Page:Thucydides, translated into English Vol 1.djvu/255

 53,531 THE PLAGUE 139 in wild disorder. ^The dead lay as they had died, one upon another, while others hardly alive wallowed -"^ in the streets and crawled about every fountain craving for water. The temples in which they lodged were full of the corpses of those who died in them; for the violence of the calamity was such that men, not knowing where to turn, grew reck- less of all law, human and divine. The Cme,al vhhUon of customs which had hitherto been ob- audait customs of served at funerals were universally ^"'■""'• violated, and they buried their dead each one as best he could. Many, having no proper appliances, because the deaths in their household had been so numerous already, lost all shame in the burial of the dead''. When one man had raised a funeral pile, others would come, and throwing on their dead first, set fire to it ; or when some other corpse was already burning, before they could be stopped, would throw their own dead upon it and depart. There were other and worse forms of lawlessness 53 which the plague introduced at Athens. All legal and religious Men who had hitherto concealed what restraint disappears in they took pleasure in, now grew bolder. "" '''*'"' "/^^'^ ^'"-"'^^• For, seeing the sudden change, — how the rich died in a moment, and those who had nothing immediately in- herited their property,— they reflected that life and riches were alike transitory, and they resolved to enjoy them- selves while they could, and to think only of pleasure. Who would be willing to sacrifice himself to the law of honour when he knew not whether he would ever live to be held in honour? The pleasure of the moment and any sort of thing which conduced to it took the place both of honour and of expediency. No fear of Gods or law of <^ man deterred a criminal. Those who saw all perishing alike, thought that the worship or neglect of the Gods » More literally: 'Thej', dying, lay dead one upon another, or wal- lowed hardly alive ' &c. '' See note ad loc.