[7,120] τυχὸν δὲ καὶ Ἀθηναῖοι χαλεπανοῦσιν, ἀτιμάζεσθαι νομίζοντες τοὺς σφετέρους ποιητὰς τραγικοὺς καὶ κωμικούς, ὅταν τοὺς ὑπηρέτας αὐτῶν ἀφαιρώμεθα, μηδὲν ἀγαθὸν φάσκοντες ἐπιτηδεύειν. εἰκὸς δὲ ἀγανακτεῖν καὶ Θηβαίους, ὡς τῆς νίκης αὐτῶν ὑβριζομένης, ἣν προεκρίθησαν ὑπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος νικᾶν ἐπ´ αὐλητικῇ· (7,121) ταύτην δὲ τὴν νίκην οὕτω σφόδρα ἠγάπησαν, ὥστε ἀναστάτου τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῖς γενομένης καὶ ἔτι νῦν σχεδὸν οὔσης πλὴν μικροῦ μέρους, τῆς Καδμείας {οἰκουμένης}, τῶν μὲν ἄλλων οὐδενὸς ἐφρόντισαν τῶν ἠφανισμένων ἀπὸ πολλῶν μὲν ἱερῶν, πολλῶν δὲ στηλῶν καὶ ἐπιγραφῶν, τὸν δὲ Ἑρμῆν ἀναζητήσαντες πάλιν ἀνώρθωσαν, ἐφ´ ᾧ ἦν τὸ ἐπίγραμμα τὸ περὶ τῆς αὐλητικῆς, Ἑλλὰς μὲν Θήβας νικᾶν προέκρινεν ἐν αὐλοῖς· καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ μέσης τῆς ἀρχαίας ἀγορᾶς ἓν τοῦτο ἄγαλμα ἕστηκεν ἐν τοῖς ἐρειπίοις· (7,122) οὐ δὴ φοβηθέντες οὐδένα τούτων οὐδὲ τοὺς ἐπιτιμήσοντας ἡμῖν, ὡς τὰ σπουδαιότατα παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησι ψέγομεν, ἅπαντα τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐκ αἰδημόνων οὐδὲ ἐλευθέρων ἀνθρώπων ἀποφαινόμενοι ἔργα, ὡς ἄλλα τε πολλὰ δυσχερῆ πρόσεστιν αὐτοῖς καὶ δὴ μέγιστον τὸ τῆς ἀναιδείας, τὸ μᾶλλον τοῦ δέοντος φρονεῖν τὸν ὄχλον, ὅπερ {μέγιστον} θρασύνεσθαι καλεῖν ὀρθότερον. (7,123) οὔκουν οὐδὲ κήρυκας ὠνίων οὐδὲ κλοπῶν ἢ δρασμῶν μήνυτρα προτιθέντας ἐν ὁδοῖς καὶ ἐν ἀγορᾷ φθεγγομένους μετὰ πολλῆς ἐλευθερίας, οὐδὲ συμβολαίων καὶ προκλήσεων καὶ καθόλου τῶν περὶ δίκας καὶ ἐγκλήματα συγγραφεῖς, προσποιουμένους νόμιμον ἐμπειρίαν, οὐδὲ αὖ τοὺς σοφούς τε καὶ δεινοὺς δικορράφους τε καὶ συνηγόρους, μισθοῦ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως ἐπαγγελλομένους βοηθήσειν, καὶ ἀδικοῦσι τὰ μέγιστα, καὶ ἀναισχυντήσειν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἀδικημάτων καὶ σχετλιάσειν καὶ βοήσεσθαι καὶ ἱκετεύσειν ὑπὲρ τῶν οὔτε φίλων οὔτε συγγενῶν σφίσιν ὄντων, σφόδρα ἐντίμους καὶ λαμπροὺς ἐνίους εἶναι δοκοῦντας ἐν τῇ πόλει, οὐδὲ τοιοῦτον οὐδένα ἀξιοῖμεν ἂν ἐκείνων γίγνεσθαι, παραχωρεῖν δὲ ἑτέροις. (7,124) χειροτέχνας μὲν γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν τινας ἀνάγκη γενέσθαι, γλωσσοτέχνας δὲ καὶ δικοτέχνας οὐδεμία ἀνάγκη. τούτων δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων τε καὶ ῥηθησομένων εἴ τινα δοκεῖ χρήσιμα ταῖς πόλεσιν, ὥσπερ {ταῖς} νῦν οἰκουμέναις, οἷον δὴ ἴσως τὸ περὶ τὴν τῶν δικῶν ἀναγραφὴν καὶ τῶν συμβολαίων, τάχα δὲ καὶ κηρυγμάτων ἐνίων, ὅπως ἂν ἢ ὑφ´ ὧν γιγνόμενα ἥκιστα ἂν εἴη βλαβερὰ, οὐ νῦν καιρός ἐστι διορίζειν. (7,125) οὐ γὰρ πολιτείαν ἐν τῷ παρόντι διατάττομεν, ὁποία τις ἂν ἢ ἀρίστη γένοιτο ἢ πολλῶν ἀμείνων, ἀλλὰ περὶ πενίας προυθέμεθα εἰπεῖν ὡς οὐκ ἄπορα αὐτῇ τὰ πράγματά ἐστιν, ᾗπερ δοκεῖ τοῖς πολλοῖς αὐτή τε εἶναι φευκτὸν καὶ κακόν, ἀλλὰ μυρίας ἀφορμὰς πρὸς τὸ ζῆν παρέχει τοῖς αὐτουργεῖν βουλομένοις οὔτε ἀσχήμονας οὔτε βλαβεράς. (7,126) ἀπὸ γὰρ αὐτῆς ἀρχῆς ταύτης τὰ περὶ γεωργίας καὶ θήρας προυτράπημεν προδιελθεῖν ἐπὶ πλέον πρότερον, καὶ νῦν περὶ τῶν κατὰ ἄστυ ἐργασιῶν, τίνες αὐτῶν πρέπουσαι καὶ ἀβλαβεῖς τοῖς μὴ κάκιστα βιωσομένοις καὶ τίνες χείρους ἂν ἀποτελοῖεν τοὺς ἐπ´ αὐτῶν. (7,127) εἰ δὲ πολλὰ τῶν εἰρημένων καθόλου χρήσιμά ἐστι πρὸς πολιτείαν καὶ τὴν τοῦ προσήκοντος αἵρεσιν, ταύτῃ καὶ δικαιότερον συγγνώμην ἔχειν τοῦ μήκους τῶν λόγων, ὅτι οὐ μάτην ἄλλως οὐδὲ περὶ ἄχρηστα πλανωμένῳ πλείονες γεγόνασιν. ἡ γὰρ περὶ ἐργασιῶν καὶ τεχνῶν σκέψις καὶ καθόλου περὶ βίου προσήκοντος ἢ μὴ τοῖς μετρίοις καὶ καθ´ αὑτὴν ἀξία πέφηνεν πολλῆς καὶ πάνυ ἀκριβοῦς θεωρίας. (7,128) χρὴ οὖν τὰς ἐκτροπὰς τῶν λόγων, ἂν καὶ σφόδρα μακροὶ δοκῶσι, μὴ μέντοι περί γε φαύλων μηδὲ ἀναξίων {λόγων} μηδὲ οὐ προσηκόντων, μὴ δυσσκόλως φέρειν, ὡς οὐκ αὐτὴν λιπόντος τὴν τῶν ὅλων ὑπόθεσιν τοῦ λέγοντος, ἕως ἂν περὶ τῶν ἀναγκαίων καὶ προσηκόντων φιλοσοφίᾳ διεξίῃ. (7,129) σχεδὸν γὰρ κατὰ τοῦτο μιμούμενοι τοὺς κυνηγέτας οὐκ ἂν ἁμαρτάνοιμεν· οἵ γε ἐπειδὰν τὸ πρῶτον ἴχνος ἐκλαβόντες κἀκείνῳ ἑπόμενοι μεταξὺ ἐπιτύχωσιν ἑτέρῳ φανερωτέρῳ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐγγύς, οὐκ ὤκνησαν τούτῳ ξυνακολουθήσαντες,

[7,120] Perhaps the Athenians also will have a grievance because they believe that we are disparaging their poets, tragic and comic, when we deprive them of their assistants, claiming that there is nothing good in their calling. It is likely that the Thebans too will be resentful, on the ground that indignity is being offered their victory in flute-playing which was awarded them by Greece. 121 They cherished that victory so dearly that when their city had been destroyed — almost as it remains to-day except for a small part, the Cadmea, which is still inhabited — they cared nothing for the other things that had disappeared, for the many temples, many columns and inscriptions, but the Hermes they hunted out and set up again because the inscription about the contest in flute- playing was engraved upon it. "Greece awarded to Thebes the victory in playing on flute-pipes." And now in the middle of the old market-place stands this one statue surrounded by ruins. 122 But we shall have no fear of any of these people nor of those who will charge us with disparaging the things (p357) which the Greeks cherish as most important, but shall declare that all such activities have no place with self-respecting or free men, holding that many evils are due to them, the greatest of which certainly is shamelessness, that overweening pride on the part of the populace, for which arrogance would be a better name. 123 Neither should our poor become auctioneers or proclaimers of rewards for the arrest of thieves or runaways, shouting in the streets and market-place with great vulgarity, or scriveners who draw up contracts and summonses or, in general, documents that have to do with trials and complaints, and claim knowledge of legal forms; nor must they be learned and clever pettifogging lawyers, who pledge their services to all alike for a fee, even to the greatest scoundrels, and undertake to defend unblushingly other men's crimes, and to rage and rant and beg mercy for men who are neither their friends nor kinsmen, though in some cases these advocates bear a high report among their fellow-citizens as most honourable and distinguished men. No, we shall allow none of our poor to adopt such professions but shall leave these to the other sort. 124 For though some of them must of necessity become handcraftsmen, there is no necessity that they should become tongue-craftsmen and law-craftsmen. Still, if any of the occupations of which I have been speaking, and shall yet speak, seem to have their useful place in our cities as they do in these now (p359) existing, such as perhaps the registering of judgments and contracts, and perhaps certain proclamations, it is not now the place for us to determine how and by whom these needs shall be met with the least harm. 125 For we are not at present mapping out the form of government that would be best, or better than many, but we did set out to discuss poverty and to show that its case is not hopeless, as the majority think, but that it affords many opportunities of making a living that are neither unseemly nor injurious to men who are willing to work with their hands. 126 Indeed, it was with that very premise that we were led to tell that quite lengthy tale at the beginning about life among farmers and hunters, and to speak now about city occupations, defining those that are befitting and not harmful to men who are not to live on the lowest plane, and those which degrade the men who are employed in them. 127 Further, if much that I have said is, in general, serviceable in moulding public policy and assisting in a proper choice, then there is the greater reason for pardoning the length of my discourse, because I have not dragged it out in idle wandering or talk about useless things. For the study of employments and trades and, in general, of the life fitting or otherwise for ordinary people has proved to be, in and of itself, worthy of a great deal of very careful research. 128 The hearer should therefore not be annoyed at digressions even if they do seem excessively long, if only they are not about trivial or unworthy or irrelevant things, since the speaker has not abandoned the real (p361) theme of the whole provided he treats of the matters that are essential and pertinent to philosophy. 129 Probably if we imitated the hunter in this we should not go far astray. When he picks up his first trail and, following it, all at once comes upon another that is clearer and fresher, he does not hesitate to follow up this latter and then, after bagging his game, goes back to the first trail.