[33,30] καίτοι πολλάκις ἀκοῦσαί τινων ἔστι· μὴ γὰρ ἡμεῖς μόνοι μεταβεβλήκαμεν, ἀλλ´ οὐχὶ σχεδὸν ἅπαντες; ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο καθάπερ εἴ τις ἐν λοιμῷ διὰ τὸ πάντας ἢ τοὺς πλείστους νοσεῖν μηδεμίαν ἐθέλοι ποιεῖσθαι πρόνοιαν, ὥστε αὐτὸς ὑγιαίνειν, ἢ νὴ Δία ἐν θαλάττῃ χειμαζόμενος, ἔπειτα πάντας ὁρῶν τοὺς ἐν τῇ νηὶ κινδυνεύοντας ἀμελοῖ τῆς σωτηρίας. τί δέ; ἂν ὅλος καταδύηται στόλος, διὰ τοῦτο ἧττόν ἐστιν ἄτοπον τὸ ξυμβαῖνον; (31) ‘τί οὖν ἁμαρτάνομεν ἡμεῖς;’ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐῶ. γελοῖον γάρ, εἴ τις πρὸς τὸν ὅλως οὐκ ἐπιστάμενον κιθαρίζειν, ἔπειτα ὡς ἔτυχε κρούοντα, ἐπιχειροῖ λέγειν ὅ,τι ἥμαρτεν ἢ τίνα φθόγγον παρέβη. τοσοῦτον δὲ μόνον εἰπεῖν ἄξιον, ὃ μηδεὶς ἂν ἀρνήσαιτο. φημὶ δὴ θαυμαστόν τι πάθος ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ πεπονθέναι πολλούς, ὃ παρ´ ἄλλοις τισὶ πρότερον ἤκουον μᾶλλον ἢ παρ´ ὑμῖν γιγνόμενον. (32) τί δὲ τοῦτ´ ἔστιν ἂν μὴ δύνωμαι δηλῶσαι σαφῶς, ἀλλὰ ὑμεῖς γε πειρᾶσθε ὑπονοεῖν· καὶ μηδέν με νομίσητε τῶν ἀπορρήτων λέγειν μηδ´ ὃ κρύπτουσιν οἱ ποιοῦντες, εἰ καὶ σφόδρα δόξει θαυμαστόν. μεταξὺ γοῦν ὀρθοὶ βαδίζοντες, λαλοῦντες οἱ πλείους καθεύδουσιν· εἰ δ´ ἐγρηγορέναι τοῖς πλείοσι δοκοῦσιν, οὐδὲν ἂν εἴη τοῦτο. καὶ γὰρ τοὺς λαγὼς φήσει τις ἐγρηγορέναι τῶν ἀπείρων, ἐὰν ἴδῃ κοιμωμένους. πόθεν οὖν ἐγνώσθη τοῦτο; ἐξ ἑτέρων τινῶν, ἃ σημεῖά (33) ἐστι τοῦ καθεύδειν· ἐπεὶ τά γε ὄμματα αὐτῶν ἀναπέπταται. τί οὖν οὗτοι ποιοῦσι κοιμωμένων; πολλὰ μὲν δὴ τά γε ἄλλα· σχεδὸν γὰρ πάντα ὀνείρασιν ἔοικεν αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα· καὶ γὰρ χαίρουσι μάτην καὶ λυποῦνται καὶ θρασύνονται καὶ δεδοίκασι, μηδενὸς ὄντος, καὶ σπουδάζουσι, καὶ τῶν ἀδυνάτων ἐπιθυμοῦσι, καὶ τὰ μὴ ὄντα νομίζουσιν εἶναι, καὶ τῶν ὄντων οὐκ αἰσθάνονται. πλὴν ταῦτα μὲν ἴσως κοινὰ καὶ ἡμῶν ἐστιν. ἐκεῖνο δὲ οἶμαι φανερώτατον ὕπνου τεκμήριον ποιοῦσι, ῥέγκουσιν. οὐ γὰρ ἔχω μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς εἰπεῖν εὐπρεπέστερον. καίτοι καὶ τῶν κοιμωμένων ὀλίγοι μὲν ἀεὶ τοῦτο πάσχουσι· τῶν δὲ ἄλλων τοῖς μεθύουσι ξυμβαίνει καὶ τοῖς ἐμπλησθεῖσι (34) καὶ τοῖς μὴ καλῶς κατακειμένοις. ἐγὼ δέ φημι τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον αἰσχρὰν τὴν πόλιν ποιεῖν καὶ δημοσίᾳ καταισχύνειν, καὶ τὴν μεγίστην ὕβριν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα ὑβρίζειν τοὺς μεθ´ ἡμέραν τούτους κοιμωμένους, καὶ δικαίως ἂν αὐτοὺς ἐξορισθῆναι καὶ παρ´ ὑμῶν καὶ πανταχόθεν. οὐδὲ γὰρ μέτριόν ἐστι τὸ γιγνόμενον οὐδὲ σπανίως συμβαῖνον, ἀλλ´ ἀεὶ καὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς πόλεως, κἂν ἀπειλῇ τις κἂν παίζῃ κἂν καταγελᾷ. καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ἤδη ξύνηθές ἐστι καὶ τοῖς πάνυ σμικροῖς παισί, καὶ τῶν τελείων ὅσοι δοκοῦσιν αἰδεῖσθαι, προάγονται πολλάκις ὥσπερ ἐπὶ δώρῳ τινὶ χρῆσθαι, κἂν ἐπιστήσαντες διατραπῶσιν, ἀνέπνευσαν γοῦν ὅμοιον.

[33,30] Indeed one may often hear men say : " Yet perhaps it is not we alone who have changed, but practically everybody." But that is just as if in time of epidemic someone, because all, or nearly all, were ill, should not care to take any precautions for his own health, or, by Zeus, as if a man storm-tossed at sea, perceiving that all on board were in peril, should therefore neglect his own safety. What ! If an entire fleet goes down, does that make the disaster any the less portentous ! (31) "Well, what is the fault we are guilty of? " Your other faults I shall refrain from mentioning. For it would be ludicrous if one should try to tell a man who has absolutely no knowledge of the harp, and yet goes on to strike its strings at random, what particular mistake he has made or what note he has misplayed. But so much at least is worth mentioning, and nobody could deny it : I assert that an amazing thing has happened in this city to many people, something that I used to hear occurred formerly in other cities rather than at Tarsus. However, if I prove unable to explain clearly what that thing is, at least you may try to guess my meaning; and, furthermore, do not think that I am telling any secret or something that the guilty ones attempt to disguise, no matter if their conduct does appear most amazing. At any rate, however amazing it may be, while on your feet, walking or talking, most of you all the while are fast asleep ; and even if you seem to most men to be awake, that would mean nothing at all. For instance, anyone unacquainted with rabbits will say they are awake, evenif he sees them sleeping. How, then, has this state been recognized? From certain other signs which indicate their sleeping, since their eyes at least are wide open. (33) What, then, do these people do that marks persons who are asleep? Many indeed are the other symptoms; for practically all their actions bear a resemblance to the dream state. For example, they experience joy and sorrow, and courage and timidity, for no reason at all, they are enthusiastic, they desire the impossible, and what is unreal they regard as real, while what is real they fail to perceive. However, these traits, perhaps, they share in common with ourselves. But this, in my opinion, is the clearest mark of slumber—they snort. For, by heaven, I have no more becoming name to give it. And yet even among sleepers few suffer from that affliction, while with everybody else it occurs only when men are drunk, or have gorged themselves with food, or are reclining in an uncomfortable position. But I claim that such conduct shames the city and disgraces it as a state, and that the greatest outrage is dealt to their country by these daytime slumberers, and that they would deservedly be banished, not only by you, but by all men everywhere. For indeed this habit is no trifling matter nor of rare occurrence either; nay, it occurs ail the time and everywhere in the city, despite all threats and jests and ridicule. And what is more, the sound is by now habitual even with the very small boys, and such adults as have a reputation for good form are often led to indulge in it as a kind of local usage, and even though they may check it in embarrassment, at any rate they have given vent to a sound quite similar.