[1]
Mnesippus
Now, Toxaris: do you mean to tell me that you people actually sacrifice to Orestes and Pylades? do you take them for Gods?Toxaris
Sacrifice to them? of course we do. It does not follow that we think they are Gods: they were good men.Mnesippus
And in Scythia ‘good men’ receive sacrifice just the same as Gods?Toxaris
Not only that, but we honour them with feasts and public gatherings.Mnesippus
But what do you expect from them? ‘They are shades now, so their goodwill can be no object.Toxaris
Why, as to that, I think it may be just as well to have a good understanding even with shades. But that is not all: in honouring the dead we consider that we are also doing the best we can for the living. Our idea is that by preserving the memory of the noblest of mankind, we induce many people to follow their example.Toxaris vel amicitia. Lucian. Henry Watson Fowler (Translator), Francis George Fowler (Translator). Medford, MA, USA. 2023-08-01.
Sponsored by Tufts University.
Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.