§26Τυχιάδης
τί θαυμαστόν; εἶπεν ὁ Ἀντίγονος·
Tychiades "What is so surprising?" said Antigonus.
ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶδά τινα μετὰ εἰκοστὴν ἡμέραν ἧς ἐτάφη ἀναστάντα, θεραπεύσας καὶ πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀνέστη τὸν ἄνθρωπον. καὶ πῶς,
ἦν δʼ ἐγώ,
ἐν εἴκοσιν ἡμέραις οὔτʼ ἐμύδησεν τὸ σῶμα οὔτε ἄλλως ὑπὸ λιμοῦ διεφθάρη;
"For I know someone who rose on the twentieth day after he was buried, having treated the man both before his death and after he rose." "And how," I said, "in twenty days did the body not rot, nor was it otherwise destroyed by hunger?
εἰ μή τινα Ἐπιμενίδην σύ γε ἐθεράπευες. §27Τυχιάδης
ἅμα ταῦτα λεγόντων ἡμῶν ἐπεισῆλθον οἱ τοῦ Εὐκράτους υἱοὶ ἐκ τῆς παλαίστρας, ὁ μὲν ἤδη ἐξ ἐφήβων, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἀμφὶ τὰ πεντεκαίδεκα ἔτη, καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι ἡμᾶς ἐκαθέζοντο ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης παρὰ τῷ πατρί·
Unless you were treating some Epimenides." Tychiades While we were saying these things, Eucrates’ sons entered from the palaestra, one already past his youth, and the other about fifteen years old, and having greeted us, they sat down on the couch beside their father; and a chair was brought in for me.
ἐμοὶ δὲ εἰσεκομίσθη θρόνος. καὶ ὁ Εὐκράτης ὥσπερ ἀναμνησθεὶς πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν τῶν υἱέων· ,
οὕτως ὀναίμην,
ἔφη,
τούτων —
ἐπιβαλὼν αὐτοῖν τὴν χεῖρα —
ἀληθῆ, ὦ Τυχιάδη, πρός σε ἐρῶ.
And Eucrates, as if reminded by the sight of his sons, said: "May I have joy of these," he said, placing his hand upon them, "Tychiades, I will tell you the truth.
τὴν μακαρῖτίν μου γυναῖκα τὴν τούτων μητέρα πάντες ἴσασιν ὅπως ἠγάπησα, ἐδήλωσα δὲ οἷς περὶ αὐτὴν ἔπραξα οὐ ζῶσαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπεὶ ἀπέθανεν, τόν τε κόσμον ἅπαντα συγκατακαύσας καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα ᾗ ζῶσα ἔχαιρεν.
Everyone knows how I loved my blessed wife, their mother, and I showed it by what I did for her, not only while she was alive, but also after she died, by burning along with her all her ornaments and the clothing she enjoyed when alive.
ἑβδόμῃ δὲ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ἡμέρᾳ ἐγὼ μὲν ἐνταῦθα ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης ὥσπερ νῦν ἐκείμην παραμυθούμενος τὸ πένθος· ἀνεγίγνωσκον γὰρ τὸ περὶ ψυχῆς τοῦ Πλάτωνος βιβλίον ἐφʼ ἡσυχίας·
On the seventh day after her death, I was lying here on the couch just as I am now, comforting my grief; for I was reading Plato’s book *On the Soul* in quietness.
ἐπεισέρχεται δὲ μεταξὺ ἡ Δημαινέτη αὐτὴ ἐκείνη καὶ καθίζεται πλησίον ὥσπερ νῦν Εὐκρατίδης οὑτοσί,
δείξας τὸν νεώτερον τῶν υἱέων· ὁ δὲ αὐτίκα ἔφριξε μάλα παιδικῶς, καὶ πάλαι ἤδη ὠχρὸς ὢν πρὸς τὴν διήγησιν.
Meanwhile, Demainete herself enters and sits down near me, just as Eucratides here is sitting now," pointing to the younger of his sons; and the boy immediately shuddered in a very childish way, having already been pale for a long time at the narration.
ἐγὼ δέ,
ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Εὐκράτης,
ὡς εἶδον, περιπλακεὶς αὐτῇ ἐδάκρυον ἀνακωκύσας· ἡ δὲ οὐκ εἴα βοᾶν, ἀλλʼ ᾐτιᾶτό με ὅτι τὰ ἄλλα πάντα χαρισάμενος αὐτῇ θάτερον τοῖν σανδάλοιν χρυσοῖν ὄντοιν οὐ κατακαύσαιμι, εἶναι δὲ αὐτὸ ἔφασκεν ὑπὸ τῇ κιβωτῷ παραπεσόν.
"And I," said Eucrates, "when I saw her, embraced her and wept aloud; but she would not allow me to cry out, but blamed me because, although I had granted her everything else, I did not burn one of her two sandals, which were of gold, and she said it had fallen under the chest.
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡμεῖς οὐχ εὑρόντες θάτερον μόνον ἐκαύσαμεν.
And because of this, since we did not find it, we burned only one of them.
ἔτι δὲ ἡμῶν διαλεγομένων κατάρατόν τι κυνίδιον ὑπὸ τῇ κλίνῃ ὂν Μελιταῖον ὑλάκτησεν, ἡ δὲ ἠφανίσθη πρὸς τὴν ὑλακήν.
While we were still talking, a cursed Melitean lapdog under the couch barked, and she vanished at the barking.
τὸ μέντοι σανδάλιον εὑρέθη ὑπὸ τῇ κιβωτῷ καὶ κατεκαύθη ὕστερον. §28Τυχιάδης
ἔτι ἀπιστεῖν τούτοις, ὦ Τυχιάδη, ἄξιον ἐναργέσιν οὖσιν καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἑκάστην φαονομένοις; μὰ Δίʼ,
ἦν δʼ ἐγώ· ἐπεὶ σανδάλῳ γε χρυσῷ εἰς τὰς πυγὰς ὥσπερ τὰ παιδία παίεσθαι ἄξιοι ἂν εἶεν οἱ ἀπιστοῦντες καὶ οὕτως ἀναισχυντοῦντες πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν. §29Τυχιάδης
ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ Πυθαγορικὸς Ἀρίγνωτος εἰσῆλθεν, ὁ κομήτης, ὁ σεμνὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου, οἶσθα τὸν ἀοίδιμον ἐπὶ τῇ σοφίᾳ, τὸν ἱερὸν ἐπονομαζόμενον.
However, the sandal was found under the chest and was burned later." Tychiades "Is it still right, Tychiades, to disbelieve these things, which are so clear and manifest every day?" "By Zeus," I said, "since those who disbelieve and are so shameless toward the truth would deserve to be beaten on the buttocks with a gold sandal like children." Tychiades Upon this, Arignotus the Pythagorean entered, the one with long hair, solemn of countenance, you know the man celebrated for wisdom, the one surnamed 'the Holy'.
κἀγὼ μὲν ὡς εἶδον αὐτὸν ἀνέπνευσα, τοῦτʼ ἐκεῖνο ἥκειν μοι νομίσας πέλεκύν τινα κατὰ τῶν ψευσμάτων.
And when I saw him, I breathed again, thinking that this very thing, a sort of cleaver against lies, had come to me.
ἐπιστομιεῖ γὰρ αὐτούς,
ἔλεγον,
ὁ σοφὸς ἀνὴρ οὕτω τεράστια διεξιόντας. καὶ τὸ τοῦ λόγου, θεὸν ἀπὸ μηχανῆς ἐπεισκυκληθῆναί μοι τοῦτον ᾤμην ὑπὸ τῆς Τύχης·
"For the wise man," I said, "will muzzle them as they recount such monstrous things." And, as the saying goes, I thought he was rolled onto the stage by Fortune as a deus ex machina for me.
ὁ δὲ ἐπεὶ ἐκαθέζετο ὑπεκστάντος αὐτῷ τοῦ Κλεοδήμου, πρῶτα μὲν περὶ τῆς νόσου ἤρετο, καὶ ὡς ῥᾷον ἤδη ἔχειν ἤκουσεν παρὰ τοῦ Εὐκράτους,
τί δέ,
ἔφη,
πρὸς αὑτοὺς ἐφιλοσοφεῖτε;
And when he sat down, Cleodemus having made room for him, he first asked about the illness, and when he heard from Eucrates that he was already doing better, he said: "What, then," he said, "were you philosophizing about among yourselves?
μεταξὺ γὰρ εἰσιὼν ἐπήκουσα, καί μοι ἐδοκεῖτε εἰς καλὸν διατεθήσεσθαι τὴν διατριβήν. τί δʼ ἄλλο,
εἶπεν ὁ Εὐκράτης,
ἢ τουτονὶ τὸν ἀδαμάντινον πείθομεν
— δείξας ἐμέ —
ἡγεῖσθαι δαίμονάς τινας εἶναι καὶ φάσματα καὶ νεκρῶν ψυχὰς περιπολεῖν ὑπὲρ γῆς καὶ φαίνεσθαι οἷς ἂν ἐθέλωσιν. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἠρυθρίασα καὶ κάτω ἔνευσα αἰδεσθεὶς τὸν Ἀρίγνωτον.
For as I was coming in, I overheard you, and it seemed to me that you were going to employ your leisure beautifully." "What else," said Eucrates, "than that we are trying to convince this adamantine fellow," pointing to me, "to believe that there are certain spirits and apparitions, and that the souls of the dead roam over the earth and appear to whomsoever they wish." I then blushed and looked down, feeling ashamed before Arignotus.
ὁ δὲ,
ὅρα,
ἔφη,
ὦ Εὔκρατες, μὴ τοῦτό φησιν Τυχιάδης, τὰς τῶν βιαίως ἀποθανόντων μόνας ψυχὰς περινοστεῖν, οἷον εἴ τις ἀπήγξατο ἢ ἀπετμήθη τὴν κεφαλὴν ἢ ἀνεσκολοπίσθη ἢ ἄλλῳ γέ τῳ τρόπῳ τοιούτῳ ἀπῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ βίου, τὰς δὲ τῶν κατὰ μοῖραν ἀποθανόντων οὐκέτι· ἢν γὰρ τοῦτο λέγῃ, οὐ πάνυ ἀπόβλητα φήσει. μὰ Δίʼ,
ἦ δʼ ὃς ὁ Δεινόμαχος,
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ὅλως εἶναι τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐδὲ συνεστῶτα ὁρᾶσθαι οἴεται.
But he said: "See to it, Eucrates, lest Tychiades is saying this: that only the souls of those who died violently roam, such as if someone hanged himself, or had his head cut off, or was impaled, or departed from life in some other such manner, but those of those who died according to fate do not; for if he says this, he will not speak entirely rejectable things." "By Zeus," said Deinomachus, "no, he thinks that such things do not exist at all, nor are they seen as having substance."