BOOK III. i. 24-30

...you, but I shall say: "Young man, whom do you wish to make beautiful?
25 First, learn who you are, and then, in the light of that knowledge, adorn yourself. You are a human being; that is, a mortal animal gifted with the ability to use impressions original: "phantasiai"—the mental images or perceptions we receive from the world. The Stoics believed our character is defined by how we choose to judge and act upon these impressions. rationally. And what does it mean to act "rationally"? It means to act in accordance with nature, consistently and perfectly.
26 What element of superiority, then, do you possess? Is it your animal nature? No. Your mortality? No. Your ability to receive impressions? No. Your reason is the element of superiority which you possess; adorn and beautify that. But leave your hair to the one who fashioned it as he willed.
27 Come now, what other titles apply to you? Are you a man or a woman? — "A man." — Very well then, adorn the man, not the woman. A woman is born smooth and dainty by nature; if she is very hairy, she is a prodigy original: "teras"—a monstrosity or an unnatural sign. In the Roman era, people with unusual physical traits, such as bearded women, were often displayed as public curiosities. and is exhibited at Rome among the other curiosities.
28 But for a man not to be hairy is the same thing The scholars Wolf and Blass suggest the phrase means "the same thing," though some manuscripts read simply "this."; if he has no hair by nature, he is a prodigy. But if he cuts it out and plucks it out of himself, what shall we make of him? Where shall we exhibit him, and what notice shall we post over him?
29 "I will show you," we say to the audience, "a man who wishes to be a woman rather than a man." What a dreadful spectacle! No one can help but be amazed at such a sign. By Zeus A standard Stoic reference to the divine order or the Creator of the universe., I suspect that even the men who pluck out their own hair do so without realizing the significance of their actions.
30 My friend, what reason do you have to complain against your nature? This refers to a point of debate found in section 23 regarding the acceptance of one's natural state. Because it brought you into the world as a man? This is a near-exact quote from Diogenes the Cynic, a philosopher famous for his minimalist lifestyle and rejection of social pretension, as recorded by the author Athenaeus. What then? Should nature have brought everyone into the world...