§17Κυνίσκος
ἵνα ὑμῖν μὴ τὰ νῦν λέγω καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐπεξιών, τοὺς μὲν πονηροὺς εὐδαιμονοῦντας καὶ τοὺς πλεονέκτας, ἀγομένους δὲ καὶ φερομένους τοὺς χρηστοὺς ἐν πενίᾳ καὶ νόσοις καὶ μυρίοις κακοῖς πιεζομένους.
Cyniscus Lest I should speak to you now by going through each case individually, namely that the wicked are prosperous and the greedy, while the good are driven and carried away, pressed down by poverty, diseases, and countless evils.
Ζεύς
οὐ γὰρ οἶσθα, ὦ Κυνίσκε, ἡλίκας μετὰ τὸν βίον οἱ πονηροὶ τὰς κολάσεις ὑπομένουσιν, ἢ ἐν ὅσῃ οἱ χρηστοὶ εὐδαιμονίᾳ διατρίβουσιν;
Zeus For do you not know, Cyniscus, how great punishments the wicked undergo after life, or in how great happiness the good pass their time?
Κυνίσκος
Ἅιδην μοι λέγεις καὶ Τιτυοὺς καὶ Ταντάλους.
Cyniscus You tell me of Hades, Tityuses, and Tantaluses.
ἐγὼ δέ, εἰ μέν τι καὶ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, εἴσομαι τὸ σαφὲς ἐπειδὰν ἀποθάνω·
For my part, if indeed there is any such thing, I shall know the truth when I die.
τὸ δὲ νῦν ἔχον ἐβουλόμην τὸν ὁποσονοῦν χρόνον τοῦτον εὐδαιμόνως διαβιοὺς ὑπὸ ἑκκαίδεκα γυπῶν κείρεσθαι τὸ ἧπαρ ἀποθανών, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἐνταῦθα διψήσας ὥσπερ ὁ Τάνταλος ἐν Μακάρων νήσοις πίνειν μετὰ τῶν ἡρώων ἐν τῷ Ἠλυσίῳ λειμῶνι κατακείμενος.
But as things stand now, I should wish to live out this time, however long it may be, happily and after death to have my liver torn by sixteen vultures, rather than to suffer thirst here like Tantalus, so as to drink with the heroes in the Elysian field, lying in the Isles of the Blessed afterwards.
§18Ζεύς
τί φής;
Zeus What do you say?
ἀπιστεῖς εἶναί τινας κολάσεις καὶ τιμάς, καὶ δικαστήριον ἔνθα δὴ ἐξετάζεται ὁ ἑκάστου βίος;
Do you disbelieve that there are certain punishments and rewards, and a court where indeed each one's life is examined?
Κυνίσκος
ἀκούω τινὰ Μίνω Κρῆτα δικάζειν κάτω τὰ τοιαῦτα· καί μοι ἀπόκριναί τι καὶ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου· σὸς γὰρ υἱὸς εἶναι λέγεται.
Cyniscus I hear that a certain Minos of Crete judges such things below; and answer me something on his behalf too, for he is said to be your son.
Ζεύς
τί δὲ κἀκεῖνον ἐρωτᾷς, ὦ Κυνίσκε;
Zeus And why do you ask about him too, Cyniscus?
Κυνίσκος
τίνας κολάζει μάλιστα;
Cyniscus Whom does he punish most?
Ζεύς
τοὺς πονηροὺς δηλαδή, οἷον ἀνδροφόνους καὶ ἱεροσύλους.
Zeus The wicked, of course, such as murderers and temple-robbers.
Κυνίσκος
τίνας δὲ παρὰ τοὺς ἥρωας ἀποπέμπει;
Cyniscus And whom does he send away to the heroes?
Ζεύς
τοὺς ἀγαθούς τε καὶ ὁσίους καὶ κατʼ ἀρετὴν βεβιωκότας.
Zeus The good and holy, and those who have lived according to virtue.
Κυνίσκος
τίνος ἕνεκα, ὦ Ζεῦ;
Cyniscus For what reason, Zeus?
Ζεύς
διότι οἱ μὲν τιμῆς, οἱ δὲ κολάσεως ἄξιοι.
Zeus Because the latter are worthy of reward, and the former of punishment.
Κυνίσκος
εἰ δέ τις ἀκούσιόν τι δεινὸν ἐργάσαιτο, κολάζεσθαι καὶ τοῦτον δικαιοῖ;
Cyniscus But if someone did something terrible involuntarily, does he deem it just that this person too be punished?
Ζεύς
οὐδαμῶς.
Zeus By no means.
Κυνίσκος
οὐδʼ ἄρα εἴ τις ἄκων τι ἀγαθὸν ἔδρασεν, οὐδὲ τοῦτον τιμᾶν ἀξιώσειεν ἄν;
Cyniscus Nor then, if someone did something good against his will, would he deem even this person worthy of reward?
Ζεύς
οὐ γὰρ οὖν.
Zeus Certainly not.
Κυνίσκος
οὐδένα τοίνυν, ὦ Ζεῦ, οὔτε τιμᾶν οὔτε κολάζειν αὐτῷ προσήκει.
Cyniscus Then, Zeus, it is appropriate for him neither to reward nor to punish anyone.
Ζεύς
πῶς οὐδένα;
Zeus How is it appropriate for no one?
Κυνίσκος
ὅτι οὐδὲν ἑκόντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι ποιοῦμεν, ἀλλά τινι ἀνάγκῃ ἀφύκτῳ κεκελευσμένοι, εἴ γε ἀληθῆ ἐκεῖνά ἐστι τὰ ἔμπροσθεν ὡμολογημένα, ὡς ἡ Μοῖρα πάντων αἰτία·
Cyniscus Because we humans do nothing voluntarily, but are ordered by some inescapable necessity, if indeed those things agreed upon before are true, namely that Fate is the cause of all things.
καὶ ἢν φονεύσῃ τις, ἐκείνη ἐστὶν ἡ φονεύσασα, καὶ ἢν ἱεροσυλῇ, προστεταγμένον αὐτὸ δρᾷ.
And if someone commits murder, she is the one who murdered, and if someone robs a temple, he does what has been commanded of him.
ὥστε εἴ γε τὰ δίκαια ὁ Μίνως δικάζειν μέλλοι, τὴν Εἱμαρμένην ἀντὶ τοῦ Σισύφου κολάσεται καὶ τὴν Μοῖραν ἀντὶ τοῦ Ταντάλου.
Therefore, if indeed Minos intends to judge justly, he will punish Fate instead of Sisyphus, and Destiny instead of Tantalus.
τί γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι ἠδίκησαν πεισθέντες τοῖς ἐπιτάγμασιν;
For what wrong did they do, obeying the orders?
§19Ζεύς
οὐκέτʼ οὐδὲ ἀποκρίνεσθαί σοι ἄξιον τοιαῦτα ἐρωτῶντι· θρασὺς γὰρ εἶ καὶ σοφιστής.
Zeus It is no longer even worth answering you when you ask such things; for you are insolent and a sophist.
καί σε ἄπειμι ἤδη καταλιπών.
And I will leave you now and go away.
Κυνίσκος
ἐδεόμην μὲν ἔτι καὶ τοῦτο ἐρέσθαι, ποῦ αἱ Μοῖραι διατρίβουσιν ἢ πῶς ἐφικνοῦνται τῇ ἐπιμελείᾳ τῶν τοσούτων ἐς τὸ λεπτότατον, καὶ ταῦτα τρεῖς οὖσαι.
Cyniscus I was still wanting to ask this too: where the Fates spend their time, or how they manage to reach down to the finest detail in their care of so many things, and that too being only three.
ἐπίπονον γάρ τινα καὶ οὐκ εὔμοιρόν μοι δοκοῦσι βιοῦν τὸν βίον τοσαῦτα ἔχουσαι πράγματα, καὶ ὡς ἔοικεν οὐ πάνυ οὐδὲ αὗται ὑπὸ χρηστῇ Εἱμαρμένῃ ἐγεννήθησαν.
For they seem to me to live a laborious and not very fortunate life, having so many affairs; and it seems not even they themselves were born under a good Destiny.
ἐγὼ γοῦν, εἴ μοι αἵρεσις δοθείη, οὐκ ἂν ἀλλαξαίμην πρὸς αὐτὰς τὸν ἐμαυτοῦ βίον, ἀλλʼ ἑλοίμην ἂν ἔτι πενέστερος διαβιῶναι ἤπερ καθῆσθαι κλώθων ἄτρακτον τοσούτων πραγμάτων μεστόν, ἐπιτηρῶν ἕκαστα.
I, at any rate, if a choice were given to me, would not exchange my own life for theirs, but would choose to live through even poorer than to sit spinning a spindle full of so many affairs, watching over everything.
εἰ δὲ μὴ ῥᾴδιόν σοι ἀποκρίνασθαι πρὸς ταῦτα, ὦ Ζεῦ, καὶ τούτοις ἀγαπήσομεν οἷς ἀπεκρίνω· ἱκανὰ γὰρ ἐμφανίσαι τὸν περὶ τῆς Εἱμαρμένης καὶ Προνοίας λόγον·
But if it is not easy for you to answer these things, Zeus, we shall be content even with those things you did answer; for they were sufficient to make clear the argument concerning Fate and Providence.
τὰ λοιπὰ δʼ ἴσως οὐχ εἵμαρτο ἀκοῦσαί μοι.
And the rest, perhaps, it was not fated for me to hear.