§6τουτὶ μὲν οὖν ἔνεστι τῷ λοιδορεῖν τὸν ἐχθρὸν ὠφέλιμον καὶ χρήσιμον οὐκ ἔλαττον δʼ ἕτερον, τὸ λοιδορεῖσθαι καὶ κακῶς ἀκούειν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν.
This, then, is contained in abusing an enemy as beneficial and useful; and not less is another thing, namely, being abused and hearing ill of oneself by the enemies.
ὅθεν ὀρθῶς ὁ Ἀντισθένης εἶπεν ὅτι τοῖς μέλλουσι σῴζεσθαι φίλων δεῖ γνησίων ἢ διαπύρων ἐχθρῶν οἱ μὲν γὰρ νουθετοῦντες τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας οἱ δὲ λοιδοροῦντες ἀποτρέπουσι.
From where Antisthenes said rightly that those who are about to be saved need genuine friends or fiery enemies; for the former by warning those who err, and the latter by abusing, turn them away.
ἐπεὶ δʼ ἡ φιλία τὰ νῦν ἰσχνόφωνος γέγονεν ἐν τῷ παρρησιάζεσθαι, καὶ τὸ κολακεῦον αὐτῆς λάλον ἐστὶ τὸ δὲ νουθετοῦν ἄναυδον, ἀκουστέον ἐστὶ παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν.
But since friendship nowadays has become thin-voiced in speaking frankly, and its flattering part is talkative, while the warning part is voiceless, one must hear the truth from enemies.
ὡς γὰρ ὁ Τήλεφος οἰκείου μὴ τυγχάνων ἰατροῦ τῷ πολεμίῳ δόρατι τὸ ἕλκος ὑπέθηκεν, οὕτω τοὺς ἀποροῦντας εὐνοίας νουθετούσης ὑπομένειν ἀνάγκη μισοῦντος ἐχθροῦ λόγον, ἂν ἐλέγχῃ καὶ κολάζῃ τὴν κακίαν, σκοποῦντας τὸ ἔργον ἀλλὰ μὴ τὴν γνώμην τοῦ κακῶς λέγοντος ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ τὸν Θεσσαλὸν Προμηθέα κτεῖναι διανοηθεὶς ἔπαισε τῷ ξίφει τὸ φῦμα καὶ διεῖλεν οὕτως ὥστε σωθῆναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀπαλλαγῆναι τοῦ φύματος ῥαγέντος, οὕτω πολλάκις ὑπʼ ὀργῆς ἢ ἔχθρας προσπεσοῦσα λοιδορία κακὸν ψυχῆς ἢ ἀγνοούμενον ἢ ἀμελούμενον ἐθεράπευσεν.
For just as Telephus, not happening upon a physician of his own, applied his wound to the hostile spear, so those who lack a warning goodwill must endure the speech of a hating enemy, if it exposes and chastises their vice, looking to the deed and not the intention of the one speaking ill. For just as the one who intended to kill the Thessalian Prometheus struck his tumor with his sword and split it in such a way that the man was saved and freed from the tumor when it burst, so often abuse falling upon one from anger or hostility has cured an unnoticed or neglected evil of the soul.
ἀλλʼ οἱ πολλοὶ λοιδορηθέντες οὐ σκοποῦσιν εἰ πρόσεστιν αὐτοῖς τὸ λεγόμενον, ἀλλὰ τί πρόσεστιν ἕτερον τῷ λοιδοροῦντι, καὶ καθάπερ οἱ παλαίοντες τὴν κόνιν οὐχ ἑαυτῶν ἀποψῶσι τὰς λοιδορίας, ἀλλὰ συμπάσσουσιν ἀλλήλους εἶτα φύρονται καὶ ἀναχρώννυνται συμπεσόντες ὑπʼ ἀλλήλων.
But most people, when abused, do not look at whether what is said belongs to them, but what other thing belongs to the one abusing, and just as wrestlers do not wipe off the dust from themselves, they do not wipe off the abuses, but sprinkle each other and then are defiled and stained, falling upon one other.
δεῖ δʼ ἀκούσαντα κακῶς ὑπʼ ἐχθροῦ τὸ μὲν προσὸν ἀφαιρεῖν αὑτοῦ μᾶλλον ἢ κηλῖδα προσοῦσαν ἱματίῳ καὶ δειχθεῖσαν ἂν δέ τις λέγῃ τὰ μὴ προσόντα, ὅμως ζητεῖν τὴν αἰτίαν ἀφʼ ἧς ἡ βλασφημία γέγονε, καὶ φυλάττεσθαι καὶ δεδιέναι μή τι λανθάνωμεν ἢ σύνεγγυς ἢ ὅμοιον τῷ λεγομένῳ παραμαρτάνοντες.
But one ought, having heard ill from an enemy, to remove what belongs to oneself rather than a stain belonging to a garment and pointed out. And if someone says what does not belong to one, nevertheless to seek the cause from which the slander arose, and to guard against and fear lest we commit some error unnoticed, either near or similar to what is said.
οἷον Λακύδην τὸν Ἀργείων βασιλέα κόμης τις διάθεσις καὶ βάδισμα τρυφερώτερον εἰς μαλακίαν διέβαλε, καὶ Πομπήιον τὸ ἑνὶ κνᾶσθαι τὴν κεφαλὴν δακτύλῳ πορρωτάτω θηλύτητος καὶ ἀκολασίας ὄντα.
As, for example, some arrangement of hair and a rather delicate walk slandered Lacydes, the king of the Argives, into effeminacy, and the scratching of his head with one finger slandered Pompey, although he was furthest from femininity and licentiousness.
Κράσσος δὲ τῶν ἱερῶν μιᾷ παρθένων αἰτίαν ἔσχε πλησιάζειν, χωρίον τι καλὸν ὠνήσασθαι παρʼ αὐτῆς βουλόμενος καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πολλάκις ἐντυγχάνων ἰδίᾳ καὶ θεραπεύων.
And Crassus had a charge of approaching one of the sacred virgins, wishing to buy a fine estate from her and for this reason often meeting her privately and paying court to her.
Ποστουμίαν δὲ τὸ γελᾶν προχειρότερον καὶ λαλιᾷ χρῆσθαι θρασυτέρᾳ πρὸς ἄνδρας διέβαλεν, ὥστε κριθῆναι φθορᾶς, εὑρέθη μὲν οὖν καθαρὰ τῆς αἰτίας, ἀπολύσας δʼ αὐτὴν ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς Σπόριος Μινούκιος ὑπέμνησε μὴ χρῆσθαι λόγοις ἀσεμνοτέροις τοῦ βίου.
And a too ready laughing and using a rather bold speech towards men slandered Postumia, so that she was tried for unchastity; she indeed was found pure of the charge, but the high priest Spurius Minucius, having acquitted her, reminded her not to use words less dignified than her life.
Θεμιστοκλεῖ δὲ Παυσανίας μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντι προσετρίψατο τὴν ὑποψίαν τῆς προδοσίας διὰ τὸ χρῆσθαι φίλῳ καὶ γράφειν συνεχῶς καὶ πέμπειν πρὸς αὐτόν.
And to Themistocles, Pausanias, though doing no wrong, attached the suspicion of treason because of his treating him as a friend and writing continuously and sending to him.
§7ὅταν οὖν λεχθῇ τι μὴ ἀληθές, οὐχ ὅτι ψεῦδός ἐστι δεῖ καταφρονεῖν καὶ ἀμελεῖν, ἀλλὰ σκοπεῖν τί τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ λεγομένων ἢ πραττομένων ἢ σπουδαζομένων ἢ συνόντων ὁμοιότητα τῇ διαβολῇ παρέσχηκε, καὶ τοῦτο διευλαβεῖσθαι καὶ φεύγειν. εἰ γὰρ ἕτεροι πράγμασιν ἀβουλήτοις περιπεσόντες διδάσκονται;
Whenever, therefore, something untrue is said, one must not despise and neglect it because it is false, but look at what of the things said or done or pursued or associated with by you has provided a similarity to the slander, and to guard against this and flee from it.
τὸ χρήσιμον, ὥσπερ ἡ Μερόπη φησὶν
"
αἱ τύχαι δέ με
μισθὸν λαβοῦσαι τῶν ἐμῶν τὰ φίλτατα
σοφὴν ἔθηκαν,
"
τί κωλύει διδάσκαλον ἄμισθον λαβόντα τὸν ἐχθρὸν ὠφεληθῆναι καὶ μαθεῖν τι τῶν λανθανόντων;
For if others, falling into unwanted fortunes, are taught what is useful, as Merope says: "and fortunes, having taken as my reward my dearest ones, made me wise", what prevents one, having taken the enemy as an unpaid teacher, from being benefited and learning something of the things that are unnoticed?
πολλὰ γὰρ ὁ ἐχθρὸς αἰσθάνεται τοῦ φίλου μᾶλλον (
τυφλοῦται
γὰρ
τὸ φιλοῦν περὶ τὸ φιλούμενον
ὡς ὁ Πλάτων φησί), τῷ δὲ μισεῖν μετὰ τοῦ πολυπραγμονεῖν καὶ τὸ λαλεῖν ἔνεστιν.
For many things indeed the enemy perceives more than the friend (for "the loving is blind about the loved", as Plato says), and in hating, along with being busy, there is also being talkative.
ὁ Ἱέρων ὑπό τινος τῶν ἐχθρῶν εἰς τὴν δυσωδίαν ἐλοιδορήθη τοῦ στόματος.
Hieron was abused by one of his enemies for the foul smell of his mouth.
ἐλθὼν οὖν οἴκαδε πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα
τί λέγεις; εἶπεν,
οὐδὲ σύ μοι τοῦτʼ ἔφρασας;
Having come home, therefore, to his wife, he said: "What do you say?
ἡ δʼ οὖσα σώφρων καὶ ἄκακος
ᾤμην
εἶπεν
ὅτι τοιοῦτο πάντες ὄζουσιν οἱ ἄνδρες. οὕτω καὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ καὶ τὰ σωματικὰ καὶ τὰ καταφανῆ πᾶσι παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μαθεῖν πρότερον ἔστιν ἢ τῶν φίλων καὶ συνήθων.
Did not even you tell me this?" And she, being self-controlled and innocent, said: "I thought that all men smelled so." Thus both sensible, physical, and obvious things can be learned first from enemies rather than from friends and companions.