§3#3ἐγὼ τοῦτ’ ἔδειξα μειράκιά πω γεγυμνασμένα ἐν μαθήμασι διδάξας γνωρίζειν ἀληθεῖς λόγους, ἀξιώσας τι προβάλλειν αὐτοῖς σοφισμάτων τοῖς βουλομένοις τῶν παρόντων.
I showed this by teaching youths who were trained to some extent in the studies to recognize true arguments, having asked those of the bystanders who wished to propose some sophisms to them.
αὐτὰ γὰρ ἐγνώρισε τὴν ἀτοπίαν αὐτῶν, ἤτοι κατὰ τὸ σχῆμα γεγενημένην, οὐκ ὂν συλλογιστικὸν, ἢ κατὰ τῶν λημμάτων ψευδῆ οὖσαν, ὥστε κᾀκ τούτου φανῆναι σαφῶς τοῖς δοξοσόφοις τούτοις πρεσβύταις, ὅσοι σοφίσματα λύειν ἀδυνατοῦσιν, ὅτι διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν ἀληθῶν λόγων τοῦτο πεπόνθασιν· εἶτ’ ἐσχάτης καταγνώσεως ἄξιοί εἰσιν, διὰ προπετῆ συγκατάθεσιν ἐν κακοδαίμονι βίῳ γενόμενοι· ἡ γὰρ περὶ τέλους δόξα ψευδὴς ὡμολόγηται πᾶσι πρὸς κακοδαιμονίαν ἄγειν· οὗτοι δὲ ἀγύμναστοί τινές εἰσι περὶ διαγνώσεως ἀληθῶν τε καὶ ψευδῶν λόγων, ἐνίοτε πιστευόμενοί τινος νοεῖν ἀλήθειαν δόξης, ἀγνοοῦσι μὲν, ὅτι λόγον ἐνδεχόμενον εἰρήκασιν, ὡς φαινομένων ἐναργῶς ὧν δοξάζουσι, κελεύουσι δ’ ἡμᾶς ἕπεσθαί τε καὶ πείθεσθαι χωρὶς ἀποδείξεως, πολλάκις δὲ μόνης ἐνδείξεως δεομένου τοῦ λόγου, δι’ ἀποδείξεως ἐπιχειροῦσιν αὐτὸν πιστοῦσθαι.
For they themselves recognized the absurdity of them, arising either in the form, which was not syllogistic, or being false in the premises, so that from this also it appeared clearly to these conceited old men, as many as are unable to solve sophisms, that they have suffered this because of their ignorance of true arguments; then they are worthy of the ultimate condemnation, having come to be in a wretched life because of a rash assent; for a false opinion concerning the end is agreed by all to lead to misery; but these men are untrained in the discernment of true and false arguments, sometimes being believed to understand the truth of some opinion, yet they do not know that they have spoken a merely plausible argument, as the things they opine appear clearly, and they bid us to follow and believe without proof, and often, when the argument needs only a demonstration (indication), they attempt to establish it through proof.
τινὲς δὲ ἀγνοοῦντες, ὅπῃ διαφέρει τὸ τῆς ἐνδείξεως δεόμενον, ἢ ὡς πρῶτόν τε καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πιστὸν, ὅμως ἐπιχειροῦσιν ἀποφαίνεσθαι περὶ πραγμάτων ἀκριβοῦς ἐπισκέψεως δεομένων.
And some, being ignorant of how that which needs indication differs from that which is first and of itself believable, nevertheless attempt to declare concerning matters needing accurate examination.
καὶ ταῦτα πεπόνθασι πολλοὶ τῶν ἤδη γεγηρακότων ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ.
And many of those already grown old in philosophy have suffered this.
τί οὖν, ὦ πρὸς θεῶν, ἢ τῶν τοιούτων ἀμάθειάν τε καὶ δοξοσοφίαν δοκεῖ σοι δύνασθαι θεραπευθῆναι ῥᾳδίως;
What then, by the gods, does the ignorance and conceit of such men seem to you to be able to be cured easily?
ἢ ὅστις μὲν σκιῤῥώδης ἐτῶν ἤδη τριῶν ἢ τεττάρων ἄλυπον ἔχει τὸν σκίῤῥον;
Or does he who is scirrhous, already having a painless scirrhus for three or four years, [find it easy]?
ἤ τε τῶν τοιούτων γερόντων ψυχὴ τὸν τῆς ἀμαθείας τε καὶ δοξοσοφίας σκίῤῥον ἐτῶν τριάκοντα ἔχουσα δύναται λυθῆναι;
Or can the soul of such old men, having the scirrhus of ignorance and conceit for thirty years, be dissolved?
θὲς, εἰ βούλει, καὶ δύνασθαι, καὶ σκέψαι, πότερον ἡμερῶν, ἢ μηνῶν, ἢ ἐτῶν τοῦ τοιούτου σκίῤῥου θεραπεία δεῖται.
Suppose, if you wish, that it is possible, and consider whether the treatment of such a scirrhus needs days, or months, or years.
μὴ τοίνυν θαύμαζε, διὰ τί πολλοῖς τῶν φιλοσοφεῖν ἐπαγγελλομένων οὐδ’ ὅλως ἀξιῶ διαλέγεσθαι· ἀμείνους γὰρ αὐτῶν οἶδα πάντας ἰδιώτας τε καὶ συνετοὺς φύσει, καὶ πεπαιδευμένους τὴν παρ’ Ἕλλησιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εὐδοκιμοῦσαν παιδείαν.
Do not, therefore, wonder why I do not deign to converse at all with many of those professing to practice philosophy; for I know that all ordinary people, who are intelligent by nature and educated in the education highly esteemed among the Greeks from the beginning, are better than them.
οὗτοι μὲν καὶ γνωρίζουσι ῥᾳδίως, ὅσα τ’ ἐναργῶς ἀκολουθεῖ.
These indeed easily recognize even those things which clearly follow.
τῶν δ’ ὡς ἐριζομένων ὄντων, ἢ προσποιουμένων μὲν μὴ γνωρίζειν, ὅσα τοῖς δόγμασιν αὐτῶν ἐναντιοῦται, πολλάκις ἐπειράθην.
But of those who are as if quarrelsome, or pretend not to recognize as many things as oppose their doctrines, I have often had experience.
περὶ μὲν γοῦν τῶν ἑπομένων ἑκάστῳ τέλει μυριάκις ἤδη λόγων ἡμῖν γεγονότων πρὸς πολλοὺς τῶν φιλοσόφων, οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι πάντες διὰ τὸ πεπαιδεῦσθαι τὴν πρώτην παιδείαν ὀξεῖς εἰσι τὴν διάνοιαν, αὐτοί τε τοὺς ἀκολούθους βίους τοῖς αὑτῶν δόγμασιν ἔλεγον, τὸν ἡμῶν λόγον γνωρίζοντες· οἱ δ’ ἄλλοι, ὡς εἴρηται, γεγηρακότες ἐν δοξοσοφίᾳ, μόνοι τἀναντία λέγοντες, εἶτα καταγελώμενοι πρὸς ἁπάντων τῶν παρόντων εἰς λοιδορίαν αὐτῶν ἐτρέποντο.
At any rate, concerning the consequences of each end, when thousands of arguments have already taken place between us and many of the philosophers, all the others, because of being educated in the primary education, are sharp in mind, and themselves stated the lives consistent with their own doctrines, recognizing our argument; but the others, as has been said, having grown old in conceit, alone saying the opposite, then being laughed at by all those present, turned to abuse of them.
ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἐξηγημένα πολλάκις ἡμῖν ἅμα πολλοῖς ἀνδράσι περὶ τῶν ἀκολούθων ἑκάστῳ τέλει βίων ἐν ἑτέροις ὑπομνήμασιν ἔχεις· καὶ δῆλον ὅτι πολλὰ παραδείγματα τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, ὧν ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐν αὐτοῖς, γέγραπται.
But you have in other treatises the things explained by us many times together with many men concerning the lives consistent with each end; and it is clear that many examples of the errors they commit in them have been written.
πάντα γὰρ, ὅσα καθ’ ὅλον τὸν βίον ἐναντίως ἀλλήλοις πράττουσιν, ὅσα τε καὶ λέγουσιν οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν διαφόρων αἱρέσεων ἀναγόμενοι, κατάκρισις ψευδὴς γίγνεται, καὶ πρόδηλόν γ’ ἐστὶν, ὡς κακῶς τε γίγνεται πάντα, καὶ ἁμαρτημάτων ἐστὶ τὰ κατὰ πᾶσαν αἵρεσιν πλημμελήματα, τῆς ἀληθοῦς εὑρηκυίας οὐ μόνον τὸ τέλος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἀκόλουθον αὐτῷ βίον, ἔνθα καὶ σαφῶς, ὅπῃ διαφέρει πάθος ἁμαρτήματος, ἔνεστί σοι μαθεῖν.
For all things, as many as those led from different sects do throughout their whole life contrary to one another, both in what they practice and what they say, become a false judgment, and it is very obvious that all things happen badly, and the transgressions according to every sect belong to errors, while the true philosophy has found not only the end but also the life consistent with it, where indeed you can learn clearly how a passion differs from an error.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ εὐεργετεῖν, εἰ οὕτως ἔτυχε, τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δόγμα θέμενος, ὡς ἀληθὲς, ἢ τέλειον εὐεργετῆσαί τινας, ἐκλείπων τὴν βοήθειαν, ἢ δι’ ὕπνον, ἢ ἀργίαν, ἢ φιληδονίαν, ἤ τι τοιοῦτον κατὰ πάθος ἐσφάλη· κεκρικὼς δέ τις ἑαυτῷ μόνῳ τὰς ἡδονὰς ἢ τὴν ἀοχλησίαν ἐκπορίζειν, ἀποσχόμενος δὲ διὰ τοῦτο πολίταις ἢ οἰκείοις ἀδικουμένοις βοηθῆσαι, διὰ μοχθηρὰν δόξαν, οὐ διὰ πάθος ἥμαρτε.
For he who has laid down the doctrine that it is right to benefit men, as true, or that it is perfect to benefit some, if he fails to render help either because of sleep, or laziness, or love of pleasure, or some such thing, has stumbled according to passion; but he who has judged that he should provide pleasures or freedom from trouble for himself alone, and because of this refrains from helping citizens or relatives who are being wronged, has erred because of a corrupt opinion, not because of passion.