Δῶρις καλὸν ἐραστήν, ὦ Γαλάτεια, τὸν Σικελὸν τοῦτον ποιμένα φασὶν ἐπιμεμηνέναι σοί.
Γαλάτεια μὴ σκῶπτε, Δωρί· Ποσειδῶνος γαρ υἱός ἐστιν, ὁποῖος ἂν ᾖ.
Δῶρις τί οὖν; εἰ καὶ τοῦ Διὸς αὐτοῦ παῖς ὢν ἄγριος οὕτω καὶ λάσιος ἐφαίνετο καί, τὸ πάντων ἀμορφότατον, μονόφθαλμος, οἴει τὸ γένος ἄν τι ὀνῆσαι αὐτὸν πρὸς τὴν μορφήν;
Γαλάτεια οὐδὲ τὸ λάσιον αὐτοῦ καί, ὡς φής, ἄγριον ἄμορφόν ἐστιν — ἀνδρῶδες γάρ — ὅ τε ὀφθαλμὸς ἐπιπρέπει τῷ μετώπῳ οὐδὲν ἐνδεέστερον ὁρῶν ἢ εἰ δύʼ ἦσαν.
Δῶρις ἔοικας, ὦ Γαλάτεια, οὐκ ἐραστὴν ἀλλʼ ἐρώμενον ἔχειν τὸν Πολύφημον, οἷα ἐπαινεῖς αὐτόν.
Γαλάτεια οὐκ ἐρώμενον, ἀλλὰ τὸ πάνυ ὀνειδιστικὸν τοῦτο οὐ φέρω ὑμῶν, καί μοι δοκεῖτε ὑπὸ φθόνου αὐτὸ ποιεῖν, ὅτι ποιμαίνων ποτὲ ἀπὸ τῆς σκοπῆς παιζούσας ἡμᾶς ἰδὼν ἐπὶ τῆς ᾐόνος ἐν τοῖς πρόποσι τῆς Αἴτνης, καθʼ ὃ μεταξὺ τοῦ ὄρους καὶ τῆς θαλάττης αἰγιαλὸς ἀπομηκύνεται, ὑμᾶς μὲν οὐδὲ προσέβλεψεν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐξ ἁπασῶν ἡ καλλίστη ἔδοξα, καὶ μόνῃ ἐμοὶ ἐπεῖχε τὸν ὀφθαλμόν. ταῦτα ὑμᾶς ἀνιᾷ· δεῖγμα γάρ, ὡς ἀμείνων εἰμὶ καὶ ἀξιέραστος, ὑμεῖς δὲ παρώφθητε.
Δῶρις εἰ ποιμένι καὶ ἐνδεεῖ τὴν ὄψιν καλὴ ἔδοξας, ἐπίφθονος οἴει γεγονέναι; καίτοι τί ἄλλο ἐν σοὶ ἐπαινέσαι εἶχεν ἢ τὸ λευκὸν μόνον; καὶ τοῦτο, οἶμαι, ὅτι ξυνήθης ἐστὶ τυρῷ καὶ γάλακτι· πάντα οὖν τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις ἡγεῖται καλά.
Δῶρις ἐπεὶ τά γε ἄλλα ὁπόταν ἐθελήσῃς μαθεῖν, οἵα τυγχάνεις οὖσα τὴν ὄψιν, ἀπὸ πέτρας τινός, εἴ ποτε γαλήνη εἴη, ἐπικύψασα ἐς τὸ ὕδωρ ἰδὲ σεαυτὴν οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ χρόαν λευκὴν ἀκριβῶς· οὐκ ἐπαινεῖται δὲ τοῦτο, ἢν μὴ ἐπιπρέπῃ αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ ἐρύθημα.
Γαλάτεια καὶ μὴν ἐγὼ μὲν ἡ ἀκράτως λευκὴ ὅμως ἐραστὴν ἔχω κἂν τοῦτον, ὑμῶν δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἥντινα ἢ ποιμὴν ἢ ναύτης ἢ πορθμεὺς ἐπαινεῖ· ὁ δέ γε Πολύφημος τό τε ἄλλα καὶ μουσικός ἐστι.
DORIS A handsome lover, Galatea, this Sicilian shepherd who they say is so mad for you!
GALATEA Don’t be sarcastic, Doris; he is Posidon’s son, after all.
DORIS Well, and if he were Zeus’s, and still such a wild shaggy creature, with only one eye (there is nothing uglier than to have only one eye), do you think his birth would improve his beauty?
GALATEA Shagginess and wildness, as you call them, are not ugly in a man; and his eye looks very well in the middle of his forehead, and sees just as well as if it were two.
DORIS Why, my dear, from your raptures about him one would think it was you that were in love, not he.
GALATEA Oh no, I am not in love; but it is too bad, your all running him down as you do. It is my belief you are jealous, Do you remember? we were playing on the shore at the foot of Etna, where the long strip of beach comes between the mountain and the sea; he was feeding his sheep, and spied us from above; yes, but he never so much as glanced at the rest of you; I was the pretty one; he was all eyes—eye, I mean—for me. That is what makes you spiteful, because it showed I was better than you, good enough to be loved, while you were taken no notice of.
DORIS Hoity-toity! jealous indeed! because a one-eyed shepherd thinks you pretty! Why, what could he see in you but your white skin? and he only cared for that because it reminded him of cheese and milk; he thinks everything pretty that is like them. If you want to know any more than that about your looks, sit on a rock when it is calm, and lean over the water; just a bit of white skin, that is all; and who cares for that, if it is not picked out with some red?
GALATEA Well, if I am all white, I have got a lover of some sort; there is not a shepherd or a sailor or a boatman to care for any of you. Besides, Polyphemus is very musical.
Δῶρις σιώπα, ὦ Γαλάτεια· ἠκούσαμεν αὐτοῦ ᾅδοντος ὁπότε ἐκώμασε πρῴην ἐπὶ σέ· Ἀφροδίτη φίλη, ὄνον ἄν τις ὀγκᾶσθαι ἔδοξε. καὶ αὐτὴ δὲ ἡ πηκτὶς οἵα; κρανίον ἐλάφου γυμνὸν τῶν σαρκῶν, καὶ τὰ μὲν κέρατα πήχεις ὥσπερ ἦσαν, ζυγώσας δὲ αὐτὰ καὶ ἐνάψας τὰ νεῦρα, οὐδὲ κόλλοπι περιστρέψας, ἐμελῴδει ἄμουσόν τι καὶ ἀπῳδόν, ἄλλο μὲν αὐτὸς βοῶν, ἄλλο δὲ ἡ λύρα ὑπήχει, ὥστε οὐδὲ κατέχειν τὸν γέλωτα ἐδυνάμεθα ἐπὶ τῷ ἐρωτικῷ ἐκείνῳ ᾅσματι· ἡ μὲν γὰρ Ἠχὼ οὐδὲ ἀποκρίνεσθαι αὐτῷ ἤθελεν οὕτω λάλος οὖσα βρυχωμένῳ, ἀλλʼ ᾐσχύνετο, εἰ φανείη μιμουμένη τραχεῖαν ᾠδὴν καὶ καταγέλαστον.
Δῶρις ἔφερε δὲ ὁ ἐπέραστος ἐν ταῖς ἀγκάλαις ἀθυρμάτιον ἄρκτου σκύλακα τὸ λάσιον αὐτῷ προσεοικότα. τίς οὖν οὐκ ἂν φθονήσειέ σοι, ὦ Γαλάτεια, τοιούτου ἐραστοῦ;
Γαλάτεια οὐκοῦν σύ, Δωρί, δεῖξον ἡμῖν τὸν σεαυτῆς, καλλίω δῆλον ὅτι ὄντα καὶ ᾠδικώτερον καὶ κιθαρίζειν ἄμεινον ἐπιστάμενον.
Δῶρις ἀλλʼ ἐραστὴς μὲν οὐδεὶς ἔστι μοι οὐδὲ σεμνύνομαι ἐπέραστος εἶναι· τοιοῦτος δὲ οἷος ὁ Κύκλωψ ἐστί, κινάβρας ἀπόζων ὥσπερ τράγος, ὠμοφάγος, ὥς φασι, καὶ σιτούμενος τοὺς ἐπιδημοῦντας τῶν ξένων, σοὶ γένοιτο καὶ σὺ ἀντερῴης αὐτοῦ.
DORIS Take care, dear; we heard him singing the other day when he serenaded you. Heavens! one would have taken him for an ass braying. And his lyre! what a thing! A stag’s skull, with its horns for the uprights; he put a bar across, and fastened on the strings without any tuning-pegs! then came the performance, all harsh and out of tune; he shouted something himself, and the lyre played something else, and the love ditty sent us into fits of laughter. Why, Echo, chatterbox that she is, would not answer him; she was ashamed to be caught mimicking such a rough ridiculous song. Oh, and the pet that your beau brought you in his arms!—a bear cub nearly as shaggy as himself. Now then, Galatea, do you still think we envy you your lover?
GALATEA Well, Doris, only show us your own; no doubt he is much handsomer, and sings and plays far better.
DORIS Oh, I have not got one; I do not set up to be lovely. But one like the Cyclops—faugh, he might be one of his own goats!—he eats raw meat, they say, and feeds on travellers—one like him, dear, you may keep; I wish you nothing worse than to return his love.
Κύκλωψ ὦ πάτερ, οἷα πέπονθα ὑπὸ τοῦ καταράτου ξένου, ὃς μεθύσας ἐξετύφλωσέ με κοιμωμένῳ ἐπιχειρήσας.
Ποσειδῶν τίς δὲ ἦν ὁ ταῦτα τολμήσας, ὦ Πολύφημε;
Κύκλωψ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον Οὖτιν αὑτὸν ἀπεκάλει, ἐπεὶ δὲ διέφυγε καὶ ἔξω ἦν βέλους, Ὀδυσσεὺς ὀνομάζεσθαι ἔφη.
Ποσειδῶν οἶδα ὃν λέγεις, τὸν Ἰθακήσιον· ἐξ Ἰλίου δʼ ἀνέπλει. ἀλλὰ πῶς ταῦτα ἔπραξεν οὐδὲ πάνυ εὐθαρσὴς ὤν;
Κύκλωψ κατέλαβον ἐν τῷ ἄντρῳ ἀπὸ τῆς νομῆς ἀναστρέψας πολλούς τινας, ἐπιβουλεύοντας δῆλον ὅτι τοῖς ποιμνίοις· ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἐπέθηκα τῇ θύρᾳ τὸ πῶμα — πέτρα δέ ἐστι παμμεγέθης — καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἀνέκαυσα ἐναυσάμενος ὃ ἔφερον δένδρον ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους, ἐφάνησαν ἀποκρύπτειν αὑτοὺς πειρώμενοι· ἐγὼ δὲ συλλαβών τινας αὐτῶν, ὥσπερ εἰκὸς ἦν, κατέφαγον λῃστάς γε ὄντας. ἐνταῦθα ὁ πανουργότατος ἐκεῖνος, εἴτε Οὖτις εἴτε Ὀδυσσεὺς ἦν, δίδωσί μοι πιεῖν φάρμακόν τι ἐγχέας, ἡδὺ μὲν καὶ εὔοσμον, ἐπιβουλότατον δὲ καὶ ταραχωδέστατον· ἅπαντα γὰρ εὐθὺς ἐδόκει μοι περιφέρεσθαι καὶ τὸ σπήλαιον αὐτὸ ἀνεστρέφετο καὶ οὐκέτι ὅλως ἐν ἐμαυτοῦ ἤμην, τέλος δὲ ἐς ὕπνον κατεσπάσθην. ὁ δὲ ἀποξύνας τὸν μοχλὸν καὶ πυρώσας γε προσέτι ἐτύφλωσέ με καθεύδοντα, καὶ ἀπʼ ἐκείνου τυφλός εἰμί σοι, ὦ Πόσειδον.
Ποσειδῶν ὡς βαθὺν ἐκοιμήθης, ὦ τέκνον, ὃς οὐκ ἐξέθορες μεταξὺ τυφλούμενος. ὁ δʼ οὖν Ὀδυσσεὺς πῶς διέφυγεν; οὐ γὰρ ἂν εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι ἠδυνήθη ἀποκινῆσαι τὴν πέτραν ἀπὸ τῆς θύρας.
Κύκλωψ ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ ἀφεῖλον, ὡς μᾶλλον αὐτὸν λάβοιμι ἐξιόντα, καὶ καθίσας παρὰ τὴν θύραν ἐθήρων τὰς χεῖρας ἐκπετάσας, μόνα παρεὶς τὰ πρόβατα ἐς τὴν νομήν, ἐντειλάμενος τῷ κριῷ ὁπόσα ἐχρῆν πράττειν αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ.
Ποσειδῶν μανθάνω· ὑπʼ ἐκείνοις ἔλαθον ὑπεξελθόντες· σὲ δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους Κύκλωπας ἔδει ἐπιβοήσασθαι ἐπʼ αὐτόν.
Κύκλωψ συνεκάλεσα, ὦ πάτερ, καὶ ἧκον· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἤροντο τοῦ ἐπιβουλεύοντος τοὔνομα κἀγὼ ἔφην ὅτι Οὐτίς ἐστι, μελαγχολᾶν οἰηθέντες με ᾤχοντο ἀπιόντες. οὕτω κατεσοφίσατό με ὁ κατάρατος τῷ ὀνόματι. καὶ ὃ μάλιστα ἠνίασέ με, ὅτι καὶ ὀνειδίζων ἐμοὶ τὴν συμφοράν, Οὐδὲ ὁ πατήρ, φησίν, ὁ Ποσειδῶν ἰάσεταί σε.
Ποσειδῶν θάρρει, ὦ τέκνον· ἀμυνοῦμαι γὰρ αὐτόν, ὡς μάθῃ ὅτι, καὶ εἰ πήρωσίν μοι ὀφθαλμῶν ἰᾶσθαι ἀδύνατον, τὰ γοῦν τῶν πλεόντων ἐπʼ ἐμοί ἐστι· πλεῖ δὲ ἔτι.
CYCLOPS Only look, father, what that cursed stranger has been doing to me! He made me drunk, and set upon me whilst I was asleep, and blinded me.
POSIDON Who has dared to do this?
CYCLOPS He called himself ‘Noman’ at first: but when he had got safely out of range, he said his name was Odysseus.
POSIDON I know—the Ithacan; on his way back from Troy. But how did he come to do such a thing? He is not distinguished for courage.
CYCLOPS When I got back from the pasture, I caught a lot of the fellows in my cave. Evidently they had designs upon the sheep: because when I had blocked up my doorway (I have a great big stone for that), and kindled a fire, with a tree that I had brought home from the mountain,—there they were trying to hide themselves. I saw they were robbers, so I caught a few of them, and ate them of course, and then that scoundrel of a Noman, or Odysseus, whichever it is, gave me something to drink, with a drug in it; it tasted and smelt very good, but it was villanously heady stuff; it made everything spin round; even the cave seemed to be turning upside down, and I simply didn’t know where I was; and finally I fell off to sleep. And then he sharpened that stake, and made it hot in the fire, and blinded me in my sleep; and blind I have been ever since, father.
POSIDON You must have slept pretty soundly, my boy, or you would have jumped up in the middle of it. Well, and how did Odysseus get off? He couldn’t move that stone away, I know.
CYCLOPS I took that away myself, so as to catch him as he went out. I sat down in the doorway, and felt about for him with my hands. I just let the sheep go out to pasture, and told the ram everything I wanted done.
POSIDON Ah! and they slipped out under the sheep? But you should have set the other Cyclopes on to him.
CYCLOPS I did call them, and they came: but when they asked me who it was that was playing tricks with me, I said ‘Noman’; and then they thought I was mad, and went off home again. The villain! that name of his was just a trick! And what I minded most was the way in which he made game of my misfortune: ‘Not even Papa can put this right,’ he said.
POSIDON Never mind, my boy; I will be even with him. I may not be able to cure blindness, but he shall know that I have something to say to mariners. He is not home yet.
Ποσειδῶν τί τοῦτο, Ἀλφειέ; μόνος τῶν ἄλλων ἐμπεσὼν ἐς τὸ πέλαγος οὔτε ἀναμίγνυσαι τῇ ἅλμῃ, ὡς ἔθος ποταμοῖς ἅπασιν, οὔτε ἀναπαύεις σεαυτὸν διαχυθείς, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς θαλάττης ξυνεστὼς καὶ γλυκὺ φυλάττων τὸ ῥεῖθρον, ἀμιγὴς ἔτι καὶ καθαρὸς ἐπείγῃ οὐκ οἶδα ὅπου βύθιος ὑποδὺς καθάπερ οἱ λάροι καὶ ἐρῳδιοί; καὶ ἔοικας ἀνακύψειν που καὶ αὖθις ἀναφανεῖν σεαυτόν.
Ἀλφειός ἐρωτικόν τι τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστιν, ὦ Πόσειδον, ὥστε μὴ ἔλεγχε· ἠράσθης δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς πολλάκις.
Ποσειδῶν γυναικός, ὦ Ἀλφειέ, ἢ νύμφης ἐρᾷς ἢ καὶ τῶν Νηρηίδων αὐτῶν μιᾶς;
Ἀλφειός οὔκ, ἀλλὰ πηγῆς, ὦ Πόσειδον.
Ποσειδῶν ἡ δὲ ποῦ σοι γῆς αὕτη ῥεῖ;
Ἀλφειός Νησιῶτίς ἐστι Σικελή· Ἀρέθουσαν αὐτὴν καλοῦσιν.
Ποσειδῶν οἶδα οὐκ ἄμορφον, ὦ Ἀλφειέ, τὴν Ἀρέθουσαν, ἀλλὰ διαυγής τέ ἐστι καὶ διὰ καθαροῦ ἀναβλύζει καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπιπρέπει ταῖς ψηφίσιν ὅλον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν φαινόμενον ἀργυροειδές.
Ἀλφειός ὡς ἀληθῶς οἶσθα τὴν πηγήν, ὦ Πόσειδον· παρʼ ἐκείνην οὖν ἀπέρχομαι.
Ποσειδῶν ἀλλʼ ἄπιθι μὲν καὶ εὐτύχει ἐν τῷ ἔρωτι· ἐκεῖνο δέ μοι εἰπέ, ποῦ τὴν Ἀρέθουσαν εἶδες αὐτὸς μὲν Αρκὰς ὤν, ἡ δὲ ἐν Συρακούσαις ἐστίν;
Ἀλφειός ἐπειγόμενόν με κατέχεις, ὦ Πόσειδον, περίεργα ἐρωτῶν.
Ποσειδῶν εὖ λέγεις· χώρει παρὰ τὴν ἀγαπωμένην, καὶ ἀναδὺς ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάττης ξυναυλίᾳ μίγνυσο τῇ πηγῇ καὶ ἓν ὕδωρ γίγνεσθε.
POSIDON What is the meaning of this, Alpheus? unlike others, when you take your plunge you do not mingle with the brine as a river should; you do not put an end to your labours by dispersing; you hold together through the sea, keep your current fresh, and hurry along in all your original purity; you dive down to strange depths like a gull or a heron; I suppose you will come to the top again and show yourself somewhere or other.
ALPHEUS Do not press me, Posidon; a love affair; and many is the time you have been in love yourself.
POSIDON Woman, nymph, or Nereid?
ALPHEUS All wrong; she is a fountain.
POSIDON A fountain? and where does she flow?
ALPHEUS She is an islander—in Sicily. Her name is Arethusa.
POSIDON Ah, I commend your taste. She is pellucid, and bubbles up in perfect purity; the water as bright over her pebbles as if it were a mass of silver.
ALPHEUS You know my fountain, Posidon, and no mistake. It is to her that I go.
POSIDON Go, then; and may the course of love run smooth! But pray where did you meet her? Arcadia and Syracuse, you know!
ALPHEUS I am in a hurry; you are detaining me, with these superfluous questions.
POSIDON Ah, so I am. Be off to your beloved, rise from the sea, mingle your channels and be one water.
Μενέλαος ἀλλὰ ὕδωρ μέν σε γίγνεσθαι, ὦ Πρωτεῦ, οὐκ ἀπίθανον, ἐνάλιόν γε ὄντα, καὶ δένδρον, ἔτι φορητόν, καὶ ἐς λέοντα δὲ ὁπότε ἀλλαγείης, ὅμως οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἔξω πίστεως· εἰ δὲ καὶ πῦρ γίγνεσθαι δυνατὸν ἐν θαλάττῃ οἰκοῦντα, τοῦτο πάνυ θαυμάζω καὶ ἀπιστῶ.
Πρωτεύς μὴ θαυμάσῃς, ὦ Μενέλαε· γίγνομαι γάρ.
Μενέλαος εἶδον καὶ αὐτός· ἀλλά μοι δοκεῖς — εἰρήσεται γὰρ πρὸς σέ — γοητείαν τινὰ προσάγειν τῷ πράγματι καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξαπατᾶν τῶν ὁρώντων αὐτὸς οὐδὲν τοιοῦτο γιγνόμενος.
Πρωτεύς καὶ τίς ἂν ἡ ἀπάτη ἐπὶ τῶν οὕτως ἐναργῶν γένοιτο; οὐκ ἀνεῳγμένοις τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς εἶδες, ἐς ὅσα μετεποίησα ἐμαυτόν; εἰ δὲ ἀπιστεῖς καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ψευδὲς εἶναι δοκεῖ, φαντασία τις πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἱσταμένη, ἐπειδὰν πῦρ γένωμαι, προσένεγκέ μοι, ὦ γενναιότατε, τὴν χεῖρα· εἴσῃ γάρ, εἰ ὁρῶμαι μόνον ἢ καὶ τὸ κάειν τότε μοι πρόσεστιν.
Μενέλαος οὐκ ἀσφαλὴς ἡ πεῖρα, ὦ Πρωτεῦ.
Πρωτεύς σὺ δέ μοι, Μενέλαε, δοκεῖς οὐδὲ πολύπουν ἑωρακέναι πώποτε οὐδὲ ὃ πάσχει ὁ ἰχθυς οὗτος εἰδέναι.
Μενέλαος ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν πολύπουν εἶδον, ἃ πάσχει δέ, ἡδέως ἂν μάθοιμι παρὰ σοῦ.
Πρωτεύς ὁποίᾳ ἂν πέτρᾳ προσελθὼν ἁρμόσῃ τὰς κοτύλας καὶ προσφὺς ἔχηται , ἐκείνῃ ὅμοιον ἀπεργάζεται ἑαυτὸν καὶ μεταβάλλει τὴν χρόαν μιμούμενος τὴν πέτραν, ὡς ἂν λάθῃ τοὺς ἁλιέας μὴ διαλλάττων μηδὲ φανερὸς ὢν διὰ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ ἐοικὼς τῷ λίθῳ.
Μενέλαος φασὶ ταῦτα· τὸ δὲ σὸν πολλῷ παραδοξότερον, ὦ Πρωτεῦ.
Πρωτεύς οὐκ οἶδα, ὦ Μενέλαε, τίνι ἂν ἄλλῳ πιστεύσειας τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὀφθαλμοῖς ἀπιστῶν.
Μενέλαος εἶδον· ἀλλὰ τὸ πρᾶγμα τεράστιον, ὁ αὐτὸς πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ.
MENELAUS I can understand your turning into water, you know, Proteus, because you are a sea-god. I can even pass the tree; and the lion is not wholly beyond the bounds of belief. But the idea of your being able to turn into fire, living under water as you do,—this excites my surprise, not to say my incredulity.
PROTEUS Don’t let it; because I can.
MENELAUS I have seen you do it. But (to be frank with you) I think there must be some deception; you play tricks with one’s eyes; you don’t really turn into anything of the kind?
PROTEUS Deception? What deception can there possibly be? Everything is above-board. Your eyes were open, I suppose, and you saw me change into all these things? If that is not enough for you, if you think it is a fraud, an optical illusion, I will turn into fire again, and you can touch me with your hand, my sagacious friend. You will then be able to conclude whether I am only visible fire, or have the additional property of burning.
MENELAUS That would be rash.
PROTEUS I suppose you have never seen such a thing as a polypus, nor observed the proceedings of that fish?
MENELAUS I have seen them; as to their proceedings, I shall be glad of your information.
PROTEUS The polypus, having selected his rock, and attached himself by means of his suckers, assimilates himself to it, changing his colour to match that of the rock. By this means he hopes to escape the observation of fishermen: there is no contrast of colour to betray his presence; he looks just like stone.
MENELAUS So I have heard. But yours is quite another matter, Proteus.
PROTEUS I don’t know what evidence would satisfy you, if you reject that of your own eyes.
MENELAUS I have seen it done, but it is an extraordinary business; fire and water, one and the same person!
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