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great diseases rush upon the soul. And let as many as are puffed up with good physical tone learn not to be arrogant, looking upon the countless herds of tame and untamed animals, to whom strength and might are innate; for it is one of the most absurd things for a human being to take pride in the virtues of beasts, and this while being surpassed by 8.14.15 them. And why would anyone of sound mind exult in beauty of body, which a short time has extinguished, before it could flourish for very long, obscuring its deceptive prime, and this when seeing in inanimate things the highly prized works of calligraphers and sculptors and other craftsmen, in both paintings and statues and varieties of woven fabrics, renowned in every city in Greece and barbarian 8.14.16 lands? None of these things, therefore, as I said, has been deemed worthy of a good portion from God. 8.14.16 And why are we surprised if not from God? For not even from God-loving men, among whom the truly good and beautiful things are honored, who have obtained a well-favored nature, but through practice with training have adorned their 8.14.17 nature, of which unadulterated philosophy is the craftsman. But as many as have cared for a bastard education have not even imitated the physicians who, while claiming to heal the mistress, treat the soul's servant, the body. For they, whenever someone among the fortunate falls ill, even if he be the great king, passing by all the surroundings, the men's quarters, the women's quarters, paintings, silver, gold uncoined and coined, a multitude of cups and woven fabrics, the other famed adornment of kings, and furthermore, leading away the throng of servants and the attendance of friends and relatives and subjects of rank, of the bodyguards, arriving at the very bed and disregarding the things around the body itself, neither marveling that the couches are inlaid with precious stones and all of gold, nor that the bedclothes are of gossamer weave or embroidered with stones, nor that the forms of the garments are varied, but in addition, throwing off the cloaks around him, they touch his hands and, pressing the veins, they accurately determine if the pulses are life-preserving; and often also, having lifted up his tunics, they examine if the belly is distended, if the chest is fevered, if 8.14.18 the heart leaps irregularly; and then they apply the appropriate treatment. And the philosophers too ought, confessing that they practice the medical art of the soul, which is by nature queen, to despise all the things that empty opinions fashion from smoke, but, approaching within, to take hold of the mind itself, to see if its pulses are uneven and moved contrary to nature by anger; to take hold also of the tongue, if it is harsh and slanderous, if it is prostituted and unrestrained; to take hold also of the belly, if it has swollen into a shape of insatiable desire; and, in short, to investigate each of the passions and diseases and infirmities, if it seems to be mixed, so that they may not fail to apply the appropriate things for 8.14.19 salvation. But as it is, being dazzled by the brilliance of outward things, since they are unable to see intelligible light, they have passed their lives wandering, not having been able to reach the king, that is, reason, but scarcely arriving at the outer gates, and having marveled at those things at the doors of virtue—wealth, and moreover glory 8.14.20 and health and related things—they have done obeisance. But for as it is the height of madness to use blind men as judges of colors or deaf men for musical sounds, so too wicked men for things that are truly good. For these men too have been maimed in the most sovereign part of themselves, the mind, over which foolishness has poured deep 8.14.21 darkness. Do we still now wonder if Socrates and so-and-so or so-and-so of the virtuous passed their lives in poverty, men who never practiced any of the things for providing sustenance, but not even deigning to take what was offered by wealthy friends or by kings proposing great gifts, for the sake of considering the possession of virtue the only good and beautiful thing, laboring for which 8.14.22 they disregarded all other goods? And who would not disregard the bastard things for the sake of providence for the legitimate? But if

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μεγάλαι ψυχῇ νόσοι κατασκήπτουσι. μαθέτωσαν δὲ καὶ ὅσοι ἐπ' εὐτονίᾳ πεφύσηνται μὴ ὑψαυχενεῖν, ἀπιδόντες εἰς τὰς τῶν ἡμέρων καὶ ἀτιθάσων ζῴων ἀμυθήτους ἀγέλας, αἷς ἰσχὺς καὶ ῥώμη συγγεγένηνται· τῶν γὰρ ἀτοπωτάτων ἐστὶν ἐπὶ θηρίων ἀρεταῖς, καὶ ταῦτα παρευημερούμενον ὑπ' 8.14.15 αὐτῶν, ἄνθρωπον ὄντα σεμνύνεσθαι. διὰ τί δ' ἄν τις εὖ φρονῶν ἐπὶ σώματος εὐμορφίᾳ ἀγάλλοιτο, ἣν βραχὺς καιρὸς ἔσβεσε, πρὶν ἐπὶ μήκιστον ἀνθῆσαι, τὴν ἀπατηλὸν αὐτῆς ἀκμὴν ἀμαυρώσας, καὶ ταῦθ' ὁρῶν ἐν ἀψύχοις περιμάχητα καλλιγράφων ἔργα καὶ πλαστῶν καὶ ἄλλων τεχνιτῶν ἔν τε ζωγραφήμασι καὶ ἀνδριᾶσι καὶ ὑφασμάτων ποικιλίαις ἐν Ἑλλάδι καὶ βαρβάρῳ κατὰ 8.14.16 πόλιν ἑκάστην εὐδοκιμοῦντα; τούτων οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, οὐδὲν παρὰ θεῷ 8.14.16 τῆς ἀγαθοῦ μοίρας ἠξίωται. καὶ τί θαυμάζομεν εἰ μὴ παρὰ θεῷ; οὐδὲ γὰρ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τοῖς θεοφιλέσι, παρ' οἷς τὰ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ἀγαθὰ καὶ καλὰ τετίμηται, φύσεως μὲν εὐμοίρου λαχοῦσι, μελέτῃ δὲ μετ' ἀσκήσεως τὴν φύσιν 8.14.17 ἐπικοσμήσασιν, ὧν ἡ ἄνοθος φιλοσοφία δημιουργός. ὅσοι δὲ νόθου παιδείας ἐπεμελήθησαν, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἰατροὺς ἐμιμήσαντο τὸ δοῦλον ψυχῆς σῶμα θεραπεύοντας οἱ τὴν δέσποιναν ἐπιφάσκοντες ἰᾶσθαι. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γάρ, ἐπειδάν τις τῶν ἐπ' εὐτυχίᾳ νοσήσῃ, κἂν ὁ μέγα ᾖ βασιλεύς, πάνθ' ὑπερβάντες τὰ περίστωα, τοὺς ἀνδρῶνας, τὰς γυναικωνίτιδας, γραφάς, ἄργυρον, χρυσὸν ἄσημον ἐπίσημον, ἐκπωμάτων, ὑφασμάτων πλῆθος, τὸν ἄλλον τῶν βασιλέων ἀοίδιμον κόσμον, ἔτι δὲ τὸν οἰκετικὸν ὄχλον καὶ τὴν φίλων καὶ συγγενῶν καὶ ὑπηκόων τῶν ἐν τέλει θεραπείαν ἄξαντες, τῶν σωματοφυλάκων, ἄχρι τῆς εὐνῆς ἀφικόμενοι καὶ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα ἀλογήσαντες, οὔθ' ὅτι κλῖναι λιθο κόλλητοι καὶ ὁλόχρυσοι θαυμάσαντες οὔθ' ὅτι ἀραχνοϋφεῖς ἢ λιθογραφημέναι στρωμναὶ οὔθ' ὅτι ἐσθημάτων ἰδέαι διάφοροι, προσέτι δὲ τὰς περὶ αὐτὸν χλαίνας ἀπαμφιάσαντες ἅπτονται χειρῶν καὶ τὰς φλέβας προσπιεζοῦντες ἀκριβοῦσι τοὺς παλμοὺς εἰ σωτήριοι· πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τοὺς χιτωνίσκους ἀναστείλαντες εἰ περιπληθής ἐσθ' ἡ γαστὴρ ἐξετάζουσιν, εἰ πεπυρωμένος ὁ θώραξ, εἰ 8.14.18 ἄτακτα ἡ καρδία πηδᾷ· κἄπειτα τὴν οἰκείαν προσφέρουσι θεραπείαν. ἔδει δὲ καὶ τοὺς φιλοσόφους, ἰατρικὴν ὁμολογοῦντας ἐπιτηδεύειν τῆς φύσει βασιλίδος ψυχῆς, καταφρονεῖν μὲν ἁπάντων ὅσα αἱ κεναὶ δόξαι τυφοπλαστοῦσιν, εἴσω δὲ προσιόντας ἅπτεσθαι διανοίας αὐτῆς, εἰ ὑπ' ὀργῆς ἀνισοταχεῖς καὶ παρὰ φύσιν κεκινημένοι παλμοί· ἅπτεσθαι καὶ γλώττης, εἰ τραχεῖα καὶ κακήγορος, εἰ πεπορνευκυῖα καὶ ἀταμίευτος· ἅπτεσθαι καὶ γαστρός, εἰ ἀπλήστῳ σχήματι ἐπιθυμίας διῴδηκε· καὶ συνόλως παθῶν καὶ νοσημάτων καὶ ἀρρωστημάτων, εἰ κεκρᾶσθαι δοκεῖ, διερευνᾶν ἕκαστον, ἵνα μὴ διαμαρτάνωσι τῶν 8.14.19 προσφόρων εἰς τὸ σῴζειν. νυνὶ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ἔξω περιαυγασθέντες λαμπρότητος, ἅτε νοητὸν φῶς ἰδεῖν ἀδυνατοῦντες, πλαζόμενοι διετέλεσαν τὸν αἰῶνα, πρὸς μὲν τὸν βασιλέα λογισμὸν φθάσαι μὴ δυνηθέντες, ἄχρι δὲ τῶν προπυλαίων μόλις ἀφικνούμενοι, καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ θύραις ἀρετῆς, πλοῦτον, ἔτι καὶ δόξαν 8.14.20 καὶ ὑγείαν καὶ τὰ συγγενῆ, τεθαυμακότες προσεκύνουν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὡς ὑπερβολὴ μανίας χρωμάτων κριταῖς χρῆσθαι τυφλοῖς ἢ κωφοῖς τῶν κατὰ μουσικὴν φθόγγων, οὕτως καὶ φαύλοις ἀνδράσι τῶν πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ἀγαθῶν. καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι τὸ κυριώτατον τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς διάνοιαν πεπήρωνται, ἧς βαθὺ σκότος 8.14.21 ἀφροσύνη κατέχεεν. ἔτι νῦν θαυμάζομεν εἰ Σωκράτης καὶ ὁ δεῖνα ἢ ὁ δεῖνα τῶν σπουδαίων ἐν πενίᾳ διετέλεσαν, ἄνθρωποι μηδὲν πώποτε τῶν εἰς πορισμὸν ἐπιτηδεύσαντες, ἀλλὰ μηδ' ὅσα ἦν παρὰ φίλων πολυχρημάτων ἢ παρὰ βασιλέων δωρεὰς μεγάλας προτεινόντων λαβεῖν ἀξιώσαντες, ἕνεκα τοῦ μόνον ἀγαθὸν καὶ καλὸν τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς κτῆσιν ἡγεῖσθαι, περὶ ἣν πονούμενοι 8.14.22 τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν πάντων ἠλόγουν; τίς δ' οὐκ ἂν ἀλογήσαι νόθων ἕνεκα προνοίας τῶν γνησίων; εἰ δὲ