§6πολλοὶ δὲ τῶν κακοδαιμόνων καὶ πάντα πρὸς τὸν πλοῦτον ἀποβλεπόντων ἐν τοιαύταις πραγμάτων περιστάσεσι γενόμενοι χρυσὸν ἢ ἄργυρον ἐξαψάμενοί τε καὶ περιθέμενοι τῷ σώματι προσαπώλεσαν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὴν ψυχήν, οὐδὲ τοῦτο δυνάμενοι συνιδεῖν ὅτι καὶ τῶν ἀλόγων ζῴων αὐτοὶ πρῶτοι τὰ ταῖς τέχναις κεκοσμημένα μᾶλλον ἀσπάζονται.
But many of the wretched and of those who look in all things toward wealth, when they come into such circumstances of affairs, by binding gold or silver around themselves and putting it on their bodies, have lost their soul as well along with them, not even being able to understand this, that they themselves, first of all, welcome rather those among irrational animals that are adorned by arts.
καὶ γὰρ τοὺς πολεμικοὺς ἵππους καὶ τοὺς θηρατικοὺς κύνας πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων τιμῶσι καὶ τοὺς μὲν οἰκέτας ἐκδιδάσκονται τέχνας, πάμπολυ πολλάκις εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀργύριον ἀναλίσκοντες, ἑαυτῶν δ’ ἀμελοῦσι.
For indeed they honor war horses and hunting dogs above others, and have their servants thoroughly taught arts, often spending very much money on them, but neglect themselves.
καίτοι 〈γ’〉 οὐκ αἰσχρὸν τὸν οἰκέτην μὲν ἐνίοτε δραχμῶν εἶναι μυρίων ἄξιον, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν δεσπότην αὐτοῦ μηδὲ μιᾶς;
And yet is it not shameful that a servant is sometimes worth ten thousand drachmas, but his master himself not even one?
καὶ τί λέγω μιᾶς·
And why do I say one?
οὐδ’ ἂν προῖκά τις τὸν τοιοῦτον λάβοι.
No one would take such a person even for free.
μήποθ’ ἑαυτοὺς μόνους ἠτιμάκασιν ἐκ πάντων μηδεμίαν ἐκμαθόντες τέχνην;
Have they not at any time dishonored themselves alone of all, by having learned no art?
ὅταν γὰρ καὶ τὰ ἄλογα τῶν ζῴων ἐν τεχνικοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασι παιδεύωσι καὶ οἰκέτην ἀργὸν καὶ ἄτεχνον οὐδενὸς ἄξιον νομίζωσι, ἐπιμελῶνται δὲ καὶ τῶν χωρίων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κτημάτων ὅπως ἕκαστον εἰς δύναμιν ὅτι βέλτιστον ᾖ, μόνων δ’ ἑαυτῶν ἀμελῶσι, μηδ’ εἰ ψυχὴν ἔχουσι γιγνώσκοντες, εὔδηλον ὅτι τοῖς ἀποβλήτοις τῶν οἰκετῶν ἐοίκασιν.
For when they train even irrational animals in technical practices and consider an idle and artless servant worth nothing, and take care of both lands and other possessions so that each may be as good as possible, yet neglect themselves alone, not even knowing if they have a soul, it is clear that they resemble the outcasts among servants.
ὥστε τις ἐπιστὰς ἀνδρὶ τοιούτῳ προσηκόντως ἂν εἴποι πρὸς αὐτὸν ‘ὦ ἄνθρωπε, οἰκία μέν σοι [εὖ ἔχει] καὶ τἀνδράποδα πάντα καὶ ἵπποι δὴ καὶ κύνες καὶ χωρία καὶ ὅσα κέκτησαι διάκειται καλῶς· αὐτὸν δὲ σὲ οὐκ ἀγαθὴ κομιδὴ ἔχει’. καλῶς οὖν καὶ ὁ Ἀντισθένης καὶ ὁ Διογένης, ὃ μὲν χρυσᾶ πρόβατα καλῶν τοὺς πλουσίους καὶ ἀπαιδεύτους, ὃ δὲ ταῖς ἐπὶ τῶν κρημνῶν συκαῖς ἀπεικάζων αὐτούς· ἐκείνων τε γὰρ τὸν καρπὸν οὐκ ἀνθρώπους ἀλλὰ κόρακας ἢ κολοιοὺς ἐσθίειν, τούτων τε τὰ χρήματα μηδὲν μὲν ὄφελος εἶναι τοῖς ἀστείοις, δαπανᾶσθαι δ’ ὑπὸ τῶν κολάκων, οἵτινες ἐὰν οὕτως τύχῃ πάντων αὐτοῖς ἀναλωθέντων ἀπαντῶντες παρέρχονται μὴ γνωρίζειν προσποιούμενοι.
So that someone standing by such a man might properly say to him, "Sir, your house is well, and your slaves all, and indeed horses and dogs and lands and whatever you possess are in a good state; but you yourself are not kept in good care." Well, therefore, both Antisthenes and Diogenes spoke, the one calling the rich and uneducated "golden sheep," and the other comparing them to fig trees on cliffs; for the fruit of those, they said, not men but crows or jackdaws eat, and the wealth of these is of no use to the refined, but is spent by flatterers, who, if it should so happen that everything is consumed by them, on meeting them pass by pretending not to know them.
ὅθεν οὐδ’ ὁ ταῖς κρήναις τοὺς τοιούτους εἰκάσας ἄμουσός τις ἦν· καὶ γάρ τοι καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν κρηνῶν ὑδρευόμενοι πρόσθεν, ἐπειδὰν μηκέτ’ ἔχωσιν ὕδωρ ἀνασυράμενοι προσουροῦσι.
Hence, neither was he unrefined who compared such people to springs; for indeed those who drew water from the springs before, as soon as they no longer have water, pull up their garments and urinate on them.
καὶ ἐστὶν εὔλογον τοὺς διὰ μηδὲν ἄλλ’ ἢ τὰ χρήματα περιβλέπτους ἅμα τῷ στερηθῆναι τούτων εὐθὺς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἃ διὰ ταῦτ’ εἶχον ἐστερῆσθαι.
And it is reasonable that those who are admired for nothing other than their wealth, at the same time as they are deprived of this, should immediately be deprived of the other things which they had because of it.
τί γὰρ ἂν καὶ πάθοιεν, ἴδιον μὲν οὐδὲν ἀγαθὸν κεκτημένοι, ἀεὶ δ’ ἐπ’ ἀλλοτρίοις [καὶ] τοῖς παρὰ τῆς Τύχης ἐπαιρόμενοι.
For what else could they suffer, possessing no good of their own, but always being puffed up by things belonging to others, even those from Fortune?