[2] But tell me, how are things going on earth, and what are they doing in the city?
FRIEND
Nothing new; just what they did before—stealing, lying under oath, extorting usury, and weighing pennies.MENIPPUS
Poor wretches! They do not know what decisions have been made of late in the lower world, and what ordinances have been enacted against the rich; by Cerberus, they cannot possibly evade them!FRIEND
What is that? Has any radical legislation been passed in the lower world affecting the upper?MENIPPUS
Yes, by Zeus, a great deal; but it is not right to publish it broadcast and expose their secrets. Someone might indict me for impiety in the court of Rhadamanthus,FRIEND
Oh, no, Menippus! In Heaven’s name don’t withhold your story from a friend! You will be telling a man who knows how to keep his mouth shut, and who, moreover, has been initiated into the mysteries,MENIPPUS
It is a perilous demand that you are imposing upon me, and one not wholly consistent with piety. However, for your sake I must be bold. The motion, then, was passed that these rich men with great fortunes who keep their gold locked up as closely as DanaeFRIEND
Don’t quote the motion, my dear fellow, before telling me what I should be especially glad to hear from you; that is to say, what was the purpose of your going down, who was your guide for the journey, and then, in due order, what you saw and heard there; for it is to be expected, of course, that as a man of taste you did not overlook anything worth seeing or hearing.Necyomantia. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.
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