Cock
All right. Shall we go to see Simon first, or some other millionaire?
All right. Shall we go to see Simon first, or some other millionaire?
Mikyllos
Oh, Simon, by all means, who thinks himself a greater man by two syllables now he is rich. Here we are already at his door. What must I do next?
Oh, Simon, by all means, who thinks himself a greater man by two syllables now he is rich. Here we are already at his door. What must I do next?
Cock
Touch the bolt with the feather.
Touch the bolt with the feather.
Mykillos
That's done. Gracious heaven, the door has opened as if with a key!
That's done. Gracious heaven, the door has opened as if with a key!
Cock
Go in first. There, do you see him keeping vigil over his accounts?
Go in first. There, do you see him keeping vigil over his accounts?
Mikyllos
Yes! by Zeus, with a feeble, ill-fed lamp. And he is pale, I don't know why, and he has fallen away to a skeleton. It must be from anxiety, for I never heard he was ill otherwise.
Yes! by Zeus, with a feeble, ill-fed lamp. And he is pale, I don't know why, and he has fallen away to a skeleton. It must be from anxiety, for I never heard he was ill otherwise.
Cock
Hear what he says. Then you will know why he is thus.
Hear what he says. Then you will know why he is thus.
Simon
So that seventy thousand dollars is pretty safely buried under the bed, and nobody at all knows about it; but I have an idea that Sosylos the groom saw me burying the sixteen thousand under the manger. Anyhow, he is forever about the stable now, though he was not so very careful or fond of his work before. And probably I am being plundered of a good deal besides this; for where did Tibios get the money for those large fish they say he bought yesterday, and those ear-rings for his wife, worth a dollar at least? It is my money they are snatching, unlucky wretch that I am! Even my plate is not safely stored, and there is so much of it! I am afraid a house-breaker will get it. A great many people envy me and plot against me, particularly my neighbor Mikyllos.
So that seventy thousand dollars is pretty safely buried under the bed, and nobody at all knows about it; but I have an idea that Sosylos the groom saw me burying the sixteen thousand under the manger. Anyhow, he is forever about the stable now, though he was not so very careful or fond of his work before. And probably I am being plundered of a good deal besides this; for where did Tibios get the money for those large fish they say he bought yesterday, and those ear-rings for his wife, worth a dollar at least? It is my money they are snatching, unlucky wretch that I am! Even my plate is not safely stored, and there is so much of it! I am afraid a house-breaker will get it. A great many people envy me and plot against me, particularly my neighbor Mikyllos.
Mikyllos
Yes, by Zeus! I am going off with a basin under my arm just as you did!
Yes, by Zeus! I am going off with a basin under my arm just as you did!
Cock
Hush, Mikyllos, he will know we are here.
Hush, Mikyllos, he will know we are here.
Simon
The best plan is to sit up all night myself and look after everything. I will get up and make the round of the house. Who is that? I see you, you thief— Good heaven, you are only a pillar-that's all right. I will dig up my money and count it again, lest I overlooked any the day before yesterday. There, I hear some one coming to attack me again. Every one is besieging me and plotting against me. Where is my dagger? If I catch any one- Come, I must bury the money again.
The best plan is to sit up all night myself and look after everything. I will get up and make the round of the house. Who is that? I see you, you thief— Good heaven, you are only a pillar-that's all right. I will dig up my money and count it again, lest I overlooked any the day before yesterday. There, I hear some one coming to attack me again. Every one is besieging me and plotting against me. Where is my dagger? If I catch any one- Come, I must bury the money again.
Gallus. Lucian of Samosata. Emily James Smith (Translator). Medford, MA. Perseus 5.0.
Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.