10
I met at the door a number of people, and among them, carried on the shoulders of four bearers, the man whose place I was to have filled, who they said was ill; and in fact he was clearly ina bad way. At any rate he groaned and coughed and hawked in a hollow and Giencive way, and was all pale and flabby, a man of about sixty. He was said to be one of those philosophers who talk rubbish to the boys, and in fact. he had a regular goat’s beard, excessively long. And when Archibius, the doctor, took him to task for coming in that condition, “Duty,” he said, “must not be shirked, especially by a philosopher, though a thousand illnesses stand in his way; Eucrates would think he had been slighted by me.” “No indeed,” ‘said I, “He will commend you if you choose to die at home rather than to hawk and spit your life away at his party!” But the man’s pride was so great that he pretended not to have heard the sally. In a moment Eucrates joined us after his bath, and on seeing ‘Thesmopolis—for that was the philosopher’s name—he said: “Professor, it was very good of you to come to us, but you would not have fared any the worse if you had stayed away, for everything from first to last would have been sent you.” With that he started to go in, conducting Thesmopolis, who was supported by the servants too.
