Texte grec :
| [32,15] καθόλου γὰρ οὐδὲν εὔδαιμον οὐδ´ ὠφέλιμον, ὃ μὴ κατὰ γνώμην
καὶ δύναμιν τῶν θεῶν ἀφικνεῖται πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἀλλὰ πανταχῇ πάντων
ἀγαθῶν αὐτοὶ κρατοῦσι καὶ διανέμουσι δαψιλῶς τοῖς ἐθέλουσι δέχεσθαι·
τὰ κακὰ δὲ ἀλλαχόθεν, ὡς ἐξ ἑτέρας τινὸς πηγῆς ἔρχεται {τῶν} πλησίον
οὔσης παρ´ ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦδε τοῦ ὕδατος τὸ μὲν σῷζον καὶ
τρέφον καὶ γόνιμον ὄντως ἄνωθέν ποθεν ἐκ δαιμονίου τινὸς πηγῆς
κάτεισι, τοὺς ῥυπαροὺς δὲ ὀχετοὺς καὶ δυσώδεις αὐτοὶ ποιοῦμεν
καὶ ἀφ´ ἡμῶν οὗτοι ἵστανται. διὰ γὰρ ἀνθρώπων ἄνοιαν καὶ τρυφὴν καὶ
φιλοτιμίαν δυσχερὴς ὁ βίος καὶ μεστὸς ἀπάτης, πονηρίας,
λύπης, μυρίων ἄλλων κακῶν. τούτων δὲ ἓν ἴαμα καὶ φάρμακον
ἐποίησαν οἱ θεοὶ παιδείαν καὶ λόγον, ᾧ διὰ βίου μέν τις χρώμενος
καὶ συνεχῶς ἦλθέ ποτε πρὸς τέλος ὑγιὲς καὶ εὔδαιμον· οἱ δὲ σπανίως
καὶ διὰ χρόνου ποτὲ περιτυχόντες
ἄλλοτε μὲν ζώους´ ἑτερήμεροι, ἄλλοτε δ´ αὖτε
τεθνᾶσιν·
ὅμως δὲ ἤδη ποτὲ ἐξαισίων δεινῶν ἐπικειμένων αὐτοῖς ἀπετράπησαν.
οἱ δὲ διὰ παντὸς ἄπειροι τοῦ φαρμάκου τούτου καὶ μηδέποτε
σωφρονοῦντι λόγῳ τὰς ἀκοὰς ὑπέχοντες ὁλοκλήρως ἄθλιοι
μηδεμίαν σκέπην μηδὲ προβολὴν ἔχοντες ἀπὸ τῶν παθῶν,
ἀλλ´ ἐν ἀκαλύπτῳ καὶ ταλαιπώρῳ βίῳ
χειμαζόμενοι,
καθάπερ σκάφει σαθρῷ καὶ λελυμένῳ πάντων ἐν ἀγνώμονι γνώμῃ
καὶ πονηρίᾳ. συμβαίνει δὲ τοὺς κακίστους καὶ ἀτυχεστάτους ὡς
πορρωτάτω φεύγειν ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου καὶ μὴ ἐθέλειν ἀκούειν, μηδ´ ἂν
βιάζηταί τις, ὥσπερ οἶμαι καὶ τῶν ἑλκῶν τὰ δυσχερῆ λίαν οὐκ ἐᾷ
προσάψασθαι, καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ σημεῖόν ἐστι τοῦ πάνυ πονήρως
αὐτὰ ἔχειν. οἱ δὲ τοιοῦτοι παρ´ ἑτέρους ἴασιν ἰατροὺς οὐχ ἑκόντες
ἰσχυροτέρους. διττὴ γὰρ θεραπεία κακίας καὶ πρόνοια, καθάπερ
τῶν ἄλλων νόσων· ἡ μὲν ἐοικυῖα διαίτῃ καὶ φαρμάκοις, ἡ δὲ καύσει
καὶ τομῇ, προσήκουσα μᾶλλον ἄρχουσι καὶ νόμοις καὶ δικασταῖς,
οἳ τὸ περιττὸν δὴ καὶ ἀνίατον ἐξαιροῦσι. βελτίους δέ εἰσιν
οἱ μὴ ῥᾳδίως αὐτὸ πράττοντες. τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν ἐπιμέλειαν ἔργον
εἶναί φημι τῶν δυναμένων διὰ πειθοῦς καὶ λόγου ψυχὰς πραΰνειν
καὶ μαλάττειν. οὗτοι δὲ σωτῆρές εἰσι καὶ φύλακες τῶν οἵων τε
σώζεσθαι, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν εἰς τέλος τὴν πονηρίαν εἴργοντες καὶ κατέχοντες.
δεῖ μὲν οὖν ἑκατέρων ταῖς πόλεσι, πολὺ δὲ ἐπιεικεστέρων τῶν ἐν ταῖς
ἐξουσίαις. κολάζειν μὲν γὰρ προσήκει φειδόμενον, διδάσκειν δὲ μὴ
φειδόμενον· καὶ χρηστοῦ μέν ἐστιν ἡγεμόνος
συγγνώμη, φιλοσόφου δὲ κακοῦ μὴ πικρὸν εἶναι. τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς
τιμωρίας σκληρὸν ἀπόλλυσι, τὸ δὲ τοῦ λόγου πικρὸν σῴζειν πέφυκε.
κινδυνεύει μέντοι πολλή τις εἶναι σπάνις ὑμῖν τῶν 〈τὸ〉
ὕστερον ἐπισταμένων. οὔτε γὰρ χρήματα αὐτοῖς οὔτε δύναμις
περιγίγνεται διὰ τούτου, ἀλλ´ ἀπέχθεια μᾶλλον καὶ λοιδορία καὶ
προπηλακισμός· ὧν ἴσως οὐκ ἔδει φροντίζειν· τοιγαροῦν διὰ τὴν
ἐκείνων ἀναχώρησιν καὶ σιωπὴν ἐρίδων ὑμῖν φύεται πλῆθος καὶ
δικῶν καὶ βοὴ τραχεῖα καὶ γλῶτται βλαβεραὶ καὶ ἀκόλαστοι,
κατήγοροι, συκοφαντήματα, γραφαί, ῥητόρων ὄχλος, καθάπερ οἶμαι
δι´ ἔνδειαν ἰατρῶν ἢ {δι´} ἀπειρίαν πλείους οἱ θάπτοντες γίγνονται.
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Traduction française :
| [32,15] For, in general, there is no good fortune, no benefit,
that does not reach us in accordance with the will and the
power of the gods ; on the contrary the gods themselves
control all blessings everywhere and apportion
lavishly to all who are ready to receive ; but evils
come from quite a different source, as it were from
some other fount close beside us. Take for example
the water of Alexandria—that which keeps us alive
and nourishes us and is truly the author of our being :
it descends from some region up above, from some
divine fount; whereas the filthy, evil-smelling canals
are our own creation, and it is our fault that such
things exist. For it is through man's folly and love
of luxury and ambition, that life comes to be vexations
and full of deceit, wickedness, pain, and countless other ills.
However, for these maladies one remedy and cure
has been provided by the gods, to wit, education
and reason, and the man who throughout life employs
that remedy with consistency comes at last to a
healthy, happy end; but those who encounter it
rarely and only after long intervals,
"Alternate live one day, are dead the next".
But, nevertheless, there have been occasions when
even such persons have been turned aside when
portentous disasters were impending. But those
who are wholly unacquainted with the remedy of
which I speak, and never give ear to chastening
reason, are utterly wretched, having no refuge or
defence against their sufferings,
"But storm-tossed on the sea of life they drift,
Devoid of shelter and in misery",
as if embarked upon a rotten and wholly shattered
hulk, amidst a sea of senseless opinion and misery.
And it so happens that it is the most depraved
and unfortunate men who flee the farthest from the
voice of reason and will not listen to it, not even if you
try to force them—just as, I fancy, those sores which
are especially distressing shrink from the touch, and
that in itself is a sign of their extremely bad condition.
But such sufferers will have to visit a different kind
of physician, however unwillingly, whose treatment
will be more drastic. For there are two systems for the
treatment of vice and its prevention, just as there are
for maladies in general: the one may be likened to
dieting and drugs, and the other resembles cautery and
the knife, this being more suitable for the use of magistrates
and laws and jurymen, that is, for those whose
business it is to remove growths that are abnormal
and incurable. But much to be preferred are those
who do not lightly resort to removal. The other
treatment is, I claim, the proper function of men who
have the power through persuasion and reason to
calm and soften the soul. These indeed are saviours
and guardians of all who can be saved, confining
and controlling vice before it reaches its final stage.
It is true, no doubt, that both types of practitioners
are required by the state, but the type to be found
in public office should be much the milder of the two.
For in administering punishment one should be
sparing, but not so in imparting instruction ; and a
good prince is marked by compassion, a bad philosopher
by lack of severity. For while the harshness
of the one in punishing destroys, the other's
severity of speech is by nature salutary. It is likely,
however, that you have a great dearth of men
who are expert in the latter branch of healing ;
for its practitioners gain neither wealth nor power
thereby, but rather hatred, abuse, and reviling,
though perhaps one should pay no more attention to
such things. Accordingly, when the philosophers
quit the field and are silent, there springs up among
you a multitude of quarrels and lawsuits, harsh
cries, tongues that are mischievous and unrestrained,
accusers, calumnies, writs, a horde of professional
pleaders—just as, I suspect, the lack of physicians,
or else their incompetence, accounts for the increase
in number of the undertakers !
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