§17καθόλου δʼ ἀπείργειν προσήκει τοὺς παῖδας τῆς πρὸς τοὺς πονηροὺς ἀνθρώπους συνουσίας· ἀποφέρονται γάρ τι τῆς τούτων κακίας.
In general, it is fitting to bar children from association with wicked men; for they carry away something of their vice.
τοῦτο δὲ παρήγγειλε καὶ Πυθαγόρας αἰνίγμασιν ἅπερ ἐγὼ παραθεὶς ἐξηγήσομαι· καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα πρὸς ἀρετῆς κτῆσιν συμβάλλεται ῥοπὴν οὐκ ἐλαχίστην.
And Pythagoras also enjoined this in riddles, which I shall set forth and explain; for these also contribute no small impulse toward the acquisition of virtue.
οἷον
μὴ γεύεσθαι μελανούρων
τουτέστι μὴ συνδιατρίβειν μέλασιν ἀνθρώποις διὰ κακοήθειαν.
For example: "Not to taste melanouroi (black-tails)" that is, not to associate with men who are black-hearted through malice.
μὴ ζυγὸν ὑπερβαίνειν; τουτέστιν ὅτι δεῖ τῆς δικαιοσύνης πλεῖστον ποιεῖσθαι λόγον καὶ μὴ ταύτην ὑπερβαίνειν.
"Not to step over a yoke" that is, that one must make the greatest account of justice and not step over it.
μὴ ἐπὶ χοίνικος καθίσαι
ἤτοι φεύγειν ἀργίαν καὶ προνοεῖν ὅπως τὴν ἀναγκαίαν παρασκευάσωμεν τροφήν.
"Not to sit on a choenix (bushel)" either to flee idleness and to take thought how we may provide necessary food.
μὴ παντὶ ἐμβάλλειν δεξιάν
ἀντὶ τοῦ προχείρως οὐ δεῖ συναλλάσσειν.
"Not to clasp hands with everyone" instead of: one must not make transactions readily.
μὴ φορεῖν στενὸν δακτύλιον; ὅτι δεῖ τὸν βίον ἐπιτηδεύειν ὡς μὴ δεῖν αὐτόν.
"Not to wear a tight ring" that one must pursue life in such a way as not to bind oneself.
πῦρ σιδήρῳ μὴ σκαλεύειν; ἀντὶ τοῦ θυμούμενον μὴ ἐρεθίζειν· οὐ γὰρ προσῆκεν, ἀλλʼ ὑπείκειν τοῖς ὀργιζομένοις.
"Not to stir fire with iron" instead of: not to irritate an angry person; for it is not fitting, but rather to yield to those who are angry.
μὴ ἐσθίειν καρδίαν
ἤτοι μὴ βλάπτειν τὴν ψυχὴν ταῖς φροντίσιν αὐτὴν κατατρύχοντα.
"Not to eat the heart" either not to harm the soul by wearing it out with cares.
κυάμων ἀπέχεσθαι
ὅτι οὐ δεῖ πολιτεύεσθαι· κυαμευταὶ γὰρ ἦσαν ἔμπροσθεν αἱ ψηφοφορίαι διʼ ὧν πέρας ἐπετίθεσαν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς.
"To abstain from beans" that one must not engage in politics; for in former times votes, by which they put a limit to offices, were decided by beans.
σιτίον εἰς ἀμίδα μὴ ἐμβάλλειν· ἐπισημαίνει γὰρ ὅτι εἰς πονηρὰν ψυχὴν ἀστεῖον λόγον ἐμβάλλειν οὐ προσῆκεν· ὁ μὲν γὰρ λόγος τροφὴ διανοίας ἐστί, τοῦτον δʼ ἀκάθαρτον ἡ πονηρία ποιεῖ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
"Not to put food into a chamberpot" for it indicates that it is not fitting to cast refined discourse into a wicked soul; for discourse is the food of the mind, and the wickedness of men makes this unclean.
μὴ ἐπιστρέφεσθαι ἐπὶ τοὺς ὅρους ἐλθόντας,
τουτέστι μέλλοντας ἀποθνήσκειν καὶ τὸν ὅρον τοῦ βίου πλησίον ὄντα ὁρῶντας φέρειν εὐκόλως καὶ μὴ ἀθυμεῖν.
"Not to turn back when coming to the borders" that is, when about to die and seeing the border of life being near, to bear it easily and not to despond.
ἀνακάμψω δʼ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῦ λόγου ὑπόθεσιν· ἁπάντων γὰρ ὅπερ ἔφην τῶν πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀπάγειν δεῖ τοὺς παῖδας, μάλιστα δὲ τῶν κολάκων.
But I shall return to the original premise of my discourse; for, as I said, one must lead children away from all wicked men, and especially from flatterers.
ὅπερ γὰρ πολλάκις καὶ πρὸς πολλοὺς τῶν πατέρων διατελῶ λέγων, καὶ νῦν ἂν εἴποιμι.
For what I constantly say to many of the fathers, I would say now also.
γένος οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐξωλέστερον οὐδὲ μᾶλλον καὶ θᾶττον ἐκτραχηλίζον νεότητα τῶν κολάκων, οἳ καὶ τοὺς πατέρας καὶ τοὺς παῖδας προρρίζους ἐκτρίβουσι, τῶν μὲν τὸ γῆρας ἐπίλυπον, τῶν δὲ τὴν νεότητα ποιοῦντες, τῶν δὲ συμβουλευμάτων δέλεαρ ἀφύλακτον προτείνοντες τὴν ἡδονήν.
There is no class of men more destructive, nor one that more quickly and headlong ruins youth, than that of flatterers, who utterly destroy both fathers and children, making the old age of the former painful, and ruining the youth of the latter, and offering pleasure as an unguarded bait of their counsels.
τοῖς παισὶ τῶν πλουσίων οἱ πατέρες νήφειν παραινοῦσιν οἱ δὲ μεθύειν, σωφρονεῖν οἱ δʼ ἀσελγαίνειν, φυλάττειν οἱ δὲ δαπανᾶν, φιλεργεῖν οἱ δὲ ῥᾳθυμεῖν,
στιγμὴ χρόνου πᾶς ἐστιν ὁ βίος
λέγοντες,
ζῆν οὐ παραζῆν προσῆκε.
To the children of the rich, the fathers advise to be sober, but they advise to be drunk; the fathers to be temperate, but they to be licentious; the fathers to guard, but they to spend; the fathers to be industrious, but they to be idle; saying, "All life is a point of time" and "One must live, not merely exist." And saying, "Why should we care about our father's threats?
τί δὲ φροντιστέον ἡμῖν τῶν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀπειλῶν; κρονόληρος καὶ σοροδαίμων ἐστί, καὶ μετέωρον αὐτὸν ἀράμενοι τὴν ταχίστην ἐξοίσομεν. καθῆκε δέ τις καὶ χαμαιτύπην καὶ προηγώγευσε γαμετήν;
He is an old dotard with one foot in the grave, and we shall carry him out and bury him as quickly as possible." And has someone hired a harlot and seduced a married woman?
καὶ τὰ τῶν πατέρων ἐφόδια τοῦ γήρως ἐσύλησε καὶ περιέκοψε.
They plunder and cut down the fathers' provisions for old age.
μιαρὸν τὸ φῦλον, ὑποκριταὶ φιλίας, ἄγευστοι παρρησίας, πλουσίων μὲν κόλακες πενήτων δʼ ὑπερόπται, ὡς ἐκ λυρικῆς τέχνης ἐπὶ τοὺς νέους ἀγόμενοι, σεσηρότες ὅθʼ οἱ τρέφοντες γελῶσι, καὶ ψυχῆς ὑποβολιμαῖα καὶ νόθα μέρη βίου, πρὸς δὲ τὸ τῶν πλουσίων νεῦμα ζῶντες, τῇ τύχῃ μὲν ἐλεύθεροι, τῇ προαιρέσει δὲ δοῦλοι· ὅταν δὲ μὴ ὑβρίζωνται, τόθʼ ὑβρίζεσθαι δοκοῦντες, ὅτι μάτην παρατρέφονται.
A loathsome race, hypocrites of friendship, having no taste of frankness, flatterers of the rich but rejecters of the poor, drawn to the youth as if by lyric art, grinning whenever their supporters laugh, counterfeit and bastard parts of life's soul, living at the nod of the rich, free by fortune but slaves by choice; and when they are not insulted, they think they are insulted because they are fed in vain.
ὥστʼ εἴ τῳ μέλει τῶν, πατέρων τῆς τῶν τέκνων εὐαγωγίας, ἐκδιωκτέον τὰ μιαρὰ ταῦτα θρέμματα, ἐκδιωκτέον δʼ οὐχ ἥκιστα καὶ τάς τῶν συμφοιτητῶν μοχθηρίας· καὶ γάρ οὗτοι τὰς ἐπιεικεστάτας φύσεις ἱκανοὶ διαφθείρειν εἰσί.
Therefore, if any of the fathers cares for the good upbringing of his children, he must drive away these loathsome creatures, and not least must he drive away the wickednesses of their schoolfellows; for these also are capable of corrupting the most decent natures.