§319τὴν πόλιν κληθῆναι.
...to the city [to be summoned].
ἔπειθʼ ὅπως μὴ δοκοίην δημοκοπικός τις εἶναι, ἐπέσχον, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς συνόντας διεμαρτυράμην, ὅπως ἀδείας ἔχοιμι, αὐτοὺς δὴ τούτους τοὺς λόγους εἰπών.
Then, lest I should seem to be some kind of demagogue, I held back, but protested to those who were with me, so that I might have safety, saying these very words.
τὰ μὲν δὴ περὶ τῶν σεισμῶν καὶ ὡς βοῦν θύειν αὐτοῖς ἠρξάμεθα εἴρηται.
Now the things concerning the earthquakes and how we began to sacrifice bulls to them have been told.
ᾠὸν δή ποτε χήνειον ἐζητοῦμεν, τοῦ θεοῦ σημήναντος ἐπὶ τῆς ἐν Περγάμῳ καθέδρας, καὶ εὑρίσκετο οὐδαμοῦ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, ἀλλʼ ἦν Μειλάτης ἐξ ἀκροπόλεως, παρὰ τοῦτον ἔρχονται τελευτῶντες οἱ πρὸς τῇ ζητήσει, κατὰ δὴ τύχην ἅμα καὶ μήνυσιν.
Once we were looking for a goose egg, after the god had given a sign during my stay in Pergamum, and it was found nowhere in the marketplace; but Meilates from the acropolis had it, and those engaged in the search finally came to him, by a combination of chance and information.
καὶ λέγει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ Μειλάτης ἔχειν ᾠὸν, φυλάττειν δὲ ἰάματος ἕνεκα· οὕτω γὰρ αὐτῷ προειρηκέναι τὸν θεόν.
And Meilates told them that he had an egg, but was keeping it for a cure; for the god had forewarned him so.
οὐκοῦν ἡμεῖς γε ἐκεῖθεν, ἔφασαν οἱ ζητοῦντες, καὶ ὃς προσκυνήσας δίδωσιν.
"Therefore we at least are sent from there," said the searchers, and he worshiped and gave it.
ὅ τι δʼ ἐχρησάμην λαβὼν οὐκ οἶδα ὑπό γε πλήθους ἐτῶν.
What use I made of it when I received it I do not know, because of the multitude of years.
παραπλήσιον δὲ τούτῳ τὸ ἐκ τῆς Ἴσιδος, κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἔτι τῆς ἀσθενείας περὶ χηνῶν αὐτῶν γενόμενον.
And similar to this was the event from Isis, which occurred concerning geese themselves, still at the very beginning of my illness.
διέτριβον ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι τοῖς θερμοῖς καὶ ἡ θεὸς κελεύει θῦσαι ἑαυτῇ χῆνας δύο.
I was staying at the hot waters, and the goddess ordered me to sacrifice two geese to her.
ᾔειν εἰς τὴν πόλιν προπέμψας τοὺς σκεψομένους, καὶ προειπὼν ἀπαντᾶν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Ἴσιδος τοὺς χῆνας ἔχοντας.
I went to the city, having sent ahead those who were to look, and having pre-warned them to meet me at the temple of Isis with the geese.
ἄλλοι μὲν οὖν χῆνες οὐκ ἦσαν ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν, δύο δʼ ἤστην μόνω.
Now there were no other geese on that day, but only two.
προσελθοῦσι δʼ αὐτοῖς καὶ ὠνουμένοις ἔφη ὁ τρέφων τοὺς χῆνας ὡς οὐχ οἷός τʼ εἴη πωλῆσαι· προειρῆσθαι γὰρ αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῆς Ἴσιδος φυλάττειν Ἀριστείδῃ· πάντως δʼ ἥξειν καὶ θύσειν.
And when they approached and wished to buy them, the keeper of the geese said that he was not able to sell them; for he had been forewarned by Isis to keep them for Aristeides, and that he would certainly come and sacrifice them.
ὡς δʼ ἔγνω τὸ πᾶν, ἐξεπλάγη τε καὶ προσκυνήσας δίδωσι· καὶ ταῦτα ἐπʼ αὐτῆς τῆς θυσίας ἔγνων ἐγώ.
And when he learned the whole story, he was amazed and, having worshiped, gave them; and I myself learned this at the sacrifice itself.
ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ φῶς παρὰ τῆς Ἴσιδος καὶ ἕτερα ἀμύθητα φέροντα εἰς σωτηρίαν.
And there was also a light from Isis and other unspeakable things tending to salvation.
ἐφάνη δὲ καὶ ὁ Σάραπις τῆς αὐτῆς νυκτὸς, ἅμα αὐτός τε καὶ ὁ Ἀσκληπιὸς, θαυμαστοὶ τὸ κάλλος καὶ τὸ μέγεθος καί τινα τρόπον ἀλλήλοις ἐμφερεῖς.
And Sarapis also appeared on the same night, both he himself and Asclepius together, wondrous in beauty and stature, and in some way resembling each other.
γενομένης δὲ τῆς περὶ Ζώσιμον συμφορᾶς, ἃ γὰρ μελλούσης προεῖπε καὶ παρεμυθήσατο ὁ θεὸς παρίημι, ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ ἐγένετο καὶ χαλεπῶς εἶχον ἀπὸ τῆς λύπης, ἐδόκει μοι σμίλην τινʼ ἔχων ὁ Σάραπις, ὥσπερ κάθηται τῷ σχήματι, περιτέμνειν μου τὰ κύκλῳ τοῦ προσώπου ὑπʼ αὐτό πως
And when the misfortune concerning Zosimus occurred—I omit what the god foretold and comforted me with when it was about to happen—but when it did occur and I was in a difficult state from grief, Sarapis seemed to me, in the posture in which he sits in his image, holding a small knife, to shave my face all around, just under the forehead line, as if removing defilements and purifying me, and changing me into a proper state.
§320τὸ ὁρίζηλον, οἷον λύματʼ ἀφαιρῶν καὶ καθαίρων, καὶ μεταβάλλων εἰς τὸ προσῆκον. ὥστε καὶ ὕστερον ὄψις μοι γίγνεται παρὰ τῶν χθονίων θεῶν, εἰ τὸ σφόδρα τοῦτο λυπεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τοῖς τελευτῶσιν ἀνίην, συνοίσειν μοι ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον.
So that later also a vision came to me from the chthonic gods, that if I would remit this excessive grieving for the dead, it would turn out better for me.
πολὺ δέ τι τούτων φρικωδέστερον εἶχε τὰ χρόνῳ ὕστερον φανθέντα, ἐν οἷς αἵ τε δὴ κλίμακες ἦσαν αἱ τὸ ὑπὲρ γῆς τε καὶ ὑπὸ γῆς ἀφορίζουσαι, καὶ τὸ ἑκατέρωθι κράτος τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἕτερα ἔκπληξιν θαυμαστὴν φέροντα, καὶ οὐδὲ ῥητὰ ἴσως εἰς ἅπαντας, ὥστε ἀσμένῳ μοι φανῆναι σύμβολα τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ.
But much more fearsome than these were the things revealed some time later, among which were those ladders which define what is above the earth and what is below, and the power of the god in both places, and other things bringing wondrous astonishment, and perhaps not to be spoken to all, so that Asclepius' symbols appeared to me with joy.
κεφάλαιον δʼ ἦν περὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμεως ὅτι καὶ χωρὶς ὀχημάτων καὶ χωρὶς σωμάτων ὁ Σάραπις οἷός τʼ εἴη κομίζειν ἀνθρώπους ὅπη βούλοιτο.
And the sum of it concerning the power of the god was that Sarapis, even without carriages and without bodies, was able to convey people wherever he wished.
τοιαῦτα ἦν τὰ τῆς τελετῆς· καὶ ἀνέστην οὐ ῥᾴδιος γνωρίσαι καὶ πρὸς τούτοις θυσία τις ἐδηλοῦτο, ὀφειλομένη μὲν Διὶ καὶ πρόρρησιν μένουσα, ἀποδοθεῖσα δὲ ὡς τοῦ Σαράπιδος οὖσα, ἀπεδόθη δὲ καὶ ὡς τῷ Διὶ, ἔχω δὲ λέγειν κἀν ταῖς ἱεραῖς ἡμέραις, ἃς ἡ πόλις ἡ τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων ποιεῖ τῷ θεῷ, πολλὰ δὴ πολλάκις αὐτὸν ἐπισημήναντα, καὶ κατʼ αὐτὴν ἑκάστην, καὶ προσαγαγούσης ἔτι.
Such were the matters of the initiation; and I arose, not easy to recognize, and in addition to this a certain sacrifice was indicated, owed to Zeus and waiting for its fulfillment, but paid as being of Sarapis, and it was paid also as to Zeus; and I can also speak of many signs he gave during the sacred days which the city of the Alexandrians holds for the god, both on each day itself, and when it was still approaching.
εἰ δὲ δεῖ τι καὶ φοβερώτερον διηγήσασθαι, ἐτεθύκειν τῇ Ἴσιδι καὶ τῷ Σαράπιδι ἐν τῷ τῆς Ἴσιδος ἱερῷ, λέγω τοῦτο ἐν Σμύρνῃ γενόμενον.
And if I must relate something even more fearsome, I had sacrificed to Isis and Sarapis in the temple of Isis, I mean this happening in Smyrna.
ἐξιόντι δέ μοι τὰ προπύλαια προσερρύησαν χῆνες δύο τῶν ἱερῶν, καὶ παρελθόντες εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν ἡγοῦντο οὕτως ἀκριβῶς κατʼ αὐτὸ ὃ βαίνειν ἔμελλον ὥστε ἐπίδηλον εἶναί μοι.
And as I was going out of the propylaea, two of the sacred geese flocked to me, and passing to the front, led the way so precisely along the very path I was about to walk that it was manifest to me.
κἀγὼ νῷ τε ἔλαβον τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς φίλους καὶ τοὺς παραπέμποντας, ἰδοὺ καὶ οἵδε, ἔφην, παραπέμπουσιν ἐν τῷ τῶν φίλων δὴ χορῷ· καὶ ἅμα ἔλεγον περὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ γοργότητος καὶ δυνάμεως πόση τις εἴη καὶ κατὰ φήμας καὶ κατὰ συμβόλους, καὶ ὅτι πολλάκις ἤδη μοι ἐπὶ τῆς εὐχῆς ἦλθεν ἡ ἀπόκρισις· καὶ νῦν, ἔφην, ἡγεμόνας τινὰς ἡμῖν τῆς ὁδοῦ τούσδε ἀπέσταλκε. τοιαυτὶ διελεγόμεθα καὶ ἅμα ἐτηροῦμεν τί ἄρα δράσουσιν· ἄπιμέν τε δὴ τοῦ ἱεροῦ, οὐκ οἶδʼ ὁπόσον τι, κἀγὼ τοῖς φίλοις ἐνδεικνύμενος προσπαίζω τοὺς χῆνας καὶ λέγω, ἱκανῶς ὑμῖν, ὦ οὗτοι, λελειτούργηται, πορεύεσθε. οὐκ ἔφθην εἰπεῖν, καὶ οἱ μεταστραφέντες ἀπῄεσαν.
And I both understood the matter and said to my friends and those escorting me: "Look, these too escort me in the chorus of friends." And at the same time I spoke of the promptness and power of the god, how great it was both in utterances and in signs, and that many times already the answer had come to me during my prayer; "and now," I said, "he has sent these as guides for our way." We were conversing thus and at the same time watching what they would do; and we departed from the temple, I know not how far, and I, playing with the geese to show my friends, said: "You have performed your service sufficiently, you there, go on." No sooner had I spoken than they turned around and went away.