Chapter IX.
Now I thought at that time that all men were
judged worthy of the same things. And if any wise man practised
righteousness, and withdrew himself from unrighteousness, and as being
sagacious avoided hatred with all (which, indeed, is a thing well
pleasing to God), this man seemed to me to labour in vain. For
there seemed to be one end for the righteous and for the impious, for
the good and for the evil, for the pure and for the impure, for him
that worshipped102
God, and for him that
worshipped not. For as the
unrighteous man and the good, the man
who sweareth a false
oath, and the man who
avoids swearing altogether,
were suspected by me to be driving toward the same end, a certain
sinister opinion stole secretly into my
mind, that all men come to
their end in a similar way. But now I know that these are the
reflections of
fools, and errors and deceits. And they assert
largely, that he who is dead has
perished utterly, and that the living
is to be preferred to the dead, even though he may
lie in
darkness, and
pass his
life-
journey after the fashion of a
dog,
which is
better at least than a dead
lion. For the living know this at any
rate, that they are to
die; but the dead know not anything, and there
is no
reward proposed to them after they have completed their necessary
course. Also
hatred and
love with the dead have their end; for
their
envy has
perished, and their
life also is extinguished. And
he has a portion in nothing who has once gone hence. Error
harping still on such a string, gives also such
counsel as this:
What meanest thou, O man, that thou dost not
enjoy thyself delicately,
and gorge thyself with all manner of pleasant
food, and fill thyself to
the full with
wine? Dost thou not perceive that these things are
given us from
God for our unrestrained enjoyment? Put on newly
washed attire, and
anoint thy head with
myrrh, and see this
woman and
that, and pass thy
vain life vainly.
103
| 103 The text
gives, κἀκείνην δὲ
ματαίως, etc. |
For nothing else remaineth for thee
but this, neither here nor after
death. But avail thou thyself of
all that chanceth; for neither shall any one take account of thee for
these things, nor are the things that are done by men known at all
outside the circle of men. And
Hades, whatever that may be,
whereunto we are said to depart, has neither
wisdom nor
understanding. These are the things which men of
vanity
speak. But I know assuredly, that neither shall they who seem the
swiftest accomplish that great race; nor shall those who are esteemed
mighty and
terrible in the
judgment of men, overcome in that
terrible
battle. Neither, again, is
prudence proved by
abundance of
bread,
nor is understanding wont to consort with
riches. Nor do I
congratulate those who think that all shall find the same things
befall
them. But certainly those who indulge such thoughts seem to me to
be
asleep, and to
fail to consider that, caught suddenly like fishes
and
birds, they will be consumed with woes, and meet speedily their
proper retribution. Also I estimate
wisdom at so high a
price,
that I should deem a
small and poorly-peopled city, even though
besieged also by a mighty king with his forces, to be indeed great and
powerful, if it had but one
wise man, however
poor, among its
citizens. For such a man would be able to
deliver his city both
from
enemies and from entrenchments. And other men, it may be, do
not recognise that
wise man,
poor as he is; but for my part I greatly
prefer the
power that resides in
wisdom, to this might of the mere
multitude of the people. Here, however,
wisdom, as it dwells with
poverty, is held in dishonour. But hereafter it shall be heard
speaking with more authoritative voice than
princes and despots who
seek after things
evil. For wisdom is also stronger than iron;
while the folly of one individual works danger for many, even though he
be an object of contempt to many.
104
| 104 κἂν
πολλοῖς
καταφρόνητος
ᾖ; so the Cod. Bodleian. and the Cod. Medic. read.
But others read πολύ = an object of great
contempt. For καταφρόνητος
the Cod. Medic. reads εὐκαταφρόνητος. |
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