§6Διογένης δʼ ὠμὸν φαγεῖν πολύπουν ἐτόλμησεν, ἵνα τὴν διὰ τοῦ πυρὸς ἐκβάλῃ κατεργασίαν τῶν κρεῶν·
Diogenes dared to eat a raw octopus, so that he might eliminate the preparation of meat through fire; and while many people stood around him, covering himself with his cloak and bringing the meat to his mouth, 'For your sakes,' he said, 'I expose myself to danger and run this risk.' A noble risk, by Zeus!
καὶ πολλῶν περιεστώτων αὐτὸν ἀνθρώπων, ἐγκαλυψάμενος τῷ τρίβωνι καὶ τῷ στόματι προσφέρων τὸ κρέας
ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν
φησὶν
ἐγὼ παραβάλλομαι καὶ προκινδυνεύω
καλόν, ὦ Ζεῦ, κίνδυνον οὐ γάρ, ὡς Πελοπίδας ὑπὲρ τῆς Θηβῶν ἐλευθερίας ἢ ὡς Ἁρμόδιος καὶ Ἀριστογείτων ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἀθηναίων, προεκινδύνευσεν ὁ φιλόσοφος ὠμῷ πολύποδι διαμαχόμενος, ἵνα τὸν βίον ἀποθηριώσῃ;
For did not the philosopher run this risk, struggling with a raw octopus, not as Pelopidas did for the freedom of Thebes, or as Harmodius and Aristogeiton for that of the Athenians, but in order to brutalize human life?
οὐ τοίνυν μόνον αἱ κρεοφαγίαι τοῖς σώμασι γίγνονται παρὰ φύσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ὑπὸ πλησμονῆς καὶ κόρου παχύνουσιν·
Therefore, eating meat is not only contrary to nature for our bodies, but it also fattens our souls through surfeit and satiety.
οἶνος γὰρ καὶ σαρκῶν ἐμφορήσιες σῶμα μὲν ἰσχυρὸν ποιέουσι καὶ ῥωμαλέον, ψυχὴν δὲ ἀσθενέα
καὶ ἵνα μὴ τοῖς ἀθληταῖς ἀπεχθάνωμαι, συγγενέσι χρῶμαι παραδείγμασι· τοὺς γὰρ Βοιωτοὺς ἡμᾶς οἱ Ἀττικοὶ καὶ παχεῖς καὶ ἀναισθήτους καὶ ἠλιθίους, μάλιστα διὰ τὰς ἀδηφαγίας προσαγορεύουσιν· οὗτοι δʼ αὖ συ
καὶ ὁ Μένανδρος
οἳ γνάθους ἔχουσι,
καὶ ὁ Πίνδαρος
γνῶναὶ τʼ ἔπειτα
αὐγὴ ξηρὴ ψυχὴ σοφωτάτη
κατὰ τὸν Ἡράκλειτον·
'For wine and fillings of meat make the body strong and robust, but the soul weak.' And so as not to make myself odious to athletes, I shall use examples close to home; for the Attic people call us Boeotians thick, insensitive, and foolish, especially because of our gluttony: 'These again are pigs...' and Menander says: 'who have only jaws,' and Pindar: 'and then to understand...' 'A dry beam of light is the wisest soul,' according to Heraclitus.
οἱ κενοὶ πίθοι κρουσθέντες ἠχοῦσι, γενόμενοι δὲ πλήρεις οὐχ ὑπακούουσι ταῖς πληγαῖς· τῶν χαλκωμάτων τὰ λεπτὰ τοὺς ψόφους ἐν κύκλῳ διαδίδωσιν, ἄχρι οὗ ἐμφράξῃ καὶ τυφλώσῃ τις τῇ χειρὶ τῆς· πληγῆς περιφερομένης ἐπιλαμβανόμενος· ὀφθαλμὸς; ὑγροῦ πλεονάσαντος ἀναπλησθεὶς μαραυγεῖ καὶ ἀτονεῖ πρὸς τὸ οἰκεῖον ἔργον· τὸν ἥλιον διʼ ἀέρος ὑγροῦ καὶ ἀναθυμιάσεων πλήθους ἀπέπτων ἀθρήσαντες οὐ καθαρὸν οὐδὲ λαμπρὸν ἀλλὰ βύθιον καὶ ἀχλυώδη καὶ ὀλισθαίνοντα ταῖς αὐγαῖς ὁρῶμεν.
Empty jars ring when struck, but when they become full, they do not respond to blows; thin bronze objects transmit their sounds all around, until someone obstructs and dulls it by taking hold with his hand while the blow's vibration is circulating; the eye, filled when moisture superabounds, loses its brilliance and grows too weak for its proper function; when we view the sun through damp air and a multitude of undigested vapors, we do not see it clear or bright, but deep, misty, and slipping in its rays.
οὕτω δὴ καὶ διὰ σώματος θολεροῦ καὶ διακόρου καὶ βαρυνομένου τροφαῖς ἀσυμφύλοις πᾶσα ἀνάγκη τὸ γάνωμα τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τὸ φέγγος ἀμβλύτητα καὶ σύγχυσιν ἔχειν καὶ πλανᾶσθαι καὶ φέρεσθαι, πρὸς τὰ λεπτὰ καὶ δυσθεώρητα τέλη τῶν πραγμάτων αὐγὴν καὶ τόνον οὐκ ἐχούσης. §7χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ὁ πρὸς φιλανθρωπίαν ἐθισμὸς οὐ δοκεῖ θαυμαστὸν εἶναι; τίς γὰρ ἂν ἀδικήσειεν ἄνθρωπον, οὕτω πρὸς ἀλλότρια κακὰ καὶ ἀσύμφυλα διακείμενος καὶ πράως καὶ φιλανθρώπως; ἐμνήσθην δὲ τρίτην ἡμέραν διαλεγόμενος περὶ Ξενοκράτους, καὶ ὅτι Ἀθηναῖοι τῷ ζῶντα τὸν κριὸν ἐκδείραντι δίκην ἐπέθηκαν οὐκ ἔστι δέ, οἶμαι, χείρων ὁ ζῶντα βασανίζων τοῦ παραιρουμένου τὸ ζῆν καὶ φονεύοντος· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον, ὡς ἔοικε, τῶν παρὰ συνήθειαν ἢ τῶν παρὰ φύσιν αἰσθανόμεθα. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἐκεῖ κοινότερον ἔλεγον· τὴν δὲ μεγάλην καὶ μυστηριώδη καὶ ἄπιστον ἀνδράσι δειλοῖς, φησιν ὁ Πλάτων, καὶ θνητὰ φρονοῦσιν ἀρχὴν τοῦ δόγματος; ὀκνῶ μὲν ἔτι τῷ λόγῳ κινεῖν, ὥσπερ ναῦν ἐν χειμῶνι ναύκληρος ἢ μηχανὴν αἴρει ποιητικὸς ἀνὴρ ἐν θεάτρῳ σκηνῆς περιφερομένης. οὐ χεῖρον δʼ ἴσως καὶ προανακρούσασθαι καὶ προαναφωνῆσαι τὰ τοῦ Ἐμπεδοκλέους· ἀλληγορεῖ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα τὰς ψυχάς, ὅτι φόνων καὶ βρώσεως σαρκῶν καὶ ἀλληλοφαγίας δίκην τίνουσαι σώμασι θνητοῖς ἐνδέδενται. καίτοι δοκεῖ παλαιότερος οὗτος ὁ λόγος εἶναι· τὰ γὰρ δὴ περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον μεμυθευμένα πάθη τοῦ διαμελισμοῦ καὶ τὰ Τιτάνων ἐπʼ αὐτὸν τολμήματα, κολάσεις τε τούτων καὶ κεραυνώσεις γευσαμένων τοῦ φόνου, ᾐνιγμένος ἐστὶ μῦθος εἰς τὴν παλιγγενεσίαν· τὸ γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν ἄλογον καὶ ἄτακτον καὶ βίαιον οὐ θεῖον ἀλλὰ δαιμονικὸν οἱ παλαιοὶ Τιτᾶνας ὠνόμασαν, καὶ τοῦτʼ ἔστι κολαζομένου καὶ δίκην διδόντος.
Just so, through a turbid body, sated and weighed down by uncongenial foods, the brilliance and light of the soul must of necessity suffer dullness and confusion, wandering and being tossed about, having no ray or tension directed toward the subtle and hard-to-observe goals of reality.