[72,0] ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΣΧΗΜΑΤΟΣ. (1) Διὰ τί ποτε οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ὅταν μέν τινα ἴδωσιν αὐτὸ μόνον χιτῶνα ἔχοντα, οὔτε προσέχουσιν οὔτε διαγελῶσι, λογιζόμενοι τυχὸν ὅτι ναύτης ἐστὶν ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲν δεῖ καταγελᾶν τούτου ἕνεκα· ὁμοίως οὐδ´ εἴ τινα ἴδοιεν γεωργοῦ στολὴν ἔχοντα ἢ ποιμένος, ἐξωμίδα ἔχοντα ἢ διφθέραν ἐνημμένον ἢ κοσύμβην ὑποδεδυκότα οὐ χαλεπαίνουσιν, ἀλλ´ οὐδὲ προσποιοῦνται τὴν ἀρχήν, (2) ἡγούμενοι προσήκειν τὴν στολὴν τῷ τοιοῦτόν τι πράττοντι. τούς γε μὴν καπήλους ἑκάστοτε ὁρῶντες πρὸ τῶν καπηλείων ἀνεζωσμένους οὐδέποτε τωθάζουσι, καταγελῷεν δ´ ἂν τοὐναντίον, εἰ μὴ οὕτως ἐνεσκευασμένοι εἶεν, ὡς οἰκείου τοῦ σχήματος ὑπάρχοντος τῇ ἐργασίᾳ, ἣν μεταχειρίζονται. ἐπειδὰν δέ τινα ἴδωσιν ἀχίτωνα ἐν ἱματίῳ κομῶντα τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰ γένεια, οὐχ οἷοί τέ εἰσι πρὸς τούτους τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν οὐδὲ σιγῇ παρέρχεσθαι, ἀλλ´ ἐφίστανται καὶ ἐρεθίζουσι καὶ ἤτοι κατεγέλασαν ἢ ἐλοιδόρησαν καὶ ἐνίοτε ἕλκουσιν ἐπιλαβόμενοι, ὅταν τινὰ ὁρῶσι μὴ πάνυ ἐρρωμένον αὐτὸν μηδὲ ἄλλον μηδένα παρόντα τὸν ἐπιβοηθήσοντα, καὶ ταῦτα εἰδότες ὅτι τοῖς καλουμένοις φιλοσόφοις ξυνήθης ἐστὶν ἡ (3) στολὴ αὕτη καὶ τρόπον τινὰ ἀποδεδειγμένη. ὃ δὲ ἔτι τούτου παραδοξότερον· ἔνθα γὰρ ἐνίοτε βλέπουσιν ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς μέν τινας πίλους ἐπὶ ταῖς κεφαλαῖς ἔχοντας, ὡς νῦν τῶν Θρᾳκῶν τινες τῶν Γετῶν λεγομένων, πρότερον δὲ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ Μακεδόνες, ἄλλους δὲ τιάραν καὶ ἀναξυρίδας, καθάπερ οἶμαι Πέρσαι τε καὶ Βάκτριοι καὶ Παρθυαῖοι καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ τῶν βαρβάρων· οἱ δὲ ἔτι τούτων ἀτοπώτεροι εἰώθασιν ἐπιδημεῖν πτερὰ ἔχοντες ἐπὶ ταῖς κεφαλαῖς ὀρθά, ὥσπερ Νασάμωνες—οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ τούτοις πάνυ τι τολμῶσι πράγματα παρέχειν οὐδ´ ἐνοχλεῖν προσιόντες. καίτοι Γέτας μὲν ἢ Πέρσας ἢ Νασάμωνας, τοὺς μὲν οὐ πολλοὺς (4) βλέπουσι, τοὺς δὲ σπανίως ἐπιδημοῦντας· τῶν δὲ τοιούτων ἀνθρώπων ὀλίγου νῦν μεστὰ πάντα, καὶ σχεδὸν πλείους γεγόνασι τῶν σκυτοτόμων καὶ κναφέων καὶ τῶν γελωτοποιῶν ἢ ἄλλην ὁποίαν βούλει τέχνην ἐργαζομένων· ὥστε καὶ ἐφ´ ἡμῶν ἴσως ῥηθῆναι εἰκότως ὅτι πλεῖ πάντα ὁμοίως ἀκάτια καὶ πᾶσα βοῦς ἀροτριᾷ.

[72,0] THE SEVENTY-SECOND DISCOURSE : ON PERSONAL APPEARANCE. (1) WHY on earth is it that, whenever men see somebody wearing a tunic and nothing more, they neither notice him nor make sport of him ? Possibly because they reason that the fellow is a sailor and that there is no occasion to mock him on this account. Similarly, if they should spy some one wearing the garb of a farmer or of a shepherd—that is, wearing an exomis or wrapped in a hide or muffled in a kosymba —they are not irritated, nay, they do not even notice it to begin with, feeling that the garb is appropriate to the man who follows such a calling. Take our tavern-keepers too ; though people day after day see them in front of their taverns with their tunics belted high, they never jeer at them but, on the contrary, they would make fun of them if they were not so attired, considering that their appearance is peculiarly suited to their occupation. But when they see some one in a cloak but no tunic, with flowing hair and beard, they find it impossible to keep quiet in his presence or to pass by in silence ; instead, they step up to him and try to irritate him and either mock at him or speak insultingly, or sometimes they catch hold of him and try to drag him off, provided they see one who is not himself very strong and note that no one else is at hand to help him ; and they do this although they know that the garb he wears is customary with the philosophers, as they are called, yes, as one might say, has been prescribed for them. (3) But what is even more astounding still is this. Here in your city from time to time are to be seen persons, some of whom are wearing felt caps on their heads—as to-day certain of the Thracians who are called Getae do, and as Spartans and Macedonians used to do in days gone by—and others wearing a turban and trousers, as I understand Persians and Bactrians and Parthians and many other barbarians do ; and some, still more outlandish than these, are accustomed to visit your city wearing feathers erect on their heads, just as do the Nasamonians ; yet the citizens do not have the effrontery to make any trouble at all even for these, or to approach and annoy them. And yet as for Getae or Persians or Nasamonians, while some of them are seen here in no great numbers and others rarely visit here, the whole world to-day is virtually crowded with persons such as I have described, yes, I might almost say that they have grown more numerous than the shoemakers and fullers and jesters or the workers at any other occupation whatever. Therefore in our day too possibly it could be said with good reason that every catboat is under sail and every cow is dragging a plow.