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I mean the walls of houses and courts and golden vessels and garments. These things are truly a laugh and a shame; it is better to die than to be honored in this way. For tell me, if some lowly and contemptible person wished to deliver you from danger while you were in peril in this pride, what would have been worse than this? And what you say to one another about the city, I wish to say to you. Our city once offended the emperor, and he ordered it all to be utterly destroyed, with its men and children and dwellings. For such are the angers of kings; by their power they indulge whatever they wish; so 62.348 great an evil is power. It was, therefore, in the utmost peril. But the neighboring city, that coastal one, came and besought the emperor on our behalf; but the inhabitants of our city said this was worse than for the city to be razed. Thus to be honored in such a way is worse than to be dishonored. For see from whence honor has its root. The hands of cooks cause us to be honored, so that to them we owe thanks; and swineherds providing a rich table, and weavers and wool-workers and those who work the mines and cake-makers and table-makers. 4. Is it not better, then, not to be honored, than to owe thanks for honor to these? And apart from this, I will try to show clearly that being rich is full of dishonor. It makes the soul ugly; and what is more dishonorable than this? For tell me, if the body were beautiful, and surpassed all in its beauty, and wealth came and promised to make it ugly, and instead of healthy, diseased, and instead of well-proportioned, inflamed, and having filled all the limbs with dropsy, it swelled the face, and made it puff up on all sides, and swelled the feet and made them heavier than beams, and swelled the belly and made it larger than any cask, and after this it promised not even to permit those who wished to heal it (for this is power), but to give so much liberty that if anyone should approach to take away the harmful things, it would punish him; would there be anything more cruel than this, tell me? Therefore, when being rich does these things to the soul, how could it be good? But the power is more grievous than the disease itself; for to be sick and not even obey the laws of physicians is more grievous than being sick; which is what wealth does, causing the soul to be inflamed on all sides, and preventing the physicians from approaching. So let us not count them blessed on account of their power, but pity them. For I would not count a man with dropsy blessed on account of his power, seeing him lying down, with no one preventing him from gorging himself with as many drinks as he wished, and with harmful meats. For power is not a good thing everywhere, just as honors are not; for these too fill one with much arrogance. But if you would not choose for the body to receive this disease along with wealth, how can you overlook the soul, receiving not only this but another punishment? For it is burned on all sides with fevers and inflammations, and no one is able to quench that fever; for wealth does not allow it, having persuaded it that what are faults are advantages; for instance, to tolerate no one, and to do everything by its power. For one will not find another soul so full of desires, and such strange ones, as the souls of those who wish to be rich. For how many trifles do they not sketch out for themselves? One might see them inventing more than those who model hippocentaurs and chimeras and dragon-footed creatures and Scyllas and monsters. And if you should wish to model one of their desires, neither Scylla nor chimera nor hippocentaur will appear anything compared to that monstrosity, but you will find it has all the beasts together. And perhaps someone will think that I, having been in great wealth, am thus speaking truth to what happens. Someone is spoken of; 62.349 for first I will confirm my argument from the things sung among the Greeks; there is a king spoken of among them

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τοίχους λέγω οἰκιῶν καὶ αὐλὰς καὶ σκεύη χρυσᾶ καὶ ἱμάτια. Γέλως ὄντως καὶ αἰσχύνη ταῦτα· βέλτιον ἀποθανεῖν, ἢ οὕτω τιμηθῆναι. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, εἴ τίς σε κινδυνεύοντα ἐν τῷ τύφῳ τούτῳ εὐτελὴς καὶ κατάπτυστος ἐξελέσθαι ἠθέλησε τοῦ κινδύνου, τί ἂν τούτου χεῖρον ἦν; Ὅπερ δὲ περὶ τῆς πόλεως πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγετε, βούλομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν. Προσέκρουσέ ποτε τῷ κρατοῦντι ἡ πόλις ἡ ἡμετέρα, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτὴν ἐκέλευσεν ἄρδην ἀπολέσθαι μετὰ ἀνδρῶν καὶ παίδων καὶ οἰκημάτων. Τοιοῦτοι γὰρ οἱ θυμοὶ οἱ βασιλικοί· τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ὅσον ἂν θέλωσι, χαρίζονται· το 62.348 σοῦτον ἡ ἐξουσία κακόν. Ἦν οὖν ἐν κινδύνοις τοῖς ἐσχάτοις. Ἡ δὲ γείτων πόλις, αὕτη ἡ ἐπιθαλάσσιος, ἐλθοῦσα παρεκάλεσε τὸν βασιλέα ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν· οἱ δὲ τὴν πόλιν οἰκοῦντες τὴν ἡμετέραν ἔλεγον τοῦτο χεῖρον εἶναι τοῦ κατασκαφῆναι τὴν πόλιν. Οὕτω τοῦ ἀτιμασθῆναι τὸ οὕτω τιμᾶσθαι χεῖρόν ἐστι. Ὅρα γὰρ πόθεν ἔχει τὴν ῥίζαν ἡ τιμή. Μαγείρων χεῖρες ποιοῦσιν ἡμᾶς τιμᾶσθαι, ὥστε ἐκείνοις ὀφείλομεν χάριν ἔχειν· καὶ συβῶται παρέχοντες πλουσίαν τὴν τράπεζαν, καὶ ὑφάνται καὶ ἔριθοι καὶ οἱ μέταλλα ἐργαζόμενοι καὶ πλακουντοποιοὶ καὶ τραπεζοποιοί. δʹ. Τοῦ τοίνυν τούτοις εἰδέναι χάριν τῆς τιμῆς οὐ βέλτιον τὸ μὴ τιμᾶσθαι; Καὶ χωρὶς δὲ τούτου, ὅτι ἀτιμίας γέμει τὸ πλουτεῖν, ἐγὼ σαφῶς ἀποδεῖξαι πειράσομαι. Τὴν ψυχὴν αἰσχρὰν ἐργάζεται· τί δὲ τούτου ἀτιμότερον; Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, εἰ τὸ σῶμα ὡραῖον ἦν, καὶ πάντας νικῶν τῷ κάλλει, ὁ δὲ πλοῦτος προσελθὼν ἐπηγγέλλετο ποιήσειν αἰσχρὸν, καὶ ἀντὶ μὲν ὑγιοῦς νοσῶδες, ἀντὶ δὲ κατεσταλμένου φλεγμαῖνον, καὶ πάντα τὰ μέλη ὑδέρου πληρώσας ἐξώγκωσε μὲν τὴν ὄψιν, καὶ πάντοθεν ἐποίησεν οἰδαίνειν, ἐξώγκωσε δὲ πόδας καὶ τῶν δοκῶν βαρυτέρους ἐποίησεν, ἐξώγκωσε δὲ γαστέρα καὶ παντὸς πίθου μείζονα εἰργάσατο, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ τοῖς βουλομένοις θεραπεύειν ἐπηγγέλλετο συγχωρήσειν (τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ ἐξουσία), ἀλλὰ τοσαύτην δώσειν ἐλευθερίαν, ὥστε ἄν τις προσείη ἀπάγων τῶν βλαπτόντων κολάσειν αὐτόν· ἆρα ἦν ἄν τι τούτου ὠμότερον, εἰπέ μοι; Οὐκοῦν τὸ πλουτεῖν, ὅταν τὴν ψυχὴν ταῦτα ἐργάζηται, πῶς ἂν εἴη καλόν; Ἀλλ' ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτῆς τῆς νόσου χαλεπωτέρα· τὸ γὰρ νοσοῦντα μηδὲ νόμοις ἰατρῶν πείθεσθαι, τοῦ νοσεῖν χαλεπώτερον· ὅπερ ὁ πλοῦτος ἔχει, πανταχόθεν φλεγμαίνειν ποιῶν τὴν ψυχὴν, καὶ τοὺς ἰατροὺς προσιέναι κωλύων. Ὥστε διὰ τὴν ἐξουσίαν μὴ μακαρίζωμεν τούτους, ἀλλ' ἐλεῶμεν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑδερικὸν ἰδὼν κατακείμενον, καὶ μηδένα κωλύοντα ἐμφορεῖσθαι πομάτων, ὅσωνπερ ἤθελε, καὶ κρεῶν τῶν βλαπτόντων, ἐμακάρισα ἂν αὐτὸν διὰ τὴν ἐξουσίαν. Οὐ γὰρ πανταχοῦ ἡ ἐξουσία καλὸν, ὥσπερ οὖν οὐδὲ αἱ τιμαί· καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὗται φρονήματος πληροῦσι πολλοῦ. Εἰ δὲ τὸ σῶμα οὐκ ἂν εἴλου μετὰ πλούτου ταύτην δέξασθαι τὴν νόσον, πῶς τὴν ψυχὴν περιορᾷς, οὐχὶ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέραν κόλασιν δεχομένην; Καὶ γὰρ πυρετοῖς πάντοθεν φλέγεται καὶ φλεγμοναῖς, καὶ τὸν πυρετὸν ἐκεῖνον οὐδεὶς σβέσαι δύναται· οὐ γὰρ ἀφίησιν ὁ πλοῦτος, ἅπερ ἐστὶν ἐλαττώματα, ταῦτα πείσας εἶναι πλεονεκτήματα· οἷον, τὸ μηδενὸς ἀνέχεσθαι, καὶ ἐξουσίᾳ πάντα ποιεῖν. Οὐ γὰρ εὑρήσει τις ἄλλην ψυχὴν τοσούτων γέμουσαν ἐπιθυμιῶν καὶ οὕτως ἀτόπων, ὡς τὰς τῶν βουλομένων πλουτεῖν. Πόσας γὰρ ληρωδίας οὐχ ὑπογράφουσιν ἑαυτοῖς; Μᾶλλον τῶν τοὺς ἱπποκενταύρους ἀναπλαττόντων καὶ τὰς χιμαίρας καὶ τοὺς δρακοντόποδας καὶ τὰς Σκύλλας καὶ τὰ τέρατα, ἴδοι τις ἂν αὐτοὺς ἀναπλάττοντας. Κἂν θελήσῃς αὐτῶν μίαν ἐπιθυμίαν ἀναπλάσαι, οὐδὲν οὔτε σκύλλα οὔτε χίμαιρα οὔτε ἱπποκένταυρος φανήσονται πρὸς τὴν τερατωδίαν ἐκείνην, ἀλλ' εὑρήσεις πάντα ὁμοῦ ἔχουσαν τὰ θηρία. Καὶ τάχα μέ τις οἰήσεται ἐν πλούτῳ γεγενῆσθαι πολλῷ οὕτως ἐπαληθεύοντα τοῖς γινομένοις. Λέγεταί τις· 62.349 πρότερον γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ᾀδομένων τὸν λόγον πιστώσομαι· λέγεταί τις παρ' αὐτοῖς βασιλεὺς