THESEUS
So that
if
I was later obliged none the less to admit differences
<llllong the Athenians (and consequently to admit a hierarchy) I al–
lowed this only in order to ensure that the state would in general func–
tion better. Thus it is that, thanks to me, the Athenians came to deserve,
among all the other Greeks, the fine name of "people," which was com–
monly bestowed upon them, and upon them only. There lies my fame–
far surpassing that of my earlier feats: a fame to which neither Hercules
attained, nor Jason, nor Bellerophon, nor Perseus.
Pirithous, alas! the companion of my youthful exuberances, later
fell away from me. All those heroes whom I have named, and others
too, like Meleager and Peleus, never prolonged their career beyond their
first feats, nor sometimes beyond a single one. For myself, I was not
content with that. "There
is
a time for conquest," I used to say to
Pirithous, "a
time
for cleansing the earth of its monsters, and then a
time
for husbandry and the harvesting of well-cherished land; a time
to set men free from fear, and then a time in which to find employ–
ment for their liberty, in which to profit by the moment of ease and
coax
it
into bloom." And that could not
be
achieved
without
discipline:
I would not admit that, as
with
the Boeotians, man should make him–
self his own boundary, or aim merely at a mediocre happiness. I thought
that man was not, and would never be free, and that it would not be a
good thing
if
he were. But I couldn't urge
him
forward without his con–
sent: nor could I obtain that consent without leaving him (leaving the
people at any rate) the illusion of liberty. I wanted to educate him. I
would not allow
him
to become in any degree content
with
his lot, or
to resign himself to furrow his brow in perpetuity. Humanity (such
was always the cast of my thought) can do more and deserves better. I
remembered the teaching of Daedalus, who wanted to enrich mankind
with the spoils of the gods. My strength was that I believed in progress.
So
Pirithous
and I parted company. In my youth he had been my
constant companion, and often an invaluable aide. But I realized that
constancy in friendship can prevent a man from advancing--can even
pull him backwards; after a certain point one can only go forward
alone. As Pirithous was a man of sense, I still listened to what he said:
but that was all. He was growing old, and whereas he had once been
enterprise itself, he now allowed wisdom to degenerate into temperance.
His advice was now always for restriction and restraint.
"Mankind isn't worth all this trouble," he would say. And I would
reply "Well, what else is there to think about, except mankind? Man
has not yet said his last word."
"Don't get excited," he used to reply. "Haven't you done enough?
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