Dio. It is no outsider that you will be reading to, my good friend; and, at the same time, it is not the style that I am anxious to observe so much as what his state of mind was as revealed by what he said, whether he was really of good cheer and courageous on his deathbed.
[8] καὶ θαρρῶν ἀπέθνησκεν. — Τ. Ἀλλ̓ ἔστι ταῦτα: ῾Τὰ μὲν καθ̓ [p. 297] ἡμᾶς οὕτω γέγονεν ὡς ἔδοξε τῷ θεῷ, χρὴ δὲ μηδὲν τῶν ὑπ̓ ἐκείνου γιγνομένων χαλεπὸν ἡγεῖσθαι μηδὲ δυσχερῶς φέρειν, ὡς παραινοῦσιν ἄλλοι τε σοφοὶ καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα Ὅμηρος, λέγων μηδαμῇ ἀπόβλητα εἶναι ἀνθρώποις τὰ θεῶν δῶρα, καλῶς ὀνομάζων δῶρα τὰ ἔργα τῶν θεῶν, ὡς ἅπαντα ἀγαθὰ ὄντα καὶ ἐπ̓ ἀγαθῷ γιγνόμενα.
[8] Tim. Well, here it is:
The Dying Words of Charidemus
“What has happened to me has happened in accordance with God’s will; and we should not consider anything that he brings to pass as harsh, nor bear it with repining: so wise men advise us, and Homer not least when he says that the gifts of the gods to man should not be spurned by man — rightly calling the acts of the gods ‘gifts,’ as being all good and done for a good purpose.
[9] ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οὕτω φρονῶ καὶ δέχομαι πρᾴως τὴν πεπρωμένην, οὐκ ἐν ἑτέρῳ καιρῷ ταῦτα λέγων, ἀλλὰ παρούσης τε αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν τελευτὴν ὁρῶν οὕτως ἐγγύθεν. ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐμοὶ πιστεύοντες, ἐπειδὴ καὶ μᾶλλον ὑμῶν ἐπεμελήθην ἀληθείας, καθ̓ ὅσον οἷοί τέ ἐστε, μὴ συγχωρεῖτε τῇ ἀλγηδόνι, ὡς μηδενὸς ἐμοὶ δεινοῦ συμβεβηκότος,
[9] As for me, this is my feeling, and I accept the decree of fate calmly, saying this, not at any ordinary time, but when that fate itself is present, and I see my end so near at hand. And do you, I pray, believe me, since I have had even greater concern for the truth than for you, and, so far as in you lies, do not give way to your grief, knowing that nothing terrible has befallen me; no, not even if one offers the explanation of death which is the most difficult to accept.
[10] μηδὲ εἴ τις ἐπὶ τὸν δυσχερέστατον ἔλθοι τῶν λόγων ῾λέξω δὲ αὐτὸν ὑμῖν οὔτι που τερπνὸν ὄντα οὐδὲ χαρίεντα: οὐ γὰρ οἶμαι πρὸς χάριν τὴν ἡμετέραν γέγονεν: ἔχοντα δέ τι θαυμαστὸν ἴσως᾿ ὅτι τοῦ τῶν Τιτάνων αἵματός ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς ἅπαντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι. ὡς οὖν ἐκείνων ἐχθρῶν ὄντων τοῖς θεοῖς καὶ πολεμησάντων οὐδὲ ἡμεῖς φίλοι ἐσμέν, ἀλλὰ κολαζόμεθά τε ὑπ̓ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ γεγόναμεν, ἐν φρουρᾷ δὴ ὄντες ἐν τῷ βίῳ τοσοῦτον χρόνον ὅσον ἕκαστοι ζῶμεν. τοὺς δὲ ἀποθνῄσκοντας ἡμῶν κεκολασμένους ἤδη
[10] This explanation I will now give to you, although it is very likely not at all cheering, nor pleasing — for I imagine it was not devised to please us — and it has something of the marvellous about it perhaps. It is to the effect that all we human beings are of the blood of the Titans. Then, because they were hateful to the gods and had waged war on them, we are not dear to them either, but are punished by them and have been born for chastisement, being, in truth, imprisoned in life for as long a time as we each live. And when any of us die, it means that we, having already been sufficiently chastised, are released and go our way.
[11] ἱκανῶς λύεσθαί τε καὶ ἀπαλλάττεσθαι. εἶναι δὲ τὸν μὲν τόπον τοῦτον, ὃν κόσμον ὀνομάζομεν, δεσμωτήριον ὑπὸ τῶν θεῶν κατεσκευασμένον χαλεπόν τε καὶ δυσάερον, οὐδέποτε τὴν αὐτὴν κρᾶσίν τε καὶ στάσιν τοῦ ἀέρος φυλάττον, ἀλλὰ ποτὲ μὲν ψυχρόν τε καὶ παγερόν, ἀνέμου τε καὶ πηλοῦ καὶ χιόνος καὶ ὕδατος ἐμπεπλησμένον, ποτὲ δὲ αὖ θερμόν τε καὶ πνιγηρόν: μικρὸν δὲ τινα παντελῶς καιρὸν τοῦ ἔτους μετρίως ἔχειν: κατασκήπτειν δὲ καὶ πρηστῆρας ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τυφῶνας ἐγγίγνεσθαι καὶ πολλάκις σείεσθαι κάτωθεν ὅλον. ταῦτα δὲ
[11] This place which we call the universe, they tell us, is a prison prepared by the gods, a grievous and ill-ventilated one, which never keeps the same temperature and condition of its air, but at one time is cold and frosty, and infected with wind, mud, snow, and water, and at another time is hot and stifling; for just a very little time of the year it is endurable; it is visited by cyclones, typhoons occur, and sometimes the whole of it quakes to the very bottom. Now all these are terrible punishments.
[12] πάντα εἶναι κολάσεις δεινάς. ἐκπλήττεσθαι γὰρ ἑκάστοτε ὑπ̓ αὐτῶν καὶ φοβεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὁπότε συμβαίνοι. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις οὐκ ἀνεχομένους τοῦ ἀέρος τὴν φαυλότητα καὶ τὰς μεταβολὰς ἕτερα αὖ μηχανᾶσθαι μικρὰ δεσμωτήρια, τάς τε οἰκίας καὶ πόλεις, ξύλα καὶ λίθους ξυντιθέντας, ὥσπερ εἴ τις ἐν μεγάλῃ εἱρκτῇ ἑτέρας βραχυτέρας ἐνοικοδομοῖ: καὶ τὰ φυόμενα ταῦτα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν τὸν ἐκ γῆς ἕνεκα τοῦ παραμένειν ἡμᾶς γίγνεσθαι, καθάπερ δεσμώταις [p. 298] τροφὴν διδομένην ἀηδῆ τε καὶ φαύλην: ἡμᾶς δὲ ἄλλως ἀγαπᾶν διὰ
[12] For men are invariably dismayed and terrified by them whenever they occur. Then in addition to all this, because men cannot endure the bad air and changes of temperature, they devise for themselves other small prisons, namely, their houses and cities, which they construct of timber and stone, just as if a person should build other smaller enclosures inside of a large one.
And the plants which grow all about us and the fruits of the earth are created, they assure us, simply in order that we may serve out our time here. They are just like the unappetizing and wretched food which is given to prisoners, but we nevertheless put up with it on account of the necessity which is upon us and our helplessness.
[13] τὴν ἀνάγκην τε καὶ ἀπορίαν. καὶ γὰρ τοῖς ὑφ̓ ἡμῶν κολαζομένοις, ἅττ̓ ἂν παράσχῃ τις, ὑπὸ λιμοῦ καὶ συνηθείας ἡδέα φαίνεσθαι. καὶ ταῦτα τὰ σιτία τῇ μὲν ἀληθείᾳ πονηρὰ εἶναι καὶ διεφθορότα ῾δηλοῦσθαι δὲ τὴν διαφθορὰν ἐκ τῆς τῶν σωμάτων ἀσθενείας᾿, ἔτι δὲ μηδὲ ἐξ ἑτοίμου πορίζεσθαι μηδὲ πᾶσιν ἄφθονα ὑπάρχειν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ἀμηχάνων πόνων καὶ κακῶν. ξυγκεῖσθαι δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐξ
[13] For in the case of men who are being punished by us, whatever is furnished appears appetizing because they are hungry and used to it. These foods are in reality bad and spoiled, and that they are spoiled is shown by the frailty of our bodies. And, further, it is not even furnished us ready at hand, nor yet supplied in abundance to everyone, but must be won with intolerable toil and hardships.
“Also, we are composed of the very things which torture us, namely, soul and body.
[14] αὐτῶν δὴ τῶν βασανιζόντων, ψυχῆς τ
ε καὶ σώματος. τὴν μὲν γὰρ ἐπιθυμίας τε καὶ λύπας καὶ ὀργὰς καὶ φόβους καὶ φροντίδας καὶ μυρία πάθη τοιαῦτα ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῇ, καὶ δἰ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ὑπὸ τούτων ἀεὶ κατατείνεσθαι καὶ στρεβλοῦσθαι ῾καὶ γὰρ ὅστις ἐπιεικέστερον διάκειται, καθόλου μὲν ἀπήλλακται τούτων οὐδενός, ὥσπερ δὲ θηρία ἔνδον κατακεκλεισμένα ἔχει, μετὰ βίας ὁμοῦ καὶ πειθοῦς τινος ἠναγκασμένα ἠρεμεῖν: εἰ δὲ καὶ σμικρὸν παύσαιτο
[14] For the one has within it desires, pains, angers, fear, worries, and countless such feelings; and by day and by night it is ever racked and wrenched by them. Even the man who is of a better bodily condition than most, is free from none whatever of these troubles, but has them shut up within him just like wild animals compelled to keep quiet by force and persuasion alike; but if he stops singing charms to them and watching them, for even a short time, they instantly become very active.
[15] κατεπᾴδων καὶ προσέχων, αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα κινούμενἀ: τὸ δὲ σῶμα ἰλίγγους τε καὶ σπασμοὺς καὶ ἐπιληψίας καὶ τἄλλα νοσήματα, ὅσα δὲ οὐδὲ τῷ λόγῳ δυνατὸν διελθεῖν, ὡς ἂν αἵματος καὶ πνεύματος μεστόν, ἔτι δὲ ἐκ σαρκῶν τε καὶ νεύρων καὶ ὀστέων συγκείμενον, ἐκ μαλακῶν τε καὶ σκληρῶν καὶ ὑγρῶν καὶ ξηρῶν, ἐκ τῶν ἐναντιωτάτων. τά τε σιτία, ὅπερ εἶπον, μοχθηρὰ ὄντα καὶ τὸν ἀέρα ἀνώμαλον προσπίπτοντα τὰς μὲν ἐπιτείνειν τῶν νόσων, τὰς δὲ ἀνακινεῖν, οὐ δοκούσας μὲν εἶναι πρότερον, ἐνούσας δὲ ἐν τῇ φύσει
[15] Our body too is subject to vertigo, convulsions, epilepsy, and other diseases, so numerous that it is not even possible to enumerate them, since it is full of blood and air, and, further, is composed of flesh and sinews and bones, of both soft and hard things, of moist and dry things, complete opposites. Then our foods, as I said, being bad and the weather variable, aggravate some of our diseases and bring us others, which, though they do not seem to be there at first, yet are actually inherent in the nature of our bodies. These are the evils which lie within our own selves.
[16] τῶν σωμάτων. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἔνδον ἐγκεῖσθαι τὰ κακὰ ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς, ἐλαφροτέρας δὲ τὰς ἔξωθεν κολάσεις, εἴ τις αὐτὰς παραβάλλοι ταῖς ἐκ τῆς φύσεως. ἡ γὰρ πυρός τε καὶ σιδήρου φύσις καὶ πληγῶν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὀξεῖα καὶ ταχὺ ἀπαλλάττει τῆς αἰσθήσεως, εἴ τις καὶ σμικρὸν ὑπερβάλοι: ἐν δὲ ταῖς νόσοις ἐνίοτε
[16] The other chastisements, which come from without, are lighter in comparison with those that come from our own nature. For the effect of fire or steel, of blows, or of other things is sharp and quickly passes from consciousness even if it becomes at any time a little excessive. But in the case of diseases sometimes the effects last for a very long time.
[17] παρατείνουσι καὶ πάνυ πολὺν χρόνον. τοιαῖσδε μὲν δὴ καὶ τοσαῖσδε βασάνοις ξυνεχομένους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐν τῇδε τῇ φρουρᾷ καὶ τῷδε τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ μένειν τὸν τεταγμένον ἕκαστον χρόνον, καὶ μὴ πρὶν ἀπιέναι τοὺς πολλοὺς πρὶν ἂν ἐξ αὑτοῦ ποιησάμενος ἄλλον ἀνθ̓ ἑαυτοῦ καταλίπῃ διάδοχον τῆς κολάσεως, οἱ μὲν ἕνα, [p. 299] οἱ δὲ καὶ πλείους. μένειν δὲ οὐχ ἑκόντας, ἀλλὰ μιᾷ πάντας ἁλύσει δεδέσθαι τά τε σώματα καὶ τὰς ψυχάς, καθάπερ καὶ ἐφ̓ ἡμῶν ἰδεῖν ἔστιν ἐν ἁλύσει μιᾷ δεδεμένους πολλοὺς ἐφεξῆς, τοὺς μὲν αὐτῶν σμικρούς, τοὺς δὲ μεγάλους, καὶ τοὺς μὲν αἰσχρούς, τοὺς δ̓ εὐπρεπεῖς, οὐδὲν δὲ ἧττον ἅπαντας ἐπ̓ ἴσης ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ ἀνάγκῃ
[17] “Such, then, are the tortures, and so numerous, by which men are afflicted while they remain in this prison and dungeon, each for his appointed time; and the majority do not get out until they produce another person from their own loins and leave him to succeed to the punishment in their stead, some leaving one and others even more. They do not stay voluntarily, but are all bound fast by one chain, body and soul, just as you may see many persons bound by us by one chain in a row, some of them small, some large, some ugly and some good looking; but none the less all of them are held on equal terms in the same constraint.
[18] ἔχεσθαι. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ταῖς τύχαις τε καὶ δόξαις καὶ τιμαῖς ἀλλήλων ὑπερέχειν, ὥσπερ τοῖς σώμασιν. εἶναι γὰρ τοὺς μὲν βασιλέας, τοὺς δὲ ἰδιώτας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν πλουσίους, τοὺς δὲ ἀπόρους. καὶ οὐδέν γε παρὰ τοῦτο ἔλαττον κακοπαθεῖν καὶ συνέχεσθαι τῷ αὐτῷ δεσμῷ τοὺς εὐδαίμονας καλουμένους τῶν πενήτων τε καὶ ἀδόξων,
[18] “And, likewise, men are superior one to the other in their fortunes, reputations, and honours, just as they are in their bodies. Some of them are kings, others are in private station, some are wealthy, and others are without means. Yet no whit less on this account do the fortunate, as they are called, suffer and are held fast in the same bondage, than do the poor and unknown, nay, they suffer more than the others.
[19] ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τούτων ἐκείνους. ἰσχνοτέροις γὰρ οὖσιν αὐτοῖς κεχαλάσθαι τὸν δεσμὸν καὶ λαγαρώτερον ἑκάστῳ περικεῖσθαι: τοῖς δὲ βασιλεῦσι καὶ τυράννοις, οἷα δὴ πεφυσημένοις τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ σφόδρα εὐεκτοῦσι, μᾶλλον ἐγκεῖσθαι καὶ θλίβειν: ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς τὰ σώματα δεδεμένοις τοὺς παχεῖς τε καὶ ὀγκώδεις τῶν λεπτῶν τε καὶ ἀτρόφων μᾶλλον ὁ δεσμὸς πιέζει: τινὰς μέντοι καὶ λίαν ὀλίγους πάρεσίν τινα ἔχειν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ δεδέσθαι μέν, ἐλαφρῶς δὲ
[19] For since the poor are leaner, the bond which lies about each of them is looser and easier. But as for kings and tyrants, just because they are puffed up in soul and are in exceedingly good bodily condition, so the chains lie heavier upon them and gall them the more; exactly as in the case of persons whose bodies are bound, the fetter pinches the stout and bulky more than it does the thin and under-nourished. However, a very few enjoy some relief by the kindness of God; and while they are indeed bound, yet the bond is very light on account of their goodness — a class of men concerning whom we shall speak again.
[20] πάνυ δἰ ἐπιείκειαν: ὑπὲρ ὧν αὖθις λέξομεν. πρότερον δὲ εἰπεῖν ἄξιον, ὡς ἐγώ ποτε ἤκουσα ἀνδρὸς ἀγύρτου παῖς ὤν, ὁποίαν τινὰ ἔφασκεν εἶναι τὴν ἅλυσιν, οὔτι που ταῖσδε ὁμοίαν, ἐκ σιδήρου τε καὶ χαλκοῦ πεποιημένην, πολὺ μέντοι κραταιοτέραν, τὸ δὲ σχῆμα καὶ τὴν πλοκὴν παραπλησίαν. ὥσπερ γὰρ αἵδε εἰσὶν ἐκ κρίκων τιν
ῶν κεχαλκευμέναι δἰ ἀλλήλων διαβεβλημένων, καὶ τοῦτο ἀπ̓ ἀρχῆς μέχρι τέλους: οὕτω δὴ κἀκείνην ἔχειν, ᾗ δὴ ἔφαμεν τοὺς
[20] “But first it is right to say that once when a child I heard a wandering philosopher explain what the nature of the chain is, that it is not at all like such chains as we have, made of iron or bronze as our chains are, but much stronger, and yet similar in form and construction. For just as our chains are forged out of a number of links that are interlocked with one another, and that from one end to the other; so too is that other one by which we asserted that men are bound by the gods.
[21] ἀνθρώπους ὑπὸ τῶν θεῶν δεδέσθαι. συνηρτῆσθαι δὲ αὐτὴν ἅπασαν ἐξ ἡδονῆς τε καὶ λύπης, καὶ ταῦτα ἐξ ἀλλήλων πεπλέχθαι, τό τε ἡδὺ καὶ λυπηρόν, καὶ τῷ ἑτέρῳ τὸ ἕτερον ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀεὶ ἀκολουθεῖν, ὥσπερ οἶμαι τοὺς κρίκους τῆς ἁλύσεως: ἕπεσθαι δὲ ταῖς μὲν μεγάλαις ἡδοναῖς μεγάλας λύπας, ταῖς δὲ σμικραῖς σμικροτέρας, καὶ τήν γε μεγίστην ἡδονὴν ἐπὶ τέλους εἶναι τὸν θάνατον. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ λύπην πρὸ αὐτοῦ συμβαίνειν μεγίστην: δῆλον γὰρ [p. 300] ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρώπῳ μείζων ταύτης τῆς λύπης καὶ ὀδύνης τῆς
[21] This chain, he said, is composed entirely of both pleasure and pain, and these things are intertwined, the pleasant and the painful, and the one always of necessity follows the other, just as, I suppose, are the links of a chain. Great pleasures are followed by great pains, the small pleasures by smaller pains, and very greatest pleasure at the end is death. This is the reason that the pain which comes before death is the greatest; for it is clear that man has no greater pain and suffering than this which ends in death.
Delphi Complete Works of Dio Chrysostom Page 257