Texte grec :
| [4,90] ἢ ὡς εἰώθασιν ἔνιοι τῶν περὶ τὰς τελετὰς καὶ τὰ καθάρσια, μῆνιν Ἑκάτης
ἱλασκόμενοί τε καὶ ἐξάντη φάσκοντες ποιήσειν, ἔπειτα οἶμαι φάσματα
πολλὰ καὶ ποικίλα πρὸ τῶν καθαρμῶν ἐξηγούμενοι καὶ
(91) ἐπιδεικνύντες, ἅ φασιν ἐπιπέμπειν χολουμένην τὴν θεόν. εἶεν·
ὁ μὲν δὴ φιλοχρήματος δαίμων χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου καὶ γῆς καὶ
βοσκημάτων καὶ συνοικιῶν καὶ πάσης κτήσεως ἐραστής. ἆρα οὐκ
ἂν σκυθρωπός τε καὶ συννεφὴς ἰδεῖν ἐν σχήματι ταπεινῷ καὶ
ἀγεννεῖ πλάττοιτο ὑπὸ δημιουργοῦ μὴ φαύλου τὴν τέχνην; αὐχμηρὸς
καὶ ῥυπῶν, οὔτε παῖδας ἢ γονέας οὔτε πατρίδα φιλῶν, ἢ συγγένειαν
ἄλλο τι νομίζων ἢ τὰ χρήματα, τοὺς δὲ θεοὺς πλέον οὐδὲν εἶναι
λογιζόμενος, ὅ τι μὴ πολλοὺς αὐτῷ μηδὲ μεγάλους θησαυροὺς
παραδεικνύουσιν ἢ θανάτους οἰκείων τινῶν καὶ συγγενῶν, ὅπως ἔχοι
κληρονομεῖν, τὰς δὲ ἑορτὰς ζημίαν ἄλλως ἡγούμενος καὶ ματαίαν
(92) δαπάνην, ἀγέλαστος καὶ ἀμειδίατος, ὑφορώμενος ἅπαντας καὶ
βλαβεροὺς ἡγούμενος καὶ ἀπιστῶν πᾶσιν, ἁρπακτικὸν βλέπων, ἀεὶ
κινῶν τοὺς δακτύλους, ἤτοι τὴν αὑτοῦ λογιζόμενος οὐσίαν ἢ τῶν
ἄλλων τινός, τἄλλα δὲ ἀναίσθητος καὶ ἀμαθής, παιδείας καὶ γραμμάτων
καταγελῶν, πλὴν ὅσον περὶ λογισμοὺς καὶ συμβόλαια, τυφλοῦ
(93) δικαίως καὶ λεγομένου καὶ γραφομένου τοῦ πλούτου τυφλότερος
ἐραστής, περὶ πάντα λυττῶν κτήματα καὶ οὐδὲν ἀπόβλητον ἡγούμενος,
οὐχ ὥσπερ τὴν μαγνῆτιν λίθον ἕλκειν φασὶ πρὸς αὑτὴν τὸν
σίδηρον, ἀλλὰ καὶ χαλκὸν καὶ μόλυβδον προσαγόμενος, κἂν ψάμμον
ἢ λίθον διδῷ τις, πανταχῇ καὶ περὶ πάντα σχεδόν τι τὸ ἔχειν τοῦ
μὴ ἔχειν λυσιτελέστερόν τε καὶ ἄμεινον ἡγούμενος, μάλιστα δὲ περὶ
τὴν τοῦ ἀργυρίου κτῆσιν ἔκφρων καὶ συντεταμένος, ὅτι δὴ τάχιστα
κἀδαπανώτατα πρόεισι, σὺν ἡμέρᾳ καὶ νυκτὶ προβαῖνον καὶ φθάνον
(94) οἶμαι τὰς τῆς σελήνης περιόδους, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀπεχθείας καὶ τὸ τοῦ
μίσους καὶ τῶν βλασφημιῶν οὐδαμῇ λογιζόμενος, ἔτι δὲ τῇ μὲν
ἄλλῃ κτήσει καλλωπισμόν τινα προσεῖναι καὶ διατριβὴν ἡγούμενος,
τὸ δὲ ἀργύριον ὡς ἐν βραχυτάτῳ συνειληφέναι τὴν τοῦ πλούτου δύναμιν.
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Traduction française :
| [4,90] or else we might follow the practice
of some of those who deal with initiations
and rites of purification, who appease the wrath of
Hecate and undertake to make a person sound,
and then before the cleansing process, as I understand,
set forth and point to the many and various
visions that, as they daim, the goddess sends when angry.
(91) "Well then, the avaricious spirit craves gold,
silver, lands, cattle, blocks of houses, and every kind
of possession. Would it not be represented by a
good artist as downcast and gloomy of appearance,
humble and mean of dressaye, as squalid and ragged,
loving neither children nor parents nor native land,
and recognizing no kinship but that of money, and
considering the gods as nothing more than that which
reveals to him many vast treasures or the deaths of
certain kinsfolk and connections from whom he might
inherit, regarding our holy festivals as sheer loss and
useless expense, never laughing or smiling, eyeing
all with suspicion and thinking them dangerous,
distrusting everybody, having a rapacious look, ever
twitching his fingers as he computes his own property,
I take it, or that of someone elsea spirit not only
without appreciation or capacity for any other thing,
but scoffing at education and literature except when
they have to do with estimates and contracts, the still
blinder lover of wealth, which is rightly described and
portrayed as blind ; mad about every kind of possession
and thinking that nothing should be thrown
away; unlike the magnetic stone, which they
say attracts iron to itself, but amassing copper and
lead as well, yes, even sand and rock if anyone gives
them, and everywhere and in almost every case regarding
possession as more profitable and better than
non-possession. He is most frantic and eager, however,
to get money, simply because success here is quickest
and cheapest, since money goes on piling up day
and night and outstrips, I ween, the circuits of the
moon. He recks naught of dislike, hate, and curses
and, besides, holds that while other kinds of
possessions may be pretty baubles wherewith to
amuse oneself, money, to put it succinctly, is the
very essence of wealth.
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