Lucian of Samosata, Juppiter Confutatus, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 13

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CYNISCUS

Indeed, the oracle of Laius is really ridiculous:

Sow not the birth-field in the gods’ despite,

For if thou get’st, thy son will lay thee low.

Euripides, Phoenissae, 18-19 It was superfluous, I take it, to caution against what was bound to be so in any event. Consequently after the oracle he sowed his seed and his son laid him low. I don’t see, therefore, on what ground you demand your fee for making prophecies.

Juppiter Confutatus. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Zeus Catechized (English) (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.)

Editions (1)

Ζεὺς ἐλεγχόμενος Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.) — 13 focus

Κυνίσκος

τὸ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Λαΐου καὶ γελοῖον, τό·

μὴ σπεῖρε τέκνων ἄλοκα δαιμόνων βίᾳ·

εἰ γὰρ τεκνώσεις (φησὶ) παῖδʼ, ἀποκτενεῖ ς’ ὁ φύς.

περιττὴ γάρ, οἶμαι, ἡ παραίνεσις πρὸς τὰ πάντως οὕτω γενησόμενα. τοιγάρτοι μετὰ τὸν χρησμὸν καὶ ἔσπειρεν καὶ ὁ φὺς ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν. ὥστε οὐχ ὁρῶ ἀνθʼ ὅτου ἀπαιτεῖτε τὸν μισθὸν ἐπὶ τῇ μαντικῇ.

Translations (1)

Zeus Cross-examined Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 3. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 13 focus

Cyniscus

The full absurdity of the thing is seen in the case of Latus:

Seek not for offspring in the Gods’ despite;

Beget a child, and thou begett’st thy slayer.

Was not this advice superfluous, seeing that the end must come? Accordingly we find that the oracle does not deter Laius from begetting a son, nor that son from being his slayer. On the whole, I cannot see that your prophegies entitle you to reward.

Lucian of Samosata Juppiter Confutatus 13

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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