[2,25] ἔπη μὲν οὖν ποιεῖν, ὦ πάτερ, ἢ λόγους πεζοὺς συγγράφειν, ὁποίας
σὺ τὰς ἐπιστολάς, ἀφ´ ὧν σφόδρα σέ φασιν εὐδοκιμεῖν, οὐ πάντως ἀναγκαῖον
τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν, εἰ μή γε νέοις οὖσιν ἔτι καὶ σχολὴν ἄγουσιν, ὥσπερ καὶ σὲ
λέγουσιν ἐν Θήβαις διαπονῆσαι τὰ περὶ τοὺς λόγους·
(26) οὐδ´ αὖ φιλοσοφίας ἅπτεσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἀκριβέστατον,
ἀπλάστως δὲ καὶ ἁπλῶς - - - ἐνδεικνύμενον αὐτοῖς τοῖς
ἔργοις φιλάνθρωπον ἦθος καὶ πρᾷον καὶ δίκαιον, ἔτι δὲ ὑψηλὸν
καὶ ἀνδρεῖον, καὶ μάλιστα δὴ χαίροντα εὐεργεσίαις, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἐγγυτάτω
τῆς τῶν θεῶν φύσεως· τῶν γε μὴν λόγων ἡδέως ἀκούοντα
τῶν ἐκ φιλοσοφίας, ὁπόταν καιρός, ἅτε οὐκ ἐναντίων φαινομένων,
(27) ἀλλὰ συμφώνων τοῖς αὑτοῦ τρόποις· τέρπεσθαι δὲ ποιήσει καὶ
προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν οὐχ ἁπάσῃ, τῇ δὲ καλλίστῃ καὶ μεγαλοπρεπεστάτῃ,
{συμβουλεύσαιμ´ ἂν τῷ γενναίῳ καὶ βασιλικῷ τὴν ψυχήν},
οἵαν μόνην ἴσμεν τὴν Ὁμήρου καὶ τῶν Ἡσιόδου τὰ τοιαῦτα, καὶ
εἴ τις ἄλλο τι λέγει χρηστόν.
(28) οὐδὲ γὰρ μουσικήν, ἔφη, πᾶσαν μανθάνειν ἐθέλοιμ´ ἄν,
ἀλλὰ κιθάρᾳ μόνον {ἢ λύρᾳ} χρῆσθαι πρὸς θεῶν ὕμνους
καὶ θεραπείας, ἔτι δὲ οἶμαι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν
τοὺς ἐπαίνους· οὐδέ γε ᾄδειν τὰ Σαπφοῦς ἢ Ἀνακρέοντος {ἐρωτικὰ
μέλη} πρέπον ἂν εἴη τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν, ἀλλ´, εἴπερ ἄρα, τῶν Στησιχόρου
μελῶν ἢ Πινδάρου, {ἐὰν ᾖ τις ἀνάγκη}.
(29) τυχὸν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἱκανὸς Ὅμηρος.
Ἦ γάρ, εἶπεν ὁ Φίλιππος, πρὸς κιθάραν
{ἢ λύραν} συμφωνῆσαί τινά σοι δοκεῖ ἂν τῶν Ὁμήρου; καὶ ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος γοργὸν
ἐμβλέψας ὥσπερ λέων, Ἐγὼ μέν, εἶπεν, ὦ πάτερ,
οἶμαι πρέπειν πολλὰ τῶν Ὁμήρου ἐπῶν πρὸς σάλπιγγα ᾄδεσθαι,
μὰ Δί´ οὐ τὴν ἀνακαλοῦσαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐποτρύνουσαν καὶ παρακελευομένην,
οὐχ ὑπὸ γυναικείου χοροῦ λεγόμενα ἢ παρθένων, ἀλλ´
ὑπὸ φάλαγγος ἐνόπλου, πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ Τυρταίου παρὰ τοῖς Λάκωσιν.
| [2,25] But to write epic poetry, or to compose pieces in
prose like those letters of yours, father, which are
said to have won you high repute, is not altogether
essential for a king, except indeed when he is young
and has leisure, as was the case with you when, as
they say, you diligently cultivated rhetorical studies
in Thebes. Nor, again, is it necessary that he study
philosophy to the point of perfecting himself in it;
he need only live simply and without affectation, to
give proof by his very conduct of a character that is
humane, gentle, just, lofty, and brave as well, and,
above all, one that takes delight in bestowing
benefits—a trait which approaches most nearly to
the nature divine. He should, indeed, lend a willing
ear to the teachings of philosophy whenever opportunity
offers, inasmuch as these are manifestly not
opposed to his own character but in accord with
it; yet I should especially counsel the noble ruler
of princely soul to make poetry his delight and to
read it attentively—not all poetry, however, but only
the most beautiful and majestic, such as we know
Homer's alone to be, and of Hesiod's the portions
akin to Homer's, and perhaps sundry edifying
passages in other poets."
(28) "And so, too, with music," continued Alexander ;
"for I should not be willing to learn all there is in
music, but only enough for playing the cithara or the
lyre when I sing hymns in honour of the gods and
worship them, and also, I suppose, in chanting the
praises of brave men. It would surely not be
becoming for kings to sing the odes of Sappho or
Anacreon, whose theme is love ; but if they do sing
odes, let it be some of those of Stesichorus or Pindar,
if sing they must. But perhaps Homer is all one
needs even to that end." "What ! " exclaimed
Philip, "do you think that any of Homer's lines
would sound well with the cithara or the lyre? "
disagree as to the influence of Homer. Plato has a gond deal
of fault to find with him.
And Alexander, glaring at him fiercely like a lion,
said : "For my part, father, I believe that many of
Homer's lines would properly be sung to the trumpet
—not, by heavens, when it sounds the retreat, but
when it peals forth the signal for the charge, and sung
by no chorus of women or maids, but by a phalanx
under arms. They are much to be preferred to the
songs of Tyrtaeus, which the Spartans use."
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