Between Housecraft (the art of governing a Household or Home) and Statecraft
(the art of governing a Nation) there are differences corresponding to those
between the two kinds of community over which they severally preside. There is,
however, this further difference: that whereas the government of a nation is in
many hands, a household has but a single ruler.Now some arts are divided into two separate branches, one concerned with the
making of an object—for example a lyre or a flute—and the
other with its use when made. Statecraft on the other hand shows us how to build
up a nation from its beginning, as well as how to order rightly a nation that
already exists; from which we infer that Housecraft also tells us first how to
acquire a household and then how to conduct its affairs. By a Nation we
mean an assemblage of houses, lands, and property sufficient to enable the
inhabitants to lead a civilized life. This is proved by the fact that when such
a life is no longer possible for them, the tie itself which unites them is
dissolved. Moreover, it is with such a life in view that the association is
originally formed; and the object for which a thing exists and has come into
being is in fact the very essence of that particular thing.From this definition of a Nation, it is evident that the art of
Housecraft is older than that of Statecraft, since the Household, which it
creates, is older; being a component part of the Nation created by
Statecraft.Accordingly we must consider the
nature of Housecraft, and what the Household, which it creates, actually
is. The component parts of a household are (l) human beings, and (2) goods and
chattels. And as households are no exception to the rule that the nature of a
thing is first studied in its barest and simplest form,we will follow Hesiod and begin by postulating
"Homestead first, and a woman; a plough-ox hardy to furrow." For the steading
takes precedence among our physical necessities, and the woman among our free
associates. It is, therefore, one of the tasks of Homecraft to set in order the
relation between man and woman; in other words, to see that it is what it ought
to be. Of occupations attendant on our goods and chattels, those come first which
are natural. Among these precedence is given to the one which cultivates the
land; those like mining, which extract wealth from it, take the second place.
Agriculture is the most honest of all such occupations; seeing that the wealth
it brings is not derived from other men. Herein it is distinguished from trade
and the wage-earning employments, which acquire wealth from others by their
consent; and from war, which wrings it from them perforce. It is also a natural
occupation; since by Nature's appointment all creatures receive sustenance from
their mother, and mankind like the rest from their common mother the
earth. And besides all this, agriculture contributes notably to
the making of a manly character; because, unlike the mechanical arts, it does
not cripple and weaken the bodies of those engaged in it, but inures them to
exposure and toil and invigorates them to face the perils of war. For the
farmer's possessions, unlike those of other men, lie outside the city's
defences. When we turn our attention to the human part of the
household, it is the woman who makes the first claim upon it; <for the
natural comes first, as we have said,> and nothing is more natural than
the tie between female and male. For we have elsewhere laid down the
premissCf. Aristot. Pol. 1.1. that Nature is intent on multiplying severally her types;
and this is true of every animal in particular. Neither the female, however, can
effect this without the male, nor the male without the female; whence the union
of the sexes has of necessity arisen. Now among the lower animals, this union is
irrational in character; it exists merely for the purpose of procreation, and
lasts only so long as the parents are occupied in producing their brood. In tame
animals, on the other hand, and those which possess a greater share of
intelligence, it has assumed a more complex form; for in their case we see more
examples of mutual help, goodwill, and co-operation. It is, however, in the human species that this complexity
is most marked; since the co-operation between woman and man aims not merely at
existence, but at a happy existence.
Nor do mankind beget children merely to pay the service they owe to Nature, but
also that they may themselves receive a benefit; for the toil they undergo while
they are strong and their offspring is still weak is repaid by that offspring
when it in turn is grown strong and the parents by reason of age are
weak. At the same time Nature, by this cycle of changes,
fulfills her purpose of perpetuating existence; preserving the type when she is
unable to preserve the individual.Cf. Aristot. De Gen. An. 731b. And so
with this purpose in view Divine Providence has fashioned the nature of man and
of woman for their partnership. For they are distinguished from each other by
the possession of faculties not adapted in every case to the same tasks, but in
some cases for opposite ones, though contributing to the same end. For
Providence made man stronger and woman weaker, so that he in
virtue of his manly prowess may be more ready to defend the home, and she, by
reason of her timid nature, more ready to keep watch over it; and while he
brings in fresh supplies from without, she may keep safe what lies within. In
handicrafts again, woman was given a sedentary patience, though denied stamina
for endurance of exposure; while man, though inferior to her in quiet
employments, is endowed with vigor for every active occupation. In the
production of children both share alike; but each makes a different contribution
to their upbringing. It is the mother who nurtures, and the father who
educates. We begin then with the rules that should govern a man's
treatment of his wife. And the first of these forbids him to do her wrong; for
if he observes this, he is not likely himself to suffer wrong at her hands. As
the Pythagoreans declare, even the common rule or custom of mankind thus
ordains, forbidding all wrong to a wife as stringently as though she were a
suppliant whom one has raised from the hearthstone. And a man does wrong to his
wife when he associates with other women. As regards the intercourse of
marriage, wives should neither importune their husbands, nor be restless in
their absence; but a man should accustom his wife to be content whether he is at
home or away. Good also is the advice of Hesiod:
Take thee a maiden to wife, and teach her ways of
discretion.
Hes. WD 699
For differences of ways and habits are little conducive to
affection. As regards adornment: it is not wellthat souls should approach one another in
borrowed plumes, nor is it well in the case of bodies. Intercourse which depends
<for its charm> upon outward adornment differs in no respect from
that of figures on the stage in their conventional attire. Of property, the
first and most indispensable kind is that which is also best and most amenable
to Housecraft; and this is the human chattel. Our first step therefore must be
to procure good slaves. Of slaves there are two kinds; those in positions of
trust, and the laborers. And since it is matter of experience that the character
of the young can be moulded by training, when we require to charge slaves with
tasks befitting the free, we have not only to procure the slaves, but to bring
them up <for the trust>. In our intercourse with slaves we must
neither suffer them to be insolent nor treat them with cruelty. A share of honor
should be given to those who are doing more of a freeman's work, and abundance
of food to those who are laboring with their hands. And whereas the use of wine
renders even free men insolent, so that in many countries they too refrain from
it—as, for instance, the Carthaginians do when they are on
campaign—it follows that we must either deny wine to slaves
altogether, or reserve it for rare occasions. We may apportion to our
slaves (1) work, (2) chastisement, and (3) food. If men are given food, but no
chastisement nor any work, they become insolent. If they are made
to work, and are chastised, but stinted of their food, such treatment is
oppressive, and saps their strength. The remaining alternative, therefore, is to
give them work, and a sufficiency of food. Unless we pay men, we cannot control
them; and food is a slave's pay.Slaves, again,
are no exception to the rule that men become worse when better conduct is not
followed by better treatment, but virtue and vice remain alike unrewarded.
Accordingly we must keep watch
over our workers, suiting our dispensations and indulgences to their desert;
whether it be food or clothing, leisure or chastisement that we are
apportioning. Both in theory and in practice we must take for our model a
physician's freedom in prescribing his medicines; observing at the same time
that food differs from medicine in that it requires to be constantly
administered. The best laborers will be furnished by those races of
mankind which are neither wholly spiritless nor yet overbold. Each extreme has
its vice; the spiritless cannot endure hard labor, and the high-spirited will
not readily brook control. Every slave should have before his eyes a
definite goal or term of his labor. To set the prize of freedom before him is
both just and expedient; since having a prize to work for, and a time defined
for its attainment, he will put his heart into his labors. We should, moreover,
take hostages <for our slaves' fidelity> by allowing them to beget
children; and avoid the practice of purchasing many slaves of the same
nationality, as men avoid doing in towns. We should also keep festivals and give
treats, more on the slaves account than on that of the freemen;since the free have a fuller share in those
enjoyments for the sake of which these institutions exist. There are four
qualities which the head of a household must possess in dealing with his
property. Firstly, he must have the faculty of acquiring, and secondly that of
preserving what he has acquired; otherwise there is no more benefit in acquiring
than in baling with a colander, or in the proverbial wine-jar with a hole in the
bottom. Thirdly and fourthly, he must know how to improve his property, and how
to make use of it; since these are the ends for which the powers of acquisition
and of preservation are sought. Everything we possess should be duly classified ;
and the amount of our productive property exceed that of the unproductive.
Produce should be so employed that we do not risk all our possessions at once.
For the safe keeping of our property, we shall do well to adopt the Persian and
Laconian systems. Athenian housecraft has, however, some advantages. The
Athenian buys immediately with the produce of his sales, and the smaller
households keep no idle deposits in store. Under the Persian system, the
master himself undertook the entire disposition and supervision of the
household, following the practice which
Dion used to remark in Dionysius. No one, indeed, takes the same
care of another's property as of his own; so that, as far as is possible,
each man ought to attend to his affairs in person. We may
commend also a pair of sayings, one attributed to a Persian and the other to a
Libyan. The former on being asked what best conditions a horse, replied "His
master's eye."Cf. Xen. Ec.
12. The Libyan, when asked what kind of manure is best,
answered "The master's footprints." The master and mistress should, therefore,
give personal supervision, each to his or her special department of the
household work. In small households, an occasional inspection will suffice; in
estates managed through stewards, inspections must be frequent. For in
stewardship as in other matters there can be no good copy without a good
example; and if the master and mistress do not attend diligently to their
estate, their deputies will certainly not do so. Moreover, as such habits are
both commendable for moral reasons and also conducive to good management, the
master and mistress will do well to rise earlier than their servants and to
retire later; to treat their home as a city, and never leave it unguarded; nor
ever, by night or by day, to postpone a task which ought to be done. Rising
before daylight is also to be commended; it is a healthy habit, and gives more
time for the management of the household as well as for liberal
studies. We have remarked that on small holdings the Athenian
method of disposing of the produce is advantageous.On large estates, after the amount for the year's or the
month's outlay has been set apart, it should be handed to the overseers; and so
also with implements, whether for daily or for occasional use. In addition, an
inspection of implements and stores should be made periodically, so that
remainders and deficiencies may alike be noted. In constructing a homestead,
we have to provide for the stock which it is to shelter, and for its health and
well-being. Providing for the stock involves questions such as these: What type
of building is best for the storage of crops and of clothing? How are we to
store the dry crops, and how the moist ones? Of the other stock, how is the
living to be housed, and how the dead? and what accommodation are we to make for
slaves and free, for women and men, for foreigners and fellow-citizens? For
well-being and health, again, the homestead should be airy in summer, and sunny
in winter. A homestead possessing these qualities would be longer
than it is deep; and its main front would face the south. On large estates,
moreover, it seems worth while to instal as porter a man incapable of other
work, to keep his eye on what passes in and out. That implements
may be ready for use, the Laconian practice should be followed. Each should be
kept in its own place; thus it will always be to hand, and not require
seeking.
Right administration of a household demands in the first place familiarity
with the sphere of one's actionOr, "the
localities wherein we work."; in the second Place, good natural
endowments; and in the third, an uprights and industrious way of life. For the
lack of any one of these qualifications will involve many a failure in the task
one takes in hand.Of such administrations there
are four main types, under which all others may be classified. We have the
administration of a king; of the governors under him; of a free state; and of a
private citizen. Of these, that of a king is the most extensive, yet at
the same time the simplest. A governor's office is also very extensive, but
divided into a great variety of departments. The administration of a free state
is again very varied, but it is the easiest to conduct; while that, of a private
individual presents the like variety, but within limits which are narrowest of
all. For the most part, all four will of necessity cover the same ground; we
will, however, take them in turn, and see what is especially characteristic of
each.Taking first the royal administration,
we see that while theoretically its power is unlimited,it is in practice concerned with four departments,
namely currency, exports, imports, and expenditure. Taking these severally, I
assign to that of currency the seasonable regulation of prices; to imports and
exports, the profitable disposition, at any given time, of the dues received
from provincial governors; and to expenditure, the reduction of outgoings as
occasion may serve, and the question of meeting expenses by currency or by
commodities. The second kind of administration, that of the governor,
is concerned with six different classes of revenue; those, namely, arising from
agriculture, from the special products of the country, from markets, from taxes,
from cattle, and from other sources.Taking these
in turn, the first and most important of them is revenue from agriculture, which
some call tithe and some produce-tax.Boeckh
translates E)KFO/RION "Grundsteuer." But how
then does it differ from TW=N KATA\ GH=N
TELW=N below? The second is that from special products; in
one place gold, in another silver, in another copper, and so on. Third in
importance is revenue from markets, and fourth that which arises
from taxes on land and on sales. In the fifth place we have revenue from cattle,
called tithe or first-fruits; and in the sixth, revenue from other sources,
which we term poll-tax, or tax on industry. Of our third kind of
administration, that of a free state, the most important revenue is that arising
from the special products of the country. Next follows revenue from markets and
occupations; and finally that from every-day transactions.Or (understanding LEITOURGIW=N) "regular public services."
Fourthly and lastly, we must consider the administration of a private citizen.
It is difficult to reduce this to rules owing to the necessary variety of its
aims; yet it is the most limited of the four, because both revenues and expenses
are <comparatively> small. Taking its revenues in turn, the chief
are those from agriculture; next in importance, those from other every-day
occupations; while third comes interest on money. Apart from all these, there is
a matter common to all kinds of administration which is best considered at this
particular point, and deserves more than cursory attention. This is the
importance of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenue. Having thus
enumerated the divisions of our subject, we must next consider whether the
province or the free state with which we are concerned is able to produce all
the forms of revenue we have just detailedor at least the chief of them; <and this being
known> must make the best use of what we have. Next we must inquire what
kinds of revenue, at present wholly lacking, are yet potentially existent; what
kinds, though now small, may with care be increased, and how far certain items
of present expenditure may without prejudice to the commonwealth be
diminished. Having spoken thus of administrations and their various
departments, we have further proceeded to collect such instances as we deemed
noteworthy of the means adopted by certain statesmen in times past for the
replenishment of the treasury, and also of their skill in administration. These
anecdotes <which follow>, seemed to us by no means lacking in
utility; being capable from time to time of application by others to the
business they themselves have in hand. Cypselus of Corinth had made a vow that if he became
master of the city, he would offer to Zeus the entire property of the
Corinthians. Accordingly he commanded them to make a return of their
possessions; which done, he took from each a tenth part, and told them to
employ the remainder in trading. A year later, he repeated the process. And so
in ten years' time it came to pass that Cypselus received the entire amount
which he had dedicated; while the Corinthians on their part had replaced all
that they had paid him. Lygdamis of Naxos, after driving into exile a party of the inhabitants, found
that no one would give him a fair price for their property. He therefore sold it
to the exiled owners. The exiles had left behind them a number of works of art
destined for temple offerings, which lay in certain workshops in an unfinished
condition. These Lygdamis proceeded to sell to the exiles and whoso else would
buy them; allowing each purchaser to have his name engraved on the
offering. The people of Byzantium, being in need of funds, sold such dedicated lands as
belonged to the State; those under crops, for a term of years, and those
uncultivated, in perpetuity. In like manner they sold lands appropriated to
religious celebrations or ancestral cults, not excepting those that were on
private estatesSee Lys. 7,
the seventh Speech of the Athenian orator Lysias.; for the owners of
the surrounding land were ready to give a high price for them. To the
dispossessed celebrants <they assigned> such other public lands
surrounding the gymnasium, the agora, or the harbor,as belonged to the State. Moreover they claimed as
public property all open spaces where anything was sold, together with the
sea-fisheries, the traffic in salt, and the trade of professional conjurors,
soothsayers, charm-sellers, and the like; exacting from all these one-third of
their gains. The right of changing money they sold to a single bank, whose
proprietor was given a monopoly of the sale and purchase of coin, protected
under penalty of confiscation.And whereas
previously the rights of citizenship were by law confined to those whose parents
were both citizens, lack of funds, induced them to offer citizenship to him who
had one citizen parent on payment of the sum of thirty minae.A mina of silver (1 lb. 5 oz. avoirdupois) was coined into
100 drachmae, each being an artisan's ordinary daily wage.
On another occasion, when food and funds were
both scarce, they called home all vessels that were trading in the Pontus. On the merchants protesting, they were
at length allowed to trade on payment of a tithe of their profits. This tax of
10 per cent was also extended to purchases of every kind. It happened that certain aliens residing in the city had lent
money on the security of citizens' property. As these aliens did not possess the
right of holding such property, the people offered to recognize the title of
anyone who chose to pay into the treasury one third of the amount
secured. Hippias of Athens offered for sale upper stories that projected over the
public streets,Cf. Goethe,Warheit und
Dichtung, Book I. "In Frankfurt, as in several ancient cities,
those who had erected wooden buildings had sought to obtain more room by
allowing the first and higher floors to overhang in the street. . . . At
last a law was carried that in all entirely new houses the first floor alone
should project; above that, the wall should be perpendicular." The poet's
father, wishing to rebuild his house without sacrifice of floor-space,
underpinned the upper stories and renewed the building piecemeal from below.
Cf. also 14. together with flights of steps, railings, and doors that
opened outwards. The owners of the buildings bought them, and in this way a
large sum of money was collected.He also called
inLit. "rendered invalid." the
existing currency, promising to pay the holders at a fixed rate. But when they
came to receive the new mintage, he reissued the old coins.Those who were expecting to equip a war-vessel or preside over
a tribe or train a chorus or undertake the expense of some other public service
of the kind, he allowed, if they chose, to commute the service for a moderate
sum, and to be enrolled on the list of those who had performed it.Moreover, whenever a citizen died, the priestess of the
temple of Athena on the AcropolisThis was the
public treasury, like the Temple of Saturnus at Rome. was to receive one quart
measure of barley, one of wheat, and a silver obolus.1/6 of the drachma. See 3 above. And when a child was
born, the father paid the same dues. The Athenian colonists at Potidaea, being in need of funds for the war,
agreed that all should make a return of their property for assessment of
tax.But instead of each returning
the entire amount to his own parish, properties were to be assessed separately,
each in its own locality, so that the poor might propose a reduced assessment;
while those without any <landed> property were assessed at two
minae a head. On these assessments each man paid the State the full amount of
the war-tax. The city of Antissa had been accustomed to celebrate the festival of Dionysus
with great magnificence. Year by yearOr "All
through the year." great provision was made for the occasion, and
costly sacrifices were prepared. Now one year the city found itself in need of
funds; and shortly before the festival, on the proposal of a citizen named
Sosipolis, the people after vowing that they would next year offer to Dionysus a
double amount, collected all that had been provided and sold it. In this way
they realized a large sum of money to meet their necessity. On one occasion
the people of Lampsacus were expecting
to be attacked by a large fleet of triremes.War-ships, each propelled by some 174 rowers ranked in three tiers.
The price of barley meal being then four drachmae for a bushel and a half, they
instructed the retailers to sell it at six drachmae. Oil, which was at three
drachmae for six pints, was to be sold at four drachmae and a half, and wine and
other commodities at a proportionate increase. In this way the retailer got the
original price, while the State took the addition and filled its
treasury. The people of Heraclea, being about to dispatch a fleet of forty ships against
the lords of Bosporus, were at a loss
for the necessary funds. They therefore bought up all the merchants' stock of
corn and oil and wine and other marketable commodities, agreeing to pay at a
future date. The merchants were well satisfied that they had disposed of their
cargoes without breaking bulk; and the people, advancing two months' pay to
their armament, sent along with it a fleet of merchant-vessels laden with the
commodities, every ship being in charge of a public official. When the
expedition reached its goal, the men purchased from these officials all they
needed. In this way, the money was collected before the leaders again paid their
men; so that the same payment sufficed until the expedition returned
home. When the Samians entreated the Lacedaemonians for money
to enable them to return to their country, the Lacedaemonians passed a
resolution that they and their servants and their beasts of burden should go
without food for one day; and that the expense each one thus saved should be
given to the Samians. The people
of Chalcedon had a large number
of mercenary troops in their city, to whom they could not pay the wages they
owed. Accordingly they made proclamation that anyone, either citizen or alien,
who had right of reprisal against any city or individual, and wished to exercise
it, should have his name entered on a list. A large number of names was
enrolled, and the people thus obtained a specious pretext for exercising
reprisal upon ships that were passing on their way to the Pontus. They accordingly arrested the ships
and fixed a period within which they would consider any claims that might be
made in respect of them. Having now a large fund in hand, they paid off the
mercenaries, and set up a tribunal to decide the claims; and those whose goods
had been unjustly seized were compensated out of the revenues of the
state. At Cyzicus,
civil strife broke out between the democratic and oligarchic parties. The former
proved victorious, and the rich citizens were placed under arrest. But as the
city owed money to its troops, a resolution was passed that the lives of those
under arrest should be spared, and that they should be allowed to depart into
exile on paying a sum of money to the state. At Chios there was a law that all debts should be
entered on a public register. Being in need of funds, the people
resolved that debtors should pay their debts into the treasury, and that the
state should meet the creditors' interest out of its revenues until its former
prosperity returned. Mausolus lord of Caria received from the King of PersiaProbably Artaxerxes II.
who reigned 405-359
B.C. a demand for tribute. Therefore he summoned the wealthiest men in
his dominion, and told them that the King was asking for the tribute, and he had
not the means of paying it. Men whom he had previously suborned at once came
forward and declared what each was ready to contribute. With this example before
them, they who were wealthier than these, partly in shame and partly in alarm,
promised and paid much larger sums than the others.Being again in lack of funds, Mausolus summoned a public meeting of the people
of Mylassa and told them that the King of Persia was preparing to attack him; and that Mylassa his capital
city was unfortified. He therefore bade the citizens contribute each as
liberally as he could, saying that what they now paid in would afford security
to the rest of their possessions. By these means he obtained large
contributions. But though he kept the money, he declared that heaven, for the
present, forbade the building of the walls. Condalus, who was a
lieutenant-governor under Mausolus, whenever on his progress through the country
he was presented with a sheep,a pig,
or a calf, had a record made of the donor's name and of the date. He then bade
the man take the beast home and keep it until he should again pass that way.
After what he considered a sufficient interval, he would demand the beast
together with such profits as he reckoned it had produced. All trees, too, which
projected over the king's highway, or fell thereon, he sold as profits accruing
to the State.When one of his soldiers died, he
charged a drachma for the right of passing the body through the gates. This was
not only a source of revenue, but a check on the commanders, who were thus
prevented from falsifying the date of the man's death.Noticing that the Lycians were fond of wearing their hair long,
Condalus proclaimed that a dispatch had arrived from the King ordering him to
send hair to make forelocks for his horses; and that Mausolus had therefore
instructed him to shave their heads. However, if they would pay him a fixed sum
per head, he would send to Greece for
hair. They were glad to comply with his demand, and a large sum was collected,
the number of those taxed being great. Aristoteles of Rhodes,Mentioned by Proclus in his commentary on the Timaeus of
Plato. A coin of Phocaea is extant
bearing the name. when governor of Phocaea, found himself in need of funds. Noticing that there
were at Phocaea two opposing parties,
he held a secret conference with one of them, at which he
declared that the other party was offering him money if he would favor their
pretensions; that he, however, preferred to receive from those now before him,
and to entrust to them the administration of the city. On hearing this, they
immediately contributed the money he asked, and gave it him. Thereupon he told
the other party what he had received from them; and they in turn promised him at
least an equal amount. Having thus taken the money of both factions, he effected
a reconciliation between them.He also observed
that there were many law-suits pending between the citizens, and that they had
grave and long-standing plaints against one another which had arisen in course
of war. He therefore appointed a tribunal, and made proclamation that all who
failed to appear before it within a stated period should lose the right to a
legal decision of their outstanding claims. Then, by taking into his own hands
the court-fees for a number of suits, and also those appeal-cases which involved
penalties, and receiving [through others] money from both sides, he obtained
altogether a very considerable sum. The people of Clazomenae, suffering from
dearth of grain and scarcity of funds, passed a resolution that any private
citizens who had stores of oil should lend it to the State at
interest;this being a produce
which their land bears in abundance. The loan arranged, they hired vessels and
sent them to the depots whence they obtained their grain, <and bought a
consignment> on security of the value of the oil.The same people, owing their mercenaries twenty talents of pay
and being unable to find it, were giving the leaders of the troop four talents
of interest each year. But failing to reduce the capital debt, and committed to
this fruitless drain on their revenue, they struck an iron coinage of twenty
talents, bearing the face-value of the silver. This they distributed
proportionately among the wealthiest citizens, and received from them silver to
the same amount. Through this expedient, the private citizens possessed a
currency which was good for their daily needs, and the state was relieved of its
debt. Next, they proceeded to pay interest out of revenue to those who had
advanced the silver; and little by little distributed repayment among them,
recalling at the same time the currency of iron.Plut. Lycurgus speaks of an iron
currency at Sparta, and Seneca De beneficiis of a leather one. These,
not being exchangeable abroad, threw the nation upon its own resources and
prevented the import of luxuries.
The
people of Selybria had a law, passed in time of famine, which forbade the export
of grain. On one occasion, however, they were in need of funds; and as they
possessed large stores of grain, they passed a resolution that citizens should
deliver up their corn to the state at the regular fixed price, each
retaining for himself a year's supply. They then granted right of export to any
who desired it, fixing what they deemed a suitable price. At Abydos civil strife had caused the land to
remain uncultivated; while the resident aliens, to whom the city was already
indebted, refused to make any further advances. A resolution was accordingly
passed that anyone who would might lend money to enable the farmers to cultivate
their land, on the understanding that the lender had the first claim on its
produce; others taking from what was then left. The people of Ephesus, being in need of funds, passed a law
forbidding their women to wear gold, and ordering them to lend the State what
gold they had in their possession.They also
offered to any citizen who was willing to pay a fixed sum the right of having
his name inscribed on a certain pillar of their templeThis temple, dedicated to Artemis, was restored with great
magnificence after its destruction by fire in 356
B.C. For its fame see Acts 19. Portions of the
sculptured pillars are to be seen in the British Museum. as the donor
thereof. Dionysius of Syracuse, being desirous of collecting funds, called a public
assembly, and declared that Demeter had appeared to him, and bade him convey all
the women's ornaments into her temple. That he himself had done so with the
ornaments of his own household; and the others must now follow his example, and
thereby avoid any visitation of the goddess's anger. Anyone who failed to comply
would, he declared, be guilty of sacrilege.Through fear of the goddess as well as of the despot, all the
citizens brought in whatever they had. Then Dionysius, after sacrificing to the
goddess, removed the ornaments to his own treasury as a loan which he had
borrowed from her. As time went on, the women again appeared with precious
ornaments. Dionysius thereupon issued a decree that any woman who desired to
wear gold should make an offering of a fixed amount in the temple.Intending to build a fleet of triremes, Dionysius knew
that he should require funds for the purpose. He therefore called an assembly
and declared that a certain city was offered to him by traitors, and he needed
money to pay them. The citizens therefore must contribute two staters
apiece.The stater was a Persian gold coin
worth 20 drachmae. (See 3.) The money was paid; but after two or
three days, Dionysius, pretending that the plot had failed, thanked the citizens
and returned to each his contribution. In this way he won the confidence of the
citizens; so that when he again asked for money, they contributed in the
expectation that they would receive it back. But this time he kept it for
building the fleet.On another occasion being in
straits for silver he minted a coinage of tin, and summoning a public assembly,
spoke at length in its favor. The citizens perforce voted that everyone should
regard as silver, and not as tin, whatever he received. Again being in need of funds, he requested the citizens to
contribute. On their declaring that they had not the wherewithal, he brought out
the furnishings of his palace and offered them for sale, pretending to be
compelled through lack of money. At the sale, he had a list made of the articles
and their purchasers; and when they had all paid, he commanded every one to
bring back the article he had bought.Finding that
because of his imposts the citizens were ceasing to rear sheep and cattle, he
made proclamation that he needed no more money until a certain
<date>; so that those who now became possessed of any stock would
not be liable to taxation. A large number of citizens lost no time in acquiring
a quantity of sheep and cattle, on the understanding that they would be free of
impost. But Dionysius, when he thought the fitting time was come, had them all
valued and imposed a tax. The citizens were angry at being thus deceived, and
proceeded to kill and sell their beasts. On Dionysius's making a decree that
only such beasts should be slain as were needed each day, the owners retorted by
offering their animals as sacrifices; whereupon the despot forbade the sacrifice
of female beasts.Once more funds were lacking,
and Dionysius ordered a list to be made for him of all houses whose heirs were
orphan. Having obtained a complete list, he made use of the orphans' property
until each should come of age.After the capture
of Rhegium, he summoned a meeting of
the citizens, and told them why he had a good right to sell them as
slaves.If, however, they would
pay him the expenses of the war and three minaeSee 3. a head besides, he would release them. The people of
Rhegium brought forth all their
hoards; the poor borrowed from the wealthier and from the foreigners resident in
the city; and so the amount demanded was paid. But though he received this money
from them, none the less he sold them all for slaves, having succeeded
<by his trick> in bringing to light the hoarded goods which they
had previously concealed.On another occasion he
had borrowed money from the citizens, promising to repay it. On their demanding
its return, he bade each bring him, under pain of death, whatever silver he
possessed. This silver when brought he coined into drachmae each bearing the
face value of two: with these he repaid the <previous> debt and
also what had just been brought in.He also made a
raid on Tyrrhenia with a hundred ships, and rifled the temple of Leucothea of a
large amount of gold and silver, besides a quantity of works of art. But being
aware that his sailors too had taken much plunder, he made
proclamation that each should bring him, under pain of death, one-half of what
he had; the remainder of their takings they might keep. On the understanding
that if they brought in half their plunder they would retain the rest in
security, they obeyed. But when Dionysius had got the treasure into his hands,
he commanded them to bring him the other half as well. The people of
Mende used to meet the expenses of administration from harbor and other duties,
but refrained from collecting the imposts on land and on houses. They kept,
however, a register of the owners, and when the state was in need of funds, they
collected the arrears. Meanwhile the owners had the advantage of trafficking
with their whole property undiminished by any payment of percentages.The same city being at war with Olynthus and needing funds, passed a
resolution that all the slaves they possessed, with the exception of one male
and one female apiece, should be sold on behalf of the State, which was thus
enabled to raise a loan from private citizens.Or: "that citizens should sell to the state what slaves they possessed . .
. as the equivalent of a loan from private persons to the city <of
the slaves' value>."
Callistratus, when in Macedonia, caused
the harbor-dues, which were usually sold for twenty talents, to produce twice as
much. For noticing that only the wealthier men were accustomed to buy them
because the sureties for the twenty talents were obliged to show talent for
talent,he issued a proclamation
that anyone might buy the dues on furnishing securities for one-third of the
amount, or as much more as could be procured in each case. Timotheus of
Athens during his campaign
against Olynthus was short of
silver, and issued to his men a copper coinage instead. On their complaining, he
told them that all the merchants and retailers would accept it in lieu of
silver. But the merchants he instructed to buy in turn with the copper they
received such produce of the land as was for sale, as well as any booty brought
to them; such copper as remained on their hands he would exchange for
silver.During the campaign of CorcyraApparently in 375 B.C. See the end of Xenophon's
fifth Book ofHellenicaXen. Hell. 5.
this same Timotheus was reduced to sore straits. His men demanded their pay;
refused to obey his orders; and declared they would desert to the enemy.
Accordingly he summoned a meeting and told them that the stormy weather was
delaying the arrival of the silver he expected; meanwhile, as he had on hand
such abundance of provisions, he would charge them nothing for the three months'
ration of grain already advanced. The men, unable to believe that
Timotheus would have sacrificed so large a sum to them unless he was in truth
expecting the money, made no further claim for pay until he had completed his
dispositions.At the siege of Samos,In
366 B.C. Timotheus sold the crops and
other country property to the besieged Samians themselves, and thus obtained
plenty of money to pay his men. But finding the camp was short of provisions
owing to the arrival of reinforcements, he forbade the sale of milled corn, or
of any measure less than 1 1/2 bushels of corn or 8 1/2 gallons of wine or oil.
Accordingly the officers bought supplies wholesale and issued them to their men;
the reinforcements thenceforth brought their own provisions, and sold any
surplus on their departure. In this way the needs of the soldiers were
satisfactorily met. Didales the Persian was able to provide for the daily
needs of his mercenaries from the enemy's country; but had no coined money to
give them. When their pay became due, and they demanded it, he had recourse to
the following trick.He called a
meeting, and told the men that he had plenty of money, but that it was stored in
a certain fortress, which he named. He then broke up his encampment and marched
in that direction. On reaching the neighborhood of the fortress, he himself went
on ahead, and entering the place seized all the silver vessels in the temples.
He then loaded his mules in such a way that this plate was exposed, thus
suggesting that silver formed the entire load; and so continued his march. The
soldiers, beholding the plate and supposing that they convoyed a full load of
silver, were cheered by the expectation of their pay. They were informed however
by Didales that they would have to take it to Amisus to be coined—a journey of many days, and in
the winter season. And during all this time, he continued to employ the army
without giving it more than its necessary rations.Moreover, all the craftsmen in the army, and the hucksters who traded with the
soldiers by barter, were under his personal control, and enjoyed a complete
monopoly. When Taos,Called Tachos (*TAXW/S) by Xenophon and Plutarch. Perhaps that form should be
restored here. (Bonitz and Susemihl.) The name recurs in 37. king of
Egypt, needed funds for an
expedition he was making, Chabrias of Athens advised him to inform the priests that to save expense it
was necessary to suppress some of the temples together with the majority of the
attendant priests. On hearing this, each priesthood, being anxious to retain
their own temple, offered him money from their private possessions <as
well as from the temple funds>. When the king had thus received money
from them all, Chabrias bade him tell the priests to spend on the temple-service
and on their own maintenance one-tenth of what they formerly spent, and lend him
the remainder until he had made peace with the King <of Persia>.Moreover, each inhabitant was to contribute a stated proportion of his
household and personal possessions; and when grain was sold, buyer and seller
were each to contribute, apart from the price, one obol per artabeThe artabe was a Persian measure containing
nearly 50 quarts. The obol was 1/6 of a drachma of silver.; while a
tax of one tenth was to be imposed on profits arising from ships and workshops
and other sources of gain.Again, when Taos was on the point of setting out from
Egypt, Chabrias advised him to make
requisition of all uncoined gold and silver in the possession of the
inhabitants; and when most of them complied, he bade the king make use of the
bullion, and refer the lenders to the governors of his provinces for
compensation out of the taxes. Iphicrates of Athens provided Cotys with money for a force which he had
collected in the following manner.He
bade him order <each> of his subjects to sow for him a piece of
land bearing 4 1/2 bushels. A large quantity of grain was thus gathered, from
the price of which, when brought to the depots on the coast, the king obtained
as much money as he wanted. Cotys of Thrace asked the people of Peirinthus for a loan to enable him to
raise an army. On their refusing, he begged them at any rate to let him have
some of their citizens to garrison certain fortresses, and release for active
service the men who were there on duty. They readily complied, thinking thus to
obtain control of the fortresses. But Cotys placed in custody the men they sent,
and told the citizens that they might have them back when they had sent him the
amount of the loan he desired. Mentor of Rhodes, after taking Hermias prisoner and seizing his fortresses,
left in their various districts the officials appointed by him. By this means he
restored their confidence, so that they all took again to themselves the
property they had hidden or had sent secretly out of the country. Then Mentor
arrested them and stripped them of all they had. Memnon of
Rhodes, on making himself master of
Lampsacus, found he was in need of
funds. He therefore assessed upon the wealthiest inhabitants a quantity of
silver, telling them that they should recover it from the other citizens. But
when the other citizens made their contributions, Memnon said they must lend him
this money also, fixing a certain date for its repayment.Again being in need of funds, he asked for a contribution, to
be recovered, as he said, from the city revenues. The citizens complied,
thinking that they would speedily reimburse themselves. But when the revenue
payments came in, he declared that he must have these also, and would repay the
lenders subsequently with interest.His mercenary
troops he requested to forgo six days' pay and rations each year, on the plea
that on those days they were neither on garrison duty nor on the march nor did
they incur any expense. (He referred to the days omitted from alternate
months.As the moon's cycle is completed in
29 1/2 days, it was customary to alternate "hollow" months of 29 days with
the "full" months of 30 days. Memnon paid his men by the month, but deducted
a day's pay every "hollow" month.) Moreover, being accustomed previously to issue his men's rations of corn on
the second day of the month, in the first month he postponed the distribution
for three days, and in the second month for five; proceeding in this fashion
until at length it took place on the last day of the month. Charidemus of
Oreus, being in occupation of certain fortress-towns in Aeolis,and threatened with an attack by Artabazus,For the circumstances, and a (hostile) account of this
commander's adventures, see Demosthenes,Against
AristocratesDem. 23. was in need of
money to pay his troops. After their first contributions, the inhabitants
declared they had no more to give. Charidemus then issued a proclamation to the
town he deemed wealthiest, bidding the inhabitants send away to another fortress
all the coin and valuables they possessed, under convoy which he would provide.
He himself openly set the example with his own goods, and prevailed on them to
comply. But when he had conducted them a little way out of the town, he made an
inventory of their goods, took all he wanted, and led them home again.He had also issued a proclamation in the cities he
governed forbidding anyone to keep arms in his house, under pain of a stated
fine. At first, however, he took no care to enforce it, nor did he make any
inquisition; so that the people treated his proclamation as nugatory, and made
no attempt to get rid of what arms each possessed. Then Charidemus unexpectedly
ordered a search to be made from house to house, and exacted the penalty from
those who were found in possession of arms. A Macedonian named
Philoxenus, who was governor of Caria,
being in need of funds proclaimed that he intended to celebrate the festival of
Dionysus. The wealthiest inhabitants were selected to provide the
choruses, and were informed what they were expected to furnish. Noticing their
disinclination, Philoxenus sent to them privately and asked what they would give
to be relieved of the duty. They told him they were prepared to pay a much
larger sum than they expected to spend <on the choruses> in order
to avoid the trouble and the interruption of their business. Philoxenus accepted
their offers, and proceeded to enrol a second levy. These also paid; and at last
he received what he desired from each company. Euaises the Syrian, when
governor of Egypt, received information
that the local governors were meditating rebellion. He therefore summoned them
to the palace and proceeded to hang them all, sending word to their relations
that they were in prison. These accordingly made offers, each on behalf of his
own kinsman, seeking by payment to secure their release. Euaises agreed to
accept a certain sum for each, and when it had been paid returned to the
relations the dead body. While Cleomenes of Alexandria was governor of Egypt,Cf.
Dem. 56: "Cleomenes . . . from the time that he
received the government, has done immense mischief to your state, and still
more to the rest of Greece, by
buying up corn for resale and keeping it at his own price" (
Kennedy's translation). at a time
when there was some scarcity in the land, but elsewhere a grievous famine, he
forbade the export of grain. On the local governors representingthat if there were no export of grain they
would be unable to pay in their taxes, he allowed the export, but laid a heavy
duty on the corn. By this means he obtained a large amount of duty from a small
amount of export, and at the same time deprived the officials of their
excuse.When Cleomenes was making a progress
by water through the province where the crocodile is worshipped, one of his
servants was carried off. Accordingly, summoning the priests, he told them that
he intended to retaliate on the crocodiles for this unprovoked aggression; and
gave orders for a battue. The priests, to save the credit of their god,
collected all the gold they could, and succeeded in putting an end to the
pursuit.King Alexander had given Cleomenes
command to establish a town near the island of Pharus, and to transfer thither the market hitherto held at
Canopus. Sailing therefore to
Canopus he informed the priests and
the men of property there that he was come to remove them. The priests and
residents thereupon contributed money to induce him to leave their market where
it was. He took what they offered, and departed; but afterwards returned, when
all was ready to build the town, and proceeded to demand an excessive sum;
which represented, he said, the difference the change of site would make to him.
They however declared themselves unable to pay it, and were accordingly
removed.On another occasion he sent an agent
to make a certain purchase for him. Learning that the agent had made a good
bargain, but intended to charge him a high price, he proceeded to inform the
man's associates that he had been told he had purchased the goods at an
excessive price, and that therefore he did not intend to recognize the
transaction; denouncing at the same time with feigned anger the fellow's
stupidity. They on hearing this asked him not to believe what was said against
the agent until he himself arrived and rendered his account. On the man's
arrival, his associates told him what Cleomenes had said. He, desirous of
winning their approval as well as that of Cleomenes, debited the latter with the
actual price he had given.At a time when the
price of grain in Egypt was ten
drachmae <a measure> ,If the
measure intended is the Attic medimnos , it is 1 1/2 bushels. The Persian
artabe may however be meant, which was equal to 1 medimnos and 1/16th. In
either case the price is very high compared with 3 drachmae per medimnos,
the price at Athens in 390 B.C. Yet Polybius
9.44 says that at Rome
during the war with Hannibal (210) corn was sold for fifteen drachmae per
medimnos. As a contrast cf. what the same author says of the fertility of
Gallia Cisalpina, where in time of peace this same measure of wheat was sold
for four obols, and of barley for two. See note on 25. Cleomenes sent
for the growers and asked them at what price they would contract to supply him
with their produce. On their quoting a price lower than what they were charging
the merchants, he offered them the full price they were accustomed to receive
from others; and taking over the entire supply,sold it at a fixed rate of thirty-two drachmae <for the
same measure>.He also sent for the
priests, and told them that the expenditure on the temples was very unevenly
distributed in the country; and that some of these, together with the majority
of the attendant priests, must accordingly be suppressed. The priests, supposing
him to be in earnest, and wishing each to secure the continuance of his own
temple and office, gave him money individually from their private possessions as
well as collectively from the temple funds.Cf.
25.
Antimenes of Rhodes, who was appointed by Alexander superintendent of highways
in the province of Babylon, adopted the
following means of raising funds. An ancient law of the country imposed a tax of
one-tenth on all imports; but this had fallen into total abeyance. Antimenes
kept a watch for all governors and soldiers whose arrival was expected, and upon
the many ambassadors and craftsmen who were invited to the city, but brought
with them others who dwelt there unofficially; and also upon the multitude of
presents that were brought <to these persons> , on which he
exacted the legal tax of a tenth.Another
expedient was this. He invited the owners of any slaves in the camp to register
them at whatever value they desired, undertaking at the same time to pay him
eight drachmae a year. If the slave ran away, the owner was to recover the
registered value. Many slaves were thus registered, and a large sum of
money was paid <in premiums>. And when a slave ran away, Antimenes
instructed the governor of the <province> where the camp lay
either to recover the man or to pay his master his value. Ophellas of
Olynthus appointed an officer
to superintend the revenues of the Province of Athribis. The local governors came to him, and told him they
were willing to pay a much larger amount in taxes; but asked him to remove the
present superintendent. Ophellas inquired if they were really able to pay what
they promised; and on their assuring him that they were, left the superintendent
in office and instructed him to demand from them the amount of tax which they
themselves had assessed. And so, without being chargeable either with
discountenancing the officer he had appointed, or with taxing the governors
beyond their own estimate, he obtained from the latter many times his previous
revenue. Pythocles the Athenian recommended his fellow-countrymen
that the State should take over from private citizens the lead obtained from the
mines of LauriumThese silver mines were state property; but mining rights
therein were let to private citizens. Lead and silver were found in the same
ore and had to be separated. The weight of the lead is not specified: it may
have been a talent of 80 lbs. See Boeckh, Staatshaushaltung der
Athener; and Xen. Ways. at the price
of two drachmae <per talent> which they were asking, and should
itself sell it at the fixed price of six drachmae. Chabrias had levied crews
fora hundred and twenty ships to
serve King Taos.See 25. Finding that
Taos needed only sixty ships, he gave the crews of the superfluous sixty their
choice between providing those who were to serve with two months' rations, and
themselves taking their place. Desiring to remain at their business, they gave
what he demanded. Antimenes bade the governors of the provinces replenish,
in accordance with the law of the country, the magazines along the royal
highways. Whenever an army passed through the country or any other body of men
unaccompanied by the king, he sent an officer to sell them the contents of the
magazines. Cleomenes, as the beginning of the month approached when
his soldiers' allowance became due, deliberately sailed away down the river; and
not till the month was advanced did he return and distribute the allowance. For
the coming month, he omitted the distribution altogether until the following
month began. Thus the men were quieted by the recent distribution, and
Cleomenes, passing over a month each year, docked his troops of a month's
pay.SITARXI/A (corn allowance) and MISQO/S (pay) here seem to be identified; possibly because in a
land where grain was readily purchasable the former was given in money. Cf.
23, 29.
Stabelbius, king of the Mysians, lacking pay to give his troops, summoned a
meeting of the officers, and declared that he no longer needed the private
soldiers, but only the officers. When he required troops, he would entrust a sum
of money to each officer and send him to collect mercenaries; but that meanwhile
he preferred to give the officers the pay he would otherwise have to give the
men. Accordingly he bade each dismiss the men who were on his own muster-roll.
The officers, scenting a source of gain for themselves, dismissed their men, as
they were bidden. Shortly afterwards, Stabelbius called them together and
informed them that a conductor without his chorus and an officer without his men
were alike useless; wherefore let them depart from his country. When Dionysius was making a tour of the
temples, wherever he saw a gold or silver table set, he bade them fill a cup "in
honor of the good spirit,"Cf. Cic. De natura deorum 3.3.4 and Athenaeus Deipnosophistae 15.693. and then
had the table carried away. Wherever, again, he saw a precious bowl set before
one of the images, he would order its removal, with the words" I accept it." He
also stripped the images of their golden raiment and garlands, and declaring he
would give them lighter and more fragrant wear, arrayed them in robes of white
<linen> and garlands of white socks.
A good wife should be the mistress of her
home, having under her care all that is within it, according to the rules we
have laid down. She should allow none to enter without her husband's knowledge,
dreading above all things the gossip of gadding women, which tends to poison the
soul. She alone should have knowledge of what happens within, whilst if any harm
is wrought by those from without, her husband will bear the blame. She must
exercise control of the money spent on such festivities as her husband has
approved, keeping, moreover, within the limit set by law upon expenditure,
dress, and ornament;and remembering
that beauty depends not on costliness of raiment, nor does abundance of gold so
conduce to the praise of a woman as self-control in all that she does, and her
inclination towards an honorable and well-ordered life.Cf. 1 Peter 3.3.4. For
such adornment of the soul as this is in truth ever a thing to be envied, and a
far surer warrant for the payment, to the woman herself in her old age and to
her children after her, of the due meed of praise.This, then, is the province over which a woman should be minded to bear an
orderly rule; for it seems not fitting that a man should know all that passes
within the house. But in all other matters, let it be her aim to obey her
husband; giving no heed to public affairs, nor desiring any part in arranging
the marriages of her children.Rather, when the time shall come to give or
receive in marriage sons or daughters, let her even then hearken to her husband
in all respects, and agreeing with him obey his behest; considering that it is
less unseemly for him to deal with a matter within the house than it is for her
to pry into those outside its walls. Nay, it is fitting that a woman of
well-ordered life should consider that her husband's uses are as laws appointed
for her own life by divine will, along with the marriage state and the fortune
she shares. If she endures them with patience and gentleness, she will rule her
home with ease; otherwise, not so easily. Wherefore not only when her husband is
in prosperityand good report does it
beseem her to be in modest agreement with him, and to render him the service he
wills, but also in times of adversity. If, through sickness or fault of
judgement, his good fortune fails, then must she show her quality,Or (if manifestam esse represents DHLONO/TI) "then plainly it is her part to
encourage . . . and to yield . . ." encouraging him ever with words
of cheer and yielding him obedience in all fitting ways; only let her do nothing
base or unworthy of herself, or remember any wrong her husband may have done her
through distress of mind. Let her refrain from all complaint, nor charge him
with the wrong, but rather attribute everything of this kind to sickness or
ignorance or accidental errors. For the more sedulous her service herein, the
fuller will be his gratitudewhen he is restored, and freed from his
trouble; and if she has failed to obey him when he commanded aught that is
amiss, the deeper will be his recognition <of her loyalty> when
health returns. Wherefore, whilst careful to avoid such <misplaced
obedience>, in other respects she will serve him more assiduously than if
she had been a bondwoman bought and taken home. For he has indeed bought her
with a great price—with partnership in his life and in the procreation
of children; than which things nought could be greater or more divine. And
besides all this, the wife who had only lived in company with a fortunate
husband would not have had the like opportunity to show her true quality. For
though there be no small merit in a right and noble use of prosperity, still the
right endurance of adversity justly receives an honor greater by far.For only a great soul can live in the midst of
trouble and wrong without itself committing any base act. And so, while praying
that her husband may be spared adversity, if trouble should come it beseems the
wife to consider that here a good woman wins her highest praise. Let her bethink
herself how Alcestis would never have attained such renown nor Penelope have
deserved all the high praises bestowed on her had not their husbands known
adversity; whereas the troubles of Admetus and Ulysses have obtained for their
wives a reputation that shall never die. For because in time of distress they
proved themselves faithful and dutiful to their husbands, the gods have bestowed
on them the honor they deserved. To find partners in prosperity is easy
enough;but only the best women are
ready to share in adversity. For all these reasons it is fitting that a woman
should <in time of adversity> pay her husband an honor greater by
far, nor feel shame on his account even when, as Orpheus says,Holy health
of soul, and wealth, the child of a brave spirit, companion him no
more.
Such then is the
pattern of the rules and ways of living which a good wife will observe. And the
rules which a good husband will follow in treatment of his wife will be similar;
seeing that she has entered his home like a suppliant from without, and is
pledged to be the partner of his life and parenthood; and that the offspring she
leaves behind her will bear the names of their parents, her name as well as his.
And what could be more divine than this, or more desired by a man of sound
mind,than to beget by a noble and
honored wife children who shall be the most loyal supporters and discreet
guardians of their parents in old age, and the preservers of the whole house?
Rightly reared by father and mother, children will grow up virtuous, as those
who have treated them piously and righteously deserve that they should; but
<parents> who observe not these precepts will be losers thereby.
For unless parents have given their children an example how to live, the
children in their turn will be able to offer a fair and specious excuse
<for undutifulness>. Such parents will risk being rejected by
their offspring for their evil lives, and thus bringing destruction upon their
own heads.Wherefore his wife's training should be
the object of a man's unstinting care;that so far as is possible their children may spring from the noblest of
stock. For the tiller of the soil spares no pains to sow his seed in the most
fertile and best cultivated land, looking thus to obtain the fairest fruits; and
to save it from devastation is ready, if such be his lot, to fall in conflict
with his foes; a death which men crown with the highest of praise. Seeing, then,
that such care is lavished on the body's food, surely every care should be taken
on behalf of our own children's mother and nurse, in whom is implanted the seed
from which there springs a living soul. For it is only by this means that each
mortal, successively produced, participates in immortality; and that petitions
and prayers continue to be offered to ancestral gods.So that he who thinks lightly of thisi.e., the procreation of children. would seem also to
be slighting the gods. For their sake then, in whose presence he offered
sacrifice and led his wife home, promising to honor her far above all others
saving his parents, <a man must have care for wife and
children>.Now a virtuous wife is best
honored when she sees that her husband is faithful to her, and has no preference
for another woman; but before all others loves and trusts her and holds her as
his own. And so much the more will the woman seek to be what he accounts her. If
she perceives that her husband's affection for her is faithful and righteous,
she too will be faithful and righteous towards him.Wherefore a man of sound mind ought not to forget what honors
are proper to his parents or what fittingly belong to his wife and children; so
that rendering to each and all their own, he may obey the law of men and of
gods. For the deprivation we feel most of all is that of the special honor which
is our due; nor will abundant gifts of what belongs to others be welcome to him
who is dispossessed of his own. Now to a wife nothing is of more value, nothing
more rightfully her own, than honored and faithful partnership with her husband.
Wherefore it befits not a man of sound mind to bestow his person promiscuously,
or have random intercourse with women; for otherwise the base-born will share in
the rights of his lawful children,and
his wife will be robbed of her honor due, and shame be attached to his
sons.
To all these
matters, therefore, a man should give heed. And it is fitting that he should
approach his wife in honorable wise, full of self-restraint and awe; and in his
conversation with her, should use only the words of a right-minded man,
suggesting only such acts as are themselves lawful and honorable; treating her
with much self-restraint and trust,Or
"loyalty." and passing over any trivial or unintentional errors she
has committed. And if through ignorance she has done wrong, he should advise her
of it without threatening, in a courteous and modest manner. Indifference
<to her faults> and harsh reproof <of them>, he must
alike avoid. Between a courtesan and her lover, such tempers are allowed their
course;between a free woman and
her lawful spouse there should be a reverent and modest mingling of love and
fear. For of fear there are two kinds. The fear which virtuous and honorable
sons feel towards their fathers, and loyal citizens towards right-minded rulers,
has for its companions reverence and modesty; but the other kind, felt by slaves
for masters and by subjects for despots who treat them with injustice and wrong,
is associated with hostility and hatred.By
choosing the better of all these alternatives a husband should secure the
agreement, loyalty, and devotion of his wife, so that whether he himself is
present or not, there may be no difference in her attitude towards him, since
she realizes that they are alike guardians of the common interests; and so when
he is away she may feel that to her no man is kinder or more virtuous or more truly hers than her own
husband.And <a good
wife> will make this manifest from the beginning by her unfailing regard
for the common welfare, novice though she be in such matters. And if the husband
learns first to master himself, he will thereby become his wife's best guide in
all the affairs of life, and will teach her to follow his example. For Homer
pays no honor either to affection or to fear apart from the shame or modesty
that shrinks from evil. Everywhere he bids affection be coupled with
self-control and shame; whilst the fear he commends is such as Helen owns when
she thus addresses Priam: "Beloved sire of my lord, it is fitting that I fear
thee and dread thee and revere"Hom.
Il. 3.172:
AI)DOI=O/S TE/ MOI/ E)SSI, FI/LE E(KURE/,
DEINO/S TE
..; meaning that her love for him is mingled with fear and
modest shame. And again, Ulysses speaks to Nausicaa in this manner: "Thou, lady, dost fill me with wonder and
with fear."Hom. Od. 6.168
(like the young palm-tree at Delos):
W(S SE/, GU/NAI, A)/GAMAI/ TE TE/QHPA/ TE
DEI/DIA/ T' AI)NW=S
GOU/NWN A(/YASQAI
. . . For Homer believes that this is the feeling of a
<good> husband and wife for one another, and that if they so feel,
it will be well with them both. For none ever loves or admires or fears in this
shamefaced way one of baser character; but such are the feelings towards one
another of nobler souls and those by nature good; or of the inferior toward
those they know to be their betters. Feeling thus toward Penelope, Ulysses
remained faithful to her in his wanderings; whereas Agamemnon did wrong to his
wife for the sake of Chryseis, declaring in open assembly that a base captive
woman, and of alien race besides, was in no wise inferior to Clytemnestra in
womanly excellence.Hom. Il.
1.113:
KAI\ GA/R R(A *KLUTAIMNH/STRHS
PROBE/BOULA,
KOURIDI/HS A)LO/XOU, E)PEI\ OU)/ E(QE/N E)STI
XEREI/WN,
OU) DE/MAS OU)DE\ FUH/N, OU)/T' A)\R FRE/NAS
OU)/TE TI E)/RGA
.This was ill spoken of the mother of his children; nor
was his connection with the other a righteous one. How could it be, when he had
but recently compelled her to be his concubine, and before he had any experience
of her behavior to him? Ulysses on the other hand, when the daughter of
AtlasCalypso. See Hom. Od.
5.136, 203ff. besought him to share her bed and board, and
promised him immortality and everlasting happiness, could not bring himself even
for the sake of immortality to betray the kindness and love and loyalty of his
wife, deeming immortality purchased by unrighteousness to be the worst of all
punishments.Cf. Plat. Gorg.
472ff. For it was only to save his comrades that he
yielded his person to Circe; and in answer to her he even declared that in his
eyes nothing could be more lovely than his native isle, rugged though it
were;and prayed that he might die,
if only he might look upon his mortal wife and son.Cf. Hom. Od. 9.26ff.. So firmly did
he keep troth with his wife; and received in return from her the like
loyalty.With this chapter cf. the poem of
Simon Dach (1648) translated by Longfellow as
"Annie of Tharaw."
Once again, in
the words addressed by Ulysses to NausicaaHom. Od. 6.180ff.:
SOI\ DE\ QEOI\ TO/SA DOI=EN O(/SA FRESI\
SH=|SI MENOINA=|S,
A)/NDRA TE KAI\ OI)=KON KAI\ O(MOFROSU/NHN
O)PA/SEIAN
E)SQLH/N: OU) ME\N GA\R TOU= GE KREI=SSON KAI\
A)/REION,
H)\ O(/Q' O(MOFRONE/ONTE NOH/MASIN OI)=KON
E)/XHTON
A)NH\R H)DE\ GUNH/: PO/LL' A)/LGEA
DUSMENE/ESSIN,
XA/RMATA D' EU)MENE/TH|SI: MA/LISTA DE/ T'
E)/KLUON AU)TOI/
. the poet makes clear the great honor in which he holds the
virtuous companionship of man and wife in marriage. There he prays the gods to
grant her a husband and a home; and between herself and her husband, precious
unity of mind; provided that such unity be for righteous ends. For, says he,
there is no greater blessing on earth than when husband and wife rule their home
in harmony of mind and will. Moreover it is evident from this that the unity
which the poet commendsis no mutual
subservience in each other's vices, but one that is rightfully allied with
wisdom and understanding; for this is the meaning of the words "rule the house
in <harmony of> mind." And he goes on to say that wherever such a
love is found between man and wife, it is a cause of sore distress to those who
hate them and of delight to those that love them; while the truth of his words
is most of all acknowledged by the happy pair.The Greek, as cited above, is MA/LISTA DE/ T'
E)/KLUON AU)TOI/, "and themselves best know their own case."
For when wife and husband are agreed about the best things in life, of
necessity the friends of each will also be mutually agreed; and the strength
which the pair gain from their unity will make them formidable to their enemies
and helpful to their own. But when discord reigns between them, their friends
too will disagree and become in consequence enfeebled, while the pair themselves
will suffer most of all.In all these
precepts it is clear that the poet is teaching husband and wife to dissuade one
another from whatever is evil and dishonorable, while unselfishly furthering to
the best of their power one another's honorable and righteous aims. In the first
place they will strive to perform all duty towards their parents, the husband
towards those of his wife no less than towards his own, and she in her turn
towards his. Their next duties are towards their children, their friends, their
estate, and their entire household which they will treat as a common possession;
each vying with the other in the effort to contribute most to the common
welfare, and to excel in virtue and righteousness; laying aside arrogance, and
ruling with justice in a kindly and unassuming spirit.And so at length, when they reach old age, and are
freed from the duty of providing for others and from preoccupation with the
pleasures and desires of youth, they will be able to give answer also to their
children, if question arise whether child or parentOr "which of their parents." has contributed more
good things to the common household store; and will be well assured that
whatsoever of evil has befallen them is due to fortune, and whatsoever of good,
to their own virtue. One who comes victorious through such question wins from
heaven, as Pindar says,A mistranslation of the
following words, cited by Plat. Rep. 331a:
GLUKEI=A/ OI( KARDI/AN A)TA/LLOISA
GHROTRO/FOS SUNAOREI=
E)LPI/S, A(\ MA/LISTA QNATW=N
POLU/STROFON GNW/MAN KUBERNA=|
Pind. Frag. 214 (Loeb)
, "the old age (of a righteous man) is sustained by a pleasant
companion that cherishes his heart; even by Hope, who more than aught else
guides the wayward mind of mortals." his chiefest reward; for "hope,
and a soul filled with fair thoughts are supreme in the manifold mind of
mortals" ; and next, from his children the good fortune of being sustained by
them in his old age. And therefore it behoves us to preserve throughout our
lives a righteous attitude towards all gods and mortal men, to each
individually, and to all in commonOr "both as
individuals and as members of a community." ;and not least towards our own wives and children and
parents.