30. Do not look down upon the
bearing, the appearance and the movements of your body as upon something of
secondary importance. For a very well ordered bearing and condition of these
things seems to be not a least part of practical wisdom; and such men as are
not most readily able to comprehend the power of the soul and its beauty,
because they are guided by outward appearances, become also the lovers and
praises of things that are invisible. [34] For this you must take care
of your face, your hair, and your dress, so as to appear worthy of respect. Do
not, however, take this care to the absurd extremes but do not neglect it
either. Both extremes are improper, contemptible, and unfavorable for leaders
of state. Even orderliness of gait, benefits the ruler who should neither
disgrace his movements to the point of being effeminate and weakly, nor seek
after new effects to the point of an awkward, irregular and uneven gait. All in
all, the whole motion of the body ought to be well-controlled.
31. One should pay attention to
the speed of his speech. Fast talking, when competing for a prize might not be
contemptible or impolite, but when speaking in the assembly, it is absurd and
dangerous. [35] For those who rule, especially the statesmen and
government officials, rapid speech makes them appear trivial and irresolute. [36]
More important than how you speak is how you expedite decisions. This
accomplishment, accompanied by orderly behavior, proves to be a divine and
wonderful gift for the possessor and a rare combination not often encountered.
When speech is moderate and in good order, noble and admirable, it is in the
best interest of the multitudes. Fast speech, delivered with disorder and
madness, is sometimes very difficult to correct; it is dangerous, on the other
hand, to be slow, indolent, disorderly and foolish, because when you err the
effect will be less significant and less damaging.
32. Boisterous laughter and
unseemly behavior violate the form and the stability of one’s character.
33. Let both ear and tongue be
free from all foul language. If one enjoys hearing such talk he will not be
ashamed to speak it. If one is not ashamed to speak shameful talk, he will
probably not be ashamed to do shameful deeds. [37] Be constantly aware,
however, of your tongue from slipping aside; for words can in a very short time
make a great difference and damage the life and fortunes of people. [38]
. . .
76. Do not manifestly trangress
any of those precepts that you have determined to enjoin upon others. If there
is falsehood in some things, it will make everything else appear false. Those
who have been deceived are not ashamed to reply inkind. Every man should avoid
lying, especially those who rule. [73] The lie of a common man may be
described as weakness. Rulers have no such escape: They will have to be judged
very severely. [74]
. . .
86. Never punish anyone even
justly, while you are angry. [76] Even if the guilty man is punished,
you would nonetheless be thought to have acted badly in the matter. This is why
one of the ancients declared to someone who had erred: ‘I would chastise you,
if I were not angry.”
. . .
94. Some have said that lovers
have their souls in others’ bodies. | think it is more reasonable to say that
they have lost their minds along with their souls in those other bodies. [83]
. . .
100. Verbal insolence to free men
is not much different from the insolence of blows and lashes. [87]
Therefore, one must guard against rashness in these matters; for though it does
not seem great, it produces great losses. [88] (The Patriarch and the
Prince: The Letter of Patriarch Photios of Constantinople to Khan Boris of
Bulgaria [trans. Despina Stratoudaki White and Joseph R. Berrigan, Jr.;
Brookline, Mass.: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1982], 60-61, 70-71, 73, 74, 75)
Notes for the above (from ibid., 83-84, 86, 87, 88, 89)
[34] ‘“‘A man may be known
by his looks, and one that hath understanding by his countenance, when thou
meetest him,”’ Sirach 19.29.
[35] Proverbs 20.20: ‘‘Do
you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for
him.”” Also, Sirach 4.29: “Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds slack
and remiss.”’
[36] Cf. Isocrates, Isocrates:
to Demonicos, 15:12: “Be not fond of violent mirth, nor harbour presumption
of speech; for the one is folly, the other madness.’
[37] Cf. Basil, PG
107:37, maxim 33: ‘Don’t say the things which you are ashamed to do; and the
things which you are ashamed to say, don’t even think.’’ Cf. also Isocrates,
Isocrates: to Demonicos 15:12: ‘‘What ever is shameful to do you must not
consider it honorable even to mention.”
[38] See Sirach 20.18: ‘To
slip upon a pavement is better than to slip with the tongue: so the fall of the
wicked shall come speedily.” Similarly in Aeschylos, Prometheus Bound:
‘‘Keep a quick mind and use not over-vehemence of speech—knowest thou not,
being exceedingly wise, a wanton, idle tongue brings chastisement,” line 327, Great
Works of the Western World, ‘‘Aeschylos,”” ed. Mortimer Adler (Chicago,
1952), 5, p. 43. See also Hesiod’s Works and Days, tr. Hugh G. Evelyn
White (London, 1920) p. 54: line 708: ‘‘Do not make a friend equal to a brother
but if you do, do not wrong him first and do not lie to please the tongue.’’
Line 718: ‘‘The best treasure a man can have is a sparing tongue, and the greatest
pleasure, one that moves orderly: for if you speak evil, you yourself will soon
be worse spoken of.”’
. . .
[73] Basil, PG
107:36, maxim 29: “Always speak the truth and keep your word and teach others
to believe you. Thus you will be sure that you will not be suspected, and you
will always have the trust and the friendship of your people.”
[74] Sirach 5.28: “Strive
for the truth unto death and the Lord shall fight for thee.’’
. . .
[76] Cf. Sirach 8.16:
‘Strive not with an angry man and go not with him into a solitary place: for
blood is as nothing in his sight; and where there is no help, he will overthrow
thee.”’
. . .
[83] Cf. Sirach 9.6: ‘Give
not thy soul unto harlots, that thou lose not thine inheritance.”’ [RB: Note: there
is no note 83 in the main body of the text (it skips 83) but this paragraph fits
the context of the note]
. . .
[87] Cf. Plutarch’s
Lives, ‘‘Life of Timoleon,’’ tr. Bernadotte Perrin (London, 1914)
32.341: “So natural is it for most men to be more galled by bitter words than
hostile acts: since insolence is harder for them to bear than injury.’’
[88] Sirach 10.13: “Honour
and shame is in talk; and the tongue of man is his fall.’”
