Juppiter Tragoedus
Lucian of Samosata
Selections from Lucian. Smith, Emily James, translators. New York; Harper Brothers, 1892.
Timokles Beware what you are doing, wretched Damis. You are all but overturning the very seats and altars of the gods with your arguments.
Damis No, not all their altars, Timokles; for what harm do they do if they are full of incense and fragrance? But those of Artemis in Tauris I should be delighted to see turned upsidedown, whereon the maiden goddess feasts joyously on the things we wot of.
Zeus Whence has this overwhelming evil come upon us? There is not a divinity that the man stands in awe of. He speaks his mind as freely as a wench in a procession, and he
Momos In truth, Zeus, you would find very few who do not deserve it among us. And surely the man will go on to lay hold of even the very greatest.