LEOTYCHIDAS, SON OF ARISTON¹

[1] Leotychidas, the son of Ariston, in answer to a man who said that the sons of Demaratus were speaking ill of him, remarked, Egad, I don’t wonder; for not one of them could ever speak a good word.²

[2] When at the adjacent gate a snake had coiled around the key, and the soothsayers declared this to be a prodigy, he said, It doesn’t seem so to me, but if the key had coiled around the snake, that would be a prodigy!³

[3] This is his retort to Philip, the priest of the Orphic mysteries, who was in the direst straits of poverty, but used to assert that those who were initiated under his rites were happy after the conclusion of this life; to him Leotychidas said, You idiot! Why then don’t you die as speedily as possible so that you may with that cease from bewailing your unhappiness and poverty?⁴

[4] When someone inquired why they did not dedicate to the gods the arms taken from the enemy, he said that property wrested from its owners owing to cowardice it is not good either for the young men to see, or to dedicate to the gods.⁵

Apophthegmata Laconica. Plutarch. Frank Cole Babbitt (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1931.

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Current edition Perseus

Sayings of Spartans (English) (Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. III. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1931 (printing).)

Editions (2)

Ἀποφθέγματα Λακωνικά Perseus (Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. III. Babbitt, Frank Cole, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1931 (printing).) — 49 focus

Λετυχίλου τοῦ Ἀρίστνος

[1] Λεωτυχίδας ὁ Ἀρίστωνος πρὸς τὸν εἰπόντα 224e ὅτι κακῶς αὐτὸν οἱ τοῦ Δημαράτου λέγουσι, μὰ τοὺς θεούς, ἔφη, οὐ θαυμάζω, καλῶς γὰρ λέγειν οὐδεὶς ἂν αὐτῶν δυνηθείη.

[2] τῆς δʼ ἐγγυτέρω πύλης¹ δράκοντος περὶ τὴν κλεῖν ἑλιχθέντος καὶ τῶν μάντεων τέρας ἀποφαινομένων εἶναι, οὔτι ἔμοιγʼ ἔφη, δοκεῖ, ἀλλʼ εἰ ἡ κλεὶς τῷ δράκοντι περιειλίχθη, τέρας ἂν ἦν.

[3] πρὸς Φίλιππον τὸν ὀρφεοτελεστὴν παντελῶς πτωχὸν ὄντα, λέγοντα δʼ ὅτι οἱ παρʼ αὐτῷ μυηθέντες μετὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου τελευτὴν εὐδαιμονοῦσι, τί οὖν, ὦ ἀνόητε, εἶπεν, οὐ τὴν ταχίστην ἀποθνῄσκεις 224f , ἵνʼ ἅμα παύσῃ² κακοδαιμονίαν καὶ πενίαν κλαίων;ν

[4] πυθομένου δέ τινος διὰ τί τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ὅπλα τοῖς θεοῖς οὐκ ἀνατιθέασιν, ἔφη ὅτι τὰ διὰ τὴν δειλίαν τῶν κεκτημένων θηραθέντα οὔτε τοὺς νέους ὁρᾶν καλὸν οὔτε τοῖς θεοῖς ἀνατιθέναι.

Ἀποφθέγματα Λακωνικά Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol II. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1889.) — 49 focus

Λεωτυχίδου τοῦ Ἀρίστωνος

[1] Λεωτυχίδας ὁ Ἀρίστωνος πρὸς τὸν εἰπόντα ὅτι κακῶς αὐτὸν οἱ τοῦ Δημαράτου λέγουσι μὰ τοὺς θεούς ἔφη οὐ θαυμάζω, καλῶς γὰρ λέγειν οὐδεὶς ἂν αὐτῶν δυνηθείη.

[2] τῇ δʼ ἐγγυτέρω πύλῃ δράκοντος περὶ τὴν κλεῖν ἑλιχθέντος καὶ τῶν μάντεων τέρας ἀποφαινομένων 5 εἶναι, οὔτι ἔμοιγʼ ἔφη δοκεῖ, ἀλλʼ εἰ ἡ κλεὶς τῷ δράκοντι περιειλίχθη, τέρας ἂν ἦν.

[3] πρὸς Φίλιππον τὸν ὀρφεοτελεστὴν παντελῶς πτωχὸν ὄντα, λέγοντα δʼ ὅτι οἱ παρʼ αὐτῷ μυηθέντες μετὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου τελευτὴν εὐδαιμονοῦσι, 10 τί οὖν, ὦ ἀνόητε εἶπεν οὐ τὴν ταχίστην ἀποθνήσκεις, 224f ἵνʼ ἅμα παύσῃ ¹ κακοδαιμονίαν καὶ πενίαν κλαίων;

[4] πυθομένου δέ τινος διὰ τί τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων ὅπλα τοῖς θεοῖς οὐκ ἀνατιθέασιν, ἔφη ὅτι 15 τὰ διὰ τὴν δειλίαν τῶν κεκτημένων θηραθέντα οὔτε τοὺς νέους ὁρᾶν καλὸν οὔτε τοῖς θεοῖς ἀνατιθέναι.

Translations (1)

Laconic Apophthegms; or Remarkable Sayings of the Spartans. Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals, Vol. I. Goodwin, William W., editor; unknown, translator. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874.) — 49 focus

Of Leotychidas the Son of Aristo.

Leotychidas the son of Aristo, when one told him that Demaratus’s sons spake ill of him, replied, Faith, no wonder, for not one of them can speak well. A serpent twisting about the key of his inmost door, and the priests declaring it a prodigy; I cannot think it so, said he, but it had been one if the key had twisted round the serpent. To Philip, a priest of Orpheus’s mysteries, in extreme poverty, saying that those whom he initiated were very happy after death, he said, Why then, you sot, don’t you die quickly, and bewail your poverty and misery no more?

Notes on the current edition

Sayings of Spartans

1. Doubtless the son of Menares, Leotychidas II., king of Sparta, circa 491-469 B.C.

2. The same story is found in Diogenes Laertius, ii. 35 (of Socrates), and in Stobaeus, Florilegium, xix. 5 (of Plato).

3. The saying is attributed to the others also; Cf. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, viii. 843 ed. Potter; or iii. 18, ed. Stahlin; Cicero, De divinatione, ii. 28 (62).

4. Cf. Diogenes Laertius, vi. 4, where the remark is attributed to Antisthenes.

5. Cf. Moralia, 224 B (18), supra.

Plutarch Apophthegmata Laconica 49

Frank Cole Babbitt (Translator)

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LEOTYCHIDAS, SON OF ARISTON¹

Current edition Perseus

Λετυχίλου τοῦ Ἀρίστνος

Λεωτυχίδου τοῦ Ἀρίστωνος

Of Leotychidas the Son of Aristo.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

LEOTYCHIDAS, SON OF ARISTON 1

Current edition Perseus

Λετυχίλου τοῦ Ἀρίστνος

Λεωτυχίδου τοῦ Ἀρίστωνος

Of Leotychidas the Son of Aristo.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

LEOTYCHIDAS, SON OF ARISTON¹