§31ταῦτʼ εἰπόντος ἀνεβόησαν οἱ περιεστῶτες ἅπαντες,
ἤδη καιέσθωσαν ἄξιοι τοῦ πυρός.
When he had said this, all those standing around cried out: "Let them be burned already, they are worthy of the fire!" And he went down laughing.
καὶ ὁ μὲν κατέβη γελῶν,
Νέστορα δʼ οὐκ ἔλαθεν ἰαχή,
τὸν Θεαγένη, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἤκουσεν τῆς βοῆς, ἧκεν εὐθὺς καὶ ἀναβὰς ἐκεκράγει καὶ μυρία κακὰ διεξῄει περὶ τοῦ καταβεβηκότος· οὐ γὰρ οἶδα ὅστις ἐκεῖνος ὁ βέλτιστος ἐκαλεῖτο.
But the shouting did not escape "Nestor"—I mean Theagenes—but as soon as he heard the cry, he came immediately and, having gone up, roared and went through ten thousand evils concerning the man who had gone down; for I do not know who that excellent fellow was called.
ἐγὼ δὲ ἀφεὶς αὐτὸν διαρρηγνύμενον ἀπῄειν ὀψόμενος τοὺς ἀθλητάς· ἤδη γὰρ οἱ Ἑλλανοδίκαι ἐλέγοντο εἶναι ἐν τῷ Πλεθρίῳ.
But I, leaving him bursting with rage, went away to look at the athletes; for already the Hellanodikai were said to be in the Plethrium.
§32ταῦτα μέν σοι τὰ ἐν Ἤλιδι.
These then were your events in Elis.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐς τὴν Ὀλυμπίαν ἀφικόμεθα, μεστὸς ἦν ὁ ὀπισθόδομος τῶν κατηγορούντων Πρωτέως ἢ ἐπαινούντων τὴν προαίρεσιν αὐτοῦ, ὥστε καὶ εἰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν ἦλθον οἱ πολλοί, ἄχρι δὴ παρελθὼν αὐτὸς ὁ Πρωτεὺς μυρίῳ τῷ πλήθει παραπεμπόμενος κατόπιν τοῦ τῶν κηρύκων ἀγῶνος λόγους τινὰς διεξῆλθεν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ, τὸν βίον τε ὡς ἐβίω καὶ τοὺς κινδύνους οὓς ἐκινδύνευσεν διηγούμενος καὶ ὅσα πράγματα φιλοσοφίας ἕνεκα ὑπέμεινεν.
But when we arrived at Olympia, the opisthodomos was full of people accusing Proteus or praising his purpose, so that many of them even came to blows, until Proteus himself arrived, escorted by a countless multitude after the contest of the heralds, and delivered certain speeches about himself, describing the life he had lived, the dangers he had run, and all the troubles he had endured for the sake of philosophy.
τὰ μὲν οὖν εἰρημένα πολλὰ ἦν, ἐγὼ δὲ ὀλίγων ἤκουσα ὑπὸ πλήθους τῶν περιεστώτων.
Now, what was said was much, but I heard only a little because of the multitude of those standing around.
εἶτα φοβηθεὶς μὴ συντριβείην ἐν τοσαύτῃ τύρβῃ, ἐπεὶ καὶ πολλοὺς τοῦτο πάσχοντας ἑώρων, ἀπῆλθον μακρὰ χαίρειν φράσας θανατιῶντι σοφιστῇ τὸν ἐπιτάφιον ἑαυτοῦ πρὸ τελευτῆς διεξιόντι.
Then, fearing that I might be crushed in so great a crowd, since I saw many suffering this, I went away, bidding a long farewell to the death-seeking sophist who was delivering his own funeral oration before his end.
§33πλὴν τό γε τοσοῦτον ἐπήκουσα· ἔφη γὰρ βούλεσθαι χρυσῷ βίῳ χρυσῆν κορώνην ἐπιθεῖναι· χρῆναι γὰρ τὸν Ἡρακλείως βεβιωκότα Ἡρακλείως ἀποθανεῖν καὶ ἀναμιχθῆναι τῷ αἰθέρι.
Except that I did hear at least this much: for he said that he wished to put a golden crown upon a golden life; for it was necessary that one who had lived like Heracles should die like Heracles and be mixed with the ether.
καὶ ὠφελῆσαι,
ἔφη,
βούλομαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δείξας αὐτοῖς ὃν χρὴ τρόπον θανάτου καταφρονεῖν· πάντας οὖν δεῖ μοι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους Φιλοκτήτας γενέσθαι. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀνοητότεροι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐδάκρυον καὶ ἐβόων
σώζου τοῖς Ἕλλησιν,
οἱ δὲ ἀνδρωδέστεροι ἐκεκράγεσαν
τέλει τὰ δεδογμένα,
ὑφʼ ὧν ὁ πρεσβύτης οὐ μετρίως ἐθορυβήθη ἐλπίζων πάντας ἕξεσθαι αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ προήσεσθαι τῷ πυρί, ἀλλὰ ἄκοντα δὴ καθέξειν ἐν τῷ βίῳ.
And "I wish," he said, "to benefit mankind by showing them the way in which one ought to despise death; therefore, all men must become Philocteteses to me." Then the more foolish among the people began to weep and cry out: "Save yourself for the Greeks!" But the more manly roared: "Fulfill your resolves!" By which the old man was disturbed in no small degree, since he hoped that everyone would hold onto him and not give him up to the fire, but would detain him in life even against his will.
τὸ δὲ
τέλει τὰ δεδογμένα
πάνυ ἀδόκητον αὐτῷ προσπεσὸν ὠχριᾶν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐποίησεν, καίτοι ἤδη νεκρικῶς τὴν χροιὰν ἔχοντι, καὶ νὴ Δία καὶ ὑποτρέμειν, ὥστε κατέπαυσε τὸν λόγον.
But that "Fulfill your resolves" falling upon him quite unexpectedly made him turn even paler, though he already had a deathly color, and by Zeus, even to tremble slightly, so that he broke off his speech.
§34ἐγὼ δέ, εἰκάζεις, οἶμαι, πῶς ἐγέλων· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐλεεῖν ἄξιον ἦν οὕτω δυσέρωτα τῆς δόξης ἄνθρωπον ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας ὅσοι τῇ αὐτῇ Ποινῇ ἐλαύνονται.
And I—you can guess, I think, how I laughed; for it was not even worthy to pity a man so desperately in love with glory beyond all those who are driven by the same Punishment.
παρεπέμπετο δὲ ὅμως ὑπὸ πολλῶν καὶ ἐνεφορεῖτο τῆς δόξης ἀποβλέπων ἐς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν θαυμαζόντων, οὐκ εἰδὼς ὁ ἄθλιος ὅτι καὶ τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν σταυρὸν ἀπαγομένοις ἢ ὑπὸ τοῦ δημίου ἐχομένοις πολλῷ πλείους ἕπονται.
Nevertheless, he was escorted by many and was filling himself with glory, looking away at the multitude of his admirers, not knowing, the wretched man, that far more follow those who are led to the cross or held by the executioner.
§35καὶ δὴ τὰ μὲν Ὀλύμπια τέλος εἶχεν, κάλλιστα Ὀλυμπίων γενόμενα ὧν ἐγὼ εἶδον, τετράκις ἤδη ὁρῶν.
And indeed the Olympic games were coming to an end, the most beautiful of the Olympics that I have seen, though I have seen them four times now.
ἐγὼ δέ — οὐ γὰρ ἦν εὐπορῆσαι ὀχήματος ἅμα πολλῶν ἐξιόντων — ἄκων ὑπελειπόμην.
But I—since it was not easy to obtain a carriage when so many were leaving at the same time—was left behind against my will.
ὁ δὲ ἀεὶ ἀναβαλλόμενος νύκτα τὸ τελευταῖον προειρήκει ἐπιδείξασθαι τὴν καῦσιν· καί με τῶν ἑταίρων τινὸς παραλαβόντος περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἐξαναστὰς ἀπῄειν εὐθὺ τῆς Ἁρπίνης, ἔνθα ἦν ἡ πυρά.
But he, who was always postponing it, had finally announced that he would display his burning at night; and when one of my companions picked me up around midnight, I got up and went straight to Harpina, where the pyre was.
στάδιοι πάντες οὗτοι εἴκοσιν ἀπὸ τῆς Ὀλυμπίας κατὰ τὸν ἱππόδρομον ἀπιόντων πρὸς ἕω.
This is altogether twenty stadia from Olympia as one goes along the race-course toward the east.
καὶ ἐπεὶ τάχιστα ἀφικόμεθα, καταλαμβάνομεν πυρὰν νενησμένην ἐν βόθρῳ ὅσον ἐς ὀργυιὰν τὸ βάθος.
And as soon as we arrived, we found a pyre built in a pit about a fathom in depth.
δᾷδες ἦσαν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ παρεβέβυστο τῶν φρυγάνων, ὡς ἀναφθείη τάχιστα.
It consisted mostly of torches, and brushwood had been stuffed into the gaps so that it might catch fire as quickly as possible.