§23οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γε τῶν κακῶν ἐλάχιστόν ἐστι. , καὶ δεῖ παρατρέπειν εἰς ταῦτα τὴν ἀδολεσχίαν ἧττον γὰρ ἀηδὲς ἔσται τὸ λάλον ἐν τῷ φιλολόγῳ πλεονάζον.
Nevertheless, this at least is the least of the evils, and one must divert talkativeness to these things; for babbling will be less unpleasant if it superabounds in matters of learning.
ἐθιστέον δὲ καὶ γράφειν τι τοὺς τοιούτους καὶ διαλέγεσθαι κατʼ ἰδίαν.
And one must accustom such persons both to write something and to converse in private.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ Στωικὸς Ἀντίπατρος, ὡς ἔοικε, μὴ δυνάμενος μηδὲ βουλόμενος ὁμόσε χωρεῖν τῷ Καρνεάδῃ μετὰ πολλοῦ ῥεύματος εἰς τὴν Στοὰν φερομένῳ, γράφων δὲ καὶ πληρῶν τὰ βιβλία τῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀντιλογιῶν
καλαμοβόας
ἐπεκλήθη· τὸν δʼ ἀδολέσχην ἴσως ἂν ἡ πρὸς τὸ γράφειν σκιαμαχία καὶ ἡ βοὴ τοῦ πλήθους ἀπερύκουσα καθʼ ἡμέραν ἐλαφρότερον παρασκευάσειε τοῖς συνοῦσιν, ὥσπερ οἱ κύνες εἰς λίθους καὶ ξύλα τὸν θυμὸν ἀφέντες ἧττόν εἰσι χαλεποὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
For the Stoic Antipater, as it seems, being neither able nor willing to meet Carneades face to face as he swept into the Stoa with a great torrent, but writing and filling books with refutations against him, was nicknamed "Pen-shouter"; but for the babbler, perhaps the shadow-boxing against writing and the keeping of him away from the noise of the crowd will daily render him more tolerable to his companions, just as dogs, by discharging their anger on stones and sticks, are less troublesome to people.
ἁρμόσει δʼ αὐτοῖς σφόδρα καὶ τὸ μετὰ κρειττόνων ἀεὶ καὶ πρεσβυτέρων ὁμιλεῖν αἰσχυνόμενοι γὰρ αὐτῶν τὴν δόξαν ἐν ἔθει γενήσονται τοῦ σιωπᾶν.
And it will suit them greatly also to converse always with their betters and elders; for, respecting their reputation, they will get into the habit of keeping silent.
τούτοις δʼ ἀεὶ δεῖ καταμεμῖχθαι καὶ συμπεπλέχθαι τοῖς ἐθισμοῖς· τὴν προσοχὴν ἐκείνην καὶ τὸν ἐπιλογισμόν, ὅταν τι μέλλωμεν λαλεῖν καὶ τὰ ῥήματα τῷ στόματι προστρέχῃ,
τίς οὗτος ὁ λόγος ὁ ἐφεστὼς καὶ καταβιαζόμενος;
And with these habits one must always mix and intertwine that attention and reflection when we are about to babble and the words run to our mouth: "What is this speech that stands over us and forces its way out?
ἐπὶ τί δʼ ἡ γλῶσσʼ ἀσπαίρει;
For what does the tongue throb?
τί δʼ εἰπόντι περιγίγνεται καλὸν ἢ τί σιωπήσαντι δυσχερές; οὐ γὰρ ὡς βάρος τι δεῖ πιέζοντʼ ἀποθέσθαι τὸν λόγον, ἐπεὶ παραμένει γε καὶ ῥηθεὶς ὁμοίως· ἀλλʼ ἢ διʼ αὑτοὺς ἅνθρωποι δεόμενοί τινος λαλοῦσιν ἢ τοὺς ἀκούοντας ὠφελοῦντες ἢ χάριν τινὰ παρασκευάζοντες ἀλλήλοις ὥσπερ ἁλσὶ τοῖς λόγοις ἐφηδύνουσι τὴν διατριβὴν καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν, ἐν ᾗ τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες.
What good comes to one who speaks, or what trouble to one who keeps silent?" For one must not discard speech as if it were a pressing burden, since indeed it remains even after it has been spoken just the same; but men speak either for their own sake when they need something, or to benefit their hearers, or, preparing some pleasure for one another, they sweeten with their words, as with salt, their pastime and the business in which they happen to be engaged.
εἰ δὲ μήτε τῷ λέγοντι χρήσιμον μήτʼ ἀναγκαῖον τοῖς ἀκούουσι τὸ λεγόμενον ἡδονὴ τε καὶ χάρις οὐ πρόσεστι, διὰ τί λέγεται;
But if the thing spoken is neither useful to the speaker nor necessary to the hearers, and pleasure and grace are not present in it, why is it spoken?
τὸ γὰρ μάτην καὶ διακενῆς οὐχ ἧττον ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ἢ τοῖς ἔργοις ἐστίν.
For what is in vain and empty is no less in words than in deeds.
ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ καὶ παρὰ ταῦτα πάντα δεῖ πρόχειρον ἔχειν καὶ μνημονεύειν τὸ Σιμωνίδειον ὅτι λαλήσας μὲν πολλάκις μετενόησε, σιωπήσας δʼ οὐδέποτε· καὶ τὴν ἄσκησιν, ὅτι πάντων ἐπικρατεῖ καὶ ἰσχυρόν ἐστιν· ὅπου καὶ λυγμὸν καὶ βῆχʼ ἄνθρωποι τῷ προσέχειν ἀποβιαζόμενοι, μετὰ πόνου καὶ ἀλγηδόνος ἐξεκρούσαντο.
And above all and besides all these things, one must have ready at hand and remember the saying of Simonides, that he often repented having spoken, but never having kept silent; and that practice conquers all things and is powerful, seeing that even hiccups and coughs men, forcing them back by paying attention, have driven out, though with pain and suffering.
σιγὴ δʼ οὐ μόνον ἄδιψον, ὥς φησιν Ἱπποκράτης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλυπον καὶ ἀνώδυνον.
And silence is not only "thirstless," as Hippocrates says, but also free from grief and painless.