Skill in speaking and efficiency in
affairs, therefore, and ingenuity, were not the qualities that he
was eager to foster in his companions. He held that they needed
first to acquire prudence. For he believed that those faculties,
unless accompanied by prudence, increased in their possessors
injustice and power for mischief.
In the first place, then, he tried to
make his companions prudent towards the gods. Accordingly he
discoursed on this topic at various times, as those who were present
used to relate. The following conversation between him and
Euthydemus I heard myself.
Tell me,
Euthydemus, he began, has it ever
occurred to you to reflect on the care the gods have taken to
furnish man with what he needs?No, indeed it has not,
replied Euthydemus.Well, no doubt you know that our first and
foremost need is light, which is supplied to us by the
gods?Of course; since without light our eyes would be as useless as
if we were blind.And again, we need rest; and therefore the gods
grant us the welcome respite of night.Yes, for that too we owe
them thanks.
And since the
night by reason of her darkness is dim, whereas the sun by his
brightness illuminates the hours of the day and all things else,
have they not made stars to shine in the night, that mark the
watches of night for us, and do we not thereby satisfy many of
our needs?That is so.Moreover, the moon reveals to us not only
the divisions of the night, but of the month
too.Certainly.
Now, seeing that
we need food, think how they make the earth to yield it, and
provide to that end appropriate seasons which furnish in
abundance the diverse things that minister not only to our wants
but to our enjoyment.Truly these things too show
loving-kindness.
Think again of
their precious gift of water, that aids the earth and the
seasons to give birth and increase to all things useful to us
and itself helps to nourish our bodies, and mingling with all
that sustains us, makes it more digestible, more wholesome, and
more palatable: and how, because we need so much of it, they
supply it without stint.That too shows design at work.
Think again of
the blessing of fire, our defence against cold and against
darkness, our helpmate in every art and all that man contrives
for his service. In fact, to put it shortly, nothing of any
account that is useful to the life of man is contrived without
the aid of fire.This too is a signal token of
loving-kindness.
Think again how
the sun, when past the winter solstice, approaches, ripening
some things and withering others, whose time is over; and having
accomplished this, approaches no nearer, but turns away, careful
not to harm us by excess of heat; and when once again in his
retreat he reaches the point where it is clear to ourselves,
that if he goes further away, we shall be frozen with the cold,
back he turns once more and draws near and revolves in that
region of the heavens where he can best serve
us.Yes, verily, these things do seem to be done for the sake of
mankind.
And again, since
it is evident that we could not endure the heat or the cold if
it came suddenly,Cyropaedia VI. ii. 29. the sun’s
approach and retreat are so gradual that we arrive at the one or
the other extreme imperceptibly.For myself, exclaimed
Euthydemus, I begin to doubt whether after all
the gods are occupied in any other work than the service of man.
The one difficulty I feel is that the lower animals also enjoy
these blessings.
Yes,
replied Socrates, and is it not evident that they too receive life
and food for the sake of man? For what creature reaps so many
benefits as man from goats and sheep and horses and oxen and
asses and the other animals? He owes more to them, in my
opinion, than to the fruits of the earth. At the least they are
not less valuable to him for food and commerce; in fact a large
portion of mankind does not use the products of the earth for
food, but lives on the milk and cheese and flesh they get from
live stock. Moreover, all men tame and domesticate the useful
kinds of animals, and make them their fellow-workers in war and
many other undertakings.There too I agree with you, seeing that
animals far stronger than man become so entirely subject to him
that he puts them to any use he chooses.
Think again of
the multitude of things beautiful and useful and their infinite
variety, and how the gods have endowed man with senses adapted
for the perception of every kind, so that there is nothing good
that we cannot enjoy; and again, how they have implanted in us
the faculty of reasoning, whereby we are able to reason about
the objects of our perceptions and to commit them to memory, and
so come to know what advantage every kind can yield, and devise
many means of enjoying the good and driving away the bad;
and think of the power of
expression, which enables us to impart to one another all good
things by teaching and to take our share of them, to enact laws
and to administer states.Truly,
Socrates, it
does appear that the gods devote much care to
man.Yet again, in so far as we are powerless of ourselves to
foresee what is expedient for the future,Cyropaedia I. vi. 46.
the gods lend us their aid, revealing the issues by divination
to inquirers, and teaching them how to obtain the best
results.With you,
Socrates, they seem
to deal even more friendly than with other men, if it is true
that, even unasked, they warn you by signs what to do and what
not to do.
Yes, and you will
realise the truth of what I say if, instead of waiting for the
gods to appear to you in bodily presence, you are content to
praise and worship them because you see their works. Mark that
the gods themselves give the reason for doing so; for when they
bestow on us their good gifts, not one of them ever appears
before us gift in hand; and especially he who co-ordinates and
holds together the universe, wherein all things are fair and
good, and presents them ever unimpaired and sound and ageless
for our use,ibid. VIII. vii.
22. and quicker than thought to serve us unerringly,
is manifest in his supreme works, and yet is unseen by us in the
ordering of them.
Mark that even the sun, who seems
to reveal himself to all, permits not man to behold him closely,
but if any attempts to gaze recklessly upon him, blinds their
eyes. And the gods’ ministers too you will find to be invisible.
That the thunderbolt is hurled from heaven, and that he
overwhelms all on whom he falls, is evident, but he is seen
neither coming nor striking nor going. And the winds are
themselves invisible, yet their deeds are manifest to us, and we
perceive their approach. Moreover, the soul of man, which more
than all else that is human partakes of the divine, reigns
manifestly within us, and yet is itself unseen.For these reasons it behoves us not to
despise the things that are unseen, but, realising their power
in their manifestations, to honour the godhead.
Socrates,
replied Euthydemus, that I will in no wise be
heedless of the godhead I know of a surety. But my heart fails
me when I think that no man can ever render due thanks to the
gods for their benefits.
Nay, be not
down-hearted, Euthydemus; for you know that to the inquiry,
How am I to please the
gods? the Delphic god replies, Follow the custom of the state; and
everywhere, I suppose, it is the custom that men propitiate the
gods with sacrifices according to their power. How then can a
man honour the gods more excellently and more devoutly than by
doing as they themselves ordain?
Only he must fall no whit short of
his power. For when he does that, it is surely plain that he is
not then honouring the gods. Therefore it is by coming no whit
short of his power in honouring the gods that he is to look with
confidence for the greatest blessing.Cyropaedia I. vi. 4.
For there are none from whom a man of prudence would hope for
greater things than those who can confer the greatest benefits,
nor can he show his prudence more clearly than by pleasing them.
And how can he please them better than by obeying them
strictly?
Thus by precept and by example alike
he strove to increase in his companions Piety and Prudence.