§11Μεγαπένθης
οὐκοῦν ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γε μὴ ἀντείπῃς ὦ Μοῖρά μοι. Κλωθώ
τὸ ποῖον; Μεγαπένθης
εἰδέναι βούλομαι τὰ μετʼ ἐμὲ ὅντινα ἕξει τὸν τρόπον. Κλωθώ
ἄκουε· μᾶλλον γὰρ ἀνιάσῃ μαθών.
Megapenthes 'Well, then, do not refuse me this at least, Fate!' Clotho 'What is that?' Megapenthes 'I want to know how things after me will be.' Clotho 'Listen, then, for you will be more distressed by learning.
τὴν μὲν γυναῖκα Μίδας ὁ δοῦλος ἕξει, καὶ πάλαι δὲ αὐτὴν ἐμοίχευεν. Μεγαπένθης
ὁ κατάρατος, ὃν ἐγὼ πειθόμενος αὐτῇ ἀφῆκα ἐλεύθερον; Κλωθώ
ἡ θυγάτηρ δέ σοι ταῖς παλλακίσι τοῦ νυνὶ τυραννοῦντος ἐγκαταλεγήσεται·
Your wife, Midas the slave will have her, who has indeed long committed adultery with her.' Megapenthes 'That cursed fellow, whom I, persuaded by her, set free?' Clotho 'And your daughter will be numbered among the concubines of the one who is now tyrant.
αἱ εἰκόνες δὲ καὶ ἀνδριάντες οὓς ἡ πόλις ἀνέστησέ σοι πάλαι πάντες ἀνατετραμμένοι γέλωτα παρέξουσι τοῖς θεωμένοις. Μεγαπένθης
εἰπέ μοι, τῶν φίλων δὲ οὐδεὶς ἀγανακτήσει τοῖς δρωμένοις; Κλωθώ
τίς γὰρ ἦν σοι φίλος;
Your images and statues which the city erected for you long ago, all overthrown, will provide laughter for those who look at them.' Megapenthes 'Tell me, will none of my friends be angry at what is being done?' Clotho 'Who indeed was a friend to you?
ἢ ἐκ τίνος αἰτίας γενόμενος;
Or for what reason did he become one?
ἀγνοεῖς ὅτι πάντες οἱ καὶ προσκυνοῦντες καὶ τῶν λεγομένων καὶ πραττομένων ἕκαστα ἐπαινοῦντες ἢ φόβῳ ἢ ἐλπίσι ταῦτα ἔδρων, τῆς ἀρχῆς ὄντες φίλοι καὶ πρὸς τὸν καιρὸν ἀποβλέποντες; Μεγαπένθης
καὶ μὴν σπένδοντες ἐν τοῖς συμποσίοις μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἐπηύχοντό μοι πολλὰ καὶ ἀγαθά, προαποθανεῖν ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ἕτοιμος, εἰ οἷόν τε εἶναι· καὶ ὅλως, ὅρκος αὐτοῖς ἦν ἐγώ. Κλωθώ
τοιγαροῦν παρʼ ἑνὶ αὐτῶν χθὲς δειπνήσας ἀπέθανες· τὸ γὰρ τελευταῖόν σοι πιεῖν ἐνεχθὲν ἐκεῖνο δευρὶ κατέπεμψέ σε. Μεγαπένθης
τοῦτʼ ἄρα πικροῦ τινος ᾐσθόμην·
Do you not know that all those who prostrated themselves and praised every single one of your words and deeds did this either out of fear or out of hope, being friends of your power and looking to the occasion?' Megapenthes 'And yet, pouring libations at banquets, they prayed with a loud voice for many good things for me, each of them ready to die before me, if it were possible; and in short, I was their oath.' Clotho 'Therefore, yesterday you died after dining at the house of one of them; for that last drink offered to you sent you down here.' Megapenthes 'That indeed was what I felt to be bitter.
τί βουλόμενος δὲ ταῦτα ἔπραξε; Κλωθώ
πολλά με ἀνακρίνεις, ἐμβῆναι δέον. §12Μεγαπένθης
ἕν με πνίγει μάλιστα, ὦ Κλωθοῖ, διʼ ὅπερ ἐπόθουν κἂν πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐς τὸ φῶς ἀνακῦψαι πάλιν.
With what intention did he do this?' Clotho 'You ask me too many questions, when you ought to embark.' Megapenthes 'One thing chokes me most of all, Clotho, because of which I longed to bob up to the light again, even for a little.' Clotho 'What is this?
Κλωθώ
τί δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν; ἔοικε γάρ τι παμμέγεθες εἶναι. Μεγαπένθης
Καρίων ὁ ἐμὸς οἰκέτης ἐπεὶ τάχιστά με ἀποθανόντα εἶδε, περὶ δείλην ὀψίαν ἀνελθὼν εἰς τὸ οἴκημα ἔνθα ἐκείμην, σχολῆς οὔσης — οὐδεὶς γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐφύλαττέ με — Γλυκέριον τὴν παλλάκιδα μου — καὶ πάλαι δέ, οἶμαι, κεκοινωνήκεσαν — παραγαγὼν ἐπισπασάμενος τὴν θύραν ἐσπόδει καθάπερ οὐδενὸς ἔνδον παρόντος·
For it seems to be something very great.' Megapenthes 'My servant Carion, as soon as he saw me dead, coming up late in the evening into the room where I lay, since there was leisure — for no one was even guarding me — took my concubine Glycerium, with whom, I believe, he had long had relations, and having drawn the door to, began to mate with her as if no one were inside.
εἶτʼ ἐπειδὴ ἅλις εἶχε τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, ἀποβλέψας εἰς ἐμέ,
σὺ μέντοι,
φησίν,
ὦ μιαρὸν ἀνθρώπιον, πληγάς μοι πολλάκις οὐδὲν ἀδικοῦντι ἐνέτεινας· καὶ ταῦθʼ ἅμα λέγων παρέτιλλέ τέ με καὶ κατὰ κόρρης ἔπαιε, τέλος δὲ πλατὺ χρεμψάμενος καταπτύσας μου καί,
εἰς τὸν Ἀσεβῶν χῶρον ἄπιθι,
ἐπειπὼν ᾤχετο·
Then, when he had enough of his desire, looking at me, he said, "You, indeed, you wretched little man, often inflicted blows on me when I did no wrong." And saying this, he at the same time began to pluck my hair and strike me on the cheek; and finally, clearing his throat loudly, he spat on me, and saying, "Go to the region of the impious," he departed.
ἐγὼ δὲ ἐνεπιμπράμην μέν, οὐκ εἶχον δὲ ὅμως ὅ τι καὶ δράσαιμι αὐτὸν αὖος ἤδη καὶ ψυχρὸς ὤν.
I was burning with rage, but yet I did not know what to do to him, being already dry and cold.
καὶ ἡ μιαρὰ δὲ παιδίσκη ἐπεὶ ψόφου προσιόντων τινῶν ᾔσθετο, σιέλῳ χρίσασα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὡς δακρύσασα ἐπʼ ἐμοί, κωκύουσα καὶ τοὔνομα ἐπικαλουμένη ἀπηλλάττετο.
And that wretched girl, when she perceived the noise of some people approaching, having smeared her eyes with saliva to make it seem as if she had wept over me, went away wailing and calling out my name.
ὧν εἰ λαβοίμην — §13Κλωθώ
παῦσαι ἀπειλῶν, ἀλλὰ ἔμβηθι· καιρὸς ἤδη σε ἀπαντᾶν ἐπὶ τὸ δικαστήριον. Μεγαπένθης
καὶ τίς ἀξιώσει κατʼ ἀνδρὸς τυράννου ψῆφον λαβεῖν; Κλωθώ
κατὰ τυράννου μὲν οὐδείς, κατὰ νεκροῦ δὲ ὁ Ῥαδάμανθυς, ὃν αὐτίκα ὄψει μάλα δίκαιον καὶ κατʼ ἀξίαν ἐπιτιθέντα ἑκάστῳ τὴν δίκην·
If only I could catch them —' Clotho 'Stop threatening, but embark; it is already time for you to appear before the court.' Megapenthes 'And who will deign to cast a vote against a tyrant?' Clotho 'Against a tyrant, indeed, no one, but against a dead man Rhadamanthus, whom you will see very soon, being very just and imposing the deserved penalty on each.
τὸ δὲ νῦν ἔχον μὴ διάτριβε. Μεγαπένθης
κἂν ἰδιώτην με ποίησον, ὦ Μοῖρα, τῶν πενήτων ἕνα, κἂν δοῦλον ἀντὶ τοῦ πάλαι βασιλέως· ἀναβιῶναί με ἔασον μόνον. Κλωθώ
ποῦ ʼστιν ὁ τὸ ξύλον;
For the present, do not delay.' Megapenthes 'Make me even a private citizen, Fate, one of the poor, even a slave instead of the king of old; only let me live again.' Clotho 'Where is the one with the club?
καὶ σὺ δέ, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, σύρατʼ αὐτὸν εἴσω τοῦ ποδός· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐμβαίη ἑκών. Ἑρμῆς
ἕπου νῦν, δραπέτα·
And you, Hermes, drag him in by the foot; for he will not embark willingly.' Hermes 'Follow now, runaway.
δέχου τοῦτον σύ, πορθμεῦ, καὶ τὸ δεῖνα, ὅπως ἀσφαλῶς —
Χάρων
ἀμέλει, πρὸς τὸν ἱστὸν δεδήσεται. Μεγαπένθης
καὶ μὴν ἐν τῇ προεδρίᾳ καθέζεσθαί με δεῖ. Κλωθώ
ὅτι τί; Μεγαπένθης
ὅτι, νὴ Δία, τύραννος ἦν καὶ δορυφόρους εἶχον μυρίους.
You receive this man, ferryman, and the other thing, so that safely —' Charon 'Do not worry, he shall be bound to the mast.' Megapenthes 'Yet indeed I ought to sit in the seat of honor.' Clotho 'Because of what?' Megapenthes 'Because, by Zeus, I was a tyrant and had ten thousand bodyguards.' Cyniscus 'Then did not Carion rightly pluck your hair, you being so foolish?
Κυνίσκος
εἶτʼ οὐ δικαίως σε παρέτιλλεν ὁ Καρίων οὑτωσὶ σκαιὸν ὄντα; πικρὰν δʼ οὖν τὴν τυραννίδα ἕξεις γευσάμενος τοῦ ξύλου.
At any rate, you will have a bitter taste of tyranny, having tasted the club.' Megapenthes 'Will Cyniscus dare to raise his staff against me?
Μεγαπένθης
τολμήσει γὰρ Κυνίσκος ἐπανατείνασθαί μοι τὸ βάκτρον; οὐκ ἐγώ σε πρῴην, ὅτι ἐλεύθερος ἄγαν καὶ τραχὺς ἦσθα καὶ ἐπιτιμητικός, μικροῦ δεῖν προσεπαττάλευσα; Κυνίσκος
τοιγαροῦν μενεῖς καὶ σὺ τῷ ἱστῷ προσπεπατταλευμένος.
Did I not recently, because you were too free and harsh and censorious, almost have you nailed up?' Cyniscus 'Therefore you too shall remain nailed up to the mast.'