§43ἐθέλω δέ σοι καὶ διάλογον διηγήσασθαι τοῦ Γλύκωνος καὶ Σακερδῶτός τινος, Τιανοῦ ἀνθρώπου· ὁποίου τινὸς τὴν σύνεσιν, εἴσῃ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρωτήσεων.
I wish also to relate to you a dialogue between Glycon and a certain Sacerdos, a man of Tium; what sort of intelligence he had, you will know from his questions.
ἀνέγνων δὲ αὐτὸν χρυσοῖς γράμμασιν γεγραμμένον ἐν Τίῳ, ἐν τῇ τοῦ Σακερδῶτος οἰκίᾳ.
I read it written in letters of gold in Tium, in the house of Sacerdos.
εἰπὲ γάρ μοι,
ἔφη,
ὦ δέσποτα Γλύκων, τίς εἶ; ἐγώ,
ἦ δʼ ὅς,
Ἀσκληπιὸς νέος. ἄλλος παρʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν πρότερον;
"Tell me," he said, "lord Glycon, who are you?" "I," he replied, "am a new Asclepius." "Another besides that former one?
πῶς λέγεις; οὐ θέμις ἀκοῦσαί σε τοῦτό γε. πόσα δὲ ἡμῖν ἔτη παραμενεῖς χρησμῳδῶν; τρίτον πρὸς τοῖς χιλίοις. εἶτα ποῖ μεταστήσῃ; ἐς
Βάκτρα καὶ τὴν ἐκεῖ γῆν· δεῖ γὰρ ἀπολαῦσαι καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους τῆς ἐπιδημίας τῆς ἐμῆς. τὰ δʼ ἄλλα χρηστήρια, τὸ ἐν Διδύμοις καὶ τὸ ἐν Κλάρῳ καὶ τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς, ἔχουσι τὸν πατέρα τὸν Ἀπόλλω χρησμῳδοῦντα, ἢ ψευδεῖς εἰσιν οἱ νῦν ἐκπίπτοντες ἐκεῖ χρησμοί; μηδὲ τοῦτο ἐθελήσῃς εἰδέναι· οὐ γὰρ θέμις. ἐγὼ δὲ τίς ἔσομαι μετὰ τὸν νῦν βίον; κάμηλος, εἶτα ἵππος, εἶτʼ ἀνὴρ σοφὸς καὶ προφήτης οὐ μείων Ἀλεξάνδρου. Τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ Γλύκων τῷ Σακερδῶτι διελέχθη.
What do you mean?" "It is not lawful for you to hear this, at least." "And how many years will you remain with us, delivering oracles?" "A thousand and three." "Then where will you remove?" "To Bactra and the country there; for the barbarians too must enjoy my presence." "And the other oracles, that at Didyma, that at Clarus, and that at Delphi, do they have your father Apollo delivering oracles, or are the oracles now coming out there false?" "Do not wish to know this either; for it is not lawful." "And what shall I be after my present life?" "A camel, then a horse, then a wise man and a prophet not less than Alexander." Such was the conversation Glycon held with Sacerdos.
ἐπὶ τέλει δὲ χρησμὸν ἔμμετρον ἐφθέγξατο, εἰδὼς αὐτὸν Λεπίδῳ ἑταῖρον ὄντα· "Μὴ πείθου Λεπίδῳ, ἐπεὶ ἦ λυγρὸς οἶτος ὀπηδεῖ. "
πάνυ γὰρ ἐδεδίει τὸν Ἐπίκουρον, ὡς προεῖπον, ὥς τινα ἀντίτεχνον καὶ ἀντισοφιστὴν τῆς μαγγανείας αὐτοῦ.
And at the end he uttered a metrical oracle, knowing that he was a companion of Lepidus: "Trust not Lepidus, since a grievous fate follows close." For he was exceedingly afraid of Epicurus, as I said before, as a rival practitioner and a counter-sophist to his jugglery.
§44ἕνα γοῦν τινα τῶν Ἐπικουρείων, τολμήσαντα καὶ διελέγχειν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πολλῶν τῶν παρόντων, εἰς κίνδυνον οὐ μικρὸν κατέστησεν.
At any rate, he brought a certain Epicurean into no small danger, who had dared even to refute him in the presence of many.
ὁ μὲν γὰρ προσελθὼν ἔλεγεν μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ· σὺ μέντοι γε, ὦ Ἀλέξανδρε, τὸν δεῖνα Παφλαγόνα προσαγαγεῖν οἰκέτας αὐτοῦ τῷ ἡγουμένῳ τῆς Γαλατίας τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ ἀνέπεισας ὡς ἀπεκτονότας τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ παιδευόμενον, ὁ δὲ νεανίσκος ζῇ καὶ ἐπανελήλυθε ζῶν μετὰ τὴν τῶν οἰκετῶν ἀπώλειαν, θηρίοις ὑπὸ σοῦ παραδοθέντων. τοιοῦτον δέ τι ἐγεγένητο· ἀναπλεύσας ὁ νεανίσκος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἄχρι τοῦ Κλύσματος, πλοίου ἀναγομένου ἐπείσθη καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς Ἰνδίαν πλεῦσαι, κἀπειδήπερ ἐβράδυνεν, οἱ δυστυχεῖς ἐκεῖνοι οἰκέται αὐτοῦ, οἰηθέντες ἢ ἐν τῷ Νείλῳ πλέοντα διεφθάρθαι τὸν νεανίσκον ἢ καὶ ὑπὸ λῃστῶν — πολλοὶ δὲ ἦσαν τότε — ἀνῃρῆσθαι, ἐπανῆλθον ἀπαγγέλλοντες αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀφανισμόν.
For the man came forward and said in a loud voice: "And yet, Alexander, you persuaded a certain Paphlagonian to bring his servants before the governor of Galatia on a capital charge, as having killed his son who was being educated in Alexandria; but the young man is alive and has returned living after the destruction of the servants, who were delivered to wild beasts because of you." For something of this sort had happened: the young man, having sailed up to Egypt as far as Clysma, was persuaded, since a ship was putting to sea, to sail himself also to India; and since he delayed, those unfortunate servants of his, thinking either that the young man had perished while sailing on the Nile, or even had been slain by robbers—of whom there were many then—returned announcing his disappearance.
εἶτα ὁ χρησμὸς καὶ ἡ καταδίκη, μεθʼ ἣν ἐπέστη ὁ νεανίσκος διηγούμενος τὴν ἀποδημίαν.
Then came the oracle and the condemnation, after which the young man arrived, relating his travels.
§45ὃ μὲν ταῦτα ἔλεγεν.
He said these things.
ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος ἀγανακτήσας ἐπὶ τῷ ἐλέγχῳ καὶ μὴ φέρων τοῦ ὀνείδους τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐκέλευεν τοὺς παρόντας λίθοις βάλλειν αὐτόν, ἢ καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐναγεῖς ἔσεσθαι καὶ Ἐπικουρείους κληθήσεσθαι.
But Alexander, enraged at the refutation and not bearing the truth of the reproach, ordered those present to stone him, or else they themselves would be accursed and be called Epicureans.
τῶν δὲ βάλλειν ἀρξαμένων Δημόστρατός τις ἐπιδημῶν, τοῦ Πόντου πρῶτος, περιχυθεὶς ἐρρύσατο τοῦ θανάτου τὸν ἄνθρωπον μικροῦ δεῖν καταλευσθέντα, πάνυ δικαίως.
When they began to throw stones, a certain Demostratus who was visiting, the foremost man of Pontus, flung himself around him and rescued the man from death when he was within a little of being stoned to death, and very justly so.
τί γὰρ ἔδει μόνον φρονεῖν ἐν τοσούτοις μεμηνόσιν καὶ παραπολαῦσαι τῆς Παφλαγόνων μωρίας;
For why was it necessary to be the only sane man among so many madmen, and to share in the consequences of the Paphlagonians' folly?
§46καὶ τὰ μὲν κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τοιαῦτα.
And the events concerning that man were of this sort.
εἰ δέ τινι, προσκαλουμένων κατὰ τάξιν τῶν χρησμῶν — πρὸ μιᾶς δὲ τοῦτο τοῦ θεσπίζειν ἐγίγνετο — καὶ ἐρομένου τοῦ κήρυκος εἰ θεσπίζει τῷδε, ἀνεῖπεν ἔνδοθεν· ἐς κόρακας,
οὐκέτι τὸν τοιοῦτον οὔτε στέγῃ τις ἐδέχετο οὔτε πυρὸς ἢ ὕδατος ἐκοινώνει, ἀλλʼ ἔδει γῆν πρὸ γῆς ἐλαύνεσθαι ὡς ἀσεβῆ καὶ ἄθεον καὶ Ἐπικούρειον, ἥπερ ἦν ἡ μεγίστη λοιδορία.
But if, when the inquiries were called up in order—and this took place on the day before the delivering of oracles—and the herald asked if he would deliver an oracle to this person, he answered from within: "To the crows with him!" no longer would anyone receive such a person under their roof, nor share fire or water with him, but he had to be driven from land to land as unholy, atheist, and Epicurean, which was the greatest abuse.
§47ἓν γοῦν καὶ γελοιότατον ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος·
At all events, Alexander did one thing which was most ridiculous.
εὑρὼν γὰρ τὰς Ἐπικούρου κυρίας δόξας, τὸ κάλλιστον, ὡς οἶσθα, τῶν βιβλίων καὶ κεφαλαιώδη περιέχον τῆς τἀνδρὸς σοφίας τὰ δόγματα, κομίσας εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν μέσην ἔκαυσεν ἐπὶ ξύλων συκίνων ὡς δῆθεν αὐτὸν καταφλέγων, καὶ τὴν σποδὸν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐξέβαλεν, ἔτι καὶ χρησμὸν ἐπιφθεγξάμενος· "Πυρπολέειν κέλομαι δόξας ἀλαοῖο γέροντος· "
οὐκ εἰδὼς ὁ κατάρατος ὅσων ἀγαθῶν τὸ βιβλίον ἐκεῖνο τοῖς ἐντυχοῦσιν αἴτιον γίγνεται, καὶ ὅσην αὐτοῖς εἰρήνην καὶ ἀταραξίαν καὶ ἐλευθερίαν ἐνεργάζεται, δειμάτων μὲν καὶ φασμάτων καὶ τεράτων ἀπαλλάττον καὶ ἐλπίδων ματαίων καὶ περιττῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν, νοῦν δὲ καὶ ἀλήθειαν ἐντιθὲν καὶ καθαῖρον ὡς ἀληθῶς τὰς γνώμας, οὐχ ὑπὸ δᾳδὶ καὶ σκίλλῃ καὶ ταῖς τοιαύταις φλυαρίαις, ἀλλὰ λόγῳ ὀρθῷ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ παρρησίᾳ.
For having found Epicurus' "Principal Doctrines," the finest, as you know, of his books, containing the summary doctrines of the man's wisdom, he brought it into the middle of the market-place and burned it on figwood as if he were burning the man himself, and cast the ashes into the sea, uttering besides an oracle: "I command to burn with fire the doctrines of the blind old man." Not knowing, the accursed wretch, of how many blessings that book becomes the cause to those who read it, and how much peace, tranquility, and freedom it works in them, freeing them from terrors, apparitions, and portents, and from vain hopes and superfluous desires, implanting instead intellect and truth, and truly purifying their minds, not by torch and squill and such nonsense, but by right reason, truth, and frankness of speech.