Lectures · Lecture 20

20.1

And in fact the furnishings of the household appear to be in harmony with, and akin to, extravagance in houses: couches and tables and coverlets and drinking cups and anything of that sort, when they go far beyond need and advance past what is necessary. Couches of ivory and silver, or, by Zeus, of gold; tables of similar material; coverlets dyed purple and other colors hard to obtain; drinking cups made of gold and silver, and some of stones or of certain stone-like materials that rival the silver and gold ones in costliness. And all these things are eagerly pursued, though a simple cot provides us with a resting place no worse than the silver or ivory couch, and a goatskin is quite sufficient to lie upon, so that there is no need of purple or scarlet cloth. It is possible for us to eat without harm from a wooden table, so as in no way to long for the silver one; and, by Zeus, to drink from earthenware cups, which by their nature quench thirst just as well as the golden ones, and do not spoil the wine poured into them, and in fact give off a more pleasant smell than the golden and silver ones. In general, the merit and defect of furnishings might rightly be judged from these three things: their acquisition, their use, and their upkeep. For whatever is either troublesome to acquire, or not suitable for use, or not easy to keep safe—these are worse; but the things that we both acquire without difficulty, and commend as easy to use, and keep safe without trouble—these are better. This is why earthenware and iron things, and all such as these, are far better than the silver and gold ones: because their acquisition is easier, in proportion as it is also cheaper; their use is greater, because we can readily set them on the fire, whereas we cannot the others; and their safekeeping is less demanding, for cheap things are less exposed to plots than costly ones. And since cleaning is also part of safekeeping, this too is greater in the case of costly things. Therefore, just as a horse bought for a small price but providing many services is more to be chosen than one that does little work but was purchased at a high price, in the same way the cheaper and more serviceable furnishings are better than their opposites. Why, then, are the rare and costly things pursued in preference to the ordinary and the cheap?

20.2

Because what is fine and good is unknown, and, among the foolish, in place of realities it is appearances that are pursued—just as those who are mad often think black things white; and folly is the closest kin to madness. For among lawgivers we would find that the best, and Lycurgus in the first rank, drove extravagance out of Sparta and introduced frugality in its place, preferring the scantiness of a spare way of life to superfluity for the sake of courage, turning away from luxury as a corruption, and demanding that willingness to endure hardship be pursued as something that brings safety. Proofs of these things are the endurance-trials of the young men there, who were accustomed to bear hunger and thirst, and along with these cold, and further blows and other toils . . . reared in these venerable customs, the ancient Lacedaemonians both were and were held to be the best of the Greeks, and they rendered their own poverty more enviable than the king's wealth. For my part, then, I too would rather fall ill than live in luxury; for illness only harms the body, whereas luxury destroys both, soul and body alike—producing weakness and incapacity in the body, and lack of self-control and cowardice in the soul. And indeed luxury also gives birth to injustice, because it gives birth to greed as well. For it is not possible for one who lives luxuriously not to be extravagant, nor, being extravagant, to be willing to spend little, nor, wishing to spend much, not to try to acquire much, nor again, trying to acquire much, not to grasp for more and to act unjustly; for one could not acquire much by just means. And in yet another way the person who lives luxuriously would be altogether unjust: for he would shrink from performing the labors that are fitting on behalf of his own city, or else he would no longer be living in luxury; and if it were necessary to suffer hardship on behalf of friends or kinsmen, he would not endure it, for luxury will not allow him. And moreover, for the sake of the gods too there are times when one who wishes to be just toward the gods must labor, in that he will perform sacrifices or rites or some other service for the gods, whereas the man of luxury will fall short here as well. Therefore he would be altogether unjust in relation to his city and to his friends and to the gods, since he does not do what he ought to do. Luxury, then, since it is a cause of injustice as well, must be avoided in every way.