Νεκροί οἴμοι τῶν κτημάτων. — οἴμοι τῶν ἀγρῶν. — ὀττοτοῖ, τὴν οἰκίαν οἵαν ἀπέλιπον. — ὅσα τάλαντα ὁ κληρονόμος σπαθήσει παραλαβών. — αἰαῖ τῶν νεογνῶν μοι παιδίων. — τίς ἄρα τὰς ἀμπέλους τρυγήσει, ἃς πέρυσιν ἐφυτευσάμην;
Ἑρμῆς Μίκυλλε, σὺ δʼ οὐδὲν οἰμώζεις; καὶ μὴν οὐ θέμις ἀδακρυτὶ διαπλεῦσαί τινα.
Μίκυλλος ἄπαγε· οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐφʼ ὅτῳ ἂν οἰμώξαιμι εὐπλοῶν.
Ἑρμῆς ὅμως κἂν μικρόν τι ἐς τὸ ἔθος ἐπιστέναξον.
Μίκυλλος οἰμώξομαι τοίνυν, ἐπειδή, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, σοὶ δοκεῖ. οἴμοι τῶν καττυμάτων· οἴμοι τῶν κρηπίδων τῶν παλαιῶν· ὀττοτοῖ τῶν σαθρῶν ὑποδημάτων. οὐκέτι ὁ κακοδαίμων ἕωθεν εἰς ἑσπέραν ἄσιτος διαμενῶ, οὐδὲ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἀνυπόδητός τε καὶ ἡμίγυμνος περινοστήσω τοὺς ὀδόντας ὑπὸ τοῦ κρύους συγκροτῶν. τίς ἄρα μου τὴν σμίλην ἕξει καὶ τὸ κεντητήριον;
Ἑρμῆς ἱκανῶς τεθρήνηται· σχεδὸν δὲ ἤδη καταπεπλεύκαμεν.
Χάρων ἄγε δὴ τὰ πορθμεῖα πρῶτον ἡμῖν ἀπόδοτε· καὶ σὺ δός· παρὰ πάντων ἤδη ἔχω. δὸς καὶ σὺ τὸν ὀβολόν, ὦ Μίκυλλε.
Μίκυλλος παίζεις, ὦ Χάρων, ἢ καθʼ ὕδατος, φασίν, γράφεις παρὰ Μικύλλου δή τινα ὀβολὸν προσδοκῶν. ἀρχὴν δὲ οὐδὲ οἶδα εἰ τετράγωνόν ἐστιν ὁ ὀβολὸς ἢ στρογγύλον.
Χάρων Ὢ καλῆς ναυτιλίας καὶ ἐπικερδοῦς τήμερον. ἀποβαίνετε δʼ ὅμως· ἐγὼ δὲ ἵππους καὶ βοῦς καὶ κύνας καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ζῷα μέτειμι· διαπλεῦσαι γὰρ ἤδη κἀκεῖνα δεῖ.
Κλωθώ ἄπαγε αὐτούς, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, παραλαβών· ἐγὼ δὲ αὐτὴ ἐς τὸ ἀντιπέρας ἀναπλευσοῦμαι Ἰνδοπάτην καὶ Ἡραμίθρην τοὺς Σῆρας διάξουσα· τεθνᾶσι γὰρ δὴ πρὸς ἀλλήλων περὶ γῆς ὅρων μαχόμενοι.
Ἑρμῆς Προΐωμεν, ὦ οὗτοι· μᾶλλον δὲ πάντες ἑξῆς ἕπεσθέ μοι.
Μίκυλλος ὦ Ἡράκλεις, τοῦ ζόφου. ποῦ νῦν ὁ καλὸς Μέγιλλος; ἢ τῷ διαγνῷ τις ἐνταῦθα εἰ καλλίων Φρύνης Σιμίχη; πάντα γὰρ ἴσα καὶ ὁμόχροα καὶ οὐδὲν οὔτε καλὸν οὔτε κάλλιον, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ τὸ τριβώνιον τέως ἄμορφον εἶναί μοι δοκοῦν ἰσότιμον γίγνεται τῇ πορφυρίδι τοῦ βασιλέως· ἀφανῆ γὰρ ἄμφω καὶ ὑπὸ τῷ αὐτῷ σκότῳ καταδεδυκότα. Κυνίσκε, σὺ δὲ ποῦ ποτε ἄρα ὢν τυγχάνεις;
Κυνίσκος ἐνταῦθα λέγω σοι, Μίκυλλε· ἀλλʼ ἅμα, εἰ δοκεῖ, βαδίζωμεν.
Μίκυλλος εὖ λέγεις· ἔμβαλέ μοι τὴν δεξιάν. εἰπέ μοι, — ἐτελέσθης γάρ, ὦ Κυνίσκε, δῆλον ὅτι τὰ Ἐλευσίνια — οὐχ ὅμοια τοῖς ἐκεῖ τὰ ἐνθάδε σοι δοκεῖ;
Κυνίσκος εὖ λέγεις· ἰδοὺ γοῦν προσέρχεται δᾳδουχοῦσά τις φοβερόν τι καὶ ἀπειλητικὸν προσβλέπουσα. ἦ ἄρα που Ἐρινύς ἐστιν;
Μίκυλλος ἔοικεν ἀπό γε τοῦ σχήματος.
CYNISCUS Shall I tip them a stave?
CHARON To be sure, if you have a sea-song about you.
CYNISCUS I have several. Look here though, an opposition is starting: a song of lamentation. It will throw me out.
SHADES Oh, my lands, my lands!—Ah, my money, my money!—Farewell, my fine palace!—The thousands that fellow will have to squander!—Ah, my helpless children!—To think of the vines I planted last year! Who, ah who, will pluck the grapes?—
HERMES Why, Micyllus, have you never an Oh or an Ah? It is quite improper that any shade should cross the stream, and make no moan.
MICYLLUS Get along with you. What have I to do with Ohs and Ahs? I’m enjoying the trip!
HERMES Still, just a groan or two. It’s expected.
MICYLLUS Well, if I must, here goes.—Farewell, leather, farewell! Ah, Soles, old Soles!—Oh, ancient Boots!—Woe’s me! Never again shall I sit empty from morn till night; never again walk up and down, of a winter’s day, naked, unshod, with chattering teeth! My knife, my awl, will be another’s: whose, ah! whose?
HERMES Yes, that will do. We are nearly there.
CHARON Wait a bit! Fares first, please. Your fare, Micyllus; every one else has paid; one penny.
MICYLLUS You don’t expect to get a penny out of the poor cobbler? You’re joking, Charon; or else this is what they call a ‘castle in the air.’ I know not whether your penny is square or round.
CHARON A fine paying trip this, I must say! However,—all ashore! I must fetch the horses, cows, dogs, and other livestock. Their turn comes now.
CLOTHO You can take charge of them for the rest of the way, Hermes. I am crossing again to see after the Chinamen, Indopatres and Heramithres. They have been fighting about boundaries, and have killed one another by this time.
HERMES Come, shades, let us get on;—follow me, I mean, in single file.
MICYLLUS Bless me, how dark it is! Where is handsome Megillus now? There would be no telling Simmiche from Phryne. All complexions are alike here, no question of beauty, greater or less. Why, the cloak I thought so shabby before passes muster here as well as royal purple; the darkness hides both alike. Cyniscus, whereabouts are you?
CYNISCUS Use your ears; here I am. We might walk together. What do you say?
MICYLLUS Very good; give me your hand.—I suppose you have been admitted to the mysteries at Eleusis? That must have been something like this, I should think?
Ἑρμῆς παράλαβε τούτους, ὦ Τισιφόνη, τέτταρας ἐπὶ τοῖς χιλίοις.
Τισιφόνη καὶ μὴν πάλαι γε ὁ Ῥαδάμανθυς οὗτος ὑμᾶς περιμένει.
Ῥαδάμανθυς πρόσαγε αὐτούς, ὦ Ἐρινύ. σὺ δέ, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, κήρυττε καὶ προσκάλει.
Κυνίσκος ὦ Ῥαδάμανθυ, πρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς ἐμὲ πρῶτον ἐπίσκεψαι παραγαγών.
Ῥαδάμανθυς τίνος ἕνεκα;
Κυνίσκος πάντως βούλομαι κατηγορῆσαι τυράννου τινὸς ἃ συνεπίσταμαι πονηρὰ δράσαντι αὐτῷ παρὰ τὸν βίον. οὐκ ἂν οὖν ἀξιόπιστος εἴην λέγων, μὴ οὐχὶ πρότερον αὐτὸς φανεὶς οἷός εἰμι καὶ οἷόν τινα ἐβίωσα τὸν τρόπον.
Ῥαδάμανθυς τίς δὲ σύ;
Κυνίσκος Κυνίσκος, ὦ ἄριστε, τὴν γνώμην φιλόσοφος.
Ῥαδάμανθυς δεῦρʼ ἐλθὲ καὶ πρῶτος εἰς τὴν δίκην κατάστηθι. σὺ δὲ προσκάλει τοὺς κατηγόρους.
CYNISCUS Pretty much. Look, here comes a torch-bearer; a grim, forbidding dame. A Fury, perhaps?
MICYLLUS She looks like it, certainly.
HERMES Here they are, Tisiphone. One thousand and four.
TISIPHONE It is time we had them. Rhadamanthus has been waiting.
RHADAMANTHUS Bring them up, Tisiphone. Hermes, you call out their names as they are wanted.
CYNISCUS Rhadamanthus, as you love your father Zeus, have me up first for examination.
RHADAMANTHUS Why?
CYNISCUS There is a certain shade whose misdeeds on earth I am anxious to denounce. And if my evidence is to be worth anything, you must first be satisfied of my own character and conduct.
RHADAMANTHUS Who are you?
CYNISCUS Cyniscus, your worship; a student of philosophy.
RHADAMANTHUS Come up for judgement; I will take you first. Hermes, summon the accusers.
HERMES If any one has an accusation to bring against Cyniscus here present, let him come forward.
Ἑρμῆς εἴ τις Κυνίσκου τουτουὶ κατηγορεῖ, δεῦρο προσίτω.
Κυνίσκος οὐδεὶς προσέρχεται.
Ῥαδάμανθυς ἀλλʼ οὐχ ἱκανὸν τοῦτο, ὦ Κυνίσκε· ἀπόδυθι δέ, ὅπως ἐπισκοπήσω σε ἀπὸ τῶν στιγμάτων.
Κυνίσκος ποῦ γὰρ ἐγὼ στιγματίας ἐγενόμην;
Ῥαδάμανθυς ὁπόσα ἄν τις ὑμῶν πονηρὰ ἐργάσηται παρὰ τὸν βίον, καθʼ ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἀφανῆ στίγματα ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς περιφέρει.
Κυνίσκος ἰδού σοι γυμνὸς παρέστηκα· ὥστε ἀναζήτει ταῦτα ἅπερ σὺ φὴς τὰ στίγματα.
Ῥαδάμανθυς καθαρὸς ὡς ἐπίπαν οὑτοσὶ πλὴν τούτων τριῶν ἢ τεττάρων ἀμαυρῶν πάνυ καὶ ἀσαφῶν στιγμάτων. καίτοι τί τοῦτο; ἴχνη μὲν καὶ σημεῖα πολλὰ τῶν ἐγκαυμάτων, οὐκ οἶδα δὲ ὅπως ἐξαλήλιπται, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐκκέκοπται. πῶς ταῦτα, ὦ Κυνίσκε, ἢ πῶς καθαρὸς ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς ἀναπέφηνας;
Κυνίσκος ἐγώ σοι φράσω· πάλαι πονηρὸς διʼ ἀπαιδευσίαν γενόμενος καὶ πολλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἐμπολήσας στίγματα, ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα φιλοσοφεῖν ἠρξάμην κατʼ ὀλίγον ἁπάσας τὰς κηλῖδας ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπελουσάμην.
Ῥαδάμανθυς ἀγαθῷ γε οὗτος καὶ ἀνυσιμωτάτῳ χρησάμενος τῷ φαρμάκῳ. ἀλλʼ ἄπιθι ἐς τὰς Μακάρων νήσους τοῖς ἀρίστοις συνεσόμενος, κατηγορήσας γε πρότερον οὗ φὴς τυράννου. ἄλλους προσκάλει.
CYNISCUS No one stirs!
RHADAMANTHUS Ah, but that is not enough, my friend. Off with your clothes; I must have a look at your brands.
CYNISCUS Brands? Where will you find them?
RHADAMANTHUS Never yet did mortal man sin, but he carried about the secret record thereof, branded on his soul.
CYNISCUS Well, here I am stripped. Now for the ‘brands.’
RHADAMANTHUS Clean from head to heel, except three or four very faint marks, scarcely to be made out. Ah! what does this mean? Here is place after place that tells of the iron; all rubbed out apparently, or cut out. How do you explain this, Cyniscus? How did you get such a clean skin again?
CYNISCUS Why, in old days, when I knew no better, I lived an evil life, and acquired thereby a number of brands. But from the day that I began to practise philosophy, little by little I washed out all the scars from my soul,—thanks to the efficiency of that admirable lotion.
RHADAMANTHUS Off with you then to the Isles of the Blest, and the excellent company you will find there. But we must have your impeachment of the tyrant before you go. Next shade, Hermes!
Μίκυλλος καὶ τοὐμόν, ὦ Ῥαδάμανθυ, μικρόν ἐστι καὶ βραχείας τινὸς ἐξετάσεως δεόμενον· πάλαι γοῦν σοι καὶ γυμνός εἰμι, ὥστε ἐπισκόπει.
Ῥαδάμανθυς τίς δὲ ὢν τυγχάνεις;
Μίκυλλος ὁ σκυτοτόμος Μίκυλλος.
Ῥαδάμανθυς εὖ γε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, καθαρὸς ἀκριβῶς καὶ ἀνεπίγραφος· ἄπιθι καὶ σὺ παρὰ Κυνίσκον τουτονί. τὸν τύραννον ἤδη προσκάλει.
Ἑρμῆς Μεγαπένθης Λακύδου ἡκέτω. ποῖ στρέφῃ; πρόσιθι. σὲ τὸν τύραννον προσκαλῶ. πρόβαλʼ αὐτόν, ὦ Τισιφόνη, ἐς τὸ μέσον ἐπὶ τράχηλον ὠθοῦσα.
Ῥαδάμανθυς σὺ δέ, ὦ Κυνίσκε, κατηγόρει καὶ διέλεγχε ἤδη· πλησίον γὰρ ἁνὴρ οὑτοσί.
Κυνίσκος τὸ μὲν ὅλον οὐδὲ λόγων ἔδει· γνώσῃ γὰρ αὐτὸν αὐτίκα μάλα οἷός ἐστιν ἀπὸ τῶν στιγμάτων. ὅμως δὲ καὐτὸς ἀποκαλύψω σοι τὸν ἄνδρα κἀκ τοῦ λόγου δείξω φανερώτερον. οὑτοσὶ γὰρ ὁ τρισκατάρατος ὁπόσα μὲν ἰδιώτης ὢν ἔπραξε, παραλείψειν μοι δοκῶ· ἐπεὶ δὲ τοὺς θρασυτάτους προσεταιρισάμενος καὶ δορυφόρους συναγαγὼν ἐπαναστὰς τῇ πόλει τύραννος κατέστη, ἀκρίτους μὲν ἀπέκτεινε πλείονας ἢ μυρίους, τὰς δὲ οὐσίας ἑκάστων ἀφαιρούμενος καὶ πλούτου πρὸς τὸ ἀκρότατον ἀφικόμενος οὐδεμίαν μὲν ἀκολασίας ἰδέαν παραλέλοιπεν, ἁπάσῃ δὲ ὠμότητι καὶ ὕβρει κατὰ τῶν ἀθλίων πολιτῶν ἐχρήσατο, παρθένους διαφθείρων καὶ ἐφήβους καταισχύνων καὶ πάντα τρόπον τοῖς ὑπηκόοις ἐμπαροινῶν. καὶ ὑπεροψίας μέν γε καὶ τύφου καὶ τοῦ πρὸς τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας φρυάγματος οὐδὲ κατʼ ἀξίαν δύναιο ἂν παρʼ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν τὴν δίκην· ῥᾷον γοῦν τὸν ἥλιον ἄν τις ἢ τοῦτον ἀσκαρδαμυκτὶ προσέβλεψεν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν κολάσεων τὸ πρὸς ὠμότητα καινουργὸν αὐτοῦ τίς ἂν διηγήσασθαι δύναιτο, ὅς γε μηδὲ τῶν οἰκειοτάτων ἀπέσχετο; καὶ ταῦτα ὅτι μὴ ἄλλως κενή τίς ἐστι κατʼ αὐτοῦ διαβολή, αὐτίκα εἴσῃ προσκαλέσας τοὺς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ πεφονευμένους· μᾶλλον δὲ ἄκλητοι, ὡς ὁρᾷς, πάρεισι καὶ περιστάντες ἄγχουσιν αὐτόν. οὗτοι πάντες, ὦ Ῥαδάμανθυ, πρὸς τοῦ ἀλιτηρίου τεθνᾶσιν, οἱ μὲν γυναικῶν ἕνεκα εὐμόρφων ἐπιβουλευθέντες, οἱ δὲ υἱέων ἀπαγομένων πρὸς ὕβριν ἀγανακτήσαντες, οἱ δὲ ὅτι ἐπλούτουν, οἱ δὲ ὅτι ἦσαν δεξιοὶ καὶ σώφρονες καὶ οὐδαμοῦ ἠρέσκοντο τοῖς δρωμένοις.
MICYLLUS Mine is a very small affair, too, Rhadamanthus; I shall not keep you long. I have been stripped all this time; so do take me next.
RHADAMANTHUS And who may you be?
MICYLLUS Micyllus the cobbler.
RHADAMANTHUS Very well, Micyllus. As clean as clean could be; not a mark anywhere. You may join Cyniscus. Now the Tyrant.
HERMES Megapenthes, son of Lacydes, wanted! Where are you off to? This way! You there, the Tyrant! Up with him, Tisiphone, neck and crop.
RHADAMANTHUS Now, Cyniscus, your accusation and your proofs. Here is the party.
CYNISCUS There is in fact no need of an accusation. You will very soon know the man by the marks upon him. My words however may serve to unveil him, and to show his character in a clearer light. With the conduct of this monster as a private citizen, I need not detain you. Surrounded with a bodyguard, and aided by unscrupulous accomplices, he rose against his native city, and established a lawless rule. The persons put to death by him without trial are to be counted by thousands, and it was the confiscation of their property that gave him his enormous wealth. Since then, there is no conceivable iniquity which he has not perpetrated. His hapless fellow-citizens have been subjected to every form of cruelty and insult. Virgins have been seduced, boys corrupted, the feelings of his subjects outraged in every possible way. His overweening pride, his insolent bearing towards all who had to do with him, were such as no doom of yours can adequately requite. A man might with more security have fixed his gaze upon the blazing sun, than upon yonder tyrant. As for the refined cruelty of his punishments, it baffles description; and not even his familiars were exempt. That this accusation has not been brought without sufficient grounds, you may easily satisfy yourself, by summoning the murderer’s victims.—Nay, they need no summons; see, they are here; they press round as though they would stifle him. Every man there, Rhadamanthus, fell a prey to his iniquitous designs. Some had attracted his attention by the beauty of their wives; others by their resentment at the forcible abduction of their children; others by their wealth; others again by their understanding, their moderation, and their unvarying disapproval of his conduct.
Ῥαδάμανθυς τί πρὸς ταῦτα φής, ὦ μιαρὲ σύ;
Μεγαπένθης τοὺς μὲν φόνους εἴργασμαι οὓς λέγει, τὰ δʼ ἄλλα πάντα, τὰς μοιχείας καὶ τὰς τῶν ἐφήβων ὕβρεις καὶ τὰς διαφθορὰς τῶν παρθένων, ταῦτα πάντα Κυνίσκος μου κατεψεύσατο.
Κυνίσκος οὐκοῦν καὶ τούτων, ὦ Ῥαδάμανθυ, παρέξω σοι μάρτυρας.
Ῥαδάμανθυς τίνας τούτους λέγεις;
Κυνίσκος Προσκάλει μοι, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, τὸν λύχνον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν κλίνην· μαρτυρήσουσι γὰρ αὐτοὶ παρελθόντες, οἷα πράττοντι συνηπίσταντο αὐτῷ.
Ἑρμῆς ἡ Κλίνη καὶ ὁ Λύχνος ὁ Μεγαπένθους παρέστων. εὖ γε ἐποίησαν ὑπακούσαντες.
Ῥαδάμανθυς εἴπατε οὖν ὑμεῖς ἃ σύνιστε Μεγαπένθει τούτῳ· προτέρα δὲ σὺ ἡ Κλίνη λέγε.
Κλίνη πάντα ἀληθῆ κατηγόρησε Κυνίσκος. ἐγὼ μέντοι ταῦτα εἰπεῖν, ὦ δέσποτα Ῥαδάμανθυ, αἰσχύνομαι· τοιαῦτα ἦν ἃ ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ διεπράττετο.
Ῥαδάμανθυς σαφέστατα μὲν οὖν καταμαρτυρεῖς μηδὲ εἰπεῖν αὐτὰ ὑπομένουσα. καὶ σὺ δὲ ὁ Λύχνος ἤδη μαρτύρει.
Λύχνος ἐγὼ τὰ μεθʼ ἡμέραν μὲν οὐκ εἶδον· οὐ γὰρ παρῆν· ἃ δὲ τῶν νυκτῶν ἐποίει καὶ ἔπασχεν, ὀκνῶ λέγειν· πλὴν ἀλλὰ ἐθεασάμην γε πολλὰ καὶ ἄρρητα καὶ πᾶσαν ὕβριν ὑπερπεπαικότα. καίτοι πολλάκις ἑκὼν τοὔλαιον οὐκ ἔπινον ἀποσβῆναι θέλων· ὁ δὲ καὶ προσῆγέ με τοῖς δρωμένοις καὶ τὸ φῶς μου πάντα τρόπον κατεμίαινεν.
RHADAMANTHUS Villain, what have you to say to this?
MEGAPENTHES I committed the murders referred to. As for the rest, the adulteries and corruptions and seductions, it is all a pack of lies.
CYNISCUS I can bring witnesses to these points too, Rhadamanthus.
RHADAMANTHUS Witnesses, eh?
CYNISCUS Hermes, kindly summon his Lamp and Bed. They will appear in evidence, and state what they know of his conduct.
HERMES Lamp and Bed of Megapenthes, come into court. Good, they respond to the summons.
RHADAMANTHUS Now, tell us all you know about Megapenthes. Bed, you speak first.
BED All that Cyniscus said is true. But really, Mr. Rhadamanthus, I don’t quite like to speak about it; such strange things used to happen overhead.
RHADAMANTHUS Why, your unwillingness to speak is the most telling evidence of all!—Lamp, now let us have yours.
LAMP What went on in the daytime I never saw, not being there. As for his doings at night, the less said the better. I saw some very queer things, though, monstrous queer. Many is the time I have stopped taking oil on purpose, and tried to go out. But then he used to bring me close up. It was enough to give any lamp a bad character.
Ῥαδάμανθυς Ἅλις ἤδη τῶν μαρτύρων. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπόδυθι τὴν πορφυρίδα, ἵνα τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἴδωμεν τῶν στιγμάτων. παπαί, ὅλος οὗτος πελιδνὸς καὶ κατάγραφος, μᾶλλον δὲ κυάνεός ἐστιν ἀπὸ τῶν στιγμάτων. τίνα ἂν οὖν κολασθείη τρόπον; ἆρʼ ἐς τὸν Πυριφλεγέθοντά ἐστιν ἐμβλητέος ἢ παραδοτέος τῷ Κερβέρῳ;
Κυνίσκος μηδαμῶς· ἀλλʼ εἰ θέλεις, ἐγώ σοι καινήν τινα καὶ πρέπουσαν αὐτῷ τιμωρίαν ὑποθήσομαι.
Ῥαδάμανθυς λέγε, ὡς ἐγώ σοι μεγίστην ἐπὶ τούτω χάριν εἴσομαι.
Κυνίσκος ἔθος ἐστίν, οἶμαι, τοῖς ἀποθνήσκουσι πᾶσι πίνειν τὸ Λήθης ὕδωρ.
Ῥαδάμανθυς πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
Κυνίσκος οὐκοῦν μόνος οὗτος ἐξ ἁπάντων ἄποτος ἔστω.
Ῥαδάμανθυς διὰ τί δή;
Κυνίσκος χαλεπὴν οὕτως ὑφέξει τὴν δίκην μεμνημένος οἷος ἦν καὶ ὅσον ἠδύνατο ἐν τοῖς ἄνω, καὶ ἀναπεμπαζόμενος τὴν τρυφήν.
Ῥαδάμανθυς εὖ λέγεις· καὶ καταδεδικάσθω καὶ παρὰ τὸν Τάνταλον ἀπαχθεὶς οὑτοσὶ δεδέσθω, μεμνημένος ὧν ἔπραξε παρὰ τὸν βίον.
RHADAMANTHUS Enough of verbal evidence. Now, just divest yourself of that purple, and we will see what you have in the way of brands. Goodness gracious, the man’s a positive network! Black and blue with them! Now, what punishment can we give him? A bath in Pyriphlegethon? The tender mercies of Cerberus, perhaps?
CYNISCUS No, no. Allow me,—I have a novel idea; something that will just suit him.
RHADAMANTHUS Yes? I shall be obliged to you for a suggestion.
CYNISCUS I fancy it is usual for departed spirits to take a draught of the water of Lethe?
RHADAMANTHUS Just so.
CYNISCUS Let him be the sole exception.
RHADAMANTHUS What is the idea in that?
CYNISCUS His earthly pomp and power for ever in his mind; his fingers ever busy on the tale of blissful items;—‘tis a heavy sentence!
RHADAMANTHUS True. Be this the tyrant’s doom. Place him in fetters at Tantalus’s side,—never to forget the things of earth.
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