[2,65] πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἔχοι τις ἂν εἰπεῖν παρ´ Ὁμήρῳ παιδεύματα καὶ διδάγματα ἀνδρεῖα καὶ βασιλικά, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἴσως μακρότερον τοῦ νῦν ἐπεξιέναι. πλὴν ὅτι γε τὴν αὑτοῦ γνώμην ἅπασαν ἀποδείκνυται σαφῶς, ὅτι πάντων ἄριστον οἴεται δεῖν τὸν βασιλέα εἶναι, μάλιστα δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος, ὅτε τὸ πρῶτον παρατάττει τὴν στρατιὰν καὶ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας σύμπαντας καταλέγει καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν νεῶν. (66) ἐκεῖ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἅμιλλαν τῶν ἄλλων οὐδενὶ καταλέλοιπεν ἡρώων πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀλλ´ ὅσον ταῦρος ἀγέλης ὑπερφέρει κατὰ ῥώμην καὶ μέγεθος, τοσοῦτον διαφέρειν φησὶ τὸν βασιλέα, οὕτως λέγων· ἠύτε βοῦς ἀγέληφι μέγ´ ἔξοχος ἔπλετο πάντων ταῦρος· ὁ γάρ τε βόεσσι μεταπρέπει ἀγρομένῃσι· τοῖον ἄρ´ Ἀτρείδην θῆκε Ζεὺς ἤματι κείνῳ, ἐκπρεπέ´ ἐν πολλοῖσι καὶ ἔξοχον ἡρώεσσιν. (67) τοῦτο δὲ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἴρηκεν, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, τὴν ἰσχὺν αὐτοῦ μόνον ἐπαινῶν καὶ ἐπιδεῖξαι βουλόμενος· οὕτω μὲν γὰρ δὴ καὶ λέοντι παραβαλὼν καλῶς ἂν αὐτὸν ἐδόκει ἀφομοιῶσαι· τὸ δὲ ἥμερον τῆς φύσεως ἐνδεικνύμενος καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀρχομένων προθυμίαν. ὁ γὰρ ταῦρος οὐκ ἔστι τῶν γενναίων μόνον ζῴων οὐδὲ αὑτοῦ χάριν χρῆται τῇ ἀλκῇ, καθάπερ ὅ τε λέων καὶ σῦς οἵ τε ἀετοί, διώκοντες τὰ λοιπὰ ζῷα καὶ κρείττους γιγνόμενοι τροφῆς ἕνεκα τῆς αὑτῶν· διὸ δὴ καὶ μᾶλλον ἄν τις αὐτοὺς φαίη τυραννίδος παράδειγμα ἢ βασιλείας γεγονέναι. (68) ὁ δὲ ταῦρος σαφῶς, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, πρὸς βασιλείαν καὶ βασιλέως εἰκόνα πεποίηται. τροφῇ τε γὰρ ἑτοίμῃ καὶ διαίτῃ χρῆται νεμόμενος, ὥστε μηδὲν δεῖν βιάζεσθαι μηδὲ πλεονεκτεῖν ταύτης ἕνεκεν, ἀλλ´ ὥσπερ τοῖς ὀλβίοις βασιλεῦσιν ἀνελλιπῆ καὶ ἄφθονα ὑπάρχει τὰ τῆς ἀναγκαίου κτήσεως. (69) βασιλεύει δὲ καὶ ἄρχει τῶν ὁμοφύλων μετ´ εὐνοίας, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, καὶ κηδεμονίας, τοῦτο μὲν ἐξηγούμενος νομῆς, τοῦτο δὲ θηρίου φανέντος οὐ φεύγων, ἀλλὰ πάσης τῆς ἀγέλης προμαχόμενος καὶ τοῖς ἀσθενέσι βοηθῶν, προθυμούμενος σῴζειν τὸ πλῆθος ἀπὸ τῶν χαλεπῶν καὶ ἀγρίων θηρίων· ὥσπερ καὶ τὸν ἄρχοντα χρὴ καὶ βασιλέα τῷ ὄντι καὶ τῆς μεγίστης ἐν ἀνθρώποις οὐκ ἀνάξιον τιμῆς.

[2,65] "There are many other lessons and teachings in Homer, which might be cited, that make for courage and the other qualities of a king, but perhaps their recital would require more time than we now have. I will say, however, that he not only expresses his own judgment clearly in every instance—that in his belief the king should be the superior of all men—but particularlv in the case of Agamemnon, in the passage where for the first time he sets the army in array, caps the roll of the leaders, and gives the tale of the ships. In that scene the poet has left no room for any other hero even to vie with Agamemnon ; but as far as the bull surpasses the herd in strength and size, so far does the king excel the rest, as Homer says in these words : 'And as a bull amid the horned herd Stands eminent and nobler than the rest, So Zeus to Agamemnon on that day Gave to surpass in manly port and mien The heroes all.' (67) This comparison was not carelessly chosen, so it seems to me, merely in order to praise the hero's strength and in the desire to demonstrate it. In that case it seems that he would surely have chosen the lion for his simile and thus have made an excellent characterization. No, his idea was to indicate the gentleness of his nature and his concern for his subjects. For the bull is not merely one of the nobler animals ; nor does it use its strength for its own sake, like the lion, the boar, and the eagle, which pursue other creatures and master them for their own bellies' sake. (For this reason one might in truth say that these animals have come to be symbols of tyranny rather than of kingship.) But clearly, in my opinion, the bull has been used by the poet to betoken the kingly office and to portray a king. For the bull's food is ready to hand, and his sustenance he gets by grazing, so that he never needs to employ violence or rapacity on that score ; but he, like affluent kings, has all the necessaries of life, unstinted and abundant. He exercises the authority of a king over his fellows of the herd with good-will, one might say, and solicitude, now leading the way to pasture, now,when a wild beast appears,not fleeing but fighting in front of the whole herd and bringing aid to the weak in his desire to save the dependent multitude from dangerous wild beasts ; just as is the duty of the ruler who is a real king and not unworthy of the highest honour known among men.