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FUNDANUS. And so, just as Phocion Cf. Life of Phocion, xxii. (751 e); Moralia, 188 d. after Alexander’s death, trying to keep the Athenians from revolting prematurely or believing the report too quickly, said to them, If, men of Athens, he is dead to-day, he will be dead to-morrow also, and the day after; in like manner, I think, the man who, urged on by anger, is in a hurry for vengeance, should suggest to himself, If this person is guilty of wronging you to-day, he will still be guilty to-morrow also, and the day after; no harm will be done if he shall be punished somewhat late, but if he is punished in haste he will always be thought to have suffered without offending; and this has happened many times in the past. For which of us is so harsh that he scourges and chastises a slave because five or ten days ago he overroasted the meat or upset the table or carne too slowly at our bidding? And yet these are the very things which cause us to be excited and in a cruel and implacable mood at the moment they happen and are still fresh in our memory. For as the shapes of persons seen through a fog, so things seen through a mist of rage appear greater than they are.
