§32Ἡρακλῆς
ἐγὼ δέ, ὦ πάτερ, εἰ καὶ μέτοικός εἰμι, οὐκ ὀκνήσω ὅμως τὰ δοκοῦντά μοι εἰπεῖν·
Hercule: And I, father, even if I am only a resident alien, shall not hesitate to speak my mind.
ὁπόταν γὰρ ἤδη συνελθόντες διαλέγωνται, τηνικαῦτα, ἢν μὲν ὁ Τιμοκλῆς ὑπέρσχῃ, ἐάσωμεν προχωρεῖν τὴν συνουσίαν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἢν δέ τι ἑτεροῖον ἀποβαίνῃ, τότε ἤδη τὴν στοὰν αὐτὴν ἔγωγε, εἰ δοκεῖ, διασείσας ἐμβαλῶ τῷ Δάμιδι, ὡς μὴ κατάρατος ὢν ὑβρίζῃ ἐς ἡμᾶς.
When they have already met and are debating, if Timocles gets the upper hand, let us allow the gathering to proceed for our benefit; but if it turns out otherwise, then indeed I, if it seems good to you, will shake and throw down the Stoa itself upon Damis, so that he, accursed as he is, may not insult us.
Ζεύς
Ἡράκλεις, ὦ Ἡράκλεις, ἄγροικον τοῦτο εἴρηκας καὶ δεινῶς Βοιώτιον, συναπολέσαι ἑνὶ πονηρῷ τοσούτους χρηστούς, καὶ προσέτι τὴν στοὰν αὐτῷ Μαραθῶνι καὶ Μιλτιάδῃ καὶ Κυνεγείρῳ.
Zeus: Hercules, O Hercules, you have spoken in a rustic and terribly Boeotian way—to destroy so many good men along with one rascal, and furthermore the Stoa itself together with Marathon, Miltiades, and Cynegirus!
καὶ πῶς ἂν τούτων συνεμπεσόντων οἱ ῥήτορες ἔτι ῥητορεύοιεν, τὴν μεγίστην εἰς τοὺς λόγους ὑπόθεσιν ἀφῃρημένοι;
And if these collapse, how could the orators still declaim, having been deprived of their greatest subject for speeches?
ἄλλως τε ζῶντι μέν σοι δυνατὸν ἴσως ἦν τι πρᾶξαι τοιοῦτον, ἀφʼ οὗ δὲ θεὸς γεγένησαι, μεμάθηκας, οἶμαι, ὡς αἱ Μοῖραι μόναι τὰ τοιαῦτα δύνανται, ἡμεῖς δὲ αὐτῶν ἄμοιροί ἐσμεν.
Besides, while you were alive, it was perhaps possible for you to do such a thing; but since you have become a god, you have learned, I think, that the Fates alone are capable of such things, and we have no share in them.
Ἡρακλῆς
οὐκοῦν καὶ ὁπότε τὸν λέοντα ἢ τὴν ὕδραν ἐφόνευον, αἱ Μοῖραι διʼ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνα ἔπραττον;
Hercule: Therefore, even when I killed the lion or the hydra, did the Fates do those things through me?
Ζεύς
καὶ μάλα.
Zeus: Indeed they did.
Ἡρακλῆς
καὶ νῦν ἤν τις ὑβρίζῃ εἰς ἐμὲ ἢ περισυλῶν μου τὸν νεὼν ἢ ἀνατρέπων τὸ ἄγαλμα, ἢν μὴ ταῖς Μοίραις πάλαι δεδογμένον ᾖ, οὐκ ἐπιτρίψω αὐτόν;
Hercule: And now, if someone insults me, or plunders my temple, or throws down my statue, unless it has been decreed long ago by the Fates, shall I not destroy him?
Ζεύς
οὐδαμῶς.
Zeus: By no means.
Ἡρακλῆς
οὐκοῦν ἄκουσον, ὦ Ζεῦ, μετὰ παρρησίας· ἐγὼ γάρ, ὡς ὁ κωμικὸς ἔφη,
"ἄγροικός εἰμι τὴν σκάφην σκάφην λέγων· "
εἰ τοιαῦτά ἐστι τὰ ὑμέτερα, μακρὰ χαίρειν φράσας ταῖς ἐνταῦθα τιμαῖς καὶ κνίσῃ καὶ ἱερείων αἵματι κάτειμι εἰς τὸν Ἅιδην, ὅπου με γυμνὸν τὸ τόξον ἔχοντα κἂν τὰ εἴδωλα φοβήσεται τῶν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ πεφονευμένων θηρίων.
Hercule: Then hear me, Zeus, with frankness; for as the comic poet said, "I am a rustic, calling a spade a spade." If your affairs are such, bidding a long farewell to the honors here, and the steam of fat, and the blood of victims, I will go down to Hades, where at least the shades of the beasts killed by me will fear me, even if I have only my bare bow.
Ζεύς
εὖ γε, οἴκοθεν ὁ μάρτυς, φασίν·
Zeus: Well said! "The witness from home," as they say.
ἀπέσωσάς γʼ ἂν οὖν τῷ Δάμιδι ταῦτα εἰπεῖν ὑποβαλών.
You would have preserved your point if you had suggested these things to Damis for him to say.
§33Ζεύς
ἀλλὰ τίς ὁ σπουδῇ προσιὼν οὗτός ἐστιν, ὁ χαλκοῦς, ὁ εὔγραμμος καὶ εὐπερίγραφος, ὁ ἀρχαῖος τὴν ἀνάδεσιν τῆς κόμης;
Zeus: But who is this coming in haste, the bronze one, well-outlined and finely shaped, with his hair in the ancient style of binding?
μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ σός, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, ἀδελφός ἐστιν, ὁ ἀγοραῖος, ὁ παρὰ τὴν Ποικίλην· πίττης γοῦν ἀναπέπλησται ὁσημέραι ἐκματτόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνδριαντοποιῶν.
Or rather, he is your brother, Hermes, the one of the market-place, by the Painted Stoa; at any rate, he is covered with pitch every day from being molded by the sculptors.
τί, ὦ παῖ, δρομαῖος ἡμῖν ἀφῖξαι;
Why, my child, have you come running to us at full speed?
ἦ πού τι ἐκ γῆς νεώτερον ἀπαγγέλλεις;
Surely you bring some strange news from the earth?
Ἑρμαγόρας
ὑπέρμεγα, ὦ Ζεῦ, καὶ μυρίας τῆς σπουδῆς δεόμενον.
Hermagoras: Exceedingly great, Zeus, and needing immense urgency.
Ζεύς
λέγε ἤδη, εἴ τι καὶ ἄλλο ἡμᾶς ἐπανιστάμενον λέληθεν.
Zeus: Tell us now, if some other rebellion has escaped our notice.
Ἑρμαγόρας
ἐτύγχανον μὲν ἄρτι χαλκουργῶν ὕπο
πιττούμενος στέρνον τε καὶ μετάφρενον· θώραξ δέ μοι γελοῖος ἀμφὶ σώματι
πλασθεὶς παρῃώρητο μιμηλῇ τέχνῃ
σφραγῖδα χαλκοῦ πᾶσαν ἐκτυπούμενος· ὁρῶ δʼ ὄχλον στείχοντα καί τινας δύο
ὠχροὺς κεκράκτας, πυγμάχους σοφισμάτων,
Δᾶμίν τε καὶ —
Ζεύς
παῦε, ὦ Ἑρμαγόρα βέλτιστε, τραγῳδῶν· οἶδα γὰρ οὕστινας λέγεις.
Hermagoras: I happened just now to be covered with pitch On my breast and back by bronze-workers; And a ridiculous breastplate, molded about my body, Hung around me by imitative art, Taking the full impression of the bronze seal; When I saw a crowd marching, and two Pale bawlers, boxers of sophistries, Damis and— Zeus: Stop playing the tragic actor, my excellent Hermagoras; for I know of whom you speak.
ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνό μοι φράσον, εἰ πάλαι συγκροτεῖται αὐτοῖς ἡ ἔρις.
But tell me this: has their conflict already been joined in earnest for some time?
Ἑρμαγόρας
οὐ πάνυ, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἀκροβολισμοῖς ἔτι ἦσαν ἀποσφενδονῶντες ἀλλήλοις πόρρωθέν ποθεν λοιδορούμενοι.
Hermagoras: Not quite, but they were still in skirmishes, hurling insults at each other from a distance.
Ζεύς
τί οὖν ἔτι ποιεῖν λοιπόν, ὦ θεοί, ἢ ἀκροάσασθαι ἐπικύψαντας αὐτῶν;
Zeus: What else is left to do, O gods, but to lean over and listen to them?
ὥστε ἀφαιρείτωσαν αἱ Ὧραι τὸν μοχλὸν ἤδη καὶ ἀπάγουσαι τὰ νέφη ἀναπεταννύτωσαν τὰς πύλας τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.
So let the Hours remove the bar now, and drawing back the clouds, throw open the gates of heaven.
§34Ζεύς
Ἡράκλεις, ὅσον τὸ πλῆθος ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκρόασιν ἀπηντήκασιν.
Zeus: Hercules, what a crowd has met to listen!
ὁ δὲ Τιμοκλῆς αὐτὸς οὐ πάνυ μοι ἀρέσκει ὑποτρέμων καὶ ταραττόμενος· ἀπολεῖ ἅπαντα οὗτος τήμερον·
But Timocles himself does not please me at all, trembling and confused; he will ruin everything today.
δῆλος γοῦν ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἀντάρασθαι τῷ Δάμιδι δυνησόμενος.
It is clear that he will not even be able to stand up against Damis.
ἀλλʼ ὅπερ ἡμῖν δυνατώτατον, εὐχώμεθα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ
"σιγῇ ἐφʼ ἡμείων, ἵνα μὴ Δᾶμίς γε πύθηται. "
But let us pray for him, which is the most powerful thing we can do, "silently within ourselves, so that Damis at least does not hear."