Letters of Certain Philosophers

If you should leave Athens, you could, as indeed I think, most conveniently dwell at Miletus. For it is your colony, and you will suffer nothing burdensome there. But if you also abhor tyranny among the Milesians—for indeed you have tyrants hostile to you everywhere alike—yet it will be most pleasant to live with us, your friends. Bias has written to you that you should set out to Priene: if you should more gladly dwell in that city, we ourselves will fly there to you as well.

Neither am I alone among the Greeks in having seized tyranny, nor have I usurped a thing belonging to another, since I trace my lineage from Cecrops. For I claim this by my own right, because the Athenians, when they had once confirmed by oath to Codrus that they would grant it to his family, afterward took it away. But otherwise I sin in nothing, either against the gods or against men. The laws which you yourself gave to the Athenians, I bid to be kept, and I bid them live according to them: and indeed they are better kept than they could be if affairs were managed by the rule of the multitude. For I permit no one to suffer injury: and I, though a tyrant, differ from the common people in nothing except dignity and honor, being content with only those stipends which were owed also to those who reigned before me.

Finally, the Athenians individually set aside a tenth of their produce, not to be spent for our own uses, but for public sacrifices and common advantages, and, should war ever threaten against us, to be allotted for expenses. I indeed bear you no grudge for having disclosed my mind and purpose: since you disclosed it rather out of zeal for the commonwealth of the city than out of hatred of me: and besides because you did not know what sort of king I would prove to be. For if you had learned this, you would perhaps have borne my endeavors with an equal mind, and you would by no means have committed yourself to flight. Return home, therefore, in good faith, trusting me even without an oath, that there is no danger to Solon from Pisistratus. For you know that no one, not even from the number of my enemies, has suffered any harm from me.

Finally, if it pleases you to enjoy our friendship, you shall be among the first: for there is no suspicion of deceit or treachery in you. But if otherwise you should be unwilling to dwell at Athens, you shall do as you judge best: only do not depart from your homeland on our account. Farewell.

You write that very many plot against you; but even if you should remove all of them from your midst, not even thus will you succeed. For someone will plot against you from among those whom you least suspect, partly fearing for himself, partly reproaching you because you dread everything and fear all things without exception, partly also wishing to gratify the city. It would therefore be best to abstain from tyranny, so that you might escape all causes of fear. But if you judge that you must persist altogether in tyranny, you must of necessity gather to yourself foreign forces and auxiliaries from abroad, greater than the forces of the city, so that now no one may be hostile to you, and you may drive no one into exile. Farewell.

Neither indeed were my laws going to profit the Athenians much, nor, when they had been set aside, were you of any benefit to the city. For God and the givers of laws are not able by themselves alone to help cities, but those who lead the multitude, in whatever direction they wish. For these, if they administer affairs rightly, God and laws are useful; but if wrongly, they profit nothing. Nor indeed did my laws and statutes which I wrote profit anything at all: rather, those who transgressed them brought great harm upon the commonwealth, in that they did not resist Pisistratus so that he might not seize the tyranny. Nor indeed was credence given to me when I foretold what was to come. He who flattered the Athenians was thought more trustworthy than I, who spoke true things.

Having laid down arms before the senate-house, I said that I was wiser than those who did not perceive that Pisistratus was aiming at tyranny; but braver than those who were afraid to assert the liberty of the commonwealth; yet they interpreted this as the madness of Solon. At length, having thus called my country to witness, I departed: O fatherland, this Solon of yours is indeed ready and prepared to bring you help both by deed and by word, but to these men I seem to be raving. And so, having forsaken you, I depart, alone of all men an enemy to Pisistratus; but these men are ready both to favor and to obey him. For you know, as a friend, with what cunning, with what wit, with what art that man seized the tyranny.

For he began by gently enticing the common people, then even inflicted wounds upon himself; and having come forth into public, crying out that he had received these from enemies, he begged that they give him four hundred of the strongest young men as guards. But they, though I indeed resisted and cried out against it, consented. These men were armed with stout clubs; and so, surrounded by them, he overturned the state of the commonwealth. And while they, with vain hope, strove to free their own poor from serving for wages, all of them together were put under the yoke, and they serve Pisistratus alone.

I believe indeed that I shall suffer nothing evil from you. For before the tyranny I was your friend, nor am I now more hostile than any other Athenian who does not love tyranny. But whether it is more advantageous for them to be ruled by the rule of one man, or for the commonwealth to be administered publicly, let each decide according to his own judgment. Certainly I confess that you are the most excellent of all tyrants. But I know that it is not advantageous for me to return to Athens, lest anyone justly reproach me, who long ago had handed over to the Athenians the commonwealth to be administered equitably, and who, when the tyranny was offered to me in person, had of my own accord declined it, only now to seem, by returning, to approve your act through sudden repentance.

I embrace wonderfully your good will toward us: and by the immortal gods, unless I had long ago resolved with myself to have my abode where the commonwealth is free, I would rather spend my life with you, in your kingdom, than at Athens, where Pisistratus violently exercises tyranny. But it is sweeter, according to our custom, to live where the rights of all are equal and common. Nevertheless I will come to you, that I may for a while enjoy your hospitality.

You bid me be free from military service, and live in exile: as if you yourself were going to be safe. But I think that not even a monarch's own affairs are safe: and I judge that tyrant fortunate to whom it has fallen to die in his own house without bloodshed.

You bid me come into Lydia, to view your wealth. Though I have not seen it at all, I do not doubt that the son of Alyattes is the most opulent of all kings, and most laden with gold. Nor indeed shall we have anything more, if we come to you at Sardis. For we ourselves have no need of gold, content with a modest provision for life, as much as suffices for me and my friends. Nevertheless I will come, that I may become familiar with you, a most courteous and hospitable man. Farewell.

You have indeed very many friends, and each has a house: but I judge that Lindus, a free city, will be most convenient for Solon to dwell in. And it is a maritime island, where, if you wish to stay, you will fear no harm from Pisistratus, and friends will flock to you from every side. Farewell.

I give immortal thanks to Pythian Apollo, that they found you gathered together for my letter, and that they will themselves bring you, as I trust, to Corinth. I await you, therefore. Surely you yourselves will see how courteously I shall receive you. Just as, then, in the year past you came to Sardis, into Lydia: so now I beg that it not irk you to set out also to me, the tyrant of Corinth; for the Corinthians will see you, not without congratulation, approaching the house of Periander.

Indeed the crime of my wife was not according to my will: but you sin if you do anything of your own accord against an ungrateful son. Either, therefore, restrain your cruelty toward your son, or I will bring him aid: for he too has paid the penalty long enough now.

I concealed nothing indeed from your herald, but leading him into the cornfield, and striking the taller ears with a rod, I struck them down, while he followed close behind: and he will report to you, if you ask, whatever he has seen or heard from me. Do this, then, if indeed you desire to hold your tyranny safely, and to be established in it. Remove the leading men of the city, whether they seem friends or enemies: since for a tyrant even friends are often suspect.

I, king of the Lydians, have come into Greece to learn the customs, pursuits, and institutions of the Greeks. But I have no need of gold, and it is enough for me that I return to the Scythians better and more learned. Nevertheless I will come to you at Sardis, esteeming it of great worth to become your familiar friend.

Take courage, O friend. For if Pisistratus were threatening Athenians accustomed to servitude, or ill-instructed, he would surely have held power for a long time. But he has compelled to servitude men who are by no means bad or cowardly: but who, mindful of Solon's admonitions, groaning for shame, will by no means endure serving tyranny much longer. But even though Pisistratus has seized the city, I do not think the power will be handed down to his children. For it is very hard for men who are free, and instructed by excellent laws, to endure under servitude. But you, I beg, do not be made to wander, but come to us in Crete promptly, where no tyrant is troublesome to anyone. But if perhaps his friends should, as may happen, chance upon you on the road, I fear lest some misfortune befall you.

May you die well, when your fated day comes upon you. Illness had seized me when I received your letter; I was infested with lice, and was shaken all over with fever. I have therefore charged certain of my household, that when they have buried me, they should bring to you what I have written. But you, if indeed you approve these things along with the rest of the wise men, may then deliver them to be read; but if you disapprove, do not publish them. To me indeed they were not yet sufficiently pleasing; there is in them no certain assurance of the matters treated. For I have neither accepted this, nor professed to know what is true. Perhaps I have reserved certain things concerning theology; the rest one must understand for oneself. For indeed I judge all things rather than disclose them. But as my illness grows worse day by day, I admit neither any physician nor any of my friends at all.

But to those standing before the doors and asking in what state I am, I show through the chinks of the door, by putting forth my finger, by what pestilential evil I am held; and I have warned them to gather on the morrow for the solemn funeral rites of Pherecydes. Farewell.

Thales, carried from the flower of youth to old age through the pursuits of virtue and humanity, has met with a renowned death. He, when, as was his custom, together with a little serving-maid, he had gone out early from the courtyard of his house to observe the stars, forgetful of how the ground lay, while carelessly he explored the heavens, fell into a pit lying beneath. The Milesians report this as the end of the observer of the stars. But we, who are held by love of letters, ever keep the memory of so great a man, and rest especially upon his teaching, and we always make Thales the beginning of our discourse.

You have acted more wisely for yourself, that you might live in quiet, in that you migrated from Samos to Croton. For the sons of Aeacus are hostile, among others, and tyrants lord it over the Milesians as well. The king of the Medes likewise threatens us fiercely, unless we are willing to be tributaries. Although the Ionians seem to be fighting against the Medes for the freedom of all. For thus they press upon us on every side, that there is no hope of safety for us. With what spirit, then, can Anaximenes search out the secrets of heaven, upon whom hangs the constant fear either of death or of servitude? But you are dear and held in esteem by the Crotonians and the rest of the Italians, whom even eager students from Sicily approach.

We, all of Plato's kinsmen, have sent Lamiscus and Photidas, to receive that man from you by right of our ancient friendship. You would therefore do well to remember with what zeal you demanded of us Plato's coming, that we should urge him to come, pledging that you would do everything and would permit him freely to come and to depart. Remember, then, how much you valued his arrival, and how at that time you loved him more than the rest. But if any quarrel has arisen, it is fitting that you act more humanely, and restore him to us unharmed. For if you do this, you will cultivate justice, and will do us a favor.

I have handed my testaments to Diogenes to be brought to you. For since I am often sick, and am not well in body, it seemed good to draw up a testament: so that, if anything unexpected should befall, I might depart from life without wrong to you, who alone of all have followed me with the greatest affection. Since you have always been the most faithful of all who are here to me, take care diligently to keep it, both because of your age and because of our close bond. Be mindful, therefore, how much I entrust to your good faith, so that what is wholly deposited with you may, as far as it lies in you, and my affairs may be honorably arranged.

I indeed consider that I surpass your life in fortune and glory; but in learning and liberal studies, and in that perfect felicity which you possess, I perceive that you are far superior to me. Wherefore I have determined to entreat you to set out to me, persuading myself that you will by no means suffer my requests to be in vain. Do you therefore strive by every means that we may enjoy your company: knowing for certain that you will be the instructor not only of me, but of all the Macedonians together. For whoever instructs the king of Macedonia, and imbues him with virtue, it is certain that he also trains all his subjects to fortitude and uprightness. For such as the leader has been, such for the most part the subjects must needs become. Farewell.

I embrace your so vehement zeal for learning, in that you set out to grasp true, useful, and necessary erudition, not the popular kind which tends to the corruption of morals. For whoever is held by love and zeal for philosophy, and turns aside from that celebrated and vulgar pleasure which effeminates the minds of certain young men, it is manifest that such a one guards not only the nobility of his nature, but also the true discipline of virtue. Moreover, if to a liberal and noble disposition a moderate exercise be added, and there be no lack of a teacher, one arrives early at the perfect fruit of virtue. Indeed, unless old age withstood me—for I am eighty years old, and my body besides is feeble—I myself would come to you, as you bid. But since this is not granted, I send to you some of my companions, who are by no means inferior to me in goods of the mind, and even surpass me in advantages of body.

If you diligently associate with these, you will lack nothing that pertains to perfect happiness.

But you, best of men, if you were in no way superior to Pythagoras in birth and glory, would surely by now have migrated to us from Miletus: but now your paternal and ancestral glory has restrained you, which would have restrained me too, if I were like Anaximenes. But if you all should abandon your cities on account of augury, they indeed would be stripped of their adornment, and the Medes would press upon them more hostilely. Nor indeed is it always fitting to investigate the reckonings of the stars and the heavens. It is better sometimes to turn one's cares and thoughts to one's fatherland. Although I myself am not always at leisure for my own fables, but sometimes also occupied with the wars in which the Italians are at variance among themselves.

You do well indeed in having signified to us that you have recovered from your illness: you have also informed us likewise concerning Damiscus. As for the Commentaries, we have taken care of them and have come to the Lucanians, and there we met the grandsons of Occellus. What we have, then, concerning kingship, laws, justice, and the generation of all things, we possess ourselves, and of these we have sent some. The rest cannot at present be found: when they have been found, they will be brought to you.

It cannot be said how gladly we received the Commentaries brought to us by you; and we especially admired the one who wrote them. For that man showed himself indeed worthy of those great men, those most ancient and excellent men, of his ancestors. These men are said to have been Myraeans: and these were of those Trojans who migrated with Laomedon, good men, as the traditions concerning them signify. The Commentaries which are with me, concerning which you wrote, are not yet sufficiently elaborated, nor will they ever be sufficiently so; nevertheless I have sent them. As for the matter of custody, we both agree: therefore there is no need of exhortation. Farewell.

You have written a book On Nature, obscure and difficult in very many places, which, if it be expounded word for word, seems to contain a certain force of speculation about the whole world, and about all the things that happen in it, which indeed are established in the divine motion. In which very many have been so entangled that even those who have read much are in doubt, although the account seems to have been rightly written by you. King Darius, therefore, son of Hystaspes, desires to be your hearer, and to become a partaker of Greek learning. Come therefore as soon as possible into my presence, and to the royal house. For the Greeks, being for the most part little given to honoring wise men, spurn those things which have been rightly elaborated by them: although such things are not lacking in learning and gravity. But with me every honor and every preeminence will be yours, and daily careful attention, and pleasant conversation, and a life approved by your character. Farewell.

All mortals who live upon the earth abstain from truth and justice, and strive insatiably after avarice and empty glory, for the sake of ruinous folly. But I, forgetful of all wickedness, and shunning the loathsomeness of all domestic envy, which is wont to accompany splendor, would never come into the land of the Persians, being content with the few things that are according to my own judgment.