Lucian of Samosata, Saturnalia, ed. Kenneth Kilburn, 8

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ΙΕΡΕΥΣ

Ἐγὼ δέ, ὦ Κρόνε, καὶ τοῦτο εἴκαζον τὸ ¹ εἰς τοὺς δούλους καὶ πεδότριβας ² φιλάνθρωπον ἐκ τοῦ μυθου ἐκείνου ποιεῖν σε τιμῶντα τοὺς τὰ ὅμοια πάσχοντας, ἅτε καὶ αὐτὸν δουλεύοντα, μεμνημένον τῆς πέδης.

ΚΡΟΝΟΣ

Οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

ΙΕΡΕΥΣ

Εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι. πλὴν ἔτι μοι κα τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν τοῖς ἐπὶ σοῦ ἀνθρώποις;

ΚΡΟΝΟΣ

Καὶ μάλα, οὐ μὴν περὶ ταλάντων γε καὶ μυριάδων ὥσπερ ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ περὶ καρύων τὸ μέγιστον, ὡς μὴ ἀνιᾶσθαι ἡττηθέντα μηδὲ δακρύειν ἀεὶ ἄσιτον ὄντα μόνον τῶν ἄλλων.

ΙΕΡΕΥΣ

Εὖ γε ἐκεῖνοι ποιοῦντες. ὑπὲρ τίνος γὰρ ἂν καὶ ἐπέττευον αὐτοὶ ὁλόχρυσοι ὄντες; ὡς ἔγωγε καὶ μεταξὺ λέγοντός σου τοιόνδε τι ἐνενόησα· εἴ τις ἕνα τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων τῶν χρυσηλάτων ἐς τὸν ἡμέτερον τοῦτον βίον ἀγαγὼν ἔδειξε τοῖς πολλοῖς, οἷα ἔπαθεν ἂν ὁ ³ ἄθλιος ὑπ’ αὐτῶν; διεσπάσαντο γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸν εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι ἐπιδραμόντες ὥσπερ τὸν Πενθέα αἱ Μαινάδες ἢ αἱ Θρᾷτται τὸν Ὀρφέα ἢ τὸν Ἀκταίωνα αἱ κύνες, περὶ τοῦ μεῖζον ἀπενέγκασθαι τὸ μέρος πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἕκαστος ἁμιλλώμενοι, οἵ γε οὐδὲ ἑορτάζοντες ἔξω τοῦ φιλοκερδοῦς εἰσιν, ἀλλὰ πρόσοδον οἱ πολλοὶ πεποίηνται τὴν ἑορτήν. εἶτα οἱ μὲν ἀπέρχονται λῃστεύοντες ἐν τῷ συμποσίῳ τοὺς φίλους, οἱ δέ σοί τε λοιδοροῦνται, οὐδὲν δέον, καὶ τοὺς κύβους ⁴ συντρίβουσιν ἀναιτίους ὄντας αὐτοῖς ὧν ἑκόντες ποιοῦσιν.

Saturnalia. Lucian of Samosata. ed. Kenneth Kilburn. Medford, MA. Perseus 5.0.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Τὰ πρὸς Κρόνον (Greek) (Lucian, Vol. 6. Kilburn, Kenneth, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959 (unrenewed copyright).)

Editions (1)

Τὰ πρὸς Κρόνον Perseus (Lucian. Luciani Samosatensis Opera, Vol. 3. Jacobitz, Karl, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1913.) — 8 focus

Ἱερεύς

ἐγὼ δέ, ὦ Κρόνε, καὶ τοῦτο εἴκαζον τὸ εἰς τοὺς δούλους καὶ πεδότριβας φιλάνθρωπον ἐκ τοῦ μύθου ἐκείνου ποιεῖν σε τιμῶντα τοὺς τὰ ὅμοια πάσχοντας, ἅτε καὶ αὐτὸν δουλεύοντα, μεμνημένον τῆς πέδης. 391

Κρόνος

οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

Ἱερεύς

εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι· πλὴν ἔτι μοι καὶ τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν καὶ ἐπὶ σοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις;

Κρόνος

καὶ μάλα, οὐ μὴν περὶ ταλάντων γε καὶ μυριάδων ὥσπερ ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ περὶ καρύων τὸ μέγιστον, ὡς μὴ ἀνιᾶσθαι ἡττηθέντα μηδὲ δακρύειν ἀεὶ ἄσιτον ὄντα μόνον τῶν ἄλλων.

Ἱερεύς

εὖ γε ἐκεῖνοι ποιοῦντες. ὑπὲρ τίνος γὰρ ἂν καὶ ἐπέττευον αὐτοὶ ὁλόχρυσοι ὄντες; ὡς ἔγωγε καὶ μεταξὺ λέγοντός σου τοιόνδε τι ἐνενόησα· εἴ τις ἕνα τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων τῶν χρυσηλάτων ἐς τὸν ἡμέτερον τοῦτον βίον ἀγαγὼν ἔδειξε τοῖς πολλοῖς, οἷα ἔπαθεν ἂν ὁ ἄθλιος ὐπʼ αὐτῶν; διεσπάσαντο γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸν εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι ἐπιδραμόντες ὥσπερ τὸν Πενθέα αἱ Μαινάδες ἢ αἱ Θρᾷτται τὸν Ὀρφέα ἢ τὸν Ἀκταίωνα αϊ κύνες, περὶ τοῦ μεῖζον ἀπενέγκασθαι τὸ μέρος πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἕκαστος ἁμιλλώμενοι, οἵ γε οὐδὲ ἑορτάζοντες ἔξω τοῦ φιλοκερδοῦς εἰσιν, ἀλλἀ πρόσοδον οἱ πολλοὶ πεποίηνται τὴν ἑορτήν. εἷτα οἱ μὲν ἀπέρχονται λῃστεύοντες ἐν τῷ συμποσίῳ τοὺς φίλους, οἱ δέ σοί τε λοιδοροῦνται, οὐδὲν δέον, καὶ τοὺς κύβους συντρίβουσιν ἀναιτίους ὄντας αὐτοῖς ὧν ἑκόντες ποιοῦσιν. ἀτὰρ εἰπέ μοι καὶ τόδε, τί δή ποτε ἁβρὸς 392 οὕτω θεὸς ὢν καὶ γέρων ἐπιλεξάμενος τὸ ἀτερπέστατον, ὁπότε ἡ χιὼν ἐπέχει τὰ πάντα καὶ ὁ βορρᾶς πολὺς καὶ οὐδὲν ὅ τι οὐ πέπηγεν ὑπὸ τοῦ κρύους καὶ τὰ δένδρα ξηρὰ καὶ γυμνὰ καὶ ἄφυλλα καὶ οἱ λειμῶνες ἄμορφοι καὶ ἀπηνθηκότες καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἐπικεκυφότες ὥσπερ οἱ πάνυ γεγηρακότες, ἀμφὶ τὴν κάμινον οἱ πολλοί, τηνικαῦτα ἑορτάζεις; οὐ γὰρ πρεσβυτικός γε ὁ καιρὸς οὐδὲ ἐπιτήδειος τοῖς τρυφῶσι.

Translations (2)

A Conversation with Cronus Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 6. Kilburn, Kenneth, translator. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959 (unrenewed copyright).) — 8 focus

PRIEST

Well, Cronus, I had assumed from the story that this humanity you showed to slaves and those in chains was to do honour to men whose sufferings had been like your own, since you yourself had been a slave and you were remembering your chains.

CRONUS

Oh, stop that silly talk.

PRIEST

You are right. I will stop. But answer me another question. Was it customary for men to gamble in your time?

CRONUS

Certainly. But not for talents and thousands of drachmas as you do. No, nuts were the highest stake. Then there was no heart-break if a man was beaten, or floods of tears because he alone had lost the price of a meal.

PRIEST

How wise they were! What could their stakes be when they were pure gold themselves? But while you were talking I thought of something: suppose one of your men of beaten gold had been brought into our world for everyone to see, what a bad time the poor wretch would have had at people’s hands! They would have certainly rushed at him and torn him limb from limb, as the Maenads tore Pentheus, the Thracians Orpheus, and the dogs Actaeon, vying with each other to carry off the biggest piece. Not even at festival-time are they free from greed for gain. Indeed most of them have made your festival a source of revenue. Some of them go off and rob their friends at the banquet; others revile you when they ought not and smash the dice, which are certainly not responsible for what they do of their own free will.

Saturnalia Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 4. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 8 focus

[8]

Priest

Dear me, now! and I accounted for your kindness to slaves and prisoners from the story again; I thought that, as you were a slave yourself, you were paying slaves a compliment in memory of your own fetters.

Cronus

Cease your ribald jests.

Priest

Quite so; I will. But here is another question, please. Used mortals to play draughts in your time?

Cronus

Surely; but not for hundreds or thousands of pounds like you; nuts were their highest stake; a man might lose without a sigh or a tear, when losing could not mean starvation.

Priest

Wise men! though, as they were solid gold themselves, they were out of temptation. It occurred to me when you mentioned that—suppose any one were to import one of your solid gold men into our age and exhibit him, what sort of a reception would the poor thing get? They would tear him to pieces, not a doubt of it. I see them rushing at him like the Maenads at Pentheus, the Thracian women at Orpheus, or his hounds at Actaeon, trying which could get the biggest bit of him; even in the holidays they do not forget their avarice; most of them regard the holy season as a sort of harvest. In which persuasion some of them loot their friends’ tables, others complain, quite unreasonably, of you, or smash their innocent dice in revenge for losses due to their own folly.

Notes on the current edition

Τὰ πρὸς Κρόνον

1. τὸ add Jacobitz.

2. πεδότριβας two late MSS.: παιδοτρίβας other MSS.

3. ὁ add. Jacobitz.

4. κυβέρνους.

Lucian of Samosata Saturnalia 8

ed. Kenneth Kilburn

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

ΚΡΟΝΟΣ

Οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

ΙΕΡΕΥΣ

Εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι. πλὴν ἔτι μοι κα τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν τοῖς ἐπὶ σοῦ ἀνθρώποις;

Current edition Perseus

Κρόνος

οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

Ἱερεύς

εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι· πλὴν ἔτι μοι καὶ τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν καὶ ἐπὶ σοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις;

PRIEST

Well, Cronus, I had assumed from the story that this humanity you showed to slaves and those in chains was to do honour to men whose sufferings had been like your own, since you yourself had been a slave and you were remembering your chains.

CRONUS

Oh, stop that silly talk.

PRIEST

You are right. I will stop. But answer me another question. Was it customary for men to gamble in your time?

CRONUS

Certainly. But not for talents and thousands of drachmas as you do. No, nuts were the highest stake. Then there was no heart-break if a man was beaten, or floods of tears because he alone had lost the price of a meal.

Priest

Cronus

Priest

Cronus

Priest

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

ΚΡΟΝΟΣ Οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

ΙΕΡΕΥΣ Εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι. πλὴν ἔτι μοι κα τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν τοῖς ἐπὶ σοῦ ἀνθρώποις;

Current edition Perseus

Κρόνος οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

Ἱερεύς εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι· πλὴν ἔτι μοι καὶ τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν καὶ ἐπὶ σοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις;

PRIEST Well, Cronus, I had assumed from the story that this humanity you showed to slaves and those in chains was to do honour to men whose sufferings had been like your own, since you yourself had been a slave and you were remembering your chains.

CRONUS Oh, stop that silly talk.

PRIEST You are right. I will stop. But answer me another question. Was it customary for men to gamble in your time?

CRONUS Certainly. But not for talents and thousands of drachmas as you do. No, nuts were the highest stake. Then there was no heart-break if a man was beaten, or floods of tears because he alone had lost the price of a meal.

Priest

Cronus

Priest

Cronus

Priest

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

ΚΡΟΝΟΣ

Οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

ΙΕΡΕΥΣ

Εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι. πλὴν ἔτι μοι κα τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν τοῖς ἐπὶ σοῦ ἀνθρώποις;

Κρόνος

οὐ παύσῃ γὰρ τοιαῦτα ληρῶν;

Ἱερεύς

εὖ λέγεις, καὶ παύσομαι· πλὴν ἔτι μοι καὶ τοῦτο ἀπόκριναι. τὸ πεττεύειν σύνηθες ἦν καὶ ἐπὶ σοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις;

PRIEST

Well, Cronus, I had assumed from the story that this humanity you showed to slaves and those in chains was to do honour to men whose sufferings had been like your own, since you yourself had been a slave and you were remembering your chains.

CRONUS

Oh, stop that silly talk.

PRIEST

You are right. I will stop. But answer me another question. Was it customary for men to gamble in your time?

CRONUS

Certainly. But not for talents and thousands of drachmas as you do. No, nuts were the highest stake. Then there was no heart-break if a man was beaten, or floods of tears because he alone had lost the price of a meal.