友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!
合租小说网 返回本书目录 加入书签 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 『收藏到我的浏览器』

hiero-第6部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完,想下次继续接着阅读,可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能!





    (wise) (Breit。 cf。 〃Mem。〃 III。 ix。 4; {sophian de kai sophrosunen



    ou diorizen}); {andrapododeis} (servile) to the {kasmioi};



    {andreioi} (orderly; courageous)。







This; then; I say; appears to me a sore affliction; that we should



look upon the one set as good men; and yet be forced to lean upon the



other。







And further; even a tyrant cannot but be something of a patriota



lover of that state; without which he can neither hope for safety nor



prosperity。 On the other hand; his tyrrany; the exigencies of despotic



rule; compel him to incriminate his fatherland。'5' To train his



citizens to soldiery; to render them brave warriors; and well armed;



confers no pleasure on him; rather he will take delight to make his



foreigners more formidable than those to whom the state belongs; and



these foreigners he will depend on as his body…guard。







'5' Or; 〃depreciate the land which gave him birth。〃 Holden cf。



    〃Cyrop。〃 VII。 ii。 22。 See Sturz; s。v。







Nay more; not even in the years of plenty;'6' when abundance of all



blessings reigns; not even then may the tyrant's heart rejoice amid



the general joy; for the greater the indigence of the community the



humbler he will find them: that is his theory。







'6' 〃In good seasons;〃 〃seasons of prosperity。〃 Cf。 Aristot。 〃Pol。〃 v。



    6。 17。















VI







He continued: I desire to make known to you; Simonides;'1' those



divers pleasures which were mine whilst I was still a private citizen;



but of which to…day; nay; from the moment I became a tyrant; I find



myself deprived。 In those days I consorted with my friends and



fellows; to our mutual delectation;'2' or; if I craved for



quietude;'3' I chose myself for my companion。 Gaily the hours flitted



at our drinking…parties; ofttimes till we had drowned such cares and



troubles as are common to the life of man in Lethe's bowl;'4' or



ofttimes till we had steeped our souls in song and dance'5' and



revelry; ofttimes till the flame of passion kindled in the breasts of



my companions and my own。'6' But now; welladay; I am deprived of those



who took delight in me; because I have slaves instead of friends as my



companions; I am robbed of my once delightful intercourse with them;



because I discern no vestige of goodwill towards me in their looks。



And as to the wine…cup and slumberthese I guard against; even as a



man might guard against an ambuscade。 Think only! to dread a crowd; to



dread solitude; to dread the absence of a guard; to dread the very



guards that guard; to shrink from having those about one's self



unarmed; and yet to hate the sight of armed attendants。 Can you



conceive a more troublesome circumstance?'7' But that is not all。 To



place more confidence in foreigners than in your fellow…citizens; nay;



in barbarians than in Hellenes; to be consumed with a desire to keep



freemen slaves and yet to be driven; will he nill he; to make slaves



free; are not all these the symptoms of a mind distracted and amazed



with terror?







'1' Or; 〃I wish I could disclose to you (he added) those heart…easing



    joys。〃 For {euphrosunas} cf。 〃Od。〃 vi。 156; Aesch。 〃P。 V。〃 540;



    Eur。 〃Bacch。〃 376。 A favourite word with our author; see 〃Ages。〃



    ix。 4; 〃Cyrop。〃 passim; 〃Mem。〃 III。 viii。 10; 〃Econ。〃 ix。 12。







'2' Lit。 〃delighting I in them and they in me。〃







'3' Or; 〃when I sought tranquility I was my own companion。〃







'4' Or; 〃in sheer forgetfulness。〃







'5' Or; 〃absorbed our souls in song and festal cheer and dance。〃 Cf。



    〃Od。〃 viii。 248; 249; {aiei d' emin dais te phile kitharis te



    khoroi te} | {eimata t' exemoiba loetra te therma kau eunai}; 〃and



    dear to us ever is the banquet and the harp and the dance; and



    changes of raiment; and the warm bath; and love and sleep〃



    (Butcher and Lang)。







'6' Reading as vulg。 {epithumias}。 Breit。 cf。 〃Mem。〃 III。 ix。 7; Plat。



    〃Phaed。〃 116 E; 〃he has eaten and drunk and enjoyed the society of



    his beloved〃 (Jowett)。 See 〃Symp。〃 the finale; or if; after Weiske



    and Cobet; {euthumias}; transl。 〃to the general hilarity of myself



    and the whole company〃 (cf。 〃Cyrop。〃 I。 iii。 12; IV。 v。 7); but



    this is surely a bathos rhetorically。







'7' Or; 〃a worse perplexity。〃 See 〃Hell。〃 VII。 iii。 8。







For terror; you know; not only is a source of pain indwelling in the



breast itself; but; ever in close attendance; shadowing the path;'8'



becomes the destroyer of all sweet joys。







'8' Reading {sumparakolouthon lumeon}。 Stob。 gives {sumparomarton



    lumanter}。 For the sentiment cf。 〃Cyrop。〃 III。 i。 25。







And if you know anything of war; Simonides; and war's alarms; if it



was your fortune ever to be posted close to the enemy's lines;'9' try



to recall to mind what sort of meals you made at those times; with



what sort of slumber you courted rest。 Be assured; there are no pains



you then experienced; no horrors to compare with those that crowd upon



the despot; who sees or seems to see fierce eyes of enemies glare at



him; not face to face alone; but from every side。







'9' Or; 〃in the van of battle; opposite the hostile lines。〃







He had spoken so far; when Simonides took up the thread of the



discourse; replying: Excellently put。 A part I must admit; of what you



say; since war is terrible。 Yet; Hiero; you forget。 When we; at any



rate; are out campaigning; we have a custom; we place sentinels at the



outposts; and when the watch is set; we take our suppers and turn in



undauntedly。







And Hiero answered: Yes; I can well believe you; for the laws are the



true outposts;'10' who guard the sentinels; keeping their fears alive



both for themselves and in behalf of you。 Whereas the tyrant hires his



guards for pay like harvest labourers。'11' Now of all functions; all



abilities; none; I presume; is more required of a guard than that of



faithfulness; and yet one faithful man is a commodity more hard to



find than scores of workmen for any sort of work you like to name;'12'



and the more so; when the guards in question are not forthcoming



except for money's sake;'13' and when they have it in their power to



get far more in far less time by murdering the despot than they can



hope to earn by lengthened service in protecting him。







'10' Or; 〃beyond the sentinels themselves is set the outpost of the



    laws; who watch the watch。〃







'11' Or; 〃ten…day labourers in harvest…time。〃







'12' Or; 〃but to discover one single faithful man is far more



    difficult than scores of labourers in any field of work you



    please。〃







'13' Or; 〃are merely hirelings for filthy lucre's sake。〃







And as to that which roused your envyour ability; as you call it; to



benefit our friends most largely; and beyond all else; to triumph over



our foeshere; again; matters are not as you suppose。







How; for instance; can you hope to benefit your friends; when you may



rest assured the very friend whom you have made most your debtor will



be the happiest to quit your sight as fast as may be? since nobody



believes that anything a tyrant gives him is indeed his own; until he



is well beyond the donor's jurisdiction。







So much for friends; and as to enemies conversely。 How can you say



〃most power of triumphing over our enemies;〃 when every tyrant knows



full well they are all his enemies; every man of them; who are



despotically ruled by him? And to put the whole of them to death or to



imprison them is hardly possible; or who will be his subjects



presently? Not so; but knowing they are his enemies; he must perform



this dexterous feat:'14' he must keep them at arm's length; and yet be



compelled to lean upon them。







'14' Lit。 〃he must at one and the same moment guard against them; and



    yet be driven also to depend upon them。〃







But be assured; Simonides; that when a tyrant fears any of his



citizens; he is in a strait; it is ill work to see them living and ill



work to put them to the death。 Just as might happen with a horse; a



noble beast; but there is that in him makes one fear he will do some



mischief presently past curing。'15' His very virtue makes it hard to



kill the creature; and yet to turn him to account alive is also hard;



so careful must one be; he does not choose the thick of danger to work



irreparable harm。 And this; further; doubtless holds of all goods and



chattels; which are at once a trouble and a benefit。 If painful to



their owners to possess; they are none the less a source of pain to



part with。







'15' Lit。 〃good but fearful (i。e。 he makes one fear); he will some day



    do some desperate mischief。〃















VII







Now when he had heard these reasonings; Simonides replied: O Hiero;



there is a potent force; it would appear; the name of which is honour;



so attractive that human beings strain to grasp it;'1' and in the



effort they will undergo all pains; endure all perils。 It would



further seem that even you; you tyrants; in spite of all that sea of



trouble which a tyranny involves; rush headlong in pursuit of it。 You



must be honoured。 All the world shall be your ministers; they shall



carry out your every injunction with unhestitating zeal。'2' You shall



be the cynosure of neighbouring eyes; men shall rise from their seats



at your approach; they shall step aside to yield you passage i
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!