[17]
καὶ μὴν οὐδ᾽ εἰπεῖν ἔχοις ἂν κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν
ὅπως ἐστὶ καταγέλαστα, ὦ Χάρων, καὶ μάλιστα
αἱ ἄγαν σπουδαὶ αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ μεταξὺ τῶν ἐλπίδων οἴχεσθαι ἀναρπάστους γινομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ βελτίστου Θανάτου. ἄγγελοι δὲ καὶ ὑπηρέται
αὐτοῦ μάλα πολλοί, ὡς ὁρᾷς, ἠπίαλοι καὶ πυρετοὶ καὶ φθόαι καὶ περιπλευμονίαι καὶ ξίφη καὶ
λῃστήρια καὶ κώνεια καὶ δικασταὶ καὶ τύραννοι: καὶ τούτων οὐδὲν ὅλως αὐτοὺς εἰσέρχεται, ἔστ᾽ ἂν
εὖ πράττωσιν, ὅταν δὲ σφαλῶσι, πολὺ τὸ ὀττοτοῖ
[p. 432] καὶ αἰαῖ καὶ οἴμοι. εἰ δὲ εὐθὺς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐνενόουν ὅτι θνητοὶ τὲ εἰσιν αὐτοὶ καὶ ὀλίγον τοῦτον χρόνον ἐπιδημήσαντες τῷ βίῳ ἀπίασιν ὥσπερ ἐξ
ὀνείρατος πάντα ὑπὲρ γῆς ἀφέντες, ἔζων τε ἂν
σωφρονέστερον καὶ ἧττον ἠνιῶντο ἀποθανόντες: νῦν δὲ εἰς
ἀεὶ ἐλπίσαντες χρήσεσθαι τοῖς παροῦσιν, ἐπειδὰν ἐπιστὰς ὁ ὑπηρέτης καλῇ καὶ ἀπάγῃ πεδήσας τῷ πυρετῷ ἢ τῇ φθόῃ, ἀγανακτοῦσι πρὸς τὴν ἀγωγὴν οὔποτε προσδοκήσαντες ἀποσπασθήσεσθαι
αὐτῶν. ἢ τί γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ποιήσειεν ἐκεῖνος ὁ τὴν οἰκίαν σπουδῇ οἰκοδομούμενος καὶ τοὺς ἐργάτας
ἐπισπέρχων, εἰ μάθοι ὅτι ἡ μὲν ἕξει τέλος αὐτῷ,
ὁ δὲ ἄρτι ἐπιθεὶς τὸν ὄροφον ἄπεισι τῷ κληρονόμῳ
καταλιπὼν ἀπολαύειν αὐτῆς, αὐτὸς μηδὲ δειπνήσας ἅθλιος ^ ἐν αὐτῇ; ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ὁ χαίρων ὅτι ἄρρενα παῖδα τέτοκεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνή, καὶ τοὺς φίλους διὰ τοῦτο ἑστιῶν καὶ τοὔνομα τοῦ πατρὸς
τιθέμενος, εἰ ἠπίστατο ὡς ἑπτέτης γενόμενος ὁ παῖς τεθνήξεται, ἆρα ἄν σοι δοκεῖ χαίρειν ἐπ᾽
αὐτῷ γεννωμένῳ; ἀλλὰ τὸ αἴτιον, ὅτι τὸν μὲν
εὐτυχοῦντα ἐπὶ τῷ παιδὶ ἐκεῖνον ὁρᾷ τὸν τοῦ
ἀθλητοῦ πατέρα τοῦ Ὀλύμπια νενικηκότος, τὸν γείτονα
δὲ τὸν ἐκκομίζοντα τὸ παιδίον οὐχ ὁρᾷ οὐδὲ οἶδεν
ἀφ᾽ οἵας αὐτῷ κρόκης ἐκρέματο. τοὺς μὲν γὰρ περὶ τῶν ὅρων διαφερομένους ὁρᾷς, ὅσοι εἰσί, καὶ
τοὺς συναγείροντας τὰ χρήματα, εἶτα, πρὶν
[p. 434]
ἀπολαῦσαι αὐτῶν, καλουμένους ὑφ᾽ ὧν εἶπον τῶν ἀγγέλων τε καὶ ὑπηρετῶν.
Χάρων
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Lucian. Works. with an English Translation by. A. M. Harmon. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1915. 2.
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