“Or have emigrated.”
“Or are dead! Let us make new ones.”
Another shock of earthquake extinguished the lamps, and all went out into the street, except Socrates and Alcibiades.
“Phidias accused of theft! Let the walls of the world fall in!” said Socrates, and sank, as was his custom, into a fit of absent-mindedness that resembled sleep.
Alcibiades took one of the largest double-goblets, veiled it, and improvised the following dithyramb:
“May everything break up from Pindus to the Caucasus!
Then will Prometheus be unbound and bestow fire again
on frozen mortals!
And Zeus descends to Hades, Pallas sells herself;
Apollo breaks his lyre in two, and cobbles shoes;
Ares lets his war-horse go, and minds sheep;
And on the ruins of all earthly glory, stands Alcibiades
alone,
In the full consciousness of his almightiness,
And laughs!”
The pestilence had broken out in Athens accompanied by shocks of earthquake.
When Pericles, accompanied by Aspasia, reached his house, his son by his divorced wife was dead.
According to the prevailing custom, and to show that he had not been murdered, the corpse was placed in the doorway. A small coffin of cedar-wood, painted red and black, stood on a bier, and showed the dead child dressed in a white shroud. He had a garland on his head, woven of the plant of death, the strong-scented Apium or celery. In his mouth he had an obol as Charon’s fee.