§8ἤδη γάρ μοι πρὸς τοὺς εὐπορωτέρους καὶ μαλακωτέρους ὁ λόγος ἔστι, τοὺς λέγοντας
ἄδουλος οὖν γένωμαι καὶ ἀνέστιος καὶ ἄοικος; ὥσπερ εἰ λέγοι πρὸς ἰατρὸν ἄρρωστος ὑδρωπιῶν καὶ ᾠδηκώς
ἰσχνὸς οὖν γένωμαι καὶ κενός; τί δʼ οὐ μέλλεις, ἵνʼ ὑγιαίνῃς;
For my discourse is now directed towards the wealthier and softer class of people, those who say: 'Am I then to become slaveless, hearthless, and homeless?' Just as if a patient swollen with dropsy should say to a doctor: 'Am I then to become thin and empty?' Why should you not, so that you may be healthy?
καὶ σὺ γενοῦ ἄδουλος, ἵνα μὴ δοῦλος ᾖς· καὶ ἀκτήμων, ἵνα μὴ κτῆμʼ ᾖς ἄλλου.
You too, become slaveless, so that you may not be a slave; and possessionless, so that you may not be another's possession.
καὶ τὸν τῶν γυπῶν λόγον ἄκουσον ἐμοῦντος τοῦ ἑτέρου καὶ λέγοντος τὰ σπλάγχνʼ ἐκβάλλειν, ἕτερος παρὼν
καὶ τί δεινόν; εἶπεν
οὐ γὰρ τὰ σεαυτοῦ σπλάγχνʼ ἐκβάλλεις, ἀλλὰ τὰ τοῦ νεκροῦ ὃν ἄρτι ἐσπαράττομεν. καὶ τῶν χρεωστῶν οὐ πωλεῖ ἕκαστος τὸ ἑαυτοῦ χωρίον οὐδὲ τὴν ἰδίαν οἰκίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ δανείσαντος ὃν τῷ νόμῳ κύριον αὐτῶν πεποίηκε.
And hear the story of the vultures: when one was vomiting and said he was casting up his entrails, the other, who was present, said: 'And what is terrible about that?' 'For you are not casting up your own entrails, but those of the corpse we were just tearing apart.' And so of debtors, each one sells not his own field or his own house, but those of the creditor, whom by law he has made master of them.
νὴ Δία
φησὶν
ἀλλʼ ὁ πατήρ μου τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦτον κατέλιπε
καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ τὴν ἐπιτιμίαν ὁ πατὴρ ἔδωκεν, ὧν σε δεῖ λόγον ἔχειν πλείονα.
'By Zeus,' someone says, 'but my father left me this field!' Yes, and your father also gave you freedom and civic rights, of which you ought to have greater regard.
καὶ τὸν πόδα καὶ τὴν χεῖρʼ ὁ γεννήσας ἐποίησεν, ἀλλʼ ὅταν σαπῇ, μισθὸν δίδως τῷ ἀποκόπτοντι.
And your father made your foot and your hand, but when they decay, you pay a fee to the one who cuts them off.
τῷ δʼ Ὀδυσσεῖ τὴν ἐσθῆτα ἡ Καλυψὼ περιέθηκεν
εἵματʼ ἀμφιέσασα θυώδεα
χρωτὸς ἀθανάτου πνέοντα, δῶρα καὶ μνημόσυνα τῆς φιλίας ὄντα τῆς ἐκείνης ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ περιτραπεὶς καὶ βυθισθεὶς μόλις ἀνέσχε, τῆς ἐσθῆτος γενομένης διαβρόχου καὶ βαρείας, ἐκείνην μὲν ἔρριψεν ἀποδυσάμενος, κρηδέμνῳ δέ τινι γυμνὸν ὑποζώσας τὸ στέρνον
"
νῆχε παρὲξ ἐς γαῖαν ὁρώμενος
"
καὶ διασωθεὶς οὔτʼ ἐσθῆτος οὔτε τροφῆς ἠπόρησε.
Calypso wrapped Odysseus in clothing, 'clothing him in fragrant garments' that breathed of immortal skin, being gifts and memorials of her friendship; but when he was overturned and submerged, and with difficulty emerged, the clothing having become soaked and heavy, he stripped it off and threw it away, and binding a certain veil under his naked breast, 'he swam along, looking towards the land.' And having been saved, he lacked neither clothing nor food.
τί οὖν;
What then?
οὐ γίγνεται χειμὼν περὶ τοὺς χρεώστας, ὅταν ἐπιστῇ διὰ χρόνου δανειστὴς λέγων
ἀπόδος;
Does not a storm arise around debtors when, after a time, a creditor stands before them saying: 'Pay back'?
"
ὣς εἰπὼν σύναγεν νεφέλας, ἐτάραξε δὲ πόντον· σὺν δʼ εὖρός τε νότος τʼ ἔπεσε ζέφυρός τε δυσαής
"
τόκων τόκοις ἐπικυλισθέντων ὁ δὲ συγκλυζόμενος ἀντέχεται τῶν βαρυνόντων, ἀπονήξασθαι καὶ φυγεῖν μὴ δυνάμενος·
'So speaking, he gathered the clouds and troubled the sea; and the East Wind and the South Wind fell upon it together, and the fierce-blowing West Wind,' as interest rolls upon interest.
ἀλλʼ ὠθεῖται κατὰ βυθοῦ, μετὰ τῶν ἐγγυησαμένων φίλων ἀφανιζόμενος.
And he who is overwhelmed by the waves clings to the things that weigh him down, unable to swim away and escape; but he is pushed down into the deep, disappearing along with the friends who went surety for him.
Κράτης δʼ ὁ Θηβαῖος ὑπʼ οὐδενὸς ἀπαιτούμενος οὐδʼ ὀφείλων, αὐτὰς δὲ τὰς οἰκονομίας; καὶ φροντίδας καὶ περισπασμοὺς δυσχεραίνων, ἀφῆκεν οὐσίαν ὀκτὼ ταλάντων, καὶ τρίβωνα καὶ πήραν ἀναλαβὼν εἰς φιλοσοφίαν καὶ πενίαν κατέφυγεν.
But Crates the Theban, though demanded by no one and owing nothing, but being displeased with domestic management, cares, and distractions, gave up an estate of eight talents, and taking up a cloak and a wallet, fled to philosophy and poverty.
Ἀναξαγόρας δὲ τὴν. χώραν κατέλιπε μηλόβοτον.
And Anaxagoras left his land for sheep to graze.
καὶ τί δεῖ τούτους λέγειν, ὅπου Φιλόξενος ὁ μελοποιὸς ἐν ἀποικίᾳ Σικελικῇ, κλήρου μετασχὼν καὶ βίου καὶ οἴκου πολλὴν εὐπορίαν ἔχοντος, ὁρῶν δὲ τρυφὴν καὶ ἡδυπάθειαν καὶ ἀμουσίαν ἐπιχωριάζουσαν
μὰ τοὺς θεούς
εἶπεν
ἐμὲ ταῦτα τἀγαθὰ οὐκ ἀπολεῖ, ἀλλ̓
ἐγὼ ταῦτα· καὶ καταλιπὼν ἑτέροις τὸν κλῆρον ἐξέπλευσεν.
And why is there need to speak of these men, when Philoxenus the lyric poet, in a Sicilian colony, having shared in an allotment, a life, and a house that possessed great wealth, but seeing luxury, voluptuousness, and lack of culture prevailing in the place, said: 'By the gods, these "good things" shall not destroy me, but I them!' and leaving his allotment to others, sailed away.
οἱ δʼ ὀφείλοντες ἀπαιτούμενοι δασμολογούμενοι. δουλεύοντες ὑπαργυρεύοντες ἀνέχονται, καρτεροῦσιν, ὡς ὁ Φινεὺς, Ἁρπυίας τινὰς ὑποπτέρους βόσκοντες, αἳ φέρουσι τὴν τροφὴν καὶ διαρπάζουσιν, οὐ καθʼ ὥραν ἀλλὰ πρὶν θερισθῆναι τὸν σῖτον ὠνούμενοι, καὶ πρὶν ἢ πεσεῖν τὴν ἐλαίαν ἀγοράζοντες τοὔλαιον καὶ
τὸν οἶνον ἔχω
φησὶ
τοσούτου
καὶ πρόσγραφον ἔδωκε τῆς τιμῆς ὁ δὲ βότρυς κρέμαται καὶ προσπέφυκεν ἔτι τὸν ἀρκτοῦρον ἐκδεχόμενος.
But debtors endure and persist when they are demanded and taxed and enslaved and made to serve for money, like Phineus feeding certain winged Harpies who carry away and plunder their food—buying wheat not in its season but before it is harvested, and buying oil before the olive falls, and 'I have the wine,' says the creditor, 'at such a price,' and gives a receipt for the price, while the bunch of grapes still hangs and grows, waiting for Arcturus.