Pagina 402 van 1391

But now, let us reason with the unjust, who is not intentionally

in error. Is not the noble that which subjects the beast to the

man, or rather to the God in man; the ignoble, that which

subjects the man to the beast? And if so, who would receive gold

on condition that he was to degrade the noblest part of himself

under the worst?-who would sell his son or daughter into the

hands of brutal and evil men, for any amount of money? And will

he sell his own fairer and diviner part without any compunction

to the most godless and foul? Would he not be worse than

Eriphyle, who sold her husband's life for a necklace? And

intemperance is the letting loose of the multiform monster, and

pride and sullenness are the growth and increase of the lion and

serpent element, while luxury and effeminacy are caused by a too

great relaxation of spirit. Flattery and meanness again arise

when the spirited element is subjected to avarice, and the lion

is habituated to become a monkey.