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Plutarch · Comparison of Demosthenes with Cicero §5.1

Comparison of Cicero's and Demosthenes' Deaths

Passage 5 of 5 · Greek

Summary

A comparison of the deaths of Cicero and Demosthenes. While Cicero's death was pitiful and miserable, Demosthenes' death by poison is praised as admirable in both preparation and execution, mocking the cruelty of his enemy.

§5.1ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τῆς τελευτῆς τὸν μὲν οἰκτείραι τις ἄν, ἄνδρα πρεσβύτην διʼ ἀγέννειαν ὑπὸ οἰκετῶν ἄνω καὶ κάτω περιφερόμενον καὶ περιφεύγοντα τὸν θάνατον καὶ ἀποκρυπτόμενον τοὺς οὐ πολὺ πρὸ τῆς φύσεως ἥκοντας ἐπʼ αὐτόν, εἶτ’ ἀποσφαγέντα· τοῦ δʼ, εἰ καὶ μικρὰ πρὸς τὴν ἱκετείαν ἐνέδωκεν, ἀγαστὴ μὲν ἡ παρασκευὴ τοῦ φαρμάκου καὶ τήρησις, ἀγαστὴ δʼ ἡ χρῆσις, ὅτι τοῦ θεοῦ μὴ παρασχόντος αὐτῷ τὴν ἀσυλίαν, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ μείζονα βωμὸν καταφυγών, ἐκ τῶν ὅπλων καὶ τῶν δορυφόρων λαβὼν ἑαυτὸν ᾤχετο, τῆς Ἀντιπάτρου καταγελάσας ὠμότητος.
And above all, in the matter of their death, one might pity the one, an elderly man who, through lack of spirit, was carried hither and thither by servants, fleeing from death and hiding from those who came against him not long before his natural end, and was then slaughtered; but as for the other, even if he yielded a little to supplication, admirable was his preparation and keeping of the poison, and admirable was its use, because, since the god did not grant him asylum, as if fleeing to a greater altar, he took himself away from the weapons and the bodyguards and departed, mocking the cruelty of Antipater.

Notes

  1. §5.1οἰκτείραι τις ἄν — A potential optative with the particle ἄν, expressing a possibility or a mild assertion ('one might pity').
  2. §5.1τοὺς οὐ πολὺ πρὸ τῆς φύσεως ἥκοντας — The noun φύσις (nature) here refers to 'natural death' or 'natural span of life.' The phrase literally means 'those who came against him not long before his natural death,' emphasizing the tragedy of Cicero being assassinated when he was already very close to dying of old age.
  3. §5.1λαβὼν ἑαυτὸν ᾤχετο — A combination of the verb of motion οἴχομαι (to be gone, depart) and the participle λαβών with the reflexive pronoun ἑαυτόν. Literally 'taking himself,' it metaphorically describes his escape through suicide from the enemy's weapons and guards, meaning 'he departed' or 'he passed away.'
  4. §5.1τοῦ δʼ — A genitive in contrast with τὸν μὲν at the beginning of the sentence. It functions either as a genitive of reference ('as for the other') or is dependent on the subsequent nouns ἡ παρασκευὴ and ἡ χρῆσις ('his preparation...').

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Comparison of Demosthenes with Cicero §5.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg056.humanitext-grc2:5.1

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