[20,0] ΠΕΡΙ ΑΝΑΧΩΡΗΣΕΩΣ. (1) Τί γάρ ποτε τὸ τῆς ἀναχωρήσεώς ἐστι καὶ τίνας χρὴ τιθέναι τοὺς ἀναχωροῦντας; ἆρά γε τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν προσηκόντων ἔργων αὐτοῖς καὶ πράξεων ἀφισταμένους, τούτους χρὴ φάσκειν ἀναχωρεῖν; οἷον εἴ τις Ἀθηναῖος ὤν, δέον αὐτὸν στρατεύεσθαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος Λακεδαιμονίων εἰσβεβληκότων εἰς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἢ Φιλίππου ἐπιόντος ἢ ἄλλων πολεμίων, ὁ δὲ ἀναχωρήσειεν εἰς Μέγαρα ἢ Αἴγιναν ἕνεκα τοῦ μὴ στρατεύεσθαι μηδὲ κινδυνεύειν, οὗτος (2) ἂν ἀνακεχωρηκέναι λέγοιτο; ἢ εἴ τις συχνὴν οὐσίαν κεκτημένος ἕνεκα τοῦ διαφυγεῖν τὰς λειτουργίας ἀπέλθοι ἐκ τῆς πόλεως; ἢ εἴ τις ἰᾶσθαι τοὺς νοσοῦντας ἱκανὸς ὤν, καὶ φίλων δὴ καὶ ἐπιτηδείων αὐτῷ καμνόντων, ὅπως μὴ κακοπαθῇ καὶ πράγματα ἔχῃ τούτους θεραπεύων, ἀπολίποι τε αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀποδημήσειεν εἰς ἕτερον τόπον; ἢ εἴ τις ἄλλος, ἐν πόλει δέον ἐξετάζεσθαι καὶ αὐτόν, ἄρχειν καὶ ἀρχαῖς ὑπηρετεῖν καὶ φυλακάς τινας φυλάττειν ἀγρυπνῶν μὴ βούλοιτο, ἀλλ´ ὅπως τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος ἁπάντων ἔσται καὶ μηδὲ εἷς αὐτὸν ἐξελέγξει μηδὲ κωλύσει πίνοντα καὶ καθεύδοντα καὶ ῥᾳθυμοῦντα, ἑτέρωσε ἀποχωροῖ ποι, ἆρα τούτους ἀναχωρεῖν ῥητέον; ἀλλ´ οὗτοι μὲν δῆλον ὅτι φεύγουσί τε καὶ δραπετεύουσι, καὶ οὐκ ἂν εἴη πρόφασις αὐτοῖς οὐδὲ συγγνώμη τῆς τοιαύτης (3) σχολῆς τε καὶ ἀποδράσεως. μὴ οὖν τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνωφελῶν πραγμάτων καὶ τῶν οὐ προσηκουσῶν αὐτοῖς ἀσχολιῶν ἀπιόντας καὶ σχολήν τινα πορίζοντας αὑτοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐνοχλούντων μάτην ῥητέον ᾖ ὡς ἀναχωροῦντας. ἀλλ´ οὕτως μὲν οὐχ ὁ μεταβὰς ἐκ πόλεώς τινος εἰς ἑτέραν πόλιν ἢ ἐκ τόπου εἰς ἕτερον τόπον ἀναχωρεῖν λέγοιτ´ ἄν· ὅπου γὰρ ἂν ἀφίκηται, πολλὰ ἂν εἴη τὰ ἐμποδὼν αὐτῷ γιγνόμενα καὶ οὐκ ἐῶντα τὰ προσήκοντα ποιεῖν. καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἐπὶ πολύ τῳ ξυνεῖναι καὶ τὸ πίνοντα ἢ κυβεύοντα ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν βλαβερῶν καὶ ἀσυμφόρων πράττοντα διατελεῖν πανταχοῦ τοιαῦτά ἐστιν καὶ τὸ συνδιατρίβειν ἀεὶ τῷ ἐντυχόντι ἀδολεσχοῦντα καὶ ἀκούοντα λόγων οὐδὲν χρησίμων ἢ περὶ τὰ βασιλέως πράγματα (4) διατρίβειν ἢ τὰ τοῦ δεῖνος, ὡς ἔφη τις. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀνόητος τῆς αὑτοῦ ψυχῆς κύριος, ἀλλὰ ῥεμβόμενός τε καὶ ἀγόμενος ῥᾳδίως ὑπὸ τῆς τυχούσης προφάσεως καὶ ὁμιλίας. {ὥστε} οἱ πολλοὶ ἄνθρωποι, καθάπερ οἱ ἄσωτοι τῶν χρημάτων οὐκ ἂν δύναιντο ἀποδοῦναι λόγον πρὸς ὅ,τι ἀνηλώκασιν ἕκαστον αὐτῶν, φαίνεται δ´ ὅμως ἀνηλωμένα πάνυ συχνὰ χρήματα, οὐδὲ οὗτοι τοῦ χρόνου τε καὶ βίου δύναιντ´ ἂν ἀποδοῦναι λόγον, πρὸς ὅ,τι ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀνήλωσαν ἢ μῆνα ἢ ἐνιαυτόν· φαίνεται δ´ οὖν παριὼν ὁ βίος καὶ δαπανώμενος ὁ χρόνος, οὐκ ὀλίγου ἄξιος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὐδὲ ἥττονος, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, ἢ τὸ ἀργύριον.

[20,0] THE TWENTIETH DISCOURSE : ON RETIREMENT. (1) JUST what, pray, is the meaning of the word 'retirement,' and whom should we define as men who are `retiring ' ? Is it those who are giving up their proper tasks and activities of whom we should say that they are retiring? For example, if some one enjoying Athenian citizenship, when the obligation falls on him to serve in the field in defence of his country because the Spartans have invaded Attica, or Philip is attacking them, or some other enemy, should retire or withdraw to Megara or Aegina in order to avoid serving or risking his life, could this man be described as having retired ? Of if some one who possesses a great fortune should for the sake of avoiding the public services required of the rich leave the city ? Or if a man who is qualified to heal the sick, and then when the sick are friends and intimates of his, should abandon them and go on a visit to some other place in order to avoid catching the disease and the trouble of treating them? Or if somebody else, on being required to present himself for public duty in the city along with the rest, should be unwilling to hold an office or assist those in office or do any service as guard which would necessitate his losing sleep, but in order to be rid of all these duties and not let even one man call him to account or hinder him from drinking and sleeping and loafing, should retire to some other place—should these men be described as `retiring' ? No, these men are evidently fleeing and deserting, and there can be no excuse for them or pardon for taking a vacation in this manner and running away. (3) It may be, then, that it is those who withdraw from unprofitable enterprises and time-consuming activities which do not properly concern them, and who get themselves some leisure from useless annoyances, that should be defined as `retiring.' But if that is right, it is not the man who has moved from some city to another one or from one place to another that could be described as `retiring.' For wherever he goes, there will be many things getting in his way and not allowing him to do the things which properly concern him. For the fact is that spending much time in somebody's company and in continual drinking, or dicing, or in doing some other harmful and unprofitable thing are practices to be met with everywhere—and wasting all one's time in palavering with anyone you happen to meet, and in listening to talk that is utterly futile, or spending your time discoursing about the affairs of the Emperor or of what's his name, as some one has said. For the fool is not master of his own soul, but is whirled this way and that and is easily led by any chance pretext or association. Consequently the majority of men are just like spendthrifts, who would be unable to render an accounting for the money they have spent, explaining what they have spent each several item for, although enormous sums have clearly been expended : so neither could these men render an accounting for their time and their past life, nor explain for what they have spent each day, or month, or year, although life is clearly passing by and time being spent, this being of no little value to man, of no less value to him, in my opinion, than money.