Alexander the Oracle-monger (44-45)

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0062.tlg038.perseus-eng4:44-45

Refs	`{'start': {'reference': '44', 'human_reference': 'Section 44'}, 'end': {'reference': '45', 'human_reference': 'Section 45'}}`
Ancestors	`[]`
Children	`[]`

plain text • XML

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.

All this the Epicurean recounted. Alexander was much annoyed by the exposure, and could not stomach so well deserved an affront; he directed the company to stone the man, on pain of being involved in his impiety and called Epicureans. However, when they set to work, a distinguished Pontic called Demostratus, who was staying there, rescued him by interposing his own body; the man had the narrowest possible escape from being stoned to death—as he richly deserved to be; what business had he to be the only sane man in a crowd of madmen, and needlessly make himself the butt of Paphlagonian infatuation?

Tokens

On	1	w	2
one	1	w	5
occasion	1	w	13
indeed	1	w	20
an	1	w	23
Epicurean	1	w	32
got	1	w	35
himself	1	w	42
into	1	w	46
great	1	w	51
trouble	1	w	58
by	1	w	60
daring	1	w	66
to	2	w	68
expose	1	w	74
him	2	w	77
before	1	w	83
a	6	w	84
great	2	w	89
gathering	1	w	98
He	1	w	101
came	1	w	105
up	1	w	107
and	1	w	110
addressed	1	w	119
him	3	w	122
in	5	w	124
a	12	w	125
loud	1	w	129
voice	1	w	134
Alexander	1	w	145
it	1	w	148
was	1	w	151
you	1	w	154
who	1	w	157
induced	1	w	164
So-and-so	1	w	173
the	2	w	176
Paphlagonian	1	w	188
to	3	w	190
bring	1	w	195
his	1	w	198
slaves	1	w	204
before	2	w	210
the	3	w	213
governor	1	w	221
of	1	w	223
Galatia	1	w	230
charged	1	w	238
with	1	w	242
the	4	w	245
murder	1	w	251
of	2	w	253
his	2	w	256
son	1	w	259
who	2	w	262
was	2	w	265
being	1	w	270
educated	1	w	278
in	9	w	280
Alexandria	1	w	290
Well	1	w	295
the	5	w	299
young	1	w	304
man	1	w	307
is	3	w	309
alive	1	w	314
and	5	w	318
has	1	w	321
come	1	w	325
back	1	w	329
to	4	w	332
find	1	w	336
that	1	w	340
the	6	w	343
slaves	2	w	349
had	1	w	352
been	1	w	356
cast	1	w	360
to	5	w	362
the	7	w	365
beasts	1	w	371
by	2	w	373
your	1	w	377
machinations	1	w	389
What	1	w	395
had	2	w	398
happened	1	w	406
was	3	w	409
this	1	w	413
The	1	w	417
lad	1	w	420
had	3	w	423
sailed	1	w	429
up	2	w	431
the	8	w	434
Nile	1	w	438
gone	1	w	443
on	7	w	445
to	6	w	447
a	47	w	448
Red	1	w	451
Sea	1	w	454
port	1	w	458
found	1	w	464
a	49	w	465
vessel	1	w	471
starting	1	w	479
for	3	w	482
India	1	w	487
and	6	w	491
been	2	w	495
persuaded	1	w	504
to	7	w	506
make	1	w	510
the	9	w	513
voyage	1	w	519
He	2	w	522
being	2	w	527
long	1	w	531
overdue	1	w	538
the	10	w	542
unfortunate	1	w	553
slaves	3	w	559
supposed	1	w	567
that	2	w	571
he	12	w	573
had	4	w	576
either	1	w	582
perished	1	w	590
in	14	w	592
the	12	w	595
Nile	2	w	599
or	7	w	601
fallen	1	w	607
a	61	w	608
victim	1	w	614
to	8	w	616
some	1	w	620
of	3	w	622
the	13	w	625
pirates	1	w	632
who	3	w	635
infested	1	w	643
it	4	w	645
at	12	w	647
that	3	w	651
time	1	w	655
so	4	w	658
they	1	w	662
came	2	w	666
home	1	w	670
to	9	w	672
report	1	w	678
hia	1	w	681
disappearance	1	w	694
Then	1	w	699
followed	1	w	707
the	15	w	710
oracle	1	w	716
the	16	w	720
sentence	1	w	728
and	7	w	732
finally	1	w	739
the	17	w	742
young	2	w	747
man	2	w	750
s	40	w	752
return	1	w	758
with	2	w	762
the	18	w	765
story	1	w	770
of	4	w	772
his	4	w	775
absence	1	w	782
All	1	w	786
this	2	w	790
the	19	w	793
Epicurean	2	w	802
recounted	1	w	811
Alexander	2	w	821
was	4	w	824
much	1	w	828
annoyed	1	w	835
by	3	w	837
the	20	w	840
exposure	1	w	848
and	9	w	852
could	1	w	857
not	1	w	860
stomach	1	w	867
so	5	w	869
well	1	w	873
deserved	1	w	881
an	18	w	883
affront	1	w	890
he	25	w	893
directed	1	w	901
the	21	w	904
company	1	w	911
to	12	w	913
stone	1	w	918
the	22	w	921
man	3	w	924
on	11	w	927
pain	1	w	931
of	5	w	933
being	3	w	938
involved	1	w	946
in	20	w	948
his	6	w	951
impiety	1	w	958
and	10	w	961
called	1	w	967
Epicureans	1	w	977
However	1	w	985
when	1	w	990
they	2	w	994
set	1	w	997
to	14	w	999
work	1	w	1003
a	89	w	1005
distinguished	1	w	1018
Pontic	1	w	1024
called	2	w	1030
Demostratus	1	w	1041
who	4	w	1045
was	5	w	1048
staying	1	w	1055
there	1	w	1060
rescued	1	w	1068
him	4	w	1071
by	4	w	1073
interposing	1	w	1084
his	7	w	1087
own	1	w	1090
body	1	w	1094
the	25	w	1098
man	4	w	1101
had	5	w	1104
the	26	w	1107
narrowest	1	w	1116
possible	1	w	1124
escape	1	w	1130
from	1	w	1134
being	4	w	1139
stoned	1	w	1145
to	16	w	1147
death	1	w	1152
as	10	w	1155
he	34	w	1157
richly	1	w	1163
deserved	2	w	1171
to	17	w	1173
be	10	w	1175
what	1	w	1180
business	1	w	1188
had	6	w	1191
he	35	w	1193
to	18	w	1195
be	11	w	1197
the	27	w	1200
only	1	w	1204
sane	1	w	1208
man	5	w	1211
in	27	w	1213
a	104	w	1214
crowd	1	w	1219
of	6	w	1221
madmen	1	w	1227
and	11	w	1231
needlessly	1	w	1241
make	2	w	1245
himself	2	w	1252
the	28	w	1255
butt	1	w	1259
of	7	w	1261
Paphlagonian	2	w	1273
infatuation	1	w	1284