give children an excuse, and make them less eager to repay their
debt, whereas we ought to spur them on, saying, "Noble youths, give
your attention to this! You are invited to contend in an honourable
strife between parents and children, as to which party has received
more than it has given. Your fathers have not necessarily won the
day because they are first in the field: only take courage, as
befits you, and do not give up the contest; you will conquer if you
wish to do so. In this honourable warfare you will have no lack of
leaders who will encourage you to perform deeds like their own, and
bid you follow in their footsteps upon a path by which victory has
often before now been won over parents.

XXXVII. AEneas conquered his father in well doing, for he himself
had been but a light and a safe burden for him when he was a child,
yet he bore his father, when heavy with age, through the midst of
the. enemy's lines and the crash of the city which was falling
around him, albeit the devout old man, who bore the sacred images
and the household gods in his hands, pressed him with more than his
own weight; nevertheless (what cannot filial piety accomplish!)
AEneas bore him safe through the blazing city, and placed him in
safety, to be worshipped as one of the founders of the Roman
Empire. Those Sicilian youths outdid their parents whom they bore
away safe, when Aetna, roused to unusual fury, poured fire over
cities and fields throughout a great part of the island. It is
believed that the fires parted, and that the flames retired on
either side, so as to leave a passage for these youths to pass
through, who certainly deserved to perform their daring task in
safety. Antigonus outdid his father when, after having conquered
the enemy in a great battle, he transferred the fruits of it to
him, and handed over to him the empire of Cyprus. This is true