Apollo have all to himself so many departments, but choose out some one province-either be a prophet, a professor of music, or a physician.

Be it further decreed, that the philosophers be warned not to invent empty names, nor talk nonsense about what they don't know. And as regards the disfranchised Gods, who already have been deemed worthy of temples and sacrifices, their statues are to be thrown down, and the statue of Zeus, or Hera, or Apollo, or someone else to be inserted in the temples, instead: That, as for those others, their State erect a tomb for them, and set up a pillar in place of an altar. And, if anyone disobey this proclamation, and be not willing to come before the Commission, let them give judgment, by default, against him.' Such is our Decree.

Zeus. Very just, Momus, and every one who is in favour of it hold up his hand; or, rather, so let it take effect at once: for I know that the dissentients will be in the majority. The Assembly is now dismissed. But, whenever Hermes shall make proclamation, come each of you with clear testimonials, and plain proofs of your titles-the father's and mother's names, and whence, and how, he or she became a divinity, his tribe, and wardsmen. As, in the case of whoever shall not exhibit these, whether a claimant has a big temple upon the Earth, and whether he is regarded by men as divine, the Commission will not trouble themselves.

1 Ερήμην αὐτοῦ καταδιαιτήσαντων. Sup. δικὴν. Cf. Lucian, Ὑπὲρ Εικ. 15—ἐρήμην καταδιαιτήσας τοῦ βιβλίου. The ψήφισμα, “ the decree," is the Act passed by the Bovλn and iкλŋσia conjointly: the ToоBovλevμa, as the word implies, is the resolution of the first "house" alone, which had no legal force until ratified by the popular Assembly. It is not uninstructive to remark that, by the Athenian constitution, every Bill to be introduced into the "Commons" was for some time previously exposed to the public view of the whole body of citizens.

2 There were two methods of voting, by" show of hands” (yeшorovía) and by "balloting" (Unpocovia). The former was the more usual.

3 By the constitution of Kleisthenes the whole Attic population was redistributed into ten oλai (“ tribes "), which were subdivided each into ten chuo ("hundreds "). The term pparpiai ("wardsmen "), a significant word, was still retained.

THE FERRY-BOAT: OR, THE TYRANT.'

[Charon, ready to set sail, awaits impatiently the appearance of Hermes, who is behind time with his accustomed batch of ghosts; and gives vent to his vexation in complaints to Klotho, his colleague. Presently, the Conductor of the Dead is seen approaching, heated and out of breath, driving the ghosts before him. He accounts for his delay by narrating the attempt to escape of one of his convoy, the tyrant Megapenthes, and the difficulty of the re-capture, which was effected only by the timely assistance of the cynic Kyniskus (a fellow-ghost); and the fugitive tyrant now appears on the scene securely fettered.

Before setting sail for Hades, Klotho receives from Hermes, and enters on his way-bill, the names, nationality, and manner of death of the various passengers. The cynic philosopher complains that she has unfairly neglected him ; and declares that he had long been intending to anticipate her decree. In contrast to the disciple of Antisthenes, the tyrant begs long and vehemently for respite, however brief, on various pretences, all of which are sternly rejected by the Fate. In the end, he is forcibly carried on board by Hermes and Charon, aided by the Cynic, and bound to the mast. At this stage, the cobbler, Mykillus, comes forward to expostulate with Klotho yet more strongly at her long neglect of him, and, to her expressions of astonishment at his eagerness to embark, he replies by narrating,

1 Κατάπλους ἢ Τυράννος. Strictly, " The Putting-in, or Arrival of the Ferry-Boat," etc. For the sake of brevity, the usual title has been adopted here. The opening scene, it is highly probable, was suggested to Lucian by some graphic picture.

at considerable length, his reasons for not shunning Charon's boat; and, at the same time, confesses his previous illusions in regard to the imagined happiness of the despot, Megapenthes.

Klotho now gives orders for weighing anchor; when the cobbler, finding that he was to be left behind until the next day, owing to the crowded state of the boat, struggles hard to get on board, and, failing in the attempt, jumps into the Styx, to get across by swimming. He is, then,

perforce, taken into the boat-a place being found for him on the shoulders of the tyrant-which proceeds on its voyage while Kyniskus, like the cobbler afterwards on landing, declares his inability to pay the small coin required as the fare, and earns his passage by taking an oar.

The tedium of the rest of the voyage he relieves by giving the "time" to his fellow-rowers, to the tune of some popular sea-song, and in jeering at the lamentations of the rich passengers, in which amusement he is joined by the cobbler. Upon landing, the cynic and cobbler join company, and proceed arm in arm towards the tribunal of Rhadamanthys. The Infernal Judge orders that the various dead men be brought before him. The cynic at once demands to be heard against the tyrant; and, after previous satisfactory examination of himself, which results in his receiving a passport for the Elysian Fields, he charges Megapenthes with his foul deeds of cruelty and of debauchery. That royal criminal is found to be covered with the stigmata -the brand-mark, of his crimes and vices; and, to establish the accusations of his principal accuser, the tyrant's own lamp and bed are brought forward as witnesses. At the suggestion of his accuser, Megapenthes, in place of being consigned to the flames of Pyriphlegethon, is prohibited from drinking of the waters of Lethe; and his punishment in Tartarus consists in an ever-present recollection of his evil deeds, In accordance with the terms of his sentence, he is now dragged away by the Erinyes, and chained by the side of another royal criminal, Tantalus; who, as a comparatively innocent offender, had some reason to complain of this unexpected addition to his torture.]

Charon, Klotho, Hermes, Megapenthes (a newly-deceased king), Kyniskus (a Cynic philosopher), Mykillus (a Cobbler), Rhadamanthys, Tisiphone, and a number of Dead Men.

1

Charon (fretfully). Well, Klotho, this little craft of ours long ago has been ready and excellently equipped for putting to sea: for the bilge-water has been all baled out, the mast has been hoisted, the sail spread, every one of the oars supplied with its thong, and as far as I am concerned, nothing prevents our hauling our little anchor aboard, and proceeding on our voyage. But that Hermes is behind his time, whereas he ought to have been here long since. Our ferry-boat, therefore, as you see, has not a single passenger on board, though it might have made the passage three times to-day already. And it's close upon evening; and we have not yet turned over even a penny. And So, I know very well Pluto will suspect me of laziness in the business; and that, though the blame lies with another. Our fine honourable gentleman undertaker, like any mortal, has himself drunk of the waters of Lethe, up yonder, and has quite forgotten to return to us; and, either he is wrestling with his young men in the Palæstra, or playing his lyre, or reciting some oration, and showing off his own silly nonsense. Or, maybe, perhaps, the excellent gentleman is practising his light-fingered art, and outwitting some one-for that, too, is one of his accomplishments. And so he takes his liberties with us, and that, while he half belongs to our establishment.

3

Klotho. But what would you have? How do you know,

1 Exedov aμpi Bovλuróv. Lit. "close upon ox-loosing time." See 'IA. xvi. 779; 'Od. ix. 58. (according to Eustathius, in loco, Bovλvróvde denotes ή μεσημβρία ἡ ὀλίγον τὶ μετὰ μεσημβρίαν, " about noon,” when they unyoked the oxen to avoid the midday heats); Aristoph. 'Opvides, 1500. Cf. Virg. Ec. ii.; Hor. Car. iii. 6.

2 DOTTEρ TIC aλoç (Jacobitz), following the principal MSS. Lehmann adopts the reading of the Scholiast, einɛp rig äoç, "if any one else." a The waters of the upper Lethe" is Charon's euphemism for the juice of the grape. See Lucian's Пepi Пéveove, 25; Aristoph. Barp. 106 (where Xanthias terms the infernal stream rò Anong mediov). The idea of the river of Lethe is later than the theology of Homer and Hesiod. 4 See O. A. vii.

you." I, blushing at his lecture, quickly recollected what had happened by the way; and when, after a glance around, I saw this fellow nowhere, perceiving his flight, I set out in pursuit with all the speed I could by the road leading to daylight, and this most excellent person followed me quite of his own accord. So, running at a speed as if off from a starting line at a racecourse, we overtake him just at Tænarum '-so nearly did he succeed in escaping us. Klotho. And we, Charon, but now were condemning Hermes's neglect of duty!

1

Charon. Why, pray, do we longer delay, as though we had not wasted time enough already?

Klotho. You are right. Let them embark; and I, with my way-bill ready in my hand, and taking my seat, as is my custom, at the gangway, will make my diagnosis of each of them, as he embarks-who he is, and where he comes from, and what the manner of his death. And do you take them from me, and pack them together, and arrange them in regular order. And do you, Hermes, first of all, toss in those new-born infants there; for what could they answer to my questions?

Hermes. There, Ferryman, is the exact number-with the exposed infants,' three hundred in all.

Charon. A fig for your fine rich haul! You come and bring me a lot of unripe dead!

Hermes. Will you have us, Klotho, embark the unwept next?

Klotho. Do you mean the old ones? So do. (Aside, in disgust) Why, indeed, should I be troubled with inquiring

1 The south-eastern extremity of Lakonia. The famous cavern, fabled to be the descent to Orcus, was there situated, through which Herakles dragged Kerberus from his infernal post. See Apuleius, De Aur. Asino, and Psyche's descent to Hades. Cf. Aristoph. Barp. 187; Lucian, Νεκυομαντεία.

How prevalent was the practice among the Greeks and Latins of "exposing" infants, whom the parents were unable or unwilling to bring up, and how large the numbers thus inhumanly disposed of in obedience to the oracles, is abundantly evident in their literatures-in particular, in the drama, in the New Comedy, in the imitations of Plautus and Terence, and in the Greek romances. See Aristoph. No. 522, and the charming pastoral romance of Daphnis and Chloe, where both the hero and herione are rescued castaways. The founders of the Roman and Persian monarchies were the same. See Herod. i. 107-117. Livy, Ann. i. &c.