[74,10] μακάριον γὰρ ἂν ἦν, εἰ καθάπερ παῖδα καὶ μειράκιον καὶ νεανίσκον καὶ πρεσβύτην χρόνος ποιεῖ, καὶ φρόνιμον οὕτως ἐποίει καὶ δίκαιον καὶ πιστόν. καὶ μὴν τῶν γυναικῶν τῶν φαύλων οὐδέν εἰσι βελτίους οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ μοχθηροί. κατὰ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα διαφέρουσιν, οὐ κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν. καθάπερ οὖν οὐδὲν ἐκείνας ἐᾷ προσίεσθαι τῶν πλείονος ἀξίων ὁ νόμος, ἀλλ´ ὥρισται μέχρι τίνος προσήκει· τὸν αὐτὸν οἶμαι τρόπον καὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς μέχρι τῶν ἐλαχίστων κοινωνητέον· πράξεων δὲ μειζόνων ἢ λόγων (11) ἀναγκαίων ἢ τῆς ἀσφαλείας τῆς περὶ τὸν βίον οὐδέποτε. καὶ γὰρ εἴ ποτε ἀπέχονται τοῦ κακῶς ποιεῖν δι´ ἣν δήποτ´ αἰτίαν, ὥσπερ τὰ θηρία πολλάκις ἠρεμεῖ κοιμώμενα ἢ ἐμπεπλησμένα, τὴν μέντοι φύσιν οὐκ ἀποβέβληκε τὴν αὑτῶν, παραπλησίως δὴ κἀκεῖνοι χρόνον τινὰ οὐκ ἔβλαψαν, ἔπειτα συμβάσης προφάσεως καὶ τὸν τόκον, φασί, καὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς πονηρίας ἐκτίνουσιν. ὁ Λάκων, ἐν ὁμιλίαις τινῶν συντιθεμένων αὐτῷ καὶ ἀξιούντων παρ´ αὐτῶν λαμβάνειν ἣν ἂν προαιρῆται πίστιν ὑπὲρ τῆς φιλίας, μίαν ἔφη πίστιν εἶναι τὸ ἐὰν θέλωσιν ἀδικῆσαι μὴ δύνασθαι, τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς πάσας εὐήθεις καὶ τελέως ἀσθενεῖς. (12) ταύτην μόνην παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν τὴν πίστιν δεῖ λαμβάνειν, ἑτέραν δὲ οὐδεμίαν. ἡ γὰρ ἐκ τῶν λόγων καὶ τῆς συνηθείας καὶ τῶν ὅρκων καὶ τοῦ γένους καταγέλαστος. ὁ Ἀτρεὺς ἀδελφὸς ἦν τοῦ Θυέστου καὶ τῶν παιδαρίων, ἃ κατέκοψεν, θεῖος· ὁ Ἐτεοκλῆς καὶ ὁ Πολυνείκης οὐ μόνον ἀδελφοὶ κατὰ τὸν νόμον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ υἱοῦ καὶ μητρὸς γεγονότες τῶν ξυγγενεστάτων· ὥστ´, εἴπερ ὠφέλει τι τὸ γένος, οὗτοι μάλιστα ἁπάντων ἀλλήλους {μᾶλλον} ὤφειλον ἀγαπᾶν· ἀλλ´ ὁ πιστευθεὶς πρῶτον τὸν πιστεύσαντα ἐξέβαλε καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀπεστέρει καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀλλήλους ἀπέκτειναν. (13) ὁ Θησεὺς τὸν Ἱππόλυτον, πατὴρ ὢν καὶ Ποσειδῶνος υἱός, διαβολαῖς πεισθεὶς ἀπέκτεινε καταρασάμενος. ὁ Πρίαμος πρότερον εὐδαιμονίᾳ διαφέρων καὶ τοσούτων ἐθνῶν καὶ τηλικούτου τόπου βασιλεύων, ὅσσον Λέσβος ἄνω Μάκαρος ἕδος ἐντὸς ἐέργει καὶ Φρυγίη καθύπερθε καὶ Ἑλλήσποντος ἀπείρων διὰ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὴν ἀκρασίαν τὴν ἐκείνου πάντων ἀθλιώτατος ἐγένετο. καὶ οὗτοι μὲν ἐπίσημοι. πόσον δὲ οἴει πλῆθος ἐν ἑκάστῃ πόλει τῶν ἀφανῶν καὶ δημοτικῶν Ἀτρέων καὶ Θυεστῶν, τῶν μὲν (14) καὶ ἀποκτιννύντων κρύφα, τῶν δὲ εἰς ἄλλα ἐπιβουλευόντων; Ἀερόπας μέν γε καὶ Κλυταιμνήστρας καὶ Σθενεβοίας οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν ἔστιν ὅσαι. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν τοῦ γένους καὶ τῆς οἰκειότητος τοιαῦτα, τὰ δὲ τῶν ὅρκων ποῖα; ὁ Πάνδαρος ὤμοσε τῷ Μενελάῳ, ὥσπερ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ Τρῶες, ἀλλ´ οὐδὲν ἧττον ἔτρωσεν αὐτόν. Τισσαφέρνης οὐκ ὤμοσε τοῖς περὶ Κλέαρχον; τί δέ; ὁ βασιλεὺς οὐχὶ καὶ τοὺς βασιλείους θεοὺς καὶ τὴν δεξιὰν ἀπέστειλε; Φίλιππος δὲ ὁ Μακεδὼν οὐ διετέλει καθάπερ ἄλλο τι τῶν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον εὐχρήστων καὶ τὴν ἐπιορκίαν παρεσκευασμένος καὶ δυσὶ τούτοις τὰς πόλεις αἱρῶν, τῷ τε παρασπονδεῖν καὶ τῷ τοὺς προδώσοντας παρασκευάζειν; τῷ παντὶ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τὸν τρόπον οἰκειότερον ἔχων· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ προδόταις ἀργύριον ἦν ἀνάγκη διδόναι, τοῖς θεοῖς δὲ περὶ ὅρκων οὐθὲν ἐτέλει.

[74,10] It would indeed be a blessing if, just as one becomes successively a lad, a stripling, a youth, and an old man by the passing of time, one might also in the same way become Wise and just and trustworthy. Yet it must be said that not one whit better than women of the meaner sort are the men who are depraved. They differ in body, not in mind. Accordingly, just as the women are not allowed by law to accept agreements involving too large a sum, but a limit has been set defining the amount to which they may do so, in the saure way, I believe, we should also have dealings with the ordinary run of men so far as the things of least importance, but in actions of greater importance or in discussions about urgent matters or in the safeguarding of one's existence, never ! (11) For the fact is, if they ever refrain from doing mischief for whatever reason, just as the wild beasts often are quiet when asleep or sated with food, though they have not discarded their own peculiar nature, similarly the masses too for a time do no harm, yet lester when some pretext is presented they pay in full, as the saying goes, both the interest and the principal of their villainy. The Spartan, when in social gatherings certain persons offered to make a compact with him and invited him to take as a guarantee of their friendship whatever he might choose, replied that there was only one guarantee, namely, their inability to do harm even if they wished, but that all other guarantees were foolish and absolutely good for nothing. That guarantee alone should one accept from the masses, no other. For the guarantee which consists in phrases, in acquaintanceship, in oaths, in kinship is laughable. Atreus was the brother of Thyestes and the uncle of the little boys whom he slaughtered ; Eteocles and Polyneices were not only brothers according to the law, but also children of a son and his mother, the closest relationship possible ; wherefore, if there were any utility in birth, these most of all should have loved each other ; (13) whereas, in the first place, he who had been trusted expelled the brother who had trusted him and robbed him of his country, and after that they slew each other. Although Theseus was the father of Hippolytus and the son of Poseidon, persuaded by slanders he cursed his son and brought about his death. Priam, who previously had been notable for good fortune and who was king over so many tribes and so wide a domain — "Seaward as far as Lesbos, the abode Of Macar, landward to Phrygia and the stream Of boundless Hellespont" — all because of his son and that son's incontinence became the most wretched man of all. Now these were men of mark, but how great a multitude do you suppose can be found in every city of the obscure and plebeian Atreuses and Thyesteses, some actually committing murder undetected, and some making plots of other kinds ? (14) As for the Aëropês and Clytaemnestras and Stheneboeas, they are too numerous to mention., Well, such are the facts about family and domestic ties, but how about oaths ? Pandarus gave an oath to Menelaüs, as did the other Trojans too, but none the less he wounded him. Did not Tissaphernes give an oath to Clearchus and his men ? What ! did not the Great King send them the royal gods and his plighted word ? Again, take Philip of Macedon ; just as any other weapon which was serviceable for his warfare, was he not always equipped with perjury too ; and was he not always seizing the cities by means of these two devices, either violation of treaties or suborning of traitors ? He found the former altogether more congenial ; for while he had to give money to the traitors, to the gods he paid nothing in connexion with oaths.