Again, to someone else who was not there and did not exist at all, he said in prose: “Go back; he who sent you was killed to-day by his neighbour Diocles, with the help of the bandits Magnus, Celer, and Bubalus, who already have been caught and imprisoned.”

I may say too that he often gave oracles to barbarians, when anyone put a question in his native language, in Syrian or in Celtic; since he readily found strangers in the city who belonged to the same nation as his questioners. That is why the time between the presentation of the scrolls and the delivery of the oracle was long, so that in the interval the questions might be unsealed at leisure without risk and men might be found who would be able to translate them fully. Of this sort was the response given to the Scythian: Morphen eubargoulis eis skian chnechikrage leipsei phaos.

The oracle seems to contain some Greek, in the two phrases eis skian (into the darkness) and leipsei phaos (thou shalt leave the light of day); it is uncertain, however, whether these phrases belong to the original text, or to someone’s interpretation, which has become confused with the text, or are mere corruptions due to a scribe’s effort to convert “Scythian” into Greek. The “Scythian” part itself is a complete mystery.

Let me also tell you a few of the responses that were given to me. When I asked whether Alexander was bald, and sealed the question carefully and conspicuously, a “nocturnal” oracle was appended: Sabardalachou malachaattealos en.

In failing to submit this to the official interpreters, Lucian lost a priceless opportunity.

At another time, I asked a single question in each of two scrolls under a different name, “What was the poet Homer’s country?” In one case, misled by my serving-man, who had been asked why he came and had said, “To request a cure for a pain in the side,” he replied: Cytmis

Alexander’s nostrum; cf c. 22.

I bid you apply, combined with the spume of a charger. To the other, since in this case he had been told that the one who sent it enquired whether it would be better for him to go to Italy by sea or by land, he gave an answer which had nothing to do with Homer: Make not your journey by sea, but travel afoot by the highway.

Many such traps, in fact, were set for him by me and by others. For example, I put a single question, and wrote upon the outside of the scroll, following the usual form: “Eight questions from So-and-so,”’ using a fictitious name and sending the eight drachmas and whatever it came to besides.

Since the price of each oracle was one drachma, two obols, the indefinite plus was sixteen obols, or 2dr. 4 obols.

Rely- ing upon the fee that had been sent and upon the inscription on the roll, to the single question: “When will Alexander be caught cheating?” he sent me eight responses which, as the saying goes, had no connection with earth or with heaven, but were silly and nonsensical every one. When he found out about all this afterward, and also that it was I who was attempting to dissuade Rutilianus from the marriage and from his great dependence upon the hopes inspired by the shrine, he began to hate me, as was natural, and to count me a bitter enemy. Once when Rutilianus asked about me, he replied: Low-voiced walks in the dusk are his pleasure, and impious matings.

And generally, I was of course the man he most hated. When he discovered that I had entered the city and ascertained that I was the Lucian of whom he had heard (I had brought, I may add, two soldiers with me, a pikeman and a spearman borrowed from the Governor of Cappadocia, then a friend of mine, to escort me to the sea), he at once sent for me very politely and with great show of friendliness. When I went, I found many about him; but I had brought along my two soldiers, as luck would have it. He extended me his right hand to kiss, as his custom was with the public; I clasped it as if to kiss it, and almost crippled it with a right good bite!

The bystanders tried to choke and beat me for sacrilege; even before that, they had been indignant because I had addressed him as Alexander and not as Prophet.” But he mastered himself very hand- somely, held them in check, and promised that he would easily make me tame and would demonstrate Glycon’s worth by showing that he transformed even bitter foes into friends. Then he removed everybody and had it out with me, professing to know very well who I was and what advice I was giving Rutilianus, and saying, ‘What possessed you to do this to me, when I can advance you tremendously in his favour?” By that time I was glad to receive this proffer of friendship, since I saw what a perilous position I had taken up; so, after a little, I reappeared as his friend, and it seemed quite a miracle to the observers that my change of heart had been so easily effected.