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ἔτι τοίνυν ὁ μὲν Θουκυδίδης 1 φησὶν ‘ ὅστις ἐπὶ μεγίστοις τὸ ἐπίφθονον λαμβάνει, ὀρθῶς [p. 176] βουλεύεται:’ τῷ δὲ φίλῳ προσήκει τὸ ἐκ τοῦ νουθετεῖν ἐπαχθὲς ὑπὲρ μεγάλων ἀναδέχεσθαι καὶ σφόδρα διαφερόντων. ἂν δ᾽ ἐπὶ πᾶσι καὶ πρὸς πάντα δυσκολαίνῃ καὶ μὴ φιλικῶς ἀλλὰ παιδαγωγικῶς προσφέρηται τοῖς συνήθεσιν, ἀμβλὺς ἐν τοῖς μεγίστοις νουθετῶν ἔσται καὶ ἄπρακτος, ὥσπερ ἰατρὸς δριμὺ φάρμακον ἢ πικρὸν ἀναγκαῖον δὲ καὶ πολυτελὲς εἰς πολλὰ καὶ μικρὰ καὶ οὐκ ἀναγκαῖα διελὼν τῇ παρρησίᾳ κατακεχρημένος. αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν σφόδρα φυλάξεται τὸ συνεχὲς καὶ φιλαίτιον: 2 ἑτέρου δὲ μικρολογουμένου περὶ πάντα καὶ παρασυκοφαντοῦντος ὥσπερ ἐνδόσιμον ἕξει πρὸς τὰ μείζονα τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων. καὶ γὰρ ἰατρὸς Φιλότιμος ἐμπύου τὸ ἧπαρ ἀνθρώπου δείξαντος αὐτῷ τὸν δάκτυλον ἡλκωμένον ‘ οὐκ ἔστι σοι’ εἶπεν ‘ὦ τᾶν περὶ παρωνυχίας ὁ λόγος.’ οὐκοῦν καὶ τῷ φίλῳ δίδωσιν ὁ καιρὸς εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ μικροῖς καὶ μηδενὸς ἀξίοις ἐγκαλοῦντα ‘τί παιδιὰς καὶ πότους καὶ φλυάρους λέγομεν; οὗτος, ὦ τᾶν, ἀποπεμψάσθω τὴν ἑταίραν ἢ παυσάσθω κυβεύων, καὶ τἄλλα θαυμαστὸς ἡμῖν ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν’ 3 ὁ γὰρ εἰς τὰ μικρὰ συγγνώμην λαβὼν οὐκ ἀηδῶς εἰς τὰ μείζονα τῷ φίλῳ παρρησίαν δίδωσιν: ὁ δ᾽ ἐγκείμενος ἀεὶ καὶ πανταχοῦ πικρὸς καὶ ἀτερπὴς καὶ πάντα γιγνώσκων καὶ πολυπραγμονῶν οὐδὲ παισὶν ἀνεκτὸς οὐδ᾽ ἀδελφοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ δούλοις ἀφόρητος.
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1888. 1.
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