§5.67.1παντὸς δὲ μάλιστα σκοπεῖν αὐτοὺς ἠξίου καινὴν καθισταμένους πολιτείαν, ὅπως μηθὲν εἰς αὐτὴν παρελεύσεται πονηρὸν ἔθος, πολλὴν ἀνάγκην εἶναι λέγων ὁποἶ ἄττʼ ἂν ᾖ τὰ κοινὰ τῶν πόλεων ἐπιτηδεύματα, τοιούτους γίνεσθαι τοὺς τῶν ἰδιωτῶν βίους.
Above all things, he urged them, as they were establishing a new constitution, to see to it that no evil custom should creep into it, saying that it was a matter of great necessity that, whatever the public habits of cities might be, of such a character did the lives of private individuals become.
ἔθος δʼ εἶναι οὐδὲν κάκιον οὔτε πόλεσιν οὔτε οἴκοις τοῦ καθʼ ἡδονὰς ἀεὶ ζῆν ἕκαστον καὶ τοῦ πάντα συγχωρεῖσθαι τοῖς ἥττοσιν ὑπὸ τῶν κρειττόνων, εἴτε πρὸς χάριν εἴτε πρὸς ἀνάγκην· οὐ γὰρ ἀποπληροῦσθαι τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῶν ἀφρόνων τυγχανούσας ὧν ἂν δεηθῶσιν, ἀλλʼ ἑτέρων εὐθὺς ὀρέγεσθαι μειζόνων καὶ εἰς ἄπειρον προβαίνειν· μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο πάσχειν τοὺς ὄχλους·
And he said that there was no custom worse either for cities or for families than for each individual to live always according to his pleasures and for everything to be conceded to the inferiors by the superiors, whether out of favor or out of necessity; for the desires of the foolish are not satisfied when they obtain what they may have requested, but they immediately reach out for other greater things and proceed to infinity; and that the crowds suffer this most of all.
ἃ γὰρ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστος αἰσχύνεται πράττειν ἢ δέδιεν ὑπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος κατειργόμενος, ταῦτʼ ἐν κοινῷ γενομένους ἑτοιμότερον παρανομεῖν προσειληφότας ἰσχὺν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν γνώμαις ἐκ τῶν τὰ ὅμοια βουλομένων.
For what things each individual by himself is ashamed to do or fears, being restrained by his superior, these things they commit lawlessly more readily when they are in a body, having added strength to their own opinions from those who desire similar things.
§5.67.2ἀπληρώτους δὲ καὶ ἀορίστους ὑπαρχούσας τὰς τῶν ἀνοήτων ὄχλων ἐπιθυμίας ἀρχομένας ἔφη δεῖν κωλύειν, ἕως εἰσὶν ἀσθενεῖς, οὐχ, ὅταν ἰσχυραὶ καὶ μεγάλαι δύνωνται, καθαιρεῖν.
And he said that one must prevent the desires of the foolish crowds, which are insatiable and unlimited, when they are beginning, while they are still weak, and not to pull them down when they have become strong and great.
χαλεπωτέραν γὰρ ὀργὴν ἅπαντας ἔχειν τῶν συγχωρηθέντων στερομένους ἢ τῶν ἐλπιζομένων μὴ τυγχάνοντας.
For all men feel a more severe anger when they are deprived of what has been conceded to them than when they fail to obtain what they had hoped for.
§5.67.3παραδείγμασί τε πολλοῖς εἰς τοῦτʼ ἐχρήσατο πόλεων Ἑλληνίδων ἔργα διεξιών, ὅσαι μαλακισθεῖσαι διʼ ἀκαιρούς τινας ἀφορμὰς καὶ πονηρῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἀρχὰς ἐφεῖσαι παρελθεῖν οὐκέτι παῦσαι καὶ ἀνελεῖν αὐτὰ δύναμιν ἔσχον· ἐξ ὧν εἰς αἰσχρὰς καὶ ἀνηκέστους ἠναγκάσθησαν προελθεῖν συμφοράς.
And he used many examples for this, recounting the deeds of Greek cities, as many as, having grown soft through certain untimely opportunities and having permitted the beginnings of evil practices to enter in, no longer had the power to stop and abolish them; from which they were forced to advance into shameful and incurable disasters.
ἐοικέναι τε τῷ καθʼ ἕνα τὸ κοινὸν ἔφη, ψυχῇ μὲν ἀνδρὸς ἀνάλογον ἐχούσης τι τῆς βουλῆς, §5.67.4σώματι δὲ τοῦ δήμου.
And he said that the state resembles an individual, since the senate has something analogous to the soul of a man, and the people to the body.
ἐὰν μὲν οὖν τῆς βουλῆς τὸν ἄφρονα δῆμον ἄρχειν ἐῶσιν, ὅμοια πείσεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἔφη τοῖς ὑποτάττουσι τὴν ψυχὴν τῷ σώματι καὶ μὴ κατὰ τὸν λογισμόν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὰ πάθη ζῶσιν.
If, therefore, they permit the foolish people to rule over the senate, he said they would experience the same fate as those who subject the soul to the body and live not according to reason, but according to their passions.
ἐὰν δʼ ἄρχεσθαί τε καὶ ἄγεσθαι τὸν δῆμον συνεθίζωσιν ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς, ταὐτὸ ποιήσουσι τοῖς ὑποτάττουσι τῇ ψυχῇ τὸ σῶμα καὶ πρὸς τὸ βέλτιστον, ἀλλὰ μὴ §5.67.5πρὸς τὸ ἥδιστον τοὺς βίους ἄγουσι.
But if they accustom the people to be ruled and guided by the senate, they will do the same as those who subject the body to the soul and direct their lives toward what is best, and not toward what is most pleasant.
βλάβην δὲ μεγάλην οὐδεμίαν ἀπέφαινε συμβήσεσθαι τῇ πόλει, ἐὰν οἱ πένητες ἀγανακτοῦντες ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ συγχωρηθῆναι σφίσι τὴν χρεοκοπίαν μὴ θελήσωσιν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς τὰ ὅπλα ἀναλαβεῖν, ὀλίγους τινὰς εἶναι λέγων παντάπασι τοὺς μηδὲν ὑπολειπομένους ἑαυτοῖς ἔξω τοῦ σώματος, οὓς οὔτʼ ὠφέλειάν τινα παρέξεσθαι τῷ κοινῷ θαυμαστὴν ὅσην παρόντας ταῖς στρατείαις, οὔτε βλάβην ἀπόντας· ὑπομιμνήσκων αὐτούς, ὅτι τὴν ἐσχάτην ἀπελάμβανον ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις χώραν οἱ τοὐλάχιστον ἔχοντες τοῦ βίου τίμημα, καὶ ὅτι προσθήκης μοῖραν ἐπεῖχον οὗτοι τοῖς ἐν φάλαγγι τεταγμένοις, καταπλήξεως ἕνεκα τῶν πολεμίων συνόντες, οἷα δὴ μηδὲν φέροντες ὅπλον ὅτι μὴ σφενδόνας, ὧν ἐλάχιστον ἐν ταῖς μάχαις εἶναι ὄφελος.
And he declared that no great harm would happen to the city if the poor, being angry at the fact that the cancellation of debts was not granted to them, should refuse to take up arms on its behalf, saying that those who had nothing left to themselves besides their body were altogether very few, who would neither render any wonderfully great service to the state when present in the campaigns, nor any harm when absent; reminding them that those who had the smallest property-rating in life received the lowest place in wars, and that these held the place of an appendage to those drawn up in the phalanx, being present for the sake of terrifying the enemy, inasmuch as they carried no weapon except slings, of which there is the least use in battles.