§13ἤδη δέ τινας ἐγὼ εἶδον πατέρας, οἷς τὸ λίαν φιλεῖν τοῦ μὴ φιλεῖν αἴτιον κατέστη.
I have already seen some fathers for whom loving too much became the cause of not loving.
τί οὖν ἐστιν ὃ βούλομαι λέγειν, ἵνα τῷ παραδείγματι φωτεινότερον ποιήσω τὸν λόγον;
What then is it that I wish to say, so that I may make my discourse clearer by an example?
σπεύδοντες γὰρ τοὺς παῖδας ἐν πᾶσι τάχιον πρωτεῦσαι πόνους αὐτοῖς ὑπερμέτρους ἐπιβάλλουσιν, οἷς ἀπαυδῶντες ἐκπίπτουσι, καὶ ἄλλως βαρυνόμενοι ταῖς κακοπαθείαις οὐ δέχονται τὴν μάθησιν εὐηνίως.
For hastening that their children should too quickly hold the first place in all things, they impose on them excessive labors, from which becoming exhausted they fail, and otherwise burdened by their hardships they do not accept learning submissively.
ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ φυτὰ τοῖς μὲν μετρίοις ὕδασι τρέφεται, τοῖς δὲ πολλοῖς πνίγεται, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ψυχὴ τοῖς μὲν συμμέτροις αὔξεται πόνοις, τοῖς δʼ ὑπερβάλλουσι βαπτίζεται.
For just as plants are nourished by moderate waters, but are choked by many, in the same manner the soul increases by symmetrical labors, but is drowned by excessive ones.
δοτέον οὖν τοῖς παισὶν ἀναπνοὴν τῶν συνεχῶν πόνων, ἐνθυμουμένους ὅτι πᾶς ὁ βίος ἡμῶν εἰς ἄνεσιν καὶ σπουδὴν διῄρηται.
One must therefore give children a breathing space from continuous labors, bearing in mind that our whole life is divided into relaxation and seriousness.
καὶ διὰ τοῦτʼ οὐ μόνον ἐγρήγορσις ἀλλὰ καὶ ὕπνος εὑρέθη, οὐδὲ πόλεμος ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰρήνη, οὐδὲ χειμὼν ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐδία, οὐδʼ ἐνεργοὶ πράξεις ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑορταί.
And because of this, not only waking but also sleep was found, nor only war but also peace, nor only storm but also fair weather, nor only active practices but also festivals.
συνελόντι δʼ εἰπεῖν ἡ ἀνάπαυσις τῶν πόνων ἐστὶν ἄρτυμα.
To put it briefly, rest is the seasoning of labors.
καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν ζῴων μόνων τοῦτʼ ἂν ἴδοι τις γιγνόμενον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀψύχων καὶ γὰρ τὰ τόξα καὶ τὰς λύρας ἀνίεμεν, ἵνʼ ἐπιτεῖναι δυνηθῶμεν.
And one might see this happening not only in the case of animals, but also in the case of inanimate things; for indeed we relax bows and lyres so that we may be able to stretch them.
καθόλου δὲ σῴζεται σῶμα μὲν ἐνδείᾳ καὶ πληρώσει, ψυχὴ δʼ ἀνέσει καὶ πόνῳ.
Generally, the body is preserved by want and fullness, and the soul by relaxation and labor.
ἄξιον δʼ ἐπιτιμᾶν τῶν πατέρων ἐνίοις, οἵτινες παιδαγωγοῖς καὶ διδασκάλοις ἐπιτρέψαντες τοὺς υἱεῖς αὐτοὶ τῆς τούτων μαθήσεως οὔτʼ αὐτόπται γίγνονται τὸ παράπαν οὔτʼ αὐτήκοοι, πλεῖστον τοῦ δέοντος ἁμαρτάνοντες.
But it is right to censure some of the fathers, who, having entrusted their sons to pedagogues and teachers, themselves become altogether neither eyewitnesses nor earwitnesses of their learning, erring very much from what is fitting.
αὐτοὺς γὰρ παρʼ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας δεῖ δοκιμασίαν λαμβάνειν τῶν παίδων, ἀλλὰ μὴ τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχειν ἐν μισθωτοῦ διαθέσει· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι πλείονα ποιήσονται τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῶν παίδων, μέλλοντες ἑκάστοτε διδόναι τὰς εὐθύνας.
For they themselves ought every few days to make a trial of their children, and not to keep their hopes in the disposition of a hireling; for even those hirelings will make greater care of the children when they are going each time to give an account.
κἀνταῦθα δὴ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἱπποκόμου χάριεν, ὡς οὐδὲν οὕτω πιαίνει τὸν ἵππον ὡς βασιλέως ὀφθαλμός.
And here indeed the saying by the groom is witty, that nothing fattens the horse so much as the king's eye.
πάντων δὲ μάλιστα τὴν μνήμην τῶν παίδων ἀσκεῖν καὶ συνεθίζειν αὕτη γὰρ ὥσπερ τῆς παιδείας ἐστὶ ταμιεῖον, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μητέρα τῶν Μουσῶν ἐμυθολόγησαν εἶναι τὴν Μνημοσύνην, αἰνιττόμενοι καὶ παραδηλοῦντες ὅτι οὕτως οὐδὲν γεννᾶν καὶ τρέφειν ὡς ἡ μνήμη πέφυκε.
But most of all one must train and accustom the memory of children; for this is, as it were, the storehouse of education, and for this reason they mythologized Mnemosyne to be the mother of the Muses, hinting and indicating that nothing is by nature so fit to generate and nourish as memory.
καὶ τοίνυν ταύτην κατʼ ἀμφότερʼ ἐστὶν ἀσκητέον, εἴτʼ ἐκ φύσεως μνήμονες εἶεν οἱ παῖδες, εἴτε καὶ τοὐναντίον ἐπιλήσμονες.
Therefore this must be practiced on both accounts, whether the children are by nature of good memory, or, on the contrary, forgetful.
τὴν γὰρ πλεονεξίαν τῆς φύσεως ἐπιρρώσομεν, τὴν δʼ ἔλλειψιν ἀναπληρώσομεν· καὶ οἱ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἔσονται βελτίους, οἱ δʼ ἑαυτῶν.
For we shall strengthen the abundance of nature, and we shall fill up the deficiency; and the former will be better than others, and the latter better than themselves.
τὸ γὰρ Ἡσιόδειον καλῶς εἴρηται
"
εἰ γάρ κεν καὶ σμικρὸν ἐπὶ σμικρῷ καταθεῖο
καὶ θαμὰ τοῦτʼ ἔρδοις, τάχα κεν μέγα καὶ τὸ γένοιτο.
For the saying of Hesiod is well spoken: "For if you should lay down even a little upon a little and should do this often, quickly indeed would even this become great.
"
μὴ λανθανέτω τοίνυν μηδὲ τοῦτο τοὺς πατέρας, ὅτι τὸ μνημονικὸν τῆς μαθήσεως μέρος οὐ μόνον πρὸς τὴν παιδείαν ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰς τοῦ βίου πράξεις οὐκ ἐλαχίστην συμβάλλεται μοῖραν.
"Let this therefore not escape the fathers, that the mnemonic part of learning contributes no small share not only to education but also to the practices of life.
ἡ γὰρ τῶν γεγενημένων πράξεων μνήμη τῆς περὶ τῶν μελλόντων εὐβουλίας γίγνεται παράδειγμα.
For the memory of past actions becomes an example of good counsel concerning future ones.