Lucian of Samosata, Gallus, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 19

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MICYLLUS

But after you put off the part of Pythagoras what other did you assume?

COCK

Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletus.

MICYLLUS

Whew, what a yarn! So Pythagoras became a woman on top of everything else, and there was once atime when you laid eggs, most distinguished of cocks; when you lived with Pericles in the capacity of Aspasia and had children by him and carded wool and spun yarn and made the most of your sex in courtesan style?

COCK

Yes, I did all that, and I am not the only one: both Tiresias and Caeneus the son of Elatus preecded me, so that all your jokes at my expense will be at their expense too.¹

MICYLLUS

How about it? Which life did you find the pleasanter, when you were a man or when Pericles dallied with you?

COCK

Just see what a question you have asked there! Even Tiresias paid dearly for answering it!²

MICYLLUS

Whether you tell me or not, Euripides has settled the business well enough, for he says that he would sooner stand in line of battle thrice over than bear a single child.³

COCK

I'll remind you of that before long, Micyllus, when you are in child-bed; for you too will be a woman again and again in your long cycle of existences.

MICYLLUS

Hang you, cock, do you think everybody hails from Miletus or Samos? They say that while you were Pythagoras and young and handsome you often played Aspasia to the tyrant.

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

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

The Dream, or the Cock (English) (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.)

Editions (1)

Ὄνειρος ἢ Ἀλεκτρυών Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.) — 19 focus

Μίκυλλος

ἀποδυσάμενος δὲ τὸν Πυθαγόραν τίνα μετημφιέσω μετʼ αὐτόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

Ἀσπασίαν τὴν ἐκ Μιλήτου ἑταίραν·

Μίκυλλος

φεῦ τοῦ λόγου, καὶ γυνὴ γὰρ σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁ Πυθαγόρας ἐγένετο, καὶ ἦν ποτε χρόνος ὅτε καὶ σὺ ᾠοτόκεις, ὦ ἀλεκτρυόνων γενναιότατε, καὶ συνῆσθα Περικλεῖ Ἀσπασία οὖσα καὶ ἐκύεις ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔρια ἔξαινες καὶ κρόκην κατῆγες καὶ ἐγυναικίζου ἐς τὸ ἑταιρικόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

πάντα ταῦτα ἐποίουν οὐ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ Τειρεσίας πρὸ ἐμοῦ καὶ ὁ Ἐλάτου παῖς ὁ Καινεύς, ὥστε ὁπόσα ἂν ἀποσκώψῃς εἰς ἐμὲ, καὶ εἰς ἐκείνους ἀποσκώψας ἔσῃ.

Μίκυλλος

τί οὖν; πότερος ἡδίων ὁ βίος σοι ἦν, ὅτε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα ἢ ὅτε σε ὁ Περικλῆς ὤπυιεν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁρᾷς οἷον τοῦτο ἠρώτησας, οὐδὲ τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ συνενεγκοῦσαν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν;

Μίκυλλος

ἀλλὰ κἂν σὺ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἱκανῶς ὁ Εὐριπίδης διέκρινε τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰπὼν ὡς τρὶς ἂν ἐθέλοι παρʼ ἀσπίδα στῆναι ἢ ἅπαξ τεκεῖν.

Ἀλεκτρυών

καὶ μὴν ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὠδίνουσαν· ἔσῃ γὰρ γυνὴ καὶ σὺ ἐν πολλῇ τῇ περιόδῳ πολλάκις.

Μίκυλλος

οὐκ ἀπάγξῃ, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών, ἅπαντας οἰόμενος Μιλησίους ἢ Σαμίους εἶναι; σὲ γοῦν φασι καὶ Πυθαγόραν ὄντα τὴν ὥραν λαμπρὸν πολλάκις Ἀσπασίαν γενέσθαι τῷ τυράννῳ.

Translations (2)

The Cock Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 3. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 19 focus

Micyllus

And in what form was your spirit next clothed, after it had put off Pythagoras?

Cock

In that of Aspasia, the Milesian courtesan.

Micyllus

Dear, dear! And your versatility has even changed sexes? My gallant cock has positively laid eggs in his time? Pythagoras has carded and spun? Pythagoras the mistress— ' and the mother—of a Pericles? My Pythagoras no better than he should be?

Cock

I do not stand alone. I had the example of Tiresias and of Caeneus; your gibes touch them as well as me.

Micyllus

And did you like being a man best, or receiving the addresses of Pericles?

Cock

Ha! the question that Tiresias paid so dearly for answering!

Micyllus

Never mind, then,—Euripides has settled the point; he says he would rather bear the shock of battle thrice Than once the pangs of labour.

Cock

Ah, just a word in your ear: those pangs will shortly be your own; more than once, in the course of a lengthy career, you will be a woman.

Micyllus

Strangulation on the bird! Does he think we all hail from Miletus or Samos? Yes, I said Samos; Pythagoras has had his admirers, by all accounts, as well as Aspasia.

The Cock Perseus (Lucian. Selections from Lucian. Smith, Emily James, translator. New York: Harper Brothers, 1892.) — 19 focus

Mikyllos

But when you had laid Pythagoras aside, what character did you clothe yourself with after him?

Cock

Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletos.

Mikyllos

Oh, what a tale! Pythagoras became even a woman among other people, and there was a time when you, most noble cock, were Aspasia, Perikles' mistress, and carded wool and wove the weft and sold your favors!

Cock

I am not the only man who has done all these things. Teiresias, too, before me, and Kaineus, Elatos' son, were in my case, so that any joke you make against me will also be made against them.

Mikyllos

Tell me, which life did you find. pleasanter, when you were a man or when Perikles caressed you?

Cock

Beware of asking a question that was not agreeable even to Teiresias.

Mikyllos

Even if you will not tell me, Euripides decided the matter adequately, saying that he would rather stand by his shield thrice than bear one child.

Cock

You will be a woman yourself, Mikyllos, over and over in the great lapse of time.

Mikyllos

Be hanged to you for thinking every one a Milesian or a Samian.

Notes on the current edition

The Dream, or the Cock

1. Tiresias struck a pair of mating serpents with his staff, and turned into a woman; seven years later he once more saw them and struck them, becoming a man again (Ovid, Melam. 3, 316 ff.). Poseidon turned Caenis into a man at her own request after he had wronged her (Metam. 12, 189 ff.).

2. Zeus had said that Hera’s sex enjoyed more pleasure than his own. Hera denied it; Tiresias was called in as umpire and held with Zeus, whereupon Hera struck him blind (Metam. l. c.).

3. Medea 251.

Lucian of Samosata Gallus 19

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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MICYLLUS

But after you put off the part of Pythagoras what other did you assume?

COCK

Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletus.

COCK

Yes, I did all that, and I am not the only one: both Tiresias and Caeneus the son of Elatus preecded me, so that all your jokes at my expense will be at their expense too.¹

MICYLLUS

How about it? Which life did you find the pleasanter, when you were a man or when Pericles dallied with you?

COCK

Just see what a question you have asked there! Even Tiresias paid dearly for answering it!²

MICYLLUS

Whether you tell me or not, Euripides has settled the business well enough, for he says that he would sooner stand in line of battle thrice over than bear a single child.³

COCK

I'll remind you of that before long, Micyllus, when you are in child-bed; for you too will be a woman again and again in your long cycle of existences.

MICYLLUS

Hang you, cock, do you think everybody hails from Miletus or Samos? They say that while you were Pythagoras and young and handsome you often played Aspasia to the tyrant.

Current edition Perseus

Μίκυλλος

ἀποδυσάμενος δὲ τὸν Πυθαγόραν τίνα μετημφιέσω μετʼ αὐτόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

Ἀσπασίαν τὴν ἐκ Μιλήτου ἑταίραν·

Μίκυλλος

τί οὖν; πότερος ἡδίων ὁ βίος σοι ἦν, ὅτε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα ἢ ὅτε σε ὁ Περικλῆς ὤπυιεν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁρᾷς οἷον τοῦτο ἠρώτησας, οὐδὲ τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ συνενεγκοῦσαν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν;

Μίκυλλος

ἀλλὰ κἂν σὺ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἱκανῶς ὁ Εὐριπίδης διέκρινε τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰπὼν ὡς τρὶς ἂν ἐθέλοι παρʼ ἀσπίδα στῆναι ἢ ἅπαξ τεκεῖν.

Ἀλεκτρυών

καὶ μὴν ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὠδίνουσαν· ἔσῃ γὰρ γυνὴ καὶ σὺ ἐν πολλῇ τῇ περιόδῳ πολλάκις.

Micyllus

And in what form was your spirit next clothed, after it had put off Pythagoras?

Cock

In that of Aspasia, the Milesian courtesan.

Micyllus

Dear, dear! And your versatility has even changed sexes? My gallant cock has positively laid eggs in his time? Pythagoras has carded and spun? Pythagoras the mistress— ' and the mother—of a Pericles? My Pythagoras no better than he should be?

Cock

I do not stand alone. I had the example of Tiresias and of Caeneus; your gibes touch them as well as me.

Micyllus

And did you like being a man best, or receiving the addresses of Pericles?

Cock

Ha! the question that Tiresias paid so dearly for answering!

Micyllus

Never mind, then,—Euripides has settled the point; he says he would rather bear the shock of battle thrice Than once the pangs of labour.

Cock

Ah, just a word in your ear: those pangs will shortly be your own; more than once, in the course of a lengthy career, you will be a woman.

Micyllus

Strangulation on the bird! Does he think we all hail from Miletus or Samos? Yes, I said Samos; Pythagoras has had his admirers, by all accounts, as well as Aspasia.

Mikyllos

But when you had laid Pythagoras aside, what character did you clothe yourself with after him?

Cock

Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletos.

Mikyllos

Oh, what a tale! Pythagoras became even a woman among other people, and there was a time when you, most noble cock, were Aspasia, Perikles' mistress, and carded wool and wove the weft and sold your favors!

Cock

I am not the only man who has done all these things. Teiresias, too, before me, and Kaineus, Elatos' son, were in my case, so that any joke you make against me will also be made against them.

Mikyllos

Tell me, which life did you find. pleasanter, when you were a man or when Perikles caressed you?

Cock

Beware of asking a question that was not agreeable even to Teiresias.

Mikyllos

Even if you will not tell me, Euripides decided the matter adequately, saying that he would rather stand by his shield thrice than bear one child.

Cock

You will be a woman yourself, Mikyllos, over and over in the great lapse of time.

Mikyllos

Be hanged to you for thinking every one a Milesian or a Samian.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

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Search the Perseus Catalog for:

MICYLLUS But after you put off the part of Pythagoras what other did you assume?

COCK Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletus.

COCK Yes, I did all that, and I am not the only one: both Tiresias and Caeneus the son of Elatus preecded me, so that all your jokes at my expense will be at their expense too. 1

MICYLLUS How about it? Which life did you find the pleasanter, when you were a man or when Pericles dallied with you?

COCK Just see what a question you have asked there! Even Tiresias paid dearly for answering it! 2

MICYLLUS Whether you tell me or not, Euripides has settled the business well enough, for he says that he would sooner stand in line of battle thrice over than bear a single child. 3

COCK I'll remind you of that before long, Micyllus, when you are in child-bed; for you too will be a woman again and again in your long cycle of existences.

MICYLLUS Hang you, cock, do you think everybody hails from Miletus or Samos? They say that while you were Pythagoras and young and handsome you often played Aspasia to the tyrant.

Current edition Perseus

Μίκυλλος ἀποδυσάμενος δὲ τὸν Πυθαγόραν τίνα μετημφιέσω μετʼ αὐτόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών Ἀσπασίαν τὴν ἐκ Μιλήτου ἑταίραν·

Μίκυλλος τί οὖν; πότερος ἡδίων ὁ βίος σοι ἦν, ὅτε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα ἢ ὅτε σε ὁ Περικλῆς ὤπυιεν;

Ἀλεκτρυών ὁρᾷς οἷον τοῦτο ἠρώτησας, οὐδὲ τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ συνενεγκοῦσαν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν;

Μίκυλλος ἀλλὰ κἂν σὺ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἱκανῶς ὁ Εὐριπίδης διέκρινε τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰπὼν ὡς τρὶς ἂν ἐθέλοι παρʼ ἀσπίδα στῆναι ἢ ἅπαξ τεκεῖν.

Ἀλεκτρυών καὶ μὴν ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὠδίνουσαν· ἔσῃ γὰρ γυνὴ καὶ σὺ ἐν πολλῇ τῇ περιόδῳ πολλάκις.

Micyllus And in what form was your spirit next clothed, after it had put off Pythagoras?

Cock In that of Aspasia, the Milesian courtesan.

Micyllus Dear, dear! And your versatility has even changed sexes? My gallant cock has positively laid eggs in his time? Pythagoras has carded and spun? Pythagoras the mistress— ' and the mother—of a Pericles? My Pythagoras no better than he should be?

Cock I do not stand alone. I had the example of Tiresias and of Caeneus; your gibes touch them as well as me.

Micyllus And did you like being a man best, or receiving the addresses of Pericles?

Cock Ha! the question that Tiresias paid so dearly for answering!

Micyllus Never mind, then,—Euripides has settled the point; he says he would rather bear the shock of battle thrice Than once the pangs of labour.

Cock Ah, just a word in your ear: those pangs will shortly be your own; more than once, in the course of a lengthy career, you will be a woman.

Micyllus Strangulation on the bird! Does he think we all hail from Miletus or Samos? Yes, I said Samos; Pythagoras has had his admirers, by all accounts, as well as Aspasia.

Mikyllos But when you had laid Pythagoras aside, what character did you clothe yourself with after him?

Cock Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletos.

Mikyllos Oh, what a tale! Pythagoras became even a woman among other people, and there was a time when you, most noble cock, were Aspasia, Perikles' mistress, and carded wool and wove the weft and sold your favors!

Cock I am not the only man who has done all these things. Teiresias, too, before me, and Kaineus, Elatos' son, were in my case, so that any joke you make against me will also be made against them.

Mikyllos Tell me, which life did you find. pleasanter, when you were a man or when Perikles caressed you?

Cock Beware of asking a question that was not agreeable even to Teiresias.

Mikyllos Even if you will not tell me, Euripides decided the matter adequately, saying that he would rather stand by his shield thrice than bear one child.

Cock You will be a woman yourself, Mikyllos, over and over in the great lapse of time.

Mikyllos Be hanged to you for thinking every one a Milesian or a Samian.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

MICYLLUS

But after you put off the part of Pythagoras what other did you assume?

COCK

Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletus.

COCK

Yes, I did all that, and I am not the only one: both Tiresias and Caeneus the son of Elatus preecded me, so that all your jokes at my expense will be at their expense too.¹

MICYLLUS

How about it? Which life did you find the pleasanter, when you were a man or when Pericles dallied with you?

COCK

Just see what a question you have asked there! Even Tiresias paid dearly for answering it!²

MICYLLUS

Whether you tell me or not, Euripides has settled the business well enough, for he says that he would sooner stand in line of battle thrice over than bear a single child.³

COCK

I'll remind you of that before long, Micyllus, when you are in child-bed; for you too will be a woman again and again in your long cycle of existences.

MICYLLUS

Hang you, cock, do you think everybody hails from Miletus or Samos? They say that while you were Pythagoras and young and handsome you often played Aspasia to the tyrant.

Μίκυλλος

ἀποδυσάμενος δὲ τὸν Πυθαγόραν τίνα μετημφιέσω μετʼ αὐτόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

Ἀσπασίαν τὴν ἐκ Μιλήτου ἑταίραν·

Μίκυλλος

τί οὖν; πότερος ἡδίων ὁ βίος σοι ἦν, ὅτε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα ἢ ὅτε σε ὁ Περικλῆς ὤπυιεν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁρᾷς οἷον τοῦτο ἠρώτησας, οὐδὲ τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ συνενεγκοῦσαν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν;

Μίκυλλος

ἀλλὰ κἂν σὺ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἱκανῶς ὁ Εὐριπίδης διέκρινε τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰπὼν ὡς τρὶς ἂν ἐθέλοι παρʼ ἀσπίδα στῆναι ἢ ἅπαξ τεκεῖν.

Ἀλεκτρυών

καὶ μὴν ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὠδίνουσαν· ἔσῃ γὰρ γυνὴ καὶ σὺ ἐν πολλῇ τῇ περιόδῳ πολλάκις.

Micyllus

And in what form was your spirit next clothed, after it had put off Pythagoras?

Cock

In that of Aspasia, the Milesian courtesan.

Micyllus

Dear, dear! And your versatility has even changed sexes? My gallant cock has positively laid eggs in his time? Pythagoras has carded and spun? Pythagoras the mistress— ' and the mother—of a Pericles? My Pythagoras no better than he should be?

Cock

I do not stand alone. I had the example of Tiresias and of Caeneus; your gibes touch them as well as me.

Micyllus

And did you like being a man best, or receiving the addresses of Pericles?

Cock

Ha! the question that Tiresias paid so dearly for answering!

Micyllus

Never mind, then,—Euripides has settled the point; he says he would rather bear the shock of battle thrice Than once the pangs of labour.

Cock

Ah, just a word in your ear: those pangs will shortly be your own; more than once, in the course of a lengthy career, you will be a woman.

Micyllus

Strangulation on the bird! Does he think we all hail from Miletus or Samos? Yes, I said Samos; Pythagoras has had his admirers, by all accounts, as well as Aspasia.

Mikyllos

But when you had laid Pythagoras aside, what character did you clothe yourself with after him?

Cock

Aspasia, the courtesan from Miletos.

Mikyllos

Oh, what a tale! Pythagoras became even a woman among other people, and there was a time when you, most noble cock, were Aspasia, Perikles' mistress, and carded wool and wove the weft and sold your favors!

Cock

I am not the only man who has done all these things. Teiresias, too, before me, and Kaineus, Elatos' son, were in my case, so that any joke you make against me will also be made against them.

Mikyllos

Tell me, which life did you find. pleasanter, when you were a man or when Perikles caressed you?

Cock

Beware of asking a question that was not agreeable even to Teiresias.

Mikyllos

Even if you will not tell me, Euripides decided the matter adequately, saying that he would rather stand by his shield thrice than bear one child.

Cock

You will be a woman yourself, Mikyllos, over and over in the great lapse of time.

Mikyllos

Be hanged to you for thinking every one a Milesian or a Samian.