a part of the art of spectacles. Others, a race more wretched than they, dancing away the glory of men, breaking down nature with the twisting of limbs, men-women, effeminate males. Not men, not women, in truthful speech. For they do not remain what they are, and they have not become the other. For what they are, they do not remain in their manner, and what they wickedly wish to be, they are not by nature, a riddle of debauchery and a puzzle of passions, men for women and women for men. What could one say of the diseases of shameful songs and melodies that unman the heart's resolve, flutes, dances of whorish revelries, for which the thrice-wretched even award prizes? Are these things, then, worthy of praise and watching and delight, or of tears and groans? Laughter holds sway and nature is debauched and a many-colored flame of pleasures is kindled. And theaters of dishonor are built, so that not even in secret might the diseases be unseemly, but that prizes might be set for evil lessons. But you, abhor these things, do not stain your pupils, fleeing all corruptions of the eyes, that you may keep your pupils pure for me.

But flee even more the blood-stained spectacles of the gluttons, whose god is the belly. For being slaves of the belly, a most shameful disease, they serve its evil commands. And it, like a bitter mistress of the other members, sits within, selling the members to wild beasts, greedily devouring the prices, a profligate belly pushing kindred members tyrannically into the bellies of beasts. Of these sufferings unfeeling men sit as spectators. And if a man escapes the beasts, they groan as if they themselves have been cheated more than the beasts and have sat in vain. But when a man is caught and groans faintly, crying out bitterly and clawing the dust, all pity has fled from every spectator's gaze, and with pleasure there is the greatest applause, if they should see streams of blood. For they rejoice in seeing what they ought to mourn, and they give the inclination of their favor to the beasts and they urge on the captors even more, whetting their rages as if they are sated and kneading the flesh of men with the beasts. And so the evil sellers of their own members, slaves of food and in turn food for beasts, hateful in life and wretched in death, have had such a bitter end to their life. Some of their limbs are entombed in beasts, others are pitilessly devoured by their teeth, while others, half-torn, in various convulsions rush about, twitching, and still think it is a time for flight and imagine a course. Do not then defile your eye with the pollutions of cruel spectacles nor train it to see men dying, beasts gorged, running tombs, and kindred lying dead.

And indeed, the spectacle that seems to many more civilized, that of the horse races, this too is a plague and a disease of souls. It tears cities apart, brings the populace to faction, teaches fighting, whets a slanderous mouth, severs the affections of citizens, sets families in conflict, shames the old, drives the young mad, kindles the hatreds of the dearest, tramples laws. And it dares an evil more painful than these evils. It stirs up sorcerers as allies for the crazed, helpers for victory, and it feeds disease with disease. For when they are inflamed into hot rivalry, their course is straight to the sorcerers. And they in turn call upon the wickedness of demons as their fellow-worker in falls, crashes, and murders. For the army of demons rejoices in evils. Therefore, clearly, even what seems to be the civilized contentious spectacle of the horse races is the destruction of souls, a battle of bodies, and in addition to this, a clear loss of money. How many houses has it utterly torn down? How many rich men has it forced to beg? And how many cities that were once well-ordered has it utterly destroyed? For as the youthful faction stained the hands of the populace with the murders of rulers, it widowed the cities of their men by the law of the sword, fire and iron partitioned the cities, punishing slaughter with slaughter, murder with murder. What sensible person then will endure to watch a contest of sorcery, not of the swiftness of horses, faction giving birth to murder, a disease of cities? But you, instead of these things, rejoice in the teachings, from which you will practice the best way of life. And when you have moderately trained your mind as in

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ὄψεσιν τέχνης μέρος. ἄλλοι δ', ἐκείνων ἔθνος ἀθλιώτερον, τῶν ἀρρένων τὴν δόξαν ἐξορχούμενοι, μελῶν λυγισμοῖς συγκατακλῶντες φύσιν ἄνδρες γυναῖκες, ἄρρενες θηλυδρίαι. οὐκ ἄνδρες, οὐ γυναῖκες ἀψευδεῖ λόγῳ. τὸ μὲν γὰρ οὐ μένουσι, τὸ δ' οὐκ ἔφθασαν. ὃ μὲν γάρ εἰσιν, οὐ μένουσι τῷ τρόπῳ, ὃ δ' αὖ κακῶς θέλουσιν, οὔκ εἰσιν φύσει, ἀσωτίας αἴνιγμα καὶ γρῖφος παθῶν, ἄνδρες γυναιξὶ καὶ γυναῖκες ἀνδράσιν. τί δ' ἂν λέγοι τις ᾀσμάτων αἰσχρῶν νόσους μέλη τε θηλύνοντα καρδίας τόνον, αὐλούς, χορείας πορνικῶν βακχευμάτων, οἷς καὶ γέρας νέμουσιν οἱ τρισάθλιοι; ταῦτ' οὖν ἐπαίνων καὶ θέας καὶ τέρψεως ἢ δακρύων τε καὶ στεναγμῶν ἄξια; γέλως τυραννεῖ καὶ φύσις μοιχεύεται καὶ ποικίλη φλὸξ ἡδονῶν ἐξάπτεται. καὶ κτίζεται θέατρα τῆς ἀτιμίας, ὡς μηδὲ λάθρα τὰς νόσους ἀσχημονεῖν, ἀλλ' ἆθλα κεῖσθαι τῶν κακῶν μαθημάτων. σὺ δὲ βδελύττου ταῦτα, μὴ χράνῃς κόρας, φεύγων ἁπάσας ὀμμάτων διαφθοράς, ὡς ἂν φυλάττοις τὰς κόρας μοι παρθένους.

Πλέον δὲ φεῦγε τὰς μιαιφόνους θέας τῶν γαστριμάργων, ὧν θεὸς ἡ κοιλία. δοῦλοι γὰρ ὄντες γαστρὸς αἰσχίστης νόσου ὑπηρετοῦσι τοῖς κακοῖς προστάγμασιν. ἡ δ' ὡς πικρὰ δέσποινα τῶν λοιπῶν μελῶν ἔνδον κάθηται θηρσὶ πωλοῦσα μέλη, λάβρως κατεσθίουσα τὰ τιμήματα, γαστὴρ ἄσωτος θηρίων εἰς γαστέρας τυραννικῶς ὠθοῦσα συγγενῆ μέλη. τούτων κάθηνται τῶν παθῶν ἀγνώμονες ἄνδρες θεαταί. κἂν μὲν ἄνθρωπος φύγῃ θῆρας, στένουσιν ὡς πλέον τῶν θηρίων παιχθέντες αὐτοὶ καὶ μάτην καθήμενοι. ἀνδρὸς δ' ἁλόντος καὶ στενὸν μυκωμένου πικρὸν βοῶντος καὶ κόνιν ἀμωμένου πάσης θεατῶν ὄψεως οἶκτος ἅπας ἐδραπέτευσε καὶ σὺν ἡδονῇ κρότος μέγιστος, ἢν ἴδωσιν αἱμάτων ῥοάς. χαίρουσι γὰρ βλέποντες, ἃ θρηνεῖν ἔδει, καὶ θηρίοις νέμουσιν εὐνοίας ῥοπὴν καὶ τοῖς ἑλοῦσιν ἐγκελεύονται πλέον θήγοντες ὀργὰς ὥσπερ ἐμφορούμενοι καὶ σάρκας ἀνδρῶν θηρσὶ συμμασσώμενοι. χ' οἱ μὲν κακοὶ πρατῆρες οἰκείων μελῶν τροφῆς τε δοῦλοι καὶ πάλιν θηρῶν τροφή, ζῶντες στυγητοὶ καὶ θανόντες ἄθλιοι τοιοῦτον ἔσχον τοῦ βίου πικρὸν τέλος. μελῶν δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐντέθαπται θηρίοις, τὰ δ' ὑπ' ὀδοῦσι νηλεῶς δαρδάπτεται, ἡμισπάρακτα δ' ἄλλα ποικίλαις στροφαῖς ᾄττει περισπαίροντα καὶ φυγῆς ἔτι καιρὸν νομίζει καὶ δρόμον φαντάζεται. μὴ δὴ μιάνῃς ὄμμα σὸν θεαμάτων ὠμῶν μολυσμοῖς μηδὲ γυμνάσῃς ὁρᾶν ἄνδρας θανόντας, θηρία πεπλησμένα, τάφους τρέχοντας, συγγενεῖς δὲ κειμένους.

Καὶ μὴν τὸ πολλοῖς μᾶλλον ἡμερώτερον δοκοῦν θέαμα πωλικῶν ἱπποδρόμων, καὶ τοῦτο λοιμός ἐστι καὶ ψυχῶν νόσος. πόλεις διασπᾷ, δῆμον εἰς στάσεις φέρει, μάχας διδάσκει, λοίδορον θήγει στόμα, τέμνει πολιτῶν φίλτρα, συγκρούει γένη, καταισχύνει γέροντας, ἐκμαίνει νέους, ἔχθρας ἀνάπτει φιλτάτων, πατεῖ νόμους. κακῶν δὲ τούτων ἄλγιον τολμᾷ κακόν. κινεῖ γόητας τοῖς μανεῖσι συμμάχους νίκης βοηθούς, καὶ τρέφει νόσῳ νόσον. ἐπὰν γὰρ ἐκκαυθῶσιν εἰς θερμὴν ἔριν, πρὸς τοὺς γόητας εὐθὺς αὐτοῖς ὁ δρόμος. οἱ δ' αὖ καλοῦσι δαιμόνων πονηρίαν συνεργὸν αὐτοῖς πτωμάτων, συντριμμάτων, φόνων. κακοῖς γὰρ δαιμόνων χαίρει στρατός. οὐκοῦν ἐναργῶς καὶ τὸ δόξαν ἥμερον ἐριστικὸν θέαμα τῶν ἱπποδρόμων ψυχῶν ὄλεθρός ἐστι, σωμάτων μάχη, καὶ πρός γε τούτοις χρημάτων σαφὴς βλάβη. πόσους μὲν οἴκους ἀθρόως κατέσπασεν; πόσους προσαιτεῖν πλουσίους ἠνάγκασεν; πόσας δὲ τὸ πρὶν εὐνομουμένας πόλεις ἄρδην καθεῖλεν; ὡς γὰρ ἡβῶσα στάσις φόνοις δυναστῶν ἔχρανε δήμου χέρας, χήρωσεν ἀνδρῶν τὰς πόλεις νόμῳ ξίφους, πῦρ καὶ σίδηρος τὰς πόλεις ἐνείματο σφαγαῖς κολάζων τὰς σφαγάς, φόνοις φόνους. τίς οὖν θεᾶσθαι σωφρόνων ἀνέξεται γοητείας ἅμιλλαν, οὐχ ἵππων τάχος, στάσιν φόνον τίκτουσαν, ἄστεων νόσον; Σὺ δ' ἀντὶ τούτων χαῖρε τοῖς μαθήμασιν, ἐξ ὧν ὅτι κράτιστον ἀσκήσεις τρόπον. ἐπὰν δὲ τὸν νοῦν μετρίως προγυμνάσῃς ὡς ἐν

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