That was a clever saying of Antisthenes,
who answered, when he heard that Ismenias was a capital flute-player,
"But he must be a worthless man, for if he were not, he would not be
such a capital flute-player!" and King Philip of Macedon, when his son
played brilliantly and agreeably on the harp at an entertainment, said
to him, "Are you not ashamed, to play so well?"
It is enough for a king, if he sometimes employs his leisure in
listening to musicians, and it is quite a sufficient tribute from him to
the Muses, if he is present at the performances of other persons.
II. If a man devotes himself to these trifling arts, the time which he
wastes upon them proves that he is incapable of higher things. No well
nurtured youth, on seeing the statue of Jupiter Olympius at Pisa, wishes
that he were a Pheidias, or that he were a Polykleitus on seeing the
statue of Juno at Argos, nor yet while he takes pleasure in poetry, does
he wish that he were an Anakreon, a Philetas, or an Archilochus; for it
does not necessarily follow that we esteem the workman because we are
pleased with the work. For this reason men are not benefited by any
spectacle which does not encourage them to imitation, and where
reflection upon what they have observed does not make them also wish to
do likewise; whereas we both admire the deeds to which virtue incites,
and long to emulate the doers of them.
We enjoy the good things which we owe to fortune, but we admire virtuous
actions; and while we wish to receive the former, we wish ourselves to
benefit others by the latter.
Pages:
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