Plutarch, An vitiositas ad infelicitatem sufficia, ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs, 3

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[3] αἱ πόλεις δήπουθεν, ὅταν ἔκδοσιν ναῶν ἢ κολοσσῶν προγράφωσιν, ἀκροῶνται τῶν τεχνιτῶν ἁμιλλωμένων περὶ τῆς ἐργολαβίας καὶ λόγους¹ καὶ παραδείγματα κομιζόντων εἶθʼ αἱροῦνται τὸν ἀπʼ 5 498f ἐλάττονος δαπάνης ταὐτὸ² ποιοῦντα καὶ βέλτιον καὶ τάχιον. φέρε δὴ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἔκδοσίν τινα βίου καὶ ἀνθρώπου κακοδαίμονος προκηρύσσειν, εἶτα προσιέναι τῇ ἐργολαβίᾳ τὴν Τύχην καὶ τὴν Κακίαν διαφερομένας· τὴν μὲν ὀργάνων τε παντοδαπῶν κατάπλεων 10 καὶ παρασκευῆς πολυτελοῦς εἰς ἀπεργασίαν κακοδαίμονος ζωῆς καὶ οἰκτρᾶς, λῃστήρια τινα καὶ πολέμους καὶ τυράννων μιαιφονίας καὶ χειμῶνας ἐκ θαλάττης καὶ κεραυνὸν ἐξ ἀέρος ἐφελκομένην καὶ 499a κώνεια τρίβουσαν καὶ ξίφη φέρουσαν καὶ συκοφάντας 15 ξενολογοῦσαν καὶ πυρετοὺς ἐξάπτουσαν καὶ πέδας περικρούουσαν καὶ περιοικοδομοῦσαν εἱρκτάς· καίτοι τούτων τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς Κακίας μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς Τύχης ἐστίν ἀλλὰ πάντʼ ἔστω τῆς Τύχης. ἡ δὲ Κακία παρεστῶσα γυμνὴ καὶ μηδενὸς δεομένη τῶν ἔξωθεν 20 ἐπὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐρωτάτω καὶ τὴν Τύχην, πῶς ποιήσει κακοδαίμονα καὶ ἄθυμον τὸν ἄνθρωπον. τύχη, πενίαν ἀπειλεῖς; καταγελᾷ σου Μητροκλῆς, ὃς χειμῶνος ἐν τοῖς προβάτοις³ καθεύδων καὶ θέρους ἐν τοῖς προπυλαίοις τῶν ἱερῶν τὸν ἐν Βαβυλῶνι 25 499b χειμάζοντα καὶ περὶ Μηδίαν θερίζοντα Περσῶν βασιλέα περὶ εὐδαιμονίας εἰς ἀγῶνα προυκαλεῖτο. δουλείαν καὶ δεσμὰ καὶ πρᾶσιν ἐπάγεις; καταφρονεῖ σου Διογένης, ὃς ὑπὸ τῶν λῃστῶν πωλούμενος ἐκήρυττε τίς ὠνήσασθαι βούλεται κύριον;⁴ κύλικα φαρμάκου ταράττεις; οὐχὶ καὶ Σωκράτει ταύτην προύπιες, ὁ δʼ ἵλεως καὶ πρᾶος, οὐ τρέσας οὐδὲ διαφθείρας 5 οὔτε χρώματος οὐδὲν οὔτε σχήματος μάλʼ εὐκόλως ἐξέπιεν; ἀποθνῄσκοντα δʼ αὐτὸν ἐμακάριζον οἱ ζῶντες, 499c ὡς οὐδʼ ἐν Ἅιδου θείας ἄνευ μοίρας ἐσόμενον. καὶ μὴν τὸ πῦρ σου Δέκιος ὁ Ῥωμαίων στρατηγὸς προέλαβεν,⁵ ὅτε τῶν στρατοπέδων ἐν μέσῳ πυρὰν 10 νήσας⁶ τῷ Κρόνῳ κατʼ εὐχὴν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐκαλλιέρησεν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡγεμονίας. Ἰνδῶν δὲ φίλανδροι καὶ σώφρονες γυναῖκες ὑπὲρ τοῦ πυρὸς ἐρίζουσι καὶ μάχονται πρὸς ἀλλήλας, τὴν δὲ νικήσασαν τεθνηκότι τῷ ἀνδρὶ συγκαταφλεγῆναι μακαρίαν ᾅδουσιν αἱ 15 λοιπαί. τῶν δʼ ἐκεῖ σοφῶν οὐδεὶς ζηλωτὸς οὐδὲ μακαριστός ἐστιν, ἂν μὴ ζῶν ἔτι καὶ φρονῶν καὶ ὑγιαίνων τοῦ σώματος τὴν ψυχὴν πυρὶ διαστήσῃ, καὶ καθαρὸς ἐκβῇ τῆς σαρκὸς ἐκνιψάμενος⁷ τὸ θνητόν. ἀλλʼ ἐξ οὐσίας λαμπρᾶς καὶ οἴκου καὶ τραπέζης 20 499d καὶ πολυτελείας εἰς τρίβωνα καὶ πήραν καὶ προσαίτησιν ἐφημέρου τροφῆς κατάξεις; ταῦτʼ εὐδαιμονίας ἀρχαὶ Διογένει, ταῦτʼ ἐλευθερίας Κράτητι καὶ δόξης. ἀλλʼ εἰς σταυρὸν καθηλώσεις ἢ σκόλοπι πήξεις; καὶ τί Θεοδώρῳ μέλει, πότερον ὑπὲρ γῆς ἢ 25 ὑπὸ γῆς σήπεται; Σκυθῶν εὐδαίμονες ταφαὶ αὗται· Ὑρκανῶν δὲ κύνες Βακτριανῶν δʼ ὄρνιθες νεκροὺς ἐσθίουσι κατὰ νόμους, ὅταν μακαρίου τέλους τυγχάνωσιν.

An vitiositas ad infelicitatem sufficia. Plutarch. ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs. Leipzig. 1891.

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Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Εἰ αὐτάρκης ἡ κακία πρὸς κακοδαιμονίαν (Greek) (Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol 3. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1891.)

Translations (2)

Whether vice be sufficient to cause unhappiness Perseus (Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. 6. Helmbold, William Clark, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1939 (printing).) — 3 focus

[3] Cities, as we know, when they give public notice of intent to let contracts for the building of temples or colossal statues, listen to the proposals of artists competing for the commission and bringing in their estimates and models,¹ and then choose the man who will do the same work with the least expense and better than the others and more quickly. Come, then, let us suppose that we also give public proclamation of intent to contract for making a life wretched, and that Fortune and Vice come to get the commission in a rival spirit. Fortune is provided with all manner of instruments and costly apparatus to render a life miserable and wretched; she brings in her train frightful robberies and wars, the foul bloodthirstiness of tyrants, and storms at sea and thunder from the sky; she compounds hemlock, she carries swords, she levies informers, she kindles fevers, she claps on fetters, and builds prison-enclosures (and yet the greater part of these belong to Vice rather than to Fortune, but let us suppose them all Fortune’s). And let Vice stand by quite unarmed, needing no external aid against the man, and let her ask Fortune how she intends to make man wretched and dejected:

Fortune,

Do you threaten poverty? Metrocles laughs at you,²

Metrocles, who in winter slept among the sheep and in summer in the gateways of sacred precincts, yet challenged to vie with him in happiness the king of the Persians who winters in Babylon and summers in Media.³ Do you bring on slavery and chains and the auction block? Diogenes⁴ despises you, for when he was being sold by pirates, he cried out with the voice of an auctioneer, Who wants to buy a master? Do you mix a cup of poison? Did you not present this to Socrates⁵ also? And cheerfully and calmly, without trembling or changing either colour or posture, he drained it with great cheerfulness; and as he died the living esteemed him happy,⁶ believing that not even in Hades would he be without some god-given portion.⁷ And as for your fire, Decius⁸ the Roman general anticipated it, when he built a funeral pyre between the camps and, to fulfil a vow, sacrificed himself to Saturn on behalf of Rome’s supremacy. And among the Indians, loving and chaste wives strive and contend with one another for the fire, and the wife who wins the honour of being consumed together with her dead husband is hymned as happy by the others.⁹ And of the wise men in that part of the world, not one is considered enviable or happy, if, while he yet lives and is sane and healthy, he does not separate by fire his soul from his body and emerge pure from the flesh, with the mortal part washed away. Or will you reduce a man from splendid wealth and house and table and lavish living to a threadbare cloak and wallet and begging of his daily bread? These things were the beginning of happiness for Diogenes, of freedom and repute for Crates. But will you nail him to a cross or impale him on a stake? And what does Theodorus¹⁰ care whether he rots above ground or beneath? Among the Scythians¹¹ such is the manner of happy burial; and among the Hyrcanians¹² dogs, among the Bactrians birds, devour, in accordance with the laws, the bodies of men, when these have met a happy end.

Whether vice is sufficient to render a man unhappy Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals, Vol. 4. Goodwin, William W., editor; White, Samuel, translator. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874.) — 3 focus

[3] Cities, when by fixing up of writings they publish their intentions of building temples or erecting colossuses, hear the proposals of different artists, contending about the undertaking of the work, and bringing in their accounts and models; after which, they choose him who will perform it best, quickest, and with the least expense. Now imagine, that we also set forth a proclamation of a purpose to make a wretched man or a miserable life, and that Fortune and Vice come with differing proposals to offer their service for the performance of this design. The one (to wit, Fortune) is provided with abundance of various instruments and costly furniture, to render human life miserable and unhappy. She draws after her robberies, wars, the murders of tyrants, storms from the sea, and lightnings from the air. She mixes hemlock, brings in swords, hires slanderers, kindles fevers, jingles shackles, and builds up prisons round about; although most of these things are rather from Vice than Fortune. But let us suppose them to be all from Fortune; and let Vice, standing naked and wanting no exterior things against man, ask Fortune how she will make a man unhappy and faint-hearted.

Fortune, let her say, dost thou threaten poverty? Metrocles laughs at thee, who sleeping in the winter amongst the sheep, and in the summer in the porches of the temples, challenged the kings of the Persians, that wintered in Babylon and passed the summer in Media, to vie with him for happiness. Dost thou bring on servitude, bonds, and the being sold for a slave? Diogenes contemns thee, who being exposed to sale by pirates, cried out, Who will buy a master? Dost thou brew a cup of poison? Didst thou not offer such a one to Socrates? And yet he mildly and meekly, without trembling or changing either color or countenance, drank it briskly up; whilst those who survived esteemed him happy, as one that would not be even in the other world without a divine portion. Moreover, as for thy fire, Decius the Roman general prevented it, when, having caused a great fire to be made in the midst between two armies, he sacrificed himself to Saturn, according to a vow made for the aggrandizing of the Romans’ dominion. And amongst the Indians, such chaste wives as are true lovers of their husbands strive and contend with one another for the fire, and all the rest sing forth the happiness of her who, having obtained the victory, is burnt with her deceased husband. And of the Sages in those parts, there is not one esteemed a holy and most blessed man, if he did not, whilst he was yet living and in the perfect enjoyment of his health and understanding, separate by fire his soul from his body, and purging away what was mortal, depart pure out of the flesh.

But thou wilt reduce one from great wealth, a stately house, a well-furnished table, and abundance of all things, to a threadbare coat, a wallet, and begging of his daily food. These things were to Diogenes the beginnings of happiness, and to Crates of liberty and glory. But thou wilt, perhaps, fasten one to the cross, or impale him on a stake. Now what cares Theodorus, whether it is above or under ground that he putrefies? These were the happy sepultures of the Scythians; and amongst the Hyrcanians, dogs—amongst the Bactrians, birds—do according to the laws devour the dead bodies of those who have made a blessed end.

Notes on the current edition

Εἰ αὐτάρκης ἡ κακία πρὸς κακοδαιμονίαν

1. λόγους] λογισμοὺς Herwerdenus

2. ταὐτὸ *: τὸ αὐτὸ

3. ἐν τοῖς προβάτοις i. e. in balneis privatis Usenerus

4. κύριον ego addidi quod exciderit propter κύλικα

5. προύλαβεν?

6. πυρὰν νήσας X: τυραννήσας

7. ἐκτριψάμενος?

Plutarch An vitiositas ad infelicitatem sufficia 3

ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs

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