Dio. No,[1] but the Zeus who married Semele in Hellas.
Pen. Was it by night or in the face of day that he constrained thee?
Dio. ’Twas face to face he intrusted his mysteries to me.
Pen. Pray, what special feature stamps thy rites?
Dio. That is a secret to be hidden from the uninitiated.
Pen. What profit bring they to their votaries?
Dio. Thou must not be told, though ’tis well worth knowing.
Pen. A pretty piece of trickery, to excite my curiosity!
Dio. A man of godless life is an abomination to the rites of the god.
Pen. Thou sayest thou didst see the god clearly; what was he like?
Dio. What his fancy chose; I was not there to order this.
Pen. Another clever twist and turn of thine, without a word of answer.
Dio. He were a fool, methinks, who would utter wisdom to a fool.
Pen. Hast thou come hither first with this deity?
Dio. All foreigners already celebrate these mysteries with dances.
Pen. The reason being, they are far behind Hellenes in wisdom.
Dio. In this at least far in advance, though their customs differ.
Pen. Is it by night or day thou performest these devotions?
Dio. By night mostly; darkness lends solemnity.
Pen. Calculated to entrap and corrupt women.
Dio. Day too for that matter may discover shame.
- ↑ Reading with Musgrave, οὒκ, ἀλλ’ ὁ Σεμέλην ἐνθάδε ζεύξας γάμοις.
