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HERMES No fear, you will soon have her bringing into the world a Cerberus or a Geryon, to make more work for Heracles here.The progeny of three Cynics is expected to have three heads, like the dog Cerberus, whom Heracles, as his eleventh labour, brought up from Hades, or three bodies, like Geryon, whose cattle Heracles lifted as his tenth labour. —But they are coming out, so there is no need to knock at the door. FIRST SLAVE-OWNER I’ve got you, Scarabee! Now you have nothing to say, have you? Come, let us see what your wallet. has in it, lupines, no doubt, or a crust of bread. No, by Zeus! A purse of gold!
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HERACLES Don’t be surprised! Formerly, in Greece, he claimed to be a Cynic, but here he reveals himself in his true colours as a Chrysippean. Therefore you shall soon see him a Cleanthes, for he is going to be hung up by the beard because he is such a villain.Lucian is playing on names here. When Scarabee was a Cynic, he had gone to the “dogs.” Now, as a devotee of gold, he can only be styled a Chrysippean; ergo a Stoic. It may be that Lucian is japing at something in the history of Cleanthes with his talk about beards and hanging, but there is no evidence except a late scholium on Longaevi, 19, which says that Cleanthes died of starvation or strangulation. Anyhow, hanging Scarabee up by the beard will certainly make a “Famous Posy” of him.
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SECOND SLAVE-OWNER And you, scoundrel! are you not Pomander, who ran away from me? Nobody else! O how you make me laugh! After that, what cannot happen? Even Pomander a philosopher!
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HERMES This third fellow—has he no master among you? THIRD SLAVE-OWNER Yes, I am his master, but even so, I gladly consign him to perdition! Why?
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HERMES THIRD SLAVE-OWNER Because he is a fearful sort of rotter. The name we used to call him was Stinkadore.
