Chapter 88
WIFE. And did not the G.o.d come?
CAIRO. He did not tarry; and when he was near us, oh! dear! such a good joke happened. My belly was quite blown out, and I let wind with the loudest of noises.
WIFE. Doubtless the G.o.d pulled a wry face?
CARIO. No, but Iaso blushed a little and Panacea[782] turned her head away, holding her nose; for my perfume is not that of roses.
WIFE. And what did the G.o.d do?
CARIO. He paid not the slightest heed.
WIFE. He must then be a pretty coa.r.s.e kind of G.o.d?
CARIO. I don't say that, but he's used to tasting s.h.i.+t.[783]
WIFE. Impudent knave, go on with you!
CARIO. Then I hid myself in my bed all a-tremble. Aesculapius did the round of the patients and examined them all with great attention; then a slave placed beside him a stone mortar, a pestle and a little box.[784]
WIFE. Of stone?
CARIO. No, not of stone.
WIFE. But how could you see all this, you arch-rascal, when you say you were hiding all the time?
CARIO. Why, great G.o.ds, through my cloak, for 'tis not without holes! He first prepared an ointment for Neoclides; he threw three heads of Tenian[785] garlic into the mortar, pounded them with an admixture of fig-tree sap and lentisk, moistened the whole with Sphettian[786]
vinegar, and, turning back the patient's eyelids, applied his salve to the interior of the eyes, so that the pain might be more excruciating.
Neoclides shrieked, howled, sprang towards the foot of his bed and wanted to bolt, but the G.o.d laughed and said to him, "Keep where you are with your salve; by doing this you will not go and perjure yourself before the a.s.sembly."
WIFE What a wise G.o.d and what a friend to our city!
CARIO. Thereupon he came and seated himself at the head of Plutus' bed, took a perfectly clean rag and wiped his eye-lids; Panacea covered his head and face with a purple cloth, while the G.o.d whistled, and two enormous snakes came rus.h.i.+ng from the sanctuary.
WIFE. Great G.o.ds!
CARIO. They slipped gently beneath the purple cloth and, as far as I could judge, licked the patient's eyelids; for, in less time than even you need, mistress, to drain down ten beakers of wine, Plutus rose up; he could see. I clapped my hands with joy and awoke my master, and the G.o.d immediately disappeared with the serpents into the sanctuary. As for those who were lying near Plutus, you can imagine that they embraced him tenderly. Dawn broke and not one of them had closed an eye. As for myself, I did not cease thanking the G.o.d who had so quickly restored to Plutus his sight and had made Neoclides blinder than ever.
WIFE. Oh! thou great Aesculapius! How mighty is thy power! (_To Cario._) But tell me, where is Plutus now?
CARIO. He is approaching, escorted by an immense crowd. The rich, whose wealth is ill-gotten, are knitting their brows and shooting at him looks of fierce hate, while the just folk, who led a
WIFE. And I, by Hecate! I will string you a garland of cakes for the good tidings you have brought me.
CARIO. Hurry, make haste then; our friends are close at hand.
WIFE. I will go indoors to fetch some gifts of welcome, to celebrate these eyes that have just been opened.
CARIO. Meantime I am going forth to meet them.
CHORUS. [_Missing._]
PLUTUS. I adore thee, oh! thou divine sun, and thee I greet thou city, the beloved of Pallas; be welcome, thou land of Cecrops, which hast received me. Alas! what manner of men I a.s.sociated with! I blush to think of it. While, on the other hand, I shunned those who deserved my friends.h.i.+p; I knew neither the vices of the ones nor the virtues of the others. A twofold mistake, and in both cases equally fatal! Ah! what a misfortune was mine! But I want to change everything; and in future I mean to prove to mankind that, if I gave to the wicked, 'twas against my will.
CHREMYLUS (_to the crowd who impede him_). Get you gone! Oh! what a lot of friends spring into being when you are fortunate! They dig me with their elbows and bruise my s.h.i.+ns to prove their affection. Each one wants to greet me. What a crowd of old fellows thronged round me on the market-place!
WIFE. Oh! thou, who art dearest of all to me, and thou too, be welcome!
Allow me, Plutus, to shower these gifts of welcome over you in due accord with custom.
PLUTUS. No. This is the first house I enter after having regained my sight; I shall take nothing from it, for 'tis my place rather to give.
WIFE. Do you refuse these gifts?
PLUTUS. I will accept them at your fireside, as custom requires. Besides, we shall thus avoid a ridiculous scene; it is not meet that the poet should throw dried figs and dainties to the spectators; 'tis a vulgar trick to make 'em laugh.
WIFE. You are right. Look! yonder's Dexinicus, who was already getting to his feet to catch the figs as they flew past him.[787]
CHORUS. [_Missing_.]
CARIO. How pleasant it is, friends, to live well, especially when it costs nothing! What a deluge of blessings flood our household, and that too without our having wronged ever a soul! Ah! what a delightful thing is wealth! The bin is full of white flour and the wine-jars run over with fragrant liquor; all the chests are crammed with gold and silver, 'tis a sight to see; the tank is full of oil,[788] the phials with perfumes, and the garret with dried figs. Vinegar flasks, plates, stew-pots and all the platters are of bra.s.s; our rotten old wooden trenchers for the fish have to-day become dishes of silver; the very night-commode is of ivory. We others, the slaves, we play at odd and even with gold pieces, and carry luxury so far that we no longer wipe ourselves with stones, but use garlic stalks instead. My master, at this moment, is crowned with flowers and sacrificing a pig, a goat and a ram;[789] 'tis the smoke that has driven me out, for I could no longer endure it, it hurt my eyes so.
A JUST MAN. Come, my child, come with me. Let us go and find the G.o.d.
CHREMYLUS. Who comes here?
JUST MAN. A man who was once wretched, but now is happy.
CHREMYLUS. A just man then?
JUST MAN. You have it.
CHREMYLUS. Well! what do you want?
JUST MAN. I come to thank the G.o.d for all the blessings he has showered on me. My father had left me a fairly decent fortune, and I helped those of my friends who were in want; 'twas, to my thinking, the most useful thing I could do with my fortune.
CHREMYLUS. And you were quickly ruined?
JUST MAN. Entirely.
CHREMYLUS. Since then you have been living in misery?
JUST MAN. In truth I have; I thought I could count, in case of need, upon the friends whose property I had helped, but they turned their backs upon me and pretended not to see me.
CHREMYLUS. They laughed at you, 'tis evident.
JUST MAN. Just so. With my empty coffers, I had no more friends.
CHREMYLUS. But your lot has changed.
JUST MAN. Yes, and so I come to the G.o.d to make him the acts of grat.i.tude that are his due.