There are, indeed, some pursuits which cannot by their very nature exist together, but rather
are by nature opposed to each other ; for example,
training in rhetoric and the pursuit of mathematics
require a quiet life and leisure, while political
functions and the friendship of kings cannot succeed
without hard work and the full occupation of one's
time. And
1
‘wine and indulgence in meat’ do
indeed ‘make the body strong and vigorous, but the
soul weak’
2; and unremitting care to acquire and
preserve money increases wealth, yet contempt and
disdain for it is greatly conducive to progress in
philosophy. Therefore not all pursuits are for everyone, but one must, obeying the Pythian
3 inscription,
‘know one's self,’ and then use one's self for that one
thing for which Nature has fitted one and not do
violence to nature by dragging one's self towards the
emulation of now one sort of life, now another.
[p. 211]
The horse is for the chariot;
The ox for the plough ; beside the ship most swiftly speeds the dolphin ;
And if you think to slay a boar, you must find a stout-hearted hound.4
But that man is out of his wits who is annoyed and
pained that he is not at the same time both a lion
Bred on the mountains, sure of his strength,5
and a little Maltese dog cuddled in the lap of a
widow.
6 But not a whit better than he is the man
who wishes at the same time to be an Empedocles or
a Plato or a Democritus, writing about the universe
and the true nature of reality, and, like Euphorion, to
be married to a wealthy old woman, or, like Medius,
7
to be one of Alexander's boon companions and drink
with him ; and is vexed and grieved if he is not admired for his wealth, like Ismenias, and also for his
valour, like Epameinondas. We know that runners
are not discouraged because they do not carry off
wrestlers' crowns, but they exult and rejoice in their
own.
Your portion is Sparta: let your crowns be for her!8
So also Solon
9:
[p. 213]
But we shall not exchange with them our virtue
For their wealth, since virtue is a sure possession,
But money falls now to this man, now that.
And Strato, the natural philosopher, when he heard
that Menedemus had many more pupils than he
himself had, said, ‘Why be surprised if there are
more who wish to bathe than to be anointed for the
contest?’
10 And Aristotle,
11 writing to Antipater,
said, ‘It is not Alexander alone who has the right to
be proud because he rules over many men, but no less
right to be proud have they who have true notions
concerning the gods.’ For those who have such
lofty opinions of their own possessione will not be
offended by their neighbours' goods. But as it is,
we do not expect the vine to bear figs nor the olive
grapes,
12 but, for ourselves, if we have not at one and
the same time the advantages of both the wealthy
and the learned, of both commanders and philosophers, of both flatterers and the outspoken, of
both the thrifty and the lavish, we slander ourselves,
we are displeased, we despise ourselves as living an
incomplete and trivial life.
Furthermore, we see that Nature also admonishes
us ; for just as she has provided different foods for
different beasts and has not made them all carnivorous or seed-pickers or root-diggers, so has she
[p. 215]
given to men a great variety of means for gaining
a livelihood,
To shepherd and ploughman and fowler and to him w hom
the sea
Provides with sustenance.13
We should, therefore, choose the calling appropriate
to ourselves, cultivate it diligently, let the rest alone,
and not prove that
14 Hesiod spoke inexactly when
he said,
Potter is angry with potter, joiner with joiner.
For not only are men jealous of fellow-craftsmen and
those who share the same life as themselves, but also
the wealthy envy the learned, the famous the rich,
advocates the sophists, and, by Heaven free men
and patricians regard with wondering admiration
and envy successful comedians in the theatre and
dancers and servants in the courts of kings ; and by
so doing they afford themselves no small vexation
and disturbance.
