here is a point: suppose one of them is gold, and heavy at that,
but not finely finished, quite amateurish and ill proportioned, in
fact--is he to take precedence of Myron's and Polyclitus's bronze,
or Phidias's and Alcamenes's marble? or is workmanship to count
most?

_Zeus_. It should by rights. Never mind, put the gold first.

_Herm_. I see; property qualification, comparative wealth, is
the test, not merit.--Gold to the front row, please.--Zeus, the
front row will be exclusively barbarian, I observe. You see the
peculiarity of the Greek contingent: they have grace and beauty and
artistic workmanship, but they are all marble or bronze--the most
costly of them only ivory with just an occasional gleam of gold,
the merest surface-plating; and even those are wood inside,
harbouring whole colonies of mice. Whereas Bendis here, Anubis
there, Attis next door, and Mithras and Men, are all of solid gold,
heavy and intrinsically precious.

_Pos_. Hermes, is it in order that this dog-faced Egyptian
person should sit in front of me, Posidon?

_Herm_. Certainly. You see, Earth-shaker, the Corinthians had
no gold at the time, so Lysippus made you of paltry bronze; Dog-
face is a whole gold-mine richer than you. You must put up with
being moved back, and not object to the owner of such a golden
snout being preferred.

_Aph_. Then, Hermes, find me a place in the front row; I am
golden.