The Good Book

by A. C. Grayling

  41. Or the masters of the games who appointed these sports, were, according to the strictest and best reason, to be accounted the cause of this mischance.

  42. Besides this, Stesimbrotus tells us that it was Xanthippus who spread abroad the infamous story concerning his own wife, Pericles’ daughter-in-law,

  43. That Pericles had fallen in love with her; and in general that this difference of the young man’s with his father,

  44. And the breach betwixt them, continued never to be healed or made up till his death; for Xanthippus died in the plague.

  Chapter 48

  1. In the plague Pericles also lost his sister, and the greatest part of his relations and friends,

  2. And those who had been most useful and serviceable to him in managing the affairs of state.

  3. However, he did not shrink or give in upon these occasions, nor betray or lower his character and the greatness of his mind under all these misfortunes;

  4. He was not seen to weep or mourn, or even attend the burial of any of his friends or relations, till at last he lost his only remaining legitimate son.

  5. Subdued by this blow, and yet striving still, as far as he could, to maintain the greatness of his mind,

  6. When he came to perform the ceremony of putting a garland of flowers on the head of the corpse, he was vanquished by his passion at the sight,

  7. So that he burst into exclamations, and shed copious tears, having never done any such thing in his life before.

  8. The city having tried other generals for the conduct of war, and politicians for business of state,

  9. When they found there was no one who was of weight enough to be trusted with so great a command,

  10. Regretted the loss of him, and invited him again to advise them, and to reassume the office of general.

  11. He was lying at home in dejection and mourning; but was persuaded by Alcibiades and others of his friends to come abroad and show himself to the people;

  12. Who on his appearance made their acknowledgements, and apologised for their treatment of him.

  13. So he undertook the public affairs once more; and, being chosen general,

  14. Requested that the statute concerning base-born children, which he himself had formerly caused to be made, might be suspended;

  15. So that the name and race of his family might not, for want of a lawful heir to succeed, be lost and extinguished.

  16. The case of the statute was this: Pericles, when long ago at the height of his power in the state,

  17. Having then had lawfully begotten children, proposed a law that those only should be reputed true citizens of Athens who were born of parents who were both Athenians.

  18. Sometime later the king of Egypt sent a present of forty thousand bushels of wheat to be shared among the citizens.

  19. There followed a great many actions and suits about legitimacy by virtue of that edict; cases which, till that time, had never occurred;

  20. And several persons suffered by false accusations.

  21. There were little less than five thousand who were convicted and sold for slaves as non-citizens;

  22. Those who, passing the test, proved to be true Athenians were found on census to be fourteen thousand and forty persons in number.

  23. It looked strange that a law which had been carried so far against so many people should be cancelled again by the same man that made it;

  24. Yet the present distress which Pericles laboured under in his family broke through all objections,

  25. And prevailed with the Athenians to pity him, as one whose misfortunes had sufficiently punished his former arrogance.

  26. His sufferings deserved, they thought, their pity, and even indignation,

  27. And his request was such as became a man to ask and men to grant; so they gave him permission to enrol his son in the register of his tribe, giving him his own name.

  28. This son afterwards, after having defeated the Peloponnesians at Arginusae, was, with his fellow-generals, put to death by the people.

  29. About the time when his son was enrolled, it should seem the plague seized Pericles, not with sharp and violent fits, as it did others that had it, but with a dull and lingering distemper,

  30. Attended with various changes and alterations, little by little wasting the strength of his body and undermining the noble faculties of his mind.

  31. So that Theophrastus, in his Morals, when discussing whether men’s characters change with their circumstances,

  32. And their moral habits, disturbed by the ailings of their bodies, start aside from the rules of virtue, has left it upon record that Pericles, when he was sick,

  33. Showed one of his friends that came to visit him an amulet that the women had hung about his neck;

  34. As much as to say, that he was very sick indeed when he would admit of such foolery as that was.

  Chapter 49

  1. When he was now near his end, the best of the citizens and those of his friends who were left alive, sitting about him,

  2. Were speaking of the greatness of his merit, and reckoning up his famous actions and victories;

  3. For there were no less than nine trophies, which, as their commander and conqueror of their enemies, he had set up for the honour of the city.

  4. They talked thus among themselves, as though he were unable to understand or mind what they said.

  5. He listened, however, all the while, and then spoke up, saying that he wondered they should commend things which were as much owed to luck as anything else,

  6. And had happened to many other commanders, and, at the same time, should not mention that which was the most excellent and greatest thing of all.

  7. ‘For,’ said he, ‘no Athenian, through my means, ever wore mourning.’

  8. He was indeed a character deserving our highest admiration not only for his equitable and mild temper, which all along in the many affairs of his life,

  9. And the great animosities which he incurred, he constantly maintained;

  10. But also for the high feeling which made him regard it the noblest of his honours,

  11. That in the exercise of such immense power, he never gratified his envy or his passion.

  12. And to me it appears that this one thing gives that otherwise childish and arrogant title of ‘Olympian’ a fitting and becoming significance;

  13. So dispassionate a temper, so unblemished a life in the height of power and place, might well be called Olympian.

  14. Not as the poets represent, confounding us with their ignorant fancies; but in meaning of the metaphor as a truly great man.

  15. The course of public affairs after Pericles’ death produced a speedy sense of his loss to Athens.

  16. Those who had resented him because he eclipsed themselves, after making trial of other leaders,

  17. Readily acknowledged that there had never been such a disposition as his, more moderate and reasonable in the height of the power he held,

  18. Or more grave and impressive in the mildness with which he used it.

  Chapter 50: Cato the Censor

  1. Cato was known as the Censor because of the unbending strictness and severity of his moral rule when he held the office of Censor at Rome.

  2. He is therefore an example either to be admired or shunned: let his life story suggest which.

  3. He was also known as Cato the Younger, for he had a great-grandfather, remembered as Cato the Elder, who did Rome notable military service.

  4. This elder Cato had often obtained military prizes, and having lost five horses under him in battle, received, for his valour, the worth of them out of the public exchequer.

  5. The family was not however patrician, and the younger Cato himself was happier working on his farm than speaking in the forum at Rome.

  6. He was born at Tusculum, though until he turned to civil and military affairs he lived in the country of the Sabines, where he had inherited a modest estate from his father.

  7. He g
ained early in life a good habit of body by farming, austere living and military service, and seemed to have equal proportions of health and strength.

  8. From an early age he practised his eloquence through all the villages of his neighbourhood,

  9. Thinking eloquence necessary to anyone intending more than a humble and inactive life.

  10. He would never refuse to serve as counsel for those who needed him, and was early reckoned a good lawyer and a capable orator.

  11. Not only did he refuse fees for his legal work, but he did not put great value on the honour proceeding from winning court cases,

  12. Being much more desirous to distinguish himself in military efforts.

  13. While still a youth his breast received scars in combat, being only seventeen years old when he made his first campaign.

  14. That was in the time when Hannibal, at the height of his success, was burning and pillaging all Italy.

  15. In battle Cato would strike hard, without flinching, stand his ground firmly, present a bold countenance to his enemies, and shout at them with a harsh threatening voice,

  16. Justly telling others that such rugged behaviour sometimes terrifies an enemy more than the sword itself.

  17. When marching he carried his own weapons, followed by only one servant to carry the provisions.

  18. He is said never to have been angry or hasty with servants, but would, when free from his duties, help them in theirs.

  19. When he was with the army he used to drink only water, unless, when extremely thirsty, he might mingle it with a little vinegar; or if he found his strength fail him, a little wine.

  20. The small country house of Manius Curius, who had been awarded three Triumphs by Rome, happened to be near his farm;

  21. So that often visiting there, and contemplating the small compass and plainness of the place,

  22. He formed an idea of the mind of the person, who, being one of the greatest of the Romans, and having subdued the most warlike nations,

  23. Was contented to dig in so small a piece of ground, and live in such a cottage.

  24. Here it was that the ambassadors of the Samnites, finding Manius boiling turnips in the chimney corner, offered him a present of gold;

  25. But he sent them away, saying that he, who was content with such a supper, had no need of gold;

  26. And that he thought it more honourable to conquer those who possessed gold, than to possess the gold itself.

  27. Cato, after reflecting on these things, used to return home,

  28. And reviewing his own farm, his servants and housekeeping, increase his labour, and further retrench his expenses.

  29. When Fabius Maximus took Tarentum, Cato, being then just a youth, was a soldier under him;

  30. And lodging with one Nearchus, a Pythagorean, desired to understand some of his doctrine.

  31. Hearing from him about Plato’s doctrines – that pleasure is evil’s chief bait and the body the principal calamity of the mind,

  32. And that those thoughts which most separate and take the mind from the appetites of the body, most enfranchise and purify it,

  33. He fell in love all the more with frugality and temperance.

  34. With this exception, he is said not to have studied Greek until when he was quite old;

  35. And in rhetoric then to have profited a little by Thucydides, and more by Demosthenes.

  36. His writings, however, are considerably embellished with Greek sayings and stories;

  37. Many of these, translated word for word, figure among his own apothegm.

  Chapter 51

  1. There was a man of the highest rank, and very influential among the Romans, called Valerius Flaccus,

  2. Who was singularly skilful in discerning excellence in the young, and disposed to nourish and advance it.

  3. He had lands bordering Cato’s; nor could he but admire him, when he understood from Cato’s servants their master’s manner of living,

  4. And how he laboured with his own hands; went on foot betimes in the morning to the courts to assist those who wanted his counsel;

  5. How, returning home again, when it was winter, he would throw a loose cloak over his shoulders,

  6. And in the summer time would work among his domestics, sit with them, eat of the same bread and drink of the same wine.

  7. When they spoke of his fair dealing and moderation and his wise sayings, Valerius arranged that he should be invited to supper;

  8. And thus becoming personally assured of Cato’s superior character,

  9. Which, like a plant, seemed only to require culture and a better situation,

  10. He persuaded him to apply himself to state affairs at Rome.

  11. To Rome, therefore, Cato went, and by his work in the courts soon gained many friends and admirers;

  12. But, Valerius chiefly assisting his promotion, he first of all got appointed tribune in the army, and afterwards was made its treasurer.

  13. And now becoming eminent and noted, he passed, with Valerius himself, through the greatest commands, being first his colleague as consul, and then censor.

  14. But among all the ancient senators, he most attached himself to Fabius Maximus;

  15. Not so much for the honour of his person, and greatness of his power, as that he might have before him Fabius’ habit and manner of life, as the best examples to follow:

  16. And so he did not hesitate to oppose Scipio the Great, who, being then but a young man,

  17. Had set himself against the power of Fabius, and to be envied by him.

  18. For being sent as treasurer to the army in Sicily where Scipio was commander,

  19. When Cato saw him, according to his usual custom, make great expenses, and distribute largesse among the soldiers without sparing,

  20. He freely told him that the expense in itself was not the greatest thing to be considered,

  21. But that he was corrupting the ancient frugality of the soldiers, by giving them means to abandon themselves to unnecessary pleasures and luxuries.

  22. Scipio answered that he had no need for so accurate a treasurer,

  23. And that he owed the people an account of his actions, not of the money he spent.

  24. Hereupon Cato returned from Sicily, and, together with Fabius,

  25. Complained in the senate about Scipio’s extravagance, and of his loitering away his time in wrestling matches and comedies,

  26. As if he were there not for war, but for holiday; and thus succeeded in getting tribunes sent to recall Scipio to answer the accusations.

  27. But Scipio convinced the tribunes, by showing them his preparations for a coming victory,

  28. And, being found merely to be living pleasantly with his friends when there was nothing else to do, without neglecting anything of consequence,

  29. He was allowed without impediment to set sail towards the war.

  Chapter 52

  1. Cato grew more and more powerful by his eloquence, so that he was commonly called the Roman Demosthenes;

  2. But his manner of life was yet more famous and talked of. For oratorical skill was, as an accomplishment, commonly studied and sought after by all young men;

  3. But it was a rare person who would cultivate the habits of bodily labour, or prefer a light supper,

  4. And a breakfast which never saw the fire; or be in love with poor clothes and a homely lodging;

  5. Or could set his ambition rather on doing without luxuries than on possessing them.

  6. For now the state, unable to keep its purity because it had grown so great and populous,

  7. And having so many affairs, and people from all parts of the world under its government,

  8. Was open to many mixed customs and new examples of living.

  9. With reason, therefore, everybody admired Cato, when they saw others sink under labours and grow effeminate by pleasures,

  10. And yet saw him unconquered by either;

  11. And this not only when he was young a
nd desirous of honour,

  12. But also when old and greyheaded, after a Consulship and a Triumph;

  13. Like some famous victor in the games persevering in his exercise and maintaining his character to the last.

  14. He himself says, that he never wore a suit of clothes which cost more than a hundred drachmas;

  15. And that, when he was general and consul, he drank the same wine as his workmen;

  16. And that the meat or fish which was bought in the market for his dinner, did not cost above thirty asses.

  17. All which was for the sake of the commonwealth, that so his body might be the hardier for the war.

  18. Having a piece of embroidered Babylonian tapestry left him, he sold it,

  19. Because none of his farmhouses were so much as plastered.

  20. Nor did he ever buy a slave for above fifteen hundred drachmas,

  21. As he did not seek for effeminate and handsome ones, but able, sturdy workmen, horse-keepers and cowherds:

  22. And these he thought ought to be sold again, when they grew old, and no useless servants fed in his house.

  23. In short, he reckoned nothing a good bargain, which was superfluous;

  24. But he thought anything unnecessary too expensive, even at half a farthing.

  25. He was for the purchase of lands for sowing and feeding, not for gardens.

  26. Some imputed these things to petty avarice, but others approved of him,

  27. As if he had only the more strictly denied himself to set an example to others.

  Chapter 53

  1. Should Cato be applauded for this austerity and economy in all things?

  2. Certainly it marks an over-rigid temper, for a man to take the work out of his servants as out of brute beasts,

  3. Then turn them off and sell them in their old age, thinking there ought to be no further commerce between man and man, than what has some profit by it.

  4. We see that kindness or humanity has a larger field than bare justice to exercise itself in;

  5. Law and justice we cannot, in the nature of things, employ on others than men;

  6. But we may extend our goodness and charity even to irrational creatures;

  7. And such acts flow from a gentle nature, as water from an abundant spring.