torments greater than any by the Cocytus or Acheron such as the most
ingenious of the poets are always telling us about. Now the true short cut
to philosophy is this. A man must completely come out of himself and
recognise that he is divine, and not only keep his mind untiringly and
steadfastly fixed on divine and stainless and pure thoughts, but he must
also utterly despise his body, and think it, in the words of Heracleitus,
“more worthless than dirt.”(222) And by the easiest means he must satisfy
his body’s needs so long as the god commands him to use it as an
instrument.)
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὡς φασὶ ταύτῃ.(223) ἐπανάξω δὲ ὅθεν ἐξέβην. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοὺς
μύθους προσήκει πρὸς παῖδας ἤτοι τῷ φρονεῖν, [D] κἂν ἄνδρες ὦσιν, ἢ καὶ
τοῖς καθ᾽ ἡλικίαν παιδαρίοις ἀπαγγέλλειν, ἐξεταστέον ὅπως μήτε εἰς θεοὺς
μήτε εἰς ἀνθρώπους πλημμελὲς ᾿ἤ, καθάπερ ἔναγχος, δυσσεβές τι ῥηθείη· καὶ
προσέτι τοῦτο ἐν ἅπασιν ἀκριβῶς βασανιστέον, εἰ πιθανός, εἰ τοῖς πράγμασι
προσφυής, εἰ μῦθός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ πλαττόμενος. ἐπεὶ τό γε νῦν ὑπὸ σοῦ
πεποιημένον οὐ μῦθός ἐστι σός·(224) καίτοι τοῦτό γε ἐνεανιεύσω· ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν
μῦθος ἐστι παλαιός, [227] ἐφήρμοσας δὲ αὐτὸν σὺ πράγμασιν ἑτέροις, ὅπερ
οἶμαι ποιεῖν εἰώθασιν οἱ τῇ τροπικῇ χρώμενοι τὼν νοημάτων κατασκευῇ· πολὺς
δὲ ἐν τούτοις ὁ Πάριός ἐστι ποιητής. ἔοικας οὖν οὐδὲ πεποιηκὼς μῦθον, ὦ
ξυνετώτατε, μάτην νεανιεύεσθαι· καίτοι τοῦτο τίτθης ἔργον ἐστὶν
εὐτραπέλου. Πλουτάρχου δὲ εἰ τὰ μυθικὰ διηγήματα τῶν σῶν εἴσω χειρῶν
ἀφῖκτο, οὔποτ᾽ ἂν ἐλελήθει σε, τίνι διαφέρει πλάσαι τε ἐξ ἀρχῆς μῦθον καὶ
τὸν κείμενον ἐφαρμόσαι πράγμασιν οἰκείοις. [B] ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μή σε τὴν σύντομον
ὁδεύοντα βίβλοις ἐυβαλὼν μακραῖς καὶ δυσελίκτοις ἐπίσχω μικρὰ καὶ πεδήσω·
σὺ δὲ οὐδὲ τὸν Δημοσθένους ἀκήκοας μῦθον, ὃν ἐποίησεν ὁ Παιανιεὺς πρὸς
τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, ἡνίκα ὁ Μακεδὼν ἐξῄτει τοὺς Ἁθηναίους ῥήτορας. ἐχρῆν οὖν
τι τοιοῦτο πλάσαι· ἢ πρὸς τῶν θεῶν ἔργον ἦν εἰπεῖν μυθάριόν τι τοιοῦτον;
ἀναγκάσεις δέ με καὶ μυθοποιὸν γενέσθαι.
(So much for that, as the saying is.(225) Now to go back to the point at
which I digressed.(226) Since, as I was saying, myths ought to be
addressed either to those who though grown men are children in
intelligence, or to those who in actual years are mere children, we must
take pains to utter in them no word that is offensive to gods or men or
anything impious, as was done recently. And moreover we must in all cases
apply careful tests to see whether the myth is plausible, closely related
to the matter discussed and whether what is invented is really a myth. Now
what you composed lately is not your own myth though you boasted that it
was. Nay, your myth was an old one and you did but adapt it to fresh
circumstances, as I believe people are in the habit of doing who use
tropes and figures of thought. The poet of Paros(227) for instance is much
given to this style. It seems then that you did not even invent your myth,
my very clever friend, and that yours was an idle boast. Though in fact
the thing is done by any nurse with an inventive turn. And if the mythical
tales of Plutarch had ever fallen into your hands you would have failed to
observe what a difference there is between inventing a myth from the
beginning and adapting to one’s own purpose a myth that already exists.
But I must not detain you even for a moment or hinder you on your way
along that short cut to wisdom by making you embark on books that are long
and hard to read. You have not even heard of the myth by Demosthenes which
he of the Paeanian deme addressed to the Athenians when the Macedonian
demanded that the Athenian orators be given up. You ought to have invented
something of that sort. In Heaven’s name was it too hard for you to relate
some little myth of the kind? You will force me too to become a myth‐
maker.)
[C] Πλουσίῳ ἀνδρὶ πρόβατα ἦν πολλὰ καὶ ἀγέλαι βοῶν καὶ αἰπόλια πλατέ
αἰγῶν, ἵπποι δὲ αὐτῷ πολλάκις μυρίαι ἕλος κάτα βουκολέοντο, καὶ ποιμένες
δοῦλοί τε καὶ ἐλεύθεροι μισθωτοί, καὶ βουκόλοι βοῶν καὶ αἰγῶν αἰπόλοι καὶ
ἱπποφορβοὶ τῶν ἵππων, καὶ πλεῖστα κτήματα. τούτων δὲ αὐτῷ πολλὰ μὲν ὁ
πατὴρ ἀπελελοίπει, πολλαπλάσια δὲ αὐτὸς ἐπεκτήσατο,(228) πλουτεῖν θέλων ἐν
δίκῃ τε καὶ παρὰ δίκην· ἔμελε γὰρ αὐτῷ τῶν(229) θεῶν ὀλίγον. [D] ἐγένοντο
δὲ αὐτῷ γυναῖκες πολλαὶ καὶ υἱεῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ θυγατέρες, οἷς ἐκεῖνος
διανείμας τὴν οὐσίαν ἔπειτα ἐτελεύτησεν, οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς οἰκονομίας πέρι
διδάξας, οὐδ᾽ ὅπως ἄν τις δύναιτο τὰ τοιαῦτα κτᾶσθαι μὴ παρόντα ἢ παρόντα
διαφυλάττειν. ᾤετο γὰρ ὑπὸ ἀμαθίας ἀρκεῖν τὸ πλῆθος, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν οὐ
μάλα ἐπιστήμων τῆς τοιαύτης τέχνης, ἅτε μὴ λόγῳ προσειληφὼς αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ
συνηθείᾳ τινὶ καὶ πείρᾳ μᾶλλον, [228] ὥσπερ οἱ φαῦλοι τῶν ἰατρῶν ἐκ τῆς
ἐμπειρίας μόνον ἰώμενοι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὅθεν καὶ διαφεύγει τὰ πολλὰ τῶν
νοσημάτων αὐτούς. ἀρκεῖν οὖν νομίσας τὸ πλῆθος τῶν υἱέων πρὸς τὸ φυλάξαι
τὴν οὐσίαν οὐδὲν ἐφρόντισεν ὅπως ἔσονται σπουδαῖοι. τὸ δὲ ἄρα αὐτοῖς ἦρξε
πρῶτον μὲν τῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους ἀδικημάτων. ἐπιθυμῶν γὰρ ἕκαστος ὥσπερ ὁ πατὴρ
πολλὰ ἔχειν καὶ μόνος πάντα ἐπὶ τὸν πέλας ἐτράπετο. [B] τέως μὲν οὖν τοῦτο
ἐπράττετο. προσαπέλαυον δὲ καὶ οἱ ξυγγενεῖς, οὐδ᾽ αὐτοὶ παιδευθέντες
καλῶς, τῆς τῶν παίδων ἀνοίας τε καὶ ἀμαθίας. εἶτα ἐπίμπλατο φόνων πάντα,
καὶ ἡ τραγικὴ κατάρα ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος εἰς ἔργον ἤγετο· τὰ πατρῷα γὰρ θηκτῷ
σιδήρῳ διελάγχανον, καὶ ἦν πάντα ἀκοσμίας πλήρη· πατρῷα μὲν ἱερὰ
κατεσκάπτετο παρὰ τῶν παίδων ὀλιγωρηθέντα πρότερον ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ
ἀποσυληθέντα τῶν ἀναθημάτων, [C] ἃ ἐτέθειτο παρὰ πολλῶν μὲν καὶ ἄλλων, οὐχ
ἥκιστα δὲ τῶν προπατόρων αὐτοῦ. καθαιρουμένων δὲ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀνῳκοδομεῖτο
παλαιὰ καὶ νέα μνήματα, προαγορεύοντος αὐτοῖς τοῦ αὐτομάτου καὶ τῆς τύχης,
ὅτι ἄρα πολλῶν αὐτοῖς δεήσει μνημάτων οὐκ εἰς μακράν, ἐπειδήπερ αὐτοῖς
ὀλίγον ἔμελε τῶν θεῶν.
(A certain rich man(230) had numerous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle
and “ranging flocks of goats”(231) and many times ten thousand mares
“grazed his marsh‐meadows.”(232) Many shepherds too he had, both slaves
and hired freedmen, neatherds and goatherds and grooms for his horses, and
many estates withal. Now much of all this his father had bequeathed to
him, but he had himself acquired many times more, being eager to enrich
himself whether justly or unjustly; for little did he care for gods.
Several wives he had, and sons and daughters by them, among whom he
divided his wealth before he died. But he did not teach them how to manage
it, or how to acquire more if it should fail, or how to preserve what they
had. For in his ignorance he thought that their mere numbers would
suffice, nor had he himself any real knowledge of that sort of art, since
he had not acquired his wealth on any rational principle but rather by use
and wont, like quack doctors who try to cure their patients by relying on
their experience only, so that many diseases escape them altogether.(233)
Accordingly since he thought that a number of sons would suffice to
preserve his wealth, he took no thought how to make them virtuous. But
this very thing proved to be the beginning of their iniquitous behaviour
to one another. For every one of them desired to be as wealthy as his
father and to possess the whole for himself alone, and so attacked the
brother that was his neighbour. Now for a time they continued to behave
thus. And their relatives also shared in the folly and ignorance of those
sons, since they themselves had had no better education. Then ensued a
general slaughter, and heaven brought the tragic curse(234) to fulfilment.
For “by the edge of the sword they divided their patrimony” and everything
was thrown into confusion. The sons demolished the ancestral temples which
their father before them had despised and had stripped of the votive
offerings that had been dedicated by many worshippers, but not least by
his own ancestors. And besides demolishing the temples they erected
sepulchres(235) both on new sites and on the old sites of the temples, as
though impelled by fate or by an unconscious presentiment that they would
ere long need many such sepulchres, seeing that they so neglected the
gods.)
Πάντων οὖν ὁμοῦ φυρομένων καὶ ξυντελουμένων γάμων τε οὐ γάμων καὶ
βεβηλουμένων ὁμοῦ τοῖς θείοις τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, [D] τὸν Δία ἔλεος ὑπῆλθεν·
εἶτα ἀπιδὼν πρὸς τὸν Ἥλιον· ὦ παῖ, εἶπεν, οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ἀρχαιότερον ἐν
θεοῖς βλάστημα, μνησικακεῖν ἔτι διανοῇ τῆς ὑπεροψίας ἀνδρὶ αὐθάδει καὶ
τολμηρῷ, ὅς σε ἀπολιπὼν αὑτῷ τε καὶ γένει αἴτιος(236) ἐγένετο τῶν
τηλικούτων παθημάτων; ἢ νομίζεις, [229] ὅτι μὴ χαλεπαίνεις αὐτῷ μηδ᾽
ἀγανακτεῖς μηδ᾽ ἐπὶ τὸ γένος αὐτοῦ τοὺς οἰστοὺς θήγεις, ἔλαττον εἶναι
ταύτης αἴτιος αὐτῷ τῆς ξυμφορᾶς, ἔρημον αὐτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἀφείς; ἀλλ᾽, ἔφη,
καλῶμεν τὰς Μοίρας, εἴ πῃ βοηθητέος ὁ ἀνήρ ἐστιν. αἱ δὲ ὑπήκουσαν αὐτίκα
τῷ Διί. καὶ ὁ μὲν Ἥλιος, ὥσπερ ἐννοῶν τι καὶ λογιζόμενος αὐτὸς ἐν ἑαυτῷ,
προσεῖχεν εἰς τὸν Δία πήξας τὰ ὄμματα. τῶν Μοιρῶν δὲ ἡ πρεσβυτάτη·
Κωλύετον, ἔφη, ὦ πάτερ, ἡ Ὁσιότης ξὺν τῇ Δίκῃ. σὸν οὖν ἔργον ἐστίν, [B]
ἐπείπερ ἡμᾶς ἐκέλευσας ὑπεικαθεῖν αὐταῖς, πεῖσαι καὶ ἐκείνας. ἀλλ᾽ ἐμαὶ
γάρ εἰσιν, ἔφη, θυγατέρες, καὶ ἄξιον δὴ ἐρέσθαι αὐτάς· τί τοίνυν, ὦ
ποτνία, φατόν; ἀλλὰ τούτου μέν, εἰπέτην, ὦ πάτερ, αὐτὸς εἶ κύριος. σκόπει
δὲ ὅπως ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὁ πονηρὸς οὑτοσὶ τῆς ἀνοσιουργίας ζῆλος μὴ παντάπασιν
ἐπικρατήσει.(237) πρὸς ἀμφότερα, εἶπεν, ἐγὼ σκέψομαι. καὶ αἱ Μοῖραι
πλησίον παροῦσαι πάντα ἐπέκλωθον, [C] ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ἐβούλετο.
(Now when all was in confusion, and many marriages that were no
marriages(238) were being concluded, and the laws of god and man alike had
been profaned, Zeus was moved with compassion and addressing himself to
Helios he said: “O my son, divine offspring more ancient than heaven and
earth, art thou still minded to resent the insolence of that arrogant and
audacious mortal, who by forsaking thee brought so many calamities on
himself and his race? Thinkest thou that, though thou dost not show thine
anger and resentment against him nor whet thine arrows against his
children, thou art any less the author of his destruction in that thou
dost abandon his house to desolation? Nay,” said Zeus, “let us summon the
Fates and enquire whether any assistance may be given the man.” Forthwith
the Fates obeyed the call of Zeus. But Helios who was as though absorbed
in thought and inward debate yet gave constant heed and fixed his eyes on
Zeus. Then spoke the eldest of the Fates: “O our father, Piety and Justice
both restrain us. Therefore it is thine to prevail on them also, since
thou hast ordered us to be subservient to them.” And Zeus made answer,
“Truly they are my daughters, and it is meet that I question them. What
then have ye to say, ye venerable goddesses?” “Nay, father,” they replied,
“that is as thou thyself dost ordain. But be careful lest this wicked zeal
for impious deeds prevail universally among men.” “I will myself look to
both these matters,” Zeus replied. Then the Fates approached and spun all
as their father willed.)
Λέγειν δὲ ὁ Ζεὺς ἄρχεται πρὸς τὸν Ἥλιον· τουτὶ τὸ παιδίον, ἔφη· ξυγγενὲς
δὲ ἦν αὐτῶν ἄρα παρερριμμένον που καὶ ἀμελούμενον, ἀδελφιδοῦς ἐκείνου τοῦ
πλουσίου καὶ ἀνεψιὸς τῶν κληρονόμων· τοῦτο, ἔφη, σόν ἐστιν ἔκγονον. ὄμοσον
οὖν τὸ ἐμόν τε καὶ τὸ σὸν(239) σκῆπτρον, ἦ μὴν ἐπιμελήσεσθαι διαφερόντως
αὐτοῦ καὶ ποιμανεῖν αὐτὸ καὶ θεραπεύσειν τῆς νόσου. [D] ὁρᾷς γὰρ ὅπως οἷον
ὑπὸ καπνοῦ ῥύπου τε ἀναπέπλησται καὶ λιγνύος, κίνδυνός τε τὸ ὑπὸ σοῦ
σπαρὲν ἐν αὐτῷ πῦρ ἀποσβῆναι, ἢν μὴ σύ γε δύσεαι ἀλκήν. σοὶ δὲ ἐγώ τε
ξυγχωρῶ καὶ αἱ Μοῖραι· κόμιζε οὖν αὐτὸ καὶ τρέφε. ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ βασιλεὺς
Ἥλιος ηὐφράνθη τε ἡσθεὶς τῷ βρέφει, σωζόμενον ἔτι καθορῶν ἐν αὐτῷ σπινθῆρα
μικρὸν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἔτρεφεν ἐκεῖνο τὸ παιδίον, ἐξαγαγὼν
(Next Zeus thus addressed Helios: “Thou seest yonder thine own
child.”(240) (Now this was a certain kinsman of those brothers who had
been cast aside and was despised though he was that rich man’s nephew and
the cousin of his heirs.) “This child,” said Zeus, “is thine own
offspring. Swear then by my sceptre and thine that thou wilt care
especially for him and cure him of this malady. For thou seest how he is
as it were infected with smoke and filth and darkness and there is danger
that the spark of fire which thou didst implant in him will be quenched,
unless thou clothe thyself with might.(241) Take care of him therefore and
rear him. For I and the Fates yield thee this task.” When King Helios
heard this he was glad and took pleasure in the babe, since he perceived
that in him a small spark of himself was still preserved. And from that
time he reared the child whom he had withdrawn)
ἔκ θ᾽ αἵματος ἔκ τε κυδοιμοῦ
[230] Ἔκ τ᾽ ἀνδροκτασίης.
(“from the blood and noise of war and the slaughter of men.”(242)
)
ὁ πατὴρ δὲ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐκέλευσε καὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν τὴν ἀμήτορα, τὴν παρθένον ἅμα τῷ
Ἡλίῳ τὸ παιδάριον ἐκτρέφειν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐτράφη καὶ νεανίας ἐγένετο
(And father Zeus bade Athene also, the Motherless Maiden, share with
Helios the task of bringing up the child. And when, thus reared, he had
become a youth)
Πρῶτον ὑπηνήτης, τοῦπερ χαριεστάτη ἥβη,
(“With the first down on his chin, when youth has all its
charms,”(243))
κατανοήσας τῶν κακῶν τὸ πλῆθος. ὁπόσον τι περὶ τοὺς ξυγγενεῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ
τοὺς ἀνεψιοὺς ἐγεγόνει, ἐδέησε μὲν αὑτὸν εἰς τὸν τάρταρον προέσθαι πρὸς τὸ
μέγεθος τῶν κακῶν ἐκπλαγείς. [B] ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἥλιος εὐμενὴς ὢν μετὰ τῆς
Προνοίας Ἀθηνᾶς ὕπνον τινὰ καὶ κάρον ἐμβαλὼν τῆς ἐπινοίας ταύτης ἀπήγαγεν,
αὖθις ἀνεγερθεὶς ἄπεισιν εἰς ἐρημίαν. εἶτα ἐκεῖ λίθον τινὰ εὑρὼν μικρὸν
ἀνεπαύσατο καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἐσκόπει, τίνα τρόπον ἐκφεύξεται τῶν τοσούτων
κακῶν τὸ μέγεθος· ἤδη γὰρ αὐτῷ πάντα ἐφαίνετο μοχθηρά, [C] καλὸν δὲ οὐδὲν
οὐδαμοῦ τέως. Ἑρμῆς οὖν αὐτῷ· καὶ γὰρ εἶχεν οἰκείως πρὸς αὐτόν· ὥσπερ
ἡλικιώτης νεανίσκος φανεὶς ἠσπάσατό τε φιλοφρόνως καί, Δεῦρο, εἶπεν,
ἡγεμών σοι ἐγὼ ἔσομαι λειοτέρας(244) καὶ ὁμαλεστέρας ὁδοῦ τουτὶ τὸ μικρὸν
ὑπερβάντι τὸ σκολιὸν καὶ ἀπότομον χωρίον, οὗ πάντας ὁρᾶς προσπταίοντας καὶ
ἀπιόντας ἐντεῦθεν ὀπίσω. καὶ ὁ νεανίσκος ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο μετὰ πολλῆς εὐλαβείας
ἔχων παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ ξίφος τε καὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ δόρυ,(245) γυμνὰ δὲ αὐτῷ τέως ἦν
τὰ περὶ τὴν κεφαλήν. [D] πεποιθὼς οὖν αὐτῷ προῆγεν εἰς τὸ πρόσω διὰ λείας
ὁδοῦ καὶ ἀθρύπτου καθαρᾶς τε πάνυ καὶ καρποῖς βριθούσης ἄνθεσί τε πολλοῖς
καὶ ἀγαθοις, ὅσα ἐστὶ θεοῖς φίλα, καὶ δένδρεσι κιττοῦ καὶ δάφνης καὶ
μυρρίνης. ἀγαγὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπί τι μέγα καὶ ὑψηλὸν ὄρος, Ἐπὶ τούτου, ἔφη,
τῆς κορυφῆς ὁ πατὴρ πάντων κάθηται τῶν θεῶν. ὅρα οὖν· ἐνταῦθά ἐστιν ὁ
μέγας κίνδυνος· ὅπως αὐτὸν ὡς εὐαγέστατα προσκυνήσεις, αἰτήσῃ δὲ παρ᾽
αὐτοῦ ὅ, τι ἂν ἐθέλῃς· [231] ἕλοιο δέ, ὦ παῖ, τὰ βέλτιστα. ταῦτα εἰπὼν
ἀπέκρυψεν ἑαυτὸν Ἑρμῆς πάλιν. ὁ δὲ ἐβούλετο μὲν παρὰ τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ πυθέσθαι,
τί ποτε αἰτήσασθαι χρὴ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν θεῶν, ὡς δὲ πλησίον ὄντα οὐ
κατεῖδεν, Ἐνδεὴς μέν, ἔφη, καλὴ δὲ ὅμως ἡ ξυμβουλή. αἰτώμεθα οὖν ἀγαθῇ
τύχῃ τὰ κράτιστα καίπερ οὔπω σαφῶς τὸν πατέρα τῶν θεῶν ὁρῶντες. Ὦ Ζεῦ
πάτερ ἢ ὅ,τι σοι φίλον ὄνομα καὶ ὅπως ὀνομάζεσθαι· δείκνυέ μοι τὴν ἐπὶ σὲ
φέρουσαν ὁδὸν ἄνω. [B] κρείττονα γάρ μοι τὰ ἐκεῖ φαίνεται χωρία παρὰ σὲ
μαντευομένῳ τὸ παρὰ σοὶ κάλλος ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν τούτοις ὅθεν πεπορεύμεθα τέως
ἀγλαΐας.
(he learned numerous disasters that had befallen his kinsmen and his
cousins, and had all but hurled himself into Tartarus, so confounded was
he by the extent of those calamities. Then Helios of his grace, aided
Athene, Goddess of Forethought, threw him into a slumber or trance, and so
diverted him from that purpose. Then when he had waked from this he went
away into the desert. And there he found a stone and rested for a while
thereon, debating within himself how he should escape evils so many and so
vast. For all things now appeared grievous to him and for the moment there
was no hope anywhere. Then Hermes, who had an affinity for him,(246)
appeared to him in the guise of a youth of his own age, and greeting him
kindly said, “Follow me, and I will guide thee by an easier and smoother
road as soon as thou hast surmounted this winding and rugged place where
thou seest all men stumbling and obliged to go back again.” Then the youth
set out with great circumspection, carrying a sword and shield and spear,
though as yet his head was bare. Thus relying on Hermes he went forward by
a road smooth, untrodden and very bright, and overhung with fruits and
many lovely flowers such as the gods love, and with trees also, ivy and
laurel and myrtle. Now when Hermes had brought him to the foot of a great
and lofty mountain, he said, “On the summit of this mountain dwells the
father of all the gods. Be careful then—for herein lies the greatest risk
of all(247)—to worship him with the utmost piety and ask of him whatever
thou wilt. Thou wilt choose, my child, only what is best.” So saying
Hermes once more became invisible, though the youth was fain to learn from
him what he ought to ask from the father of the gods. But when he saw that
he was no longer at his side he said, “The advice though incomplete is
good nevertheless. Therefore let me by the grace of fortune ask for what
is best, though I do not as yet see clearly the father of the gods. Father
Zeus—or whatever name thou dost please that men should call thee
by,(248)—show me the way that leads upwards to thee. For fairer still
methinks the region where thou art, if I may judge of the beauty of thy
abode from the splendour of the place whence I have come hither.”)
Εὐξαμένῳ ταῦτα εἴτε ὕπνος τις εἴτε ἔκστασις ἐπῆλθεν. ὁ δὲ αὐτῷ δείκνυσιν
αὐτὸν τὸν Ἥλιον. ἐκπλαγεὶς οὖν ὁ νεανίσκος ὑπὸ τῆς θέας, Ἀλλὰ σοὶ μέν,
εἶπεν, ὦ θεῶν πάτερ, τῶν τε ἄλλων καὶ τούτων [C] ἕνεκα πάντων ἐμαυτὸν
φέρων ἀναθήσω. περιβαλὼν(249) δὲ τοῖς γόνασι τοῦ Ἡλίου τὰς χεῖρας ἀπρὶξ
εἴχετο σώζειν ἑαυτὸν δεόμενος. ὁ δὲ καλέσας τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν ἐκέλευε πρῶτον
ἀνακρίνειν αὐτόν, ὁπόσα ἐκόμισεν ὅπλα. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑώρα τήν τε ἀσπίδα καὶ τὸ
ξίφος μετὰ τοῦ δόρατος, Ἀλλὰ ποῦ σοι, ἔφη, ὦ παῖ, τὸ Γοργόνειον καὶ τὸ
κράνος; ὁ δέ, Καὶ ταῦτα, εἶπε, μόγις ἐκτησάμην· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἦν ὁ ξυμπονῶν
ἐν τῇ τῶν συγγενῶν οἰκίᾳ παρερριμμένῳ. Ἴσθι οὖν, εἶπεν ὁ μέγας Ἥλιος, ὅτι
σε πάντως χρὴ [D] ἐπανελθεῖν ἐκεῖσε. ἐνταῦθα ἐδεῖτο μὴ πέμπειν αὐτὸν
ἐκεῖσε πάλιν, ἀλλὰ κατέχειν, ὡς οὐκέθ᾽ ὕστερον ἐπανήξοντα, ἀπολούμενον δὲ
ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκεῖ κακῶν. ὡς δὲ ἐλιπάρει δακρύων, Ἀλλὰ νέος εἶ, ἔφη, καὶ
ἀμύητος. ἴθι οὖν παρ᾽ ὑμᾶς, ὡς ἂν μυηθείης ἀσφαλῶς τε ἐκεῖ διάγοις· χρὴ
γάρ σ᾽ ἀπιέναι καὶ καθαίρειν ἐκεῖνα πάντα τὰ ἀσεβήματα, παρακαλεῖν δὲ ἐμέ
τε καὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους θεούς. [232] ἀκούσας ταῦτα ὁ νεανίσκος
εἱστήκει σιωπῇ. καὶ ὁ μέγας Ἥλιος ἐπί τινα σκοπιὰν ἀγαγὼν αὐτόν, ἧς τὸ μὲν
ἄνω φωτὸς ἦν πλῆρες, τὸ δὲ ὑποκάτω μυρίας ἀχλύος, δι ἧς ὥσπερ δι᾽ ὕδατος
ἀμυδρὸν τὸ φῶς διικνεῖτο τῆς ἐκ τοῦ βασιλέως αὐγῆς Ἠλίου, Ὁρᾷς, εἶπε, τὸν
ἀνεψιὸν τὸν κληρονόμον; καὶ ὅς, Ὁρῶ, ἔφη. Τί δέ; τοὺς βουκόλους τουτουσὶ
καὶ τοὺς ποιμένας; καὶ τούτους ὁρᾶν εἶπεν ὁ νεανίσκος. [B] Ποταπὸς οὖν τίς
σοι ὁ κληρονόμος φαίνεται; ποταποὶ δ᾽ αὖ οἱ ποιμένες τε καὶ βουκόλοι; καὶ
ὁ νεανίσκος, Ὁ μέν μοι, ἔφη, δοκεῖ νυστάζειν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ
καταδυόμενος(250) λεληθότως ἡδυπαθεῖν, τῶν ποιμένων δὲ ὀλίγον μέν ἐστι τὸ
ἀστεῖον, τὸ πλῆθος δὲ μοχθηρὸν καὶ θηριῶδες. ἐσθίει γὰρ καὶ πιπράσκει τὰ
πρόβατα καὶ ἀδικεῖ διπλῇ τὸν δεσπότην. τά τε γὰρ ποίμνια αὐτοῦ φθείρει καὶ
ἐκ πολλῶν μικρὰ ἀποφέρον [C] ἄμισθον εἶναί φησι καὶ οδύρεται. καίτοι
κρεῖττον ἦν τοὺς μισθοὺς ἀπαιτεῖν ἐντελεῖς ἢ φθείρειν τὴν ποίμνην. Ἂν οὖν,
ἔφη, σὲ ἐγὲ μετὰ ταυτησὶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, ἐπιτάττοντος τοῦ Διός, ἀντὶ τοῦ
κληρονόμου τούτου πάντων ἐπίτροπον τούτων καταστήσω—; πάλιν ἐνταῦθα ὁ
νεανίσκος ἀντείχετο καὶ πολλὰ ἱκέτευεν αὐτοῦ μένειν. ὁ δέ, Μὴ λίαν ἀπειθὴς
ἔσο, φησί, μή ποτέ
(When he had uttered this prayer a sort of slumber or ecstasy came over
him. Then Zeus showed him Helios himself. Awestruck by that vision the
youth exclaimed, “For this and for all thy other favours I will dedicate
myself to thee, O Father of the Gods!” Then he cast his arms about the
knees of Helios and would not let go his hold but kept entreating him to
save him. But Helios called Athene and bade her first enquire of him what
arms he had brought with him. And when she saw his shield and sword and
spear, she said, “But where, my child, is thy aegis(251) and thy helmet?”
“Even these that I have,” he replied, “I procured with difficulty. For in
the house of my kinsfolk there was none to aid one so despised.” “Learn
therefore,” said mighty Helios, “that thou must without fail return
thither.” Thereupon he entreated him not to send him to earth again but to
detain him there, since he would never be able to mount upwards a second
time but would be overwhelmed by the ills of earth. But as he wept and
implored Helios replied, “Nay, thou art young and not yet initiated.
Return therefore to thine own people that thou mayst be initiated and
thereafter dwell on earth in safety. For return thou must, and and cleanse
away all impiety and invoke me to aid thee, and Athene and the other
gods.” When Helios had said this the youth remained silent. Then mighty
Helios led him to a high peak whose upper region was filled with light but
the lower with the thickest mist imaginable, through which, as through
water, the light of the rays of King Helios penetrated but faintly. “Thou
seest,” said Helios, “thy cousin the heir?”(252) “I see him,” the youth
replied. “Again, dost thou see yonder herdsmen and shepherds?” The youth
answered that he did. “Then what thinkest thou of the heir’s disposition?
And what of his shepherds and herdsmen?” “He seems to me,” replied the
youth, “to be for the most part asleep, sunk in forgetfulness and devoted
to pleasure; and of his shepherds a few are honest, but most are vicious
and brutal. For they devour or sell his sheep, and doubly injure their
master, in that they not only ruin his flocks but besides that they make
great gain and return him but little thereof, while they declare with loud
complaint that they are defrauded of their wages. And yet it were better
that they should demand and obtain their full pay than that they should
destroy the flock.” “Now what if I and Athene here,” said Helios, “obeying
the command of Zeus, should appoint thee to govern all these, in place of
the heir?” Then the youth clung to him again and earnestly entreated that
he might remain there. “Do not be obstinate in disobedience,” said
Helios,)
σ᾽ ἀπεχθήρω, ὡς νῦν ἔκπαγλ᾽ ἐφίλησα.
(“lest perchance I hate thee beyond measure, even as I have loved
thee.”(253))
καὶ ὁ νεανίσκος, Ἀλλ᾽, ὦ μέγιστε, εἶπεν, Ἥλιε καὶ Ἀθηνᾶ, σέ τε καὶ αὐτὸν
ἐπιμαρτύρομαι τὸν Δία, χρῆσθέ μοι πρὸς ὅ, τι βούλεσθε. [D] πάλιν οὖν ὁ
Ἑρμῆς ἄφνω φανεὶς ἐποίησε τὸν νεανίσκον θαρραλεώτερον. ἤδη γὰρ διενοεῖτο
τῆς τε ὀπίσω πορείας καὶ τῆς ἐκεῖσε διατριβῆς ηὑρηκέναι τὸν ἡγεμόνα. καὶ ἡ
Ἀθηνᾶ, Μάνθανε, εἶπεν, ὦ λῷστε, πατρὸς ἀγαθοῦ τουτουὶ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐμὸν
βλάστημα. τοῦτον, ἔφη, τὸν κληρονόμον οἱ βέλτιστοι μὲν οὐκ εὐφραίνουσι τῶν
ποιμένων, οἱ κόλακες δὲ καὶ οἱ μοχθηροὶ δοῦλον καὶ ὑποχείριον πεποίηνται.
συμβαίνει οὖν [233] αὐτῷ παρὰ μὲν τῶν ἐπιεικῶν μὴ φιλεῖσθαι, παρὰ δὲ τῶν
νομιζομένων φιλεῖν(254) εἰς τὰ μέγιστα ἀδικεῖσθαι; σκόπει οὖν ὅπως
ἐπανελθὼν μὴ πρὸ τοῦ φίλου θήσει τὸν κόλακα. δευτέραν ἄκουέ μου
παραίνεσιν, ὦ παῖ. νυστάζων οὗτος ἐξαπατᾶται τὰ πολλά· σὺ δὲ νῆφε καὶ
γρηγόρει, μή σε διὰ τῆς τοῦ φίλου παρρησίας ὁ κόλαξ ἐξαπατήσας λάθοι,(255)
χαλκεὺς οἷά τις γέμων καπνοῦ καὶ μαρίλης, [B] ἔχων ἱμάτιον λευκὸν καὶ τὰ
πρόσωπα τῷ ψιμυθίῳ κεχρισμένος, εἶτα αὐτῷ δοίης γῆμαί τινα τῶν σῶν
θυγατέρων. τρίτης ἐπάκουέ μου παραινέσεως, καὶ μάλα ισχυρῶς φύλαττε
σαυτόν, αἰδοῦ δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς μόνον, ἀνδρῶν δὲ ὅστις ἡμῖν προσόμοιός ἐστιν,
ἄλλον δὲ μηδένα. ὁρᾷς ὅπως τοῦτον τὸν ἠλίθιον ἔβλαψεν αἰσχύνη καὶ τὸ λίαν
ἄγαν εἶναι καταπλῆγα;
(Then said the youth, “Do thou, O most mighty Helios, and thou,
Athene,—and thee too, Father Zeus, do I call to witness,—dispose of me as
ye will.” Then Hermes suddenly appeared once more, and inspired him with
greater courage. For now he thought that he had found a guide for the
journey back, and for his sojourn on earth. Then said Athene, “Attend,
good youth, that art born of myself and of this god, thy noble sire! The
most virtuous of the shepherds do not please this heir, for flatterers and
profligates have made him their slave and tool. Thus it is that he is not
beloved by the good, and is most deeply wronged by those who are supposed
to love him. Be careful then when thou returnest that he make thee not his
flatterer rather than his friend. This second warning also do thou heed,
my son. Yonder man slumbers, and hence he is often deceived, but do thou
be sober and vigilant,(256) lest the flatterer assume the frankness of a
friend and so deceive thee; which is as though a smith covered with smoke
and cinders should come wearing a white garment and with his face painted
white, and thus induce thee to give him one of thy daughters in
marriage.(257) My third warning to thee is this: do thou very zealously
keep watch over thyself, and reverence us in the first place, and among
men only him who resembles us, and no one besides. Thou seest how false
shame and excessive timidity have injured this foolish man.”)