Texte grec :
| [3,125] ὅσοι δὲ κέκτηνται γῆν, διαπονοῦντας πρότερον τὰ περὶ γεωργίαν,
ὅσοι δὲ ἐν ἄστει διάγουσι, τῶν
(125) κατὰ πόλιν τι πράττοντας· τῶν τε σχολὴν ἀγόντων τὰ γυμνάσια
μεστὰ καὶ τὰς παλαίστρας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν τρέχοντας ἐν τοῖς δρόμοις, τοὺς δὲ αὖ
παλαίοντας, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλο τι περὶ τὴν ἀγωνίαν
ἀσκοῦντας οὐκ ὄντας ἀθλητάς. ἁπλῶς δὲ εἰπεῖν, ἑκάστων τῶν
μὴ σφόδρα ἀνοήτων - - - καὶ σίτων καὶ λουτρῶν καὶ ὑγιεινῶν καὶ πάντων,
(127) ὁ ἄρχων ἁπάντων τούτων διαφέρει τῷ μὴ μάτην πονεῖν
μηδὲ τὸ σῶμα μόνον αὔξειν, ἀλλ´ ἕνεκα πράξεων· ἢ γὰρ ἦλθε πρός
τι τῶν δεομένων προνοίας ἢ ἔφθασεν ὅπου δεῖ τάχους ἢ κατήνυσέν
τι τῶν οὐ ῥᾳδίων ἀνυσθῆναι ἢ στρατιὰν ἐξέταξεν ἢ χώραν ἡμέρωσεν
ἢ πόλιν ᾤκισεν ἢ ποταμοὺς ἔζευξεν ἢ γῆν ὁδευτὴν ἐποίησεν.
<128> οὐχ οὕτως δ´ ἡγεῖται μακάριον ὅτι ἔξεστι κεκτῆσθαι καλλίστους μὲν
ἵππους, κάλλιστα δὲ ὅπλα, καλλίστην δὲ ἐσθῆτα, καὶ τἄλλα ὁμοίως,
ἀλλ´ ὅτι φίλους τοὺς καλλίστους, καὶ πολύ γε αἴσχιον φιλίας
<129> ἐνδεέστερον ἔχειν τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἢ τούτων τινός. ᾧ γὰρ ἐξ ἁπάντων
ἀνθρώπων ἐκλέξασθαι τοὺς πιστοτάτους ὑπάρχει, καὶ σχεδὸν
οὐδείς ἐστιν ὃς οὐκ ἂν ἄσμενος ὑπακούσειεν αὐτῷ βουλομένῳ
χρῆσθαι, πῶς οὐ καταγέλαστον τοῦτον μὴ χρῆσθαι τοῖς σπουδαιοτάτοις; οἱ μὲν
γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν δυναστῶν τοὺς ὅπως δήποτε πλησίον
γενομένους καὶ τοὺς κολακεύειν ἐθέλοντας, τούτους μόνους ὁρῶσι,
τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους πάντας ἀπελαύνουσι, καὶ τούς γε βελτίστους ἔτι μᾶλλον.
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Traduction française :
| [3,125] while those who own land first toil
hard at farming, and those who live in the city
have some city employment; he sees the leisured
class crowd the gymnasia and wrestling-floors -
some running on the track, others again wrestling,
and others, who are not athletes, taking some
form of exercise other than the competitivein a
word, everyone with at least a grain of sense doing
something or other and so finding his meat and drink
wholesome. But the ruler differs from all these in
that his toil is not in vain, and that he is not simply
developing his body, but has the accomplishment
of things as his end and aim. He attends to some
matter needing his supervision, he acts promptly
where speed is needed, accomplishes something not
easy of accomplishment, reviews an army, subdues
a province, founds a city, bridges rivers, or builds
roads through a country.
(128) He does not count himself fortunate just because
he can have the best horses, the best arms, the best
clothing, and so forth, but because he can have the
best friends ; and he holds that it is far more disgraceful
to have fewer friends among the private
citizens than any one of them has. For when a
man can select his most trustworthy friends from
among all men - and there is scarcely a man who
would not gladly accept his advancessurely it is
ridiculous that he should not have the best. Most
potentates have an eye only for those who get near
them no matter how, and for those who are willing
to flatter, while they hold all others at a distance and
the best men more especially.
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