Lucian, Judicium vocalium, Henry Watson Fowler (Translator), Francis George Fowler (Translator), 2

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[2] Vowels of the jury.—For some time this Mr. Tau’s trespasses and encroachments on my property were of minor importance; I made no claim for damages, and affected unconsciousness of what I heard; my conciliatory temper both you and the other letters have reason to know. His covetousness and folly, however, have now so puffed him up, that he is no longer content with my habitual concessions, but insists on more; I accordingly find myself compelled to get the matter settled by you who know both sides of it. The fact is, I am in bodily fear, owing to the crushing to which I am subjected. This evergrowing aggression will end by ousting me completely from my own; I shall be almost dumb, lose my rank as a letter, and be degraded to a mere noise.

Judicium vocalium. Lucian. Henry Watson Fowler (Translator), Francis George Fowler (Translator). Medford, MA, USA. 2023-08-01.

Current edition Perseus

Trial in the Court of Vowels (English) (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 1. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.)

Editions (1)

Δίκη Συμφώνων Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.) — 2 focus

[2] Μέχρι μέν, ὦ Φωνήεντα δικασταί, ὀλίγα ἠδικούμην ὑπὸ τουτουὶ τοῦ Ταῦ καταχρωμένου τοῖς ἐμοῖς καὶ καταίροντος ἔνθα μὴ δεῖ, οὐ βαρέως ἔφερον τὴν βλάβην καὶ παρήκουον ἔνια τῶν λεγομένων ὑπὸ τῆς μετριότητος, ἣν ἴστε με φυλάσσοντα πρός τε ὑμᾶς καὶ τὰς ἄλλας συλλαβάς· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐς τοσοῦτον ἥκει πλεονεξίας τε καὶ ἀνομίας,¹ ὥστε ἐφʼ οἷς ἡσύχασα πολλάκις οὐκ ἀγαπῶν, ἄλλʼ² ἤδη καὶ πλείω προσβιάζεται, ἀναγκαίως αὐτὸ εὐθύνω νῦν παρὰ τοῖς ἀμφότερα εἰδόσιν ὑμῖν. δέος δὲ οὐ μικρόν μοι ἐπὶ τούτοις³ τῆς ἀποθλίψεως ἐπέρχεται τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ· τοῖς γὰρ προπεπραγμένοις ἀεί τι μεῖζον προστιθὲν ἄρδην με τῆς οἰκείας ἀποθλίψει χώρας, ὡς ὀλίγου δεῖν ἡσυχίαν ἀγαγόντα μηδὲ ἐν γράμμασιν ἀριθμεῖσθαι, ἐν ἴσῳ δὲ κεῖσθαι τοῦ⁴ ψόφου.

Translations (1)

The Consonants at Law Sigma Vs. Tau, in the Court of the Seven Vowels Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 1. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913.) — 2 focus

[2] Vowels of the jury, as long as the wrongs that I underwent at the hands of this fellow Tau through his misusing my property and establishing himself where he had no business were but slight, I did not take the injury to heart, and I ignored some of the things that I heard because of the equable temper which, as you know, I maintain toward you and the other letters. But now that he has come to such a pitch of self-seeking and lawlessness that, not content with what I have repeatedly let pass in silence, he is trying to wrest still more from me, I am compelled to call him to account before you, who know both sides. Besides all this, I am more than a little afraid of my own ejection; for by making greater and greater additions to what he has already done he will altogether eject me from my own estate, so that if I keep quiet I shall scarcely count at all as a letter, and shall be no better than a hiss.

Lucian Judicium vocalium 2

Henry Watson Fowler (Translator), Francis George Fowler (Translator)

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