§3.6ὅτι μὲν οὖν μεσότης ἐστὶ περὶ φόβους καὶ θάρρη, ἤδη φανερὸν γεγένηται·
That courage is a mean concerned with fears and confidence, then, has already become clear.
φοβούμεθα δὲ δῆλον ὅτι τὰ φοβερά, ταῦτα δʼ ἐστὶν ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν κακά·
And we fear, clearly, things that are fearful, and these are, to speak plainly, bad things.
διὸ καὶ τὸν φόβον ὁρίζονται προσδοκίαν κακοῦ.
Therefore people also define fear as the expectation of something bad.
φοβούμεθα μὲν οὖν πάντα τὰ κακά, οἷον ἀδοξίαν πενίαν νόσον ἀφιλίαν θάνατον, ἀλλʼ οὐ περὶ πάντα δοκεῖ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος εἶναι·
Now we fear all bad things, such as disgrace, poverty, disease, friendlessness, and death. But the courageous person does not seem to be concerned with all of them.
ἔνια γὰρ καὶ δεῖ φοβεῖσθαι καὶ καλόν, τὸ δὲ μὴ αἰσχρόν, οἷον ἀδοξίαν·
For some things indeed one ought to fear, and doing so is noble, while not doing so is disgraceful, such as disgrace.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ φοβούμενος ἐπιεικὴς καὶ αἰδήμων, ὁ δὲ μὴ φοβούμενος ἀναίσχυντος.
For he who fears this is decent and modest, whereas he who does not fear it is shameless.
λέγεται δʼ ὑπό τινων ἀνδρεῖος κατὰ μεταφοράν· ἔχει γάρ τι ὅμοιον τῷ ἀνδρείῳ· ἄφοβος γάρ τις καὶ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος.
He is called courageous by some by metaphor; for he has something similar to the courageous person, since the courageous person too is a sort of fearless person.
πενίαν δʼ ἴσως οὐ δεῖ φοβεῖσθαι οὐδὲ νόσον, οὐδʼ ὅλως ὅσα μὴ ἀπὸ κακίας μηδὲ διʼ αὑτόν.
Poverty, on the other hand, one ought perhaps not to fear, nor disease, nor generally whatever does not arise from vice or through oneself.
ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὁ περὶ ταῦτα ἄφοβος ἀνδρεῖος.
Yet not even he who is fearless concerning these is courageous.
λέγομεν δὲ καὶ τοῦτον καθʼ ὁμοιότητα· ἔνιοι γὰρ ἐν τοῖς πολεμικοῖς κινδύνοις δειλοὶ ὄντες ἐλευθέριοί εἰσι καὶ πρὸς χρημάτων ἀποβολὴν εὐθαρσῶς ἔχουσιν.
We speak of him too as such in virtue of a similarity; for some who are cowardly in the dangers of war are nevertheless liberal and are of good confidence in the face of loss of money.
οὐδὲ δὴ εἴ τις ὕβριν περὶ παῖδας καὶ γυναῖκα φοβεῖται ἢ φθόνον ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων, δειλός ἐστιν· οὐδʼ εἰ θαρρεῖ μέλλων μαστιγοῦσθαι, ἀνδρεῖος.
Nor indeed is someone cowardly if he fears insult to his children and wife, or envy, or any such thing; nor is he courageous if he is confident when about to be whipped.
περὶ ποῖα οὖν τῶν φοβερῶν ὁ ἀνδρεῖος;
Concerned with what kinds of fearful things, then, is the courageous person?
ἢ περὶ τὰ μέγιστα;
Surely with the greatest?
οὐθεὶς γὰρ ὑπομενετικώτερος τῶν δεινῶν.
For no one is more capable of enduring terrible things.
φοβερώτατον δʼ ὁ θάνατος· πέρας γάρ, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔτι τῷ τεθνεῶτι δοκεῖ οὔτʼ ἀγαθὸν οὔτε κακὸν εἶναι.
And death is the most fearful thing; for it is an end, and nothing more seems to be either good or bad for one who has died.
δόξειε δʼ ἂν οὐδὲ περὶ θάνατον τὸν ἐν παντὶ ὁ ἀνδρεῖος εἶναι, οἷον ἐν θαλάττῃ ἢ νόσοις.
Yet the courageous person would seem not to be concerned even with death under all circumstances, such as at sea or from diseases.
ἐν τίσιν οὖν;
In what kinds, then?
ἢ ἐν τοῖς καλλίστοις;
Surely in the most noble?
τοιοῦτοι δὲ οἱ ἐν πολέμῳ· ἐν μεγίστῳ γὰρ καὶ καλλίστῳ κινδύνῳ.
And such are those in war; for they are in the greatest and most noble danger.
ὁμόλογοι δὲ τούτοις εἰσὶ καὶ αἱ τιμαὶ αἱ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι καὶ παρὰ τοῖς μονάρχοις.
Agreeing with this are also the honors in city-states and among monarchs.
κυρίως δὴ λέγοιτʼ ἂν ἀνδρεῖος ὁ περὶ τὸν καλὸν θάνατον ἀδεής, καὶ ὅσα θάνατον ἐπιφέρει ὑπόγυια ὄντα· τοιαῦτα δὲ μάλιστα τὰ κατὰ πόλεμον.
Properly, then, one would be called courageous who is fearless concerning a noble death, and concerning all things that bring death when they are close at hand; and such things are especially those in war.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν θαλάττῃ καὶ ἐν νόσοις ἀδεὴς ὁ ἀνδρεῖος, οὐχ οὕτω δὲ ὡς οἱ θαλάττιοι·
Not but what the courageous person is also fearless at sea and in diseases, but not in the same way as sailors.
οἳ μὲν γὰρ ἀπεγνώκασι τὴν σωτηρίαν καὶ τὸν θάνατον τὸν τοιοῦτον δυσχεραίνουσιν, οἳ δὲ εὐέλπιδές εἰσι παρὰ τὴν ἐμπειρίαν.
For the former [courageous people] have given up hope of safety and are displeased at such a death, whereas the latter [sailors] are hopeful because of their experience.
ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἀνδρίζονται ἐν οἷς ἐστὶν ἀλκὴ ἢ καλὸν τὸ ἀποθανεῖν· ἐν ταῖς τοιαύταις δὲ φθοραῖς οὐδέτερον ὑπάρχει.
At the same time, people act courageously in situations where there is room for prowess or where dying is noble; but in such forms of destruction neither is present.