Μέγαν τὸν ἀγῶνα
—‘the struggle to emulate them will be a difficult one.’ The partic. is omitted after
ὁρῶ. Cf. c.
49,
5. [
τὸν γὰρ .. ἐπαινεῖν
]— the general statement,
παισὶ δ’ αὖ, is continued and explained in
καὶ μὁλις ἂν ... κριθεῖτε. Then follows the reason in
φθόνος γὰρ κ.τ.λ.
καθ’ ὑπερβολὴν ἀρετῆς—‘by pre-eminent virtue.’ For
κατά cf. c.
27,
2.
ἀλλ’
—would more naturally be
ἀλλὰ καί.
φθόνος—cf. Demosth
18, 315
τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδεν, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν ζῶσι πᾶσιν ὕπεστί τις ἢ πλείων ἢ ἐλάττων φθόνος, τοὺς τεθνεῶτας δ’ οὑδὲ τῶν ἐχθρῶν τις μισεῖ;
τοῖς ζῶσι πρὸς τὸ ἀντίπαλον—‘envy towards a rival attacks the living.’
πρὸς
—
adversus (so Grundstrom and Golisch: Sta.
propter ).
τὸ ἀντίπαλον
— for
τοὺς ἀντιπάλους.
τὸ μὴ ἐμποδὼν —=
τὸ μηκέτ’ ἐμποδών. Cf.
τῶν οὐκ ὄντων c.
44,
3. This is the antithesis to
τοῖς ζῶσι, while
ἀνανταγωνίστῳ εὐνοίᾳ corresponds to
πρὸς τὸ ἀντίπαλον, and
τετίμηται to
φθόνος.
ἀνανταγωνίστῳ—‘without opposition.’
τετίμηται
—gnomic perf., according to Goodwin; but may be the Homeric use of this word, with pres. sense.
Ὅσαι
—as if
γυναικῶν instead of
γυναικείας preceded.
ἔσονται
—contrast
πάρεστε above. Cf. c.
44,
1.
ὑπαρχούσης
—by no means attributing weakness, but referring to the restraints and household duties which nature imposed on women. Pericles refers to the Spartan women, who, according to Aristotle, lived a very different life from the stern asceticism of the Spartan men.
καὶ ἧς
—
i.e.
καὶ μεγάλη ἐστιν
ὴ δόξα ταύτης ἧς.
μεγάλη ἡ δόξα —cf.
VII.
68
τὸ τούσδε κολασθῆναι ... καλὸς ὁ ἀγών.
κλέος—‘talk,’ a neutral word. Cf.
Aesch.
Ag. 611
, Clyt. says
οὐκ οἶδα τέρψιν οὐδ’ ἐπίψογον φάτιν |
ἄλλου πρὸς ἀνδρός.
