§17.116.1μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκφορὰν εἰς ἀνέσεις καὶ πανηγυρικὸν βίον ἐκτραπέντος τοῦ βασιλέως, δοκοῦντος ἰσχύειν τότε πλεῖστον καὶ μάλιστʼ εὐδαιμονεῖν, ἡ πεπρωμένη συνῄρει τὸν ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως αὐτῷ συγκεχωρημένον τοῦ ζῆν χρόνον.
After the funeral, when the king turned to relaxation and a festive life, and was thought at that time to be at the peak of his power and most prosperous, fate was shortening the span of life granted to him by nature.
εὐθὺ δὲ καὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐσήμαινε τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτοῦ, πολλῶν καὶ παραδόξων οἰωνῶν καὶ σημείων συντελουμένων.
And immediately the divine power also indicated his end, as many strange and unexpected omens and signs occurred.
§17.116.2τοῦ γὰρ βασιλέως ἀλειφομένου καὶ τῆς βασιλικῆς ἐσθῆτος καὶ διαδήματος ἐπί τινος θρόνου τεθέντος τῶν ἐγχωρίων τις δεδεμένος ἐλύθη τὰς πέδας αὐτομάτως καὶ λαθὼν τοὺς φύλακας διῆλθε διὰ τῶν τῆς αὐλῆς θυρῶν ἀνεπικωλύτως.
For while the king was being anointed and the royal robe and diadem had been placed upon a certain throne, one of the locals who had been bound was freed from his fetters of his own accord, and escaping the notice of the guards, passed through the gates of the courtyard without hindrance.
§17.116.3προσελθὼν δὲ τῷ θρόνῳ καὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἐνδυσάμενος ἐσθῆτα καὶ τὸ διάδημα περιθέμενος ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ τὸν θρόνον καὶ τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἦγε.
And having approached the throne, and put on the royal robe and placed the diadem on his head, he sat upon the throne and remained quiet.
γνωσθείσης δὲ τῆς πράξεως ὁ βασιλεὺς καταπλαγεὶς τὸ παράδοξον προσῆλθε τῷ θρόνῳ καὶ χωρὶς καταπλήξεως ἡσυχῇ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀνέκρινε τίς ὢν καὶ τί βουλόμενος τοῦτο ἔπραξε.
When this deed became known, the king, astonished at the strange event, approached the throne, and without showing alarm, quietly questioned the man as to who he was and what he intended by doing this.
§17.116.4τοῦ δὲ εἰπόντος μηδὲν ἁπλῶς γινώσκειν τοῖς μάντεσι προσαναθέμενος περὶ τοῦ σημείου τοῦτον μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἐκείνων κρίσιν ἀπέκτεινεν, ὅπως τὰ σημαινόμενα δυσχερῆ εἰς ἐκεῖνον τρέπηται, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν ἐσθῆτα καὶ θεοῖς ἀποτροπαίοις θύσας ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ καθειστήκει καὶ τῆς τῶν Χαλδαίων προρρήσεως ἐμνημόνευσε καὶ τοὺς μὲν συμπείσαντας φιλοσόφους παρελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα κατεμέμφετο, τὴν δὲ τέχνην τῶν Χαλδαίων καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀγχίνοιαν ἐθαύμαζε, καθόλου δὲ τοὺς ταῖς εὑρησιλογίαις κατασοφιζομένους τὴν δύναμιν τῆς πεπρωμένης ἐβλασφήμει.
Since the man said that he knew absolutely nothing, the king referred the sign to the seers and put him to death according to their judgment, so that the portended evils might be averted onto him. He himself took back the robe and sacrificed to the averting gods, but remained in great anxiety, remembering the prophecy of the Chaldaeans; and he blamed the philosophers who had persuaded him to enter Babylon, while he marveled at the skill of the Chaldaeans and the sagacity of the men, and in general railed at those who by clever arguments attempted to circumvent the power of fate.
§17.116.5μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ ἄλλο σημεῖον αὐτῷ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τὸ δαιμόνιον ἐπέστησε.
Shortly afterward, the divine power presented him with another sign concerning his kingship.
βουλομένου γὰρ αὐτοῦ θεάσασθαι τὴν περὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα λίμνην καὶ πλέοντος μετὰ τῶν φίλων ἔν τισιν ἀκάτοις ἐφʼ ἡμέρας μέν τινας ἀποσχισθείσης τῆς νεὼς ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων σκαφῶν ἐπλανήθη μόνος, ὥστε καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἀπογνῶναι·
For when he wished to view the lake around Babylon and was sailing with his friends in some boats, for some days his ship was separated from the other vessels and he wandered alone, so that he even despaired of his safety.
§17.116.6ἔπειτα διά τινος αὐλῶνος στενοῦ καὶ συμπεπυκασμένου δένδρεσι διαπλέοντος καὶ τῶν μὲν ὑπερκειμένων, τοῦ δὲ διαδήματος ὑπὸ τούτων ἀρθέντος καὶ πάλιν εἰς τὴν λίμνην πεσόντος εἷς τῶν ἐρετῶν προσνηξάμενος καὶ βουλόμενος ἀσφαλῶς σῶσαι τὸ διάδημα προσέθετο τῇ κεφαλῇ καὶ προσενήξατο τῷ πλοίῳ.
Then, as he was sailing through a certain narrow channel overgrown with trees, and when the diadem was caught by the overhanging branches and fell back into the lake, one of the rowers swam to it, and wishing to save the diadem safely, placed it on his own head and swam back to the boat.
§17.116.7τρεῖς δὲ ἡμέρας καὶ τὰς ἴσας νύκτας διαπλανηθεὶς διεσώθη καὶ τὸ διάδημα περιθέμενος ἀνελπίστως πάλιν τοῖς μάντεσι προσανέφερε περὶ τῶν προσημαινομένων.
Having wandered for three days and as many nights, he was saved, and having unexpectedly put on the diadem again, he referred once more to the seers concerning the meaning of what had been portended.