[13,5] πάλιν δ´ αὖ παρ´ ἑτέρῳ ποιητῇ τῶν ὕστερον τὴν Ἠλέκτραν πυνθανομένην ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ λυπηρῶς καὶ ἐλεοῦσαν αὐτὸν τῆς φυγῆς, οὕτω πως ἐρωτῶσαν· ποῦ γῆς ὁ τλήμων τλήμονας φυγὰς ἔχει; καὶ τὸν οὐχ ἧττον ἐλεεινῶς ἀποκρινόμενον, οὐχ ἕνα νομίζων φθείρεται πόλεως τόπον· τὴν δὲ αὖθις ἐρωτῶσαν, ἦπου σπανίζει τοῦ καθ´ ἡμέραν βίου; κἀκεῖνον οὕτως λέγοντα· ἔχει μέν, ἀσθενῆ δέ, ἅτε φεύγων ἀνήρ, (6) πρὸς δὲ τούτοις μυρία δὴ τολμηθέντα τολμήματα καὶ πολέμους πολεμηθέντας ὑπὸ φυγάδων, ὅπως οἴκαδε κατέλθοιεν, πρός τε τοὺς δήμους καὶ τοὺς τυράννους τοὺς ἐξελάσαντας παρὰ δύναμιν, μέγα νομιζόντων, εἰ καὶ δέοι τελευτᾶν μαχομένους ἐν τῇ αὑτῶν γῇ· σύμπαντα ταῦτά με ἐξέπληττε καὶ ἠνάγκαζε δεινὸν ἡγεῖσθαι καὶ βαρὺ τὸ συμβεβηκός. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐνεθυμήθην ὅτι Κροίσῳ τῷ Λυδῶν βασιλεῖ συνεβούλευσεν ὁ Ἀπόλλων συμβάντος τινὸς φεύγειν ἑκόντα καταλιπόντα τὴν ἀρχήν, καὶ μηδὲν αἰσχύνεσθαι τούτου ἕνεκεν, εἰ δόξει κακὸς εἶναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οὕτω πως θεσπίσας· (7) ἀλλ´ ὅταν ἡμίονος βασιλεὺς Μήδοισι γένηται, καὶ τότε, Λυδὲ ποδαβρέ, πολυψήφιδα παρ´ Ἕρμον φεύγειν μηδὲ μένειν μηδ´ αἰδεῖσθαι κακὸς εἶναι, δῆλον ὅτι τὴν αἰδῶ νῦν ἀντὶ τῆς αἰσχύνης ὀνομάζων, ὥσπερ ἔθος ἐστὶ τοῖς ποιηταῖς, καὶ τὸ κακὸν εἶναι ἀντὶ τῆς δόξης τῆς παρὰ τοῖς (8) πολλοῖς· ἐκ δὲ τούτου ἐνεθυμούμην ὅτι οὐ πάντως ἡ φυγὴ βλαβερὸν οὐδὲ ἀσύμφορον οὐδὲ τὸ μένειν ἀγαθὸν καὶ πολλοῦ ἄξιον (οὐ γὰρ ἂν τὸ μὲν αὐτῶν παρῄνει καὶ συνεβούλευεν ὁ Ἀπόλλων, τὸ φεύγειν, τὸ δὲ μένειν ἄντικρυς ἀπηγόρευε, καὶ ταῦτα ἀνδρὶ θεσπίζων, ὃς ἦν ἐπιμελέστατος περὶ τὸ θεῖον καὶ θυσίας τε πλείστας ἔθυε καὶ μέγιστα ἀναθήματα πεπόμφει τῶν πώποτε ἀναθέντων εἰς Δελφοὺς) (9) ταῦτα ἐνθυμουμένῳ μοι ἔδοξε καὶ αὐτὸν εἰς θεοῦ βαδίσαντα χρήσασθαι συμβούλῳ {ἱκανῶς} κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸν ἔθος τῶν Ἑλλήνων. οὐ γὰρ περὶ νόσου μὲν καὶ ἀπαιδίας, {εἴ τῳ μὴ γίγνοιντο παῖδες,} καὶ περὶ καρπῶν ἱκανῶς συμβουλεύειν αὐτόν, περὶ δὲ τοιούτου πράγματος ἧττον δυνήσεσθαι. καὶ δὴ χρωμένῳ μοι ἀνεῖλεν ἄτοπόν τινα χρησμὸν καὶ οὐ ῥᾴδιον συμβαλεῖν. ἐκέλευε γάρ με αὐτὸ τοῦτο πράττειν ἐν ᾧ εἰμι πάσῃ προθυμίᾳ, ὡς καλήν τινα καὶ συμφέρουσαν πρᾶξιν, ἕως ἄν, ἔφη, ἐπὶ τὸ ἔσχατον ἀπέλθῃς τῆς γῆς. καίτοι χαλεπὸν καὶ κατ´ ἄνθρωπον ψεύδεσθαι, μὴ ὅτι κατὰ θεόν.

[13,5] And then again I recalled how in one of the later poets Electra, when enquiring about her brother in mournful fashion and pitying him for his exile, asks in somewhat the following fashion, "Where does the wretched man his wretched exile spend?" And he replies no less piteously, "In no one settled region doth he so waste away." Then she again asks, "Does he perchance live scant of daily bread?" And he replies thus, "Nay, bread he hath, but strengthless, exile's fare". (6) And in addition to all this I recalled countless deeds of valour performed and wars waged by exiles seeking thus to be restored to their homes, wars waged beyond their strength against the popular governments and despotisms by which they had been driven out, for they counted it a great achievement to fight on their own soil even if it meant their death. All these recollections frightened me and forced me to consider what had happened to me a terrible and onerous thing. But again, I reflected that Croesus, the king of the Lydians, was advised by Apollo, when a certain mischance fell, to leave his kingdom and go voluntarily into exile, and not to feel himself disgraced if he should be looked upon by men as a coward, the oracle running somewhat as follows : "Wait till the time shall come when a mule is monarch of Media: Then, thou delicate Lydian, away to the pebbles of Hermus ; Haste thee and no longer stay, nor have awe of being a coward." It is evident that the poet uses `awe ' instead of 'shame' as is the custom the poets have, and `being a coward ' in place of `being thought so by the many.' Then next the thought came to me that exile is not altogether injurious or unprofitable, nor staying at home a good and praiseworthy thing. For Apollo would not have urged and advised the one course, to wit, going into exile, and have expressly forbidden the other course, staying, especially when prophesying to a man who had been most careful about divine observances and had offered the most sacrifices and sent to Delphi the largest votive offerings ever set up there. (9) Bearing in mind all these things I decided to go to the god's temple myself and consult him, as a competent adviser, according to the ancient custom of the Greeks. For surely, thought I, if he gives competent advice about sickness and, if children are not born to a man, about childlessness, and about harvests, he will not show any less ability about such a case as mine. And then when I consulted him, he gave me a strange sort of reply and one not easy to interpret. For he bade me to keep on doing with all zeal the very thing wherein I am engaged, as being a most honourable and useful activity, "until thou comest," said he, "to the uttermost parts of the earth." And yet lying is a harsh thing to impute and not consistent with even a man's standards, to say nothing of a god's.