IDEM GRACE. Ω καλλίστη ἡμέρα, ὅτε δὴ εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν τῶν θείων ψυχῶν πανηγύριν πορευόμενος ἐκ τῆστε τῆς ταραχῆς καὶ συμφέτου ἄπειμι. Οὐ γὰρ τούτοις μόνον, οὓς εἶπον ἀπαντήσω, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ υἱῷ μου Κατῶνι, οὗ οὐδείς ποτε ἀμείνων ἐγένετο, οὐδεὶς εὐσεβέστερος· οὗ δὴ ἐγὼ τὸν νέκρον ἴκα, προσήκον μᾶλλον ὑπ' ἐκείνου τὸν ἐμόν, ἡ δὲ ψυχή, οὐκ ἐμὲ καταλιποῦσα, καθορῶσα δ ̓ ἀεὶ, ἐκεῖσε ἀπῆλθεν ὅποι καὶ ἐμὲ ἐλευσόμενον ᾔσθετο, Καὶ ταύτην τὴν συμφόραν πράως τε καὶ φιλοσόφως ἐδόκουν φέρειν, οὐχ ὅτι ῥᾳδίως μὲν ἔφερον, ἐθάρσουν δὲ, οὐ μακρὸν ἡμᾶς χρόνον ἐλπίζων ἀλλήλων ἀπέχεσθαι. Διὰ ταῦτ ̓ οὖν, ὦ Σκίπιον, ἐπεὶ σύ τε καὶ ὁ Λαίλιος ἅμα τοῦτο θαυμάζειν ἐφάτην, ῥᾴδιον ἐμοὶ τὸ γῆρας δοκεῖ, οὐδὲ μόνον οὐ βάρυ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡδύ· εἰ δ ̓ ἐν τῷδ ̓ ἁμαρτάνω, τὴν ψυχὴν ἀθάνατον εἶναι νομίζων, καὶ ἔκων πάνυ ἁμαρτάνω, οὐδὲ τόδε τὸ τερπνὸν ἐμοὶ ἁμάρτημα, ἕως μὲν ζήσω, ἀφαιροίμην ἂν, ἀποθανὼν δὲ, εἰ οὐδὲν ἔτι αισθήσομαι, ὅπερ ἀκριβεστέροις τισὶν ἀρέσκει φιλόσοφοις οὐ μὴ τοῦ ἁμαρτήματος καταγελάσωσιν οἱ ἄλλοι φιλόσοφοι οἱ τεθνηκότες· εἰ δ ̓ ἀθάνατοι οὐκ ἐσόμεθα καὶ οὕτως ἐν τῷ καίρῳ ἀποθανεῖν αἱρετέον. "Αλλοις τε γὰρ φύσει πᾶσι, καὶ τῷ βίῳ τέρμα τι κεῖται, τὸ δὲ γῆρας ὥσπερ δράματος τοῦ βίου ἀπεργασία ἐστὶν, οὗπερ, ἄλλως τε καὶ πάροντος τοῦ κόρου τὸ περισσεύον δεῖ ἐκφυγεῖν. Ταῦτ ̓ οὖν περὶ τοῦ γῆρως εἶχοὶ λέγειν, εἰς ὃ εἴθε ὑμεῖς ἀφικνοῖσθε, ἵνα τῶν παρ' ἐμοῦ ἀκουστ θέντων αὐτοὶ πεῖραν ἔχοντες, διαγνῶναι οἷοί τε εἶτε. M. E. YEATMAN. ENGLISH TRANSLATION. "Reflection is the path of immortality; thoughtlessness the path of death; those who reflect do not die, those who are thoughtless are as if dead already." Buddhaghosha's Parables. p. 13. PLATO. THEÆTETUS. p. 171 c. p. 177 c. THEODORUS. You are running down my friend too hardly, Socrates. SOCRATES. Well, my friend, I am not sure that we are not outrunning fairness and truth. At any rate he is older than we are and therefore presumably wiser; and if he were this instant to appear with just his head above the ground at this very spot, he would with justice convict me of talking and you of admitting a good deal of nonsense, and then sink again into the earth and vanish from our sight. But we are bound in my opinion to make use of whatever powers we possess, and to speak boldly out and always say what we really think. And so in this present |