[6,30] καὶ οὕτως δὴ τὸν Προμηθέα δικαίως λέγεσθαι δεδεμένον ἐν πέτρᾳ κείρεσθαι τὸ ἧπαρ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀετοῦ. ὁπόσα μὲν οὖν πολυδάπανα καὶ δεόμενα πραγματείας καὶ ταλαιπωρίας, ταῦτα μὲν ἀφῄρει καὶ βλαβερὰ τοῖς χρωμένοις ἀπέφαινεν· ὅσα δὲ ῥᾳδίως καὶ ἀπραγμόνως ἔστιν ἐπικουρεῖν τῷ σώματι καὶ πρὸς χειμῶνα καὶ πρὸς λιμὸν καὶ πρὸς τὸ παῦσαί τινα ὄρεξιν τοῦ σώματος, οὐ παρέπεμπεν οὐδὲν αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τόπους ᾑρεῖτο τοὺς ὑγιεινοὺς μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς νοσώδεις (6,31) καὶ τοὺς εὐφόρους ἑκάστῃ ὥρᾳ, καὶ τροφῆς ὅπως εὐπορήσει τῆς ἱκανῆς ἐπεμελεῖτο καὶ ἐσθῆτος τῆς μετρίας, πραγμάτων δὲ καὶ δικῶν καὶ φιλονικιῶν καὶ πολέμων καὶ στάσεων ἐκτὸς ἦν. καὶ μάλιστα ἐμιμεῖτο τῶν θεῶν τὸν βίον· ἐκείνους γὰρ μόνους φησὶν Ὅμηρος ῥᾳδίως ζῆν, ὡς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιπόνως καὶ χαλεπῶς βιούντων. τὰ δὲ τοιαῦτα ἔφη καὶ τὰ θηρία διορᾶν. (6,32) τοὺς μὲν γὰρ πελαργοὺς τὰ θερμὰ τοῦ θέρους ἀπολείποντας εἰς τὸν εὔκρατον ἀέρα ἀφικνεῖσθαι, καὶ διαγαγόντας ἐνταῦθα ὁπόσον ἥδιστον τοῦ χρόνου, μετὰ ταῦτα ἀθρόους ἀπιέναι, τὸν χειμῶνα ὑποχωροῦντας, τὰς δὲ γεράνους ἐπιφοιτᾶν τῷ σπόρῳ, χειμῶνα μετρίως φερούσας, καὶ τῆς τροφῆς ἕνεκα. (6,33) τὰς δὲ ἐλάφους καὶ τοὺς λαγὼς τοῦ μὲν ψύχους εἰς τὰ πεδία καὶ τὰ κοῖλα καταβαίνειν ἐκ τῶν ὀρῶν, κἀνταῦθα ὑποστέλλειν τοῖς ἀπηνέμοις καὶ προσηνέσι, τοῦ δὲ καύματος εἰς τὴν ὕλην ἀποχωρεῖν καὶ τὰ βορειότατα τῶν χωρίων. (6,34) ὁρῶν δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ἅπαντα μὲν τὸν βίον ταραττομένους, ἅπαντα δὲ ἀλλήλοις ἐπιβουλεύοντας, ἀεὶ δὲ ἐν κακοῖς ὄντας μυρίοις, μηδέποτε δὲ ἡσυχίαν δυναμένους ἄγειν, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ ἐν ταῖς ἱερομηνίαις μηδὲ ἂν ἐκεχειρίαν ἐπαγγέλλωσι, καὶ ταῦτα ξύμπαντα δι´ οὐδὲν ἕτερον τὰ μὲν δρῶντας, τὰ δὲ πάσχοντας, ἢ ὅπως ζῆν δυνήσονται, καὶ μάλιστα δὴ δεδιότας μήποτε αὐτοὺς ἐπιλίπῃ τἀναγκαῖα δὴ λεγόμενα, ἔτι δὲ φροντίζοντας καὶ ζητοῦντας ὅπως παισὶ τοῖς αὑτῶν καταλίπωσι πολλὰ χρήματα, ἐθαύμαζεν ὅτι μηδὲν αὐτὸς πράττοι τοιοῦτον, ἀλλὰ μόνος δὴ τῶν ἁπάντων ἐλεύθερός ἐστι καὶ οὐδεὶς ἄλλος συνίησι τῆς αὑτοῦ μάλιστα εὐδαιμονίας. (6,35) ὥστε οὐκέθ´ αὑτὸν ἠξίου τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ παραβάλλειν· πολὺ γὰρ εἶναι τὸ μεταξύ. τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἀθλιώτατον ἁπάντων τυγχάνειν, φοβούμενον μὲν ἐν τοσούτῳ χρυσῷ πενίαν, φοβούμενον δὲ νόσους, τῶν δὲ νοσερῶν ἀπέχεσθαι μὴ δυνάμενον, ἐκπεπληγμένον δὲ τὸν θάνατον, καὶ πάντας ἐπιβουλεύειν αὐτῷ νομίζοντα μέχρι τῶν παίδων τε καὶ ἀδελφῶν. (6,36) διὰ δὲ ταῦτα μήτε ἐσθίοντα ἥδεσθαι, τῶν ἡδίστων αὐτῷ παρόντων, μήτε πίνοντα ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι τῶν ὀχληρῶν. μηδεμίαν δὲ ἡμέραν διάγειν ῥᾳδίως, ἐν ᾗ βλέπειν αὐτὸν εἶναι μὴ τὰ δεινότατα πάσχοντα. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν νήφοντα ἐπιθυμεῖν μέθης, ὡς τότε ἀπαλλαγησόμενον τῶν συμφορῶν, τοῦτο δ´ αὖ μεθύοντα ἀπολωλέναι νομίζειν, ὡς ἀδύνατον αὑτῷ βοηθεῖν. (6,37) ἔτι δὲ ἐγρηγορότα μὲν εὔχεσθαι καθυπνῶσαι, ὅπως ἐπιλάθηται τῶν φόβων, κοιμώμενον δὲ ἀναστῆναι τὴν ταχίστην, ἅτε ὑπ´ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐνυπνίων ἀπολλύμενον· τῆς δὲ χρυσῆς αὐτῷ πλατάνου καὶ τῶν Σεμιράμιδος οἰκοδομημάτων καὶ τῶν ἐν Βαβυλῶνι τειχῶν μηδὲν ὄφελος γιγνόμενον. (6,38) τὸ δὲ δὴ πάντων παραλογώτατον, φοβεῖσθαι μὲν τοὺς ἀνόπλους, πιστεύειν δὲ αὑτὸν τοῖς ὡπλισμένοις, καὶ διερευνᾶσθαι μὲν τοὺς προσιόντας, μή τις ἔχοι σίδηρον, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ ζῆν τῶν σιδηροφορούντων. φεύγειν δὲ ἀπὸ μὲν τῶν ἀνόπλων πρὸς τοὺς ὡπλισμένους, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ὡπλισμένων πρὸς τοὺς ἀνόπλους· ἀπὸ μέν γε τοῦ πλήθους φυλάττεσθαι τοῖς δορυφόροις, ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν δορυφόρων εὐνούχοις. οὐκ ἔχειν δὲ οἷς ἂν πιστεύσας οὐδὲ ὅποι τραπόμενος δυνήσεται ζῆσαι μίαν ἡμέραν ἀφόβως. (6,39) ὑφορᾶσθαι δὲ καὶ τὰ σιτία καὶ τὸ ποτόν, καὶ τοὺς προπειράσοντας ταῦτα ἔχειν, ὥσπερ ἐν ὁδῷ πολεμίων γεμούσῃ τοὺς προερευνῶντας. ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις θαρρεῖν, μήτε παισὶ μήτε γυναικί. οὕτως δὲ χαλεποῦ ὄντος {τοῦ} πράγματος καὶ δυστυχοῦς τῆς μοναρχίας, μηδὲ ἀπαλλαγῆναί ποτε αὐτοῦ μήτε βούλεσθαι μήτε δύνασθαι.

[6,30] Things, therefore, that were costly or demanded constant attention and worry he rejected and showed to be injurious to those who used them; but whatever could readily and without effort help the body to withstand the winter's cold or hunger or to satisfy some other appetite of the body, he would never forgo; nay, he would choose localities that were healthful in preference to the unhealthy, and those that were adapted to the different seasons, 31 and he took care to have a sufficient supply of food and moderate clothing, but from public affairs, lawsuits, rivalries, wars, and factions he kept himself clear. He tried especially to imitate the life of the gods, for they alone, as Homer asserts, live at ease, implying that the life of man is full of labour and hardship. Even the lower animals, he claimed, understand this sort of thing clearly. 32 The storks, for example, leave the heat of the summer and migrate to a temperate climate, and after spending as long a time there as is most congenial to them, depart in flocks, retreating before the winter; while cranes, which stand the winter fairly well, come at seeding time and for the food they pick up. 33 Deer and hares come down from the mountains into the plains and valleys in the cold weather and find shelter there in comfortable nooks away from the wind, but in the hot season withdraw into the woods and the most northerly regions. 34 When, therefore, he observed (p269) how other men were harassed throughout their whole lives, ever plotting against one another, ever encompassed by a thousand ills and never able to enjoy a moment's rest, nay, not even during the great festivals nor when they proclaimed a truce; and when he beheld that they did or suffered all this simply in order to keep themselves alive, and that their greatest fear was lest their so-called necessities should fail them, and how, furthermore, they planned and strove to leave great riches to their children, he marvelled that he too did not do the like, but was the only independent man in the world, and that nobody else had any comprehension of his own highest happiness. 35 For these reasons he refused to compare himself any farther with the king of the Persians, since there was a great difference between them. In fact, the king was, he said, the most miserable man alive, fearing poverty in spite of all his gold, fearing sickness and yet unable to keep away from the things that cause it, in great dread of death and imagining that everybody was plotting against him, even his own sons and his brothers. 36 So the despot could neither eat with pleasure, though the most tempting dishes were placed before him, nor drown his troubles in wine. Not a day did he pass "at ease" in which he looked about without suffering torments. When sober, he longed for intoxication in the belief that he would then have relief from his misfortunes, and when drunk, he imagined himself to be ruined just because he was unable to help himself. 37 And further, when awake, (p271) he prayed for sleep that he might forget his fears, but when asleep he would immediately leap up, imagining that his very dreams were killing him; and neither the golden plane-tree, nor the mansions of Semiramis, nor the walls of Babylon were of any help to him. 38 The most absurd thing of all, however, was that, though he feared unarmed persons, yet he entrusted himself to his armed guards, that though he searched those who approached him to see if any had a weapon, yet he lived surrounded by men who carried weapons. He was forever fleeing from the unarmed to the armed and from the armed to the unarmed; from the people he protected himself by means of his bodyguard and from his bodyguard by means of his eunuchs. He had no one that he could trust, nor refuge to which he could turn so that he might live a single day without fear. 39 He suspected everything he ate or drank, and had men to sample things for him like so many scouts on a road beset by the enemy. Nay, he could not place confidence in his nearest and dearest, whether children or wife. Yet, difficult and grievous as the position of monarch was, he never wanted to get rid of it, nor could be.