Xut. As I came forth from the god's temple
Ion. Well! what should happen to him?
Xut. Should be my own true son.
Ion. Thy own true son, or a gift from others?
Xut. A gift, but mine for all that.
Ion. Am I the first that thou didst meet?
Xut. I have met no other, my son.
Ion. Whence came this piece of luck?
Xut. To both of us alike it causes surprise.
Ion. Ah! but who was my mother?
Xut. I cannot tell.
Ion. Did not Phœbus tell thee that?
Xut. I was so pleased with this, I did not ask him that.
Ion. I must have sprung from mother earth.
Xut. The ground brings forth no children.
Ion. How can I be thine?
Xut. I know not; I refer it to the god.
Ion. Come, let us try another theme.
Xut. Better hold to this, my son.
Ion. Didst thou e'er indulge in illicit amours?
Xut. Yes, in the folly of youth.
Ion. Ere thou didst win Erechtheus' daughter?
Xut. Never since.
Ion. Could it be, then, thou didst beget me?
Xut. The time coincides therewith.
Ion. In that case, how came I hither?
Xut. That puzzles me.
Ion. After that long journey too?
Xut. That, too, perplexes me.
Ion. Didst thou in days gone by come to the Pythian rock?
Xut. Yes, to join in the mystic rites of Bacchus.
Ion. Didst thou lodge with one of the public hosts?
Xut. With one who at Delphi
Ion. Initiated thee? or what is it thou sayest?
