Memorabilia

Again, on meeting an old comrade after long absence he said: Where do you come from, Eutherus?I came home when the war ended, Socrates, and am now living here, he replied. Since we have lost our foreign property, and my father left me nothing in Attica, I am forced to settle down here now and work for my living with my hands. I think it’s better than begging, especially as I have no security to offer for a loan.

And how long will you have the strength, do you think, to earn your living by your work?Oh, not long, of course.But remember, when you get old you will have to spend money, and nobody will be willing to pay you for your labour.True.

Then it would be better to take up some kind of work at once that will assure you a competence when you get old, and to go to somebody who is better off and wants an assistant, and get a return for your services by acting as his bailiff, helping to get in his crops and looking after his property.

I shouldn’t like to make myself a slave, Socrates.But surely those who control their cities and take charge of public affairs are thought more respectable, not more slavish on that account.

Briefly, Socrates, I have no inclination to expose myself to any man’s censure.But, you see, Eutherus, it is by no means easy to find a post in which one is not liable to censure. Whatever one does, it is difficult to avoid mistakes, and it is difficult to escape unfair criticism even if one makes no mistakes. I wonder if you find it easy to avoid complaints entirely even from your present employers.

You should try, therefore, to have no truck with grumblers and to attach yourself to considerate masters; to undertake such duties as you can perform and beware of any that are too much for you, and, whatever you do, to give of your best and put your heart into the business. In this way, I think, you are most likely to escape censure, find relief from your difficulties, live in ease and security, and obtain an ample competence for old age.