Alexander the Oracle-monger (40-44)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg038.perseus-eng4:40-44

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Ancestors	`[]`
Children	`[]`

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The torch ceremony with its ritual skippings often enabled

v.2.p.230

him to bestow a glimpse of his thigh, which was thus discovered to be of gold; it was presumably enveloped in cloth of gold, which glittered in the lamp-light. This gave rise to a debate between two wiseacres, whether the golden .high meant that he had inherited Pythagoras’s soul, or merely that their two souls were alike; the question was referred to Alexander himself, and King Glycon relieved their perplexity with an oracle:

Waxes and wanes Pythagoras’ soul: the seer’s

Is from the mind of Zeus an emanation.

His Father sent him, virtuous men to aid,

And with his bolt one day shall call him home.

I will now give you a conversation between Glycon and one Sacerdos of Tius; the intelligence of the latter you may gauge from his questions. I read it inscribed in golden letters in Sacerdos’s house at Tius. ‘Tell me, lord Glycon,’ said he, ‘who you are.’ ‘The new Asclepius.’ ‘Another, different from the former one? Is that the meaning?’ ‘That it is not lawful for you to learn.’ ‘And how many years will you sojourn and prophesy among us?’ ‘A thousand and three.

‘And after that, whither will you go?’ ‘To Bactria; for the barbarians too must be blessed with my presence.’ ‘The other oracles, at Didymus and Clarus and Delphi, have they still the spirit of your grandsire Apollo, or are the answers that now come from them forgeries?’ ‘That, too, desire not to know; it is not lawful.’ ‘What shall I be after this life?’ ‘A camel; then a horse; then a wise man, no less a prophet than Alexander.’ Such was the conversation. There was added to it an oracle in verse, inspired by the fact that Sacerdos was an associate of Lepidus:

Shun Lepidus; an evil fate awaits him.

As I have said, Alexander was much afraid of Epicurus, and the solvent action of his logic on imposture.

On one occasion, indeed, an Epicurean got himself into great

v.2.p.231

trouble by daring to expose him before a great gathering. He came up and addressed him in a loud voice. ‘Alexander, it was you who induced So-and-so the Paphlagonian to bring his slaves before the governor of Galatia, charged with the murder of his son who was being educated in Alexandria. Well, the young man is alive, and has come back, to find that the slaves had been cast to the beasts by your machinations.’ What had happened was this. The lad had sailed up the Nile, gone on to a Red Sea port, found a vessel starting for India, and been persuaded to make the voyage. He being long overdue, the unfortunate slaves supposed that he had either perished in the Nile or fallen a victim to some of the pirates who infested it at that time; so they came home to report hia disappearance. Then followed the oracle, the sentence, and finally the young man’s return with the story of his absence.

Tokens

The	1	w	3
torch	1	w	8
ceremony	1	w	16
with	1	w	20
its	1	w	23
ritual	1	w	29
skippings	1	w	38
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him	1	w	53
to	2	w	55
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a	3	w	62
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of	2	w	71
his	1	w	74
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which	1	w	85
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thus	1	w	92
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to	4	w	104
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of	3	w	108
gold	1	w	112
it	4	w	115
was	2	w	118
presumably	1	w	128
enveloped	1	w	137
in	2	w	139
cloth	1	w	144
of	4	w	146
gold	2	w	150
which	2	w	156
glittered	1	w	165
in	3	w	167
the	1	w	170
lamp-light	1	w	180
This	1	w	185
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rise	1	w	193
to	5	w	195
a	9	w	196
debate	1	w	202
between	1	w	209
two	1	w	212
wiseacres	1	w	221
whether	1	w	229
the	3	w	232
golden	1	w	238
high	2	w	243
meant	1	w	248
that	1	w	252
he	6	w	254
had	1	w	257
inherited	1	w	266
Pythagoras	1	w	276
s	17	w	278
soul	1	w	282
or	3	w	285
merely	1	w	291
that	2	w	295
their	1	w	300
two	2	w	303
souls	1	w	308
were	1	w	312
alike	1	w	317
the	5	w	321
question	1	w	329
was	3	w	332
referred	1	w	340
to	6	w	342
Alexander	1	w	351
himself	1	w	358
and	2	w	362
King	1	w	366
Glycon	1	w	372
relieved	1	w	380
their	2	w	385
perplexity	1	w	395
with	2	w	399
an	4	w	401
oracle	1	w	407
Waxes	1	w	413
and	3	w	416
wanes	1	w	421
Pythagoras	2	w	431
soul	3	w	436
the	7	w	440
seer	1	w	444
s	29	w	446
Is	1	w	448
from	1	w	452
the	8	w	455
mind	1	w	459
of	5	w	461
Zeus	1	w	465
an	7	w	467
emanation	1	w	476
His	1	w	480
Father	1	w	486
sent	1	w	490
him	3	w	493
virtuous	1	w	502
men	1	w	505
to	7	w	507
aid	1	w	510
And	1	w	514
with	3	w	518
his	3	w	521
bolt	1	w	525
one	1	w	528
day	1	w	531
shall	1	w	536
call	1	w	540
him	4	w	543
home	1	w	547
I	2	w	549
will	1	w	553
now	1	w	556
give	1	w	560
you	1	w	563
a	37	w	564
conversation	1	w	576
between	2	w	583
Glycon	2	w	589
and	4	w	592
one	2	w	595
Sacerdos	1	w	603
of	6	w	605
Tius	1	w	609
the	10	w	613
intelligence	1	w	625
of	7	w	627
the	11	w	630
latter	1	w	636
you	2	w	639
may	1	w	642
gauge	1	w	647
from	2	w	651
his	4	w	654
questions	1	w	663
I	3	w	665
read	1	w	669
it	10	w	671
inscribed	1	w	680
in	9	w	682
golden	2	w	688
letters	1	w	695
in	10	w	697
Sacerdos	2	w	705
s	46	w	707
house	1	w	712
at	8	w	714
Tius	2	w	718
Tell	1	w	724
me	5	w	726
lord	1	w	731
Glycon	3	w	737
said	1	w	743
he	16	w	745
who	1	w	750
you	3	w	753
are	1	w	756
The	2	w	762
new	1	w	765
Asclepius	1	w	774
Another	1	w	784
different	1	w	794
from	3	w	798
the	13	w	801
former	1	w	807
one	3	w	810
Is	2	w	813
that	3	w	817
the	14	w	820
meaning	1	w	827
That	1	w	834
it	11	w	836
is	9	w	838
not	2	w	841
lawful	1	w	847
for	2	w	850
you	4	w	853
to	8	w	855
learn	1	w	860
And	2	w	866
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many	1	w	873
years	1	w	878
will	2	w	882
you	5	w	885
sojourn	1	w	892
and	5	w	895
prophesy	1	w	903
among	1	w	908
us	8	w	910
A	6	w	914
thousand	1	w	922
and	7	w	925
three	1	w	930
And	3	w	935
after	1	w	940
that	4	w	944
whither	1	w	952
will	3	w	956
you	6	w	959
go	7	w	961
To	1	w	966
Bactria	1	w	973
for	3	w	977
the	16	w	980
barbarians	1	w	990
too	1	w	993
must	1	w	997
be	6	w	999
blessed	1	w	1006
with	4	w	1010
my	1	w	1012
presence	1	w	1020
The	3	w	1026
other	2	w	1031
oracles	1	w	1038
at	12	w	1041
Didymus	1	w	1048
and	8	w	1051
Clarus	1	w	1057
and	9	w	1060
Delphi	1	w	1066
have	1	w	1071
they	1	w	1075
still	1	w	1080
the	19	w	1083
spirit	1	w	1089
of	8	w	1091
your	1	w	1095
grandsire	1	w	1104
Apollo	1	w	1110
or	11	w	1113
are	2	w	1116
the	20	w	1119
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that	5	w	1130
now	2	w	1133
come	1	w	1137
from	4	w	1141
them	1	w	1145
forgeries	1	w	1154
That	2	w	1161
too	2	w	1165
desire	1	w	1172
not	3	w	1175
to	11	w	1177
know	1	w	1181
it	15	w	1184
is	10	w	1186
not	4	w	1189
lawful	2	w	1195
What	1	w	1202
shall	2	w	1207
I	5	w	1208
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after	2	w	1215
this	1	w	1219
life	1	w	1223
A	9	w	1227
camel	1	w	1232
then	1	w	1237
a	83	w	1238
horse	1	w	1243
then	2	w	1248
a	84	w	1249
wise	2	w	1253
man	3	w	1256
no	8	w	1259
less	2	w	1263
a	86	w	1264
prophet	1	w	1271
than	1	w	1275
Alexander	2	w	1284
Such	1	w	1290
was	4	w	1293
the	24	w	1296
conversation	2	w	1308
There	1	w	1314
was	5	w	1317
added	1	w	1322
to	12	w	1324
it	16	w	1326
an	23	w	1328
oracle	3	w	1334
in	12	w	1336
verse	1	w	1341
inspired	1	w	1350
by	1	w	1352
the	25	w	1355
fact	1	w	1359
that	6	w	1363
Sacerdos	3	w	1371
was	6	w	1374
an	24	w	1376
associate	1	w	1385
of	9	w	1387
Lepidus	1	w	1394
Shun	1	w	1399
Lepidus	2	w	1406
an	25	w	1409
evil	1	w	1413
fate	1	w	1417
awaits	1	w	1423
him	5	w	1426
As	2	w	1429
I	6	w	1430
have	2	w	1434
said	2	w	1438
Alexander	3	w	1448
was	7	w	1451
much	1	w	1455
afraid	1	w	1461
of	10	w	1463
Epicurus	1	w	1471
and	13	w	1475
the	26	w	1478
solvent	1	w	1485
action	1	w	1491
of	11	w	1493
his	6	w	1496
logic	1	w	1501
on	17	w	1503
imposture	1	w	1512
On	1	w	1515
one	4	w	1518
occasion	1	w	1526
indeed	1	w	1533
an	28	w	1536
Epicurean	1	w	1545
got	1	w	1548
himself	2	w	1555
into	1	w	1559
great	1	w	1564
trouble	1	w	1571
by	2	w	1573
daring	1	w	1579
to	14	w	1581
expose	1	w	1587
him	7	w	1590
before	1	w	1596
a	119	w	1597
great	2	w	1602
gathering	1	w	1611
He	1	w	1614
came	2	w	1618
up	1	w	1620
and	14	w	1623
addressed	1	w	1632
him	8	w	1635
in	18	w	1637
a	125	w	1638
loud	1	w	1642
voice	1	w	1647
Alexander	4	w	1658
it	18	w	1661
was	8	w	1664
you	8	w	1667
who	2	w	1670
induced	1	w	1677
So-and-so	1	w	1686
the	28	w	1689
Paphlagonian	1	w	1701
to	15	w	1703
bring	1	w	1708
his	7	w	1711
slaves	1	w	1717
before	2	w	1723
the	29	w	1726
governor	1	w	1734
of	12	w	1736
Galatia	1	w	1743
charged	1	w	1751
with	5	w	1755
the	30	w	1758
murder	1	w	1764
of	13	w	1766
his	8	w	1769
son	1	w	1772
who	3	w	1775
was	9	w	1778
being	1	w	1783
educated	1	w	1791
in	22	w	1793
Alexandria	1	w	1803
Well	1	w	1808
the	31	w	1812
young	1	w	1817
man	4	w	1820
is	16	w	1822
alive	1	w	1827
and	18	w	1831
has	1	w	1834
come	2	w	1838
back	1	w	1842
to	16	w	1845
find	1	w	1849
that	7	w	1853
the	32	w	1856
slaves	2	w	1862
had	2	w	1865
been	1	w	1869
cast	1	w	1873
to	17	w	1875
the	33	w	1878
beasts	1	w	1884
by	3	w	1886
your	2	w	1890
machinations	1	w	1902
What	2	w	1908
had	3	w	1911
happened	1	w	1919
was	10	w	1922
this	2	w	1926
The	5	w	1930
lad	1	w	1933
had	4	w	1936
sailed	1	w	1942
up	2	w	1944
the	34	w	1947
Nile	1	w	1951
gone	1	w	1956
on	24	w	1958
to	18	w	1960
a	160	w	1961
Red	1	w	1964
Sea	1	w	1967
port	1	w	1971
found	1	w	1977
a	162	w	1978
vessel	1	w	1984
starting	1	w	1992
for	7	w	1995
India	1	w	2000
and	19	w	2004
been	2	w	2008
persuaded	1	w	2017
to	19	w	2019
make	1	w	2023
the	35	w	2026
voyage	1	w	2032
He	2	w	2035
being	2	w	2040
long	1	w	2044
overdue	1	w	2051
the	36	w	2055
unfortunate	1	w	2066
slaves	3	w	2072
supposed	1	w	2080
that	8	w	2084
he	48	w	2086
had	5	w	2089
either	1	w	2095
perished	1	w	2103
in	27	w	2105
the	38	w	2108
Nile	2	w	2112
or	21	w	2114
fallen	1	w	2120
a	174	w	2121
victim	1	w	2127
to	20	w	2129
some	1	w	2133
of	14	w	2135
the	39	w	2138
pirates	1	w	2145
who	4	w	2148
infested	1	w	2156
it	21	w	2158
at	31	w	2160
that	9	w	2164
time	1	w	2168
so	10	w	2171
they	2	w	2175
came	3	w	2179
home	2	w	2183
to	21	w	2185
report	1	w	2191
hia	1	w	2194
disappearance	1	w	2207
Then	1	w	2212
followed	1	w	2220
the	41	w	2223
oracle	4	w	2229
the	42	w	2233
sentence	1	w	2241
and	20	w	2245
finally	1	w	2252
the	43	w	2255
young	2	w	2260
man	5	w	2263
s	139	w	2265
return	1	w	2271
with	6	w	2275
the	44	w	2278
story	1	w	2283
of	15	w	2285
his	10	w	2288
absence	1	w	2295