διὸ δὴ πᾶς ἀνὴρ σπουδαῖος τῶν ὄντων σπουδαίων πέρι πολλοῦ δεῖ μὴ γράψας ποτὲ ἐν ἀνθρώποις εἰς φθόνον καὶ ἀπορίαν καταβαλεῖ. ἑνὶ δὴ ἐκ τούτων δεῖ γιγνώσκειν λόγῳ, ὅταν ἴδῃ τίς του συγγράμματα γεγραμμένα εἴτε ἐν νόμοις νομοθέτου εἴτε ἐν ἄλλοις τισὶν ἅττ᾽ οὖν, ὡς οὐκ ἦν τούτῳ ταῦτα σπουδαιότατα, εἴπερ ἔστ᾽ αὐτὸς σπουδαῖος, κεῖται δέ που ἐν χώρᾳ τῇ καλλίστῃ τῶν τούτου: εἰ δὲ ὄντως αὐτῷ ταῦτ᾽ ἐσπουδασμένα ἐν γράμμασιν ἐτέθη, ‘ἐξ ἄρα δή τοι ἔπειτα,’ θεοὶ μὲν οὔ, βροτοὶ δὲ ‘φρένας ὤλεσαν αὐτοί.’
Γι' αυτό κανένας άξιος άνθρωπος δεν θα γράψει ποτέ και δεν θα παρουσιάσει στους ανθρώπους τις σκέψεις του πάνω σε ό,τι είναι αληθινό και άξιο γεννώντας τους έτσι φθόνο και απορία. Μ' ένα λόγο, έχοντας κανείς υπ' όψη του όσα είπαμε, πρέπει, όταν δει γραμμένα βιβλία, ή ενός νομοθέτη με θέμα τους νόμους ή και οτιδήποτε άλλο με άλλο θέμα, να ξέρει ότι όσα λέει εκεί, δεν ήταν γι' αυτόν τα αξιότερα, αν είναι ο ίδιος άξιος, παρά φυλάγονται στο ωραιότερο μέρος του εαυτού του· αν όμως αυτά που έγραψε, τα έγραψε θεωρώντας τα πραγματικά σπουδαία, τότε, όχι βέβαια οι θεοί, αλλά οι άνθρωποι τον έκαναν να χάσει τα λογικά του.
And this is the reason why every serious man in dealing with really serious subjects carefully avoids writing, lest thereby he may possibly cast them as a prey to the envy and stupidity of the public. In one word, then, our conclusion must be that whenever one sees a man's written compositions—whether they be the laws of a legislator or anything else in any other form,—these are not his most serious works, if so be that the writer himself is serious: rather those works abide in the fairest region he possesses. If, however, these really are his serious efforts, and put into writing, it is not the gods but mortal men who “Then of a truth themselves have utterly ruined his senses.”
Translated by Robert Gregg BuryTherefore every man of worth, when dealing with matters of worth, will be far from exposing them to ill feeling and misunderstanding among men by committing them to writing. In one word, then, it may be known from this that, if one sees written treatises composed by anyone, either the laws of a lawgiver, or in any other form whatever, these are not for that man the things of most worth, if he is a man of worth, but that his treasures are laid up in the fairest spot that he possesses. But if these things were worked at by him as things of real worth, and committed to writing, then surely, not gods, but men "have themselves bereft him of his wits."
Translated by J. HarwardΠλάτων, Επιστολή ζ
Plato,
Letters 7.344c
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0164:letter=7https://www.mikrosapoplous.gr/plato/plato05.htmhttps://www.academia.edu/11985684/Platos_Seventh_Letter_in_Greek_http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/ancient_greek/tools/corpora/anthology/content.html?m=1&t=500http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/ancient_greek/tools/corpora/anthology/content.html?t=500&m=3&pane=trans