§24ἤδη δέ τινας καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλλοδαπὴν ἐξέπεμπεν, φήμας ἐμποιήσοντας τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὑπὲρ τοῦ μαντείου καὶ διηγησομένους ὡς προείποι καὶ ἀνεύροι δραπέτας καὶ κλέπτας καὶ λῃστὰς ἐξελέγξειε καὶ θησαυροὺς ἀνορύξαι παράσχοι καὶ νοσοῦντας ἰάσαιτο, ἐνίους δὲ καὶ ἤδη ἀποθανόντας ἀναστήσειεν.
Indeed, he was already sending some people abroad to implant rumors among the nations concerning the oracle, and to relate how he foretold events, discovered runaways, exposed thieves and robbers, made it possible to dig up treasures, healed the sick, and in some cases even raised the dead.
δρόμος οὖν καὶ ὠθισμὸς ἁπανταχόθεν ἐγίγνετο καὶ θυσίαι καὶ ἀναθήματα, καὶ διπλάσια τῷ προφήτῃ καὶ μαθητῇ τοῦ θεοῦ.
Consequently, there was a rush and a throng from all sides, and sacrifices and votive offerings, and double shares for the prophet and disciple of the god.
καὶ γὰρ αὖ καὶ οὗτος ἐξέπεσεν ὁ χρησμός· "Τιέμεναι κέλομαι τὸν ἐμὸν θεράπονθʼ ὑποφήτην· οὐ γάρ μοι κτεάνων μέλεται ἄγαν, ἀλλʼ ὑποφήτου· " §25ἐπεὶ δὲ ἤδη πολλοὶ τῶν νοῦν ἐχόντων ὥσπερ ἐκ μέθης βαθείας ἀναφέροντες συνίσταντο ἐπʼ αὐτόν, καὶ μάλιστα ὅσοι Ἐπικούρου ἑταῖροι ἦσαν, καὶ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐπεφώρατο ἠρέμα ἡ πᾶσα μαγγανεία καὶ συσκευὴ τοῦ δράματος, ἐκφέρει φόβητρόν τι ἐπʼ αὐτούς, λέγων ἀθέων ἐμπεπλῆσθαι καὶ Χριστιανῶν τὸν Πόντον, οἳ περὶ αὐτοῦ τολμῶσι τὰ κάκιστα βλασφημεῖν· οὓς ἐκέλευε λίθοις ἐλαύνειν, εἴ γε θέλουσιν ἵλεω ἔχειν τὸν θεόν.
For this oracle also was put forth: "I bid you honor my servant the prophet; for I do not care much for possessions, but for the prophet." But when many of those who had sense, recovering as if from a deep intoxication, began to band together against him, especially those who were associates of Epicurus, and the whole trickery and staging of the drama was gradually detected in the cities, he brought out a kind of bugbear against them, saying that Pontus was full of atheists and Christians who dared to utter the worst blasphemies against him; these he ordered them to drive away with stones, if indeed they wished to have the god propitious.
περὶ δὲ Ἐπικούρου καὶ τοιοῦτόν τινα χρησμὸν ἀπεφθέγξατο· ἐρομένου γάρ τινος τί πράττει ἐν Ἅιδου ὁ Ἐπίκουρος; "Μολυβδίνας ἔχων,
ἔφη,
πέδας ἐν βορβόρῳ κάθηται. "
εἶτα θαυμάζεις εἰ ἐπὶ μέγα ἤρθη τὸ χρηστήριον, ὁρῶν τὰς ἐρωτήσεις τῶν προσιόντων συνετὰς καὶ πεπαιδευμένας;
Concerning Epicurus, he uttered some such oracle; for when someone asked, "What is Epicurus doing in Hades?" "Wearing leaden fetters," he said, "he sits in the mud." Do you then wonder that the oracle rose to great height, seeing that the questions of those who came were shrewd and educated?
ὅλως δὲ ἄσπονδος καὶ ἀκήρυκτος αὐτῷ ὁ πόλεμος πρὸς Ἐπίκουρον ἦν· μάλα εἰκότως.
In general, his war against Epicurus was without truce or herald; and very naturally.
τίνι γὰρ ἂν ἄλλῳ δικαιότερον προσεπολέμει γόης ἄνθρωπος καὶ τερατείᾳ φίλος, ἀληθείᾳ δὲ ἔχθιστος, ἢ Ἐπικούρῳ ἀνδρὶ τὴν φύσιν τῶν πραγμάτων καθεωρακότι καὶ μόνῳ τὴν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀλήθειαν εἰδότι;
For with whom else would a juggler and a lover of marvels, but a most bitter enemy of truth, more justly go to war than with Epicurus, a man who had seen into the nature of things and alone knew the truth in them?
οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀμφὶ τὸν Πλάτωνα καὶ Χρύσιππον καὶ Πυθαγόραν φίλοι, καὶ εἰρήνη βαθεῖα πρὸς ἐκείνους ἦν· ὁ δὲ ἄτεγκτος Ἐπίκουρος — οὕτως γὰρ αὐτὸν ὠνόμαζεν — ἔχθιστος δικαίως, πάντα ταῦτα ἐν γέλωτι καὶ παιδιᾷ τιθέμενος.
For the followers of Plato, Chrysippus, and Pythagoras were his friends, and there was a deep peace with them; but the unyielding Epicurus—for so he called him—was justly his greatest enemy, considering all these things as a laughing-matter and a joke.
διὸ καὶ τὴν Ἄμαστριν ἐμίσει μάλιστα τῶν Ποντικῶν πόλεων, ὅτι ἠπίστατο τοὺς περὶ Λέπιδον καὶ ἄλλους ὁμοίους αὐτοῖς πολλοὺς ἐνόντας ἐν τῇ πόλει· οὐδὲ ἐχρησμῴδησε πώποτε Ἀμαστριανῷ ἀνδρί.
Therefore he also hated Amastris most of all the Pontic cities, because he knew that the followers of Lepidus and many others like them were in the city; nor did he ever give an oracle to a man of Amastris.
ὁπότε δὲ καὶ ἐτόλμησεν ἀδελφῷ συγκλητικοῦ χρησμῳδῆσαι, καταγελάστως ἀπήλλαξεν, οὐχ εὑρὼν οὔτε αὐτὸς πλάσασθαι χρησμὸν δεξιὸν οὔτε τὸν ποιῆσαι πρὸς καιρὸν αὐτῷ δυνησόμενον.
And when he did once dare to give an oracle to the brother of a senator, he came off ridiculously, being unable either to devise a clever oracle himself or to find anyone who could make one for him for the occasion.
μεμφομένῳ γὰρ αὐτῷ στομάχου ὀδύνην προστάξαι βουλόμενος ὕειον πόδα μετὰ μαλάχης ἐσκευασμένον ἐσθίειν οὕτως ἔφη· "Μάλβακα χοιράων ἱερῇ κυμίνευε σιπύδνῳ. " §26πολλάκις μὲν οὖν, ὡς προεῖπον, ἔδειξε τὸν δράκοντα τοῖς δεομένοις, οὐχ ὅλον, ἀλλὰ τὴν οὐρὸν μάλιστα καὶ τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα προβεβληκώς, τὴν κεφαλὴν δὲ ὑπὸ κόλπου ἀθέατον φυλάττων.
For when the man complained of a stomach ache, wishing to order him to eat a pig's foot prepared with mallow, he spoke thus: "Season the mallow of pigs with cumin in the sacred chest." Often, then, as I said before, he showed the serpent to those who asked, not the whole of it, but showing chiefly the tail and the rest of the body, while keeping the head unseen under his cloak.
ἐθελήσας δὲ καὶ μειζόνως ἐκπλῆξαι τὸ πλῆθος, ὑπέσχετο καὶ λαλοῦντα παρέξειν τὸν θεόν, αὐτὸν ἄνευ ὑποφήτου χρησμῳδοῦντα.
Wishing also to strike the multitude with greater amazement, he promised to present the god speaking, giving oracles himself without a prophet.
εἶτα οὐ χαλεπῶς γεράνων ἀρτηρίας συνάψας καὶ διὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐκείνης τῆς μεμηχανημένης πρὸς ὁμοιότητα διείρας, ἄλλου τινὸς ἔξωθεν ἐμβοῶντος, ἀπεκρίνετο πρὸς τὰς ἐρωτήσεις, τῆς φωνῆς διὰ τοῦ ὀθονίνου ἐκείνου Ἀσκληπιοῦ προπιπτούσης.
Then, by joining crane's windpipes together without difficulty and passing them through that head which had been manufactured to resemble a real one, while someone else screamed from the outside, he answered the questions, the voice falling out through that linen Asclepius.
ἐκαλοῦντο δὲ οἱ χρησμοὶ οὗτοι αὐτόφωνοι, καὶ οὐ πᾶσιν ἐδίδοντο οὐδὲ ἀνέδην, ἀλλὰ τοῖς εὐπαρύφοις καὶ πλουσίοις καὶ μεγαλοδώροις.
These oracles were called "self-spoken," and they were not given to all nor indiscriminately, but to those who wore garments with purple borders, the rich, and the generous givers.