[74,20] ἀλλ´ οἶμαι τῶν περιπεσόντων ἕκαστος, ὑφ´ οὗ πέπονθε κακῶς, ἐκεῖνο μάλιστα ὑφορᾶται καὶ προλέγει φυλάττεσθαι τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὁ μὲν ὑπὸ ἔχεως πληγεὶς ἔχιν, ὁ δὲ ὑπὸ σκορπίου σκορπίον· ὃν δ´ ἂν κύων δάκῃ, ὄψει βακτηρίαν ἀεὶ περιφέροντα, τὸ αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους πεπόνθασιν οἱ πολλοί. τῷ μὲν ἐκ γυναικός τι συνέβη δεινόν· οὗτος δὴ κέκραγεν· ὦ Ζεῦ, τί δὴ κίβδηλον ἀνθρώποις κακὸν γυναῖκας εἰς φῶς ἡλίου κατῴκισας; ἄλλον ὑποδεχθεὶς ξένος ἐλύπησεν, ὡς Ἀλέξανδρος τὰ τοῦ Μενελάου κτήματα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ὑφελόμενος. ὁ τοιοῦτος πρὸς τοὺς (21) ξένους διαβέβληται, πρὸς ἀδελφὸν ἕτερος, ἄλλος πρὸς υἱόν. τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα οὐ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν—οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἀδελφὸς οὐδὲ ὁ συγγενὴς οὐδὲ ὁ ξένος πέφυκεν ἀδικεῖν, ἀλλ´ ὁ μοχθηρὸς ἄνθρωπος· τοῦτο δὲ μικροῦ δεῖν ἐν πᾶσίν ἐστιν—ἀλλ´ εἰ νοῦν ἔχεις, πάντας εὐλαβοῦ. ξένος· εὐλαβοῦ. μέτριος εἶναί φησι· μᾶλλον εὐλαβοῦ. τοῦτο ἀκίνητον ὑπαρχέτω. ‚νὴ Δί´, ἀλλ´ ἐπιδείκνυται δεξιοῦ τινος εὔνοιαν;‛ οὐκοῦν ἀποδέχου τοῦτον, τοῖς θεοῖς εἰδὼς χάριν, εἰ βούλει δέ, κἀκείνῳ· πρὸς δὲ τὸ μέλλον φυλάττεσθαι χρὴ αὐτόν. ὃ γάρ τις ἐπὶ τῆς τύχης εἶπε, πολὺ μᾶλλον ἂν ἐπ´ ἀνθρώπων τοῦτο ῥηθείη, τὸ μηδένα εἰδέναι περὶ μηδενός, εἰ μέχρι τῆς αὔριον (22) διαμενεῖ τοιοῦτος. τὰς γοῦν πρὸς αὑτοὺς παραβαίνουσι συνθήκας καὶ συμβουλεύουσιν αὑτοῖς ἕτερα, καὶ ἄλλα συμφέρειν νομίζοντες ἄλλα πράττουσιν. ὅθεν ὅταν τις ἐκ τοῦ πιστεύειν περιπέσῃ τινὶ τῶν δυσκόλων, γελοῖός ἐστιν αἰτιώμενος ἐκεῖνον, ἑαυτὸν δέον, καὶ θεοὺς ἐνίοτε ἐπιβοώμενος, ὑπ´ ἀνδρὸς ἀπατηθεὶς φίλου καὶ συνήθους. οἱ δὲ θεοὶ καταγελῶσιν, εἰδότες ὅτι ἑαυτὸν ἐξηπάτησεν ἐπ´ ἄλλῳ ποιησάμενος. οἱ προσπταίοντες ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἢ νὴ Δία ἐμπεσόντες εἰς πηλὸν ἢ βόθρον οὐκ ὀργίζονται τοῖς λίθοις ἢ τῷ πηλῷ· τελέως γὰρ ἂν ἦσαν ἀπόπληκτοι, δέον αὑτοὺς αἰτιᾶσθαι (23) καὶ τὸ μὴ προσέχειν. τί οὖν; φήσει τις, δεῖ θηρίου βίον προαιρεῖσθαι καὶ ζῆν ἔρημον; οὐ θηρίου, ἀλλ´ ἀνδρὸς φρονίμου καὶ ζῆν ἀσφαλῶς ἐπισταμένου. πολὺ γὰρ ἀσφαλεστέρα καὶ κρείττων ἡ ἐρημία τῆς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους κοινωνίας, ἐὰν ἀδεῶς γίγνηται καὶ χωρὶς κοινῶν προσοχῆς. ὥσπερ οἶμαι τοῖς πλέουσι τὸ πέλαγος συμφέρει μᾶλλον τῆς γῆς, εἰ μή τις ἐν εὐδίᾳ πλέοι καὶ σαφῶς εἰδὼς τοὺς τόπους· ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ πελάγει σπάνιον εἴ που διεφθάρη ναῦς, πρὸς δὲ ταῖς ἀκταῖς καὶ περὶ τὰς ἄκρας (24) ἰδεῖν ἔστι τὰ ναυάγια. τοιγαροῦν, ὅταν χειμὼν καταλάβῃ, τῶν μὲν ἀπείρων ἕκαστος ἐπιθυμεῖ τῆς γῆς, ὁ δὲ κυβερνήτης ὡς πορρωτάτω φεύγει. καίτοι λιμένας μὲν εὕροι τις ἂν ἀκλύστους, οἷς ἔνεστι πιστεύσαντας ἀσφαλῶς ὁρμεῖν, ἡλίκον ἄν ποτε ἀρθῇ τὸ πνεῦμα· τῶν δὲ ἀνθρώπων οἱ μετριώτατοι τοῖς θερινοῖς ὅρμοις ἐοίκασιν, οἵτινες πρὸς τὸ παρὸν σκέπουσι· κἀκείνων γὰρ ἕκαστος πρὸς ἕν τι τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον ἐπιεικής, οὐ μέντοι καὶ πρὸς τἄλλα ὑπάρχει. χρημάτων μὲν γὰρ ἕνεκεν οὐδέν σε ἀδικήσειεν ἄν· ἔστω γὰρ εἶναί τινα τοιοῦτον· ἀλλὰ τάχ´ ἂν ὀργῆς ἢ φιλοτιμίας καταλαβούσης οὐκ ἂν ἐπιγνοίης αὐτὸν ἀσάλευτον καὶ πιστόν· ἄλλος ὑπὸ μηδενὸς πάθους κινούμενον, ἐφ´ ᾧ τις ἂν πιστεῦσαι βεβαίως δύναιτο.

[74,20] However, I fancy, each one who has encountered misfortune distrusts particularly that because of which he has suffered and warns all others to beware of it. For instance, he who has been bitten by a viper warns against snakes, another who has been bitten by a scorpion warns against scorpions, and if a man has been bitten by a dog, you will see him always carrying a cane ; in just that way most men behave toward human beings. One man has met with some dreadful misfortune because of a woman ; so he cries to Heaven, "O Zeus, why hast thou brought to light of day The breed of women, snare and curse to men ?" (21) Another, a stranger who has been received as a guest, brings grief to his host, as Alexander did by stealing from Menelaüs his wealth and his wife. The man so treated has been made distrustful toward strangers, another toward a brother, another toward a son. But the case is not so simple ; for it is not the brother as such or the kinsman or the stranger who is by nature prone to do wrong, but rather the wicked man ; but wickedness is found in almost all ; aye, if you have good judgement, beware of all. A stranger ? Beware. A fair and moderate man, he says ? Beware still more. Let this principle be inviolate. " Yes," you counter, " but he shows the kindly disposition of a man of courtesy." Very well, accept him, with gratitude to the gods—or, so please you, to him as well—yet for the future you must watch him. For what some one has said about Fortune might much rather be said about human beings, namely, that no one knows about any one whether he will remain as he is until the morrow. (22) At any rate, men do violate the compacts made with each other and give each other different advice and, believing one course to be expedient, actually pursue another. Thus it comes to pass that when a man, through trusting another, gets involved with one of those troublesome fellows, he makes himself ridiculous if he lays the blame on him when he should blame himself, and if he now and then cries out against the gods, when it is a man by whom he has been duped, a friend and close acquaintance. But the gods laugh at him, knowing as they do that he had duped himself by putting himself in another's power. Those who stumble on the street or, by Zeus, fall into a mud-puddle or a pit are not angry at the stones or at the mud ; for they would be absolutely crazy if they did, seeing that they ought to blame themselves and their heedlessness. (23) " What some one will say, "must we choose the existence of a wild beast and live a solitary life ?" No, not that of a wild beast, but rather that of a prudent man and of one who knows how to live in safety. For far safer and better is solitude than association with mankind, if only solitude be found apart from fear and devoid of solicitude for things of common interest. Just as, in my opinion, for persons making a voyage the open sea is more to their advantage than the coast, unless one be sailing in fair weather and be well acquainted with the region; for in the open sea rarely, if ever, is a ship wrecked, but it is close to the shores and near the capes that the wreckage may be seen. (24) Therefore, when storm overtakes a ship, though every landlubber longs for the land, the skipper flees from it as far as possible. Yet havens free from billows can be found, trusting which men may safely ride at anchor, however high the gale may rise. But with human beings, the most temperate are like our summer anchorages, which afford shelter for the moment only ; for with men of that type also the individual is a reasonable person with regard to some one of life's problems, but with regard to the rest he is not. In money matters, for instance, he might never wrong you—granted, of course, that a man of that sort exists—but let a fit of rage or jealous rivalry seize him and you would perhaps not find him unshaken and trustworthy.