§1περὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς βουλευόμεθα καὶ διαποροῦμεν, εἰ διδακτόν ἐστι τὸ φρονεῖν τὸ δικαιοπραγεῖν τὸ εὖ ζῆν· εἶτʼ οὐ θαυμάζομεν, εἰ ῥητόρων μὲν ἔργα καὶ κυβερνητῶν καὶ ἁρμονικῶν καὶ οἰκοδόμων καὶ γεωργῶν μυρία γʼ ἐστίν· ἀγαθοὶ δʼ ἄνδρες ὀνομάζονται καὶ λέγονται μόνον, ὡς ἱπποκένταυροι καὶ γίγαντες καὶ κύκλωπες, ἔργον δʼ ἀμεμφὲς εἰς ἀρετὴν καὶ ἀκέραιον οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν οὐδὲ πάθους ἀκέραιον ἦθος καὶ ἄθικτον αἰσχροῦ βίον ἀλλʼ εἰ καί τι καλὸν ἡ φύσις αὐτομάτως ἐκφέρει, τοῦτο πολλῷ τῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ, καθάπερ ὕλῃ καρπὸς ἀγρίᾳ καὶ ἀκαθάρτῳ μιγνύμενος, ἐξαμαυροῦται.
We deliberate and are in doubt about virtue, whether prudence, just action, and living well can be taught; and then, do we not wonder that, while of rhetoricians, pilots, musicians, builders, and farmers there are countless works, good men are only named and spoken of, like centaurs, giants, and cyclopes, and that a work blameless and pure in respect of virtue is not to be found, nor a character pure from passion and a life untouched by baseness? But even if nature spontaneously produces some beautiful thing, this is obscured by much that is foreign, just as fruit mixed with wild and unclean brushwood.
ψάλλειν μανθάνουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ ὀρχεῖσθαι καὶ ἀναγιγνώσκειν γράμματα καὶ γεωργεῖν καὶ ἱππεύειν ὑποδεῖσθαι μανθάνουσι περιβάλλεσθαι καὶ ἀλείφεσθαι· οἰνοχοεῖν διδάσκουσιν ὀψοποιεῖν ταῦτʼ ἄνευ τοῦ μαθεῖν οὐκ ἔστι χρησίμως;
Men learn to play the lyre, to dance, to read letters, to farm, to ride horses, and they learn to put on shoes, to wrap clothes around themselves, and to anoint themselves; they teach how to pour wine and how to cook. Is it not impossible to do these things usefully without learning?
ποιεῖν. διʼ ὃ δὲ ταῦτα πάντα, τὸ εὖ βιοῦν, ἀδίδακτον καὶ ἄλογον καὶ ἄτεχνον καὶ αὐτόματον.
But that for the sake of which all these things exist, namely living well, is untaught, irrational, artless, and spontaneous.
§2ὦ· ἄνθρωποι, τί τὴν ἀρετὴν λέγοντες ἀδίδακτον εἶναι ποιοῦμεν ἀνύπαρκτον;
¦20 O men, why do we make virtue non-existent by saying that it cannot be taught?
εἰ γὰρ ἡ μάθησις γένεσίς ἐστιν, ἡ τοῦ μαθεῖν κώλυσις ἀναίρεσις.
For if learning is generation, the prevention of learning is destruction.
καίτοι γʼ ὥς φησιν ὁ Πλάτων διὰ τὴν τοῦ ποδὸς πρὸς τὴν λύραν καὶ ἀμετρίαν καὶ ἀναρμοστίαν οὔτʼ ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφῷ πολεμεῖ οὔτε φίλος φίλῳ διαφέρεται, οὔτε πόλεις πόλεσι διʼ ἀπεχθείας γιγνόμεναι τὰ ἔσχατα δρῶσί τε καὶ πάσχουσιν ὑπʼ ἀλλήλων· οὐδὲ περὶ προσῳδίας ἔχει τις εἰπεῖν στάσιν ἐν πόλει γενομένην, πότερον Τελχινας ἢ Τέλχινας ἀναγνωστέον οὐδʼ ἐν οἰκίᾳ διαφορὰν ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς ὑπὲρ κρόκης ἢ στήμονος.
And yet, as Plato says, because of the disproportion and inharmony of the foot with the lyre, neither does brother war with brother, nor friend differ with friend, nor do cities, becoming hostile to one another, do and suffer the worst things from each other; nor can anyone speak of a faction arising in a city about accentuation, whether we should read 'Telchīnas' or 'Télchinas', nor in a household a difference between husband and wife over woof or warp.
ἀλλʼ ὅμως οὔτʼ ἂν ἱστὸν οὔτε βιβλίον ἢ λύραν ὁ μὴ μαθὼν μεταχειρίσαιτο, καίπερ εἰς οὐδὲν μέγα βλαβησόμενος, ἀλλʼ αἰδεῖται γενέσθαι καταγέλαστος·
And yet, one who has not learned would not handle a loom, a book, or a lyre, even though he would suffer no great harm, but he is ashamed of becoming ridiculous.
ἀμαθίην
γὰρ Ἡράκλειτός φησι
κρύπτειν ἄμεινον· οἶκον δὲ καὶ γάμον καὶ πολιτείαν καὶ ἀρχὴν οἷόν τε καλῶς μεταχειρίσασθαι μὴ γυναικὶ μὴ θεράποντι μὴ πολίτῃ μὴ ἀρχομένῳ καὶ ἄρχοντι;
For Heraclitus says: 'It is better to hide ignorance.' But are a household, a marriage, a state, and an office to be handled well by a woman, a servant, a citizen, a subject, or a ruler, without having learned?
παιδὸς ὀψοφαγοῦντος, ὁ Διογένης τῷ παιδαγωγῷ κόνδυλον ἔδωκεν, ὀρθῶς οὐ τοῦ μὴ μαθόντος ἀλλὰ τοῦ μὴ διδάξαντος τὸ ἁμάρτημα ποιήσας.
When a child was eating greedily, Diogenes gave his tutor a blow, rightly making the error belong not to the one who did not learn, but to the one who did not teach.
εἶτα παροψίδος μὲν ἢ κύλικος οὐκ ἔστι κοινωνεῖν ἐπιδεξίως, ἂν μὴ μάθῃ τις εὐθὺς ἐκ παίδων ἀρξάμενος, ὡς Ἀριστοφάνης
"μὴ κιχλίζειν μηδʼ ὀψοφαγεῖν μηδʼ ἴσχειν τὼ πόδʼ ἐπαλλάξ·
Then, is it not possible to share a dish or a cup elegantly unless one learns, starting straight from childhood, as Aristophanes says: 'not to giggle, nor to eat greedily, nor to keep the feet crossed'?
"
οἴκου δὲ καὶ πόλεως καὶ γάμου καὶ βίου καὶ ἀρχῆς κοινωνίαν ἀνέγκλητον ἐνδέχεται γενέσθαι, μὴ μαθόντων ὅντινα χρὴ τρόπον ἀλλήλοις συμφέρεσθαι;
And can the blameless association of a household, a city, a marriage, a life, and an office be possible for those who have not learned in what manner they ought to behave to one another?
ὁ Ἀρίστιππος ἐρωτηθεὶς ὑπό τινος
πανταχοῦ σὺ ἄρʼ εἶ; ʼ
γελάσας
οὐκοῦν
ἔφη
παραπόλλυμι τὸ ναῦλον, εἴ γε πανταχοῦ εἰμι. τί οὖν οὐκ ἂν εἴποις καὶ αὐτός
εἰ μὴ γίγνονται μαθήσει βελτίονες ἄνθρωποι, παραπόλλυται ὁ μισθὸς τῶν παιδαγωγῶν
πρῶτον γὰρ οὗτοι λαμβάνοντες ἐκ γάλακτος, ὥσπερ αἱ τίτθαι ταῖς χερσὶ τὸ σῶμα πλάττουσιν, οὕτω τὸ ἦθος ῥυθμίζουσι τοῖς ἔθεσιν, εἰς ἴχνος τι πρῶτον ἀρετῆς καθιστάντες.
Aristippus, being asked by someone: 'Are you then everywhere?' laughed and said: 'Therefore, 'I throw away my boat-fare, if indeed I am everywhere.' Why, then, would you not say yourself: 'If men do not become better through learning, the pay of tutors is thrown away'? For these, taking them first from the milk, just as nurses shape the body with their hands, so they regulate the character by habits, placing them upon the first footprint of virtue.
καὶ ὁ Λάκων ἐρωτηθείς τί παρέχει παιδαγωγῶν,
· τὰ καλά
ἔφη
τοῖς παισὶν ἡδέα ποιῶ. καίτοι διδάσκουσιν οἱ παιδαγωγοὶ κεκυφότας ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς περιπατεῖν, ἑνὶ δακτύλῳ τὸ τάριχος ἅρασθαι, δυσὶ τὸν ἰχθῦν σῖτον κρέας· οὕτω καθῆσθαι, τὸ ἱμάτιον οὕτως ἀναλαβεῖν.
And the Laconian, being asked what he provides as a tutor, said: 'I make beautiful things 'pleasant to children.' And yet tutors teach them to walk in the streets with bowed heads, to lift salt fish with one finger, and fish, bread, and meat with two; to sit in such a way, to throw the cloak about themselves in such a way.
§3τί οὖν;
What then?
ὁ λέγων λειχῆνος ἰατρικὴν εἶναι καὶ παρωνυχίας, πλευρίτιδος δὲ καὶ πυρετοῦ καὶ φρενίτιδος μὴ εἶναι, τί διαφέρει τοῦ λέγοντος ὅτι τῶν μικρῶν καὶ παιδικῶν καθηκόντων εἰσὶ διδασκαλεῖα καὶ λόγοι καὶ ὑποθῆκαι, τῶν δὲ μεγάλων καὶ τελείων ἄλογος τριβὴ καὶ περίπτωσίς ἔστιν;
He who says that there is medicine for lichen and hangnails, but not for pleurisy, fever, and frenzy, how does he differ from one who says that for minor and childish duties there are schools, discourses, and precepts, but for great and perfect matters there is only irrational habituation and chance?
ὡς γὰρ ὁ λέγων ὅτι δεῖ κώπην ἐλαύνειν μαθόντα κυβερνᾶν δὲ καὶ μὴ μαθόντα γελοῖός ἐστιν, οὕτως ὁ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων ἀπολείπων τεχνῶν μάθησιν ἀρετῆς δʼ ἀναιρῶν τοὐναντίον ἔοικε τοῖς Σκύθαις ποιεῖν·
For as he who says that one must learn to row, but can steer without learning, is ridiculous, so he who allows the learning of other arts but does away with that of virtue seems to do the opposite of the Scythians.
ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γάρ, ὥς φησιν Ἡρόδοτος, τοὺς οἰκέτας ἐκτυφλοῦσιν ὅπως παραδῶσιν αὐτοῖς· οὗτος δὲ ταῖς δούλαις καὶ ὑπηρέτισι τέχναις ὥσπερ ὄμμα τὸν λόγον ἐντιθεὶς τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀφαιρεῖ.
For they, as Herodotus says, blind their servants so that they may hand things to them; but this man, while putting reason like an eye into the slavish and auxiliary arts, takes it away from virtue.
καίτοι γʼ ὁ στρατηγὸς Ἰφικράτης πρὸς τὸν Χαβρίου Καλλίαν ἐρωτῶντα καὶ λέγοντα
τίς εἶ;
And yet, the general Iphicrates, to Callias the son of Chabrias, who was asking and saying: 'Who are you?
τοξότης;
A bowman?
πελταστής;
A peltast?
ἱππεύς;
A horseman?
ὁπλίτης; ʼ,
οὐδείς
ἔφη
τούτων ἀλλʼ ὁ τούτοις πᾶσιν ἐπιτάττων. γελοῖος οὖν ὁ λέγων, ὅτι τοξικὴ καὶ ὁπλιτικὴ καὶ τὸ σφενδονᾶν καὶ τὸ ἱππεύειν διδακτόν ἐστι, στρατηγία δὲ καὶ τὸ στρατηγεῖν ὡς ἔτυχε παραγίγνεται καὶ οἷς ἔτυχε μὴ μαθοῦσιν.
A hoplite?' said: 'None of these, but the one who commands all of these.' Ridiculous, therefore, is he who says that archery, hoplite warfare, slinging, and riding can be taught, but generalship and commanding come by chance and to whomsoever by chance without learning.
οὐκοῦν ἔτι γελοιότερος ὁ μόνην τὴν φρόνησιν μὴ διδακτὴν ἀποφαίνων, ἧς ἄνευ τῶν ἄλλων τεχνῶν ὄφελος οὐδὲν οὐδʼ ὄνησίς ἐστιν.
Is he not then still more ridiculous who declares that prudence alone is not teachable, without which other arts are of no help or benefit?
εἰ δʼ ἡγεμὼν αὕτη καὶ κόσμος οὖσα πασῶν καὶ τάξις εἰς τὸ χρήσιμον ἕκαστον καθίστησιν, αὐτίκα τίς δείπνου χάρις, ἠσκημένων καὶ μεμαθηκότων παίδων
"δαιτρεῦσαί τε καὶ ὀπτῆσαι καὶ οἰνοχοῆσαι,"
εἰ μὴ διάθεσις μηδὲ τάξις εἴη περὶ τοὺς διακονοῦντας;
But if this is the guide, ornament, and order of all, and places each into a useful state, what is the joy of a banquet, even if the boys have been trained and have learned 'to carve, to roast, and to pour wine,' if there is no arrangement or order among those who serve?