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3. καίτοι τινές φασι κατὰ φύσιν εἶναι τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐκ τοῦ πάντα ζῷα δεδουλῶσθαι ταύτῃ, ὥσπερ οὐχὶ καὶ δειλίας καὶ φόβου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων παθημάτων κοινῶς μὲν ἐν ἅπασιν ὄντων, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς λογισμῷ χρωμένοις ἀποδοκιμαζομένων. τὸ οὖν ἡδονὰς διώκειν προπετῶς λύπας ἐστὶ θηρεύειν. διόπερ Ὅμηρος ἐπονείδιστον βουλόμενος ποιῆσαι τὴν ἡδονὴν καὶ τῶν θεῶν φησι τοὺς μεγίστους οὐδὲν ὑπὸ τῆς σφετέρας ὠφελεῖσθαι δυνάμεως, ἀλλὰ τὰ μέγιστα βλάπτεσθαι παρενεχθέντας ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς. ὅσα μὲν γὰρ ἀγρυπνῶν ὁ Ζεὺς ἐφρόντιζεν ὑπὲρ τῶν Τρώων, ταῦτ᾽ ἀπώλεσεν μεθ᾽ ἡμέραν ὑφ᾽ ἡδονῆς κρατηθείς. καὶ ὁ Ἄρης ἀλκιμώτατος ὢν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀσθενεστάτου Ἡφαίστου συνεποδίσθη καὶ ὦφλεν αἰσχύνην καὶ ζηαίαν ἐκδοὺς ἑαυτὸν ἔρωσιν ἀλογίστοις. φησὶ γοῦν πρὸς τοὺς θεούς, ὅτ᾽ ἦλθον αὐτὸν θεασόμενοι δεδεμένον:

οὐκ ἀρετᾷ κακὰ ἔργα: κιχάνει τοι βραδὺς ὠκύν,
ὡς καὶ νῦν Ἥφαιστος ἐὼν βραδὺς εἷλεν Ἄρηα
ὠκύτατόν περ ἐόντα θεῶν οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσι,
χωλὸς ἐών, τέχνῃσι: τὸ καὶ ζωάγρι᾽ ὀφέλλει.
‘ οὐδεὶς δὲ λέγει τὸν Ἀριστείδου βίον ἡδύν, ἀλλὰ τὸν Σαινδυρίδου τοῦ Συβαρίτου καὶ τὸν [p. 298] Σαρδαναπάλλου. καίτοι κατά γε τὴν δόξαν,’ φησὶν ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἡδονῆς Θεόφραστος, ‘ οὐχ ὁμοίως λαμπρός ἐστιν: ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐτρύφησεν ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι. οὐδὲ τὸν Ἀγησιλάου τοῦ Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλέως, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον, εἰ ἔτυχεν, τὸν Ἀνάνιος οὕτως ἀοράτου κατὰ δόξαν ὄντος, οὐδὲ τὸν τῶν ἡμιθέων τῶν ἐπὶ Τροίας, ἀλλὰ πολλῷ μᾶλλον τῶν νῦν καὶ τοῦτ᾽ εἰκότως, ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἀκατάσκευος καὶ καθάπερ ἀνεύρετος ἦν, οὔτ᾽ ἐπιμιξίας οὔσης οὔτε τῶν τεχνῶν διηκριβωμένων, ὁ δὲ πᾶσιν ἐξηρτυμένος πρὸς ῥᾳστώνην καὶ πρὸς ἀπόλαυσιν καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἄλλας διαγωγάς.’

Athenaeus. The Deipnosophists. with an English Translation by. Charles Burton Gulick. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1927. 1.

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