§1Φίλων
ποικίλην, ὦ Λυκῖνε, διατριβήν φασι γεγενῆσθαι ὑμῖν χθὲς ἐν Ἀρισταινέτου παρὰ τὸ δεῖπνον καί τινας λόγους φιλοσόφους εἰρῆσθαι καὶ ἔριν οὐ σμικρὰν συστῆναι ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς, εἰ δὲ μὴ ἐψεύδετο Χαρῖνος, καὶ ἄχρι τραυμάτων προχωρῆσαι τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ τέλος αἵματι διαλυθῆναι τὴν συνουσίαν.
Philon They say, Lycinus, that you had a very diverse entertainment yesterday at Aristaenetus' house during dinner, and that some philosophical discussions were held, and no small strife arose over them, and, if Charinus was not lying, that the matter even went as far as wounds, and in the end the gathering broke up in blood.
Λυκῖνος
καὶ πόθεν, ὦ Φίλων, ἠπίστατο Χαρῖνος ταῦτα;
Lycinus And how, Philon, did Charinus know this?
οὐ γὰρ συνεδείπνει μεθʼ ἡμῶν.
For he was not dining with us.
Φίλων
Διονίκου ἔφη τοῦ ἰατροῦ ἀκοῦσαι.
Philon He said he heard it from Dionicus the physician.
Διόνικος δὲ καὶ αὐτός, οἶμαι, τῶν συνδείπνων ἦν.
And Dionicus himself, I think, was one of the guests.
Λυκῖνος
καὶ μάλα· οὐ μὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γε οὐδʼ αὐτὸς ἅπασι παρεγένετο, ἀλλὰ ὀψὲ μεσούσης σχεδὸν ἤδη τῆς μάχης ἐπέστη ὀλίγον πρὸ τῶν τραυμάτων.
Lycinus Indeed he was; however, not even he himself was present at everything from the beginning, but arrived late, when the battle was already nearly at its height, shortly before the wounds.
ὥστε θαυμάζω εἴ τι σαφὲς εἰπεῖν ἐδύνατο μὴ παρακολουθήσας ἐκείνοις, ἀφʼ ὧν ἀρξαμένη ἐς τὸ αἷμα ἐτελεύτησεν αὐτοῖς ἡ φιλονεικία.
So I wonder if he could say anything clear, since he did not follow those events from which their rivalry, starting, ended in blood.
§2Φίλων
τοιγαροῦν, ὦ Λυκῖνε, καὶ ὁ Χαρῖνος αὐτός, εἰ βουλοίμεθα τἀληθῆ ἀκοῦσαι καὶ ὅπως ἐπράχθη ἕκαστα, παρὰ σὲ ἡμᾶς ἥκειν ἐκέλευσε.
Philon Therefore, Lycinus, Charinus himself also, if we wished to hear the truth and how each thing was done, bade us come to you.
καὶ τὸν Διόνικον γὰρ αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν ὡς αὐτὸς μὲν οὐ παραγένοιτο ἅπασι, σὲ δὲ ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι τὰ γεγενημένα καὶ τοὺς λόγους αὐτοὺς ἂν ἀπομνημονεῦσαι ἅτε μὴ παρέργως τῶν τοιούτων, ἀλλʼ ἐν σπουδῇ ἀκροώμενον.
For [he said] that Dionicus himself said that he indeed was not present at everything, but that you knew accurately what happened and would remember the very words, inasmuch as you listen to such things not carelessly but with serious attention.
ὥστε οὐκ ἂν φθάνοις ἑστιῶν ἡμᾶς ἡδίστην ταύτην ἑστίασιν, ἧς οὐκ οἶδα τίς ἡδίων ἔμοιγε, καὶ μάλιστα ὅσῳ νήφοντες ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ ἀναιμωτὶ ἔξω βέλους ἑστιασόμεθα, εἴτε γέροντες ἐπαρῴνησάν τι παρὰ τὸ δεῖπνον εἴτε νέοι, εἰπεῖν τε ὅσα ἥκιστα ἐχρῆν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀκράτου προαχθέντες καὶ πρᾶξαι.
So you cannot be too quick to feast us with this most pleasant feast, than which I do not know what is more pleasant to me, and especially since we, sober, in peace and without bloodshed, out of range of missiles, shall be feasted by hearing whether old men behaved like drunkards during dinner, or young men, and said and did what they least ought to, led on by unmixed wine.
§3Λυκῖνος
νεανικώτερα ἡμᾶς, ὦ Φίλων, ἀξιοῖς ἐκφέρειν ταῦτα πρὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ ἐπεξιέναι διηγουμένους πράγματα ἐν οἴνῳ καὶ μέθῃ γενόμενα, δέον λήθην ποιήσασθαι αὐτῶν καὶ νομίζειν ἐκεῖνα πάντα θεοῦ ἔργα τοῦ Διονύσου εἶναι, ὃς οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τινα τῶν αὑτοῦ ὀργίων ἀτέλεστον καὶ ἀβάκχευτον περιεῖδεν.
Lycinus You expect us, Philon, to publish these rather wild things to the crowd and to go into details describing things done in wine and drunkenness, when we ought to consign them to oblivion and consider all those things to be the works of the god Dionysus, who, I know not if he ever overlooked anyone being uninitiated and un-frenzied in his orgies.
ὅρα οὖν μὴ κακοήθων τινῶν ἀνθρώπων ᾖ τὸ ἀκριβῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐξετάζειν, ἃ καλῶς ἔχει ἐν τῷ συμποσίῳ καταλιπόντας ἀπαλλάττεσθαι.
See to it, then, lest it be the mark of malicious men to investigate such things so accurately, which it is well to leave behind at the banquet and depart.
μισῶ
γάρ, φησὶ καὶ ὁ ποιητικὸς λόγος,
μνάμονα συμπόταν. καὶ οὐδὲ ὁ Διόνικος ὀρθῶς ἐποίησε πρὸς τὸν Χαρῖνον ταῦτα ἐξαγορεύσας καὶ πολλὴν τὴν ἑωλοκρασίαν κατασκεδάσας ἀνδρῶν φιλοσόφων.
"For I hate," as the poetic saying also goes, "a drinking companion with a memory." And not even Dionicus did right in disclosing these things to Charinus and pouring out such a quantity of yesterday's stale leftovers of those philosophers.
ἐγὼ δέ, ἄπαγε, οὐκ ἄν τι τοιοῦτον εἴποιμι.
As for me—away with it!—I would not say any such thing.
§4Φίλων
Θρύπτῃ ταῦτα, ὦ Λυκῖνε.
Philon You are playing hard to get, Lycinus.
ἀλλʼ οὔτι γε πρὸς ἐμὲ οὕτω ποιεῖν ἐχρῆν, ὃς ἀκριβῶς πολὺ πλέον ἐπιθυμοῦντά σε εἰπεῖν οἶδα ἢ ἐμὲ ἀκοῦσαι, καί μοι δοκεῖς, εἰ ἀπορήσειας τῶν ἀκουσομένων, κἂν πρὸς κίονά τινα ἢ πρὸς ἀνδριάντα ἡδέως ἂν προσελθὼν ἐκχέαι πάντα συνείρων ἀμυστί.
But you certainly ought not to act this way towards me, who know accurately that you desire to speak much more than I do to hear. Indeed, it seems to me that if you lacked listeners, you would gladly go up to some pillar or statue and pour out everything, stringing it together in one draught.
εἰ γοῦν ἐθελήσω ἀπαλλάττεσθαι νῦν, οὐκ ἐάσεις με ἀνήκοον ἀπελθεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἕξει καὶ παρακολουθήσεις καὶ δεήσει.
At any rate, if I wish to depart now, you will not let me go without hearing, but will hold me, follow me, and beg me.
κἀγὼ θρύψομαι πρὸς σὲ ἐν τῷ μέρει· καὶ εἴ γε δοκεῖ, ἀπίωμεν ἄλλου αὐτὰ πευσόμενοι, σὺ δὲ μὴ λέγε.
And I in turn will play hard to get with you; so if it seems good, let us go away to learn these things from someone else, and you do not speak!
Λυκῖνος
μηδὲν πρὸς ὀργήν· διηγήσομαι γάρ, ἐπείπερ οὕτως προθυμῇ, ἀλλʼ ὅπως μὴ πρὸς πολλοὺς ἐρεῖς.
Lycinus Do not be angry; for I will tell you, since you are so eager, but on condition that you do not tell many people.
Φίλων
εἰ μὴ παντάπασιν ἐγὼ ἐπιλέλησμαι Λυκίνου, αὐτὸς σὺ ἄμεινον ποιήσεις αὐτὸ καὶ φθάσεις εἰπὼν ἅπασιν, ὥστε οὐδὲν ἐμοῦ δεήσει.
Philon Unless I have completely forgotten Lycinus, you yourself will do it better and will anticipate me by telling everyone, so there will be no need of me.
§5Φίλων
ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνό μοι πρῶτον εἰπέ, τῷ παιδὶ τῷ Ζήνωνι ὁ Ἀρισταίνετος ἀγόμενος γυναῖκα εἱστία ὑμᾶς;
Philon But tell me this first: was Aristaenetus feasting you because he was taking a wife for his son Zeno?
Λυκῖνος
οὔκ, ἀλλὰ τὴν θυγατέρα ἐξεδίδου αὐτὸς τὴν Κλεανθίδα τῷ Εὐκρίτου τοῦ δανειστικοῦ, τῷ φιλοσοφοῦντι.
Lycinus No, but he himself was giving away his daughter Cleanthis to the son of Eucritus the moneylender, the one who studies philosophy.
Φίλων
Παγκάλῳ νὴ Δία μειρακίῳ, ἁπαλῷ γε μὴν ἔτι καὶ οὐ πάνυ καθʼ ὥραν γάμων.
Philon By Zeus, a very handsome youth, yet still delicate and not quite of age for marriage.
Λυκῖνος
ἀλλʼ οὐκ εἶχεν ἄλλον ἐπιτηδειότερον, οἶμαι.
Lycinus But he had no other more suitable, I suppose.
τοῦτον οὖν κόσμιόν τε εἶναι δοκοῦντα καὶ πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν ὡρμημένον, ἔτι δὲ μόνον ὄντα πλουσίῳ τῷ Εὐκρίτῳ, προείλετο νυμφίον ἐξ ἁπάντων.
So, as this young man seemed orderly and was inclined toward philosophy, and moreover was the only son of the wealthy Eucritus, he chose him as a bridegroom out of all of them.
Φίλων
οὐ μικρὰν λέγεις αἰτίαν τὸ πλουτεῖν τὸν Εὔκριτον.
Philon You mention no small reason, that Eucritus is rich.
ἀτὰρ οὖν, ὦ Λυκῖνε, τίνες οἱ δειπνοῦντες ἦσαν;
But anyway, Lycinus, who were the diners?