§1.35καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἴσως φέρειν δυνάμεθα, οἱ δὲ γείτονες ἡμῶν καὶ πάροικοι σφόδρα χαλεποὶ καὶ βαρεῖς εἰσιν, ἄμικτοί τε ὄντες καὶ ἄγριοι. ἦ γάρ, ἔφην ἐγώ, καὶ ἄλλοι τινές εἰσιν ἐν τῷ κήτει; πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη, καὶ ἄξενοι καὶ τὰς μορφὰς ἀλλόκοτοι·
“And other things indeed we are perhaps able to bear, but our neighbors and cohabitants are exceedingly troublesome and oppressive, being both unsociable and savage.” “Why, are there indeed,” I said, “some others in the whale?” “Many indeed,” he said, “both inhospitable and strange in their forms.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἑσπέρια τῆς ὕλης καὶ οὐραῖα Ταριχᾶνες οἰκοῦσιν, ἔθνος ἐγχελυωπὸν καὶ καραβοπρόσωπον, μάχιμον καὶ θρασὺ καὶ ὠμοφάγον· τὰ δὲ τῆς ἑτέρας πλευρᾶς κατὰ τὸν δεξιὸν τοῖχον Τριτωνομένδητες, τὰ μὲν ἄνω ἀνθρώποις ἐοικότες, τὰ δὲ κάτω τοῖς γαλεώταις, ἧττον μέντοι ἄδικοί εἰσιν τῶν ἄλλων· τὰ λαιὰ δὲ Καρκινόχειρες καὶ Θυννοκέφαλοι συμμαχίαν τε καὶ φιλίαν πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς πεποιημένοι· τὴν δὲ μεσόγαιαν νέμονται Παγουρίδαι καὶ Ψηττόποδες, γένος μάχιμον καὶ δρομικώτατον· τὰ ἑῷα δέ, τὰ πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ στόματι, τὰ πολλὰ μὲν ἔρημά ἐστι, προσκλυζόμενα τῇ θαλάττῃ· ὅμως δὲ ἐγὼ ταῦτα ἔχω φόρον τοῖς Ψηττόποσιν ὑποτελῶν ἑκάστου ἔτους ὄστρεια πεντακόσια. §1.36τοιαύτη μὲν ἡ χώρα ἐστίν· ὑμᾶς δὲ χρὴ ὁρᾶν ὅπως δυνησόμεθα τοσούτοις ἔθνεσι μάχεσθαι καὶ ὅπως βιοτεύσομεν. πόσοι δέ, ἔφην ἐγώ, πάντες οὖτοί εἰσιν; πλείους, ἔφη, τῶν χιλίων. ὅπλα δὲ τίνα ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς; οὐδέν, ἔφη, πλὴν τὰ ὀστᾶ τῶν ἰχθύων. οὐκοῦν, ἔφην ἐγώ, ἄριστα ἂν ἔχοι διὰ μάχης ἐλθεῖν αὐτοῖς, ἅτε οὖσιν ἀνόπλοις αὐτούς γε ὡπλισμένους· εἰ γὰρ κρατήσομεν αὐτῶν, ἀδεῶς τὸν λοιπὸν βίον οἰκήσομεν.
For the western parts of the forest and those near the tail, the Tarichanes inhabit, a nation eel-eyed and lobster-faced, warlike and daring and raw-flesh-eating; and those of the other side along the right wall, the Tritonomendetes, resembling humans in their upper parts, but lizards in their lower parts, though they are indeed less unjust than the others; and on the left, the Karkinocheires and the Thynnokephaloi, having made an alliance and friendship with each other; and the inland country, the Pagouridai and the Psettopodes occupy, a race warlike and most swift-footed; and the eastern parts, those near the mouth itself, are for the most part desolate, being washed by the sea; nevertheless, I hold these, paying tribute to the Psettopodes each year of five hundred oysters.” “Such is the country; but you must consider how we shall be able to fight against so many nations and how we shall live.” “And how many,” I said, “are they all?” “More,” he said, “than a thousand.” “And what weapons have they?” “None,” he said, “except the bones of fish.” “Therefore,” I said, “it would be best to join battle with them, since we are armed while they are weaponless; for if we conquer them, we shall inhabit the rest of our lives without fear.” This was resolved, and going away to the ship we made preparations.
ἔδοξε ταῦτα, καὶ ἀπελθόντες ἐπὶ ναῦν παρεσκευαζόμεθα. αἰτία δὲ τοῦ πολέμου ἔμελλεν ἔσεσθαι τοῦ φόρου ἡ οὐκ ἀπόδοσις, ἤδη τῆς προθεσμίας ἐνεστώσης.
And the pretext of the war was to be the non-payment of the tribute, the deadline already being at hand.
καὶ δὴ οἱ μὲν ἔπεμπον ἀπαιτοῦντες τὸν δασμόν· ὁ δὲ ὑπεροπτικῶς ἀποκρινάμενος ἀπεδίωξε τοὺς ἀγγέλους.
And indeed they sent demanding the tribute; but he, replying insolently, drove the messengers away.
πρῶτοι οὖν οἱ Ψηττόποδες καὶ οἱ Παγουρίδαι χαλεπαίνοντες τῷ Σκινθάρῳ — τοῦτο γὰρ ἐκαλεῖτο — μετὰ πολλοῦ θορύβου ἐπῄεσαν.
First, therefore, the Psettopodes and the Pagouridai, being angry at Scintharos—for this was his name—came on with much clamor.
§1.37ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν ἔφοδον ὑποπτεύοντες ἐξοπλισάμενοι ἀνεμένομεν, λόχον τινὰ προτάξαντες ἀνδρῶν πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι.
And we, suspecting the attack, waited fully armed, having placed in front an ambush of twenty-five men.
προείρητο δὲ τοῖς ἐν τῇ ἐνέδρᾳ, ἐπειδὰν ἴδωσι παρεληλυθότας τοὺς πολεμίους, ἐπανίστασθαι· καὶ οὕτως ἐποίησαν.
And it had been commanded to those in the ambush, whenever they saw the enemy had passed by, to rise up; and they did so.
ἐπαναστάντες γὰρ κατόπιν ἔκοπτον αὐτούς, καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ αὐτοὶ πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι τὸν ἀριθμὸν ὄντες — καὶ γὰρ ὁ Σκίνθαρος καὶ ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ συνεστρατεύοντο — ὑπηντιάζομεν, καὶ συμμίξαντες θυμῷ καὶ ῥώμῃ διεκινδυνεύομεν.
For rising up from behind they cut them down, and we ourselves, being twenty-five in number—for Scintharos and his son also campaigned with us—met them face to face, and joining battle, we ran the hazard with courage and strength.
τέλος δὲ τροπὴν αὐτῶν ποιησάμενοι κατεδιώξαμεν ἄχρι πρὸς τοὺς φωλεούς.
And finally, having put them to flight, we pursued them all the way to their dens.
ἀπέθανον δὲ τῶν μὲν πολεμίων ἑβδομήκοντα καὶ ἑκατόν, ἡμῶν δὲ εἷς, ὁ κυβερνήτης, τρίγλης πλευρᾷ διαπαρεὶς τὸ μετάφρενον.
There died of the enemy one hundred and seventy, and of us one, the helmsman, transfixed through his back by the rib of a mullet.
§1.38ἐκείνην μὲν οὖν τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ τὴν νύκτα ἐπηυλισάμεθα τῇ μάχῃ καὶ τρόπαιον ἐστήσαμεν ῥάχιν ξηρὰν δελφῖνος ἀναπήξαντες.
That day, therefore, and the night we encamped by the battlefield, and we erected a trophy, having fixed up the dry spine of a dolphin.
τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι αἰσθόμενοι παρῆσαν, τὸ μὲν δεξιὸν κέρας ἔχοντες οἱ Ταριχᾶνες — ἡγεῖτο δὲ αὐτῶν Πήλαμος — τὸ δὲ εὐώνυμον οἱ Θυννοκέφαλοι, τὸ μέσον δὲ οἱ Καρκινόχειρες· οἱ γὰρ Τριτωνομένδητες τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἦγον οὐδετέροις συμμαχεῖν προαιρούμενοι.
On the next day, the others, having perceived it, were present, the Tarichanes holding the right wing—and Pelamos led them—and on the left wing the Thynnokephaloi, and the center the Karkinocheires; for the Tritonomendetes kept quiet, choosing to ally with neither side.
ἡμεῖς δὲ προαπαντήσαντες αὐτοῖς παρὰ τὸ Ποσειδώνιον συνεμίξαμεν πολλῇ βοῇ χρώμενοι, ἀντήχει δὲ τὸ κύτος ὥσπερ τὰ σπήλαια.
And we, meeting them beforehand near the temple of Poseidon, joined battle using a great shout, and the whale echoed like caves.
τρεψάμενοι δὲ αὐτούς, ἅτε γυμνῆτας ὄντας, καὶ καταδιώξαντες ἐς τὴν ὕλην τὸ λοιπὸν ἐπεκρατοῦμεν τῆς γῆς.
And having routed them, since they were light-armed, and pursued them into the forest, we henceforth ruled the land.
§1.39καὶ μετʼ οὐ πολὺ κήρυκας ἀποστείλαντες νεκρούς τε ἀνῃροῦντο καὶ περὶ φιλίας διελέγοντο· ἡμῖν δὲ οὐκ ἐδόκει σπένδεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ χωρήσαντες ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς πάντας ἄρδην ἐξεκόψαμεν πλὴν τῶν Τριτωνομενδήτων.
And not long after, having sent heralds, they both took up their dead and spoke concerning friendship; but we did not think fit to make a treaty, but on the next day, having marched against them, we cut them all off utterly except for the Tritonomendetes.
οὗτοι δὲ ὡς εἶδον τὰ γινόμενα, διαδράντες ἐκ τῶν βραγχίων ἀφῆκαν αὑτοὺς εἰς τὴν θάλατταν.
And these, when they saw what was happening, having run away out of the gills, cast themselves into the sea.
ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν χώραν ἐπελθόντες ἔρημον ἤδη οὖσαν τῶν πολεμίων τὸ λοιπὸν ἀδεῶς κατῳκοῦμεν, τὰ πολλὰ γυμνασίοις τε καὶ κυνηγεσίοις χρώμενοι καὶ ἀμπελουργοῦντες καὶ τὸν καρπὸν συγκομιζόμενοι τὸν ἐκ τῶν δένδρων, καὶ ὅλως ἐῴκειμεν τοῖς ἐν δεσμωτηρίῳ μεγάλῳ καὶ ἀφύκτῳ τρυφῶσι καὶ λελυμένοις.
And we, traversing the country which was now empty of enemies, henceforth dwelt without fear, for the most part engaging in gymnastics and hunting, and tending the vines and gathering the fruit from the trees; and in general we resembled those who live luxuriously and at liberty in a great and inescapable prison.
ἐνιαυτὸν μὲν οὖν καὶ μῆνας ὀκτὼ τοῦτον διήγομεν τὸν τρόπον.
In this manner, therefore, we spent a year and eight months.