Plutus Wealth

Chr. I was doing badly and was poor. Car. I know it well.
Chr. But others were growing rich—temple-robbers, public speakers,
and informers, and villains. Car. I believe you.
Chr. So I went to consult the god Refers to Apollo at the Delphic Oracle.,
thinking that my own miserable life was already
nearly spent original: "ektetoxeusthai" — literally "shot out," like an arrow that has already reached its mark.,
and for my son, who happens to be my only child,
to ask if he should change his ways
and become a rogue, unjust, and totally unsound,
believing this very thing to be the most profitable in life.
Car. What then did Phoebus A title for Apollo meaning "the Bright One." proclaim from the wreaths?
Chr. You shall learn. For the god told me this clearly:
Whomever I should meet first when leaving the temple,
he commanded me never to let go of that person,
but to persuade him to follow me home. And such things...

Car. And who is it you met first? Chr. This man right here.
Car. Then do you not understand the god's intent,
which tells you most clearly, you simpleton,
that your son should practice the local custom? Cario interprets the oracle as saying "follow the first person you see," and since the man is a beggar, the son should learn to be a rogue or a beggar.
Chr. How do you judge this? Car. It's clear even to a blind man
that it seems very profitable
to practice nothing sound in these current times.
Chr. It is impossible that the oracle leans toward this,
but rather toward something greater. If he would only tell us
whoever he is, and for what reason,
and why he came here following us,
we might learn what our oracle truly means.
Car. Come then, you! First, tell us who you are.

Plu. I tell you to go howl! original: "klaiein" — literally "to weep," a common Greek idiom equivalent to "go to hell" or "get lost." Chr. Tell us who you are!
I think you're saying it to him. Car. I understand
who he says he is. Chr. He says this to you, not to me.
For you are questioning him rudely and harshly.
But if you take any pleasure in the ways of an honest man,
tell me. Plu. I tell you to go howl!
Car. Accept the omen and the god's word. Carion sarcastically treats the blind man's cursing as a divine sign.
Chr. By Demeter, you shall not get away with this!
If you don't tell me who you are, I will destroy you, villain that you are!
Plu. Oh, my good sirs, depart from me! Chr. Not a chance!
And I'll tell you what's best, master,
I will destroy this fellow most miserably. He leaves...

For I'll carry him up to a cliff and leave him there,
so he might fall and break his neck.
Chr. Come, lift him quickly. Plu. No, please! Chr. Won't you speak then?
Plu. But if you learn who I am, I know well
that you will do me some harm and won't let me go.
Chr. By the gods, we will, if you truly wish it.
Plu. Let me go then first. Chr. Look, we are letting go.
Plu. Listen then. For it seems I must
speak what I was prepared to keep hidden.
For I am Wealth original: "Ploutos" — the personification of Wealth.. Chr. O you most wretched
of all men! You were Wealth and you kept silent?
Car. You are Wealth, and yet you are in such a miserable state?
Car. O Phoebus Apollo, and gods, and spirits,
and Zeus! What are you saying? Are you truly he? Plu. I certainly am.
Chr. That man himself? Plu. His very self. Chr. Tell me then, from where
do you come in such filth? Plu. I come from Patrocles' house. Patrocles was a wealthy Athenian known for his stinginess and for never bathing; hence Wealth arrives looking dirty and neglected.