I beg you here and now, Zeus, as we are alone and
there is no man in our gathering except Heracles
and Dionysus and Ganymede and Asclepius, these
naturalized aliens—answer me truly, have you ever
had enough regard for those on earth to find out

 

who are the good among them and who are the bad?
No, you can’t say that you have! In fact, if
Theseus on his way from Troezen to Athens had
not incidentally done away with the marauders, as
far as you and your providence are concerned nothing
would hinder Sciron and Pityocamptes and Cereyon
and the rest of them from continuing to live in
luxury by slaughtering wayfarers. Andif Eurystheus,
an upright man, full of providence, had not out of
the love he bore his fellow men looked into the
conditions everywhere and sent out this servant
of his, Heracles. a hard-working fellow eager for tasks, you,
Zeus, would have paid little heed to the Hydra and
the Stymphalian birds and the Thracian mares and
the insolence and wantonness of the Centaurs.

 
If you would have me speak the truth, we sit
here considering just one question, whether anybody is slaying victims and burning incense at our
altars ; everything else drifts with the current, swept
aimlessly along. Therefore we are getting and
shall continue to get no more than we deserve when
men gradually begin to crane their necks upward and
find out that it does them no good to sacrifice to us
and hold processions. Then in a little while you
shall see the Epicuruses and Metrodoruses and
Damises laughing at us, and our pleaders overpowered and silenced by them. So it is for the rest
of you to check and remedy all this, you who carried
it so far. To me, being only Momus, it does not
make much difference if I ain to be unhonoured, for
even in bygone days I was not one of those in
honour, while you are still fortunate and enjoy your
sacrifices.
 
 ZEUS 
Let us ignore this fellow’s nonsense, gods; he is
always harsh and fault-finding. As that wonderful
man Demosthenes says, to reproach and criticize and
find fault is easy and anyone can do it, but to advise
how a situation. may be improved requires a really
wise counsellor; and this is what the rest of you
will do, I am very sure, even if Momus says nothing.