καὶ οὐ τοῦτό φημι, [D] ὡς ἀπερυθριᾶσαι χρὴ πρὸς πάντας καὶ πράττειν. τὰ μὴ πρακτέα· ἀλλ᾽ ὧν ἀπεχόμεθα καὶ ὅσα πράττομεν, μὴ διὰ τὸ τοῖς πολλοῖς δοκεῖν σπουδαῖα πως(82) ἢ φαῦλα, διὰ τοῦτο πράττωμεν καὶ ἀπεχώμεθα, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τῷ ἐν ἡμῖν θεῷ, τοῦτ᾽ ἐστὶ τῷ νῷ, ταῦτά ἐστιν ἀπόρρητα. τοὺς μὲν οὖν πολλοὺς οὐδὲν κωλύει ταῖς κοιναῖς ἕπεσθαι δόξαις· ἄμεινον γὰρ τοῦτο τοῦ παντάπασιν ἀπερυθριᾶν· [197] ἔχουσι γὰρ ἅνθρωποι φύσει πρὸς ἀλήθειαν οἰκείως· ἀνδρὶ δὲ ἤδη κατὰ νοῦν ζῶντι καὶ τοὺς ὀρθοὺς εὑρεῖν τε δυναμένῳ καὶ κρῖναι λόγους προσήκει τὸ παράπαν οὐδὲν ἕπεσθαι τοῖς νομιζομένοις ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν εὗ τε καὶ χεῖρον πράττεσθαι. (But I do not mean by this that we ought to be shameless before all men and to do what we ought not; but all that we refrain from and all that we do let us not do or refrain from, merely because it seems to the multitude somehow honourable or base, but because it is forbidden by reason and the god within us, that is, the mind.(83) As for the multitude there is no reason why they should not follow common opinions, for that is better than that they should be altogether shameless, and indeed mankind is predisposed to the truth by nature. But a man who has attained to a life in accordance with intelligence and is able to discover and estimate right reasons, ought on no account whatever to follow the views held by the many about good and bad conduct.) Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδὴ τὸ μέν ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν θειότερον, ὃ δὴ νοῦν καὶ φρόνησίν φαμεν καὶ λόγον τὸν σιγώμενον, οὗ κήρυξ ἐστὶν ὁ διὰ τῆς φωνῆς οὑτοσὶ λόγος προïὼν ἐξ ὀνομάτων καὶ ῥημάτων, ἕτερον δέ τι τούτῳ συνέζευκται ποικίλον καὶ παντοδαπόν, [B] ὀργῇ καὶ ἐπιθυμίᾳ ξυμμιγές τι καὶ πολυκέφαλον θηρίον, οὐ πρότερον χρὴ πρὸς τὰς δόξας τῶν πολλῶν ἀτενῶς ὁρᾶν καὶ ἀδιατρέπτως, πρὶν ἂν τοῦτο δαμάσωμεν τὸ θηρίον καὶ πείσωμεν ὑπακοῦσαι τῷ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν θεῷ, μᾶλλον δὲ θείῳ. τοῦτο γὰρ πολλοὶ τοῦ Διογένους ζηλωταὶ ἐάσαντες(84) ἐγένοντο παντορέκται καὶ μιαροὶ καὶ τῶν θηρίων οὐδὲ ἑνὸς κρείττους, ὅτι δὲ οὐκ ἐμὸς ὁ λόγος ἐστί, [C] πρῶτον ἔργον ἐρῶ σοι Διογένους, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ γελάσονται μὲν οἱ πολλοί, ἐμοὶ δὲ εἶναι δοκεῖ σεμνότατον. ἐπειδὴ γάρ τις τῶν νέων ἐν ὄχλῳ, παρόντος καὶ τοῦ Διογόνους, ἀπέπαρδεν, ἐπάταξεν ἐκεῖνος τῇ βακτηρίᾳ φάς· εἶτα, ὦ κάθαρμα, μηδὲν ἄξιον τοῦ δημοσίᾳ τὰ τοιταῦτα θαρσεῖν πράξας ἐντεῦθεν ἡμῖν ἄρχῃ δόξης καταφρονεῖν; οὕτως ᾤετο χρῆναι πρότερον ἡδονῆς καὶ θυμοῦ κρείττονα γενέσθαι, πρὶν(85) ἐπὶ τὸ τελειότατον ἐλθεῖν τῶν παλαισμάτων, [D] ἀποδυσάμενον πρὸς τὰς τῶν πολλῶν δόξας αἳ μυρίων κακῶν αἴτιαι γίνονται τοῖς πολλοῖς.