---
title: "The Lover of Lies, or The Doubter · Φιλοψευδὴς ἢ Ἀπιστῶν"
author: "Lucian"
translator: "Austin Morris Harmon"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 1 of 2
url: https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-the-lover-of-lies/1/
cite: "Lucian, tr. Austin Morris Harmon, The Lover of Lies, or The Doubter · Φιλοψευδὴς ἢ Ἀπιστῶν, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-the-lover-of-lies/1/"
---

# The Lover of Lies, or The Doubter · Φιλοψευδὴς ἢ Ἀπιστῶν

*Lucian, tr. Austin Morris Harmon*

Ghost stories told by learned men, including the sorcerer’s apprentice and the broom that fetched water.

> Greek: ed. Austin Morris Harmon, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0062.tlg031, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Austin Morris Harmon, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0062.tlg031.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 1. Sections 1–20

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-the-lover-of-lies/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/lucian-the-lover-of-lies/1/#p-N

[¶0] 1. Can you tell me, Philocles, what in the world it is that makes many men so fond of lying that they delight in telling preposterous tales themselves and listen with especial attention to those who spin yarns of that sort? PHILOCLES There are many reasons, Tychiades, which constrain men occasionally to tell falsehoods with an eye to the usefulness of it. TYCHIADES That has nothing to do with the case, as the phrase is, for I did not ask about men who lie for advantage. They are pardonable—yes, even praiseworthy, some of them, who have deceived national enemies or for safety’s sake have used this kind of expedient in extremities, as Odysseus often did in seeking to win his own life and the return of his comrades. No, my dear sir, I am speaking of those men who put sheer useless lying far ahead of truth, liking the thing and whiling away their time at it without any valid excuse. I want to know about these men, to what end they do this.

> Greek: 1. Τυχιάδης: ἔχεις μοι, ὦ Φιλόκλεις, εἰπεῖν τί ποτε ἄρα ἐστὶν ὃ πολλοὺς εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν τοῦ ψεύδους προάγεται, ὡς αὐτούς τε χαίρειν μηδὲν ὑγιὲς λέγοντας καὶ τοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα διεξιοῦσιν μάλιστα προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν; Φιλοκλῆς: πολλά, ὦ Τυχιάδη, ἐστὶν ἃ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐνίους ἀναγκάζει τὰ ψευδῆ λέγειν εἰς τὸ χρήσιμον ἀποβλέποντας. Τυχιάδης: οὐδὲν πρὸς ἔπος ταῦτα, φασίν, οὐ γὰρ περὶ τούτων ἠρόμην ὁπόσοι τῆς χρείας ἕνεκα ψεύδονται· συγγνωστοὶ γὰρ οὗτοί γε, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐπαίνου τινὲς αὐτῶν ἄξιοι, ὁπόσοι ἢ πολεμίους ἐξηπάτησαν ἢ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῷ τοιούτῳ φαρμάκῳ ἐχρήσαντο ἐν τοῖς δεινοῖς, οἷα πολλὰ καὶ ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐποίει τήν τε αὑτοῦ ψυχὴν ἀρνύμενος καὶ τὸν νόστον τῶν ἑταίρων. ἀλλὰ περὶ ἐκείνων, ὦ ἄριστε, φημὶ οἳ αὐτὸ ἄνευ τῆς χρείας τὸ ψεῦδος πρὸ πολλοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας τίθενται, ἡδόμενοι τῷ πράγματι καὶ ἐνδιατρίβοντες ἐπʼ οὐδεμιᾷ προφάσει ἀναγκαίᾳ. τούτους οὖν ἐθέλω εἰδέναι τίνος ἀγαθοῦ τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν.

[¶1] 2. PHILOCLES Have you really noted any such men anywhere in whom this passion for lying is ingrained? TYCHIADES Yes, there are many such men. PHILOCLES What other reason, then, than folly may they be said to have for telling untruths, since they choose the worst course instead of the best? — TYCHIADES That too has nothing to do with the case, Philocles, for I could show you many men otherwise sensible and remarkable for their intelligence who have somehow become infected with this plague and are lovers of lying, so that it irks me when such men, excellent in every way, yet delight in deceiving themselves and their associates. Those of olden time should be known to you before I mention them— Herodotus, and Ctesias of Cnidus, and before them the poets, including Homer himself—men of renown, who made use of the written lie, so that they not only deceived those who listened to them then, but transmitted the falsehood from generation to generation even down to us, conserved in the choicest of diction and rhythm. For my part it. often occurs to me to blush for them when they tell of the castration of Uranus, and the fetters of Prometheus, and the revolt of the Giants, and the whole sorry show in Hades, and how Zeus turned into a bull or a swan on account of a loveaffair, and how some woman changed into a bird or a bear; yes, andof Pegasi, Chimaerae, Gorgons, Cyclopes, and so forth—very strange and wonderful fables, fit to enthrall the souls of children who still dread Mormo and Lamia.

> Greek: 2. Φιλοκλῆς: ἦ που κατανενόηκας ἤδη τινὰς τοιούτους, οἷς ἔμφυτος ὁ ἔρως οὗτός ἐστι πρὸς τὸ ψεῦδος; Τυχιάδης: καὶ μάλα πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ τοιοῦτοι. Φιλοκλῆς: τί δʼ οὖν ἄλλο ἢ ἄνοιαν χρὴ αἰτίαν εἶναι αὐτοῖς φάναι τοῦ μὴ τἀληθῆ λέγειν, εἴ γε τὸ χείριστον ἀντὶ τοῦ βελτίστου προαιροῦνται; Τυχιάδης: οὐδὲν οὐδὲ τοῦτο, ὦ Φιλόκλεις· ἐπεὶ πολλοὺς ἂν ἐγώ σοι δείξαιμι συνετοὺς τἄλλα καὶ τὴν γνώμην θαυμαστοὺς οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἑαλωκότας τούτῳ τῷ κακῷ καὶ φιλοψευδεῖς ὄντας, ὡς ἀνιᾶσθαί με, εἰ τοιοῦτοι ἄνδρες ἄριστοι τὰ πάντα ὅμως χαίρουσιν αὑτούς τε καὶ τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας ἐξαπατῶντες. ἐκείνους μὲν γὰρ τοὺς παλαιοὺς πρὸ ἐμοῦ σὲ χρὴ εἰδέναι, τὸν Ἡρόδοτον καὶ Κτησίαν τὸν Κνίδιον καὶ πρὸ τούτων τοὺς ποιητὰς καὶ τὸν Ὅμηρον αὐτόν, ἀοιδίμους ἄνδρας, ἐγγράφῳ τῷ ψεύσματι κεχρημένους, ὡς μὴ μόνους ἐξαπατᾶν τοὺς τότε ἀκούοντας σφῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέχρις ἡμῶν διικνεῖσθαι τὸ ψεῦδος ἐκ διαδοχῆς ἐν καλλίστοις ἔπεσι καὶ μέτροις φυλαττόμενον. ἐμοὶ γοῦν πολλάκις αἰδεῖσθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἔπεισιν, ὁπόταν Οὐρανοῦ τομὴν καὶ Προμηθέως δεσμὰ διηγῶνται καὶ Γιγάντων ἐπανάστασιν καὶ τὴν ἐν Ἅιδου πᾶσαν τραγῳδίαν, καὶ ὡς διʼ ἔρωτα ὁ Ζεὺς ταῦρος ἢ κύκνος ἐγένετο καὶ ὡς ἐκ γυναικός τις εἰς ὄρνεον ἢ εἰς ἄρκτον μετέπεσεν, ἔτι δὲ Πηγάσους καὶ Χιμαίρας καὶ Γοργόνας καὶ Κύκλωπας καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα, πάνυ ἀλλόκοτα καὶ τεράστια μυθίδια παίδων ψυχὰς κηλεῖν δυνάμενα ἔτι τὴν Μορμὼ καὶ τὴν Λάμιαν δεδιότων.

[¶2] 3. Yet as far as the poets are concerned, perhaps the case is not so bad; but is it not ridiculous that even cities and whole peoples tell lies unanimously and officially? The Cretans exhibit the tomb of Zeus and are not ashamed of it, and the Athenians assert that Erichthonius sprang from the earth and that the first men came up out of the soil of Attica like vegetables; but at that their story is much more dignified than that of the Thebans, who relate that ““Sown Men” grew up from serpents’ teeth. If any man, however, does not think that these silly stories are true, but sanely puts them to the proof and holds that only a Coroebus or a Margites can believe either that Triptolemus drove through the air behind winged serpents, or that Pan came from Arcadia to Marathon to take a hand in the battle, or that Oreithyia was carried off by Boreas, they consider that man a sacrilegious fool for doubting facts so evident and genuine; to such an extent does falsehood prevail.

> Greek: 3. Τυχιάδης: καίτοι τὰ μὲν τῶν ποιητῶν ἴσως μέτρια, τὸ δὲ καὶ πόλεις ἤδη καὶ ἔθνη ὅλα κοινῇ καὶ δημοσίᾳ ψεύδεσθαι πῶς οὐ γελοῖον; εἰ Κρῆτες μὲν τὸν Διὸς τάφον δεικνύντες οὐκ αἰσχύνονται, Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ τὸν Ἐριχθόνιον ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἀναδοθῆναί φασιν καὶ τοὺς πρώτους ἀνθρώπους ἐκ τῆς Ἀττικῆς ἀναφῦναι καθάπερ τὰ λάχανα, πολὺ σεμνότερον οὗτοί γε τῶν Θηβαίων, οἳ ἐξ ὄφεως ὀδόντων Σπαρτούς τινας ἀναβεβλαστηκέναι διηγοῦνται. ὃς δʼ ἂν οὖν ταῦτα καταγέλαστα ὄντα μὴ οἴηται ἀληθῆ εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ἐμφρόνως ἐξετάζων αὐτὰ Κοροίβου τινὸς ἢ Μαργίτου νομίζῃ τὸ πείθεσθαι ἢ Τριπτόλεμον ἐλάσαι διὰ τοῦ ἀέρος ἐπὶ δρακόντων ὑποπτέρων ἢ Πᾶνα ἥκειν ἐξ Ἀρκαδίας σύμμαχον εἰς Μαραθῶνα ἢ Ὠρείθυιαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Βορέου ἁρπασθῆναι, ἀσεβὴς οὗτός γε καὶ ἀνόητος αὐτοῖς ἔδοξεν οὕτω προδήλοις καὶ ἀληθέσι πράγμασιν ἀπιστῶν· εἰς τοσοῦτον ἐπικρατεῖ τὸ ψεῦδος.

[¶3] 4. PHILOCLES Well, as far as the poets are concerned, Tychiades, and the cities too, they may properly be pardoned. The poets flavour their writings with the delectability that the fable yields, a most seductive thing, which they need above all else for the benefit of their readers; and the Athenians, Thebans and others, if any there be, make their countries more impressive by such means. In fact, if these fabulous tales should be taken away from Greece, there would be nothing to prevent the guides there from starving to death, as the foreigners would not care to hear the truth, even gratis! On the other hand, those who have no such motive and yet delight in lying may properly be thought utterly ridiculous.

> Greek: 4. Φιλοκλῆς: ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν ποιηταί, ὦ Τυχιάδη, καὶ αἱ πόλεις δὲ συγγνώμης εἰκότως τυγχάνοιεν ἄν, οἱ μὲν τὸ ἐκ τοῦ μύθου τερπνὸν ἐπαγωγότατον ὂν ἐγκαταμιγνύντες τῇ γραφῇ, οὗπερ μάλιστα δέονται πρὸς τοὺς ἀκροατάς, Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ καὶ Θηβαῖοι καὶ εἴ τινες ἄλλοι σεμνοτέρας ἀποφαίνοντες τὰς πατρίδας ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων. εἰ γοῦν τις ἀφέλοι τὰ μυθώδη ταῦτα ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, οὐδὲν ἂν κωλύσειε λιμῷ τοὺς περιηγητὰς αὐτῶν διαφθαρῆναι μηδὲ ἀμισθὶ τῶν ξένων τἀληθὲς ἀκούειν ἐθελησάντων. οἱ δὲ μηδεμιᾶς ἕνεκα αἰτίας τοιαύτης ὅμως χαίροντες τῷ ψεύσματι παγγέλοιοι εἰκότως δοκοῖεν ἄν.

[¶4] 5. TYCHIADES You are quite right in what you say. For example, I come to you from Eucrates the magnificent, having listened to a great lot of incredible yarns; to put it more accurately, I took myself off in the midst of the conversation because I could not stand the exaggeration of the thing: they drove me out as if they had been the Furies by telling quantities of extraordinary miracles. PHILOCLES But, Tychiades, Eucrates is a trustworthy person, and nobody could ever believe that he, with such a long beard, a man of sixty, and a great devotee of philosophy too, would abide even to hear someone else tell a lie in his presence, let alone venturing to do anything of that sort himself. TYCHIADES Why, my dear fellow, you do not know what sort of statements he made, and how he confirmed them, and how he actually swore to most of them, taking oath upon his children, so that as I gazed at him all sorts of ideas came into my head, now that he was insane and out of his right mind, now that he was only a fraud, after all, and I had failed, in all these years, to notice that his lion’s skin covered a silly ape; so extravagant were the stories that he told. PHILOCLES What were they, Tychiades, in the name of Hestia? I should like to know what sort of quackery he has been screening behind that great beard.

> Greek: 5. Τυχιάδης: εὖ λέγεις· ἐγώ γέ τοι παρὰ Εὐκράτους ἥκω σοι τοῦ πάνυ, πολλὰ τὰ ἄπιστα καὶ μυθώδη ἀκούσας· μᾶλλον δὲ μεταξὺ λεγομένων ἀπιὼν ᾠχόμην οὐ φέρων τοῦ πράγματος τὴν ὑπερβολήν, ἀλλά με ὥσπερ αἱ Ἐρινύες ἐξήλασαν πολλὰ τεράστια καὶ ἀλλόκοτα διεξιόντες. Φιλοκλῆς: καίτοι, ὦ Τυχιάδη, ἀξιόπιστός τις ὁ Εὐκράτης ἐστίν, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἂν οὐδὲ πιστεύσειεν ὡς ἐκεῖνος οὕτω βαθὺν πώγωνα καθειμένος ἑξηκοντούτης ἀνήρ, ἔτι καὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ συνὼν τὰ πολλά, ὑπομείνειεν ἂν καὶ ἄλλου τινὸς ψευδομένου ἐπακοῦσαι παρών, οὐχ ὅπως αὐτός τι τολμῆσαι τοιοῦτον. Τυχιάδης: οὐ γὰρ οἶσθα, ὦ ἑταῖρε, οἷα μὲν εἶπεν, ὅπως δὲ αὐτὰ ἐπιστώσατο, ὡς δὲ καὶ ἐπώμνυτο τοῖς πλείστοις, παραστησάμενος τὰ παιδία, ὥστε με ἀποβλέποντα εἰς αὐτὸν ποικίλα ἐννοεῖν, ἄρτι μὲν ὡς μεμήνοι καὶ ἔξω εἴη τοῦ καθεστηκότος, ἄρτι δὲ ὡς γόης ὢν ἄρα τοσοῦτον χρόνον ἐλελήθει με ὑπὸ τῇ λεοντῇ γελοῖόν τινα πίθηκον περιστέλλων· οὕτως ἄτοπα διηγεῖτο. Φιλοκλῆς: τίνα ταῦτα πρὸς τῆς Ἑστίας, ὦ Τυχιάδη; ἐθέλω γὰρ εἰδέναι ἥντινα τὴν ἀλαζονείαν ὑπὸ τηλικούτῳ τῷ πώγωνι ἔσκεπεν.

[¶5] 6. TYCHIADES I used to visit. him previously, Philocles, whenever I had a good deal of leisure; and to-day, when I wanted to find Leontichus, a close friend of mine, as you know, and was told by his boy that he had gone off to the house of Eucrates in the early morning to pay him a call because he was ill, I went there for two reasons, both to find Leontichus and to see Eucrates, for I had not known that he was ill. I did not find Leontichus there, for he had just gone out a little while before, they said; but I found plenty of others, among whom there was Cleodemus the Peripatetic, and Deinomachus the Stoic, and Ion —you know the one that thinks he ought to be admired for his mastery of Plato’s doctrines as the only person who has accurately sensed the man’s meaning and can expound it to the rest of the world. You see what sort of men I am naming to you, allwise and all-virtuous, the very fore-front of each school, every one venerable, almost terrible, to look at. In addition, the physician Antigonus was there, called in, I suppose, by reason of the illness. Eucrates seemed to be feeling better already, and the ailment was of a chronic character; he had had another attack of rheumatism in his feet. He bade me sit by him on the couch, letting his voice drop a little to the tone of an invalid when he saw me, although as I was coming in I heard him shouting and vigorously pressing some point or other. I took very good care not to touch his feet, and after making the customary excuses that I did not know he was ill and that when I learned of it I came in hot haste, sat down beside him.

> Greek: 6. Τυχιάδης: εἰώθειν μὲν καὶ ἄλλοτε, ὦ Φιλόκλεις, φοιτᾶν παρʼ αὐτόν, εἴ ποτε πολλὴν τὴν σχολὴν ἄγοιμι, τήμερον δὲ Λεοντίχῳ συγγενέσθαι δεόμενος — ἑταῖρος δέ μοι, ὡς οἶσθα — ἀκούσας τοῦ παιδὸς ὡς παρὰ τὸν Εὐκράτην ἕωθεν ἁπέλθοι νοσοῦντα ἐπισκεψόμενος, ἀμφοῖν ἕνεκα, ὡς καὶ τῷ Λεοντίχῳ συγγενοίμην κἀκεῖνον ἴδοιμι — ἠγνοήκειν γὰρ ὡς νοσοίη — παραγίγνομαι πρὸς αὐτόν. εὑρίσκω δὲ αὐτόθι τὸν μὲν Λεόντιχον οὐκέτι — ἐφθάκει γάρ, ὡς ἔφασκον, ὀλίγον προεξεληλυθώς — ἄλλους δὲ συχνούς, ἐν οἷς Κλεόδημός τε ἦν ὁ ἐκ τοῦ Περιπάτου καὶ Δεινόμαχος ὁ Στωϊκὸς καὶ Ἴων, οἶσθα τὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς Πλάτωνος λόγοις θαυμάζεσθαι ἀξιοῦντα ὡς μόνον ἀκριβῶς κατανενοηκότα τὴν γνώμην τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὑποφητεῦσαι δυνάμενον. ὁρᾷς οἵους ἄνδρας σοί φημι, πανσόφους καὶ παναρέτους, ὅ τι περ τὸ κεφάλαιον αὐτὸ ἐξ ἑκάστης προαιρέσεως, αἰδεσίμους ἅπαντας καὶ μονονουχὶ φοβεροὺς τὴν πρόσοψιν; ἔτι καὶ ὁ ἰατρὸς Ἀντίγονος παρῆν, κατὰ χρείαν, οἶμαι, τῆς νόσου ἐπικληθείς. καὶ ῥᾷον ἐδόκει ἤδη ἔχειν ὁ Εὐκράτης καὶ τὸ νόσημα τῶν συντρόφων ἦν· τὸ ῥεῦμα γὰρ εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὖθις αὐτῷ κατεληλύθει. Καθέζεσθαι οὖν με παρʼ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης ὁ Εὐκράτης ἐκέλευεν, ἠρέμα ἐγκλίνας τῇ φωνῇ εἰς τὸ ἀσθενικὸν ὁπότε εἶδέ με, καίτοι βοῶντος αὐτοῦ καὶ διατεινομένου τι μεταξὺ εἰσιὼν ἐπήκουον. κἀγὼ μάλα πεφυλαγμένως, μὴ ψαύσαιμι τοῖν ποδοῖν αὐτοῦ, ἀπολογησάμενος τὰ συνήθη ταῦτα, ὡς ἀγνοήσαιμι νοσοῦντα καὶ ὡς ἐπεὶ ἔμαθον δρομαῖος ἔλθοιμι, ἐκαθεζόμην πλησίον.

[¶6] 7. It so happened that the company had already, I think, talked at some length about his ailment and were then discussing it further; they were each suggesting certain remedies, moreover. At any rate Cleodemus said: “Well then, if you take up from the ground in your left hand the tooth of the weasel which has been killed in the way I have already described and wrap it up in the skin of a lion just flayed, and then bind it about your legs, the pain ceases instantly.” “Not in a lion’s skin, I was told,” said Deinomachus, “but that of a hind still immature and unmated; and the thing is more plausible that way, for the hind is fleet and her strength lies especially in her legs. The lion is brave, of course, and his fat and his right fore-paw and the stiff bristles of his whiskers are very potent if one knew how to use them with the incantation appropriate to each; but for curing the feet he is not at all promising.” “I myself,” said Cleodemus, “was of that opinion formerly, that it ought to be the skin of a hind because the hind is fleet; but recently a man from Libya, well informed in such things, taught me better, saying that lions were fleeter than deer. ‘No fear!’ said he: ‘They even chase and catch them!’”

> Greek: 7. Τυχιάδης: οἱ μὲν δὴ ἐτύγχανον οἶμαι περὶ τοῦ νοσήματος τὰ μὲν ἤδη πολλὰ προειρηκότες, τὰ δὲ καὶ τότε διεξιόντες, ἔτι δὲ καὶ θεραπείας τινὰς ἕκαστος ὑποβάλλοντες. ὁ γοῦν Κλεόδημος, εἰ τοίνυν, φησίν, τῇ ἀριστερᾷ τις ἀνελόμενος χαμᾶθεν τὸν ὀδόντα τῆς μυγαλῆς οὕτω φονευθείσης, ὡς προεῖπον, ἐνδήσειεν εἰς δέρμα λέοντος ἄρτι ἀποδαρέν, εἶτα περιάψειε περὶ τὰ σκέλη, αὐτίκα παύεται τὸ ἄλγημα. οὐκ εἰς λέοντος, ἔφη ὁ Δεινόμαχος, ἐγὼ ἤκουσα, ἐλάφου δὲ θηλείας ἔτι παρθένου καὶ ἀβάτου· καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα οὕτω πιθανώτερον· ὠκὺ γὰρ ἡ ἔλαφος καὶ ἔρρωται μάλιστα ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν. ὁ δὲ λέων ἄλκιμος μέν, καὶ τὸ λίπος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ χεὶρ ἡ δεξιὰ καὶ αἱ τρίχες ἐκ τοῦ πώγωνος αἱ ὀρθαὶ μεγάλα δύνανται, εἴ τις ἐπίσταιτο αὐτοῖς χρῆσθαι μετὰ τῆς οἰκείας ἐπῳδῆς ἑκάστῳ· ποδῶν δὲ ἴασιν ἥκιστα ἐπαγγέλλεται. καὶ αὐτός, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Κλεόδημος, οὕτω πάλαι ἐγίγνωσκον, ἐλάφου χρῆναι τὸ δέρμα εἶναι, διότι ὠκὺ ἔλαφος· ἔναγχος δὲ Λίβυς ἀνὴρ σοφὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα μετεδίδαξέ με εἰπὼν ὠκυτέρους εἶναι τῶν ἐλάφων τοὺς λέοντας. ἀμέλει, ἔφη, καὶ αἱροῦσιν αὐτὰς διώκοντες.

[¶7] 8. The company applauded, in the belief that the Libyan was right in what he said. But I said, “Do you really think that certain incantations put a stop to this sort of thing, or external applications, when the trouble has its seat within?” They laughed at my remark andclearly held meconvicted of great stupidity if I did not know the most obvious things, of which nobody in his right mind would maintain that they were not so. The doctor Antigonus, however, seemed to me to be pleased with my question, for he had been overlooked a long time, I suppose, when he wanted to aid Eucrates in a professional — way by advising him to abstain from wine, adopt a vegetarian diet, and in general to “lower his pitch.” But Cleodemus, with a faint smile, said: ‘“What is that, Tychiades? Do you consider it incredible that any alleviations of ailments are effected by such means?” “I do,’ said I, “not being altogether full of drivel, so as to believe that external remedies which have nothing to do with the internal causes of the ailments, applied as you say in combination with set phrases and _ hocus-pocus of some sort, are efficacious and bring on the cure. That could never happen, not even if you should wrap sixteen entire weasels in the skin of the Nemean lion; in fact I have often seen the lion himself limping in pain with his skin intact upon him!”

> Greek: 8. Τυχιάδης: ἐπῄνεσαν οἱ παρόντες ὡς εὖ εἰπόντος τοῦ Λίβυος. ἐγὼ δέ, οἴεσθε γάρ, ἔφην, ἐπῳδαῖς τισιν τὰ τοιαῦτα παύεσθαι ἢ τοῖς ἔξωθεν παραρτήμασιν τοῦ κακοῦ ἔνδον διατρίβοντος; ἐγέλασαν ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ καὶ δῆλοι ἦσαν κατεγνωκότες μου πολλὴν τὴν ἄνοιαν, εἰ μὴ ἐπισταίμην τὰ προδηλότατα καὶ περὶ ὧν οὐδεὶς ἂν εὖ φρονῶν ἀντείποι μὴ οὐχὶ οὕτως ἔχειν. ὁ μέντοι ἰατρὸς Ἀντίγονος ἐδόκει μοι ἡσθῆναι τῇ ἐρωτήσει μου· πάλαι γὰρ ἠμελεῖτο, οἶμαι, βοηθεῖν ἀξιῶν τῷ Εὐκράτει μετὰ τῆς τέχνης οἴνου τε παραγγέλλων ἀπέχεσθαι καὶ λάχανα σιτεῖσθαι καὶ ὅλως ὑφαιρεῖν τοῦ τόνου. ὁ δʼ οὖν Κλεόδημος ὑπομειδιῶν ἅμα, τί λέγεις, ἔφη, ὦ Τυχιάδη; ἄπιστον εἶναί σοι δοκεῖ τὸ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων γίγνεσθαί τινας ὠφελείας εἰς τὰ νοσήματα; ἔμοιγε, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, εἰ μὴ πάνυ κορύζης τὴν ῥῖνα μεστὸς εἴην, ὡς πιστεύειν τὰ ἔξω καὶ μηδὲν κοινωνοῦντα τοῖς ἔνδοθεν ἐπεγείρουσι τὰ νοσήματα μετὰ ῥηματίων, ὥς φατε, καὶ γοητείας τινὸς ἐνεργεῖν καὶ τὴν ἴασιν ἐπιπέμπειν προσαρτώμενα. τὸ δʼ οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο, οὐδʼ ἢν εἰς τοῦ Νεμείου λέοντος τὸ δέρμα ἐνδήσῃ τις ἑκκαίδεκα ὅλας μυγαλᾶς· ἐγὼ γοῦν αὐτὸν τὸν λέοντα εἶδον πολλάκις χωλεύοντα ὑπʼ ἀλγηδόνων ἐν ὁλοκλήρῳ τῷ αὑτοῦ δέρματι.

[¶8] 9. “You are a mere layman, you see,’ said Deinomachus, “and you have not made it a point to learn how such things agree with ailments when they are applied. I do not suppose you would accept even the most obvious instances—periodic fevers driven off, snakes charmed, swellings cured, and whatever else even old wives do. But if all that takes place, why in the world will you not believe that this takes place by similar means?” “You are reasoning from false premises, Deinomachus,” I replied, “and, as the saying goes, driving. out one nail with another; for it is not clear that precisely what you are speaking of takes place by the aid of any such power. If, then, you do not first convince me by logical proof that it takes place in this way naturally, because the fever or the inflammation is afraid of a holy name or a foreign phrase and so takes flight from the swelling, your stories still remain old wives’ fables.”

> Greek: 9. Τυχιάδης: πάνυ γὰρ ἰδιώτης, ἔφη ὁ Δεινόμαχος, εἶ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐκ ἐμέλησέ σοι ἐκμαθεῖν ὅντινα τρόπον ὁμιλεῖ τοῖς νοσήμασι προσφερόμενα, κἀμοὶ δοκεῖς οὐδὲ τὰ προφανέστατα ἂν παραδέξασθαι ταῦτα, τῶν ἐκ περιόδου πυρετῶν τὰς ἀποπομπὰς καὶ τῶν ἑρπετῶν τὰς καταθέλξεις καὶ βουβώνων ἰάσεις καὶ τἄλλα ὁπόσα καὶ αἱ γρᾶες ἤδη ποιοῦσιν. εἰ δὲ ἐκεῖνα γίγνεται ἅπαντα, τί δή ποτε οὐχὶ ταῦτα οἰήσῃ γίγνεσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ὁμοίων; ἀπέραντα, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, σὺ περαίνεις, ὦ Δεινόμαχε, καὶ ἥλῳ, φασίν, ἐκκρούεις τὸν ἧλον· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἃ φὴς ταῦτα δῆλα μετὰ τοιαύτης δυνάμεως γιγνόμενα. ἢν γοῦν μὴ πείσῃς πρότερον ἐπάγων τῷ λόγῳ διότι φύσιν ἔχει οὕτω γίγνεσθαι, τοῦ τε πυρετοῦ καὶ τοῦ οἰδήματος δεδιότος ἢ ὄνομα θεσπέσιον ἢ ῥῆσιν βαρβαρικὴν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐκ τοῦ βουβῶνος δραπετεύοντος, ἔτι σοι γραῶν μῦθοι τὰ λεγόμενά ἐστι.

[¶9] 10. “It seems to me,” said Deinomachus, “that when you talk like that you do not believe in the gods, either, since you do not think that cures can be effected through holy names.’ “Don’t say that, my dear sir!” I replied. “Even though the gods exist, there is nothing to prevent that sort of thing from being false just the same. For my part, I revere the gods and I see their cures and all the good that they do by restoring the sick to health with drugs and doctoring. In fact, Asclepius himself and his sons ministered to the sick by laying on healing drugs, not by fastening on lions’ skins and weasels.”

> Greek: 10. Τυχιάδης: σύ μοι δοκεῖς, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Δεινόμαχος, τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγων οὐδὲ θεοὺς εἶναι πιστεύειν εἴ γε μὴ οἴει τὰς ἰάσεις οἷόν τε εἶναι ὑπὸ ἱερῶν ὀνομάτων γίγνεσθαι. τοῦτο μέν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, μὴ λέγε, ὦ ἄριστε· κωλύει γὰρ οὐδὲν καὶ θεῶν ὄντων ὅμως τὰ τοιαῦτα ψευδῆ εἶναι. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ θεοὺς σέβω καὶ ἰάσεις αὐτῶν ὁρῶ καὶ ἃ εὖ ποιοῦσι τοὺς κάμνοντας ὑπὸ φαρμάκων καὶ ἰατρικῆς ἀνιστάντες· ὁ γοῦν Ἀσκληπιὸς αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ ἤπια φάρμακα πάσσοντες ἐθεράπευον τοὺς νοσοῦντας, οὐ λεοντᾶς καὶ μυγαλᾶς περιάπτοντες.

[¶10] 11. “Never mind him,” said Ion, “and I will tell you a wonderful story. I was still a young lad, about fourteen years old, when someone came and told my father that Midas the vine-dresser, ordinarily a strong and industrious servant, had been bitten by a viper toward midday and was lying down, with his leg already in a state of mortification. While he was tying up the runners and twining them about the poles, the creature had crawled up and bitten him on the great toe; then it had quickly gone down again into its hole, and he was groaning in mortal anguish. “As this report was being maile, we saw Midas himself being brought up on a litter by his fellowslaves, all swollen and livid, with a clammy skin and but little breath left in him. Naturally my father was distressed, but a friend who was there said to him: ‘Cheer up: I will at once go and get you a Babylonian, one of the so-called Chaldeans, who will cure the fellow.’ Not to make a long story of it, the Babylonian came and brought Midas back to life, driving the poison out of his body by a spell, and also binding upon his foot a fragment which he broke from the tombstone of a dead maiden. “Perhaps this is nothing out of the common: although Midas himself picked up the litter on which he had been carried and went off to the farm, so potent was the spell and the fragment of the tombstone.

> Greek: 11. Τυχιάδης: ἔα τοῦτον, ἔφη ὁ Ἴων, ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῖν θαυμάσιόν τι διηγήσομαι. ἦν μὲν ἐγὼ μειράκιον ἔτι ἀμφὶ τὰ τετταρακαίδεκα ἔτη σχεδόν· ἧκεν δέ τις ἀγγέλλων τῷ πατρὶ Μίδαν τὸν ἀμπελουργόν, ἐρρωμένον εἰς τὰ ἄλλα οἰκέτην καὶ ἐργατικόν, ἀμφὶ πλήθουσαν ἀγορὰν ὑπὸ ἐχίδνης δηχθέντα κεῖσθαι ἤδη σεσηπότα τὸ σκέλος· ἀναδοῦντι γὰρ αὐτῷ τὰ κλήματα καὶ ταῖς χάραξι περιπλέκοντι προσερπύσαν τὸ θηρίον δακεῖν κατὰ τὸν μέγαν δάκτυλον, καὶ τὸ μὲν φθάσαι καὶ καταδῦναι αὖθις εἰς τὸν φωλεόν, τὸν δὲ οἰμώζειν ἀπολλύμενον ὑπʼ ἀλγηδόνων. ταῦτά τε οὖν ἀπηγγέλλετο καὶ τὸν Μίδαν ἑωρῶμεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ σκίμποδος ὑπὸ τῶν ὁμοδούλων προσκομιζόμενον, ὅλον ᾠδηκότα, πελιδνόν, μυδῶντα ἐπιπολῆς, ὀλίγον ἔτι ἐμπνέοντα. λελυπημένῳ δὴ τῷ πατρὶ τῶν φίλων τις παρών, θάρρει, ἔφη, ἐγὼ γάρ σοι ἄνδρα Βαβυλώνιον τῶν Χαλδαίων, ὥς φασιν, αὐτίκα μέτειμι, ὃς ἰάσεται τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἵνα μὴ διατρίβω λέγων, ἧκεν ὁ Βαβυλώνιος καὶ ἀνέστησε τὸν Μίδαν ἐπῳδῇ τινι ἐξελάσας τὸν ἰὸν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος, ἔτι καὶ προσαρτήσας τῷ ποδὶ νεκρᾶς παρθένου λίθον ἀπὸ τῆς στήλης ἐκκολάψας. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἴσως μέτριον· καίτοι ὁ Μίδας αὐτὸς ἀράμενος τὸν σκίμποδα ἐφʼ οὗ ἐκεκόμιστο ᾤχετο εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν ἀπιών· τοσοῦτον ἡ ἐπῳδὴ ἐδυνήθη καὶ ὁ στηλίτης ἐκεῖνος λίθος.

[¶11] 12. But the Babylonian did other things that were truly miraculous. Going to the farm in the early morning, he repeated seven sacred names out of an old book, purified the place with sulphur and torches, going about. it three times, and called out all the reptiles that there were inside the boundaries. They came as if they were being drawn in response to the spell, snakes in great numbers, asps, vipers, horned snakes, darters, common toads, and puff-toads; one old python, however, was missing, who on account of his age, I suppose, could not creep out and so failed to comply with the command. The magician said that not all were there, and electing one of the snakes messenger, the youngest, sent him after the python, who presently came too. When they were assembled, the Babylonian blew on them and they were all instantly burned up by the blast, and we were amazed.”

> Greek: 12. Τυχιάδης: ὁ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα ἐποίησε θεσπέσια ὡς ἀληθῶς· εἰς γὰρ τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐλθὼν ἕωθεν, ἐπειπὼν ἱερατικά τινα ἐκ βίβλου παλαιᾶς ὀνόματα ἑπτὰ καὶ θείῳ καὶ δᾳδὶ καθαγνίσας τὸν τόπον περιελθὼν ἐς τρίς, ἐξεκάλεσεν ὅσα ἦν ἑρπετὰ ἐντὸς τῶν ὅρων. ἧκον οὖν ὥσπερ ἑλκόμενοι πρὸς τὴν ἐπῳδὴν ὄφεις πολλοὶ καὶ ἀσπίδες καὶ ἔχιδναι καὶ κεράσται καὶ ἀκοντίαι φρῦνοί τε καὶ φύσαλοι, ἐλείπετο δὲ εἷς δράκων παλαιός, ὑπὸ γήρως, οἶμαι, ἐξερπύσαι μὴ δυνάμενος ἢ παρακούσας τοῦ προστάγματος· ὁ δὲ μάγος οὐκ ἔφη παρεῖναι ἅπαντας, ἀλλʼ ἕνα τινὰ τῶν ὄφεων τὸν νεώτατον χειροτονήσας πρεσβευτὴν ἔπεμψεν ἐπὶ τὸν δράκοντα, καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἧκε κἀκεῖνος. ἐπεὶ δὲ συνηλίσθησαν, ἐνεφύσησε μὲν αὐτοῖς ὁ Βαβυλώνιος, τὰ δὲ αὐτίκα μάλα κατεκαύθη ἅπαντα ὑπὸ τῷ φυσήματι, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐθαυμάζομεν.

[¶12] 13. “Tell me, Ion,” said I, “did the messenger snake, the young one, give his arm to the python, who you say was aged, or did the python have a stick and lean on it?” “You are joking,” said Cleodemus: “I myself was formerly more incredulous than you in regard to such things, for I thought it in no way possible that they could happen; but when first I saw the foreign stranger fly—he came from the land of the Hyperboreans, he said—, I believed and was conquered after long resistance. What was I to do when I saw him soar through the air in broad daylight and walk on the water and go through fire slowly on foot?” “Did you see that?’ said I—“the Hyperborean flying, or stepping on the water?” “Certainly,” said he, “with brogues on his feet such as people of that country commonly wear. As for the trivial feats, what is the use of telling all that he performed, sending Cupids after people, bringing up supernatural beings, calling mouldy corpses to life, making Hecate herself appear in plain sight, and pulling down the moon?

> Greek: 13. Τυχιάδης: εἰπέ μοι, ὦ Ἴων, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὁ ὄφις δὲ ὁ πρεσβευτὴς ὁ νέος ἄρα καὶ ἐχειραγώγει τὸν δράκοντα ἤδη, ὡς φής, γεγηρακότα, ἢ σκίπωνα ἔχων ἐκεῖνος ἐπεστηρίζετο; σὺ μὲν παίζεις, ἔφη ὁ Κλεόδημος, ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπιστότερος ὤν σου πάλαι τὰ τοιαῦτα — ᾤμην γὰρ οὐδενὶ λόγῳ δυνατὸν γίγνεσθαι ἂν αὐτὰ — ὅμως ὅτε τὸ πρῶτον εἶδον πετόμενον τὸν ξένον τὸν βάρβαρον — ἐξ Ὑπερβορέων δὲ ἦν, ὡς ἔφασκεν — ἐπίστευσα καὶ ἐνικήθην ἐπὶ πολὺ ἀντισχών. τί γὰρ ἔδει ποιεῖν αὐτὸν ὁρῶντα διὰ τοῦ ἀέρος φερόμενον ἡμέρας οὔσης καὶ ἐφʼ ὕδατος βαδίζοντα καὶ διὰ πυρὸς διεξιόντα σχολῇ καὶ βάδην; σὺ ταῦτα εἶδες, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, τὸν Ὑπερβόρεον ἄνδρα πετόμενον ἢ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος βεβηκότα; καὶ μάλα, ἦ δʼ ὅς, “ὑποδεδεμένον γε καρβατίνας, οἷα μάλιστα ἐκεῖνοι ὑποδοῦνται. τὰ μὲν γὰρ σμικρὰ ταῦτα τί χρὴ καὶ λέγειν ὅσα ἐπεδείκνυτο, ἔρωτας ἐπιπέμπων καὶ δαίμονας ἀνάγων καὶ νεκροὺς ἑώλους ἀνακαλῶν καὶ τὴν Ἑκάτην αὐτὴν ἐναργῆ παριστὰς καὶ τὴν Σελήνην καθαιρῶν;

[¶13] 14. But after all, I will tell you what I saw him do in the house of Glaucias, son of Alexicles. “Immediately after Glaucias’ father died and he acquired the property, he fell in love with Chrysis, the wife of Demeas. I was in his employ as his tutor in philosophy, and if that love-affair had not kept him too busy, he would have known all the teachings of the Peripatetic school, for even at eighteen he was solving fallacies and had completed the course of lectures on natural philosophy. At his wit’s end, however, with his love-affair, he told me the whole story; and as was natural, since I was his tutor, I brought him that Hyperborean magician at a fee of four minas down (it was necessary to pay something in advance towards the cost of the victims) and sixteen if he should obtain Chrysis. The man waited for the moon to wax, as it is then, for the most part, that such rites are performed; and after digging a pit in an open court of the house, at about midnight he first summoned up for us Alexicles, Glaucias’ father, who had died seven months before. The old gentleman was indignant over the love-affair. and flew into a passion, but at length he permitted him to go on with it after all. Next he brought up Hecate, who fetched Cerberus with her, and he drew down the moon, a many-shaped spectacle, appearing differently at different times; for at first she exhibited the form of a woman, then she turned into a handsome bull, and then she looked like a puppy. Finally, the Hyperborean made a little Cupid out of Clay and said: ‘Go and fetch Chrysis.’ The clay took wing, and before long Chrysis stood on the threshold knocking at the door, came in and embraced Glaucias as if she loved him furiously, and remained with him until we heard the cocks crowing. Then the moon flew up to the sky, Hecate plunged beneath the earth, the other phantasms disappeared, and we sent Chrysis home at just about dawn.

> Greek: 14. Τυχιάδης: ἐγὼ γοῦν διηγήσομαι ὑμῖν ἃ εἶδον γιγνόμενα ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἐν Γλαυκίου τοῦ Ἀλεξικλέους. ἄρτι γὰρ ὁ Γλαυκίας τοῦ πατρὸς ἀποθανόντος παραλαβὼν τὴν οὐσίαν ἠράσθη Χρυσίδος τῆς Δημέου γυναικός. ἐμοὶ δὲ διδασκάλῳ ἐχρῆτο πρὸς τοὺς λόγους, καὶ εἴ γε μὴ ὁ ἔρως ἐκεῖνος ἀπησχόλησεν αὐτόν, ἅπαντα ἂν ἤδη τὰ τοῦ Περιπάτου ἠπίστατο, ὃς καὶ ὀκτωκαιδεκαέτης ὢν ἀνέλυε καὶ τὴν φυσικὴν ἀκρόασιν μετεληλύθει εἰς τέλος. ἀμηχανῶν δὲ ὅμως τῷ ἔρωτι μηνύει μοι τὸ πᾶν, ἐγὼ δὲ ὥσπερ εἰκὸς ἦν, διδάσκαλον ὄντα, τὸν Ὑπερβόρεον ἐκεῖνον μάγον ἄγω παρʼ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ μναῖς τέτταρσι μὲν τὸ παραυτίκα — ἔδει γὰρ προτελέσαι τι εἰς τὰς θυσίας — ἑκκαίδεκα δέ, εἰ τύχοι τῆς Χρυσίδος. ὁ δὲ αὐξομένην τηρήσας τὴν σελήνην — τότε γὰρ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ τὰ τοιαῦτα τελεσιουργεῖται — βόθρον τε ὀρυξάμενος ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ τινὶ τῆς οἰκίας περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἀνεκάλεσεν ἡμῖν πρῶτον μὲν τὸν Ἀλεξικλέα τὸν πατέρα τοῦ Γλαυκίου πρὸ ἑπτὰ μηνῶν τεθνεῶτα· ἠγανάκτει δὲ ὁ γέρων ἐπὶ τῷ ἔρωτι καὶ ὠργίζετο, τὰ τελευταῖα δὲ ὅμως ἐφῆκεν αὐτῷ ἐρᾶν. μετὰ δὲ τὴν Ἑκάτην τε ἀνήγαγεν ἐπαγομένην τὸν Κέρβερον καὶ τὴν Σελήνην κατέσπασεν, πολύμορφόν τι θέαμα καὶ ἄλλοτε ἀλλοῖόν τι φανταζόμενον· τὸ μὲν γὰρ πρῶτον γυναικείαν μορφὴν ἐπεδείκνυτο, εἶτα βοῦς ἐγίγνετο πάγκαλος, εἶτα σκύλαξ ἐφαίνετο. τέλος δʼ οὖν ὁ Ὑπερβόρεος ἐκ πηλοῦ ἐρώτιόν τι ἀναπλάσας, Ἄπιθι, ἔφη, καὶ ἄγε Χρυσίδα. καὶ ὁ μὲν πηλὸς ἐξέπτατο, μετὰ μικρὸν δὲ ἐπέστη κόπτουσα τὴν θύραν ἐκείνη καὶ εἰσελθοῦσα περιβάλλει τὸν Γλαυκίαν ὡς ἂν ἐκμανέστατα ἐρῶσα καὶ συνῆν ἄχρι δὴ ἀλεκτρυόνων ἠκούσαμεν ᾀδόντων. τότε δὴ ἥ τε Σελήνη ἀνέπτατο εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἡ Ἑκάτη ἔδυ κατὰ τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ ἄλλα φάσματα ἠφανίσθη καὶ τὴν Χρυσίδα ἐξεπέμψαμεν περὶ αὐτό που σχεδὸν τὸ λυκαυγές.

[¶14] 15. If you had seen that, Tychiades, you would no longer have doubted that there is much good in spells.” “Quite so,” said I, “I should have believed if I had seen it, but as things are I may perhaps be pardoned if I am not able to see as clearly as you. However, I know the Chrysis whom you speak of, an amorous dame and an accessible one, and I do not see why you needed the clay messenger and the Hyperborean magician and the moon in person to fetch her, when for twenty drachmas she could have been brought to the Hyperboreans! The woman is very susceptible to that spell, and her case is the opposite to that of ghosts; if they hear a chink of bronze or iron, they take flight, so you say, but as for her, if silver chinks anywhere, she goes toward the sound. Besides, I am surprised at the magician himself, if he was able to have the love of the richest women and get whole talents from them, and yet made Glaucias fascinating, penny-wise that he is, for four minas.”’ “You act ridiculously,” said Ion, “to doubt everything.

> Greek: 15. Τυχιάδης: εἰ ταῦτα εἶδες, ὦ Τυχιάδη, οὐκ ἂν ἔτι ἠπίστησας εἶναι πολλὰ ἐν ταῖς ἐπῳδαῖς χρήσιμα. εὖ λέγεις, ἦν δ' ἐγώ· ἐπίστευον γὰρ ἄν, εἴ γε εἶδον αὐτά, νῦν δὲ συγγνώμη, οἶμαι, εἰ μὴ τὰ ὅμοια ὑμῖν ὀξυδορκεῖν ἔχω. πλὴν ἀλλʼ οἶδα γὰρ τὴν Χρυσίδα ἣν λέγεις, ἐραστὴν γυναῖκα καὶ πρόχειρον, οὐχ ὁρῶ δὲ τίνος ἕνεκα ἐδεήθητε ἐπʼ αὐτὴν τοῦ πηλίνου πρεσβευτοῦ καὶ μάγου τοῦ ἐξ Ὑπερβορέων καὶ Σελήνης αὐτῆς, ἣν εἴκοσι δραχμῶν ἀγαγεῖν εἰς Ὑπερβορέους δυνατὸν ἦν. πάνυ γὰρ ἐνδίδωσιν πρὸς ταύτην τὴν ἐπῳδὴν ἡ γυνὴ καὶ τὸ ἐναντίον τοῖς φάσμασιν πέπονθεν· ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ ἢν ψόφον ἀκούσῃ χαλκοῦ ἢ σιδήρου, πέφευγε — καὶ ταῦτα γὰρ ὑμεῖς φατε — αὕτη δὲ ἂν ἀργύριόν που ψοφῇ, ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν ἦχον. ἄλλως τε καὶ αὐτοῦ θαυμάζω τοῦ μάγου, εἰ δυνάμενος αὐτὸς ἐρᾶσθαι πρὸς τῶν πλουσιωτάτων γυναικῶν καὶ τάλαντα ὅλα παρʼ αὐτῶν λαμβάνειν, ὁ δὲ τεττάρων μνῶν πάνυ σμικρολόγος ὢν Γλαυκίαν ἐπέραστον ἐργάζεται. Γελοῖα ποιεῖς, ἔφη ὁ Ἴων, ἀπιστῶν ἅπασιν.

[¶15] 16. For my part, I should like to ask you what you say to those who free possessed men from their terrors by exorcising the spirits so manifestly. I need not discuss this: everyone knows about the Syrian from Palestine, the adept in it, how many he. takes in hand who fall down in the light of the moon and roll their eyes and fill their mouths with foam; nevertheless, he restores them to health and sends them, away normal in mind, delivering them from their straits for a large fee. When he stands beside them as they lie there and asks: ‘Whence came you into his body?’ the patient himself is silent, but the spirit answers in Greek or in the language of whatever foreign country he comes from, telling how and whence he entered into the man; whereupon, by adjuring the spirit and if he does not obey, threatening him, he drives him out. Indeed, I actually saw one coming out, black and smoky in colour.” “It is nothing much,” I remarked, “for you, Ion, to see that kind of sight, when even the ‘forms’? that the father of your school, Plato, points out are plain to you, a hazy object of vision to the rest of us, whose eyes are weak.”

> Greek: 16. Τυχιάδης: ἐγὼ γοῦν ἡδέως ἂν ἐροίμην σε, τί περὶ τούτων φὴς ὅσοι τοὺς δαιμονῶντας ἀπαλλάττουσι τῶν δειμάτων οὕτω σαφῶς ἐξᾴδοντες τὰ φάσματα. καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ ἐμὲ χρὴ λέγειν, ἀλλὰ πάντες ἴσασι τὸν Σύρον τὸν ἐκ τῆς Παλαιστίνης, τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ σοφιστήν, ὅσους παραλαβὼν καταπίπτοντας πρὸς τὴν σελήνην καὶ τὼ ὀφθαλμὼ διαστρέφοντας καὶ ἀφροῦ πιμπλαμένους τὸ στόμα ὅμως ἀνίστησι καὶ ἀποπέμπει ἀρτίους τὴν γνώμην, ἐπὶ μισθῷ μεγάλῳ ἀπαλλάξας τῶν δεινῶν. ἐπειδὰν γὰρ ἐπιστὰς κειμένοις ἔρηται ὅθεν εἰσεληλύθασιν εἰς τὸ σῶμα, ὁ μὲν νοσῶν αὐτὸς σιωπᾷ, ὁ δαίμων δὲ ἀποκρίνεται, ἑλληνίζων ἢ βαρβαρίζων ὁπόθεν ἂν αὐτὸς ᾖ, ὅπως τε καὶ ὅθεν εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον· ὁ δὲ ὅρκους ἐπάγων, εἰ δὲ μὴ πεισθείη, καὶ ἀπειλῶν ἐξελαύνει τὸν δαίμονα. ἐγὼ γοῦν καὶ εἶδον ἐξιόντα μέλανα καὶ καπνώδη τὴν χρόαν. οὐ μέγα, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, τὰ τοιαῦτά σε ὁρᾶν, ὦ Ἴων, ᾧ γε καὶ αἱ ἰδέαι αὐταὶ φαίνονται ἃ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν Πλάτων δείκνυσιν, ἀμαυρόν τι θέαμα ὡς πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀμβλυώττοντας.

[¶16] 17. “Why, is Ion the only one who has seen that kind of sight?” said Eucrates. “Have not many others encountered spirits, some at night and some by day? For myself, I have seen such things, not merely once but almost hundreds of times. At first I was disturbed by them, but now, of course, because of their familiarity, I do not consider that I am seeing anything out of the way, especially since the Arab gave me the ring made of iron from crosses and taught me the spell of many names. But perhaps you will doubt me also, Tychiades.” “How could I doubt Eucrates, the son of Deinon,” said I, “alearned and an uncommonly independent gentleman, expressing his opinions in his own home, with complete liberty?”

> Greek: 17. Τυχιάδης: μόνος γὰρ Ἴων, ἔφη ὁ Εὐκράτης, τὰ τοιαῦτα εἶδεν, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ δαίμοσιν ἐντετυχήκασιν οἱ μὲν νύκτωρ, οἱ δὲ μεθʼ ἡμέραν; ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ἅπαξ ἀλλὰ μυριάκις ἤδη σχέδον τὰ τοιαῦτα τεθέαμαι· καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐταραττόμην πρὸς αὐτά, νῦν δὲ δὴ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔθους οὐδέν τι παράλογον ὁρᾶν μοι δοκῶ, καὶ μάλιστα ἐξ οὗ μοι τὸν δακτύλιον ὁ Ἄραψ ἔδωκε σιδήρου τοῦ ἐκ τῶν σταυρῶν πεποιημένον καὶ τὴν ἐπῳδὴν ἐδίδαξεν τὴν πολυώνυμον, ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ κἀμοὶ ἀπιστήσεις, ὦ Τυχιάδη. καὶ πῶς ἄν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἀπιστήσαιμι Εὐκράτει τῷ Δείνωνος, σοφῷ ἀνδρὶ καὶ μάλιστα ἐλευθερίῳ, τὰ δοκοῦντά οἱ λέγοντι οἴκοι παρʼ αὑτῷ ἐπʼ ἐξουσίας;

[¶17] 18. “Anyhow,” said Eucrates, “the affair of the statue was observed every night by everybody in the house, boys, young men and old men, and you could hear about it not only from me but from all our people.”” “Statue!” said I, ‘what do you mean?” “Have you not observed on coming in,’ said he, “avery fine statue set up in the hall, the work of Demetrius, the maker of portrait-statues?” “Do you mean the discus-thrower,”’ said I, “the one bent over in the position of the throw, with his head turned back toward the hand that holds the discus, with one leg slightly bent, looking as if he would spring up all at once with the cast?” “Not that one,” said he, “for that is one of Myron’s works, the discus-thrower you speak of. Neither do I mean the one beside it, the one binding his head with the fillet, the handsome Jad, for that is Polycleitus’ work. Never mind those to the right as you come in, among which stand the tyrant-slayers, modelled’ by Critius and Nesiotes; but if you noticed one beside the fountain, pot-bellied, bald on the forehead, half bared by the hang of his cloak, with some of the hairs of his beard wind-blown and his veins prominent, the image of a real man, that is the one I mean; he is thought to be Pellichus, the Corinthian general.”

> Greek: 18. Τυχιάδης: τὸ γοῦν περὶ τοῦ ἀνδριάντος, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Εὐκράτης, ἅπασι τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας ὅσαι νύκτες φαινόμενον καὶ παισὶ καὶ νεανίαις καὶ γέρουσι, τοῦτο οὐ παρʼ ἐμοῦ μόνον ἀκούσειας ἂν ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁπάντων. ποίου, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἀνδριάντος; οὐχ ἑώρακας, ἔφη, εἰσιὼν ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ ἀνεστηκότα πάγκαλον ἀνδριάντα, Δημητρίου ἔργον τοῦ ἀνθρωποποιοῦ; μῶν τὸν δισκεύοντα, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, φής, τὸν ἐπικεκυφότα κατὰ τὸ σχῆμα τῆς ἀφέσεως, ἀπεστραμμένον εἰς τὴν δισκοφόρον, ἠρέμα ὀκλάζοντα τῷ ἑτέρῳ, ἐοικότα συναναστησομένῳ μετὰ τῆς βολῆς; οὐκ ἐκεῖνον, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἐπεὶ τῶν Μύρωνος ἔργων ἓν καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὁ δισκοβόλος ὃν λέγεις· οὐδὲ τὸν παρʼ αὐτόν φημι, τὸν διαδούμενον τὴν κεφαλὴν τῇ ταινίᾳ, τὸν καλόν, Πολυκλείτου γὰρ τοῦτο ἔργον. ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ἐπὶ τὰ δεξιὰ εἰσιόντων ἄφες, ἐν οἷς καὶ τὰ Κριτίου καὶ Νησιώτου πλάσματα ἕστηκεν, οἱ τυραννοκτόνοι· σὺ δὲ εἴ τινα παρὰ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ἐπιρρέον εἶδες προγάστορα, φαλαντίαν, ἡμίγυμνον τὴν ἀναβολήν, ἠνεμωμένον τοῦ πώγωνος τὰς τρίχας ἐνίας, ἐπίσημον τὰς φλέβας, αὐτοανθρώπῳ ὅμοιον, ἐκεῖνον λέγω· Πέλλιχος ὁ Κορίνθιος στρατηγὸς εἶναι δοκεῖ.

[¶18] 19. “Yes,” I said, “I saw one to the right of the spout, wearing fillets and withered wreaths, his breast covered with gilt leaves.” “I myself puton the gilt leaves,’ said Eucrates, “when he cured me of the ague that was torturing me to death every other day.” “Really, is our excellent Pellichus a doctor also?” said I. “Do not mock,” Eucrates replied, “or before long the man will punish you. I know what virtue there is in this statue that you make fun of. Don’t you suppose that he can send fevers upon whomsoever he will, since it is possible for him to send them away?” “May the manikin be gracious and kindly,” said I, “since he is so manful. But what else does everyone in the house see him doing?” “As soon as night comes,” he said, “he gets down from the pedestal on which he stands and goes all about the house; we all encounter him, sometimes singing, and he has never harmed anybody. One has but to turn aside, and he passes without molesting in any way those who saw him. Upon my word, he often takes baths and disports himself all night, so that the water can be heard splashing.” “See here, then,” said I, “perhaps the statue is not Pellichus but Talos the Cretan, the son of Minos; he was a bronze man, you know, and made the rounds in Crete. If he were made of wood instead of bronze, there would be nothing to hinder his being one of the devices of Daedalus instead of a work of Demetrius; anyhow, he is like them in playing truant from his pedestal, by what you say.”

> Greek: 19. Τυχιάδης: νὴ Δίʼ, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, εἶδόν τινα ἐπὶ δεξιὰ τοῦ κρουνοῦ, ταινίας καὶ στεφάνους ξηροὺς ἔχοντα, κατακεχρυσωμένον πετάλοις τὸ στῆθος. ἐγὼ δέ, ὁ Εὐκράτης ἔφη, ἐκεῖνα ἐχρύσωσα, ὁπότε μʼ ἰάσατο διὰ τρίτης ὑπὸ τοῦ ἠπιάλου ἀπολλύμενον. ἦ γὰρ καὶ ἰατρός, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὁ βέλτιστος ἡμῖν Πέλλιχος οὗτός ἐστιν; μὴ σκῶπτε, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Εὐκράτης, ἤ σε οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν μέτεισιν ὁ ἀνήρ· οἶδα ἐγὼ ὅσον δύναται οὗτος ὁ ὑπὸ σοῦ γελώμενος ἀνδριάς. ἢ οὐ νομίζεις τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἶναι καὶ ἐπιπέμπειν ἠπιάλους οἷς ἂν ἐθέλῃ, εἴ γε καὶ ἀποπέμπειν δυνατὸν αὐτῷ; ἵλεως, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἔστω ὁ ἀνδριὰς καὶ ἤπιος οὕτως ἀνδρεῖος ὤν. τί δʼ οὖν καὶ ἄλλο ποιοῦντα ὁρᾶτε αὐτὸν ἅπαντες οἱ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ; ἐπειδὰν τάχιστα, ἔφη, νὺξ γένηται, ὁ δὲ καταβὰς ἀπὸ τῆς βάσεως ἐφʼ ᾗ ἕστηκε περίεισιν ἐν κύκλῳ τὴν οἰκίαν, καὶ πάντες ἐντυγχάνομεν αὐτῷ ἐνίοτε καὶ ᾄδοντι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅντινα ἠδίκησεν· ἐκτρέπεσθαι γὰρ χρὴ μόνον· ὁ δὲ παρέρχεται μηδὲν ἐνοχλήσας τοὺς ἰδόντας. καὶ μὴν καὶ λούεται τὰ πολλὰ καὶ παίζει διʼ ὅλης τῆς νυκτός, ὥστε ἀκούειν τοῦ ὕδατος ψοφοῦντος. ὅρα τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, μὴ οὐχὶ Πέλλιχος ὁ ἀνδριάς, ἀλλὰ Τάλως ὁ Κρὴς ὁ τοῦ Μίνωος ᾖ· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος χαλκοῦς τις ἦν τῆς Κρήτης περίπολος. εἰ δὲ μὴ χαλκοῦ, ὦ Εὔκρατες, ἀλλὰ ξύλου πεποίητο, οὐδὲν αὐτὸν ἐκώλυεν οὐ Δημητρίου ἔργον εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τῶν Δαιδάλου τεχνημάτων· δραπετεύει γοῦν, ὡς φής, ἀπὸ τῆς βάσεως καὶ οὗτος.

[¶19] 20. “See here, Tychiades,” said he, “‘perhaps you will be sorry for your joke later on. I know what happened to the man who stole the obols that we offer him on the first of each month.” “It ought to have been something very dreadful,” said Ion, “since he committed a sacrilege. How was he punished, Eucrates? I should like to hear about it, no matter how much Tychiades here is going to doubt it.” “A number of obols,” he said, “were lying at his feet, and some other small coins of silver had been stuck to his thigh with wax, and leaves of silver, votive offerings or payment for a cure from one or another of those who through him had ceased to be subject to fever. We had a plaguy Libyan servant, a groom; the fellow undertook to steal and did steal everything that was there, at night, after waiting until the statue had descended. But as soon as Pellichus came back and discovered that he had been robbed, mark how he punished and exposed the Libyan! The unhappy man ran about the hall the whole night long unable to get out, just as if he had been thrown into a labyrinth, until finally he was caught in possession of the stolen property when daycame. He got a sound thrashing then, on being caught, and he did not long survive the incident, dying a rogue’s death from being flogged, he said, every night, so that welts showed on his body the next day. In view of this, Tychiades, mock Pellichus and think me as senile as if I were a contemporary of Minos!” “Well, Eucrates,” I said, “as long as bronze is bronze and the work a product of Demetrius of Alopece, who makes men, not gods, I shall never be afraid of the statue of Pellichus, whom I should not have feared very much even when he was alive if he threatened me.”

> Greek: 20. Τυχιάδης: ὅρα, ἔφη, ὦ Τυχιάδη, μή σοι μεταμελήσῃ τοῦ σκώμματος ὕστερον. οἶδα ἐγὼ οἷα ἔπαθεν ὁ τοὺς ὀβολοὺς ὑφελόμενος οὓς κατὰ τὴν νουμηνίαν ἑκάστην τίθεμεν αὐτῷ. πάνδεινα ἐχρῆν, ἔφη ὁ Ἴων, ἱερόσυλόν γε ὄντα. πῶς δʼ οὖν αὐτὸν ἠμύνατο, ὦ Εὔκρατες; ἐθέλω γὰρ ἀκοῦσαι, εἰ καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα οὑτοσὶ Τυχιάδης ἀπιστήσει. πολλοί, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἔκειντο ὀβολοὶ πρὸ τοῖν ποδοῖν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἄλλα νομίσματα ἔνια ἀργυρᾶ πρὸς τὸν μηρὸν κηρῷ κεκολλημένα καὶ πέταλα ἐξ ἀργύρου, εὐχαί τινος ἢ μισθὸς ἐπὶ τῇ ἰάσει ὁπόσοι διʼ αὐτὸν ἐπαύσαντο πυρετῷ ἐχόμενοι. ἦν δὲ ἡμῖν Λίβυς τις οἰκέτης κατάρατος, ἱπποκόμος· οὗτος ἐπεχείρησε νυκτὸς ὑφελέσθαι πάντα ἐκεῖνα καὶ ὑφείλετο καταβεβηκότα ἤδη τηρήσας τὸν ἀνδριάντα. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐπανελθὼν τάχιστα ἔγνω περισεσυλημένος ὁ Πέλλιχος, ὅρα ὅπως ἠμύνατο καὶ κατεφώρασε τὸν Λίβυν· διʼ ὅλης γὰρ τῆς νυκτὸς περιῄει ἐν κύκλῳ τὴν αὐλὴν ὁ ἄθλιος ἐξελθεῖν οὐ δυνάμενος ὥσπερ εἰς λαβύρινθον ἐμπεσών, ἄχρι δὴ κατελήφθη ἔχων τὰ φώρια γενομένης ἡμέρας. καὶ τότε μὲν πληγὰς οὐκ ὀλίγας ἔλαβεν ἁλούς, οὐ πολὺν δὲ ἐπιβιοὺς χρόνον κακὸς κακῶς ἀπέθανεν μαστιγούμενος, ὡς ἔλεγεν, κατὰ τὴν νύκτα ἑκάστην, ὥστε καὶ μώλωπας εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν φαίνεσθαι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος. πρὸς ταῦτα, ὦ Τυχιάδη, καὶ τὸν Πέλλιχον σκῶπτε κἀμὲ ὥσπερ τοῦ Μίνωος ἡλικιώτην παραπαίειν ἤδη δόκει. ἀλλʼ, ὦ Εὔκρατες, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἔστʼ ἂν χαλκὸς μὲν ὁ χαλκός, τὸ δὲ ἔργον Δημήτριος ὁ Ἀλωπεκῆθεν εἰργασμένος ᾖ, οὐ θεοποιός τις ἀλλʼ ἀνθρωποποιὸς ὤν, οὔποτε φοβήσομαι τὸν ἀνδριάντα Πελλίχου, ὃν οὐδὲ ζῶντα πάνυ ἐδεδίειν ἂν ἀπειλοῦντά μοι.