第 8 节
作者:这就是结局      更新:2021-02-20 14:15      字数:9321
  say good…bye to all joy for evermoreno; this self…control is a
  training; so that we may reap the fruits of a larger joy in the time
  to come。 A man will toil day and night to make himself an orator; yet
  oratory is not the one aim of his existence: his hope is to influence
  men by his eloquence and thus achieve some noble end。 So too with us;
  and those like us; who are drilled in the arts of war: we do not give
  our labours in order to fight for ever; endlessly and hopelessly; we
  hope that we too one day; when we have proved our mettle; may win and
  wear for ourselves and for our city the threefold ornament of wealth;
  of happiness; of honour。 '10' And if there should be some who have
  worked hard all their lives and suddenly old…age; they find; has
  stolen on them unawares; and taken away their powers before they have
  gathered in the fruit of all their toil; such men seem to me like
  those who desire to be thrifty husbandmen; and who sow well and plant
  wisely; but when the time of harvest comes let the fruit drop back
  ungarnered into the soil whence it sprang。 Or as if an athlete should
  train himself and reach the heights where victory may be won and at
  the last forbear to enter the listssuch an one; I take it; would but
  meet his deserts if all men cried out upon him for a fool。 '11' Let
  not such be our fate; my friends。 Our own hearts bear us witness that
  we; too; from our boyhood up; have been trained in the school of
  beauty and nobleness and honour; and now let us go forward to meet our
  foes。 They; I know right well; when matched with us; will prove but
  novices in war。 He is no true warrior; though he be skilled with the
  javelin and the bow and ride on horseback with the best; who; when the
  call for endurance comes; is found to fail: toil finds him but a
  novice。 Nor are they warriors who; when they should wake and watch;
  give way to slumber: sleep finds them novices。 Even endurance will not
  avail; if a man has not learnt to deal as a man should by friends and
  foes: such an one is unschooled in the highest part of his calling。
  '12' But with you it is not so: to you the night will be as the day;
  toil; your school has taught you; is the guide to happiness; hunger
  has been your daily condiment; and water you take to quench your
  thirst as the lion laps the stream。 And you have that within your
  hearts which is the rarest of all treasures and the most akin to war:
  of all sweet sounds the sweetest sound for you is the voice of fame。
  You are fair Honour's suitors; and you must needs win your title to
  her favour。 Therefore you undergo toil and danger gladly。
  '13' 〃Now if I said all this of you; and my heart were not in my
  words; I should but cheat myself。 For in so far as you should fail to
  fulfil my hopes of you; it is on me that the shame would fall。 But I
  have faith in you; bred of experience: I trust in your goodwill
  towards me; and in our enemy's lack of wit; you will not belie my
  hopes。 Let us go forth with a light heart; we have no ill…fame to
  fear: none can say we covet another man's goods unlawfully。 Our enemy
  strikes the first blow in an unrighteous cause; and our friends call
  us to protect them。 What is more lawful than self…defence? What is
  nobler than to succour those we love? '14' And you have another ground
  of confidencein opening this campaign I have not been forgetful of
  the gods: you have gone in and out with me; and you know how in all
  things; great and small; I strive to win their blessing。 And now;〃 he
  added; 〃what need of further words? I will leave you now to choose
  your own men; and when all is ready you will march into Media at their
  head。 Meanwhile I will return to my father and start before you; so
  that I may learn what I can about the enemy as soon as may be; and
  thus make all needful preparations; so that by God's help we may win
  glory on the field。〃
  'C。6' Such were his orders and they set about them at once。 But Cyrus
  himself went home and prayed to the gods of his father's house; to
  Hestia and Zeus; and to all who had watched over his race。 And when he
  had done so; he set out for the war; and his father went with him on
  the road。 They were no sooner clear of the city; so says the story;
  than they met with favourable omens of thunder and lightning; and
  after that they went forward without further divination; for they felt
  that no man could mistake the signs from the Ruler of the gods。 '2'
  And as they went on their way Cyrus' father said to him; 〃My son; the
  gods are gracious to us; and look with favour on your journeythey
  have shown it in the sacrifices; and by their signs from heaven。 You
  do not need another man to tell you so; for I was careful to have you
  taught this art; so that you might understand the counsels of the gods
  yourself and have no need of an interpreter; seeing with your own eyes
  and hearing with your own ears and taking the heavenly meaning for
  yourself。 Thus you need not be at the mercy of any soothsayers who
  might have a mind to deceive you; speaking contrary to the omens
  vouchsafed from heaven; nor yet; should you chance to be without a
  seer; drift in perplexity and know not how to profit by the heavenly
  signs: you yourself through your own learning can understand the
  warnings of the gods and follow them。〃
  '3' 〃Yes; father;〃 answered Cyrus; 〃so far as in me lies; I bear your
  words in mind; and pray to the gods continually that they may show us
  favour and vouchsafe to counsel us。 I remember;〃 he went on; 〃how once
  I heard you say that; as with men; so with the gods; it was but
  natural if the prayer of him should prevail who did not turn to
  flatter them only in time of need; but was mindful of them above all
  in the heyday of his happiness。 It was thus indeed; you said; that we
  ought to deal with our earthly friends。〃 '4' 〃True; my son;〃 said his
  father; 〃and because of all my teaching; you can now approach the gods
  in prayer with a lighter heart and a more confident hope that they
  will grant you what you ask; because your conscience bears you witness
  that you have never forgotten them。〃 〃Even so;〃 said Cyrus; 〃and in
  truth I feel towards them as though they were my friends。〃 '5' 〃And do
  you remember;〃 asked his father; 〃certain other conclusions on which
  we were agreed? How we felt there were certain things that the gods
  had permitted us to attain through learning and study and training?
  The accomplishment of these is the reward of effort; not of idleness;
  in these it is only when we have done all that it is our duty to do
  that we are justified in asking for blessings from the gods。〃 '6' 〃I
  remember very well;〃 said Cyrus; 〃that you used to talk to me in that
  way: and indeed I could not but agree with the arguments you gave。 You
  used to say that a man had no right to pray he might win a cavalry
  charge if he had never learnt how to ride; or triumph over master…
  bowmen if he could not draw a bow; or bring a ship safe home to
  harbour if he did not know how to steer; or be rewarded with a
  plenteous harvest if he had not so much as sown grain into the ground;
  or come home safe from battle if he took no precautions whatsoever。
  All such prayers as these; you said; were contrary to the very
  ordinances of heaven; and those who asked for things forbidden could
  not be surprised if they failed to win them from the gods。 Even as a
  petition in the face of law on earth would have no success with men。〃
  '7' 〃And do you remember;〃 said his father; 〃how we thought that it
  would be a noble work enough if a man could train himself really and
  truly to be beautiful and brave and earn all he needed for his
  household and himself? That; we said; was a work of which a man might
  well be proud; but if he went further still; if he had the skill and
  the science to be the guide and governor of other men; supplying all
  their wants and making them all they ought to be; that; it seemed to
  us; would be indeed a marvel。〃 '8' 〃Yes; my father;〃 answered Cyrus;
  〃I remember it very well。 I agreed with you that to rule well and
  nobly was the greatest of all works; and I am of the same mind still;〃
  he went on; 〃whenever I think of government in itself。 But when I look
  on the world at large; when I see of what poor stuff those men are
  made who contrive to uphold their rule and what sort of antagonists we
  are likely to find in them; then I can only feel how disgraceful it
  would be to cringe before them and not to face them myself and try
  conclusions with them on the field。 All of them; I perceive;〃 he
  added; 〃beginning with our own friends here; hold to it that the ruler
  should only differ from his subjects by the splendour of his banquets;
  the wealth of gold in his coffers; the length and depth of his
  slumbers; and his freedom from trouble and pain。 But my views are
  different: I hold that the ruler should be marked out from other men;
  not by taking life easily; but by his forethought and his wisdom and
  his eagerness for work。〃 '9' 〃True; my son;〃 the father answered; 〃but
  you know the struggle must in part be waged not against flesh and
  blood but against circumstances; and these may not be overcome so
  easily。 You know; I take it; that if supplies were not forthcoming;
  farewell to this government of yours。〃