4
LYCINUS Heavens, Crato, what sharp teeth there are in this dog of yours that you have let loose on us! But as for your parallel, the simile of the Lotus-Eaters and the Sirens, it seems to me quite unlike what I have been through, since in the case of those who tasted the lotus and heard the Sirens, death was the penalty for their eating and listening, while in my case not only is the pleasure more exquisite by a great deal but the outcome is happy; I am not altered into forgetfulness of things at home or ignorance of my own concerns, but—if I may speak my mind without any hesitancy—I have come back to you from the theatre with far more wisdom and more insight into life. Or rather, I may well put it just as Homer does: he who has seen this spectacle Goes on his way diverted and knowing more than aforetime. Odyssey, XII, 188. CRATO Heracles, Lycinus! How deeply you have been affected! You are not even ashamed of it all but actually seem proud. In fact, that is the worst part of it: you do not show us any hope of a cure when you dare to praise what is so shameful and abominable.
5
LYCINUS Tell me, Crato, do you pass this censure upon dancing and what goes on in the theatre after having seen it often yourself, or is it that without being acquainted with the spectacle, you nevertheless account it shameful and abominable, as you put it? If you have seen it, you have put yourself on the same footing with us; if not, take care that your censure does not seem unreasonable and overbold when you denounce things of which you know nothing.
5
CRATO Why, is that what was still in store for me—with beard so long and hair so grey, to sit in the midst of a parcel of hussies and a frantic audience like that, clapping my hands, moreover, and shouting very unbecoming words of praise to a noxious fellow who doubles himself up for no useful purpose?
