Appalachian Wireless is Appalachian Advantage. Unlimited text talk and two gigs of data for as low as $45 a month. Or if you like, get five lines on eight gigs of data for just $145 a month. Sea store for details. Better service, bigger savings. That's today's Appalachian Wireless and East Kentucky Network Company. It's festival season in the mountains and folks in Paintsville are gearing up for the 2017 Kentucky Apple Festival. Carnival rides are in place and vendors are setting up, getting ready for these nearly empty streets to be filled with thousands of people this weekend. Festival officials say the Kentucky Apple Festival is more than just an event. It's a homecoming. It's not just an event. A lot of people get together. This is one of the few times that you're able to come back to the Paintsville, see their family and friends, and catch up with a lot of folks. So it's a really big social event on top of all the fun they get to have and all the activities too. A lot of great arts and crafts here. A lot of nice flea market items and great carnival rides for the kids. So a lot of good food booths as usual. A lot of good entertainment lined up. We've got several concerts going here downtown. So if you can't find anything doing Paintsville on Friday night, you've got a problem. The festival does so much more than just give people something to do. It gives the local economy a much needed boost. I would really love people to come down and just give it a chance this year and try it. It's going to be a little different. It's going to be beautiful weather. All the stores are going to be open and just support your local businesses. Support your local areas. Your churches, your schools, everything like that because people do depend on that through the year. It's easy for small businesses when Apple Day is here. Without it, I don't know what I would do because it really helps me. It really does. For more information on the Kentucky Apple Festival, visit the web address listed on your screen. Reporting from Paintsville, I'm Sean Allen for EKB News.


So here's the new Panasonic the upcoming full-frame camera right here. So hi, so who are you? Hi, I'm Tamar Stan from Panasonic Europe technical marketing team. Good to have you. So this is very exciting, right? Panasonic is the leader in Micro Four Thirds doing amazing stuff in Micro Four Thirds and all kinds of other professional cameras and all that. Now you're entering the full-frame market. Yes, we do.  I mean, I know it's using the Leica style mount, right? That is correct. It is going to be a full-frame camera. We will launch it early 2019 and it is incorporating the Leica L mount. So for sure, 2019 early already the release or just more information is coming early 2019. It's coming early 2019. And can we look around just a little bit? So this is not the total final design, right? It is not a final design. That is a development announcement. We have a development mock-up and this is a prototype and it's not final. But of course, you can admire the beauty of it already. And you do say that it has an XQD and an SD card, so dual memory. It has two card slots, one for SD. I'm not showing them right now, but I cannot open this yet. It will have two card slots, one for SD and one for XQD. Nice. And so there will be a poly-microphone headphone jack. That's what it looks like over here at least. This is not a final design and I cannot comment on any interfaces yet. And it's supposed to have a very high resolution EVF, the highest in the market. That was part of the announcement, right? We are aiming to be industry leading. Industry leading EVF, a nice, hopefully nice display right here. And a battery life and all this more details will come later. So it has 4K60. We are at the development stage. So of course, detailed specs cannot be announced yet because this is not a finished product. And 4K60, I'm hoping will do like the GH5 unlimited recording. That'll be so cool. We'll see. And then then there's different lens already three lens announced. Yes, we will launch at the same time as the camera. Three lenses to go with it. It's going to be a 24-205mm zoom lens as well as a tele 70-200mm lens. And we developed a prime lens, which is going to be 15mm, 1.4 with a very high image quality that is going to be industry standard. So that's 1.4. You don't say the focal on this one, right? We don't have it yet. Hopefully it's a good one too. So so it's bigger than the micro four thirds for sure. Like the whole the lenses and everything is part of the optics of full frame.  And there was some other things you said there was going to be 10 lenses by 2020. That's a roadmap. Our roadmap is including the goal of having developed 10 lenses by 2020. And there's already some lenses available from Leica. They will be probably more. Yes, we are using the L mount, which is a Leica mount. That means that all available L mount lenses that are native to the Leica SL system, which is right now six lenses, eight lenses available. And Leica just announced two more to be become available within the next year, I think. And they're all fully comfortable. Is there any talk about pricing yet or not yet? We are at the development stage. So pricing is not something we can talk about right now. Nice. So hopefully it will be a great grip and the weight and everything. But that's all to be confirmed also is coming later. Of course. Yeah. Nice.


So there's a question it seems many of us have, and that is, what happens to all our total weapons, shields, grenades and so forth when this spooky harvest event ends? Well today guys, I bring you the answer. How's it going guys? My name is DP Gen and I'd like to thank you for stopping by and checking out the video. If you do enjoy leaving a like, seriously helps me out and subscribe if you want to see more Borderlands. So the Bloody Harvest event consists of us obtaining new variants of items for the most part, besides four exclusive Legendaries to this event, but new variants of said items with an additional effect known as terror which can come and affect said weapons via being anointed. And these can affect our builds in many different ways. In fact, certain builds can literally be built with terror in mind. Now I was kind of reluctant to actually farm for everything in terror, let's say needed for something good due to the fact we didn't actually know what happens to terror anointed gear once this event ends. Well guys, we now do. Straight from the horse's mouth. Gearbox on Twitter replied to this very question and basically said that we will keep what we have and these anointed pieces and the effects will not go away. The ghosts though and the means of us getting terror via ghosts flying straight at us, these are going. So if I were you, I'd be under lock out for various different items which reward terror. For instance, there are certain anointed items which reward terror upon action skill end. Many attacks apply terror to yourself and so forth. Anointed items which do this will be super important for any terror build post Bloody Harvest. And not even just a terror build if you have a certain weapon with a terror anointed stat on it. To activate that stat, you'll need to have a terror effect and these items are musts for that. Terror stacks up to three by the way, which is important to know. Now the items which do apply terror to yourself as far as I know, apply three stacks. You can normally tell by the amount of screen effect the green glow has. Now upon action skill end after a few seconds it seems as though maximum terror effect is affecting you. But because there's no actual indicator besides the way your screen glows, it's hard to actually tell. Now the reason I suggest for you getting said items which do apply terror to yourself mainly grenades and shields is because with these you don't actually have to have them equipped for the terror to take effect like a weapon because in reality they are always equipped.  Grenades and shields you will get this effect instantly. This of course allows you to make the most of certain anointed variants of weapons and they do come in abundance people. Things like while terrified, remember this can last up to 18 seconds as well, deal 50% bonus coral damage. While terrified, you have a chance to fire an extra projectile. The more terror you have, the higher the bonus. While terrified, bullets have a chance to reflect off you. While terrified, regen ammo, increase damage, and fire it. And I mean these anointed variants go on and on. So yeah guys, terror is stain, that's 100% factual, but you will only be able to apply it to yourself it seems. Now another question I have, will terror anointed gear expire when this event ends? Well guys when I find this out, I will update the top of that video description so keep your eye out for this information right there. So yeah people, if there are going to be something that does stick around which they are, I highly suggest you get it out there, farming your favourite shields and even grenades, and looking for various ways that these can apply terror to yourself. For me I think the action skill end terror apply works best.  So terror is stain, the ghosts are going, the only possible way for you to apply terror to yourself, to activate certain perks and weapons and so forth, is to have other anointed terror items which allow you to do this.  On that note, we have come to the end of the video, I'll just follow this as a little bit of useful information as I know not many people are aware of this at the minute, but the more it gets out there, the more these words spread, the better. So you get out there, farm what you need and I wish you good luck. But on that note, we have come to the end of the video, if you guys enjoyed it, leaving a like really helps out. If you're new around here and want to see more Borderlands videos, be sure to subscribe, and if you're never one to miss a video or upload, you can turn notifications on by hitting that bell button. But guys, thanks as always for stopping by, hopefully you do enjoy the video, and hopefully I will see you on that next one.


Zeus, the Tragedian, by Lucian, Part I, translated by Howard Williams, 1837 to 1931. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Cast of Characters Timiclyse, read by Jennifer Pratt. Momus, read by Adam Bielka. Aphrodite, read by Soudalmasnon. Colossus, read by Neema. Demis, read by Adrian Stevens. Heracles, read by Alan Mapstone. Poseidon, read by George Diaz. Hermagorus, read by Stefan. Hermes, read by Campbell Sheldt. Apollo, read by Cahand. Athena, read by Lianya. Hera, read by Betsy Walker. Zeus, read by Aaron White. Stage Directions, read by Todd. Zeus, the Tragedian. Zeus, gloomy and in tragic distress, is implored by Hermes and Athena to divulge the cause of his melancholy condition, while Hera, true to her Homeric character, confidently attributes it to another earthly amor. The King of Gods and Men, thus adjured, announces the true reason of his anxiety, daring assaults upon the character of himself and the rest of the Olympian divinities, and in fact denial of their very existence by the skeptics, represented by an Epicurean philosopher named Demis, and the weakness of the arguments of their overzealous apologists, the Stoics, represented by a champion named Timiclyse. Which all important controversy, he had chance to overhear when present, on the day proceeding, at a sacrificial feast given to the gods and Athens. He proceeds to request the opinions of the three divinities upon the best course to be pursued in the emergency. Hera and Hermes propose a Council of the Gods, Athena, a private settlement of the business. The former opinion prevails, and Zeus directs Hermes to summon the rest of the gods to a general council, which the Olympian herald proceeds to do in the orthodox Homeric style, after some reluctance on account of his want of poetic skill, and in face of the discouraging example of Apollo, whose prophetic utterances, in verse, had become the object of so much ridicule. Some difficulty arises, at the outset, on the question of precedence, both because, the representative statues of the divinities being variously formed of gold, silver, ivory and bronze, it was a question whether it should be decided by the material or by the excellence of the workmanship, and also by reason of the numerous recent additions to their august body. Zeus rules that gold must have the preference. By this decision, the old established, genuine, Hellenic divinities find themselves forced to give way to the Nuvi hominus, not without much and protracted squabbling. In the end, by the ruling of the President, the members of the celestial senate have to take their places promiscuously on the principle of, first come, first served. Silence having been secured, Zeus rises to open the deliberations. An unaccustomed nervousness and hesitation threaten to spoil his exhortium, and even to ruin everything by raising suspicion of the soundness of their cause. At length, at the suggestion of Hermes, discarding the well-worn Homeric Exordium, he opens in the words of a famous oration of Demosthenes. He sets forth the cause of the summoning of the council, and reports the circumstances which led to his presence at the dispute between the Epicurean and the Stoic champions in the painted porch at Athens, and its fortunate interruption at a critical moment by the pressure of the crowd, with its consequent adjournment. The gods, whom age and standing permit, are then invited to deliver their several opinions upon the course of action to be adopted. Hermes, the censor of the Olympian court, rises, and with his usual candor, affirms that the objections and arguments of their avowed enemies are not at all to be wondered at, and in fact himself points to the prevalence of injustice and cruelty, the triumph of the bad, and the oppression and sufferings of the good on the earth. He takes occasion to ridicule the studied ambiguity and obscurity of Apollo in his irregular prophecies, and the mischiefs arising from them, and next criticizes the policy which admitted so many strange and outlandish divinities to the rites of Olympian godship. Beside Ned Apollo, next addressed the council, the former voting for violent and summary measures, nothing less in fact, than the destruction of Damas by a thunderbolt, in which opinion, later, he is vigorously supported by Heracles. The latter calls attention to the inferiority and confused and illogical method of their apologist, and advises that an associate advocate be supplied to him, to whom alone it should be allowed to speak, to Macleese acting merrily as his prompter. The opportunity is not lost by Momus, for sarcastic allusion to Apollo's own confused prophetic style, and, ridiculing the proposition of an associate advocate, he calls upon him opportunity to give some extemporary specimens of its irracular faculty. Thus urged, with much reluctance and diffidence, Apollo complies to the great entertainment of his censor. At this juncture, there arrives in hot haste, fresh from the yesterday's scene of verbal conflict at the painted porch, Hermagoras, a statuary, who, like the Ephesian town clerk, may be supposed to have been a not entirely disinterested well-wisher to the Olympian establishment. In Iambic verse, he announces the approaching renewal of hostilities, in the irracular strain so dear to Apollo, and so well known to readers of Herodomus, of Aristophanes, and of Lucian. The celestials arrange themselves in attitudes of eager expectancy, and the verbal duel below begins with a virtue-paravative onslaught, in which controversial virtue Zeus recognizes their champion's strength to lie, on the part of Tema-Cleese, and a dispute on the question upon which of the two rested the onus Purobandi. This being settled, at length, by the concession of Domus in favor of his opponent, the combatants engage in earnest. As the fortune of the day seems to incline to this side or that, the celestial spectators express, of course, like their hopes or fears. The latter, however, very greatly pondering. Domus not admitting to exercise his powers of sarcasm. Tema-Cleese, after vainly throwing overboard his sheet anchor, in the shape of a remarkable soligism, takes refuge, as his opponent tauntingly expresses it, at the altars. Domus, claiming the victory, now retires from the scene, pursued by the vertebration and even missiles and blows of his enraged antagonist. The celestial clients of Tema-Cleese disperse, consoled by the reflection of Hermes, that, in spite of all the arguments of the wicked philosophers, at all events the larger part of the world, Greek as well as barbarian, will continue to be on their side, and not cease to supply them with the rich themes of sacrifice. Zeus, however, cannot refrain from the expression of his feeling that he would rather have one such able champion as the Epicurean than a thousand conquests by stratagem or force. This masterpiece of illusion opens with the parodies, in exameter and iambic verse, of the Homeric epics, of Rupides and of the tragic poets. Zeus, the Tragedian. Zeus, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite. Apollo, Hermes, Poseidon, Heraclius, Colossus, Momus. Hermagorus, Tema-Cleese, Domus. Oh Zeus, why pensive maddersts inward words, repacing lonely as a student pale, to counsel, call me, cast on me thy care, scorn not thy servants, chat nonsensical. Thereby we all shall know it. What plotting north inwardly thy secret heart and vitals, or what draws out thy heavy moan, and stains thy cheek with pallor. Zeus, to himself. No dire disaster, so to say, exists. No woe, so terrible and tragical. But gods in heaven must toil beneath the load. Apollo, what an overture of speech. Zeus, to himself. Rascals, infernal nurslings of the earth, and thou, Prometheus, how deep thy stab. Say what? For only we thy friends will hear. Zeus, to himself. O were of lightning's mighty crash, what now wilt thou avail me? Calm your wrath, since we cannot all play comedy, Zeus, like these geniuses, nor have we swallowed Euripides' whole so as to respond to you in tragic guise. Do you suppose us not to know the cause of your grief, what it really is? Thou knowest not, else loud clamour wouldst thou raise. I know the real source of your sufferings. A love affair. However, from force of habit I no longer make a clamour, having been often before now insulted by you in that sort of thing. Likely enough, no doubt, you have found a denay, or a semile, or a Europa again, and are tormented by your passion, and so are planning to take the form of some bull or a satyr, or to become gold and flow in a stream through the roof into the bosom of your mistress. For these are the signs, these heavy sighs and tears and pallor, of nothing else than of love. Silly creature, to suppose our trouble to have anything to do with love and such trifles. But what else, if not this annoys you, considering you are Zeus himself? In dire peril affairs divine are placed, and here is the proverb verified, Hera. It now stands upon a razor's edge, whether we are to have honour any longer paid to us, and to have our accustomed honours on earth, or in fact to be old together neglected, and to have no reputation at all. The earth has not produced any giants again, has it, or have the Titans burst their chains and overpowered their guard, and do they once again take up arms against us? Fear not. No danger threatens from below. What else pray could there be to alarm? For I don't see, if something of the sort does not distress you, for what reason you leave your proper character and come out as another polis or aristotomous? Timmacles, the Stoic, and Damis, the Epicurian Hera, yesterday, from some discourse, or rather begun between them, were disputing on the subject of providence, in the presence of a very numerous and select audience. The circumstance which especially annoys me, and Damis affirmed that neither has the gods any existence, nor do they exercise any supervision at all over what happens on earth, while timidly's best of men endeavoured all he could to maintain our cause. At this juncture a dense mob surging against them there was no definite conclusion of the conference, for they separated after agreeing to consider the remaining arguments at some future time. And now all are in a state of suspense in regard to this discussion, as to which shall have the best of it and be judged to have the more truth on his side. You see the danger, how our interests are altogether in a straight, risked upon the ability of one man, and one of two things must happen. Either we must be despised and be voted mere names, or we are to be honoured as here to fore, supposing timidly shall have the best of the argument. A terrible state of things, this of a verity, and not without reason, Zeus, were you acting the tragedian under the circumstances? And you imagined that in such trouble I had thought of a denay, or an entire pee. What now, Hermes, and Hera, and Aphrodite, should we do? Do you together, according to your several ability, devise something? For my part I hold you should sum in an assembly, and refer the consideration of the matter to the whole body of the gods. I am exactly the same way of thinking. I, however, have the contrary opinion, Father, that we don't throw heaven into utter confusion, nor make it plain that you are disturbed by the occurrence, but manage this business privately. In such manner that Tmukli shall have the best of it in argument, and Damus leave the conference an object of thorough ridicule. But since the contests of the philosophers will be in public, these things will not be a known Zeus, and you will have the repute of being tyrannical, should you not throw open to all a discussion about matters of so much importance and general interest. Well then, make your proclamation at once, and let all of them put in an appearance, for you are right. Hermes, mounting the Bema. Halloo, I say, come together, you gods to a meeting. Don't loiter. Come all in a body, come. We shall discuss business of great importance. Is it in this bare, unornamental and prosaic style you make your proclamation, Hermes, and that, too, when you are summoning them on matters of highest importance? Well, but how, Zeus, do you require me to do it? How do I require you to do it? I say you ought to impart solemnity to your proclamation by some sort of verse, and with poetical magnilquence that they may be induced to assemble with more alacrity. Yes, but such is the business of verse-makers and professional reciders, while I am not the least of a poet. So I shall completely spoil my proclamation, by stringing together verses either with too many or too few feet, and shall be the object of their ridicule for my want of poetic skill. In fact, I observe that even Apollo himself is laughed at for some of his irracula responses, although his obscurity conceals the greater part of his blunders, as his hearers have not too much leisure for examining his metrical effusions. Then, Hermes, mix up in your proclamation chiefly verses from Homer in the manner he was want to convene us. Of course you call them to mind. Not so very accurately and readily, but all the same I will try. Much preliminary clearing of the throat. Let none of gods, whatever the sex, fail to obey my summons. Nor any river stay behind except the stream of ocean. Nor any nymph but haste ye all to swell the lofty council. Of Zeus, who ere at Hecateum's illustrations are feasted. Modest, however your rank, if mean or even stark, ignoble, come hither all, whoever sit beside the streaming altars. Oh, Hermes, you have performed your criers part most admirably, and indeed they are already rushing together. So take and seat them, each according to rank, as it belongs to him by reason of material or art. The golden in the front rank, then next to them the silver, next in due order all the ivory ones, after them the bronze or the marble. And among these same let those of Phideas or Alcaminis or Myron or Euphranor or of similar artists have the best places. As for these rabble and inartistic fellows, let them be crammed together somewhere at a distance and serve only to fill up the house's dummies. So it shall be, and they shall take their seats as is proper. But it's not so easy to know, when any one of them is of gold indeed, and of many hundred weight, but not perfect in workmanship, but plainly vulgar and plebeian, and badly proportioned. Shall he seat himself before the bronze gentleman of Myron, and of Polyclidus and of Phideas and the marble ones of Alcaminis, or must we consider art to have precedence? So it ought to be, but all the same preference must be given to gold. I understand you to direct me to seat them according to wealth and property, not according to excellence and real value. Come, then, to the front seats, you golden gentleman. In a whisper. The foreigners Zeus appear to be the only ones likely to occupy first places, for you observe of what description the Greeks are, elegant and good-looking enough and artistically fashioned, but nonetheless all of marble or bronze, or, at all events, the most costly of them are ivory. With just a little gold gilding so as merely to have a surface tint and veneer of that metal. But inside they are, in fact, all wooden, sheltering whole troops of rats, that form regular colonies there, while Bendis here, and that Anubis there, and Addis at his side, and Mithris and Meen are all of solid gold, and pretty costly, and no mistake. Is really this justice, Hermes, that this dog-faced fellow of Egypt should have placed before me, actually before Poseidon, God of the sea himself? Yes, but, Earthshaker, the Sipis fashioned you as a poor fellow of bronze, for the Corinthians had then no gold, and that is more precious than all the other metals put together. You must therefore submit to be thrust aside, and not be angry if a fellow with such a huge snout of gold has been preferred to you. In that case, Hermes, take me too, and give me a seat in the front row, for I am golden. Not as far as I can see, Aphrodite, but, unless I am altogether purblind, after Ben hewn out of white marble from Pentale, I imagine you then, at the good pleasure of Praxitels, became Aphrodite, and were handed over to the Nidians. Indeed, I have a very credible witness, I shall call to you, Homer himself, who up and down his boy Hems, calls me the Golden Aphrodite. I am satisfied that even your place in the assembly is not, in fact, among the lowest classes. With me, who would venture to compete, for I am the very son himself, and of size so enormous? If, to be sure, the Rhodians had not thought fit to construct me of so portentous and excessive dimensions, at an equal expense, they could have made for themselves sixteen gods of gold. With that, by the rules of proportion, I should be considered of all the greater value, and the artistic skill is to be counted into the bargain, and the perfection of the work in a statue of such magnitude. Hermes, aside to Zeus. What must I do, Zeus? For this, for me, at least, is a hard business to determine. For if I should regard solely the material, he is bronze. But if I should reckon at the cost of how many thousands he has been fabricated, he would be far above the first class claimants. Zeus, aside to Hermes. Why, what must he too needs come here for, to reproach the insignificance of the rest, and to be a nuisance to the company? To the Colossus. Well, but Hark you most excellent Rhodian, even if you are to be preferred to the utmost to your golden rivals, how in the world would you ever occupy the front place, unless all have to stand up, that you alone may be accommodated, and occupy the whole panics with one of your buttocks? So you will do better to give your vote standing up, and make your bow to the council. Here again is another difficult thing. They are both of them, in point of fact, bronze, and of the same workmanship. Each of them the work of Lysophus, and what is most important, are of the same rank as the berth, seeing both our sons of Zeus, Dionysus here and Heracles. Which of them, Bray, shall have precedence, for they are wrangling as you observe. We are wasting time, Hermes, whereas we ought long ago to have been at business. So now let them take their seats higgledy-piggledy, where each has a mind to, and at some future time a sitting shall be given to settle that point, and I shall know then what is the rank to assign to them.  Dolls, dolls, where is our nectar? The ambrosia runs short. Where are the hecatomes? The sacrificial victims for the public. Silence them at once, Hermes, that they may learn on what account they have been assembled, and drop this nonsense. Not all of them, Zeus, understand Greek, and I am not much of a linguist, so as to make my proclamations intelligible to Tartars, and Persians, and Thracians, and Celts. It will be better, therefore, I imagine, to make signs, and in that way to enjoy silence. So do. Capital, they have become dumber than the philosophers themselves, so it is high time for you to harangue them. You observe they have been long regarding you fixedly, expecting what you will say. Zeus, aside to Hermes. Yes, but what my feelings are, Hermes, I will not shrink from imparting to you, as you are my son. You are aware how bold and magniliquent I always was in our public assemblies. I am, and I used to dread hearing your harangues, most especially when you would threaten to drag up from their foundations the earth and sea, and the gods and all, by simply letting down that golden chain of yours. However now, my son, I don't know whether it is from the magnitude of the present pressing dangers, or from the number of the company, for our parliament is crowded by the gods to in excess as you see. But I am utterly confused in mind, and am all of a tremble, and my tongue seems tied. But what is strangest of all, I have clean forgotten the exodium to my speech, which I have prepared for myself, so that it might have as specious a beginning as possible. Hermes, in a whisper. You have ruined everything, Zeus. They suspect your silence, and expect to hear some very great calamity as the cause of your hesitation. Would you have me then, Hermes, begin to recite to them that celebrated prelude of Homer. Which? Hear my words, all ye gods, and all ye goddesses, listen. Get out with you. Those introductory verses have been enough used up by you in our wine parties, but if you like, drop the bother of meter, and do you string together of the harangues of Demosthenes against Philip, whatever parts you choose, with a few variations? At least that's what most orators do nowadays. Excellent. A compendious sort of oratory, and a convenient and facile resource for those who are at a loss that you suggest. Lead off then. At last, pray. Zeus, mounting the Tribune. I think, gentlemen, gods, I mean, you would choose, before a good deal, that it should be clear to you what at length this matter in truth is, with respect to which you have been brought together. This being the case then, it is proper you should listen to me, with all attention. The present crisis, O gods, indeed all but declares aloud in words that we must vigorously apply ourselves to the matters before us while we seem to be very remiss in regard to them. Now, I desire, it demossed the news to confess the truth fails me here, to explain clearly to you the business about which I am so perturbed, and for which I convoked Parliament. Well, yesterday, as you know, on the occasion of Menestheus, the sea-captain offering a thanksgiving sacrifice for the safety of his ship, which had been all but lost off Caferius, we were feasting at the Peraeus, such of us as Menestheus invited to the sacrifice. Then, after the libations, you turned yourselves to your several occupations, each according to his fancy, but I, for it was not yet very late, went up to the city to have an evening walk in the Charamaecus, reflecting at the same time on the niggardliness of Menestheus, who, to entertain sixteen gods, slaughtered only a single cock, and that, too, a long since old and wheezy one, and four grains of exceedingly mouldy incense, so that it was at once consumed on the coals and did not afford as much smoke as could be smelled by even the tip of our nostrils. And that, though he promised whole hecatooms when his ship was just being carried on to the rocks and was actually within the breakers. And when pondering these things, I find myself near the stoa. I observe a very large crowd of people jammed together, some within, in the hall itself, but many in the open air, and some persons shouting and vehemently clamouring seated on the benches. Guessing then what indeed was the fact that these were philosophers of those contentious sort, I had a mind to stand by and listen to what they say. And, for I had enwrapped myself as it chanced in a cloud of the densest by disguising myself in their fashion, and by letting down my beard I had a pretty close resemblance to a philosopher. Well, I say, elbowing aside the crowd, I enter without being known who I was. There I find the Epicurean Damis, the practised villain, and Timicly's the stoic best of men, disputing with uncommon vehemence. Timicly's, in fact, was actually all in a perspiration and already becoming hoarse by his loud shouting, while Damis, making fun of him sardonically, still further provoked his antagonist. Their whole argument, for sooth, was about us. Why, that accursed Damis was affirming that neither do we exercise any providence over men nor superintend their actions, maintaining nothing else than our entire non-existence, for that plainly was what his argument amounted to. There were some who applauded him, but the other Timicly's took our part and fought for us vehemently, and fell into a passion and struggled for us in every possible way glorifying our providence and recounting with what beautiful order and suitable arrangement we plan and dispose each particular part. He also had some backers, but indeed he had already tired himself out, and was speaking badly, and the majority were beginning to fix their attention entirely on Damis. I, perceiving all that was imperiled, ordered Knight to envelop them and break up the meeting. Thereupon they went off, after agreeing to discuss the subject fully on the next day, and I, joining the crowds, listened to their praises of Damis's arguments while they were on their way to their homes, and already choosing his side in far the larger numbers. There were some, however, who thought it fair not to condemn beforehand the opposite arguments, but to wait to see if Timicly's shall say anything to the point tomorrow. These are the reasons for which I called you together. No trifling ones, O gods, if you shall consider how our whole honour and glory and revenue consist in men. If they should be persuaded either that we don't exist at all or that existing we are yet altogether regardless of them and all their concerns as far as regards the earth, we shall be deprived of victims, dignity or honour, and we shall sit idly in heaven, attacked by famine as we shall be deprived of the benefits of those feasts of theirs and their holy days and public games and sacrifices and vigils and solemn processions. Wherefore, in view of manners of such importance, I say that we ought all to devise some means of safety in our present circumstances, and by what means Timicly's shall conquer and be reputed to have more truth on his side and Damis be derided by the audience. For I, for my part, have not excessive confidence in this Timicly's that he will conquer by himself if he do not receive some help from us. Do then your herald's duty, Hermes, and make your proclamation according to the legal forms that they may all stand up and record their votes. Hermes, shouts. Attention! Silence! Order! Which of the full-grown gods who are privileged wishes to speak? How's this? No one get up. Ah! You are tongue-tied and dumbfounded at the bigness of the message, are you? May all of you, I pray, be turned straightway to earth and water. Now I, if I be allowed, at least, to speak with perfect freedom, should have a good deal to say, Zeus.  Here, then, all you gods, what comes from the heart, as they say? Why, I have been quite expecting our affairs to come to this pitch of perplexity, and that many sophistical fellows of this sort would sprout up against us, who would get from ourselves the source of their daring. And, by Themis, we have right to be angry, neither with Epicurus, nor with his associates and propagators of his arguments, if they have supposed such kind things about us. For what, pray, would anyone expect them to think, when they see such confusion in human life? Their good men neglected, perishing in poverty, and diseases, and slavery, while thoroughly bad and rascally men are preferred to honors, and abound in wealth, and lorded over their betters. The sacrilegious not punished, but getting off scot-free, the innocent impaled alive, or sometimes beaten to death? Naturally, then, when they see these things, do they determine thus about us, as non-existent at all?   For, in fact, both Persians and Greeks, I imagine, were children of women. Nay, when they hear the epic poets and reciters, to the effect that we fall in love, and get wounded in battle, and serve as slaves, and are put in chains, and engage in civil wars, and have ten thousand troubles of every sort, and that, too, while we claim to be blessed and incorruptible, what else can they do, then laugh at us, and justly enough, and hold our power in contempt? However, we get into a rage if a few men, not entirely fools, convict us of these things, and reject our providence, whereas we ought to be content, if there are still any who sacrifice to us, after such scandalous behavior. And here, Zeus, for we are all by ourselves, and no human creature is present in this assembly, except Heracles, and Dionyses, and Ganymede, and Escapos, those illegally and registered gods there. Answer me truly, if you have ever had so much care for human affairs as to trouble your head as to who of them are bad, or who are good, but you cannot say you have, if, in fact, Thesis, on his way from Trezen to Athens, as a sort of diversion on the journey, had not exterminated those rascals, as far as depended on you and your providence, nothing would have prevented Scyron, and Pidio Camptis, and Chirkyon, and the rest from being now alive and reveling in the murders of travelers. Or, unless Eurystheus, a man of old-fashioned morality, and of some forethought, out of pure philanthropy, had investigated the condition of every people and dispatched his domestic care, pointing to Heracles, an active fellow and eager for adventures and toils, little you would have cared, Zeus, about the Hydra, and the Stemthalian Birds, and the Thrasian Horses, and the wanton and drunken insolence of the Santars. Nay, if the truth must be told, we sit here looking out only for this, whether there is anyone sacrificing and raising the fat steam of burnt offerings at the altars, while everything else is borne down the stream of fate, swept along as the chance of each directs. Accordingly, we now suffer what might have been expected, and we shall suffer still, when men, little by little, rising up from their prostrate condition, shall find that they get no profit by their sacrifices to us and religious processions. So, I suppose, in a short time, you will see the Epicuruses, and the Metrodauruses, and the Damascises, ridiculing us, and our advocates vanquished and effectually muzzled by them. So it should be your business to put a stop to and heal such scandals, since it was you gods who brought them to this pass. As for Momus, it will be no great matter to him, if he shall be disenfranchised, for not even in the good old times was he of the number of glorified ones, while you were yet in prosperity and feasting and reveling on the sacrifices. Let us leave this fellow gods, who is always morose and critical to go on talking his nonsense, for as said the admirable Demosthenes, to bring charges, to find fault, and to chide is an easy matter, and within the power of anyone who wants to do so, but to take measures how the present state of things shall be improved, that, of a verity, is the part of a wise counselor, and this, I am well assured, the rest of you will do, even though this fellow holds his tongue. Now, I, for my part, live mostly, as you know, underwater, and do my business at the bottom of the sea, as far as in me lies, and according to the best of my ability, protecting voyagers and escorting ships, and mitigating the violence of winds. All the same, however, for I take interest too in your affairs here, I affirm that we ought to put this Domus out of the way, before they come to the contest, either by a thunderbolt, or by some other contravance, for fear he get the better in argument, for you say Zeus, he is a persuasive kind of fellow, for we shall prove to them at the same time how we punish those who institute such critical inquiries to our damage. Are you joking, Poseidon, or have you entirely forgotten that nothing of this sort depends upon our power, but the fate spin out for each one his end, this one to die by a thunderbolt, another by the sword, a third by fever or consumption, for in fact were the matter in my power, should I have suffered, think you, those sacrilegious wretches the day before yesterday, to get away from Pisa without being knocked on the head with a thunderbolt, after having shorn me of two of my locks, which weighed each six pounds, or you, would you yourself have permitted with impunity at Grestus the fisherman from Aureus to filch away your trident, besides too we shall have the look of being in a rage, and of being downcast about the business, and of being afraid of the arguments of Dummies, and for that reason we shall be thought to have made away with the man, and not waited for him to pit himself against Timocles, so what else shall we have the repute of doing but of conquering in this way by default of the enemy? Indeed, I thought I had devised a short sort of cut to victory, by that method I did.  Poseidon, peevishly. Then devise something better, you others, since you throw my suggestions in this way to the Tunnies. If it had been permitted by law to us, who are still young and unprovided with the beard, to address the house, perhaps I might have contributed something useful to the discussion. Our deliberation, Apollo, is about matters of such importance, that leave to speak is not regulated by age, but is thrown open to all. For a pretty thing it would be if, while we were in extremist peril, we should split straws about legal qualification. And besides, you have, in this long while, been quite legally capable of speaking, for you have long ago emerged from the state of minorship, and have been inscribed on the register of the twelve, and are not so far from having been a member of the council in the time of Kronos himself. So don't affect youthful modesty with us, but speak boldly now your opinions, without bashfulness for having to harangue the house without a beard, and that, especially when you have a son, as Klepos, with so thick and fine grown a one. Besides, it was surely fitting for you most particularly, to show off your wisdom on the present occasion, unless you sit on Helicon, philosophizing with amuses, to no purpose. But it's not for you, Momus, to give such permission, but for Zeus. And should he bid me, I might perhaps, say something not altogether unworthy of the muses, but be fitting our meditative studies on Helicon. Speak, my child, for I give full permission. This Timocles is indeed a good and pious man, and he has thoroughly acquired the methods of argument of the Stoics. So that he associates, in fact, with many of the youth, for the purpose of teaching them philosophy, any pockets no small pay upon this account, for he is exceedingly persuasive whenever he disputes in private with his pupils. But in a crowd, he is very timid in speaking, and is vulgar and provincial in language, so as to incur ridicule in his controversies on that account, from not connecting his sentences, but stammering and getting confused. Particularly when, through such is his peculiarity, he wishes to show off his graces of oratory. For in mere intelligence indeed, he is acute and subtle to an excess, as say those who best know the learning of the Stoics. But in speaking and expounding, he spoils and confuses it by this weakness, as he does not explain his meaning clearly, but offers arguments very like riddles. In besides, replies much too ambiguously to the questions put to him, and people who don't understand him laugh outright at him. One ought, however, I imagine, to speak with clearness, and to pay great attention to this point especially, that one's hearers shall understand one. You are perfectly right in this, Apollo, in commending those who speak clearly, even though you do not yourself altogether practice it in your oracles, for you are ambiguous and enigmatic and safely marshal them, for the most part, in a neutral position between both camps, so that the hearers want another Pythian Apollo to interpret them. But what do you advise next? What remedy to apply to the feebleness of timidly is an argument? To supply Momus, if by any means we can, another as his mouthpiece. One of those clever fellows, to speak suitably what the other may think out and suggest? The remark that of a beardless youth with a vengeance, and who still needs his tutor that his mouthpiece should take his stand by his side, in a conference of philosophers to act as interpreter of the sentiments of timidly to the audience, and that Damus should speak in his own person, and by his own mouth, while the other have the aid of a public interpreter, to privately whisper in his ear, and prompt him to speak his own sentiments. And an interpreter is to act the orator, who probably even does not understand himself what he hears. How can these things not be a source of ridicule for the multitude? Nay, let us consider this matter in a different fashion, and you, Excellencer, for you profess, in fact, to be a prophet, and have procured no small quantity of prophet for such work, so far even as before, now to have received gold bricks. Why did you not seasonally exhibit to us your art, by predicting which of the philosophers will come off conqueror in the dispute?  How is it possible to do so, Momus, when neither my tripod is at hand, nor alter incense, nor irracular fountain, like Castalia? Though you are caught in a corner, you are for escaping conviction. All the same, my child, speak, and don't afford this columniator here a handle for columniating and mocking at your art, as though it depended upon a tripod in water and incense, as though, if you have not these appliances, you would be deprived of the power of exercising your art. It were better, Father, to perform such functions at Delphi, or Colophone, with all my useful tools at hand, as is my want. All the same, even though thus destitute of those things and unequipped, I will do my endeavor to prophesy to which of the two the victory will belong. But will you bear with me, if I should not speak in regular meter? Speak, but only clearly, Apollo, and not verses, that themselves need a mouthpiece or interpreter. For, indeed, there will be no lamb's flesh and tortoise boiling just now in Lydia, but you are aware what our deliberation is about. Zeus, to Apollo, and whom the signs of the prophetic flottis are visible. What in the world are you going to say, my child, for the preludes to your oracular deliverances they are, as it is already alarming enough.  Hear the prophetic word divine of me, the seer, Apollo, about the chilly strife of tongues which men sharp-screaming jabber with closely fitted argument accoutre'd as with armour. By hubbub of alternate cluck, triumphant hither, thither, they many a vessel's stern strike down of oft-repassing plow-tail. But if the vultures crooked grasp, sharp-talloned, seize the breast, then shall the crows, who augure rain, their last forebodings, utter.  Why do you burst out laughing, Momus? Surely the circumstances before us are no laughing matter. Stop, wretch! You will literally be choked by your hilarity. And how is it possible, Zeus, not to be choked by such a clear and transparent oracle? Then be so kind as at once to interpret its meaning for us. Excessively clear and simple are the verses, so that we shall have no need of a thymistic lease. For the divine oracle says thus explicitly that this profit is a quack, and that we are a set of pack-asses by Zeus and mules for putting faith in him, and have not even as much sense as a lot of locusts. Well, Father, although I am only a resident alien, all the same I, for my part, will not shrink from declaring my opinion. As soon as ever they meet for discussion, then, should timidly's have the better of it, we will allow the controversy to proceed in our favour.  Heracles, oh Heracles, that is a buccalical and terribly boesian remark of yours, with one worthless fellow to destroy such a number of people, and the stowa into the bargain with Marathon and Miltiades and Canarygas, and all. And how, if all this perished at one blow, could the Orators ever again flourish their oratory, deprived as they would be, of the greatest subject for their speechifying? Besides, when you were alive on the earth, it was, perhaps, possible for you to affect this, but since you have become a god, you have learned, I presume, that the fates alone can do such things and that we have no control over them. Then, even if I killed the lion or the hydra, was it the fates that performed those actions through me? Most certainly. And now, if anyone be insolent to me, by plundering my temple or overturning my statue, unless it may have been long ago decreed by the fates, I am not to knock him on the head. Certainly not. Then just hear me, Zeus, speak my mind freely. For, as the comic poet says, I am rough and ready, calling a spade a spade. If such is the state of our affairs, I will bid a long farewell to your dignities here in heaven and your sacrificial steam and bloody victims. And I will go down to the infernal regions where even the ghosts of the monsters I killed will be afraid of me with my bow. Stripped and naked, though I should be. Excellent! The hostile witness is found at home, as they say. By your suggestions to Dhamis you save him at all events trouble. But, who is this coming towards us in all haste, this blacksmith, this graceful, this well-formed gentleman, he who is so old-fashioned in the style of wearing his hair? Nay, rather he must be your brother, Hermes, he of the marketplace who stands by the painted stowa. At all events he is besmeared from top to toe with pitch, by having impressions taken off him every day by the statuaries. Why, my child, have you come here at such a racing speed?  Exceeding important news, Zeus, and requiring serious attention. Say it once if some new revolt has broken out without our knowledge. Just now, my breast and back, in pitchy clay, by copper-working men, was plastered ore. Around my body swung right ludicrous a breastplate, framed by imitative art, all as mere molding for a copper seal. Then saw I crowds approaching, mid them two pallid, high brawling, fisticuffers keen with quibbling logic. Damus, one was called, the other. Stop, most excellent termigoras, your manufacture of iambics, for I am aware whom you mean. But tell me this, whether the clash of battle has long begun between them? Not yet. They were still skirmishing, engaging one another with light artillery, and verchuporating one another, somewhere or other, at safe distance. What further than remains for us to do, gods, than to stoop down and listen to them? So let the hours remove the bars and chains at once, and dispelling the clouds, let them throw wide the gates of heaven. Starting back in alarm. Heracles, what a multitude have met together to hear the philosophic disputation. But this Timocles does not altogether please me. He is all of a tremble and confused. That man will ruin everything today. It is plain it all events he will never be able to raise himself even to the level of Damis. However, what is most in our power, let us pray for him. In silence to ourselves indeed, lest Damis chance to hear us. End of Zeus the Tragedian Part 1. Zeus the Tragedian by Lucian Part 2. Translated by Howard Williams, 1837 to 1931. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The scene changes from heaven to the Stoopakali at Athens. What do you say, you robber of temples, that the gods don't exist nor exercise any providential care over men? No, but you first of all answer me. By what reasoning were you persuaded that they do exist? Certainly I shall not, rather do you, abominable villain, reply to me. No, indeed you rather, make answer to me. Zeus, looking up from his drap door. A friend so far exhibits his wrath in much better and more euphonious fashion.  No, Byathena, no, I will not answer you first. Then pray put your questions, Timocles, for you have conquered me by that oath, but without bad language, if you please. You say well, tell me then, accursed villain, do you not believe the gods exercise providence? By no means. What do you say? Do all these things, pray, go on without providential interference? Yes. And is the care of the universe not placed under the superintendence of any god at all then? No. And are all things borne along at random by irrational impulse? Yes, to markle these, to the audience. And so you good people endure to hear this, and you will not stone the impious sinner? Why do you incite the people against me, Timocles, or who are you to be angry on behalf of the gods? But when they themselves are not angry. At all events they have taken no very severe measure against me, though they have heard me this long time, supposing they do hear.  And when could they have leisure to look after me, seeing they have, as you say, so much business on their hands in administering the affairs of the universe infinite in number? So that they have not even yet punished you for the perjuries you are constantly committing, and the rest of your crimes, on which I am silent, that I may not myself be compelled to use vituperative language, contrary to our agreement?  But they are evidently away from home, beyond the ocean, perhaps, with the blameless Ethiopians. At least it was their custom constantly to go to them to dinner, sometimes to at their own invitation. What can I say to such shameless ribaldry? That particular thing which I have for some time been longing to hear from you, Timocles, how you were persuaded to think that the gods exercised providential care? Well, the ordinary arrangement of all nature in the first place persuaded me. The sun always holding the same course, and the moon in the same way, and the revolving seasons, and the growing vegetation, and the birth of animated beings, and these same animals furnished with so beautiful a mechanism so as to feed themselves and to be capable of reflection, and of movement, and of walking, and of doing carpentry, and making shoes, and all the rest, do not these things appear to you to be the actions of a rational provision? You are, I take it, begging the very thing in question, for it is not yet proved whether each of these things is affected by rational provision. But that the order of nature is such as you say I could readily affirm myself. It is not, however, a necessary conclusion to be persuaded forthwith that it comes about by any intelligent contrivance, for it is possible that, having begun fortuitously, the universe is now kept together similarly and after a like fashion. But you call their orderly arrangement necessity. Next you'll get into a rage, I suppose, should one not follow you in your enumeration and eulogy of all things that happen, of whatever sort, and in your belief that they are a proof of the intelligent ordering of each one of them by providential design, so that, according to the comic poet, too wretched this, another plea produce. I do not believe there is need of any further demonstration upon this matter, all the same, however, I will ask, and answer me then. Do you think Homer to be a most excellent poet? Of course. I believed him, then, when he declares the providence of the gods. Well, admirable sir, all persons will concede to you that Homer was a good poet, but not that of such matters either he or any other poet is a trustworthy witness. For they care not for truth, I imagine, but for enchanting their hearers, and therefore they charm them by their verses and instruct them by their fables, and in fine use every device with a view to delighting. However, I should be truly glad to hear by which of Homer's verses you were especially persuaded. Was it perhaps those in which he speaks of Zeus, how his daughter and brother and wife formed a conspiracy to put him in fetters, and a anesthetist as cognizant of the occurrence had summoned Briarus, our most excellent Zeus, would have been carried off and actually put into prison in return for which good offices, according to mind his depth of gratitude to Thetis, he deceives Agamemnon by sending him a certain lying dream so that many of the Achaeans perished. Do you observe? It was impossible for him to hurl his thunderbolt and burn up Agamemnon there on the spot without acquiring the reputation of an imposter. Or is it hearing these particulars that have chiefly forced you into belief? So Diomedes wounded Aphrodite and afterwards Ares himself at the instigation of Athena and how a little after the gods themselves engaged in battle and fought duels, ladies and gentlemen indiscriminately, and how Athena conquers Ares, as he has been, I suppose, beforehand disabled by the wound which he received from Diomedes. Luck bringer Hermes stout defied the deity of Leto. Or do those stories about Artemetis appear to you particularly worthy of credit when she complains and is indignant, because she was not invited by Onus to a feast and accordingly sends a certain wild boar of huge size and irresistible strength against his country? Is it indeed by such narratives that Homer has persuaded you, pray? Zeus, in alarm to the gods. Bless me how the mob shout applause of Damis, while our man seems like one in despair. He is certainly afraid and is all of a tremble and evidently is on the point of throwing away his shield and already is casting about how he shall steal away an escape. Does not even Euripides, pray, seem to you to speak with any reason? Whenever he mounts the gods themselves upon the stage and represents them as protecting the good heroes and crushing the wicked and wickedness such as yours? But most admirable of philosophers, if the tragic poets by so doing have persuaded you, one of two things must follow, either that you regard Polus and Aristodemus and Satyrus on those occasions as divine, or the very masks of the gods and the tragic boots and the long flowing dresses and the short mantle and the flowing sleeves and the false porches and paddings and the other things by which they give the grandeur to tragedy, a supposition, which I presume to be highly ridiculous, for whenever Euripides in his own person is speaking his own opinions, when the requirement of the dramatic action does not constrain him, hear him declaring boldly, cease thou this vast expanse of air above in whose moist arms our earth is firmly poised, that, that for Zeus, that only God accept. And again, who are Zeus be for naught of him I know but by report and the like? Have all mankind then and all nations been deceived in believing in gods and solemnly celebrating them? Capital, Timocles, for you bring to my mind the received belief among different nations, from which one may most certainly be assured that their language about dirty has nothing sure or certain about it. For many are there confused contradictions and some believe and practice one thing and some another, the Scythians offer sacrifices to a dagger, the Thracians to Zamulksis, a runaway slave who came to them from Samos, the Phrygians to Meen, the Ethiopians to the day, the Kylenians to Phales, the Assyrians to a dove, the Persians to fire, the Egyptians to water. Although this water is divinity common to all the Egyptians, yet locally the ox is the divinity of the people of Memphis, the onion of the people of Pelusium, the ibis of others, or the crocodile, the dog-faced baboon, the cat or the ape. Nay, more in the country districts to some his godship is the right shoulder, while to those living on the opposite side of the river he is the left shoulder, to some half of the head, to others a drinking flagon, or dish of earthenware. How is all this not matter for ridicule, you charming Timokles? Momas, triumphantly. Did I not say, gods, that all these things would come to light and would be minutely inquired into? You did say so, Momas, and you rightly chided us, and I, for my part, will do my best to set these matters straight. If we get clear off from this danger before us. But, you enemy of the gods, the oracles and prophecies of future events, whose work would you affirm them to be, rather than that of the gods and of their providence? Don't say a word, excellent sir, about the oracles, since I shall ask you which of them in particular you would like to mention. Is it the one which the Pythian returned to the Lydian, which was beautifully two-edged and double-faced, such as some of our Hermae, double and alike on both sides, to which ever part of them you turn? For what did it mean, that Croesus, by crossing the river Hallease, will destroy his own kingdom, or rather that of Cyrus? Yet that pest of Sardis purchased this ambiguous verse at the cost of not a few thousands. The man is discussing and handling pretty nearly the very things, gods, which I especially had dreaded. Where now is that handsome loot-player of ours? To Apollo. Go down at once, and make your defence and reply to these charges.  Observe what you are about, you impious sinner. You are within an ace of overturning the very seats of the gods and their altars by your argument. Not all the altars, as far as I am concerned, Timocles, for what great harm indeed arises from them, so long as they are full of incense and pleasant odours only. But I should be glad to see those of Artemis among the Tauri utterly overturn from their foundations, upon which the virgin goddess finds pleasure in such horrid feasting. Zeus, with tragic air. Whence falls upon us this insuperable misfortune? For not one of the divinities does the man spare, but is as free in language as a carter, one after other, carping at innocent or guilty. Indeed, Zeus, you would find few innocent among us. And it is just possible the fellow will proceed and attack even some one of those nearest the throne. So then, do you not heed or hear Zeus, even when he rolls his thunders, you enemy of the gods? And how could I fail to hear thunder, Timocles? But whether it is Zeus who thunders, you might know better than I, as you have come perchance from that quarter direct from the gods. Yet some who come from Crete tell us a different tale that a certain tomb is shown there and that a column stands close by informing us that Zeus would never thunder again, as he had been dead ages ago. This I long ago knew the man would say, but why, Zeus, pray, have you turned so pale? And why do you let your teeth chatter so with fright?  How do you say, Momus? Never mind them? Don't you see what a number are listening and how already they have been convinced, one and all against us, and how Damis has fast-fattered them and how he leads them away by the ears. However, Zeus, whenever you care to do so, you may let down your golden chain and all of them aloft you draw with earth itself and see and all with them. Tell me, cursed rascal, have you ever before been at sea? Yes, Timokles, often. Then were you not, on those occasions, carried along either by the wind blowing upon the mainsail and filling out the stay sails or by the rowers? And did a certain single individual stand at the helm and guide and keep the ship safe? Undoubtedly. Then, I suppose, the ship did not proceed on its voyage without being steered. And think you that this universe is carried along without a helmsman and a ruler? Capital! That argument of yours, Timokles, you drove home with force by your simile. But, O Timokles, cherished favourite of heaven. That same helmsman you would see to be always devising for the best and fully equipping his ship before the time of sailing and giving directions to his sailors while the vessel had nothing useless or purpose less about it, nothing which was not undoubtedly serviceable and necessary to them for the voyage. This helmsman of yours, however, whom you claim to have command of, this great ship of the universe and his fellow sailors, arranged nothing reasonably or fittingly, but the mainstays, if chance so direct, are stretched to the stern, while both the sheet-ropes are stretched towards the prow and anchors often are of gold, the figurehead of lead, and parts of the ship below water are ornamented, the parts above, unsightly. And of the sailors themselves, you may see the one who is idle and unskillful and without heart for his work in the position of the second or third officer and another who is a skillful swimmer and agile in leaping up into the yard arm and who is skilled in each thing pertaining to useful navigation, he is just the only one you will see set to bail out the bilgewater. So, too, among the passengers you will see some worthless fellow seated by the side of the captain in the most commanding place and being made much of and another some unnatural wretch or parasite or swindler honoured above all the rest and occupying the highest posts in the vessel. Many persons of good taste or feeling crowded into a corner of the ship and trampled upon by those really inferior to themselves. Consider, in fact, in what manner Socrates and Aristides made their voyage and Phocion, who had not even sufficient bread to eat nor even were able to stretch their legs upon the bare planks along the hold, while in the midst of how many good things lived a callous, a medius, and a sardana palace rioting and insulting those under them. Such is the state of matters on board your ship. Most sapient, Timocles, quenched those innumerable shipwrecks. Now, if any captain were in command and observed and ordered each particular thing, in the first place he would not be ignorant who are the good and who are the bad among the ship's company. In the next place he would suitably distribute to each his proper post the better place up above by his side to the better men and the lower place to the inferior and some of the superior men he would admit to his own table and appoint them to be of his council. And of the sailors the most zealous would have been appointed to the care of the forepart of the vessel or to the captaincy of the forecastle or certainly in a place above the rest, while the sluggish and negligent would be corrected a dozen times in the day with the ropes end about his shoulders. So, admirable sir, the simile of yours of the ship is in some danger of being completely wrecked from having chanced upon this incompetent captain. This contest proceeds swimmingly for Damus now and he is being born onwards full sail to victory. Rightly do you conduct your moments and as for Timocles he devises no firm and consistent method of argument but these commonplace and vulgar proofs he pumps out one after the other all only to be easily overturned. Then since my comparison of the ship appears to you to be of no such great weight listen now to the sacred anchor as the proverb has it which you will not shatter by any possible means. Zeus, all attention. Whatever in the world is he going to say then? Well, you shall see if I put these arguments into syllogistic sequence and if you can overturn them anyhow. If there are altars there are also gods but there are certainly altars. There are, therefore, gods. What do you say to that? Damus, choking with laughter. As soon as ever I have laughed my fill I will reply to you. But you don't seem at all likely to stop grinning.  It's because you don't perceive you suspended your anchor and that too the sacred one upon a fine thread for in connecting the existence of the gods with the existence of altars you imagine you have made your anchorage secure thereupon. So since you say you have nothing else more sacred than this to say let us at once depart. Do you confess then you are worsted as you leave first? Damus, calmly. Yes, Timocles. For you like those who are getting the worst of it you have sought refuge at the altars. So by the holy anchor I am ready to make a treaty of peace with you at this moment with a libation upon the altars themselves so that we may no longer wrangle on these matters. Timocles, in a violent rage. You say this to me ironically you plunderer of tombs you abominable villain you utterly contemptible wretch you good for nothing slave you infamous hang dog Why don't we know who your father was and how your mother got her living and how you throttled your brother and what a debauched fellow and corruptor of youth you are you chief of gluttons and of shameless rascals As Damus is retiring Don't run off pray before you have got some reminders for me to take away with you indeed I am ready to slay you this very moment with this potchard superlative villain that you are Throwing the missile at him One of them oh gods is running away in fits of laughter and the other pursues him with the tuperation as he cannot endure Damus's making merry over him indeed he seems actually about to strike him over the head with his potchard and we What are we going to do hereupon The comic poet appears to me to have rightly said Don't own defeat you've suffered then no harm for indeed what mighty evil is it if a few men go away convinced of these things for those who holds the contrary opinion are sufficiently numerous the greater part of the Greeks the mass of the people and the rabble and all the non-greek peoples However Hermes that saying of Darius which he uttered in the case of Zopyrus is exceedingly good so too I myself would have wished to have one such as Damis as an ally rather than the possession of ten thousand Babylonians End of Zeus the Tragedian part two End of Zeus the Tragedian by Lucian Translated by Howard Williams


So, welcome to this talk about connecting.NET Core to Divas. My name is Tom DeSain. I work at Red Hat in the.NET Core team. In our team, we package.NET Core for Fedora, OpenShift Container Platform, and we support our customers with.NET Core issues they have. I'm also a member of Fedora's.NET special interest group, which is an open group for people who are running on Fedora using.NET. So, we package.NET Core for Fedora, and we talk about.NET stuff. That group is open to anyone that wants to join it. I'm a contributor to.NET Core, and my contributions are mainly focusing on fixing Linux issues. I maintain a number of.NET Core Linux focus libraries, or.NET libraries like the one I'm giving this talk about, which is for working with Divas. I think most of you know Divas, but in case you don't, this is a one slide overview. So, Divas is an IPC mechanism. So, in the process communication mechanism that you find on most Linux systems, and system demons use it, and also desktop services use it. Some of these services are on a system bus, like your system D init process is on the system bus, and all the services like for example, your clipboard will be on a per user login session bus. So, these services expose their functionality as objects, and each object is identified by a path, and those objects implement interfaces and interfaces provide methods, properties, and signals. So, it's a pretty object oriented model. This library I'm using, so I'm maintaining this fork of Divas sharp, which has been around for a lot of time, and I updated the library to use the.NET asynchronous programming models, so task, await, sync type of things, and I built a tool for generating C sharp interfaces to access Divas services. So, the code for this is on GitHub, and packages are published on Nougat.org, so you can easily consume those. It's demo time. So, I'm creating a directory here and launching visual studio code, and let me open up the terminal here, and create a new console project. So, I get two files. One is my hello world main file, and the other one is a project file. I'm going to make one change here, which is specifying I want the latest C sharp version available in my program. So, to interact with Divas, the first thing we're going to do is add this TMDS Divas package. I can do that. Let me close these up. Also on the command line, and this will fetch the package from Nougat.org, and it adds the latest version, which is 070 to my project file. Another thing I'm going to add is the tool package. Unlike the previous package, the first package I added is a library. So, this is what the application will be using when we're running it to interact with Divas. The second package is actually an extension for the .NET command line interface, which we can use like for example, to generate C sharp code to work with those Divas services. So, I'm going to change this to .NET CLI tool reference because this is actually what the package is meant for. I'm going to call the .NET restore command once more, so it picks up this tool, and now I get this new command, which is .NET Divas, which is provided by that second package, and it allows me to do two things, generate code and list of stuff, which is on Divas. So, for example, I can do .NET Divas list services, and that will provide me a list with all the services which are now on my user bus. As our demo application, we're going to build a small application that takes the screenshot of the desktop and that opens that up. To take that screenshot, we're going to use the OrcNomeShell service, which was in this list. So, I'm now going to use the CodeGen command. I do .NET Divas CodeGen service Orc.Nome.Shell, and what this does is it goes and talks to this service and looks at introspection data, and from that introspection data, you get this file with a lot of interfaces, which describe all the functionalities that are available via this service. So, one of the things provided is the ability to take screenshots and we'll be using this IScreenshot interface and call the screenshot async methods to make that screenshot using that service. So, in our program file, we're going to create a local object, which is a proxy for the object in the service that allows us to create a screenshot. Now, I'm going to use the connection object, which is provided by the library. I'm going to the session bus, and I'm calling the create proxy method, and I'm using this interface, which was just generated for us. I need to provide two arguments here. The first argument is the name of our service, which is OrcNomeShell. The second argument is the part that identifies the object within the service, and to find that object, I can again use this CLI tool. So, I do .NET DebussListObjects, service OrcNomeShell, and I'll grab for screenshot here, and we see there is an object at this part which provides that interface. So, I'm going to write the part in here, which is OrcNomeShellScreenshot, and there we have our proxy object, and now we can just invoke that. This is an asynchronous method, so I'm going to update my main here, so it becomes async-compatible, and we'll call screenshot async. As a first parameter, we specify if you want to include the cursor, that's that too true. A second parameter is do we want to flash the screen? Let's flash the screen, and as a third parameter, we specify the file name. Now, we're going to look at the result, which contains two things, the file name used and whether it was successful or not, and if the result was successful, we're going to pop up this screenshot we just made on the desktop, and we'll use .NET's process class for that, and we'll pick the file name from the result, and we'll ask the shell, which is OrcNomeShell to open up that screenshot, and we'll also add an else statement here to get a message. In case we weren't able to make a screenshot, we'll write the message. Let's try to build this. This builds fine, and now we can run it, and voila, we saw the flash, and there's our screenshot that pops up. So, I think that was pretty nice. Like in five minutes, we were able to generate some code and access that DBA service. So my takeaway for you is, like if you want to access DBA services from .NET, whether it's Mono or .NET Core, but therefore you can use this library and it becomes really easy. So, we're at the end of the time slot. If you have questions, you can find me after the presentation. Thank you.


Right, everybody what is going on?  Definitely got a bit of fullness back in the face after coming back from Thailand. This last week eating has not been an issue I'll tell you that much. I've just finished a night shift that's pretty much the only type of shift I've been doing since I got back. I had one day shift on the Friday and then I've done four night shifts since then and we're back at Friday the next week. So it's been exactly a week pretty much since I got back from Thailand and I'm just gonna drive home right now. I'm gonna have a coffee. I'm gonna sit down and tell you guys exactly how things been going. Sit down on the stairs at mine and tell you guys how things been going as far as training, nutrition. Really happy to say that everything is back on track. My weight is climbing once again and we're making gains. So that's the main thing. I'll see you guys back at home in a little bit to tell you a bit more in depth on how things have been going. Alright guys we are back.  Not sure how the lighting is looking but last time I made a video on these very stairs the lighting was absolutely terrible. So I'm hoping, I'm hoping it's a little better this morning I think it is. Right so today's date it's Friday the 5th of May. Not sure if you can see that or not but it's about 8 o'clock in the morning Friday the 5th of May. Got back to Alice Springs a week and a day ago. So last Thursday I got back with about 36 hours no sleep so I'd been up for 36 hours. I'd managed to catch probably one or two hours sleep on a couple of the flights that we had to catch back from Thailand and I managed to get back to Alice Springs at about five at night on Thursday five o'clock at night with two hours sleep under my belt and you know just this feeling that I just had to get back in the gym. So you know I try and sometimes I try and brush it off and say that the gym's not that important to me. You know if I'm looking at it as a hobby as a thing it's probably not that important in the grand scheme things but for me personally on a day-to-day basis for me to be as positive as possible just for me for me personally mentally it really helps me just be content I think. I got straight back in the gym that night I hit some arms I think the next day I must hit some back then hit some chest then I did legs on the Sunday then Monday what do we do I think maybe some arms again and then I did shoulders and then I did back and then yesterday I did legs so yeah I've definitely I've really got back into it guys there's no you know there's no there's no easy way to say it I sit on Snapchat when I first got back on that Thursday night when I was just about to hit the gym after I was so tired you know I said to everyone the only way to get back on if you've fallen off the bandwagon you know it's not the end of the world okay the only the only way to get back on it is to get back on it the only way to get back in the gym and start you know making gains again is to get back in the gym you've got to put one foot in front of the other and actually step foot in the gym start lifting yes it's not going to be easy and I'll tell you what the first few workouts weren't easy but like I knew once I've hit each muscle group you know once or twice I'll get that fullness back once I've started eating again which I have done I'll get that you know a bit of fullness back the weight will start rising again and my my motivation will be sky high once again so I'm happy to report that yes I've hit each muscle group at least once I've hit legs twice I've hit chest twice I've hit arms twice um and uh you know I'm feeling I've hit back twice so I pretty much hit everything twice to be honest um really really cracked back into it I I felt like I could do that with you know minimal need for rest because I'd had two weeks off the gym uh so if anything guys you know I'm not I'm definitely not kicking myself for having two weeks off I was well I was prepared to do that I probably wasn't prepared to drink as much as I did but you know whatever that's in the past my liver luckily your liver is the most capable organ in the body of reproducing itself so I'm hoping that 10 days out of 365 will not if I can kill my liver but anyways definitely felt like it for a couple of days there so as far as strength goes yes my strength has been down but for example you know I tried I tried training back uh after being back for a couple of days my top sets on the bent over row had to max out at 100 kg I was putting 105 or 110 kg on there for the bent over row before I left uh two days ago when I was training back for the second time um I made sure that I I hit bent over row first that was the mistake in the first workout I hit the lap pull down first I went pretty hard on that obviously some of my strength has been fatigued and I'm not going to be able to hit the usual weight I can on the bent over row so hit the bent over row first happy to report I got eight clean reps at 110 kg which is pretty much you know bang on where I was before I left keeping in mind guys that I did cut for three weeks um before I went to Thailand and then cut another two kilos whilst I was away so in total I went from 105 down to 98 at my lightest now the the state I was in at 98 kg coming back from holiday was a very deflated flat state um I was very depleted um so you know all it took was a couple of days of eating normally again getting that fluid back in because that's the thing about Thailand is so humid it's fucking hard to stay hydrated so your weight is thrown off because of that so you know get my fluids back in get my meals back in and my weight has you know shot right back up to 100 kg um just like that so currently I am weighing about 100 kg I'm going to do a weigh-in for you guys first thing in the morning it's probably about that in the gym you know it's about 102 which makes me feel good you know getting that weight back and getting that size back the only thing I want to watch is obviously my stomach now I did shape up pretty well before I went away I did have you know some resemblance of abs coming through at the moment because I've blasted my my body with all this food and stuff and water I'm feeling quite bloated and I'm definitely not going to do a physique update but I do know that I'm putting the I'm putting the weight back on I'm getting that you know fullness back and as a natural um that's really important you know uh when you start getting flat when you start reducing your carbs and cutting into things it's extremely hard to get a pump in the gym and yeah you do feel flat I mean even when I'm fucking but anyways that's that's all part of it so with that being said yeah training's going really well um I could I could give you guys a few numbers you know squats I'm still hitting three plates for seven to nine reps my top sets I did an incline hammer strength machine on one of my chest days I put three plates on there did nine reps um what am I doing uh arms I was doing 26 kg hammer curls which is pretty good for me um I was doing easily uh 40 kg straight bar curls um and what do we got triceps yeah I was doing sets of 12 to 15 body weight dips everything's going pretty good nutrition I would honestly have to say that my my calories have been up around 4 000 a day since being back you know I'm not fucking around uh I feel like I've got you know feel like we've got my appetite back which I'm really happy about you guys know that when I first started this series and I started eating well again it didn't take long for me to sort of fill out and I get my best results when I'm eating a lot especially around the times I train I'm not counting anything at the moment I'm not trapping macros I really should be because it's such a great tool it's such a great piece of data to have in front of you um your diet and macros to justify whatever results you're getting fast at the moment I don't feel that's necessary I know I'm in a caloric surplus I know I'm training hard and those are the two major keys when it comes to building muscle so that's about it I'm going to leave you guys now um I don't know what I'm going to do right now I've got another night shift tonight so that should be interesting um but not really I do like my night shifts night shifts are quite easy as opposed to a day shift you know 12 hours at night when you don't really have to worry about too much is a lot less stressful than 12 hours in a day where your client is just at you all day every day so night shifts have been a nice easy introduction back into work after the two weeks off but I'm sure it's gonna get stressful from here at times but hey touch wood it might not so anyways guys that is it's the first week back of bulking I'm feeling really good about how things are going I'm excited to to make it to day 365 guys that is the plan it started off as one year of gains this this series and someone called me out after about 30 days because I changed it to making gains because I never thought that I would actually get to one year of of making gains or one year of making these videos so this series has definitely kept me motivated it's kept me accountable and I can thank you guys for that thanks for watching look out for the next couple of episodes I will be trying to change up the content I'm going to go down to the rugby field and get some cardio in so that should be cool and you know I really need to watch a few tutorials about how to actually use this camera because it's a fucking nice camera and I don't even know how to use it properly so that's what I'm going to do you guys have a fantastic day thanks for watching once again eat well train hard and I'll see you guys in the next one peace


This next one and I apologize. I found that photo and I just had to use it.  But the point is serious about video really does rule that as of this year, video is expected to make up 82% of online traffic. And so there's, there's so many different ways to incorporate that. And so I'm on a, I'm on a tread desk right now.  And I've thought about what if for square I would do like Tuesday tread talk, where I just like walk on my treadmill and I talk into a camera for three minutes or, you know, I think like I was sharing before, and I know from my brother and what he shared, we have a different expectation about the quality of video. And I know several years ago when there was all this push, you know, of video always increasingly growing over year, over year, but the quality mattered in a different way. And that has been a gift of COVID where because we're all home, we're growing beards, we're not cutting our hair. It's our brains that matter, you know, that we, we can have more fun in the way that we present our video content of what's the behind the scenes of what your organization is doing or what's the impact of what giving has been. What's the newsletter, the virtual newsletter of maybe your executive director sharing that into, you know, a Facebook live for two minutes instead of typing out a long multi paragraph update. How can you incorporate video in a lower risk way? I laughed too about the way the discomfort with Zoom and people not wanting to turn on the cameras.  You can leave them off. But that somehow it's that's different expectation about who we can be in a video versus who we are in real life, right? Like I'm not going to, I'm not going to eat on camera because I don't want to see people eat or like see me eat, but I go to restaurants with people. So it's like there's still this hump that we need to get over of the comfort that we have in a screen. Like somehow I'm just weird if I'm not three dimensional. And none of you, none of us are weird in our, in our video form and that there's a lot more that we can do with it in sharing engaging updates and just communicating about the impact that our volunteers or donors are having in the work that we're doing.