_Zeus_. This is a case we must take up and see to. No wonder he is
down on his luck. We should be putting ourselves on the level of his
despicable sycophants, if we forgot all the fat ox and goat thighs he
has burnt on our altars; the savour of them is yet in my nostrils. But
I have been so busy, there is such a din of perjury, assault, and
burglary; I am so frightened of the temple-robbers--they swarm now,
you cannot keep them out, nor take a nap with any safety; and, with
one thing and another, it is an age since I had a look at Attica. I
have hardly been there since philosophy and argument came into
fashion; indeed, with their shouting-matches going on, prayers are
quite inaudible. One must sit with one's ears plugged, if one does not
want the drums of them cracked; such long vociferous rigmaroles about
Incorporeal Things, or something they call Virtue! That is how we came
to neglect this man--who really deserved better.

However, go to him now without wasting any more time, Hermes, and take
Plutus with you. Thesaurus is to accompany Plutus, and they are both
to stay with Timon, and not leave him so lightly this time, even
though the generous fellow does his best to find other hosts for them.
As to those parasites, and the ingratitude they showed him, I will
attend to them before long; they shall have their deserts as soon as I
have got the thunderbolt in order again. Its two best spikes are
broken and blunted; my zeal outran my discretion the other day when I
took that shot at Anaxagoras the sophist; the Gods non-existent,
indeed! that was what he was telling his disciples. However, I missed
him (Pericles had held up his hand to shield him), and the bolt
glanced off on to the Anaceum, set it on fire, and was itself nearly
pulverized on the rock. But meanwhile it will be quite sufficient
punishment for them to see Timon rolling in money.