(81) ἐπεὶ δὲ αὖ τὸ φῶς ὁρᾶσθαι μὲν ἥδιστον, πράττειν δὲ ἀδύνατον ὁτιοῦν χωρὶς 
αὐτοῦ, κοιμώμενοι δὲ πᾶσαν μὲν ἡσυχίαν ἄγομεν, οὐδὲν δὲ χρώμεθα τῷ φωτί, 
ὅσον μὲν ἱκανὸν ἐγρηγορέναι χρόνον, ἡμέραν ἐποίησεν, ὅσον δὲ κοιμᾶσθαι 
ἀναγκαῖον, νύκτα ἀπέδειξε, περὶ πᾶσαν ἰὼν γῆν, ἄλλοτε ἄλλους ἀναπαύων τε 
καὶ ἀνιστάς, ἀφιστάμενος μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν μηκέτι δεομένων φωτός, τοῖς δὲ ἀεὶ 
δεομένοις ἐπιφαινόμενος. καὶ ταῦτα μηχανώμενος δι´ αἰῶνος οὐδέποτε κάμνει.

81) And furthermore, since it is so great a pleasure to see the Iight and impossible to 
do anything without it, and since, when we are asleep, we do absolutelynothing and 
make no use of the light, he has made day the time requisite for our waking hours, 
and turned into night the time necessary for sleep, making a complete revolution 
around the earth and sending now these men to rest or awakening them, now those : 
departing from those who no longer need his light and appearing to those who need 
it in their turn. And he never grows weary of bringing these things to pass 
throughout the ages.

Trad. anglaise : J.W. COHOON - H. Lamar CROSBY, Dio Chrysostom.  
Vol. I. London, Heinemann, 1932