Lucian, Gallus, ed. Austin Morris Harmon, 2

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Μίκυλλος

ὦ Ζεῦ τεράστιε καὶ Ἡράκλεις ἀλεξίκακε, τί τὸ κακὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν; ἀνθρωπίνως ἐλάλησεν ὁ ἀλεκτρυών.

Ἀλεκτρυών

εἶτά σοι τέρας εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰ ὁμόφωνος ὑμῖν εἰμι;

Μίκυλλος

πῶς γὰρ οὐ τέρας; ἀλλʼ ἀποτρέποιτε, ὦ θεοί, τὸ δεινὸν ἀφʼ ἡμῶν.

Ἀλεκτρυών

σύ μοι δοκεῖς, ὦ Μίκυλλε, κομιδῇ ἀπαίδευτος εἶναι μηδὲ ἀνεγνωκέναι τὰ Ὁμήρου ποιήματα, ἐν οἷς καὶ ὁ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως ἵππος ὁ Ξάνθος μακρὰ χαίρειν φράσας τῷ χρεμετίζειν ἕστηκεν ἐν μέσῳ τῷ πολέμῳ διαλεγόμενος, ἔπη ὅλα ῥαψῳδῶν, οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐγὼ νῦν ἄνευ τῶν μέτρων. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐμαντεύετο ἐκεῖνος καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα προεθέσπιζε καὶ οὐδέν τι παράδοξον ἐδόκει ποιεῖν, οὐδὲ ὁ ἀκούων ἐπεκαλεῖτο ὥσπερ σὺ τὸν ἀλεξίκακον, ἀποτρόπαιον ἡγούμενος τὸ ἄκουσμα. καίτοι τί ἂν ἐποίησας, εἴ σοι ἡ τῆς Ἀργοῦς τρόπις ἐλάλησεν ὥσπερ ποτέ, ἢ¹ ἡ φηγὸς ἐν Δωδώνῃ αὐτόφωνος ἐμαντεύσατο, ἢ εἰ βύρσας εἶδες ἑρπούσας καὶ βοῶν κρέα μυκώμενα ἡμίοπτα² περιπεπαρμένα τοῖς ὀβελοῖς; ἐγὼ δὲ Ἑρμοῦ πάρεδρος ὢν λαλιστάτου καὶ λογιωτάτου θεῶν ἁπάντων καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὁμοδίαιτος ὑμῖν καὶ σύντροφος οὐ χαλεπῶς ἔμελλον ἐκμαθήσεσθαι τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φωνήν. εἰ δὲ ἐχεμυθήσειν ὑπόσχοιό μοι, οὐκ ἂν ὀκνήσαιμί σοι τὴν ἀληθεστέραν αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὁμοφωνίας καὶ ὅθεν ὑπάρχει μοι οὕτω λαλεῖν.

Gallus. Lucian. ed. Austin Morris Harmon. Medford, MA. Perseus 4.0.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities; Harvard Library Arcadia Fund; Google Digital Humanities Awards Program.

Current edition Perseus

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

Translations (3)

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

MICYLLUS

Zeus, god of miracles, and Heracles, averter of harm! what the devil does this mean? The cock talked like a human being!

COCK

Then do you think it a miracle if I talk the same language as you men?

MICYLLUS

Why isn’t it a miracle? Gods, avert the evil omen from us!

COCK

It appears to me, Micyllus, that you are utterly uneducated and haven’t even read Homer’s poems, for in them Xanthus, the horse of Achilles, saying good-bye to neighing forever, stood still and talked in the thick of the fray, reciting whole verses, not prose as I did; indeed he even made prophecies and foretold the future; yet he was not considered to be doing anything out of the way, and the one who heard him did not invoke the averter of harm as you did just now, thinking the thing ominous.¹ Moreover, what would you have done if the stem of the Argo had spoken to you as it spoke of old,² or the oak at Dodona had prophesied with a voice of its own; or if you had seen hides crawling and the flesh of oxen bellowing half-roasted on the spits?³ I am the friend of Hermes, the most talkative and eloquent of all the gods, and besides I am the close comrade and messmate of men, so it was to be expected that I would learn the human language without difficulty. But if you promise me to keep your own counsel, I shall not hesitate to.tell you the real reason for my having the same tongue as you, and how it happens that can talk like this.

The Cock Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 3. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 2 focus

Micyllus

God of portents! Heracles preserve us from the evil to come! My cock has spoken with a human voice.

Cock

And what if he has? Is that so very portentous?

Micyllus

I should think it was. All Gods avert the omen!

Cock

Micyllus, I am afraid your education has been sadly neglected. If you had read your Homer, you would know that Achilles’s horse Xanthus declined to have anything more to do with neighing, and stood on the field of battle spouting whole hexameters; be was not content with plain prose like me; he even took to prophecy, and foretold to Achilles what should befall him. Nor was this considered anything out of the way; Achilles saw nothing portentous about it, nor did he invoke Heracles on the occasion. What a fuss you would have made, if the keel of the Argo had addressed a remark to you, or the leaves of the Dodonaean oak had opened their mouths and prophesied; or if you had seen ox-hides crawling about, and heard the half-cooked flesh of the beasts bellowing on the spit! As for me, considering my connexion with Hermes—most Ioquacious, most argumentative of Gods—and my familiar intercourse with mankind, it was only to be expected that I should pick up your language pretty quickly. Nay, there is a still better reason for my conversational powers, which I don’t mind telling you, if you will promise to keep quiet about it.

The Cock Perseus (Lucian. Selections from Lucian. Smith, Emily James, translator. New York: Harper Brothers, 1892.) — 2 focus

Mikyllos

O Zeus, god of prodigies, and Herakles, that keepest mischief from us, what is this fearful thing? The cock spoke like a human being!

Cock

Does a thing of this sort strike you, then, as a prodigy—that I should speak the same tongue as you?

Mikyllos

I should think it is a prodigy. But do ye, O gods, avert misfortune from us!

Cock

You seem to me, Mikyllos, to be actually illiterate. Have you not read Homer's poems, in which Achilles's horse, too, Xanthos, bade a long farewell to neighing, and stood in the midst of the battle and conversed, reciting whole verses, not prose as I do now? And he prophesied, too, and foretold coming events, and was not considered to be doing anything out of the way; nor did he who heard him call upon the Protector against evil as you did, thinking the sound an omen to be averted. Moreover, what would you have done if the keel of the Argo had spoken to you, or if the oak of Dodona had prophesied for you with its own voice, or if you had seen skins creeping and heard the flesh of oxen lowing half-roasted on the spits? I am the coadjutor of Hermes, who is the most loquacious and eloquent of all the gods, and for the rest I was not likely to find much trouble in mastering the human language, seeing that I live with you and share your table. But if you should promise me to keep the secret I would not mind telling you the truer reason of our having the same language, and how I came to speak thus.

Notes on the current edition

Ὄνειρος ἢ Ἀλεκτρυών

1. ἤ Fritzsche: not in MSS.

2. ἡμίοπτα Cobet: ἡμίοπτα καὶ ἑφθά γ; ἡμίεφθα β.

Lucian Gallus 2

ed. Austin Morris Harmon

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Μίκυλλος

ὦ Ζεῦ τεράστιε καὶ Ἡράκλεις ἀλεξίκακε, τί τὸ κακὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν; ἀνθρωπίνως ἐλάλησεν ὁ ἀλεκτρυών.

Ἀλεκτρυών

εἶτά σοι τέρας εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰ ὁμόφωνος ὑμῖν εἰμι;

Μίκυλλος

πῶς γὰρ οὐ τέρας; ἀλλʼ ἀποτρέποιτε, ὦ θεοί, τὸ δεινὸν ἀφʼ ἡμῶν.

Current edition Perseus

MICYLLUS

Zeus, god of miracles, and Heracles, averter of harm! what the devil does this mean? The cock talked like a human being!

COCK

Then do you think it a miracle if I talk the same language as you men?

MICYLLUS

Why isn’t it a miracle? Gods, avert the evil omen from us!

Micyllus

God of portents! Heracles preserve us from the evil to come! My cock has spoken with a human voice.

Cock

And what if he has? Is that so very portentous?

Micyllus

I should think it was. All Gods avert the omen!

Mikyllos

O Zeus, god of prodigies, and Herakles, that keepest mischief from us, what is this fearful thing? The cock spoke like a human being!

Cock

Does a thing of this sort strike you, then, as a prodigy—that I should speak the same tongue as you?

Mikyllos

I should think it is a prodigy. But do ye, O gods, avert misfortune from us!

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Μίκυλλος ὦ Ζεῦ τεράστιε καὶ Ἡράκλεις ἀλεξίκακε, τί τὸ κακὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν; ἀνθρωπίνως ἐλάλησεν ὁ ἀλεκτρυών.

Ἀλεκτρυών εἶτά σοι τέρας εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰ ὁμόφωνος ὑμῖν εἰμι;

Μίκυλλος πῶς γὰρ οὐ τέρας; ἀλλʼ ἀποτρέποιτε, ὦ θεοί, τὸ δεινὸν ἀφʼ ἡμῶν.

Current edition Perseus

MICYLLUS Zeus, god of miracles, and Heracles, averter of harm! what the devil does this mean? The cock talked like a human being!

COCK Then do you think it a miracle if I talk the same language as you men?

MICYLLUS Why isn’t it a miracle? Gods, avert the evil omen from us!

Micyllus God of portents! Heracles preserve us from the evil to come! My cock has spoken with a human voice.

Cock And what if he has? Is that so very portentous?

Micyllus I should think it was. All Gods avert the omen!

Mikyllos O Zeus, god of prodigies, and Herakles, that keepest mischief from us, what is this fearful thing? The cock spoke like a human being!

Cock Does a thing of this sort strike you, then, as a prodigy—that I should speak the same tongue as you?

Mikyllos I should think it is a prodigy. But do ye, O gods, avert misfortune from us!

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Μίκυλλος

ὦ Ζεῦ τεράστιε καὶ Ἡράκλεις ἀλεξίκακε, τί τὸ κακὸν τοῦτό ἐστιν; ἀνθρωπίνως ἐλάλησεν ὁ ἀλεκτρυών.

Ἀλεκτρυών

εἶτά σοι τέρας εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰ ὁμόφωνος ὑμῖν εἰμι;

Μίκυλλος

πῶς γὰρ οὐ τέρας; ἀλλʼ ἀποτρέποιτε, ὦ θεοί, τὸ δεινὸν ἀφʼ ἡμῶν.

MICYLLUS

Zeus, god of miracles, and Heracles, averter of harm! what the devil does this mean? The cock talked like a human being!

COCK

Then do you think it a miracle if I talk the same language as you men?

MICYLLUS

Why isn’t it a miracle? Gods, avert the evil omen from us!

Micyllus

God of portents! Heracles preserve us from the evil to come! My cock has spoken with a human voice.

Cock

And what if he has? Is that so very portentous?

Micyllus

I should think it was. All Gods avert the omen!

Mikyllos

O Zeus, god of prodigies, and Herakles, that keepest mischief from us, what is this fearful thing? The cock spoke like a human being!

Cock

Does a thing of this sort strike you, then, as a prodigy—that I should speak the same tongue as you?

Mikyllos

I should think it is a prodigy. But do ye, O gods, avert misfortune from us!