25–26
Chrysippos
And being a body you are a living creature?
Chrysippos
Then you are not a stone, because you are a living creature.
Buyer
Thank you. My legs were getting lifeless already and stiff, like Niobe's. But I am certainly going to buy you. What is his price?
20
Hermes
Two hundred and forty dollars.
Hermes
Are you the sole purchaser?
Buyer
Dear me, no. All these people are with me.
Hermes
There are plenty of them, and strong in the shoulder. They are fit for "the Mower."
25
Zeus
Don't waste time. Call up another, the Peripatetic.
Hermes
You are the man I want-the handsome, the rich one. Come now, buy the most intelligent life-the one whose forte is omniscience!
Buyer
What sort of a person is he?
Hermes
He leads a reasonable, well-ordered life, never doing either too much or too little. Most important of all, he is double.
Buyer
What do you mean?
5
Hermes
It seems that his visible man is one person and his inward man another; so, if you buy him, remember to call the one "exoteric," the other "esoteric."
Buyer
What does he know best?
Hermes
That there are three classes of goods, relating to the soul, the body, and to externals.
Buyer
He thinks like a human being. What is his price?
Hermes
Three hundred and seventy-five dollars.
10
