Lucian of Samosata, Piscator, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 2

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

SOCRATES

Aristotle, make haste! Still faster! That’s well; the game is bagged. We have you, villain! you shall soon find out what sort of men you have been insulting. But how are we to punish him, to be sure? Let us invent a complex death for him, such as to satisfy us all; in fact he deserves to die seven times over for each of us.

PHILOSOPHER

I suggest he be crucified.

ANOTHER

Yes, by Heaven; but flogged beforehand.

ANOTHER

Let him have his eyes put out long beforehand

ANOTHER

Let him have that tongue of his cut off, even longer beforehand.

SOCRATES

And you, Empedocles—what do you suggest?

EMPEDOCLES

That he be thrown into my crater,¹ so that he may learn not to abuse his betters.

PLATO

Indeed, the best suggestion would have been for him, like another Pentheus or Orpheus, “To find among the crags a riven doom,”² so that each of us might have gone off with a scrap of him.

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

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

The Dead Come to Life, or the Fisherman (English) (Lucian, Vol. 3. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921.)

Editions (1)

Ἀναβιοῦντες ἢ Ἁλιεύς Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 3. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921.) — 2 focus

Σωκράτης

Ἀριστότελες, ἐπισπούδασον· ἔτι θᾶττον.¹ εὖ ἔχει· ἑάλωκεν τὸ θηρίον. εἰλήφαμέν σε, ὦ μιαρέ. εἴσῃ γοῦν αὐτίκα οὕστινας ἡμᾶς ὄντας ἐκακηγόρεις. τῷ τρόπῳ δέ τις αὐτὸν καὶ μετέλθῃ; ποικίλον γάρ τινα θάνατον ἐπινοῶμεν κατʼ αὐτοῦ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ἐξαρκέσαι δυνάμενον· καθʼ ἕκαστον γοῦν ἑπτάκις δίκαιός ἐστιν ἀπολωλέναι.

Φιλόσοφος

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀνασκολοπισθῆναι δοκεῖ αὐτόν.

Ἄλλος1

νὴ Δία, μαστιγωθέντα γε πρότερον.

Ἄλλος2

πολὺ πρότερον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκκεκολάφθω.

Ἄλλος3

τὴν γλῶτταν αὐτὴν ἔτι πολὺ πρότερον ἀποτετμήσθω.

Σωκράτης

σοὶ δὲ τί, Ἐμπεδόκλεις, δοκεῖ;

Ἐμπεδοκλῆς

εἰς τοὺς κρατῆρας ἐμπεσεῖν αὐτόν, ὡς μάθῃ μὴ λοιδορεῖσθαι τοῖς κρείττοσιν.

Πλάτων

καὶ μὴν ἄριστον ἦν καθάπερ τινὰ Πενθέα ἢ Ὀρφέα
λακιστὸν ἐν πέτραισιν εὑρέσθαι μόρον,
ἵνα ἂν καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος ἔχων ἀπηλλάττετο.

Translations (1)

The Fisher Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 1. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 2 focus

Socrates

Aristotle, one more sprint. There! the brute is caught; we have you, villain. You shall soon know a little more about the characters you have assailed. Now, what shall we do with him? it must be rather an elaborate execution, to meet all our claims upon him; he owes a separate death to every one of us. First Phil. Impale him, say I. Second Phil. Yes, but scourge him first. Third Phil. Tear out his eyes. Fourth Phil, Ah, but first out with the offending tongue.

Socrates

What say you, Empedocles?

Empedocles

Oh, fling him into a crater; that will teach him to vilify his betters..

Platonists

’Twere best for him, Orpheus or Pentheus like, to -

Find death, dashed all to pieces on the rock;

so each might have taken a piece home with him.

Notes on the current edition

The Dead Come to Life, or the Fisherman

Aetna, into which Eimpedocles is said to have leapt.

Both Pentheus and Orpheus were torn to ieces by Maenads. The verse is from a lost tragedy (Nauck, Fr Fragm. p. 895).

Lucian of Samosata Piscator 2

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

PHILOSOPHER

I suggest he be crucified.

ANOTHER

Yes, by Heaven; but flogged beforehand.

ANOTHER

Let him have his eyes put out long beforehand

ANOTHER

Let him have that tongue of his cut off, even longer beforehand.

SOCRATES

And you, Empedocles—what do you suggest?

EMPEDOCLES

That he be thrown into my crater,¹ so that he may learn not to abuse his betters.

PLATO

Indeed, the best suggestion would have been for him, like another Pentheus or Orpheus, “To find among the crags a riven doom,”² so that each of us might have gone off with a scrap of him.

Current edition Perseus

Φιλόσοφος

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀνασκολοπισθῆναι δοκεῖ αὐτόν.

Ἄλλος1

νὴ Δία, μαστιγωθέντα γε πρότερον.

Ἄλλος2

πολὺ πρότερον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκκεκολάφθω.

Ἄλλος3

τὴν γλῶτταν αὐτὴν ἔτι πολὺ πρότερον ἀποτετμήσθω.

Σωκράτης

σοὶ δὲ τί, Ἐμπεδόκλεις, δοκεῖ;

Ἐμπεδοκλῆς

εἰς τοὺς κρατῆρας ἐμπεσεῖν αὐτόν, ὡς μάθῃ μὴ λοιδορεῖσθαι τοῖς κρείττοσιν.

Πλάτων

καὶ μὴν ἄριστον ἦν καθάπερ τινὰ Πενθέα ἢ Ὀρφέα
λακιστὸν ἐν πέτραισιν εὑρέσθαι μόρον,
ἵνα ἂν καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος ἔχων ἀπηλλάττετο.

Socrates

What say you, Empedocles?

Empedocles

Oh, fling him into a crater; that will teach him to vilify his betters..

Platonists

’Twere best for him, Orpheus or Pentheus like, to -

Find death, dashed all to pieces on the rock;

so each might have taken a piece home with him.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

PHILOSOPHER I suggest he be crucified.

ANOTHER Yes, by Heaven; but flogged beforehand.

ANOTHER Let him have his eyes put out long beforehand

ANOTHER Let him have that tongue of his cut off, even longer beforehand.

SOCRATES And you, Empedocles—what do you suggest?

EMPEDOCLES That he be thrown into my crater, 1 so that he may learn not to abuse his betters.

PLATO Indeed, the best suggestion would have been for him, like another Pentheus or Orpheus, “To find among the crags a riven doom,” 2 so that each of us might have gone off with a scrap of him.

Current edition Perseus

Φιλόσοφος ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀνασκολοπισθῆναι δοκεῖ αὐτόν.

Ἄλλος1 νὴ Δία, μαστιγωθέντα γε πρότερον.

Ἄλλος2 πολὺ πρότερον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκκεκολάφθω.

Ἄλλος3 τὴν γλῶτταν αὐτὴν ἔτι πολὺ πρότερον ἀποτετμήσθω.

Σωκράτης σοὶ δὲ τί, Ἐμπεδόκλεις, δοκεῖ;

Ἐμπεδοκλῆς εἰς τοὺς κρατῆρας ἐμπεσεῖν αὐτόν, ὡς μάθῃ μὴ λοιδορεῖσθαι τοῖς κρείττοσιν.

Πλάτων καὶ μὴν ἄριστον ἦν καθάπερ τινὰ Πενθέα ἢ Ὀρφέα λακιστὸν ἐν πέτραισιν εὑρέσθαι μόρον, ἵνα ἂν καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος ἔχων ἀπηλλάττετο.

Socrates What say you, Empedocles?

Empedocles Oh, fling him into a crater; that will teach him to vilify his betters..

Platonists ’Twere best for him, Orpheus or Pentheus like, to - Find death, dashed all to pieces on the rock; so each might have taken a piece home with him.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

PHILOSOPHER

I suggest he be crucified.

ANOTHER

Yes, by Heaven; but flogged beforehand.

ANOTHER

Let him have his eyes put out long beforehand

ANOTHER

Let him have that tongue of his cut off, even longer beforehand.

SOCRATES

And you, Empedocles—what do you suggest?

EMPEDOCLES

That he be thrown into my crater,¹ so that he may learn not to abuse his betters.

PLATO

Indeed, the best suggestion would have been for him, like another Pentheus or Orpheus, “To find among the crags a riven doom,”² so that each of us might have gone off with a scrap of him.

Φιλόσοφος

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀνασκολοπισθῆναι δοκεῖ αὐτόν.

Ἄλλος1

νὴ Δία, μαστιγωθέντα γε πρότερον.

Ἄλλος2

πολὺ πρότερον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκκεκολάφθω.

Ἄλλος3

τὴν γλῶτταν αὐτὴν ἔτι πολὺ πρότερον ἀποτετμήσθω.

Σωκράτης

σοὶ δὲ τί, Ἐμπεδόκλεις, δοκεῖ;

Ἐμπεδοκλῆς

εἰς τοὺς κρατῆρας ἐμπεσεῖν αὐτόν, ὡς μάθῃ μὴ λοιδορεῖσθαι τοῖς κρείττοσιν.

Πλάτων

καὶ μὴν ἄριστον ἦν καθάπερ τινὰ Πενθέα ἢ Ὀρφέα
λακιστὸν ἐν πέτραισιν εὑρέσθαι μόρον,
ἵνα ἂν καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος ἔχων ἀπηλλάττετο.

Socrates

What say you, Empedocles?

Empedocles

Oh, fling him into a crater; that will teach him to vilify his betters..

Platonists

’Twere best for him, Orpheus or Pentheus like, to -

Find death, dashed all to pieces on the rock;

so each might have taken a piece home with him.