1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
1083
1084
1085
1086
1087
1088
1089
1090
1091
1092
1093
1094
1095
1096
1097
1098
1099
1100
1101
1102
1103
1104
1105
1106
1107
1108
1109
1110
1111
1112
1113
1114
1115
1116
1117
1118
1119
1120
1121
1122
1123
1124
1125
1126
1127
1128
1129
1130
1131
1132
1133
1134
1135
1136
1137
1138
1139
1140
1141
1142
1143
1144
1145
1146
1147
1148
1149
1150
1151
1152
1153
1154
1155
1156
1157
1158
1159
1160
1161
1162
1163
1164
1165
1166
1167
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172
1173
1174
1175
1176
1177
1178
1179
1180
1181
1182
1183
1184
1185
1186
1187
1188
1189
1190
1191
1192
1193
1194
1195
1196
1197
1198
1199
1200
1201
1202
1203
1204
1205
1206
1207
1208
1209
1210
1211
1212
1213
1214
1215
1216
1217
1218
1219
1220
1221
1222
1223
1224
1225
1226
1227
1228
1229
1230
1231
1232
1233
1234
1235
1236
1237
1238
1239
1240
1241
1242
1243
1244
1245
1246
1247
1248
1249
1250
1251
1252
1253
1254
1255
1256
1257
1258
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263
1264
1265
1266
1267
1268
1269
1270
1271
1272
1273
1274
1275
1276
1277
1278
1279
1280
1281
1282
1283
1284
1285
1286
1287
1288
1289
1290
1291
1292
1293
1294
1295
1296
1297
1298
1299
1300
1301
1302
1303
1304
1305
1306
1307
1308
1309
1310
1311
1312
1313
1314
1315
1316
1317
1318
1319
1320
1321
1322
1323
1324
1325
1326
1327
1328
1329
1330
1331
1332
1333
1334
1335
1336
1337
1338
1339
1340
1341
1342
1343
1344
1345
1346
1347
1348
1349
1350
1351
1352
1353
1354
1355
1356
1357
1358
1359
1360
1361
1362
1363
1364
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389
1390
1391
1392
1393
1394
1395
1396
1397
1398
1399
1400
1401
1402
1403
1404
1405
1406
1407
1408
1409
1410
1411
1412
1413
1414
1415
1416
1417
1418
1419
1420
1421
1422
1423
1424
1425
1426
1427
1428
1429
1430
1431
1432
1433
1434
1435
1436
1437
1438
1439
1440
1441
1442
1443
1444
1445
1446
1447
1448
1449
1450
1451
1452
1453
1454
1455
1456
1457
1458
1459
1460
1461
1462
1463
1464
1465
1466
1467
|
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?>
<!DOCTYPE html
PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
<head>
<title>
Menexenus, by Plato
</title>
<style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
.foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
.mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
.toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
.toc2 { margin-left: 20%;}
div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
.figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
.figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
.pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
text-align: right;}
pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Menexenus, by Plato
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Menexenus
Author: Plato
Translator: Benjamin Jowett
Release Date: October 23, 2008 [EBook #1682]
Last Updated: January 15, 2013
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MENEXENUS ***
Produced by Sue Asscher, and David Widger
</pre>
<p>
<br /><br />
</p>
<h1>
MENEXENUS
</h1>
<p>
<br />
</p>
<h2>
by Plato
</h2>
<h4>
(see Appendix I)
</h4>
<p>
<br />
</p>
<h3>
Translated by Benjamin Jowett
</h3>
<p>
<br /> <br />
</p>
<hr />
<p>
<br /> <br />
</p>
<h3>
Contents
</h3>
<table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
<tr>
<td>
<p class="toc">
<a href="#link2H_APPE"> APPENDIX I. </a>
</p>
<p class="toc">
<a href="#link2H_4_0002"> MENEXENUS </a>
</p>
<p class="toc">
<a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION. </a>
</p>
<p class="toc">
<a href="#link2H_4_0004"> PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Socrates and
Menexenus. </a>
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<br /> <br />
</p>
<hr />
<p>
<br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_APPE" id="link2H_APPE">
<!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
</p>
<h2>
APPENDIX I.
</h2>
<p>
It seems impossible to separate by any exact line the genuine writings of
Plato from the spurious. The only external evidence to them which is of
much value is that of Aristotle; for the Alexandrian catalogues of a
century later include manifest forgeries. Even the value of the
Aristotelian authority is a good deal impaired by the uncertainty
concerning the date and authorship of the writings which are ascribed to
him. And several of the citations of Aristotle omit the name of Plato, and
some of them omit the name of the dialogue from which they are taken.
Prior, however, to the enquiry about the writings of a particular author,
general considerations which equally affect all evidence to the
genuineness of ancient writings are the following: Shorter works are more
likely to have been forged, or to have received an erroneous designation,
than longer ones; and some kinds of composition, such as epistles or
panegyrical orations, are more liable to suspicion than others; those,
again, which have a taste of sophistry in them, or the ring of a later
age, or the slighter character of a rhetorical exercise, or in which a
motive or some affinity to spurious writings can be detected, or which
seem to have originated in a name or statement really occurring in some
classical author, are also of doubtful credit; while there is no instance
of any ancient writing proved to be a forgery, which combines excellence
with length. A really great and original writer would have no object in
fathering his works on Plato; and to the forger or imitator, the 'literary
hack' of Alexandria and Athens, the Gods did not grant originality or
genius. Further, in attempting to balance the evidence for and against a
Platonic dialogue, we must not forget that the form of the Platonic
writing was common to several of his contemporaries. Aeschines, Euclid,
Phaedo, Antisthenes, and in the next generation Aristotle, are all said to
have composed dialogues; and mistakes of names are very likely to have
occurred. Greek literature in the third century before Christ was almost
as voluminous as our own, and without the safeguards of regular
publication, or printing, or binding, or even of distinct titles. An
unknown writing was naturally attributed to a known writer whose works
bore the same character; and the name once appended easily obtained
authority. A tendency may also be observed to blend the works and opinions
of the master with those of his scholars. To a later Platonist, the
difference between Plato and his imitators was not so perceptible as to
ourselves. The Memorabilia of Xenophon and the Dialogues of Plato are but
a part of a considerable Socratic literature which has passed away. And we
must consider how we should regard the question of the genuineness of a
particular writing, if this lost literature had been preserved to us.
</p>
<p>
These considerations lead us to adopt the following criteria of
genuineness: (1) That is most certainly Plato's which Aristotle attributes
to him by name, which (2) is of considerable length, of (3) great
excellence, and also (4) in harmony with the general spirit of the
Platonic writings. But the testimony of Aristotle cannot always be
distinguished from that of a later age (see above); and has various
degrees of importance. Those writings which he cites without mentioning
Plato, under their own names, e.g. the Hippias, the Funeral Oration, the
Phaedo, etc., have an inferior degree of evidence in their favour. They
may have been supposed by him to be the writings of another, although in
the case of really great works, e.g. the Phaedo, this is not credible;
those again which are quoted but not named, are still more defective in
their external credentials. There may be also a possibility that Aristotle
was mistaken, or may have confused the master and his scholars in the case
of a short writing; but this is inconceivable about a more important work,
e.g. the Laws, especially when we remember that he was living at Athens,
and a frequenter of the groves of the Academy, during the last twenty
years of Plato's life. Nor must we forget that in all his numerous
citations from the Platonic writings he never attributes any passage found
in the extant dialogues to any one but Plato. And lastly, we may remark
that one or two great writings, such as the Parmenides and the Politicus,
which are wholly devoid of Aristotelian (1) credentials may be fairly
attributed to Plato, on the ground of (2) length, (3) excellence, and (4)
accordance with the general spirit of his writings. Indeed the greater
part of the evidence for the genuineness of ancient Greek authors may be
summed up under two heads only: (1) excellence; and (2) uniformity of
tradition—a kind of evidence, which though in many cases sufficient,
is of inferior value.
</p>
<p>
Proceeding upon these principles we appear to arrive at the conclusion
that nineteen-twentieths of all the writings which have ever been ascribed
to Plato, are undoubtedly genuine. There is another portion of them,
including the Epistles, the Epinomis, the dialogues rejected by the
ancients themselves, namely, the Axiochus, De justo, De virtute,
Demodocus, Sisyphus, Eryxias, which on grounds, both of internal and
external evidence, we are able with equal certainty to reject. But there
still remains a small portion of which we are unable to affirm either that
they are genuine or spurious. They may have been written in youth, or
possibly like the works of some painters, may be partly or wholly the
compositions of pupils; or they may have been the writings of some
contemporary transferred by accident to the more celebrated name of Plato,
or of some Platonist in the next generation who aspired to imitate his
master. Not that on grounds either of language or philosophy we should
lightly reject them. Some difference of style, or inferiority of
execution, or inconsistency of thought, can hardly be considered decisive
of their spurious character. For who always does justice to himself, or
who writes with equal care at all times? Certainly not Plato, who exhibits
the greatest differences in dramatic power, in the formation of sentences,
and in the use of words, if his earlier writings are compared with his
later ones, say the Protagoras or Phaedrus with the Laws. Or who can be
expected to think in the same manner during a period of authorship
extending over above fifty years, in an age of great intellectual
activity, as well as of political and literary transition? Certainly not
Plato, whose earlier writings are separated from his later ones by as wide
an interval of philosophical speculation as that which separates his later
writings from Aristotle.
</p>
<p>
The dialogues which have been translated in the first Appendix, and which
appear to have the next claim to genuineness among the Platonic writings,
are the Lesser Hippias, the Menexenus or Funeral Oration, the First
Alcibiades. Of these, the Lesser Hippias and the Funeral Oration are cited
by Aristotle; the first in the Metaphysics, the latter in the Rhetoric.
Neither of them are expressly attributed to Plato, but in his citation of
both of them he seems to be referring to passages in the extant dialogues.
From the mention of 'Hippias' in the singular by Aristotle, we may perhaps
infer that he was unacquainted with a second dialogue bearing the same
name. Moreover, the mere existence of a Greater and Lesser Hippias, and of
a First and Second Alcibiades, does to a certain extent throw a doubt upon
both of them. Though a very clever and ingenious work, the Lesser Hippias
does not appear to contain anything beyond the power of an imitator, who
was also a careful student of the earlier Platonic writings, to invent.
The motive or leading thought of the dialogue may be detected in Xen.
Mem., and there is no similar instance of a 'motive' which is taken from
Xenophon in an undoubted dialogue of Plato. On the other hand, the
upholders of the genuineness of the dialogue will find in the Hippias a
true Socratic spirit; they will compare the Ion as being akin both in
subject and treatment; they will urge the authority of Aristotle; and they
will detect in the treatment of the Sophist, in the satirical reasoning
upon Homer, in the reductio ad absurdum of the doctrine that vice is
ignorance, traces of a Platonic authorship. In reference to the last point
we are doubtful, as in some of the other dialogues, whether the author is
asserting or overthrowing the paradox of Socrates, or merely following the
argument 'whither the wind blows.' That no conclusion is arrived at is
also in accordance with the character of the earlier dialogues. The
resemblances or imitations of the Gorgias, Protagoras, and Euthydemus,
which have been observed in the Hippias, cannot with certainty be adduced
on either side of the argument. On the whole, more may be said in favour
of the genuineness of the Hippias than against it.
</p>
<p>
The Menexenus or Funeral Oration is cited by Aristotle, and is interesting
as supplying an example of the manner in which the orators praised 'the
Athenians among the Athenians,' falsifying persons and dates, and casting
a veil over the gloomier events of Athenian history. It exhibits an
acquaintance with the funeral oration of Thucydides, and was, perhaps,
intended to rival that great work. If genuine, the proper place of the
Menexenus would be at the end of the Phaedrus. The satirical opening and
the concluding words bear a great resemblance to the earlier dialogues;
the oration itself is professedly a mimetic work, like the speeches in the
Phaedrus, and cannot therefore be tested by a comparison of the other
writings of Plato. The funeral oration of Pericles is expressly mentioned
in the Phaedrus, and this may have suggested the subject, in the same
manner that the Cleitophon appears to be suggested by the slight mention
of Cleitophon and his attachment to Thrasymachus in the Republic; and the
Theages by the mention of Theages in the Apology and Republic; or as the
Second Alcibiades seems to be founded upon the text of Xenophon, Mem. A
similar taste for parody appears not only in the Phaedrus, but in the
Protagoras, in the Symposium, and to a certain extent in the Parmenides.
</p>
<p>
To these two doubtful writings of Plato I have added the First Alcibiades,
which, of all the disputed dialogues of Plato, has the greatest merit, and
is somewhat longer than any of them, though not verified by the testimony
of Aristotle, and in many respects at variance with the Symposium in the
description of the relations of Socrates and Alcibiades. Like the Lesser
Hippias and the Menexenus, it is to be compared to the earlier writings of
Plato. The motive of the piece may, perhaps, be found in that passage of
the Symposium in which Alcibiades describes himself as self-convicted by
the words of Socrates. For the disparaging manner in which Schleiermacher
has spoken of this dialogue there seems to be no sufficient foundation. At
the same time, the lesson imparted is simple, and the irony more
transparent than in the undoubted dialogues of Plato. We know, too, that
Alcibiades was a favourite thesis, and that at least five or six dialogues
bearing this name passed current in antiquity, and are attributed to
contemporaries of Socrates and Plato. (1) In the entire absence of real
external evidence (for the catalogues of the Alexandrian librarians cannot
be regarded as trustworthy); and (2) in the absence of the highest marks
either of poetical or philosophical excellence; and (3) considering that
we have express testimony to the existence of contemporary writings
bearing the name of Alcibiades, we are compelled to suspend our judgment
on the genuineness of the extant dialogue.
</p>
<p>
Neither at this point, nor at any other, do we propose to draw an absolute
line of demarcation between genuine and spurious writings of Plato. They
fade off imperceptibly from one class to another. There may have been
degrees of genuineness in the dialogues themselves, as there are certainly
degrees of evidence by which they are supported. The traditions of the
oral discourses both of Socrates and Plato may have formed the basis of
semi-Platonic writings; some of them may be of the same mixed character
which is apparent in Aristotle and Hippocrates, although the form of them
is different. But the writings of Plato, unlike the writings of Aristotle,
seem never to have been confused with the writings of his disciples: this
was probably due to their definite form, and to their inimitable
excellence. The three dialogues which we have offered in the Appendix to
the criticism of the reader may be partly spurious and partly genuine;
they may be altogether spurious;—that is an alternative which must
be frankly admitted. Nor can we maintain of some other dialogues, such as
the Parmenides, and the Sophist, and Politicus, that no considerable
objection can be urged against them, though greatly overbalanced by the
weight (chiefly) of internal evidence in their favour. Nor, on the other
hand, can we exclude a bare possibility that some dialogues which are
usually rejected, such as the Greater Hippias and the Cleitophon, may be
genuine. The nature and object of these semi-Platonic writings require
more careful study and more comparison of them with one another, and with
forged writings in general, than they have yet received, before we can
finally decide on their character. We do not consider them all as genuine
until they can be proved to be spurious, as is often maintained and still
more often implied in this and similar discussions; but should say of some
of them, that their genuineness is neither proven nor disproven until
further evidence about them can be adduced. And we are as confident that
the Epistles are spurious, as that the Republic, the Timaeus, and the Laws
are genuine.
</p>
<p>
On the whole, not a twentieth part of the writings which pass under the
name of Plato, if we exclude the works rejected by the ancients themselves
and two or three other plausible inventions, can be fairly doubted by
those who are willing to allow that a considerable change and growth may
have taken place in his philosophy (see above). That twentieth debatable
portion scarcely in any degree affects our judgment of Plato, either as a
thinker or a writer, and though suggesting some interesting questions to
the scholar and critic, is of little importance to the general reader.
</p>
<p>
<a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
<!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
</p>
<div style="height: 4em;">
<br /><br /><br /><br />
</div>
<h2>
MENEXENUS
</h2>
<p>
<a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR">
<!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
</p>
<div style="height: 4em;">
<br /><br /><br /><br />
</div>
<h2>
INTRODUCTION.
</h2>
<p>
The Menexenus has more the character of a rhetorical exercise than any
other of the Platonic works. The writer seems to have wished to emulate
Thucydides, and the far slighter work of Lysias. In his rivalry with the
latter, to whom in the Phaedrus Plato shows a strong antipathy, he is
entirely successful, but he is not equal to Thucydides. The Menexenus,
though not without real Hellenic interest, falls very far short of the
rugged grandeur and political insight of the great historian. The fiction
of the speech having been invented by Aspasia is well sustained, and is in
the manner of Plato, notwithstanding the anachronism which puts into her
mouth an allusion to the peace of Antalcidas, an event occurring forty
years after the date of the supposed oration. But Plato, like Shakespeare,
is careless of such anachronisms, which are not supposed to strike the
mind of the reader. The effect produced by these grandiloquent orations on
Socrates, who does not recover after having heard one of them for three
days and more, is truly Platonic.
</p>
<p>
Such discourses, if we may form a judgment from the three which are extant
(for the so-called Funeral Oration of Demosthenes is a bad and spurious
imitation of Thucydides and Lysias), conformed to a regular type. They
began with Gods and ancestors, and the legendary history of Athens, to
which succeeded an almost equally fictitious account of later times. The
Persian war usually formed the centre of the narrative; in the age of
Isocrates and Demosthenes the Athenians were still living on the glories
of Marathon and Salamis. The Menexenus veils in panegyric the weak places
of Athenian history. The war of Athens and Boeotia is a war of liberation;
the Athenians gave back the Spartans taken at Sphacteria out of kindness—indeed,
the only fault of the city was too great kindness to their enemies, who
were more honoured than the friends of others (compare Thucyd., which
seems to contain the germ of the idea); we democrats are the aristocracy
of virtue, and the like. These are the platitudes and falsehoods in which
history is disguised. The taking of Athens is hardly mentioned.
</p>
<p>
The author of the Menexenus, whether Plato or not, is evidently intending
to ridicule the practice, and at the same time to show that he can beat
the rhetoricians in their own line, as in the Phaedrus he may be supposed
to offer an example of what Lysias might have said, and of how much better
he might have written in his own style. The orators had recourse to their
favourite loci communes, one of which, as we find in Lysias, was the
shortness of the time allowed them for preparation. But Socrates points
out that they had them always ready for delivery, and that there was no
difficulty in improvising any number of such orations. To praise the
Athenians among the Athenians was easy,—to praise them among the
Lacedaemonians would have been a much more difficult task. Socrates
himself has turned rhetorician, having learned of a woman, Aspasia, the
mistress of Pericles; and any one whose teachers had been far inferior to
his own—say, one who had learned from Antiphon the Rhamnusian—would
be quite equal to the task of praising men to themselves. When we remember
that Antiphon is described by Thucydides as the best pleader of his day,
the satire on him and on the whole tribe of rhetoricians is transparent.
</p>
<p>
The ironical assumption of Socrates, that he must be a good orator because
he had learnt of Aspasia, is not coarse, as Schleiermacher supposes, but
is rather to be regarded as fanciful. Nor can we say that the offer of
Socrates to dance naked out of love for Menexenus, is any more un-Platonic
than the threat of physical force which Phaedrus uses towards Socrates.
Nor is there any real vulgarity in the fear which Socrates expresses that
he will get a beating from his mistress, Aspasia: this is the natural
exaggeration of what might be expected from an imperious woman. Socrates
is not to be taken seriously in all that he says, and Plato, both in the
Symposium and elsewhere, is not slow to admit a sort of Aristophanic
humour. How a great original genius like Plato might or might not have
written, what was his conception of humour, or what limits he would have
prescribed to himself, if any, in drawing the picture of the Silenus
Socrates, are problems which no critical instinct can determine.
</p>
<p>
On the other hand, the dialogue has several Platonic traits, whether
original or imitated may be uncertain. Socrates, when he departs from his
character of a 'know nothing' and delivers a speech, generally pretends
that what he is speaking is not his own composition. Thus in the Cratylus
he is run away with; in the Phaedrus he has heard somebody say something—is
inspired by the genius loci; in the Symposium he derives his wisdom from
Diotima of Mantinea, and the like. But he does not impose on Menexenus by
his dissimulation. Without violating the character of Socrates, Plato, who
knows so well how to give a hint, or some one writing in his name,
intimates clearly enough that the speech in the Menexenus like that in the
Phaedrus is to be attributed to Socrates. The address of the dead to the
living at the end of the oration may also be compared to the numerous
addresses of the same kind which occur in Plato, in whom the dramatic
element is always tending to prevail over the rhetorical. The remark has
been often made, that in the Funeral Oration of Thucydides there is no
allusion to the existence of the dead. But in the Menexenus a future state
is clearly, although not strongly, asserted.
</p>
<p>
Whether the Menexenus is a genuine writing of Plato, or an imitation only,
remains uncertain. In either case, the thoughts are partly borrowed from
the Funeral Oration of Thucydides; and the fact that they are so, is not
in favour of the genuineness of the work. Internal evidence seems to leave
the question of authorship in doubt. There are merits and there are
defects which might lead to either conclusion. The form of the greater
part of the work makes the enquiry difficult; the introduction and the
finale certainly wear the look either of Plato or of an extremely skilful
imitator. The excellence of the forgery may be fairly adduced as an
argument that it is not a forgery at all. In this uncertainty the express
testimony of Aristotle, who quotes, in the Rhetoric, the well-known words,
'It is easy to praise the Athenians among the Athenians,' from the Funeral
Oration, may perhaps turn the balance in its favour. It must be remembered
also that the work was famous in antiquity, and is included in the
Alexandrian catalogues of Platonic writings.
</p>
<p>
<a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004">
<!-- H2 anchor --> </a>
</p>
<div style="height: 4em;">
<br /><br /><br /><br />
</div>
<h2>
PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Socrates and Menexenus.
</h2>
<p>
SOCRATES: Whence come you, Menexenus? Are you from the Agora?
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Yes, Socrates; I have been at the Council.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: And what might you be doing at the Council? And yet I need
hardly ask, for I see that you, believing yourself to have arrived at the
end of education and of philosophy, and to have had enough of them, are
mounting upwards to things higher still, and, though rather young for the
post, are intending to govern us elder men, like the rest of your family,
which has always provided some one who kindly took care of us.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Yes, Socrates, I shall be ready to hold office, if you allow
and advise that I should, but not if you think otherwise. I went to the
council chamber because I heard that the Council was about to choose some
one who was to speak over the dead. For you know that there is to be a
public funeral?
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Yes, I know. And whom did they choose?
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: No one; they delayed the election until tomorrow, but I believe
that either Archinus or Dion will be chosen.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: O Menexenus! Death in battle is certainly in many respects a
noble thing. The dead man gets a fine and costly funeral, although he may
have been poor, and an elaborate speech is made over him by a wise man who
has long ago prepared what he has to say, although he who is praised may
not have been good for much. The speakers praise him for what he has done
and for what he has not done—that is the beauty of them—and
they steal away our souls with their embellished words; in every
conceivable form they praise the city; and they praise those who died in
war, and all our ancestors who went before us; and they praise ourselves
also who are still alive, until I feel quite elevated by their laudations,
and I stand listening to their words, Menexenus, and become enchanted by
them, and all in a moment I imagine myself to have become a greater and
nobler and finer man than I was before. And if, as often happens, there
are any foreigners who accompany me to the speech, I become suddenly
conscious of having a sort of triumph over them, and they seem to
experience a corresponding feeling of admiration at me, and at the
greatness of the city, which appears to them, when they are under the
influence of the speaker, more wonderful than ever. This consciousness of
dignity lasts me more than three days, and not until the fourth or fifth
day do I come to my senses and know where I am; in the meantime I have
been living in the Islands of the Blest. Such is the art of our
rhetoricians, and in such manner does the sound of their words keep
ringing in my ears.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: You are always making fun of the rhetoricians, Socrates; this
time, however, I am inclined to think that the speaker who is chosen will
not have much to say, for he has been called upon to speak at a moment's
notice, and he will be compelled almost to improvise.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: But why, my friend, should he not have plenty to say? Every
rhetorician has speeches ready made; nor is there any difficulty in
improvising that sort of stuff. Had the orator to praise Athenians among
Peloponnesians, or Peloponnesians among Athenians, he must be a good
rhetorician who could succeed and gain credit. But there is no difficulty
in a man's winning applause when he is contending for fame among the
persons whom he is praising.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Do you think not, Socrates?
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Certainly 'not.'
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Do you think that you could speak yourself if there should be a
necessity, and if the Council were to choose you?
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: That I should be able to speak is no great wonder, Menexenus,
considering that I have an excellent mistress in the art of rhetoric,—she
who has made so many good speakers, and one who was the best among all the
Hellenes—Pericles, the son of Xanthippus.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: And who is she? I suppose that you mean Aspasia.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Yes, I do; and besides her I had Connus, the son of Metrobius,
as a master, and he was my master in music, as she was in rhetoric. No
wonder that a man who has received such an education should be a finished
speaker; even the pupil of very inferior masters, say, for example, one
who had learned music of Lamprus, and rhetoric of Antiphon the Rhamnusian,
might make a figure if he were to praise the Athenians among the
Athenians.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: And what would you be able to say if you had to speak?
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Of my own wit, most likely nothing; but yesterday I heard
Aspasia composing a funeral oration about these very dead. For she had
been told, as you were saying, that the Athenians were going to choose a
speaker, and she repeated to me the sort of speech which he should
deliver, partly improvising and partly from previous thought, putting
together fragments of the funeral oration which Pericles spoke, but which,
as I believe, she composed.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: And can you remember what Aspasia said?
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: I ought to be able, for she taught me, and she was ready to
strike me because I was always forgetting.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Then why will you not rehearse what she said?
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Because I am afraid that my mistress may be angry with me if I
publish her speech.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Nay, Socrates, let us have the speech, whether Aspasia's or any
one else's, no matter. I hope that you will oblige me.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: But I am afraid that you will laugh at me if I continue the
games of youth in old age.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Far otherwise, Socrates; let us by all means have the speech.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Truly I have such a disposition to oblige you, that if you bid
me dance naked I should not like to refuse, since we are alone. Listen
then: If I remember rightly, she began as follows, with the mention of the
dead:—(Thucyd.)
</p>
<p>
There is a tribute of deeds and of words. The departed have already had
the first, when going forth on their destined journey they were attended
on their way by the state and by their friends; the tribute of words
remains to be given to them, as is meet and by law ordained. For noble
words are a memorial and a crown of noble actions, which are given to the
doers of them by the hearers. A word is needed which will duly praise the
dead and gently admonish the living, exhorting the brethren and
descendants of the departed to imitate their virtue, and consoling their
fathers and mothers and the survivors, if any, who may chance to be alive
of the previous generation. What sort of a word will this be, and how
shall we rightly begin the praises of these brave men? In their life they
rejoiced their own friends with their valour, and their death they gave in
exchange for the salvation of the living. And I think that we should
praise them in the order in which nature made them good, for they were
good because they were sprung from good fathers. Wherefore let us first of
all praise the goodness of their birth; secondly, their nurture and
education; and then let us set forth how noble their actions were, and how
worthy of the education which they had received.
</p>
<p>
And first as to their birth. Their ancestors were not strangers, nor are
these their descendants sojourners only, whose fathers have come from
another country; but they are the children of the soil, dwelling and
living in their own land. And the country which brought them up is not
like other countries, a stepmother to her children, but their own true
mother; she bore them and nourished them and received them, and in her
bosom they now repose. It is meet and right, therefore, that we should
begin by praising the land which is their mother, and that will be a way
of praising their noble birth.
</p>
<p>
The country is worthy to be praised, not only by us, but by all mankind;
first, and above all, as being dear to the Gods. This is proved by the
strife and contention of the Gods respecting her. And ought not the
country which the Gods praise to be praised by all mankind? The second
praise which may be fairly claimed by her, is that at the time when the
whole earth was sending forth and creating diverse animals, tame and wild,
she our mother was free and pure from savage monsters, and out of all
animals selected and brought forth man, who is superior to the rest in
understanding, and alone has justice and religion. And a great proof that
she brought forth the common ancestors of us and of the departed, is that
she provided the means of support for her offspring. For as a woman proves
her motherhood by giving milk to her young ones (and she who has no
fountain of milk is not a mother), so did this our land prove that she was
the mother of men, for in those days she alone and first of all brought
forth wheat and barley for human food, which is the best and noblest
sustenance for man, whom she regarded as her true offspring. And these are
truer proofs of motherhood in a country than in a woman, for the woman in
her conception and generation is but the imitation of the earth, and not
the earth of the woman. And of the fruit of the earth she gave a plenteous
supply, not only to her own, but to others also; and afterwards she made
the olive to spring up to be a boon to her children, and to help them in
their toils. And when she had herself nursed them and brought them up to
manhood, she gave them Gods to be their rulers and teachers, whose names
are well known, and need not now be repeated. They are the Gods who first
ordered our lives, and instructed us in the arts for the supply of our
daily needs, and taught us the acquisition and use of arms for the defence
of the country.
</p>
<p>
Thus born into the world and thus educated, the ancestors of the departed
lived and made themselves a government, which I ought briefly to
commemorate. For government is the nurture of man, and the government of
good men is good, and of bad men bad. And I must show that our ancestors
were trained under a good government, and for this reason they were good,
and our contemporaries are also good, among whom our departed friends are
to be reckoned. Then as now, and indeed always, from that time to this,
speaking generally, our government was an aristocracy—a form of
government which receives various names, according to the fancies of men,
and is sometimes called democracy, but is really an aristocracy or
government of the best which has the approval of the many. For kings we
have always had, first hereditary and then elected, and authority is
mostly in the hands of the people, who dispense offices and power to those
who appear to be most deserving of them. Neither is a man rejected from
weakness or poverty or obscurity of origin, nor honoured by reason of the
opposite, as in other states, but there is one principle—he who
appears to be wise and good is a governor and ruler. The basis of this our
government is equality of birth; for other states are made up of all sorts
and unequal conditions of men, and therefore their governments are
unequal; there are tyrannies and there are oligarchies, in which the one
party are slaves and the others masters. But we and our citizens are
brethren, the children all of one mother, and we do not think it right to
be one another's masters or servants; but the natural equality of birth
compels us to seek for legal equality, and to recognize no superiority
except in the reputation of virtue and wisdom.
</p>
<p>
And so their and our fathers, and these, too, our brethren, being nobly
born and having been brought up in all freedom, did both in their public
and private capacity many noble deeds famous over the whole world. They
were the deeds of men who thought that they ought to fight both against
Hellenes for the sake of Hellenes on behalf of freedom, and against
barbarians in the common interest of Hellas. Time would fail me to tell of
their defence of their country against the invasion of Eumolpus and the
Amazons, or of their defence of the Argives against the Cadmeians, or of
the Heracleids against the Argives; besides, the poets have already
declared in song to all mankind their glory, and therefore any
commemoration of their deeds in prose which we might attempt would hold a
second place. They already have their reward, and I say no more of them;
but there are other worthy deeds of which no poet has worthily sung, and
which are still wooing the poet's muse. Of these I am bound to make
honourable mention, and shall invoke others to sing of them also in lyric
and other strains, in a manner becoming the actors. And first I will tell
how the Persians, lords of Asia, were enslaving Europe, and how the
children of this land, who were our fathers, held them back. Of these I
will speak first, and praise their valour, as is meet and fitting. He who
would rightly estimate them should place himself in thought at that time,
when the whole of Asia was subject to the third king of Persia. The first
king, Cyrus, by his valour freed the Persians, who were his countrymen,
and subjected the Medes, who were their lords, and he ruled over the rest
of Asia, as far as Egypt; and after him came his son, who ruled all the
accessible part of Egypt and Libya; the third king was Darius, who
extended the land boundaries of the empire to Scythia, and with his fleet
held the sea and the islands. None presumed to be his equal; the minds of
all men were enthralled by him—so many and mighty and warlike
nations had the power of Persia subdued. Now Darius had a quarrel against
us and the Eretrians, because, as he said, we had conspired against
Sardis, and he sent 500,000 men in transports and vessels of war, and 300
ships, and Datis as commander, telling him to bring the Eretrians and
Athenians to the king, if he wished to keep his head on his shoulders. He
sailed against the Eretrians, who were reputed to be amongst the noblest
and most warlike of the Hellenes of that day, and they were numerous, but
he conquered them all in three days; and when he had conquered them, in
order that no one might escape, he searched the whole country after this
manner: his soldiers, coming to the borders of Eretria and spreading from
sea to sea, joined hands and passed through the whole country, in order
that they might be able to tell the king that no one had escaped them. And
from Eretria they went to Marathon with a like intention, expecting to
bind the Athenians in the same yoke of necessity in which they had bound
the Eretrians. Having effected one-half of their purpose, they were in the
act of attempting the other, and none of the Hellenes dared to assist
either the Eretrians or the Athenians, except the Lacedaemonians, and they
arrived a day too late for the battle; but the rest were panic-stricken
and kept quiet, too happy in having escaped for a time. He who has present
to his mind that conflict will know what manner of men they were who
received the onset of the barbarians at Marathon, and chastened the pride
of the whole of Asia, and by the victory which they gained over the
barbarians first taught other men that the power of the Persians was not
invincible, but that hosts of men and the multitude of riches alike yield
to valour. And I assert that those men are the fathers not only of
ourselves, but of our liberties and of the liberties of all who are on the
continent, for that was the action to which the Hellenes looked back when
they ventured to fight for their own safety in the battles which ensued:
they became disciples of the men of Marathon. To them, therefore, I assign
in my speech the first place, and the second to those who fought and
conquered in the sea fights at Salamis and Artemisium; for of them, too,
one might have many things to say—of the assaults which they endured
by sea and land, and how they repelled them. I will mention only that act
of theirs which appears to me to be the noblest, and which followed that
of Marathon and came nearest to it; for the men of Marathon only showed
the Hellenes that it was possible to ward off the barbarians by land, the
many by the few; but there was no proof that they could be defeated by
ships, and at sea the Persians retained the reputation of being invincible
in numbers and wealth and skill and strength. This is the glory of the men
who fought at sea, that they dispelled the second terror which had
hitherto possessed the Hellenes, and so made the fear of numbers, whether
of ships or men, to cease among them. And so the soldiers of Marathon and
the sailors of Salamis became the schoolmasters of Hellas; the one
teaching and habituating the Hellenes not to fear the barbarians at sea,
and the others not to fear them by land. Third in order, for the number
and valour of the combatants, and third in the salvation of Hellas, I
place the battle of Plataea. And now the Lacedaemonians as well as the
Athenians took part in the struggle; they were all united in this greatest
and most terrible conflict of all; wherefore their virtues will be
celebrated in times to come, as they are now celebrated by us. But at a
later period many Hellenic tribes were still on the side of the
barbarians, and there was a report that the great king was going to make a
new attempt upon the Hellenes, and therefore justice requires that we
should also make mention of those who crowned the previous work of our
salvation, and drove and purged away all barbarians from the sea. These
were the men who fought by sea at the river Eurymedon, and who went on the
expedition to Cyprus, and who sailed to Egypt and divers other places; and
they should be gratefully remembered by us, because they compelled the
king in fear for himself to look to his own safety instead of plotting the
destruction of Hellas.
</p>
<p>
And so the war against the barbarians was fought out to the end by the
whole city on their own behalf, and on behalf of their countrymen. There
was peace, and our city was held in honour; and then, as prosperity makes
men jealous, there succeeded a jealousy of her, and jealousy begat envy,
and so she became engaged against her will in a war with the Hellenes. On
the breaking out of war, our citizens met the Lacedaemonians at Tanagra,
and fought for the freedom of the Boeotians; the issue was doubtful, and
was decided by the engagement which followed. For when the Lacedaemonians
had gone on their way, leaving the Boeotians, whom they were aiding, on
the third day after the battle of Tanagra, our countrymen conquered at
Oenophyta, and righteously restored those who had been unrighteously
exiled. And they were the first after the Persian war who fought on behalf
of liberty in aid of Hellenes against Hellenes; they were brave men, and
freed those whom they aided, and were the first too who were honourably
interred in this sepulchre by the state. Afterwards there was a mighty
war, in which all the Hellenes joined, and devastated our country, which
was very ungrateful of them; and our countrymen, after defeating them in a
naval engagement and taking their leaders, the Spartans, at Sphagia, when
they might have destroyed them, spared their lives, and gave them back,
and made peace, considering that they should war with the
fellow-countrymen only until they gained a victory over them, and not
because of the private anger of the state destroy the common interest of
Hellas; but that with barbarians they should war to the death. Worthy of
praise are they also who waged this war, and are here interred; for they
proved, if any one doubted the superior prowess of the Athenians in the
former war with the barbarians, that their doubts had no foundation—showing
by their victory in the civil war with Hellas, in which they subdued the
other chief state of the Hellenes, that they could conquer single-handed
those with whom they had been allied in the war against the barbarians.
After the peace there followed a third war, which was of a terrible and
desperate nature, and in this many brave men who are here interred lost
their lives—many of them had won victories in Sicily, whither they
had gone over the seas to fight for the liberties of the Leontines, to
whom they were bound by oaths; but, owing to the distance, the city was
unable to help them, and they lost heart and came to misfortune, their
very enemies and opponents winning more renown for valour and temperance
than the friends of others. Many also fell in naval engagements at the
Hellespont, after having in one day taken all the ships of the enemy, and
defeated them in other naval engagements. And what I call the terrible and
desperate nature of the war, is that the other Hellenes, in their extreme
animosity towards the city, should have entered into negotiations with
their bitterest enemy, the king of Persia, whom they, together with us,
had expelled;—him, without us, they again brought back, barbarian
against Hellenes, and all the hosts, both of Hellenes and barbarians, were
united against Athens. And then shone forth the power and valour of our
city. Her enemies had supposed that she was exhausted by the war, and our
ships were blockaded at Mitylene. But the citizens themselves embarked,
and came to the rescue with sixty other ships, and their valour was
confessed of all men, for they conquered their enemies and delivered their
friends. And yet by some evil fortune they were left to perish at sea, and
therefore are not interred here. Ever to be remembered and honoured are
they, for by their valour not only that sea-fight was won for us, but the
entire war was decided by them, and through them the city gained the
reputation of being invincible, even though attacked by all mankind. And
that reputation was a true one, for the defeat which came upon us was our
own doing. We were never conquered by others, and to this day we are still
unconquered by them; but we were our own conquerors, and received defeat
at our own hands. Afterwards there was quiet and peace abroad, but there
sprang up war at home; and, if men are destined to have civil war, no one
could have desired that his city should take the disorder in a milder
form. How joyful and natural was the reconciliation of those who came from
the Piraeus and those who came from the city; with what moderation did
they order the war against the tyrants in Eleusis, and in a manner how
unlike what the other Hellenes expected! And the reason of this gentleness
was the veritable tie of blood, which created among them a friendship as
of kinsmen, faithful not in word only, but in deed. And we ought also to
remember those who then fell by one another's hands, and on such occasions
as these to reconcile them with sacrifices and prayers, praying to those
who have power over them, that they may be reconciled even as we are
reconciled. For they did not attack one another out of malice or enmity,
but they were unfortunate. And that such was the fact we ourselves are
witnesses, who are of the same race with them, and have mutually received
and granted forgiveness of what we have done and suffered. After this
there was perfect peace, and the city had rest; and her feeling was that
she forgave the barbarians, who had severely suffered at her hands and
severely retaliated, but that she was indignant at the ingratitude of the
Hellenes, when she remembered how they had received good from her and
returned evil, having made common cause with the barbarians, depriving her
of the ships which had once been their salvation, and dismantling our
walls, which had preserved their own from falling. She thought that she
would no longer defend the Hellenes, when enslaved either by one another
or by the barbarians, and did accordingly. This was our feeling, while the
Lacedaemonians were thinking that we who were the champions of liberty had
fallen, and that their business was to subject the remaining Hellenes. And
why should I say more? for the events of which I am speaking happened not
long ago and we can all of us remember how the chief peoples of Hellas,
Argives and Boeotians and Corinthians, came to feel the need of us, and,
what is the greatest miracle of all, the Persian king himself was driven
to such extremity as to come round to the opinion, that from this city, of
which he was the destroyer, and from no other, his salvation would
proceed.
</p>
<p>
And if a person desired to bring a deserved accusation against our city,
he would find only one charge which he could justly urge—that she
was too compassionate and too favourable to the weaker side. And in this
instance she was not able to hold out or keep her resolution of refusing
aid to her injurers when they were being enslaved, but she was softened,
and did in fact send out aid, and delivered the Hellenes from slavery, and
they were free until they afterwards enslaved themselves. Whereas, to the
great king she refused to give the assistance of the state, for she could
not forget the trophies of Marathon and Salamis and Plataea; but she
allowed exiles and volunteers to assist him, and they were his salvation.
And she herself, when she was compelled, entered into the war, and built
walls and ships, and fought with the Lacedaemonians on behalf of the
Parians. Now the king fearing this city and wanting to stand aloof, when
he saw the Lacedaemonians growing weary of the war at sea, asked of us, as
the price of his alliance with us and the other allies, to give up the
Hellenes in Asia, whom the Lacedaemonians had previously handed over to
him, he thinking that we should refuse, and that then he might have a
pretence for withdrawing from us. About the other allies he was mistaken,
for the Corinthians and Argives and Boeotians, and the other states, were
quite willing to let them go, and swore and covenanted, that, if he would
pay them money, they would make over to him the Hellenes of the continent,
and we alone refused to give them up and swear. Such was the natural
nobility of this city, so sound and healthy was the spirit of freedom
among us, and the instinctive dislike of the barbarian, because we are
pure Hellenes, having no admixture of barbarism in us. For we are not like
many others, descendants of Pelops or Cadmus or Egyptus or Danaus, who are
by nature barbarians, and yet pass for Hellenes, and dwell in the midst of
us; but we are pure Hellenes, uncontaminated by any foreign element, and
therefore the hatred of the foreigner has passed unadulterated into the
life-blood of the city. And so, notwithstanding our noble sentiments, we
were again isolated, because we were unwilling to be guilty of the base
and unholy act of giving up Hellenes to barbarians. And we were in the
same case as when we were subdued before; but, by the favour of Heaven, we
managed better, for we ended the war without the loss of our ships or
walls or colonies; the enemy was only too glad to be quit of us. Yet in
this war we lost many brave men, such as were those who fell owing to the
ruggedness of the ground at the battle of Corinth, or by treason at
Lechaeum. Brave men, too, were those who delivered the Persian king, and
drove the Lacedaemonians from the sea. I remind you of them, and you must
celebrate them together with me, and do honour to their memories.
</p>
<p>
Such were the actions of the men who are here interred, and of others who
have died on behalf of their country; many and glorious things I have
spoken of them, and there are yet many more and more glorious things
remaining to be told—many days and nights would not suffice to tell
of them. Let them not be forgotten, and let every man remind their
descendants that they also are soldiers who must not desert the ranks of
their ancestors, or from cowardice fall behind. Even as I exhort you this
day, and in all future time, whenever I meet with any of you, shall
continue to remind and exhort you, O ye sons of heroes, that you strive to
be the bravest of men. And I think that I ought now to repeat what your
fathers desired to have said to you who are their survivors, when they
went out to battle, in case anything happened to them. I will tell you
what I heard them say, and what, if they had only speech, they would fain
be saying, judging from what they then said. And you must imagine that you
hear them saying what I now repeat to you:—
</p>
<p>
'Sons, the event proves that your fathers were brave men; for we might
have lived dishonourably, but have preferred to die honourably rather than
bring you and your children into disgrace, and rather than dishonour our
own fathers and forefathers; considering that life is not life to one who
is a dishonour to his race, and that to such a one neither men nor Gods
are friendly, either while he is on the earth or after death in the world
below. Remember our words, then, and whatever is your aim let virtue be
the condition of the attainment of your aim, and know that without this
all possessions and pursuits are dishonourable and evil. For neither does
wealth bring honour to the owner, if he be a coward; of such a one the
wealth belongs to another, and not to himself. Nor does beauty and
strength of body, when dwelling in a base and cowardly man, appear comely,
but the reverse of comely, making the possessor more conspicuous, and
manifesting forth his cowardice. And all knowledge, when separated from
justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make
this your first and last and constant and all-absorbing aim, to exceed, if
possible, not only us but all your ancestors in virtue; and know that to
excel you in virtue only brings us shame, but that to be excelled by you
is a source of happiness to us. And we shall most likely be defeated, and
you will most likely be victors in the contest, if you learn so to order
your lives as not to abuse or waste the reputation of your ancestors,
knowing that to a man who has any self-respect, nothing is more
dishonourable than to be honoured, not for his own sake, but on account of
the reputation of his ancestors. The honour of parents is a fair and noble
treasure to their posterity, but to have the use of a treasure of wealth
and honour, and to leave none to your successors, because you have neither
money nor reputation of your own, is alike base and dishonourable. And if
you follow our precepts you will be received by us as friends, when the
hour of destiny brings you hither; but if you neglect our words and are
disgraced in your lives, no one will welcome or receive you. This is the
message which is to be delivered to our children.
</p>
<p>
'Some of us have fathers and mothers still living, and we would urge them,
if, as is likely, we shall die, to bear the calamity as lightly as
possible, and not to condole with one another; for they have sorrows
enough, and will not need any one to stir them up. While we gently heal
their wounds, let us remind them that the Gods have heard the chief part
of their prayers; for they prayed, not that their children might live for
ever, but that they might be brave and renowned. And this, which is the
greatest good, they have attained. A mortal man cannot expect to have
everything in his own life turning out according to his will; and they, if
they bear their misfortunes bravely, will be truly deemed brave fathers of
the brave. But if they give way to their sorrows, either they will be
suspected of not being our parents, or we of not being such as our
panegyrists declare. Let not either of the two alternatives happen, but
rather let them be our chief and true panegyrists, who show in their lives
that they are true men, and had men for their sons. Of old the saying,
"Nothing too much," appeared to be, and really was, well said. For he
whose happiness rests with himself, if possible, wholly, and if not, as
far as is possible,—who is not hanging in suspense on other men, or
changing with the vicissitude of their fortune,—has his life ordered
for the best. He is the temperate and valiant and wise; and when his
riches come and go, when his children are given and taken away, he will
remember the proverb—"Neither rejoicing overmuch nor grieving
overmuch," for he relies upon himself. And such we would have our parents
to be—that is our word and wish, and as such we now offer ourselves,
neither lamenting overmuch, nor fearing overmuch, if we are to die at this
time. And we entreat our fathers and mothers to retain these feelings
throughout their future life, and to be assured that they will not please
us by sorrowing and lamenting over us. But, if the dead have any knowledge
of the living, they will displease us most by making themselves miserable
and by taking their misfortunes too much to heart, and they will please us
best if they bear their loss lightly and temperately. For our life will
have the noblest end which is vouchsafed to man, and should be glorified
rather than lamented. And if they will direct their minds to the care and
nurture of our wives and children, they will soonest forget their
misfortunes, and live in a better and nobler way, and be dearer to us.
</p>
<p>
'This is all that we have to say to our families: and to the state we
would say—Take care of our parents and of our sons: let her worthily
cherish the old age of our parents, and bring up our sons in the right
way. But we know that she will of her own accord take care of them, and
does not need any exhortation of ours.'
</p>
<p>
This, O ye children and parents of the dead, is the message which they bid
us deliver to you, and which I do deliver with the utmost seriousness. And
in their name I beseech you, the children, to imitate your fathers, and
you, parents, to be of good cheer about yourselves; for we will nourish
your age, and take care of you both publicly and privately in any place in
which one of us may meet one of you who are the parents of the dead. And
the care of you which the city shows, you know yourselves; for she has
made provision by law concerning the parents and children of those who die
in war; the highest authority is specially entrusted with the duty of
watching over them above all other citizens, and they will see that your
fathers and mothers have no wrong done to them. The city herself shares in
the education of the children, desiring as far as it is possible that
their orphanhood may not be felt by them; while they are children she is a
parent to them, and when they have arrived at man's estate she sends them
to their several duties, in full armour clad; and bringing freshly to
their minds the ways of their fathers, she places in their hands the
instruments of their fathers' virtues; for the sake of the omen, she would
have them from the first begin to rule over their own houses arrayed in
the strength and arms of their fathers. And as for the dead, she never
ceases honouring them, celebrating in common for all rites which become
the property of each; and in addition to this, holding gymnastic and
equestrian contests, and musical festivals of every sort. She is to the
dead in the place of a son and heir, and to their sons in the place of a
father, and to their parents and elder kindred in the place of a guardian—ever
and always caring for them. Considering this, you ought to bear your
calamity the more gently; for thus you will be most endeared to the dead
and to the living, and your sorrows will heal and be healed. And now do
you and all, having lamented the dead in common according to the law, go
your ways.
</p>
<p>
You have heard, Menexenus, the oration of Aspasia the Milesian.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Truly, Socrates, I marvel that Aspasia, who is only a woman,
should be able to compose such a speech; she must be a rare one.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Well, if you are incredulous, you may come with me and hear her.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: I have often met Aspasia, Socrates, and know what she is like.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Well, and do you not admire her, and are you not grateful for
her speech?
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Yes, Socrates, I am very grateful to her or to him who told
you, and still more to you who have told me.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Very good. But you must take care not to tell of me, and then at
some future time I will repeat to you many other excellent political
speeches of hers.
</p>
<p>
MENEXENUS: Fear not, only let me hear them, and I will keep the secret.
</p>
<p>
SOCRATES: Then I will keep my promise.
</p>
<p>
<br /><br /><br /><br />
</p>
<pre xml:space="preserve">
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Menexenus, by Plato
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MENEXENUS ***
***** This file should be named 1682-h.htm or 1682-h.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/8/1682/
Produced by Sue Asscher, and David Widger
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at http://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
gbnewby@pglaf.org
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
http://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
</pre>
</body>
</html>
|
