[3,130] <130> ὁ δὲ ἐξ ἁπάντων ποιεῖται τὴν ἐκλογήν, ἄτοπον ἡγούμενος Νισαίους μὲν ἵππους μεταπέμπεσθαι, ὅτι βελτίους εἰσὶ τῶν Θετταλῶν, καὶ κύνας Ἰνδικάς, ἀνθρώποις δὲ μόνοις χρῆσθαι τοῖς <131> ἐγγύς. πάντα γὰρ ὑπάρχει τούτῳ, δι´ ὧν ἐστι φιλία κτητόν. προσάγεται γὰρ εἰς εὔνοιαν τοὺς μὲν φιλοτίμους ἔπαινος, τοὺς δὲ ἡγεμονικοὺς τὸ ἀρχῆς μεταλαμβάνειν, τοὺς δὲ αὖ πολεμικοὺς τὸ πράττειν τι τῶν πολεμικῶν, τοὺς δὲ ἐπιμελεῖς τὸ πράγματα διοικεῖν· <132> τούς γε μὴν φιλοστόργους ἡ συνήθεια. τίς οὖν δύναται μᾶλλον ἄρχοντας ἀποδεικνύειν; τίς δὲ πλειόνων δεῖται τῶν ἐπιμελουμένων; τίς δὲ κύριος μειζόνων μεταδοῦναι πραγμάτων; τίνι δὲ μᾶλλον ἔξεστιν ἑτέρῳ πιστεύειν τὰ πρὸς πόλεμον; αἱ παρὰ τίνος δὲ τιμαὶ φανερώτεραι; ἡ παρὰ τίνι δὲ εὐδοξοτέρα τράπεζα; εἰ δὲ ὠνητὸν ὑπῆρχε φιλία, τίς εὐπορώτερος χρημάτων, ὥστε μηδένα ἔχειν τὸν ἀντιποιησόμενον; (133) ἐπειδὴ ἄνθρωπον ὄντα φύσει τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ διαφερόντων καὶ τοῦτο τῶν ἄλλων {τι} ὥσπερ παραμύθιον ἔχειν δεῖ· ὅθεν δὴ πολλὰ πολλοῖς προσέπεσε νοσήματα ἀγεννῆ καὶ λυμαινόμενα τὰς ψυχάς, ἔτι δὲ καθαιροῦντα τὸ ἀξίωμα τῆς βασιλείας· ὁ μὲν γὰρ {ὑπὸ} ᾠδῆς ἁλοὺς μινυρίζων διετέλει καὶ θρηνῶν ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις, ἀμελήσας δὲ τῆς αὑτοῦ βασιλείας, τοὺς παλαιοὺς (134) ὑποκρινόμενος ἠγάπα βασιλέας·

[3,130] The true king, however, makes his choice from among all men, esteeming it perverse to import horses from the Nisaean plains because they surpass the Thessalian breed, or hounds from India, and only in the case of men to take those near at hand ; since all the means for making friends are his. For instance, the ambitious are won over to friendliness by praise, those who have the gift of leadership by participation in the government, the warlike by performing some sort of military service, those having executive ability by the management of affairs, and, assuredly, those with a capacity for love, by intimacy. Now, who is more able to appoint governors ? Who needs more executives ? Who has it in his power to give a part in greater enterprises ? Who is in a better position to put a man in charge of military operations ? Who can confer more illustrious honours? Whose table lends greater distinction ? And if friendship could be bought, who has greater means to forestall every possible rival ? (133) Since nature made him a man, and a man of exalted station in life, he too needs some distraction as it were to relieve his more serious duties ; and it is this, alas ! which for many has proved to be the source of many ignoble and soul-destroying vices—vices which also destroy the high esteem in which royalty is held. One king, having become enamoured of singing, spent his time warbling and wailing in the theatres and so far forgot his royal dignity that he was content to impersonate the early kings upon the stage ; another fell in love with flute-playing;

[3,135] ὁ δὲ αὐλήσεως ἐραστὴς ἐγένετο· ὁ δὲ ἀγαθὸς βασιλεὺς τῶν μὲν τοιούτων οὐδέποτε ἀκροᾶται συνεχῶς· κάλλιστον δὲ εὕρεμα ἡγεῖται κυνηγεσίαν, καὶ τούτῳ μάλιστα χαίρει· δι´ οὗ τὸ μὲν σῶμα γίγνεται ῥωμαλεώτερον, ἡ ψυχὴ δὲ ἀνδρειοτέρα, (136) τὰ πολεμικὰ δὲ ἅπαντα ἀσκεῖται. καὶ γὰρ ἱππεῦσαι καὶ δραμεῖν ἀναγκαῖον καὶ ὑφίστασθαι πολλὰ τῶν ἀλκίμων θηρίων καὶ καῦμα ἀνέχεσθαι καὶ ψῦχος ὑπομένειν, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ λιμοῦ καὶ δίψους πειραθῆναι, διὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐθίζοντα καρτερεῖν μεθ´ ἡδονῆς (137) οὐ μέντοι τήν γε Περσικὴν θήραν. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ παραδείσοις περιλαβόντες, ὁπότε ἐπιθυμήσειαν, ὥσπερ ἐν εἱρκτῇ τὰ θηρία ἔκτεινον, ὡς μήτε ζητοῦντες πονεῖν μήτε αὖ κινδυνεύοντες, ἅτε ἀσθενῆ καὶ δεδουλωμένα· ὁμοίως δὲ ἀφῃροῦντο τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ εὑρεῖν {τε} χαρὰν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ φθάσαι σπουδὴν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ συμβῆναι ἀγωνίαν. (138) ὅμοιον γὰρ ἐποίουν ὥσπερ εἰ πολεμικοὶ φάσκοντες εἶναι ἀφέντες τὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις μάχεσθαι τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους οἴκοι λαβόντες ἔκτεινον.

[3,135] but the good king never makes a practice even of listening to such things. He considers hunting the best recreation and finds his greatest delight therein. It makes his body stronger, his heart braver, and affords a field for the practice of every military activity. For he must ride, run, in many cases meet the charge of the big game, endure heat and withstand cold, often be tortured by hunger and thirst, and he becomes habituated to enduring any hardship with pleasure through his passion for the chase. But he does not hold this opinion of the Persian chase. Those people would enclose the game in parks and then, whenever they listed, slaughter it as if it were in a pen, showing that they neither sought hard work nor ran any risk since their quarry was weak and broken in spirit. But they robbed themselves alike of the joy of uncovering the game, of the excitement in running it down, and of the struggle on coming to close quarters. It is just as if they had claimed to be fond of war and then, letting slip the chance to engage their enemy, had seized the prisoners at home and put them to death.