On Kingship: An Address to the Emperor Arcadius

advances ever forward, conducting him until he reaches the sweetest summit of his life’s journey. He does not practice our religion in every respect, having already introduced to men certain writings before he was instructed in true piety. For he expresses himself for the most part in the Greek manner, or in a hybrid Egyptian style, emulating and pursuing at times the symbolic and hieroglyphic extravagance and strangeness. ^B But since, having been delivered from the Greek daemon-mania, he was initiated into the mysteries of the Christians, he seized the fine opportunity and preferred nothing to the apostolic tradition, the divine oracles, and true piety. Therefore, the sparks and embers of this (piety) still smolder in some of his letters, kindling in the souls of his readers a warm and active fire. Because of many reasons, O you holy and venerable head to me, I have dedicated this edition to you. For it was fitting, according to the Homeric saying—"as God ever brings the like to the like"—that philosopher should approach philosopher, bishop bishop, Greek fellow-Greek, and God-lover the pious; and also because, having chanced upon you as the proponent of this, I shall perhaps secure the addition of your favor, which will be worth everything to me. Fare you well.

NOTICE OF THE MANUSCRIPT CODICES

Two Medicean [codices], in one of which were all the works of Synesius: MED. In the other, the Epistles and the book *On Dreams*: MED. The Henrician, from the library of Henry II, in which everything except the epistles was contained: HENR. Also the Henrician, from which the book *On Providence* was absent: HENR.

FOR THE EPISTLES. Two Medicean: MED. The Henrician: HENR. The Morellian, which the most learned Morellus lent to me: MOR. The Petavian: PETAV.

FOREWARNING CONCERNING THE ORATION ON KINGSHIP

Three things concerning this oration of Synesius must be inquired into for the sake of the learned reader: first, who that emperor was before whom it was delivered and to whom the name inscribed refers; second, at what time it was delivered, and if it is possible to investigate, in what year it seems to have been spoken; third, what occasion Synesius had for that embassy, and what fruit he reaped from it. Regarding the emperor before whom it was pronounced, Evagrius Scholasticus (Book 1, cap. 13) raises a doubt; he signifies that it was spoken before Theodosius, "the address," he says, "spoken to him, Theodosius," having perceived it through its works. Nicephorus concurs with him (Book 14, cap. 55), and adds that this was Theodosius the Younger. But both err from the truth. For it is a most explored fact that it was delivered before Arcadius, the son of Theodosius. This is so clearly known from the whole oration, as when on page 4 he says that the father of the emperor he is addressing had attained the empire as a reward for virtue. He relates on page 5 that the same man had waged wars against two tyrants; and shortly after, that upon the report of the victory over the latter, he departed this life. Which things indeed can pertain to no one other than Theodosius the First, the father of Arcadius and Honorius.

Concerning the time, a conjecture is made from other places of the same author, in which he remembers that embassy of his. In the book *On Dreams*, p. 148, he signifies that it had lasted three years, and that while staying in Constantinople he was warned in his dreams of the snares of certain sorcerers. Finally, he spoke before the emperor with greater audacity than any of the Greeks hitherto, and obtained what he wanted: "My own life," he says, "consists of books and hunting; for I have never served as an ambassador, as I wish I had not, to see three ill-omened years out of my life. Yet, indeed, I derived very many and very great benefits from it at that time. For it rendered void and exposed the plots of the sorcerers who were trying to lead my soul astray, and saved me from them all; and it steered common affairs, so that the cities might fare best; and it placed me before the king’s speech with more boldness than any Greeks who have ever done so." And to me, indeed, my whole life is placed in books and hunting; unless I happen to undertake an embassy: which I wish I had never

done, so that I might not have seen those three cursed and detestable years. Yet even then I received very many and great benefits from her. For she rendered useless the traps set for me by sorcerers, who summon souls from the lower world, revealing them to me and snatching me from them all. She also facilitated public business with me, so that it might turn out as well as possible for the cities; and she brought me alone before the emperor’s notice, as the most audacious of all the Greeks in living memory. Synesius recalls that time and his three-year embassy in his third hymn: ^A

To you, O mighty King of the world, Have I come to pay The debt owed from Thrace: Where for three years I dwelt in a district Near the royal Earthly palace. I bore labors, I bore torments, Most tearful, Carrying on my shoulders My motherland. ^B

In addition to this, Epistle 41 seems to speak of the same time of the embassy, when he orders a tapestry to be given to Asterius the notary, which he had used in Thrace as a bed-covering when he had to sleep at the great praetorian quarters—that is, at the palace. For I think these words must be understood as follows: "When I had to sleep before the great halls," with which what he wrote in that place cited just above from the third hymn is consistent:

"Where for three years I dwelt in a district Near the royal Earthly palace."

By these words he signifies that he lived near the palace for the whole three years. In the letter, however, he says that he had need of the protection of that tapestry against the Thracian cold. Furthermore, in the same letter he designates the year in which he departed from Constantinople, which was the last of that three-year period. For he indicates that Aurelian was consul then; and he says that he set sail from the port without taking leave, since he was forced to flee suddenly when everyone was struck with terror on account of a violent earthquake. Aurelian was consul with Stilicho in the year of Christ 400. From this it can be gathered that in the year 397—the third after the death of Theodosius the Elder—Synesius came to Constantinople, or in the following year, 398, and in the same period delivered this oration before the emperor. ^C

Synesius had this motive for that embassy (for this was the last of the three reasons I proposed): that he might seek some aid and relief from the emperor for the Pentapolis, and specifically for his own calamitous and semi-ruined fatherland of Cyrene, which could scarcely defend itself against the infestation of the neighboring savage and feral tribes. He testifies that he was sent for the sake of this very matter at the beginning of this oration, and in the third hymn, and in several other places. Nor does he signify that he was frustrated in his hope by that hymn, but rather that he obtained what he wanted not without incredible labor, study, and continuous prayers and tears to God and the saints. There are constant laments in his letters regarding the miserable state of Cyrene; he deplores the ruin of Ptolemais, however, in the mournful oration which he inscribed *Katastasis*. During the same time of the embassy, he published another oration to Paeonius, when he had presented him with an astrolabe, which is therefore inscribed by him *On the Gift*, as Epistle 153 demonstrates; in which letter he also testifies to what I have said, that he did not regret that embassy, and that the Pentapolis drew some fruit from that small gift. ^D

Now, the subject matter of the oration that we have in our hands is such that he rightly asserts, in his book *On Dreams*, that no Greek ever spoke to a monarch with such audacity. For he most sharply chastises the corrupt morals of the court, the luxury of the emperors, and their pride; he calls them back to the duties of continence, frugality, and civility; and he prepares to treat the envy of that time and the ulcer of the state not superficially or with a light hand, but with the scalpel pressed deeply: namely, the excessive power of the Goths, to whom everything had been permitted since the times of Valens and Theodosius, not without the peril and disgrace of the Roman name. He also adds salutary precepts for governing the kingdom excellently, drawn from the fountains of the philosophers, especially Plato; and he translated not a few things from the oration of Dio of Prusa *On Kingship*, expressed in almost the same words.

SYNESIUS ON THE KINGDOM, TO THE EMPEROR ARCADIUS

^A Is it really the case that, unless someone comes from a great and wealthy city and brings with him haughty and effeminate speeches—such as those which rhetoric and poetry, those common arts that spawn common children, give birth to—he must, upon arriving here, hang his head as if he had no freedom of speech in the imperial palace, nor even the right to open his mouth, since he lacks the prestige of a great city, nor is able to offer the pleasure of the elegant and familiar performances which serve to demagogue the Emperor and those who sit with him? Or will you, for once, welcome philosophy when it arrives, and will someone recognize it, appearing here after such a long time, and, as a guest, commend it to those among whom it is proper? For it stands in need of these things, not for its own sake, but for your sake, so that it may not be despised and become useless. It will indeed furnish speeches, but not those pleasant ones which tickle the fancies of the young, for its words neither flow with soft affectation, nor are they adorned with the artifices of a false beauty; rather, in a very different way, they speak to those who are able to grasp them—a grave and, one might say, divine tone, full of manliness and majesty, which refuses to curry favor with the powerful through ignoble flattery. ^B Yet those who are so stubborn, and are such bold spirits—and, as it were, aliens in the royal court—say that it will not suffice for them to be permitted not to praise absolutely everything that belongs to the Emperor and the Emperor himself; but if they find an opportunity, they threaten even to sting the heart, not just on the surface, but deeply. They are austere, and not immediately pleasant, and they refrain so much from flattery that they often rebuke their audience when they perceive some fault in them. I, therefore, having been stung by one who is even more painful—and by the most painful thing a man can be stung by: for the heart, or the soul, or whatever term one must give it, having been struck and stung by the words of philosophy, which carry a sting sharper than a viper—am in a state of new soul, and not as a lamb.

^A And the middle course, if perhaps anyone might be helped by being stung. A free speech is surely worth much to the hearing of an emperor. But praise that is bestowed upon everything, when it is practiced with pleasure, seems to me similar to those medicines that some people, having sweetened them with honey, offer to those who are perishing. Do you not know that, while the culinary art, by seasoning food and exciting false appetites, causes harm to the body, gymnastics and medicine, though they cause some immediate pain, are nonetheless salutary? I, therefore, wish you to be among those who are saved, even if you are going to be annoyed at being saved. For while the acrid and astringent power of salt does not allow the flesh to putrefy, the truth of words holds together the mind of a young emperor, which, left to the license of power, would otherwise go wherever chance might lead it. Bear, then, with this strange manner of speech, and do not let rustic manners take hold of you ^B or cause silence before it has advanced even a little, on the grounds that these speakers are not tenders seeking to please or play along with young men, but are truly stern, even heavy, instructors. But if you have the fortitude to endure such companionship, and your ears have not been altogether corrupted by the praises you are accustomed to hear:

I myself am present within.

2. Cyrene sends to you a Greek city

^A We must proceed, therefore, with God, and undertake the best of speeches, or rather, it is truer to say, the best of works. For he who has taken thought for one man, the emperor, that he might be the best, has walked the shortest path toward setting right all households, all cities, all nations, both small and great, and those nearby and those far away, all of which must needs enjoy the state of the emperor’s soul, whatever it may be. Do you wish, then, that we make a beginning here, so that you might await the rest of my speech? For it would be a wise thing not to rouse the game 8 before the time. Let us speak of what a king ought to do, and what he ought not, setting honorable and solemn things in opposition to their opposites. You, standing over both sides, whenever you recognize what is appropriate, embrace the one, as something accepted by philosophy, but reject the other; and resolve in your mind to do the former forever, and never to admit the latter thenceforward. Wherefore, at the very time of the speech, regarding those things which are less than decent—of which both we, together, and you yourself are aware—you should appear before yourself indignant and suffused with shame, because that which ought in no way to be in you has been proven to be there. This color of yours 9 promises a certain virtue from repentance; and such shame is divine, and appears so even to Hesiod. But he who is stubborn in his faults, and who is ashamed to confess his ignorance, gains no counsel from repentance, nor has need of the medicine of words, but, as the Wise Man might say, has need of castigation. Thus, philosophy shows itself harsh from the outset, and difficult to handle.

^C 3. For I perceive that some of you are already perturbed, and think this freedom of speech to be a terrible thing. But I had promised to do just this, and it has been the way of those who understood this beforehand to fortify themselves bravely and to withstand the onsets; and yet, you yourself delight in hearing these things, and all men celebrate them. And I agree with you that the greatness of the empire is not present in another single man to such a degree, and that riches are heaped up beyond those of the ancient Darius, and that the number of horses is frequently ten thousand, and those who use them, archers and those who wear breastplates, against whom, if they have a leader, whatever is opposed is unwarlike. Moreover, countless cities venerate you as suppliants; of whom the greatest part have neither seen you nor hope to see you at any time, a spectacle exceeding every vow. These things would be said by us to you even more truly than by any other. What, then, is the cause of the discrepancy between what we say and what others say? They weave praise for you from this, and call you happy; ^D but I would least of all

count anyone happy on this basis. Yet I would certainly proclaim him fortunate. For the nature of the two is not the same; praise and the proclamation of happiness are distinct things. For one is called happy on account of external things, but one is praised for internal things, in which happiness finds its seat. The former is an unexpected and unexamined gift of fortune, while the latter is a good proper to one’s own character. Thus, the latter is constant and stable in itself, but happiness is uncertain, and often, being forced into its opposite, it is weighed in an equal balance. Furthermore, to preserve it, one has need of the help of God himself, and intelligence, and skill, and time, and also of brilliant deeds, and these must be done everywhere and in various ways—things which neither stand firm by any experience, nor become easy for those who experience them. For it is not the case that, just as a favorable outcome of fortune comes to a man, so it is preserved without labor and anxiety. But you see, of course, how many types of lives the store of tragic stage-plays provides; not those in which commoners or the indigent are afflicted by troubles, but those in which the most powerful princes or tyrants are affected. For a modest home does not contain the magnitude of a great calamity, nor is the life of beggars subject to the weight of misfortunes. But he who enjoys a more favorable outcome is usually prominent in dangers and in the other condition of fortune. ^B Moreover, virtue often precedes favorable circumstances, and praise itself takes precedence over the proclamation of happiness, as if fortune were ashamed if it did not provide testimony with manifest virtues. If one must place faith in examples of this, there is no reason for us to seek out foreign ones. Let the memory of your father come to you, and you will see that empire fell to him as a reward for virtue. But fortune cannot be the cause of virtue. Yet some, rightly and in accordance with the virtue of their deeds, have perhaps brought happiness along with them thus far. May God grant that you be in their number, so that philosophy may not have discoursed here in vain! May it be honorable for you to rule in this way, in that it has exercised virtue and advanced it—since it required matter commensurate with its own greatness, and could not have been contained in the purpose of a life of a king of lesser stature. Therefore, the soul must be cultivated so that it behaves royally, and fortune must be patronized, lest it be accused of thoughtlessness and rashness; for life did not proceed for you and your parent from the same beginnings. ^C Warfare won the kingdom for him; for you, the imperial dignity drives you toward the labor of warfare, and you must attribute virtue to fortune: for him, he acquired the good things through labors; you inherited them without labor. Therefore, there is a need for labors for its protection. And this is what I have long been saying, that it is a difficult thing, and one that requires ten thousand eyes; lest, as fortune is wont to do, it turn back in the middle of the road, just like the wicked among our fellow-travelers—to these, the wise compare its instability. You see that even for your father (although his proclamation happened clearly on the basis of accomplishments), envy did not leave his old age unharassed, and therefore neither did God leave it without a crown; but having come upon two tyrants ^D and having struck down both, he concludes his life at the second victory-trophy, not over any man, but over the nature

^A against which neither strength of arms nor cunning of intellect avails; and he obtained virtue as the ornament of his burial, having left the empire at peace for you, and without contention, which may God himself guard for you by virtue and by the protection of virtue. For since where the help of God is necessary everywhere, then especially for those who have not sought fortune through contests and their own labor and industry, but stand as heirs of another, just as you do. How ^B he who has attained this most blessed state by the benefit of God, and to whom in his first age [God] has granted the appellation of great king, such a one must endure every toil, and leave behind all ease, being a partaker of the fewest hours of sleep, but of the most numerous anxieties, if one would not undeservedly wish to hold the name of king. For the old saying is correct, that the multitude of subjects does not make a king any more than a tyrant; just as neither does a multitude of sheep make a shepherd, but rather a butcher, who drives ^C them to slaughter them, intending both to sate himself, and to distribute the feast to others for a price. By these same bounds I claim that a king and a tyrant are distinguished. Yet the things from fortune are similar for both. Both rule over many men; but he who aligns himself with the apparent good of the ruled, and is willing to toil so that nothing may be burdensome to them, and to face danger so that they may live in security, and to watch, and to be joined by cares, so that by night and by day they ^D may have respite from difficulties—this person is a shepherd among sheep, but a king among men. But whoever enjoys the leadership for luxury, and lives daintily in his authority, thinking it necessary to satisfy all his own appetites, whence the ruled will groan, setting this as the profit of ruling over many, that for him the pleasure of his soul is ministered to by the many; and to sum it up, whoever does not fatten the flock, but wants himself to be fattened by the flock, this one I call a butcher of the cattle, this one I declare to be the tyrant, whenever the ruled are a rational people. This is for you a criterion of kingship. But you, now, bring yourself to this test; and if you measure up, be right to use the solemn name of this solemn office; but if you fall short, strive to correct the twisted things, and to cling to the rule. For I do not despair that one’s age can contain every ^B development, provided only that one would sharpen it toward the zeal of virtue. For youth is strong at inclining toward either side; just as rivers go forth more greedily according to the opportunities of the paths given to them. For this reason, the young king needs philosophy, which either anticipates him or pulls him back from the flow toward either side. Other ^C indeed are… ^D

the vices neighboring upon the virtues, and from each one, the slippery and precipitous fall is not into any other, but into the neighbor. ^B For tyranny dwells beside royalty, and very near its doors, just as rashness beside courage, and prodigality beside liberality. And the magnanimous man, unless he be restrained within the limits of virtue by the benefit of philosophy, if he steps forward even a little, will become arrogant instead of magnanimous, and depraved in mind. Therefore, fear and discern no other malady for the royal virtue than tyranny; using for this, among the indications prescribed in this oration, that one especially: that for a king, laws serve as morals, whereas for a tyrant, morals serve as laws; and that authority is a common matter of lives differing from one another. But he has reached a certain summit of prosperity and happiness whose affairs all befall according to his own will; yet his will follows prudence: and while it obtains dominion over external things, it yields authority to this, its companion, as being the superior, and expects from her the sign and as it were the token of things to be done. For authority does not suffice for happiness, nor is blessedness established by God in power; but prudence must be added, or rather, it must precede, in order that it may exercise power as well as possible. And I proclaim him the most perfect man and life, who is rendered whole from both, and who does not limp on either side, who, knowing how to rule, has received authority; since a thing most firm is created from both, when power and might are joined with the prudence of the soul; for if they be mutually dissociated, both unconsidered forces and unwarlike prudence are overcome by a light effort. Indeed, among those things which are done by the wise Egyptians, I have admired their Mercury. The Egyptians depict the god in a double aspect, placing a youth beside an old man, ^C signifying by this that if one is to behold their sacred rites well, he must be both sagacious and brave: since the one without the other can contribute little help. For indeed, some have not wrongly philosophized that vices are pinned to the virtues, and are in a way neighboring, and it is most easy for one who intends to oversee them well to be both intelligent and brave, since the one is incomplete for benefit without the other. For this reason, the Sphinx is set up by them on their temple approaches, a sacred symbol of the union of the virtues: the strength being a beast, and the prudence a man. For strength, when bereft of intelligent leadership, is carried away impulsively, confusing and disturbing all things; and it is a power useless for action when not served by the hands. Therefore, all virtues are the adornment of a king; but prudence is more royal than them all. Make this, then, my companion; for the third will follow the elder of the sisters; and you will immediately have all of them as fellow-dwellers and fellow-soldiers at your side. ^D

^A 4. I will speak a word that, although it ^B may at first seem strange and absurd to hear, is nevertheless wholly in accordance with the truth. Whenever I weigh weakness against power, poverty against wealth, and the disadvantages in all things against the advantages in all things—if they be judged against each other stripped of prudence—the condition of poverty, weakness, and private life is much happier than that of supreme rule for those who are in no way possessed of intelligence and prudence. For they would surely sin less, if the wickedness of their mind could not find a way to action. For those external goods, which it is the custom of Aristotle and Plato, my guides, to call "tools," know how to serve wickedness no less than virtue. For this reason, these two men, and all who have flowed as streams of philosophy from them, have deemed them worthy of neither a better name nor condemned them to a worse, but call them "tools," being now good, now bad, according to the habits of those who use them. Just as, therefore, it is to be prayed that tools might be absent from the wicked man, so that he might have his malice ineffectual, so it is to be desired that they be present for one who will use them rightly—from whom both cities and private individuals might derive benefit—so that the nature of virtue may not wither in darkness and obscurity, useless and inactive, but rather expend its power in helping men with benefits. Thus, use the goods set before you; for only thus could you use them well. Homes, cities, peoples, ^C nations, and continents enjoy imperial providence and prudent care, which God himself, having placed himself as an archetype among the intelligible things, grants as an image of providence, and desires that things here be ordered in imitation of the things above. The friend of the great King is, then, he who bears the same name here, if he does not belie the name. And he does not belie it, if the other of the names of God is also present in him. Before speaking of this, it would not be untimely to discuss some things from philosophy, prepared here for the sake of clarity.

5. No name has been discovered anywhere that reaches the nature of God; but because men wandered from expressing Him, they have attempted to attain Him through the things that were made by Him. Whether, therefore, you call Him Father, or Maker, or whatever else, ^D [maybe even] you call Him First Principle, or Cause—

all these things are relations of His to the things that originate from Him. ^A Likewise, if you call Him King, you will attempt to attain His nature [not as it is in itself], but from the things that are His subjects, and not from that which is proper to Him.

I come now to the remainder of His name, which I had promised you, and had deferred until this time; and what is this that is prescribed, and joined to the present King, which I said confirms him and declares him to be such, and not falsely named? Everyone, everywhere, both wise and ignorant, praise God as Good; and in this they all agree with one another and speak with one voice, though they may otherwise differ in their notions of the Divine, and divide His incorrupt and indivisible nature with diverse opinions. But even this—the undisputed "Good"—does not yet indicate God's seat in actual existence, ^B yet it is gathered from things that are posterior. For the name "good" does not sound in the ears as something absolute, but as good to those of whom it is effective, and who are able to enjoy it. For no other notion underlies this word than that it signifies God as the cause of all goods; and the prayers of our fathers in the most august mysteries, which cry out to God who stands above all things, do not proclaim His sovereignty, but venerate His providence and care. Wherefore, God is most munificent with those things that are appropriate to God—namely, life, nature, and mind; and whatever else there may be of those things that are posterior which is not unworthy to be derived from the Prior.

But for you, it is most appropriate that you never abandon the order you have once received, nor bring shame upon such a name, but rather apply yourself to imitating Him, and not only heap all manner of goods upon the cities, but also pour out as much happiness as you can upon each of the citizens. Thus, finally calling you a great King, we shall not stray from the truth; not granting this honor out of custom, nor seeking profit, nor deprecating anger, but assenting with the judgment of the soul itself, and employing the tongue as the interpreter of a faithful mind. ^C Come then, let me describe the King to you in this speech, as if setting up a statue; and you will demonstrate this statue as moving and animate. To His craftsmanship, therefore, I will also take, if need be, some of that which came into the minds of the ancient and blessed men. And you, no less than with the others—or rather, all the more—embrace these, as if they are beyond all controversy those things that especially befit a King, concerning which the judgment of both ancient and most recent sages is the same.

^A Let religion and piety, then, first be laid down as a secure foundation, upon which the image may stand firm; and let no tempest, as long as it remains fixed to its base, ever overturn it. This foundation will indeed rise up with it and appear in many places—and not least at the summit. Taking my start from this point, I say that it is necessary, with God as leader, that the King should first be King of himself, and establish a monarchy within his own soul. For you must know this well: that man is not a simple thing, nor a uniform one, but God has brought together into the constitution of a single living being a throng of powers, both mixed and diverse in voice. And we are, I suspect, a monster more strange than the hydra, and something even more multi-headed. For we do not, I suppose, think and desire and grieve and grow angry with the same part; nor are we lured by pleasure and frightened by the same thing. Look, rather, and you will see how there is male in these things, and there is female; there is that which is bold, and that which is fearful. ^B There are, besides, things that are altogether contrary to one another; and there is a certain middle nature that permeates all these things, which we call intellect—which I deem worthy to rule within the soul of the King, so that it may overthrow the mob-rule and democracy of the passions. For, starting from this hearth, he would rule, having used the rule of the sovereignty provided by nature; since whoever, having made the irrational parts of the soul tame and tractable, and having rendered them obedient to reason, composes the multitude into one wise leadership, this person is divine, whether he be a private citizen or a King; but he is a King all the more, because this man imparts his virtue to all the nations, and many men enjoy the goods of one. For of necessity the inner parts of such a man must be tranquil forever, free from sedition, and even in his appearance and countenance, a certain divine serenity must bloom. And this is not a fearsome spectacle, but one full of majesty; for with a calm and unfluctuating affectation of noble modesty, he inspires admiration in his friends—the same as saying "good men"—while he strikes terror into his enemies—the same as saying "the evil ones." ^C Repentance can have no place in such a soul; for whatever he undertakes, he undertakes with the common consent of all parts of the soul; because each of them is tempered to the nod of the one, and they do not refuse to be parts, nor do they refuse to harmonize into one and the same whole. But whoever administers the impulse of these parts by giving them up to be active in many ways, and wishes to persuade the living being by parts, you will see him now high in his understanding, now supine; now disturbed, now in a rush, now in flight; and he is vexed by griefs, and pleasures, and absurd desires; and such a man is never consistent with himself. "And I learn, indeed, what evils I am about to do; But my anger is stronger than my plans."

For no one among the uninitiated dares to say, "Our Father, who art in heaven," ^D before they have received the grace of adoption.

NOTES OF DIONYSIUS PETAVIUS

^A Someone once said this, recognizing the difference and discord of equal faculties. This, indeed, is primary and supremely royal: to be king of oneself, and to set the mind as a mistress over the domestic beast; and not to desire to rule over ten thousand men, while being oneself a slave to the most base masters—pleasure, grief, and whatever other kindred beasts have their dwelling within the animal.

^B 7. Proceeding henceforth from himself, the king will first associate with his kinsmen and friends, with whom he will take counsel concerning matters of state. He will call these men friends, not usurping the name dissemblingly, nor acting like those who, by a title that is more humane than true, soften the troublesome and odious reality of their rule. For what possession is more worthy of a king than the fellowship of friends? Who is a more pleasant sharer in prosperity? Who is more steadfast in enduring the vicissitudes of fortune? Who is more sincere in praising? Who is less burdensome in giving sharp rebuke? And what more evident proof of a worthy and benign king can there be for the people than if he makes those whose intimacy he enjoys happy? For in this way he will show himself lovable even to those at a distance, and it will be a desirable thing for good men to attain to royal friendship. The contrary of all this exists for tyrants, because of whom this clever proverb has obtained: *Far from Zeus and his thunderbolt*—saying this because of those who use their associates insidiously, and that it is safer to live a life of obscurity than to face the dangers found in a life of prominence. For no sooner is one proclaimed blessed by a tyrant's friendship than he is pitied for his enmity. But the king knows that while God is self-sufficient, and is a divine nature of old, pre-eminent over those who are ruled, to a man who rules over many men of the same condition, his own nature is by no means sufficient for the provision of every matter. Wishing, therefore, to compensate for this defect of nature, he invites friends into a communion of the same nature; and thus he makes his power in a certain sense manifold. For so it happens that he sees with the eyes of all, hears with the ears of all, and takes counsel with the minds of all in one accord.

^D 8. One must take particular care, however, and with all the powers of one's soul, or even, if it is possible, to deploy all the arms of the palace for this purpose, so that no flattery, cloaking itself in the guise of friendship, may stealthily creep up upon the unwary. For this alone, even while the guards are keeping watch to no effect, plunders the empire. For unless it is completely warded off, it breathes its way little by little into the innermost chambers, and attacks that which is most excellent in kings, the soul itself. For, indeed, a propensity for friends is not the least of a king's virtues. This is what made Cyrus, that renowned and pre-eminent man, and Agesilaus more famous than other kings, both among Greeks and barbarians. He will know what ought to be done, and

^A settle upon a plan among his friends; but in order for the work to be accomplished, he needs the aid of many hands.

9. Our discourse now proceeding by degrees leads the king out of the palace, and after his friends, reconciles him to the soldiers—these being, as it were, his secondary friends—and commands him to descend into the field, so that he may make an inspection of the men, the arms, and the horses. There, he will exercise himself on horseback with the cavalry; he will run with the infantry; he will march armed with the heavy-armed soldier; he will wield the target with the targeteer; and he will cast the javelin with the light-armed skirmisher. By this communion of labors, he will draw each into a living fellowship and friendship, so that he may no longer appear to be jesting or mocking when he calls them fellow-soldiers, but they may recognize him as one who delivers an address in an assembly, and all may bear witness that the name is in fact justified by his deeds. Perchance you may be vexed and listen with difficulty to the labor that we impose upon you. But believe me, the kingly body is in no way tried by labor. For whoever openly takes up labor is by no means overcome by labor. But for a king who is exercising his body, remaining in camp, living in the open air, and spending his time in armor, all men everywhere are present as spectators, as if in a theater. ^B Indeed, he turns the eyes of those present upon himself; nor does anyone endure to look elsewhere while the king is performing some action in plain view; and every deed of the king, having become a song, reaches the ears of all. This habit, by the king’s not being an uncommon sight to the soldiers, is able to create a strong and lasting goodwill in the souls of the soldiers. And what is a more secure fortification for a king than one walled in by love? And what private individual, however modest his condition, is more secure, or safer from plots, than that king whom his own men do not fear, but rather fear for? This military race is indeed simple and noble, and is easily captured by familiarity. Plato (25) even calls the military class guardians, and compares them especially to the dog, a creature which distinguishes friend from foe by knowledge and ignorance. For what could be more shameful for a king than that the defenders of the empire should know him only through painters? ^C Nor will he reap merely this benefit from such frequent association—that he has the army gathered around him like one body of the same nature—but many things done during that time will contribute, some to the exercise of warfare, others as the preparations and beginnings of the imperial office, which are accustomed to arouse the soul for greater and more serious matters. For it is no small thing in time of war to name the leader of the army, or a lieutenant, or a squadron commander, or an officer of the line, or a standard-bearer, if it should be necessary, or to call out and encourage by name some of those known from the veterans: those, I say, who hold the first rank in both the equestrian ^D and pedestrial order. For Homer, having placed one of the gods in the battle of the Achaeans, says that he fills the young men with the strike of his staff […

^A with "mighty strength," so that their spirits raged for a greater battle and for the love of Mars, and their feet and hands could not endure to be still. For this—that feet below and hands above are moved of their own accord—is nothing else than that they yearn for the struggle of battle of their own free will. I indeed judge that an emperor would accomplish precisely this if he were to call his own men by name; and he would incite even him who would not be moved by the clamor of the trumpet to a desire for glory, or he would rouse a warlike soldier to battle. For there is no one who would not desire to exert his strength vigorously in the presence of a kingly witness. And the poet seems to think that there is a very great advantage for a king, both peaceful and warlike, in having observed this very thing first: that it has the greatest influence on the courage of men that not even the rank-and-file soldiers should be unknown to the king. He has represented Agamemnon not only as calling his soldiers by name, but even as admonishing his brother that, beyond such an appellation, he should address each man by his father’s name and from his ancestors, and should honor and not treat anyone haughtily. And to honor, furthermore, is to praise, if he remembered that anything had been done by someone either rightly or successfully. Do you see how Homer makes the king a praiser of the common man? And who would spare his blood, having heard himself praised by a king? When, therefore, you derive this advantage from the fact that you frequently mingle with the soldiers, then you will also perceive their characters and lives, and you will understand what arrangement is fitting for each one on whatever occasion. Moreover, consider this in addition: an emperor of wars is an artisan, just as a cobbler is an artisan of shoes. As the latter would be ridiculous if he were ignorant of the tools of his art, so how will a king know how to use soldiers as tools, if he does not know them?

10. But when I come here, if I should draw down the common thread of the discourse to the present subject matter of this speech, perhaps I would not shoot wide of the mark: *Who knows if I might stir your heart with divine favor?* *The counsel of a true man is not to be despised.* ^{B C} I hold, therefore, that nothing else has brought such destruction upon the Roman Empire in times past as that nearly theatrical adornment of the emperor and that habit of the body, which men are accustomed to keep in secret, just as those who perform sacred rites, and also the fact that matters pertaining to you are presented for display in a barbaric and insolent manner. For that which is hollow and merely speculative cannot subsist with the truth of the thing. However, there is no reason why you should take what has been said by me as too offensive. For that has not been committed by your fault, but by those who ruled before you and who handed down the evil to the succession of time. Consequently, this solemnity—and the fear that you might lose your humanity by becoming accustomed to such a spectacle—makes you kept closed up and besieged by your own selves, seeing very little...

^B and hearing very little—the sources from which practical wisdom is gathered—while you indulge only in the pleasures of the body, and those most material ones at that, which the senses of touch and taste provide, leading a life not unlike that of a sea-sponge. So long, therefore, as you disdain the human condition, you do not even attain the perfection of a human being. For those with whom you associate in your way of life and otherwise, and those to whom there is more secure access to the palace—your jesters ^C and captains—these people, whom you prepare to be charming, are shallow-minded 26 and foolish, whom nature in its error stamps incorrectly, just as counterfeiters do with currency, and the king is presented with a witless human being as a gift, and the more witless he is, the greater the gift. These men, simultaneously longing to laugh and to weep without measure, and with gestures and noises and all the buffoonery they can manage, waste your time along with their own, and soothe the darkness of your soul—which you possess from not living according to nature—with a greater evil. Their truncated thoughts and words are better suited to your ears than a mind polished and rounded by philosophy. You who have enjoyed such a marvelous world, while you suspect the wise among the people and act haughtily toward them, you admit the witless and reveal yourselves to them. You ought to know well indeed that each thing grows and is strengthened by its own proper conditions. But if you run through in your mind empires from wherever in the world they have spread—whether that of the Parthians, or the Macedonians, or the ancient Medes, or this one in which we live—men of the people and soldiers, who would often live in the midst of the battle line and sleep on the ground, sharing the same labors and not exceeding their fellows in pleasures, each led their dominion to great heights; for men who acquire goods through diligence and become admirable would with difficulty maintain that order without wisdom. For good fortune seems to be a weight heavier than lead. It overturns and crushes the one who lays it upon his shoulders, unless he happens to be completely robust.

[D 11] As for the strength of the soul, nature promises it, but it is perfected by practice. Philosophy urges you, Emperor, to become the person who is preserved by the resulting discourse, so that this may not happen. For everything is destroyed by the opposites of those things from which it is constituted. Therefore, do not think that the ancestral customs of the Romans—and consider the Romans’ ancestral customs to be not that which one lives not a human life, but that of a sea-sponge, or those things which are the souls of marine bodies.

^C But come now, by the God of the kingdom (and try to bear with me; for the story is galling), when do you think Roman affairs were in a better state? Was it since you became purple-clad and gilded, and bedecked yourselves with stones sought from the mountains and barbarian seas—some you tie around your heads, some you wear on your feet, some you gird about your waists, some you hang from yourselves, some you fasten with brooches, and some you sit upon? ^D Consequently, you have become a spectacle of most varied and colorful appearance, like peacocks, drawing upon yourselves the Homeric curse—the stone tunic. But not even that tunic is enough for you; for it is not permitted for those holding the consulship to approach the council of senators when they are appointing magistrates or have sat for any other matter, unless you are enveloped in such a garment on top. And indeed you are gawked at by the men who are permitted to look, as the only blessed ones among the senators, the only ones bearing the burden of the senators; yet you actually rejoice in this load, just like someone bound in golden chains and, more tightly, in foot-fetters of many talents, who then feels nothing of the evil, nor considers that he is suffering wretchedly by being among those bound for taxation, deceived by the magnificence of his misfortune; yet he will move no more easily than those who are bound by the most common log-pillory. Indeed, not even the ground itself is tolerable to you, nor would you walk on the earth in its natural state; but you must scatter golden dust, which is brought to you from further continents in carriages and merchant ships, and one must not despise the army of those who scatter this pulverized matter. For you do not count it a kingly thing unless you display your luxuries even in the very leather of your footwear.

Is it therefore the case now that you fare better, since these ceremonies began to be established around the emperors; and you keep yourselves in hiding places like lizards, barely peeping out toward a ray of sunlight, lest you be caught by men while being human beings? Or was it so when men leading the armies lived in the midst of them, dark-skinned under the sun, and for the rest simple and self-sufficient in their habits, not in dithyrambic and tragic fashion, in Laconian hats—which the young boys laugh at when they see them in the theater, and not even the old populace considers them fortunate—but when compared to you? [Index: entries preserved]

^A And yet those men did not wall off their houses, nor did they shut out the Asian or European barbarians; rather, by their actions, they counseled them to wall off their own territories, as they frequently crossed the Euphrates against the Parthian, and the Ister against the Getae and Massagetae. But these men, having assumed other names instead of those, and having artificially altered their very faces so that they might appear to be a new and strange race sprung from the earth, strike terror into you by crossing in the opposite direction and demand to be paid for peace,

Unless you assume a mighty strength.

But let us set aside, if you like, the examination of ancient things compared to present ones, so that we may not seem to be reproachfully scolding under the guise of an exhortation, demonstrating that ^B as much as the emperor’s state has grown in pomp, by that same amount has it been stripped of truth.

If, however, our discourse, having lingered for some time on the diversity that is among you, were to assign some portion of itself to that of the emperors of old—whether we call it rusticity or, if you prefer, simplicity—luxury and frugality would fittingly emerge in opposition to each other. By observing both thus unadorned, having cast aside that which is illusory and added on, you would embrace the true and genuine beauty of a king. For this reason, we have largely defined the former by its wealth; the knowledge of the latter, however, must be sought not from this, but from elsewhere. For it is not endowed with superfluous wealth, since it is by no means occupied with the acquisition of such, but its images have rather been situated in character and life. And yet the work itself emerges immediately along with the production of a life that is in accordance with nature. It is worthwhile, therefore, to make mention of a certain emperor’s character and work; for anything whatever will be more than sufficient to draw all things along with it. They say there was once a certain emperor, not so very ancient, but one whom the grandfathers of the old men of this time could easily recognize—unless they themselves were young when they had children, and later became grandfathers through their younger children. They say, I say, that one of them, having set out with an army against the Arsacid king who had committed an outrage against the Romans, and having arrived at the extreme ridges of the Armenians, before he attempted any hostile action, desired to dine and ordered the army to use the provisions from the baggage train, as they were food supplies near at hand, if need be. And he was pointing out the fields of the Parthians. While they were in this state, an embassy arrived from the enemy; and they thought that they would first have an audience with those who hold power from the emperor, and also with some of their dependents and emissaries, as if it were for a day long after that of the

^A emperor’s presence with the embassy. It so happened that the emperor himself was dining at that very time. For the guard was not yet as it is now; there was a chosen detachment from the army, all young men, all of them tall, with yellow hair and distinguished. They were always anointed on their heads, and they had fair faces, golden shields, and golden spears; when we see them, we know the emperor is nearby, just as, I think, we know the sun is near by the preceding rays. Rather, the entire phalanx, according to its own custom, was a guard ^B of the emperor and the empire. But they were simple in their own right, not kings by their attire, but by their soul, and they excelled the multitude within; outwardly they appeared no different from the common herd, just as they say Carinus [(36)] was seen by the embassy, in a purple tunic, and reclining upon the grass. Their dinner was old, moldy lentil pottage, containing certain pieces of salted pork [(37)] that had enjoyed the passage of time. Seeing him, he is said neither to have risen nor to have changed anything; but having called the men over, he said that he knew they had come to see him, for he himself was Carinus; and he ordered them to tell the new ^C emperor today that, unless he came to his senses, he should expect the whole of their grove and the whole of their plain to be, within one moon, more bare than Carinus’s head. And at the same time, they say, he took off his cap, showing his head, which was no hairier than the helmet lying beside it. And if they were hungry, he allowed them to join in eating from the pot; but if they were not, he ordered them to leave immediately and to be outside the Roman rampart, as the embassy had reached its conclusion for them. It is said, therefore, that when this was reported to the multitude and the leader of the enemies, regarding what they had seen and heard, as was likely to happen, ^D horror and fear fell upon them all, at the thought of fighting against such men, whose emperor [(38)] was...

being such that he is neither ashamed of being bald, nor ashamed to invite guests to dine while a cooking-pot is set before them. Yet, when the haughty king, struck with terror, came to pay his respects, he was ready to yield everything to one who was adorned with a tiara and a *candys* ^A, even when he met him wearing a tunic of cheap wool and a felt hat.

13. You hear of another, more recent case, I think. For it is not even credible that anyone should not have heard of that emperor who, having surrendered his own person 40 into the midst of the enemy out of a need for reconnaissance, assumed the guise of an ambassador. For at that time, to function in this way was the same as to be a leader of cities and armies; and many indeed renounced such authority. But one of them, even when he had reached old age 41 in imperial rule, having spoken against such labors, voluntarily grew old as a private citizen. Since I shall also point out to you that this very name of "king" is an latecomer, having been dropped by the Romans after the people drove out the Tarquins. From that time on, we indeed deem you worthy of it, and call you kings, and write as such; but you, whether knowingly or unknowingly, or out of deference to custom, seem to be trying to avoid the odium of this title. Therefore, you have never embellished yourselves with the royal name when writing to a city, or to a private citizen, or to a prefect, or to a barbarian prince; but you cause yourselves to be called "emperors" (*autokratores*). But *autokrator* is the name of a military command that undertakes to do everything. And Iphicrates and Pericles ^B used to sail from Athens as *autokrator* generals. And the name did not offend the people, who were not subject to arbitrary power, but the people themselves would vote for the command, which was a lawful one. Now at Athens 42, even a person called "king" performed minor duties and was held accountable, the name being, I suppose, something the people used in jest, as they were without restraint, free. But the *autokrator* among them was not a monarch, and it was a serious thing both in reality and in name. How then is this not a clear proof of the spirit of moderation in the Roman polity, that while it has evidently devolved into a monarchy, it nonetheless, out of hatred for the evils that follow tyranny, cautiously and religiously employs the royal name? For tyranny brings the monarchy into disrepute, while kingship makes it an object of desire, and Plato calls it a divine good among men. But the same person, in that he is a partaker of the divine lot, teaches that it must be entirely free from arrogance. For God does not reveal Himself ^C as if on a stage, nor does He act like a sorcerer; rather, He ^D walking through a pathless way in justice, He leads mortal things, and is ready to be present everywhere to him who is created to partake of Him. Thus, I deem that the king should be a common good, and free of arrogance. Tyrants, however, if they perform wonders while hiding and appearing with alarm, no envy...

need we feel for them, if, destitute of true majesty, they take refuge in simulation. For he who has nothing sound or intact, and knows this himself—how can it be that he does not flee the light, to avoid the contempt of his own people? Yet no one has ever despised the sun, although what is there that we see more often? Therefore, let the king, if he is confident that he is true and cannot be proved otherwise, be most exposed to all. For he will be none the less—nay, rather, all the more—admirable and pleasing. Indeed, that limping king whom Xenophon recommended in his entire work was held in no contempt by those whom he led, nor by those whose regions he traversed, nor by those against whom he marched; even though, in whatever city he might turn aside to the most public places, where whatever he did was exposed to the eyes of all, if anyone were possessed by the desire to see the Spartan leader. But he, penetrating into Asia with a small army, nearly drove from his dominion that man whom countless nations worshipped as a God. For he struck down his massive pride. And although, when the domestic magistrates recalled him, the plans he had undertaken concerning Asia were disrupted, he won very many victories over the Greeks, and was conquered in a contest by that one man alone ^B by whom, above all others, it was fitting that Agesilaus be surpassed, if he were to compete in frugality. Epaminondas was that man, who, as often as he was called to a banquet by the cities, and went to them (for in no other way could he have escaped the suspicion of a crime among the magistrates), drank sour vinegar. "Lest," he said, "Epaminondas forget his domestic fare." And when an Attic youth mocked the hilt of his sword because it was of the vilest wood, crude and unfinished, he said: "Indeed, when we fight, you will not risk the hilt, but you will not find the iron to be something you regret." Now if it is regal to rule, and he rules as one who ought to exercise dominion over those subject to him, from that very same character of studies and life which those who possess the skill of ruling employ; we easily understand that, since it is not the way of a barbarian or an arrogant man, but by the benefit of a modest and temperate man that all things from all are gathered into one, pride and luxury must be banished from imperial power, as though it had no part in what is alien. And the discourse has been led from this point.

14. But let us now return the discourse to its proper beginning, and you to that ancient matter, the king. For it is necessary that, when lives have been amended and chastened, and temperance has returned, there should return with it... ^D

not only the former ornaments, but also a transformation of all things, even those from the opposite side. ^A Do you, Emperor, be the author of the restored felicity, and provide us with a king who is the administrator of the empire. For the circumstances in which we move can no longer continue in sloth, nor advance further. For now all men are placed upon a razor’s edge; and there is need of God and of an emperor to the state to repeal this fate of the Roman empire, which has long since been conceived and must be brought to light; and which I, weaving together the remainder of the speech and describing a pattern of a king — whom I had begun to set up as a kind of most excellent statue — shall now prove to be imminent through manifest judgments, unless it be prevented by the aid of wise and strong rule. And that you yourself may be the one who prevents it, I shall labor as far as in me lies. But God is always and altogether ^B a helper and propitious to good men. Whence then, having set aside those things which pertain generally to the office of that king whom we describe in our speech, do we turn our mind to the present state of affairs? Philosophy commanded that the king should dwell frequently with the soldiers, and not keep himself confined at home. For it taught that benevolence, which is the sole and greatest immovable bulwark of a king, is gathered from daily familiarity. Of what kind, therefore, are the soldiers with whom the philosopher, lover of the king, expects the king to exercise his body and to camp with? They are, clearly, those whom the fields and cities, and in a word, the whole earth subject to the empire supplies as defenders, and whom it chooses as guardians of the state and of the laws, by which they were both nurtured and educated; for these are they whom Plato likened to dogs. ^C But neither should wolves be placed by the shepherd among the dogs, even if puppies once taken away seem to have been tamed, for otherwise he would entrust the flock to them at his own peril. For when they perceive any weakness or sloth in the dogs, they will immediately set upon both the dogs themselves, the flock, and the shepherds. Nor should arms be given by the legislator to those who were not born or trained in his own laws. For he has no pledge of benevolence from such men. And to me it seems the mark of an overly bold man, or certainly of a prophet, not to fear when he sees a numerous youth, educated in foreign customs and using their own morals, practicing what pertains to war within the territory. For one must either believe that they all excel in philosophy, or, having well despaired of this, believe that ^D the stone of Tantalus is suspended over the state by very thin threads. For then will they first attack, when they see their own...

^A strength, and as it is their own, to grant exemption from service to many who ask for it, and to release those in the country to other matters—what is this other than the hastening of men to destruction? It is necessary, before the Scythians come here bearing iron, to ask for the men who are to fight for the dear fields, and to enlist them to such a degree that we might also rouse the philosopher from his study, and the craftsman from his trade, and him who spends his time in the market-place 46, as well as the drone-like populace 47, who live out their lives in the theaters in utter idleness, and persuade them sometime to take thought, before they pass from laughter to lamentation, neither the inferior 48 sense of shame nor the superior being an obstacle to the strength becoming natural to the Romans. For it is appointed, just as in a household, and likewise in a state, that the part which defends is directed toward what is masculine, and that which is turned to the care of things within, toward the feminine. How, then, is it tolerable among you that the masculine should be elsewhere? Or how is it not more disgraceful to yield the most sovereign authority to others for the sake of martial ambition? But for my part, even if they won many victories for us, I should be ashamed of being benefited. That, however, ^B I know and I think... (for it is clear to everyone who possesses understanding) that, whenever these things which are called masculine and feminine are neither siblings nor otherwise of the same race, a small pretext will suffice for the armed to deem themselves masters of the city-dwelling, and the unwarlike will sometime be compelled to descend into armed conflict against those trained in the struggle of weapons. Before, therefore, we arrive at this, toward which it is proceeding, we must already regain the Roman spirit, and accustom...

NOTES OF DIONYSIUS PETAVIUS

^C ...and by the fair name of alliance they were oppressed by the interlopers and were divided. [...] The place of sale, where they gathered. A word is to be restored in Procopius, pg. 65: "It lay in the public square, and this was from the palace, and it was set forth not only for judicial but also for legislative sales." But the sentiment requires the word I mentioned. So it is in Asterius, bishop of Amasea, oration 5, and the free and honorable woman was silent like a slave of those in the marketplace.

^D (47) "But drones are sitting among us, having no sting; they who remain consume the labor of others without sharing in the toil. For it is not right that because of others the drones should be destroyed by great labor, while others without any toil should enjoy the honey."

(48) "Neither of the inferior..." He called them inferior on account of those drones and those idle in military matters.

^A Let them be driven away from the magistracies, and let them be cut off from the honors of the senate house, which formerly were a source of shame to the Romans, and appear to be among the most honorable things. For as things are now, I believe that Themis herself, the counselor, and God, the patron of war, hide themselves for shame whenever a man clad in a barbarian sheepskin coat leads men in military cloaks to war, or whenever someone, having cast off the hide that he was wearing, puts on a toga and deliberates on the state of affairs with the Roman magistrates, occupying the place of honor right next to the consul, while lawful men sit behind him. But these men, having stepped out of the senate house for a little while, are deep in their hides again, and when they are among their followers, they deride the toga, with which they say it is impossible to possess the facility of drawing a sword. But for my part, I wonder at our absurdity in many other ways, and not least in this. For every household ^B that is even slightly well-to-do possesses a Scythian slave; and for everyone, the table-preparer, the baker, and the wine-bearer is a Scythian. And among the footmen, all those who carry the low, folding stools on their shoulders, so that their masters might sit upon them in the streets, are all Scythians, as if it had been long ago ordained by our ancestors that this race is by nature fitted for, and most worthy of, servitude to the Romans. But to see these fair-haired men, wearing their hair in the Euboic fashion, being privately slaves to these very same people, while publicly they are magistrates—this is insolent, and I consider it the most paradoxical sight of all; and if this is not so, then I would not know what could be called an enigma. In Gaul, indeed, Crixus and Spartacus ^C took up arms ignominiously, so that they might become a purification for the Roman people in the theater, because they had played the runaway and harbored resentment against the laws, and... ^D

because they had stirred up a servile war, which at that time proved most disastrous for the Romans; and against them there was need for consuls, and generals, and the fortune of Pompey, since the city itself was all but utterly overthrown. Although those who revolted with Spartacus and Crixus were not of the same nation as they, nor even of the same nation as each other; yet the partnership of their fortune, having found an opportunity, produced a mutual agreement of spirits. For by nature, I believe, all slaves—once they hope to be masters of their own lords—are enemies. Are our own affairs, therefore, in the same state? Or are we, in truth, harboring a much more abundant crop of evils? For the authors of sedition among us are not merely two, nor are they ^B disreputable; rather, they are vast and detestable armies, united by kinship to our own slaves, who have by some unhappy fate burst into the Roman Empire, and they have leaders who possess the highest authority both among themselves and among us.

*Our own fault....*

You must persuade yourself that these men, whenever they wish, will make not only those whom they already possess, but also our own slaves, into soldiers—insolent and audacious men who will glut themselves with freedom through the most wicked deeds. Therefore, this fortification must be destroyed by you, and the external cause of the disease must be removed, before that hidden fracture gives an indication of itself; before the hostile spirit of these resident aliens reveals itself in the open. For just as incipient evils are overcome, so do they become firmly entrenched once they have progressed. The emperor must, therefore, first purge the camp, just as is usually done with a heap of grain, from which the darnel is sifted out, together with all else that grows in it to the ruin of the good and ^C genuine seed. But if I seem to you to be suggesting things that are no longer easy, you have not observed over what kind of men you are emperor, nor of what race I am instituting this discussion; a race, in fact, which the Romans overcame long ago, and from which the glory of their name spread far and wide among men. For they surpass all with whom they wage war, both in force and in counsel; and they have traversed the earth, as Homer says of the gods:

*Observing the laws of men, and likewise their impious deeds.*

By contrast, as Herodotus says—and we ourselves see—these Scythians are all seized by a womanish disease. For they are indeed those from whom slaves are chosen everywhere; who possess nothing anywhere on earth; on whose account the "Scythian desert" has become a proverb; who always flee their native soil; whom—as those who have handed down ancient history report—the Cimmerians first drove from their own ^D homes, and subsequently others, and sometimes women, and our own ancestors, and the Macedonian; by whom some were...

^A driven away to the peoples who are in the regions beyond them; while others, in turn, were pushed away toward those who were on this side. And they do not cease until they have been driven by those who push from both sides onto those who stand in their way. But when they fall suddenly upon those who are not expecting them, they cause disturbance for a time, just as they did of old to the Assyrians, and the Medes, and the Palestinians. And now, indeed, they have come to us—not desiring to wage war, but as suppliants—after they were once again driven from their own dwellings.

But when they encountered the Romans, they were met not by arms, but by character; such as was perhaps fitting to show toward suppliants. For this rude and ignorant race of men began, as was likely, to display something of their true nature, behaving themselves more insolently and repaying kindness with injury. For which reasons, when he set out with arms against them, your father exacted penalties from them, and immediately the wretches sat as suppliants with their wives. But he, being victorious in war, was utterly overcome by pity. So, he ordered the suppliants to rise, received them into the fellowship of war and citizenship, and made them partakers of the magistracies, and distributed some of the Roman land to these pests of the republic—the man turning the magnificence and generosity of his disposition toward gentleness and clemency. But barbarians in no way grasp the meaning of virtue. ^B For, beginning from that time and continuing to this very day, they mock us, being conscious among themselves both of what they have deserved from us and of what they have received at our hands. The report of this matter has also opened the way for their neighbors to approach us; and from among the foreigners, some horse-archers, having abandoned their fatherland, set out toward a people too easygoing, requesting that they be greeted graciously and kindly, having those earlier ones held up to them as an example. So that the evil itself seems to advance toward what the common people call "persuasion joined with necessity." For as regards philosophy, one should not fight much over names, for it seeks words to serve as the ministers of its judgments, even if it be necessary to recruit them from the lowest dregs of the people for the sake of explaining matters clearly and consistently. How then is it not most difficult, with the glory of the name recovered, ^C to "drive hence the dogs of baleful fate?"

If you would listen to me, that very task which appears laborious will seem most easy: by having the military numbers increased, and through these both spirits and proper armies forged, add to the empire that which fell away long ago, which Homer also attributes to the most excellent of men as a kind of distinction: "Great is the wrath of a god-nurtured king."

Therefore, there is need of wrath against these men; and they shall either till the earth by command, just as the Messenians of old, having laid down their arms, served the Lacedaemonians; or they will take the same road by which they came and flee, and carry word to those who dwell across the river that ^D there is no longer such mildness among the Romans; but that their prince is a certain generous young man. [index: entries preserved]

^A A fierce man, who might perhaps even attack one who is blameless. Very well, this is the upbringing and training of a warlike prince. Let us next discuss the peaceful king.

16. The warlike prince should be, more than anything, a lover of peace. For only he who is able to punish those who provoke him can truly keep the peace. And I would say that a king who has equipped himself in every way for the sake of peace is he who, while not wishing to do injustice, has provided himself with the power not to suffer it. For he will be forced to wage war if he does not have the power to do so. Now, peace is more blessed than war, since even the things of war are prepared for the sake of peace. Therefore, a destination is rightly preferred over the things that are for its sake. It is proper, then, for the body of the empire, divided as it is into the armed and unarmed populace, for the king to give himself in turn to each part; making himself available first to the soldiers and then to the cities and peoples, to whom we have provided safety for agriculture and civic life through the work of the soldiers. He shall be present to as many of the nations as possible, and to as many of the cities; and where he cannot reach personally, he shall provide for those subjects by the most excellent and manifest means available.

17. Now the matter of embassies is, in other respects, something sacred, and, furthermore, it is worth the whole prize. By communicating through them, the king will know what is far off no less than what is near, nor will he limit his care for the empire to what he can see. He will restore what has collapsed, even if he has not seen it; he will grant largesse to the suffering peoples; he will release those long afflicted by public burdens; he will anticipate wars that are imminent, or cancel those already declared and inflamed; and he will provide for other things prudently. These things he will be able to do through the benefit of the embassies, ^C like God, "To see all things and hear all things." Let him be accessible and a father as mild to those who are neighbors and to those who are not. For we have heard this said by Homer definitively concerning the peaceful king of his time.

18. And first of all, the soldiers must be ordered to spare the citizens and the country folk, and to be as little bothersome as possible, mindful of those for whose sake they have taken up these labors. For in order that the goods of the city and the land might be preserved, the king fights on their behalf and enrolls those who are to wage war. Whoever, therefore, wards off the foreign enemy from me, but does not conduct himself moderately toward me, seems to me to differ in no way from a dog that drives the wolves as far away as possible only so that it may, at its leisure, tear the flock to pieces, when instead it ought to be satisfied with the milk as a reward for its guardianship. An accurate peace, therefore, is for the soldiers to be trained to treat the unarmed as brothers, being content only with those rations which have been appointed for them.

^A For if a ruler is good, where is there need for vast sums of money? He does not abandon himself to prodigal works due to a weakness of character, nor does he prefer vainglorious ambition to sober necessity, nor, with a youthful mind, does he squander the sweat of the industrious upon theatrical entertainments; nor is he brought into the necessity of frequent wars, which the Laconian says are not to be fed by set rations. For my discourse has already made the good man secure against plot and assault. ^B Therefore, if he is reduced to what is necessary, there will be no need for the superfluous. He can be a most gentle collector even of these, relaxing the levies in the face of deficits and contenting himself with what is proportionate to the means of those who contribute. But a king who is a lover of money is more disgraceful than a huckster; for the one relieves the poverty of his household, but in the other the wickedness of mind is without any excuse.

I myself, frequently examining each of the classes of our society, and seeing what kind of men it provides us who have spent themselves therein, it seems to me, and even to commoners, that this money-grubbing race ^C is more ignoble, malicious, and utterly illiberal than all others, and would only find a place in a state that is diseased, and not one that is entirely without shame. For they themselves are the first to despise themselves, because they have adopted designs contrary to the will of nature regarding that which is primary and that which is last; since nature has ordered the body for the service of the soul, and external things for the need of the body, and has given the latter a secondary place; but these men subordinate both body and soul to the third. Having therefore dishonored themselves, and having made their governing part a slave, what great and noble thing could they ever do ^D or deliberate upon? I do not blush to tell the truth, pronouncing them more ignoble and more foolish than ants. For the former measure wealth by the need of life; but the latter deem that life should be measured by the need of wealth.

Therefore, he must remove this grievous plague from himself and from his subjects, so that a good prince may rule over good men, and he must introduce a zeal for virtue, in which the king himself should be both a contestant and the judge of the contest. For it is disgraceful, as someone said, that there should be public contests for javelin-throwing and fighting, and that there should even be crowns for those who win in these, but that there should be no such contests for temperance and virtue. It is likely, or rather more than likely, and indeed absolutely necessary, that if cities follow a king who is disposed in such a way, they will recover that most ancient—I mean the golden—and most celebrated life.

^A For it also pertains to the Word that the divine is recognized by the honoring of a pious king and is bound to such a one by ineffable unions. From this, then, besides being beloved of God, he is more than anything else a philanthropist; for of whatever character the king is found to be, such he appears to those who are ruled. But in this, what is it unlikely should be present of those things which are necessary? And my argument turns back to the things mentioned a little before.

^B 20. We stipulated that beneficence is the character of royalty, and we placed in it that he should be again a generous bestower of good things, ^C and merciful, echoing the appellations of God. Therefore these very things, and whatever was said along with them before we undertook to fashion the king in our discourse, let them now be arranged into parts and let them fill out this likeness. The sum of these was briefly this: that such a prince, while being endowed in his soul with liberality in the bestowing of benefits, should none the more be wearied by this, any more than the sun is [wearied] while pouring its rays upon plants and living things. For it is no labor for him to shine, since he contains brightness and is the very fountain of light in his nature. And so, having introduced himself into this type of life, he will adorn everything through himself, to the extent that it reaches the one being ruled. And those near to his throne, who are second after him but first among the others, he will compose by the royal moderation of his soul, [making them] studious of helping men in proportion to each one’s granted capacity. For indeed the care for relieving men proceeds so much further, the more [people] it has been entrusted to.

21. Beyond these things, in such a magnitude of empire, governors of foreign provinces must be sent out. Furthermore, a selection of magistrates for the administration of justice must be made, because this providence is divine and magnificent. For to want to know every place, and man, and controversy, requires the greatest roaming about everywhere; and not even Dionysius ^D himself, when he had established an empire of one island—and not even the whole of that one—could be sufficient to administer it. But through the intervention of a few curators, it is possible to undertake the care of many men. They called this divine and universal providence, which, remaining in solid and established character, and being intent upon even the smallest parts, so that not even the smallest parts escape it. Using the same for the conducting of affairs, the divine numen does not itself pursue every minute thing that is in these lower realms, but uses nature as a hand, remaining constantly in its own character, and it is the cause of good things down to the very end, being the cause of all causes. In this way, the care of the universe must be pursued by the king. Let him have the most just and best rulers possible, among whom he may distribute the empire. For he will know a few more easily than many, and he will perceive the errors or successes of a few more easily. Let the selection of rulers, then, be based on excellence, and not on wealth, as it is now; since we entrust the body even to a physician, not to the wealthiest, but...

^A to whoever is most skilled in his art. A ruler should be chosen even more from those possessing the governing science, because there is greater risk of things being handled worse or better by him. For tell me, if someone has amassed wealth from the very fact that he is wicked, is it worthy for him to rule, rather than a poor man who is law-abiding and just, who, for that very reason of being just, is not ashamed to dwell in poverty? But that one, being wealthy in any fashion, and having purchased the office, would not know what sort of a dispenser of justice he should be. For it is apparent, so to speak, that such a man would not easily hate injustice, and would be slow to despise money, and certainly would make the judgment seat a marketplace; since it is not likely that he, having bought it, would look upon gold with stern eyes. On the contrary, he would feel reverence and yield, and finally embrace the one to whom he is grateful for this very reason: that he exchanged the administration [or power] for a portion of wealth, and, as with anything else, has rented out the cities. He knows, then, that for this reason he is considered venerable, and sits on high, gazed upon by both the common crowd and by the well-born, whether just or poor.

But you, do something that makes virtue zealous, even if it dwells in poverty. Do not let the prudence of a man, and his justice, and the whole flock of his spiritual goods, escape you while hidden in a lowly garment; but draw him into the midst and deem it worthy to make virtue public, which is not fit to stay at home, but to be ^B under the open sky and in the arena. For know well, you shall herald those men at the present moment, but you yourself shall be heralded for all time, as a model of a happy kingdom in the succession of time. If you do this, you will quickly see many who are ashamed of having produced wealth, and others who pride themselves on voluntary beggary; and the perceptions currently held by men regarding them will be reversed, so that the finding of wealth will be a disgrace, and poverty will be kept in the rank of dignity. For of the many enviable and blessed things that God has given to the kingdom, no less—if not indeed more—than all the rest, would one admire and praise that power which the king holds over the souls of his subjects: for the king changes the opinion of character, which has been burned into [men] by ancient custom and by former indulgence, by the fact of appearing to honor and hold in highest regard the opposite things. For whatever the king enjoys, that must immediately grow and be practiced by the majority.

^C 22. But having reached this point in the discourse, I wish to offer some prayers also on behalf of my own favorites. I pray, O King, that you may be seized by a love of philosophy and true education. For of necessity, from what I have said, there will be many fellow-lovers [rivals], from which there is also benefit. For now...