5.1.12
but, until Nicanor shall arrive, Aristomenes,
Timarchus, Hipparchus, Dioteles and (if he consent
and if circumstances permit him) Theophrastus shall
take charge as well of Herpyllis and the children as
of the property. And when the girl shall be grown
up she shall be given in marriage to Nicanor; but
if anything happen to the girl (which heaven forbid
and no such thing will happen) before her marriage,
or when she is married but before there are children,
Nicanor shall have full powers, both with regard to
the child and with regard to everything else, to
administer in a manner worthy both of himself and
of us. Nicanor shall take charge of the girl and of
the boy Nicomachus as he shall think fit in all that
concerns them as if he were father and brother.
And if anything should happen to Nicanor (which
heaven forbid!) either before he marries the girl, or
when he has married her but before there are children, any arrangements that he may make shall be
valid.
5.1.13
And if Theophrastus is willing to live with her,
he shall have the same rights as Nicanor. Otherwise the executors in consultation with Antipater
shall administer as regards the daughter and the boy
as seems to them to be best. The executors and
Nicanor, in memory of me and of the steady affection
which Herpyllis has borne towards me, shall take
care of her in every other respect and, if she desires
to be married, shall see that she be given to one
not unworthy; and besides what she has already
received they shall give her a talent of silver out of
the estate and three handmaids whomsoever she
shall choose besides the maid she has at present and
the man-servant Pyrrhaeus;
5.1.14
and if she chooses to
remain at Chalcis, the lodge by the garden, if in
Stagira, my father's house. Whichever of these two
houses she chooses, the executors shall furnish with
such furniture as they think proper and as Herpyllis
herself may approve. Nicanor shall take charge of
the boy Myrmex, that he be taken to his own friends
in a manner worthy of me with the property of his
which we received. Ambracis shall be given her
freedom, and on my daughter's marriage shall
receive 500 drachmas and the maid whom she now
has. And to Thale shall be given, in addition
to the maid whom she has and who was bought,
a thousand drachmas and a maid.
5.1.15
And Simon, in
addition to the money before paid to him towards
another servant, shall either have a servant purchased
for him or receive a further sum of money. And
Tycho, Philo, Olympius and his child shall have their
freedom when my daughter is married. None of
the servants who waited upon me shall be sold but
they shall continue to be employed; and when
they arrive at the proper age they shall have their
freedom if they deserve it. My executors shall see to
it, when the images which Gryllion has been commissioned to execute are finished, that they be set
up, namely that of Nicanor, that of Proxenus, which
it was my intention to have executed, and that of
Nicanor's mother; also they shall set up the bust
which has been executed of Arimnestus, to be a
memorial of him seeing that he died childless,
5.1.16
and
shall dedicate my mother's statue to Demeter at
Nemea or wherever they think best. And wherever
they bury me, there the bones of Pythias shall be
laid, in accordance with her own instructions. And
to commemorate Nicanor's safe return, as I vowed
on his behalf, they shall set up in Stagira stone
statues of life size to Zeus and Athena the Saviours." note
Such is the tenor of Aristotle's will. It is said that
a very large number of dishes belonging to him were
found, and that Lyco mentioned his bathing in a
bath of warm oil and then selling the oil. Some
relate that he placed a skin of warm oil on his
stomach, and that, when he went to sleep, a bronze
ball was placed in his hand with a vessel under it,
in order that, when the ball dropped from his hand
into the vessel, he might be waked up by the sound. note
5.1.17
Some exceedingly happy sayings are attributed
to him, which I proceed to quote. To the question,
"What do people gain by telling lies?" his answer
was, "Just this, that when they speak the truth
they are not believed." Being once reproached for
giving alms to a bad man, he rejoined, "It was the
man and not his character that I pitied."
note
He used constantly to say to his friends and pupils, whenever
or wherever he happened to be lecturing, "As sight
takes in light from the surrounding air, so does the
soul from mathematics." Frequently and at some
length he would say that the Athenians were the
discoverers of wheat and of laws; but, though they
used wheat, they had no use for laws.
5.1.18
"The roots of education," he said, "are bitter,
but the fruit is sweet." Being asked, "What is it
that soon grows old?" he answered, "Gratitude."
He was asked to define hope, and he replied, "It is
a waking dream." When Diogenes offered him dried
figs, he saw that he had prepared something caustic
to say if he did not take them; so he took them
and said Diogenes had lost his figs and his jest into
the bargain. And on another occasion he took them
when they were offered, lifted them up aloft, as you
do babies, and returned them with the exclamation,
"Great is Diogenes." Three things he declared to
be indispensable for education: natural endowment,
study, and constant practice. On hearing that some
one abused him, he rejoined, "He may even scourge
me so it be in my absence." Beauty he declared to
be a greater recommendation than any letter of
introduction.
