[20,10] ἤδη δέ ποτε εἶδον ἐγὼ διὰ τοῦ ἱπποδρόμου βαδίζων πολλοὺς ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ ἀνθρώπους ἄλλον ἄλλο τι πράττοντας, τὸν μὲν αὐλοῦντα, τὸν δὲ ὀρχούμενον, τὸν δὲ θαῦμα ἀποδιδόμενον, τὸν δὲ ποίημα ἀναγιγνώσκοντα, τὸν δὲ ᾄδοντα, τὸν δὲ ἱστορίαν τινὰ ἢ μῦθον διηγούμενον· καὶ οὐδὲ εἷς τούτων οὐδένα ἐκώλυσε προσέχειν αὑτῷ καὶ (11) τὸ προκείμενον πράττειν. καίτοι τούτων οὐδέν ἐστι τῶν ἔργων, ὃ συνάγει τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ καθίστησι καὶ καταφρονεῖν ποιεῖ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων. παιδεία δέ, ὡς ἔοικε, καὶ φιλοσοφία, αἳ μάλιστα τοῦτο διαπράττονται, πολλῆς ἐρημίας τε καὶ ἀναχωρήσεως τυγχάνουσι δεόμεναι· καὶ ὥσπερ τοῖς νοσοῦσιν, εἰ μὴ πανταχόθεν ἐστὶ σιωπή τε καὶ ἡσυχία, οὐ δυνατὸν ὕπνου μεταλαβεῖν, οὕτως ἄρα καὶ τοῖς φιλολόγοις, εἰ μὴ πάντες ὑποσιγήσουσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ μήτε ὅραμα μηδὲν ἄλλο ἔσται μήτε ἀκούσματος ἀκούειν μηδενός, οὐκ ἄρα οἵα τε ἔσται ἡ ψυχὴ τοῖς αὑτῆς προσέχειν καὶ περὶ ταῦτα (12) γίγνεσθαι. ἀλλ´ ἔγωγε ὁρῶ καὶ τοὺς πλησίον τῆς θαλάττης οὐδὲν πάσχοντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ διανοεῖσθαι δυναμένους ἃ βούλονται διανοεῖσθαι καὶ λέγοντας καὶ ἀκούοντας καὶ καθεύδοντας, ὁπόταν αὐτοῖς ᾖ καιρός, ὅτι οὐδὲν οἴονται προσήκειν αὑτοῖς τοῦ ψόφου τούτου οὐδὲ φροντίζουσιν. εἰ δέ γε ἐβούλοντο προσέχειν ὁπότε μείζων ἢ ἐλάττων γίγνοιτο ἦχος ἢ διαριθμεῖν τὰ κύματα τὰ προσπίπτοντα ἢ τοὺς λάρους τε καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὄρνεα ὁρᾶν, ὅπως ἐπιπέτονται ἐπὶ τὰ κύματα καὶ νήχονται ῥᾳδίως ἐπ´ αὐτῶν, οὐκ ἂν (13) ἦν αὐτοῖς σχολὴ ἄλλο τι ποιεῖν. οὐκοῦν καὶ ὅστις δυνατὸς ἐννοῆσαι περὶ τῶν πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τοῦ θορύβου τοῦ κατ´ αὐτοὺς καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων, ὅτι οὐδὲν διαφέρει ταῦτα τῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάττῃ γιγνομένων, οὐκ ἂν ἐνοχλοῖτο ὑπ´ αὐτῶν. ἀλλὰ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὡς ἔοικε, πολλοῦ ἄξιον {τὸ} μάθημα καὶ δίδαγμα, τὸ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐθίζειν ἕπεσθαι τῷ λόγῳ καὶ μὴ ἐπ´ ἄλλ´ ἄττα τρέπεσθαι ἢ τά τε προκείμενα (14) καὶ δοκοῦντα ὀρθῶς ἔχειν· καὶ ἡ μὲν οὕτως ἐθισθεῖσα {ἡ} ψυχὴ {λόγῳ} δυνήσεται ἅπαντα διαπράττεσθαι τὰ προσήκοντα αὐτῇ, ἡ δὲ ῥεμβομένη τε καὶ ἀλύουσα καὶ ἄλλοτε ἐπ´ ἄλλο τρεπομένη, ὅταν τι προφανῇ ποτε ἡδονήν τινα ἢ ῥᾳστώνην ἔχον, ὥσπερ ὕδατος ἐν ἑτεροκλινεῖ χωρίῳ ὅποι ἔτυχε τρεπομένου, οὐδὲν ἂν ὠφεληθείη οὐδ´ ὑπὸ τῆς πάσης ἡσυχίας τε καὶ ἐρημίας.

[20,10] And I remember once seeing, while walking through the Hippodrome, many people on one spot and each one doing something different : one playing the flute, another dancing, another doing a juggler's trick, another reading a poem aloud, another singing, and another telling some story or myth ; and yet not a single one of them prevented anyone else from attending to his own business and doing the work that he had in hand. (11) However, you will object, there is none of these occupations that concentrates the mind, steadies it, and causes it to look with disdain upon all other things ; and education, apparently, and philosophy, which best accomplish this, do require great seclusion and retirement; and, just as the sick, unless there is silence and quiet all about them, are unable to get any sleep, so, you see, it is with seekers after learning —unless everybody about them is quiet, and unless there is nothing distracting to be seen or heard, their mind will find it impossible to give attention to its own affairs and to concentrate on these. (12) Yet I for my part notice that people who live by the sea are not affected by its sounds, but are able to put their minds on anything they like, that they speak and listen and sleep when they feel that the time has come for these things, because they think that the sound is no concern of theirs and so do not mind it. But if they did care to take notice when the roar increased or diminished, or to count the waves that break upon the shore, or to watch the gulls and other birds, how they alight on the waves and float easily on them, they would not have time to do anything else. (13) So, too, the man who can bring himself to reflect in regard to the crowds and the din they cause and their various affairs, that these things differ not one whit from what takes place on the sea, will not be troubled by any of them. Nay, we have in this, it would seem, a very valuable lesson and bit of instruction —that we should accustom the mind to follow reason and not to let it be diverted to any other thing whatsoever than the matters which are before it and thought to be fitting. And when we have thus accustomed the mind by reason will be able to accomplish all its proper work ; but the mind that spins this way and that and fidgets and turns to one thing after another, whenever anything comes in sight at any time which offers some pleasure or relaxation, like water that turns in every way as it chances on a piece of uneven ground, will derive no benefit whatever from even perfect quiet and seclusion.