§19καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἴσως μέτρια· τί δέ με ὁ κωκυτὸς ὑμῶν ὀνίνησι καὶ ἡ πρὸς τὸν αὐλὸν αὕτη στερνοτυπία καὶ ἡ τῶν γυναικῶν περὶ τὸν θρῆνον ἀμετρία;
And these things are perhaps moderate; but what benefit to me is your wailing and this beating of breasts to the flute, and the excess of the women in their lamentation?
τί δὲ ὁ ὑπὲρ τοῦ τάφου λίθος ἐστεφανωμένος;
And what is the stone crowned above the tomb?
ἢ τί ὑμῖν δύναται τὸν ἄκρατον ἐπιχεῖν;
Or what does it avail you to pour out unmixed wine?
ἢ νομίζετε καταστάξειν αὐτὸν πρὸς ἡμᾶς καὶ μέχρι τοῦ Ἅιδου διίξεσθαι;
Or do you think it will trickle down to us and penetrate even to Hades?
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν καθαγισμῶν καὶ αὐτοὶ ὁρᾶτε, οἶμαι, ὡς τὸ μὲν νοστιμώτατον τῶν παρεσκευασμένων ὁ καπνὸς παραλαβὼν ἄνω εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἴχεται μηδέν τι ἡμᾶς ὀνῆσαν τοὺς κάτω, τὸ δὲ καταλειπόμενον, ἡ κόνις, ἀχρεῖον, ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ τὴν σποδὸν ἡμᾶς σιτεῖσθαι πεπιστεύκατε.
For as to the offerings, you yourselves see, I think, how the most delicious part of what is prepared is taken by the smoke and goes up to heaven, benefiting us below not at all, and what is left, the dust, is useless, unless indeed you believe that we feed upon ashes.
οὐχ οὕτως ἄσπορος οὐδὲ ἄκαρπος ἡ τοῦ Πλούτωνος ἀρχή, οὐδὲ ἐπιλέλοιπεν ἡμᾶς ὁ ἀσφόδελος, ἵνα παρʼ ὑμῶν τὰ σιτία μεταστελλώμεθα.
The realm of Pluto is not so barren of seed nor fruitless, nor has the asphodel failed us, that we should summon food from you.
ὥστε μοι νὴ τὴν Τισιφόνην πάλαι δὴ ἐφʼ οἷς ἐποιεῖτε καὶ ἐλέγετε παμμέγεθες ἐπῄει ἀνακαγχάσαι, διεκώλυσε δὲ ἡ ὀθόνη καὶ τὰ ἔρια, οἷς μου τὰς σιαγόνας ἀπεσφίγξατε.
So that, by Tisiphone, I have long felt a strong desire to burst out laughing at what you were doing and saying, but the linen band and the wool, with which you bound my jaws tight, prevented me.
§20"ὣς ἄρα μιν εἰπόντα τέλος θανάτοιο κάλυψε. "
πρὸς Διός, ἐὰν λέγῃ ταῦτα ὁ νεκρὸς ἐπιστραφείς, ἀνακλίνας αὑτὸν ἐπʼ ἀγκῶνος, οὐκ ἂν οἰόμεθα δικαιότατα ἂν αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν;
"Thus as he spoke, the end of death enveloped him." By Zeus, if the dead man, turning around and leaning on his elbow, should say these things, do we not think he would speak most justly?
ἀλλʼ ὅμως οἱ μάταιοι καὶ βοῶσι καὶ μεταστειλάμενοί τινα θρήνων σοφιστὴν πολλὰς συνειλοχότα παλαιὰς συμφορὰς τούτῳ συναγωνιστῇ καὶ χορηγῷ τῆς ἀνοίας καταχρῶνται, ὅπη ἂν ἐκεῖνος ἐξάρχῃ πρὸς τὸ μέλος ἐπαιάζοντες.
Yet nevertheless, the foolish people both cry out and, having sent for some sophist of laments who has collected many ancient calamities, they abuse him as a fellow-combatant and patron of their folly, wailing in accompaniment to the melody wherever he leads.
§21καὶ μέχρι μὲν θρήνων ὁ αὐτὸς ἅπασι νόμος τῆς ἀβελτερίας· τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου διελόμενοι κατὰ ἔθνη τὰς ταφὰς ὁ μὲν Ἕλλην ἔκαυσεν, ὁ δὲ Πέρσης ἔθαψεν, ὁ δὲ Ἰνδὸς ὑάλῳ περιχρίει, ὁ δὲ Σκύθης κατεσθίει, ταριχεύει δὲ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος· οὗτος μέν γε — λέγω δὲ ἰδών — ξηράνας τὸν νεκρὸν σύνδειπνον καὶ συμπότην ἐποιήσατο.
And up to the point of lamentations, the same law of folly is common to all; but after this, dividing the burials by nations, the Greek burns, the Persian buries, the Indian smears with glass, the Scythian devours, and the Egyptian embalms; this last one at least—I say this having seen it—having dried the corpse, makes him a companion at dinner and drinking.
πολλάκις δὲ καὶ δεομένῳ χρημάτων ἀνδρὶ Αἰγυπτίῳ ἔλυσε τὴν ἀπορίαν ἐνέχυρον ἢ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ὁ πατὴρ ἐν καιρῷ γενόμενος.
And often, for an Egyptian man in need of money, either a brother or a father, becoming a pledge in due season, relieves his distress.
§22χώματα μὲν γὰρ καὶ πυραμίδες καὶ στῆλαι καὶ ἐπιγράμματα πρὸς ὀλίγον διαρκοῦντα πῶς οὐ περιττὰ καὶ παιδιαῖς προσεοικότα;
For as for mounds, pyramids, pillars, and inscriptions lasting but a short time, how are they not superfluous and resembling children's games?
§23καίτοι καὶ ἀγῶνας ἔνιοι διέθεσαν καὶ λόγους ἐπιταφίους εἶπον ἐπὶ τῶν μνημάτων ὥσπερ συναγορεύοντες ἢ μαρτυροῦντες παρὰ τοῖς κάτω δικασταῖς τῷ νεκρῷ.
And indeed, some even arrange games and deliver funeral orations at the tombs, as if advocating for or testifying on behalf of the dead before the judges below.
§24ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις τὸ περίδειπνον, καὶ πάρεισιν οἱ προσήκοντες καὶ τοὺς γονέας παραμυθοῦνται τοῦ τετελευτηκότος καὶ πείθουσι γεύσασθαι, οὐκ ἀηδῶς μὰ Δία οὐδʼ αὐτοὺς ἀναγκαζομένους, ἀλλὰ ἤδη ὑπὸ λιμοῦ τριῶν ἑξῆς ἡμερῶν ἀπηυδηκότας.
Upon all these things is the funeral feast, and the relatives are present and comfort the parents of the deceased and persuade them to taste food, not unwillingly, by Zeus, nor they themselves being forced, but already exhausted by hunger for three successive days.
καί,
μέχρι μὲν τίνος, ὦ οὗτος, ὀδυρόμεθα;
And, "How long, my friend, shall we lament?
ἔασον ἀναπαύσασθαι τοὺς τοῦ μακαρίτου δαίμονας· εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸ παράπαν κλάειν διέγνωκας, αὐτοῦ γε τούτου ἕνεκα χρὴ μὴ ἀπόσιτον εἶναι, ἵνα καὶ διαρκέσῃς πρὸς τοῦ πένθους τὸ μέγεθος. τότε δὴ τότε ῥαψωδοῦνται πρὸς ἁπάντων δύο τοῦ Ὁμήρου στίχοι· "καὶ γάρ τʼ ἠΰκομος Νιόβη ἐμνήσατο σίτου· "
καὶ
"γαστέρι δʼ οὔπως ἐστὶ νέκυν πενθῆσαι Ἀχαιούς. "
οἱ δὲ ἅπτονται μέν, αἰσχυνόμενοι δὲ τὰ πρῶτα καὶ δεδιότες εἰ φανοῦνται μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν τῶν φιλτάτων τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις πάθεσιν ἐμμένοντες.
Let the spirits of the blessed one rest; and if you have decided to weep altogether, for this very reason you must not go without food, so that you may hold out against the magnitude of the grief." Then indeed, then, two lines of Homer are recited by everyone: "For even fair-haired Niobe remembered food;" and "By the belly, it is in no way possible for the Achaeans to mourn the dead." And they touch the food, but feeling ashamed at first and fearing lest they should appear, after the death of their dearest ones, to cling to human passions.
ταῦτα καὶ πολὺ τούτων γελοιότερα εὕροι τις ἂν ἐπιτηρῶν ἐν τοῖς πένθεσι γιγνόμενα διὰ τὸ τοὺς πολλοὺς τὸ μέγιστον τῶν κακῶν τὸν θάνατον οἴεσθαι.
These things, and things much more ridiculous than these, one would find happening if one observed closely in times of mourning, because the majority of people think death is the greatest of evils.