§16νὴ Δίʼ ἀλλὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς κινεῖ πρὸς τὰ πένθη καὶ τοὺς θρήνους ὁ ἄωρος θάνατος ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος οὕτως ἐστὶν εὐπαραμύθητος, ὥστε καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν τυχόντων ποιητῶν συνεωρᾶσθαι καὶ τετυχηκέναι παραμυθίας.
Oh yes, but untimely death moves the many to grief and lamentations; but even this is so easily consoled that it has been observed even by ordinary poets and has obtained consolation.
θέασαι γὰρ· οἷα περὶ τούτου φησὶ τῶν κωμικῶν τις πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ τῷ ἀώρῳ λυπούμενον θανάτῳ
"
εἶτʼ εἰ μὲν ᾔδεις ὅττι τοῦτον τὸν βίον,
ὃν οὐκ ἐβίωσε, ζῶν διευτύχησεν ἄν,
ὁ θάνατος οὐκ εὔκαιρος· εἰ δʼ ἤνεγκεν αὖ
οὗτος ὁ βίος τι τῶν ἀνηκέστων, ἴσως
ὁ θάνατος αὐτὸς σοῦ γέγονεν εὐνούστερος
"
ἀδήλου οὖν ὄντος πότερον συμφερόντως ἀνεπαύσατο τὸν βίον ἐκλιπὼν καὶ μειζόνων ἀπολυθεὶς κακῶν ἢ οὔ, χρὴ μὴ φέρειν οὕτω βαρέως ὡς ἀπολωλεκότας πάνθʼ ὅσων ᾠήθημεν τεύξεσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῦ.
For look what one of the comic poets says about this to the man who is grieved at an untimely death: "Then, if indeed you knew that, living this life which he did not live, he would have been thoroughly fortunate, death was untimely; but if, on the other hand, this life would have brought some of the incurable evils, perhaps death itself has been kinder to him than you are. "Therefore, since it is unclear whether he went to rest advantageously by leaving life and being released from greater evils or not, we must not bear it so heavily as though we had lost all those things which we expected to obtain from him.
οὐ φαύλως γὰρ ἂν δόξειεν ὁ παρὰ τῷ ποιητῇ Ἀμφιάραος παραμυθεῖσθαι τὴν Ἀρχεμόρου μητέρα δυσχεραίνουσαν ὅτι νήπιος ὢν ὁ παῖς καὶ ἄγαν ἄωρος ἐτελεύτησε.
For Amphiaraus in the poet would seem not poorly to console the mother of Archemorus, who was distressed because her child, being an infant and exceedingly untimely, died.
φησὶ γὰρ οὕτως
"
ἔφυ μὲν οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐ πονεῖ βροτῶν. θάπτει τε τέκνα χἄτερʼ αὖ κτᾶται νέα,
αὐτός τε θνήσκει· καὶ τάδʼ ἄχθονται βροτοὶ
εἰς γῆν φέροντες γῆν.
For he speaks thus: "No mortal was ever born who does not suffer; he buries children and again acquires other new ones, and he himself dies; and at these things mortals are vexed, carrying earth to earth.
ἀναγκαίως δʼ ἔχει
βίον θερίζειν ὥστε κάρπιμον στάχυν,
καὶ τὸν μὲν εἶναι τὸν δὲ μή.
But it is necessary to reap life like a fruitful ear of corn, and for one to exist and another not.
τί ταῦτα δεῖ
στένειν, ἅπερ δεῖ κατὰ φύσιν διεκπερᾶν;
Why must one lament these things, which one must pass through according to nature?
δεινὸν γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν ἀναγκαίων βροτοῖς
"
For nothing of what is necessary is terrible to mortals.
§17καθόλου γὰρ χρὴ διανοεῖσθαι πάντα τινὰ καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸν καὶ πρὸς ἄλλον διεξιόντα μετὰ σπουδῆς; ὡς οὐχ ὁ μακρότατος βίος ἄριστος ἀλλʼ ὁ σπουδαιότατος οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ πλεῖστα κιθαρῳδήσας ἢ ῥητορεύσας ἢ κυβερνήσας ἀλλʼ ὁ καλῶς ἐπαινεῖται.
"For in general everyone must think, explaining both to himself and to another with earnestness, that not the longest life is best, but the most excellent; for neither is he who has played the cithara most or spoken in public or steered a ship praised, but he who has done so well.
τὸ γὰρ καλὸν οὐκ ἐν μήκει χρόνου θετέον, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἀρετῇ καὶ τῇ καιρίῳ συμμετρίᾳ τοῦτο γὰρ εὔδαιμον καὶ θεοφιλὲς εἶναι νενόμισται.
For the noble must not be placed in length of time, but in virtue and timely proportion; for this is considered to be happy and dear to gods.
διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν τοὺς ὑπεροχωτάτους τῶν ἡρώων καὶ φύντας ἀπὸ θεῶν πρὸ γήρως ἐκλιπόντας τὸν βίον οἱ ποιηταὶ παρέδοσαν ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ κἀκεῖνον
"
ὃν περὶ κῆρι φίλει Ζεὺς τʼ αἰγίοχος καὶ Ἀπόλλων
παντοίην φιλότητʼ, οὐδʼ ἵκετο γήραος; οὐδόν
"
τὴν γὰρ εὐκαιρίαν μᾶλλον, οὐ τὴν εὐγηρίαν πανταχῆ θεωροῦμεν πρωτεύουσαν.
For this reason, at least, the poets have handed down to us that the most eminent of heroes, even those born of gods, left life before old age, just like him "whom Zeus the aegis-bearer and Apollo loved in their heart with all kinds of affection, nor did he reach the threshold of old age. "For we see everywhere that timeliness, rather than extreme old age, holds the first place.
καὶ γὰρ φυτῶν ἄριστα τὰ πλείστας καρπῶν ἐν βραχεῖ φορὰς ποιούμενα, καὶ ζῴων ἀφʼ ὧν ἐν οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ πολλὴν πρὸς τὸν βίον ὠφέλειαν ἔχομεν.
For also of plants, the best are those that produce the most yields of fruit in a short time, and of animals, those from which in not much time we have much benefit for life.
τό τε πολὺ δήπουθεν ἢ μικρὸν οὐδὲν διαφέρειν δοκεῖ πρὸς τὸν ἄπειρον ἀφορῶσιν αἰῶνα.
And indeed, much or little time seems to make no difference to those who look toward infinite eternity.
τὰ γὰρ χίλια καὶ τὰ μύρια κατὰ Σιμωνίδην ἔτη στιγμὴ τίς ἐστιν ἀόριστος, μᾶλλον δὲ μόριόν τι βραχύτατον στιγμῆς.
For a thousand or ten thousand years, according to Simonides, is an indefinite point, or rather a very brief fraction of a point.
ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ζῴων ἐκείνων, ἅπερ ἱστοροῦσι περὶ τὸν Πόντον γιγνόμενα τὴν ζωὴν ἔχειν ἡμερησίαν, ἕωθεν μὲν γεννώμενα, μέσης δʼ ἡμέρας ἀκμάζοντα, δείλης δὲ γηρῶντα καὶ τελειοῦντα τὸ ζῆν, οὐχὶ κἀκείνων ἦν ἂν τὸ καθʼ ἡμᾶς πάθος τοῦτο, εἴπερ ψυχή τις ἀνθρωπίνη καὶ λογισμὸς ἑκάστοις ἐνῆν, καὶ ταὐτὰ δήπου γʼ ἂν συνέπιπτεν, ὥστε τὰ πρὸ μέσης τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκλείποντα θρήνους παρέχειν καὶ δάκρυα; τὰ δὲ διημερεύσαντα πάντως ἂν εὐδαιμονίζεσθαι;
Since indeed, regarding those animals which they record as being born around the Black Sea and having a life of one day, being born in the morning, peaking at midday, and in the evening growing old and completing their life, would not this experience of ours belong also to them, if a human soul and reason were in each of them, and would not the very same things surely happen, so that those dying before midday would cause laments and tears, while those surviving the whole day would be altogether deemed happy?
μέτρον γὰρ τοῦ βίου τὸ καλόν, οὐ τὸ τοῦ χρόνου μῆκος,
For the measure of life is the noble, not the length of time.
§18ματαίους γὰρ καὶ πολλῆς εὐηθείας ἡγητέον εἶναι τὰς τοιαύτας ἐκφωνήσεις
ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔδει νέον ὄντα ἀναρπαγῆναι. τίς γὰρ ἂν εἴποι ὡς ἔδει;
For we must consider such exclamations to be vain and of great folly: "But he ought not to have been snatched away while young." For who would say that he ought to have been?
πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἐφʼ ὧν ἄν τις εἴποι ὡς
οὐκ ἔδει πραχθῆναι
πέπρακται καὶ πράττεται καὶ πραχθήσεται πολλάκις.
And many other things, of which one might say that they ought not to have been done, have been done, are being done, and will be done many times.
οὐ γὰρ νομοθετήσοντες πάρεσμεν εἰς τὸν βίον, ἀλλὰ πεισόμενοι τοῖς διατεταγμένοις ὑπὸ τῶν τὰ ὅλα πρυτανευόντων θεῶν καὶ τοῖς τῆς εἱμαρμένης καὶ προνοίας θεσμοῖς.
For we are not present in life to make laws, but to obey the things ordained by the gods who govern the universe, and the laws of fate and providence.