1–2
MENIPPUS Friend, ’twas necessity drew me below to the kingdom of Hades, There to obtain, from the spirit of Theban Teiresias, counsel.Odyssey, 11, 164. Lucian substitutes “Friend” for Homer’s “Mother.” FRIEND Man, you are surely out of your mind, or you would not recite verse in that way to your friends!
MENIPPUS Don’t be surprised, my dear fellow. I have just been in the company of Euripides and Homer, so that somehow or other I have become filled with poetry, and verses come unbidden to my lips.The Greek words form a trimeter, possibly borrowed from some comedy.
5
But tell me, how are things going on earth, and what are they doing in the city?
FRIEND Nothing new; just what they did before—stealing, lying under oath, extorting usury, and weighing pennies.
MENIPPUS Poor wretches! They do not know what decisions have been made of late in the lower world, and what ordinances have been enacted against the rich; by Cerberus, they cannot possibly evade them!
FRIEND What is that? Has any radical legislation been passed in the lower world affecting the upper?
MENIPPUS Yes, by Zeus, a great deal; but it is not right to publish it broadcast and expose their secrets. Someone might indict me for impiety in the court of Rhadamanthus,
5
FRIEND Oh, no, Menippus! In Heaven’s name don’t withhold your story from a friend! You will be telling a man who knows how to keep his mouth shut, and who, moreover, has been initiated into the mysteries,
