§299λογίοις καὶ πρότερον καὶ ὕστερον γενομένοις, κατὰ ταυτὸν ἀμφοτέροις ἐδηλώθη μετὰ τοιαύτης τῆς βοηθείας.
...in addition to many other oracles that occurred both before and after, it was revealed to both in the same way with such help.
φέρε δὴ τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀποδῶμεν λόγον, καὶ συνάψωμεν ὡς ἔσχε τὰ τῆς χρησμῳδίας τῆς περὶ τῶν ἐτῶν.
Come now, let us return to the original story, and connect how the matter of the oracle concerning the years stood.
ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἅπαντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον αὐτὸς ἦν ὁ σώζων καὶ ἡμέραν ἐφʼ ἡμέρᾳ δωρούμενος, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ νῦν αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ σώζων, συνίσασιν ὅσοι καὶ μικρόν τι τῶν ἡμετέρων ἴσασιν.
For that during all this time he himself was the savior and granting day after day—or rather, even now he himself is the savior—is well known to all who know even a little of my affairs.
ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ διεγένετο χρόνος ὁ τῆς προρρήσεως, συνέβη τοιάδε.
But when the time of the prediction had passed, the following things occurred.
μικρὸν δὲ ἀναλήψομαι.
I will resume from a little earlier.
ἔτυχον μὲν ὢν ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ κατὰ θέρους ἀκμὴν, νόσος δὲ κατέσχε λοιμώδης πάντας σχεδὸν τοὺς προσχώρους.
I happened to be in the suburb at the height of summer, and a pestilential disease seized almost all the neighbors.
τῶν δὲ οἰκετῶν τὸ μὲν πρῶτον δύο καὶ τρεῖς ἔκαμνον, ἔπειτα ἄλλος καὶ ἄλλος· ἔπειτʼ ἔκειντο ἅπαντες καὶ νεώτεροι καὶ πρεσβύτεροι· τελευταῖος δὲ ἐλήφθην ἐγώ.
Of the servants, at first two and three fell ill, then another and another; then all lay sick, both younger and older; and last of all I was taken.
ἰατροὶ δὲ ἐφοίτων ἐξ ἄστεος καὶ τοῖς ἀκολούθοις αὐτῶν ἐχρώμεθα διακόνοις, οἱ δέ τινες καὶ αὐτοὶ προσεδρεύοντες ἀντὶ διακόνων ἦσαν.
Physicians used to come from the city, and we used their attendants as servants, and some themselves also, staying by us, acted as servants.
ἔκαμνε δὲ καὶ ὑποζύγια, καὶ εἴ που κινηθείη τις, εὐθὺς πρὸ θυρῶν ἔκειτο· ὥστε οὐδʼ ἂν πλῷ χρήσασθαι περὶ τῶν συμβαινόντων ἐξῆν ἔτι ῥᾳδίως.
Even the beasts of burden fell ill, and if anyone moved anywhere, he immediately lay before the doors; so that it was no longer even easy to make use of a voyage because of what was happening.
πάντα δʼ ἦν μεστὰ ἀθυμίας, οἰμωγῆς, στόνου, δυσκολίας ἁπάσης, ἦσαν δὲ κἀν τῇ πόλει νόσοι δειναί.
Everything was full of despondency, lamentation, groaning, and every kind of difficulty, and there were terrible diseases in the city as well.
τέως μὲν οὖν ἀντεῖχον οὐδὲν ἧττον τῆς τῶν ἄλλων σωτηρίας ἢ τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ προνοούμενος, ἔπειτα ἐπέτεινέ τε ἡ νόσος καὶ κατελήφθην ὑπὸ δεινοῦ πυρὸς χολῆς παντοίας, ἣ συνεχῶς νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν ἠνώχλει, καὶ τῆς τροφῆς ἀπεκεκλείμην καὶ ἡ δύναμις κατελέλυτο.
For a while, therefore, I held out, caring no less for the safety of others than for my own, but then the disease intensified and I was seized by a terrible fever of all kinds of bile, which troubled me continuously night and day, and I was shut out from food and my strength was destroyed.
καὶ οἱ ἰατροὶ ἀφίσταντο καὶ τελευτῶντες ἀπέγνωσαν παντάπασι, καὶ διηγγέλθη ὡς οἰχησομένου αὐτίκα.
And the physicians withdrew and in the end despaired of me altogether, and it was reported that I would depart immediately.
τὸ μέντοι τοῦ Ὁμήρου κἀν τούτοις εἶπες ἂν, τὸ
"νόος γε μὲν ἔμπεδος ἦεν"
. οὕτω παρηκολούθουν ἐμαυτῷ, ὥσπερ ἂν ἄλλῳ τινὶ, καὶ ᾐσθανόμην ὑπολείποντος ἀεὶ τοῦ σώματος, ἕως εἰς τοὔσχατον ἦλθον.
Yet even in these circumstances, you might have said that word of Homer, 'his mind, however, remained steadfast.' Thus I monitored myself, as if I were someone else, and felt my body constantly failing, until I came to the very end.
τοιούτων δὲ ὄντων ἔτυχον μὲν εἰς τὸ εἴσω τετραμμένος τῆς κλίνης, ἔδοξα δὲ ὡς ὄναρ· αὐτὸ δὲ ἦν ἄρα ἡ λύσις· §300ἔδοξα δὲ καὶ δὴ ἐπὶ τέλει τοῦ δράματος εἶναι, καὶ τοὺς ἐμβάτας ἀποτίθεσθαι, καὶ τὰς κρηπῖδας μεταλήψεσθαι τοῦ πατρός.
While things were in this state, I happened to be turned toward the inside of the bed, and I had a vision, as if in a dream—and this, indeed, was the release: I seemed indeed to be at the end of the drama, and to be putting off my tragic boots, and about to take in exchange my father’s boots.
κἀν τούτοις ὄντα στρέφει μὲ ὁ σωτὴρ Ἀσκληπιὸς τὴν εἰς τὸ ἔξω στροφὴν ἐξαίφνης.
And while I was in this state, the savior Asclepius suddenly turned me around to face outward.
ἔπειτα οὐ πολὺ ὕστερον ἡ Ἀθηνᾶ φαίνεται τήν τε αἰγίδα ἔχουσα καὶ τὸ κάλλος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος καὶ σύμπαν δὴ σχῆμα οἵα περ ἡ Ἀθήνησιν ἡ Φειδίου.
Then not long afterward, Athena appeared, having both her aegis and her beauty and size and indeed her whole appearance just like the statue by Phidias at Athens.
ἀπῶζε δὲ καὶ τῆς αἰγίδος ὅτι ἥδιστον, καὶ ἦν κηρῷ τινι προσφερὴς, θαυμαστὴ καὶ αὕτη τὸ κάλλος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος.
And there breathed from her aegis the sweetest scent, and she was like some wax image, wondrous also in her beauty and size.
ἐφαίνετο μὲν δὴ μόνῳ στᾶσα καταντικρὺ καὶ ὅθεν αὐτὴν ὡς κάλλιστα ἔμελλεν ὄψεσθαι.
She appeared indeed to me alone, standing opposite and from where I was most beautifully going to see her.
ἐγὼ δὲ ἐπεδείκνυν καὶ τοῖς παροῦσι, δύο δʼ ἤστην τῶν φίλων καὶ τροφὸς, βοῶν καὶ ὀνομάζων τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν ὅτι ἑστήκοι τε αὕτη ἀπαντικρὺ καὶ διαλέγοιτο καὶ τὴν αἰγίδα ἀπεδείκνυν·
And I pointed her out also to those who were present—there were two of my friends and my nurse—shouting and naming Athena, that she was standing opposite and speaking, and I pointed out the aegis.
οἱ δʼ οὐκ εἶχον ὅ τι χρήσοιντο, ἀλλʼ ἠπόρουν τε καὶ ἐδεδοίκεσαν μὴ παραληρῶν ἄρα τυγχάνω, πρίν γε δὴ τήν τε δύναμιν συνεώρων ἀναφερομένην καὶ τῶν λόγων ἤκουσαν ὧν ἤκουσα παρὰ τῆς θεοῦ.
But they did not know what to do, but were at a loss and feared lest I was indeed delirious, until indeed they perceived my strength returning and heard the words which I heard from the goddess.
καὶ ἔστιν ἃ μέμνημαι τοιάδε.
And there are some things I remember, as follows.
ἀνεμίμνησκέ με τῆς Ὀδυσσείας καὶ ἔφασκεν οὐ μύθους εἶναι ταῦτα, τεκμαίρεσθαι δὲ χρῆναι καὶ τοῖς παροῦσι.
She reminded me of the Odyssey and said that these things were not myths, and that one should judge also from present circumstances.
δεῖν οὖν καρτερεῖν, εἶναι δʼ αὐτὸν πάντως καὶ τὸν Ὀδυσσέα καὶ τὸν Τηλέμαχον καὶ δεῖν αὐτῷ βοηθεῖν· καὶ ἄλλα τοιουτότροπα ἤκουσα.
Therefore it was necessary to endure, and that he himself was altogether both Odysseus and Telemachus, and that it was necessary to help him; and I heard other such things.
οὕτως ἐφάνη τε ἡ θεὸς καὶ παρεμυθήσατο καὶ ἀνέσωσε καὶ δὴ κείμενον καὶ τῶν εἰς τὴν τελευτὴν οὐδενὸς ἔτι ἐλλείποντος.
Thus the goddess both appeared and comforted and saved me, even as I lay and with nothing of death still lacking.
καὶ δῆτα εὐθύς με εἰσῆλθε κλύσματι χρήσασθαι μέλιτος Ἀττικοῦ, καὶ ἐγένετο κάθαρσις χολῆς.
And indeed immediately it occurred to me to use an enema of Attic honey, and there occurred a purging of bile.
καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἧκεν ἰάματα καὶ τροφαί· πρῶτον μὲν ἧπαρ, οἶμαι, χηνὸς μετὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀπόρρησιν πρὸς ἅπαντα τὰ σιτία· ἔπειτα ὑείου τι ὑπογαστρίου.
And after this, remedies and food came: first, I believe, the liver of a goose, after my long rejection of all food; then some pork belly.
ἔπειτʼ ἐκομίσθην εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐπʼ ὀχήματος καταστέγου καὶ μακροῦ, καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν οὕτω συνηγειρόμην μόλις τε καὶ χαλεπῶς, οὐ μέντοι πρότερόν γε ὁ πυρετὸς παντελῶς ἐξέλιπε πρὶν ἐτελεύτησέ μοι τῶν τροφίμων ὁ πλείστου ἄξιος.
Then I was carried to the city on a covered and long carriage, and thus gradually I recovered, with difficulty and painfully; however, the fever did not completely leave me before the most valuable of my foster-children died.
τῇ δʼ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ὡς ὕστερον ἔγνων, ἐκεῖνός τε ἐτεθνήκει καὶ ἡ νόσος ᾤχετο ἀπιοῦσα.
On the very same day, as I later learned, he had died and the disease departed.
οὕτω τόν τε ἄχρι
Thus, up to...