homicides, warfare, brothers are maddened against brothers, and
children against parents."
This from Naumachius also pleases them :
" Gold and silver are but dust, like the stones that lie scattered on
the pebbly beach, or on the margins of the rivers."
On the other hand, they censure these verses of Euripides :
" Plutus is the god for wise men ; all else is mere folly and at the
same time a deception in words."
So in like manner these lines from Theognis :
" Ο Plutus, thou most beautiful and placid god ! whilst I have thee,
however bad I am, I can be regarded as good."
They also blame Aristodemus, the Spartan, for these words :
" Money makes the man ; no one who is poor is either good or
honoured."
And they rebuke these songs of Timocles :
" Money is the life and soul of mortal men. He who has not
heaped up riches for himself wanders like a dead man amongst the
living."
Finally, they blame Menander when he wrote :
" Epicharmus asserts that the gods are water, wind, fire, earth, sun,
and stars. But I am of opinion that the gods of any use to us are silver
and gold ; for if thou wilt set these up in thy house thou mayest seek
whatever thou wilt. All things will fall to thy lot ; land, houses, slaves,
silver-work ; moreover friends, judges, and witnesses. Only give freely,
for thus thou hast the gods to serve thee."
But besides this, the strongest argument of the detractors is that the
fields are devastated by mining operations, for which reason formerly
Italians were warned by law that no one should dig the earth for metals and
so injure their very fertile fields, their vineyards, and their olive groves.
Also they argue that the woods and groves are cut down, for there is need of
an endless amount of wood for timbers, machines, and the smelting of metals.
And when the woods and groves are felled, then are exterminated the beasts
and birds, very many of which furnish a pleasant and agreeable food for man.
Further, when the ores are washed, the water which has been used poisons
the brooks and streams, and either destroys the fish or drives them away.
Therefore the inhabitants of these regions, on account of the devastation of
their fields, woods, groves, brooks and rivers, find great difficulty in procuring
the necessaries of life, and by reason of the destruction of the timber they
are forced to greater expense in erecting buildings. Thus it is said, it is
clear to all that there is greater detriment from mining than the value of
the metals which the mining produces.
So in fierce contention they clamour, showing by such examples as
follow that every great man has been content with virtue, and despised
metals. They praise Bias because he esteemed the metals merely
as fortune's playthings, not as his real wealth. When his enemies had
captured his native Priene, and his fellow-citizens laden with precious things
