[34,0] ΤΑΡΣΙΚΟΣ ΔΕΥΤΕΡΟΣ. (1) Οὐκ ἀγνοῶ μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ταρσεῖς, ὅτι νομίζεται καὶ παρ´ ὑμῖν καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοὺς πολίτας παριέναι καὶ συμβουλεύειν, οὐ τοὺς τυχόντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς γνωρίμους καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους, ἔτι δὲ τοὺς καλῶς λελειτουργηκότας. οὐ γὰρ εὔλογον ἴσως τῆς μὲν οὐσίας τῆς τῶν πλουσίων μετέχειν ὑμᾶς τὸ μέρος, τῆς δὲ διανοίας μὴ ἀπολαύειν, ὁποία ποτ´ ἂν ᾖ. καίτοι κιθαρῳδῶν γε ὁπόταν ἀκούειν ἐθελήσητε ἢ αὐλητῶν ἢ ἀθλητὰς θεωρεῖν, οὐ καλεῖτε τοὺς πλουσίους οὐδὲ τοὺς πολίτας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐπισταμένους καὶ (2) δυναμένους, οὐχ ὑμεῖς μόνον, ἀλλὰ πάντες οἱ τοιοῦτοι. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο λανθάνει με, ὅτι τοὺς ἐν τούτῳ τῷ σχήματι σύνηθες μέν ἐστι τοῖς πολλοῖς Κυνικοὺς καλεῖν· οὐ μόνον δὲ οὐδὲν οἴονται διαφέρειν αὑτῶν οὐδ´ ἱκανοὺς εἶναι περὶ πραγμάτων σπουδαίων διαλέγεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ σωφρονεῖν ἡγοῦνται, μαινομένους δέ τινας ἀνθρώπους καὶ ταλαιπώρους εἶναι. σκώπτειν δὲ καὶ καταγελᾶν ἔνιοι τούτων ἑτοίμως ἔχουσι καὶ πολλάκις μηδὲ σιγῶσιν ἐπιτρέπειν, (3) οὐχ ὅπως λεγόντων ἀνέχεσθαι. ἔτι δέ φασιν ὑμᾶς ἐν τῷ παρόντι καὶ λίαν παρωξύνθαι πρὸς τοὺς φιλοσόφους. καὶ καταρᾶσθαί γε, οὐ πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ ἐνίοις αὐτῶν, πάνυ μὲν εὐλαβῶς καὶ μετρίως τοῦτο ποιοῦντας, ὅτι μὴ κοινῇ κατὰ πάντων ἐβλασφημεῖτε, εἴ τι οἱ ἐνθάδε ἡμάρτανον, ἐκεῖνο δὲ ἴσως ἀγνοοῦντας, ὅτι, εἴπερ κατηρᾶσθε, οὐ τοῖς φιλοσόφοις. οὐ γάρ ἐστιν οὐδεὶς φιλόσοφος τῶν ἀδίκων καὶ πονηρῶν, οὐδ´ ἂν τῶν ἀνδριάντων περιίῃ γυμνότερος. οἱ δὲ δὴ τὴν πατρίδα βλάπτοντες καὶ συνιστάμενοι κατὰ τῶν πολιτῶν πόρρω που δοκοῦσιν εἶναί μοι τούτου τοῦ ὀνόματος. (4) τί ποτ´ οὖν ἐλπίσας καὶ τί βουληθεὶς παρελήλυθα τοιοῦτος ὢν ἐν καιρῷ τοιούτῳ; μανίας γὰρ τοῦτο ἀληθινῆς. ὅτι μηδενὸς αὐτὸς δέομαι παρ´ ὑμῶν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας ὠφελείας ἕνεκα ἐσπούδακα. ἐὰν οὖν μὴ ἀνάσχησθέ μου, δῆλον ὅτι ὑμᾶς αὐτούς, οὐκ ἐμέ, ζημιώσετε. καίτοι {οὐ} προσήκει γε ὑμῖν, εἴ με ἡγεῖσθε καὶ τῷ ὄντι μαίνεσθαι, δι´ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀκοῦσαι. μὴ γὰρ οἴεσθε ἀετοὺς μὲν καὶ ἱέρακας προσημαίνειν ἀνθρώποις τὸ δέον, καὶ τὴν παρὰ τῶν τοιούτων συμβουλὴν πιστὴν εἶναι διὰ τὸ αὐτόματον καὶ τὸ θεῖον, ἄνδρα δὲ ἀφιγμένον οὕτως καὶ μηδαμόθεν ὑμῖν προσήκοντα μὴ κατὰ τὸ δαιμόνιον ἥκειν ἐροῦντα καὶ συμβουλεύσοντα.

[34,0] THE THIRTY-FOURTH, OR SECOND TARSIC DISCOURSE. (1) I AM well aware, men of Tarsus, that it is customary both here and elsewhere for citizens to mount the platform and give advice; not just any citizens, but those who are prominent and men of wealth, and particularly those who have honourably performed their special services toward the state. For it is not reasonable, if I may say so, that you should have your share in the possessions of the wealthy but fail to profit by their intelligence, whatever that may be. And yet, whenever you wish to listen to harpists or pipers or to enjoy the sight of athletes, you do not call upon only men of wealth or your fellow citizens, but rather upon those who have expert knowledge and capacity, and this is true not only of you but of everybody like you. (2) However, I am well aware also that it is customary for most people to give the name of Cynic to men who dress as I do ; and not only do they think Cynics to be no better than themselves and incompetent in practical affairs, but they consider them to be not even of sound mind to begin with, but a crazy, wretched lot. And some are prone to mock and ridicule such people, and all too often not even to endure their silence, much less listen patiently when they speak. (3) And furthermore, I hear that at the present moment you have a special grievance against philosophers, and indeed that you uttered curses against them—not as a class, to be sure, but in a few instances, displaying great reserve and moderation in so doing, inasmuch as you refrained from cursing philosophers in general if merely the philosophers in Tarsus were guilty of some blunder, but possibly failing to note that, though you cursed indeed, it was not really at philosophers. For no one is a philosopher who belongs among the unjust and wicked, not even if he goes about more naked than statues are. But those, in truth, who seek to harm their fatherland and band together against their fellow-citizens seem to me somewhat far removed from that classification. (4) Then in what expectation and with what purpose has a man of my stamp come before you art such a crisis? For such a step savours of real madness. I am here because there is nothing which I myself require of you, while on the contrary I have been much concerned to be of service to you. If, then, you refuse to bear with me, clearly it will be your loss and not my own. Yet is it not fitting, if you believe that I am really mad, that you should for that very reason listen to me? For you must not think that eagles and falcons foretell to mankind what is required of them and that the counsel derived from such creatures is trustworthy because of its spontaneity and its divine inspiration, while refusing to believe that a man who has come, as I have come, having no connection with you from any point of view, has come by divine guidance to address and counsel you.