Plutarch · Comparison of Alcibiades and Coriolanus §5.1-5.2

Attitudes toward Honor and Marcius's Temperance

Passage 5 of 5 · Greek

Summary

The text contrasts the characters of Alcibiades and Marcius regarding their attitude toward honor, pointing out Marcius's faults while praising his outstanding temperance and self-control in financial matters, which make him comparable to the best of the Greeks.

§5.1Ἀλκιβιάδης μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἠρνεῖτο τιμώμενος χαίρειν καὶ δυσφορεῖν παρορώμενος, ὅθεν ἐπειρᾶτο προσφιλὴς εἶναι τοῖς παροῦσι καὶ κεχαρισμένος· Μάρκιον δὲ θεραπεύειν μὲν οὐκ εἴα τοὺς τιμᾶν δυναμένους καὶ αὔξειν τὸ ὑπερήφανον, ὀργὴν δὲ καὶ λύπην ἀμελουμένῳ τὸ φιλότιμον παρεῖχε.

Alcibiades, then, did not deny that he rejoiced when honored and was vexed when overlooked, wherefore he tried to be dear and agreeable to his associates; but as for Marcius, on the one hand, his pride did not allow him to court those who were able to honor and advance him, and on the other hand, his ambition brought anger and pain to him when he was neglected.

§5.2καὶ ταῦτʼ ἔστιν ἅ τις ἂν αἰτιάσαιτο τοῦ ἀνδρός· τὰ δʼ ἄλλα πάντα λαμπρά, σωφροσύνης δὲ καὶ χρημάτων ἐγκρατείας ἕνεκα τοῖς ἀρίστοις καὶ καθαρωτάτοις τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἄξιον αὐτὸν παραβάλλειν, οὐκ Ἀλκιβιάδῃ μὰ Δία τῷ θρασυτάτῳ περὶ ταῦτα καὶ ὀλιγωροτάτῳ τοῦ καλοῦ γενομένῳ.

And these are the things which one might find fault with in the man; but all his other qualities are illustrious, and for the sake of temperance and self-control regarding money, it is worthy to compare him to the best and purest of the Greeks, and not, by Zeus, to Alcibiades, who was most audacious in these matters and most disregardful of what is honorable.

Notes

5.1τὸ ὑπερήφανον / τὸ φιλότιμον — The neuter articular adjectives τὸ ὑπερήφανον ('haughtiness') and τὸ φιλότιμον ('ambition') function as abstract nouns and serve as the subjects of the verbs οὐκ εἴα ('did not allow') and παρεῖχε ('brought/provided') respectively. Marcius, who is affected by these qualities, is represented implicitly as the accusative subject of the infinitive θεραπεύειν ('to court') in the first clause, and explicitly by the dative participle ἀμελουμένῳ ('when neglected') in the second.
5.2ἅ τις ἂν αἰτιάσαιτο τοῦ ἀνδρός — αἰτιάσαιτο with ἄν is a potential optative ('one might blame'). The relative pronoun ἅ (neuter plural accusative) functions as the direct object of the verb, while τοῦ ἀνδρός is a genitive of the person against whom the blame is directed.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Comparison of Alcibiades and Coriolanus §5.1-5.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg017.humanitext-grc2:5.1-5.2

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