§11οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ πρὸς ἑτέρους μᾶλλον ἢ πρὸς αὑτοὺς ὑπʼ ἀβελτερίας εἰθίσμεθα ζῆν, καὶ πολὺ τὸ δύσζηλον ἡ φύσις ἔχουσα καὶ τὸ βάσκανον, οὐ χαίρει τοσοῦτον τοῖς ἰδίοις, ὅσον ἀνιᾶται τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἀγαθοῖς· μὴ μόνον ὅρα τὰ λαμπρὰ καὶ τὰ περιβόητα τῶν ζηλουμένων ὑπὸ σοῦ καὶ θαυμαζομένων, ἀλλʼ ἀνακαλύψας καὶ διαστείλας ὥσπερ ἀνθηρὸν παραπέτασμα τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν, ἐντὸς γενοῦ καὶ κατόψει πολλὰ δυσχερῆ καὶ πολλὰς ἀηδίας ἐνούσας αὐτοῖς.
Nevertheless, since we have been accustomed by our folly to live with reference to others rather than to ourselves, and since human nature, possessing much envy and malice, does not rejoice so much in its own goods as it is grieved by the goods of others; do not look only at the splendid and celebrated aspects of those who are envied and admired by you, but having drawn aside and parted their glory and outward show like a flowery curtain, get inside, and you will see many troublesome and many unpleasant things residing in them.
ὁ γοῦν Πιττακὸς ἐκεῖνος, οὗ μέγα μὲν ἀνδρείας μέγα δὲ σοφίας καὶ δικαιοσύνης κλέος, εἱστία ξένους· ἐπελθοῦσα δʼ ἡ γυνὴ μετʼ ὀργῆς ἀνέτρεψε τὴν τράπεζαν· τῶν δὲ ξένων διατραπέντων
ἑκάστῳ τι
ἔφη
ἡμῶν κακὸν ἔστιν· ᾧ δὲ τοὐμόν, ἄριστα πράττει. "
οὗτος μακάριος ἐν ἀγορᾷ νομίζεται,
ἐπὰν δʼ ἀνοίξῃ τὴν θύραν, τρισάθλιος· γυνὴ κρατεῖ πάντων, ἐπιτάσσει, μάχετʼ ἀεί.
Indeed, that famous Pittacus, whose fame for courage was great, and great also for wisdom and justice, was entertaining guests; but his wife came in in anger and overturned the table; and when the guests were dismayed, he said: "Every one of us has some evil; and he who has mine fares best." "This man is thought happy in the marketplace, but when he opens his door, he is thrice-wretched; his wife rules everything, commands, and always fights.
ἀπὸ πλειόνων ὀδυνᾶτʼ, ἐγὼ δʼ ἀπʼ οὐδενός.
He suffers pain from many things, but I from none.
"
τοιαῦτα πολλὰ καὶ πλούτῳ καὶ δόξῃ καὶ βασιλείᾳ πρόσεστιν ἄδηλα τοῖς πολλοῖς· ἐπιπροσθεῖ γὰρ ὁ τῦφος.
"Many such things are attached to wealth, glory, and kingship, unseen by the multitude; for pride blocks the view.
"ὦ μάκαρ Ἀτρείδη, μοιρηγενές, ὀλβιόδαιμον"
ἔξωθεν οὗτος. ὁ μακαρισμός, ὅπλων καὶ ἵππων καὶ στρατιᾶς περικεχυμένης· αἱ δὲ τῶν παθῶν φωναὶ πρὸς τὴν κενὴν δόξαν ἔνδοθεν ἀντιμαρτυροῦσι
"Ζεύς με μέγα Κρονίδης ἄτῃ ἐνέδησε βαρείῃ. "
καὶ
"
ζηλῶ σε, γέρον,
ζηλῶ δʼ ἀνδρῶν ὃς ἀκίνδυνον
βίον ἐξεπέρασʼ ἀγνὼς, ἀκλεής.
"O happy son of Atreus, child of destiny, favored by fortune, "This congratulations is from the outside, surrounded by arms, horses, and an army; but the voices of his passions from within bear witness against his empty glory: "Zeus, the great son of Cronus, has bound me fast in grievous ruin." And: "I envy you, old man, and I envy that man who has passed through a life without danger, unknown, inglorious.
"
ἔξεστιν οὖν καὶ τούτοις τοῖς ἐπιλογισμοῖς ἀπαρύτειν τοῦ πρὸς τὴν τύχην μεμψιμοίρου καὶ διὰ τὸ θαυμάζειν τὰ τῶν πλησίον ἐκταπεινοῦντος τὰ οἰκεῖα καὶ καταβάλλοντος.
"It is possible, then, by these reflections also to draw off some of the complaining against fortune, which, through admiring the affairs of our neighbors, demeans and casts down our own.
§12οὐχ ἥκιστα τοίνυν εὐθυμίαν κολούει τὸ μὴ συμμέτροις χρῆσθαι πρὸς τὴν ὑποκειμένην δύναμιν ὁρμαῖς ὥσπερ ἱστίοις, ἀλλὰ μειζόνων ἐφιεμένους ταῖς ἐλπίσιν εἶτʼ ἀποτυγχάνοντας αἰτιᾶσθαι δαίμονα καὶ τύχην ἀλλὰ μὴ τὴν αὑτῶν ἀβελτερίαν.
Not least, therefore, does it curtail cheerfulness when we do not use impulses that are proportionate to our underlying power like sails, but, desiring greater things in our hopes, and then failing, we blame fate and fortune rather than our own folly.
οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ τοξεύειν τῷ ἀρότρῳ βουλόμενος καὶ τῷ βοῒ τὸν λαγωὸν κυνηγετεῖν δυστυχής ἐστιν οὐδʼ ὁ γρίφοις καὶ σαγήναις ἐλάφους μὴ λαμβάνων οὐδʼ οἷς δαίμων οὐκ ἐναντιοῦται μοχθηρός, ἀλλʼ ἀβελτερίᾳ καὶ μωρίᾳ τοῖς ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειροῦσα.
For neither is he unfortunate who wishes to shoot with a plow and hunt a hare with an ox, nor he who fails to catch stags with creels and dragnets, nor is it that a hostile deity opposes them, but rather their folly and madness attempting impossible things.
αἴτιον δʼ ἡ φιλαυτία μάλιστα, φιλοπρώτους ποιοῦσα καὶ φιλονίκους; ἐν πᾶσι καὶ πάντων ἐπιδραττομένους ἀπλήστως οὐ γὰρ πλούσιοι μόνον ὁμοῦ καὶ λόγιοι καὶ ἰσχυροὶ καὶ συμποτικοὶ καὶ ἡδεῖς εἶναι καὶ φίλοι βασιλέων καὶ πόλεων ἄρχοντες ἀξιοῦσιν, ἀλλʼ εἰ μὴ καὶ κύνας ἕξουσι πρωτεύοντας ἀρετῇ καὶ ἵππους καὶ ὄρτυγας καὶ ἀλεκτρυόνας ἀθυμοῦσι.
And the cause is especially self-love, which makes them fond of being first and fond of victory in all things, and greedily grasping at everything; for they do not only think they should be rich, and at the same time eloquent, strong, good companions, pleasant, friends of kings, and rulers of cities, but if they do not also have dogs excelling in virtue, and horses, and quails, and cocks, they are disheartened.
Διονύσιος; ὁ πρεσβύτερος οὐκ ἠγάπα μέγιστος ὢν τῶν τότε τυράννων, ἀλλʼ ὅτι· Φιλοξένου τοῦ ποιητοῦ μὴ βέλτιον ᾖδε μηδὲ περιῆν ἐν τῷ διαλέγεσθαι Πλάτωνος, ὀργισθεὶς καὶ παροξυνθεὶς τὸν μὲν εἰς τὰς λατομίας ἐνέβαλε τὸν δʼ ἀπέδοτο πέμψας εἰς Αἴγιναν.
Dionysius the Elder was not content being the greatest of the tyrants of that time, but because he did not sing better than the poet Philoxenus and did not excel Plato in conversation, he became angry and exasperated, and threw the one into the stone quarries, and sold the other, sending him to Aegina.
οὐ τοιοῦτος δʼ ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος, ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ Κρίσων ὁ σταδιοδρόμος ἁμιλλώμενος αὐτῷ περὶ τάχους ἔδοξεν ἑκὼν παρεῖναι, σφόδρα διηγανάκτησεν, εὖ δὲ καὶ ὁ ποιητικὸς Ἀχιλλεὺς ὑπειπὼν
"τοῖος ἐὼν οἷος οὔ τις Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων"
ἐπήνεγκεν
"ἐν πολέμῳ·
But Alexander was not like that; rather, when Crison the runner, competing with him in speed, seemed to let him win on purpose, he was extremely indignant.
ἀγορῇ δὲ τʼ ἀμείνονές εἰσι καὶ ἄλλοι"
Μεγάβυζον δὲ τὸν Πέρσην εἰς τὸ ζωγραφεῖον ἀναβάντα τὸ Ἀπελλοῦ καὶ λαλεῖν ἐπιχειρήσαντα περὶ τῆς τέχνης ἐπεστόμισεν ὁ Ἀπελλῆς εἰπών
ἕως μὲν ἡσυχίαν ἦγες, ἐδόκεις τις εἶναι διὰ τὰ χρυσία καὶ τὴν· πορφύραν, νυνὶ δὲ καὶ ταυτὶ τὰ τρίβοντα τὴν ὤχραν παιδάρια καταγελᾷ σου φλυαροῦντος. ἀλλʼ ἔνιοι τοὺς μὲν Στωικοὺς οἴονται παίζειν, ὅταν ἀκούσωσι τὸν σοφὸν παρʼ αὐτοῖς μὴ μόνον φρόνιμον καὶ δίκαιον καὶ ἀνδρεῖον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ῥήτορα καὶ ποιητὴν καὶ στρατηγὸν καὶ πλούσιον καὶ βασιλέα προσαγορευόμενον αὑτοὺς δὲ πάντων ἀξιοῦσι τούτων, κἂν μὴ τυγχάνωσιν, ἀνιῶνται.
Well did the poetic Achilles also say beforehand: "being such as no other of the bronze-clad Achaeans" and added: "in war; but in assembly there are others better." And when Megabyzus the Persian went up into the studio of Apelles and tried to talk about art, Apelles silenced him, saying: "As long as you kept quiet, you seemed to be somebody on account of your gold ornaments and purple robe; but now even these boys grinding the ochre are laughing at you for talking nonsense." Yet some people think the Stoics are joking when they hear that the wise man among them is called not only prudent, just, and brave, but also a rhetorician, a poet, a general, rich, and a king; and yet they themselves claim all these things, and if they do not obtain them, they are grieved.
καίτοι καὶ τῶν θεῶν ἄλλος ἄλλην ἔχων δύναμιν, ὁ μὲν ἐνυάλιος ὁ δὲ μαντεῖος ὁ δὲ κερδῷος; ἐπονομάζεται καὶ τὴν Ἀφροδίτην ὁ Ζεύς, ὡς οὐ μετὸν αὐτῇ πολεμικῶν ἔργων, ἐπὶ γάμους ἀποστέλλει καὶ θαλάμους.
And yet even of the gods, since each has a different power, one is called the God of War, another the Prophet, another the Giver of Gain; and Zeus sends Aphrodite to marriages and bridal chambers, as she has no share in warlike deeds.