20. Indeed I hear the poets saying that things were not like that in old times when you were still lord. No, the earth produced its good things for the folk without sowing and without ploughing, an ample meal ready to each man’s hand; the rivers flowed some with wine, some with milk, and others again with honey. And, above all, they say the men themselves were gold and poverty was nowhere near. As for us, we could not even be thought of as lead, but something meaner, if such there be; and for most of us food is won with toil; and poverty, want, and helplessness, and “alas!”, and “how can I get it?”, and “oh, what bad luck!” and such exclamations are plentiful, at least among us poor. We should be less distressed about it, you may be sure, if we did not see the rich living in such bliss, who, though they have such gold, such silver in their safes, though they have all that clothing and own slaves and carriage-horses and tenements and farms, each and all in large numbers, not only have never shared them with us, but never deign even to notice ordinary people.
20. Καίτοι ἀκούω τῶν ποιητῶν λεγόντων ὡς τὸ παλαιὸν οὐ τοιαῦτα ἦν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ πράγματα σοῦ ἔτι μοναρχοῦντος, ἀλλ’ ἡ μὲν γῆ ἄσπορος καὶ ἀνήροτος ἔφυεν αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀγαθά, δεῖπνον ἕτοιμον ἑκάστῳ ἐς κόρον, ποταμοὶ δὲ οἱ μὲν οἶνον, οἱ δὲ γάλα, εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ μέλι ἔρρεον. τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους φασὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους χρυσοῦς εἶναι, πενίαν δὲ μηδὲ τὸ παράπαν αὐτοῖς πλησιάζειν. ἡμεῖς δὲ αὐτοὶ μὲν οὐδὲ μόλυβδος ἂν εἰκότως δοκοίημεν, ἀλλ’ εἴ τι καὶ τούτου ἀτιμότερον, ἡ τροφὴ δὲ μετὰ πόνων τοῖς πλείστοις, ἡ πενία δὲ καὶ ἀπορία καὶ ἀμηχανία καὶ τὸ οἴμοι καὶ τὸ πόθεν ἄν μοι γένοιτο καὶ ὢ τῆς τύχης πολλὰ τοιαῦτα παρὰ γοῦν ἡμῖν τοῖς πένησι. Καὶ ἧττον ἄν, εὖ ἴσθι, ἠνιώμεθα ἂν ἐπ’ αὐτοῖς, εἰ μὴ τοὺς πλουσίους ἑωρῶμεν τοσαύτῃ εὐδαιμονίᾳ συνόντας, οἳ τοσοῦτον μὲν χρυσόν, τοσοῦτον δὲ ἄργυρον ἐγκλεισάμενοι, ἐσθῆτας δὲ ὅσας ἔχοντες, ἀνδράποδα δὲ καὶ ζεύγη καὶ συνοικίας καὶ ἀγρούς, πάμπολλα δὲ ταῦτα ἕκαστα κεκτημένοι οὐχ ὅπως μετέδοσαν ἡμῖν ποτε αὐτῶν, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ προσβλέπειν τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀξιοῦσι.
21. This is what sticks in our throats most of all, Cronus, and we think it an intolerable thing for such a man to lie in his purple clothes and gorge himself on all these good things, belching, receiving his guest’s congratulations, and feasting without a break, while I and my sort dream where we can get four obols to be able to sleep after a fill of bread or barley, with cress or thyme or onion as a relish. So either, Cronus, change the situation and give us instead of our present lot an equal share in life, or, at the very least, bid these rich men stop their solitary enjoyment of the good things and out of all their bushels of gold throw down a measure for us all, and out of their clothing give us what would be no loss to them even if it were eaten by moths—it will be completely destroyed and ruined by time in any case—, and tell them to give it us to wear before letting it rot in their boxes and chests with mould everywhere.
21. ταῦτα ἡμᾶς μάλιστα ἀποπνίγει, ὦ Κρόνε, καὶ ἀφόρητον ἡγούμεθα τὸ πρᾶγμα, τὸν μὲν ἐφ’ ἁλουργίδων κατακείμενον τοσούτοις ἀγαθοῖς ἐντρυφᾶν ἐρυγγάνοντα καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν συνόντων εὐδαιμονιζόμενον ἀεὶ ἑορτάζοντα, ἐμὲ δὲ καὶ τοὺς ὁμοίους ὀνειροπολεῖν, εἴ ποθεν ὀβολοὶ τέσσαρες γένοιντο, ὡς ἔχοιμεν ἄρτων γοῦν ἢ ἀλφίτων ἐμπεπλησμένοι καθεύδειν κάρδαμον ἢ θύμον ἢ κρόμμυον ἐπιτρώγοντες. ἢ τοίνυν ταῦτα, ὦ Κρόνε, ἀλλάττειν καὶ μεταποιεῖν ἐς τὸ ἰσοδίαιτον, ἢ τὸ ὕστατον, αὐτούς γε ἐκείνους κελεύειν τοὺς πλουσίους μὴ μόνους ἀπολαύειν τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ μεδίμνων τοσούτων χρυσίου χοίνικά γε ἡμῶν πάντων κατασκεδάσαι, ἀπὸ δὲ ἱματίων ὅσα κἂν ὑπὸ σητῶν διαβρωθέντα οὐκ ἂν αὐτοὺς ἀνιάσειε· ταῦτα γοῦν πάντως ἀπολλύμενα καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου διαφθαρησόμενα ἡμῖν δοῦναι περιβαλέσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν ταῖς κοίταις καὶ κίσταις εὐρῶτι πολλῷ κατασαπῆναι.
22. Tell them, moreover, to invite the poor to dinner, taking in four or five at a time, not as they do nowadays though, but in a more democratic fashion, all having an equal share, not one man stuffing himself with dainties with the servant standing waiting for him to eat himself to exhaustion, then when this servant comes to us he passes on while we are still getting ready to put out our hand, only letting us glimpse the platter or the remnants of the cake. And tell him not to give a whole half of the pig when it’s brought in, and the head as well, to his master, bringing the others bones covered over. And tell the wine-servers not to wait for each of us to ask seven times for a drink but on one request to pour it out and hand it to us at once, filling a great cup as they do for their master. And let the wine be one and the same for all the guests—where is it laid down that he should get drunk on wine with a fine bouquet while I must burst my belly on new stuff?
22. Καὶ μὴν καὶ δειπνίζειν ἕκαστον ἄρτι μὲν τέσσαρας, ἄρτι δὲ πέντε τῶν πενήτων παραλαμβάνοντας, μὴ μέντοι ἐς τὸν νῦν τρόπον τῶν δείπνων, ἀλλ’ ἐς τὸ δημοτικώτερον, ὡς ἐπ’ ἴσης μετέχειν ἅπαντας καὶ μὴ τὸν μὲν ἐμφορεῖσθαι τῶν ὄψων καὶ τὸν οἰκέτην περιμένειν ἑστῶτα, ἔστ’ ἂν ἀπαγορεύσῃ ἐσθίων, ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς δὲ ἐλθόντα, ἔτι παρασκευαζομένων ὡς ἐπιβάλοιμεν τὴν χεῖρα, παραμείβεσθαι δείξαντα μόνον τὴν λοπάδα ἢ ὅσον ἐστὶ τοῦ πλακοῦντος τὸ λοιπόν· μηδὲ ἐσκομισθέντος ὑὸς διανέμοντα τῷ μὲν δεσπότῃ παρατιθέναι τὸ ἡμίτομον ὅλον σὺν τῇ κεφαλῇ, τοῖς δὲ ἄλλοις ὀστᾶ φέρειν ἐγκεκαλυμμένα. προειπεῖν δὲ καὶ τοῖς οἰνοχόοις μὴ περιμένειν, ἔστ’ ἂν ἑπτάκις αἰτήσῃ πιεῖν ἡμῶν ἕκαστος, ἀλλὰ ἢν ἅπαξ κελεύσῃ, αὐτίκα ἐγχέαι καὶ ἀναδοῦναι μεγάλην κύλικα ἐμπλησαμένους ὥσπερ τῷ δεσπότῃ. καὶ τὸν οἶνον δὲ αὐτὸν πᾶσι τοῖς συμπόταις ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι—ἢ ποῦ γὰρ γεγράφθαι τοῦτον τὸν νόμον, τὸν μὲν ἀνθοσμίου μεθύσκεσθαι, ἐμοὶ δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ γλεύκους διαρρήγνυσθαι τὴν γαστέρα;
23. If you correct and adjust this, Cronus, you will have made living really living and your festival a real festival. If not, let them have their festival, and we shall sit on our haunches praying that when they have come from the bath the boy will turn up the wine-jar and break it over them, that the cook will burn the soup and in a fit of absent-mindedness put the fish in the pudding, and that the dog will rush in and eat up all the sausage, while the scullions are busy with the other preparations, and half the cake as well; that while the pork and the venison and the sucking-pigs are being cooked they may do what Homer says Helius’s cattle did —or rather not only just crawl, but jump up and rush to the mountain, spits and all; and that their plump birds, although already plucked and prepared for serving, should take wing and go off likewise, so that they may not enjoy them by themselves.
23. Ἤν ταῦτα ἐπανορθώσῃς καὶ μετακοσμήσῃς, ὦ Κρόνε, βίον μὲν τὸν βίον, ἑορτὴν δὲ τὴν ἑορτὴν ἔσῃ πεποιηκώς, εἰ δὲ μή, ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἑορταζόντων, ἡμεῖς δὲ καθεδούμεθα εὐχόμενοι, ἐπειδὰν λουσάμενοι ἥκωσι, τὸν παῖδα μὲν αὐτοῖς ἀνατρέψαντα τὸν ἀμφορέα κατᾶξαι, τὸν μάγειρον δὲ τὸν ζωμὸν κνισῶσαι καὶ ἐπιλαθόμενον τὸ τάριχος μὲν ἐς τὴν φακῆν ἐμβαλεῖν· τὴν κύνα δὲ παρεισπεσοῦσαν τόν τε ἀλλᾶντα ὅλον καταφαγεῖν, περὶ τἆλλα τῶν ὀψοποιῶν ἐχόντων, καὶ τοῦ πλακοῦντος τὸ ἥμισυ· τὸν δὲ ὗν καὶ τὸν ἔλαφον καὶ τὰ δελφάκια μεταξὺ ὀπτώμενα τὸ ὅμοιον ποιεῖν, ὅπερ Ὅμηρος περὶ τῶν Ἡλίου βοῶν φησι—μᾶλλον δὲ μὴ ἕρπειν μόνον, ἀλλ’ ἀναπηδήσαντα φεύγειν εἰς τὸ ὄρος αὐτοῖς ὀβελοῖς· καὶ τὰς ὄρνεις δὲ τὰς παχείας, καίτοι ἀπτέρους ἤδη οὔσας καὶ ἐσκευασμένας, ἀναπταμένας οἴχεσθαι καὶ ταύτας, ὡς μὴ μόνοι ἀπολαύοιεν αὐτῶν.
24. This in particular will cause them trouble: we shall pray for their gold to be dug up from its hiding-places by ants like those of India and carried off by night to the public treasury; and that their clothing through neglect of those in charge should be riddled like a sieve by those fine creatures the mice, to be just like a tunny net; and that their pretty, long-haired pages whom they call Hyacinth or Achilles or Narcissus, just as they are handing them the cup should go bald and have their hair fall out and sprout a pointed beard, like the wedge-shaped beards in the comedy, and have the part around their temples become very hairy and exceedingly prickly, and the area between them smooth and bare. All this and more we shall pray for if they will not give up their excessive selfishness and keep their wealth for everybody’s good and give us a moderate share.
24. Ὃ δὲ δὴ μάλιστα ἂν αὐτοὺς ἀνιάσειε, τὸ μὲν χρυσίον μύρμηκάς τινας οἵους τοὺς Ἰνδικοὺς ἀνορύττοντας ἐκ τῶν θησαυρῶν ἐκφέρειν νύκτωρ ἐς τὸ δημόσιον· τὴν ἐσθῆτα δὲ ὀλιγωρίᾳ τῶν ἐπιμελητῶν κοσκινηδὸν διατετρυπῆσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν βελτίστων μυῶν, ὡς σαγήνης θυννευτικῆς μηδὲν διαφέρειν· παῖδας δὲ αὐτῶν τοὺς ὡραίους καὶ κομήτας, οὓς Ὑακίνθους ἢ Ἀχιλλέας ἢ Ναρκίσσους ὀνομάζουσι, μεταξὺ ὀρέγοντας σφίσι τὸ ἔκπωμα φαλακροὺς γίγνεσθαι ὑπορρεούσης τῆς κόμης καὶ πώγωνα φύειν ὀξύν, οἷοί εἰσιν ἐν ταῖς κωμῳδίαις οἱ σφηνοπώγωνες, καὶ τὸ παρὰ τοῖς κροτάφοις πάνυ λάσιον καὶ κάρτα ἐκκεντοῦν, τὸ μεταξὺ δὲ λεῖον καὶ γυμνὸν εἶναι. ταῦτα καὶ πλείω τούτων εὐξαίμεθ’ ἄν, εἰ μὴ θέλωσι τὸ ἄγαν φίλαυτον τοῦτ’ ἀφέντες ἐς τὸ κοινὸν πλουτεῖν καὶ μεταδιδόναι ἡμῖν τῶν μετρίων.
25. 2. Cronus to His Very Dear Me—Greetings! Why do you talk this nonsense, my man, sending me letters about the way things are and telling me to make a redistribution of property? That task would belong to someone else, your present ruler. I’m surprised that you are the only one who doesn’t know that I stopped being king a long time ago when I apportioned my sovereignty to my sons, and that such things are Zeus’s special concern. This rule of mine doesn’t go beyond dicing, hand-clapping, singing, and getting drunk, and then it’s for no longer than seven days. So, as to the more important matters you mention—removing inequality and all being poor or rich together—Zeus might deal with you. But any injustice or selfishness in the festival it would be for me to judge. In fact I am sending to the rich about the dinners and the measure of gold and the clothing, telling them to send you some for the festival. It is just and proper for them to do this, as you say, unless they can bring some reasonable argument against it.
25. 2. ΚΡΟΝΟΣ ΕΜΟΙ ΤΩΙ ΤΙΜΙΩΤΑΤΩΙ ΧΑΙΡΕΙΝ Τί ταῦτα ληρεῖς, ὦ οὗτος, ἐμοὶ περὶ τῶν παρόντων ἐπιστέλλων καὶ ἀναδασμὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ποιεῖν κελεύων; τὸ δὲ ἑτέρου ἂν εἴη, τοῦ νῦν ἄρχοντος. θαυμάζω γὰρ εἰ μόνος τῶν ἁπάντων ἀγνώσσεις ὡς ἐγὼ μὲν πάλαι βασιλεὺς ὢν πέπαυμαι τοῖς παισὶ διανείμας τὴν ἀρχήν, ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς μάλιστα τῶν τοιούτων ἐπιμελεῖται. τὰ δὲ ἡμέτερα ταῦτα μέχρι πεττῶν καὶ κρότου καὶ ᾠδῆς καὶ μέθης, καὶ τοῦτο οὐ πλέον ἡμερῶν ἑπτά. ὥστε περὶ τῶν μειζόνων ἃ φής—ἀφελεῖν τὸ ἄνισον καὶ ἐκ τῆς ὁμοίας ἢ πένεσθαι ἢ πλουτεῖν ἅπαντας—ὁ Ζεὺς ἂν χρηματίσειεν ὑμῖν. Εἰ δέ τι τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἑορτῆς ἀδικοῖτό τις ἢ πλεονεκτοῖτο, ἐμὸν ἂν εἴη δικάζειν. καὶ ἐπιστέλλω δὲ τοῖς πλουσίοις περὶ τῶν δείπνων καὶ τοῦ χοίνικος τοῦ χρυσίου καὶ τῶν ἐσθήτων, ὡς καὶ ὑμῖν πέμποιεν ἐς τὴν ἑορτήν. δίκαια γὰρ ταῦτα καὶ ἄξια αὐτοὺς ποιεῖν, ὡς φατέ, εἰ μή τι εὔλογον ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς ταῦτα λέγειν ἔχωσιν.
26. But in general you must realise that you poor people have been deceived and have a false view of the rich. You think that they are completely happy and they alone live a life that’s pleasant, because they can have expensive dinners, get drunk on sweet wine, mix with pretty boys and women, and wear soft clothing. You have no idea what the truth of it is. In the first place these things bring no little worry: they are compelled to keep a watchful eye on every detail so that the steward doesn’t get away with any carelessness or theft, that the wine doesn’t go sour, that the corn isn’t swarming with weevils, that a burglar doesn’t steal the drinking-cups, or the people believe the rabble-rousers when they say the rich man wants to be a tyrant. All these things, moreover, would not make up the tiniest fraction of their troubles. If you had only known the fears and worries they have, you would have thought wealth something to be avoided at all costs.
26. τὸ δὲ ὅλον, ἴστε οἱ πένητες ὑμεῖς ἐξηπατημένοι καὶ οὐκ ὀρθῶς δοξάζοντες περὶ τῶν πλουσίων, οἵ γε πανευδαίμονας αὐτοὺς οἴεσθε εἶναι καὶ μόνους ἡδύν τινα βιοῦν τὸν βίον, ὅτι δειπνεῖν τε πολυτελῶς ἔστιν αὐτοῖς καὶ μεθύσκεσθαι οἴνου ἡδέος καὶ παισὶν ὡραίοις καὶ γυναιξὶν ὁμιλεῖν καὶ ἐσθῆσι μαλακαῖς χρῆσθαι. τὸ δὲ πάνυ ἀγνοεῖτε ὁποῖόν ἐστιν. αἵ τε γὰρ φροντίδες αἱ περὶ τούτων οὐ μικραί, ἀλλ’ ἀνάγκη ἐπαγρυπνεῖν ἑκάστοις, μή τι ὁ οἰκονόμος βλακεύσας ἢ ὑφελόμενος λάθῃ, μὴ ὁ οἶνος ὀξυνθῇ, μὴ ὁ σῖτος φθειρὶ ζέσῃ, ἢ ὁ λῃστὴς ὑφέληται τὰ ἐκπώματα, μὴ πιστεύσῃ τοῖς συκοφάνταις ὁ δῆμος λέγουσι τυραννεῖν αὐτὸν ἐθέλειν. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα οὐδὲ τὸ πολλοστὸν ἂν εἴη μέρος τῶν ἀνιώντων αὐτούς. εἰ γοῦν ἠπίστασθε τοὺς φόβους καὶ τὰς μερίμνας ἃς ἔχουσιν, πάνυ ἂν ὑμῖν φευκτέον ὁ πλοῦτος ἔδοξεν.
27. Do you really think that if wealth and kingship were a fine thing I should have been mad enough to let them go and hand them over to others, to sit quietly in private life and put up with orders from another? No, I knew about all this host of troubles which rich men and rulers have to endure, and I gave up my empire, and a good thing too.
27. ἐπεί τοι οἴει με αὐτὸν οὕτως ἄν ποτε κορυβαντιᾶσαι, ὡς εἰ καλὸν ἦν τὸ πλουτεῖν καὶ βασιλεύειν, ἀφέντα ἂν αὐτὰ καὶ παραχωρήσαντα ἄλλοις καθῆσθαι ἰδιωτεύοντα καὶ ἀνέχεσθαι ὑπ’ ἄλλῳ ταττόμενον; ἀλλὰ τὰ πολλὰ ταῦτα εἰδώς, ἃ τοῖς πλουσίοις καὶ ἄρχουσι προσεῖναι ἀνάγκη, ἀφῆκα τὴν ἀρχὴν εὖ ποιῶν.
28. Take the noisy complaints you made to me just now, that they gorged on pork and cakes in the feasting—what do they amount to? Both of them are perhaps sweet and not disagreeable for the moment, but in the aftermath the matter is turned right round. Then, whereas you will get up on the next day without the headache their drinking gives them and the foul, smoky belching from over-fullness, they not only have the pleasure of all this but having spent most of the night in debauchery with boys or women or in any way their lechery takes them, without difficulty they pick up consumption or pneumonia or dropsy from their excessive indulgence. Again, would you find it easy to point out one of them who was not absolutely pale, looking very much like death? Or one who reached old age on his own feet and not carried on four men’s backs, all gold on the outside, but with his inside cobbled like the costumes in tragedy, patched up out of quite worthless rags? You paupers never taste or feed on fish, true enough, but don’t you see that you’ve no acquaintance with gout or pneumonia either, or of anything else that they catch for some other reason? Yet even they themselves don’t find it pleasant eating this food every day beyond what they want of these dishes; no, you’ll see them sometimes with a better appetite for vegetables and thyme than even you have for hare and pork.
28. Καὶ γὰρ ἃ νῦν ἐποτνιῶ πρός με, ὡς τοὺς μὲν ὑῶν καὶ πλακούντων ἐμφορουμένους ἐν τῇ ἑορτῇ, σκέψαι ὁποῖά ἐστι. πρὸς μὲν γὰρ τὸ παρὸν ἡδὺ καὶ οὐκ ἀνιαρὸν ἴσως ἑκάτερον αὐτῶν, πρὸς δὲ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ἔμπαλιν ἀναστρέφεται τὸ πρᾶγμα. εἶτα ὑμεῖς μὲν οὔτε καρηβαροῦντες ἀνασταίητ’ ἂν ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι ὑπὸ τῆς μέθης οὔτε ὑπὸ τῆς ἄγαν πλησμονῆς δυσῶδές τι καὶ καπνωδέστερον ἐρυγγάνοντες· οἱ δὲ τούτων τε ἀπολαύουσι καὶ τὸ πολὺ τῆς νυκτὸς ἢ παισὶν ἢ γυναιξὶν ἢ ὅπως ἂν ὁ τράγος κελεύῃ συναναφυρέντες ἢ φθόην ἢ περιπνευμονίαν ἢ ὕδερον οὐ χαλεπῶς συνελέξαντο ἐκ τῆς πολλῆς τρυφῆς. ἢ τίνα ἂν αὐτῶν ῥᾳδίως δεῖξαι δύναιο μὴ πάντως ὠχρὸν ὄντα πολὺ τὸ νεκρῶδες ἐμφαίνοντα; τίνα δὲ ἐς γῆρας ἀφικόμενον τοῖς αὐτοῦ ποσίν, ἀλλὰ μὴ φοράδην ἐπὶ τεττάρων ὀχούμενον, ὁλόχρυσον μὲν τὰ ἔξω, κατάρραφον δὲ τὰ ἔνδον, ὥσπερ αἱ τραγικαὶ ἐσθῆτες ἐκ ῥακῶν πάνυ εὐτελῶν συγκεκαττυμέναι; ὑμεῖς δὲ ἰχθύων μὲν ἄγευστοι καὶ ἄσιτοι, ποδάγρας δὲ ἢ περιπνευμονίας οὐχ ὁρᾶθ’ ὅτι καὶ τούτων ἄπειροί ἐστε, ἢ εἴ τι κατ’ ἄλλην τινὰ αἰτίαν συμβαίνει; καίτοι οὐδ’ αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις ἡδύ ἐστιν αὐτὸν καθ’ ἡμέραν καὶ πέρα τοῦ κόρου ἐσθίειν τούτων, ἀλλὰ ἴδοις ἂν αὐτοὺς οὕτω λαχάνων καὶ θύμου ὀρεγομένους ἐνίοτε, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ σὺ τῶν λαγωῶν καὶ ὑῶν.
29. I say nothing of the other things that worry them—a licentious son, a wife in love with a servant, a loved one who yields because he has to and not because he wants. Altogether there’s a great deal you don’t know of—you only see their gold and purple, and whenever you see them riding out behind a white team you gape and do obeisance to them. Now if you ignored and despised them and neither turned to look at their silver carriage nor during conversation glanced at the emerald in their ring and touched their dress in admiration at its softness, but let them be rich for themselves alone, you may be quite sure they would come to you of their own accord and beg you to dine with them so that they might show you their couches and tables and cups, which are no use if people don’t see that they’re yours.
29. Ἐῶ λέγειν ὅσα ἄλλα λυπεῖ αὐτούς—υἱὸς ἀκόλαστος ἢ γυνὴ τοῦ οἰκέτου ἐρῶσα ἢ ἐρώμενος πρὸς ἀνάγκην μᾶλλον ἢ πρὸς ἡδονὴν συνών. καὶ ὅλως πολλά ἐστιν ἅπερ ὑμεῖς ἀγνοοῦντες τὸν χρυσὸν ὁρᾶτε αὐτῶν μόνον καὶ τὴν πορφύραν, καὶ ἢν ἴδητέ ποτε ἐξελαύνοντας ἐπὶ λευκοῦ ζεύγους, κεχήνατε καὶ προσκυνεῖτε. εἰ δὲ ὑπερεωρᾶτε αὐτῶν καὶ κατεφρονεῖτε καὶ μήτε ἐπεστρέφεσθε πρὸς τὴν ἀργυρᾶν ἁρμάμαξαν μήτε μεταξὺ διαλεγομένων εἰς τὸν ἐν τῷ δακτυλίῳ σμάραγδον ἀφεωρᾶτε καὶ τῶν ἱματίων παραπτόμενοι τὸ μαλακὸν ἐθαυμάζετε, ἀλλ’ εἰᾶτε καθ’ ἑαυτοὺς πλουτεῖν, εὖ ἴστε, αὐτοὶ ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς ἰόντες ἐδέοντο συνδειπνεῖν, ὡς ἐπιδείξαιντο ὑμῖν τὰς κλίνας καὶ τὰς τραπέζας καὶ τὰ ἐκπώματα, ὧν οὐδὲν ὄφελος, εἰ ἀμάρτυρος ἡ κτῆσις εἴη.
30. In fact most of what they have you would find they get on your account, not for their own use, but to impress you poor people. This, then, is the advice I give you, knowing both ways of life as I do. And it is right that during the festival you should remember that after a little time you must all depart from life, the rich giving up their wealth and you your poverty. But I shall write to them as I promised and I know they will not despise my words.
30. τά γέ τοι πλεῖστα εὕροιτε ἂν αὐτοὺς ὑμῶν ἕνεκα κτωμένους, οὐχ ὅπως αὐτοὶ χρήσωνται, ἀλλ’ ὅπως ὑμεῖς θαυμάζοιτε. Ταῦτα ὑμᾶς παραμυθοῦμαι εἰδὼς τὸν βίον ἑκάτερον, καὶ ἄξιον ἑορτάζειν ἐνθυμουμένους ὅτι μετ’ ὀλίγον ἅπαντας δεήσει ἀπιέναι ἐκ τοῦ βίου κἀκείνους τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ ὑμᾶς τὴν πενίαν ἀφέντας. πλὴν ἐπιστελῶ γε αὐτοῖς ὥσπερ ὑπεσχόμην, καὶ οἶδ’ ὅτι οὐκ ὀλιγωρήσουσι τῶν ἐμῶν γραμμάτων.
31. 3. Cronus to the Rich—Greetings! The poor have recently written me complaining that you don’t let them share what you have, and, to be brief, they asked me to make the good things common to all and let everyone have his bit. It was right, they said, for there to be equality and not for one man to have too much of what is pleasing while another goes without altogether. I replied that Zeus would see to that better than I, but with regard to the present and the injustices they suppose they suffer at festival-time I saw that here judgment was in my hands. I promised to write to you. Now these requests seem to me to be reasonable. “How,” they say, “can we, shivering in this extreme cold and in the grip of famine, keep festival as well?” So if I wanted them too to share in the festival, they bade me compel you to give them a share of any clothing you have above your needs or any too coarse for you, and to sprinkle on them a little of your gold. If you do that, they say, they will not even argue with you before Zeus any more about your possessions. Otherwise they threaten a summons for redistribution of property just as soon as Zeus begins his cases. These things are not at all difficult for you to grant out of all that you are rightly blessed with.
31. 3. ΚΡΟΝΟΣ ΤΟΙΣ ΠΛΟΥΣΙΟΙΣ ΧΑΙΡΕΙΝ Οἱ πένητες ἔναγχος ἐπεστάλκασί μοι αἰτιώμενοι ὑμᾶς μὴ μεταδιδόναι σφίσιν ὧν ἔχετε, καὶ τὸ μὲν ὅλον ἠξίουν με κοινὰ πᾶσι ποιεῖν τἀγαθὰ καὶ τὸ μέρος ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἔχειν. δίκαιον γὰρ εἶναι ἰσοτιμίαν καθεστηκέναι καὶ μὴ τῷ μὲν πλέον, τῷ δὲ μηδ’ ὅλως μετεῖναι τῶν ἡδέων. ἐγὼ δὲ περὶ μὲν τούτων ἔφην ἄμεινον σκέψασθαι τὸν Δία, περὶ δὲ τῶν παρόντων καὶ ὧν ἀδικεῖσθαι ᾤοντο κατὰ τὴν ἑορτὴν ἑώρων ἐπ’ ἐμὲ καθήκουσαν τὴν κρίσιν, καὶ ὑπεσχόμην γράψειν πρὸς ὑμᾶς. Ἔστι δὲ ἅπερ ἀξιοῦσι ταῦτα μέτρια, ὡς ἐμοὶ ἔδοξε. πῶς γάρ, φασί, ῥιγοῦντες τοσούτῳ κρύει καὶ λιμῷ ἐχόμενοι προσέτι ἑορτάζοιμεν ἄν; εἰ τοίνυν ἐθέλοιμι κἀκείνους μετέχειν τῆς ἑορτῆς, ἐκέλευόν με ἀναγκάσαι ὑμᾶς ἐσθήτων τε ὧν ἔχετε μεταδοῦναι αὐτοῖς, εἴ τινες περιτταὶ καὶ παχύτεραι ἢ καθ’ ὑμᾶς, καὶ τοῦ χρυσίου ὀλίγον ἐπιστάξαι αὐτοῖς. εἰ γὰρ ταῦτα, φασί, ποιήσετε, μηδὲ ἀμφισβητεῖν ὑμῖν ἔτι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ Διός, εἰ δὲ μή, ἀπειλοῦσι προσκαλέσασθαι ἐπὶ τὸν ἀναδασμόν, ἐπειδὰν τὸ πρῶτον δίκας ὁ Ζεὺς προθῇ. ταῦτά ἐστιν οὐ πάνυ χαλεπὰ ὑμῖν ἀπὸ τοσούτων ἃ καλῶς ποιοῦντες ἔχετε.
32. Oh yes, the dinners and their dining with you—they asked me to add this to my letter, that at present you gorge alone behind locked doors, and, if ever at long intervals you are willing to entertain any of them, there is more annoyance than good cheer in the dinner, and most of what happens is done to hurt them—that business of not drinking the same wine as you, for instance—goodness! how ungenerous that is! They themselves might well be condemned for not getting up and going during the proceedings and leaving the banquet entirely to you. But they say that even so they do not drink their fill, for your cup-bearers, like Odysseus’s companions, have had their ears stuffed with wax. The rest is so disgraceful that I hesitate to mention their complaints of the way the meat is apportioned and how the servants stand beside you until you are full to bursting, but run past them. There are many more like complaints of meanness, complaints that bring little credit to gentlemen. In fact the pleasantest thing, more in keeping with conviviality, is equality, and a controller of the feast presides over your banquets just so that all can have an equal share.
32. Νὴ Δία καὶ τῶν δείπνων πέρι, ὡς συνδειπνοῖεν ὑμῖν—καὶ τοῦτο προσθεῖναι ἠξίουν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ, ὡς νῦν γε μόνους ὑμᾶς τρυφᾶν ἐπικλεισαμένους τὰς θύρας, εἰ δέ ποτε κἀκείνων τινὰς ἑστιᾶν διὰ μακροῦ ἐθελήσετε, πλέον τοῦ εὐφραίνοντος ἐνεῖναι τὸ ἀνιαρὸν τῷ δείπνῳ, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ ἐφ’ ὕβρει αὐτῶν γίγνεσθαι—οἷον ἐκεῖνο τὸ μὴ τοῦ αὐτοῦ οἴνου συμπίνειν, Ἡράκλεις, ὡς ἀνελεύθερον. καὶ καταγιγνώσκειν αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ἄξιον, ὅτι μὴ μεταξὺ ἀναστάντες οἴχονται ὅλον ὑμῖν τὸ συμπόσιον καταλιπόντες. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ἐς κόρον ὅμως φασὶ πίνειν. τοὺς γὰρ οἰνοχόους ὑμῶν ὥσπερ τοὺς Ὀδυσσέως ἑταίρους κηρῷ βεβύσθαι τὰ ὦτα. τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα οὕτως αἰσχρά ἐστιν, ὥστε ὀκνῶ λέγειν, ἃ περὶ τῆς νομῆς τῶν κρεῶν αἰτιῶνται καὶ τῶν διακόνων, ὑμῖν μὲν παρεστώτων ἔστ’ ἂν ὑπερεμφορηθῆτε, ἐκείνους δὲ παραθεόντων, καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ τοιαῦτα μικροπρεπῆ καὶ ἥκιστα ἐλευθέροις πρέποντα. τὸ γοῦν ἥδιστον καὶ συμποτικώτερον ἡ ἰσοτιμία ἐστί, καὶ ὁ ἰσοδαίτης τούτου ἕνεκα ἡγεῖται ὑμῖν τῶν συμποσίων, ὡς τὸ ἴσον ἅπαντες ἔχοιεν.
33. See to it then that they don’t accuse you any more, but respect and like you for their share in these few things; the expense is nothing to you, but they will never forget that you gave in time of need. Besides, you could not even live in your cities if the poor were not your fellow-citizens and did not contribute in thousands of ways to your happiness; and you would have no one to admire your wealth if you were rich in isolation, privately, and in obscurity. So let many see and admire your silver and your tables, and when you are pledging friendship let them, while they are drinking, examine the cup and estimate the weight themselves, determine the accuracy of the story told on it and the amount of gold that adorns the work. For as well as being called good and kindly you will stop being envied by them. For who would envy the man who goes shares and gives what is fair? And who would not pray for him to live as long as possible in the enjoyment of his blessings? As you are now, your happiness has no witness, your riches are begrudged you, and your life is unpleasant.
33. Ὁρᾶτε οὖν ὅπως μηκέτι ὑμᾶς αἰτιάσωνται, ἀλλὰ τιμήσωσι καὶ φιλήσωσι τῶν ὀλίγων τούτων μεταλαμβάνοντες· ὧν ὑμῖν μὲν ἡ δαπάνη ἀνεπαίσθητος, ἐκείνοις δὲ ἐν καιρῷ τῆς χρείας ἡ δόσις ἀείμνηστος. ἄλλως τε οὐδ’ ἂν οἰκεῖν δύναισθε τὰς πόλεις μὴ οὐχὶ καὶ πενήτων συμπολιτευομένων καὶ μυρία πρὸς τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν ὑμῖν συντελούντων, οὐδ’ ἂν ἔχοιτε τοὺς θαυμάζοντας ὑμῶν τὸν πλοῦτον, ἢν μόνοι καὶ ἰδίᾳ καὶ ὑπὸ σκότῳ πλουτῆτε. ἰδέτωσαν οὖν πολλοὶ καὶ θαυμασάτωσαν ὑμῶν τὸν ἄργυρον καὶ τὰς τραπέζας καὶ προπινόντων φιλοτησίας, μεταξὺ πίνοντες περισκοπείτωσαν τὸ ἔκπωμα καὶ τὸ βάρος ἴστωσαν αὐτοὶ διαβαστάσαντες καὶ τῆς ἱστορίας τὸ ἀκριβὲς καὶ τὸν χρυσὸν ὅσος, ὃς ἐπανθεῖ τῇ τέχνῃ. πρὸς γὰρ τῷ χρηστοὺς καὶ φιλανθρώπους ἀκούειν καὶ τοῦ φθονεῖσθαι ὑπ’ αὐτῶν ἔξω γενήσεσθε. τίς γὰρ ἂν φθονήσειε τῷ κοινωνοῦντι καὶ διδόντι τῶν μετρίων; τίς δ’ οὐκ ἂν εὔξαιτο εἰς τὸ μήκιστον διαβιῶναι αὐτὸν ἀπολαύοντα τῶν ἀγαθῶν; ὡς δὲ νῦν ἔχετε, ἀμάρτυρος μὲν ἡ εὐδαιμονία, ἐπίφθονος δὲ ὁ πλοῦτος, ἀηδὴς δὲ ὁ βίος.
34. It certainly cannot, I am sure, be as pleasant to have your fill by yourselves, as they say lions and lone wolves do, as to mix with clever fellows and those who try in every way to please. In the first place they will not allow your banquet to be deaf and dumb. No, their company means convivial stories, harmless jests, and all sorts of expressions of friendship; these are the pleasantest sorts of pastimes, dear to Dionysus and Aphrodite, dear too to the Graces. Then they will talk to everyone next day of your sociability and get you liked. And this is rightly worth a great deal.
34. οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ ὁμοίως ἡδύ, οἶμαι, μόνον ἐμπίπλασθαι, ὥσπερ τοὺς λέοντάς φασι καὶ τοὺς μονιοὺς τῶν λύκων, καὶ συνόντας δεξιοῖς ἀνδράσι καὶ πάντα χαρίζεσθαι πειρωμένοις, οἳ πρῶτα μὲν οὐ κωφὸν καὶ ἄφωνον τὸ συμπόσιον ἐάσουσιν εἶναι, ἀλλ’ ἐν μύθοις συμποτικοῖς καὶ σκώμμασιν ἀνεπαχθέσι καὶ φιλοφροσύναις ποικίλαις συνέσονται, οἷαι διατριβαὶ ἥδισται, φίλαι μὲν Διονύσῳ καὶ Ἀφροδίτῃ, φίλαι δὲ Χάρισιν, ἔπειτα δὲ πρὸς ἅπαντας ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν διηγούμενοι ὑμῶν τὴν δεξιότητα φιλεῖσθαι παρασκευάσουσι. ταῦτα πολλοῦ πρίασθαι καλῶς εἶχεν.
35. I will ask you something. Let us suppose the poor went about with their eyes shut; wouldn’t you be cross when you had no one to show your purple clothes, your thronging attendants, the size of your rings? I leave aside the plots, the hatred you must stir up in the poor against you if you choose to enjoy your luxury alone. Terrible are the curses they threaten to utter against you. May they never be constrained to utter them! For then you will taste neither sausages nor cakes, except what the dog may have left, your lentil-soup will have salt-fish dissolved in it, your boar and deer while they’re being roasted will plan escape from the oven to the hills, and your birds, wingless though they be,—shoo there!—they will be flying at full stretch to the homes of the selfsame poor. And worst of all, the prettiest of your wine-servers will turn bald all at once, and that after breaking your jar. Well, then, make plans that befit the festival and are safest for you. Lighten their great poverty for them, and at slight cost you will find friends who are far from despicable.
35. Ἐπεὶ ἐρήσομαι ὑμᾶς, εἰ μύοντες οἱ πένητες βαδίζοιεν—ὑποθώμεθα γὰρ οὕτως—οὐκ ἂν ὑμᾶς ἠνίασεν οὐκ ἔχοντας οἷς ἐπιδείξαισθε τὰς ἁλουργεῖς ἐσθῆτας καὶ τῶν ἀκολουθούντων τὸ πλῆθος ἢ τῶν δακτυλίων τὸ μέγεθος; ἐῶ λέγειν ὡς καὶ ἐπιβουλὰς καὶ μίση παρὰ τῶν πενήτων ἀναγκαῖον ἐγγίγνεσθαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἢν μόνοι τρυφᾶν ἐθέλητε. ἃ μὲν γὰρ εὔξασθαι καθ’ ὑμῶν ἀπειλοῦσιν, ἀποτρόπαια, μηδὲ γένοιτο εἰς ἀνάγκην αὐτοὺς καταστῆναι τῆς εὐχῆς. ἐπεὶ οὔτε ἀλλάντων γεύσεσθε οὔτε πλακοῦντος ἢ εἴ τι λείψανον τῆς κυνός, ἡ φακῆ δὲ ὑμῖν σαπέρδην ἐντετηκότα ἕξει, ὗς δὲ καὶ ἔλαφος ὀπτώμενοι μεταξὺ δρασμὸν βουλεύσουσιν ἐκ τοῦ ὀπτανείου ἐς τὸ ὄρος, καὶ ὄρνις ψύττα κατατείνασαι ἄπτεροι καὶ αὗται παρ’ αὐτοὺς τοὺς πένητας ἐκπετήσονται. τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, οἱ ὡραιότατοι τῶν οἰνοχόων φαλακροὶ ἐν ἀκαρεῖ τοῦ χρόνου ὑμῖν γενήσονται, ἐπὶ κατεαγότι καὶ ταῦτα τῷ ἀμφορεῖ. Πρὸς τάδε βουλεύεσθε ἃ καὶ τῇ ἑορτῇ πρέποντα γένοιτ’ ἂν καὶ ὑμῖν ἀσφαλέστατα, καὶ ἐπικουφίζετε πολλὴν τὴν πενίαν αὐτοῖς ἀπ’ ὀλίγου τελέσματος φίλους οὐ μεμπτοὺς ἕξοντες.
36. 4. THE RICH TO CRONUS—GREETINGS! Do you really think that you are the only one written to by the poor in this vein, Cronus? Isn’t Zeus already quite deaf from the din of their de- mands for just that, a redistribution of wealth, and of their charges against fate for inequality in distri- bution and against us for not considering giving them any share? But he, being Zeus, knows who is to blame, and for that reason takes no notice of most of their complaints. Nevertheless we shall defend ourselves to you, since you are our lord at present. We for our part have set before us all you have written—that it was a fine thing to succour the needy out of our plenty, and that it was more agreeable to mix and feast with the poor. This is what we always used to do, putting ourselves on an equal footing with them so that not even our guest himself could find anything to complain of.
36. 4. ΟΙ ΠΛΟΥΣΙΟΙ ΤΩΙ ΚΡΟΝΩΙ ΧΑΙΡΕΙΝ Πρὸς γὰρ σὲ οἴει μόνον ὑπὸ τῶν πενήτων ταῦτα γεγράφθαι, ὦ Κρόνε, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ ὁ Ζεὺς ἤδη ἐκκεκώφηται πρὸς αὐτῶν ἀναβοώντων καὶ αὐτὰ δὴ ταῦτα τὸν ἀναδασμὸν ἀξιούντων γενέσθαι καὶ αἰτιωμένων τήν τε εἱμαρμένην ὡς ἄνισον τὴν νομὴν πεποιημένην καὶ ἡμᾶς ὅτι μηδενὸς αὐτοῖς μεταδιδόναι ἀξιοῦμεν; ἀλλ’ οἶδεν ἐκεῖνος, ἅτε Ζεὺς ὤν, παρ’ οἷστισιν ἡ αἰτία, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο παρακούει αὐτῶν τὰ πολλά. σοὶ δὲ ὅμως ἀπολογησόμεθα, ἐπείπερ ἄρχεις γε νῦν ἡμῶν. Ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ἅπαντα πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν λαβόντες ἃ γέγραφας, ὡς καλὸν ἐπικουρεῖν ἀπὸ πολλῶν τοῖς δεομένοις καὶ ὡς ἥδιον συνεῖναι καὶ συνευωχεῖσθαι τοῖς πένησιν, ἀεὶ διετελοῦμεν οὕτω ποιοῦντες ἰσοδίαιτοι καθεστῶτες, ὡς ἂν μηδὲ τὸν συνδαίτην αὐτὸν αἰτιάσασθαί τι.
37. Now in the beginning they said that they asked for very little, but once we had opened our doors to them they never stopped making demand after demand; and if they didn’t get it all immediately and on demand then there was bad tem- per and ill-feeling, and maledictions came readily enough. And if they told a lie about us then those who heard them believed them, for they supposed their knowledge to be accurate because they had been with us. So we had the choice either not to give and inevitably be their enemies or to throw everything away and be straightway very poor and enter the ranks of the beggars ourselves.
37. οἱ δὲ ὀλίγων ἐν ἀρχῇ δεῖσθαι φάσκοντες, ἐπειδήπερ ἅπαξ αὐτοῖς ἀνεπετάσαμεν τὰς θύρας, οὐκ ἀνίεσαν ἄλλα ἐπ’ ἄλλοις αἰτοῦντες· εἰ δὲ μὴ πάντα εὐθὺς μηδὲ πρὸς ἔπος λαμβάνοιεν, ὀργὴ καὶ μῖσος καὶ πρόχειροι αἱ βλασφημίαι. κἂν εἴ τι ἐπιψεύδοιντο ἡμῖν, ἀλλ’ οἵ γε ἀκούοντες ἐπίστευον ἂν ὡς ἀκριβῶς εἰδόσιν ἐκ τοῦ συγγεγονέναι. ὥστε δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ μὴ διδόντα ἐχθρὸν εἶναι πάντως ἔδει ἢ πάντα προϊέμενον αὐτίκα μάλα πένεσθαι καὶ τῶν αἰτούντων καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι.
38. Now all the rest isn’t so bad compared with these very dinners you mention. For themselves they do not care so much about filling their bellies, but when they’ve drunk more than enough they either nudge the hand of a pretty page when he gives the cup back to them or make attempts on your mistress or your wedded wife. Then, after being sick all over the dining-room, next day back at home they abuse us, saying that they were thirsty and well acquainted with starvation. If you think these are lies we are telling against them, remember your own parasite, Ixion, who was granted a place at the common board and enjoyed equality of rank with you, the gods. Yet he, fine fellow that he was, got drunk and made attempts on Hera.
38. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα μέτρια· ἐν δὲ τοῖς δείπνοις αὐτοῖς ἀμελήσαντες τοῦ ἐμπίπλασθαι καὶ γαστρίζεσθαι καὶ αὐτοί, ἐπειδὰν πλεῖον τοῦ ἱκανοῦ ἐμπίωσιν, ἢ παιδὸς ὡραίου μεταξὺ ἀναδόντος τὸ ἔκπωμα ἔνυξαν τὴν χεῖρα ἢ παλλακῇ ἢ γαμετῇ γυναικὶ ἐπεχείρησαν. εἶτα κατεμέσαντες τοῦ συμποσίου ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν λοιδοροῦνται ἡμῖν κατελθόντες, ὡς ἐδίψησαν καὶ ὡς λιμῷ συνῆσαν διηγούμενοι. καὶ εἴ σοι ταῦτα καταψεύδεσθαι αὐτῶν δοκοῦμεν, τὸν ὑμέτερον παράσιτον ἀναμνήσθητι τὸν ᾿Ιξίονα, ὃς ἀξιωθεὶς κοινῆς τραπέζης, ἀξίωμα ἔχων ἴσον ὑμῖν, τῇ Ἥρᾳ μεθυσθεὶς ἐπεχείρει ὁ γενναῖος.
39. It’s this sort of thing that makes us determine not to let them in the house again, for our own safety’s sake. But if they were to make an agreement with you to be moderate in their demands, as they now say they are, and refrain from bad behaviour during banquets, then let them join us and dine with us, and good luck to them! Furthermore we shall send some of our clothing, as you direct, and spend as much gold as we can as well, and altogether we shan’t be found wanting in anything. And let them in their turn cease to be artful in their dealings with us and be friends instead of toadies and spongers. You will find no fault in us if they will do what they ought.
39. Ταῦτ’ ἐστὶ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, ὑφ’ ὧν ἡμεῖς ἐβουλευσάμεθα πρὸς τὸ λοιπὸν ἀσφαλείας τῆς ἡμετέρας ἕνεκεν μηκέτι ἐπιβατὸν αὐτοῖς ποιεῖν τὴν οἰκίαν. εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ σοῦ συνθοῖντο μετρίων δεήσεσθαι, ὥσπερ νῦν φασι, μηδὲν δὲ ὑβριστικὸν ἐν τοῖς συμποσίοις ἐργάσεσθαι, κοινωνούντων ἡμῖν καὶ συνδειπνούντων τύχῃ τῇ ἀγαθῇ. καὶ τῶν ἱματίων, ὡς σὺ κελεύεις, πέμψομεν καὶ τοῦ χρυσίου ὁπόσον οἷόν τε καὶ προσδαπανήσομεν, καὶ ὅλως οὐδὲν ἐλλείψομεν. καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ ἀφέμενοι τοῦ κατὰ τέχνην ὁμιλεῖν ἡμῖν φίλοι ἀντὶ κολάκων καὶ παρασίτων ἔστωσαν. ὡς ἡμᾶς γε οὐδὲν ἂν αἰτιάσαιο κἀκείνων τὰ δέοντα ποιεῖν ἐθελόντων.