10
Now at Olympia you cannot win the victory by selecting competitors, but in this life circumstances permit you to take pride in your superiority to many, and to be an object of envy rather than envious of the others - unless, indeed, you make a Briareus or a Heracles your opponent. Whenever, then, you are lost in admiration of a man borne in his litter as being superior to yourself, lower your eyes and gaze upon the litter-bearers also; and whenever you account happy, as the man of Hellespont Cf. Herodotus, vii. 56: O Zeus, why have you taken the likeness of a Persian and changed your name to Xerxes, and now lead the whole world with you in your desire to uproot Greece? Surely you might have done all this without these means. did, that famous Xerxes crossing his bridge, look also upon those who are digging through Athos Cf. 455 d, supra. beneath the lash, and those whose ears and noses are mutilated because the bridge was broken by the current. Consider also their state of mind: they account happy your life and your fortunes.
