21. Thereupon Antigonus, the physician, said, “I myself, Eucrates, have a bronze Hippocrates about eighteen inches high. As soon as the light is out, he goes all about the house making noises, turning out the vials, mixing up the medicines, and overturning the mortar, particularly when we are behindhand with the sacrifice which we make to him every year.” “Has it gone so far,’ said I, “that even Hippocrates the physician demands sacrifice in his honour and gets angry if he is not feasted on unblemished victims at the proper season? He ought to be well content if anyone should bring food to his tomb or pour him a libation of milk and honey or put a wreath about his gravestone!”
21. Τυχιάδης: ἐπὶ τούτοις Ἀντίγονος ὁ ἰατρὸς εἶπε, κἀμοί, ὦ Εὔκρατες, Ἱπποκράτης ἐστὶ χαλκοῦς ὅσον πηχυαῖος τὸ μέγεθος· οὗτος ἐπειδὰν μόνον ἡ θρυαλλὶς ἀποσβῇ, περίεισιν τὴν οἰκίαν ὅλην ἐν κύκλῳ ψοφῶν καὶ τὰς πυξίδας ἀνατρέπων καὶ τὰ φάρμακα συγχέων καὶ τὴν θυίαν περιτρέπων, καὶ μάλιστα ἐπειδὰν τὴν θυσίαν ὑπερβαλώμεθα, ἣν κατὰ τὸ ἔτος ἕκαστον αὐτῷ θύομεν. ἀξιοῖ γάρ, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, καὶ ὁ Ἱπποκράτης ἤδη ὁ ἰατρὸς θύεσθαι αὑτῷ, καὶ ἀγανακτεῖ ἢν μὴ κατὰ καιρὸν ἐφʼ ἱερῶν τελείων ἑστιαθῇ; ὃν ἔδει ἀγαπᾶν, εἴ τις ἐναγίσειεν αὐτῷ ἢ μελίκρατον ἐπισπείσειεν ἢ στεφανώσειε τὴν στήλην.
22. “Let me tell you,” said Eucrates, “—this, I assure you, is supported by witnesses—what I saw five years ago. It happened to be the vintage season of the year; passing through the farm at midday, I left the labourers gathering the grapes and went off by myself into the wood, thinking about something in the meantime and turning it over in my mind. When I was under cover, there came first a barking of dogs, and I supposed that my son Mnason was at his usual sport of following the hounds, and had entered the thicket with his companions. This was not the case, however; but after a short time there. came an earthquake and with it a noise as of thunder, and then I saw a terrible woman coming toward me, quite half a furlong in height. She had a torch in her left hand and a sword in her right, ten yards long; below, she had snake-feet, and above she resembled the Gorgon, in her stare, I mean, and the frightfulness of her appearance; moreover, instead of hair she had the snakes falling down in ringlets, twining about her neck, and some of them coiled upon her shoulders.—See,” said he, “how my flesh. creeps, friends, as I tell the story!’ And as he spoke he showed the hairs on his forearm standing on end (would you believe it?) because of his terror!
22. Τυχιάδης: ἄκουε τοίνυν, ἔφη ὁ Εὐκράτης, — τοῦτο μὲν καὶ ἐπὶ μαρτύρων — ὃ πρὸ ἐτῶν πέντε εἶδον· ἐτύγχανε μὲν ἀμφὶ τρυγητὸν τοῦ ἔτους ὄν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀνὰ τὸν ἀγρὸν μεσούσης ἡμέρας τρυγῶντας ἀφεὶς τοὺς ἐργάτας κατʼ ἐμαυτὸν εἰς τὴν ὕλην ἀπῄειν μεταξὺ φροντίζων τι καὶ ἀνασκοπούμενος. ἐπεὶ δʼ ἐν τῷ συνηρεφεῖ ἦν, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ὑλαγμὸς ἐγένετο κυνῶν, κἀγὼ εἴκαζον Μνάσωνα τὸν υἱόν, ὥσπερ εἰώθει, παίζειν καὶ κυνηγετεῖν εἰς τὸ λάσιον μετὰ τῶν ἡλικιωτῶν παρελθόντα. τὸ δʼ οὐκ εἶχεν οὕτως, ἀλλὰ μετʼ ὀλίγον σεισμοῦ τινος ἅμα γενομένου καὶ βοῆς οἷον ἐκ βροντῆς γυναῖκα ὁρῶ προσιοῦσαν φοβεράν, ἡμισταδιαίαν σχεδὸν τὸ ὕψος. εἶχεν δὲ καὶ δᾷδα ἐν τῇ ἀριστερᾷ καὶ ξίφος ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ ὅσον εἰκοσάπηχυ, καὶ τὰ μὲν ἔνερθεν ὀφιόπους ἦν, τὰ δὲ ἄνω Γοργόνι ἐμφερής, τὸ βλέμμα φημὶ καὶ τὸ φρικῶδες τῆς προσόψεως, καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς κόμης τοὺς δράκοντας βοστρυχηδὸν καθεῖτο εἰλουμένους περὶ τὸν αὐχένα καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἐνίους ἐσπειραμένους. ὁρᾶτε, ἔφη, ὅπως ἔφριξα, ὦ φίλοι, μεταξὺ διηγούμενος. καὶ ἅμα λέγων ἐδείκνυεν ὁ Εὐκράτης τὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ πήχεως τρίχας δῆθεν ὀρθὰς ὑπὸ τοῦ φόβου.
23. Ion, Deinomachus, Cleodemus, and the rest of them, open-mouthed, were giving him unwavering attention, old men led by the nose, all but doing obeisance to so unconvincing a colossus, a woman half a furlong in height, a gigantic bugaboo! For my part I was thinking in the meantime: “They associate with young men to make them wise and are admired by many, but what are they themselves? Only their grey hair and their beard distinguishes them from infants, and for the rest of it, even infants are not so amenable to falsehood.”
23. Τυχιάδης: οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἴωνα καὶ τὸν Δεινόμαχον καὶ τὸν Κλεόδημον κεχηνότες ἀτενὲς προσεῖχον αὐτῷ, γέροντες ἄνδρες ἑλκόμενοι τῆς ῥινός, ἠρέμα προσκυνοῦντες οὕτως ἀπίθανον κολοσσόν, ἡμισταδιαίαν γυναῖκα, γιγάντειόν τι μορμολύκειον. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐνενόουν μεταξὺ οἷοι ὄντες αὐτοὶ νέοις τε ὁμιλοῦσιν ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ καὶ ὑπὸ πολλῶν θαυμάζονται, μόνῃ τῇ πολιᾷ καὶ τῷ πώγωνι διαφέροντες τῶν βρεφῶν, τὰ δʼ ἄλλα καὶ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων εὐαγωγότεροι πρὸς τὸ ψεῦδος.
24. Deinomachus, for instance, said: “Tell me, Eucrates, the dogs of the goddess—how big were they?” “Taller than Indian elephants,” he replied; “black, like them, with a shaggy coat of filthy, tangled hair.— Well, at sight of her I stopped, at the same time turning the gem that the Arab gave me to the inside of my finger, and Hecate, stamping on the ground with her serpent foot, made a tremendous chasm, as deep as Tartarus; then after a little she leaped into it and was gone. I plucked up courage and looked over, taking hold of a tree that grew close by, in order that I might not get a dizzy turn and fall into it headlong. Then I saw everything in Hades, the River of Blazing Fire, and the Lake, and Cerberus, and the dead, well enough to recognise some of them. My father, for instance, I saw distinctly, still wearing the same clothes in which we buried him.” “What were the souls doing, Eucrates?”’ said Ion. “What else would they be doing,” he said, “except lying upon the asphodel to while away the time, along with their friends and kinsmen by tribes and clans?”’ “Now let the Epicureans go on contradicting holy Plato,” said Ion, “and his doctrine about the souls! But you did not see Socrates himself and Plato among the dead?” “Socrates I saw,” he replied, “and even him not for certain but by guess, because he was bald and pot-bellied; Plato I could not recognise, for one must tell the truth to friends, I take it. “No sooner had I seen everything sufficiently well than the chasm came together and closed up; and some of the servants who were seeking me, Pyrrhias here among them, came upon the scene before the chasm had completely closed. Tell them, Pyrrhias, whether I am speaking the truth or not.” “Yes, by Heaven,” said Pyrrhias, “and I heard barking, too, through the chasm and a gleam of fire was shining, from the torch, I suppose.’ I had to laugh when the witness, to give good measure, threw in the barking and the fire!
24. Τυχιάδης: ὁ γοῦν Δεινόμαχος, εἰπέ μοι, ἔφη, ὦ Εὔκρατες, οἱ κύνες δὲ τῆς θεοῦ πηλίκοι τὸ μέγεθος ἦσαν; ἐλεφάντων, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ὑψηλότεροι τῶν Ἰνδικῶν, μέλανες καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ λάσιοι πιναρᾷ καὶ αὐχμώσῃ τῇ λάχνῃ. — ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἰδὼν ἔστην ἀναστρέψας ἅμα τὴν σφραγῖδα ἥν μοι ὁ Ἄραψ ἔδωκεν εἰς τὸ εἴσω τοῦ δακτύλου· ἡ Ἑκάτη δὲ πατάξασα τῷ δρακοντείῳ ποδὶ τοὔδαφος ἐποίησεν χάσμα παμμέγεθες, ἡλίκον Ταρτάρειον τὸ βάθος· εἶτα ᾤχετο μετʼ ὀλίγον ἁλλομένη εἰς αὐτό. ἐγὼ δὲ θαρρήσας ἐπέκυψα λαβόμενος δένδρου τινὸς πλησίον πεφυκότος, ὡς μὴ σκοτοδινιάσας ἐμπέσοιμι ἐπὶ κεφαλήν· εἶτα ἑώρων τὰ ἐν Ἅιδου ἅπαντα, τὸν Πυριφλεγέθοντα, τὴν λίμνην, τὸν Κέρβερον, τοὺς νεκρούς, ὥστε γνωρίζειν ἐνίους αὐτῶν· τὸν γοῦν πατέρα εἶδον ἀκριβῶς αὐτὰ ἐκεῖνα ἔτι ἀμπεχόμενον ἐν οἷς αὐτὸν κατεθάψαμεν. τί δὲ ἔπραττον, ὁ Ἴων ἔφη, ὦ Εὔκρατες, αἱ ψυχαί; τί δʼ ἄλλο, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἢ κατὰ φῦλα καὶ φρήτρας μετὰ τῶν φίλων καὶ συγγενῶν διατρίβουσιν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀσφοδέλου κατακείμενοι. ἀντιλεγέτωσαν νῦν ἔτι, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Ἴων, οἱ ἀμφὶ τὸν Ἐπίκουρον τῷ ἱερῷ Πλάτωνι καὶ τῷ περὶ τῶν ψυχῶν λόγῳ. σὺ δὲ μὴ καὶ τὸν Σωκράτην αὐτὸν καὶ τὸν Πλάτωνα εἶδες ἐν τοῖς νεκροῖς; τὸν Σωκράτην ἔγωγε, ἦ δʼ ὅς, οὐδὲ τοῦτον σαφῶς, ἀλλὰ εἰκάζων ὅτι φαλακρὸς καὶ προγάστωρ ἦν· τὸν Πλάτωνα δὲ οὐκ ἐγνώρισα· χρὴ γάρ, οἶμαι, πρὸς φίλους ἄνδρας τἀληθῆ λέγειν. ἅμα δʼ οὖν ἐγώ τε ἅπαντα ἱκανῶς ἑωράκειν, καὶ τὸ χάσμα συνῄει καὶ συνέμυε· καί τινες τῶν οἰκετῶν ἀναζητοῦντές με, καὶ Πυρρίας οὗτος ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἐπέστησαν οὔπω τέλεον μεμυκότος τοῦ χάσματος. εἰπέ, Πυρρία, εἰ ἀληθῆ λέγω. νὴ Δίʼ, ἔφη ὁ Πυρρίας, καὶ ὑλακῆς δὲ ἤκουσα διὰ τοῦ χάσματος καὶ πῦρ τι ὑπέλαμπεν, ἀπὸ τῆς δᾳδός μοι δοκεῖν. κἀγὼ ἐγέλασα ἐπιμετρήσαντος τοῦ μάρτυρος τὴν ὑλακὴν καὶ τὸ πῦρ.
25. Cleodemus, however, said, “These sights that you saw are not novel and unseen by anyone else, for I myself when I was taken sick not long ago witnessed something similar. Antigonus here visited and attended me. It was the seventh day, and the fever was like a calenture of the most raging type. Leaving me by myself and shutting the door, they all were waiting outside; for you had given orders to that: effect, Antigonus, on the chance that I might fall asleep. Well, at that time there appeared at my side while I lay awake a very handsome young man, wearing a white cloak; then, raising me to my feet, he led me through a chasm to Hades, as I realised at once when I saw Tantalus and Ixion and Tityus and Sisyphus. Why should I tell you all the details? But when I came to the court—Aeacus and Charon and the Fates and the Furies were there—a person resembling a king (Pluto, I suppose) sat reading off the names of those about to die because their lease of life chanced to have already expired. The young man speedily set me before him; but Pluto was angry and said to my guide: ‘His thread is not yet ‘fully spun, so let him be off, and bring me the blacksmith Demylus, for he is living beyond the spindle.’ I hastened back with a joyful heart, and from that time was free from fever; but I told everyone that Demylus would die. He lived next door to us, and himself had some illness, according to report. And after a little while we heard the wailing of his mourners.”
25. Τυχιάδης: ὁ Κλεόδημος δέ, οὐ καινά, εἶπεν, οὐδὲ ἄλλοις ἀόρατα ταῦτα εἶδες, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ νοσήσας τοιόνδε τι ἐθεασάμην· ἐπεσκόπει δέ με καὶ ἐθεράπευεν Ἀντίγονος οὗτος. ἑβδόμη μὲν ἦν ἡμέρα, ὁ δὲ πυρετὸς οἷος καῦσος σφοδρότατος. ἅπαντες δέ με ἀπολιπόντες ἐπʼ ἐρημίας ἐπικλεισάμενοι τὰς θύρας ἔξω περιέμενον· οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐκέλευσας, ὦ Ἀντίγονε, εἴ πως δυνηθείην εἰς ὕπνον τραπέσθαι. τότε οὖν ἐφίσταταί μοι νεανίας ἐγρηγορότι πάγκαλος λευκὸν ἱμάτιον περιβεβλημένος, εἶτα ἀναστήσας ἄγει διά τινος χάσματος εἰς τὸν Ἅιδην, ὡς αὐτίκα ἐγνώρισα Τάνταλον ἰδὼν καὶ Τιτυὸν καὶ Σίσυφον. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τί ἂν ὑμῖν λέγοιμι; ἐπεὶ δὲ κατὰ τὸ δικαστήριον ἐγενόμην — παρῆν δὲ καὶ ὁ Αἰακὸς καὶ ὁ Χάρων καὶ αἱ Μοῖραι καὶ αἱ Ἐρινύες — ὁ μέν τις ὥσπερ βασιλεὺς (ὁ Πλούτων, μοι δοκεῖ) καθῆστο ἐπιλεγόμενος τῶν τεθνηξομένων τὰ ὀνόματα, οὓς ἤδη ὑπερημέρους τῆς ζωῆς συνέβαινεν εἶναι. ὁ δὲ νεανίσκος ἐμὲ φέρων παρέστησεν αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ Πλούτων ἠγανάκτησέν τε καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἀγαγόντα με, οὔπω πεπλήρωται, φησίν, τὸ νῆμα αὐτῷ, ὥστε ἀπίτω. σὺ δὲ δὴ τὸν χαλκέα Δημύλον ἄγε· ὑπὲρ γὰρ τὸν ἄτρακτον βιοῖ. κἀγὼ ἄσμενος ἀναδραμὼν αὐτὸς μὲν ἤδη ἀπύρετος ἦν, ἀπήγγελλον δὲ ἅπασιν ὡς τεθνήξεται Δημύλος· ἐν γειτόνων δὲ ἡμῖν ᾤκει νοσῶν τι καὶ αὐτός, ὡς ἀπηγγέλλετο. καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἠκούομεν οἰμωγῆς ὀδυρομένων ἐπʼ αὐτῷ.
26. “What is there surprising in that?” said Antigonus: “I know a man who came to life more than twenty days after his burial, having attended the fellow both before his death and after he came to life.’ “How was it,” said I, “that in twenty days the body neither corrupted nor simply wasted away from inanition? Unless it was an Epimenides whom you attended.”
26. Τυχιάδης: τί θαυμαστόν; εἶπεν ὁ Ἀντίγονος· ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶδά τινα μετὰ εἰκοστὴν ἡμέραν ἧς ἐτάφη ἀναστάντα, θεραπεύσας καὶ πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀνέστη τὸν ἄνθρωπον. καὶ πῶς, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ἐν εἴκοσιν ἡμέραις οὔτʼ ἐμύδησεν τὸ σῶμα οὔτε ἄλλως ὑπὸ λιμοῦ διεφθάρη; εἰ μή τινα Ἐπιμενίδην σύ γε ἐθεράπευες.
27. While we were exchanging these words the sons of Eucrates came in upon us from the palaestra, one already of age, the other about fifteen years old, and after greeting us sat down upon the couch beside their father; a chair was brought in forme. Then, as if reminded by the sight of his sons, Eucrates said: “As surely as I hope that these boys will be a joy to me”—and he laid his hand upon them— “what I am about to tell you, Tychiades, is true. Everyone knows how I loved their mother, my wife of blessed memory; I made it plain by what I did for her not only while she was alive but even when she died, for I burned on the pyre with her all the ornaments and the clothing that she liked while she lived. On the seventh day after her death I was lying here on the couch, just as I am now, consoling my grief; for I was peacefully reading Plato’s book about the soul. While I was thus engaged, Demaenete herself in person came in upon me and sat down beside me, just as Eucratides here is sitting now”—with a gesture toward the younger of his sons, who at once shuddered in a very boyish way; he had already been pale for some time over the story. ‘“When I saw her,” Eucrates continued, “I caught her in my arms with a cry of grief and began to weep. She would not permit me to cry, however, but began to find fault with me because, although I had given her everything else, I had not burned one of her gilt sandals, which, she said, was under the chest, where it had been thrown aside. That was why we did not find it and burned only the one. We were continuing our conversation when a cursed toy dog that was under the couch, a Maltese, barked, and she vanished at his barking. The sandal, however, was found under the chest and was burned afterwards.
27. Τυχιάδης: ἅμα ταῦτα λεγόντων ἡμῶν ἐπεισῆλθον οἱ τοῦ Εὐκράτους υἱοὶ ἐκ τῆς παλαίστρας, ὁ μὲν ἤδη ἐξ ἐφήβων, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἀμφὶ τὰ πεντεκαίδεκα ἔτη, καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι ἡμᾶς ἐκαθέζοντο ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης παρὰ τῷ πατρί· ἐμοὶ δὲ εἰσεκομίσθη θρόνος. καὶ ὁ Εὐκράτης ὥσπερ ἀναμνησθεὶς πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν τῶν υἱέων·, οὕτως ὀναίμην, ἔφη, τούτων — ἐπιβαλὼν αὐτοῖν τὴν χεῖρα — ἀληθῆ, ὦ Τυχιάδη, πρός σε ἐρῶ. τὴν μακαρῖτίν μου γυναῖκα τὴν τούτων μητέρα πάντες ἴσασιν ὅπως ἠγάπησα, ἐδήλωσα δὲ οἷς περὶ αὐτὴν ἔπραξα οὐ ζῶσαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀπέθανεν, τόν τε κόσμον ἅπαντα συγκατακαύσας καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα ᾗ ζῶσα ἔχαιρεν. ἑβδόμῃ δὲ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ἡμέρᾳ ἐγὼ μὲν ἐνταῦθα ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης ὥσπερ νῦν ἐκείμην παραμυθούμενος τὸ πένθος· ἀνεγίγνωσκον γὰρ τὸ περὶ ψυχῆς τοῦ Πλάτωνος βιβλίον ἐφʼ ἡσυχίας· ἐπεισέρχεται δὲ μεταξὺ ἡ Δημαινέτη αὐτὴ ἐκείνη καὶ καθίζεται πλησίον ὥσπερ νῦν Εὐκρατίδης οὑτοσί, δείξας τὸν νεώτερον τῶν υἱέων· ὁ δὲ αὐτίκα ἔφριξε μάλα παιδικῶς, καὶ πάλαι ἤδη ὠχρὸς ὢν πρὸς τὴν διήγησιν. ἐγὼ δέ, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Εὐκράτης, ὡς εἶδον, περιπλακεὶς αὐτῇ ἐδάκρυον ἀνακωκύσας· ἡ δὲ οὐκ εἴα βοᾶν, ἀλλʼ ᾐτιᾶτό με ὅτι τὰ ἄλλα πάντα χαρισάμενος αὐτῇ θάτερον τοῖν σανδάλοιν χρυσοῖν ὄντοιν οὐ κατακαύσαιμι, εἶναι δὲ αὐτὸ ἔφασκεν ὑπὸ τῇ κιβωτῷ παραπεσόν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡμεῖς οὐχ εὑρόντες θάτερον μόνον ἐκαύσαμεν. ἔτι δὲ ἡμῶν διαλεγομένων κατάρατόν τι κυνίδιον ὑπὸ τῇ κλίνῃ ὂν Μελιταῖον ὑλάκτησεν, ἡ δὲ ἠφανίσθη πρὸς τὴν ὑλακήν. τὸ μέντοι σανδάλιον εὑρέθη ὑπὸ τῇ κιβωτῷ καὶ κατεκαύθη ὕστερον.
28. “Is it right, Tychiades, to doubt these apparitions any longer, when they are distinctly seen and a matter of daily occurrence?” “No, by Heaven,” I said: “those who doubt and are so disrespectful toward truth deserve to be spanked like children, with a gilt sandal!”
28. Τυχιάδης: ἔτι ἀπιστεῖν τούτοις, ὦ Τυχιάδη, ἄξιον ἐναργέσιν οὖσιν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἑκάστην φαονομένοις; μὰ Δίʼ, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ· ἐπεὶ σανδάλῳ γε χρυσῷ εἰς τὰς πυγὰς ὥσπερ τὰ παιδία παίεσθαι ἄξιοι ἂν εἶεν οἱ ἀπιστοῦντες καὶ οὕτως ἀναισχυντοῦντες πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν.
29. At this juncture Arignotus the Pythagorean came in, the man with the long hair and the majestic face—you know the one who is renowned for wisdom, whom they call holy. As I caught sight of him, I drew a breath of relief, thinking: “There now, a broadaxe has come to hand to use against their lies. The wise man will stop their mouths when they tell such prodigious yarns.” I thought that Fortune had trundled him in to me like a deus ex machina, as the phrase is. But when Cleodemus had made room for him and he was seated, he first asked about the illness, and when Eucrates told him ‘that it was already less troublesome, said: “What were you debating among yourselves? As I came in, I overheard you, and it seemed to me that you were on the point of giving a fine turn to the conversation!” “We are only trying to persuade this man of adamant,” said Eucrates, pointing at me, “to believe that spirits and phantoms exist, and that souls of dead men go about above ground and appear to whomsoever they will.” I flushed and lowered my © eyes out of reverence for Arignotus. ‘“Perhaps, Eucrates,” he said, “Tychiades means that only the ghosts of those who died by violence walk, for example, if a man hanged himself, or had his head cut off, or was crucified, or departed life in some similar way; and that those of men who died a natural death do not. If that is what he means, we cannot altogether reject what he says.” “No, by Heaven,” replied Deinomachus, “he thinks that such things do not exist at all and are not seen in bodily form.”
29. Τυχιάδης: ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ Πυθαγορικὸς Ἀρίγνωτος εἰσῆλθεν, ὁ κομήτης, ὁ σεμνὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου, οἶσθα τὸν ἀοίδιμον ἐπὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ, τὸν ἱερὸν ἐπονομαζόμενον. κἀγὼ μὲν ὡς εἶδον αὐτὸν ἀνέπνευσα, τοῦτʼ ἐκεῖνο ἥκειν μοι νομίσας πέλεκύν τινα κατὰ τῶν ψευσμάτων. ἐπιστομιεῖ γὰρ αὐτούς, ἔλεγον, ὁ σοφὸς ἀνὴρ οὕτω τεράστια διεξιόντας. καὶ τὸ τοῦ λόγου, θεὸν ἀπὸ μηχανῆς ἐπεισκυκληθῆναί μοι τοῦτον ᾤμην ὑπὸ τῆς Τύχης· ὁ δὲ ἐπεὶ ἐκαθέζετο ὑπεκστάντος αὐτῷ τοῦ Κλεοδήμου, πρῶτα μὲν περὶ τῆς νόσου ἤρετο, καὶ ὡς ῥᾷον ἤδη ἔχειν ἤκουσεν παρὰ τοῦ Εὐκράτους, τί δέ, ἔφη, πρὸς αὑτοὺς ἐφιλοσοφεῖτε; μεταξὺ γὰρ εἰσιὼν ἐπήκουσα, καί μοι ἐδοκεῖτε εἰς καλὸν διατεθήσεσθαι τὴν διατριβήν. τί δʼ ἄλλο, εἶπεν ὁ Εὐκράτης, ἢ τουτονὶ τὸν ἀδαμάντινον πείθομεν — δείξας ἐμέ — ἡγεῖσθαι δαίμονάς τινας εἶναι καὶ φάσματα καὶ νεκρῶν ψυχὰς περιπολεῖν ὑπὲρ γῆς καὶ φαίνεσθαι οἷς ἂν ἐθέλωσιν. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἠρυθρίασα καὶ κάτω ἔνευσα αἰδεσθεὶς τὸν Ἀρίγνωτον. ὁ δὲ, ὅρα, ἔφη, ὦ Εὔκρατες, μὴ τοῦτό φησιν Τυχιάδης, τὰς τῶν βιαίως ἀποθανόντων μόνας ψυχὰς περινοστεῖν, οἷον εἴ τις ἀπήγξατο ἢ ἀπετμήθη τὴν κεφαλὴν ἢ ἀνεσκολοπίσθη ἢ ἄλλῳ γέ τῳ τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ ἀπῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ βίου, τὰς δὲ τῶν κατὰ μοῖραν ἀποθανόντων οὐκέτι· ἢν γὰρ τοῦτο λέγῃ, οὐ πάνυ ἀπόβλητα φήσει. μὰ Δίʼ, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Δεινόμαχος, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ὅλως εἶναι τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐδὲ συνεστῶτα ὁρᾶσθαι οἴεται.
30. “What is that you say?” said Arignotus, with a sour look at me. “Do you think that none of these things happen, although everybody, I may say, sees them?’ “Plead in my defence,” said I, “if I do not believe in them, that I am the only one of all who does not see them; if I saw them, I should believe in them, of course, just as you do.” “Come,” said he, “if ever you go to Corinth, ask where the house of Eubatides is, and when it is pointed out to you beside Cornel Grove, enter it and say to the doorman Tibius that you should like to see where the Pythagorean Arignotus exhumed the spirit and drove it away, making the house habitable from that time on.
30. Τυχιάδης: πῶς λέγεις, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Ἀρίγνωτος, δριμὺ ἀπιδὼν εἰς ἐμέ, οὐδέν σοι τούτων γίγνεσθαι δοκεῖ, καὶ ταῦτα πάντων, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ὁρώντων; ἀπολόγησαι, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, εἰ μὴ πιστεύω, διότι μηδὲ ὁρῶ μόνος τῶν ἄλλων· εἰ δὲ ἑώρων, καὶ ἐπίστευον ἂν δηλαδὴ ὥσπερ ὑμεῖς. ἀλλά, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἤν ποτε εἰς Κόρινθον ἔλθῃς, ἐροῦ ἔνθα ἐστὶν ἡ Εὐβατίδου οἰκία, καὶ ἐπειδάν σοι δειχθῇ παρὰ τὸ Κράνειον, παρελθὼν εἰς αὐτὴν λέγε πρὸς τὸν θυρωρὸν Τίβειον ὡς ἐθέλοις ἰδεῖν ὅθεν τὸν δαίμονα ὁ Πυθαγορικὸς Ἀρίγνωτος ἀνορύξας ἀπήλασε καὶ πρὸς τὸ λοιπὸν οἰκεῖσθαι τὴν οἰκίαν ἐποίησεν.
31. “What was that, Arignotus? asked Eucrates. “It was uninhabitable,” he replied, “for a long time because of terrors; whenever anyone took up his abode in it, he fled in panic at once, chased out by a fearful, terrifying phantom. So it was falling in and the roof was tumbling down, and there was nobody at all who had the courage to enter it. When I heard all this, I took my books—I have a great number of Egyptian works about such matters— and went into the house at bed-time, although my host tried to'dissuade me and all but held me when he learned where I was going—into misfortune with. my eyes open, he thought. But taking a lamp I went in alone; in the largest room I put down the light and was reading peacefully, seated on the ground, when the spirit appeared, thinking that he was setting upon a man of the common sort and expecting to affright me as he had the others; he was squalid and long-haired and blacker than the dark. Standing over me, he made attempts upon me, attacking me from all sides to see if he could get the best of me anywhere, and turning now into a dog, now into a bull or a lion. But I brought into play my most frightful imprecation, speaking the’ Egyptian language, pent him up in a certain corner of a dark room, and laid him. Then, having observed where he went down, I slept for the rest of the night. “In the morning, when everybody had given up hope and expected to find me dead like the others, I came forth to the surprise of all and went to Eubatides with the good tidings that he could now inhabit his house, which was purged and free from terrors. So, taking him along and many of the others too—they went wit us because the thing was so amazing—I led them to the place where I had seen that the spirit had gone down and told them to take picks and shovels and dig. When they.did so, there was found buried about six feet deep a mouldering body of which only the bones lay together in order. We exhumed and buried it; and the house from that time ceased to be troubled by the phantoms.”
31. Τυχιάδης: τί δὲ τοῦτο ἦν, ὦ Ἀρίγνωτε; ἤρετο ὁ Εὐκράτης. ἀοίκητος ἦν, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἐκ πολλοῦ ὑπὸ δειμάτων, εἰ δέ τις οἰκήσειεν εὐθὺς ἐκπλαγεὶς ἔφευγεν, ἐκδιωχθεὶς ὑπό τινος φοβεροῦ καὶ ταραχώδους φάσματος. συνέπιπτεν οὖν ἤδη καὶ ἡ στέγη κατέρρει, καὶ ὅλως οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ θαρρήσων παρελθεῖν εἰς αὐτήν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπεὶ ταῦτα ἤκουσα, τὰς βίβλους λαβὼν — εἰσὶ δέ μοι Αἰγύπτιαι μάλα πολλαὶ περὶ τῶν τοιούτων — ἧκον εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν περὶ πρῶτον ὕπνον ἀποτρέποντος τοῦ ξένου καὶ μόνον οὐκ ἐπιλαμβανομένου, ἐπεὶ ἔμαθεν οἷ βαδίζοιμι, εἰς προὖπτον κακόν, ὡς ᾤετο. ἐγὼ δὲ λύχνον λαβὼν μόνος εἰσέρχομαι, καὶ ἐν τῷ μεγίστῳ οἰκήματι καταθεὶς τὸ φῶς ἀνεγίγνωσκον ἡσυχῇ χαμαὶ καθεζόμενος· ἐφίσταται δὲ ὁ δαίμων ἐπί τινα τῶν πολλῶν ἥκειν νομίζων καὶ δεδίξεσθαι κἀμὲ ἐλπίζων ὥσπερ τοὺς ἄλλους, αὐχμηρὸς καὶ κομήτης καὶ μελάντερος τοῦ ζόφου. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐπιστὰς ἐπειρᾶτό μου, πανταχόθεν προσβάλλων εἴ ποθεν κρατήσειεν, καὶ ἄρτι μὲν κύων ἄρτι δὲ ταῦρος γιγνόμενος ἢ λέων. ἐγὼ δὲ προχειρισάμενος τὴν φρικωδεστάτην ἐπίρρησιν αἰγυπτιάζων τῇ φωνῇ συνήλασα κατᾴδων αὐτὸν εἴς τινα γωνίαν σκοτεινοῦ οἰκήματος· ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν οἷ κατέδυ, τὸ λοιπὸν ἀνεπαυόμην. ἕωθεν δὲ πάντων ἀπεγνωκότων καὶ νεκρὸν εὑρήσειν με οἰομένων καθάπερ τοὺς ἄλλους, προελθὼν ἀπροσδόκητος ἅπασι πρόσειμι τῷ Εὐβατίδῃ, εὖ ἀγγέλλων ὅτι καθαρὰν αὐτῷ καὶ ἀδείμαντον ἤδη ἐξῆν τὴν οἰκίαν οἰκεῖν. παραλαβὼν οὖν αὐτόν τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πολλοὺς — εἵποντο γὰρ τοῦ παραδόξου ἕνεκα — ἐκέλευον ἀγαγὼν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον οὗ καταδεδυκότα τὸν δαίμονα ἑωράκειν, σκάπτειν λαβόντας δικέλλας καὶ σκαφεῖα, καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐποίησαν, εὑρέθη ὅσον ἐπʼ ὀργυιὰν κατορωρυγμένος τις νεκρὸς ἕωλος μόνα τὰ ὀστᾶ κατὰ σχῆμα συγκείμενος. ἐκεῖνον μὲν οὖν ἐθάψαμεν ἀνορύξαντες, ἡ οἰκία δὲ τὸ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου ἐπαύσατο ἐνοχλουμένη ὑπὸ τῶν φασμάτων.
32. When Arignotus, a man of superhuman wisdom, revered by all, told this story, there was no longer any one of those present who did not hold me convicted of gross folly if I doubted such things, especially as the narrator was Arignotus. Nevertheless I did not blench either at his long hair or at the reputation which encompassed him, but said: “What is this, Arignotus? Were you, Truth’s only hope, just like the rest—full of moonshine and vain imaginings? Indeed the saying has come true: our pot of gold has turned out to be nothing but coals.” “Come now,” said Arignotus, “if you put no trust either in me or in Deinomachus or Cleodemus here or in Eucrates himself, tell whom you consider more trustworthy in such matters that maintains the opposite view to ours.” A very wonderful man,” said I, “that Democritus who came from Abdera, who surely was thoroughly convinced that nothing of this kind can exist. He shut himself up in a tomb outside the gates, and constantly wrote and composed there by night and by day. Some of the young fellows, wishing to annoy and alarm him, dressed themselves up like dead men in black robes and masks patterned after skulls, encircled him and danced round and round, in quick time, leaping into the air. Yet he neither feared their travesty nor looked up at them at all, but as he wrote said: ‘Stop your foolery!’ So firmly did he believe that souls are nothing after they have gone out of their bodies.” “That,” said Eucrates, “amounts to your saying that Democritus, too, was a foolish man, if he really thought so.
32. Τυχιάδης: ὡς δὲ ταῦτα εἶπεν ὁ Ἀρίγνωτος, ἀνὴρ δαιμόνιος τὴν σοφίαν καὶ ἅπασιν αἰδέσιμος, οὐδεὶς ἦν ἔτι τῶν παρόντων ὃς οὐχὶ κατεγίγνωσκέ μου πολλὴν τὴν ἄνοιαν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀπιστοῦντος, καὶ ταῦτα Ἀριγνώτου λέγοντος. ἐγὼ δὲ ὅμως οὐδὲν τρέσας οὔτε τὴν κόμην οὔτε τὴν δόξαν τὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ, τί τοῦτʼ, ἔφην, ὦ Ἀρίγνωτε; καὶ σὺ τοιοῦτος ἦσθα, ἡ μόνη ἐλπὶς τῆς ἀληθείας — καπνοῦ μεστὸς καὶ ἰνδαλμάτων; τὸ γοῦν τοῦ λόγου ἐκεῖνο, ἄνθρακες ἡμῖν ὁ θησαυρὸς πέφηνε. σὺ δέ, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Ἀρίγνωτος, εἰ μήτε ἐμοὶ πιστεύεις μήτε Δεινομάχῳ ἢ Κλεοδήμῳ τουτωῒ μήτε αὐτῷ Εὐκράτει, φέρε εἰπὲ τίνα περὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἀξιοπιστότερον ἡγῇ τἀναντία ἡμῖν λέγοντα; νὴ Δίʼ, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, μάλα θαυμαστὸν ἄνδρα τὸν Ἀβδηρόθεν ἐκεῖνον Δημόκριτον, ὃς οὕτως ἄρα ἐπέπειστο μηδὲν οἷόν τε εἶναι συστῆναι τοιοῦτον ὥστε, ἐπειδὴ καθείρξας ἑαυτὸν εἰς μνῆμα ἔξω πυλῶν ἐνταῦθα διετέλει γράφων καὶ συντάττων καὶ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν, καί τινες τῶν νεανίσκων ἐρεσχελεῖν αὐτὸν βουλόμενοι καὶ δειματοῦν στειλάμενοι νεκρικῶς ἐσθῆτι μελαίνῃ καὶ προσωπείοις εἰς τὰ κρανία μεμιμημένοις περιστάντες αὐτὸν περιεχόρευον ὑπὸ πυκνῇ τῇ βάσει ἀναπηδῶντες, ὁ δὲ οὔτε ἔδεισεν τὴν προσποίησιν αὐτῶν οὔτε ὅλως ἀνέβλεψεν πρὸς αὐτούς, ἀλλὰ μεταξὺ γράφων, παύσασθε, ἔφη, παίζοντες· οὕτω βεβαίως ἐπίστευε μηδὲν εἶναι τὰς ψυχὰς ἔτι ἔξω γενομένας τῶν σωμάτων. τοῦτο φής, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Εὐκράτης, ἀνόητόν τινα ἄνδρα καὶ τὸν Δημόκριτον γενέσθαι, εἴ γε οὕτως ἐγίγνωσκεν.
33. But I will tell you another incident derived from my own experience, not from hearsay. Perhaps even you, Tychiades, when you have heard it, may be convinced of the truth of the story. “When I was living in Egypt during my youth (my father had sent me travelling for the purpose of completing my education), I took it into my head to sail up to Koptos and go from there to the statue of Memnon in order to hear it sound that marvellous salutation to the rising sun. Well, what I heard from it was not a meaningless voice, as in the general experience of common people; Memnon himself actually opened his mouth and delivered me an oracle in seven verses, and if it were not too much of a digression, I would have repeated the very verses for you.
33. Τυχιάδης: ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῖν καὶ ἄλλο διηγήσομαι αὐτὸς παθών, οὐ παρʼ ἄλλου ἀκούσας· τάχα γὰρ ἂν καὶ σύ, ὦ Τυχιάδη, ἀκούων προσβιβασθείης πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῆς διηγήσεως. ὁπότε γὰρ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ διῆγον ἔτι νέος ὤν, ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπὶ παιδείας προφάσει ἀποσταλείς, ἐπεθύμησα εἰς Κοπτὸν ἀναπλεύσας ἐκεῖθεν ἐπὶ τὸν Μέμνονα ἐλθὼν ἀκοῦσαι τὸ θαυμαστὸν ἐκεῖνο ἠχοῦντα πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα τὸν ἥλιον. ἐκείνου μὲν οὖν ἤκουσα οὐ κατὰ τὸ κοινὸν τοῖς πολλοῖς ἄσημόν τινα φωνήν, ἀλλά μοι καὶ ἔχρησεν ὁ Μέμνων αὐτὸς ἀνοίξας γε τὸ στόμα ἐν ἔπεσιν ἑπτά, καὶ εἴ γε μὴ περιττὸν ἦν, αὐτὰ ἂν ὑμῖν εἶπον τὰ ἔπη.
34. But on the voyage up, there chanced to be sailing with us a man from Memphis, one of the scribes ot the temple, wonderfully learned, familiar with all the culture of the Egyptians. He was said to have lived underground for twenty-three years in their sanctuaries, learning magic from Isis.” “You mean Pancrates,” said Arignotus, “my own teacher, a holy man, clean shaven, in white linen, always deep in thought, speaking imperfect Greek, tall, flat-nosed, with protruding lips and thinnish legs.” ‘That self-'same Pancrates,’ he replied: “and at first I did not know who he was, but when I saw him working all sorts of wonders whenever we anchored the boat, particularly riding on crocodiles and swimming in company with the beasts, while they fawned and wagged their tails, I recognised that he was a holy man, and by degrees, through my friendly behaviour, I became his companion and associate, so that he shared all his secret knowledge with me. “At last he persuaded me to leave all my servants behind in Memphis and to go with him quite alone, for we should not lack people to wait upon us; and thereafter we got on in that way.
34. Τυχιάδης: κατὰ δὲ τὸν ἀνάπλουν ἔτυχεν ἡμῖν συμπλέων Μεμφίτης ἀνὴρ τῶν ἱερῶν γραμματέων, θαυμάσιος τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τὴν παιδείαν πᾶσαν εἰδὼς τὴν Αἰγύπτιον· ἐλέγετο δὲ τρία καὶ εἴκοσιν ἔτη ἐν τοῖς ἀδύτοις ὑπόγειος ᾠκηκέναι μαγεύειν παιδευόμενος ὑπὸ τῆς Ἴσιδος. Παγκράτην·, ἔφη ὁ Ἀρίγνωτος, λέγεις ἐμὸν διδάσκαλον, ἄνδρα ἱερόν, ἐξυρημένον, ἐν ὀθονίοις, ἀεὶ νοήμονα, οὐ καθαρῶς ἑλληνίζοντα, ἐπιμήκη, σιμόν, πρόχειλον, ὑπόλεπτον τὰ σκέλη. αὐτόν, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἐκεῖνον τὸν Παγκράτην· καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἠγνόουν ὅστις ἦν, ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑώρων αὐτὸν εἴ ποτε ὁρμίσαιμεν τὸ πλοῖον ἄλλα τε πολλὰ τεράστια ἐργαζόμενον, καὶ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ κροκοδείλων ὀχούμενον καὶ συννέοντα τοῖς θηρίοις, τὰ δὲ ὑποπτήσσοντα καὶ σαίνοντα ταῖς οὐραῖς, ἔγνων ἱερόν τινα ἄνθρωπον ὄντα, κατὰ μικρὸν δὲ φιλοφρονούμενος ἔλαθον ἑταῖρος αὐτῷ καὶ συνήθης γενόμενος, ὥστε πάντων ἐκοινώνει μοι τῶν ἀπορρήτων. καὶ τέλος πείθει με τοὺς μὲν οἰκέτας ἅπαντας ἐν τῇ Μέμφιδι καταλιπεῖν, αὐτὸν δὲ μόνον ἀκολουθεῖν μετʼ αὐτοῦ, μὴ γὰρ ἀπορήσειν ἡμᾶς τῶν διακονησομένων· καὶ τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο οὕτω διήγομεν.
35. But whenever we came to a stopping-place, the man would take either the bar of the door or the broom or even the pestle, put clothes upon it, say a certain spell over it, and make it walk, appearing to everyone else to be a man. It would go off and draw water and buy provisions and prepare meals and in every way deftly serve and wait upon us. Then, when he was through with its services, he would again make the broom a broom or the pestle a pestle by saying another spell over it. “Though I was very keen to learn this from him, I could not do so, for he was jealous, although most ready to oblige in everything else. But one day I secretly overheard the spell—it was just three syllables—by taking my stand in a dark place. He went off to the square after telling the pestle what it had to do, and on the next day, while he was transacting some business in the square, I took the pestle, dressed it up in the same way, said the syllables over it, and told it to carry water.
35. Τυχιάδης: ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔλθοιμεν εἴς τι καταγώγιον, λαβὼν ἂν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἢ τὸν μοχλὸν τῆς θύρας ἢ τὸ κόρηθρον ἢ καὶ τὸ ὕπερον περιβαλὼν ἱματίοις ἐπειπών τινα ἐπῳδὴν ἐποίει βαδίζειν, τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἄνθρωπον εἶναι δοκοῦντα. τὸ δὲ ἀπιὸν ὕδωρ τε ἐμπίπλη καὶ ὠψώνει καὶ ἐσκεύαζεν καὶ πάντα δεξιῶς ὑπηρέτει καὶ διηκονεῖτο ἡμῖν· εἶτα ἐπειδὴ ἅλις ἔχοι τῆς διακονίας, αὖθις κόρηθρον τὸ κόρηθρον ἢ ὕπερον τὸ ὕπερον ἄλλην ἐπῳδὴν ἐπειπὼν ἐποίει ἄν. τοῦτο ἐγὼ πάνυ ἐσπουδακὼς οὐκ εἶχον ὅπως ἐκμάθοιμι παρʼ αὐτοῦ· ἐβάσκαινε γάρ, καίτοι πρὸς τὰ ἄλλα προχειρότατος ὤν. μιᾷ δέ ποτε ἡμέρᾳ λαθὼν ἐπήκουσα τῆς ἐπῳδῆς, ἦν δὲ τρισύλλαβος σχεδόν, ἐν σκοτεινῷ ὑποστάς. καὶ ὁ μὲν ᾤχετο εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐντειλάμενος τῷ ὑπέρῳ ἃ ἔδει ποιεῖν.
36. When it had filled and brought in the jar, I said, ‘Stop! don’t carry any more water: be a pestle again!’ But it would not obey me now: it kept straight on carrying until it filled the house with water for us by pouring it in! At my wit’s end over the thing, for I feared that Pancrates might come back and be angry, as was indeed the case, I took an axe and cut the pestle in two; but each part took a jar and began to carry water, with the result that instead of one servant I had now two. Meanwhile Pancrates appeared on the scene, and comprehending what had happened, turned them into wood again, just as they were before the spell, and then for his own part left me to my own devices without warning, taking himself off out of sight somewhere.” “Then you still know how to turn the pestle into a man?” said Deinomachus. “Yes,’ said he: “only half way, however, for I cannot bring it back to its original form if it once becomes a water- carrier, but we shall be obliged to let the house be flooded with the water that is poured in!”
36. Τυχιάδης: ἐγὼ δὲ εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν ἐκείνου τι κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν πραγματευομένου λαβὼν τὸ ὕπερον σχηματίσας ὁμοίως, ἐπειπὼν τὰς συλλαβάς, ἐκέλευσα ὑδροφορεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐμπλησάμενον τὸν ἀμφορέα ἐκόμισε, πέπαυσο, ἔφην, καὶ μηκέτι ὑδροφόρει, ἀλλʼ ἴσθι αὖθις ὕπερον· τὸ δὲ οὐκέτι μοι πείθεσθαι ἤθελεν, ἀλλʼ ὑδροφόρει ἀεί, ἄχρι δὴ ἐνέπλησεν ἡμῖν ὕδατος τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπαντλοῦν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἀμηχανῶν τῷ πράγματι — ἐδεδίειν γὰρ μὴ ὁ Παγκράτης ἐπανελθὼν ἀγανακτήσῃ, ὅπερ καὶ ἐγένετο — ἀξίνην λαβὼν διακόπτω τὸ ὕπερον εἰς δύο μέρη· τὰ δέ, ἑκάτερον τὸ μέρος, ἀμφορέας λαβόντα ὑδροφόρει καὶ ἀνθʼ ἑνὸς δύο μοι ἐγεγένηντο οἱ διάκονοι. ἐν τούτῳ καὶ ὁ Παγκράτης ἐφίσταται καὶ συνεὶς τὸ γενόμενον ἐκεῖνα μὲν αὖθις ἐποίησε ξύλα, ὥσπερ ἦν πρὸ τῆς ἐπῳδῆς, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀπολιπών με λαθὼν οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅποι ἀφανὴς ᾤχετο ἀπιών. νῦν οὖν, ἔφη ὁ Δεινόμαχος, οἶσθα κἂν ἐκεῖνο, ἄνθρωπον ποιεῖν ἐκ τοῦ ὑπέρου; νὴ Δίʼ, ἦ δʼ ὅς, ἐξ ἡμισείας γε· οὐκέτι γὰρ εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον οἷόν τέ μοι ἀπάγειν αὐτό, ἢν ἅπαξ γένηται ὑδροφόρος, ἀλλὰ δεήσει ἡμῖν ἐπικλυσθῆναι τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπαντλουμένην.
37. “Will you never stop telling such buncombe, old men as you are?” said I. “If you will not, at least for the sake of these lads put your amazing and fearful tales off to some other time, so that they may not be filled up with terrors and strange figments before we realise it. You ought to be easy with them and not accustom them to hear things like this which will abide with them and annoy them their lives long and will make them afraid of every sound by filling them with all sorts of superstition.”
37. Τυχιάδης: οὐ παύσεσθε, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ, τὰ τοιαῦτα τερατολογοῦντες γέροντες ἄνδρες; εἰ δὲ μή, ἀλλὰ κἂν τούτων γε τῶν μειρακίων ἕνεκα εἰς ἄλλον τινὰ καιρὸν ὑπερβάλλεσθε τὰς παραδόξους ταύτας καὶ φοβερὰς διηγήσεις, μή πως λάθωσιν ἡμῖν ἐμπλησθέντες δειμάτων καὶ ἀλλοκότων μυθολογημάτων. φείδεσθαι οὖν χρὴ αὐτῶν μηδὲ τοιαῦτα ἐθίζειν ἀκούειν, ἃ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου συνόντα ἐνοχλήσει καὶ ψοφοδεεῖς ποιήσει ποικίλης τῆς δεισιδαιμονίας ἐμπιπλάντα, Τυχιάδης: εὖ γε ὑπέμνησας, ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Εὐκράτης, εἰπὼν τὴν δεισιδαιμονίαν.
38. “Thank you,’ said Eucrates, “for putting me in ‘mind of superstition by mentioning it. What is your opinion, Tychiades, about that sort of thing— I mean oracles, prophecies, outcries of men under divine possession, voices heard from inner shrines, or verses uttered by a maiden who foretells the future? Of course you doubt that sort of thing also? For my own part, I say nothing of the fact that I have a holy ring with an image of Apollo Pythius engraved on the seal, and that this Apollo speaks to me: you might think that I was bragging about myself beyond belief. I should like, however, to tell you all what I heard from Amphilochus in Mallus, when the hero conversed with me in broad day and advised me about my affairs, and what I myself saw, and then in due order what I saw at Pergamon and. what I heard at Patara. “When I was on my way home from Egypt I heard that this shrine in Mallus was very famous and very trathful, and that it responded clearly, answering word for word whatever one wrote in his tablet and turned over to the prophet. So I thought that it would be well to give the oracle a trial in passing and ask the god for some advice about the future—” While Eucrates was still saying these words, since I could see how the business would turn out and that the cock-and-bull story about oracles upon which he was embarking would not be short, I left him sailing from Egypt to Mallus, not choosing to oppose everyone all alone: I was aware, too, that they were put out at my being there to criticise their lies.
38. τί γάρ σοι, ὦ Τυχιάδη, περὶ τῶν τοιούτων δοκεῖ, λέγω δὴ χρησμῶν καὶ θεσφάτων καὶ ὅσα θεοφορούμενοί τινες ἀναβοῶσιν ἢ ἐξ ἀδύτων ἀκούεται ἢ παρθένος ἔμμετρα φθεγγομένη προθεσπίζει τὰ μέλλοντα; ἢ δηλαδὴ καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀπιστήσεις; ἐγὼ δὲ ὅτι μὲν καὶ δακτύλιόν τινα ἱερὸν ἔχω Ἀπόλλωνος τοῦ Πυθίου εἰκόνα ἐκτυποῦντα τὴν σφραγῖδα καὶ οὗτος ὁ Ἀπόλλων φθέγγεται πρὸς ἐμέ, οὐ λέγω, μή σοι ἄπιστα δόξω περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ μεγαλαυχεῖσθαι· ἃ δὲ Ἀμφιλόχου τε ἤκουσα ἐν Μαλλῷ, τοῦ ἥρωος ὕπαρ διαλεχθέντος μοι καὶ συμβουλεύσαντος περὶ τῶν ἐμῶν, καὶ ἃ εἶδον αὐτός, ἐθέλω ὑμῖν εἰπεῖν, εἶτα ἑξῆς ἃ ἐν Περγάμῳ εἶδον καὶ ἃ ἤκουσα ἐν Πατάροις. Ὁπότε γὰρ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐπανῄειν οἴκαδε ἀκούων τὸ ἐν Μαλλῷ τοῦτο μαντεῖον ἐπιφανέστατόν τε καὶ ἀληθέστατον εἶναι καὶ χρᾶν ἐναργῶς πρὸς ἔπος ἀποκρινόμενον οἷς ἂν ἐγγράψας τις εἰς τὸ γραμματεῖον παραδῷ τῷ προφήτῃ, καλῶς ἔχειν ἡγησάμην ἐν παράπλῳ πειραθῆναι τοῦ χρηστηρίου καί τι περὶ τῶν μελλόντων συμβουλεύσασθαι τῷ θεῷ — Τυχιάδης: ταῦτα ἔτι τοῦ Εὐκράτους λέγοντος ἰδὼν οἷ τὸ πρᾶγμα προχωρήσειν ἔμελλε καὶ ὡς οὐ μικρᾶς ἐνήρχετο τῆς περὶ τὰ χρηστήρια τραγῳδίας, οὐ δοκιμάσας μόνος ἀντιλέγειν ἅπασιν, ἀπολιπὼν αὐτὸν ἔτι διαπλέοντα ἐξ Αἰγύπτου εἰς τὴν Μαλλόν — καὶ γὰρ συνίειν ὅτι μοι ἄχθονται παρόντι καθάπερ ἀντισοφιστῇ τῶν ψευσμάτων — ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ ἄπειμι, ἔφην, Λεόντιχον ἀναζητήσων·
39. “I am going away,” I said, “to look up Leontichus, for I want to speak to him about something. As for you, since you do not think that human experiences afford you a sufficient field, go ahead and call in the gods themselves to help you out in your romancing.” With that I went out. They were glad to have a free hand, and continued, of course, to feast and to gorge themselves with lies. There you have it, Philocles! After hearing all that at the house of Eucrates I am going about like a man who has drunk sweet must, with a swollen belly, craving an emetic. I should be glad if I could anywhere buy at a high price a dose of forgetfulness, so that the memory of what I heard may not stay with me and work me some harm. In fact, I think I see apparitions and spirits and Hecates!
39. δέομαι γάρ τι αὐτῷ συγγενέσθαι. ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐπείπερ οὐχ ἱκανὰ ἡγεῖσθε τὰ ἀνθρώπινα εἶναι, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἤδη τοὺς θεοὺς καλεῖτε συνεπιληψομένους ὑμῖν τῶν μυθολογουμένων καὶ ἅμα λέγων ἐξῄειν. οἱ δὲ ἄσμενοι ἐλευθερίας λαβόμενοι εἱστίων, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, αὑτοὺς καὶ ἐνεφοροῦντο τῶν ψευσμάτων. τοιαῦτά σοι, ὦ Φιλόκλεις, παρὰ Εὐκράτει ἀκούσας περίειμι νὴ τὸν Δία ὥσπερ οἱ τοῦ γλεύκους πιόντες ἐμπεφυσημένος τὴν γαστέρα ἐμέτου δεόμενος. ἡδέως δʼ ἄν ποθεν ἐπὶ πολλῷ ἐπριάμην ληθεδανόν τι φάρμακον ὧν ἤκουσα, ὡς μή τι κακὸν ἐργάσηταί με ἡ μνήμη αὐτῶν ἐνοικουροῦσα· τέρατα γοῦν καὶ δαίμονας καὶ Ἑκάτας ὁρᾶν μοι δοκῶ.
40. PHILOCLES Your story has had the same enjoyable effect upon me, Tychiades. They say, you know, that not only those who are bitten by mad dogs go mad and fear water, but if a man who has been bitten bites anyone else, his bite has the same effect as the dog’s, and the other man has the same fears. It is likely, therefore, that having been bitten yourself by a multitude of lies in the house of Eucrates, you have passed the bite on to me; you have filled my soul so full of spirits! TYCHIADES Well, never mind; my dear fellow; we have a powerful antidote to such poisons in truth and in sound reason brought to bear everywhere. As long as we make use of this, none of these empty, foolish lies will disturb our peace.
40. Φιλοκλῆς: καὶ αὐτός, ὦ Τυχιάδη, τοιοῦτόν τι ἀπέλαυσα τῆς διηγήσεως. φασί γέ τοι μὴ μόνον λυττᾶν καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ φοβεῖσθαι ὁπόσους ἂν οἱ λυττῶντες κύνες δάκωσιν, ἀλλὰ κἄν τινα ὁ δηχθεὶς ἄνθρωπος δάκῃ, ἴσα τῷ κυνὶ δύναται τὸ δῆγμα, καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ κἀκεῖνος φοβεῖται. καὶ σὺ τοίνυν ἔοικας αὐτὸς ἐν Εὐκράτους δηχθεὶς ὑπὸ πολλῶν ψευσμάτων μεταδεδωκέναι κἀμοὶ τοῦ δήγματος· οὕτω δαιμόνων μοι τὴν ψυχὴν ἐνέπλησας. Τυχιάδης: ἀλλὰ θαρρῶμεν, ὦ φιλότης, μέγα τῶν τοιούτων ἀλεξιφάρμακον ἔχοντες τὴν ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι λόγον ὀρθόν, ᾧ χρωμένους ἡμᾶς μηδὲν μὴ ταράξῃ τῶν κενῶν καὶ ματαίων τούτων ψευσμάτων.