§5Κυβείᾳ γὰρ ὁ Πλάτων τὸν βίον ἀπείκασεν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ βάλλειν δεῖ τὰ πρόσφορα, καὶ βαλόντα χρῆσθαι καλῶς τοῖς πεσοῦσι.
For Plato likened life to a game of dice, in which one must both cast for what is suitable, and, having cast, make good use of whatever falls.
τούτων δὲ τὸ μὲν βάλλειν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, τὸ δὲ προσηκόντως δέχεσθαι τὰ γιγνόμενα παρὰ τῆς τύχης καὶ νέμειν ἑκάστῳ τόπον, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον ὠφελήσει μάλιστα καὶ τὸ ἀβούλητον ἥκιστα λυπήσει τοὺς ἐπιτυγχάνοντας, ἡμέτερον ἔργον ἐστίν, ἂν εὖ φρονῶμεν.
And of these, to cast is not in our power, but to accept properly what happens from fortune, and to assign a place to each, in which what is suitable will help most and what is unwanted will least distress those who encounter it, is our own task, if we are wise.
τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀτέχνους καὶ ἀνοήτους περὶ τὸν βίον, ὥσπερ τοὺς νοσώδεις τοῖς σώμασι μήτε καῦμα φέρειν μήτε κρύος δυναμένους ἐξίστησι μὲν εὐτυχία συστέλλει δὲ δυστυχία· ταράττονται δʼ ὑπʼ ἀμφοτέρων, μᾶλλον δʼ ὑφʼ αὑτῶν ἐν ἀμφοτέροις καὶ οὐχ ἧττον ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις ἀγαθοῖς.
For those who are unskillful and foolish regarding life, just like those who are sickly in body and able to bear neither heat nor cold, are elated by good fortune and dejected by bad fortune; and they are disturbed by both, or rather by themselves in both, and no less in the so-called goods.
Θεόδωρος μὲν γὰρ ὁ κληθεὶς ἄθεος ἔλεγε, τῇ δεξιᾷ τοὺς λόγους ὀρέγοντος αὐτοῦ, τῇ ἀριστερᾷ δέχεσθαι τοὺς ἀκροωμένους· οἱ δʼ ἀπαίδευτοι πολλάκις τὴν τύχην δεξιὰν παρισταμένην ἐπαριστέρως λαμβάνοντες ἀσχημονοῦσιν οἱ δὲ φρόνιμοι, καθάπερ ταῖς μελίτταις φέρει μέλι τὸ δριμύτατον καὶ ξηρότατον ὁ θύμος, οὕτως ἀπὸ τῶν δυσχερεστάτων πολλάκις πραγμάτων οἰκεῖόν τι καὶ χρήσιμον αὑτοῖς λαμβάνουσι.
For Theodorus, who was called the Atheist, used to say that, while he offered arguments with his right hand, his listeners received them with their left; and the uneducated often receive fortune when it stands by them as right-handed in a left-handed manner, and behave unseemly; but the wise, just as thyme brings the sharpest and driest honey to bees, so from the most difficult circumstances often receive something suitable and useful for themselves.
§6τοῦτʼ οὖν δεῖ πρῶτον ἀσκεῖν καὶ μελετᾶν, ὥσπερ ὁ τῆς κυνὸς ἁμαρτὼν τῷ λίθῳ καὶ τὴν μητρυιὰν πατάξας
οὐδʼ οὕτως
ἔφη
κακῶς· ἔξεστι γὰρ μεθιστάναι τὴν τύχην ἐκ τῶν ἀβουλήτων.
This, therefore, one must first practice and study, just as the man who, missing the dog with his stone and hitting his stepmother, said: "Not even so bad." For it is possible to alter fortune from unwanted things.
ἐφυγαδεύθη Διογένης, οὐδʼ οὕτω κακῶς ἤρξατο γὰρ φιλοσοφεῖν μετὰ τὴν φυγήν.
Diogenes was exiled, and "not even so bad"; for he began to philosophize after his exile.
Ζήνωνι τῷ Κιτιεῖ μία ναῦς περιῆν φορτηγός· πυθόμενος δὲ ταύτην αὐτόφορτον ἀπολωλέναι συγκλυσθεῖσαν
εὖγʼ
εἶπεν
ὦ τύχη ποιεῖς, εἰς τὸν τρίβωνα καὶ τὴν στοὰν συνελαύνουσʼ ἡμᾶς.
Zeno of Citium had one merchant ship left; and when he heard that this had been lost with all its cargo, being swamped: "Well done," he said, "O Fortune, you do this, driving us to the worn cloak and the Stoa." What then prevents us from imitating these men?
τί οὖν κωλύει μιμεῖσθαι τούτους; ἀρχὴν παραγγέλλων διήμαρτες;
Did you fail when campaigning for office?
ἐν ἀγρῷ διάξεις ἐπιμελόμενος τῶν ἰδίων.
You will live in the country, taking care of your private estate.
ἀλλὰ φιλίαν μνώμενος ἡγεμόνος ἀπώσθης;
But were you repulsed when seeking the friendship of a ruler?
ἀκινδύνως καὶ ἀπραγμόνως βιώσῃ.
You will live without danger and without trouble.
πάλιν ἐν πράγμασιν ἀσχολίας ἔχουσι καὶ φροντίδας γέγονας;
Again, have you become involved in public affairs that have busyness and worries?
"οὐδὲ θερμὸν ὕδωρ τοσόνδε τέγξει μαλθακὰ γυῖα"
κατὰ Πίνδαρον, ὡς δόξα ποιεῖ καὶ τὸ τιμᾶσθαι μετά τινος δυνάμεως
"πόνον ἡδὺν κάματὸν τʼ εὐκάματον. "
ἀλλά τις ἀπήντησεν ἐκ διαβολῆς ἢ φθόνου δυσημερία καὶ σκορακισμός;
"Not even warm water soothes soft limbs so much," according to Pindar, as glory and being honored with some power produce "sweet labor and easily borne toil." But did some misfortune and rejection encounter you from slander or envy?
ἐπὶ τὰς Μούσας οὔριον τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ τὴν Ἀκαδήμειαν, ὥσπερ Πλάτωνι χειμασθέντι περὶ τὴν Διονυσίου φιλίαν.
The wind blows fair toward the Muses and the Academy, just as for Plato when he was storm-tossed concerning his friendship with Dionysius.
διὸ καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς εὐθυμίαν μέγα, τὸ τοὺς ἐνδόξους ἀποθεωρεῖν, εἰ μηδὲν ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν πεπόνθασιν.
Therefore, this too is of great help toward tranquility of mind, to contemplate famous men, to see if they suffered nothing from the same things.
οἷον ἀπαιδία τὸ λυποῦν ἐστι;
For example, is childlessness what causes pain?
τοὺς Ῥωμαίων ὅρα βασιλεῖς, ὧν οὐδεὶς υἱῷ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀπέλιπε πενίᾳ δυσφορεῖς παρούσῃ;
Look at the kings of the Romans, none of whom left his rule to a son. Are you distressed by present poverty?
καὶ τίς ἂν ἐβούλου μᾶλλον εἶναι Βοιωτῶν ἢ Ἐπαμεινώνδας;
And whom of the Boeotians would you rather have been than Epaminondas?
τίς δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἢ Φαβρίκιος;
And whom of the Romans rather than Fabricius?
ἀλλὰ διέφθαρταί σου τὸ γύναιον;
But has your wife been corrupted?
οὐκ ἀνέγνωκας οὖν τοὐπίγραμμα τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς
"ὑγρᾶς καὶ τραφερᾶς βασιλεὺς Ἆγίς μʼ ἀνέθηκεν·
Have you not, then, read the epigraph at Delphi: "Agis, king of sea and land, dedicated me"?
"
οὐδʼ ἀκήκοας, ὅτι τούτου τὴν γυναῖκα Τιμαίαν Ἀλκιβιάδης διέφθειρε, καὶ τὸ γεννηθὲν Ἀλκιβιάδην ἐκάλει ψιθυρίζουσα πρὸς τὰς θεραπαινίδας;
Nor have you heard that Alcibiades corrupted his wife Timaea, and that she called the child born Alcibiades, whispering to her maidservants?
ἀλλὰ τοῦτʼ Ἆγιν οὐκ ἐκώλυσεν ἐνδοξότατον Ἑλλήνων εἶναι καὶ μέγιστον ὥσπερ οὐδὲ Στίλπωνα τῶν κατʼ αὐτὸν φιλοσόφων ἱλαρώτατα ζῆν ἀκόλαστος οὖσʼ ἡ θυγάτηρ·
But this did not prevent Agis from being the most famous of the Greeks and the greatest, just as his daughter being unchastened did not prevent Stilpo from being the most cheerful of the philosophers of his time.
ἀλλὰ καὶ Μητροκλέους ὀνειδίσαντος
ἐμὸν οὖν
ἔφη
ἁμάρτημα τοῦτʼ ἐστὶν ἢ ἐκείνης; εἰπόντος δὲ τοῦ Μητροκλέους
ἐκείνης μὲν ἁμάρτημα σὸν δʼ ἀτύχημα· πῶς λέγεις;
On the contrary, when Metrocles reproached him: "Is this, then," he said, "my error, or hers?" And when Metrocles said: "Hers indeed is the error, but yours the misfortune." "How do you mean?" he said.
εἶπεν
οὐχὶ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα καὶ διαπτώματʼ ἐστί; πάνυ μὲν οὖν
, ἔφη.
"Are not errors also failures?" "Certainly," he said.
τὰ δὲ διαπτώματʼ οὐχ ὧν διαπτώματα καὶ ἀποτεύγματα; συνωμολόγησε καὶ ὁ Μητροκλῆς.
"And are not failures things belonging to those of whom they are failures and misses?" Metrocles also agreed.
τὰ δʼ ἀποτεύγματʼ οὐχ ὧν ἀποτεύγματʼ καὶ ἀτυχήματα; πράῳ λόγῳ καὶ φιλοσόφῳ κενὸν ἀποδείξας ὕλαγμα, τὴν τοῦ κυνικοῦ βλασφημίαν.
"And are not misses things belonging to those of whom they are misses and misfortunes?" With mild and philosophical discourse, he showed the Cynic's slander to be an empty bark.