protagoras   

like a child in his hands. And many of our own age and of former

ages have noted that the true Lacedaemonian type of character has

the love of philosophy even stronger than the love of gymnastics; they

are conscious that only a perfectly educated man is capable of

uttering such expressions. Such were Thales of Miletus, and Pittacus

of Mitylene, and Bias of Priene, and our own Solon, and Cleobulus

the Lindian, and Myson the Chenian; and seventh in the catalogue of

wise men was the Lacedaemonian Chilo. All these were lovers and

emulators and disciples of the culture of the Lacedaemonians, and

any one may perceive that their wisdom was of this character;

consisting of short memorable sentences, which they severally uttered.

And they met together and dedicated in the temple of Apollo at Delphi,

as the first-fruits of their wisdom, the far-famed inscriptions, which

are in all men's mouths-"Know thyself," and "Nothing too much."

Why do I say all this? I am explaining that this Lacedaemonian

brevity was the style of primitive philosophy. Now there was a

saying of Pittacus which was privately circulated and received the

approbation of the wise, "Hard is it to be good." And Simonides, who

was ambitious of the fame of wisdom, was aware that if he could

overthrow this saying, then, as if he had won a victory over some

famous athlete, he would carry off the palm among his

contemporaries. And if I am not mistaken, he composed the entire

poem with the secret intention of damaging Pittacus and his saying.

Let us all unite in examining his words, and see whether I am

speaking the truth. Simonides must have been a lunatic, if, in the

very first words of the poem, wanting to say only that to become

good is hard, he inserted (men) "on the one hand" ["on the one hand to

become good is hard"]; there would be no reason for the introduction

of (men), unless you suppose him to speak with a hostile reference

to the words of Pittacus. Pittacus is saying "Hard is it to be

good," and he, in refutation of this thesis, rejoins that the truly

hard thing, Pittacus, is to become good, not joining "truly" with