But I thought as he said these things and I think now that they would be of all men the
strangest and most perverse who could take offense at being told that I hold myself at the
service of Athens in discharging the liturgies and performing any public duty she enjoins,
and yet do not ask to have any part in the allotment of the offices nor in the
distribution of the gifts she doles out to others, nor in the privilege of prosecuting or
defending cases in the courts.
For I have prescribed this course for myself, not because I am rich or have any false pride, nor because I look down on those who do not live in the same way as I do, but because I love peace and tranquillity, and most of all because I see that men who so live are looked up to both in Athens and in other parts of the world. Moreover, I consider that this kind of life is more agreeable than that of men who are busy with a multitude of things, and that it is, besides, more in keeping with the career to which I have dedicated myself from the first.
It was for these reasons that I chose this manner of life. And if I have refrained from
accepting the bounties which are distributed by the city it was because I thought it
outrageous if I, who am able to maintain myself from my private resources, should stand in
the way of any of those who have been compelled to get their livelihood from the city, and
if because of my presence