εὐγενείας μὲν οὖν ἦθός ἐστι τὸ φιλοτιμότερον εἶναι (17) τὸν κεκτημένον αὐτήν·
ἅπαντες γάρ, ὅταν ὑπάρχῃ τι, πρὸς (18) τοῦτο σωρεύειν εἰώθασιν, ἡ δ’ εὐγένεια ἐντιμότης προγόνων (19) ἐστίν.
καὶ καταφρονητικὸν καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων ἐστὶν τοῖς προ(20)γόνοις αὑτῶν, διότι πόρρω ταὐτὰ μᾶλλον ἢ ἐγγὺς γιγνόμενα (21) ἐντιμότερα καὶ εὐαλαζόνευτα.
ἔστι δὲ εὐγενὲς μὲν κατὰ τὴν (22) τοῦ γένους ἀρετήν, γενναῖον δὲ κατὰ τὸ μὴ ἐξίστασθαι τῆς (23) φύσεως·
ὅπερ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ οὐ συμβαίνει τοῖς εὐγενέσιν, (24) ἀλλ’ εἰσὶν οἱ πολλοὶ εὐτελεῖς·
φορὰ γὰρ τίς ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς (25) γένεσιν ἀνδρῶν ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὰς χώρας γιγνομένοις, (26) καὶ ἐνίοτε ἂν ᾖ ἀγαθὸν τὸ γένος, ἐγγίνονται διά τινος χρόνου (27) ἄνδρες περιττοί, κἄπειτα πάλιν ἀναδίδωσιν.
ἐξίσταται δὲ (28) τὰ μὲν εὐφυᾶ γένη εἰς μανικώτερα ἤθη,
οἷον οἱ ἀπ’ Ἀλκιβιά(29)δου καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ Διονυσίου τοῦ προτέρου,
τὰ δὲ στάσιμα εἰς (30) ἀβελτερίαν καὶ νωθρότητα,
οἷον οἱ ἀπὸ Κίμωνος καὶ Περι(31)κλέους καὶ Σωκράτους.
First let us consider Good Birth. Its effect on character is to make those who have it more ambitious;
it is the way of all men who have something to start with to add to the pile, and good birth implies ancestral distinction.
The well—born man will look down even on those who are as good as his own ancestors, because any far—off distinction is greater than the same thing close to us, and better to boast about.
Being well—born, which means coming of a fine stock, must be distinguished from nobility, which means being true to the family nature
—a quality not usually found in the well—born, most of whom are poor creatures.
In the generations of men as in the fruits of the earth, there is a varying yield; now and then, where the stock is good, exceptional men are produced for a while, and then decadence sets in.
A clever stock will degenerate towards the insane type of character,
like the descendants of Alcibiades or of the elder Dionysius;
a steady stock towards the fatuous and torpid type,
like the descendants of Cimon, Pericles, and Socrates.
