[3,125] ὅσοι δὲ κέκτηνται γῆν, διαπονοῦντας πρότερον τὰ περὶ γεωργίαν, ὅσοι δὲ ἐν ἄστει διάγουσι, τῶν (125) κατὰ πόλιν τι πράττοντας· τῶν τε σχολὴν ἀγόντων τὰ γυμνάσια μεστὰ καὶ τὰς παλαίστρας, καὶ τοὺς μὲν τρέχοντας ἐν τοῖς δρόμοις, τοὺς δὲ αὖ παλαίοντας, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλο τι περὶ τὴν ἀγωνίαν ἀσκοῦντας οὐκ ὄντας ἀθλητάς. ἁπλῶς δὲ εἰπεῖν, ἑκάστων τῶν μὴ σφόδρα ἀνοήτων - - - καὶ σίτων καὶ λουτρῶν καὶ ὑγιεινῶν καὶ πάντων, (127) ὁ ἄρχων ἁπάντων τούτων διαφέρει τῷ μὴ μάτην πονεῖν μηδὲ τὸ σῶμα μόνον αὔξειν, ἀλλ´ ἕνεκα πράξεων· ἢ γὰρ ἦλθε πρός τι τῶν δεομένων προνοίας ἢ ἔφθασεν ὅπου δεῖ τάχους ἢ κατήνυσέν τι τῶν οὐ ῥᾳδίων ἀνυσθῆναι ἢ στρατιὰν ἐξέταξεν ἢ χώραν ἡμέρωσεν ἢ πόλιν ᾤκισεν ἢ ποταμοὺς ἔζευξεν ἢ γῆν ὁδευτὴν ἐποίησεν. <128> οὐχ οὕτως δ´ ἡγεῖται μακάριον ὅτι ἔξεστι κεκτῆσθαι καλλίστους μὲν ἵππους, κάλλιστα δὲ ὅπλα, καλλίστην δὲ ἐσθῆτα, καὶ τἄλλα ὁμοίως, ἀλλ´ ὅτι φίλους τοὺς καλλίστους, καὶ πολύ γε αἴσχιον φιλίας <129> ἐνδεέστερον ἔχειν τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἢ τούτων τινός. ᾧ γὰρ ἐξ ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐκλέξασθαι τοὺς πιστοτάτους ὑπάρχει, καὶ σχεδὸν οὐδείς ἐστιν ὃς οὐκ ἂν ἄσμενος ὑπακούσειεν αὐτῷ βουλομένῳ χρῆσθαι, πῶς οὐ καταγέλαστον τοῦτον μὴ χρῆσθαι τοῖς σπουδαιοτάτοις; οἱ μὲν γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν δυναστῶν τοὺς ὅπως δήποτε πλησίον γενομένους καὶ τοὺς κολακεύειν ἐθέλοντας, τούτους μόνους ὁρῶσι, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους πάντας ἀπελαύνουσι, καὶ τούς γε βελτίστους ἔτι μᾶλλον.

[3,125] while those who own land first toil hard at farming, and those who live in the city have some city employment; he sees the leisured class crowd the gymnasia and wrestling-floors - some running on the track, others again wrestling, and others, who are not athletes, taking some form of exercise other than the competitive—in a word, everyone with at least a grain of sense doing something or other and so finding his meat and drink wholesome. But the ruler differs from all these in that his toil is not in vain, and that he is not simply developing his body, but has the accomplishment of things as his end and aim. He attends to some matter needing his supervision, he acts promptly where speed is needed, accomplishes something not easy of accomplishment, reviews an army, subdues a province, founds a city, bridges rivers, or builds roads through a country. (128) He does not count himself fortunate just because he can have the best horses, the best arms, the best clothing, and so forth, but because he can have the best friends ; and he holds that it is far more disgraceful to have fewer friends among the private citizens than any one of them has. For when a man can select his most trustworthy friends from among all men - and there is scarcely a man who would not gladly accept his advances—surely it is ridiculous that he should not have the best. Most potentates have an eye only for those who get near them no matter how, and for those who are willing to flatter, while they hold all others at a distance and the best men more especially.