Timon's Meeting with Poverty and Rejection of Wealth — Lucian, Timon or The Misanthrope 30–35, Greek & English

§30

Πλοῦτος θάρρει τούτου γε ἕνεκα· ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτὸν ἀεὶ καταλείπων ἀνέρχομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐπισκήψας ἔνδον μένειν ἐπικλεισάμενον τὴν θύραν,¹ ἀνοίγειν δὲ μηδενί, ἢν μὴ ἐμοῦ ἀκούσῃ βοήσαντος. Ἑρμῆς οὐκοῦν ἐπιβαίνωμεν ἤδη τῆς Ἀττικῆς· καί μοι ἕπου ἐχόμενος τῆς χλαμύδος, ἄχρι ἂν πρὸς τὴν ἐσχατιὰν ἀφίκωμαι. Πλοῦτος εὖ ποιεῖς, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, χειραγωγῶν· ἐπεὶ ἤν γε ἀπολίπῃς με, Ὑπερβόλῳ τάχα ἢ Κλέωνι ἐμπεσοῦμαι περινοστῶν. ἀλλὰ τίς ὁ ψόφος οὗτός ἐστιν καθάπερ σιδήρου πρὸς λίθον;

Plutus: Have courage on this account; always leaving him in the earth, I come up to you, having commanded him to remain inside and bolt the door, and to open to no one unless he hears me shouting. Hermes: Then let us now set foot in Attica; and follow me, holding onto my cloak, until I arrive at the borderland. Plutus: You do well, Hermes, to guide me by the hand; for if you leave me, I shall quickly fall upon Hyperbolus or Cleon as I wander about. But what is this noise, like iron against stone?

§31

Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τίμων οὑτοσὶ σκάπτει πλησίον ὀρεινὸν καὶ ὑπόλιθον γήδιον. παπαί, καὶ ἡ Πενία πάρεστι καὶ ὁ Πόνος ἐκεῖνος, ἡ Καρτερία τε καὶ ἡ Σοφία καὶ ἡ Ἀνδρεία καὶ ὁ τοιοῦτος ὄχλος τῶν ὑπὸ τῷ Λιμῷ ταττομένων ἁπάντων, πολὺ ἀμείνους τῶν σῶν δορυφόρων. Πλοῦτος τί οὖν οὐκ ἀπαλλαττόμεθα, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, τὴν ταχίστην; οὐ γὰρ ἄν τι ἡμεῖς δράσαιμεν ἀξιόλογον πρὸς ἄνδρα ὑπὸ τηλικούτου στρατοπέδου περιεσχημένον. Ἑρμῆς ἄλλως ἔδοξε τῷ Διί· μὴ ἀποδειλιῶμεν οὖν.

Hermes: This is Timon digging a mountainous and rocky little plot of land nearby. Ha! Poverty is present, and that well-known Toil, and Endurance, and Wisdom, and Courage, and the whole such crowd of those marshaled under Famine, far better than your bodyguards. Plutus: Why then do we not depart, Hermes, as quickly as possible? For we would do nothing worthy of note against a man surrounded by such an army. Hermes: Zeus has decided otherwise; let us not be cowardly, then.

§32

Πενία ποῖ τοῦτον ἀπάγεις, ὦ Ἀργειφόντα, χειραγωγῶν; Ἑρμῆς ἐπὶ τουτονὶ τὸν Τίμωνα ἐπέμφθημεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Διός. Πενία νῦν ὁ Πλοῦτος ἐπὶ Τίμωνα, ὁπότε αὐτὸν ἐγὼ κακῶς ἔχοντα ὑπὸ τῆς Τρυφῆς παραλαβοῦσα, τουτοισὶ παραδοῦσα, τῇ Σοφίᾳ καὶ τῷ Πόνῳ, γενναῖον ἄνδρα καὶ πολλοῦ ἄξιον ἀπέδειξα;² οὕτως ἄρα εὐκαταφρόνητος ὑμῖν ἡ Πενία δοκῶ καὶ εὐαδίκητος, ὥσθʼ ὃ μόνον κτῆμα εἶχον ἀφαιρεῖσθαί με, ἀκριβῶς πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἐξειργασμένον, ἵνα αὖθις ὁ Πλοῦτος παραλαβὼν αὐτὸν Ὕβρει καὶ Τύφῳ ἐγχειρίσας ὅμοιον τῷ πάλαι μαλθακὸν καὶ ἀγεννῆ καὶ ἀνόητον ἀποφήνας ἀποδῷ πάλιν ἐμοὶ ῥάκος ἤδη γεγενημένον; Ἑρμῆς ἔδοξε ταῦτα, ὦ Πενία, τῷ Διί·

Poverty: Where are you leading this man, Argeiphontes, guiding him by the hand? Hermes: We were sent by Zeus to this Timon here. Poverty: Now Plutus is sent to Timon, when I, having taken him in a wretched state from Luxury, and having handed him over to these here, Wisdom and Toil, have shown him to be a noble man and worthy of much? Does Poverty seem to you so contemptible and easy to wrong, that you take away from me the only possession I had, which was thoroughly fashioned toward virtue, so that Plutus, taking him again and handing him over to Insolence and Pride, and making him soft, base, and foolish as before, may give him back to me as a mere rag already? Hermes: This has been decided, Poverty, by Zeus.

§33

Πενία ἀπέρχομαι· καὶ ὑμεῖς δέ, ὦ Πόνε καὶ Σοφία καὶ οἱ λοιποί, ἀκολουθεῖτέ μοι. οὗτος δὲ τάχα εἴσεται, οἵαν με οὖσαν ἀπολείψει, ἀγαθὴν συνεργὸν καὶ διδάσκαλον τῶν ἀρίστων, ᾗ συνὼν ὑγιεινὸς μὲν τὸ σῶμα, ἐρρωμένος δὲ τὴν γνώμην διετέλεσεν, ἀνδρὸς βίον ζῶν καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἀποβλέπων, τὰ δὲ περιττὰ καὶ πολλὰ ταῦτα, ὥσπερ ἐστίν, ἀλλότρια ὑπολαμβάνων. Ἑρμῆς ἀπέρχονται· ἡμεῖς δὲ προσίωμεν αὐτῷ.

Poverty: I am leaving; and you, Toil and Wisdom and the rest, follow me. But he will soon know what kind of person I was whom he is leaving, a good helper and teacher of the best things, in whose company he continued healthy in body and strong in mind, living the life of a man and looking only to himself, while considering these superfluous and abundant things, as they are, to belong to others. Hermes: They are departing; let us approach him.

§34

Τίμων τίνες ἐστέ, ὦ κατάρατοι; ἢ τί βουλόμενοι δεῦρο ἥκετε ἄνδρα ἐργάτην καὶ μισθοφόρον ἐνοχλήσοντες; ἀλλʼ οὐ χαίροντες ἄπιτε μιαροὶ πάντες ὄντες· ἐγὼ γὰρ ὑμᾶς αὐτίκα μάλα βάλλων τοῖς βώλοις καὶ τοῖς λίθοις συντρίψω. Ἑρμῆς μηδαμῶς, ὦ Τίμων, μὴ βάλῃς· οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώπους ὄντας βαλεῖς, ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ μὲν Ἑρμῆς εἰμι, οὑτοσὶ δὲ ὁ Πλοῦτος· ἔπεμψε δὲ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐπακούσας τῶν εὐχῶν, ὥστε ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ δέχου τὸν ὄλβον ἀποστὰς τῶν πόνων. Τίμων καὶ ὑμεῖς οἰμώξεσθε ἤδη καίτοι θεοὶ ὄντες, ὥς φατε· πάντας γὰρ ἅμα καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ θεοὺς μισῶ, τουτονὶ δὲ τὸν τυφλόν, ὅστις ἂν ᾖ, καὶ ἐπιτρίψειν μοι δοκῶ τῇ δικέλλῃ. Πλοῦτος ἀπίωμεν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, πρὸς τοῦ Διός, μελαγχολᾶν γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὐ μετρίως μοι δοκεῖ, μή τι κακὸν ἀπέλθω προσλαβών.

Timon: Who are you, accursed ones? Or what do you want coming here to trouble a working man who earns a wage? But you shall not go away rejoicing, scoundrels all; for I shall crush you immediately by throwing sods and stones. Hermes: By no means, Timon, do not throw; for you will not be throwing at humans, but I am Hermes, and this is Plutus. Zeus, having heard your prayers, sent us, so with good fortune receive wealth, ceasing from your labors. Timon: You too shall howl now, even though you are gods, as you say; for I hate all humans and gods alike, and as for this blind one, whoever he is, I think I shall smash him with my mattock. Plutus: Let us depart, Hermes, by Zeus, for the man seems to me to be mad in no moderate degree, lest I go away having received some harm.

§35

Ἑρμῆς μηδὲν σκαιόν, ὦ Τίμων, ἀλλὰ τὸ πάνυ τοῦτο ἄγριον καὶ τραχὺ καταβαλὼν προτείνας τὼ χεῖρε λάμβανε τὴν ἀγαθὴν τύχην καὶ πλούτει πάλιν καὶ ἴσθι Ἀθηναίων τὰ πρῶτα καὶ ὑπερόρα τῶν ἀχαρίστων ἐκείνων μόνος αὐτὸς εὐδαιμονῶν. Τίμων οὐδὲν ὑμῶν δέομαι· μὴ ἐνοχλεῖτέ μοι· ἱκανὸς ἐμοὶ πλοῦτος ἡ δίκελλα, τὰ δʼ ἄλλα εὐδαιμονέστατός εἰμι μηδενός μοι πλησιάζοντος. Ἑρμῆς οὕτως, ὦ τάν, ἀπανθρώπως; "τόνδε φέρω Διὶ μῦθον ἀπηνέα τε κρατερόν τε;³" καὶ μὴν εἰκὸς ἦν μισάνθρωπον μὲν εἶναί σε τοσαῦτα ὑπʼ αὐτῶν δεινὰ πεπονθότα, μισόθεον δὲ μηδαμῶς, οὕτως ἐπιμελουμένων σου τῶν θεῶν.

Hermes: Do nothing foolish, Timon, but casting aside this very wild and rough manner, stretch out both hands and receive good fortune, and be rich again, and be the first of the Athenians, and look down on those ungrateful ones, being happy all by yourself. Timon: I have no need of you; do not trouble me. The mattock is sufficient wealth for me, and as for the rest, I am most happy with no one approaching me. Hermes: Thus, my friend, so inhumanly? “Shall I carry this harsh and mighty speech to Zeus?” And yet, it was reasonable for you to be a misanthrope, having suffered so many terrible things from them, but by no means a misotheist, with the gods taking such care of you.

Syntax notes3 items

30ἐπισκήψας ἔνδον μένειν ἐπικλεισάμενον τὴν θύραν
In the infinitive construction following the verb of commanding, ἐπισκήψας, the participle ἐπικλεισάμενον is in the accusative case. This functions as the accusative subject of the infinitive μένειν (referring to the Treasure, αὐτόν). While a nominative agreement (ἐπικλεισάμενος) modifying the subject of ἐπισκήψας is grammatically possible, the accusative directly characterizes the agent of the infinitive clause.
32ὁπότε αὐτὸν ἐγὼ κακῶς ἔχοντα ὑπὸ τῆς Τρυφῆς παραλαβοῦσα ... ἀπέδειξα
The conjunction ὁπότε here goes beyond a simple temporal meaning ('when') and carries a causal or adversative nuance ('since' or 'now that... although'). It introduces the reason for Poverty's indignation: she transformed Timon into a noble man, making the sudden return of Plutus an act of injustice.
35τόνδε φέρω Διὶ μῦθον ἀπηνέα τε κρατερόν τε;
A direct epic quotation from Homer (Iliad 15.202). Hermes uses this poetic line to self-ironically depict his role as a messenger returning to Zeus with Timon's harsh response. Syntactically, it is framed as a question within the dialogue.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg022.humanitext-grc2:30-35