Plutarch, De exilio, ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs, 14

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

[14] εἰ δὲ φήσει τις ὅτι δόξαν οὗτοι καὶ τιμὰς ἐθήρευον, ἐπὶ τοὺς σοφοὺς ἐλθὲ καὶ τὰς· σοφὰς Ἀθήνησι σχολὰς καὶ διατριβάς· ἀναπέμπασαι τὰς ἐν Λυκείῳ τὰς ἐν Ἀκαδημείᾳ¹, τὴν Στοὰν τὸ Παλλάδιον 15 τὸ Ὠδεῖον. εἰ τὴν Περιπατητικὴν ἀσπάζῃ μάλιστα καὶ τεθαύμακας, Ἀριστοτέλης ἦν ἐκ Σταγείρων, 605b Θεόφραστος ἐξ Ἐρέσου², Στράτων ἐκ Λαμψάκου, Γλύκων ἐκ Τρωάδος, Ἀρίστων ἐκ Κέω, Κριτόλαος Φασηλίτης· εἰ³ τὴν Στωικήν, Ζήνων Κιτιεύς, Κλεάνθης 20 Ἄσσιος,⁴ Χρύσιππος Σολεύς, Διογένης Βαβυλώνιος, Ἀντίπατρος Ταρσεύς· ὁ δʼ Ἀθηναῖος Ἀρχέδημος εἰς τὴν Πάρθων μεταστὰς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι Στωικὴν διαδοχὴν ἀπέλιπε. τίς οὖν τούτους ἐδίωξεν; οὐδείς· ἀλλʼ αὐτοὶ διώκοντες ἡσυχίαν, ἧς οὐ πάνυ 25 μέτεστιν οἴκοι τοῖς ἡντιναοῦν δόξαν ἢ δύναμιν ἔχουσι, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα λόγοις τοῦτο δʼ ἔργοις ἡμᾶς διδάσκουσι. καὶ γὰρ νῦν οἱ δοκιμώτατοι καὶ κράτιστοι ζῶσιν 605c ἐπὶ ξένης, οὐ μετασταθέντες ἀλλὰ μεταστάντες, οὐδὲ φυγαδευθέντες ἀλλὰ φυγόντες αὐτοὶ πράγματα καὶ 5 περισπασμοὺς καὶ ἀσχολίας, ἃς αἱ πατρίδες φέρουσι. καὶ γὰρ τοῖς παλαιοῖς; ὡς ἔοικεν αἱ Μοῦσαι τὰ κάλλιστα τῶν συνταγμάτων καὶ δοκιμώτατα φυγὴν λαβοῦσαι συνεργὸν ἐπετέλεσαν. Θουκυδίδης Ἀθηναῖος συνέγραψε τὸν πόλεμον τῶν Πελοποννησίων καὶ Ἀθηναίων 10 ἐν Θρᾴκῃ περὶ τὴν Σκαπτὴν ὕλην· Ξενοφῶν ἐν Σκιλλοῦντι τῆς Ἠλείας, Φίλιστος⁵ ἐν Ἠπείρῳ, Τίμαιος ὁ Ταυρομενίτης ἐν Ἀθήναις, Ἀνδροτίων Ἀθηναῖος 605d ἐν Μεγάροις, Βακχυλίδης ὁ ποιητὴς⁶ ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ, πάντες οὗτοι καὶ πλείονες ἄλλοι τῶν πατρίδων 15 ἐκπεσόντες οὐκ ἀπέγνωσαν οὐδʼ ἔρριψαν ἑαυτούς, ἀλλʼ ἐχρήσαντο ταῖς εὐφυΐαις ἐφόδιον παρὰ τῆς τύχης τὴν φυγὴν λαβόντες, διʼ ἣν πανταχοῦ καὶ τεθνηκότες μνημονεύονται· τῶν δʼ ἐκβαλόντων καὶ καταστασιασάντων⁷ οὐδὲ εἷς λόγος οὐδενὸς ἀπολέλειπται 20 .

De exilio. Plutarch. ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs. Leipzig. 1891.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Περὶ φυγῆς (Greek) (Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol 3. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1891.)

Translations (1)

Of Banishment, or Flying One's Country. Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals, Vol. 3. Goodwin, William W., editor; Patrick, John, translator. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874.) — 14 focus

[14] If any one object, that these men hunted ambitiously after glory and honor, let him go to the philosophers and the schools and nurseries of wisdom at Athens, those in the Lyceum, the Academy, the Stoa, the Palladium, the Odeum. If he admires and prefers the Peripatetic philosophy before the rest, Aristotle was a native of Stagira, Theophrastus of Ephesus, Straton of Lampsacus, Glycon of Troas, Ariston of Ceus, Critolaus of Phaselis. If thou art for the Stoic philosophy, Zeno was of Citium, Cleanthes of Assus, Chrysippus of Soli, Diogenes of Babylon, Antipater of Tarsus, and Archedemus who was of Athens went over to the Parthians, and left a succession of Stoic philosophers in Babylon. And who, I pray, persecuted and chased these men out of their country? Nobody at all; but they pursued their own quiet, which men cannot easily enjoy at home that are in any reputation or have any power; other things they taught us by what they said, but this by what they (lid. For even now the most approved and excellent persons live abroad out of their own country, not being transported, but departing voluntarily, not being driven thence, but flying from business and from the disquiets and molestations which they are sure to meet with at home.

It seems to me that the Muses helped the ancient writers to finish their choicest and most approved compositions, by calling in, as it were, banishment to their assistance. Thucydides the Athenian wrote the Peloponnesian and Athenian War in Thrace, hard by the forest of Scapte; Xenophon wrote his history in Scillus belonging to Elis; Philistus in Epirus, Timaeus of Tauromenum at Athens, Androtion the Athenian in Megara, Bacchylides the poet in Peloponnesus. These and many more, after they had lost their country, did not lose all hope nor were dejected in their minds, but took occasion thereupon to express the vivacity of their spirit and the dexterity of their wit, receiving their banishment at the hands of Fortune as a viaticum that she had sent them; whereby they became renowned everywhere after death, whereas there is no remaining mention of those factious persons that expelled them.

Notes on the current edition

Περὶ φυγῆς

1. Ἀκαδημείᾳ *: ἀκαδημίᾳ

2. Ἐρέσου Basileensis: ἐφέσου

3. εἰ] εἰς mei codd.

4. Ἄσσιος S: λύσιος

5. φίλιππος mei codd.

6. ποιητὴς] Ἰουλιήτης Cobetus

7. καταστασιασάντων Emperius: στασιασάντων

Plutarch De exilio 14

ed. Grēgorios N. Vernardakēs

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers