I am looking forward, I must tell you, Pericles, to a great improvement in our military affairs when you are minister of war.275 The prestige of Athens, I hope, will rise; we shall gain the mastery over our enemies.
Pericles replied: I devoutly1 wish your words might be fulfilled, but how this happy result is to be obtained, I am at a loss to discover.
Shall we (Socrates continued), shall we balance the arguments for and against, and consider to what extent the possibility does exist?
Pray let us do so (he answered).
Soc. Well then, you know that in point of numbers the Athenians are not inferior to the Boeotians?
Per. Yes, I am aware of that.
Soc. And do you think the Boeotians could furnish a better pick of fine healthy men than the Athenians?
Per. I think we should very well hold our own in that respect.
Soc. And which of the two would you take to be the more united people — the friendlier among themselves?
Per. The Athenians, I should say, for so many sections of the Boeotians, resenting the selfish policy276 of Thebes, are ill disposed to that power, but at Athens I see nothing of the sort.
Soc. But perhaps you will say that there is no people more jealous of honour or haughtier2 in spirit.277 And these feelings are no weak spurs to quicken even a dull spirit to hazard all for glory’s sake and fatherland.
Per. Nor is there much fault to find with Athenians in these respects.
Soc. And if we turn to consider the fair deeds of ancestry3,278 to no people besides ourselves belongs so rich a heritage of stimulating4 memories, whereby so many of us are stirred to pursue virtue5 with devotion and to show ourselves in our turn also men of valour like our sires.
Per. All that you say, Socrates, is most true, but do you observe that ever since the disaster of the thousand under Tolmides at Lebadeia, coupled with that under Hippocrates at Delium,279 the prestige of Athens by comparison with the Boeotians has been lowered, whilst the spirit of Thebes as against Athens had been correspondingly exalted6, so that those Boeotians who in old days did not venture to give battle to the Athenians even in their own territory unless they had the Lacedaemonians and the rest of the Peloponnesians to help them, do nowadays threaten to make an incursion into Attica single-handed; and the Athenians, who formerly7, if they had to deal with the Boeotians280 only, made havoc8 of their territory, are now afraid the Boeotians may some day harry9 Attica.
To which Socrates: Yes, I perceive that this is so, but it seems to me that the state was never more tractably10 disposed, never so ripe for a really good leader, as today. For if boldness be the parent of carelessness, laxity, and insubordination, it is the part of fear to make people more disposed to application, obedience11, and good order. A proof of which you may discover in the behaviour of people on ship-board. It is in seasons of calm weather when there is nothing to fear that disorder12 may be said to reign13, but as soon as there is apprehension14 of a storm, or an enemy in sight, the scene changes; not only is each word of command obeyed, but there is a hush15 of silent expectation; the mariners16 wait to catch the next signal like an orchestra with eyes upon the leader.
Per. But indeed, given that now is the opportunity to take obedience at the flood, it is high time also to explain by what means we are to rekindle17 in the hearts of our countrymen281 the old fires — the passionate18 longing19 for antique valour, for the glory and the wellbeing of the days of old.
Well (proceeded Socrates), supposing we wished them to lay claim to certain material wealth now held by others, we could not better stimulate20 them to lay hands on the objects coveted21 than by showing them that these were ancestral possessions282 to which they had a natural right. But since our object is that they should set their hearts on virtuous22 pre-eminence, we must prove to them that such headship combined with virtue is an old time-honoured heritage which pertains23 to them beyond all others, and that if they strive earnestly after it they will soon out-top the world.
Por. How are we to inculcate this lesson?
Soc. I think by reminding them of a fact already registered in their minds,283 that the oldest of our ancestors whose names are known to us were also the bravest of heroes.
Per. I suppose you refer to that judgment24 of the gods which, for their virtue’s sake, Cecrops and his followers25 were called on to decide?284
Soc. Yes, I refer to that and to the birth and rearing of Erectheus,285 and also to the war286 which in his days was waged to stay the tide of invasion from the whole adjoining continent; and that other war in the days of the Heraclidae287 against the men of Peloponnese; and that series of battles fought in the days of Theseus288 — in all which the virtuous pre-eminence of our ancestry above the men of their own times was made manifest. Or, if you please, we may come down to things of a later date, which their descendants and the heroes of days not so long anterior26 to our own wrought27 in the struggle with the lords of Asia,289 nay28 of Europe also, as far as Macedonia: a people possessing a power and means of attack far exceeding any who had gone before — who, moreover, had accomplished29 the doughtiest deeds. These things the men of Athens wrought partly single-handed,290 and partly as sharers with the Peloponnesians in laurels30 won by land and sea. Heroes were these men also, far outshining, as tradition tells us, the peoples of their time.
Per. Yes, so runs the story of their heroism31.
Soc. Therefore it is that, amidst the many changes of inhabitants, and the migrations32 which have, wave after wave, swept over Hellas, these maintained themselves in their own land, unmoved; so that it was a common thing for others to turn to them as to a court of appeal on points of right, or to flee to Athens as a harbour of refuge from the hand of the oppressor.291
Then Pericles: And the wonder to me, Socrates, is how our city ever came to decline.
Soc. I think we are victims of our own success. Like some athlete,292 whose facile preponderance in the arena33 has betrayed him into laxity until he eventually succumbs34 to punier35 antagonists36, so we Athenians, in the plenitude of our superiority, have neglected ourselves and are become degenerate37.
Per. What then ought we to do now to recover our former virtue?
Soc. There need be no mystery about that, I think. We can rediscover the institutions of our forefathers38 — applying them to the regulation of our lives with something of their precision, and not improbably with like success; or we can imitate those who stand at the front of affairs today,293 adapting to ourselves their rule of life, in which case, if we live up to the standard of our models, we may hope at least to rival their excellence39, or, by a more conscientious40 adherence41 to what they aim at, rise superior.
You would seem to suggest (he answered) that the spirit of beautiful and brave manhood has taken wings and left our city;294 as, for instance, when will Athenians, like the Lacedaemonians, reverence42 old age — the Athenian, who takes his own father as a starting-point for the contempt he pours upon grey hairs? When will he pay as strict an attention to the body, who is not content with neglecting a good habit,295 but laughs to scorn those who are careful in this matter? When shall we Athenians so obey our magistrates43 — we who take a pride, as it were, in despising authority? When, once more, shall we be united as a people — we who, instead of combining to promote common interests, delight in blackening each other’s characters,296 envying one another more than we envy all the world besides; and — which is our worst failing — who, in private and public intercourse44 alike, are torn by dissension and are caught in a maze45 of litigation, and prefer to make capital out of our neighbour’s difficulties rather than to render natural assistance? To make our conduct consistent, indeed, we treat our national interests no better than if they were the concerns of some foreign state; we make them bones of contention46 to wrangle47 over, and rejoice in nothing so much as in possessing means and ability to indulge these tastes. From this hotbed is engendered48 in the state a spirit of blind folly297 and cowardice49, and in the hearts of the citizens spreads a tangle50 of hatred51 and mutual52 hostility53 which, as I often shudder54 to think, will some day cause some disaster to befall the state greater than it can bear.298
Do not (replied Socrates), do not, I pray you, permit yourself to believe that Athenians are smitten55 with so incurable56 a depravity. Do you not observe their discipline in all naval57 matters? Look at their prompt and orderly obedience to the superintendents58 at the gymnastic contests,299 their quite unrivalled subservience59 to their teachers in the training of our choruses.
Yes (he answered), there’s the wonder of it; to think that all those good people should so obey their leaders, but that our hoplites and our cavalry60, who may be supposed to rank before the rest of the citizens in excellence of manhood,300 should be so entirely61 unamenable to discipline.
Then Socrates: Well, but the council which sits on Areopagos is composed of citizens of approved301 character, is it not?
Certainly (he answered).
Soc. Then can you name any similar body, judicial62 or executive, trying cases or transacting63 other business with greater honour, stricter legality, higher dignity, or more impartial64 justice?
No, I have no fault to find on that score (he answered).
Soc. Then we ought not to despair as though all sense of orderliness and good discipline had died out of our countrymen.
Still (he answered), if it is not to harp65 upon one string, I maintain that in military service, where, if anywhere, sobreity and temperance, orderliness and good discipline are needed, none of these essentials receives any attention.
May it not perhaps be (asked Socrates) that in this department they are officered by those who have the least knowledge?302 Do you not notice, to take the case of harp-players, choric performers, dancers, and the like, that no one would ever dream of leading if he lacked the requisite66 knowledge? and the same holds of wrestlers or pancratiasts.
Moreover, while in these cases any one in command can tell you where he got the elementary knowledge of what he presides over, most generals are amateurs and improvisers.303 I do not at all suppose that you are one of that sort. I believe you could give as clear an account of your schooling67 in strategy as you could in the matter of wrestling. No doubt you have got at first hand many of your father’s “rules for generalship,” which you carefully preserve, besides having collected many others from every quarter whence it was possible to pick up any knowledge which would be of use to a future general. Again, I feel sure you are deeply concerned to escape even unconscious ignorance of anything which will be serviceable to you in so high an office; and if you detect in yourself any ignorance, you turn to those who have knowledge in these matters (sparing neither gifts nor gratitude) to supplement your ignorance by their knowledge and to secure their help.
To which Pericles: I am not so blind, Socrates, as to imagine you say these words under the idea that I am truly so careful in these matters; but rather your object is to teach me that the would-be general must make such things his care. I admit in any case all you say.
Socrates proceeded: Has it ever caught your observation, Pericles, that a high mountain barrier stretches like a bulwark68 in front of our country down towards Boeotia — cleft69, moreover, by narrow and precipitous passes, the only avenues into the heart of Attica, which lies engirdled by a ring of natural fortresses70?304
Per. Certainly I have.
Soc. Well, and have you ever heard tell of the Mysians and Pisidians living within the territory of the great king,305 who, inside their mountain fortresses, lightly armed, are able to rush down and inflict71 much injury on the king’s territory by their raids, while preserving their own freedom?
Per. Yes, the circumstance is not new to me.
And do you not think (added Socrates) that a corps72 of young able-bodied Athenians, accoutred with lighter73 arms,306 and holding our natural mountain rampart in possession, would prove at once a thorn in the enemy’s side offensively, whilst defensively they would form a splendid bulwark to protect the country?
To which Pericles: I think, Socrates, these would be all useful measures, decidedly.
If, then (replied Socrates), these suggestions meet your approbation74, try, O best of men, to realise them — if you can carry out a portion of them, it will be an honour to yourself and a blessing75 to the state; while, if you fail in any point, there will be no damage done to the city nor discredit76 to yourself.
274 Or, “On one occasion Pericles was the person addressed in conversation.” For Pericles see “Hell.” I. v. 16; vii. 15; Plut. “Pericl.” 37 (Clough, i. 368).
275 “Strategos.”
276 “The self-aggrandisement.”
277 Reading megalophronestatoi, after Cobet. See “Hipparch,” vii. 3; or if as vulg. philophronestatoi, transl. “more affable.”
278 See Wesley’s anthem77, Eccles. xliv. 1, “Let us now praise famous men and our fathers that begat us.”
279 Lebadeia, 447 B.C.; Delium, 424 B.C. For Tolmides and Hippocrates see Thuc. i. 113; iv. 100 foll.; Grote, “H. G.” v. 471; vi. 533.
280 Reading ote B. monoi, al. ou monoi, “when the Boeotians were not unaided.”
281 Reading anerasthenai, Schneider’s emendation of the vulg. aneristhenai.
282 Cf. Solon in the matter of Salamis, Plut. “Sol.” 8; Bergk. “Poet. Lyr. Gr. Solon,” SALAMIS, i. 2, 3.
283 Or, “to which their ears are already opened.”
284 See Apollodorus, iii. 14.
285 Cf. “Il.” ii. 547, ‘Erekhtheos megaletoros k.t.l.
286 Cf. Isoc. “Paneg.” 19, who handles all the topics.
287 Commonly spoken of as “the Return.” See Grote, “H. G.” II. ch. xviii.
288 Against the Amazons and Thracians; cf. Herod. ix. 27; Plut. “Thes.” 27.
289 The “Persian” wars; cf. Thucyd. I. i.
290 He omits the Plataeans.
291 Cf. (Plat.) “Menex.”; Isocr. “Paneg.”
292 Reading athletai tines, or if alloi tines, translate “any one else.”
293 Sc. the Lacedaemonians. See W. L. Newman, op. cit. i. 396.
294 Or, “is far enough away from Athens.”
295 See below, III. xii. 5; “Pol. Ath.” i. 13; “Rev.” iv. 52.
296 Or, “to deal despitefully with one another.
297 Reading ateria. See L. Dindorf ad loc., Ox. ed. lxii. Al. apeiria, a want of skill, or ataxia, disorderliness. Cf. “Pol. Ath.” i. 5.
298 Possibly the author is thinking of the events of 406, 405 B.C. (see “Hell.” I. vii. and II.), and history may repeat itself.
299 Epistatoi, i.e. stewards78 and training-masters.
300 kalokagathia.
301 Technically79, they must have passed the dokimasia. And for the “Aeropagos” see Grote, “H. G.” v. 498; Aristot. “Pol.” ii. 12; “Ath. Pol.” 4. 4, where see Dr. Sandys’ note, p. 18.
302 episteme. See below, III. ix. 10.
303 Cf. “Pol. Lac.” xiii. 5.
304 The mountains are Cithaeron and Parnes N., and Cerata N.W.
305 For this illustration see “Anab.” III. ii. 23; cf. “Econ.” iv. 18, where Socrates (XS) refers to Cyrus’s expedition and death.
306 Cf. the reforms of Iphicrates.
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1
devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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haughtier
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| haughty（傲慢的，骄傲的）的比较级形式 | |
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ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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5
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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7
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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tractably
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| 驯良地，温顺地 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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rekindle
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| v.使再振作；再点火 | |
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18
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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19
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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pertains
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| 关于( pertain的第三人称单数 )； 有关； 存在； 适用 | |
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24
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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anterior
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| adj.较早的；在前的 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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heroism
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| n.大无畏精神，英勇 | |
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migrations
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| n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 ) | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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succumbs
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的第三人称单数 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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punier
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| adj.小于一般尺寸的( puny的比较级 )；微不足道的；弱小的；微弱的 | |
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antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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forefathers
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| n.祖先，先人；祖先，祖宗( forefather的名词复数 )；列祖列宗；前人 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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adherence
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| n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着 | |
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42
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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maze
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| n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑 | |
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contention
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| n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张 | |
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wrangle
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| vi.争吵 | |
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48
engendered
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| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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50
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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51
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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52
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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53
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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54
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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55
smitten
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| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
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56
incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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57
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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58
superintendents
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| 警长( superintendent的名词复数 )； （大楼的）管理人； 监管人； （美国）警察局长 | |
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59
subservience
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| n.有利，有益；从属（地位），附属性；屈从，恭顺；媚态 | |
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60
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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61
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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62
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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63
transacting
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| v.办理（业务等）( transact的现在分词 )；交易，谈判 | |
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64
impartial
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| adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的 | |
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65
harp
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| n.竖琴；天琴座 | |
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66
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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67
schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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68
bulwark
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| n.堡垒，保障，防御 | |
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69
cleft
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| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
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70
fortresses
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| 堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 ) | |
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71
inflict
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| vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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73
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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74
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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76
discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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anthem
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| n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌 | |
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78
stewards
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| （轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家 | |
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technically
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| adv.专门地，技术上地 | |
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