§6Χάρων
ὁρῶ γῆν πολλὴν καὶ λίμνην τινὰ μεγάλην περιρρέουσαν καὶ ὄρη καὶ ποταμοὺς τοῦ Κωκυτοῦ καὶ Πυριφλεγέθοντος μείζονας καὶ ἀνθρώπους πάνυ σμικροὺς καί τινας φωλεοὺς αὐτῶν.
Charon I see much land and a certain great lake flowing around, and mountains, and rivers larger than Cocytus and Pyriphlegethon, and very small human beings, and certain dens of theirs.
Ἑρμῆς
πόλεις ἐκεῖναί εἰσιν οὓς φωλεοὺς εἶναι νομίζεις.
Hermes Those are cities, which you think to be dens.
Χάρων
οἶσθα οὖν, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, ὡς οὐδὲν ἡμῖν πέπρακται, ἀλλὰ μάτην τὸν Παρνασσὸν αὐτῇ Κασταλίᾳ καὶ τὴν Οἴτην καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὄρη μετεκινήσαμεν;
Charon Do you know then, Hermes, that nothing has been accomplished by us, but in vain we have moved Parnassus together with Castalia itself, and Oeta and the other mountains?
Ἑρμῆς
ὅτι τί;
Hermes Because of what?
Χάρων
οὐδὲν ἀκριβὲς ἐγὼ γοῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ ὁρῶ· ἐδεόμην δὲ οὐ πόλεις καὶ ὄρη αὐτὸ μόνον ὥσπερ ἐν γραφαῖς ὁρᾶν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους αὐτοὺς καὶ ἃ πράττουσι καὶ οἷα λέγουσιν.
Charon I at least see nothing precise from the height; but I wished to see not cities and mountains alone just as in paintings, but the human beings themselves and what they do and what sort of things they say.
ὥσπερ ὅτε με τὸ πρῶτον ἐντυχὼν εἶδες γελῶντα καὶ ἤρου γε ὅ τι γελῴην, ἀκούσας τινὸς ἥσθην εἰς ὑπερβολήν.
Just as when you first met me and saw me laughing, and asked why I was laughing, having heard someone, I was pleased beyond measure.
Ἑρμῆς
τί δὲ τοῦτο ἦν;
Hermes And what was this?
Χάρων
ἐπὶ δεῖπνον, οἶμαι, κληθείς τις ὑπό τινος τῶν φίλων ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν,
μάλιστα ἥξω,
ἔφη, καὶ μεταξὺ λέγοντος ἀπὸ τοῦ τέγους κεραμὶς ἐμπεσοῦσα οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅτου κινήσαντος ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν.
Charon Someone, I think, having been invited to dinner by one of his friends for the next day, said, "I will certainly come," and in the midst of his speaking, a tile falling from the roof, moved by I know not whom, killed him.
ἐγέλασα οὖν οὐκ ἐπιτελέσαντος τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν.
I laughed therefore at him not fulfilling his promise.
ἔοικα δὲ καὶ νῦν ὑποκαταβήσεσθαι, ὡς μᾶλλον βλέποιμι καὶ ἀκούοιμι.
And I seem even now about to go down a little, so that I may see and hear better.
§7Ἑρμῆς
ἔχʼ ἀτρέμα· καὶ τοῦτο γὰρ ἐγὼ ἰάσομαί σοι καὶ ὀξυδερκέστατον ἐν βραχεῖ σε ἀποφανῶ παρʼ Ὁμήρου τινὰ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἐπῳδὴν λαβών, κἀπειδὰν εἴπω τὰ ἔπη, μέμνησο μηκέτι ἀμβλυώττειν, ἀλλὰ σαφῶς πάντα ὁρᾶν.
Hermes Keep still; for I will cure this for you too, and make you sharpest-sighted in a short time, having taken a certain incantation from Homer also for this; and when I speak the verses, remember no longer to be dim-sighted, but to see all things clearly.
Χάρων
λέγε μόνον.
Charon Only speak.
Ἑρμῆς
"
ἀχλὺν δʼ αὖ τοι ἀπʼ ὀφθαλμῶν ἕλον, ἣ πρὶν ἐπῆεν,
ὄφρʼ εὖ γινώσκοις ἠμὲν θεὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἄνδρα.
Hermes "And the mist indeed from your eyes I have taken, which was upon them before, that you might well know both god and man.
"
τί ἐστιν;
"What is it?
ἤδη ὁρᾷς;
Do you see now?
Χάρων
ὑπερφυῶς γε· τυφλὸς ὁ Λυγκεὺς ἐκεῖνος ὡς πρὸς ἐμέ· ὥστε σὺ τὸ ἐπὶ τούτῳ προσδίδασκέ με καὶ ἀποκρίνου ἐρωτῶντι.
Charon Exceedingly so; that Lynceus of yore was blind compared to me; so instruct me in what follows, and answer me when I ask.
ἀλλὰ βούλει κατὰ τὸν Ὅμηρον κἀγὼ ἔρωμαί σε, ὡς μάθῃς οὐδʼ αὐτὸν ἀμελέτητον ὄντα με τῶν Ὁμήρου;
But do you wish that I too should ask you after the manner of Homer, so that you may learn that I myself am not unpracticed in the works of Homer?
Ἑρμῆς
καὶ πόθεν σὺ ἔχεις τι τῶν ἐκείνου εἰδέναι, ναύτης ἀεὶ καὶ πρόσκωπος ὤν;
Hermes And from where do you have any knowledge of his works, being always a sailor and an oarsman?
Χάρων
ὁρᾷς, ὀνειδιστικὸν τοῦτο εἰς τὴν τέχνην.
Charon Look, this is a reproach against my craft.
ἐγὼ δὲ ὁπότε διεπόρθμευον αὐτὸν ἀποθανόντα, πολλὰ ῥαψῳδοῦντος ἀκούσας ἐνίων ἔτι μέμνημαι· καίτοι χειμὼν ἡμᾶς οὐ μικρὸς τότε κατελάμβανεν.
But when I ferried him over after he died, having heard him reciting many things, I still remember some of them; and yet a storm of no small size overtook us then.
ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἤρξατο ᾄδειν οὐ πάνυ αἴσιόν τινα ᾠδὴν τοῖς πλέουσιν, ὡς ὁ Ποσειδῶν συνήγαγε τὰς νεφέλας καὶ ἐτάραξε τὸν πόντον ὥσπερ τορύνην τινὰ ἐμβαλὼν τὴν τρίαιναν καὶ πάσας τὰς θυέλλας ὠρόθυνε καὶ ἄλλα πολλά, κυκῶν τὴν θάλατταν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπῶν, χειμὼν ἄφνω καὶ γνόφος ἐμπεσὼν ὀλίγου δεῖν περιέτρεψεν ἡμῖν τὴν ναῦν· ὅτε περ καὶ ναυτιάσας ἐκεῖνος ἀπήμεσε τῶν ῥαψῳδιῶν τὰς πολλὰς αὐτῇ Σκύλλῃ καὶ Χαρύβδει καὶ Κύκλωπι.
For when he began to sing a song not at all auspicious for sailors, how Poseidon gathered the clouds and stirred up the sea, casting in his trident like a ladle, and aroused all the tempests and many other things, throwing the sea into confusion by his verses, a storm and darkness suddenly falling upon us almost overturned our ship; at which time indeed, having become seasick, he vomited up most of his recitations together with Scylla, Charybdis, and Cyclops.
οὐ χαλεπὸν οὖν ἦν ἐκ τοσούτου ἐμέτου ὀλίγα γοῦν διαφυλάττειν.
It was not difficult, therefore, from so great a vomit to preserve at least a few things.
§8Χάρων
εἰπὲ γάρ μοι· "
τίς τʼ ἄρʼ ὅδʼ ἐστὶ πάχιστος ἀνὴρ ἠΰς τε μέγας τε,
ἔξοχος ἀνθρώπων κεφαλὴν καὶ εὐρέας ὤμους;
Charon Tell me indeed: "Who indeed is this very stout man, both noble and great, eminent among men for his head and broad shoulders?
"
Ἑρμῆς
Μίλων οὗτος ὁ ἐκ Κρότωνος ἀθλητής.
"Hermes This is Milo, the athlete from Croton.
ἐπικροτοῦσι δʼ αὐτῷ οἱ Ἕλληνες, ὅτι τὸν ταῦρον ἀράμενος φέρει διὰ τοῦ σταδίου μέσου.
And the Greeks are applauding him because he lifts a bull and carries it through the middle of the stadium.
Χάρων
καὶ πόσῳ δικαιότερον ἂν ἐμέ, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, ἐπαινοῖεν, ὃς αὐτόν σοι τὸν Μίλωνα μετʼ ὀλίγοι συλλαβὼν ἐνθήσομαι ἐς τὸ σκαφίδιον, ὁπόταν ἥκῃ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀμαχωτάτου τῶν ἀνταγωνιστῶν καταπαλαισθεὶς τοῦ Θανάτου, μηδὲ συνεὶς ὅπως αὐτὸν ὑποσκελίζει;
Charon And by how much more justly would they praise me, Hermes, who after a little while will seize this Milo himself and put him into my little boat, when he comes to us having been wrestled down by Death, the most invincible of adversaries, not even understanding how he trips him up?
κᾆτα οἰμώξεται ἡμῖν δηλαδὴ μεμνημένος τῶν στεφάνων τούτων καὶ τοῦ κρότου· νῦν δὲ μέγα φρονεῖ θαυμαζόμενος ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ ταύρου φορᾷ.
And then indeed he will lament to us, remembering these crowns and the applause; but now he is proud, being admired for his carrying of the bull.
τί δʼ οὖν;
What then?
οἰηθῶμεν ἄρα ἐλπίζειν αὐτὸν καὶ τεθνήξεσθαί ποτε;
Should we think that he expects to die some day?
Ἑρμῆς
πόθεν ἐκεῖνος θανάτου νῦν μνημονεύσειεν ἂν ἐν ἀκμῇ τοσαύτῃ;
Hermes From where would he now remember death in such prime of life?
Χάρων
ἔα τοῦτον οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν γέλωτα ἡμῖν παρέξοντα ὁπόταν πλέῃ, μηδʼ ἐμπίδα οὐχ ὅπως ταῦρον ἔτι ἄρασθαι δυνάμενος.
Charon Let him be, since before long he will afford us laughter when he sails, not even able to lift a gnat, let alone a bull.