§1καὶ πάλαι σοι συνήλγησα καὶ συνηχθέσθην, Ἀπολλώνιε, ἀκούσας περὶ τῆς τοῦ προσφιλεστάτου πᾶσιν ἡμῖν υἱοῦ σου προώρου μεταλλαγῆς τοῦ βίου, νεανίσκου κοσμίου πάνυ καὶ σώφρονος; καὶ διαφερόντως τά τε πρὸς θεοὺς καὶ τὰ πρὸς γονεῖς καὶ φίλους ὅσια καὶ δίκαια διαφυλάξαντος.
I both long ago condoled with you and shared your grief, Apollonius, when I heard about the untimely departure from life of your son, who was most dear to us all—a young man exceedingly orderly and self-controlled, and who preeminently observed what was holy and just toward the gods, parents, and friends.
τότε μὲν οὖν ὑπὸ τὸν τῆς τελευτῆς καιρὸν ἐντυγχάνειν σοι καὶ παρακαλεῖν ἀνθρωπίνως φέρειν τὸ συμβεβηκὸς ἀνοίκειον ἦν, παρειμένον τό τε σῶμα καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπὸ τῆς,·
At that time, then, around the moment of his death, to meet you and exhort you to bear what had happened as a human being would have been inappropriate, since your body and soul were paralyzed by the unexpected misfortune; and it was also necessary to feel with you.
παραλόγου συμφορᾶς, καὶ συμπαθεῖν δʼ ἦν 10 ἀναγκαῖον οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ βέλτιστοι τῶν ἰατρῶν πρὸς τὰς ἀθρόας τῶν ῥευμάτων ἐπιφορὰς εὐθὺς· προσφέρουσι τὰς διὰ τῶν φαρμάκων βοηθείας, ἀλλʼ ἐῶσι τὸ βαρῦνον τῆς φλεγμονῆς δίχα τῆς τῶν ἔξωθεν περιχρίστων ἐπιθέσεως αὐτὸ διʼ αὑτοῦ λαβεῖν πέψιν. §2ἐπεὶ δὲ νῦν καὶ χρόνος ὁ πάντα πεπαίνειν εἰωθὼς ἐγγέγονε τῇ συμφορᾷ καὶ ἡ περὶ σὲ διάθεσις ἀπαιτεῖν ἔοικε τὴν παρὰ τῶν φίλων βοήθειαν, καλῶς ἔχειν ὑπέλαβον τῶν παραμυθητικῶν σοι μεταδοῦναι λόγων πρὸς ἄνεσιν τῆς λύπης καὶ παῦλαν τῶν πενθικῶν καὶ ματαίων ὀδυρμῶν. "
ψυχῆς γὰρ νοσούσης εἰσὶν ἰατροὶ λόγοι,
ὅταν τις ἐν καιρῷ γε μαλθάσσῃ κέαρ. "
κατὰ γὰρ τὸν σοφὸν Εὐριπίδην
"
ἄλλο δὲ γʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλῃ φάρμακον κεῖται νόσῳ· λυπουμένῳ μὲν μῦθος εὐμενὴς φίλων,
ἄγαν δὲ μωραίνοντι νουθετήματα
"
πολλῶν γὰρ ὄντων ψυχικῶν παθῶν, ἡ λύπη τὸ χαλεπώτατον πέφυκεν εἶναι πάντων· διὰ λύπην γάρ
φασὶ
καὶ μανίαν γίγνεσθαι πολλοῖς
"
καὶ νοσήματʼ οὐκ ἰάσιμα,
αὑτούς τʼ ἀνῃρήκασι διὰ λύπην τινές
" §3τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀλγεῖν καὶ δάκνεσθαι τελευτήσαντος υἱοῦ φυσικὴν ἔχει τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς λύπης, καὶ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν.
For not even the best of physicians immediately apply remedies through drugs to sudden flows of humors, but they allow the heavy part of the inflammation, without the application of external ointments, to reach concoction by itself.\n But since now time, which is accustomed to ripen everything, has intervened in the misfortune, and your condition seems to demand help from your friends, I supposed it to be well to share with you some words of consolation, for the relief of your grief and the cessation of your mournful and vain lamentations.\n"For words are physicians of a diseased soul, when someone softens the heart at the right season."\nFor according to the wise Euripides:\n"One remedy lies for one disease, another for another:\nto the grieving, the kindly speech of friends;\nto the one who is excessively foolish, admonition."\n For while there are many passions of the soul, grief is by nature the most difficult of all;\nfor they say that because of grief even madness comes to many,\n"and incurable diseases,\nand some have destroyed themselves because of grief."\n Therefore, to feel pain and to be stung when a son has died has its origin of grief in nature, and is not up to us.
οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγε συμφέρομαι τοῖς ὑμνοῦσι τὴν ἄγριον καὶ σκληρὰν ἀπάθειαν, ἔξω καὶ τοῦ δυνατοῦ καὶ τοῦ συμφέροντος οὖσαν· ἀφαιρήσεται γὰρ ἡμῶν αὕτη τὴν ἐκ τοῦ φιλεῖσθαι καὶ φιλεῖν εὔνοιαν, ἣν παντὸς μᾶλλον διασῴζειν ἀναγκαῖον.
For I, at least, do not agree with those who praise that wild and harsh apathy, which is outside of both what is possible and what is beneficial; for this would strip us of the goodwill that comes from being loved and loving, which it is necessary to preserve above all else.
τὸ δὲ πέρα τοῦ μετρίου παρεκφέρεσθαι καὶ συναύξειν τὰ πένθη παρὰ φύσιν εἶναί φημι καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν φαύλης γίγνεσθαι δόξης.
But to be carried away beyond measure and to increase one's mourning is, I say, contrary to nature and arises from the bad opinion within us.
διὸ καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἐατέον ὡς βλαβερὸν καὶ φαῦλον καὶ σπουδαίοις ἀνδράσιν ἥκιστα πρέπον, τὴν δὲ μετριοπάθειαν οὐκ ἀποδοκιμαστέον. μὴ γὰρ νοσοῖμεν
φησὶν ὁ ἀκαδημαϊκὸς Κράντωρ,
νοσήσασι δὲ παρείη τις αἴσθησις, εἴτʼ οὖν τέμνοιτό τι τῶν ἡμετέρων εἴτʼ ἀποσπῷτο.
Therefore, this indeed must be abandoned as harmful and base and least fitting for excellent men, but moderation in grief must not be rejected.\n"For may we not fall ill," says Crantor the Academic, "but if we should fall ill, let some sensation be present, whether some of our parts are being cut or torn away.
τὸ γὰρ ἀνώδυνον τοῦτʼ οὐκ ἄνευ μεγάλων ἐγγίγνεται μισθῶν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· τεθηριῶσθαι γὰρ εἰκὸς ἐκεῖ μὲν σῶμα τοιοῦτον ἐνταῦθα δὲ ψυχήν.
For this state of painlessness does not come to a human being without great cost; for it is likely that, in the former case, such a body, and in the latter, such a soul has become brutalized."