[57,5] καθάπερ οὖν ὅταν ἰατρὸς βουλόμενος τεμεῖν τινα ἢ
καῦσαι παρασχεῖν αὑτὸν ἢ πιεῖν φάρμακον ἀηδές, δειλὸν εἰδὼς τὸν
ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀνόητον, ἑτέρων μνημονεύῃ τῶν ὑφ´ αὑτοῦ σωθέντων
διὰ τὸ πεισθέντας ὑπομεῖναι τὴν θεραπείαν, οὐδείς φησιν
ἀλαζονεύεσθαι τὸν ταῦτα λέγοντα· δοκεῖ μοι δικαίως ἂν μηδὲ ὁ
Νέστωρ αἰτίαν ἔχειν ἀλαζονείας.
(6) ἓν μὲν δὴ τοῦτο ὑπῆρχεν ὄφελος ἐκ τῶν λόγων·
ἕτερον δέ· {καὶ} τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέα
ἠπίστατο οὐκ ἄλλως ἁμαρτάνοντας ἢ δι´ ὕβριν· ὑβρίζειν δὲ ἡγεῖτο
τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τότε μάλιστα σχεδόν, ἐπειδὰν καταφρονῶσι τῶν
ἄλλων καὶ νομίζωσι πολὺ χείρους αὑτῶν, ἐπαιρόμενοι διὰ δόξαν
ἢ δύναμιν, {ᾗ} καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέα καὶ τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα ἐγίγνωσκε διὰ
τοῦτο ἐπαιρομένους καὶ στασιάζοντας ὑπὸ μεγαλαυχίας ἑκάτερον.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ ᾤετο, Πηλέως καὶ Θέτιδος υἱὸς ὢν καὶ τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων
διαφέρων ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι, προσήκειν αὑτῷ μηδενὸς ἁπλῶς
ὑπακούειν μηδὲ κρείττονα νομίζειν αὑτοῦ μηδένα·
(7) τῷ δὲ Ἀγαμέμνονι τῆς ὕβρεως αἴτιον ὑπῆρχεν ἡ δύναμις
ἡ τῆς βασιλείας καὶ τὸ μόνον ἄρχειν τῶν Ἑλλήνων πάντων.
ὑπὸ δὴ τούτων ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς διεφθαρμένους καὶ μὴ δυναμένους
ὁμονοεῖν ἀλλήλοις, ἀλλὰ τὰς ψυχὰς οἰδοῦντας, ὡς ὕστερόν φησιν ὁ Ἀχιλλεύς,
ἀλλά μοι οἰδάνεται κραδίη {χόλῳ}·
ἐβούλετο ταπεινῶσαι καὶ τοῦ φρονήματος, εἰ δύναιτο, καθελεῖν·
ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ οἰδοῦντα νύξαντες ἢ πιέσαντες. διὰ τοῦτο ἐμέμνητο
ἀνδρῶν ἐνδόξων καὶ δυνατῶν, ἔτι δὲ οἶμαι πρότερον γεγονότων,
εἰδὼς ἐκείνοις μᾶλλον συνεπομένην τὴν δόξαν.
(8) καὶ μέντοι γε οὐκ ἐπ´ αὐτοῖς ἐποιήσατο τίνα γνώμην ἕξουσι περὶ
τῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἀλλ´ αὐτὸς ἀποφαίνεται ἄντικρυς ὡς πολὺ κρείττονας ἐκείνων
ὄντας, εἰ δύναιντο ὀλίγον ὑφεῖναι τοῦ τύφου καὶ τῆς μανίας. ἆρα
εἰκῇ δοκεῖ ὑμῖν Ὅμηρος περιθεῖναι τοὺς λόγους τούτους Νέστορι,
ὅν φησι δεινότατον εἶναι ἀνθρώπων καὶ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ τῶν
λόγων προσεικάζει τῇ φύσει τοῦ μέλιτος, ὃ τοῖς μὲν ὑγιαίνουσιν
ἥδιστον καὶ γλυκύτατον ἁπάντων, τοῖς δὲ νοσοῦσι καὶ πυρέττουσιν,
ὥς φασιν, ἀηδέστατον καὶ τὰ ἡλκωμένα καὶ πεπονθότα καθαίρειν
καὶ δάκνειν πέφυκεν.
(9) καὶ γὰρ ὁ τοῦ Νέστορος λόγος, τοῖς ἄλλοις γλυκὺς φαινόμενος,
πικρὸς ἔδοξε τῷ Ἀχιλλεῖ καὶ τῷ Ἀγαμέμνονι,
νοσοῦσι καὶ διεφθαρμένοις ὑπὸ τῆς ὀργῆς, ὥστε οὐκ ἐπείσθησαν
αὐτῷ διὰ τὴν ἄνοιαν. οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ τοῦτο εἶπε μάτην Ὅμηρος,
οὐδέ, ὥσπερ οἴονταί τινες, ἀπὸ τύχης. {ἢ δοκεῖ ὑμῖν τὰ παιδία,
ὧν νέμεται τὸ στόμα καὶ διεφθαρμένον ἐστὶν ὑπὸ ἑλκῶν, οὐκ ἀγανακτεῖν
καὶ βοᾶν, μέλιτος γευόμενα;} περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων ἐῶμεν.
| [57,5] Therefore, just as when a physician who wants a patient
to submit to surgery or cautery or to the drinking of some
unpleasant drug, knowing the patient to be cowardly
and foolish, mentions others who have been saved
by him because they willingly submitted to his
treatment, no one says the man who makes these
statements is bragging, so it seems to me that
Nestor could not justly be accused of bragging either.
(6) This, then, was one benefit resulting from his
words. And here is another—Nestor knew that
both Agamemnon and Achilles were misbehaving for
no other reason than because of insolence ; and he
believed that men are insolent most of all, one might
say, when they despise the others and deem them
far inferior to themselves, being puffed up through
reputation or power, and he perceived that this was
why Achilles and Agamemnon were puffed up and
wrangling, each of them because of arrogance. For
the one, as he saw, being a son of Peleus and Thetis
and pre-eminent among the men of his day in fighting,
believed that it befitted his dignity not to listen to
anyone at all or to regard anyone as superior to himself ;
(7) but in Agamemnon's case the cause of his
arrogance was the power attached to his kingship and
his being sole ruler of all the Greeks. Seeing, therefore,
that they had been spoiled by these things and
could not live at peace with one another, but that they
were swollen in spirit—as later Achilles declares,
"My heart with wrath doth swell"
Nestor wished to humble them and, if possible,
reduce their pride, just as persons reduce swellings
by pricking or squeezing. This explains why he
mentioned men of fame and power, and besides, I
fancy, men of former times, knowing as he did that
fame attaches rather to such men. (8) Moreover, he did
not leave to his hearers to determine what opinion
they should hold about the men, but instead he
himself expressly declares that they were far superior
to Agamemnon and Achilles, in the hope that they
might abate somewhat their folly and madness.
Do you think, I ask you, that Homer put these
words into Nestor's mouth at random, the Nestor
whom he declares to be most eloquent of men and
whose power of eloquence he likens to the sweetness
of honey, which is most pleasant and sweetest of all
to those who are well, though to those who are ill and
suffering from fever, so I hear, it is most unpleasant
and has the natural power of cleansing and causing
to smart parts which are festered and diseased ?
(9) For instance, the speech of Nestor, though it appeared
sweet to the others, seemed bitter to Achilles and
Agamemnon, diseased as they were and corrupted
by their rage, and as a result they did not obey him
because of their folly. Therefore Homer did not say
this at random either or, as some imagine, by chance.
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