… ἵνα δὲ μὴ πάντα φέρω τὰ παραδείγματα, ἁπλῶς καὶ πράττομεν ἅπαντα οἱ 
ἄνθρωποι τέλους ἕνεκεν ἀγαθοῦ καὶ φεύγομεν  τὰς ἐναντίας πράξεις τέλους 
ἕνεκεν κακοῦ. τὸ δὲ χωρὶς αἰτίας σπουδάζειν ἢ πονεῖν, τοῦτ´ ἔστιν ὃ τοῖς ἀνοήτοις 
προσήκει μόνοις.
(28) εἰ μὲν οὖν τις σπουδὴν ἔχοι καλεῖσθαι βασιλεὺς ἰδιώτης ὤν, καὶ τοῦτο ἄριστα 
ἐπιστάμενος αὐτὸς ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ, τοὐναντίον οὗτος ἢ δοκεῖ γέλωτα ὀφλήσει, 
χρώμενος ὀνόματι ψευδεῖ δίχα πράγματος. καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων δὲ ὁμοίως 
ἁπάντων, κἂν αὐλητής τις ἐθέλῃ δοκεῖν, αὐλεῖν οὐκ ἐπιστάμενος, κἂν μουσικὸς 
οὐδὲν ὑπὲρ μουσικῆς εἰδώς, κἂν κιθαριστὴς οὐδὲ ἅψασθαι τῆς λύρας 
ἐπιστημόνως δυνάμενος.

But, not to present all the various illustrations, in a word we human beings not only 
do all we do because of an end that is good, but we also avoid the opposite activities 
because of an end that is evil. On the other hand, to exert oneself or toil without a 
reason is appropriate for fools alone. If, for example, a man should entertain a serious 
purpose to be called King when he is merely a private citizen—and when, moreover, 
he knows that fact about himself perfectly well—quite contrary to his fond 
imagining, he would become a laughing-stock, inasmuch as he would be using a 
false title devoid of reality. And it is much the same in all the other matters too, 
whether a man wishes to be thought a flautist when he doesn't know how to blow 
the pipes, or musical when he knows nothing of the art of music, or a player of the 
cithara when he cannot even touch the harp intelligently.

Trad. anglaise : J.W. COHOON - H. Lamar CROSBY, Dio Chrysostom.  
Vol. IV. London, Heinemann, 1946