Texte grec :
| [4,95] τοῦτο οὖν διώκει καὶ ζητεῖ πανταχόθεν, οὐδέν τι μεταστρεφόμενος,
οὔτ´ εἰ μετ´ αἰσχύνης οὔτ´ εἰ μετ´ ἀδικίας γίγνοιτο,
πλὴν ὅσον τὰς κολάσεις ὑφορώμενος ὁδοιδόκων {ἀσφαλέστερος} δειλίᾳ
κρατηθείς, κυνὸς ἀχρήστου ψυχὴν ἔχων, τὰ μὲν ἁρπάζοντος, ἐὰν
ἐλπίσῃ λήσεσθαι, τοῖς δὲ ἐπεμβλέποντος καὶ ἄκοντος ἀπεχομένου
(96) διὰ τοὺς ἐφεστηκότας φύλακας. ἔστω δὴ βραχὺς ἰδεῖν, δουλοπρεπής,
ἄγρυπνος, οὐδέποτε μειδιῶν, ἀεί τῳ λοιδορούμενος καὶ
μαχόμενος, πορνοβοσκῷ μάλιστα προσεοικὼς τό τε σχῆμα καὶ τὸν
τρόπον ἀναιδεῖ καὶ γλίσχρῳ, βαπτὸν ἀμπεχομένῳ τριβώνιον μιᾶς
τινος τῶν ἑταιρῶν ὧν ἴσμεν, τοὺς αὑτοῦ φίλους τε καὶ ἑταίρους,
(97) μᾶλλον δὲ δούλους καὶ ὑπηρέτας λωβώμενος καὶ καταισχύνων πάντα
τρόπον, ἐάν τε ἐν ἰδιώτου σχήματι λάβῃ τινὰς ἐάν τε ἐν βασιλέως.
(98) ἢ οὐ πολλοὺς τῶν καλουμένων βασιλέων ἰδεῖν ἔστι καπήλους καὶ
τελώνας καὶ πορνοβοσκούς; ἀλλὰ Δρόμωνα μὲν καὶ Σάραμβον, ὅτι
ἐν Ἀθήναις καπηλεύουσι καὶ ὑπὸ Ἀθηναίων τοῦτο ἀκούουσι τὸ
ὄνομα, δικαίως φαμὲν ἀκούειν, Δαρεῖον δὲ τὸν πρότερον, ὅτι ἐν
Βαβυλῶνι καὶ Σούσοις ἐκαπήλευε, καὶ Πέρσαι αὐτὸν ἔτι καὶ νῦν
(99) καλοῦσι κάπηλον, οὐ δικαίως κεκλῆσθαι; ἴδιόν γε μὴν τούτῳ
συμβέβηκε παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους δαίμονας· ἐνίοτε μὲν γὰρ ἄρχει καὶ
κρατεῖ τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐνίοτε δὲ ἐκείνοις συνέπεται διὰ τὸ πάσης ἐπιθυμίας
καὶ σπουδῆς ὑπηρέτην τε καὶ διάκονον ἀπροφάσιστον εἶναι τὸν πλοῦτον.
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Traduction française :
| [4,95] This, therefore, is what he seeks and pursues
from any and every source, never
concerning himself at all to ask whether it is
acquired by shameful or by unjust means, except
insofar as, observing the punishments meted out
to footpads, he lets cowardice get the better of him
and becomes cautious. For he has the soul of a
worthless cur, that snatches up things when it expects
not to be notieed, and looks on other morsels
with longing eyes but keeps away from them,
though reluctantly, because the guards are by. So
let him be a man insignificant in appearance, servile,
unsleeping, never smiling., ever quarrelling and fighting
with someone, very much like a pander, who in
garb as well as in character is shameless and niggardly,
dressed in a coloured mantle, the finery of
one of his harlots. A foui and loathsome spirit is
this, for he brings every possible insult and shame
upon his own friends and comrades, or, rather, his
slaves and underlings, whether he find them in the
garb of private citizens or in that of royalty. Or
is it not plain to see that many who are called
kings are only traders, tax-gatherers, and keepers
of brothels ? Shall we assert that Dromon and
Sarambus, because they keep shops in Athens and
are called shopkeepers by the Athenians, come fairly
by the name, but that the eider Darius, who kept
a shop in Babylon and in Susa, and whom the
Persians still to this day call a shopkeeper, has not
deserved this name ? Moreover, there is one peculiarity
about this spirit, not shared by the others :
although he sometimes rules and masters the soul,
yet sometimes he seems to be compliant, the reason
being that wealth is the handmaid and the willing
ministrant to every appetite and interest.
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