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burst into the house where Pittalacus was living. First they smashed the implements of his trade and tossed them into the street—sundry diceProbably the scholiast is right in explaining ἀστραγάλους διασείστους shaken astragali, as the gamester’ s name for a sort of dice. Perhaps the hearers would understand that they were loaded dice. Benseler, however, approves Dorville’ s explanation, that these dice had been many a time before now shaken between Pittalacus and the rascals who are now tossing them into the street. and dice-boxes, and his gaming utensils in general; they killed the quails and cocks, so well beloved by the miserable man; and finally they tied Pittalacus himself to the pillar and gave him an inhuman whipping, which lasted until even the neighbors heard the uproar.
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The next day Pittalacus, exceeding angry over the affair, comes without his cloak to the marketplace and seats himself at the altar of the Mother of the Gods. And when, as always happens, a crowd of people had come running up, Hegesandrus and Timarchus, afraid that their disgusting vices were going to be published to the whole town—a meeting of the assembly was about to be held—hurried up to the altar themselves, and some of their gaming-companions with them,
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and surrounding Pittalacus begged him to get up, saying that the whole thing was only a drunken frolic; and this man himself, not yet, by Zeus, repulsive to the sight as he is now, but still usable, begged, touching the fellow’ s chin, and saying he would do anything Pittalacus pleased. At last they persuaded him to get up from the altar, believing that he was going to receive some measure of justice. But as soon as he had left the marketplace, they paid no more attention to him.
