[72,10] οὔκουν δύνανται ἡδέως ὁρᾶν αὐτούς, ἀλλὰ προσκρούουσι καὶ διαμάχονται, ὥσπερ οὐδ´ οἱ παῖδες ἡδέως ὁρᾶν δύνανται οὓς ἂν ἴδωσι παιδαγωγῶν σχῆμα ἔχοντας καὶ παρεσκευασμένους οὕτως ὡς ἐπιπλήξοντας αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐκ ἐπιτρέψοντας ἁμαρτάνειν οὐδὲ ῥᾳθυμεῖν. εἰ γάρ τοι καὶ τοῖς παισὶν ἐξῆν τῶν τοιούτων καταγελᾶν καὶ ὑβρίζειν, οὐδὲν ἂν πρότερον τούτου ἐποίουν. οὐ μέντοι ἅπαντες ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς διανοίας προσέρχονται καὶ ἐνοχλοῦσιν, ἀλλ´ ἔστι γένος ἀνθρώπων πολυπραγμονοῦν τοιαύτην (11) πολυπραγμοσύνην καὶ τρόπον τινὰ οὐ πονηρόν· οὗτοι προσίασιν οὓς ἂν ἡγῶνται φιλοσόφους ἀπὸ τῆς στολῆς, ὡς ἀκουσόμενοί τι παρ´ αὐτῶν σοφόν, ὃ οὐκ ἂν παρ´ ἑτέρου ἀκούσειαν, πυνθανόμενοι καὶ περὶ Σωκράτους, ὅτι σοφός τε ἦν καὶ διελέγετο τοῖς προσιοῦσι λόγους φρονίμους, καὶ περὶ Διογένους, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς πρὸς ἅπαντα εὐπόρει λόγου καὶ ἀποκρίσεως. καὶ τὰ μὲν τούτου καὶ διαμνημονεύουσιν οἱ πολλοί, τὰ μέν τινα ἴσως εἰπόντος αὐτοῦ, (12) τὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλων συνθέντων. τῶν γε μὴν ἑπτὰ σοφῶν τὰς γνώμας ἀκούουσι καὶ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἀνατεθῆναι πρότερον, οἷον ἀπαρχάς τινας τῆς σοφίας τῆς ἐκείνων καὶ ἅμα τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἕνεκεν ὠφελείας, ὡς τῷ ὄντι δὴ θεῖα ταῦτα καὶ σχεδόν τι τῶν χρησμῶν θειότερα, οὓς ἡ Πυθία ἔχρα καθίζουσα ἐπὶ τοῦ τρίποδος, ἐμπιμπλαμένη τοῦ πνεύματος. τὸ γὰρ αὑτῷ χρησθὲν ἕκαστος ἀκούσας ἄπεισι, καὶ οὐκ ἀνατίθεται ταῦτα, ὥστε δὴ καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις εἶναι γνώριμα· τὰ δὲ ἐκείνων δόγματα κοινὰ ἀπεδείχθη τοῖς ἀφικνουμένοις παρὰ τὸν θεόν, ὡς ὁμοίως ξυμφέρον πᾶσιν εἰδέναι (13) καὶ πείθεσθαι. εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ τὸν Αἴσωπον οἴονται τοιοῦτόν τινα γενέσθαι, σοφὸν μὲν καὶ φρόνιμον, αἱμύλον δὲ ἄλλως καὶ ξυνθεῖναι λόγους ἱκανόν, οἵων οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἥδιστ´ ἂν ἀκούοιεν. καὶ τυχὸν οὐ παντάπασι ψευδῆ οἴονται καὶ τῷ ὄντι Αἴσωπος τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἐπειρᾶτο νουθετεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἐπιδεικνύναι αὐτοῖς ἅττα ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ὡς ἂν μάλιστα ἠνείχοντο αὐτόν, ἡδόμενοι ἐπὶ τῷ γελοίῳ καὶ τοῖς μύθοις· ὥσπερ τὰ παιδία ταῖς τίτθαις μυθολογουμέναις προσέχουσί τε καὶ ἥδονται. ἀπὸ δὴ τῆς τοιαύτης δόξης, ὡς καὶ παρ´ ἡμῶν ἀκουσόμενοί τι τοιοῦτον οἷον Αἴσωπος ἔλεγεν ἢ ὁποῖον Σωκράτης ἢ {ὁποῖα} Διογένης, προσίασι καὶ ἐνοχλοῦσι καὶ οὐ δύνανται ἀπέχεσθαι, ὃν ἂν ἴδωσιν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ σχήματι, οὐ μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ ὄρνεα, ἐπειδὰν ἴδωσι γλαῦκα· (14) ἐφ´ ᾧ καὶ ξυνετίθει λόγον Αἴσωπος τοιοῦτον, ὡς τὰ ὄρνεα ξυνῆλθε πρὸς τὴν γλαῦκα καὶ ἐδεῖτο τῆς μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκοδομημάτων σκέπης ἀπανίστασθαι, πρὸς δὲ τὰ δένδρα τὴν καλιάν, ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτά, καὶ τοὺς τούτων μεταπήγνυσθαι κλῶνας, ἀφ´ ὧν καὶ ᾄδειν ἔστιν εὐσημότερον· καὶ δὴ καὶ πρὸς δρῦν ταυτηνὶ ἄρτι φυομένην, ἐπειδὰν πρὸς ὥραν ἀφίκηται, ἑτοίμως ἔχειν ἱζάνειν καὶ τῆς χλοερᾶς κόμης ἀπόνασθαι. ἀλλ´ οὖν τήν γε γλαῦκα μὴ τοῦτο τοῖς ὀρνέοις ποιεῖν παραινεῖν μηδὲ φυτοῦ βλάστῃ ἐφήδεσθαι ’ἰξὸν πεφυκότος φέρειν, πτηνοῖς ὄλεθρον‘.

[72,10] They cannot, therefore, look upon the philosophers with any pleasure, but instead they clash with them and fight with them, just as boys too cannot look with pleasure upon any whom they see in the guise of tutors and prepared as if they meant to rebuke them and not to allow them to go astray or be careless. In truth, if the boys were at liberty to mock at and insult such persons, there is nothing they would rather do than that. However, not all have this motive in coming up and making themselves a nuisance ; on the contrary, there are persons who indulge in this kind of curiosity and, in a way, are not bad persons either. These approach any whom, because of their dress, they take to be philosophers, expecting to hear from them some bit of wisdom which they could not hear from any one else, because they have heard regarding Socrates that he was not only wise but also accustomed to speak words of wisdom to those who approached him, and also regarding Diogenes, that he too was well provided with statement and answer on each and every topic. And the masses still remember the sayings of Diogenes, some of which he may have spoken himself, though some too were composed by others. (12) Indeed, as for the maxims of the Seven Sages, they hear that these were even inscribed as dedications at Delphi in days gone by, firstfruits, as it were, of the wisdom of those men and at the same time intended for the edification of mankind, the idea being that these maxims were truly divine, and if I may say so, even more divine than the responses which the Pythian priestess was wont to give as she sat upon her tripod and filled herself with the breath of the god. For the response which is made to each for himself he listens to and then goes his way, and such responses are not dedicated and thereby made known to all mankind too ; but the maxims of the Seven Sages have been appointed for the common use of all who visit the god, as being profitable for all alike to know and to obey. And there are those who think that Aesop too was somewhat like the Seven Sages, that while he was wise and sensible, yet he was crafty too and clever at composing tales such as they themselves would most enjoy to hear. And possibly they are not wholly mistaken in their suppositions and in reality Aesop did in this way try to admonish mankind and show them wherein they were in error, believing that they would be most tolerant toward him if they were amused by his humour and his tales—just as children, when their nurses tell them stories, not only pay attention to them but are amused as well. As the result, then, of this belief, that they are going to hear from us too some such saying as Aesop used to utter, or Socrates, or Diogenes, they draw near and annoy and cannot leave in peace whomever they may see in this costume, any more than the birds can when they see an owl. (14) Indeed, this is why Aesop composed a fable which I will relate. The birds came together to call upon the owl, and they begged her to withdraw from the shelter afforded by the human habitations and to transfer her nest to the trees, just like themselves, and to their branches, " whence," they declared, " it is actually possible to sing a clearer note." And in fact, as the fable has it, they stood ready to settle upon an oak, which was then just starting to grow, as soon as it should reach its prime, and to enjoy its green foliage. However, the story continues, the owl advised the birds not to do this and not to exult in the shoot of a plant whose nature it is to bear mistletoe, a bane to feathered folk.