[30,20] πρότερον δὲ εἰπεῖν ἄξιον, ὡς ἐγώ ποτε ἤκουσα ἀνδρὸς ἀγύρτου παῖς ὤν, ὁποίαν τινὰ ἔφασκεν εἶναι τὴν ἅλυσιν, οὔτι που ταῖσδε ὁμοίαν, ἐκ σιδήρου τε καὶ χαλκοῦ πεποιημένην, πολὺ μέντοι κραταιοτέραν, τὸ δὲ σχῆμα καὶ τὴν πλοκὴν παραπλησίαν. ὥσπερ γὰρ αἵδε εἰσὶν ἐκ κρίκων τινῶν κεχαλκευμέναι δι´ ἀλλήλων διαβεβλημένων, καὶ τοῦτο ἀπ´ ἀρχῆς μέχρι τέλους· οὕτω δὴ κἀκείνην ἔχειν, ᾗ δὴ ἔφαμεν τοὺς (21) ἀνθρώπους ὑπὸ τῶν θεῶν δεδέσθαι. συνηρτῆσθαι δὲ αὐτὴν ἅπασαν ἐξ ἡδονῆς τε καὶ λύπης, καὶ ταῦτα ἐξ ἀλλήλων πεπλέχθαι, τό τε ἡδὺ καὶ λυπηρόν, καὶ τῷ ἑτέρῳ τὸ ἕτερον ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀεὶ ἀκολουθεῖν, ὥσπερ οἶμαι τοὺς κρίκους τῆς ἁλύσεως· ἕπεσθαι δὲ ταῖς μὲν μεγάλαις ἡδοναῖς μεγάλας λύπας, ταῖς δὲ σμικραῖς σμικροτέρας, καὶ τήν γε μεγίστην ἡδονὴν ἐπὶ τέλους εἶναι τὸν θάνατον. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ λύπην πρὸ αὐτοῦ συμβαίνειν μεγίστην· δῆλον γὰρ ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρώπῳ μείζων ταύτης τῆς λύπης καὶ ὀδύνης τῆς (22) ἀγούσης ἐπὶ τὸν θάνατον. ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ κατ´ ἄνδρα ἕτερα εἶναι δεσμά, τοῖς μὲν ἐλάττω, τοῖς δὲ μείζω περικείμενα ὥσπερ πέδας· καλεῖσθαι δὲ ὑφ´ ἡμῶν αὐτὰς ἐλπίδας. ὥσπερ οὖν τὰς πέδας κατωτάτω τοῦ σώματος εἶναι καὶ περὶ τοῖς ἐσχάτοις μέρεσιν, οὕτω καὶ τὰς ἐλπίδας κατωτάτω εἶναι καὶ περὶ τὸ τελευταῖον μέρος τοῦ βίου, καὶ μάλιστα δὴ κρατεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἀναγκάζειν πάντα πάσχοντας ὑπομένειν. τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἀνοήτοις τε καὶ ἠλιθίοις ὑπερόγκους τε εἶναι τὰς πέδας ταύτας καὶ σφόδρα παχείας, τοῖς δὲ κομψοτέροις κεχαλάσθαι τε καὶ λεπτὰς περικεῖσθαι. (23) καὶ γάρ τοι προσείκαζε καὶ ῥίνῃ τι, πάνυ ἀνδρικῶς ἑπόμενος τῇ εἰκόνι· τοῦτο δὲ ἔφη μόνους εὑρίσκειν τοὺς κομψούς τε καὶ δριμεῖς. ἀποκεκλεῖσθαι γὰρ αὐτὸ πάνυ ἀκριβῶς, ὥσπερ εἴ τις ἐν δεσμωτηρίῳ ῥίνην ἀποκρύψειεν, ὅπως μηδεὶς τῶν δεσμωτῶν λαβὼν ἔπειτα λύσειεν ἑαυτόν. τοὺς οὖν φιλοτίμους καὶ φιλοπόνους μόλις μέν, ὅμως δὲ ἀνευρίσκειν. καλεῖσθαι δὲ ὑπ´ αὐτῶν αὐτὸ λόγον. ἐπειδὰν οὖν τάχιστα εὕρωσι, χρῆσθαί τε καὶ ῥινᾶν τὰ δεσμὰ καὶ ποιεῖν τῆς ἁλύσεως τὸ καθ´ αὑτοὺς ὡς οἷόν τε ἰσχνότατον καὶ ἀσθενέστατον, μέχρις ἂν ᾗ δυνατὸν κατεργάσωνται τάς (24) τε ἡδονὰς καὶ τὰς λύπας. βραδὺ δὲ τοῦτο γίγνεται. μόλις γὰρ αὐτῶν ὁ λόγος, ἅτε στερεῶν ὄντων καὶ ἀδαμαντίνων, καθικνεῖται καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν ἀπεσθίει, παντελῶς δὲ οὐκ ἂν δύναιτο δαπανῆσαι καὶ διελεῖν. ὅτῳ δ´ ἂν ἐγγένηται τοῦτο τὸ φάρμακον καὶ φιλοπόνως αὐτῷ χρήσηται δι´ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς ἐφ´ ὅσον οἷόν τ´ ἐστίν, εὐχερῶς ἤδη τὴν φρουρὰν φέρει καὶ περιέρχεται παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ὥσπερ λελυμένος, καὶ τοῦ χρεὼν ἐπιστάντος ῥᾳδίως ἄπεισιν, ὡς ἂν οὐκέτι βίᾳ κρατούμενος οὐδὲ σφιγγόμενος. ἐκ τούτων ἐνίοτε οἱ θεοί τινας καὶ παρέδρους ἑαυτοῖς ποιοῦνται δι´ ἀρετὴν καὶ σοφίαν, καθόλου τῆς τιμωρίας ἀπαλλάξαντες.

[30,20] "But first it is right to say that once when a child I heard a wandering philosopher explain what the nature of the chain is, that it is not at all like such chains as we have, made of iron or bronze as our chains are, but much stronger, and yet similar in form and construction. For just as our chains are forged out of a number of links that are interlocked with one another, and that from one end to the other; so too is that other one by which we asserted that men are bound by the gods. This chain, he said, is composed entirely of both pleasure and pain, and these things are intertwined, the pleasant and the painful, and the one always of necessity follows the other, just as, I suppose, are the links of a chain. Great pleasures are followed by great pains, the small pleasures by smaller pains, and the very greatest pleasure at the end is death. This is the reason that the pain which comes before death is the greatest ; for it is clear that man has no greater pain and suffering than this which ends in death. (22) "He said, further, that for each man there are other bonds, in some cases lighter, in other cases heavier, which lie upon him just like fetters: they are called hopes by us. Now just as the fetters are at the lowest part of the body and around our extremities, so the hopes too are at the very bottom and surround the final part of our life. They most of all hold men in their thrall and compel them to endure even though they suffer all tortures. In the case of the senseless and foolish, these fetters are massive and exceedingly thick, but for the more intelligent, the shackles that surround them are loose and light. (23) "And, mark you, he also compared something to a file, very manfully sticking to his parable. This, he said, is found only by the intelligent and shrewd ; for it is locked away very carefully, just as a person might hide a file in a prison in order that none of the prisoners might get hold of it and then free himself. Now the ambitious and industrious have trouble in finding it, but still they do find it. And the name they give to it is `Reason.' Then, as soon as they find it, they use it to file the fetters and make the part of the chain that binds themselves as thin and weak as possible, until they overcome the pleasures and pains so far as one may. But this is slow work. Only with difficulty does their 'reason' affect the chains because they are of adamantine hardness, and it wears them away only gradually, but is not able to wear them entirely through and tear them asunder. And when a man does get hold of this remedy, and uses it industriously by day and night to the best of his ability, he now endures his confinement cheerfully, walks around past the others as if he were a free man, and when his fated time comes, he goes his way without hindrance, as though no longer restrained by force or clamped to the chain. Of such men the gods at times make some their coadjutors on account of their virtue and wisdom, after completely freeing them from their punishment.