6.3
The man said it was; whereupon Solon began to beat his head and to do and say everything else that betokens a transport of grief. But Thales took him by the hand and said, with a smile This it is O Solon, which keeps me from marriage and the getting of children; it overwhelms even thee, who art the most stouthearted of men. But be not dismayed at this story, for it is not true. Such, at any rate, according to Hermippus, is the story of Pataecus, who used to boast that he had Aesop’s soul.
7.1
However, it is irrational and ignoble to renounce the acquisition of what we want for fear of losing it; for on this principle a man cannot be gratified by the possession of wealth, or honor, or wisdom, for fear he may be deprived of them. Indeed, even virtue, the most valuable and pleasing possession in the world, is often banished by sickness and drugs. And Thales himself, though unmarried, was nevertheless not wholly free from apprehension, unless he also avoided having friends, or relations, or country.
