There's no such--! [But Charon is so very real.] Oh! Well, I'll mention it in a footnote.
Charon.. Stop your foolish talk, man, and stand up. Don't you see who is with me?
Hipponax.. There's no one with you.
[Then the voice of the god is heard. Music to us. And even to Hipponax, now, it is as if the air round him were gently shaken.
Charon.. Take care.
Mercury.. Charon, the two obols.
[Charon, humbly saluting, takes his fee.
Charon.. If you can't see, can't you hear him?
Hipponax.. I heard nothing.
Charon.. Give him your mask and cloak to hide the light from his eyes that dazzles you.