§12Σόλων
εἰπέ μοι, ὦ Κροῖσε, οἴει γάρ τι δεῖσθαι τῶν πλίνθων τούτων τὸν Πύθιον;
Solon Tell me, Croesus, for do you think the Pythian god has any need of these ingots?
Κροῖσος
νὴ Δίʼ·
Croesus Yes, by Zeus!
οὐ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτῷ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἀνάθημα οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον.
For he has no such offering in Delphi.
Σόλων
οὐκοῦν μακάριον οἴει τὸν θεὸν ἀποφανεῖν, εἰ κτήσαιτο σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ πλίνθους χρυσᾶς;
Solon So you think you will make the god blessed, if he should acquire golden ingots along with the other things?
Κροῖσος
πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
Croesus Of course, why not?
Σόλων
πολλήν μοι λέγεις, ὦ Κροῖσε, πενίαν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, εἰ ἐκ Λυδίας μεταστέλλεσθαι τὸ χρυσίον δεήσει αὐτούς, ἢν ἐπιθυμήσωσι.
Solon You tell me of great poverty in heaven, Croesus, if they must send for gold from Lydia, if they should desire it.
Κροῖσος
ποῦ γὰρ τοσοῦτος ἂν γίνοιτο χρυσὸς ὅσος παρʼ ἡμῖν;
Croesus For where else could there be as much gold as with us?
Σόλων
εἰπέ μοι, σίδηρος δὲ φύεται ἐν Λυδίᾳ;
Solon Tell me, does iron grow in Lydia?
Κροῖσος
οὐ πάνυ τι.
Croesus Not at all really.
Σόλων
τοῦ βελτίονος ἄρα ἐνδεεῖς ἐστε.
Solon Then you are in need of the better thing.
Κροῖσος
πῶς ἀμείνων ὁ σίδηρος χρυσίου;
Croesus How is iron better than gold?
Σόλων
ἢν ἀποκρίνῃ μηδὲν ἀγανακτῶν, μάθοις ἄν.
Solon If you answer without being annoyed, you might learn.
Κροῖσος
ἐρώτα, ὦ Σόλων.
Croesus Ask, Solon.
Σόλων
πότεροι ἀμείνους, οἱ σώζοντές τινας ἢ οἱ σωζόμενοι πρὸς αὐτῶν;
Solon Which are better, those who protect some people, or those who are protected by them?
Κροῖσος
οἱ σώζοντες δηλαδή.
Croesus Those who protect, obviously.
Σόλων
ἆρʼ οὖν, ἢν Κῦρος, ὡς λογοποιοῦσι τινες, ἐπίῃ Λυδοῖς, χρυσᾶς μαχαίρας σὺ ποιήσῃ τῷ στρατῷ, ἢ ὁ σίδηρος ἀναγκαῖος τότε;
Solon Therefore, if Cyrus, as some rumor-mongers say, should attack the Lydians, will you make golden swords for your army, or is iron necessary then?
Κροῖσος
ὁ σίδηρος δῆλον ὅτι.
Croesus Iron, obviously.
Σόλων
καὶ εἴ γε τοῦτον μὴ παρασκευάσαιο, οἴχοιτο ἄν σοι ὁ χρυσὸς ἐς Πέρσας αἰχμάλωτος.
Solon And if you should not provide this, your gold would go off to the Persians as a captive.
Κροῖσος
εὐφήμει, ἄνθρωπε.
Croesus Speak words of good omen, fellow!
Σόλων
μὴ γένοιτο μὲν οὕτω ταῦτα· φαίνῃ δʼ οὖν ἀμείνω τοῦ χρυσοῦ τὸν σίδηρον ὁμολογῶν.
Solon May these things indeed not happen so; but at any rate you appear to agree that iron is better than gold.
Κροῖσος
οὐκοῦν καὶ τῷ θεῷ σιδηρᾶς πλίνθους κελεύεις ἀνατιθέναι με, τὸν δὲ χρυσὸν ὀπίσω αὖθις ἀνακαλεῖν;
Croesus So you order me to dedicate iron ingots to the god, and to recall the gold back again?
Σόλων
οὐδὲ σιδήρου ἐκεῖνός γε δεήσεται, ἀλλʼ ἤν τε χαλκὸν ἤν τε χρυσὸν ἀναθῇς, ἄλλοις μέν ποτε κτῆμα καὶ ἕρμαιον ἔσῃ ἀνατεθεικώς, Φωκεῦσιν ἢ Βοιωτοῖς ἢ Δελφοῖς αὐτοῖς ἤ τινι τυράννῳ ἢ λῃστῇ, τῷ δὲ θεῷ ὀλίγον μέλει τῶν σῶν χρυσοποιιῶν.
Solon That god will not need iron either; but whether you dedicate bronze or gold, you will have dedicated them to be a possession and a windfall some day for others—for Phocians or Boeotians or the Delphians themselves, or for some tyrant or robber, but the god cares little for your gold-makings.
Κροῖσος
ἀεὶ σύ μου τῷ πλούτῳ προσπολεμεῖς καὶ φθονεῖς.
Croesus Always you make war on my wealth and envy me.
§13Ἑρμῆς
οὐ φέρει ὁ Λυδός, ὦ Χάρων, τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῶν λόγων, ἀλλὰ ξένον αὐτῷ δοκεῖ τὸ πρᾶγμα, πένης ἄνθρωπος οὐχ ὑποπτήσσων, τὸ δὲ παριστάμενον ἐλευθέρως λέγων.
Hermes The Lydian, Charon, does not bear the frankness and truth of the words, but the thing seems strange to him—a poor man who does not cower, but speaks freely what comes to his mind.
μεμνήσεται δʼ οὖν μικρὸν ὕστερον τοῦ Σόλωνος, ὅταν αὐτὸν δέῃ ἁλόντα ἐπὶ τὴν πυρὰν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κύρου ἀναχθῆναι· ἤκουσα γὰρ τῆς Κλωθοῦς πρῴην ἀναγινωσκούσης τὰ ἑκάστῳ ἐπικεκλωσμένα, ἐν οἷς καὶ ταῦτα ἐγέγραπτο, Κροῖσον μὲν ἁλῶναι ὑπὸ Κύρου, Κῦρον δὲ αὐτὸν ὑπʼ ἐκεινησὶ τῆς Μασσαγέτιδος ἀποθανεῖν.
But at any rate he will remember Solon a little later, when, having been captured, he must be led up to the pyre by Cyrus; for I heard Clotho the other day reading out what has been spun for each, among which these things also had been written: that Croesus indeed is to be captured by Cyrus, and Cyrus himself is to die by that Massagetan woman over there.
ὁρᾷς τὴν Σκυθίδα, τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἵππου τούτου τοῦ λευκοῦ ἐξελαύνουσαν;
Do you see the Scythian woman, the one riding out on that white horse?
Χάρων
νὴ Δία.
Charon Yes, by Zeus.
Ἑρμῆς
Τόμυρις ἐκείνη ἐστί, καὶ τὴν κεφαλήν γε ἀποτεμοῦσα τοῦ Κύρου αὕτη ἐς ἀσκὸν ἐμβαλεῖ πλήρη αἵματος.
Hermes That is Tomyris, and she, having cut off the head of Cyrus, will throw it into a wineskin full of blood.
ὁρᾷς δὲ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν νεανίσκον;
And do you see also his son, the young man?
Καμβύσης ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν· οὗτος βασιλεύσει μετὰ τὸν πατέρα καὶ μυρία σφαλεὶς ἔν τε Λιβύῃ καὶ Αἰθιοπίᾳ τὸ τελευταῖον μανεὶς ἀποθανεῖται ἀποκτείνας τὸν Ἆπιν.
That is Cambyses; he will rule after his father, and having stumbled in countless ways both in Libya and Ethiopia, in the end, having gone mad, he will die after killing Apis.
Χάρων
ὢ πολλοῦ γέλωτος.
Charon Oh, what a great laugh!
ἀλλὰ νῦν τίς ἂν αὐτοὺς προσβλέψειεν οὕτως ὑπερφρονοῦντας τῶν ἄλλων;
But now who would look at them, so haughty towards others?
ἢ τίς ἂν πιστεύσειεν ὡς μετʼ ὀλίγον οὗτος μὲν αἰχμάλωτος ἔσται, οὗτος δὲ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἕξει ἐν ἀσκῷ αἵματος;
Or who would believe that after a little while this one will be a captive, and that one will have his head in a wineskin of blood?
§14Χάρων
ἐκεῖνος δὲ τίς ἐστιν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, ὁ τὴν πορφυρᾶν ἐφεστρίδα ἐμπεπορπημένος, ὁ τὸ διάδημα, ᾧ τὸν δακτύλιον ὁ μάγειρος ἀναδίδωσι τὸν ἰχθὺν ἀνατεμών,
"νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ; βασιλεὺς δέ τις εὔχεται εἶναι.
Charon And who is that one, Hermes, the one buckled in the purple mantle, the one with the diadem, to whom the cook, having cut open the fish, gives back the ring, "on a sea-girt island; and he boasts to be some king"?
"
Ἑρμῆς
εὖ γε παρῳδεῖς, ὦ Χάρων.
Hermes Excellently indeed you parody, Charon.
ἀλλὰ Πολυκράτην ὁρᾷς τὸν Σαμίων τύραννον πανευδαίμονα ἡγούμενον εἶναι· ἀτὰρ καὶ οὗτος αὐτὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ παρεστῶτος οἰκέτου Μαιανδρίου προδοθεὶς Ὀροίτῃ τῷ σατράπῃ ἀνασκολοπισθήσεται ἅθλιος ἐκπεσὼν τῆς εὐδαιμονίας ἐν ἀκαρεῖ τοῦ χρόνου· καὶ ταῦτα γὰρ τῆς Κλωθοῦς ἐπήκουσα.
But you see Polycrates, the tyrant of the Samians, who thinks he is entirely happy; yet this very man, betrayed by his standing servant Maeandrius to the satrap Oroetes, will be impaled, wretchedly falling from his happiness in an instant of time; for I heard these things too from Clotho.
Χάρων
ἄγαμαι Κλωθοῦς γεννικῆς·
Charon I admire noble Clotho!
καῖε αὐτούς, ὦ βελτίστη, καὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς ἀπότεμνε καὶ ἀνασκολόπιζε, ὡς εἰδῶσιν ἄνθρωποι ὄντες· ἐν τοσούτῳ δὲ ἐπαιρέσθων ὡς ἂν ἀφʼ ὑψηλοτέρου ἀλγεινότερον καταπεσούμενοι.
Burn them, best one, and cut off their heads and impale them, so that they may know they are humans; in the meantime let them be lifted up, so that they may fall more painfully from a higher place.
ἐγὼ δὲ γελάσομαι τότε γνωρίσας αὐτῶν ἕκαστον γυμνὸν ἐν τῷ σκαφιδίῳ μήτε τὴν πορφυρίδα μήτε τιάραν ἢ κλίνην χρυσῆν κομίζοντας.
And I will laugh then, recognizing each of them naked in my little boat, carrying neither their purple robe nor tiara nor golden couch.