After these, who are not bad specimens in my
opinion, hear of a third man no whit worse than
they. Eudamidas of Corinth, himself a very poor
man, had two rich friends, Aretaios of Corinth
and Charixenes of Sikyon. When he died he left
a will, which perhaps may seem absurd to others,
but I am not at all sure that such things do to
you, a man of virtue, who honor friendship, and
are competing for the first prize in it. The will
read: "I bequeath to Aretaios my mother to support and tend in her old age, and to Charixenes
my daughter to give in marriage, with as large a
dowry as he can afford,”—for he had an aged mother and a young daughter just of marriageable age
-"and if, in the mean time, anything happens to
either of the legatees, let the other," said the will,
"take his share." When this will was read, those
who knew the poverty of Eudamidas but were not
aware of the friendship between him and the legatees, turned the matter to a jest, and every one
of them went off laughing and saying that Aretaios
and Charixenes had come into a joyful inheritance if they were to make payment to Eudamidas,
and if they who were living were to leave their
property to a dead man.
But the heirs to whom
these things were bequeathed came as soon as
they heard of it, and carried out the provisions of
the will. Now, Charixenes died only five days.
later, and Aretaios showed himself the best of
heirs by assuming both his own share and the
other's. He still supports Eudamidas's mother,
and the daughter he gave in marriage not long
ago. Of his estate of five thousand dollars he
gave two thousand with his own daughter and
two thousand with the daughter of his friend, and
deemed it right to celebrate both marriages on
the same day. What do you think of Aretaios,
Toxaris? Does he seem to you to furnish a bad
example of friendship, inheriting such a legacy
and not betraying his friend's bequest? Or shall
our mature decision be to place him as one
among the five ?
He, too, is a noble man. But I admire far more the confidence which Eudamidas
placed in his friends. He showed that he, too,
would have done likewise for them, even if the
duty had not been left him by will, and would
have been the first to come as the unappointed
heir of such a legacy.