[10,7] Ἔπειτα, ἔφη, οὐδὲν ἠδίκεις αὐτὸν ἀργὸν ὄντα καὶ ἀμαθῆ τρέφων καὶ ποιῶν ὅτι κάκιστον; ἡ γὰρ ἀργία καὶ τὸ σχολὴν ἄγειν ἀπόλλυσι πάντων μάλιστα τοὺς ἀνοήτους ἀνθρώπους. οὐκοῦν ὀρθῶς συνῆκεν ὑπὸ σοῦ διαφθειρόμενος, καὶ ἀπέδρα δικαίως, ἵν´ ἐργάζηται δῆλον ὅτι καὶ μὴ σχολάζων τε καὶ καθεύδων καὶ ἐσθίων χείρων ἀεὶ γίγνηται. σὺ δὲ ἴσως οἴει μικρὸν ἀδίκημα εἶναι, ὃς ἄνθρωπον ποιεῖ πονηρότερον, ἀλλ´ οὐχὶ τοῦτον δεῖν πάντων μάλιστα φεύγειν ὡς ἔχθιστον καὶ ἐπιβουλότατον; καὶ ὅς, Τί οὖν, ἔφη, ποιήσω; οὐ γὰρ ἔστι μοι ἄλλος οἰκέτης.

[10,7] "Then were you doing him no wrong," Diogenes answered, " by keeping him in idleness and ignorance and making him as bad as could be ? For idleness and lack of occupation are the best things in the would to ruin the foolish. Therefore he was right in deciding that you were his undoing, and he was justified in running off, evidently so as to get work and not become worse and worse all the time by loafing, sleeping, and eating. But you, perhaps, think that it is a trifling wrong when anyone makes another man worse. And yet is it not right to keep away from such a man above all as the deadliest and most treacherous of enemies ? " " What shah I do then ?" he asked, " for I have no other domestic."

[10,8] Τί δέ, ἔφη, ποιήσεις, ὅταν ἄλλα ὑποδήματα μὴ ἔχῃς, τὰ δὲ ὄντα ἐνοχλῇ καὶ διακόπτῃ τοὺς πόδας; ἆρα οὐχ ὑπολυσάμενος ὅτι τάχιστα ἀνυπόδητος βαδίσεις; ἀλλὰ κἂν αὐτόματον λυθῇ, πάλιν ἐπιδεῖς τε καὶ σφίγγεις τὸν πόδα; καὶ γὰρ δὴ ὥσπερ οἱ ἀνυπόδητοι ἐνίοτε ῥᾷον βαδίζουσι τῶν φαύλως ὑποδεδεμένων, οὕτως πολλοὶ χωρὶς οἰκετῶν ῥᾷον ζῶσι καὶ ἀλυπότερον τῶν πολλοὺς οἰκέτας ἐχόντων.

[10,8] "Well, what will you do," said he, "when you have no other shoes and those you have hurt and lacerate your feet? Will you not take them off as soon as you can and go barefoot? If, however, they fall off of themselves, do you tie them on again and pinch your feet? Why, sometimes barefooted persons get about more easily than those who are badly shod ; and similarly, many live more comfortably and with less annoyance without domestics than those who have many.