# Dialexeis 2-17

Maximus of Tyre, Dialexeis, ΛΔ΄ XXXIV (Duebn vulg 35 B 2), Section 2. Ancient Greek.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/greek/maximus-of-tyre/dialexeis/2-17

Ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἔρως ἔχει. Ἐφίεται μὲν γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἡ ψυχή· τί δὲ οὐ μέλλει; ταὶ πολεμεῖ τῷ κακῷ· τί δὲ οὐ μέλλει; ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῇ οὔτε ὧν ἐφίεται καθαρῶς τυχεῖν, οὔθʼ οἷς πολεμεῖ μὴ περιπεσεῖν ἐξ ἀνάγκης. Οὔπω λέγω τὴν μοχθηρὰν ψυχήν (αὕτη μὲν γὰρ πάγκακός τις, καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἄμοιρος, καὶ ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἄπιστος, καὶ ἐν εὐτυχίᾳ ἀκροσφαλής), ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐπιεικῆ καὶ φρονήσεως ἐπήβολον· φέρε ἴδω πότερα καὶ ταύτην φῶμεν ἐπιλαβομένην τῆς ἀρετῆς εὐροίᾳ τινὶ βίου καὶ εὐτυχημάτων ἀκμῇ συγγίγνεσθαι ἀεί; τοῦτο μὲν ἀμήχανον ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει· πολλὰ γὰρ τὰ ἐν ποσίν, καθάπερ ἀνδρὶ κούφως θέοντι ὀρύγματα καὶ κρημνοὶ καὶ βάραθρα καὶ τειχία· ἐν οἷς ὁ μὲν ἀμαθὴς τῆς ὁδοῦ, καὶ μαλθακὸς θεῖν, καὶ διαπηδᾶν ἀσθενής, καὶ παραθεῖν ἀκροσφαλής, πταίει καὶ σφάλλεται καὶ ἀποδειλιᾷ· ὁ δὲ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δρομικὸςἀνὴρ καὶ ἐπιστήμων τῆς ὁδοῦ, κατὰ μὲν τὴν ῥώμην ὀξέως θεῖ, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐμπειρίαν ἀπλανῶς, κατὰ δὲ τὴν τέχνην ἀσφαλῶς· οἶδε μὴν τίς μὲν τῆς ὁδοῦ ἡ λεία καὶ ἄπταιστος, τίς δὲ ἡ διεσκαμμένη, καὶ ἀναγκαία μὲν διελθεῖν, ἀπροαίρετος δὲ τῷ θέοντι.

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Maximus of Tyre, Dialexeis, ed. Hermann Hobein. Text: The Greek Library, from the Perseus Digital Library and other open sources, CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: apostrophes normalised and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Source: https://thegreeklibrary.pages.lisn.upsaclay.fr/works/tlg0563.tlg001.local001/.