105. In the next place, I will ask thee, thou philhellene and philologian, whether it is thy intention to debar us entirely from speaking Greek----for instance, from this kind of ordinary and prose expressions, of vulgar use, or merely from the polished and transcendental style, as not allowable to be approached by any others than persons of superior education? If the latter, what loss is it to us if such words as σμερδαλὲον, or καναβίζειν, or μῶν, or δήπουθεν, or ἅττα, or ὁμωσγέπως, be accounted as belonging to the select language, and all the rest be thrown to the mob, as were bastards of old into the Cynosarges? But if what is commonplace and plain be also a part of speaking Greek, why do ye not exclude us from this also; or, in short, from the Greek tongue altogether, of whatever kind, or in whatever condition it be? Such a course would be the more humane, and put the finishing-stroke to your own barbarism.  

ΡΕʹ. Ἔπειτα ἐρήσομαί σε, ὦ φιλέλλην σὺ καὶ φιλόλογε, πότερον παντὸς εἴρξεις ἡμᾶς τοῦ Ἑλληνίζειν, οἷον δὴ καὶ τῶν ἐν μέσῳ καὶ πεζῶν τούτων ῥημάτων, καὶ τῆς τῶν πολλῶν χρήσεως, ἢ τοῦ κομψοῦ τε καὶ ὑπεραίροντος, ὡς οὐκ ἄλλοις ἐφικτοῦ ἢ τοῖς κατὰ παίδευσιν διαφέρουσιν; εἰ μὲν γὰρ τούτου, τίς ἡ ἀποκλήρωσις, τὸ μὲν σμερδαλέον, καὶ τὸ κοναβίξειν, καὶ τὸ μῶν, καὶ τὸ δήπουθεν, καὶ τὸ ἅττα, καὶ τὸ ἀμωσγέπως εἶναι τῆς διαλέκτου μόνης, τἄλλα δὲ ἀπεῤῥίφθαι εἰς Κυνόσαργες, ὥσπερ τὸ πάλαι τοὺς νόθους; εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸ εὐτελὲς τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἀκαλλώπιστον ὁμοίως τοῦ Ἑλληνίζειν ἐστὶ, τί μὴ καὶ τούτων ἀποστερεῖτε ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἁπλῶς πάσης Ἑλλάδος φωνῆς, ὁποία πότ' ἂν ᾖ, καὶ ὡς ἂν ἔχουσα τύχῃ; τοῦτ' ἂν ἦν ὑμῶν φιλανθρωπότερον καὶ τελείως τῆς ἀμουσίας τῆς ὑμετέρας.