Scaife ATLAS

CTS Library / Zeus the Tragedian

Zeus the Tragedian (6)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg018.perseus-eng5:6
Refs {'start': {'reference': '6', 'human_reference': 'Section 6'}}
Ancestors []
Children []
prev
plain text • XML
next
Zeus

Very well, then. Summon them at once and let all appear. For you are right.

Hermes

Halloo, gods! Come to the assembly! Do not loiter Gather, all of you! Come! We are going to discuss great things!

Zeus

Hermes, is that bare, unadorned, prosaic style of announcement the proper thing, particularly when the greatest matters are in question?

Hermes

Why, what do you think more proper, Zeus?

Zeus

What do I think more proper? I say you ought to make your summons impressive by means of some sort of rhythm, and a sonorous, poetic form, to bring them the more readily.

Hermes

Yes; but such things belong to versewriters and declaimers, Zeus, and I am the worst poet imaginable. I should certainly ruin my summons by having too many feet in it or too few, and they would laugh at the illiteracy of my composition. I see that even Apollo's verses in his oracles are sometimes jeered at, though his prophecies are generally very obscure, so that those who receive them have not much leisure to criticize the versification.

Zeus

Well, then, string a lot of Homer's verses

p.20
together in your summons, and convene us as he used. Of course you remember them.

Hermes

I can't say that I have them very pat. However, I will try:

Gods and goddesses all, let none fail to answer my summons.
Let not a single nymph or river-god, save only Ocean,
Tarry; but haste ye all to the council that Jove hath appointed.
All are bidden who feast at the hecatomb's glorious banquet,
All, e'en of low degree, or lowest; yea, even the nameless,
Seeing they too have a seat by the altars smoking with victims.

Tokens

Zeus 1 w 4
Very 1 w 8
well 1 w 12
then 1 w 17
Summon 1 w 24
them 1 w 28
at 1 w 30
once 1 w 34
and 1 w 37
let 1 w 40
all 1 w 43
appear 1 w 49
For 1 w 53
you 1 w 56
are 1 w 59
right 1 w 64
Hermes 1 w 71
Halloo 1 w 77
gods 1 w 82
Come 1 w 87
to 1 w 89
the 3 w 92
assembly 1 w 100
Do 1 w 103
not 1 w 106
loiter 1 w 112
Gather 1 w 118
all 3 w 122
of 1 w 124
you 2 w 127
Come 2 w 132
We 1 w 135
are 2 w 138
going 1 w 143
to 2 w 145
discuss 1 w 152
great 1 w 157
things 1 w 163
Zeus 2 w 168
Hermes 2 w 174
is 2 w 177
that 1 w 181
bare 1 w 185
unadorned 1 w 195
prosaic 1 w 203
style 1 w 208
of 2 w 210
announcement 1 w 222
the 5 w 225
proper 1 w 231
thing 2 w 236
particularly 1 w 249
when 1 w 253
the 6 w 256
greatest 1 w 264
matters 1 w 271
are 4 w 274
in 4 w 276
question 1 w 284
Hermes 3 w 291
Why 1 w 294
what 1 w 299
do 2 w 301
you 3 w 304
think 1 w 309
more 1 w 313
proper 2 w 319
Zeus 3 w 324
Zeus 4 w 329
What 1 w 333
do 3 w 335
I 1 w 336
think 2 w 341
more 2 w 345
proper 3 w 351
I 2 w 353
say 1 w 356
you 4 w 359
ought 1 w 364
to 3 w 366
make 1 w 370
your 1 w 374
summons 1 w 381
impressive 1 w 391
by 1 w 393
means 1 w 398
of 3 w 400
some 1 w 404
sort 1 w 408
of 4 w 410
rhythm 1 w 416
and 2 w 420
a 29 w 421
sonorous 1 w 429
poetic 1 w 436
form 1 w 440
to 4 w 443
bring 1 w 448
them 2 w 452
the 8 w 455
more 3 w 459
readily 1 w 466
Hermes 4 w 473
Yes 1 w 476
but 1 w 480
such 1 w 484
things 2 w 490
belong 1 w 496
to 5 w 498
versewriters 1 w 510
and 3 w 513
declaimers 1 w 523
Zeus 5 w 528
and 4 w 532
I 3 w 533
am 1 w 535
the 9 w 538
worst 1 w 543
poet 2 w 547
imaginable 1 w 557
I 4 w 559
should 1 w 565
certainly 1 w 574
ruin 1 w 578
my 1 w 580
summons 2 w 587
by 2 w 589
having 1 w 595
too 1 w 598
many 1 w 602
feet 1 w 606
in 13 w 608
it 3 w 610
or 10 w 612
too 2 w 615
few 1 w 618
and 5 w 622
they 1 w 626
would 1 w 631
laugh 1 w 636
at 9 w 638
the 11 w 641
illiteracy 1 w 651
of 5 w 653
my 2 w 655
composition 1 w 666
I 5 w 668
see 1 w 671
that 2 w 675
even 1 w 679
Apollo 1 w 685
s 45 w 687
verses 1 w 693
in 14 w 695
his 1 w 698
oracles 1 w 705
are 5 w 708
sometimes 1 w 717
jeered 1 w 723
at 11 w 725
though 1 w 732
his 2 w 735
prophecies 1 w 745
are 6 w 748
generally 1 w 757
very 1 w 761
obscure 1 w 768
so 5 w 771
that 3 w 775
those 1 w 780
who 1 w 783
receive 1 w 790
them 3 w 794
have 1 w 798
not 2 w 801
much 1 w 805
leisure 1 w 812
to 8 w 814
criticize 1 w 823
the 13 w 826
versification 1 w 839
Zeus 6 w 844
Well 1 w 848
then 2 w 853
string 1 w 860
a 53 w 861
lot 1 w 864
of 6 w 866
Homer 1 w 871
s 61 w 873
verses 2 w 879
together 1 w 887
in 16 w 889
your 2 w 893
summons 3 w 900
and 6 w 904
convene 1 w 911
us 9 w 913
as 2 w 915
he 18 w 917
used 1 w 921
Of 1 w 924
course 1 w 930
you 7 w 933
remember 1 w 941
them 4 w 945
Hermes 5 w 952
I 6 w 953
can 1 w 956
t 76 w 958
say 2 w 961
that 4 w 965
I 7 w 966
have 2 w 970
them 5 w 974
very 2 w 978
pat 1 w 981
However 1 w 989
I 8 w 991
will 1 w 995
try 1 w 998
Gods 1 w 1003
and 7 w 1006
goddesses 1 w 1015
all 5 w 1018
let 2 w 1022
none 1 w 1026
fail 1 w 1030
to 10 w 1032
answer 1 w 1038
my 3 w 1040
summons 4 w 1047
Let 1 w 1051
not 3 w 1054
a 65 w 1055
single 1 w 1061
nymph 1 w 1066
or 12 w 1068
river-god 1 w 1077
save 1 w 1082
only 1 w 1086
Ocean 1 w 1091
Tarry 1 w 1097
but 2 w 1101
haste 1 w 1106
ye 1 w 1108
all 6 w 1111
to 11 w 1113
the 18 w 1116
council 1 w 1123
that 5 w 1127
Jove 1 w 1131
hath 1 w 1135
appointed 1 w 1144
All 1 w 1148
are 7 w 1151
bidden 1 w 1157
who 2 w 1160
feast 1 w 1165
at 18 w 1167
the 19 w 1170
hecatomb 1 w 1178
s 83 w 1180
glorious 1 w 1188
banquet 1 w 1195
All 2 w 1199
e 152 w 1201
en 9 w 1204
of 7 w 1206
low 1 w 1209
degree 1 w 1215
or 14 w 1218
lowest 1 w 1224
yea 1 w 1228
even 2 w 1233
the 20 w 1236
nameless 1 w 1244
Seeing 1 w 1251
they 2 w 1255
too 3 w 1258
have 3 w 1262
a 82 w 1263
seat 1 w 1267
by 3 w 1269
the 22 w 1272
altars 1 w 1278
smoking 1 w 1285
with 1 w 1289
victims 1 w 1296