The Erotic Essay

Certainly your father and mother and the rest of your kinsmen are rightly envied because you so far surpass those of your own age in excellence, but still more enviable are those whom you, who have been deemed worthy of such blessings, select from the whole number to be your friends, judging them worthy of your companionship. And since Fortune has appointed the former to share your affection, but the latter their own fine qualities have recommended in addition,

I do not know whether to call these young men admirers or unique for their sound judgement. For, as I think, Fortune, scorning base men and wishing to arouse the minds of the good, at the very outset made your nature beautiful, not for a life of pleasure, to be beguiled thereto, but serviceable for a virtuous life, to have happiness therein.[*](This sentence exhibits rhythmical clausulae and Gorgianic parallelism of structure along with assonance of the vowel e. It is suggested that the Greek version be read aloud.)

Although I have still much to say in praise of you, I think I shall cease my eulogy at this point, fearing that I may seem to plead your cause in terms exceeding human limitations. For so far, as it seems, does the power of words fall short of that of vision that, while none would think of mistrusting the evidence of his eyes, people think the praise of things men say they have seen, even if it falls short of the truth, to be incredible.

Accordingly, I shall leave this topic and now endeavor to counsel you on the means of rendering your life still more worthy of esteem. To the words I am about to utter I would not have you give heed as to a matter of trivial importance, nor to leap to the conclusion that I have, after all, addressed you thus, not for your good, but from a desire to display my skill; otherwise you may miss the truth and, by choosing haphazard counsel in place of the best, fall short of the best in judging your own interests.

For we do not reproach men of humble and insignificant natural gifts even when they commit a dishonorable act, but to those who, like yourself, have attained distinction, even a bit of negligence in some matter of high honor brings disgrace.[*](See note on Dem. 61.32) Again, those who go astray in other domains fail merely t make the best decision in some single, isolated matter, but those who miss the right advice on the conduct of life, or scorn it, have reminders of their own folly to live with their whole life long.

Now you must not fall into any of these errors but rather seek to discover what is of supreme consequence in human affairs, and what it is that turning out well would do us the most good, but turning out badly would hurt us most along life’s pathway. For it requires no proof that upon this factor we must expend the greatest care, which more than anything else possesses the power to tip the scale to one side or the other.