The Arrows of Hercules

Glaukos grinned so that his teeth showed in the dusk. "Father means, Master Zopyros, that the lousy ready-for-aught won't give back my sister's dowry. Under our law he'd be compelled to, but safe in Motya he can tell us to go futter the moon."

"That's not the only difficulty," said Xanthos, looking sternly at his son. "Why do you ask such a question, young sir?"

Zopyros' throat seemed to have grown a lump that all but strangled him. At last he stammered: "Be-because I—ah—I wondered if you might consider me as a son-in-law. Of course I realize that it's a bit irregular—my family ought to make the arrangements with you —but they're in Taras, and—ah—ah—" His voice died away in an ineffectual gasp.

Xanthos nodded sagely. "I thought you had some such idea in mind. As you say, it's irregular for persons of our class; but then so is Korinna's present status. So let's not look down our noses at each other." The stout old man smiled. "I suppose you're in love with my daughter."

"Yes, sir, I certainly am!"

"Well, any wise man will tell you that love before marriage is a mistake; the love that follows a marriage prudently arranged by your parents is the only kind you can bank on. But, in view of Korinna's lack of dowry, I'm not inclined to split hairs. What would your father say?"

"I don't know, yet."

"Who is he? What sort of family have you? What is their property? What their ancestry? I might as well tell you that my lineage is as noble as the noblest, and my wife's is nearly as exalted. I trace descent from three gods and two heroes. How about you?"

"If you must know, sir, I'm part Persian. My father ..." Zopyros told of his family and their business in Taras.

Xanthos said: "We have here a lot of irregularities to set off against each other. Your Persian blood does not disturb me, since the Persians are after all the most aristocratic of the barbarians.

Your father sounds respectable enough; but his estate is in business, not land, which is, of course, proper kind of property. Mine is in land.

"I wouldn't let Korinna go to you utterly destitute, although you need not expect the sum you would get if she were a virgin bride. Unless, perhaps, you can manage to steal her portion back from the god-detested Elazar. Tell me about yourself."

Zopyros, smiling, spread his hands. "What shall I tell you, sir? If I tell you how good I am, you'll deem me a braggart; if I tell you how bad, you might believe me."

"Go ahead and let me judge. For instance, what is your attitude towards religion?"

"I'm a Pythagorean, albeit I fear a somewhat imperfect one."

"Hm. A heretical school, but one about which I am inclined to be broad-minded, in view of their high ethical standards. I notice that you ate the meat served you."

"That's what I meant by being imperfect. The Man urged his followers to use their reason, and my reason has never been able to take his rules of eating very seriously."

"How would you describe your own character?"

"Well, sir—ah—I have, I suppose, my good and bad points like other men. I'm a competent engineer, and I think I shall always be able to make a decent living. I try to fulfill my promises and *meet my obligations. I'm temperate in my vices and have never been convicted of a crime. On the other hand, I don't pretend to be a great hero, or a beauty, or an athlete, or a leader, or a demagogue. Most men of your class, sir, would not even consider me a gentleman, because I work hard and don't mind getting my hands dirty."

"What's your politics? Are you a sound conservative, with due respect for the ancient and divinely established order of things? Or are you a wild-eyed radical who wants to pull down the better sort of people to his own base level?"

"I pay little heed to politics. I had rather follow my trade and let others work themselves into a frenzy over political questions."

"People," said Xanthos, "are generally satisfied to mind their own business when it is worth minding."

"Thank you, sir; I'll remember that the next time somebody rebukes me for lack of civic spirit. But, to be honest, it's lack of aptitude. One cannot be first in everything. To me, stone and wood and bronze are quiet, trustworthy things that do what you expect of them. But people—phy! One never knows what they'll do next. Some men, like my friend Archytas, are born with an instinct for handling them; but not I. I'm cut out for minding my own affairs and letting the world go by, instead of leaping in and snatching the helm from the helmsman on the slightest pretext. However, I do my best."

"According to Korinna," said Xanthos, "you leaped in effectively enough in Italy. At least, by Hera, you admit to some faults, instead of merely boasting, like one of Homer's heroes, of your own ineffable virtues! Now tell me more about your lineage. Just the last few generations, please; do not bother to trace it back to the time Apollon impregnated some remote female ancestor on a hillside, back before Theognis was born. I hardly expect you to display a more exalted pedigree than Korinna's."