§3τίς οὖν ἄρξει τοῦ ἄρχοντος;
Who, then, shall rule the ruler?
ὁ νόμος ὁ πάντων βασιλεὺς; θνατῶν τε καὶ ἀθανάτων·
The Law, which is the king of all, both mortals and immortals, as Pindar said.
ὡς ἔφη Πίνδαρος, οὐκ ἐν βιβλίοις ἔξω γεγραμμένος οὐδέ τισι ξύλοις, ἀλλʼ ἔμψυχος ὢν ἐν αὐτῷ λόγος, ἀεὶ συνοικῶν καὶ παραφυλάττων καὶ μηδέποτε τὴν ψυχὴν ἐῶν ἔρημον ἡγεμονίας.
This is not written outside in books or on wooden tablets, but is a living Reason within him, always cohabiting and guarding him, and never leaving his soul destitute of leadership.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς ἕνα τῶν κατευναστῶν εἶχε πρὸς τοῦτο τεταγμένον, ὥσθʼ ἕωθεν εἰσιόντα λέγειν πρὸς αὐτὸν
ἀνάστα, ὦ βασιλεῦ, καὶ φρόντιζε πραγμάτων, ὧν σε φροντίζειν ὁ μέγας Ὠρομάσδης ἠθέλησε· τοῦ δὲ πεπαιδευμένου καὶ σωφρονοῦντος ἄρχοντος ἐντός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦτο φθεγγόμενος ἀεὶ καὶ παρακελευόμενος Πολέμων γὰρ ἔλεγε τὸν ἔρωτα εἶναι
θεῶν ὑπηρεσίαν εἰς νέων ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ σωτηρίαν. ἀληθέστερον δʼ ἄν τις εἴποι τοὺς ἄρχοντας ὑπηρετεῖν θεῷ πρὸς ἀνθρώπων ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ σωτηρίαν; ὅπως ὧν θεὸς δίδωσιν ἀνθρώποις καλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν τὰ μὲν νέμωσι τὰ δὲ φυλάττωσιν.
For the King of Persia had one of his chamberlains appointed to this duty, so that as he entered at dawn he would say to him: "Arise, O king, and attend to the matters which the great Oromasdes willed you to attend to." But in the educated and self-controlled ruler there is within him that which always speaks and encourages this. For Polemon used to say that love is "a service to the gods for the care and salvation of the young." But one might more truly say that rulers serve God for the care and salvation of human beings, so that of the good and beautiful things God gives to humans, they may distribute some and guard others.
"
ὁρᾷς τὸν ὑψοῦ τόνδʼ ἄπειρον αἰθέρα,
καὶ γῆν πέριξ ἔχονθʼ ὑγραῖς ἐν ἀγκάλαις; "
ὁ μὲν καθίησιν ἀρχὰς σπερμάτων προσηκόντων γῆ δʼ ἀναδίδωσιν, αὔξεται δὲ τὰ μὲν ὄμβροις τὰ δʼ ἀνέμοις τὰ δʼ ἄστροις ἐπιθαλπόμενα καὶ σελήνῃ, κοσμεῖ δʼ ἥλιος ἅπαντα καὶ πᾶσι τοῦτο δὴ τὸ παρʼ αὑτοῦ φίλτρον ἐγκεράννυσιν.
"Do you see this boundless ether high above, and the earth embraced in its moist arms?" The former sends down the origins of fitting seeds, and the earth brings them forth; some grow, warmed by showers, others by winds, others by stars and the moon, and the sun adorns all things and pours into all this love-charm of his own.
ἀλλὰ τῶν τοιούτων καὶ τηλικούτων ἃ θεοὶ χαρίζονται δώρων καὶ ἀγαθῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀπόλαυσις οὐδὲ χρῆσις ὀρθὴ δίχα νόμου καὶ δίκης καὶ ἄρχοντος.
But of such and so great gifts and goods as the gods bestow, there is no enjoyment or correct use without law, justice, and a ruler.
δίκη μὲν οὖν νόμου τέλος ἐστί, νόμος δʼ ἄρχοντος ἔργον, ἄρχων δʼ εἰκὼν θεοῦ τοῦ πάντα κοσμοῦντος, οὐ Φειδίου δεόμενος πλάττοντος οὐδὲ Πολυκλείτου καὶ Μύρωνος, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς αὑτὸν εἰς ὁμοιότητα θεῷ διʼ ἀρετῆς καθιστὰς;
Now justice is the end of law, and law is the work of the ruler, and the ruler is the image of God who orders all things, needing no Phidias to fashion him, nor Polyclitus and Myron, but himself establishing himself into likeness to God through virtue, and crafting the most pleasant to look upon and most god-befitting of statues.
καὶ δημιουργῶν ἀγαλμάτων τὸ ἣδιστον ὀφθῆναι καὶ θεοπρεπέστατον. οἷον δʼ ἣλιον ἐν οὐρανῷ περικαλλὲς εἴδωλον ἑαυτοῦ καὶ σελήνην ὁ. θεὸς ἐνίδρυσε, τοιοῦτον ἐν πόλεσι μίμημα καὶ φέγγος ἄρχων ὅστε θεουδὴς εὐδικίας;
And just as God established the sun in heaven as a beautiful image of himself, and the moon, so the ruler who fears God holds up in cities such an imitation and light of justice—that is, having the intellect of God's Reason, not holding a scepter, nor lightning, nor a trident, as some fashion and paint themselves, making their foolishness an object of envy through what is unattainable.
ἀνέχῃσι, τουτέστι θεοῦ λόγον ἔχων διάνοιαν, οὐ σκῆπτρον οὐδὲ κεραυνὸν οὐδὲ τρίαιναν, ὡς ἔνιοι πλάττουσιν ἑαυτοὺς καὶ γράφουσι τῷ ἀνεφίκτῳ ποιοῦντες ἐπίφθονον τὸ ἀνόητον νεμεσᾷ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς τοῖς ἀπομιμουμένοις βροντὰς καὶ κεραυνοὺς καὶ ἀκτινοβολίας, τοὺς δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν ζηλοῦντας αὐτοῦ καὶ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν καὶ φιλάνθρωπον ἀφομοιοῦντας ἑαυτοὺς ἡδόμενος αὔξει καὶ μεταδίδωσι τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν εὐνομίας καὶ δίκης καὶ ἀληθείας καὶ πραότητος· ὧν θειότερον οὐ πῦρ ἐστιν οὐ φῶς οὐχ ἡλίου δρόμος οὐκ ἀνατολαὶ καὶ δύσεις ἄστρων οὐ τὸ ἀίδιον καὶ ἀθάνατον.
For God is angry at those who imitate thunder, lightning, and sunbeams, but those who emulate his virtue and assimilate themselves to his goodness and love for humanity, he takes pleasure in increasing and imparts to them his own order, justice, truth, and gentleness; than which nothing is more divine, neither fire, nor light, nor the course of the sun, nor the risings and settings of stars, nor eternity and immortality.
οὐ γὰρ χρόνῳ ζωῆς ὁ θεὸς εὐδαίμων ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς τῷ ἄρχοντι τοῦτο γὰρ θεῖόν ἐστι, καλὸν δʼ αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ ἀρχόμενον.
For God is happy not by the length of his life, but by his ruling with virtue; for this is divine, and beautiful also is the part of virtue that is ruled.
§4Ἀνάξαρχος μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τῷ Κλείτου φόνῳ δεινοπαθοῦντα παραμυθούμενος Ἀλέξανδρον ἔφη καὶ τῷ Διὶ τὴν Δίκην εἶναι καὶ τὴν Θέμιν παρέδρους, ἵνα πᾶν πραττόμενον ὑπὸ βασιλέως θεμιτὸν δοκῇ καὶ δίκαιον· οὐκ ὀρθῶς οὐδʼ ὠφελίμως τὴν ἐφʼ οἷς ἥμαρτε μετάνοιαν αὐτοῦ τῷ πρὸς τὰ ὅμοια θαρρύνειν ἰώμενος.
Anaxarchus, then, trying to comfort Alexander who was suffering terribly at the murder of Clitus, said that Justice and Law sit as companions by the side of Zeus, so that everything done by a king may seem lawful and right; not rightly nor usefully healing his repentance for his errors by encouraging him to similar deeds.
εἰ δὲ δεῖ ταῦτʼ εἰκάζειν, ὁ μὲν Ζεὺς οὐκ ἔχει τὴν Δίκην πάρεδρον, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς Δίκη καὶ Θέμις ἐστὶ καὶ νόμων ὁ πρεσβύτατος καὶ τελειότατος.
But if one must make such a comparison, Zeus does not have Justice as a companion, but is himself Justice and Law, and the oldest and most perfect of laws.
οἱ δὲ παλαιοὶ οὕτω λέγουσι καὶ γράφουσι καὶ διδάσκουσιν, ὡς ἄνευ Δίκης ἄρχειν μηδὲ τοῦ Διὸς καλῶς δυναμένου
ἡ δέ γε παρθένος ἐστὶ
καθʼ Ἡσίοδον ἀδιάφθορος, αἰδοῦς καὶ σωφροσύνης καὶ ὠφελείας σύνοικος ὅθεν
αἰδοίους
προσαγορεύουσι τοὺς βασιλεῖς· μάλιστα, γὰρ αἰδεῖσθαι προσήκει τοῖς ἥκιστα φοβουμένοις.
And the ancients speak, write, and teach thus, on the ground that without Justice not even Zeus can rule well. And she is indeed a virgin, according to Hesiod, undefiled, a companion of modesty, self-control, and usefulness; hence they address kings as "modest"; for it is most fitting for those who fear least to show modesty.
φοβεῖσθαι δὲ δεῖ τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ παθεῖν κακῶς μᾶλλον τὸ ποιῆσαι· τοῦτο γὰρ αἴτιόν ἐστιν ἐκείνου καὶ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ φόβος τοῦ ἄρχοντος φιλάνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἀγεννής· , ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀρχομένων δεδιέναι μὴ λάθωσι βλαβέντες,
"
ὡς δὲ κύνες περὶ μῆλα δυσωρήσονται ἐν αὐλῇ,
θηρὸς ἀκούσαντες κρατερόφρονος,ʼ
"
οὐχ ὑπὲρ αὑτῶν ἀλλʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν φυλαττομένων.
And the ruler must fear doing evil more than suffering it; for this is the cause of that, and this is the fear of the ruler that is humane and not ignoble: to fear for his subjects lest they should suffer harm unawares, "as dogs around the sheepfold keep uneasy watch, hearing the sound of a strong-hearted beast," not for themselves, but for those they guard.
ὁ δʼ Ἐπαμεινώνδας, εἰς ἑορτήν τινα καὶ πότον ἀνειμένως τῶν Θηβαίων ῥυέντων, μόνος ἐφώδευε τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τὰ τείχη, νήφειν λέγων καὶ ἀγρυπνεῖν ὡς ἂν ἐξῇ τοῖς ἄλλοις μεθύειν καὶ καθεύδειν.
And Epaminondas, when the Thebans had poured loosely into a festival and drinking-bout, went around the weapons and the walls alone, saying that he was keeping sober and awake so that others might be permitted to get drunk and sleep.
καὶ Κάτων ἐν Ἰτύκῃ ʼτοὺς· ἄλλους ἅπαντας ἀπὸ τῆς ἣττης ἐκήρυττε πέμπειν ἐπὶ θάλατταν· καὶ ἐμβιβάσας, εὔπλοιαν εὐξάμενος ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν, εἰς οἶκον ἐπανελθὼν ἑαυτὸν ἀπέσφαξε διδάξας ὑπὲρ τίνων δεῖ τὸν ἄρχοντα; τῷ φόβῳ χρῆσθαι καὶ τίνων δεῖ τὸν ἄρχοντα καταφρονεῖν.
And Cato in Utica proclaimed that all the others after the defeat should be sent to the sea; and having embarked them, and prayed for their prosperous voyage, returned home and killed himself, showing for whom the ruler ought to use fear and whom the ruler ought to despise.
Κλέαρχος δʼ ὁ Ποντικὸς τύραννος εἰς κιβωτὸν ἐνδυόμενος ὥσπερ ὄφις ἐκάθευδε.
But Clearchus, the tyrant of Pontus, would creep into a chest like a snake and sleep.
καὶ Ἀριστόδημος ὁ Ἀργεῖος εἰς ὑπερῷον οἴκημα θύραν ἔχον ἐπιρρακτήν, ἧς ἐπάνω τιθεὶς τὸ κλινίδιον ἐκάθευδε μετὰ τῆς ἑταίρας· ἡ δὲ μήτηρ ἐκείνης ὑφεῖλκε κάτωθεν τὸ κλιμάκιον, εἶθʼ ἡμέρας πάλιν προσετίθει φέρουσα.
And Aristodemus of Argos slept in an upper chamber which had a trapdoor, above which he placed his small bed and slept with his mistress; and her mother would pull away the ladder from below, and then in the daytime bring it back and set it up again.
πῶς οὗτος, οἴεσθε, τὸ θέατρον ἐπεφρίκει καὶ τὸ ἀρχεῖον, τὸ βουλευτήριον, τὸ συμπόσιον, ὁ τὸν θάλαμον ἑαυτῷ δεσμωτήριον πεποιηκώς;
How, think you, did this man shudder at the theater, the magistrate's hall, the council chamber, and the banquet, who had made his bedchamber a prison for himself?
τῷ γὰρ ὄντι δεδίασιν οἱ βασιλεῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀρχομένων, οἱ δὲ τύραννοι τοὺς ἀρχομένους διὸ δυνάμει τὸ δέος συναύξουσι πλειόνων γὰρ ἄρχοντες πλείονας φοβοῦνται.
For in truth, kings fear for their subjects, but tyrants fear their subjects; therefore they increase their fear along with their power, for ruling over more, they fear more.