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περὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς βουλευόμεθα καὶ διαποροῦμεν, εἰ διδακτόν ἐστι τὸ φρονεῖν
τὸ δικαιοπραγεῖν τὸ εὖ ζῆν: εἶτ᾽ οὐ 1 θαυμάζομεν, εἰ ῥητόρων μὲν ἔργα καὶ κυβερνητῶν καὶ
ἁρμονικῶν καὶ οἰκοδόμων καὶ γεωργῶν μυρία γ᾽ 2
ἐστίν: ἀγαθοὶ δ᾽ ἄνδρες ὀνομάζονται καὶ λέγονται μόνον, ὡς
ἱπποκένταυροι καὶ γίγαντες καὶ κύκλωπες, ἔργον δ᾽ ἀμεμφὲς εἰς ἀρετὴν
καὶ ἀκέραιον 3 οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν οὐδὲ πάθους ἀκέραιον ἦθος καὶ ἄθικτον
αἰσχροῦ βίον 4 ἀλλ᾽ εἰ καί τι καλὸν ἡ φύσις
αὐτομάτως ἐκφέρει, τοῦτο πολλῷ τῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ, καθάπερ ὕλῃ καρπὸς
ἀγρίᾳ καὶ ἀκαθάρτῳ μιγνύμενος, 5 ἐξαμαυροῦται. ψάλλειν μανθάνουσιν οἱ
ἄνθρωποι καὶ ὀρχεῖσθαι καὶ ἀναγιγνώσκειν γράμματα καὶ γεωργεῖν καὶ
ἱππεύειν ὑποδεῖσθαι μανθάνουσι
περιβάλλεσθαι καὶ
ἀλείφεσθαι: οἰνοχοεῖν διδάσκουσιν ὀψοποιεῖν ταῦτ᾽ ἄνευ τοῦ μαθεῖν οὐκ
ἔστι χρησίμως; ποιεῖν. δι᾽ ὃ δὲ ταῦτα πάντα, τὸ εὖ βιοῦν , ἀδίδακτον
καὶ ἄλογον καὶ ἄτεχνον καὶ αὐτόματον.
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1891. 3.
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