The Works of Lucian of Samosata Author:Lucian Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: I have no fancy for a short-lived visionary wealth, with the humiliating sequel of barley-bread and no butter. That will be your fate presently. Your bliss and y... more »our wealth will take wings; you will wake from your charming dreams of treasure and diadems, to find that your domestic arrangements are of quite another kind, like the actors who take the king's part in tragedies;—their late majesties King Agamemnon and King Creon usually return to very short commons on leaving the theatre. Some depression, some discontent at your existing arrangements, is to be expected on the occasion. You will be the worst off, Timolaus. Your flying-machine will come to grief, like that of Icarus; you will descend from the skies, and foot it on the ground; and all those rings will slip off and be lost. As for me, I am content with the exquisite amusement afforded me by your various wishes; I would not exchange it for all the treasure in the world, Babylon included. And you call yourselves philosophers ! F. DIALOGUES OF THE HETAERAE Glycera. Thais Gly. Thais, that Acarnanian soldier, who used to be so fond of Abrotonum, and then fell in love with me—he was decorated, and wore a military cloak—do you know the man I mean ? I suppose you have forgotten him ? Th. Oh no, dear, I know; why, he shared our table last harvest festival. Well ? you look as if you had something to tell me about him. Gly. That wicked Gorgona (such a friend of mine, to be sure !) —she has stolen him away from me. Th. What! he has given you up, and taken her in your place ? Gly. Yes, dear ; isn't it horrid of her ? 77?. Well, Glycera darling, it is wicked, of course ; but it is not very surprising; it is what all we poor girls do. You mustn't be too much vexed ; I shouldn't blame her, if I were you; Abrotonum n...« less