§18Φίλος
ἄτοπα διηγῇ τὰ περὶ τῶν βασιλέων καὶ μικροῦ δεῖν ἄπιστα.
Friend You narrate strange things about the kings, and almost incredible.
τί δὲ ὁ Σωκράτης ἔπραττεν καὶ Διογένης καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος τῶν σοφῶν;
But what was Socrates doing, and Diogenes, and if there is anyone else of the wise men?
Μένιππος
ὁ μὲν Σωκράτης κἀκεῖ περίεισιν διελέγχων ἅπαντας· σύνεστι δʼ αὐτῷ Παλαμήδης καὶ Ὀδυσσεὺς καὶ Νέστωρ καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος λάλος νεκρός.
Menippus Socrates, on the one hand, walks about there too, refuting everyone; and with him are Palamedes and Odysseus and Nestor, and if there is any other talkative dead person.
ἔτι μέντοι ἐπεφύσητο αὐτῷ καὶ διῳδήκει ἐκ τῆς φαρμακοποσίας τὰ σκέλη.
Yet indeed, his legs were still swollen and puffed up from the drinking of the poison.
ὁ δὲ βέλτιστος Διογένης παροικεῖ μὲν Σαρδαναπάλλῳ τῷ Ἀσσυρίῳ καὶ Μίδᾳ τῷ Φρυγὶ καὶ ἄλλοις τισὶ τῶν πολυτελῶν· ἀκούων δὲ οἰμωζόντων αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν παλαιὰν τύχην ἀναμετρουμένων γελᾷ τε καὶ τέρπεται, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ ὕπτιος κατακείμενος ᾄδει μάλα τραχείᾳ καὶ ἀπηνεῖ τῇ φωνῇ τὰς οἰμωγὰς αὐτῶν ἐπικαλύπτων, ὥστε ἀνιᾶσθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας καὶ διασκέπτεσθαι μετοικεῖν οὐ φέροντας τὸν Διογένην.
But the excellent Diogenes lives nearby Sardanapalus the Assyrian and Midas the Phrygian and certain others of the luxurious; and hearing them lamenting and recounting their former fortune, he laughs and delights, and for the most part, lying on his back, he sings in a very harsh and unpleasant voice, drowning out their lamentations, so that the men are vexed and consider moving, unable to bear Diogenes.
§19Φίλος
ταυτὶ μὲν ἱκανῶς·
Friend These things indeed are enough.
τί δὲ τὸ ψήφισμα ἦν, ὅπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ ἔλεγες κεκυρῶσθαι κατὰ τῶν πλουσίων;
But what was the decree which you said in the beginning had been ratified against the rich?
Μένιππος
εὖ γε ὑπέμνησας· οὐ γὰρ οἶδʼ ὅπως περὶ τούτου λέγειν προθέμενος πάμπολυ ἀπεπλανήθην τοῦ λόγου.
Menippus You did well to remind me; for I do not know how, though intending to speak about this, I wandered far away from the subject.
διατρίβοντος γάρ μου παρʼ αὐτοῖς προὔθεσαν οἱ πρυτάνεις ἐκκλησίαν περὶ τῶν κοινῇ συμφερόντων· ἰδὼν οὖν πολλοὺς συνθέοντας ἀναμίξας ἐμαυτὸν τοῖς νεκροῖς εὐθὺς εἷς καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν τῶν ἐκκλησιαστῶν.
For while I was spending time among them, the prytaneis proposed an assembly concerning matters of common interest; seeing therefore many running together, I mixed myself with the dead, and immediately I myself was also one of the assembly-members.
διῳκήθη μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλα, τελευταῖον δὲ τὸ περὶ τῶν πλουσίων· ἐπεὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν κατηγόρητο πολλὰ καὶ δεινά, βία καὶ ἀλαζονεία καὶ ὑπεροψία καὶ ἀδικία, τέλος ἀναστάς τις τῶν δημαγωγῶν ἀνέγνω ψήφισμα τοιοῦτον. §20Ψήφισμα
ἐπειδὴ πολλὰ καὶ παράνομα οἱ πλούσιοι δρῶσι παρὰ τὸν βίον ἁρπάζοντες καὶ βιαζόμενοι καὶ πάντα τρόπον τῶν πενήτων καταφρονοῦντες,
δεδόχθω τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῷ δήμῳ, ἐπειδὰν ἀποθάνωσι, τὰ μὲν σώματα αὐτῶν κολάζεσθαι καθάπερ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων πονηρῶν, τὰς δὲ ψυχὰς ἀναπεμφθείσας ἄνω εἰς τὸν βίον καταδύεσθαι εἰς τοὺς ὄνους, ἄχρις ἂν ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ διαγάγωσι μυριάδας ἐτῶν πέντε καὶ εἴκοσιν, ὄνοι ἐξ ὄνων γιγνόμενοι καὶ ἀχθοφοροῦντες καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν πενήτων ἐλαυνόμενοι, τοὐντεῦθεν δὲ λοιπὸν ἐξεῖναι αὐτοῖς ἀποθανεῖν.
Thus other matters also were transacted, but last of all that concerning the rich; for when many terrible accusations had been made against them—violence, arrogance, insolence, and injustice—finally one of the demagogues stood up and read a decree of this kind: Decree Since the rich commit many unlawful deeds during their life, plundering and using violence and in every way despising the poor, be it resolved by the Council and the People: when they die, their bodies on the one hand shall be punished just like those of other wicked men, but their souls, sent back up into life, shall enter into donkeys, until they spend twenty-five ten-thousands of years in such a state, becoming donkeys from donkeys and bearing burdens and being driven by the poor, and thereafter finally it shall be permitted for them to die.
εἶπε τὴν γνώμην Κρανίων Σκελετίωνος Νεκυσιεὺς φυλῆς Ἀλιβαντίδος.
The motion was proposed by Cranion, son of Skeletion, of the deme Necysieus, of the tribe Alibantis.
Τούτου ἀναγνωσθέντος τοῦ ψηφίσματος ἐπεψήφισαν μὲν αἱ ἀρχαί, ἐπεχειροτόνησε δὲ τὸ πλῆθος καὶ ἐβριμήσατο ἡ Βριμὼ καὶ ὑλάκτησεν ὁ Κέρβερος· οὕτω γὰρ ἐντελῆ γίγνεται καὶ κύρια τὰ ἐγνωσμένα.
When this decree was read, the magistrates put it to the vote, and the multitude held up their hands in approval, and Brimo roared, and Cerberus barked; for in this way the decisions become complete and authoritative.
§21ταῦτα μὲν δή σοι τὰ ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ.
These, then, were the things for you in the assembly.
ἐγὼ δέ, οὗπερ ἀφίγμην ἕνεκα, τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ προσελθὼν ἱκέτευον αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα διηγησάμενος εἰπεῖν πρός με ποῖόν τινα ἡγεῖται τὸν ἄριστον βίον.
But I, for the sake of which I had arrived, went up to Teiresias and, after narrating everything, begged him to tell me what kind of life he considered to be the best.
ὁ δὲ γελάσας — ἔστι δὲ τυφλόν τι γερόντιον καὶ ὠχρὸν καὶ λεπτόφωνον —
Ὦ τέκνον,
φησί,
τήν μὲν αἰτίαν οἶδά σοι τῆς ἀπορίας ὅτι παρὰ τῶν σοφῶν ἐγένετο οὐ ταὐτὰ γιγνωσκόντων ἑαυτοῖς· ἀτὰρ οὐ θέμις λέγειν πρὸς σέ· ἀπείρηται γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ῥαδαμάνθυος. μηδαμῶς,
ἔφην,
ὦ πατέριον, ἀλλʼ εἰπὲ καὶ μὴ περιίδῃς με σοῦ τυφλότερον περιιόντα ἐν τῷ βίῳ. ὁ δὲ δή με ἀπαγαγὼν καὶ πολὺ τῶν ἄλλων ἀποσπάσας ἤρεμα προσκύψας πρὸς τὸ οὖς φησίν,
ὁ τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἄριστος βίος, καὶ σωφρονέστερος παυσάμενος τοῦ μετεωρολογεῖν καὶ τέλη καὶ ἀρχὰς ἐπισκοπεῖν καὶ καταπτύσας τῶν σοφῶν τούτων συλλογισμῶν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λῆρον ἡγησάμενος τοῦτο μόνον ἐξ ἅπαντος θηράσῃ, ὅπως τὸ παρὸν εὖ θέμενος παραδράμῃς γελῶν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ περὶ μηδὲν ἐσπουδακώς. "ὣς εἰπὼν πάλιν ὦρτο κατʼ ἀσφοδελὸν λειμῶνα. "
And he, having laughed—now he is a blind little old man, pale and thin-voiced— 'O child,' says he, 'I know the cause of your perplexity, that it arose from the wise men who do not agree with one another; yet it is not lawful to speak to you; for it has been forbidden by Rhadamanthys.' 'By no means,' I said, 'dear father, but speak, and do not overlook me wandering about in life blinder than you.' And he drew me away and, pulling me far apart from the others, gently bending down to my ear, says, 'The life of ordinary men is the best, and more sound-minded; having ceased from investigating celestial matters and examining ends and beginnings, and having spat upon the syllogisms of these wise men and having deemed such things nonsense, hunt for this alone out of all: how, having disposed the present well, you may pass along laughing for the most part and having been serious about nothing.' So saying, he went back along the asphodel meadow.
§22ἐγὼ δὲ — καὶ γὰρ ἤδη ὀψὲ ἦν —
ἄγε δή, ὦ Μιθροβαρζάνη,
φημί,
τί διαμέλλομεν καὶ οὐκ ἄπιμεν αὖθις εἰς τὸν βίον; ὁ δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα,
θάρρει,
φησίν,
ὦ Μένιππε· ταχεῖαν γάρ σοι καὶ ἀπράγμονα ὑποδείξω ἀτραπόν. καὶ δὴ ἀγαγών με πρός τι χωρίον τοῦ ἄλλου ζοφερώτερον δείξας τῇ χειρὶ πόρρωθεν ἀμαυρὸν καὶ λεπτὸν ὥσπερ διὰ κλειθρίας φῶς εἰσρέον,
ἐκεῖνο,
ἔφη,
ἐστὶν τὸ ἱερὸν τὸ Τροφωνίου, κἀκεῖθεν κατίασιν οἱ ἀπὸ Βοιωτίας.
And I—for indeed it was already late— 'Come now, Mithrobarzanes,' I say, 'why do we delay and not go back again into life?' And he, in response to this, 'Be of good courage,' says he, 'Menippus; for I will point out to you a swift and trouble-free path.' And indeed, having led me to a certain place gloomier than the rest, having pointed out with his hand from afar a dim and thin light streaming in as if through a keyhole, 'That,' he said, 'is the sanctuary of Trophonius, and from there those from Boeotia come down.
ταύτην οὖν ἄνιθι καὶ εὐθὺς ἔσῃ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἑλλάδος. ἡσθεὶς δὲ τοῖς εἰρημένοις ἐγὼ καὶ τὸν μάγον ἀσπασάμενος χαλεπῶς μάλα διὰ τοῦ στομίου ἀνερπύσας οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἐν Λεβαδείᾳ γίγνομαι.
Go up this way, therefore, and immediately you will be in Greece.' And I, pleased with what was said and having bid farewell to the magus, having crawled up with great difficulty through the opening, found myself somehow in Lebadeia.