§1οἱ μὲν εἰωθότες, ὦ Νικόκλεις, τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ὑμῖν ἐσθῆτας ἄγειν ἢ χαλκὸν ἢ χρυσὸν εἰργασμένον ἢ τῶν ἄλλων τι τῶν τοιούτων κτημάτων, ὧν αὐτοὶ μὲν ἐνδεεῖς εἰσιν ὑμεῖς δὲ πλουτεῖτε, λίαν ἔδοξαν εἶναί μοι καταφανεῖς οὐ δόσιν ἀλλʼ ἐμπορίαν ποιούμενοι, καὶ πολὺ τεχνικώτερον αὐτὰ πωλοῦντες τῶν ὁμολογούντων καπηλεύειν·
Those who are accustomed, O Nicocles, to bring to you kings garments or worked bronze or gold, or any other of such possessions of which they themselves are in want but you have in abundance, have seemed to me to be all too clearly making not a gift but a trade, and selling these things much more craftily than those who avow themselves to be retail merchants.
§2ἡγησάμην δʼ ἂν γενέσθαι ταύτην καλλίστην δωρεὰν καὶ χρησιμωτάτην καὶ μάλιστα πρέπουσαν ἐμοί τε δοῦναι καὶ σοὶ λαβεῖν, εἰ δυνηθείην ὁρίσαι ποίων ἐπιτηδευμάτων ὀρεγόμενος καὶ τίνων ἀπεχόμενος ἄριστʼ ἂν καὶ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν διοικοίης.
But I thought that this would be the finest and most useful gift, and one most fitting for me to give and for you to receive, if I should be able to define by striving after what activities and abstaining from what others you might best administer both the city and the kingdom.
τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἰδιώτας ἐστὶ πολλὰ τὰ παιδεύοντα, μάλιστα μὲν τὸ μὴ τρυφᾶν ἀλλʼ ἀναγκάζεσθαι περὶ τοῦ βίου καθʼ ἑκάστην τὴν ἡμέραν βουλεύεσθαι, §3ἔπειθʼ οἱ νόμοι καθʼ οὓς ἕκαστοι πολιτευόμενοι τυγχάνουσιν, ἔτι δʼ ἡ παρρησία καὶ τὸ φανερῶς ἐξεῖναι τοῖς τε φίλοις ἐπιπλῆξαι καὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἐπιθέσθαι ταῖς ἀλλήλων ἁμαρτίαις· πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ τῶν ποιητῶν τινες τῶν προγεγενημένων ὑποθήκας ὡς χρὴ ζῆν καταλελοίπασιν· ὥστʼ ἐξ ἁπάντων τούτων εἰκὸς αὐτοὺς βελτίους γίγνεσθαι.
For as for private citizens, there are many things that educate them, above all the fact of not living in luxury but being compelled to take counsel for their livelihood day by day, and next, the laws according to which each of them happens to live as citizens, and further, the freedom of speech and the opportunity to rebuke friends openly and attack enemies for one another's errors; and in addition to these, some of the past poets have left counsels on how one ought to live; so that from all these things it is natural for them to become better.
§4τοῖς δὲ τυράννοις οὐδὲν ὑπάρχει τοιοῦτον, ἀλλʼ οὓς ἔδει παιδεύεσθαι μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων, ἐπειδὰν εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν καταστῶσιν, ἀνουθέτητοι διατελοῦσιν· οἱ μὲν γὰρ πλεῖστοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων αὐτοῖς οὐ πλησιάζουσιν, οἱ δὲ συνόντες πρὸς χάριν ὁμιλοῦσι.
But for tyrants, nothing of this sort exists, but those who ought to be educated more than others, when they are established in power, continue without admonition; for most men do not approach them, and those who associate with them converse to please them.
καὶ γὰρ τοι κύριοι γιγνόμενοι καὶ χρημάτων πλείστων καὶ πραγμάτων μεγίστων, διὰ τὸ μὴ καλῶς χρῆσθαι ταύταις ταῖς ἀφορμαῖς πεποιήκασιν ὥστε πολλοὺς ἀμφισβητεῖν, πότερόν ἐστιν ἄξιον ἑλέσθαι τὸν βίον τὸν τῶν ἰδιωτευόντων μὲν ἐπιεικῶς δὲ πραττόντων, ἢ τὸν τῶν τυραννευόντων.
And indeed, having become masters of both the greatest wealth and the most important affairs, because they do not use these resources well, they have caused many to dispute whether it is worth choosing the life of those who are private citizens but doing reasonably well, or that of those who rule as tyrants.
§5ὅταν μὲν γὰρ ἀποβλέψωσιν εἰς τὰς τιμὰς καὶ τοὺς πλούτους καὶ τὰς δυναστείας, ἰσοθέους ἅπαντες νομίζουσι τοὺς ἐν ταῖς μοναρχίαις ὄντας· ἐπειδὰν δʼ ἐνθυμηθῶσι τοὺς φόβους καὶ τοὺς κινδύνους, καὶ διεξιόντες ὁρῶσι τοὺς μὲν ὑφʼ ὧν ἥκιστα χρῆν διεφθαρμένους, τοὺς δʼ εἰς τοὺς οἰκειοτάτους ἐξαμαρτεῖν ἠναγκασμένους, τοῖς δʼ ἀμφότερα ταῦτα συμβεβηκότα, πάλιν ὁπωσοῦν ζῆν ἡγοῦνται λυσιτελεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ μετὰ τοιούτων συμφορῶν ἁπάσης τῆς Ἀσίας βασιλεύειν.
For when they look at the honors, the wealth, and the powers, all regard those who are in monarchies as equal to the gods; but when they consider the fears and the dangers, and as they go through them see some destroyed by those by whom they least of all should have been, and others forced to commit crimes against their nearest kin, and others to whom both of these have happened, they think, on the contrary, that it is more profitable to live in any way whatsoever than to rule over the whole of Asia with such misfortunes.
§6ταύτης δὲ τῆς ἀνωμαλίας καὶ τῆς ταραχῆς αἴτιόν ἐστιν, ὅτι τὴν βασιλείαν ὥσπερ ἱερωσύνην παντὸς ἀνδρὸς εἶναι νομίζουσιν, ὃ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων μέγιστόν ἐστι καὶ πλείστης προνοίας δεόμενον.
The cause of this inconsistency and confusion is that they regard the kingship as if it were a priesthood, open to any man, whereas it is the greatest of human undertakings and requires the greatest foresight.
καθʼ ἑκάστην μὲν οὖν τὴν πρᾶξιν, ἐξ ὧν ἄν τις μάλιστα δύναιτο κατὰ τρόπον διοικεῖν καὶ τὰ μὲν ἀγαθὰ διαφυλάττειν τὰς δὲ συμφορὰς διαφεύγειν, τῶν ἀεὶ παρόντων ἔργον ἐστὶ συμβουλεύειν· καθʼ ὅλων δὲ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, ὧν χρὴ στοχάζεσθαι καὶ περὶ ἃ δεῖ διατρίβειν, ἐγὼ πειράσομαι διελθεῖν.
Now, in each particular action, advising on how one might best administer affairs properly, preserve benefits, and escape misfortunes, is the task of those who are present from time to time; but concerning the overall activities which one ought to aim at and in which one must spend one's time, I will endeavor to discuss them fully.
§7εἰ μὲν οὖν ἔσται τὸ δῶρον ἐξεργασθὲν ἄξιον τῆς ὑποθέσεως, χαλεπὸν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς συνιδεῖν· πολλὰ γὰρ καὶ τῶν μετὰ μέτρου ποιημάτων καὶ τῶν καταλογάδην συγγραμμάτων ἔτι μὲν ἐν ταῖς διανοίαις ὄντα τῶν συντιθέντων μεγάλας τὰς προσδοκίας παρέσχεν, ἐπιτελεσθέντα δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπιδειχθέντα πολὺ καταδεεστέραν τὴν δόξαν τῆς ἐλπίδος ἔλαβεν.
Whether, then, this gift when completed will be worthy of its subject, is difficult to see from the beginning; for many compositions, both in verse and in prose, while still in the minds of those who compose them, have aroused great expectations, but when finished and displayed to others, have received a reputation far inferior to their hope.
§8οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τό γʼ ἐπιχείρημα καλῶς ἔχει, τὸ ζητεῖν τὰ παραλελειμμένα καὶ νομοθετεῖν ταῖς μοναρχίαις·
Nevertheless, the attempt at least is noble—to seek out what has been passed over and to lay down laws for monarchies.
οἱ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς ἰδιώτας παιδεύοντες ἐκείνους μόνον ὠφελοῦσιν· εἰ δέ τις τοὺς κρατοῦντας τοῦ πλήθους ἐπʼ ἀρετὴν προτρέψειεν, ἀμφοτέρους ἂν ὀνήσειε, καὶ τοὺς τὰς δυναστείας ἔχοντας καὶ τοὺς ὑπʼ αὐτοῖς ὄντας· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἂν τὰς ἀρχὰς ἀσφαλεστέρας, τοῖς δὲ τὰς πολιτείας πραοτέρας ποιήσειεν.
For those who educate private citizens benefit them alone; but if anyone should exhort those who rule over the multitude toward virtue, he would benefit both, those who possess the power and those who are under them; for he would make the rule safer for the former, and the government gentler for the latter.