Page:The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800.djvu/85



Karion. My master has fared most prosperously, or rather Ploutos himself. For, instead of being a blind man, he has been made to see again, and his pupils are clear-sighted, as he has met with a kindly friend in Asklepios the Healer.

Chorus. You give me reason for joy, reason for shouts of triumph.

Karion. Ye have reason to rejoice whether ye wish it or not.

Chorus. I will shout aloud for Asklepios of the goodly children, the great light to mortals.

Karion. Well, as soon as ever we came to the god, leading a man then, indeed, most miserable, but now blessed and fortunate, if any other is so, first we led him to the sea, and then we bathed him.

Wife of Chremulos. By Zeus, then the old man was fortunate, bathing in the cold sea.

Karion. Then we went to the sacred enclosure of the god. And when on the altar the cakes and offerings were dedicated by the flame of murky Hephaistos, we laid down Ploutos, as was proper; and each of us made up from little odds and ends a bed for himself.

Wife. Then were there certain others beside yourselves wanting the god?

Karion. Yes, Neokleides, for one, and he is blind; but in stealing has far overshot those who can see; and there were many others with all sorts of ailments. But when the minister of the deity put out the lights and told us to go to sleep and said that we were to keep silent, if any of us perceived a noise, we all lay down in an orderly manner. And I was unable to sleep, for my attention was arrested by a certain pitcher of porridge a little way off from the head of a certain old woman, and I strangely desired to creep over to that pitcher. Then I looked up and saw the priest making a clean sweep of the cakes and dried figs from the sacred table. After this he went round all the altars in a circle to see if any cakes were left anywhere. Then he consecrated them into a certain wallet; and I, believing that there was great holiness in this proceeding, rise up to go to the pitcher of porridge.

Wife. Oh you most miserable of men, were you not afraid of the god?

Karion. Yes; by the gods I was afraid lest he with his fillets should reach the pitcher before me; for the priest had already