§5.469ἀλλʼ οὐ πεισόμεθα Ἡσιόδῳ, ἐπειδάν τινες τοῦ τοιούτου γένους τελευτήσωσιν, ὡς ἄρα—
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οἱ μὲν δαίμονες ἁγνοὶ ἐπιχθόνιοι τελέθουσιν,
ἐσθλοί, ἀλεξίκακοι, φύλακες μερόπων ἀνθρώπων; "
πεισόμεθα μὲν οὖν. διαπυθόμενοι ἄρα τοῦ θεοῦ πῶς χρὴ τοὺς δαιμονίους τε καὶ θείους τιθέναι καὶ τίνι διαφόρῳ, οὕτω καὶ ταύτῃ θήσομεν ᾗ ἂν ἐξηγῆται; τί δʼ οὐ μέλλομεν; καὶ τὸν λοιπὸν δὴ χρόνον ὡς δαιμόνων, οὕτω θεραπεύσομέν τε καὶ προσκυνήσομεν αὐτῶν τὰς θήκας;
“But shall we not believe Hesiod, when any of this race die, that they indeed— ‘Become holy daimones on earth, good, warders-off of evil, guardians of mortal men’?” “Indeed we shall.” “Shall we, then, inquire of the god how we ought to bury these daemonic and divine men and with what distinction, and so bury them in that way in which he directs?” “Of course we shall.” “And for the remaining time, shall we care for and worship their tombs as those of daimones?
ταὐτὰ δὲ ταῦτα νομιοῦμεν ὅταν τις γήρᾳ ἤ τινι ἄλλῳ τρόπῳ τελευτήσῃ τῶν ὅσοι ἂν διαφερόντως ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἀγαθοὶ κριθῶσιν; δίκαιον γοῦν, ἔφη. τί δέ; πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους πῶς ποιήσουσιν ἡμῖν οἱ στρατιῶται;
And we shall establish the same customs whenever anyone dies of old age or in any other way of those who have been judged outstandingly good in life, shall we not?” “It is indeed just,” he said. “But what about the enemies?
τὸ ποῖον δή; πρῶτον μὲν ἀνδραποδισμοῦ πέρι, δοκεῖ δίκαιον Ἕλληνας Ἑλληνίδας πόλεις ἀνδραποδίζεσθαι, ἢ μηδʼ ἄλλῃ ἐπιτρέπειν κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν καὶ τοῦτο ἐθίζειν, τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ γένους φείδεσθαι, εὐλαβουμένους τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων δουλείαν; ὅλῳ καὶ παντί, ἔφη, διαφέρει τὸ φείδεσθαι. μηδὲ Ἕλληνα ἄρα δοῦλον ἐκτῆσθαι μήτε αὐτούς, τοῖς τε ἄλλοις Ἕλλησιν οὕτω συμβουλεύειν; πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη· μᾶλλόν γʼ ἂν οὖν οὕτω πρὸς τοὺς βαρβάρους τρέποιντο, ἑαυτῶν δʼ ἀπέχοιντο. τί δέ; σκυλεύειν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, τοὺς τελευτήσαντας πλὴν ὅπλων, ἐπειδὰν νικήσωσιν, ἦ καλῶς ἔχει;
How will our soldiers act?” “In what respect?” “First, concerning enslavement, does it seem just that Greeks should enslave Greek cities, or should they not even permit another to do so as far as they can, and make it a habit to spare the Greek race, fearing enslavement by the barbarians?” “Sparing is entirely and in every way superior,” he said. “They should, then, not possess a Greek slave themselves, and should advise the other Greeks to do the same?” “Certainly,” he said; “in this way they would rather turn against the barbarians and hold off from one another.” “And what about stripping the dead,” I said, “of everything except their weapons after a victory? Is it well?
ἢ οὐ πρόφασιν μὲν τοῖς δειλοῖς ἔχει μὴ πρὸς τὸν μαχόμενον ἰέναι, ὥς τι τῶν δεόντων δρῶντας ὅταν περὶ τὸν τεθνεῶτα κυπτάζωσι, πολλὰ δὲ ἤδη στρατόπεδα διὰ τὴν τοιαύτην ἁρπαγὴν ἀπώλετο;
Or does it not give a pretext to cowards not to go against the fighting enemy, as though they were doing something necessary when they are crouching around the corpse?
καὶ μάλα. ἀνελεύθερον δὲ οὐ δοκεῖ καὶ φιλοχρήματον νεκρὸν συλᾶν, καὶ γυναικείας τε καὶ σμικρᾶς διανοίας τὸ πολέμιον νομίζειν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ τεθνεῶτος ἀποπταμένου τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, λελοιπότος δὲ ᾧ ἐπολέμει;
And have not many armies already been destroyed because of such plundering?” “Indeed so.” “And does it not seem illiberal and money-loving to despoil a corpse, and of a womanish and small mind to regard the body of the deceased as an enemy when the foe has flown away, leaving behind that with which he was fighting?
ἢ οἴει τι διάφορον δρᾶν τοὺς τοῦτο ποιοῦντας τῶν κυνῶν, αἳ τοῖς λίθοις οἷς ἂν βληθῶσι χαλεπαίνουσι, τοῦ βάλλοντος οὐχ ἁπτόμεναι; οὐδὲ σμικρόν, ἔφη. ἐατέον ἄρα τὰς νεκροσυλίας καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀναιρέσεων διακωλύσεις; ἐατέον μέντοι, ἔφη, νὴ Δία.
Or do you think those who do this act any differently from dogs, which get angry at the stones they are hit with, but do not touch the thrower?” “Not in the least,” he said. “We must then abandon the plundering of corpses and the prevention of recovering the dead for burial?” “We must indeed, by Zeus,” he said.
§5.470οὐδὲ μήν που πρὸς τὰ ἱερὰ τὰ ὅπλα οἴσομεν ὡς ἀναθήσοντες, ἄλλως τε καὶ τὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ἐάν τι ἡμῖν μέλῃ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕλληνας εὐνοίας·
“Nor indeed shall we bring weapons to the temples to dedicate them, especially those of Greeks, if we care at all for goodwill toward other Greeks.
μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ φοβησόμεθα μή τι μίασμα ᾖ πρὸς ἱερὸν τὰ τοιαῦτα ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων φέρειν, ἐὰν μή τι δὴ ὁ θεὸς ἄλλο λέγῃ. ὀρθότατα, ἔφη. τί δὲ γῆς τε τμήσεως τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς καὶ οἰκιῶν ἐμπρήσεως; ποῖόν τί σοι δράσουσιν οἱ στρατιῶται πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους;
Rather we shall even fear lest it be some defilement to bring such things to a temple from our own kin, unless the god should direct otherwise.” “Most correct,” he said. “And what about the ravaging of Greek land and the burning of houses?
σοῦ, ἔφη, δόξαν ἀποφαινομένου ἡδέως ἂν ἀκούσαιμι. ἐμοὶ μὲν τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, δοκεῖ τούτων μηδέτερα ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐπέτειον καρπὸν ἀφαιρεῖσθαι.
How will your soldiers act toward their enemies?” “I would gladly hear,” he said, “your opinion declared.” “To me, then,” I said, “it seems right to do neither of these, but to take away only the annual harvest.
καὶ ὧν ἕνεκα, βούλει σοι λέγω; πάνυ γε. φαίνεταί μοι, ὥσπερ καὶ ὀνομάζεται δύο ταῦτα ὀνόματα, πόλεμός τε καὶ στάσις, οὕτω καὶ εἶναι δύο, ὄντα ἐπὶ δυοῖν τινοιν διαφοραῖν.
And do you wish me to tell you why?” “By all means.” “It appears to me, just as they are named by two distinct names, war and factional strife, so too they are two distinct things, existing in relation to two distinct kinds of disagreement.
λέγω δὲ τὰ δύο τὸ μὲν οἰκεῖον καὶ συγγενές, τὸ δὲ ἀλλότριον καὶ ὀθνεῖον.
I call the two things: one friendly and kindred, the other foreign and alien.
ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῇ τοῦ οἰκείου ἔχθρᾳ στάσις κέκληται, ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου πόλεμος. καὶ οὐδέν γε, ἔφη, ἀπὸ τρόπου λέγεις.
Now, in the case of enmity with one’s own, it is called factional strife, but in the case of enmity with the foreign, war.” “And your speech is not at all off the mark,” he said.
ὅρα δὴ καὶ εἰ τόδε πρὸς τρόπου λέγω.
“See then if this next point is also on the mark.
φημὶ γὰρ τὸ μὲν Ἑλληνικὸν γένος αὐτὸ αὑτῷ οἰκεῖον εἶναι καὶ συγγενές, τῷ δὲ βαρβαρικῷ ὀθνεῖόν τε καὶ ἀλλότριον. καλῶς γε, ἔφη. Ἕλληνας μὲν ἄρα βαρβάροις καὶ βαρβάρους Ἕλλησι πολεμεῖν μαχομένους τε φήσομεν καὶ πολεμίους φύσει εἶναι, καὶ πόλεμον τὴν ἔχθραν ταύτην κλητέον· Ἕλληνας δὲ Ἕλλησιν, ὅταν τι τοιοῦτον δρῶσιν, φύσει μὲν φίλους εἶναι, νοσεῖν δʼ ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ στασιάζειν, καὶ στάσιν τὴν τοιαύτην ἔχθραν κλητέον. ἐγὼ μέν, ἔφη, συγχωρῶ οὕτω νομίζειν. σκόπει δή, εἶπον, ὅτι ἐν τῇ νῦν ὁμολογουμένῃ στάσει, ὅπου ἄν τι τοιοῦτον γένηται καὶ διαστῇ πόλις, ἐὰν ἑκάτεροι ἑκατέρων τέμνωσιν ἀγροὺς καὶ οἰκίας ἐμπιμπρῶσιν, ὡς ἀλιτηριώδης τε δοκεῖ ἡ στάσις εἶναι καὶ οὐδέτεροι αὐτῶν φιλοπόλιδες—οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε ἐτόλμων τὴν τροφόν τε καὶ μητέρα κείρειν—ἀλλὰ μέτριον εἶναι τοὺς καρποὺς ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τοῖς κρατοῦσι τῶν κρατουμένων, καὶ διανοεῖσθαι ὡς διαλλαγησομένων καὶ οὐκ ἀεὶ πολεμησόντων. πολὺ γάρ, ἔφη, ἡμερωτέρων αὕτη ἡ διάνοια ἐκείνης. τί δὲ δή; ἔφην· ἣν σὺ πόλιν οἰκίζεις, οὐχ Ἑλληνὶς ἔσται; δεῖ γʼ αὐτήν, ἔφη. οὐκοῦν καὶ ἀγαθοί τε καὶ ἥμεροι ἔσονται; σφόδρα γε. ἀλλʼ οὐ φιλέλληνες;
For I assert that the Greek race is friendly and kindred to itself, but foreign and alien to the barbarian.” “Beautifully said,” he said. “We shall then say that Greeks fight barbarians and barbarians fight Greeks, and that they are enemies by nature, and this enmity is to be called war; but when Greeks do any such thing to Greeks, they are friends by nature, but in such a case Greece is sick and in a state of factional strife, and such enmity is to be called factional strife.” “I agree,” he said, “to view it in this way.” “Observe then,” I said, “that in the now acknowledged factional strife, wherever such a thing occurs and a city is divided, if each side ravages the fields and burns the houses of the other, how impious the strife appears and neither side seems to love their city—for they would never have dared to ravage their nurse and mother—but it is moderate for the victors to take away the crops from the vanquished, and to mind that they will be reconciled and not fight forever.” “Indeed, this mindset is far gentler than that one,” he said. “And what about this?” I said. “The city you are founding, will it not be a Greek city?” “It must be,” he said. “Will they not, then, be both good and gentle?” “Very much so.” “And will they not be lovers of Greece?
οὐδὲ οἰκείαν τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἡγήσονται, οὐδὲ κοινωνήσουσιν ὧνπερ οἱ ἄλλοι ἱερῶν; καὶ σφόδρα γε.
And will they not regard Greece as their home, and share in the same sacred rites as the others?” “Most assuredly.”