Friend.

This was beyond Daedalus himself, to be metamorphosed thus into a hawk, or jay, and we know nothing of it.

Menippus.

You are not far from the mark, my friend; for my wings were a kind of Daedalian contrivance.

Friend.

Thou art a bold rogue indeed, and meant no doubt, if you had chanced to fall into any part of the ocean, to have called it, as Icarus {157a} did, by your own name, and styled it the Menippean Sea.

Menippus.

Not so; his wings were glued on with wax, and when the sun melted it, could not escape falling; but mine had no wax in them.

Friend.

Indeed! now shall I quickly know the truth of this affair.

Menippus.

You shall:  I took, you must know, a very large eagle {157b} and a vulture also, one of the strongest I could get, and cut off their wings; but, if you have leisure, I will tell you the whole expedition from beginning to end.

Friend.

Pray do, for I long to hear it:  by Jove the Friendly, I entreat thee, keep me no longer in suspense, for I am hung by the ears.

Menippus.

Listen, then, for I would by no means baulk an inquisitive friend, especially one who is nailed by the ears, as you are.  Finding, on a close examination, that everything here below, such as riches, honours, empire, and dominion, were all ridiculous and absurd, of no real value or estimation, considering them, withal, as so many obstacles to the study of things more worthy of contemplation, I looked up towards nobler objects, and meditated on the great universe before me; doubts immediately arose concerning what philosophers call the world; nor could I discover how it came into existence, its creator, the beginning or the end of it.  When I descended to its several parts, I was still more in the dark:  I beheld the stars, scattered as it were by the hand of chance, over the heavens; I saw the sun, and wished to know what it was; above all, the nature of the Moon appeared to me most wonderful and extraordinary; the diversity of its forms pointed out some hidden cause which I could not account for; the lightning also, which pierces through everything, the impetuous thunder, the rain, hail, and snow, {159} all raised my admiration, and seemed inexplicable to human reason.  In this situation of mind, the best thing I thought which I could possibly do was to consult the philosophers; they, I made no doubt, were acquainted with the truth, and could impart it to me.  Selecting, therefore, the best of them, as well as I could judge from the paleness and severity of their countenances, and the length of their beards (for they seemed all to be high-speaking and heavenly-minded men), into the hands of these I entirely resigned myself, and partly by ready money, partly by the promise of more, when they had made me completely wise, I engaged them to teach me the