Lucian of Samasota [Lucian]
125-180 AD
Trans RMBullard
Greek (Imperial Era)
1.
Ἀπήιειν ποτὲ ἐς Θετταλίαν·
[I once took a journey to Thessaly.]
ἦν δέ μοι πατρικόν τι συμβόλαιον ἐκεῖ πρὸς ἄνθρωπον ἐπιχώριον·
[And there was a certain nationalistic inclination for me to become a journeying man.]
ἵππος δέ με κατῆγε καὶ τὰ σκεύη
[And a horse led me and my baggage down there]
καὶ θεράπων ἠκολούθει εἷς.
[and a single servant followed behind.]
ἐπορευόμην οὖν τὴν προκειμένην ὁδόν·
[And so, we journeyed upon the road ahead.]
καί πως ἔτυχον καὶ ἄλλοι ἀπιόντες εἰς Ὕπατα πόλιν τῆς Θετταλίας, ἐκεῖθεν ὄντες·
[and somehow it happened that there were other men leaving to go to Hypatis, a city in Thessaly, as they were from there.]
καὶ ἁλῶν ἐκοινωνοῦμεν,
[and we began to associate with each other,]
καὶ οὕτως ἐκείνην τὴν ἀργαλέαν ὁδὸν ἀνύσαντες πλησίον ἤδη τῆς πόλεως ἦμεν,
[and thusly we, traveling upon this rustic way, were already getting close to the city]
κἀγὼ ἠρόμην τοὺς Θετταλούς,
[and I asked the Thessalians,]
εἴπερ ἐπίστανται ἄνδρα οἰκοῦντα ἐς τὰ Ὕπατα, Ἵππαρχον τοὔνομα.
[if they happened to know a man who lived among the inhabitans of Hypatis, named Hipparchus.]
γράμματα δὲ αὐτῶι ἐκόμιζον οἴκοθεν,
[And they gave me directions on how to get to his house,]
ὥστε οἰκῆσαι παρ᾿ αὐτῶι.
[as they lived right by the fellow.]
οἱ δὲ εἰδέναι τὸν Ἵππαρχον τοῦτον ἔλεγον
[And they said that they knew this fellow Hipparchus,]
καὶ ὅπη τῆς πόλεως οἰκεῖ
[and also where he lived in the city]
καὶ ὅτι ἀργύριον ἱκανὸν ἔχει
[and that he had only a little money]
καὶ ὅτι μίαν θεράπαιναν τρέφει καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ γαμετὴν μόνας·
[and that he kept only a single slavewoman and his wife in his house:]
ἔστι γὰρ φιλαργυρώτατος δεινῶς.
[you see, he was the most stingy man of all, to a terrible degree.]
ἐπεὶ δὲ πλησίον τῆς πόλεως ἐγεγόνειμεν,
[And since he had grown up nearby the city,]
κῆπός τις ἔνδον ἦν καὶ οἰκίδιον ἀνεκτόν,
[where there was a garden inside his little cottage,]
ἔνθα ὁ Ἵππαρχος ὤικει.
[and in this place did Hipparchus live.]
2.
Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀσπασάμενοί με ὤιχοντο,
[So while these men, after bidding him farewell, left me,]
ἐγὼ δὲ κόπτω προσελθὼν τὴν θύραν,
[I then walked forth and knocked on the door,]
καὶ μόλις μὲν καὶ βραδέως,
[both gently and slowly, ]
ὑπήκουσε δ᾿ οὖν ἡ γυνή,
[and so his wife heard me,]
εἶτα καὶ προσῆλθεν.
[and then she came outside.]
ἐγὼ μὲν ἠρόμην, εἰ ἔνδον εἴη ὁ Ἵππαρχος·
[Then I asked her if Hipparchus was inside:]
Ἔνδον, ἔφη·
["He's in," she said:]
σὺ δὲ τίς ἤ τί βουλόμενος πυνθάνηι;
["But who are you, and why do you want him?" she asked.]
Γράμματα ἥκω κομίζω αὐτῶι παρὰ Δεκριανοῦ τοῦ Πατρέως σοφιστοῦ.
[I answered that I had some letters for him from Decrianus, the sophist from Patreos.]
μεῖνόν με, ἔφη, αὐτοῦ,
[She then told me to wait,]
καὶ τὴν θύραν συγκλείσασα ὤιχετο εἴσω πάλιν·
[and closing the door, she went back inside again:]
καί ποτε ἐξελθοῦσα κελεύει ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν.
[and after some time, she came back out, and ordered me to come inside.]
κἀγὼ δὲ παρελθὼν εἴσω ἀσπάζομαι αὐτὸν
[And then I, walking by her side into the house, greeted the man]
καὶ τὰ γράμματα ἐπέδωκα.
[and gave him the letters.]
ἔτυχε δὲ ἐν ἀρχῆι δείπνου
[And he happened to be beginning his supper]
ὢν καὶ κατέκειτο ἐπὶ κλινιδίου στενοῦ,
[as he was lying down upon a narrow couch,]
γυνὴ δὲ αὐτοῦ καθῆστο πλησίον,
[and his wife was sitting near him,]
καὶ τράπεζα μηδὲν ἔχουσα παρέκειτο.
[and there was a table next to them had nothing upon it.]
ὁ δὲ ἐπειδὴ τοῖς γράμμασιν ἐνέτυχεν,
[And then he took his letters,]
Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ μὲν φίλτατος ἐμοί, ἔφη,
["But my dearest friend," he said,]
καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐξοχώτατος Δεκριανὸς εὖ ποιεῖ
[and the wisest of the Greeks, Dekrianos, is faring well,]
καὶ θαρρῶν πέμπει παρ᾿ ἐμοὶ τοὺς ἑταίρους τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ·
[and he bravely sends his companion to my residence:]
τὸ δὲ οἰκίδιον τὸ ἐμὸν ὁρᾶις, ὦ Λούκιε,
[So, Lucian, you see my house,]
ὡς ἔστι μικρὸν μὲν,
[how small it is, that is,]
ἀλλὰ εὔγνωμον τὸν οἰκοῦντα ἐνεγκεῖν·
[but it has possible to run a household when you're well-adjusted.]
ποιήσεις δὲ αὐτὸ σὺ μεγάλην οἰκίαν,
[And you youself will make a great home in the same fashion,]
ἀνεξικάκως οἰκήσας.
[even if you've not done well to establish a household.]
καὶ καλεῖ τὴν παιδίσκην, Ὦ Παλαίστρα,
[and call forth my young slave girl, Palaestra,]
δὸς τῶι ἑταίρωι κοιτῶνα
[make him your companion in bed]
καὶ κατάθες λαβοῦσα εἴ τι κομίζει σκεῦος,
[and settle down, once you've had her, and get some sleep,]
εἶτα πέμπε αὐτὸν εἰς βαλανεῖον·
[then send her to this hall]
οὐχὶ γὰρ μετρίαν ἐλήλυθεν ὁδόν.
[you see, I've not forgotten how the measure of your journey.]
3.
Ταῦτα εἰπόντος, τὸ παιδισκάριον ἡ Παλαίστρα ἄγει με
[After he said this, the young slave girl Palaestra took me,]
καὶ δείκνυσί μοι κάλλιστον οἰκημάτιον·
[and she showed me a nicely prepared room:]
καί, Σὺ μέν, ἔφη, ἐπὶ ταύτης τῆς κλίνης κοιμήσηι,
["and you now," she said, "will sleep on this bed,]
