Complete Works

by Plato, Cooper, John M. , Hutchinson, D. S.

  The advice I have to offer you in the present state of affairs has mostly [352] been given, and let that suffice. Why I undertook the second voyage to Sicily I thought I ought to explain, because of the strange and improbable nature of these events. If then they appear more plausible as I have described them, and if it has been made evident that there were sufficient motives for what happened, this account will have properly accomplished its purpose.

  1. Leon of Salamis. See Apology 32c–d.

  2. Alternatively, “from those evil men.”

  3. Supporters of the democracy.

  4. Zeus the protector of strangers, the guardian of the obligations of hospitality.

  5. Accepting the emendation epi tauta at d3, with no lacuna in d2.

  6. Accepting the emendation ē epi tode. Surakousas in a1.

  7. Banishment did not involve the confiscation of the condemned person’s property.

  8. See 334d above.

  9. Lynceus, one of the Argonauts, was proverbial for his keenness of vision.

  10. Accepting the emendation sunteinontōn at b7.

  11. Iliad vii.360.

  12. Odyssey xii.428.

  13. Reading apemphainonta in b3.

  14. See Letter III, 318b.

  15. Reading axioun in c9.

  VIII

  PLATO TO THE RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF DION, WELFARE. [b]

  What principles you must follow if you are really to fare well I will do my best to explain to you. And I hope that my advice will be of advantage not only to you (though to you, of course, first of all), but secondly to [c] everyone in Syracuse, and thirdly even to your enemies and adversaries—except anyone of them who has done an unholy deed;1 for such acts are irremediable and a man can never wash away their stain. Give your thought, then, to what I say.

  Since the fall of the tyranny you have had nothing but dissension throughout all Sicily, one party desiring to get its power back, the other to make final the suppression of the tyranny. In such circumstances the [d] multitude always think the right counsel is to recommend those measures that will do their enemies the most harm and their friends the most good. But it is by no means easy to do great harm to others without bringing many other evils upon oneself. We have a clear example of this close at hand. Only look at what has happened right here in Sicily, with one party attempting to act upon that principle and the other defending itself against their actions; the story of these events, if you should tell it to others, would [e] give them many useful lessons, though of such instruction there is hardly any need. On the other hand, a policy that would benefit all concerned, friends and foes alike, or do as little harm as possible to both—this is not easy to see, nor to carry out when it is seen; and to counsel such a policy, or attempt to explain it, seems like making a prayer. By all means, then [353] let it be a prayer—for the gods should be first in every man’s words and thoughts—and may it be fulfillled when it declares unto us some such word as follows.

  Now you and your enemies have been ruled almost continuously from the beginning of the war by a single family, a family that your ancestors put in power at a time when they were in the direst peril and there was imminent danger that all of Hellenic Sicily would be overrun by the Carthaginians and become barbarian territory. For then it was that to save Sicily they chose Dionysius, a young and brilliant warrior, to take charge [b] of the military actions for which he had an aptitude, and Hipparinus as his elder and counselor, making them, as they say, “generals with full power.”2 Was it God and divine chance that saved the city? Or the valor of these leaders? Or both luck and leadership together with the efforts of the citizens? Think what you will; in any case, the city was saved for that [c] generation. It is right that everyone should feel gratitude to these saviors for the qualities they displayed; and if in later times the tyrants misused in any way the gift the city had bestowed upon them, for these misdeeds they have in part paid the penalty and should make even further atonement. But what penalties would it necessarily be right to impose in the present state of their affairs? If you were able to get rid of them easily, and without great toil and danger, or if they could easily regain their power, there would be no occasion for offering the advice that I am going [d] to give. As it is, however, both of your factions ought to reflect and call to mind how often each party has been in high hopes, and has thought almost always that it lacked only a little of being able to do what it liked, and that this little has repeatedly turned out to be the cause of great and innumerable disasters. The limit is never reached; but what seems to be the end of an old difficulty always involves the beginning of a new one, and in this endless round there is danger that both the tyrannical party [e] and the democratic party will be completely destroyed; and eventually, if things take their natural course (which God forbid!), the whole of Sicily will have practically lost the Greek language and will have come under the empire and dominion of the Phoenicians or the Opici.

  This is a prospect which should incite every Hellene to search for a remedy with all his might. If anyone has an apter or a better plan than the one I am going to offer, let him bring it forth and he will rightly be [354] called a loyal Hellene. What now appears best to me I will try to explain in all frankness and set it forth with just and impartial reasoning. I am speaking in the fashion of an arbitrator between two parties at law, the one a former tyrant, the other his former subject, and proffering to each of them my well-known counsel. Now, as always, I advise the tyrant to shun his name and the reality it stands for, and to change his government to a kingship if he can. That he can is shown by the action of that wise [b] and good man, Lycurgus, who, seeing that his own relatives in Argos and Messene were becoming tyrants instead of kings and in both cases destroying both themselves and their cities, was filled with apprehension both for his house and his native city, and instituted as a remedy the office of the Elders and that of the Ephors as the saving bond of the kingly power. By such means this kingship has been signally secure through all these generations, since law became the lord and king of men, not men [c] tyrants over the laws.

  Now this is the point of my present recommendation to you all: let those who are aiming at tyrannical power shun and flee from what senseless and insatiate men call happiness; let them try to change into the form of kings and subject themselves to kingly laws, thus acquiring the highest honors from their willing subjects and from the laws. Likewise I advise those who cherish the ways of freedom and shun the yoke of slavery as [d] something evil, to beware lest by an excessive and ill-timed thirst for freedom they fall into the affliction of their ancestors, the excessive anarchy they experienced as a result of their unmeasured passion for liberty. For the Sicilians before the reign of Dionysius and Hipparinus lived happily, as they thought, faring sumptuously and ruling their rulers; they it was who, without any legal judgment, stoned to death the ten generals who preceded Dionysius, in order not to be subject to any master, not even [e] justice and the law, but to be altogether and absolutely free. This is why tyranny came upon them. Both servitude in excess and liberty in excess are very great evils, but in due measure both are great goods. Due measure is found in obedience to God, the absence of measure in obedience to men. And the god of wise men is the law; of foolish men, pleasure.

  Since this is so, I call upon the friends of Dion to say to all Syracusans [355] that what I advise is his and my joint counsel. I shall be the interpreter of what he would say if he were alive and able to speak to you now. Well, then, someone may say, what words does Dion’s counsel contain for us about our present situation? These:

  “First of all, men of Syracuse, accept laws that you think will not arouse your desires and turn your thoughts toward money-making and wealth. [b] Of the three goods—soul, body, and wealth—your laws must give the highest honor to the excellence of the soul, the second place to that of the body, as subordinate to the excellence of the soul, and the third and lowest rank to wealth, since it serves both body and soul. The sacred tradition that ranks them
in this order might rightly be made a positive law among [c] you, since it makes truly happy those who live by it; whereas the doctrine that the rich are the happy ones is a foolish saying of women and children, a miserable doctrine in itself, bringing misery upon all who follow it. Put to trial these words about law and you will see by the event that my advice is sound; experience seems to be the truest test of any matter.

  “Having received laws of this sort, then, since Sicily is in grave danger [d] and neither you nor your adversaries are clearly superior in force, it would without question be just and expedient for all of you to strike a compromise—both for those of you who wish to avoid the rigor of absolute rule and for those who are bent on regaining their power. It was their ancestors, remember, who in their time saved the Hellenes from the barbarians and made it possible for us now to be discussing a constitution; for if the Greeks had been defeated then, there would be no opportunity for deliberation nor any basis for hope. So now let the one party have the freedom they desire, but under the government of a king; and let the other have their office, [e] but let it be a responsible kingship, the laws punishing kings and citizens alike if they disobey.

  “Now with a steadfast and wholehearted adherence to all these conditions, and with God’s help, appoint [three] kings: first, my son, in double gratitude for my father’s services and my own (as my father in his time [356] saved the city from the barbarians, I have twice freed it from tyrants, as you yourselves can bear witness); secondly, him who has the same name as my father and is the son of Dionysius, in gratitude for the help he has just rendered your cause, as well as because of his upright character; for though he is the son of a tyrant, he is voluntarily liberating the city and gaining for himself and his house undying honor in place of an ephemeral and unjust tyranny. Thirdly, invite him who is now head of the army of [b] your enemies—Dionysius the son of Dionysius—to become king of the Syracusans as willing king of a willing city, if, through fear of misfortune and pity for his native city and its neglected temples and tombs, he shows himself willing to exchange his power for that of a king, in order that his city may not be completely ruined by this civil strife and fall a rich prize to the barbarians.

  “Let these then be your kings, three in number. Whether you invest them with the authority of the Spartan kings or agree upon some more limited powers for them, install them in something like the following [c] manner. I have already said this to you on a former occasion, but it is well that you hear it again. If the family of Dionysius and Hipparinus is willing to end the present disorders for the salvation of Sicily and gain enduring honors for themselves and their houses on these terms, then, as I have said, summon ambassadors with full authority to effect a reconciliation. Let these ambassadors be whoever and as many as they please, chosen from persons here, or abroad, or both. When they have come together, let [d] them begin by drawing up laws and a constitution providing that the kings shall have authority over religious and all other matters appropriate to former benefactors of the city, but that matters of war and peace shall be under the control of five-and-thirty guardians of the laws ruling in conjunction with the assembly and council. There should be various courts of justice for various offenses, but offenses involving death or exile should be judged by the thirty-five, in conjunction with other select judges chosen each year from the officeholders of the preceding year (one from each office, namely that officer who showed himself the best and justest); these [e] should for the ensuing year judge all cases involving the death or imprisonment or exiling of citizens. But a king should not be permitted to act as judge in such cases, since like a priest he is to remain undefiled by bloodshed or imprisonment or exile. [357]

  “This is what I planned to accomplish for you when I was alive, and this is still my earnest desire. If avenging deities in the guise of friends had not prevented me, I should have carried out this plan, after conquering my enemies with your help. Then, if everything had gone as I desired, I should have resettled the rest of Sicily and driven out the barbarians that now possess it, with the exception of those who made common cause with us in fighting for freedom against the tyranny, and I should have restored to [b] their ancient and ancestral homes the former inhabitants of those Hellenic regions. So now I advise all parties to adopt these same purposes as your common aids, and to work and summon everybody to work with you for their realization, and to regard anyone who refuses as your common enemy. These aims are not impossible of accomplishment, for what is already in two minds, and readily appears the most feasible to those who have reflected upon it, can hardly be called impossible by any man of understanding. By the “two minds” I mean that of Hipparinus, the son of Dionysius, [c] and that of my own son; when these two have come to an agreement, I think all others in Syracuse who care for their city will give their assent.

  “Now offer honor and prayers to all the gods and to all other beings to whom, with the gods, honor belongs, persuading and exhorting friends and opponents gently but unceasingly, until the plans that I have just described, like the dreams that God sends to waking men, have been [d] brought to visible and happy realization.”

  1. I.e., those who connived in the murder of Dion.

  2. Accepting the correction stratēgous in b3.

  IX

  PLATO TO ARCHYTAS OF TARENTUM,1 WELFARE.

  Archippus and Philonides and their companions have come to me with the letter you gave them and have brought me news of you. Their mission to [e] the city they accomplished with no difficulty, since it was not a burdensome matter. But as to you, they reported that you think it a heavy trial not to be able to get free from the cares of public life. It is indeed one of the sweetest things in life to follow one’s own interests, especially when they [358] are such as you have chosen; practically everyone would agree. But this also you must bear in mind, that none of us is born for himself alone; a part of our existence belongs to our country, a part to our parents, a part to our other friends, and a large part is given to the circumstances that command our lives. When our country calls us to public service it would, [b] I think, be unnatural to refuse; especially since this means giving place to unworthy men, who enter public life for motives other than the best.

  Enough of this. As for Echecrates, I am taking care of him and will do so in the future, both for your sake and the sake of his father Phrynion as well as for the young man himself.

  1. Pythagorean philosopher and mathematician, who was also a leading statesman of his native city, in southern Italy. Plato visited there shortly before 388 B.C.

  X

  PLATO TO ARISTODORUS, WELFARE.

  [c] I hear from Dion that you are one of his most trusted followers and have been so from the beginning, manifesting the most philosophical of the philosophical virtues; for to be steadfast, loyal, and dependable—this, I say, is true philosophy; whereas all other learning, and all cleverness directed to any other end than this, I call—and I think rightly—mere ornaments. Farewell; hold fast to these virtues that you have thus far manifested.

  XI

  [d] PLATO TO LAODAMAS, WELFARE.

  I have written you before that the matters you have mentioned will all be greatly advanced if you yourself can come to Athens; but since you say that is impossible, the next best thing would be, as you write, that I [e] or Socrates1 should come to you, if we can. But Socrates is ill with strangury, and it would be unseemly for me to come and not accomplish what you summoned me for. For my part I have little hope that it can be done, though to explain why would require another and longer letter giving all the reasons; and besides, at my time of life I have not the bodily strength for travel and for all the dangers that one encounters both by land and by sea, and at present all the circumstances of travel are full of danger. I can, however, give you and the leaders of your colony a piece of advice [359] which, when I have spoken it, “may seem trifling,” to quote Hesiod, but is hard to take. If they think2 that a constitution can ever be well established by the enactment of laws, of whatever
sort they may be, without some authority in the city to look after the daily life of the citizens and to insure that both free men and slaves live in a temperate and manly fashion, they are thinking wrongly. This could be done, however, if you have at hand [b] men worthy of exercising such authority; but if you lack an educator, then you have neither teachers nor learners, as I see it, and no course is left but to pray to the gods. Indeed most cities in the past have been similarly established and later attained good government under the force of circumstances brought on by war or other enterprises of the city, when a man of nobility and character has appeared and exercised great power. In the meantime you must and should ardently desire this to happen; but reflect on what I have said and do not act lightly, thinking that success is within your grasp. Good luck!

  1. This is the younger Socrates, who figures as one of the personages in the Statesman.

  2. Accepting the emendation oiontai in a3.

  XII

  PLATO TO ARCHYTAS OF TARENTUM,1 WELFARE.

  I am overjoyed at receiving the treatises that have come from you and am filled with admiration for their author, who seemed to me a man [d] worthy of his ancient ancestors. These ancestors are said to have been Myrians, and to have been among the Trojans who emigrated under Laomedon. Good men they were, according to the accepted legend. As to the writings of mine about which you wrote, they are not yet completed, but I am sending them to you as they are. We are agreed that they ought [e] to be guarded, so I need not admonish you on that point.