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to shame a brother with countless reproaches, one who has often done no wrong, what would he not do? If merely bearing a grudge is worthy of punishment, how great a torment does pursuing vengeance have? But not yet about these things, but let these things be kept for their proper place. For 47.331 to pass over the other things, is not this very thing which has compelled us to descend to this discourse sufficient, even alone, to show the evil of the prevailing disease? For if not being aware of one's own sins, but to transgress without feeling, is the final limit of wickedness, where shall we place these new lawgivers of this new and most absurd legislation, who with greater boldness drive out the teachers of virtue than 47.332 others do those of vice, and are more at war with those who wish to correct them than are the transgressors themselves? or rather, they neither feel displeasure towards them, nor ever bring charges against them, but of these they would gladly have a taste, all but shouting, both by what they say and by what they do, that one must cling fast to wickedness, and never return to virtue, so that it is necessary to fend off not only those who pursue it, but also those who dare to utter a sound on its behalf.

47.331 TO AN UNBELIEVING FATHER, SECOND DISCOURSE

1. These things, then, are sufficient to cause astonishment and horror. And if someone should now utter that prophetic saying over these things, that, *The heaven was astonished at this, and the earth shuddered exceedingly*; and, that *Astonishment and horrible things have happened upon the earth*, he will say all such things fittingly. But what is more grievous than these things is that not only do certain strangers, and those who are in no way related to those being counseled, feel indignant and displeased at such things, but relatives and fathers have learned to be angry over these matters. And yet I am not unaware that many are not greatly astonished at the fathers who do this; but they say they are choked with anger when they see those who are neither fathers, nor friends, nor relatives, nor connected in any other way, and often are even strangers to those who choose to live as philosophers, suffering this same thing, and being more vexed than the fathers, and warring against, and accusing those who persuaded them. But to me the opposite seems astonishing. For as for those who have no claim of kinship or friendship, it is not unreasonable for them to be grieved at the good fortunes of others, being captured on the one hand by envy, and on the other, because of their own wickedness, considering the ruin of others to be good fortune—wretchedly and miserably, to be sure, but considering it so nonetheless; but for those who begot them, who raised them, who pray each day to see their children more esteemed than themselves, who do and suffer all things for this reason; for these men to be changed suddenly as if from some drunkenness and to be grieved, when their children are led to philosophy; this is what I marvel at most of all, and I say it is a sufficient proof that all things have been corrupted. For not even in former times could one say this has happened, when error also prevailed brilliantly; but it did happen once in a Greek city, but one under a tyranny. For not even then did any of the parents, as now, but those who had seized the acropolis—or rather, not even all of these, but the most abominable of them himself—having summoned Socrates, ordered him to desist from discourses on behalf of philosophy. But that man, both a tyrant and faithless and cruel, and doing everything for the overthrow of the state, and reveling in the misfortunes of others, and knowing that nothing else can overthrow the best form of government as such a command can, dared these things; but these men, being faithful, and living in supposedly well-ordered cities, and deliberating about their own children, dare to utter these things which the ty47.332 rant [spoke] concerning those under his tyranny, and not

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τὸ καὶ μυρίοις ὀνείδεσιν αἰσχῦναι τὸν ἀδελφὸν, τὸν οὐδὲν ἠδικηκότα πολλάκις, τί οὐκ ἂν ἐργάσηται; Εἰ τὸ μνησικακεῖν μόνον τιμωρίας ἄξιον, τὸ καὶ ἐπεξιέναι πόσην ἔχει τὴν βάσανον; Ἀλλὰ μήπω περὶ τούτων, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ ταῦτα φυλαττέσθω τόπῳ. Ἵνα 47.331 γὰρ τὰ ἄλλα παρῶ, αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο τὸ καταναγκάσαν ἡμᾶς εἰς τοῦτον καθεῖναι τὸν λόγον, οὐχ ἱκανὸν καὶ μόνον τῆς κατεχούσης νόσου τὴν κακίαν ἐνδείξασθαι; Εἰ γὰρ τὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων μὴ ἐπαισθάνεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀναλγήτως πλημμελεῖν, ἔσχατος ὅρος κακίας ἐστὶ, ποῦ τάξομεν τοὺς νέους τούτους νομοθέτας τῆς καινῆς ταύτης καὶ ἀτοπωτάτης νομοθεσίας, οἳ μετὰ πλείονος τῆς παῤῥησίας τοὺς τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀπελαύνουσι διδασκάλους, ἢ 47.332 τοὺς τῆς κακίας ἕτεροι, καὶ τῶν πλημμελησάντων πλέον τοῖς διορθοῦν βουλομένοις ἐκπεπολέμωνται; μᾶλλον δὲ πρὸς ἐκείνους μὲν οὔτε ἀηδῶς ἔχουσιν, οὔτε ἐγκαλοῦσί ποτε, τούτων δὲ κἂν ἀπογεύσαιντο ἡδέως μονονουχὶ βοῶντες καὶ δι' ὧν λέγουσι καὶ δι' ὧν ποιοῦσιν, ὅτι δεῖ τῆς κακίας ἀπρὶξ ἔχεσθαι, καὶ μηδέποτε ἐπανελθεῖν πρὸς ἀρετὴν, ὡς οὐ μόνον τοὺς μετιόντας αὐτὴν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς φωνὴν ὑπὲρ ταύτης ῥῆξαι τολμῶντας ἀμύνεσθαι δέον.

47.331 ΠΡΟΣ ΑΠΙΣΤΟΝ ΠΑΤΕΡΑ, ΛΟΓΟΣ ∆ΕΥΤΕΡΟΣ

αʹ. Ἱκανὰ μὲν οὖν καὶ ταῦτα ἔκστασιν ἐργάσασθαι καὶ φρίκην· κἂν τὸ

προφητικόν τις ἐκεῖνο ἐπὶ τούτοις φθέγγηται νῦν, ὅτι Ἐξέστη ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ, καὶ ἔφριξεν ἡ γῆ ἐπὶ πλεῖον σφόδρα· καὶ, ὅτι Ἔκστασις καὶ φρικτὰ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, εὐκαίρως πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐρεῖ. Τὸ δὲ τούτων χαλεπώτερον, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἀλλότριοί τινες, καὶ οὐδὲν τοῖς συμβουλευομένοις προσήκοντες τοιαῦτα ἀγανακτοῦσι καὶ δυσχεραίνουσιν, ἀλλὰ συγγενεῖς καὶ πατέρες ἔμαθον ὑπὲρ τούτων ὀργίζεσθαι. Καίτοι γε οὐκ ἀγνοῶ ὅτι πολλοὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς πατέρας τοῦτο ποιοῦντας οὐ σφόδρα ἐκπλήττονται· ἀποπνίγεσθαι δέ φασι τῷ θυμῷ, ὅταν ἴδωσι τοὺς μήτε πατέρας, μήτε φίλους, μήτε συγγενεῖς, μήτε ἄλλοθέν ποθεν ἐπιτηδείους, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἀγνῶτας ὄντας τοῖς φιλοσοφεῖν αἱρουμένοις τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάσχοντας, καὶ μᾶλλον τῶν πατέρων δακνομένους, καὶ πολεμοῦντας, καὶ κατηγοροῦντας τῶν ἀναπεισάντων αὐτούς. Ἐμοὶ δὲ τοὐναντίον εἶναι δοκεῖ θαυμαστόν. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ μήτε κηδεμονίας, μήτε φιλίας ἔχοντάς τι δικαίωμα, οὐδὲν ἀπεικός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἀλγεῖν ἀγαθοῖς, πὴ μὲν ὑπὸ βασκανίας ἁλισκομένους, πὴ δὲ τῆς οἰκείας κακίας τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ἀπώλειαν εὐτυχίαν εἶναι νομίζοντας, ἀθλίως μὲν καὶ ταλαιπώρως, νομίζοντας δ' οὖν ὅμως· τὸ δὲ τοὺς γεννησαμένους, τοὺς ἀναθρεψαμένους, τοὺς καθ' ἑκάστην εὐχομένους ἡμέραν εὐδοκιμωτέρους σφῶν αὐτῶν τοὺς παῖδας ἰδεῖν, τοὺς πάντα διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ποιοῦντας καὶ πάσχοντας· τούτους δὲ ὥσπερ ἔκ τινος μέθης ἐξαίφνης μεταβαλλομένους ἀλγεῖν, ἐπὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ τῶν παίδων ἀγομένων αὐτοῖς· τοῦτό ἐστιν ὃ μάλιστα πάντων ἐγὼ θαυμάζω, καὶ τοῦ πάντα διεφθάρθαι τεκμήριον εἶναί φημι ἱκανόν. Τοῦτο γὰρ οὐδ' ἐπὶ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνων ἔχοι τις ἂν γεγενημένον εἰπεῖν, ὅτε καὶ τῆς πλάνης ἐκράτει λαμπρῶς· ἀλλ' ἐγένετο μὲν ἅπαξ ἐν Ἑλληνίδι πόλει, τυραννουμένῃ δέ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ δὴ τότε τῶν γονέων τις καθάπερ νῦν, ἀλλ' οἱ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν καταλαβόντες, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ οὗτοι πάντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων αὐτῶν ὁ μιαρώτατος τὸν Σωκράτην καλέσας, ἐκέλευε τῶν ὑπὲρ φιλοσοφίας ἀποστῆναι λόγων. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μὲν καὶ τύραννος καὶ ἄπιστος καὶ ὠμὸς καὶ ἐπ' ἀνατροπῇ τῆς πολιτείας ἅπαντα πράττων, καὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐντρυφῶν κακοῖς, καὶ εἰδὼς ὅτι πολιτείαν ἀρίστην οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἀνατρέψαι δύναται, ὡς τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐπίταγμα, ταῦτα ἐτόλμησεν· οὗτοι δὲ πιστοὶ, καὶ ἐν εὐνομουμέναις δῆθεν πόλεσι ζῶντες, καὶ περὶ παίδων τῶν αὐτῶν βουλευόμενοι, ταῦτα φθέγγεσθαι τολμῶσιν, ἃ περὶ τῶν τυραννουμένων ὁ τύ47.332 ραννος, καὶ οὐκ