§2.21.9ἁρμόττει δὲ γνωμολογεῖν ἡλικίᾳ μὲν πρεσβυτέρων, περὶ δὲ τούτων ὧν ἔμπειρός τίς ἐστιν, ὥστε τὸ μὲν μὴ τηλικοῦτον ὄντα γνωμολογεῖν ἀπρεπὲς ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ μυθολογεῖν, περὶ δὲ ὧν ἄπειρος, ἠλίθιον καὶ ἀπαίδευτον.
Speaking in maxims is appropriate, in terms of age, to older men, and concerning those things in which one is experienced; so that for one who is not of such an age to speak in maxims is inappropriate, just like telling myths, and concerning things in which one is inexperienced, it is foolish and uneducated.
σημεῖον δὲ ἱκανόν· οἱ γὰρ ἀγροῖκοι μάλιστα γνωμοτύποι εἰσὶ καὶ ῥᾳδίως ἀποφαίνονται.
There is a sufficient sign of this: for rustics are the greatest maxim-mongers and readily make assertions.
§2.21.10καθόλου δὲ μὴ ὄντος καθόλου εἰπεῖν μάλιστα ἁρμόττει ἐν σχετλιασμῷ καὶ δεινώσει, καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἢ ἀρχόμενον ἢ ἀποδείξαντα.
To speak universally of what is not universal is especially appropriate in indignation and exaggeration, and in these cases either when beginning or after having demonstrated.
§2.21.11χρῆσθαι δὲ δεῖ καὶ ταῖς τεθρυλημέναις καὶ κοιναῖς γνώμαις, ἐὰν ὦσι χρήσιμοι· διὰ γὰρ τὸ εἶναι κοιναί, ὡς ὁμολογούντων πάντων, ὀρθῶς ἔχειν δοκοῦσιν, οἷον παρακαλοῦντι ἐπὶ τὸ κινδυνεύειν μὴ θυσαμένους
"
εἷς οἰωνὸς ἄριστος ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ πάτρης,
"
καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἥττους ὄντας
"
ξυνὸς Ἐνυάλιος,
"
καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀναιρεῖν τῶν ἐχθρῶν τὰ τέκνα καὶ μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντα
"
νήπιος ὃς πατέρα κτείνας παῖδας καταλείπει. "
And one must also use common and hackneyed maxims, if they are useful; for because they are common, since everyone agrees, they seem to be right, as for instance, for one exhorting to face danger without having sacrificed: "One omen is best, to fight for one's country, "and for those who are inferior: "Enyalius is common to all, "and for destroying the children of enemies when they have done no wrong: "Foolish is he who, having slain the father, leaves the children behind.
§2.21.12ἔτι ἔνιαι τῶν παροιμιῶν καὶ γνῶμαί εἰσιν, οἷον παροιμία
Ἀττικὸς πάροικος
.
"Moreover, some proverbs are also maxims, for instance the proverb: An Attic neighbor.
§2.21.13δεῖ δὲ τὰς γνώμας λέγειν καὶ παρὰ τὰ δεδημοσιευμένα (λέγω δὲ δεδημοσιευμένα οἷον τὸ
γνῶθι σαυτὸν
καὶ τὸ
μηδὲν ἄγαν
), ὅταν ἢ τὸ ἦθος φαίνεσθαι μέλλῃ βέλτιον ἢ παθητικῶς εἰρημένη.
One must also state maxims contrary to popularized sayings (I mean by popularized sayings such as 'know thyself' and 'nothing in excess'), whenever either the character is about to appear better or when spoken passionately.
ἔστι δὲ παθητικὴ μὲν οἷον εἴ τις ὀργιζόμενος φαίη ψεῦδος εἶναι ὡς δεῖ γιγνώσκειν αὑτόν· οὗτος γοῦν εἰ ἐγίγνωσκεν ἑαυτόν, οὐκ ἄν ποτε στρατηγεῖν ἠξίωσε· τὸ δὲ ἦθος βέλτιον, ὅτι οὐ δεῖ, ὥσπερ φασίν, φιλεῖν ὡς μισήσοντας, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον μισεῖν ὡς φιλήσοντας.
And it is spoken passionately, for instance, if someone in anger should say that it is false that one ought to know oneself: 'This man, at any rate, if he had known himself, would never have deemed himself worthy to be a general.' And the character is better, when [one says] that one ought not, as they say, to love as if one is going to hate, but rather to hate as if one is going to love.
§2.21.14δεῖ δὲ τῇ λέξει τὴν προαίρεσιν συνδηλοῦν, εἰ δὲ μή, τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιλέγειν, οἷον οὕτως εἰπόντα, ὅτι
δεῖ δὲ φιλεῖν οὐχ ὥσπερ φασίν, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀεὶ φιλήσοντα· ἐπιβούλου γὰρ θάτερον
, ἢ ὧδε,
οὐκ ἀρέσκει δέ μοι τὸ λεγόμενον· δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἀληθινὸν φίλον ὡς φιλήσοντα ἀεὶ φιλεῖν
, καὶ
οὐδὲ τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν· δεῖ γὰρ τούς γε κακοὺς ἄγαν μισεῖν
. §2.21.15ἔχουσι δʼ εἰς τοὺς λόγους βοήθειαν μεγάλην μίαν μὲν διὰ τὴν φορτικότητα τῶν ἀκροατῶν·
And one must make the choice manifest by the style of speech, or if not, append the reason, for instance by speaking thus: 'One must love, not as they say, but as one who will always love; for the other is the way of a treacherous man,' or in this way: 'The saying does not please me; for a true friend ought to love as one who will love always,' and 'nor does "nothing in excess" please me; for one must hate the wicked, at least, to excess.' They possess one great help for speeches, on the one hand, because of the uncultivated nature of the audience; for they rejoice if someone speaking universally hits upon the opinions which they hold in particular.
χαίρουσι γὰρ ἐάν τις καθόλου λέγων ἐπιτύχῃ τῶν δοξῶν ἃς ἐκεῖνοι κατὰ μέρος ἔχουσιν. ὃ δὲ λέγω δῆλον ἔσται ὧδε, ἅμα δὲ καὶ πῶς δεῖ αὐτὰς θηρεύειν.
What I mean will be clear in this way, and at the same time how one must hunt for them.
ἡ μὲν γὰρ γνώμη, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, ἀπόφανσις καθόλου ἐστίν, χαίρουσι δὲ καθόλου λεγομένου ὃ κατὰ μέρος προϋπολαμβάνοντες τυγχάνουσι·
For a maxim, as has been said, is a universal assertion, and they rejoice when a universal statement is made about what they happen to assume in particular.
οἷον εἴ τις γείτοσι τύχοι κεχρημένος ἢ τέκνοις φαύλοις, ἀποδέξαιτʼ ἂν τοῦ εἰπόντος ὅτι οὐδὲν γειτονίας χαλεπώτερον ἢ ὅτι οὐδὲν ἠλιθιώτερον τεκνοποιίας, ὥστε δεῖ στοχάζεσθαι ποῖα τυγχάνουσι προϋπολαμβάνοντες, εἶθʼ οὕτως περὶ τούτων καθόλου λέγειν.
For instance, if someone happens to have met with bad neighbors or foolish children, he would welcome it if someone said that nothing is more troublesome than neighborhood, or that nothing is more foolish than begetting children; so that one must aim at what they happen to assume beforehand, and then speak universally about these things.
§2.21.16ταύτην τε δὴ ἔχει μίαν χρῆσιν τὸ γνωμολογεῖν, καὶ ἑτέραν κρείττω· ἠθικοὺς γὰρ ποιεῖ τοὺς λόγους.
So speaking in maxims has this one use, and another better one: for it makes speeches ethical.
ἦθος δὲ ἔχουσιν οἱ λόγοι ἐν ὅσοις δήλη ἡ προαίρεσις· αἱ δὲ γνῶμαι πᾶσαι τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν διὰ τὸ ἀποφαίνεσθαι τὸν τὴν γνώμην λέγοντα καθόλου περὶ τῶν προαιρέσεων, ὥστε, ἂν χρησταὶ ὦσιν αἱ γνῶμαι, καὶ χρηστοήθη φαίνεσθαι ποιοῦσι τὸν λέγοντα.
Speeches have character in as many as make the choice clear; and all maxims do this because the one who speaks the maxim asserts universally concerning choices, so that, if the maxims are good, they also make the speaker appear of good character.
περὶ μὲν οὖν γνώμης, καὶ τί ἐστι καὶ πόσα εἴδη ταύτης καὶ πῶς χρηστέον αὐτῇ καὶ τίνα ὠφέλειαν ἔχει, εἰρήσθω ταῦτα.
Concerning maxims, then, both what it is and how many species of it there are, and how one must use it, and what benefit it has, let this much be said.