1. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 9.20 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 9.20. And Noah, the man of the land, began and planted a vineyard." |
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2. Hesiod, Works And Days, 288-297, 299-309, 312-319, 287 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
| 287. Perses, remember this, serve righteousne |
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3. Homer, Odyssey, 10.310-10.322, 10.371-10.387 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
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4. Theognis, Elegies, 912-914, 911 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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5. Antisthenes, Fragments, 22 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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6. Antisthenes, Fragments, 22 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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7. Aristophanes, Birds, 688-702, 707, 712, 716, 719, 687 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 687. ἀπτῆνες ἐφημέριοι ταλαοὶ βροτοὶ ἀνέρες εἰκελόνειροι | |
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8. Aristophanes, Clouds, 887-948, 886 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 886. αὐτὸς μαθήσεται παρ' αὐτοῖν τοῖν λόγοιν. | |
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9. Euripides, Hercules Furens, 1357, 394-397, 1250 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
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10. Plato, Gorgias, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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11. Plato, Protagoras, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 320c. do not grudge us your demonstration. |
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12. Plato, Symposium, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 177b. has had no song of praise composed for him by a single one of all the many poets that ever have been? And again, pray consider our worthy professors, and the eulogies they frame of Hercules and others in prose,—for example, the excellent Prodicus. This indeed is not so surprising but I recollect coming across a book by somebody, in which I found Salt superbly lauded for its usefulness, and many more such matter |
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13. Sophocles, Women of Trachis, 1100, 1264-1278, 1099 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 1099. and that monstrous army of beasts with double form, hostile, going on hoofed feet, violent, lawless, of surpassing violence; you tamed the beast in Erymanthia, and underground the three-headed whelp of Hades, a resistless terror, offspring of the fierce Echidna; you tamed the dragon |
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14. Xenophon, The Persian Expedition, 3.1.11 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 3.1.11. Now when the time of perplexity came, he was distressed as well as everybody else and was unable to sleep; but, getting at length a little sleep, he had a dream. It seemed to him that there was a clap of thunder and a bolt fell on his father’s house, setting the whole house ablaze. |
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15. Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, 1.2.1, 1.4.3 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 1.2.1. The father of Cyrus is said to have been His parentage Cambyses, king of the Persians: this Cambyses belonged to the stock of the Persidae, and the Persidae derive their name from Perseus. His mother, it is generally agreed, was Mandane; and this Mandane was the daughter of Astyages, sometime king of the Medes. And even to this day the barbarians tell in story and in song that Cyrus was most handsome in person, most generous of heart, most devoted to learning, and most ambitious, so that he endured all sorts of labour and faced all sorts of danger for the sake of praise. |
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16. Xenophon, Memoirs, 1.2.1, 1.3.5-1.3.7, 1.5.5, 2.1.1-2.1.18, 2.1.20-2.1.32, 2.1.34, 4.4.1-4.4.4, 4.4.11, 4.8.6, 4.8.11 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 1.2.1. No less wonderful is it to me that some believed the charge brought against Socrates of corrupting the youth. In the first place, apart from what I have said, in control of his own passions and appetites he was the strictest of men; further, in endurance of cold and heat and every kind of toil he was most resolute; and besides, his needs were so schooled to moderation that having very little he was yet very content. 1.3.5. He schooled his body and soul by following, a system which, in all human calculation, would give him a life of confidence and security, and would make it easy to meet his expenses. For he was so frugal that it is hardly possible to imagine a man doing so little work as not to earn enough to satisfy the needs of Socrates . He ate just sufficient food to make eating a pleasure, and he was so ready for his food that he found appetite the best sauce Cyropaedia I. v. 12. : and any kind of drink he found pleasant, because he drank only when he was thirsty. 1.3.6. Whenever he accepted an invitation to dinner, he resisted without difficulty the common temptation to exceed the limit of satiety; and he advised those who could not do likewise to avoid appetizers that encouraged them to eat and drink what they did not want: for such trash was the ruin of stomach and brain and soul. 1.3.7. I believe, he said in jest, it was by providing a feast of such things that Circe made swine; and it was partly by the prompting of Hermes, In Odyssey, X. 281 f. partly through his own self-restraint and avoidance of excessive indulgence in such things, that Odysseus was not turned into a pig. 1.5.5. For who without this can learn any good or practise it worthily? Or what man that is the slave of his pleasures is not in an evil plight body and soul alike? From my heart I declare that every free man should pray not to have such a man among his slaves; and every man who is a slave to such pleasures should entreat the gods to give him good masters: thus, and only thus, may he find salvation. 2.1.1. In other conversations I thought that he exhorted his companions to practise self-control in the matter of eating and drinking, and sexual indulgence, and sleeping, and endurance of cold and heat and toil. Aware that one of his companions was rather intemperate in such matters, he said: Tell me, Aristippus, if you were required to take charge of two youths and educate them so that the one would be fit to rule and the other would never think of putting himself forward, how would you educate them? Shall we consider it, beginning with the elementary question of food? Oh yes, replied Aristippus, food does seem to come first; for one can’t live without food. 2.1.2. Well, now, will not a desire for food naturally arise in both at certain times? Yes, naturally. Now which of the two should we train in the habit of transacting urgent business before he satisfies his hunger? The one who is being trained to rule, undoubtedly; else State business might be neglected during his tenure. And must not the same one be given power to resist thirst when both want to drink? Certainly. 2.1.3. And to which shall we give the power of limiting his sleep so that he can go late to bed and get up early, and do without sleep if need be? To the same again. And the power to control his passions, so that he may not be hindered in doing necessary work? To the same again. And to which shall we give the habit of not shirking a task, but undertaking it willingly? That too will go to the one who is being trained to rule. And to which would the knowledge needful for overcoming enemies be more appropriately given? Without doubt to the one who is being trained to rule; for the other lessons would be useless without such knowledge. 2.1.4. Don’t you think that with this education he will be less likely to be caught by his enemy than other creatures? Some of them, you know, are so greedy, that in spite of extreme timidity in some cases, they are drawn irresistibly to the bait to get food, and are caught; and others are snared by drink. Yes, certainly. Others again — quails and partridges, for instance — are so amorous, that when they hear the cry of the female, they are carried away by desire and anticipation, throw caution to the winds and blunder into the nets. Is it not so? 2.1.5. He agreed again. Now, don’t you think it disgraceful that a man should be in the same plight as the silliest of wild creatures? Thus an adulterer enters the women’s quarters, knowing that by committing adultery he is in danger of incurring the penalties threatened by the law, and that he may be trapped, caught and ill-treated. When such misery and disgrace hang over the adulterer’s head, and there are many remedies to relieve him of his carnal desire without risk, is it not sheer lunacy to plunge headlong into danger? Yes, I think it is. 2.1.6. And considering that the great majority of essential occupations, warfare, agriculture and very many others, are carried on in the open air, don’t you think it gross negligence that so many men are untrained to withstand cold and heat? He agreed again. Don’t you think then, that one who is going to rule must adapt himself to bear them lightly? Certainly. 2.1.7. If then we classify those who control themselves in all these matters as fit to rule, shall we not classify those who cannot behave so as men with no claim to be rulers? He agreed again. Well now, as you know the category to which each of these species belongs, have you ever considered in which category you ought to put yourself? 2.1.8. I have; and I do not for a moment put myself in the category of those who want to be rulers. Cyropaedia I. vi. 7; vii. ii, 26 f. For considering how hard a matter it is to provide for one’s own needs, I think it absurd not to be content to do that, but to shoulder the burden of supplying the wants of the community as well. That anyone should sacrifice a large part of his own wishes and make himself accountable as head of the state for the least failure to carry out all the wishes of the community is surely the height of folly. 2.1.9. For states claim to treat their rulers just as I claim to treat my servants. I expect my men to provide me with necessaries in abundance, but not to touch any of them; and states hold it to be the business of the ruler to supply them with all manner of good things, and to abstain from all of them himself. And so, should anyone want to bring plenty of trouble on himself and others, I would educate him as you propose and number him with those fitted to be rulers : but myself I classify with those who wish for a life of the greatest ease and pleasure that can be had. Here Socrates asked: 2.1.10. Shall we then consider whether the rulers or the ruled live the pleasanter life? Certainly, replied Aristippus. To take first the nations known to us. In Asia the rulers are the Persians; the Syrians, Lydians and Phrygians are the ruled. In Europe the Scythians rule, and the Maeotians are ruled. In Africa the Carthaginians rule, and the Libyans are ruled. Which of the two classes, think you, enjoys the pleasanter life? Or take the Greeks, of whom you yourself are one; do you think that the controlling or the controlled communities enjoy the pleasanter life? 2.1.11. Nay, replied Aristippus, for my part I am no candidate for slavery; but there is, as I hold, a middle path in which I am fain to walk. That way leads neither through rule nor slavery, but through liberty, which is the royal road to happiness. 2.1.12. Ah, said Socrates, if only that path can avoid the world as well as rule and slavery, there may be something in what you say. But, since you are in the world, if you intend neither to rule nor to be ruled, and do not choose to truckle to the rulers 2.1.13. — I think you must see that the stronger have a way of making the weaker rue their lot both in public and in private life, and treating them like slaves. You cannot be unaware that where some have sown and planted, others cut their corn and fell their trees, and in all manner of ways harass the weaker if they refuse to bow down, until they are persuaded to accept slavery as an escape from war with the stronger. So, too, in private life do not brave and mighty men enslave and plunder the cowardly and feeble folk? Yes, but my plan for avoiding such treatment is this. I do not shut myself up in the four corners of a community, but am a stranger in every land. 2.1.14. A very cunning trick, that! cried Socrates, for ever since the death of Sinis and Sceiron and Procrustes Highwaymen slain by Theseus, Plutarch, Thes. c. 8 f. no one injures strangers! And yet nowadays those who take a hand in the affairs of their homeland pass laws to protect themselves from injury, get friends to help them over and above those whom nature has given them, encompass their cities with fortresses, get themselves weapons to ward off the workers of mischief; and besides all this seek to make allies in other lands; and in spite of all these precautions, they are still wronged. 2.1.15. But you, with none of these advantages, spend much time on the open road, where so many come to harm; and into whatever city you enter, you rank below all its citizens, and are one of those specially marked down for attack by intending wrongdoers; and yet, because you are a stranger, do you expect to escape injury? What gives you confidence? Is it that the cities by proclamation guarantee your safety in your coming and going? Or is it the thought that no master would find you worth having among his slaves? For who would care to have a man in his house who wants to do no work and has a weakness for high living? 2.1.16. But now let us see how masters treat such servants. Do they not starve them to keep them from immorality, lock up the stores to stop their stealing, clap fetters on them so that they can’t run away, and beat the laziness out of them with whips? What do you do yourself to cure such faults among your servants? 2.1.17. I make their lives a burden to them until I reduce them to submission. But how about those who are trained in the art of kingship, Socrates, which you appear to identify with happiness? How are they better off than those whose sufferings are compulsory, if they must bear hunger, thirst, cold, sleeplessness, and endure all these tortures willingly? For if the same back gets the flogging whether its owner kicks or consents, or, in short, if the same body, consenting or objecting, is besieged by all these torments, I see no difference, apart from the folly of voluntary suffering. 2.1.18. What, Aristippus, exclaimed Socrates, don’t you think that there is just this difference between these voluntary and involuntary sufferings, that if you bear hunger or thirst willingly, you can eat, drink, or what not, when you choose, whereas compulsory suffering is not to be ended at will? Besides, he who endures willingly enjoys his work because he is comforted by hope; hunters, for instance, toil gladly in hope of game. 2.1.20. Moreover, indolence and present enjoyment can never bring the body into good condition, as trainers say, neither do they put into the soul knowledge of any value, but strenuous effort leads up to good and noble deeds, as good men say. And so says Hesiod somewhere: Hes. WD 285 Wickedness can be had in abundance easily: smooth is the road and very nigh she dwells. But in front of virtue the gods immortal have put sweat: long and steep is the path to her and rough at first; but when you reach the top, then at length the road is easy, hard though it was. Hes. WD 285 And we have the testimony of Epicharmus too in the line: The gods demand of us toil as the price of all good things. Epicharmus And elsewhere he says: Knave, yearn not for the soft things, lest thou earn the hard. Epicharmus 2.1.21. Aye, and Prodicus the wise expresses himself to the like effect concerning Virtue in the essay On Heracles that he recites to throngs of listeners. This, so far as I remember, is how he puts it: When Heracles was passing from boyhood to youth’s estate, wherein the young, now becoming their own masters, show whether they will approach life by the path of virtue or the path of vice, he went out into a quiet place 2.1.22. and sat pondering which road to take. And there appeared two women of great stature making towards him. The one was fair to see and of high bearing; and her limbs were adorned with purity, her eyes with modesty; sober was her figure, and her robe was white. The other was plump and soft, with high feeding. Her face was made up to heighten its natural white and pink, her figure to exaggerate her height. Open-eyed was she; and dressed so as to disclose all her charms. Now she eyed herself; anon looked whether any noticed her; and often stole a glance at her own shadow. 2.1.23. When they drew nigh to Heracles, the first pursued the even tenor of her way: but the other, all eager to outdo her, ran to meet him, crying: Heracles, I see that you are in doubt which path to take towards life. Make me your friend; follow me, and I will lead you along the pleasantest and easiest road. You shall taste all the sweets of life; and hardship you shall never know. 2.1.24. First, of wars and worries you shall not think, but shall ever be considering what choice food or drink you can find, what sight or sound will delight you, what touch or perfume; what tender love can give you most joy, what bed the softest slumbers; and how to come by all these pleasures with least trouble. 2.1.25. And should there arise misgiving that lack of means may stint your enjoyments, never fear that I may lead you into winning them by toil and anguish of body and soul. Nay; you shall have the fruits of others’ toil, and refrain from nothing that can bring you gain. For to my companions I give authority to pluck advantage where they will. 2.1.26. Now when Heracles heard this, he asked, Lady, pray what is your name? My friends call me Happiness, she said, but among those that hate me I am nicknamed Vice. 2.1.27. Meantime the other had drawn near, and she said: I, too, am come to you, Heracles: I know your parents and I have taken note of your character during the time of your education. Therefore I hope that, if you take the road that leads to me, you will turn out a right good doer of high and noble deeds, and I shall be yet more highly honoured and more illustrious for the blessings I bestow. But I will not deceive you by a pleasant prelude: I will rather tell you truly the things that are, as the gods have ordained them. 2.1.28. For of all things good and fair, the gods give nothing to man without toil and effort. If you want the favour of the gods, you must worship the gods: if you desire the love of friends, you must do good to your friends: if you covet honour from a city, you must aid that city: if you are fain to win the admiration of all Hellas for virtue, you must strive to do good to Hellas : if you want land to yield you fruits in abundance, you must cultivate that land: if you are resolved to get wealth from flocks, you must care for those flocks: if you essay to grow great through war and want power to liberate your friends and subdue your foes, you must learn the arts of war from those who know them and must practise their right use: and if you want your body to be strong, you must accustom your body to be the servant of your mind, and train it with toil and sweat. 2.1.29. And Vice, as Prodicus tells, answered and said: Heracles, mark you how hard and long is that road to joy, of which this woman tells? but I will lead you by a short and easy road to happiness. And Virtue said: 2.1.30. What good thing is thine, poor wretch, or what pleasant thing dost thou know, if thou wilt do nought to win them? Thou dost not even tarry for the desire of pleasant things, but fillest thyself with all things before thou desirest them, eating before thou art hungry, drinking before thou art thirsty, getting thee cooks, to give zest to eating, buying thee costly wines and running to and fro in search of snow in summer, to give zest to drinking; to soothe thy slumbers it is not enough for thee to buy soft coverlets, but thou must have frames for thy beds. For not toil, but the tedium of having nothing to do, makes thee long for sleep. Thou dost rouse lust by many a trick, when there is no need, using men as women: thus thou trainest thy friends, waxing wanton by night, consuming in sleep the best hours of day. 2.1.31. Immortal art thou, yet the outcast of the gods, the scorn of good men. Praise, sweetest of all things to hear, thou hearest not: the sweetest of all sights thou beholdest not, for never yet hast thou beheld a good work wrought by thyself. Who will believe what thou dost say? who will grant what thou dost ask? Or what sane man will dare join thy throng? While thy votaries are young their bodies are weak, when they wax old, their souls are without sense; idle and sleek they thrive in youth, withered and weary they journey through old age, and their past deeds bring them shame, their present deeds distress. Pleasure they ran through in their youth: hardship they laid up for their old age. 2.1.32. But I company with gods and good men, and no fair deed of god or man is done without my aid. I am first in honour among the gods and among men that are akin to me: to craftsmen a beloved fellow-worker, to masters a faithful guardian of the house, to servants a kindly protector: good helpmate in the toils of peace, staunch ally in the deeds of war, best partner in friendship. 2.1.34. Such, in outline, is Prodicus’ story of the training of Heracles by Virtue; only he has clothed the thoughts in even finer phrases than I have done now. But anyhow, Aristippus, it were well that you should think on these things and try to show some regard for the life that lies before you. 4.4.1. Again, concerning Justice he did not hide his opinion, but proclaimed it by his actions. All his private conduct was lawful and helpful: to public authority he rendered such scrupulous obedience in all that the laws required, both in civil life and in military service, that he was a pattern of good discipline to all. 4.4.2. When chairman in the Assemblies he would not permit the people to record an illegal vote, but, upholding the laws, resisted a popular impulse that might even have overborne any but himself. 4.4.3. And when the Thirty laid a command on him that was illegal, he refused to obey. Thus he disregarded their repeated injunction not to talk with young men; and when they commanded him and certain other citizens to arrest a man on a capital charge, he alone refused, because the command laid on him was illegal. Alluding to the famous case of Leon. 4.4.4. Again, when he was tried on the charge brought by Meletus, whereas it is the custom of defendants to curry favour with the jury and to indulge in flattery and illegal appeals, and many by such means have been known to gain a verdict of acquittal, he rejected utterly the familiar chicanery of the courts; and though he might easily have gained a favourable verdict by even a moderate indulgence in such stratagems, he chose to die through his loyalty to the laws rather than to live through violating them. 4.4.11. Then have you ever found me dealing in perjury or calumny, or stirring up strife between friends or fellow-citizens, or doing any other unjust act? I have not. To abstain from what is unjust is just, don’t you think? Even now, Socrates, you are clearly endeavouring to avoid stating what you think Justice to be. You are saying not what the just do, but what they don’t do. 4.8.6. Strange words, said I; and he, Do you think it strange, if it seems better to God that I should die now? Don’t you see that to this day I never would acknowledge that any man had lived a better or a pleasanter life than I? For they live best, I think, who strive best to become as good as possible: and the pleasantest life is theirs who are conscious that they are growing in goodness. 4.8.11. This was the tenor of his conversation with Hermogenes and with the others. All who knew what manner of man Socrates was and who seek after virtue continue to this day to miss him beyond all others, as the chief of helpers in the quest of virtue. For myself, I have described him as he was: so religious that he did nothing without counsel from the gods; so just that he did no injury, however small, to any man, but conferred the greatest benefits on all who dealt with him; so self-controlled that he never chose the pleasanter rather than the better course; so wise that he was unerring in his judgment of the better and the worse, and needed no counsellor, but relied on himself for his knowledge of them; masterly in expounding and defining such things; no less masterly in putting others to the test, and convincing them of error and exhorting them to follow virtue and gentleness. To me then he seemed to be all that a truly good and happy man must be. But if there is any doubter, let him set the character of other men beside these things; then let him judge. |
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17. Xenophon, On Household Management, 1.22 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 1.22. Yes, they too are slaves, and hard indeed are their masters: some are in bondage to gluttony, some to lechery, some to drink, and some to foolish and costly ambitions. And so hard is the rule of these passions over every man who falls into their clutches, that so long as they see that he is strong and capable of work, they force him to pay over all the profits of his toil, and to spend it on their own desires; but no sooner do they find that he is too old to work, than they leave him to an old age of misery, and try to fasten the yoke on other shoulders. |
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18. Xenophon, Symposium, 3.2, 4.34, 9.2 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 3.2. Then Socrates resumed the conversation. These people, gentlemen, said he, show their competence to give us pleasure; and yet we, I am sure, think ourselves considerably superior to them. Will it not be to our shame, therefore, if we do not make even an attempt, while here together, to be of some service or to give some pleasure one to another? At that many spoke up: You lead the way, then, and tell us what to begin talking about to realize most fully what you have in mind. 4.34. Come, now, Antisthenes, said Socrates , take your turn and tell us how it is that with such slender means you base your pride on wealth. Because, sirs, I conceive that people’s wealth and poverty are to be found not in their real estate but in their hearts. 9.2. After he had withdrawn, a chair of state, first of all, was set down in the room, and then the Syracusan came in with the announcement: Gentlemen, Ariadne will now enter the chamber set apart for her and Dionysus; after that, Dionysus, a little flushed with wine drunk at a banquet of the gods, will come to join her; and then they will disport themselves together. |
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19. Aristotle, Metaphysics, None (4th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
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20. Anon., 1 Enoch, 91.3 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 91.3. And he spake unto all the children of righteousness and said: 100. And in those days in one place the fathers together with their sons shall be smitten And brothers one with another shall fall in death Till the streams flow with their blood.",For a man shall not withhold his hand from slaying his sons and his sons' sons, And the sinner shall not withhold his hand from his honoured brother: From dawn till sunset they shall slay one another.,And the horse shall walk up to the breast in the blood of sinners, And the chariot shall be submerged to its height.,In those days the angels shall descend into the secret places And gather together into one place all those who brought down sin And the Most High will arise on that day of judgement To execute great judgement amongst sinners.",And over all the righteous and holy He will appoint guardians from amongst the holy angels To guard them as the apple of an eye, Until He makes an end of all wickedness and all sin, And though the righteous sleep a long sleep, they have nought to fear.,And (then) the children of the earth shall see the wise in security, And shall understand all the words of this book, And recognize that their riches shall not be able to save them In the overthrow of their sins.,Woe to you, Sinners, on the day of strong anguish, Ye who afflict the righteous and burn them with fire: Ye shall be requited according to your works.,Woe to you, ye obstinate of heart, Who watch in order to devise wickedness: Therefore shall fear come upon you And there shall be none to help you.,Woe to you, ye sinners, on account of the words of your mouth, And on account of the deeds of your hands which your godlessness as wrought, In blazing flames burning worse than fire shall ye burn.,And now, know ye that from the angels He will inquire as to your deeds in heaven, from the sun and from the moon and from the stars in reference to your sins because upon the earth ye execute,judgement on the righteous. And He will summon to testify against you every cloud and mist and dew and rain; for they shall all be withheld because of you from descending upon you, and they,shall be mindful of your sins. And now give presents to the rain that it be not withheld from descending upon you, nor yet the dew, when it has received gold and silver from you that it may descend. When the hoar-frost and snow with their chilliness, and all the snow-storms with all their plagues fall upon you, in those days ye shall not be able to stand before them. |
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21. Antisthenes of Rhodes, Fragments, 22 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
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22. Cicero, On Laws, 1.24-1.27 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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23. Cicero, On Duties, 1.118 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 1.118. Nam quodHerculem Prodicus dicit, ut est apud Xenophontem, cum primum pubesceret, quod tempus a natura ad deligendum, quam quisque viam vivendi sit ingressurus, datum est, exisse in solitudinem atque ibi sedentem diu secum multumque dubitasse, cum duas cerneret vias, unam Voluptatis, alteram Virtutis, utram ingredi melius esset, hoc Herculi Iovis satu edito potuit fortasse contingere, nobis non item, qui imitamur, quos cuique visum est, atque ad eorum studia institutaque impellimur; plerumque autem parentium praeceptis imbuti ad eorum consuetudinem moremque deducimur; alii multitudinis iudicio feruntur, quaeque maiori parti pulcherrima videntur, ea maxime exoptant; non nulli tamen sive felicitate quadam sive bonitate naturae sine parentium disciplina rectam vitae secuti sunt viam. | 1.118. For we cannot all have the experience of Hercules, as we find it in the words of Prodicus in Xenophon; "When Hercules was just coming into youth's estate (the time which Nature has appointed unto every man for choosing the path of life on which he would enter), he went out into a desert place. And as he saw two paths, the path of Pleasure and the path of Virtue, he sat down and debated long and earnestly which one it were better for him to take." This might, perhaps, happen to a Hercules, "scion of the seed of Jove"; but it cannot well happen to us; for we copy each the model he fancies, and we are constrained to adopt their pursuits and vocations. But usually, we are so imbued with the teachings of our parents, that we fall irresistibly into their manners and customs. Others drift with the current of popular opinion and make especial choice of those callings which the majority find most attractive. Some, however, as the result either of some happy fortune or of natural ability, enter upon the right path of life, without parental guidance. |
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24. Cicero, Republic, 1.1, 1.4-1.7 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 1.1. im petu liberavissent, nec C. Duelius, A. Atilius, L. Metellus terrore Karthaginis, non duo Scipiones oriens incendium belli Punici secundi sanguine suo restinxissent, nec id excitatum maioribus copiis aut Q. Maximus enervavisset aut M. Marcellus contudisset aut a portis huius urbis avolsum P. Africanus compulisset intra hostium moenia. M. vero Catoni, homini ignoto et novo, quo omnes, qui isdem rebus studemus, quasi exemplari ad industriam virtutemque ducimur, certe licuit Tusculi se in otio delectare salubri et propinquo loco. Sed homo demens, ut isti putant, cum cogeret eum necessitas nulla, in his undis et tempestatibus ad summam senectutem maluit iactari quam in illa tranquillitate atque otio iucundissime vivere. Omitto innumerabilis viros, quorum singuli saluti huic civitati fuerunt, et quia sunt haud procul ab aetatis huius memoria, commemorare eos desino, ne quis se aut suorum aliquem praetermissum queratur. Unum hoc definio, tantam esse necessitatem virtutis generi hominum a natura tantumque amorem ad communem salutem defendendam datum, ut ea vis omnia blandimenta voluptatis otiique vicerit. 1.1. Plin. Nat. praef. 7 nec docti/ssimis. †Manium Persium haec le/gere nolo, Iu/nium Congu/m volo. 1.4. His rationibus tam certis tamque inlustribus opponuntur ab iis, qui contra disputant, primum labores, qui sint re publica defendenda sustinendi, leve sane inpedimentum vigilanti et industrio, neque solum in tantis rebus, sed etiam in mediocribus vel studiis vel officiis vel vero etiam negotiis contemnendum. Adiunguntur pericula vitae, turpisque ab his formido mortis fortibus viris opponitur, quibus magis id miserum videri solet, natura se consumi et senectute, quam sibi dari tempus, ut possint eam vitam, quae tamen esset reddenda naturae, pro patria potissimum reddere. Illo vero se loco copiosos et disertos putant, cum calamitates clarissimorum virorum iniuriasque iis ab ingratis inpositas civibus colligunt. 1.4. Non. p. 276M Cognoscere mehercule, inquit, consuetudinem istam et studium sermonis. 1.5. Hinc enim illa et apud Graecos exempla, Miltiadem, victorem domitoremque Persarum, nondum sanatis volneribus iis, quae corpore adverso in clarissima victoria accepisset, vitam ex hostium telis servatam in civium vinclis profudisse, et Themistoclem patria, quam liberavisset, pulsum atque proterritum non in Graeciae portus per se servatos, sed in barbariae sinus confugisse, quam adflixerat; nec vero levitatis Atheniensium crudelitatisque in amplissimos civis exempla deficiunt; quae nata et frequentata apud illos etiam in gravissumam civitatem nostram dicuntur redundasse; 1.5. Lactant. Div. Inst. 3.16.5 Profecto omnis istorum disputatio, quamquam uberrimos fontes virtutis et scientiae continet, tamen collata cum eorum actis perfectisque rebus vereor ne non tantum videatur attulisse negotii hominibus, quantam oblectationem. 1.6. nam vel exilium Camilli vel offensio commemoratur Ahalae vel invidia Nasicae vel expulsio Laenatis vel Opimii damnatio vel fuga Metelli vel acerbissima C. Marii clades principum que caedes vel eorum multorum pestes, quae paulo post secutae sunt. Nec vero iam meo nomine abstinent et, credo, quia nostro consilio ac periculo sese in illa vita atque otio conservatos putant, gravius etiam de nobis queruntur et amantius. Sed haud facile dixerim, cur, cum ipsi discendi aut visendi causa maria tramittant 1.6. Arusianus Messius GL 7.457K A qua isti avocabant. 1.7. salvam esse consulatu abiens in contione populo Romano idem iurante iuravissem, facile iniuriarum omnium compensarem curam et molestiam. Quamquam nostri casus plus honoris habuerunt quam laboris neque tantum molestiae, quantum gloriae, maioremque laetitiam ex desiderio bonorum percepimus quam ex laetitia improborum dolorem. Sed si aliter, ut dixi, accidisset, qui possem queri? cum mihi nihil inproviso nec gravius, quam exspectavissem, pro tantis meis factis evenisset. Is enim fueram, cui cum liceret aut maiores ex otio fructus capere quam ceteris propter variam suavitatem studiorum, in quibus a pueritia vixeram, aut si quid accideret acerbius universis, non praecipuam, sed parem cum ceteris fortunae condicionem subire, non dubitaverim me gravissimis tempestatibus ac paene fulminibus ipsis obvium ferre conservandorum civium causa meisque propriis periculis parere commune reliquis otium. | |
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25. Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library, 4.10.7 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 4.10.7. And when Heracles ignored the summons Zeus despatched word to him to enter the service of Eurystheus; whereupon Heracles journeyed to Delphi, and on inquiring of the god regarding the matter he received a reply which stated that the gods had decided that he should perform twelve Labours at the command of Eurystheus and that upon their conclusion he should receive the gift of immortality. |
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26. Horace, Ars Poetica, 74, 73 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
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27. Ovid, Amores, 3.1 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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28. Ovid, Metamorphoses, 15.49 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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29. Philo of Alexandria, On Giants, 44 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 44. If therefore, O my soul, any one of the temptations of pleasure invites you, turn yourself away, and directing your views towards another point, look at the genuine beauty of virtue, and having surveyed it, remain, until a desire for it has sunk into you, and draws you to it, like a magnet, and immediately leads you and attaches you to that which has become the object of your desire. XI. |
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30. Philo of Alexandria, On The Sacrifices of Cain And Abel, 22-32, 21 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 21. For two women live with each individual among us, both unfriendly and hostile to one another, filling the whole abode of the soul with envy, and jealousy, and contention; of these we love the one looking upon her as being mild and tractable, and very dear to and very closely connected with ourselves, and she is called pleasure; but the other we detest, deeming her unmanageable, savage, fierce, and most completely hostile, and her name is virtue. Accordingly, the one comes to us luxuriously dressed in the guise of a harlot and prostitute, with mincing steps, rolling her eyes about with excessive licentiousness and desire, by which baits she entraps the souls of the young, looking about with a mixture of boldness and impudence, holding up her head, and raising herself above her natural height, fawning and giggling, having the hair of her head dressed with most superfluous elaborateness, having her eyes pencilled, her eyebrows covered over, using incessant warm baths, painted with a fictitious colour, exquisitely dressed with costly garments, richly embroidered, adorned with armlets, and bracelets, and necklaces, and all other ornaments which can be made of gold, and precious stones, and all kinds of female decorations; loosely girdled, breathing of most fragrant perfumes, thinking the whole market her home; a marvel to be seen in the public roads, out of the scarcity of any genuine beauty, pursuing a bastard elegance. |
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31. Philo of Alexandria, Allegorical Interpretation, 3.113 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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32. Philo of Alexandria, That God Is Unchangeable, 67 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 67. Therefore the lawgiver, being a most admirable physician of the passions and diseases of the soul, has proposed to himself one task and one end, namely, to eradicate the diseases of the mind by the roots, so that there may not be a single one left behind to put forth any shoot of incurable distemper. |
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33. Vergil, Aeneis, 6.146-6.148, 6.211, 12.940 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 6.146. This be the portal where the murky wave 6.147. of swollen Acheron o'erflows its bound 6.148. Here let me enter and behold the face |
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34. Anon., Didache, 1.1-6.3, 1.6 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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35. Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, 2.4.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 2.4.8. πρὸ τοῦ δὲ Ἀμφιτρύωνα παραγενέσθαι εἰς Θήβας Ζεύς, διὰ νυκτὸς ἐλθὼν καὶ τὴν μίαν τριπλασιάσας νύκτα, 3 -- ὅμοιος Ἀμφιτρύωνι γενόμενος Ἀλκμήνῃ συνευνάσθη καὶ τὰ γενόμενα περὶ 1 -- Τηλεβοῶν διηγήσατο. Ἀμφιτρύων δὲ παραγενόμενος, ὡς οὐχ ἑώρα φιλοφρονουμένην πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν γυναῖκα, ἐπυνθάνετο τὴν αἰτίαν· εἰπούσης δὲ ὅτι τῇ προτέρᾳ νυκτὶ παραγενόμενος αὐτῇ συγκεκοίμηται, μανθάνει παρὰ Τειρεσίου τὴν γενομένην τοῦ Διὸς συνουσίαν. Ἀλκμήνη δὲ δύο ἐγέννησε παῖδας, Διὶ μὲν Ἡρακλέα, μιᾷ νυκτὶ πρεσβύτερον, Ἀμφιτρύωνι δὲ Ἰφικλέα. τοῦ δὲ παιδὸς ὄντος ὀκταμηνιαίου δύο δράκοντας ὑπερμεγέθεις Ἥρα ἐπὶ τὴν εὐνὴν ἔπεμψε, διαφθαρῆναι τὸ βρέφος θέλουσα. ἐπιβοωμένης δὲ Ἀλκμήνης Ἀμφιτρύωνα, Ἡρακλῆς διαναστὰς ἄγχων ἑκατέραις ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοὺς διέφθειρε. Φερεκύδης δέ φησιν Ἀμφιτρύωνα, βουλόμενον μαθεῖν ὁπότερος ἦν τῶν παίδων ἐκείνου, τοὺς δράκοντας εἰς τὴν εὐνὴν ἐμβαλεῖν, καὶ τοῦ μὲν Ἰφικλέους φυγόντος τοῦ δὲ Ἡρακλέους ὑποστάντος μαθεῖν ὡς Ἰφικλῆς ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγέννηται. | |
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36. Dio Chrysostom, Orations, 1.64, 1.84, 8.25-8.35 (1st cent. CE
| 8.25. and now from that time forth the man goes on living as a pig or a wolf. Pleasure also brings divers and deadly vipers into being, and other crawling things that attend constantly upon her as they lie about her doors, and though yearning for pleasure and serving her, they yet suffer a thousand hardships all in vain. 8.26. For pleasure, after overpowering and taking possession of her victims, delivers them over to hardships, the most hateful and most difficult to endure. "This is the contest which I steadfastly maintain, and in which I risk my life against pleasure and hardship, yet not a single wretched mortal gives heed to me, but only to the jumpers and runners and dancers. 8.27. Neither, indeed, did men have eyes for struggles and labours of Heracles or have any interest in them, but perhaps even then they were admiring certain athletes such as Zetes, Calaïs, Peleus, and other like runners and wrestlers; and some they would admire for their beauty and others for their wealth, as, for example, Jason and Cinyras. 8.28. About Pelops, too, the story ran that he had an ivory shoulder, as if there were any use in a man having a golden or ivory hand or eyes of diamond or malachite; but the kind of soul he had men did not notice. As for Heracles, they pitied him while he toiled and struggled and called him the most 'trouble-ridden,' or wretched, of men; indeed, this is why they gave the name 'troubles,' or tasks, to his labours and works, as though a laborious life were a trouble-ridden, or wretched life; but now that he is dead they honour him beyond all others, deify him, and say he has Hebe to wife, and all pray to him that they may not themselves be wretched â to him who in his labours suffered wretchedness exceedingly great. 8.29. "They have an idea, too, that Eurystheus had him in his power and ordered him about, Eurystheus, whom they considered a worthless fellow and to whom no one ever prayed or sacrificed. Heracles, however, roved over all Europe and Asia, though he did not look at all like any of these athletes; 8.30. for where could he have penetrated, had he carried so much flesh or required so much meat or drink into such depths of sleep? No, he was as alert and lean like a lion, keen of eye and ear, recking naught of cold or heat, having no use for bed, shawl, or rug, clad in a dirty skin, with an air of hunger about him, as he succoured the good and punished the bad. 8.31. And because Diomede, the Thracian, wore such fine raiment and sat upon a throne drinking the livelong day in high revel, and treated strangers unrighteously as well as his own subjects, and kept a large stable, Heracles smote him with his club and smashed him as if he had been an old jar. Then Geryones, who had ever so many cattle and was the richest of all western lords and the most arrogant, he also killed along with his brothers and drove his cattle away. 8.32. And when he found Busiris very diligently training, eating the whole day long, and exceeding proud of his wrestling, Heracles burst him open like an over-filled bag by dashing him to the ground. He loosed the girdle of the Amazon, who tried to coquet with him and thought to win by means of her beauty. For he both consorted with her and made her understand that he could never be overcome by beauty and would never tarry far away from his own possessions for a woman's sake. 8.33. And Prometheus, whom I take to have been a sort of sophist, he found being destroyed by popular opinion; for his liver swelled and grew whenever he was praised and shrivelled again when he was censured. So he took pity on him, frightened . . , and thus relieved him of his vanity and inordinate ambition; and straightway he disappeared after making him whole. "Now in all those exploits he was not doing a favour to Eurystheus at all. 8.34. And as to the golden apples that he got and brought back â I mean those of the Hesperides â he did give them to him, since he had no use for them himself, but told him to keep them and go hang; for he explained that apples of gold are of no use to a man, nor had the Hesperides, either, found them to be. Then, finally, when he was growing ever slower and weaker, from fear that he would not be able to live as before, and besides, I suppose, because he was attacked by some disease, he made the best provision that was humanly possible for himself, for he reared a pyre of the very driest wood in the courtyard and showed that he minded the fiery heat precious little. 8.35. But before that, to avoid creating the opinion that he did only impressive and mighty deeds, he went and removed and cleaned away the dung in the Augean stables, that immense accumulation of many years. For he considered that he ought to fight stubbornly and war against opinion as much as against wild beasts and wicked men. |
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37. New Testament, 2 Peter, 2.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.15. forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrong-doing; |
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38. New Testament, Galatians, 5.16-5.26 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 5.16. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won't fulfill the lust ofthe flesh. 5.17. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and theSpirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one other, that youmay not do the things that you desire. 5.18. But if you are led by theSpirit, you are not under the law. 5.19. Now the works of the fleshare obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness,lustfulness 5.20. idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies,outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies 5.21. envyings,murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which Iforewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practicesuch things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 5.22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness 5.23. gentleness, and self-control.Against such things there is no law. 5.24. Those who belong to Christhave crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. 5.25. If we liveby the Spirit, let's also walk by the Spirit. 5.26. Let's not becomeconceited, provoking one another, and envying one another. |
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39. New Testament, Luke, 1.26, 3.23, 4.1-4.15, 4.22, 4.43 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.26. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth 3.23. Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli 4.1. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 4.2. for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry. 4.3. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. 4.4. Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' 4.5. The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 4.6. The devil said to him, "I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want. 4.7. If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours. 4.8. Jesus answered him, "Get behind me Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' 4.9. He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here 4.10. for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge concerning you, to guard you;' 4.11. and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, Lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.' 4.12. Jesus answering, said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' 4.13. When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time. 4.14. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area. 4.15. He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. 4.22. All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, "Isn't this Joseph's son? 4.43. But he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent. |
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40. New Testament, Mark, 3.31-3.35 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.31. His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him. 3.32. A multitude was sitting around him, and they told him, "Behold, your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside looking for you. 3.33. He answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers? 3.34. Looking around at those who sat around him, he said, "Behold, my mother and my brothers! 3.35. For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. |
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41. New Testament, Matthew, 1.24-1.25, 4.1-4.11, 7.13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.24. Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself; 1.25. and didn't know her sexually until she had brought forth her firstborn son. He named him Jesus. 4.1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 4.2. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. 4.3. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. 4.4. But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' 4.5. Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple 4.6. and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge concerning you.' and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, So that you don't dash your foot against a stone.' 4.7. Jesus said to him, "Again, it is written, 'You shall not test the Lord, your God.' 4.8. Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. 4.9. He said to him, "I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me. 4.10. Then Jesus said to him, "Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' 4.11. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. 7.13. Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. |
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42. Plutarch, Aristides, 25.7-25.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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43. Plutarch, Cicero, 24 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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44. Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory, 9.2.36 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 9.2.36. Again, we often personify the abstract, as Virgil does with Fame, or as Xenophon records that Prodicus did with Virtue and Pleasure, or as Ennius does when, in one of his satires, he represents Life and Death contending with one another. We may also introduce some imaginary person without identifying him, as we do in the phrases, "At this point some one will interpose," or, "Some one will say. |
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45. Seneca The Younger, Hercules Oetaeus, 1132-1336, 1377-1380, 1419-1426, 1488-1496, 1518-1606, 1609-1757, 1940-1943, 1963-1976, 1983-1996, 1131 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
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46. Silius Italicus, Punica, 4.454-4.471, 13.391-13.392, 15.18-15.31 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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47. Lucian, The Dream, Or Lucianãƒæ’ƀ™Ãƒâ€ ‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚‚¬Šãƒæ’ƀ™Ãƒâ¢Ã€Šâ¬Ã…¡'S Career, 10 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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48. Lucian, Philosophies For Sale, 8 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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49. Sextus, Against The Mathematicians, 9.54 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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50. Diogenes Laertius, Lives of The Philosophers, 6.13, 6.70-6.71, 6.104-6.105, 7.3, 7.31, 9.51 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 6.13. Wisdom is a most sure stronghold which never crumbles away nor is betrayed. Walls of defence must be constructed in our own impregnable reasonings. He used to converse in the gymnasium of Cynosarges (White hound) at no great distance from the gates, and some think that the Cynic school derived its name from Cynosarges. Antisthenes himself too was nicknamed a hound pure and simple. And he was the first, Diocles tells us, to double his cloak and be content with that one garment and to take up a staff and a wallet. Neanthes too asserts that he was the first to double his mantle. Sosicrates, however, in the third book of his Successions of Philosophers says this was first done by Diodorus of Aspendus, who also let his beard grow and used a staff and a wallet. 6.70. He used to affirm that training was of two kinds, mental and bodily: the latter being that whereby, with constant exercise, perceptions are formed such as secure freedom of movement for virtuous deeds; and the one half of this training is incomplete without the other, good health and strength being just as much included among the essential things, whether for body or soul. And he would adduce indisputable evidence to show how easily from gymnastic training we arrive at virtue. For in the manual crafts and other arts it can be seen that the craftsmen develop extraordinary manual skill through practice. Again, take the case of flute-players and of athletes: what surpassing skill they acquire by their own incessant toil; and, if they had transferred their efforts to the training of the mind, how certainly their labours would not have been unprofitable or ineffective. 6.71. Nothing in life, however, he maintained, has any chance of succeeding without strenuous practice; and this is capable of overcoming anything. Accordingly, instead of useless toils men should choose such as nature recommends, whereby they might have lived happily. Yet such is their madness that they choose to be miserable. For even the despising of pleasure is itself most pleasurable, when we are habituated to it; and just as those accustomed to a life of pleasure feel disgust when they pass over to the opposite experience, so those whose training has been of the opposite kind derive more pleasure from despising pleasure than from the pleasures themselves. This was the gist of his conversation; and it was plain that he acted accordingly, adulterating currency in very truth, allowing convention no such authority as he allowed to natural right, and asserting that the manner of life he lived was the same as that of Heracles when he preferred liberty to everything. 6.104. So they get rid of geometry and music and all such studies. Anyhow, when somebody showed Diogenes a clock, he pronounced it a serviceable instrument to save one from being late for dinner. Again, to a man who gave a musical recital before him he said:By men's minds states are ordered well, and households,Not by the lyre's twanged strings or flute's trilled notes.They hold further that Life according to Virtue is the End to be sought, as Antisthenes says in his Heracles: exactly like the Stoics. For indeed there is a certain close relationship between the two schools. Hence it has been said that Cynicism is a short cut to virtue; and after the same pattern did Zeno of Citium live his life. 6.105. They also hold that we should live frugally, eating food for nourishment only and wearing a single garment. Wealth and fame and high birth they despise. Some at all events are vegetarians and drink cold water only and are content with any kind of shelter or tubs, like Diogenes, who used to say that it was the privilege of the gods to need nothing and of god-like men to want but little.They hold, further, that virtue can be taught, as Antisthenes maintains in his Heracles, and when once acquired cannot be lost; and that the wise man is worthy to be loved, impeccable, and a friend to his like; and that we should entrust nothing to fortune. Whatever is intermediate between Virtue and Vice they, in agreement with Ariston of Chios, account indifferent.So much, then, for the Cynics. We must now pass on to the Stoics, whose founder was Zeno, a disciple of Crates. 7.3. As he went on reading the second book of Xenophon's Memorabilia, he was so pleased that he inquired where men like Socrates were to be found. Crates passed by in the nick of time, so the bookseller pointed to him and said, Follow yonder man. From that day he became Crates's pupil, showing in other respects a strong bent for philosophy, though with too much native modesty to assimilate Cynic shamelessness. Hence Crates, desirous of curing this defect in him, gave him a potful of lentil-soup to carry through the Ceramicus; and when he saw that he was ashamed and tried to keep it out of sight, with a blow of his staff he broke the pot. As Zeno took to flight with the lentil-soup flowing down his legs, Why run away, my little Phoenician? quoth Crates, nothing terrible has befallen you. 7.31. We have ourselves mentioned the manner of Zeno's death in the Pammetros (a collection of poems in various metres):The story goes that Zeno of Citium after enduring many hardships by reason of old age was set free, some say by ceasing to take food; others say that once when he had tripped he beat with his hand upon the earth and cried, I come of my own accord; why then call me?For there are some who hold this to have been the manner of his death.So much then concerning his death.Demetrius the Magnesian, in his work on Men of the Same Name, says of him: his father, Mnaseas, being a merchant often went to Athens and brought away many books about Socrates for Zeno while still a boy. 9.51. Protagoras was the first to maintain that there are two sides to every question, opposed to each other, and he even argued in this fashion, being the first to do so. Furthermore he began a work thus: Man is the measure of all things, of things that are that they are, and of things that are not that they are not. He used to say that soul was nothing apart from the senses, as we learn from Plato in the Theaetetus, and that everything is true. In another work he began thus: As to the gods, I have no means of knowing either that they exist or that they do not exist. For many are the obstacles that impede knowledge, both the obscurity of the question and the shortness of human life. |
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51. Ctesias, Fragments, 1
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