But if your property is moderate and in relation
[p. 283]
to your needs strictly circumscribed ‘as by
centre and radius,’ it is neither ignoble nor humiliating at all to confess your poverty and to withdraw
from among those who have the means for public expenditures, instead of borrowing money and making
yourself at once a pitiful and a ridiculous object in
the matter of your public contributions ; for men
are plainly seen to lack resources when they keep
annoying their friends or truckling to money-lenders ;
so that it is not reputation or power, but rather
shame and contempt, which they acquire by such
expenditures. And therefore it is always desirable
in connexion with such things to remember Lamachus
1 and Phocion
2; for the latter, when the
Athenians at a sacrifice called upon him to contribute
and repeatedly raised a clamour, said, ‘I should be
ashamed if I gave you a contribution and did not
pay Callicles here what I owe him,’ pointing to his
money-lender. And Lamachus always, when he was
general, entered in his accounts money for shoes and
a cloak for himself. And when Hermon tried to
avoid office on the plea of poverty, the Thessalians
voted to give him a flask
3 of wine monthly and a
measure
4 of meal every four days. So it is not
ignoble to confess poverty, and poor men, if by
reason of their virtue they enjoy freedom of speech
and public confidence, have no less influence in their
cities than those who give public entertainments and
exhibitions. The statesman must, then, do his best
to control himself in such matters and not go down
[p. 285]
into the plain on foot to fight with cavalry; if he
is poor, he must not produce foot-races, theatrical
shows, and banquets in competition with the rich for
reputation and power, but he should vie with those
who try always to lead the State on the strength of
virtue and wisdom, combined with reason, for in such
are found not only nobility and dignity but also the
power to win and attract the people, a thing ‘more
desirable than gold coins of Croesus.’
5 For the
good man is neither presumptuous nor offensive,
and the prudent man is not over-blunt in speech,
nor does he
Walk with a mien his townsmen bitter find,6
but in the first place he is affable and generally accessible and approachable for all, keeping his house
always unlocked as a harbour of refuge for those in
need, and showing his solicitude and friendliness, not
only by acts of service, but also by sharing the griefs
of those who fail and the joys of those who succeed;
and he is in no way disagreeable or offensive by
reason of the number of the servants who attend him
at the bath or by appropriating seats at the theatre,
nor is he conspicuous for invidious exhibitions of
luxury and extravagance ; but he is on an equal
level with others in his clothing and daily life, in
the bringing up of his children and as regards the
servants who wait upon his wife, as one who wishes
to live like the masses and be friendly with them.
And, moreover, he shows himself a kindly counsellor,
an advocate who accepts no fee, and a kind-hearted
conciliator when husbands are at variance with their
wives or friends with one another. He spends no
[p. 287]
small part of the day engaged in the public business
on the orators' platform of the senate or the assembly, and thenceforth all the rest of his life he
Draws to himself as north-east wind draws clouds7
services and commissions from every quarter. But
since he is always devoting his thoughts to the public
weal and regards public office as his life and his
work, not, like most people, as an interruption to
leisure and a compulsory expense, - by all these and
similar qualities he turns and attracts the people
towards himself, for they see that the flatteries and
enticements of others are spurious and counterfeit
when compared with his care and forethought.
The flatterers of Demetrius would not address the
other monarchs as kings, but called Seleucus ‘Ruler
of Elephants’ and Lysimachus ‘Guardian of the
Treasure’ and Ptolemy ‘Admiral of the Fleet’
and Agathocles ‘Lord of the Isles’ ; but the
multitude, even if at first they reject the good and
wise man, afterwards, when they have become acquainted with his truthfulness and his character,
consider him alone a statesmanlike, public-spirited
man and a ruler, whereas they consider and call the
others, one a provider of choruses, one a giver of
banquets, and one a director of athletics. Then,
just as at banquets, though Callias or Alcibiades
pay the bill, it is Socrates to whom they listen,
and Socrates on whom all eyes are turned, so in
States in which the conditions are sound Ismenias
makes contributions, Lichas gives dinners, and
Niceratus provides choruses, but it is Epameinondas,
Aristeides, and Lysander who are the rulers, public
[p. 289]
men, and generals. So, observing these things, we
must not be humiliated or overwhelmed by the
reputation with the masses gained from theatres,
kitchens, and assembly-halls, remembering that it
lasts but a short time and ends the minute the
gladiatorial and dramatic shows are over, since
there is nothing honourable or dignified in it.
