§7.3.7νυνὶ δὲ περὶ Θρᾳκῶν ἐλέγομεν
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Μυσῶν τʼ ἀγχεμάχων καὶ ἀγαυῶν ἱππημολγῶν,
γλακτοφάγων ἀβίων τε, δικαιοτάτων ἀνθρώπων,
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βουλόμενοι συγκρῖναι τά τε ὑφʼ ἡμῶν καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ Ποσειδωνίου λεχθέντα καὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τούτων·
But now we were speaking about the Thracians, quoting: "And of the close-fighting Mysians and the noble Hippemolgi, Galactophagi and Abii, most just men, "wishing to compare what has been said by us, what has been said by Poseidonius, and what has been said by these writers; but first we must point out that they have made their line of argument contrary to the propositions they set forth.
πρότερον δʼ ὅτι τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν ὑπεναντίαν τοῖς προτεθεῖσι πεποίηνται. προὔθεντο μὲν γὰρ διδάξαι διότι τῶν πόρρω τῆς Ἑλλάδος πλείων ἦν ἄγνοια τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις ἢ τοῖς νεωτέροις, ἔδειξαν δὲ τἀναντία, καὶ οὐ τὰ πόρρω μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Ἑλλάδι.
For they proposed to teach that there was greater ignorance of places far from Greece among the ancients than among the moderns, but they showed the opposite, and not only regarding distant places but also regarding those in Greece itself.
ἀλλʼ, ὡς ἔφην, τὰ ἄλλα μὲν ὑπερκείσθω, τὰ δὲ νῦν σκοπῶμεν.
But, as I said, let other matters be laid aside, and let us consider the present ones.
Σκυθῶν μὲν γὰρ μεμνῆσθαι κατʼ ἄγνοιάν φασι, μηδὲ τῆς περὶ τοὺς ξένους ὠμότητος αὐτῶν, καταθυόντων καὶ σαρκοφαγούντων καὶ τοῖς κρανίοις ἐκπώμασι χρωμένων, διʼ οὓς Ἄξενος ὠνομάζετο ὁ πόντος, πλάττειν δʼ ἀγαυούς τινας ἱππημολγοὺς γαλακτοφάγους ἀβίους τε, δικαιοτάτους ἀνθρώπους, τοὺς οὐδαμοῦ γῆς ὄντας.
For they say that he made no mention of the Scythians through ignorance, nor of their cruelty toward strangers—how they sacrifice them, eat their flesh, and use their skulls as drinking cups, because of whom the Pontus was called "Axenus"—but that he invents certain noble Hippemolgi, Galactophagi, and Abii, most just men, who exist nowhere on earth.
πῶς οὖν Ἄξενον ὠνόμαζον, εἰ μὴ ᾔδεισαν τὴν ἀγριότητα, μηδʼ αὐτοὺς τοὺς μάλιστα τοιούτους;
How, then, did they call it "Axenus" if they did not know the savagery, nor even the people themselves who were pre-eminently of this kind?
οὗτοι δʼ εἰσὶ δήπου οἱ Σκύθαι.
And these are, of course, the Scythians.
πότερον δʼ οὐδʼ ἱππημολγοὶ ἦσαν οἱ ἐπέκεινα τῶν Μυσῶν καὶ Θρᾳκῶν καὶ Γετῶν, οὐδὲ γαλακτοφάγοι καὶ ἄβιοι;
And were there not even Hippemolgi beyond the Mysians, Thracians, and Getae, nor Galactophagi and Abii?
ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν εἰσιν ἁμάξοικοι καὶ νομάδες καλούμενοι, ζῶντες ἀπὸ θρεμμάτων καὶ γάλακτος καὶ τυροῦ καὶ μάλιστα ἱππείου, θησαυρισμὸν δʼ οὐκ εἰδότες οὐδὲ καπηλείαν πλὴν εἰ φόρτον ἀντὶ φόρτου.
Nay, even now there are those called wagon-dwellers and nomads, living from herds, milk, and cheese, especially that from mares, and knowing neither the accumulation of wealth nor retail trade except for exchanging cargo for cargo.
πῶς οὖν ἠγνόει τοὺς Σκύθας ὁ ποιητής, ἱππημολγοὺς καὶ γαλακτοφάγους τινὰς προσαγορεύων;
How, then, was the poet ignorant of the Scythians, when he addresses them as certain Hippemolgi and Galactophagi?
ὅτι γὰρ οἱ τότε τούτους ἱππημολγοὺς ἐκάλουν, καὶ Ἡσίοδος μάρτυς ἐν τοῖς ὑπʼ Ἐρατοσθένους παρατεθεῖσιν ἔπεσιν
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Αἰθίοπας τε Λίγυς τε ἰδὲ Σκύθας ἱππημολγούς.
For that the people of those times called them Hippemolgi is witnessed by Hesiod in the verses quoted by Eratosthenes: "And the Ethiopians, the Ligurians, and the Scythians, milkers of horses.
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τί δὲ θαυμαστόν, εἰ διὰ τὸ πλεονάζειν παρʼ ἡμῖν τὴν περὶ τὰ συμβόλαια ἀδικίαν δικαιοτάτους εἶπεν ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ἥκιστα ἐν τοῖς συμβολαίοις καὶ τῷ ἀργυρισμῷ ζῶντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ κοινὰ κεκτημένους πάντα πλὴν ξίφους καὶ ποτηρίου, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πρῶτον τὰς γυναῖκας πλατωνικῶς ἔχοντας κοινὰς καὶ τέκνα;
"And what is surprising if, because of the prevalence among us of injustice concerning contracts, he called "most just men" those who least of all live in contracts and money-making, but possess all things in common except a sword and a drinking cup, and, most important of all, have their wives and children in common in a Platonic manner?
καὶ Αἰσχύλος δʼ ἐμφαίνει συνηγορῶν τῷ ποιητῇ φήσας περὶ τῶν Σκυθῶν
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ἀλλʼ ἱππάκης βρωτῆρες εὔνομοι Σκύθαι
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αὕτη δʼ ἡ ὑπόληψις καὶ νῦν ἔτι συμμένει παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν·
And Aeschylus also shows himself supporting the poet when he says of the Scythians: "But the Scythians, eaters of horse-cheese, governed by good laws.
ἁπλουστάτους τε γὰρ αὐτοὺς νομίζομεν καὶ ἥκιστα κακεντρεχεῖς εὐτελεστέρους τε πολὺ ἡμῶν καὶ αὐταρκεστέρους· καίτοι ὅ γε καθʼ ἡμᾶς βίος εἰς πάντας σχεδόν τι διατέτακε τὴν πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον μεταβολήν, τρυφὴν καὶ ἡδονὰς καὶ κακοτεχνίας καὶ πλεονεξίας μυρίας πρὸς ταῦτʼ εἰσάγων.
"And this opinion still remains even now among the Greeks; for we consider them most simple and least malicious, and much more frugal and self-sufficient than we are; although our present way of life has extended the change for the worse to almost everyone, introducing luxury, pleasures, bad practices, and countless greeds to these ends.
πολὺ οὖν τῆς τοιαύτης κακίας καὶ εἰς τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐμπέπτωκε τούς τε ἄλλους καὶ τοὺς νομάδας· καὶ γὰρ θαλάττης ἁψάμενοι χείρους γεγόνασι λῃστεύοντες καὶ ξενοκτονοῦντες, καὶ ἐπιπλεκόμενοι πολλοῖς μεταλαμβάνουσι τῆς ἐκείνων πολυτελείας καὶ καπηλείας· ἃ δοκεῖ μὲν εἰς ἡμερότητα συντείνειν, διαφθείρει δὲ τὰ ἤθη καὶ ποικιλίαν ἀντὶ τῆς ἁπλότητος τῆς ἄρτι λεχθείσης εἰσάγει.
Much, then, of such wickedness has also fallen upon the barbarians, both the others and the nomads; for by having to do with the sea they have become worse, committing piracy and murdering strangers, and by associating with many people they share in their luxury and retail trade; which things, though they seem to contribute to refinement, corrupt manners and introduce complexity instead of the simplicity just mentioned.