 c41 who sought1 but failed1 to dispossess his brother ,artaxerxes with the assistance of a ,greek force 7#dja ,b4,c474 ,this was the expedition related in ,xenophon's ,anabasis4 ,daphns3 a river running into the ,corinthian ,gulf on the north side not far from the entrance4 ,drus3 7#a7 ,darius ,i2 strong and able king of ,persia 7#eba-dhe ,b4,c471 previously satrap under ,cyrus the ,great4 ,this is the ,darius mentioned in connexion with ,gobryas4 7#b7 ,darius ,,ii 7,ochus or ,nothus71 or ,darius the ,younger1 a weak monarch endangered by perpetual rebellions1 #dbd-dje ,b4,c4 7#c7 ,darius ,codomannus1 overthrown by ,alexander4 ,died #ccj ,b4,c4 ,dlos3 central island of the south half of the ,aegean1 with a temple of ,apollo1 the gathering-place of a great religious confederacy of ,ionians4 ,dmartus3 of ,corinth1 in friendly relations with ,philip and a mediator between him and ,alexander after their quarrel in #ccg ,b4,c4 ,dmtrius3 7#a7 ,demetrius ,i 7or ,poliorcetes71 king of ,macedonia4 ,his father ,antigonus1 king of ,asia1 sent him in #cjg ,b4,c4 to annex ,greece1 then under ,cassander and ,ptolemy4 ,it was at this time that he took ,megara and met with ,stilpo 7q4 v474 7#b7 ,demetrius ,phalreus3 ,athenian orator and writer 7#cde-bhc ,b4,c472 an able and cultivated man1 put in charge of ,athens by the ,macedonians1 #cag ,b4,c4 ,first highly honoured1 then expelled1 he made his way to ,thebes and subsequently to ,alexandria4 7#c7 ,the name of several ,macedonian officers in the army of ,alexander4 ,dmcrtus3 c4 #dfj-cfj ,b4,c4 ,of ,abdra in ,thrace4 ,a great traveller and student1 who developed 7though he did not invent7 the #8,atomic ,theory'4 ,ethically his aim was cheerfulness of mind 7hence #8the laughing philosopher'74 ,his character was of the highest for truth and simplicity4 ,dicaerchus3 philosopher from ,massana in ,sicily2 writer on history and geography4 ,a follower of ,aristotle1 fl4 c4 #cjj ,b4,c4 ,dcles3 the narrator of the ,dinner of the ,seven ,sages3 professional seer1 and interpreter and expiator of omens and dreams4 ,nothing is known of such a person outside ,plutarch4 ,dignes3 7#a7 the ,cynic philosopher of ,sinope1 who migrated to ,athens1 and after being captured by pirates was sold as a slave to a ,corinthian4 ,whether or not he ever lived in the famous 7earthenware7 #8tub' is doubtful4 ,he was distinguished for his plainness of life1 his shrewd good sense1 his independence1 and his caustic tongue4 7#b7 ,tragic poet of ,athens1 c4 #djd ,b4,c4 ,din3 of ,syracuse1 brother-in-law of the elder ,dionysius 7q4 v474 ,on the visit of ,plato to ,sicily he became a disciple of that philosopher4 ,the younger ,dionysius resented his reputation and his harshness4 ,dion therefore removed to ,athens and other parts of ,greece1 whence he returned with a force1 expelled ,dionysius1 and was himself appointed practically dictator4 ,assassinated #cec ,b4,c4 ,dionysius3 7i7 the elder3 despot of ,syracuse 7#8sole general'7 #dje-cfg ,b4,c4 ,he extended its power over a great part of ,sicily1 and strongly fortified the city itself4 ,in the end he became a veritable tyrant4 ,like many other despots he affected literature and philosophy1 and himself wrote bad verses4 ,after inviting ,plato to ,syracuse he quarrelled with and dismissed that philosopher4 7#b7 the younger1 who succeeded his father4 ,for a time he was under the influence of ,dion 7q4v47 assisted by ,plato4 ,of weaker character and more licentious than his father1 he was compelled to abandon ,syracuse after a rule of eleven years4 ,insecurely restored ten years later he was again driven out by ,timoleon 7#cdc ,b4,c474 ,the remainder of his life was spent in poverty at ,corinth1 where he is said to have taught an elementary school4 ,ddna3 in ,epirus1 near the modern ,janina2 a very ancient seat of the worship of ,zeus4 ,doln3 a ,trojan in the ,iliad1 who undertakes to penetrate the ,achaean camp as a spy1 but is slain in the attempt4 ,drypians3 a people of ,central ,greece4 ,elephantn ,djesiret-el-,sag2 a garrisoned island in the ,nile 7,first ,cataract7 opposite the modern ,assouan2 the frontier town of ,egypt towards ,ethiopia4 ,empdcles3 ,sicilian physical and practical philosopher of ,acragas 7 ,girgenti72 fl4 c4 #dej ,b4,c4 ,his studies of nature specially qualified him for the cure or #8purification' of epidemics due to insanitary conditions4 ,his travels took him to ,athens and other parts of ,greece4 ,the legend went that he threw himself into the crater of ,etna4 ,es3 ,aurora1 dawn-goddess2 wife of ,tithonus2 mother of ,memnon1 the opponent of ,achilles4 ,epminndas3 a type of patriotism1 particularly to his compatriot ,plutarch4 ,the greatest of ,theban commanders and statesmen1 especially famous for his victory over the ,spartans at ,leuctra 7#cga ,b4,c474 ,so far as he applied any philosophy to life1 it was that of ,pythagoras4 phrus3 historian of ,cumae1 fl4 c4 #cdj ,b4,c4 ,his history1 once very famous and much discussed1 covered a period of #gej years4 ,epichrmus3 c4 #edj-dej ,b4,c42 the great comic poet of ,sicily1 chiefly associated with the court of ,hiero ,i 7q4v47 at ,syracuse4 ,epicrus3 #cdb-bgj ,b4,c4 ,athenian philosopher and founder of the ,epicurean school1 of which the aim was #8peace of mind' or #8freedom from emotional disturbance'4 ,his own life 7as his tenets required7 was simple and wholesome1 and the self-indulgence of the sect in later days was either a parody or a misconception of his teachings4 ,a voluminous writer on physics and ethics1 but with a bad style4 ,epimndes3 priest-prophet and bard of ,crete1 with peculiar knowledge of medicine and methods of purification4 ,many fables were current concerning him 7e4g4 of his sleep of fifty-seven years74 ,he was called in by the ,athenians 7c4 #eif ,b4,c47 to cleanse their city of a plague4 ,epimtheus3 brother of ,prometheus 7q4v474 ,the name was taken to mean #8,after-thinker'1 and hence arose a notion that he #8thought too late'4 ,erasstrtus3 a very distinguished physician in the earlier part of the third century ,b4,c4 ,he practised and taught in ,syria and ,alexandria4 ,an eminent student of anatomy4 ,eratsthnes3 librarian of ,alexandria under the ,ptolemies2 a writer on mathematical geography1 history1 and grammar4 ,died about #aif ,b4,c4 rsus3 a town on the south-west coast of ,lesbos 7,mytilene72 birthplace of ,theophrastus4 ,ertria3 the second town of ,euboea1 a little south of ,chalcis4 ,see ,lelantum4 ,ernys3 a spirit of vengeance sent up from the underworld to punish unnatural crimes and offences4 tecles3 7legendary73 son of ,oedipus1 joint king of ,thebes with ,polyneices1 whom he expelled through a selfish desire to rule alone4 ,eunus3 two poets of ,paros are so named1 one of the date of ,socrates and one earlier4 ,it is1 and was anciently1 difficult to distinguish between the two4 ,emnes3 an eminent and very able general 7and also secretary7 of ,alexander1 after whose death he obtained 7#cbb ,b4,c47 the chief command in ,asia4 ,his subordinate ,neoptolemus1 governor of ,armenia1 made head against him with the help of ,craterus4 ,their defeat1 mentioned in the article on ,garrulity1 took place in ,cappadocia in #cba ,b4,c4 ,eplis3 one of the three chief poets of the #8old' comedy of ,athens1 a contemporary of ,aristophanes 7q4v474 ,eurpides3 #dhj-djf ,b4,c42 third in date of the three great ,athenian tragedians4 ,his works were numerous and uneven4 ,his poetical merits were 7and are7 variously estimated4 ,fabius ,maximus3 the best known person of the name was ,q4 ,fabius ,maximus ,cunctator1 who saved ,rome by his waiting tactics against ,hannibal2 but the one who was associated with ,polybius1 as pupil and patron1 was ,q4 ,f4 ,m4 ,aemilianus1 consul in #ade ,b4,c41 who served against ,macedonia and in ,spain4 ,gbryes3 one of the seven ,persian nobles 7,darius being another7 who conspired against the usurper ,smerdis the ,mage4 ,darius was raised to the throne and ,gobryes became one of his lieutenants4 ,grgas3 of ,leontini in ,sicily3 orator1 rhetorical teacher1 and sophist1 who visited ,athens #dbg ,b4,c4 and subsequently4 ,his style1 which was highly artificial1 was widely imitated4 ,he is the ,gorgias of ,plato's dialogue4 ,gorgo3 of ,sparta2 wife of ,leonidas and daughter of ,cleomenes ,i4 ,stories of her wisdom and sagacity are told by ,herodotus 7#f4 #di1 #g4 #bci74 ,gylippus3 ,spartan general who came to the rescue of ,syracuse and chiefly caused the utter collapse of the ,athenian attack upon that city4 ,after the fall of ,athens 7#djd ,b4,c47 it was his business to convey to ,sparta the #a1ejj talents of booty4 ,he opened the seams of the sacks1 filched about one-fifth of the amount1 but was betrayed by the inventories enclosed4 ,harmdius3 a handsome youth of ,athens associated with ,aristogeiton 7the older man7 in the assassination of ,hipparchus1 brother of the despot ,hippias in #ead ,b4,c4 ,though ,athens was not liberated till four years later1 these tyrannicides were canonized as saviours of their country4 ,hecuba3 the aged wife of ,priam1 and mother of ,hector4 ,hephaestus3 practically the ,greek equivalent of the ,latin ,vulcan or ,fire-,god4 ,he is represented as a lame1 but sturdy and somewhat humorous deity1 a master of smithcraft4 ,hracleides 7,hraclides73 ,it is not clear to which person of the name ,plutarch refers4 ,the best known was ,heracleides ,ponticus1 a pupil of ,plato and a miscellaneous writer4 ,hracleitus 7,hracltus73 physical philosopher of ,ephesus1 fl4 c4 #eae ,b4,c4 ,famous for the compression of his style1 which became so cryptic that he earned the title of the #8,obscure'4 ,he was something of a hermit and favoured the simple vegetarian life4 ,the #8weeping philosopher'4 ,hermne3 daughter of ,menelaus and ,helen2 married to ,neoptolemus 7son of ,achilles7 and jealous of ,andromache1 whom she tried to put to death4 ,hrdtus3 c4 #dhd-djj ,b4,c42 the so-called #8,father of ,history'4 ,he travelled widely in the ,east and in the ,grecian world1 and wrote on ,lydia1 ,babylonia1 ,egypt1 ,persia1 and the great ,persian war4 ,his desire is to get at the facts1 but he displays a nave fondness for story-telling and for wonders and miracles4 ,hrphlus3 of ,chalcedon2 a most eminent physician and a discoverer in anatomy and physiology2 fl4 c4 #cjj ,b4,c4 ,hiero ,i3 or the ,magnificent1 despot of ,gelon and ,syracuse 7#dgh-dfg ,b4,c471 and most powerful ,sicilian of his day4 ,poets at one time or other associated with his court were ,epicharmus1 ,xenophanes1 ,simonides1 ,aeschylus1 ,pindar1 and ,bacchylides4 ,hiernymus3 tragic and dithyrambic poet of ,athens and apparently a writer on poets4 ,hippcrtes3 of ,cos2 the #8father of medicine'2 the most renowned physician and medical teacher and writer of antiquity3 c4 #dfj-ceg ,b4,c4 ,hypereides 7,hyperdes73 ,attic orator2 patriot1 contemporary and1 for the most part1 supporter of ,demosthenes in his anti-,macedonian policy4 ,put to death by ,antipater 7q4v471 #cbb ,b4,c4 ,an elegant speaker1 of dubious private life4 bycus3 of ,rhegium1 fl4 c4 #edj ,b4,c4 at the court of the despot of ,samos2 a lyric poet of the erotic type4 ,the proverb1 #8the cranes of ,ibycus'1 arose from the story that1 when being murdered by brigands near ,corinth1 he invoked a flock of cranes1 then flying past1 to avenge his death4 ,plutarch tells the sequel 7,garrulity74 no3 or ,leucthea2 a mythological personage1 daughter of ,cadmus and wife of ,athamas4 ,one story went that1 when she leapt into the sea1 she was carried to ,corinth by a dolphin4 ,hence the allusion in the story of ,arion4 phcrtes3 ,athenian general in early part of the fourth century ,b4,c4 ,an innovator in tactics and military equipment1 noted for his prudence and foresight4 ,ischmchus3 a character of the name appears in ,xenophon's ,oeconomicus as lecturing his wife upon the principles of domestic management4 ,such a philosophically disposed person may be the associate of ,socrates mentioned by ,plutarch4 ,ithacans3 the people of ,odysseus1 king of ,ithaca1 one of the ,ionian islands1 south of ,corfu4 ,ixon3 mythical ,thessalian king1 who made illicit love to ,hera1 wife of ,zeus1 and was punished by being fastened to a perpetually revolving wheel in ,hades4 ,laelius3 ,c4 ,laelius ,sapiens1 friend of ,scipio ,africanus ,minor4 ,consul #adj ,b4,c4 ,cicero's ,de ,amicitia is otherwise named his ,laelius4 ,philosopher1 orator1 and scholar4 ,lartes3 aged father of ,odysseus2 superannuated king of ,ithaca4 ,lchaeum3 the port of ,old ,corinth1 with which it was connected by walls one and a half miles in length4 ,llntum3 a river of ,euboea1 flowing through the fertile ,lelantine plain 7between ,chalcis and ,eretria71 which was long a bone of contention between the two cities4 ,lendas3 the famous ,spartan king1 who so stubbornly held the pass of ,thermopylae against the ,persians with his #8,three ,hundred'1 #dhj ,b4,c4 ,leptis3 a town in ,africa near the modern ,tripoli2 a ,phoenician settlement and afterwards a ,roman colony4 ,lesches3 one of the post-,homeric 7#8,cyclic'7 poets1 and writer of the ,little ,iliad2 a native of ,lesbos1 fl4 c4 #gje ,b4,c4 ,leuctra3 ,boeotian village2 the scene of the great defeat of the ,spartans by ,epaminondas1 #cga ,b4,c4 ,livia3 ,livia ,drusilla1 #ef ,b4,c4-,a4,d4 #bi4 ,her first husband was ,tiberius ,claudius ,nero1 by whom she was the mother of ,tiberius1 the future emperor4 ,married to ,augustus 7then ,octavianus7 in #ch ,b4,c41 and having no children by him1 she was anxious to keep the succession in her own family4 ,a woman of strong character1 she exerted a tactful control over ,augustus and attempted one more imperious over ,tiberius1 but failed4 ,locri3 ,locri ,epizephyrii1 an important ,greek town of ,south ,italy1 about the modern ,gerace4 ,its constitutional code was often regarded as a model4 ,locris3 a ,greek community lying along the north side of the middle of the ,corinthian ,gulf4 ,loxias3 ,apollo as ,god of ,oracles4 ,the name was commonly interpreted as #8,riddling' or #8,indirect'4 ,lucullus3 ,roman conqueror of ,mithridates1 succeeded in his command by ,pompey1 #ff ,b4,c4 ,famous for his wealth and luxury1 and particularly for his lavish feasts4 ,a byword for self-indulgence4 ,lycum3 an exercise ground with terraces 7#8walks'7 and colonnades just outside the wall to the east of ,athens4 ,it was here that ,aristotle discoursed on the #8,walk' 7peripatos71 whence the name #8,peripatetic' became applied to his school4 ,lycurgus3 7#a7 the more or less legendary lawgiver and constitution-maker of ,sparta4 ,his date and personality are quite uncertain1 and he is not improbably as mythical as ,heracles4 7#b7 son of ,dryas1 a legendary ,thracian king who resisted the worship of ,dionysius and hacked down his sacred plant1 the vine4 ,dionysius punished him with madness1 during which he killed his own son1 thinking him a vine4 ,the story is much varied in particulars4 ,lysander3 ,spartan admiral1 who won the battle of ,aegospotami against the ,athenians and concluded the reduction of ,athens in #djd ,b4,c4 ,he was afterwards distinguished for his ostentation and arrogance4 ,lysias3 orator and professional rhetorician of ,athens1 distinguished for the purity and lucidity of his diction and his grace of style3 fl4 c4 #djc ,b4,c4 ,the majority of his #bcj speeches were written for litigants4 ,lysmchus3 of ,macedonia2 became king of ,thrace on the partition of ,alexander's empire4 ,a man of powerful physique and an able soldier4 ,later his territory included the western half of ,asia ,minor4 ,killed in battle #bha ,b4,c4 ,masinissa3 king of ,numidia2 first a supporter1 then an enemy1 of ,carthage1 he lent great assistance to the ,romans from #bjd ,b4,c4 to #adh4 ,his reign was long and he died at ninety4 ,meidias 7,mdias73 an ,athenian citizen and bitter enemy of ,demosthenes1 one of whose best known speeches is a violent1 and possibly a rather scurrilous1 attack upon him4 ,melnthius3 of ,athens3 an inferior tragic and elegiac poet of worthless character3 a contemporary of ,aristophanes and ,plato4 ,meleger3 legendary prince of ,calydon4 ,having slain his mother's brothers1 he was cursed by her1 and thereupon refused to take further part in the war against the ,curetes4 ,no offers could induce him to leave his chamber and rout the enemy1 until he yielded to the prayers of his wife ,cleopatra4 ,menander3 chief poet of the ,athenian ,new ,comedy 7or comedy of manners71 #cdb-bia ,b4,c42 a polished and easy-tempered man of the world4 ,his sententious writings lent themselves to quotation and were much read in schools4 ,to moralizing critics of a later age he was to comedy what ,homer was to epic4 ,mnedmus3 philosopher and statesman of ,euboea1 of the #8,megarian' school4 ,died c4 #bgg ,b4,c4 ,mrop3 the name of several mythological semi-goddesses1 mostly connected with the heavenly bodies4 ,metellus3 ,q4 ,caecilius ,metellus1 who successfully conducted the ,numidian ,war against ,jugurtha 7#aji ,b4,c47 until superseded by ,marius4 ,a man of high character1 military ability1 and intellectual culture4 ,mtrodrus3 favourite pupil of ,epicurus 7q4v47 and almost co-master of his school4 ,died #bgg ,b4,c4 ,mithridtes3 ,mithridates ,,vi1 or the ,great1 king of ,pontus #abj-fc ,b4,c41 a ,hellenized oriental famed for his physical and intellectual ability1 his ambition and daring2 of importance in history for his wars with the ,romans under ,lucullus and ,pompey4 ,he made a special study of poisons and their antidotes4 ,mnsphlus3 ,athenian statesman of sound practical ability1 taken by ,themistocles as his model4 ,it was he who urged ,themistocles to force on the battle of ,salamis 7#dhj ,b4,c474 ,in the ,dinner-,party ,plutarch borrows the name for an imaginary friend of ,solon4 ,molycra3 a town just inside the entrance to the ,corinthian ,gulf on the north side4 ,myrn3 ,boeotian sculptor2 fl4 #dcj ,b4,c4 ,best known by his ,discobolus and his #8,cow'4 ,his work included animal forms1 and human figures in a state of muscular activity or tension4 ,mrslus3 see ,pittacus4 ,naucrtis3 a ,greek town in the ,delta of ,egypt1 thirty miles from the sea4 ,at first only a trading-station1 it was granted privileges of internal self-government by ,amasis 7q4v474 ,neoptlmus3 see ,eumenes4 ,nestor3 the typical wise old man of the ,iliad4 ,nicander3 poet and physician of ,colophon2 fl4 in earlier half of second century ,b4,c4 ,two of his poems are extant3 the ,theriaca on venomous animals1 and the ,alexipharmaca 7or #8,antidotes#87 on poisons and their remedies4 ,the verse in itself is poor4 ,ncias3 7#a7 ,athenian general in the calamitous expedition against ,syracuse 7#dae-dac ,b4,c474 ,a man of wealth1 but religious to the point of disastrous superstition2 a commander of experience1 though wanting in promptitude and self-reliance4 ,he was put to death by the victors4 7#b7 painter of ,athens1 fl4 c4 #caj ,b4,c41 particularly noted for his chiaroscuro and for improvements in encaustic painting4 ,nilxnus3 a character probably invented by ,plutarch1 with a name geographically suitable4 ,numa3 ,numa ,pompilius1 second king of ,rome1 famed for his piety and the excellence of his legislation4 ,much of his history is legendary4 ,olympias3 wife of ,philip 7q4v47 and mother of ,alexander4 ,an imperious and vindictive woman1 with good reasons for jealousy1 who often figures in ,macedonian feuds4 ,olynthus3 a ,greek town on the ,chalcidic peninsula1 south of ,thessalonica4 mphl3 queen of ,lydia1 to whom ,heracles was for a time enslaved and for whom he played an effeminate part4 ,in a sense she played the ,delilah to his ,samson4 ,orchmnus3 a very ancient town in ,boeotia4 ,oromazdes3 ,ahuramazda1 the great ,god of the ,zoroastrians2 deity of light and good1 as opposed to ,ahrimanes4 ,pndrus3 a ,lycian warrior on the ,trojan side1 famous for his skill as an archer4 ,pantha3 beautiful wife of ,abradatas1 king of ,susa4 ,cyrus1 who had captured her1 showed her such respect that ,abradatas came over to his side4 ,parmndes3 philosopher and legislator of ,elea1 fl4 c4 #dgf ,b4,c4 ,his writings were in the hexameter verse then usual as the vehicle of literary philosophy4 ,parmnio3 general under ,philip and ,alexander1 and right-hand lieutenant of the latter4 ,accused of taking part in a conspiracy against his chief1 he was assassinated at the age of seventy in #ccj ,b4,c4 ,parrhsius3 painter of ,ephesus1 domiciled at ,athens1 c4 #djj ,b4,c42 famed for his accurate drawing and proportion4 ,as a man he was arrogant and luxurious4 ,pspha3 7legendary73 wife of ,minos of ,crete2 enamoured of a bull and mother of the ,minotaur4 ,patrclus3 the #8squire' and beloved friend of ,achilles4 ,killed by ,hector in battle1 and avenged by ,achilles4 ,pesistrtus3 a younger relative of ,solon2 intrigued himself into the position of despot of ,athens #efj ,b4,c4 ,he was twice expelled1 but re-established himself4 ,a highly capable ruler1 beautifier of ,athens1 and a lover of literature4 ,pleides 7--73 7i4e4 #8son of ,peleus'7 ,achilles4 ,pleus3 aged father of ,achilles2 superannuated king in ,thessaly4 ,periander3 despot of ,corinth1 c4 #fbe-ehe ,b4,c4 ,an able and powerful ruler1 patron of literature and art1 generally 7but not invariably7 included among the ,seven ,sages4 ,his early mildness is commonly reported to have passed into tyranny 7see ,thrasybulus74 ,his wife was ,melissa4 ,pericles3 the highest name among what may be called #8,prime ,ministers' of ,athens4 ,his career may be dated #dgj-dbi ,b4,c41 but his leadership became most pronounced about #ddd ,b4,c4 ,a man of large conceptions1 brilliant oratorical powers1 and philosophic tastes1 but of an aristocratic and exclusive temperament4 ,persphn3 daughter of ,demeter1 wife of ,pluto1 and therefore1 in one of her aspects1 ,queen of the ,dead4 ,perseus3 king of ,macedonia1 on whom the ,romans made war in #aga ,b4,c4 ,at first victorious or equal1 he was defeated at ,pydna by ,l4 ,aemilius ,paulus #afh ,b4,c4 ,he was carried to ,rome and lived for some years at ,alba4 ,a weak1 vacillating and parsimonious monarch4 ,petrnius3 ,titus 7or ,gaius7 ,petronius1 the famous #8arbiter of taste' under ,nero and director of his pleasures4 ,whether he was the author of the famous ,satyricon is doubtful4 ,phaecians3 seafaring inhabitants of the rich and fertile island of ,phaeacia1 traditionally identified with ,corfu1 but possibly ,crete4 ,when ,odysseus arrived at the island on his raft he was hospitably entertained by ,king ,alcinous and sent home to ,ithaca by him on a ship4 ,phaedra3 wife of ,theseus and step-mother of ,hippolytus1 of whom she became enamoured4 ,the allusion in ,plutarch refers to the fondness of ,hippolytus for hunting4 ,phlris3 despot of ,agrigentum in ,sicily c4 #egj ,b4,c4 ,his name was in some legends proverbial for cruelty1 and with him is associated the legend of roasting his victims in a brazen bull4 ,put he is sometimes represented otherwise and as a student of letters and philosophy4 ,pheidias 7,phd-7 of ,athens1 the most eminent sculptor of antiquity3 died #dcb ,b4,c4 ,he is best known for his work upon the ,parthenon and his colossal statue of ,zeus at ,olympia4 ,phrae3 a town in ,thessaly1 somewhat west of the modern ,volo1 which became dominant under the despots ,jason and ,alexander 7q4v474 ,philadolphus3 see ,ptolemy 7#a74 ,philmn3 ,athenian poet of the ,new ,comedy1 reckoned second only to ,menander4 ,lived c4 #cfj-bfb ,b4,c41 and wrote ninety-seven plays4 ,philtas3 of ,cos1 c4 #cjj ,b4,c42 elegiac poet and critic1 tutor of ,ptolemy ,,ii4 ,his thinness was a matter of jest for the comedians4 ,philip3 #chb-ccf ,b4,c4 king of ,macedon1 father of ,alexander1 and1 in a large measure1 conqueror of ,greece4 ,demosthenes' ,philippics and other speeches were directed against him4 ,an able1 hard-working1 ambitious1 and rather unscrupulous man2 a hard drinker and a sensualist1 especially fond of rude jest1 but with intellectual tastes4 ,philppdes3 one of the better ,athenian poets of the ,new ,comedy2 fl4 c4 #cce ,b4,c4 ,at first he attacked the ,macedonian rulers1 but later became a friend of ,lysimachus 7q4v474 ,philchrus3 ,athenian writer on the history1 antiquities1 and legends of his country1 and on miscellaneous subjects3 fl4 c4 #cjj-bfj ,b4,c4 ,philcrtes3 ,athenian orator1 first a supporter1 then an opponent1 of ,demosthenes4 ,his policy was consistently to abet the pretensions of ,philip of ,macedon1 who had bribed him lavishly1 to the detriment of ,athens4 ,he was ultimately impeached and compelled to go into exile1 #ccj ,b4,c4 ,philocttos3 ,greek hero 7in the expedition to ,troy7 left desolate on the island of ,lemnos1 where he suffered deprivations and the agonies of a gangrened foot4 ,philopoemen3 7#a7 the most distinguished ,greek soldier of his day2 head of the ,achaean ,league several times from #bjh ,b4,c42 a man of culture and high character4 7#b7 controlling minister of ,attalus ,,ii 7q4v474 ,philtas3 there were several ,macedonians of the name in the service of ,alexander4 ,the two chief were 7#a7 the son of ,parmenio1 a favourite of ,alexander1 but found guilty of conspiracy and executed2 7#b7 a general who subsequently became governor of ,cilicia4 ,philotmus3 a distinguished physician and writer on medicine of the date of ,erasistratus and ,herophilus 7q4v471 c4 #cjj ,b4,c4 ,philxnus3 a dithyrambic poet of high repute3 fl4 at ,athens #djj ,b4,c4 ,he thence moved to the court of ,dionysius 7q4v471 by whom he is said to have been imprisoned for his scathing criticism on the despot's verses4 ,phcin3 #djb-cag ,b4,c4 ,an upright ,athenian general and statesman1 who favoured1 though probably not in an unpatriotic spirit1 the submission of ,athens to the ,macedonian power under ,alexander 7#cce7 and ,antipater 7q4v474 ,he was frequently opposed to ,demosthenes1 and was put to death by his countrymen on a charge of treason4 ,phcldes3 epic and elegiac poet of ,miletus1 fl4 c4 #ecj ,b4,c4 ,many of his lines passed into current maxims1 and were so intended4 ,phoenix3 a fugitive kindly received by ,peleus and entrusted with the bringing-up of his son ,achilles4 ,he had quarrelled with his own father1 whose young mistress he had corrupted at the request of his jealous mother4 ,pindar3 of ,thebes1 the most eminent lyrist of ,greece1 composer of songs1 choral and processional odes1 dirges1 c42 lived c4 #ebb-ddb ,b4,c4 ,pttcus3 of ,mytilene1 c4 #fej-efi4 ,contemporary of ,sappho4 ,during the struggles of the oligarchical and popular parties he was appointed by the latter #8elective autocrat' and legislator4 ,the chief representative on the other side had been ,myrsilus4 ,a philosophic poet and the originator of moral maxims4 ,plato3 the aristocratic and cultured philosopher of ,athens1 follower of ,socrates1 founder of the ,academy1 and writer of the ,dialogues which go under his name4 ,plmo3 7#a7 of ,athens1 who in his youth abandoned profligate habits for the cult of the ,platonic philosophy under the influence of ,xenocrates 7q4v471 whom he succeeded #cae ,b4,c4 7#b7 a ,stoic philosopher1 traveller1 and geographer1 who wrote copiously on inscriptions1 c42 fl4 c4 #aie ,b4,c4 ,polbius3 ,greek historian from ,arcadia1 carried to ,italy by the ,romans #afg ,b4,c41 and taken under the patronage of ,q4 ,fabius ,maximus and ,scipio ,aemilianus4 ,he accompanied ,scipio against ,carthage and in ,spain4 ,wrote a sound1 useful1 unimaginative history of the years #bbj-adf ,b4,c4 ,a practical statesman and a student of the military art4 ,polycleitus 7-clt-73 of ,argos1 fl4 c4 #dej-dab ,b4,c42 a sculptor of the first rank1 particularly distinguished for his representation of human forms1 to which he imparted his ideals of strength and beauty according to a #8canon of proportions'4 ,these were best typified in his ,doryphorus 7#8spear-bearer'71 which was itself sometimes called #8the ,canon'4 ,his chief colossal statue was the chryselephantine ,hera of ,argos4 ,pontus3 in two senses3 7#a7 the ,black ,sea2 7#b7 a province or region on the eastern half of the south coast of that sea4 ,praxtles3 the second greatest name in ,athenian sculpture2 fl4 c4 #cfe ,b4,c4 ,he is the head of the #8later' 7or more graceful7 ,attic school1 ,pheidias 7q4v47 representing the earlier1 more massive and majestic4 ,he particularly excelled with his statues of ,aphrodite 7e4g4 the #8,venus of ,cnidos'74 ,priam3 aged king of ,troy1 father of ,hector1 whose dead body he came to ,achilles to ransom4 ,prin3 an ,ionian ,greek town in ,asia ,minor a little south of ,ephesus2 the home of ,bias4 ,prdcus3 of ,ceos1 sophist and rhetorical teacher2 a contemporary of ,plato and a frequent visitor to ,athens4 ,his bodily weakness was notorious4 ,promtheus3 mythical semi-deity1 gifted with great foresight2 a benefactor of mankind by giving them fire stolen from heaven 7an offence for which he was cruelly punished by ,zeus71 and by the invention of the civilizing arts4 ,his name was commonly interpreted #8,fore-thinker'4 ,ptolemy3 7#a7 ,ptolemy ,,ii 7,philadelphus71 king of ,egypt #bhe-bdg ,b4,c4 7#b7 ,ptolemy ,,iii 7,euergetes71 king of ,egypt #bdg-bbb ,b4,c4 7#c7 ,ptolemy ,,iv 7,philopator71 king #bbb-bje ,b4,c42 a vicious and sensual monarch1 ruled by his minister ,sosibius4 7#d7 ,ptolemy ,v 7,epiphanes71 king #bje-aha ,b4,c4 ,see ,aristomenes4 ,it was in the early part of his reign that ,egypt became a ,roman protectorate4 ,he came to the throne at the age of four4 ,publius ,nigidius3 contemporary of ,cicero2 a man of great scientific and mathematical learning1 as became a ,pythagorean4 ,ppius ,piso3 ,roman orator1 and consul in #fa ,b4,c42 a supporter of ,clodius and therefore hostile to ,cicero4 ,pyrrhus3 king of ,epirus1 called in by the people of ,tarentum against the ,romans4 ,after a dearly won victory in #bhj ,b4,c4 he sent his eloquent minister to ,rome to offer humiliating terms of peace4 ,these were rejected1 and after a practically equal contest he retired from ,italy4 ,pythagoras3 of ,samos1 fl4 c4 #edj-ebj ,b4,c4 ,he had apparently travelled in the ,east and acquired1 besides mathematical knowledge 7in which he made some advances71 mystical theological views and probably also his doctrine of the transmigration of souls4 ,he migrated to ,croton in ,south ,italy1 and there became the founder of a close and aristocratic philosophical brotherhood1 to whom the word of the master was sufficient 7ipse dixit74 ,many legends gathered about him and a mystical interpretation was put upon his rather compressed maxims4 ,pythian3 #8belonging to ,pytho'1 i4e4 to ,delphi1 the seat of the chief oracle of ,apollo4 ,rhium3 the promontory on the south side of the mouth of the ,corinthian ,gulf1 the north promontory being ,antirrhium4 ,rusticus3 ,l4 ,junius ,arulenus ,rusticus1 a ,roman noble of the ,stoic school and champion of liberty1 so far as that was possible under the ,roman emperors4 ,put to death by ,domitian 7emperor ,a4,d4 #ha-if74 ,samius3 lyrist and writer of epigrams at the ,macedonian court1 c4 #cjj ,b4,c4 ,scipio3 7#a7 ,p4 ,cornelius ,scipio ,africanus ,major2 the brilliant and almost ideal ,roman general who conquered ,hannibal in #bjb ,b4,c4 7#b7 ,p4 ,cornelius ,scipio ,aemilianus ,africanus ,minor1 who completed the conquest of ,carthage #adf ,b4,c42 a student of letters and philosophy4 ,scirn3 a spot on the ,sacred ,way from ,athens to ,eleusis4 ,scyros3 island in the ,aegean off north-east of ,euboea4 ,here ,achilles was for a time hidden by his mother in woman's dress1 and occupied in feminine tasks to keep him from the dangers of ,troy4 ,seleucus3 called ,callinicus 7the #8,victorious'72 king of ,syria #bdf-bbf ,b4,c4 ,he was defeated by ,antiochus with the help of ,gauls 7 ,galatians7 at ,ancyra1 and it was for a time thought that he had perished in the rout4 ,he managed1 however1 to retain his kingdom4 ,silnin3 ,athenian portrait sculptor c4 #cbd ,b4,c4 ,his ,jocasta represented her as dying1 her pallor being realistically rendered by the unworthy device of mixing silver with bronze4 ,silni3 a class of tipsy satyrs associated with ,dionysus4 ,the ,silenus was in a sense the ,falstaff of ,greek legend4 ,simndes3 a most distinguished poet of ,ceos1 writer of elegies1 choral and processional odes1 epigrams1 and drinking songs 7#eef-dfg ,b4,c474 ,he spent part of his life as a kind of court poet in ,thessaly and at ,syracuse1 and visited ,athens4 ,his compositions were of a high order1 and his moral maxims much in vogue1 but he was notorious for worldliness and a love of money4 ,ssyphus3 legendary king of ,corinth2 type of fraudulent and criminal cunning2 punished in ,hades by being compelled to roll a stone up a hill for ever and never establishing it at the top4 ,socrates3 the ,athenian philosopher 7#dfh-cii ,b4,c471 from whose thinking most of the later schools were in some way descended4 ,his object was to bring philosophy down to earth1 and to arrive at true and universal definitions4 ,his simple character1 his whimsical irony1 and his dialectical skill formed the groundwork for many stories4 ,his method was conversational and non-didactic4 ,he wrote nothing1 and what we know of him is due to his disciples ,plato and ,xenophon1 and to later writers4 ,soln3 of ,athens1 c4 #fch-eeh ,b4,c42 aristocrat1 trader1 traveller1 poet and thinker4 ,chosen at a time of political and financial crisis as mediator between parties in ,attica1 and as constitution-maker1 he behaved with strict impartiality and self-effacement4 ,we may believe that he visited ,egypt1 but his intercourse with ,croesus 7q4v47 is of doubtful warrant4 ,author of much proverbial wisdom4 ,sophocles3 #dif-djf ,b4,c42 second in date1 and perhaps in merit1 of three great ,athenian tragedians2 a genial and practical man of the world4 ,stdes3 a poet at ,alexandria c4 #bhj ,b4,c4 ,he wrote songs and satires of a lascivious kind4 ,one account states that in consequence of his abuse he was thrown into the sea in a leaden chest4 ,speusippus3 of ,athens1 nephew and disciple of ,plato1 and his successor as head of the ,academy 7#cdg-cci ,b4,c472 a writer on ethical and dialectical subjects4 ,his character is said to have excelled his intellect4 ,spnthrus3 the best known person of the name was an inferior tragic poet of ,heraclea on the ,black ,sea satirized by ,aristophanes and other comedians4 ,stilpo3 a high-minded and sane philosopher of great dialectical acuteness4 ,founder of the ,megarian school1 which made a cult of virtue while denying the possibility of knowledge4 ,see also under ,demetrius4 ,sulla3 the distinguished ,roman general1 #ach-gh ,b4,c4 ,he took charge of the war against ,mithridates in #hg ,b4,c41 his capture of ,athens taking place in the next year4 ,his love of pleasure resulted in the pimpled face referred to in ,plutarch's article on ,garrulity4 ,caecilia ,metella was his fourth wife4 ,sbris3 the oldest ,greek settlement in the southernmost part of ,italy1 once large1 prosperous1 and a by-word for effeminate luxury 7whence #8sybarite'72 afterwards completely overthrown and destroyed1 its place being taken by ,thurii 7q4v474 ,taenrum3 now ,matapan2 cape at the end of the middle prong of the ,peloponnese4 ,tlphus3 king of ,mysia at the time of the ,trojan war4 ,he was wounded by ,achilles1 and could only be cured by #8that which had wounded him'4 ,the remedy turned out to be the rust of ,achilles' spear4 ,ths3 a witty and beautiful courtesan of ,athens1 first associated with ,alexander during his ,asiatic campaigns and then with ,ptolemy in ,egypt4 ,thales3 of ,miletus1 c4 #fce-eee ,b4,c4 ,famous as a physical philosopher1 mathematician1 and shrewd practical man4 ,he is regularly mentioned first among the ,seven ,sages4 ,theaettus3 a high-minded ,athenian youth1 eager for knowledge1 who plays his part in ,plato's dialogue of that name4 ,thegnes3 ,theban general at ,chaeronea 7#cch ,b4,c474 ,then3 wife or pupil 7or both7 of ,pythagoras 7q4v471 herself a writer on philosophy and a pattern of virtue4 ,themistcles3 became political leader at ,athens #dhc ,b4,c41 and commanded the ,athenian contingent at the battle of ,salamis4 ,subsequently 7#dga ,b4,c47 this extremely able1 but apparently not extremely honest1 man was ostracised4 ,his last days were spent in the service of ,persia4 ,his son ,diophantus is of no note4 ,thecritus3 of ,chios1 rhetorician and sophist1 noted for his caustic wit4 ,the ,antigonus who put him to death was ,antigonus the #8,one-,eyed'4 ,thegnis3 elegiac poet of the sententious order4 ,he flourished at ,megara c4 #eej-edj ,b4,c4 ,amid the feuds of his country he sides with the aristocrats1 and allusions to political injustice are frequent4 ,many current maxims of proverbial wisdom were fathered on #8,theognis' as a matter of course4 ,then3 painter of ,samos1 contemporary of ,apelles 7q4v47 and ,alexander2 spoken of by ,pliny as #8next to the first'4 ,theophrastus3 of ,lesbos and afterwards of ,athens2 disciple and successor of ,aristotle as head of the ,peripatetics 7#cbb ,b4,c474 ,an encyclopaedic writer on logic1 physics1 history1 biology1 zoology1 c4 ,his best-known work is his ,characters4 ,theopompus3 king of ,sparta1 fl4 c4 #gej ,b4,c4 ,to his reign belonged the change of the form of government by the establishment of the popular #8ephors' to control the royal power4 ,therstes3 misshapen and virulent demagogue in the ,greek army before ,troy4 ,thtis3 sea-goddess2 mother of ,achilles4 ,thrasyblus3 despot of ,miletus1 contemporary and friend of ,periander 7q4v471 over whom he exercised a bad influence1 as in advising him to #8cut down the tall poppies'4 ,thrii3 ,greek city in ,south ,italy on the west side of the ,gulf of ,tarentum1 noted for its special democratic system4 ,tmgnes3 an ,alexandrian or ,syrian rhetorician and historian4 ,he taught and wrote at ,rome under ,augustus1 whose friendship he obtained1 losing it1 however1 through his caustic freedom4 ,tmocla3 of ,thebes4 ,plutarch tells of her noble and daring spirit in his ,life of ,alexander 7c4 #ab74 ,tmomchus3 painter of ,byzantium1 first century ,b4,c42 particularly famed for his ,ajax and ,medea1 which were bought by ,julius ,caesar4 ,medea was represented meditating the murder of her children4 ,timthus3 7#a7 an able and spirited ,athenian general1 who obtained several rather roving successes1 chiefly against the ,lacedaemonians4 ,something of a free lance2 of popular character and considerable culture2 fl4 #cgh-ced ,b4,c4 7#b7 poet and musician of ,miletus1 settled at ,athens2 fl4 c4 #djj-cfj ,b4,c4 ,his poems were mainly dithyrambs 7high-flown and wordy compositions7 or cognate lyrics4 ,his music1 at first ill received on account of its vulgarizing innovations1 became immensely popular4 ,tissaphernes3 ,persian satrap of lower ,asia ,minor4 ,see ,alcibiades4 ,tthnus3 a mortal beloved of ,eos 7,aurora71 who obtained for him immortality1 but forgot to obtain him immortal youth4 ,troezen3 a town in the east of the ,peloponnese near the entrance of the ,saronic ,gulf4 ,tyndareus' sons3 ,castor and ,pollux1 the traditional preservers of seamen4 ,typhn3 ,set2 ,egyptian malignant deity2 brother1 enemy1 and slayer of ,osiris4 ,xencrtes3 #cif-cad ,b4,c43 philosopher from ,chalcedon1 disciple of ,plato1 and philosophic teacher and writer4 ,his earnestness of character and application to study atoned for his lack of the ,graces4 ,became head of the ,academic school next but one after ,plato4 ,xenphnes3 philosopher of ,colophon1 and afterwards of ,elea in ,italy1 in later part of sixth century ,b4,c4 ,noted for his high conception of a ,deity as neither anthropomorphic nor subject to human passions4 ,his doctrines were embodied in hexameter verse4 ,xenophn3 of ,athens2 the well-known historian1 and leader of the retreat of the #8,ten ,thousand' as recorded in his ,anabasis4 ,a philosophical adherent of ,socrates and a voluminous writer4 ,lived c4 #ddd-cei ,b4,c4 ,zacnthus ,zante1 the southernmost of the ,ionian islands4 ,zno3 7#a7 of ,citium in ,cyprus and subsequently of ,athens2 founder of the ,stoic philosophy2 a man of simple1 if rather dour1 character1 and capable of an apt retort3 fl4 c4 #bgj ,b4,c4 ,a writer on ethical1 physical1 and other philosophic subjects4 7#b7 ,philosopher of ,elea2 disciple of ,parmenides 7q4v472 upholder of popular liberty against a usurping despot4 ,,appendix ,,notes ,,on ,,the ,,greek ,,text #d ,d 4 ,read 444 1 77 4 #e ,c 4 ,the sense requires #8cheap'4 #f ,c 444 4 ,the cause of the lacuna is obvious if we read 7 27 4 #g ,b 4 ,rather 444 77 4 #g ,f 1 4 ,read 1 4 #h ,b 4 ,read 444 #h ,d 4 ,read 444 444 #h ,f 1 444 4 ,read 444 4 #aa ,a 1 4 ,we require the antithesis 77 4 #ab ,e 4 ,read 444 444 #ac ,b 4 ,the sense requires 1 to which may be equivalent4 #ad ,c 444 4 ,the word most easily lost would be 774 ,also 77 is to be supplied4 #dd ,b 4 ,read 7 7 444 #df ,b 4 ,read 77 or the like4 #gd ,a 1 4 ,the sense requires 444 #aeb ,a 4 ,probably 444 #aeb ,d 1 4 ,for 77 read 7 i4e47 444 #aeh ,d 444 4 ,the sense requires 4 #aei ,d 4 ,read 4 #afj ,f 4 ,read 4 #afc ,d 444 444 4 ,the sense would be given by 444 71 1 7 4 #ejd ,b 4 ,rather 444 77 444 #ejd ,c 444 ,probably 7 7 4 #eac ,a 1 4 ,there would be more point in 444 7 7 444 ,moreover1 what they wrote was simply 4 #ead ,f 4 ,read 444 77 444 #eae ,d 4 ,perhaps 444 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected4 ,typographical errors were silently corrected4 ,inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book4 ,text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74 ,text that was in bold face is enclosed by equals signs 7bold74 ,page references printed in the margin of the book have been moved into the paragraphs near where they appear1 contained in square brackets1 and begun with the word ,sidenote4 ,footnotes have been moved to follow the chapters in which they are referenced4