At present you two are in the condition of two hands formed by God to
help each other, but which have let go their business and have turned to
hindering one another all they can. You are a pair of feet fashioned on
the Divine plan to work together, but which have neglected this in order
to trammel each other's gait. Now is it not insensate stupidity (8) to
use for injury what was meant for advantage? And yet in fashioning
two brothers God intends them, methinks, to be of more benefit to one
another than either two hands, or two feet, or two eyes, or any other
of those pairs which belong to man from his birth. (9) Consider how
powerless these hands of ours if called upon to combine their action at
two points more than a single fathom's length apart; (10) and these feet
could not stretch asunder (11) even a bare fathom; and these eyes, for
all the wide-reaching range we claim for them, are incapable of seeing
simultaneously the back and front of an object at even closer quarters.
But a pair of brothers, linked in bonds of amity, can work each for the
other's good, though seas divide them. (12)
(8) "Boorishness verging upon monomania."
(9) "With which man is endowed at birth."
(10) "More than an 'arms'-stretch' asunder."
(11) Lit. "reach at one stretch two objects, even over that small
distance."
(12) "Though leagues separate them."
IV
I have at another time heard him discourse on the kindred theme of
friendship in language well calculated, as it seemed to me, to help a
man to choose and also to use his friends aright.
He (Socrates) had often heard the remark made that of all possessions
there is none equal to that of a good and sincere friend; but, in spite
of this assertion, the mass of people, as far as he could see, concerned
themselves about nothing so little as the acquisition of friends.
Houses, and fields, and slaves, and cattle, and furniture of all sorts
(he said) they were at pains to acquire, and they strove hard to keep
what they had got; but to procure for themselves this greatest of all
blessings, as they admitted a friend to be, or to keep the friends whom
they already possessed, not one man in a hundred ever gave himself a
thought. It was noticeable, in the case of a sickness befalling a man's
friend and one of his own household simultaneously, the promptness with
which the master would fetch the doctor to his domestic, and take every
precaution necessary for his recovery, with much expenditure of pains;
but meanwhile little account would be taken of the friend in like
condition, and if both should die, he will show signs of deep annoyance
at the death of his domestic, which, as he reflects, is a positive loss
to him; but as regards his friend his position is in no wise materially
affected, and thus, though he would never dream of leaving his other
possessions disregarded and ill cared for, friendship's mute appeal is
met with flat indifference. (1)
(1) Or, "the cry of a friend for careful tending falls on deaf ears."
Or to take (said he) a crowning instance: (2) with regard to ordinary
possessions, however multifarious these may be, most people are at least
acquainted with their number, but if you ask a man to enumerate his
friends, who are not so very many after all perhaps, he cannot; or if,
to oblige the inquirer, he essays to make a list, he will presently
retract the names of some whom he had previously included. (3) Such is
the amount of thought which people bestow upon their friends.
(2) Or, "Nor had he failed to observe another striking contrast." Cf.
Cic. "Lael." 17; Diog. Laert. ii. 30.
(3) i.e. "like a chess-player recalling a move."
And yet what thing else may a man call his own is comparable to this one
best possession! what rather will not serve by contrast to enhance the
value of an honest friend! Think of a horse or a yoke of oxen; they have
their worth; but who shall gauge the worth of a worthy friend? Kindlier
and more constant than the faithfullest of slaves--this is that
possession best named all-serviceable. (4) Consider what the post is
that he assigns himself! to meet and supplement what is lacking to
the welfare of his friends, to promote their private and their public
interests, is his concern. Is there need of kindly action in any
quarter? he will throw in the full weight of his support. Does some
terror confound? he is at hand to help and defend by expenditure of
money and of energy, (5) by appeals to reason or resort to force. His
the privilege alike to gladden the prosperous in the hour of success and
to sustain their footing who have well-nigh slipped. All that the hands
of a man may minister, all that the eyes of each are swift to see, the
ears to hear, and the feet to compass, he with his helpful arts will not
fall short of. Nay, not seldom that which a man has failed to accomplish
for himself, has missed seeing or hearing or attaining, a friend acting
in behalf of friend will achieve vicariously. And yet, albeit to try and
tend a tree for the sake of its fruit is not uncommon, this copious mine
of wealth--this friend--attracts only a lazy and listless attention on
the part of more than half the world.
(4) "A vessel fit for all work indeed is this friend." Cf. Ar. "Ach."
936, {pagkhreston aggos estai}, like the "leather bottel."
(5) Or, "by dint of his diplomacy."
V
I remember listening to another argument of his, the effect of which
would be to promote self-examination. The listener must needs be brought
to ask himself, "Of what worth am I to my friends?" It happened thus.
One of those who were with him was neglectful, as he noted, of a friend
who was at the pinch of poverty (Antisthenes). (1) Accordingly, in the
presence of the negligent person and of several others, he proceeded to
question the sufferer.
(1) Antisthenes, "cynicorum et stoicorum parens." Cic. "de Or." iii.
17; "ad Att." xii. 38. See below, III. iii. 17; "Symp." passim;
Diog. Laert. II. v.; VI. i.
Soc. What say you, Antisthenes?--have friends their values like domestic
slaves? One of these latter may be worth perhaps two minae, (2) another
only half a mina, a third five, and a fourth as much as ten; while they
do say that Nicias, (3) the son of Niceratus, paid a whole talent for
a superintendent of his silver mines. And so I propound the question to
myself as follows: "Have friends, like slaves, their market values?"
(2) A mina = L4 circ.
(3) For Nicias see Thuc. vii. 77 foll.; "Revenues," iv. 14; Plut.
"Nic." IV. v.; Lys. "de bon. Aristoph." 648.
Not a doubt of it (replied Antisthenes). At any rate, I know that I
would rather have such a one as my friend than be paid two minae, and
there is such another whose worth I would not estimate at half a mina,
and a third with whom I would not part for ten, and then again a fourth
whose friendship would be cheap if it cost me all the wealth and pains
in the world to purchase it.
Well then (continued Socrates), if that be so, would it not be well if
every one were to examine himself: "What after all may I chance to be
worth to my friends?" Should he not try to become as dear as possible,
so that his friends will not care to give him up? How often do I hear
the complaint: "My friend So-and-so has given me up"; or "Such an one,
whom I looked upon as a friend, has sacrificed me for a mina." And every
time I hear these remarks, the question arises in my mind: If the vendor
of a worthless slave is ready to part with him to a purchaser for what
he will fetch--is there not at least a strong temptation to part with a
base friend when you have a chance of making something on the exchange?
Good slaves, as far as I can see, are not so knocked down to the hammer;
no, nor good friends so lightly parted with.
VI
Again, in reference to the test to be applied, if we would gauge the
qualifications of a friend worth the winning, the following remarks of
Socrates could not fail, I think, to prove instructive. (1)
(1) Or, "Again, as to establishing a test of character, since a friend
worth having must be of a particular type, I cannot but think that
the following remarks would prove instructive."
Tell me (said Socrates, addressing Critobulus), supposing we stood in
need of a good friend, how should we set about his discovery? We
must, in the first place, I suppose, seek out one who is master of his
appetites, not under the dominion, that is, of his belly, not addicted
to the wine-cup or to lechery or sleep or idleness, since no one
enslaved to such tyrants could hope to do his duty either by himself or
by his friends, could he?
Certainly not (Critobulus answered).
Soc. Do you agree, then, that we must hold aloof from every one so
dominated?
Cri. Most assuredly.
Well then (proceeded Socrates), what shall we say of the spendthrift who
has lost his independence and is for ever begging of his neighbours;
if he gets anything out of them he cannot repay, but if he fails to get
anything, he hates you for not giving--do you not think that this man
too would prove but a disagreeable friend?
Cri. Certainly.
Soc. Then we must keep away from him too?
Cri. That we must.
Soc. Well! and what of the man whose strength lies in monetary
transactions? (2) His one craving is to amass money; and for that reason
he is an adept at driving a hard bargain (3)--glad enough to take in,
but loath to pay out.
(2) Or, "the money-lender? He has a passion for big money-bags."
(3) Or, "hard in all his dealings."
Cri. In my opinion he will prove even a worse fellow than the last.
Soc. Well! and what of that other whose passion for money-making is so
absorbing that he has no leisure for anything else, save how he may add
to his gains?
Cri. Hold aloof from him, say I, since there is no good to be got out of
him or his society.
Soc. Well! what of the quarrelsome and factious person (4) whose main
object is to saddle his friends with a host of enemies?
(4) "The partisan."
Cri. For God's sake let us avoid him also.
Soc. But now we will imagine a man exempt indeed from all the above
defects--a man who has no objection to receive kindnesses, but it never
enters into his head to do a kindness in return.
Cri. There will be no good in him either. But, Socrates, what kind of
man shall we endeavour to make our friend? what is he like?
Soc. I should say he must be just the converse of the above: he has
control over the pleasures of the body, he is kindly disposed, (5)
upright in all his dealings, (6) very zealous is he not to be outdone in
kindness by his benefactors, if only his friends may derive some profit
from his acquaintance.
(5) Reading {eunous}, or if {euorkos}, transl. "a man of his word."
(6) Or, "easy to deal with."
Cri. But how are we to test these qualities, Socrates, before
acquaintance?
Soc. How do we test the merits of a sculptor?--not by inferences drawn
from the talk of the artist merely. No, we look to what he has already
achieved. These former statues of his were nobly executed, and we trust
he will do equally well with the rest.
Cri. You mean that if we find a man whose kindness to older friends
is established, we may take it as proved that he will treat his newer
friends as amiably?
Soc. Why, certainly, if I see a man who has shown skill in the handling
of horses previously, I argue that he will handle others no less
skilfully again.
Cri. Good! and when we have discovered a man whose friendship is worth
having, how ought we to make him our friend?
Soc. First we ought to ascertain the will of Heaven whether it be
advisable to make him our friend.
Cri. Well! and how are we to effect the capture of this friend of our
choice, whom the gods approve? will you tell me that?
Not, in good sooth (replied Socrates), by running him down like a hare,
nor by decoying him like a bird, or by force like a wild boar. (7) To
capture a friend against his will is a toilsome business, and to bind
him in fetters like a slave by no means easy. Those who are so treated
are apt to become foes instead of friends. (8)
(7) Reading {kaproi}, al. {ekhthroi}, "an enemy."
(8) Or, "Hate rather than friendship is the outcome of these methods."
Cri. But how convert them into friends?
Soc. There are certain incantations, we are told, which those who know
them have only to utter, and they can make friends of whom they list;
and there are certain philtres also which those who have the secret of
them may administer to whom they like and win their love.
Cri. From what source shall we learn them?
Soc. You need not go farther than Homer to learn that which the Sirens
sang to Odysseus, (9) the first words of which run, I think, as follows:
Hither, come hither, thou famous man, Odysseus, great glory of the
Achaeans!
(9) "Od." xii. 184.
Cri. And did the magic words of this spell serve for all men alike? Had
the Sirens only to utter this one incantation, and was every listener
constrained to stay?
Soc. No; this was the incantation reserved for souls athirst for fame,
of virtue emulous.
Cri. Which is as much as to say, we must suit the incantation to the
listener, so that when he hears the words he shall not think that the
enchanter is laughing at him in his sleeve. I cannot certainly conceive
a method better calculated to excite hatred and repulsion than to go
to some one who knows that he is small and ugly and a weakling, and to
breathe in his ears the flattering tale that he is beautiful and tall
and stalwart. But do you know any other love-charms, Socrates?
Soc. I cannot say that I do; but I have heard that Pericles (10) was
skilled in not a few, which he poured into the ear of our city and won
her love.
(10) See above, I. ii. 40; "Symp." viii. 39.
Cri. And how did Themistocles (11) win our city's love?
(11) See below, III. vi. 2; IV. ii. 2.
Soc. Ah, that was not by incantation at all. What he did was to encircle
our city with an amulet of saving virtue. (12)
(12) See Herod. vii. 143, "the wooden wall"; Thuc. i. 93, "'the walls'
of Athens."
Cri. You would imply, Socrates, would you not, that if we want to win
the love of any good man we need to be good ourselves in speech and
action?
And did you imagine (replied Socrates) that it was possible for a bad
man to make good friends?
Cri. Why, I could fancy I had seen some sorry speech-monger who was fast
friends with a great and noble statesman; or again, some born commander
and general who was boon companion with fellows quite incapable of
generalship. (13)
(13) Or, "Why, yes, when I see some base orator fast friends with a
great leader of the people; or, again, some fellow incapable of
generalship a comrade to the greatest captains of his age."
Soc. But in reference to the point we were discussing, may I ask whether
you know of any one who can attach a useful friend to himself without
being of use in return? (14) Can service ally in friendship with
disservice?
(14) Add, "Can service ally in friendship with disservice? Must there
not be a reciprocity of service to make friendship lasting?"
Cri. In good sooth no. But now, granted it is impossible for a base man
to be friends with the beautiful and noble, (14) I am concerned at once
to discover if one who is himself of a beautiful and noble character
can, with a wave of the hand, as it were, attach himself in friendship
to every other beautiful and noble nature.
(14) {kalous kagathous}.
Soc. What perplexes and confounds you, Critobulus, is the fact that
so often men of noble conduct, with souls aloof from baseness, are not
friends but rather at strife and discord with one another, and deal more
harshly by one another than they would by the most good-for-nothing of
mankind.
Cri. Yes, and this holds true not of private persons only, but states,
the most eager to pursue a noble policy and to repudiate a base one,
are frequently in hostile relation to one another. As I reason on
these things my heart fails me, and the question, how friends are to
be acquired, fills me with despondency. The bad, as I see, cannot be
friends with one another. For how can such people, the ungrateful, or
reckless, or covetous, or faithless, or incontinent, adhere together as
friends? Without hesitation I set down the bad as born to be foes not
friends, and as bearing the birthmark of internecine hate. But then
again, as you suggest, no more can these same people harmonise in
friendship with the good. For how should they who do evil be friends
with those who hate all evil-doing? And if, last of all, they that
cultivate virtue are torn by party strife in their struggle for the
headship of the states, envying one another, hating one another, who are
left to be friends? where shall goodwill and faithfulness be found among
men?
Soc. The fact is there is some subtlety in the texture of these things.
(15) Seeds of love are implanted in man by nature. Men have need of
one another, feel pity, help each other by united efforts, and in
recognition of the fact show mutual gratitude. But there are seeds of
war implanted also. The same objects being regarded as beautiful or
agreeable by all alike, they do battle for their possession; a spirit of
disunion (16) enters, and the parties range themselves in adverse camps.
Discord and anger sound a note of war: the passion of more-having,
staunchless avarice, threatens hostility; and envy is a hateful fiend.
(17)
(15) i.e. a cunning intertwining of the threads of warp and woof.
(16) Cf. Shelley, "The devil of disunion in their souls."
(17) The diction is poetical.
But nevertheless, through all opposing barriers friendship steals her
way and binds together the beautiful and good among mankind. (18) Such
is their virtue that they would rather possess scant means painlessly
than wield an empire won by war. In spite of hunger and thirst they will
share their meat and drink without a pang. Not bloom of lusty youth, nor
love's delights can warp their self-control; nor will they be tempted
to cause pain where pain should be unknown. It is theirs not merely
to eschew all greed of riches, not merely to make a just and lawful
distribution of wealth, but to supply what is lacking to the needs of
one another. Theirs it is to compose strife and discord not in painless
oblivion simply, but to the general advantage. Theirs also to hinder
such extravagance of anger as shall entail remorse hereafter. And as to
envy they will make a clean sweep and clearance of it: the good things
which a man possesses shall be also the property of his friends, and the
goods which they possess are to be looked upon as his. Where then is
the improbability that the beautiful and noble should be sharers in the
honours (19) of the state not only without injury, but even to their
mutual advantage?
(18) Or, as we say, "the elite of human kind."
(19) "And the offices."
They indeed who covet and desire the honours and offices in a state
for the sake of the liberty thereby given them to embezzle the public
moneys, to deal violently by their fellow-creatures, and to batten in
luxury themselves, may well be regarded as unjust and villainous persons
incapable of harmony with one another. But if a man desire to obtain
these selfsame honours in order that, being himself secure against
wrong-doing, he may be able to assist his friends in what is right, and,
raised to a high position, (20) may essay to confer some blessing on the
land of his fathers, what is there to hinder him from working in harmony
with some other of a like spirit? Will he, with the "beautiful and
noble" at his side, be less able to aid his friends? or will his
power to benefit the community be shortened because the flower of that
community are fellow-workers in that work? Why, even in the contests
of the games it is obvious that if it were possible for the stoutest
combatants to combine against the weakest, the chosen band would come
off victors in every bout, and would carry off all the prizes. This
indeed is against the rules of the actual arena; but in the field of
politics, where the beautiful and good hold empery, and there is nought
to hinder any from combining with whomsoever a man may choose to benefit
the state, it will be a clear gain, will it not, for any one engaged
in state affairs to make the best men his friends, whereby he will find
partners and co-operators in his aims instead of rivals and antagonists?
And this at least is obvious: in case of foreign war a man will need
allies, but all the more if in the ranks opposed to him should stand the
flower of the enemy. (21) Moreover, those who are willing to fight
your battles must be kindly dealt with, that goodwill may quicken to
enthusiasm; and one good man (22) is better worth your benefiting that a
dozen knaves, since a little kindness goes a long way with the good, but
with the base the more you give them the more they ask for.
(20) "As archon," or "raised to rule."
(21) Lit. "the beautiful and good."
(22) Or, "the best, though few, are better worth your benefiting than
the many base."
So keep a good heart, Critobulus; only try to become good yourself, and
when you have attained, set to your hand to capture the beautiful and
good. Perhaps I may be able to give you some help in this quest, being
myself an adept in Love's lore. (23) No matter who it is for whom my
heart is aflame; in an instant my whole soul is eager to leap forth.
With vehemence I speed to the mark. I, who love, demand to be loved
again; this desire in me must be met by counter desire in him; this
thirst for his society by thirst reciprocal for mine. And these will
be your needs also, I foresee, whenever you are seized with longing to
contract a friendship. Do not hide from me, therefore, whom you would
choose as a friend, since, owing to the pains I take to please him
who pleases me, I am not altogether unversed, I fancy, in the art of
catching men. (24)
(23) "An authority in matters of love." Cf. Plat. "Symp." 177 D; Xen.
"Symp." viii. 2.
(24) See below, III. xi. 7; cf. Plat. "Soph." 222; N. T. Matt. iv. 19,
{alieis anthropon}.
Critobulus replied: Why, these are the very lessons of instruction,
Socrates, for which I have been long athirst, and the more particularly
if this same love's lore will enable me to capture those who are good of
soul and those who are beautiful of person.
Soc. Nay, now I warn you, Critobulus, it is not within the province of
my science to make the beautiful endure him who would lay hands upon
them. And that is why men fled from Scylla, I am persuaded, because she
laid hands upon them; but the Sirens were different--they laid hands on
nobody, but sat afar off and chanted their spells in the ears of all;
and therefore, it is said, all men endured to listen, and were charmed.
Cri. I promise I will not lay violent hands on any; therefore, if you
have any good device for winning friends, instruct your pupil.
Soc. And if there is to be no laying on of the hands, there must be no
application either of the lips; is it agreed?
Cri. No, nor application of the lips to any one--not beautiful.
Soc. See now! you cannot open your mouth without some luckless
utterance. Beauty suffers no such liberty, however eagerly the ugly may
invite it, making believe some quality of soul must rank them with the
beautiful.
Cri. Be of good cheer then; let the compact stand thus: "Kisses for the
beautiful, and for the good a rain of kisses." So now teach us the art
of catching friends.
Soc. Well then, when you wish to win some one's affection, you will
allow me to lodge information against you to the effect that you admire
him and desire to be his friend?
Cri. Lodge the indictment, with all my heart. I never heard of any one
who hated his admirers.
Soc. And if I add to the indictment the further charge that through your
admiration you are kindly disposed towards him, you will not feel I am
taking away your character?
Cri. Why, no; for myself I know a kindly feeling springs up in my heart
towards any one whom I conceive to be kindly disposed to me.
Soc. All this I shall feel empowered to say about you to those whose
friendship you seek, and I can promise further help; only there is a
comprehensive "if" to be considered: if you will further authorise me to
say that you are devoted to your friends; that nothing gives you so much
joy as a good friend; that you pride yourself no less on the fine deeds
of those you love than on your own; and on their good things equally
with your own; that you never weary of plotting and planning to procure
them a rich harvest of the same; and lastly, that you have discovered
a man's virtue is to excel his friends in kindness and his foes in
hostility. If I am authorised thus to report of you, I think you will
find me a serviceable fellow-hunter in the quest of friends, which is
the conquest of the good.
Cri. Why this appeal to me?--as if you had not free permission to say
exactly what you like about me.
Soc. No; that I deny, on the authority of Aspasia. (25) I have it from
her own lips. "Good matchmakers," she said tome, "were clever hands at
cementing alliances between people, provided the good qualities they
vouched for were truthfully reported; but when it came to their telling
lies, for her part she could not compliment them. (26) Their poor
deluded dupes ended by hating each other and the go-betweens as well."
Now I myself am so fully persuaded of the truth of this that I feel it
is not in my power to say aught in your praise which I cannot say with
truth.
(25) Aspasia, daughter of Axiochus, of Miletus. See "Econ." iii. 14;
Plat. "Menex." 235 E; Aesch. Socrat. ap. Cic. "de Invent." I.
xxxi. 51. See Grote, "H. G." vi. 132 foll.; Cobet, "Pros. Xen."
(26) Reading {ouk ethelein epainein}, or if {ouk ophelein epainousas}
with Kuhner transl. "Good matchmakers, she told me, have to
consult truth when reporting favourably of any one: then indeed
they are terribly clever at bringing people together: whereas
false flatterers do no good; their dupes," etc.
Cri. Really, Socrates, you are a wonderfully good friend to me--in so
far as I have any merit which will entitle me to win a friend, you will
lend me a helping hand, it seems; otherwise you would rather not forge
any petty fiction for my benefit.
Soc. But tell me, how shall I assist you best, think you? By praising
you falsely or by persuading you to try to be a good man? Or if it is
not plain to you thus, look at the matter by the light of some examples.
I wish to introduce you to a shipowner, or to make him your friend: I
begin by singing your praises to him falsely thus, "You will find him a
good pilot"; he catches at the phrase, and entrusts his ship to you,
who have no notion of guiding a vessel. What can you expect but to make
shipwreck of the craft and yourself together? or suppose by similar
false assertions I can persuade the state at large to entrust her
destinies to you--"a man with a fine genius for command," I say, "a
practised lawyer," "a politician born," and so forth. The odds are, the
state and you may come to grief through you. Or to take an instance
from everyday life. By my falsehoods I persuade some private person to
entrust his affairs to you as "a really careful and business-like
person with a head for economy." When put to the test would not your
administration prove ruinous, and the figure you cut ridiculous? No, my
dear friend, there is but one road, the shortest, safest, best, and it
is simply this: In whatsoever you desire to be deemed good, endeavour
to be good. For of all the virtues namable among men, consider, and
you will find there is not one but may be increased by learning and
practice. For my part then, Critobulus, these are the principles on
which we ought to go a-hunting; but if you take a different view, I am
all attention, please instruct me.
Then Critobulus: Nay, Socrates, I should be ashamed to gainsay what you
have said; if I did, it would neither be a noble statement nor a true.
(27)
(27) {kala... alethe}.
VII
He had two ways of dealing with the difficulties of his friends: where
ignorance was the cause, he tried to meet the trouble by a dose of
common sense; or where want and poverty were to blame, by lessoning them
that they should assist one another according to their ability; and here
I may mention certain incidents which occurred within my own knowledge.
How, for instance, he chanced upon Aristarchus wearing the look of one
who suffered from a fit of the "sullens," and thus accosted him.
Soc. You seem to have some trouble on your mind, Aristarchus; if so, you
should share it with your friends. Perhaps together we might lighten the
weight of it a little.
Aristarchus answered: Yes, Socrates, I am in sore straits indeed. Ever
since the party strife declared itself in the city, (1) what with the
rush of people to Piraeus, and the wholesale banishments, I have been
fairly at the mercy of my poor deserted female relatives. Sisters,
nieces, cousins, they have all come flocking to me for protection. I
have fourteen free-born souls, I tell you, under my single roof, and how
are we to live? We can get nothing out of the soil--that is in the hands
of the enemy; nothing from my house property, for there is scarcely a
living soul left in the city; my furniture? no one will buy it; money?
there is none to be borrowed--you would have a better chance to find
it by looking for it on the road than to borrow it from a banker. Yes,
Socrates, to stand by and see one's relatives die of hunger is hard
indeed, and yet to feed so many at such a pinch impossible.
(1) i.e. circa 404-403 B.C. See "Hell." II. iv.
After he listened to the story, Socrates asked: How comes it that
Ceramon, (2) with so many mouths to feed, not only contrives to furnish
himself and them with the necessaries of life, but to realise a handsome
surplus, whilst you being in like plight (3) are afraid you will one and
all perish of starvation for want of the necessaries of life?
(2) An employer of labour, apparently, on a grand scale.
(3) Lit. "with your large family to feed." L. Dindorf would like to
read {su de oligous}, "you with your small family."
Ar. Why, bless your soul, do you not see he has only slaves and I have
free-born souls to feed?
Soc. And which should you say were the better human beings, the
free-born members of your household or Ceramon's slaves?
Ar. The free souls under my roof without a doubt.
Soc. Is it not a shame, then, that he with his baser folk to back
him should be in easy circumstances, while you and your far superior
household are in difficulties?
Ar. To be sure it is, when he has only a set of handicraftsmen to feed,
and I my liberally-educated household.
Soc. What is a handicraftsman? Does not the term apply to all who can
make any sort of useful product or commodity?
Ar. Certainly.
Soc. Barley meal is a useful product, is it not?
Ar. Pre-eminently so.
Soc. And loaves of bread?
Ar. No less.
Soc. Well, and what do you say to cloaks for men and for women--tunics,
mantles, vests? (4)
(4) For these articles of dress see Becker's "Charicles," Exc. i. to
Sc. xi. "Dress."
Ar. Yes, they are all highly useful commodities.
Soc. Then your household do not know how to make any of these?
Ar. On the contrary, I believe they can make them all.
Soc. Then you are not aware that by means of the manufacture of one of
these alone--his barley meal store--Nausicydes (5) not only maintains
himself and his domestics, but many pigs and cattle besides, and
realises such large profits that he frequently contributes to the state
benevolences; (6) while there is Cyrebus, again, who, out of a bread
factory, more than maintains the whole of his establishment, and lives
in the lap of luxury; and Demeas of Collytus gets a livelihood out of
a cloak business, and Menon as a mantua-maker, and so, again, more than
half the Megarians (7) by the making of vests.
(5) Nausicydes. Cobet, "Pros. Xen." cf. Aristoph. "Eccles." 426.
(6) Lit. "state liturgies," or "to the burden of the public services."
For these see Gow, "Companion," xviii. "Athenian Finance."
(7) Cf. Arist. "Acharnians," 519, {esukophantei Megareon ta
khlaniskia}. See Dr. Merry's note ad loc.
Ar. Bless me, yes! They have got a set of barbarian fellows, whom they
purchase and keep, to manufacture by forced labour whatever takes their
fancy. My kinswomen, I need not tell you, are free-born ladies.
Soc. Then, on the ground that they are free-born and your kinswomen,
you think that they ought to do nothing but eat and sleep? Or is it your
opinion that people who live in this way--I speak of free-born people
in general--lead happier lives, and are more to be congratulated, than
those who give their time and attention to such useful arts of life as
they are skilled in? Is this what you see in the world, that for the
purpose of learning what it is well to know, and of recollecting the
lessons taught, or with a view to health and strength of body, or for
the sake of acquiring and preserving all that gives life its charm,
idleness and inattention are found to be helpful, whilst work and study
are simply a dead loss? Pray, when those relatives of yours were taught
what you tell me they know, did they learn it as barren information
which they would never turn to practical account, or, on the contrary,
as something with which they were to be seriously concerned some day,
and from which they were to reap advantage? Do human beings in general
attain to well-tempered manhood by a course of idling, or by carefully
attending to what will be of use? Which will help a man the more to grow
in justice and uprightness, to be up and doing, or to sit with folded
hands revolving the ways and means of existence? As things now stand,
if I am not mistaken, there is no love lost between you. You cannot help
feeling that they are costly to you, and they must see that you find
them a burthen? This is a perilous state of affairs, in which hatred and
bitterness have every prospect of increasing, whilst the pre-existing
bond of affection (8) is likely to be snapped.
(8) Or, "the original stock of kindliness will be used up."
But now, if only you allow them free scope for their energies, when you
come to see how useful they can be, you will grow quite fond of them,
and they, when they perceive that they can please you, will cling to
their benefactor warmly. Thus, with the memory of former kindnesses
made sweeter, you will increase the grace which flows from kindnesses
tenfold; you will in consequence be knit in closer bonds of love and
domesticity. If, indeed, they were called upon to do any shameful work,
let them choose death rather than that; but now they know, it would
seem, the very arts and accomplishments which are regarded as the
loveliest and the most suitable for women; and the things which we know,
any of us, are just those which we can best perform, that is to say,
with ease and expedition; it is a joy to do them, and the result is
beautiful. (9) Do not hesitate, then, to initiate your friends in what
will bring advantage to them and you alike; probably they will gladly
respond to your summons.
(9) Or, "with ease, rapidity, pleasure and effect."
Well, upon my word (Aristarchus answered), I like so well what you
say, Socrates, that though hitherto I have not been disposed to borrow,
knowing that when I had spent what I got I should not be in a condition
to repay, I think I can now bring myself to do so in order to raise a
fund for these works.
Thereupon a capital was provided; wools were purchased; the good man's
relatives set to work, and even whilst they breakfasted they worked, and
on and on till work was ended and they supped. Smiles took the place of
frowns; they no longer looked askance with suspicion, but full into each
other's eyes with happiness. They loved their kinsman for his kindness
to them. He became attached to them as helpmates; and the end of it all
was, he came to Socrates and told him with delight how matters fared;
"and now," he added, "they tax me with being the only drone in the
house, who sit and eat the bread of idleness."
To which Socrates: Why do not you tell them the fable of the dog? (10)
Once on a time, so goes the story, when beasts could speak, the sheep
said to her master, "What a marvel is this, master, that to us, your
own sheep, who provide you with fleeces and lambs and cheese, you give
nothing, save only what we may nibble off earth's bosom; but with this
dog of yours, who provides you with nothing of the sort, you share
the very meat out of your mouth." When the dog heard these words, he
answered promptly, "Ay, in good sooth, for is it not I who keep you safe
and sound, you sheep, so that you are not stolen by man nor harried by
wolves; since, if I did not keep watch over you, you would not be able
so much as to graze afield, fearing to be destroyed." And so, says
the tale, the sheep had to admit that the dog was rightly preferred to
themselves in honour. And so do you tell your flock yonder that like the
dog in the fable you are their guardian and overseer, and it is thanks
to you that they are protected from evil and evildoers, so that they
work their work and live their lives in blissful security.
(10) See Joseph Jacobs, "The Fables of Aesop," vol. i. p. 26 foll.,
for "a complete list of the Fables given in Greek literature up to
the fall of Greek independence." Cf. Hesiod, "Works and Days," 202
foll.; Archilochus, 89 (60), Bergk; Herod. i. 141; Aesch.
"Myrmid." fr. 123; Aristot. "Rhet." II. xx.
VIII
At another time chancing upon an old friend whom he had not seen for a
long while, he greeted him thus.
Soc. What quarter of the world do you hail from, Eutherus?
The other answered: From abroad, just before the close of the war; but
at present from the city itself. (1) You see, since we have been denuded
of our possessions across the frontier, (2) and my father left me
nothing in Attica, I must needs bide at home, and provide myself with
the necessaries of life by means of bodily toil, which seems preferable
to begging from another, especially as I have no security on which to
raise a loan.
(1) Lit. "from here." The conversation perhaps takes place in Piraeus
404 B.C.
(2) Or, "colonial possession." Cf. "Symp." iv. 31.
Soc. And how long do you expect your body to be equal to providing the
necessaries of life for hire?
Euth. Goodness knows, Socrates--not for long.
Soc. And when you find yourself an old man, expenses will not diminish,
and yet no one will care to pay you for the labour of your hands.
Euth. That is true.
Soc. Would it not be better then to apply yourself at once to such
work as will stand you in good stead when you are old--that is, address
yourself to some large proprietor who needs an assistant in managing his
estate? (3) By superintending his works, helping to get in his crops,
and guarding his property in general, you will be a benefit to the
estate and be benefited in return.
(3) Cf. "Cyrop." VIII. iii. 48.
I could not endure the yoke of slavery, Socrates! (he exclaimed).
Soc. And yet the heads of departments in a state are not regarded as
adopting the badge of slavery because they manage the public property,
but as having attained a higher degree of freedom rather.
Euth. In a word, Socrates, the idea of being held to account to another
is not at all to my taste.
Soc. And yet, Eutherus, it would be hard to find a work which did
not involve some liability to account; in fact it is difficult to do
anything without some mistake or other, and no less difficult, if
you should succeed in doing it immaculately, to escape all unfriendly
criticism. I wonder now whether you find it easy to get through your
present occupations entirely without reproach. No? Let me tell you what
you should do. You should avoid censorious persons and attach yourself
to the considerate and kind-hearted, and in all your affairs accept
with a good grace what you can and decline what you feel you cannot do.
Whatever it be, do it heart and soul, and make it your finest work. (4)
There lies the method at once to silence fault-finders and to minister
help to your own difficulties. Life will flow smoothly, risks will be
diminished, provision against old age secured.
(4) Or, "study to make it your finest work, the expression of a real enthusiasm." |
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