§2.8.1καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ χαρίζεσθαι καὶ ἀχαριστεῖν εἴρηται· ποῖα δʼ ἐλεεινὰ καὶ τίνας ἐλεοῦσι, καὶ πῶς αὐτοὶ ἔχοντες, λέγωμεν.
And we have spoken of showing kindness and being void of kindness; let us now state what things are pitiable, and whom people pity, and in what state they themselves are when they do so.
§2.8.2ἔστω δὴ ἔλεος λύπη τις ἐπὶ φαινομένῳ κακῷ φθαρτικῷ ἢ λυπηρῷ τοῦ ἀναξίου τυγχάνειν, ὃ κἂν αὐτὸς προσδοκήσειεν ἂν παθεῖν ἢ τῶν αὑτοῦ τινα, καὶ τοῦτο ὅταν πλησίον φαίνηται·
Let pity then be a kind of pain at an apparent evil, destructive or painful, befalling one who does not deserve it, which one might expect to suffer oneself or that one of one's own people would, and this when it appears near.
δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ἀνάγκη τὸν μέλλοντα ἐλεήσειν ὑπάρχειν τοιοῦτον οἷον οἴεσθαι παθεῖν ἄν τι κακὸν ἢ αὐτὸν ἢ τῶν αὑτοῦ τινα, καὶ τοιοῦτο κακὸν οἷον εἴρηται ἐν τῷ ὅρῳ ἢ ὅμοιον ἢ παραπλήσιον·
For it is clear that anyone who is going to feel pity must be such as to think that he himself or one of his own people is liable to suffer some evil, and such an evil as has been described in the definition, or one similar or near to it.
§2.8.3διὸ οὔτε οἱ παντελῶς ἀπολωλότες ἐλεοῦσιν (οὐδὲν γὰρ ἂν ἔτι παθεῖν οἴονται· πεπόνθασι γάρ), οὔτε οἱ ὑπερευδαιμονεῖν οἰόμενοι, ἀλλʼ ὑβρίζουσιν· εἰ γὰρ ἅπαντα οἴονται ὑπάρχειν τἀγαθά, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ τὸ μὴ ἐνδέχεσθαι παθεῖν μηδὲν κακόν· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο τῶν ἀγαθῶν.
Therefore, neither those who are completely ruined feel pity (for they think they have nothing more to suffer, having already suffered), nor those who think themselves supremely happy, but they rather behave insolently; for if they think they possess all good things, it is clear that they also think they cannot suffer any evil, since this too is one of the good things.
§2.8.4εἰσὶ δὲ τοιοῦτοι οἷοι νομίζειν παθεῖν ἄν, οἵ τε πεπονθότες ἤδη καὶ διαπεφευγότες, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι καὶ διὰ τὸ φρονεῖν καὶ διʼ ἐμπειρίαν, καὶ οἱ ἀσθενεῖς, καὶ οἱ δειλότεροι μᾶλλον, καὶ οἱ πεπαιδευμένοι· εὐλόγιστοι γάρ.
Those who think they might suffer are such as have already suffered and escaped, and older men both because of their wisdom and experience, and the weak, and those who are rather cowardly, and the educated, for they are reflective.
§2.8.5καὶ οἷς ὑπάρχουσι γονεῖς ἢ τέκνα ἢ γυναῖκες· αὐτοῦ τε γὰρ ταῦτα, καὶ οἷα παθεῖν τὰ εἰρημένα.
Also those who have parents or children or wives; for these are one's own, and are liable to suffer the things mentioned.
§2.8.6καὶ οἱ μήτε ἐν ἀνδρείας πάθει ὄντες, οἷον ἐν ὀργῇ ἢ θάρρει (ἀλόγιστα γὰρ τοῦ ἐσομένου ταῦτα), μήτε ἐν ὑβριστικῇ διαθέσει (καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι ἀλόγιστοι τοῦ πείσεσθαί τι), ἀλλʼ οἱ μεταξὺ τούτων, μήτʼ αὖ φοβούμενοι σφόδρα· οὐ γὰρ ἐλεοῦσιν οἱ ἐκπεπληγμένοι, διὰ τὸ εἶναι πρὸς τῷ οἰκείῳ πάθει.
And those who are neither in a state of courage, such as anger or confidence (for these states do not reflect on what is to come), nor in an insolent disposition (for these too do not reflect on the possibility of suffering anything), but those who are between these, and moreover, not being in extreme fear; for those who are panic-stricken do not feel pity, because they are occupied with their own suffering.
§2.8.7κἂν οἴωνταί τινας εἶναι τῶν ἐπιεικῶν· ὁ γὰρ μηδένα οἰόμενοςπάντας οἰήσεται ἀξίους εἶναι κακοῦ.
Also if they think there are some decent people; for he who thinks no one is decent will think all are worthy of evil.
καὶ ὅλως δὴ ὅταν ἔχῃ οὕτως ὥστʼ ἀναμνησθῆναι τοιαῦτα συμβεβηκότα ἢ αὑτῷ ἤ τῳ τῶν αὑτοῦ, ἢ ἐλπίσαι γενέσθαι αὑτῷ ἤ τῳ τῶν αὑτοῦ.
And in general, whenever one is in such a state as to remember that such things have happened either to oneself or to one's own, or to expect them to happen to oneself or to one's own.
§2.8.8ὡς μὲν οὖν ἔχοντες ἐλεοῦσιν εἴρηται, ἃ δʼ ἐλεοῦσιν ἐκ τοῦ ὁρισμοῦ δῆλον·
We have stated, then, in what state people feel pity; and what things they pity is clear from the definition.
ὅσα τε γὰρ τῶν λυπηρῶν καὶ ὀδυνηρῶν φθαρτικά, πάντα ἐλεεινά, καὶ ὅσα ἀναιρετικά, καὶ ὅσων ἡ τύχη αἰτία κακῶν μέγεθος ἐχόντων.
For all painful and distressing things that are destructive are pitiable, and all that are ruinous, and all evils of which fortune is the cause when they are of great magnitude.
§2.8.9ἔστι δὲ ὀδυνηρὰ μὲν καὶ φθαρτικὰ θάνατοι καὶ αἰκίαι σωμάτων καὶ κακώσεις καὶ γῆρας καὶ νόσοι καὶ τροφῆς ἔνδεια, §2.8.10ὧν δʼ ἡ τύχη αἰτία κακῶν ἀφιλία, ὀλιγοφιλία (διὸ καὶ τὸ διασπᾶσθαι ἀπὸ φίλων καὶ συνήθων ἐλεεινόν), αἶσχος, ἀσθένεια, ἀναπηρία, καὶ τὸ ὅθεν προσῆκεν ἀγαθόν τι ὑπάρξαι κακόν τι συμβῆναι, §2.8.11καὶ τὸ πολλάκις τοιοῦτον, καὶ τὸ πεπονθότος γενέσθαι τι ἀγαθόν, οἷον Διοπείθει τὰ παρὰ βασιλέως τεθνεῶτι κατεπέμφθη, καὶ τὸ ἢ μηδὲν γεγενῆσθαι ἀγαθὸν ἢ γενομένων μὴ εἶναι ἀπόλαυσιν. ἐφʼ οἷς μὲν οὖν ἐλεοῦσι, ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτά ἐστιν·
Now, painful and destructive things are deaths, bodily torments, injuries, old age, diseases, and lack of food; and the evils of which fortune is the cause are friendlessness, scarcity of friends (wherefore also to be torn away from friends and companions is pitiable), ugliness, weakness, deformity, and the occurrence of some evil where some good ought to have come, and this happening often, and the occurrence of something good after one has suffered, as when the gifts from the king were sent down to Diopithes after he was dead, or either that no good has happened, or that there is no enjoyment of those that have happened.
§2.8.12ἐλεοῦσι δὲ τούς τε γνωρίμους, ἂν μὴ σφόδρα ἐγγὺς ὦσιν οἰκειότητι (περὶ δὲ τούτους ὥσπερ περὶ αὑτοὺς μέλλοντας ἔχουσιν· διὸ καὶ ὁ Ἀμάσιος ἐπὶ μὲν τῷ υἱεῖ ἀγομένῳ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν οὐκ ἐδάκρυσεν, ὡς φασίν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ φίλῳ προσαιτοῦντι· τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ἐλεεινόν, ἐκεῖνο δὲ δεινόν· τὸ γὰρ δεινὸν ἕτερον τοῦ ἐλεεινοῦ καὶ ἐκκρουστικὸν τοῦ ἐλέου καὶ πολλάκις τῷ ἐναντίῳ χρήσιμον· §2.8.13οὐ γὰρ ἔτι ἐλεοῦσιν ἐγγὺς αὐτοῖς τοῦ δεινοῦ ὄντος), καὶ τοὺς ὁμοίους ἐλεοῦσιν κατὰ ἡλικίαν, κατὰ ἤθη, κατὰ ἕξεις, κατὰ ἀξιώματα, κατὰ γένη· ἐν πᾶσι γὰρ τούτοις μᾶλλον φαίνεται καὶ αὐτῷ ἂν ὑπάρξαι·
These and such like are the things, then, at which people feel pity; and they pity their acquaintances, provided they are not extremely close in relationship (for towards these they feel as they would about themselves being about to suffer; wherefore Amasis, they say, did not weep for his son when he was led off to be put to death, but did so for his friend who was begging; for the latter was pitiable, but the former was terrible; for the terrible is different from the pitiable, and tends to expel pity, and is often useful for the opposite effect; for they no longer feel pity when the terrible is close to themselves), and they pity their equals in age, in character, in habits, in position, in birth; for in all these cases it appears more likely that it might happen to oneself as well.
ὅλως γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα δεῖ λαβεῖν ὅτι ὅσα ἐφʼ αὑτῶν φοβοῦνται, ταῦτα ἐπʼ ἄλλων γιγνόμενα ἐλεοῦσιν.
For in general, here too one must grasp that whatever people fear for themselves, they pity when it happens to others.
§2.8.14ἐπεὶ δʼ ἐγγὺς φαινόμενα τὰ πάθη ἐλεεινά ἐστιν, τὰ δὲ μυριοστὸν ἔτος γενόμενα ἢ ἐσόμενα οὔτε ἐλπίζοντες οὔτε μεμνημένοι ἢ ὅλως οὐκ ἐλεοῦσιν ἢ οὐχ ὁμοίως, ἀνάγκη τοὺς συναπεργαζομένους σχήμασι καὶ φωναῖς καὶ ἐσθῆσι καὶ ὅλως ὑποκρίσει ἐλεεινοτέρους εἶναι (ἐγγὺς γὰρ ποιοῦσι φαίνεσθαι τὸκακόν, πρὸ ὀμμάτων ποιοῦντες ἢ ὡς μέλλοντα ἢ ὡς γεγονότα· §2.8.15καὶ τὰ γεγονότα ἄρτι ἢ μέλλοντα διὰ ταχέων ἐλεεινότερα), §2.8.16καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὰ σημεῖα, οἷον ἐσθῆτάς τε τῶν πεπονθότων καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα, καὶ τὰς πράξεις καὶ λόγους καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τῶν ἐν τῷ πάθει ὄντων, οἷον ἤδη τελευτώντων.
And since sufferings that appear near are pitiable, whereas those that occurred or will occur ten thousand years ago or hence, since people neither expect nor remember them, either do not evoke pity at all or not in the same way, it is necessary that those who help to produce the effect by gestures, voices, clothing, and in general by acting, should be more pitiable (for they make the evil appear near, bringing it before our eyes either as about to happen or as having happened; and things that have just happened or are about to happen shortly are more pitiable), and for this reason also signs, such as the clothes of those who have suffered and such like, and the actions and words and whatever else of those who are in the midst of suffering, as for instance of those who are already dying.
καὶ μάλιστα τὸ σπουδαίους εἶναι ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις καιροῖς ὄντας ἐλεεινόν· ἅπαντα γὰρ ταῦτα διὰ τὸ ἐγγὺς φαίνεσθαι μᾶλλον ποιεῖ τὸν ἔλεον, καὶ ὡς ἀναξίου ὄντος καὶ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς φαινομένου τοῦ πάθους.
And especially is it pitiable for people to be noble in such crises; for all these things, by making the suffering appear near, produce pity in a greater degree, both as being undeserved and as the suffering is visible before our eyes.