§10ὁ δʼ Αἰσχύλος καλῶς ἔοικεν ἐπιπλήττειν τοῖς νομίζουσι τὸν θάνατον εἶναι κακόν, λέγων ὧδε
"
ὡς οὐ δικαίως θάνατον ἔχθουσιν βροτοί,
ὅσπερ μέγιστον ῥῦμα τῶν πολλῶν κακῶν
"
τοῦτον γὰρ ἀπεμιμήσατο καὶ ὁ εἰπών
"
ὦ θάνατε παιὰν ἰατρὸς μόλοις
"
λιμὴν
γὰρ ὄντως
Ἀίδας ἀνʼ αἶαν.
And Aeschylus seems to rebuke well those who think that death is an evil, speaking thus: "How unjustly do mortals hate death, which is indeed the greatest defense against many evils! "For he who said this also imitated him: "O death, healer and physician, may you come! "For indeed Hades is a harbor on the earth.
μέγα γάρ
ἐστι τὸ μετὰ πείσματος τεθαρρηκότος εἰπεῖν
"
τίς δʼ ἐστὶ δοῦλος τοῦ θανεῖν ἄφροντις ὤν;
For it is a great thing to say with bold conviction: "Who is a slave, being unconcerned about death?
"
καὶ
"
ᾍδην δʼ ἔχων βοηθὸν οὐ τρέμω σκιάς
"
τί γὰρ τὸ χαλεπόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ δυσανιῶν καὶ ἐν τῷ τεθνάναι;
"and "Having Hades as a helper, I do not tremble at shadows. "For what is hard and painful even in being dead?
τὰ γὰρ τοῦ θανάτου μήποτε καὶ λίαν ἡμῖν ὄντα συνήθη καὶ συμφυᾶ πάλιν οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως δυσαλγῆ δοκεῖ εἶναι.
For the things of death, though perhaps they are very familiar and natural to us, again, I know not how, seem to be painful.
τί γὰρ θαυμαστὸν εἰ τὸ τμητὸν τέτμηται, εἰ τὸ τηκτὸν τέτηκται, εἰ τὸ καυστὸν κέκαυται, εἰ τὸ φθαρτὸν ἔφθαρται;
For what is wonderful if what is cuttable is cut, if what is meltable is melted, if what is burnable is burned, if what is perishable is perished?
πότε γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ἔστιν ἢ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ θάνατος;
For when is death present or not present in ourselves?
καί, φησιν Ἡράκλειτος,
ταὐτὸ γʼ ἔνι ζῶν καὶ τεθνηκὸς καὶ τὸ ἐγρηγορὸς καὶ τὸ καθεῦδον καὶ νέον καὶ γηραιὸν τάδε γὰρ μεταπεσόντα ἐκεῖνά ἐστι, κἀκεῖνα πάλιν μεταπεσόντα ταῦτα. ὡς γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πηλοῦ δύναταί τις πλάττων ζῷα συγχεῖν καὶ πάλιν πλάττειν καὶ συγχεῖν καὶ τοῦθʼ ἓν παρʼ ἓν ποιεῖν ἀδιαλείπτως, οὕτω καὶ ἡ φύσις ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς ὕλης πάλαι μὲν τοὺς προγόνους ἡμῶν ἀνέσχεν, εἶτα συνεχεῖς αὐτοῖς ἐγέννησε τοὺς πατέρας, εἶθʼ ἡμᾶς, εἶτʼ ἄλλους ἐπʼ ἄλλοις ἀνακυκλήσει.
And, Heraclitus says, "The same thing is in us: living and dead, and waking and sleeping, and young and old; for these having changed are those, and those again having changed are these." For just as from the same clay someone, shaping animals, can dissolve them and again shape them and dissolve them, and do this one after another without ceasing, so also nature, from the same matter, raised up our ancestors long ago, then generated our fathers continuous with them, then us, and then will generate others after others in a cycle.
καὶ ὁ τῆς γενέσεως ποταμὸς οὕτως ἐνδελεχῶς ῥέων οὔποτε στήσεται, καὶ πάλιν ὁ ἐξ ἐναντίας αὐτῷ ὁ τῆς φθορᾶς εἴτʼ Ἀχέρων εἴτε Κωκυτὸς καλούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν, ἡ πρώτη οὖν αἰτία ἡ δείξασα ἡμῖν τὸ τοῦ ἡλίου φῶς, ἡ αὐτὴ καὶ τὸν ζοφερὸν ᾍδην ἄγει.
And the river of generation, flowing so continuously, will never stop, and likewise the river of destruction flowing opposite to it, whether called Acheron or Cocytus by the poets. Therefore, the first cause that showed us the light of the sun, the very same also brings dark Hades.
καὶ μήποτε τοῦδʼ εἰκὼν ᾖ ὁ περὶ ἡμᾶς ἀήρ, ἓν παρʼ ἓν ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα ποιῶν, ἐπαγωγοὺς ζωῆς τε καὶ θανάτου καὶ ὕπνου καὶ ἐγρηγόρσεως.
And perhaps the image of this is the air around us, producing one after another day and night, bringing on life and death, and sleep and waking.
διὸ καὶ μοιρίδιον χρέος εἶναι λέγεται τὸ ζῆν, ὡς ἀποδοθησόμενον ὃ ἐδανείσαντο ἡμῶν οἱ προπάτορες.
Therefore, living is also said to be a destined debt, to be paid back, which our ancestors borrowed.
ὃ δὴ καὶ εὐκόλως καταβλητέον καὶ ἀστενάκτως, ὅταν ὁ δανείσας ἀπαιτῇ· εὐγνωμονέστατοι γὰρ ἂν οὕτω φανείημεν.
Which indeed must be paid easily and without groaning, when the lender demands it back; for thus we would appear most grateful.
§11οἶμαι δὲ καὶ τὴν φύσιν ὁρῶσαν τὸ τʼ ἄτακτον καὶ βραχυχρόνιον τοῦ βίου ἄδηλον ποιῆσαι τὴν τοῦ θανάτου προθεσμίαν τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν ἄμεινον.
And I think that nature also, seeing the disordered and short-lived condition of life, made the term of death unclear; for this was better.
εἰ γὰρ προῄδειμεν, κἂν προεξετήκοντό τινες ταῖς λύπαις καὶ πρὶν ἀποθανεῖν ἐτεθνήκεσαν.
For if we had known beforehand, some would have wasted away beforehand with griefs and would have died even before dying.
ὅρα δὲ καὶ τοῦ βίου τὸ ὀδυνηρὸν καὶ τὸ πολλαῖς φροντίσιν ἐπηντλημένον, ἃς εἰ βουλοίμεθα καταριθμεῖσθαι, λίαν ἂν αὐτοῦ καταγνοίημεν, ἐπαληθεύσαιμεν δὲ καὶ τὴν παρʼ ἐνίοις κρατοῦσαν δόξαν ὡς ἄρα κρεῖττόν ἐστι τὸ τεθνάναι τοῦ ζῆν.
And look also at the painful nature of life and how it is flooded with many cares, which if we wished to count them up, we would excessively condemn it, and we would also verify the opinion prevailing among some, that indeed to be dead is better than to live.
ὁ γοῦν Σιμωνίδης
"
ἀνθρώπων φησὶν ὀλίγον μὲν κάρτος, ἄπρακτοι
δὲ μεληδόνες,
αἰῶνι δὲ παύρῳ πόνος ἀμφὶ πόνῳ.
Simonides, at least, says: "Of men, the strength is small, and their cares are useless, and in a short life there is labor upon labor.
ὁ δʼ ἄφυκτος ὁμῶς ἐπικρέμαται θάνατος· κείνου γὰρ ἴσον λάχον μέρος οἳ τʼ ἀγαθοὶ
ὅστις τε κακός.
But inescapable death hangs over us equally; for of that, an equal share is allotted to the good and whoever is bad.
"
Πίνδαρος δὲ
"
ἓν παρʼ ἐσθλὸν σύνδυο πήματα δαίονται βροτοῖς. ἀθάνατοι.
"And Pindar says: "The immortals dispense two calamities to mortals for one good thing.
τὰ μὲν ὦν οὐ δύνανται νήπιοι κόσμῳ φέρειν
"
Σοφοκλῆς δέ
"
σὺ δʼ ἄνδρα θνητὸν εἰ κατέφθιτο στένεις,
εἰδὼς τὸ μέλλον οὐδὲν εἰ κέρδος φέρει;
These indeed the foolish cannot bear in an orderly way. "And Sophocles: "But do you lament a mortal man if he is dead, knowing nothing of the future, whether it brings gain?
"
Εὐριπίδης δὲ
"
τὰ θνητὰ πράγματʼ οἶδας ἣν ἔχει φύσιν;
"And Euripides: "Do you know what nature mortal affairs have?
δοκῶ μὲν οὔ πόθεν γάρ;
I think not, for how could you?
ἀλλʼ ἄκουέ μου.
But listen to me.
βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται,
κοὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῶν ὅστις ἐξεπίσταται
τὴν αὔριον μέλλουσαν εἰ βιώσεται.
To die is owed by all mortals, and there is none of them who knows for certain if he will live through the coming tomorrow.
τὸ τῆς τύχης γὰρ ἀφανὲς οἷ προβήσεται.
For the course of fortune is unclear, where it will proceed.
"
τοιούτου δὴ τοῦ βίου τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὄντος οἷον οὗτοί φασι, πῶς οὐκ εὐδαιμονίζειν μᾶλλον προσήκει τοὺς ἀπολυθέντας τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ λατρείας ἢ κατοικτίρειν τε καὶ θρηνεῖν, ὅπερ οἱ πολλοὶ δρῶσι διʼ ἀμαθίαν;
"Since, then, the life of men is such as these say, how is it not more fitting to congratulate those who have been released from its servitude than to pity and lament them, which the majority do through ignorance?