Μετὰ τοῦτον ἐπεισέρχεται βαθεῖαν ἔχων τὴν ὑπήνην ἀνὴρ σοβαρὸς τά τε ἄλλα [D] καὶ δὴ καὶ μουσικὴν ἐργαζόμενος, εἴς τε τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀφορῶν πολλάκις καὶ πολυπραγμονῶν τὰ ἀπόρρητα. τοῦτον δὲ ἰδὼν ὁ Σειληνὸς ἔφη, Τί δὲ ὑμῖν οὗτος ὁ σοφιστὴς δοκεῖ; μῶν Ἀντίνοον τῇδε περισκοπεῖ; φρασάτω τις αὐτῷ μὴ παρεῖναι τὸ μειράκιον ἐνθαδὶ καὶ παυσάτω τοῦ λήρου καὶ τῆς φλυαρίας αὐτόν. [312] ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀνὴρ εἰσέρχεται σώφρων, οὐ τὰ ἐς Ἀφροδίτην, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐς τὴν πολιτείαν. ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὁ Σειληνὸς ἔφη, Βαβαὶ τῆς σμικρολογίας· εἷς εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ τῶν διαπριόντων τὸ κύμινον ὁ πρεσβύτης οὗτος. ἐπεισελθούσης δὲ αὐτῷ τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ξυνωρίδος, [pg 358] Βήρου καὶ Λουκίου, δεινῶς ὁ Σειληνὸς συνεστάλη, παίζειν γὰρ οὐκ εἶχεν οὐδ᾽ ἐπισκώπτειν, μάλιστα τὸν Βῆρον, καίτοι καὶ τούτου τὰ περὶ τὸν οἱὸν καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα πολυπραγμονῶν ἁμαρτήματα, [B] τὴν μὲν ὅτι πλέον ἢ προσῆκεν ἐπένθησεν, ἄλλως τε οὐδὲ κοσμίαν οὖσαν, τῷ δὲ ὅτι τὴν ἀρχὴν συναπολλυμένην περιεῖδεν, ἔχων καὶ ταῦτα σπουδαῖον κηδεστήν, ὃς τῶν τε κοινῶν ἂν προύστη κρεῖττον καὶ δὴ καὶ τοῦ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ βέλτιον ἂν ἐπεμελήθη ἢ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ. καίπερ οὖν ταῦτα πολυπραγμονῶν ᾐδεῖτο τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀρετῆς· τόν γε μὴν υἱέα οὐδὲ [C] τοῦ σκωφθῆναι νομίσας ἄξιον ἀφῆκεν· ἔπιπτε γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς γῆν οὐ δυνάμενος ἵστασθαι[574] καὶ παρομαρτεῖν τοῖς ἥρωσιν.
(Next entered an austere-looking man[575] with a long beard, an adept in all the arts, but especially music, one who was always gazing at the heavens and prying into hidden things. Silenus when he saw him said, “What think ye of this sophist? Can he be looking here for Antinous? One of you should tell him that the youth is not here, and make him cease from his madness and folly.” Thereupon entered a man[576] of temperate character, I do not say in love affairs but in affairs of state. When Silenus caught sight of him he exclaimed, “Bah! Such fussing about trifles! This old man seems to me the sort of person who would split cumin seed.”[577] Next entered the pair of brothers, Verus[578] and Lucius.[579] Silenus scowled horribly because he could not jeer or scoff at them, especially not at Verus; but he would not ignore his errors of judgment in the case of his son[580] and his wife,[581] in that he mourned the latter beyond what was becoming, especially considering that she was not even a virtuous woman; and he failed to see that his son was ruining the empire as well as himself, and that though Verus had an excellent son-in-law who would have administered the state better, and besides would have managed the youth better than he could manage himself. But though he refused to ignore these errors he reverenced the exalted virtue of Verus. His son however he considered not worth even ridicule and so let him pass. Indeed he fell to earth of his own accord because he could not keep on his feet or accompany the heroes.)
Ἐπεισέρχεται Περτίναξ τῷ συμποσίῳ τὴν σφαγὴν ὀδυρόμενος. ἡ Δίκη δὲ αὐτὸν κατελεήσασα, Ἀλλ᾽ οὐ χαιρήσουσιν, εἶπεν, οἱ τούτων αἴτιοι· καὶ σὺ δέ, ὦ Περτίναξ, ἠδίκεις κοινωνῶν τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς, ὅσον ἐπὶ τοῖς σκέμμασιν, ἣν ὁ Μάρκου παῖς ἐπεβουλεύθη. [D] μετὰ τοῦτον ὁ Σεβῆρος, ἀνὴρ πικρίας γέμων καὶ[582] κολαστικός. Ὑπὲρ τούτου δέ, εἶπεν ὁ Σειληνός, οὐδὲν λέγω· φοβοῦμαι γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ λίαν ἀπηνὲς καὶ ἀπαραίτητον. ὡς δὲ ἔμελλεν αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ παιδάρια[583] συνεισιέναι, πόρρωθεν αὐτὰ διεκώλυσεν ὁ Μίνως. ἐπιγνοὺς δὲ σαφῶς τὸν μὲν νεώτερον ἀφῆκε, τὸν [pg 360] δὲ πρεσβύτερον τιμωρίαν ἔπεμψε τίσοντα. [313] Μακρῖνος ἐνταῦθα φυγὰς μιαιφόνος· εἶτα τὸ ἐκ τῆς Ἐμέσης παιδάριον πόρρω που τῶν ἱερῶν ἀπηλαύνετο περιβόλων. ὅ γε μὴν Σύρος Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν ἐσχάτοις που καθῆστο τὴν αὑτοῦ συμφορὰν ποτνιώμενος. καὶ ὁ Σειληνὸς ἐπισκώπτων αὐτὸν εἶπεν[584] Ὦ μῶρε καὶ μέγα νήπιε, τηλικοῦτος ὢν οὐκ αὐτὸς ἦρχες τῶν σεαυτοῦ, τὰ χρήματα δὲ ἐδίδους τῇ μητρὶ [B] καὶ οὐκ ἐπείσθης, ὅσῳ κρεῖττον ἀναλίσκειν ἦν αὐτὰ τοῖς φίλοις ἢ θησαυρίζειν. Ἀλλ᾽ ἔγωγε, εἶπεν ἡ Δίκη, πάντας αὐτούς, ὅσοι μεταίτιοι γεγόνασι τούτων, κολασθησομένους παραδώσω. καὶ οὕτως ἀνείθη τὸ μειράκιον. ἐπὶ τούτῳ παρῆλθεν εἴσω Γαλλιῆνος μετὰ τοῦ πατρός, ὁ μὲν τὰ δεσμὰ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἔχων, ὁ δὲ στολῇ τε [C] καὶ κινήσει χρώμενος μαλακωτέρᾳ ὥσπερ αἱ γυναῖκες. καὶ ὁ Σειληνὸς πρὸς μὲν ἐκεῖνον,
(Then Pertinax came in to the banquet still bewailing his violent end. But Justice took pity on him and said, “Nay, the authors of this deed shall not long exult. But Pertinax, you too were guilty, since at least so far as conjecture went you were privy to the plot that was aimed at the son of Marcus.” Next came Severus, a man of excessively harsh temper and delighting to punish. “Of him,” said Silenus, “I have nothing to say, for I am terrified by his forbidding and implacable looks.” When his sons would have entered with him, Minos kept them at a distance. However, when he had clearly discerned their characters, he let the younger[585] pass, but sent away the elder[586] to atone for his crimes. Next Macrinus, assassin and fugitive, and after him the pretty boy from Emesa[587] were driven far away from the sacred enclosure. But Alexander the Syrian sat down somewhere in the lowest ranks and loudly lamented his fate.[588] Silenus made fun of him and exclaimed, “O fool and madman! Exalted as you were you could not govern your own family, but gave your revenues to your mother:[589] nor could you be persuaded how much better it was to bestow them on your friends than to hoard them.” “I however,” said Justice, “will consign to torment all who were accessory to his death.” And then the youth was left in peace. Next entered Gallienus and his father,[590] the latter still dragging the chains of his captivity, the other with the dress and languishing gait of a woman. Seeing Valerian, Silenus cried,)
Τίς οὗτος ὁ λευκολόφας,
Πρόπαρ ὃς ἡγεῖται στρατοῦ;
(“Who is this with the white plume that leads the army's van?”[591])
ἔφη, πρὸς δὲ τὸν Γαλλιῆνον,
(Then he greeted Gallienus with,)
Ὃς καὶ χρυσὸν ἔχων πάντη τρυφᾷ ἠύτε κούρη·