\ 
 
 1 
 
 01 
 
 ««" 
 
 V. 
 
 i 
 
EIGHT COMEDIES 
 
 OF 
 
 ARISTOPHANES 
 
 TRANSLATED INTO EHYMED METRES 
 
 BY 
 
 LEONAED-HAMPSON EUDD, M.A. 
 
 LONDON 
 LONGrMANS, aEEEN, AND CO. 
 
 1867 
 
^ 
 
 
 32.V3«t 
 
PA 3^77 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GENERAL INTRODUCTION . ... 
 
 vii 
 
 CHRONOLOOICAL TABLE 
 
 . xiii 
 
 ACHARNIANS 
 
 1 
 
 KNIGHTS 
 
 . 57 
 
 CLOUDS . . ' .... 
 
 . 119 
 
 WASPS 
 
 . 183 
 
 PEACE 
 
 . 219 
 
 BIRDS 
 
 . 269 
 
 FROGS 
 
 . 343 
 
 PLUTUS 
 
 . 407 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
 in 2008 witii funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 littp://www.arcliive.org/details/eiglitcomediesofaOOarisricli 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The object of the Translator has been to offer a 
 readable version of the Comedies of Aristophanes to the 
 English general reader ; an engraving from a picture to 
 which he has no access. At the same time he must own 
 the hope that his rendering may not be unacceptable to 
 scholars, who have not mastered all the comedies of his 
 author, and even to some who have done so ; inasmuch as 
 the careful engraver, while studying his original, may 
 bring out features in the composition not noticed by every 
 eye. But, wishing to say and profess as little of himself 
 as possible, he disclaims the ambition of having primarily 
 addressed himself to scholars. 
 
 Whether the object which has been avowed was in any 
 way feasible, seems to depend on the answers which may 
 be found to serveral questions. 1. How far any comedy 
 of Aristophanes could be presented as a readable whole, 
 after every stain of grossness has been thoroughly dis- 
 charged from the page ? 2. Seeing that these productions 
 are in the nature of photographs from the political and 
 social life of the place and period, how far their abound- 
 ing wit and humour could be made appreciable by those 
 who are not already instructed and interested in the men 
 and events of the time ? 3. How much of pure wit 
 would remain after the most part of that kind of humour 
 which depends upon parody or play of words had been 
 evaporated in the process of translation ? 
 
Tiii GENEKAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 If tlie Translator had not hoped that his versions would 
 give a reasonably satisfactory answer to these questions, of] 
 course he would not now be venturing to offer them to the 
 public. 
 
 Whatever might be the result, he undertook with him- 
 self that his pages should be as free, not only from every 
 expression, but from every hint or suggestion of license as 
 is happily the best light literature of this day. This re^ 
 quirement has, in his judgment, necessitated in two or 
 three cases the excision of scenes, the point of which; 
 seemed to depend on an exceptionable idea, though that 
 might not be absolutely expressed. 
 
 In consideration of the second difficulty also the Trans- 
 lator has allowed himself occasional curtailment of his 
 original. Those to whom smaller features of personal 
 or political allusion will be interesting, will have command 
 of them from the Author's text. 
 
 It is an evil that a poem, serious or comic, should 
 require notes at all. But for the first reading of Aris- 
 tophanes they are indispensable. Aiming, however, always 
 at being sparing, the Translator hopes that he has given 
 sufficient to assist the mere English reader who would be 
 likely to find interest or amusement in these Comedies. 
 They may stimulate some who read to ask further informa- 
 tion on the events or customs referred to. In these days one 
 may feel confidence that books of reference for such matter 
 wiU be easily within the reach of such a class of readers. 
 
 These Comedies not only contain lively pictures of 
 Athenian life, but are remarkable as having been produced 
 for the amusement of the very people who are caricatured. 
 The Wit and Poet, whose productions have won for him a 
 world-wide and enduring name, submitted his work to the 
 judgment of the whole indiscriminate mass of Athenian 
 citizens gathered in the public theatres. These ^Comedies, 
 a mere specimen of their kind, remain to us a monument 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. ix 
 
 of the liigh quality of wit, thought, and expression which 
 this People could appreciate and enjoy. The case is so 
 remarkable, nay, so unique in the world^s history, that it 
 may excuse a few suggestive observations on the social 
 and intellectual training of this democracy of art-critics. 
 The more, as the same will illustrate generally some of 
 those special characteristics of the Athenian citizen with 
 which Aristophanes is constantly making merry. 
 
 The Day of Marathon^, it will be seen, is again and 
 again touched as if it were the beginning of Athenian 
 history, the Birthday of the State. It was not indeed 
 quite that, but it was the day on which the State came of 
 age. The People who were the life and soul of the Anti- 
 Persian Confederacy had been formed in the silence of many 
 generations ; but from that day forth they felt their own 
 life and rights and power: they took their own place, 
 and began to push their way to preeminence among the 
 independent communities, known to us collectively as 
 Greece. For a long time their political constitution had 
 been that of a limited aristocracy. Political power had 
 originally been apportioned to classes in the ratio of their 
 means of contributing to State -burdens. But as the rich 
 must always be the few, and as in a State not yet com- 
 mercial, wealth will generally be hereditary, the aristocracy 
 of wealth would naturally pass into one of birth. Magis- 
 tracies and commands would come to be regarded as the 
 right of men of family. But by the constitution of Solon 
 the whole mass of the People in Common Assembly had 
 at least a restraining share in government, ready to become 
 very effective, whenever political power came to be valued. 
 That time came. The Common Assembly in the Pnyx 
 assumed and used its power legislative and executive. All 
 free citizens were entitled to an equal vote in the Assembly. 
 Many touches in these Comedies will show how the right 
 of citizenship was jealously guarded against intrusion, and 
 
X • GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 what pains were taken to establish the inherited right. 
 Freedom then had a real meaning in relation to this right. 
 It meant that the man was not a slave, but the master of 
 slaves. In Wasps we shall see that the old man, who was 
 so keen in earning the paltry daily fee of a dicast, was the 
 master of at least two slaves. Household-service, farm- 
 work, handiwork of all kinds, was done by slaves. So the 
 citizen living in Athens had ample leisure to attend to 
 business, and his business was self-government. There was 
 no idea of being governed by Representation. The citizen 
 living in the country acquiesced generally in the acts of 
 his fellows in the city ; but he might at any time come in 
 and take his part with them. To make laws, then, was the 
 business of every one. A People by nature very shrewd 
 and energetic liked their business. Thus were they habit- 
 uated to hearing arguments for and against measures, 
 with the responsibility of decision lying upon them. The 
 peculiar constitution of Athens opened to every citizen, 
 not only the legislative Assembly, but the law courts too. 
 They were free, and they were encouraged, to serve in 
 them in great bodies, as dicasts, as something between 
 our idea of a presiding judge of the law, and jurymen, 
 whose province is the fact. A silent revolution was effected 
 during the long State-management, or, so to say, ministry, 
 of Pericles. Under his influence many matters were 
 withdrawn from the more aristocratic court of Areopagus, 
 to be submitted to the jurisdiction of the open popular 
 courts : while he encouraged service in these courts by 
 providing for the payment of a fee for every attendance. 
 
 In this way, again, a people was formed, accustomed 
 daily to hear acute discussions of right and wrong, and to 
 weigh arguments and evidence. It is a marked feature of 
 every one of these Comedies that they are addressed to a 
 people of such habits. It is curious to observe how 
 Aristophanes, while he is reprobating the habit of mind 
 
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. xi 
 
 SO engendered, is constantly using it, and pandering to it. 
 Such were some of the influences at work to train that 
 peculiar people, to whose judgment Tragic and Comic 
 Dramatists and Orators could submit works, which the 
 intellect of all times since has accepted as masterpieces 
 and models. 
 
 A few words more on the general political position of 
 the Athenian Democracy in the early days of Aristophanes. 
 When Pericles entered into public life he had all the title 
 to power which the highest birth and connections could 
 give him. But he did not represent the sentiments or 
 interests of his class. The aristocratic party was in op- 
 position to him. He crushed it ; and by the banishment 
 of its leader, Thucydides son of Milesias, obtained 
 undisputed ascendency to the end of his life. So long, 
 however, as Pericles was at the head of the democracy, 
 the most fastidious aristocrat might feel himself under a 
 government directed by a man of unquestionable genius, 
 integrity, and refinement. Not so after his death. This 
 was exactly the crisis when Aristophanes, as a very young 
 man, appears upon the scene. Pericles had governed the 
 People by the People. On his death they found the 
 government in their own hands ; and soon disposed them- 
 selves to follow the lead of men sprung from their own 
 order, such as Cleon and Hyperbolus. Against this the 
 very tastes, as well as the interests, of the old aristocratic 
 party revolted. They cast about for the hope and means 
 of recovering their old rights and influence. It seemed 
 that they might be aided by the intervention of States 
 where Aristocracy was still dominant, such as Corinth and 
 Lacedsemon. Whereas the Democracy of Athens was, 
 as such a polity usually is, propagandist. The collision 
 between the two principles, long threatening, determined 
 in the Peloponnesian War ; wherein the parties were Athens 
 and the democratic against Sparta and the oligocratic 
 
xii GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 
 
 interest. Under such circumstances there was of course 
 a party within Athens whose hearts were really with the 
 enemy. Of this party manifestly was Aristophanes. Let 
 those who will approve and defend his political principles 
 and sagacity. He is here presented only as wit, poet, and 
 painter of manners. 
 
 Subjoined is a brief Chronological Table, chiefly drawn 
 from Clinton's Fasti Hellenici. It will tell not only the 
 order in which these Comedies were put upon the stage, 
 but may render some notes needless, or briefer, by in- 
 dicating the date of historical events alluded to in the. 
 Comedies, or of interest in connection with them. 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 490. Battle of Marathon, ^schylus a combatant. 
 
 480. Battle of Salamis. Euripides born. 
 
 472. ^schylus exhibits his Tragedy Pei-sians. 
 
 471. Themistocles ostracised. Naxos reduced. Wasps, 1. 186. 
 
 4G9. Great Earthquake at Sparta. Pericles enters public life. 
 
 4G8. Birth of Socrates. 
 
 456. Death of ^schylus, ^t. 69. 
 
 446. Birth of Aristophanes (or within two years later). 
 
 Birth of Eupolis. 
 445. Revolt of Euboea. Clouds, 1. 187. 
 
 Attica invaded by Peloponnesians under Pleistoanax. 
 
 Truce for thirty years. 
 444. Ostracism of Thucydides, son of Milesias. 
 431. Peloponnesian War. First Invasion of Attica. Alliance of Athens 
 
 with Sitalces, King- in Thrace. 
 430. Second Invasion of Attica. Plague at Athens. 
 429. Death of Pericles. Birth of Plato. 
 
 Naval actions under Phormion. Knights, 1. 562. Peace, 1. 286. 
 428. Third Invasion of Attica. 
 427. Aristophanes gains second prize with Daitaleis. 
 
 Fourth Invasion. 
 426. Babylonians, in which Aristophanes reflects severely upon his fellow- 
 citizens in presence of Strangers. 
 425. AcHARNiANS, at the festival Lensea. 
 
 Fifth Invasion of Attica. 
 
 Demosthenes occupies Pylos. Lacedaemonians cut oflf in the island 
 Sphacteria. 
 
 Expedition against Corinth in which Knights took part. Thucyd. 
 iv. 42. Knights, 1. 662. 
 
 Lacedaemonians on Sphacteria surrender to Cleon. 
 
 Overtures for accommodation from Sparta. 
 424. Knights^ first prize. Cratinus, second prize. 
 
 Amphipolis taken by Brasidas. Miscarriage of Thucydides, the 
 Historian. Sitalces killed fighting against the Triballi. 
 423. Truce for a year. Clouds. Cratinus, first prize. 
 422. Wasps. Hostilities recommenced. Death of Cratinus, set. 97. 
 
 Death of Cleon and Brasidas in Thrace. 
 
xiv CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 B.C. 
 
 421. Truce with Lacedaemonians for fifty years. 
 
 419. Peace. 
 
 415. Athenian expedition of conquest to Sicily, under Nicias, Alcibiades, 
 and Lamachus. Alcibiades recalled by the ' Salaminian.' Birds j 
 1. 128. Escapes on his return. 
 
 414. BiEDS. Lamachus falls in Sicily. 
 
 413. Demosthenes takes reinforcements to Sicily. Utter destruction of 
 Athenian fleet and forces in Sicily. Nicias and Demosthenes 
 taken and put to death. 
 
 411. Oligarchic revolution effected in Athens under Pisander. Phiynicus 
 joins the oligarchs. The 400. Phrynicus assassinated. Sub- 
 version of the 400. Pisander, Alexicles, Aristarchus, and others 
 of the party quit Attica. Alcibiades recalled by the citizens in 
 the fleet. 
 Lysistrata. Thesmophoriazusce. ' 
 
 408. First Plutus. 
 
 406. Sea fight at Arginusae. 
 
 Erasinides and other commanders put to death. 
 Death of Euripides. 
 
 405. Death of Sophocles, set. 90. F^GS. 
 
 Athenian fleet destroyed at JSgospotami. 
 
 404. The Thirty Tyrants. 
 
 Athens surrenders to Lysander. End of Peloponnesian War. 
 
 399. Death of Socrates. 
 
 392. Ecclesiazusce. 
 
 388. Second Plutus. 
 
ACHAENIMS. 
 
 fy 
 
INTEODUCTIOK 
 
 A SLIGHT KNOWLEDGE of tlie events of the Peloponnesian 
 War in its first years is necessary in order to read this 
 comedy with intellig^ence and appreciation, 
 
 CORRIGENDA 
 
 Page 21, line 10, fw Shrew'd read Shrewd 
 „ 24, „ 14," „ hearts „ heart's 
 „ 90, note 1, after in swpply which 
 ,,133, „ 3,/or scoliasts read scholiasts, eipasstm 
 „ 141, line 26, „ determined read determine 
 
 „ 191, 
 
 » 
 
 34, 
 
 „ lay 
 
 „ lie 
 
 „ 194, 
 
 „ 
 
 22, 
 
 „ sillus 
 
 „ Sillus 
 
 ,. 227, 
 
 » 
 
 16. 
 
 „ supplied 
 
 „ suppled 
 
 ,,254, 
 
 
 27, 
 
 „ us 
 
 „ our 
 
 „ 267, 
 
 „ 
 
 24, 
 
 „ you go 
 
 „ go you 
 
 294, note, dele index figure ' 4,' and connect with preceding line. 
 „ 313, line 21, supply Dram. Pers. Text. 
 ,,362, „ 21,/or thy read! the 
 „ 441, „ 20, after Giving read to 
 
 Rudd's Aristophanes. 
 
 The Spartan trusted that such a body driven within the 
 city walls, and having each man his even vote in the 
 Popular Assembly, would influence the Athenians to come 
 out and withstand him. He was disappointed. The smoke 
 of the place went up in sight of the city walls — indeed, as 
 it would seem by some lines in the opening of this comedy, 
 in sight of the Pnyx, the very spot where the Popular 
 Assembly was held : but no one came out. It did not 
 consist either with the military art of the time to form the 
 siege of large places, or with the habits of the Spartans to 
 
 B 2 
 
,s8r .. 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 A SLIGHT KNOWLEDGE of the events of the Peloponnesian 
 War in its first years is necessary in order to read this 
 comedy with intelligence and appreciation. 
 
 By reference to the Chronological Table it will be seen 
 that in the previous six years there had been four invasions 
 of Attica. In these efforts the Lacedsemonian energy had 
 spent itself and was defeated by passive resistance. The 
 Lacedsemonians were confident in their prowess as soldiers, 
 and perhaps justly promised themselves superiority if the 
 Athenians would meet them in the field. But the wis- 
 dom and moral influence of Pericles restrained them from 
 being drawn to play the game of the enemy. He persuaded 
 the country population of Attica to retire behind the city 
 walls, and refuse battle. Archidamus, who led the Pelo- 
 ponnesian Confederates in the early invasions, could not 
 believe that the Athenians would endure to see their 
 country ravaged without striking a blow for it. For some 
 days he held his troops only threatening the important 
 district round Acharn^. This was one of the largest 
 boroughs of Attica, furnishing 4,000 able men and citizens. 
 
 The Spartan trusted that such a body driven within the 
 city walls, and having each man his even vote in the 
 Popular Assembly, would influence the Athenians to come 
 out and withstand him. He was disappointed. The smoke 
 of the place went up in sight of the city walls — indeed, as 
 it would seem by some lines in the opening of this comedy, 
 in sight of the Pnyx, the very spot where the Popular 
 Assembly was held : but no one came out. It did not 
 consist either with the military art of the time to form the 
 siege of large places, or with the habits of the Spartans to 
 
 B 2 
 
4 ..\ _.•:..••.;: . .IJ^TKODUCTION. 
 
 remain for any length, of time in the field. Therefore 
 having done as much damage as they could, after so many 
 days' service, the confederated forces broke up, and each 
 retired home. The operation was repeated in the following 
 summer, and followed, in Athens, by the memorable and 
 terrible plague. It is curious that Aristophanes nowhere 
 refers to this scourge. Probably the fear of contact with 
 it restrained the Peloponnesians from an invasion in the 
 third year. At the end of six years, however, and though 
 the master-mind of Pericles had passed away, the patriotic 
 spirit of the Athenians remained unbroken. 
 
 There was, no doubt, a party in Athens opposed to the 
 policy of the war from the beginning, and therefore ready 
 at any time to seize an opportunity for promoting peace. 
 To Aristophanes the sufferings of the last six years seemed 
 to favour such a proposition. The play Acharnians is in 
 fact such a suggestion made from the stage of Comedy. 
 Dic^OPOLis, the principal person, is a supposed yeoman of 
 that very borough Acharnce. Had the yeomen of all Attica 
 been as short-sighted and selfish in their views as he is 
 represented, Archidamus would not have been disappointed. 
 Though Dicseopolis is nominally a countryman, he is not 
 invested with any such characteristics as would give the 
 impression that he really represented that class. On the 
 contrary he is the same citizen, who will appear again and 
 again under various names and circumstances ; he is selfish, 
 shrewd, ready of speech, thoroughly at home when he has 
 got into an argument, and, confiding in his rhetorical 
 powers, ready to risk everything on the certainty of making 
 his points. 
 
 Aristophanes had the populace of Athens before him. 
 He is evidently in earnest in his argument for disposing 
 them towards the idea of peace with Sparta. The difficulty 
 and the art with which he approaches this theme ; first 
 throwing it out playfully, then for a while diverting his 
 audience with a witty quizzing of Euripides, all show how 
 popular the war still was, how the ravages of the confed- 
 erates had rather embittered the contest than disposed the 
 sufferers to submit as the worsted party. 
 
 The comedy opens with some very lively sketches from 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 the Pntx, the court and presence-chamber of this royal 
 people in General Assembly. In the second part the reader 
 will make a first acquaintance with that pest of Athenian 
 life, the Sycophant or Informer, and with Aristophanes's 
 way of handling him. Though the name of Lamachus is 
 historical, the character under that name in the comedy 
 is so evidently a fancy picture, that it does not call for any 
 vindication of a patriotic man and good soldier from the 
 ridicule here cast upon him. 
 
 The comedy obtained the first prize or place : and it is 
 only just to observe that it was the production of a man 
 yet under twenty-one, or, as some suppose, only nineteen. 
 
Dlc^OPOLis of Acharn<s. 
 
 Heeald, or Crier of the CouH. 
 
 AjtfPHiTHEUS; a ci'azy Citizen of. Athens. 
 
 Athenian Ambassadoks returned from the CouH of Persia. 
 
 Shamartabas^ a pretended Envoy from the Persian King. 
 
 Athenian Envoy, returned from the Court of Sitakes. 
 
 Choetjs of Acharnian Charcoal-burners. 
 
 Wife and Daughter of Dicceopolis. 
 
 Euripides, the Tragic Poet, 
 
 Cephisophon, So'vant of Euripides. 
 
 Lamachus, a Soldier, and Partisan for War. 
 
 A Megarian. 
 
 A Boeotian. 
 
 An Informer. 
 
 NiCARCHUS, another Informer. 
 
 A Servant of Lamaclius. 
 
 A Farmer. 
 
 A Bridegroom's-Man. 
 
 An Archer of the Town- Guard. 
 
 % P> 
 
 ^ 
 
Dic^OPOLis, alone in the Pnyx, 
 
 I'm sad and sick at heart : for few my satisfactions ; 
 They are but four poor things ; and then for my distrac- 
 tions, 
 They are sandmoiintain-fold. Come, let me count my 
 
 treasure. 
 What was it I enjoyed worthy the name of pleasure ? 
 Ah ! yes, the sight of those five talents brought to light, 
 When Cleon threw them up ; that was a true delight. 
 I thank the Knights for it ; it was their doing, and 
 Done worthily of Greece.^ But on the other hand. 
 That was a tragic trouble — when my mouth was wide 
 Expecting ^schylus,^ and then the herald cried — 
 ' Theognis lead the Chorus in ; ' 'twill be believed 
 How very dreadful was the shock my heart received. 
 But then, I own, it cheered me up, and made me laugh 
 To see Dexitheus come in upon the calf 
 To sing Boeotian ; but when Chseris thrust his head 
 Upon the stage to pipe the Orthian I was dead ! 
 But never since the day when first I knew the touch 
 Of soft soap on my eyelids did I smart so much 
 As now. This is their way ; the people should have met 
 This morning early, but there's not a soul come yet ! 
 They're in the market-place to know what news is toward, 
 And shifting here and there to dodge the scarlet cord ; * 
 
 1 Cleon was the reigning favourite of the people at this time, and the 
 principal object of Aristophanes's attack. It is unfortunate that we do 
 not know more of the circumstances here alluded to. It is alleged that 
 Cleon took a bribe of five talents from the islands to procure an alleviation 
 of their contributions to the anti-Persian confederacy, of which Athens 
 was the leading naval power, and further that he had in some way- 
 insulted the order of Knights. No connection between the two facts 
 appears. But the Knights prosecuted him, and he was fined this 
 amount. 
 
 ^ ^schylus had been dead more than thirty years ; but dramas left by 
 him had been produced upon the stage. 
 
 3 When no exciting business was toward, it was difficult to get a 
 
8 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [23-45. 
 
 Here are not even Presidents ! Some hours too late 
 
 Will the J rush in and set their elbows to debate 
 
 About the foremost bench. And what care they for Peace ? 
 
 Oh ! City, City, how shall our disorders cease ? 
 
 Here, day by day, the first to come, I sit alone 
 
 And look about me, gape, I stretch my limbs and groan : 
 
 I don't know what to do ; I scribble, pluck my hair, 
 
 I calculate. I let my eye rove here and there, 
 
 I see the fields afar, and let my heart go longing ; 
 
 I hate the City ways ; and thoughts of home come thronging ! 
 
 Oh, for my borough home ! where no one sa3^s, 'Come buy' 
 
 Coals, vinegar, or oil ; we do not know the cry. 
 
 For who would buy the things which every farm produces ? 
 
 But I have yet my plan to deal with these abuses. 
 
 Yes, they may try to speak ; but no one shall be heard 
 
 For noise and jeering who shall dare to speak a word 
 
 Except about a Peace. But here they are with noon, 
 
 These Presidents ! exactly as I said ; and soon 
 
 Will follow, I predict, that hustle for a place. 
 
 [Enter Presidents of the Assembly with a mixed crowd, 
 Heralds, Archers of the Guard, Amphitheus, Am,- 
 hassadors. Noise and hustling while they are taking 
 their places. 
 
 Herald, Pass forward ! pass to be within the lustral 
 
 space. 
 Amphitheus {apart to Bicceopolis), Has anyone yet spoken? 
 Her, Who desires to speak ? 
 
 Amp, I do. 
 
 Her, Your name ? 
 
 Amp, Amphitheus. 
 
 Her, In simple Greek 
 
 * God on both sides ; ' ^ — but are you not a man? 
 
 sufficient number of people to attend the Assembly and transact ordinary 
 business ; at such times two public officers were sent into the market- 
 place to fish it with a long line covered with ruddle or red paint. Who- 
 ever was touched by the cord was bound to attend the Assembly. 
 
 ^ That is the meaning of 'Amphitheus.' This is not expressed, but 
 necessarily implied in the question of the Plerald. 
 
45-65.] ACHARNIANS. 9 
 
 ^^?- I'm not, 
 
 But an immortal. For Ti*iptolemns begot, 
 Demeter bore to liim, Amphitheus ; and he 
 Keleos, who intermarried with Phsenarete, 
 Mj grandame ; then of her Lucinus saw the light ; 
 He was my sire ; and therefore in my parents' right 
 I am immortal. Now unto my single care 
 It is committed by the Gods to you to bear 
 The overtures for Peace ; I have not drawn my pay, 
 Nor, being an immortal, rations for the way ; 
 In truth, the Prytanes will not — 
 
 Her. Ho, archers there ! 
 
 Amp, Oh my Triptolemus and Celeus, wiU ye bear ^- — 
 
 [^Archers of the guard d/rag Amp. out of 
 the Pnyx. 
 Die. Ye wrong us, Prytanes, to oust a man who begs 
 To bring us peace and hang our shields upon their pegs. 
 Her. Sit down and hold your tongue. 
 Die. Not I, unless the question 
 
 Of Peace may be debated upon this suggestion. 
 Her, The Legates from the King — 
 Die. What king ? — I can't abide 
 
 Legates and peacock's tails, and coxcombs with their pride ! 
 Her. Silence ! 
 
 \_Amhassadors come forward in Persian 
 costume. 
 Die. What figures ! 
 
 Ambassadors. You despatched us to the King 
 
 At two drachms daily for our pains and wayfaring. 
 Euthymenes was archon — 
 
 Die. Oh ! the drachms ! ^ 
 
 ^ Siicli was the popularity of the war at this period, that Aristophanes 
 had undertaken a work of great personal risk in making a suggestion in 
 behalf of peace ; but this is obviously the aim of this drama. By way of 
 preparing the minds of the audience for the line Dicaeopolis is going to 
 take, the dramatist begins by putting the proposal of peace in the mouth 
 of a man obviously crazy. This, it appears to me, is the explanation of 
 the part here given to Amphitheus. 
 
 ^ Euthymenes was archon eleven years before this time. So long had 
 these ambassadors been on their mission, and so long had the pay been 
 running. 
 
10 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [65-85. 
 
 Amh, The pains 
 
 Of travel we endured on the Caystrian plains 
 Were hard to tell, the tented bivouac, the loads 
 Of cushions in the cars that bore us o'er their roads ; 
 We'd nearly died of it. 
 
 Die, (aside) I was in luck to sleep 
 
 Under the parapet upon a rubbish heap. 
 
 Amh, There was no help for it where we entertained 
 But out of gold and crystal goblets must be drained 
 The richest wines untempered. 
 
 Die. {aside) Simple citizen ! 
 
 That you should bear to be bamboozled by such men ! 
 
 Amh, Three years and something more of this brought 
 us at last 
 To the King's palace : there they brought for our repast 
 Whole oxen from the oven. 
 
 Die, (aside) Home-baked bullocks ! lies ! 
 
 Amh, Yes, and, by Jove, a bird of most enormous size, 
 At least three times the figure of Cleonymus,^ 
 The name of it was Chetah. 
 
 Die. (aside) You are cheating us. 
 
 With your two drachmas. 
 
 Amh, Now we bring you the ' King's eye ' 
 
 Shamartabas.^ 
 
 Her, The King's Eye. 
 
 Enter Shamaetabas and another as Persians, 
 
 Amh, Vouchsafe, Sir, to say why 
 
 You come to Athens from the King, and what to say. 
 Shamart. I artoman exarx ampissonai satray. 
 Amh, You understand him ? 
 Die, By Apollo, not a word. 
 
 ^ Cleonymus, not otlierwise known, is a perpetual butt for Aristophanes, 
 as having two of the qualities of FalstafF upon which Shakespeare plays, 
 superabundance of flesh and lack of valour. Clouds, 318. Knights, 1150. 
 Birds, 272, 1397. 
 
 ^ The ' I^g's Eye ' evidently a translation of the Persian name of 
 office. For the stage he was dressed in character, with a mask having 
 one huge eye. 
 
86-110.] ACHARNIANS. 11 
 
 Amb, He says the King will send us gold. 
 
 {to Shamartahas) You are not heard, 
 Speak louder, Sir ; and lay a stress upon the gold. 
 Sham, Filthy Ionian sail never catch de cold. 
 Die, That's plain ! 
 
 Amh, What does he say ? 
 
 Die. Without a compliment 
 
 To us, he says that Persian gold wiU not be sent. 
 
 Amh, No, no, he says it will be sent in Persian sacks. 
 Bic, Sacks, you impostor ! pooh ! give way and let me 
 tax 
 The man myself, — I'll paint your face with crimson dye. 
 Unless before this man you make distinct reply. — 
 WiU the Great King your master send us any gold ? 
 
 [Shamartabas and his Colleague toss 
 bach their heads. 
 Are they mere lies which our Ambassadors have told P 
 
 [They nod assent. 
 They nod their heads in such Greek fashion, that 'tis clear 
 The home of these impostors is not far from here. 
 
 Herald. Silence ! sit down. The Senate orders me to call 
 The King's Eye to their dinner in the public haU. 
 
 \_The Athenian and Persian Ambassadors 
 retire to dinner. 
 Die, There now ! A man might hang himself for less ! 
 and I 
 Am left behind to cool my heels till by and bye. 
 The door of hospitality is never shut 
 When men like these may be invited in — 
 
 But, tut, 
 I'U do a deed ! a deed which shall amaze the land. 
 Where is Amphitheus ? — 
 
 Amp, I'm here. 
 
 Die. Take these in hand, 
 
 Eight drachmas. Go to Sparta and contract for me, 
 My children and my wife, a league of amity. 
 
 [Exit Amphitheus talcing the drachmas, 
 (Spohen towards the audience.) 
 For you, ye citizens, I leave you to your views. 
 To send your legates, and stand open-mouthed for news. 
 
12 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [111-133. 
 
 Herald. Let tlie States' Envoy to Sitalces * enter. 
 
 Enter Envoy. 
 
 Envoy, Here. 
 
 Die. (aside) Another swaggerer is summoned to appear. 
 
 Envoy. In Thrace we should not have so much prolonged 
 our stay — 
 
 Die. {aside) No, that ye would not but to draw prodigi- 
 ous pay. 
 
 Envoy. But that a heavy snow lay deep upon the ground 
 Over the whole of Thrace, and all the streams were bound. 
 Just when Theognis ^ set his drama on your stage. 
 That time Sitalces was so good as to engage 
 Our company to drink with him. And truly he 
 On all occasions shows his partiality 
 For everything Athenian. For his love of you 
 He writes upon his palace walls in public view 
 Noble Athenians. His son ^ desires to try 
 His civic rights upon an Apaturian fry ; 
 And for his country pleads : the father, nothing loth, 
 Over his cups has sworn to God a solemn oath 
 To send us such a host that aU of you shall say 
 ' What wind has blown us such a cloud of gnats to day ? ' 
 
 Die. (aside) I don't believe a word ; no, hang me if I do, 
 Except about the gnats. 
 
 Envoy. Now he has sent to you 
 
 The most pugnacious tribe that Thracia can boast. 
 
 Die. Aye, that now is distinct. 
 
 Herald. ■ Admit the Thracian host. 
 
 Enter a starveling rahhle of Thracians. 
 
 Die. What pestilence is this ? 
 
 Envoy. An Odomantine corps : 
 
 ^ King of Thrace. 
 
 ^ The tragic poet referred to by Dicseopolis (line 11). It is suggested 
 that the frigidity of his poetry produced the unusual fall of snow in 
 Thrace. 
 
 3 Sadocus. On the first day of the feast Apaturia all the members of 
 the same tribe supped together. Sadocus had been, honoris gratia, 
 admitted to the freedom of the city. 
 
134-156.] ACHARNIAN3. 13 
 
 Two drachmas' pay will send this wasting flood to pour 
 O'er aU Boeotia. 
 
 Bic. What ? such raff at such rate ? 
 
 Hear it and groan, ye men, ye bulwarks of the state 
 Who man our gallant ships. 
 
 \_8ome of the Thracians find and appropriate 
 the little bundle containing Dic^gpolis's 
 dinner, 
 
 — Oh, oh, my garlic store ! 
 I'm being wasted by the Odomantine corps. 
 Put down the garlic, brutes. 
 
 Envoy. Beware, you silly brains. 
 
 How you go near them with the garlic in their veins. 
 
 Die. Is this my country, Sir? am I a citizen 
 To bear this usage ? and from such outlandish men ? 
 I claim it of you. Presidents, to interfere. 
 Nay, I forbid your holding the Assembly here. 
 The sign of God to-day precludes your entertaining 
 The question of the day : I tell you, it is raining.^ 
 
 Herald. Then let the Thracians go till the third day from 
 hence. 
 The meeting is adjourned, pronounce the Presidents. 
 
 [Exeunt all hut Dic^opolis. 
 Bic. I've lost a pretty salad : but in happy time 
 Here comes Amphitheus from Lacedsemon. I'm 
 Rejoiced to welcome you. 
 
 Enter Amphitheus running. 
 
 Amp. Pray give me time to slack 
 
 A little from my race. They're hot upon my track, 
 Those fellows from Acharnse. 
 
 Bic. What is this about ? 
 
 Amp. As I wa,s running past they smelt the truces out, 
 Old gnarled and knotted bucks, as tough as heai-t of oak, 
 Men who at Marathon had struck their honest stroke ; 
 
 1 Dicseopolis is here exercising the ordin<arj power of a citizen to 
 demand the adjoiimment of the meeting, h}' declaring an inauspicious 
 * sign/ such as tempest, rain, or ill-omened words. 
 
14 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [157-178. 
 
 They set upon me yelling, ' Vagabond/ they said, 
 ' You have got truces while the vines are lying dead,' ^ 
 And gathered stones to pelt me : but I left them, flying 
 As fast as I could run, and they came after crying. 
 
 Die. And let them cry. But have you really got the 
 truces? 
 
 Amp. Yes. Here you have the 'five years.' Taste 
 how rich the juice is.^ [Dio^opolis tastes. 
 
 Die. Ah, bah ! [rejects it. 
 
 Amjp. Why, what is this ? 
 
 Die. They please me not at all ; 
 
 They smell of pitch and stores brought to the arsenal. 
 
 Amp. Then try the ' ten years.' 
 
 Die. No, they have too strong a smack 
 
 Of looking for new friends, and old ones holding back. 
 
 Amp. Here are the truces then for ' thirty years ' com- 
 plete 
 By land and sea. 
 
 Die. (tasting). Oh, Bacchic festival, how sweet! 
 Ambrosia their smell, and nectar in their taste : 
 And never buying rations,^ for the march in haste. 
 It hangs about the tongue ! that, 'Go just where you please,' 
 I take ; I make libation ; aye, I drink up these. 
 Acharnians, to you I wish a pleasant morrow. 
 But for myself, from war delivered and from sorrow, 
 I'll seek the Bacchic feast and leave all care behind me. 
 And take myself away, before my friends can find me. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Enter Choeus [in seareh 0/ Amphitheus). 
 
 In each nook and by each crook come 
 
 follow up this jackanapes ; 
 
 Ask about and search him out, for 
 
 ours the shame if he escapes. 
 
 ^ Destroyed by the Lacedsemonians in their invasion of Attica. 
 
 ^ Amphitheus produces the truces in some visible form, apparently 
 like ' sample bottles ' of w^ine. 
 
 ^ The Athenian citizen summoned to active service v^as obliged to 
 provide and take food for so many days. This annoyance is illustrated 
 in the Comedy Peace, 1. 9G0. 
 
179-197.] ACHARNIANS. 15 
 
 If you can, show me the man, do ; 
 
 for I cannot understand 
 Where he went so impudently 
 
 bringing truces through the land. 
 We're astray ; he's stole away ; ah, 
 
 this it is to carry age ! 
 Never would it, never should it 
 
 so have happened I engage. 
 In the time when in my prime, and 
 
 caring not about my pace. 
 With a sack upon my back, I 
 
 dared Phayllus ' to the race. 
 Now my thigh is shrunk and dry, and 
 
 I am stiff about the knees ; 
 So the fellow thinks to tell how 
 
 he can beat Lacratides. 
 Vain the brag : we will not flag, or 
 
 lose the credit of our town ; 
 Though we're old, I wiU be bold that 
 
 we will hunt the rascal down. 
 Zeus's nods, and all the Gods ! he's 
 
 made a treaty with the foes. 
 Whom I feel a growing zeal to 
 
 hammer with redoubled blows. 
 Let them go, eh ? will I ? no, a 
 
 rush will pierce them to the heart ; 
 Going right in, sharp and biting, 
 
 they shall wriggle with the smart. 
 Such a lesson I'll impress on 
 
 those who come with such designs 
 To do harm upon my farm and 
 
 cut and trample down the vines. 
 On his track ; and never slack 
 
 until this rogue we've safely got. 
 Haply he may barely be a 
 
 stonesthrow from this very spot. 
 As to throwing, there's no knowing 
 
 when I shall have had my fiU — 
 
 * A famous runner, thrice \ictor in the Pythian Games. Herod, viii. 47. 
 
16 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [198-220. 
 
 (Voice of Dio^OPOLis behind the scene.) 
 
 Keep ye silence, keep ye silence.' 
 Chorus. Hush ! ye heard the mystic word 
 
 repressing every sound of ill. 
 He was speaking, whom we're seeking ; 
 
 and it seems some holy rite 
 Is enacting ; so retracting 
 
 let us not come into sight. 
 [Choeus retire, concealing themselves. 
 
 Enter Dio^opolis in procession with his Wipe, Daughter, 
 and Slaves, as about to sacrifice to Bacchus. 
 
 Die. Keep ye silence, keep ye silence. 
 A little onward, basket-bearer. ^ 
 
 Wife. Stay a minute, 
 
 Put down the basket, girl, and so let us begin it. 
 
 Daughter. Then mother, let me have the ladle here to 
 take 
 Some porridge from the pot to put upon the cake. 
 
 Die. Lord Bacchus ! it is well that now from service free, 
 I with my family should celebrate to thee 
 The service in the fields ; Oh, prosper to our use 
 For me, and all of mine, these Thirty years of truce ! 
 
 Wife. Fair daughter, fairly bear the basket, and be sure 
 That those who see may say, ' She's steady and demure ; ' 
 And when you get among the crowd, pray have a care 
 That nobody shall filch the ornaments you wear. 
 
 Die. Now I will sing the hymn ; so, basket-bearer, lead, 
 And you, wife, from the roof will look at us. Proceed. 
 
 Phales, lover of delight, 
 Phales, roamer of the night. 
 Haunting Bacchus as his friend. 
 At these weary six years' end ^ 
 
 ^ Ritual words of one about to sacrifice, to repress or obviate any 
 words or sounds of ill-omen. 
 
 ^ The girl would be the ^ Basket-bearer,' represented in the well-known 
 figure the 'Caryatis.' The basket contained fruits, woollen fillet, knife, 
 and other requisites for sacrifice. 
 
 8 The comedy was produced in the seventh year of the war. 
 
• 221-243.] ACHARNIANS. 17 
 
 Gladlj do I cliant to thee, 
 Gladly I my borough, greet ; 
 I have had the hap to treat ; 
 Wars no more shall trouble us. 
 Politics, nor Lamachus, 
 
 All is past and I am free. 
 Drink with us, and in the morning 
 
 Draughts of Peace shall cool your tongue ; 
 Then my buckler, service scorning, 
 
 In the chimney shall be hung. 
 
 [As soon as Dic^opolis has finished his hymn, 
 the Chorus rush out from their hiding- 
 jplace and pelt him with a volley of stones. 
 
 Chorus, ^Tis the very rogue at last ! 
 
 At him ; hit him ; knock him down ; 
 All together, straight and fast 
 Yolley him from shin to crown. 
 Die. Hercules ! but what is this ? 
 
 You will crack the holy jar.* 
 Cho. You at least we shall not miss, 
 
 dirty rascal as you are. 
 Die, Wherefore ? tell me what's the matter, 
 
 ancients of Acharnse borough ? 
 Cho, Shameless fellow, dare you chatter? 
 
 Scoundrel utter, rank and thorough ! 
 ' When you've made a truce, you traitor, 
 and your guilt is very plain. 
 Can you dare to stand and prate, or 
 look me in the face again ? 
 Die, Hear me : for you do not know 
 
 why I made that truce alone, Sir. 
 Cho, Hear you 9 hang you ! never ! go, 
 
 we will bury you with stones. Sir. 
 Die, Wait until you understand, 
 
 worthy fellows, I beseech. 
 
 In which was the porridge referred to by the Daughter. 
 C 
 
18 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [244-262. 
 
 Cho. No, I will not hold my hand ; 
 
 do not think to make a speech. 
 For I hate yon altogether 
 
 more than I do Cleon, whose 
 Hide I mean to turn to leather, 
 
 which shall find the Knights in shoes.^ 
 Do not think to make excuses ; 
 
 it were only waste of breath. 
 With the Spartans yon have truces, 
 
 therefore you shall die the death. 
 Die, Put the Spartans out of question ; 
 
 take it in its proper light ; 
 Only hear a slight suggestion, 
 
 you will say that I was right. 
 Clio, You were right indeed ! when you 
 
 ventured upon entertaining 
 Commerce with a people who 
 
 have nor faith nor truth remaining. 
 Die, Spartans — yes, no doubt — are double- 
 
 minded fellows ; all the same. 
 Though we hate them, for our trouble 
 
 they are not alone to blame. 
 GJio, Not alone to blame ! and dare you 
 
 say so much before my face. 
 And suppose that I will spare you, 
 
 speaking out your own disgrace ? 
 Die, Not to blame for all, I say. 
 
 I could show from the beginning 
 Certain matters in which they 
 
 were more sinned against than sinning. 
 Cho. This is truly past endurance ! 
 
 and our temper overflows 
 When we see such cool assurance ; 
 
 you are pleading for our foes. 
 Bic, I will plead my cause and get 
 
 verdict in my favour on it 5 
 Let a chopping-block be set ; 
 
 I will stake my head upon it. 
 
 * This threat against Cleon seems carried out in the Comedy Knights. 
 
263-279.] ACHARNIANS. 19 
 
 Cho. Fellow burghers, tell me wliy 
 
 we should longer spare the varlet ? 
 We have stones ; so let them fly ; 
 
 dress the fellow up in scarlet. 
 Die, What a sudden flame and smother 
 
 from a black and sleeping brand ! 
 Won't you listen to a brother, 
 
 worthy sons of charcoal-land ? ^ 
 Cho, Cease so vain a hope to cherish. 
 
 Die. You will greatly injure us. 
 
 Cho, If I listen may I perish. 
 
 Die, Neighbours, do not answer thus. 
 
 Cho, Know that you are going to die. 
 
 Die. Then will I strike through and through you. 
 
 I will slaughter in reply 
 
 those whom you hold dearest to you. 
 Whom 1 have as hostages. 
 Cho. What's the meaning of the man's 
 
 Threatening ? I cannot guess ; 
 
 can you say, Achamians ? 
 Has he any son or daughter 
 
 of this company in hold 
 Whom he says that he will slaughter ? 
 
 What can make the man so bold ? 
 Die, Now then, if you like it, throw — 
 
 I will riddle this ^ with holes 
 Till it's dead ; and I shall know 
 
 who has any care for coals ! 
 Cho, 'Tis our brother burgess ! yes ! 
 
 we are ruined ! hear us ask it, 
 Wring us not with this distress : 
 
 do not— do not hurt the basket. 
 Die. It must go ; I care not whether 
 
 you may wring your hands and cry. 
 
 ^ The ' demos ' or borough of Acharnse lay under mount Parnes, on 
 which, grew woods, from which the main supply of charcoal was obtained. 
 All Achamians were more or less charcoal-burners or traders. 
 
 ^ Uicaeopolis in one hand holds a knife, in the other a charcoal- 
 basket, such as the Achamians were daily in the habit of using in their 
 business. 
 
 C 2 
 
20 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [280-304. 
 
 Cho, We have lived and loved together 
 
 Charcoal ; no, it must not die. 
 Die, When I begged a word but now, you 
 
 stiffly, utterly declined. 
 Cho, Aye, but now we will allow you ; 
 
 say just what you have a mind. 
 If indeed you are intent 
 
 on your Spartan friendship, say it. 
 As for that sweet innocent ; 
 
 no, I never will betray it. 
 Die, Throw away the stones. 
 
 Cho, 'Tis done : 
 
 Put you, too, the kaife away. 
 Die, Are you sure that you have none ? • 
 
 Cho, Let me shake my apron : nay, 
 
 Do not cheat me with a smile. 
 
 Fairly put aside the steel. 
 For I shook my pocket while 
 I was turning on my heel.^ 
 Die. So, you at last could cease your clamour ! what a 
 fate 
 Hung over charcoal when ye were so obstinate ! 
 See, like a cuttle-fish retreating in its fear, 
 The basket clouds me in a coal-dust atmosphere. 
 'Tis sad to see a man indulge a temper like 
 Sour grapes ; and always want to clamour and to strike 
 Before he hears the other side. But I was willing 
 To lay my head upon a chopping-block for killing. 
 While showing how the Spartan trouble had begun : 
 And yet I love my life as well as anyone. 
 
 Cho. Why then, unpack your precious burden for display : 
 For I should like to hear what you have got to say. 
 
 * The Chorus consisted of about twenty-four persons, of whom one was 
 in general the leader and spokesman. Sometimes they divided them- 
 selves into two parties, each with its spokesman. They filled up breaks, 
 or marked divisions in the drama by a figure dance on their portion of 
 the stage, the orchestra. But it is obvious from this and many other 
 places that they even continued their dance when engaged in earnest 
 dialogue with a principal character. In the Pence the inopportune 
 dancing of the Chorus is -represented as irritating Trygfeus, 1. 257, et seq. 
 
305-328.] ACHARNIANS. 21 
 
 Agreed, that at your proper peril you must win. 
 
 So let tlie cliopping-block be brought, and then begin. 
 
 [A large chopping -hloch and cleaver are 
 brought. 
 Die. So be it. Here's the block ; and I, that am to plead, 
 Am but a nobody.^ What matter? and indeed 
 I throw my shield away. I'll speak just what I think 
 About the Spartans : yet I feel disposed to shrink. 
 I know so well the men who come in from their farms ; 
 How easily a cunning lying coxcomb charms 
 Their ears by telling them that they are ' honest/ ' bold,' 
 ' Shrew'd fellows ' too ! 'Tis so the dupes are sold. 
 I know the humour of your ancients too. They like 
 Nothing so much as giving judgments ^ that will strike. 
 I know how much, myself, I suifered from the clutch 
 Of Cleon, whom last year my Play ^ was thought to touch. 
 He dragged me in with slanders, lied me through the 
 
 Court ; 
 He roared, he blustered, bucked and rinsed me out: in 
 
 short. 
 The wonder is that any of my being lingers 
 After such busy mauling by his dirty fingers. 
 And so, before beginning, let me change my dress. 
 That I may move some pity for my squalidness. 
 
 Cho. Why do you try these tricks ? But get, for aught 
 I care, 
 Jerome's invisible pitch-darkness cap of hair ; ^ 
 Get Sisyphus' s shifts ; but all in vain you try, 
 It will not be allowed to put this trial by. 
 
 ^ Under the humour and buffoonery which here follows, we have, 
 hardly disguised, Aristophanes, the keen politician of the unpopular peace- 
 party, addressing ' the People ' on the benches of the theatre, and trying 
 to win a hearing for the very idea of peace with Sparta. 
 
 2 As ^ Dicasts ' or judges for the day in the law courts. 
 
 5 ITie Bahylotiians, not now extant. It was not Aristophanes him- 
 self, but the same actor who was now representing ' Dicaeopolis,' who 
 suflered fine for the libellous words of the comedy referred to. Up to this 
 time Aristophanes had not put a play upon the stage in his own name, 
 as appears by the Parabasis of the Kniylits. 
 
 * Equivalent to the ' receipt of fern-seed,' that is Livisibility. The 
 allusion to Ilierouymus is obscure. 
 
22 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [329-346 
 
 Die. Now for a daring stroke ; for I am ill at ease ! 
 So I will make a call upon Euripides. 
 Ho, Slave. [calling at the door of Eueipides's house. 
 
 Cephisophon (looking out). 
 
 Ceph. Who's there? 
 
 Die. Pray is Euripides within ? 
 
 Ceph. Within and not within,* if you can take that in. 
 
 Die. ' Within and not within ! ' how's that ? 
 
 Ceph. 'Tis true, old man. 
 
 His wits are not within, but gathering where they can 
 Word-delicacies : but his body is upstairs 
 Writing a tragedy. 
 
 Die. Thrice blest in his affairs, 
 
 Who has a slave can answer with such subtle wit. 
 But call him out. 
 
 Ceph, I cannot. 
 
 Die. I insist on it. 
 
 I will not go away. Nay, I'll beat down the door. 
 ' Euripides,' ' my dearest 'Rippy ' — I implore, 
 If ever prayer from man did favourably reach you, 
 I, Dicseopolis of Collidse, beseech you. 
 
 Euripides (speaking from within). 
 
 Eur. I have no leisure. 
 
 Die. Pray you ; let them wheel you out. 
 
 Eur. Impossible. 
 
 Die. Nay, nay. 
 
 Eur, Then, twirl the turnabout. 
 
 [The upper story of Euripides's house, heing 
 
 made to turn on a pivot, is turned half 
 
 round, and Euripides is discovered to the 
 
 audience sitting in his composing -chair. 
 
 I am too busy to descend. 
 
 Die. Euripides. 
 
 Eur, What sayest thou ? 
 
 * This expression is in imitation and lidiculo of a kind of verbal paradox 
 not uncommon in Euripides. 
 
346-369.] ACHARNIANS. 23 
 
 Die, Aloft you make your tragedies, 
 
 When on the earth below you might have done the same, 
 No wonder that your characters are often lame,^ 
 But why have you collected all those ragged clothes ? 
 ' As pity properties ' for beggars, I suppose ? 
 But, dear Euripides, give me to my relief, 
 From some old tragedy, a proper rag for grief. 
 For I before the Chorus have to plead my tale. 
 And nothing short of death awaits me if I fail. 
 
 Eur, What sort of rags will suit you? Those I have in 
 store 
 Which (Eneus in his age and evil fortune wore ? 
 
 Die, Not those of CEneus ; no. There were some to my 
 mind 
 More wretched still. 
 
 Eur, What, those of Phoenix that was blind ? 
 
 Die, Not Phoenix, no ; a much more wretched man 
 
 than he. 
 Eur, What does the man require ? What tatters can 
 they be ? 
 Eh ! was it Philoctetes as a beggar seen ? 
 
 Die. More beggarly by far the things were that I mean. 
 Eur, You mean, perhaps, the garment which the man 
 had on 
 Who acted in the part of lame Bellerophon ? 
 
 Die. No, not Bellerophon. Though he indeed was lame. 
 And begged, and mouthed, and chattered, without stint or 
 shame. 
 Eur. I know the man ; the Mysian Telephus ? 
 Die. Ah, yes. 
 
 Give me the things that stood for Telephus's dress. 
 
 Eur, Slave, let him have the shreds ; they lie between 
 the bags 
 
 ^ It is suggested that tliey may have had a fall from the nurse's arms 
 in infancy. This is one of Aristophanes's favourite points of attack upon 
 Euripides. Plere and elsewhere, especially in the Frogs, he is charged 
 with degrading his art, by inviting the pity of his audience upon his - 
 characters by such adventitious means as representing them lame, blindj 
 or ill-clothed. The instances suggested in this dialogue are all drawn ii'om 
 dramas of Euripides. 
 
24 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [370-397. 
 
 Of Ino and Thjestes. 
 
 Cejph, Here, man, take the rags. 
 
 Die. Oh Jupiter, whose eye can look through ever3rw^here. 
 Most pitiable be the raiment that I bear. 
 Euripides, since you have kindly spared me these, 
 Pray let me be complete ; so, give me, if you please^ 
 The Mysian felt upon my head : ' for I to-day 
 A very beggar's part must undertake to play ; 
 To be just what I am, but other seem to be,' ^ 
 So that the audience may perfectly know me. 
 While I-ehall circumvent with subtle-worded art 
 The muddled wits of those who play the Chorus part. 
 
 Eur. Take it, you have a head nice matters to discuss. 
 
 Bic. ' God speed you and my hearts desire to Telephus.' 
 Bravo ! I feel the phrases coming on me thick. 
 But ah, to fit me out, I want a beggar's stick. 
 
 Eur. Then take this one and quit the ' stone-compacted 
 port.' 2 
 
 Die. ' Soul, seest thou how I am driven from the court,' 
 Half furnished for my needs ? Now should I urge my pleas : 
 Stick close and be exacting. So, Euripides, 
 Give me a basket which a candle has burnt through.^ 
 
 Eur. How can the wicker be of any use to you ? 
 
 Die. 'Tis not of any use : but yet I choose to ask it. 
 
 Eur. Go, you are troublesome: content you with the 
 basket. 
 
 Die. Bless you, as your good mother blessed was before. 
 
 Eur. Do go away. 
 
 Die. I only ask a trifle more, 
 
 A little pitcher — broken at the lip were best. 
 
 Eur. Then take it and be hanged, and know yourself a 
 pest. 
 
 Die. And you, you do not know the wrong that you are 
 doing. 
 
 ' These lines in the original ate said to be simply adapted from the 
 Telephus of Euripides. 
 
 ^ An affected expression for 'door/ probably borrowed also from 
 Euripides. 
 
 ^ iSeggars carried a candle alight in a basket, as a substitute for a 
 lantern. 
 
S98-426.] ACHARNIANS. 25 
 
 But once again, my sweetest, listen to my suing, 
 It is a sponge I want, and little basin. 
 
 Eur. Scamp, 
 
 He will have all my drama. Take it and decamp. 
 
 Die, Aye, aye. Sir, I am going ; but wbat ? there is but 
 one. 
 But one thing more, and failing that I am undone* 
 Dear, dear Euripides, supply the little lack. 
 And I will go away ; I will, and not come back : 
 Some greens ' to put into my basket, just a few in. 
 
 Eur. Take them : my tragedy is gone. You'll be my 
 ruin. 
 
 Die. No more : I'm going — ' I am too importunate ; 
 Too heedless of the ire of men in high estate.' 
 But, ah ! my evil stars ! I had forgotten quite 
 One thing the lack of which will ruin me outright. 
 This one, one only thing ; just this one if you please, 
 My very, very darling, my Euripides, 
 A pestilence upon me, if I ask another, 
 Give me some chervil — you can get it from your mothei*. 
 
 Eur. The man insults me : bolt the doors. 
 
 \_The turnabout is reversed; Euripides and 
 Cephisophok are shut in out of sight. 
 
 Die. My heart, 
 
 Alas ! without the chervil we must then depart : 
 Know you the work we have to do ? and what a theme on? 
 No less than pleading for the men of Lacedsemon. 
 Now forward, oh my soul ! This is the barrier, 
 Eh ? dost thou hesitate ? art thou afraid to stir, 
 Having imbibed Euripides P I cannot blame 
 Your little confidence in him. But come, for shame, 
 Pluck up your spirit : proffer there your head ; 
 And what you deem is right, let it be boldly said. 
 Now forward for the cause and bravely do thy part. 
 Here's thy returning confidence. Well done, my heart I 
 
 * An honest woman of Athens, who sold garden stuffy has a soli who 
 was an honour to his mother ; Euripides was that son. Aristophanes 
 never loses an occasion of sneering at him ahout the trade of his mothej'. 
 This is the meaning of asking Euripides for ^ greens.' 
 
28 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [427-460. 
 
 Chorus, Now, Sir, what is your intent, 
 
 Iron-cheeked and impudent 9 
 
 One versus All. 
 You have got your case to make : 
 
 So stand or fall. 
 Since you put your neck at stake. 
 
 Semichorus, Yet the vagabond is brisk ! 
 
 Speak : you chose yourself the risk. 
 
 Die. Pray take it not amiss, if I, good audience, 
 Poor though I be, should offer you some words of sense 
 On matter of the State 5 albeit in Comedy. 
 For Comedy to see and aid the Eight is free ; 
 And Right, though sad to hear, is what I have to say. 
 Cleon shall not have room to slander me to-day ; 
 Saying, I take ill opportunity to speak, 
 Wherein I think our policy is wrong or weak, 
 In presence of the strangers ; at this time of year ^ 
 Our festal strife is private ; strangers are not here. 
 No subject States are bringing in the year's supplies ; 
 'Nor from the cities do we see our good allies. 
 We are the bolted flour, wheat that has passed the fan ; 
 I reckon sojourners to be the chaff and bran. 
 I hold Laconians all in rooted deep dislike. 
 I would that Neptune, God at Tsenarus, should strike 
 The nether earth and bury all of them in ruins. ^ 
 I too have had my vines marred by their mischief doings. 
 And yet, (for none but friends will hear me say it) why 
 Should all the blame for this on Lacedsemon lie ? 
 Certain of ours there were (the city it was not : 
 Mark that — 'twas not the city) but a worthless lot. 
 Of an adulterate mint, light coins, which none would take. 
 Defaced, of more than questionable type and make. 
 These must be spying out and laying cunning plans 
 To catch the short coats of the poor Megarians : 
 
 ^ At the Lenrean or Spring festival of Bacchus, at which this drama 
 was presented, visitors from the neighbour states were not usually pre- 
 sent. The reference is to the poet's previous comedy Bahylmiians. 
 
 "^ Sparta was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake rather more 
 than forty years before. 
 
461-480.J ACHARNIANS. 27 
 
 And if tliey saw a water-melon or a hare, 
 
 Lump salt, a sucking pig or onion, would declare 
 
 These are ' Megarian goods,' and straightway they were 
 
 sold.i 
 Small matters these, you say. But presently more bold, 
 Some youths, wine-flustered, went to Megara one day 
 And brought by stealth a certain light-o-love away. 
 By name Simsetha. Sore and swelling at these raids. 
 The men of Megara requited on two jades 
 Who waited on Aspasia.^ For three harlots thus 
 Begun the war which is destroying us. 
 Olympian Pericles in fiery indignation 
 Launched lightning upon Greece, thunder and agitation : 
 And framed his ordinances to avenge these wrongs 
 (Apparently upon the type of drinking songs) ,^ 
 Against Megarians ; that they should not abide 
 On land, at sea, at market, or on earth beside. 
 "What happened ? when the march of hunger brought its 
 
 grief 
 Upon the folks of Megara ? They sought relief 
 Of the Laconians ; and begged that the decree 
 About the harlot-kind might be relaxed. But we 
 
 ^ Protection to home producers, or other motive, led the Athenians to 
 desire to exclude the produce of the little town and district of Meg-ara 
 from the Attic markets. Smuggling in various v^ays followed the exclu- 
 sion. The smuggling gave employment to a class of people who at Athens 
 became a public nuisance — the Sycophants or Informers : they made a 
 living by detecting and declaring contraband articles ; or, it may be, by 
 being bribed to shut their eyes and mouths. 
 
 "^ The world-famous mistress of Pericles. This tale of the origin of 
 the Peloponnesian War has no countenance from Thucydides. 
 
 3 The ^ scolion ' or drinking song to which allusion is here made has 
 come down to us. It is by Timocreon of Rhodes, and is to this eflfect : — 
 
 Blind Plutus, your abode should be 
 Not on the land nor yet at sea. 
 
 Nor anywhere beside on earth : 
 But you should live in Tartarus 
 And Acheron : for unto us 
 
 Through thee all mischief has its birth. 
 
 The ' Megarian decree,' as related by Thucydides, restrained the Me- 
 garians from the use of any harbours under Athenian influence, and from 
 the Attic markets. 
 
28 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [481-508. 
 
 Stiffly refased. From this clatter of shields befell. 
 ' It never should have been, say you : but prithee tell 
 What should have been ? ' ^ To put a case : suppose 
 That some Laconians had got to sea (who knows !) 
 Landed upon Seriphus,^ laid a felon hand 
 Upon a puppy-dog, declared it contraband 
 And sold it. At our ease should we have eat our meals ? 
 Far otherwise. Three hundred ships had dipped their 
 
 keels ; 
 The city had been filled with eveiry sort of noise ; 
 Men quarrelling about their pay or their employs ; • 
 Wrangling of citizens unable to agree 
 Whose duty it should be to fit the ships for sea ; 
 Gilding of figure-heads ; serving out rations ; throngs 
 About the meal- shops ; buying barrels, bottles, thongs j 
 New olives, garlic, nets of onions for supplies. 
 Anchovies, chaplets, piping women and black eyes : 
 And in the arsenal a trimming up of oars, 
 A driving in of pins and taking in of stores. 
 Belaying, hauling, whistling, piping up of hands^ 
 And everywhere a captain shouting his commands. 
 All this you would have done. — But, in his own defence, 
 ' ]N"ot Telephus ' we think ^ ? — then we are wanting sense. • 
 
 1st Semichorus. Is this to me^ you pauper ? dare you 
 cast a slur 
 On some (if such there be) informer's character ? 
 
 2nd Semichorus. By Neptune ! but the man, for all that 1 
 have heard. 
 Is right in what he says ; there's truth in every word. 
 
 1st 8. C, What care I, right or not ? Was it for him to 
 say it ? 
 NO) no. And with some broken bones the rogue shaU 
 pay it. 
 
 [The Leader of this half-chorus rushes to- 
 wards DlG^OPOLIS. 
 
 * The words in commas are said to be from the Telephus, 
 
 ^ An insignificant island in the Athenian alliance. 
 
 ^ ' Not Telephus : ' by euphemism to avoid wounding the prejudices of 
 the audience, for *not Lacedaemonians.' 'That which would be quite right 
 for Athenians in such cases, is not right for Lacedaemonians.' 
 
509^528.] ACHARNIANS. 29 
 
 2nd 8. (7. Where are you running ? Stay : I warn you, 
 have a care ; 
 Touch him and you shall find your legs are in the air. 
 
 \_Thi8 Leader clips the other round the waist, as 
 though to lift him off his legs, as an expert 
 wrestler, 
 1st S. C. Ho ! lightning-looker, Lamachus, 
 Ho ! Gorgon-crested, succour us ; 
 My friend, my tribesman, hear me call, 
 Or captain else, or general. 
 Or rampart-sealer, hither ; haste ! 
 For he has got me round the waist. 
 
 Enter Lamachtjs. 
 
 Lam. What battle-cry is this I hear about the place ? 
 Who calls for help ? who wakes the Gorgon ' from its case ? 
 
 2nd S. C. My hero Lamachus of crests and companies ! 
 
 1st S. C. Here is, my Lamachus, this man of many lies. 
 Who troubles all the city with his foul aspersions. 
 
 Lam, You, beggar ? — Have you dared to make some vile 
 assertions ? 
 
 Die. My hero, Lamachus, I beg you to forgive, 
 If, for a beggar, I have been too talkative. 
 
 Lam, What did you say of us ? Speak, Sir. 
 
 Die, Eh ? what. Sir ? Did I ? 
 
 I quite forget ; the aspect of your armour makes me giddy. 
 I do beseech you put the Mormon ^ out of sight. 
 
 Lam, I do. 
 
 Die, ^ay, upside down. 
 
 [Lamachus laying the shield upon the ground, 
 it looJcs lihe a large brazen hasin. 
 
 ^ The real Lamachus appears to have been a brave and energetic 
 soldier. No doubt as a zealot of the war-party he was obnoxious to 
 Aristophanes, who ridicules his disposition for fighting and his military 
 accoutrements ; especially his floating triple crest, and shield, like 
 Minerva's, bearing the head of the Gorgon. This shield he keeps in a 
 case, and, as will be presently seen, is very careful for its high polish. 
 
 ^ Mormon means a bugbear to frighten children ; of course it is here 
 purposely misused for ^ Gorgon.' 
 
80 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [528-552. 
 
 Lam, Well, there it is. 
 
 j)ic. That's right. 
 
 And now the feather from your helmet. 
 
 Lam, What you will. 
 
 [Lamachus tahes a feather from his hel- 
 met and gives it to Dic^opolis. 
 
 Die, Then, pray you, hold my head : for I feel very — ill ; 
 I'm sick — of crests. 
 
 Lam. Eh ? Sir, what do you think to do ? 
 
 You will not try to use the feather. Sir ? 
 
 Die, Aye, true : 
 
 A feather is it ? — Pray, of what bird ? may I know ? 
 Perhaps 'tis from the tail of Braggadocio ? 
 
 Lam, Ha ! villain, you shall die. 
 
 Die, No, no, my Lamachus, 
 
 It is not might but right which shall determine us. 
 
 Lam. Beggar ! this language to your General ? to me ? 
 
 Die. Am I a beggar then ? 
 
 Lam. If not, who may you be ? 
 
 Die. An honest citizen, with no high place to boast ; 
 But, since the war began, a soldier at my post. 
 While you have been as long receiver of high pay. 
 
 Lam. They freely voted me. 
 
 Die, Three cuckoos make your ' they.' 
 
 To my disgust at things like this my Truce owes thanks. 
 I saw grey-headed men still marching in the ranks ; 
 While striplings, such as you, misliking toil and dust. 
 Pound refuge in appointments of high pay and trust. 
 Some drew three drachmas for a Thracian embassy, 
 Ismeniophsenippi, Eoguehipparchidse.^ 
 Chaonia had — and Camarina had its share ; 
 Some Chares entertained ; to Gela some repair ; 
 Some went to — Scorn.^ 
 
 Lam. Freely elected all. 
 
 Die, But why ? 
 
 How falls it out that you, and you alone, supply 
 
 * The plain yeoman citizen means that men of high family connections 
 got these commands, or ministries to various places, while men like him- 
 self bore the brunt of service. 
 
 2 In the original there is here a play upon words ^ Gela ' and ' Catagela.' 
 
553-572.] ACHARNIANS. 31 
 
 The city's needs ? — Marilades, your hair is grey, 
 
 Have ever you been legate, or received the pay ? — 
 
 He shakes his head : yet he's a shrewd hard-working man. 
 
 Dracyllus, have you ever been to Ecbatan ? 
 
 Did Prinides, or did Euphorides e'er go 
 
 To the Chaonians ? you see, they all say. No. 
 
 Aye, who are they that go but Coesyra's wild son, 
 
 And Lamachus ? — whose credit with their friends has run 
 
 Beyond all bounds ; that, with their presence here annoyed. 
 
 Like folks who empt their slops at night, they say — Avoid ! 
 
 Lam. Democracy ! — and are such words to be endured ? 
 
 Die. Yes, if to Lamachus good office is secured. 
 
 Lam. Know all that dwell in Pelops' land that I engage 
 With them and theirs a never-ceasing war to wage ; 
 By sea and land, wherever boat can swim or man can fight. 
 Will I pursue and harry them with all my might. 
 
 Die. Know all that dwell in Pelops' land, and know the 
 same, 
 Boeotians and Megarians, that I proclaim 
 Free market to them all, to buy and sell with us ; 
 From which free market I prohibit Lamachus. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
PREFATOEY KOTB ON" PARABASIS. 
 
 The English dramatist may address his audience on any subject he 
 pleases in Prologue or Epilogue. The custom of the Attic stage gave 
 the author of Comedy the same license at any natural pause in the 
 action of the piece. The Chorus leader was the author's mouthpiece. 
 
 The Monologue thus introduced was called ' Parabasis.' It is usually 
 broken up into a number of parts more or less regulated in number and 
 order, distinct in metrical construction and perhaps in the dance move- 
 ments that may have accompanied them. The translator has followed 
 the variations of the original, even to the general structure of the metre, 
 where it seemed feasible to adapt it to the governing principle of rhyme. 
 He would have been glad to give the English reader an adequate idea of 
 one characteristic metre, so much used by Aristophanes as to have taken a 
 name from him, namely the AnapesticTetrameter. He owns himself, how- 
 ever, unable to surmount two practical difficulties. First, the comparatively 
 rare occurrence of the anapest (two short syllables followed by one long) 
 in natural English enunciation ; for trisyllables, under the tendency of 
 our accentuation, fall more generally into the form of the dactyl. 
 Secondly, as would be almost necessary in order to secure a penultimate 
 accent, the providing, under the rigour of translation, dissyllable rhymes 
 at the end of every line, which shall not exhibit the perpetual recurrence 
 of rhymes of the class 'ending,' 'mending,' 'action,' 'faction.' 
 
 The following is the scheme of the Aristophanic Tetrameter. 
 
 The three lines represent the alternative foot allowed in the several 
 places of the line. 
 
 12 5 4j5 6 78 
 
 -- -_ -- ,-|__ __ 
 
 This scheme has been so far observed as to give a principle to the 
 rhythm, in the opening of the following Parabasis, and in most other 
 places where the anapestic tetrameter occurs : subject to the admission 
 that the dactyl has beaten the anapest, and to the fact that the true 
 spondee hardly ever appears in English. Our dissyllabic foot is either 
 Iamb, or Trochee. 
 
673-586.] ACHARNIANS. ^3 
 
 PAEABASIS. 
 
 Chorus, [public opinion goes with, the man, and 
 
 thinks he has made a very good case 
 In behalf of his truce. — Therefore strip we : ' 
 
 this is a fitting anapest place. 
 Since this Author tutored the actors, 
 
 he has never in his comedies 
 Offered himself upon the stage to 
 
 tell the world how clever he ia.^ 
 Since, however, he is traduced by 
 
 some who think they owe him a grudge, 
 In your ears, Athenians, who are 
 
 quicker to hear than steady to judge ; 
 Now he appeals to your better judgment, 
 
 confident you will acknowledge it true, 
 That he never insulted the people, or 
 
 undertook to ridicule you. 
 Nay, but the City is his debtor : 
 
 he it was who arrested the course 
 Of that fatal habit you had of 
 
 yielding yourselves to flattery's force. 
 Heretofore when the States' ^ commissioners 
 
 came with an eye to bamboozle the town. 
 Did they ever fail to address you 
 
 as the men ' of the violet crown ' ? 
 Straight at the word you were up in your seats ; but 
 
 if the cunning fellow should add 
 ' Glistening Athens,' you would give him 
 
 out of hand whatever you had. 
 
 ' Metaphor drawn from the wrestling-ground ; equivalent to ' buckle 
 to.' 
 
 * If the Author lost the occasion for doing so in his two first comedies, 
 henceforth he is not chary of telling his particular merits ; and generally 
 in his own practice illustrates the particular faults which he blames in 
 his fellows. 
 
 ' The cities or states in dependency called alliance with Athens. 
 
 D 
 
34 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [587-602. 
 
 AH for the pleasure of the ' Glistening ! ' 
 
 very good word for the matter of that. 
 Happily chosen, very descriptive, 
 
 when applied in the praise of a sprat. ^ 
 Thanks to the Poet, you in future 
 
 will be freed from folly like this. 
 Has he not also taught the peoples 
 
 out of the cities their infinite bliss 
 Being so thoroughly people-governed ? 
 
 Henceforth when the tribute is due. 
 They will come with a zeal to see that 
 
 wonderful Poet who lives among you. 
 Who in the cause of justice ventured 
 
 his very life in peril to bring. 
 Nay, so far the fame of his daring 
 
 has already come, that the King ^ 
 Lately taxed the Spartan ambassador ; 
 
 after asking which of us two ^ 
 Handled our ships best, tell me, quoth he, 
 
 which of you harbours that witty man, who 
 Lashes his fellows right and left ? for 
 
 that is the way to whip energy in. 
 And, by consequence, his is the side which ^ 
 
 in your war will assuredly win. 
 Therefore it is that Lacedsemonians 
 
 offering us the plan of a peace. 
 Make the demand that in ^gina 
 
 all our rights and interests cease ; 
 Not that they care at all for the island, 
 
 but they indulge their cunning and hate, 
 Well aware that, in that event, your 
 
 Poet will certainly lose his estate. 
 
 ^ In spite of tliis ridicule of tlie epithet, Aristophanes freely uses the 
 word whenever he wishes to coax his audience; as KniyhtSy 1326 (Gr.) 
 1191 (Trans.), where it is combined with the other favourite ^violet- 
 crowned,' and Clouds, 299. 
 * ^ The King ' in the mouth of a Greek means of course ^ of Persia.' 
 ^ Sc. Athens or Sparta. The very suggestion of embassy to ' The 
 King ' shows how the simple anti-Persian feeling, which had combined 
 the Greek communities, had passed or was passing away in the interest 
 of home rivalry. 
 
603-620.] ACHARNIANS. 36 
 
 Yield it not, but trust that he will 
 
 ever his powers of comedy use 
 Only to foster the city's welfare, 
 
 only to teach, correct, and amuse. 
 Do not look that he should flatter, or 
 
 cheat your ears with any pretence, 
 Tickle your whims, or buy off enemies ; 
 
 only look for thorough good sense. 
 Cunning ^ as Cleon is, he shall not match me ; 
 Not all his artifice ever shall catch me. 
 X. shall have honour in trusty alliance ; 
 True to the State, I set him at defiance. 
 Me at the least you never shall find 
 Braggart in front and coward behind. ^ 
 1st Semichorus. Oh, for a muse of fiery flashes, 
 Impetuous, Acharnian ! 
 As the spark leaps up from the oakwood ashes, 
 
 Stirred by the breath of the fan : 
 When the little fish for frying 
 Are beside the embers lying, 
 ^ When the Phasian sauce is making. 
 When the girdle cakes are baking. 
 
 Such a stirring melody, 
 Loud and strong, and free as the breeze 
 That whistles through our native trees. 
 Hither, Muse, and bring to me. 
 Chorus. Listen, City : we thy ancients 
 
 charge thee with a heavy blame.^ 
 All unworthy of the men who 
 
 fought thy ships and won thy name. 
 
 * This small division of the ^ Parabasis ' was called the ' long piece ' j 
 the actor was expected to say it without drawing breath. 
 
 2 Like this Cleon — he would say. 
 
 ^ Athenian citizens of the younger generation,, perpetually haunting 
 the law-courts, were perfectly at home in the management of an action, 
 for the prosecution or defence. No doubt it was great sport to them to 
 prosecute some old fellow for an offence he had never heard of, and get 
 him into Court to answer for himself. This is the grievance of the 
 ' Old men ' who form this ' Chorus.' 
 
 d2 
 
COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [627-644. 
 
 Are the grief and disrespect whicli 
 
 overcloud our setting day. 
 Art thou not to blame in this for 
 
 casting us uncared away ? 
 Often vexed by informations, 
 
 we are hurried into Court, 
 By some nimble-worded youngster 
 
 loosely to be made a sport. 
 Think ye that we do not feel it ? 
 
 oh, but we are sorely tried ! 
 Nay, but now the flute is broken ; 
 
 throw the tuneless thing aside ! 
 We are nothing, we are nothing ! 
 
 let the witlings have their laugh. 
 We have no Protecting Neptune 
 
 but our trusty walking staff. 
 There we stand before the Chairman 
 
 mumbling out our words, and cowed. 
 Seeing not a glimpse of justice, 
 
 nothing but a hazy cloud. 
 Comes my downy-bearded pleader, 
 
 having spent his labour in it. 
 Strings his rounded words together, 
 
 knocks me over in a minute ! 
 Sets his scraps to bait his traps, and 
 
 puts Tithonus ^ to the rack ; 
 Draws him, rends him, turns him, bends him, 
 
 proves that very white is black. 
 Who will hear his mumbled answers ? 
 
 So the poor old man is cast ; 
 He must pay the fine and grumble 
 
 while his tears are flowing fast : 
 And among his neighbours round him, 
 
 fretting, you may hear him say. 
 What I had to bury me — ah ! 
 
 they have got, and I must pay. 
 
 ^ Meaning the poor ^ old ' man. Tithonus obtained from the Gods 
 the gift of immortality ; but his life became a burden to him ; for he had 
 omitted to ask perpetual vigour with it. 
 
645-664.] ACHARNIANS. 37 
 
 2nd Semichorus. Is it not sliaine to harry and spoil 
 Bj clockrun ^ a man whose hair is white ? 
 Who has wiped the sweat of his manly toil 
 
 In the harvest-field and the fight ? 
 Better soldier was there none 
 In the fight at Marathon. 
 ' Then/ says he — nor wants it sense — 
 ' Persians stood on their defence. 
 
 But the fight has turned ; for we 
 Are but defenders from the blows 
 Of native and ignoble foes.' 
 
 Marpsias,^ will you answer me ? 
 Chorus. Shame to see Thucydides, when 
 
 bent with years and fortune's stress, 
 Overtaken, left to perish 
 
 in that Scythian wilderness,^ 
 Chatterpie Cephisodemus ! 
 
 Truth to say, my eye was wet 
 When I saw a man of worth by 
 
 such a vagabond beset ; 
 A townguard archer ! yea, by Ceres, 
 when he was Thucydides 
 He was one whom not Achsea 
 
 would have ventured to displease. 
 Ten such as Euathlus would have 
 
 known their length upon the ground 
 At his battle-cry ; three thousand 
 
 ' archers ' would have fled the sound. 
 
 ^ Referring to tlie clepsydra^ or water-clocks^ in the courts of justice, 
 to limit the time allowed for speaking. 
 
 ^ Who was this Marpsias, and what the force of this appeal to him, it 
 does not satisfactorily appear. 
 
 ^ Such would be a dreary place in which to be cast away, but it has 
 a partially metaphorical sense here, meaning that Cephisodemus was of 
 ' Scythian ' parentage. The ^archers/ town-gnard or ' police ' of Athens, 
 were commonly ^Scythians.' Theirs was black blood to be in the veins 
 of a Greek. These lines suggest that Thucydides had lately suffered in 
 some action, conducted by Cephisodemus, a low pleader. The Thucydides 
 referred to, now old and fallen into poverty, was probably once the leader 
 of the Aristocratic party, the son of Milesias, whose ostracism had left 
 Pericles master of the position. See the Chronological Table. 
 
38 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [665-682. 
 
 Archer ! quotha : he had found the 
 
 fellow's arrows better mark ! 
 He had laid the archer's father 
 
 and his kindred stiff and stark. 
 Kay, but if ye will not suffer 
 
 aged men in peace to sleep. 
 Let them have a court where they may 
 
 battle by themselves and creep. 
 If an old and toothless man must 
 
 mumble in his petty cause, 
 Set a mumbling advocate to 
 
 vindicate the city's laws. 
 Pit the young against the young, for 
 
 they have muscle, teeth, and breath : 
 One of such in health may talk the 
 
 son of Cleinias ^ to death. 
 If there must be prosecutor, 
 
 criminated man and judge ; 
 If there must be banishment to 
 
 satisfy a jealous grudge ; 
 Make a new decree about it, 
 
 and in future let it hold, 
 That the young shall try the young men, 
 
 and the old men try the old. 
 
 Scene, — Dic^opolis in front of his house assigning the 
 hounds and order of his new MarJcet-jplace, 
 
 Die. This is my market-place, and these its bounds : 'tis 
 free 
 To enter and to leave; to buy and sell with me 
 To them of Megara, Boeotia, and all 
 Whose cities southward of the Gulf and Isthmus fall ; 
 But not to Lamachus. Here are, assigned by lot. 
 Three thongs of knotted leather. Wardens of the spot : 
 
 ^ Alcibiades, a young man at this time just rising into notice. 
 
683-702.] ACHARNIANS. 30 
 
 And let them understand it is their special charge, 
 That no informers here shall be allowed at large. 
 'Now must I fetch the stone that bears upon its face 
 The Treaty terms, and set it in the market-place. 
 
 [Exit 
 
 Enter Megariaist, carrying a sack, 
 
 Meg. A maukit-plaace in Authens ! does one good to see' 
 A' waunted of it sore ; and maanj more nor me. 
 Lor' love you, but I'd liefer have this chance to sell 
 Than I 'ud see my mother ! — so, I vs^ish it well.* 
 But I must call the maister — ' Dicseopolis ' — 
 
 Re-enter Did^oPOLis. 
 
 Hey ! Sir : and may ye want to buy the like o' this ? 
 
 Die. Ha ! Megaric, what's this ? 
 
 Meg. These little pigs of mine. 
 
 Die. And how fare you ? 
 
 Meg. We sit before the fire and whine.^ 
 
 Die. Pleasant enough ! if you have got a piper too. 
 But otherwise, how do our worthy neighbours ? 
 
 Meg. Do ? 
 
 When I was setting out our councillors of state 
 Were at the business, with a very warm debate. 
 How they might bring us to the worst and quickest end. 
 
 Die. The sooner then will you be quit of troubles, friend. 
 
 Meg. That's true. 
 
 Die. What else at Megara ? — how's wheat ? the best — 
 
 Meg. Quite equal to the Gods, — high and in great 
 request. 
 
 ^ Usuall}'- the translator will not mark excisions ; but a considerable 
 omission is made here which will not explain itself simply on the ground 
 indicated in the Introduction. The Meg-arian, in default of other articles 
 for exchange, brings, under the pretence of being pigs, his two little girls 
 for sale. Though the incident powerfully represents the straits of the 
 Megarians^ surely the very idea is too revolting for comic treatment. 
 The Megarian speaks in his characteristic dialect : it seems enough by a 
 few touches to indicate this. 
 
 ^ Aristophanes has the advantage of a word here which signifies and 
 ' are hungry ' ; but Dicasopolis pleasantly mistakes it for another word of 
 nearly the same sound which signifies 'we drink.' 
 
40 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [703-722. 
 
 Die, You've brought us salt perhaps ? 
 
 Meg. When you have got the pans ! * 
 
 Bic. Then garlic ? 
 
 Meg, Garlic 1 umph ! when you Athenians 
 
 Like shoals of field mice through our gardens run, 
 Sniff at the precious bulbs and dig up every one. 
 
 Bic. What have you ? 
 
 Meg. Little pigs just fit for sacrifice. 
 
 Bic. Aye : that will do : let's see them. 
 
 Meg. They'll be very nice. 
 
 Bic. Fair animals enough. What do you set them at ? 
 
 Meg. Aje, aye, they only want the food to make them 
 fat, 
 A string of garlic for the one can't be a fault ; 
 And for the other I will take a peck of salt.^ 
 
 Bic. A bargain : I will go and fetch them. [Exit. 
 
 Meg. That will do ; 
 
 So far, so well. 
 
 Enter an Informer. 
 
 Inf. Good sir, what countryman are you ? 
 
 Meg. A pig-dealer of Megara. 
 
 Inf. Then you are prize. 
 
 You and your pigs : for you are goods of enemies. 
 
 Meg. Aye, here it is just where the trouble all began ! 
 
 Inf. I'll teach you what it is to play Megarian : 
 Put down the sack. 
 
 Meg. Hoi ! Master Dicseopolis, 
 
 I'm forfeited by somebody. 
 
 Re-enter DiC-^OPGLis, with garlic and salt. 
 
 Bic. Ah ! what is this ? 
 
 Here, wardens, do your duty ; keep the market clear. 
 Inform him how we play the game of forfeits here. 
 
 * Megara had had some trade from the manufacture of salt, but since 
 the war the Athenians had occupied the salt-pans. 
 ' These articles were the ordinary produce o/" Megara. 
 
723-746.] ACHARNIANS. 41 
 
 Inf. Wliat ? Shall I not declare the goods of enemies ? 
 Die. Just anywhere you please but here, if you are wise. 
 [The Wardens move towards the In- 
 former, who runs off, 
 Meg, The plagues ! 
 
 Die, Pooh ! Here's the price at which 
 
 you were to sell : 
 The garlic and the salt : take them and fare you well. 
 Meg, That's not a way with us. 
 
 Die, Then mend your education : 
 
 If you are surly, I recall the salutation. 
 
 [Exit Megarian. 
 Chorus, 'Tis a happy man ! all of us agree 
 
 Thriving in his plan. If you go to see, 
 All about the place 
 Is in such good order. 
 That across the border 
 No Informer dares to show his face. 
 
 . What though you should feel clean, and looking nice, ; 
 What though you should deal, knowing not the price. 
 You need not to fear 
 You should ever meet 
 Dirty dog or cheat. 
 Men who go to law are not known here. 
 
 Dandies do not show ; nor the men of taste. 
 Who are apt to go parti-washed in haste. 
 You shall never hear 
 
 Bitter jest or old, 
 
 Nor a story told 
 More than thirty days each month in the year.^ 
 
 1 The translator has taken for once great liberty with his author in 
 rendering this description of the charms of Dicaeopolis's market. The 
 original is little better than a tissue of scurrilous personalities. In the 
 market, say the Chorus, you will not meet this man who is a cheat ; that 
 man who is dirty j nor the other who is a pettifogger. It will be seen 
 that the translator, omitting the personalities; predicates the absence of 
 the noxious qualities generally. 
 
42 COMEDIES OF AKISTOPHANES. [747-770. 
 
 Enter a Bceotian Dealer, followed hy Pipers, and Ms Slave 
 ISMENIAS, carrying goods for the market. 
 
 Boeo. Know Hercules ! tlie weight has galled me, that 
 it has. 
 Put down the flea-bane carefully, Ismenias. 
 You pipers, who from Thebes have followed all the way, 
 Now put some wind into your leather bags and play. 
 
 [Bagpipes play. 
 Die, Confound ye, stop ! Be off, ye drones ! Whence 
 have we these 
 Most dreary humble-bumble bees of Chserides ? 
 
 Boeo. By lolas, my friend, and with my free consent. 
 For they have come from Thebes still blowing as they went, 
 And dropped me much good flea-bane. Please you, sir, to 
 
 try: 
 I've brought a store of things ; chicks, locusts ; what d'ye 
 buy? 
 Die. Ah, ah ! my dumpling-eater, my Boeotian friend, 
 What have you ? 
 
 Boeo. Some of all Boeotia can send. 
 
 Here's flea-bane, marjoram, here's wicks and mats of 
 
 rushes. 
 Here's divers, dippers, daws, here's water-hens and 
 
 thrushes ; 
 Teal, landrail, field-fare, widgeon. 
 
 Die. What a flight of words ! 
 
 You've come into the market like a storm of birds. 
 
 Boeo. I've geese besides, and hare, I've foxes, hedgehog, 
 mole. 
 Rat, otter, beaver, weasel, and, to crown the whole, 
 Eels from Copais. 
 
 Die. Ha ! man's choicest dainty ! bless it ! 
 
 Oh, if you have the eel, permit me to address it. 
 
 Bobo. {taking a fine eel from his hasJcet). Eldest of fifty 
 daughters of Copais, deign 
 To smile upon the stranger and your name sustain. 
 
 Die. {addressing the eel). Much as I love and wish, thou, 
 most desired of all. 
 Com est in welcome hour to this our festival ! 
 
771-795.] ACHARNIANS. 48 
 
 Beloved of Morychns ! ^ The frying-pan and beUows 
 Here, maids ; and look at it, the fairest of its fellows ! 
 'Tis eight years since we saw the like ! eight weary years, 
 That we have longed for it with mingled hopes and fears. 
 Speak nicely to it, girls, and hark, let it be dressed, 
 For I wiU find the coals and entertain this guest. 
 But take her in. For I confess I could not meet 
 My death composedly without thee — served in beet. 
 
 Boeo. But who will pay me for it ? 
 
 Die, 'Tis my market-due. 
 
 If you would sell the rest we can begin anew. 
 
 Boeo. All are for sale. 
 
 Die. Good then : what do you ask ahead ? 
 
 Or will you take home other articles instead ? 
 
 Boeo. If there is anything which Athens has, and we 
 Have not. 
 
 Die. Phaleric sprats ? or Attic pottery ? 
 
 Boeo. Pooh ! sprats and pottery ! we have them and to 
 spare. 
 Find something which you have, and we have not got there. 
 
 Die. I've hit it. An Informer will be just the thing ; 
 Put up like pottery ! 
 
 Boeo. By the Gods ! he'll bring 
 
 A handsome profit for the show ; besides the fan in 
 Exhibiting my monkey, fuU of tricks and cunning. 
 
 Die. Here comes Nicarchus, prowling for a prey no 
 doubt. 
 
 Boeo. 'Tis but a little man. 
 
 Die. But solid rogue throughout. 
 
 Enter Nioaechus. 
 
 Nic. Whose merchandise is this ? 
 
 Boeo. I'd have you understand 
 
 'Tis mine ; from Thebes. 
 
 JS'ic. Then I declare it contraband : 
 
 They're enemies. 
 
 * A well-known gourmand: Peace, 818. 
 
 2 The approved way of dressing this delicacy. See Peace, 781. 
 
44 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [795-822. 
 
 Die, What can the little birds have done 
 
 That you should rate them such? 
 
 JSfic, And I declare you one. 
 
 Bceo. What have I done ? 
 
 Nic. Before the standers round to fix 
 
 Tour proper guilt ; I say — You bring in candlewicks. 
 Boeo. And do the candlewicks so much inflame your ire ? 
 Kic. Why ! one of them might set the arsenal on fire. 
 Boeo. A wick can fire the arsenal ? 
 Nic. I say it can. 
 
 Boeo, How so ? 
 
 Nic. The thing is easy. Some Boeotian 
 
 Finds me an empty beanpod ; — 'tis a simple trick — 
 And in the bottom of it fixes me his wick : 
 He watches for a night when northern winds prevail ; 
 Kindles his wick, and sets the little boat to sail 
 Down the main drain. If once the ships should catch the 
 
 flame, 
 Then all would be ablaze — 
 
 Boeo. And candlewick to blame ! 
 
 Nic. That I attest. 
 
 Die. Gag him, and stop the fellow's ravings. 
 
 I'll pack him neatly ; bring a flag mat and some shavings. 
 [Dic^OPOLis and his servants seize Nicarchus, 
 and rapidly mahe him up like a parcel 
 of pottery, and cord him. 
 Cho. Aye, worthy fellow, do. Assist the honest man 
 To save his bargain if you can ; 
 There's danger of its breaking. 
 Die. Don't be afraid : the thing shall be securely packed. 
 [NiCARCHUS protests lustily during thepacTcing 
 process. 
 This earthenware is furnace-cracked. 
 To hear the noise it's making ! 
 Cho. How can one use the scamp ? 
 Die. A hundred ways ; he's at your need 
 A cup of woes ; a dish to feed 
 Tour appetite for suits ; or a detective's lamp. 
 Cho, But how can anybody wish 
 
 To keep so very cracked a dish 
 
823-846.] ACHARNIANS. 46 
 
 That it will make a constant clatter ? 
 Die, Pooh, pooh, there is not much the matter. 
 
 [DiCJEOPOLis and his Assistant toss their pack- 
 age about roughly, and make it stand 
 on the end where the Informer^ head is 
 known to he. 
 YoTi see, for all its jarring sound 
 It will not break when upside-downed. 
 Cho, I see it is secure enough. 
 
 Bceo. I'm going to gather up my stuff. 
 Cho. Then, pray you, leave not this behind. 
 
 'Tis a man of information. 
 And fit for any situation ; 
 So fling him where you have a mind. 
 Die. The vagabond is packed : but it has made me hot. 
 So now, Boeotian, prithee carry off your pot. 
 
 Boeo. Ismenias, my lad, come stoop and give a back. 
 Be cautious how you go : and mind it does not crack. 
 
 Die. 'Tis noisome stuff. But if you can contrive to earn 
 A trifle by him, there are more for your return. 
 
 [Exeunt BcEOTiAisr and Servants carrying 
 
 o/'NiCAECHUS. 
 
 Enter a Servant of Lamachus. 
 
 ___ Serv. Heigh ! Dicseopolis. 
 
 Die, Who calls me ? 
 
 Serv. It is I, 
 
 Whom Lamachus has ordered with this drachm to buy 
 Some thrushes for the Pitchers' feast, and thi-ee to pay 
 For a Oopaic eel. 
 
 Die, Eel ! Lamachus ? — but stay, 
 
 Who's Lamachus? 
 
 Serv. The shaker of the Gorgon shield ; 
 
 The terrible ; whose triple crests wave o'er the field. 
 
 Die. Not for his shield, not I ! Go let your master shake 
 His triple crests, and make his pickled herring ^ quake. 
 
 1 Constituting part of his supplies for the field. 
 
46 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [847-880. 
 
 Let him not tliiiik to vapour. As some poet sings. 
 Will I go in ' On blackbirds' and on thrusbes' wings.' 
 
 \_Exit Dio^o. carrying his Boeotian purchase. 
 
 Chorus. He was wise to make bis peace : 
 
 Now tbe city knows it. 
 Wealth must in his house increase. 
 
 Commerce overflows it. 
 Articles of usefulnesSj 
 
 Articles for eating, 
 One upon another press, 
 
 Happy at the meeting. 
 
 I will never harbour Wae ; 
 
 He shall not be guest of mine, 
 Headstrong mischief-maker ; for, 
 
 Say you, ' Take a cup of wine,^ 
 Roistering he comes to spoil, 
 Mars the feasting with a broil ; 
 Scatters, snatches, overturns. 
 Takes your vine-stakes up and bums ; 
 Yea, for all that you can say, 
 
 Madly stabs the very vine. 
 Lets its life-blood ebb away. — 
 
 War shall not be guest of mine. 
 
 Foster-sister to the Grraces, 
 
 Reconciliation ! 
 Hitherto how fair thy face is 
 
 Passed my observation. 
 Crowned with roses, would some youth 
 
 (As we painted see Love),^ 
 Take you by the hand in truth 
 
 And give you to me, love, — 
 * Wedding winter unto spring, 
 
 Laying snow-wreath on a flower ' — 
 Say you so ? but I will bring 
 
 Three enhancements for thy dower : 
 
 * Said to refer to a well-known picture. 
 
881-906.] ACHAKNIANS. 47 
 
 First, I'll trench, a goodly line, 
 In it I will set the vine ; 
 Then a second I will dig 
 For young suckers of the ^g ; 
 Wilder berries ^ have their charm. 
 
 They shall have another row ; 
 And, encircling all the farm, 
 
 Olives shall be set to grow. 
 
 Scene. — Dic^opolis passing in and out of his house super- 
 intending the cooking of a supper for the Festival of the 
 Pitchers. 
 
 Enter Town-Crier. 
 
 Crier. Good people, hear. The statutes of the feast ordain 
 When as ye hear the trumpet sounding, ye shall drain 
 Your pitchers. He who first his pitcher shall have done 
 Shall have for his reward the skin — of Ctesiphon.^ 
 
 Die. What are you doing, slaves ? wenches, where are 
 your wits ? 
 Look to your business, take the leverets from the spits. 
 Do keep the pots a-boiling ; turn the fry ; and weave 
 Some garlands. I will spit the thrushes^ with your leave. 
 Cho. Good counsel you before had shown. 
 
 Good living seems not less your own ; 
 My envy is excited. 
 Die. Ah ! if you saw the thrushes roast. 
 
 You would be quite delighted. 
 Cho. You speak the truth without a boast. 
 
 Die. See, slave, that fire wants blowing. 
 
 Cho. His orders are so like a cook's ! 
 
 How lordly, suppingly, he looks. 
 And keeps the business going. 
 
 * Perhaps the parent-stock of our ' currants.' 
 
 2 He should have said ' the skin of wine ' ; which would have been 
 probably of goat-skin. But on this occasion the reward was unusually 
 large, as Ctesiphon was known as vert/ corpulent. 
 
48 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [907-931 
 
 Enter a Farmee. 
 
 Far. Oh dear. Oh dear ! 
 Die. Who's this ? 
 
 Far. A man making a moan. 
 
 Die. Then go your way. 
 
 Far. Good Sir, the Truce is yours alone : 
 
 Give me a Peace, if 'tis a trifle of five years. 
 Die. What is the matter ? 
 
 Far. I have lost a yoke of steers. 
 
 Die. Where from ? 
 
 Far. From Phyle.^ The Boeotians came across. 
 
 Die. And you are not in mourning after such a loss ? 
 Far. And now I've lost my eyes, for crying in this 
 fashion. 
 If Dercetes of Phyle can move your compassion, 
 Do drop some Peace into my eyes ; a little squeeze. 
 Die. But I am not a parish doctor, Dercetes. 
 Far. It may be I may get the oxen back. Only a little. 
 Die. Pooh ! go and carry your complaint to Doctor 
 
 Pittal. 
 Far. The smallest drop of Peace. I do beseech you. 
 Here's 
 A quill. 
 
 Die. No, not a whisper. 
 
 Far. Oh, my yoke of steers ! 
 
 [Exit 
 Chorus. The Truce he finds a dainty fare. 
 Which he is indisposed to share. 
 At anybody's wishes. 
 Die, Some honey on the sausages. 
 
 And toast the jelly-fishes. 
 Cho. The pompous air in aU he says ! 
 
 Die, See that the eels are frying. 
 
 Cho. What with the noise and smell so good, 
 
 And hunger, all the neighbourhood, 
 And we, are almost dying. 
 Die, And brown them. 
 
 * A borough of Attica on the Boeotian border. 
 
931-952.] .ACHARNIANS. 49 
 
 Enter a Bridegeoom's-Man. 
 
 B.'s M, Dicseopolis. 
 
 Die, Another comer ! wlio is this ? 
 
 BJs M, A bridegroom from the breakfast sends this fri- 
 cassee 
 For your acceptance. 
 
 Die, Thanks, whoever he may be. 
 
 B,'s M. And begs a vase of Peace ; that military life 
 May not disturb the new enjoyment of his wife. 
 
 Die. Off with the fricassee ! I'll none. You need not 
 stop; 
 Not for ten thousand drachmas shall he have a drop. 
 
 [Exit Bridegroom' s-Man. 
 Fetch me a wine-stoup here, that I at once may fill 
 The pitchers. 
 
 Gho, Who comes here, like messenger of ill. 
 
 With knitted brows ? 
 
 Enter Fiest Messengee on one side, 
 1st Mess, Oh, toils and broils and Lamachus ! 
 
 Enter Lamachus on the opposite. 
 
 Lam, Who thunders at the brazen gates ? who calls on 
 us? 
 
 1st Mess, It is the General's order that you go to-day. 
 Taking your companies and crests without delay, 
 To watch the passes in the snow : for it is told 
 That certain thieves from the Boeotian side, made bold 
 By reason of our feast, trouble the neighbourhood 
 With lifting prey. [Exit Messenger. 
 
 Lam. Oh, Generals far more than good ! 
 
 Die. To go and leave the feast ! oh^ terrible position ! 
 Oh, lamentablelamacha3an expedition ! 
 
 Lam. Is it at me you dare to cast such scoffs as these ? 
 
 Die. Wouldst thou do battle with four-winged Ger- 
 yones ? ^ 
 
 * Perhaps Dicaeopolis has picked up some of the birds' feathers there 
 lying to make a mock at Lamachus. 
 
 £ 
 
m COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [953-974. 
 
 Lam. Ah ! all ! what heavy tidings did the herald bring 
 
 me? 
 Die, Hah ! ha ! what tidings will this coming fellow 
 smg me ? 
 
 Enter Second Messengee. 
 
 2nd Mess, Good Dicseopolis. 
 
 Die, What now ? 
 
 2nd Mess, Please you pack up 
 
 Your pitcher and provision-box,^ and come to sup. 
 The Priest of Bacchus begs your company and waits. 
 The feast is all prepared from tables down to cates ; 
 The cushions, couches, hangings, chaplets for the head, 
 The perfames, sweetmeats, millet-cakes and wheaten bread, 
 And dancers : so make haste. 
 
 Lam, My evil genius ! 
 
 Die, You chose the Gorgon. Why reproach your for- 
 tune thus ? 
 But peace ; get ready. 
 
 Lam, Boy, bring out my havresack. 
 
 Die, Boy, bring out the provision-box for me to pack. 
 
 Lam, Some thyme-sauce and some onions for my service 
 chest. 
 
 Die. And me a slice of fish : for onions I detest. 
 
 Lam, Bring me a leaf ^ of saltfish ; it is soldier's fare. 
 
 Die, And me a leaf ^ of stuffing ; I will dress it there. 
 
 Lam, Bring me the feathers, which upon my helmet sit. 
 
 Die, And me the pigeons and the thrushes from the spit. 
 
 Lam, 'Tis full and white ! the ostrich is a noble fellow . 
 
 Die. The meat of wood-pigeon is very plump and yellow. 
 
 Lam, About my arms, my man, I'd have you cease your 
 girds. 
 
 Die. Can you refrain, my man, from looking at my 
 birds ? 
 
 * Social meetings were often arranged on the 'pic-nic' principle, so 
 that the provision-box was an ordinary article of furniture : we shall see 
 directly how it was stored. 
 
 ^ A fig-leaf, commonly used to wrap viands. 
 
975-995.] ACHARNIANS. 51 
 
 Lam. Now bring me out the mount that holds the triple 
 
 crest. 
 Die, And me the dish of hare so exquisitely dressed. 
 Lam, Alas ! the moths have eat the long hair through 
 
 and through. 
 Die, Alas ! I'm eating hare — and supper's yet to do ! 
 Lam, Will you be pleased, my man, to cease addressing 
 
 meP 
 Die. Pooh ! pooh ! 'tis with my slave I venture to make 
 
 free. 
 What ? Locust yield a meat as sweet as thrushes ? Nay, 
 I'll wager you it isn't ; Lamachus shall say. 
 Lam. You're insolent. 
 
 Die, He says that locusts win the day. 
 
 Lam. Boy, boy, bring out my spear ; it is above the 
 
 shelf. 
 Die. Boy, boy, bring out the string of sausage, stir your- 
 self. 
 Lam. Come, let me get the spear out of its cover ; lend 
 A hand to help me. 
 
 Die. {giving his slave an end of a spit on which are the 
 
 Sausages.) Aye, take you the other end. 
 Lam. Bring out the tressels to support my goodly 
 
 shield. 
 Die, To me bring out the roUs, their good support to 
 
 yield. 
 Lam, And now the Gorgon-backed, the shield, sir, if 
 
 you please.^ 
 Die. And now a pancake — broad and rounder than a 
 
 cheese. 
 Lam. If men find this a joke, they'll own 'tis broaxi 
 
 enough. 
 Die. If men find this a pancake — why, 'tis toothsome 
 
 stuff. 
 Lam. Now pour some oil upon the brass. I see reflected 
 An old man in the act of cowardice detected. . 
 
 * The shield is here mounted on the tressels that it may be rubbed to 
 brightness j so that Lamachus sees reflections in it. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [996-102 4 
 
 Die, Now pour some honey on. There is an old man 
 here 
 Laughing at Lamachus Fitz-Grorgonus : that's clear. 
 
 Lam, Bring me the martial plate with which I arm my 
 
 breast. 
 Die, Bring me the pitcher wherewithal I warm my 
 
 chest. 
 Lam, Against the enemies thus armed will I go out. 
 Die, Thus armed am I prepared for any drinking-bout. 
 Lam, Now tie the blankets in the hollow of the shield. 
 And I myself will bear the wallet to the field. 
 
 Die, Now shut the box ; so shall the supper be concealed. 
 Lam, Now take you up the shield and we will go to- 
 gether. 
 Die, And I will take a wrap to go through any weather. 
 Lam, Bless me ! it snows. The night is very dark and 
 
 stormy. 
 Die, Pick up the box. A pleasant evening is before me. 
 
 \_Exeunt, 
 Cho, Go ye, each with cheery heart. 
 
 But your ways lie wide apart : 
 His to garlands and potation ; 
 Yours to shiver at your station. 
 1st Semiehorus, Antimachus, the last Lensea,* 
 At getting up the Plays, played me a 
 Scurvy trick ; for he decreed 
 That actors do not want to feed. 
 May Jupiter reward the man. 
 And do the worst on him he can. 
 He will, if I should have my wish. 
 Be one day cheated of his fish. 
 Just when the dainty hissing hot 
 Is coming to the table, not 
 Upon it, let a dog astray 
 Lay hold of it and get away. 
 
 * A feast of Bacchus, and chief occasion on which dramas were pre- 
 sented. It had been customary for the wealthy citizen who undertook 
 the office of Choregus, wliile instructing the actors in their parts for a 
 new play, to give them their suppers. Antimachus set himself to reform 
 this abuse. 
 
1025-1050.] ACHARNIANS. 53 
 
 2nd Semichorus. For one misfortune that may do. 
 But I will find liim number Two. 
 With, ague fevered, on his way 
 Towards his house some evening, may 
 Orestes ^ with a madman's force 
 Surprise and knock him off his horse. 
 Then blindly groping for a stone 
 May he find out — what he has thrown 
 Has left behind a dirty mark ! 
 And may it, flying in the dark, 
 Escape the man at whom it sped 
 But hit Cratinus ^ on the head. 
 
 Scene. — In front of the house o/Lamachus. 
 
 Enter Servant of Lamachus running. 
 
 8er, Here women, get hot water, towels, lint and plaister, 
 And ankle bandages for Lamachus your master. 
 A ditch came in his way, which he must try to take ; 
 But somehow in the dark he jumped upon a stake ; 
 And got a dislocation of the ankle-bone. 
 Then in the fall he broke his head upon a stone. 
 Alas ! the Gorgon's head has tumbled fi:om the shield, 
 And, much I fear, is left for dead upon the field. 
 But when the Braggadocio fell among the stones 
 There burst from him a loud lament in tragic tones, 
 ' Oh glorious eye, while thus on thee I look my last 
 I take my leave of light : for, I am dying fast.' 
 Thus having said, he fell into an open drain. 
 But then some thieves ran by and he rose up again. 
 
 * A noted footpad, the terror of citizens then, and many years after, to 
 judge by the recurrence of his name in these plays. 
 
 2 The father of Attic Comedy. On the principle of ^Sweets to the 
 sweet/ the ' dirt ' might not have gone far wrong if it had hit Aristo- 
 phanes himself. 
 
54 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1051-1077. 
 
 And followed with his spear, as they ran on before — 
 But here he comes himself. So, pray undo the door. 
 
 Enter Lamaohus, wounded and lame. 
 
 Lam, Ahtattah ! ahtattah ! 
 
 Anguish thrills me, numbness chills me. 
 Constant bleeding — hope receding — 
 'Tis the foeman's spear that kills me. 
 But that which grieves me most is this, — 
 If that DicseopoKs 
 Should behold me. 
 He would mock my dismal plight. 
 He would say it served me right. 
 As he told me. 
 
 Enter Dic.s:opolis, reeling tijpsily. 
 
 Die, Ahtah-latattah, ahtahtay ! 
 I drank the pitcher first to-day. 
 
 Lam. Oh, for the sorrow of my heart ! 
 Oh, for my wounds ! they throb, they smart. 
 
 Die. {recognising Lamachus) My Lamachus ! my jovial 
 
 lad ! 
 Lam. I'm sorrowful — 
 
 Die. {falling on the nech of Lamachus) I'm very sad ! 
 Lam. Why kiss you me ? 
 
 Die. Why do you bite ? 
 
 Lam. I've lost my reckoning in the fight. 
 Die. But who would call a guest to pay 
 His reckoning upon Pitcher-day ? 
 Lam. Oh, bear me tp the surgeon's, 
 
 let him take me in. 
 Die. Oh, bear me to the judge's, 
 
 let me have the skin. 
 Lam, The spear has touched the bone ; 
 
 I know it by the pains. 
 
 [Lamachus is carried off. 
 Die, The pitcher was weU fiUed, 
 
 and not a drop remains. 
 For victory ! hurrah ! 
 
1078-1083.] ACHARNIANS. 56 
 
 Cho, And so say we, hurrah ! 
 
 Die, The wine was neat, I did the feat 
 
 Without a pause : hurrah ! 
 Clio. You justly win ; go, take the skin 
 
 And our applause. Hurrah ! 
 Hurrah 
 
KNIGHTS. 
 
INTEODUCTIOK 
 
 It would seem tliat when Aristophanes put Acharnians 
 upon the stage he, had abeady conceived the design of 
 making an attack upon Cleon ; and that, in connection 
 with the Order of Knights. There he puts it into the 
 mouth of his Chorus to say, ' I hate you more than I do 
 Cleon, whom I will make into shoe-leather for the Ejiights.' 
 
 But in the autumn of that year an event had happened 
 which not only established the power of Cleon beyond the 
 force of any stroke delivered from the Comic Stage, but 
 had a material influence on the course of the war. 
 
 Demosthenes, an enterprising officer, had, with a few 
 men and ships, established himself in a hastily-built fort 
 at Pylos, now Navarino, on the coast of Peloponnesus. 
 Threatened thus at home, the Spartans hastily recalled 
 their army, at the time invading Attica, and endeavoured 
 to dislodge Demosthenes. In the course of their operations 
 they landed a considerable body of men, with their attend- 
 ant slaves, upon the island Sphacteria, which crossed the 
 entrance of the harbour. Their attacks upon the fort 
 failed. The Athenian fleet came up, and having obtained 
 the mastery of the position, effectually cut off and block- 
 aded the Spartans upon the island. Hereupon the Lace- 
 dsemonians sent to Athens and made deliberate overtures 
 for peace. Cleon induced the people to reject them. The 
 Athenians believed that they were quite sure of taking the 
 men upon the island, and that the actual possession of them 
 as prisoners would enable them to dictate the terms of the 
 peace. 
 
 The season, however, seemed likely to pass away without 
 the accomplishment of their purpose. They would not 
 be able to maintain the blockade through the winter. 
 
60 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Dispiriting reports of their prospects came to Athens from 
 the party with Demosthenes. Men began to regard Cleon 
 with evil eye for having induced the city to disdain the 
 Spartan propositions. For his self-justification he threw 
 the blame upon the officers employed upon the service, and 
 hastily boasted that, if he were in command he would soon 
 bring the affair to a satisfactory conclusion. Mcias, the 
 General-in-chief at Athens, unexpectedly took him at his 
 word, and offered to him the command, with any force he 
 would name. When this was pressed upon him, Cleon 
 would fain have withdrawn ; but the, people, apparently 
 taken with the humour of the thing, would not allow him 
 to do so. 
 
 Cleon then carried himself through with the bravado 
 with which he had begun. He would take no Athenian 
 force at all ; only some light troops of the allies, then at 
 Athens, and he would bring back the Spartans as his 
 prisoners within twenty days, or die in the attempt. 
 Acting in concert with Demosthenes, he made a descent 
 upon the island Sphacteria, pushed the Lacedaemonians to 
 a surrender, and brought them to Athens within the stipu- 
 lated time. The prisoners were thrown into chains, and 
 held to guarantee the soil of Attica from Spartan invasion. 
 Eventually nothing less than a peace on terms of great 
 advantage to Athens, was the price of their release. 
 
 This Navarino was an untoward event for the comic 
 designs of Aristophanes. But it will be seen that his wit 
 was not at a loss how to evade its force, or even to take 
 advantage of it for strokes of humour. Demosthenes and 
 Mcias figure as important characters in the comedy. They 
 are, together with Cleon himself, represented as slaves in 
 the household of a testy, selfish old man named Demus, 
 or ' People.' This ' Demus ' is throughout the comedy a 
 sufl&ciently daring impersonation of the mighty Athenian 
 populace. 
 
 It is not a little strange, however, that while Aristo- 
 phanes could thus venture to display before the Athenians 
 a most insulting caricature of themselves, he never ven- 
 tures to call his ' character ' Cleon hy his name. The 
 occurrence of the name in a choric ode (line 900) is no 
 
INTRODUCTION. Gl 
 
 real exception. The reference there need not be to the 
 character in the play. Throughout the comedy, the name 
 of the person is adroitly avoided ; he is ' The Paphla- 
 GONiAN,' or referred to by some equivalent description. 
 It is true that editors, and doubtless from ancient times 
 all manuscripts, set the name Cleon in the list of 
 Dramatis Personse, and before all the spoken parts. The 
 translator has not ventured to alter the custom. But the 
 fact as it concerns Aristophanes is worth notice. 
 
 With all respect to those who have suggested that this 
 comedy should bear the title Demagogues instead of 
 Knights, the translator sees no reason for the change, 
 but rather the contrary. In the opening of Acharnians 
 Dicseopolis is made to crow over a fine of five talents 
 which Cleon had been made to pay on the prosecution of 
 the Knights. It surely cannot be doubted that it was this 
 very fact which directed Aristophanes to connect his 
 attack on Cleon with that class. He has been careful to 
 give a speciality to the Choral Odes, and the Parabasis, to 
 make them appropriate in the mouths of these proud 
 Horsemen, Of course it is to be understood that our 
 English word hnight is used as our only convenient word 
 to signify a person of definite social and political status, 
 who was bound to render his military service on horse- 
 back. 
 
 In this comedy the reader is first introduced to a 
 feature of Athenian, perhaps it should be said of Greek 
 character, which is very remarkable, and plays a large 
 part in all the other comedies. It is addiction to prophets 
 and prophecies. In this respect alone does the professed 
 belief in the Gods appear to have had any reality. Men 
 under all circumstances live upon the hopes of the future, 
 and have a strong desire to foreknow it. This great 
 secret was in the possession of Apollo. For a considera- 
 tion he was willing to impart it in terms more or less 
 clear. This convenience was not reserved to kings and 
 communities. The fortunes of individuals the most obscure 
 might be told on application. The enigmatic oracles were 
 so far what we should caU Eevelations : but there is no 
 sign of any reverence being attached to them as words of 
 
62 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 God. Thej might, we see, witliout any offence to public 
 opinion be parodied, and doubtless forged. It appears 
 that collections of such oracles were made, and much used 
 by individuals as Books of Fate. Two such are here 
 alluded to. That byBacis, a Boeotian, was in high repute. 
 Herodotus (vii. 77) quotes from it, with expressions of the 
 highest confidence. 
 
 Nothing can come from Aristophanes which shall not 
 bear marks of brilliant and versatile fancy and fine 
 humour, but those who read this comedy, without the 
 stimulus of strong anti-democratic prepossessions, must 
 feel that these powers are overborne and darkly shaded by 
 mere personal vituperation, which it has been sometimes 
 irksome to translate. If there is one other circumstance 
 in connection with this comedy which deserves remark, it 
 is the fact, that The People, who as they sat on the 
 benches of the theatre heard themselves so insolently 
 treated, had the patience, one may say, the dignity, merely 
 to be amused, and to sanction the award of the Judges, 
 which gave to it the first prize. 
 
§xnmntxn ^er^0n^< 
 
 Demus. a crotchety old man, representing the Populace of Athens. 
 
 DEifOSTHENES. 
 
 N I CT AS. . Household servants of Demm. 
 
 The Paphlagonian, or Cleon. , 
 
 The Sausage-seller, afterwards Agoracrittjs. 
 
 Chorus, of the oi^der Knights. 
 
Scene. — In front of the House of Demus, 
 
 Demosthenes enters, muttering to himself 
 
 Bern, The curse of all the Gods upon this new-bought 
 dog, 
 This Paphlagonian ! 'Tis nothing else but ' flog, 
 Flog, flog,' for all the rest, since in an evil day 
 This slave came to the house. 
 
 Enter from the other side NioiAS, also muttering^ 
 
 Nic, A plague on him, I say, 
 
 And all his cunning lies, this Paphlagonian ! 
 
 Bern, (recognising l^iciAs), Poor fellow, how are you ? 
 
 Nic. Sadly ; like you, poor man. 
 
 Bem, Then pitifully let us weep in unison. 
 
 Both, Ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh, ugh-ugh ! 
 
 Bern. Nay, nay ; have done : 
 
 This whining serves no purpose. Can we not contrive 
 Some better plan than whimpering whereby to thrive ? 
 
 Nic, What can it be ? Speak you. 
 
 Bern. No, you say it to me. 
 
 I will not cross you. 
 
 Nic, No ; that must not, cannot be. 
 
 I will say afterwards. Speak out ; be not afraid. 
 
 Bern, ' The thing that I should say, I would that you 
 had said.' ^ 
 
 Nic. I have not got the pluck ; I can't. I want in fact 
 The power to speak it with Euripides's tact. 
 
 Bern, No ' watercresses,' ^ pray ! Suggest some sort of 
 notion 
 That has in it a hint of master-quitting motion. 
 
 Nic, Then speak the words 'a,' ' way,' the two pronounced 
 like one. 
 
 1 A quotation from tlie Hippolytus of Euripides. 
 
 2 Equivalent to 'no Euripides.' See note, Achar. 1. 405. 
 
 P 
 
66 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [20-40. 
 
 Dem, ' Away.'* 
 
 Nic, Now after it, express tlie sound of ' run.' 
 
 Dem, So 9 — ' run.' 
 
 Nic. Aye ; slowly say ' away ; ' and after, place 
 
 The ' run ; ' and then repeat, increasing stiU the pace. 
 
 Dem. A, way, run, away — runaway. 
 
 Nic. Like you it fast ? 
 
 Dem. 'Tis well at first, but apt to burn the skin ^ at last ! 
 
 Nic. Why then there's nothing left us but to say our 
 prayers 
 At some god's image, for redress in our affairs. 
 
 Dem. Image ? Do you believe in gods ? 
 
 Nic. ' ^ye? verily. 
 
 Dem. What token have you ? 
 
 Nic. That they have a spite at me. 
 
 Is not that reason ? ^ 
 
 Dem. Excellent : I'm satisfied. 
 
 Nic. Then something in another quarter must be tried. 
 
 Dem. Shall I explain the matter to the audience ? 
 
 Nic. 'Twere well. But let us first make trial of their 
 sense. 
 Beseeching them to show by some distinctive token 
 That they approve what we are doing and have spoken. 
 
 [^Audience signifies approbation. 
 
 Dem. Now will I speak. We have a master, you should 
 know, 
 Churlish in temper, bean-fed, and by no means slow 
 To wrath, Demus of Pnyx ; a humorous old man. 
 And rather dull. No longer than the month began 
 He bought and brought us here a Paphlagonian ^ slave, 
 A tanner, lying rogue, and most consummate knave. 
 
 * Runaway slaves who were recovered were branded. — Birds, 729. 
 
 ' This smart argument is attributed to Diogenes, as used by him to 
 answer an Impertinent, enquiring whether he ' believed there are Gods ? ' 
 ^ Of course I do ; for I believe you are an object of aversion to them.' 
 
 2 It is evident that many of the Greek slaves were brought from Asia 
 Minor : hence the names Lydian, Phrygian, Paphlagonian, or ' Midas ' 
 were used indisciiminately and in contempt for slaves, as in our time \ 
 ' nigger.' 
 
41-77.] KNIGHTS. 07 
 
 No sooner come but, measuring tlie old lAan's ways, 
 He set to wheedle, fawn on, flatter him, and plays 
 Upon his weaknesses with petty gifts. ' Please you 
 To wash,' he'll say, ' when you've despatched a case or two ;' 
 ' Dear Sir, a mouthful, just a sip ; ' ' pray take the fee ; ' 
 ' Ah, you are ready for your supper. Sir, I see.' 
 Then, catching whatsoever we have cooked with care, 
 . My Paphlagonian hands it in with special air. 
 Only two days ago at Pylus I had got 
 A mess of Spartan broth just ready in the pot. 
 When round my rascal comes before it could be known. 
 And, smiling, serves it up as if it were his own. 
 He wiU not let us see our master but at distance ; 
 And never suffers us to render him assistance ; 
 But with a leather thong stands while the master sups 
 To whisk the buzzers off that gather round the cups ; 
 And entertains his ear the while with prophecies. 
 For mightily the old man likes that sort of lies. 
 And when he sees the master fooled to his content. 
 Pushes the game on which his roguish heart is bent : 
 He has some story trumped upon a false pretence 
 To tell of us ; and we are whipped by consequence. 
 He'll filch a present from a fellow-slave by dint 
 Of impudence in asking, followed by the hint — 
 ' You know what came to Hylas when he dared deny me. 
 I'U have you flogged to death, unless you gratify rde.' 
 And so we give it him. Now what is to be done ? 
 
 Nic. Good fellow, there is nothing for it but — to run. 
 
 Bern. But nothing can escape this Paphlagonian, 
 His eyes are everywhere, his legs have such a span. 
 One is in Pylus, and the other in the Pnyx ; 
 His hands — wherever there is anything that sticks ; 
 Only his mind is constant ; always fixed on theft. 
 
 Nic, Then we had better die, for nothing else is left. 
 How may we do it in most manly fashion ? How ? 
 
 Bern, Eh, how? 
 
 Nic. Drink bull's blood ! that is manly you'U allow 
 
 After Themistocles ? ^ 
 
 ^ This is a vague story, not confirmed by Thucydides, indeed dis- 
 credited by his silence. 
 
68 COMEDIES OF AKISTOPHANES. [77-100. 
 
 Dcm, A bumper to ' Good Luck ' 
 
 Were better : and therefrom some wise tbougbt might 
 one pluck. 
 Nic. Neat wine ! for shame, your heart is ever upon 
 drink. ^ 
 How can a man bemused with wine be fit to think ? 
 
 Dem. Out on your wishiwashiness ! you water sot ! 
 Wine dull the wits ? — the only thing that it does not ! 
 What will you find to put a man in better trim ? 
 See, when a man has drunk the world goes well with him ; 
 He carries out his plans ; he feels that he can spend ; 
 He wins his battles and has heart to help a Mend. 
 But go you in and bring me out a stoup of wine. 
 I'll wet my intellect and think of something fine. 
 
 Nic, What will your drinking do for us ? No good I 
 
 fear. 
 Dem. Fear not: go fetch it. I will lie and wait you 
 here. 
 Only let me be drunk and you will see the rout 
 Of thoughts, and plots, and plans that I will throw you out. 
 [NiciAS goes in, and returns with a stoup 
 of wine, 
 Nic, Bravo ! I've filched the wine, and managed to 
 avoid 
 All observation. 
 
 Dem, How was Paphlagon employed ? 
 
 Nic, Snoring upon his back ; for lying on a heap 
 Of untanned skins, the knave has drunk himself to sleep. 
 Dem, Fill me a bumper, — neat. 
 
 Nic, There. — Luck be in the draught. 
 
 Dem, (after drinMng) Ha! ha! Good Genius, I thank 
 
 thee for the craft ! 
 Nic, Wliat is it ? tell me. 
 
 Dem, Go : steal me his Book of Fate. 
 
 While he's asleep. 
 
 Nic, But mine may not be fortunate. 
 
 [Exit NiciAS. 
 
 * It is likely the real soldiers Demosthenes and Nicias, to the knowledge 
 of the public, differed as here represented in their principles and habits 
 in the matter of wine. 
 
101-126.] KNIGHTS. 09 
 
 Dem. Methinks I'll take meanwliile another cup of wine, 
 To wet my intellect and think of something fine. 
 
 Re-enter NiciAS. 
 
 Nic, I've got it. Oh how heavily the rascal sleeps. 
 I've got the very one, the oracle he keeps 
 So closely. 
 
 Bern, Oh., you clever dog. Here, give it up. 
 And let me read. Meanwhile do you refill the cup. 
 Let's see. What have we here ? — oh ! oracles indeed ! 
 The cup, the cup, I say, give me the cup with speed. 
 
 Nic, Ha ! ha ! what says the oracle ? 
 
 Bern. Here, fill again. 
 
 Nic, What! is that written there? and is it written 
 plain ? 
 
 Bern, Oh, Bacis ! ^ 
 
 Nic, What is that? 
 
 Bern, A cup here in a winking. 
 
 Nic, Bacis has prophesied a good deal about drinking. 
 
 Bern, Ha ! Paphlagonian rogue, is this what you had got. 
 And kept, in terror for yourself, so closely ? 
 
 Nic, What? 
 
 Bern, Here is prognosticated what his end will be. 
 
 Nic, What will it ? 
 
 Bern, What ? — 'tis written unmistakeably. 
 
 A lint-dealer ^ will be the first to guide the State. 
 
 Nic, One 'dealer,' that is : who is next? does it relate? 
 
 Bern, A sheep-dealer'^ should be the second who shall rise. 
 
 Nic, Two dealers these. Of him what say the prophecies ? 
 
 Bern. That he must reign until a more disgusting man 
 Is found to take his place. The Paphlagonian, 
 The leather-dealer, next turns up, the greedy maw. 
 The bellower with lungs to keep a flood in awe. 
 
 Nic. The leather-dealer, then, was called up to abate 
 The sheep-dealer. 
 
 1 A Greek ' Merlin/ under whose name passed a collection of oracles in 
 great repute. 
 
 2 Eucrates and Lysicles ; two leaders of the Democratic party before 
 Cleon. The fiction of the drama is defied by the introduction of these 
 allusions : we are not here in the domestic troubles of the household of 
 old Demus, but launched on Athenian party politics. 
 
70 COMEDIES OF AHISTOPHANES. [126-146 
 
 Dem, Aje, so. 
 
 Nic. That is unfortunate : 
 
 There's not a dealer left to put him in the shade. 
 
 Dem. Oh, yes; there stiU is one of quite a startling 
 trade. • 
 
 Nic» What is he ? tell me. 
 
 Dem. Shall I? 
 
 Nic, Yes. 
 
 Dem, A man that deals 
 
 In sausages is found to trip the tanner's heels. 
 
 Nic. A sausage-dealer ? Neptune ! what a calling too. 
 Where shall we find the man ? 
 
 Dem, We'll see what we can do. 
 
 [J. man carrying the implements of street 
 sausage-seller seen ajpjproaching. 
 
 Nic. Nay: see you; here he comes, by Providential plan 
 Led to the market-place. 
 
 Dem. Oh, happy sausage-man ! 
 
 Come up, sweet soul ; come here, for thou art born to be 
 Our saviour and the city's. 
 
 Enter Sausage-seller. 
 
 8au. What want you of me ? 
 
 What is all this about ? 
 
 Dem. Come here and learn the fate 
 
 Which lifts you upwards to a most sublime estate. 
 
 Nic, Do you expound to him the oracle's good will. 
 I'U go and see if yonder knave is sleeping still. 
 
 [Exit NiciAS. 
 
 Dem. Set down your goods ; but first with reverence pro- 
 found 
 Adore the blessed Gods and humbly kiss the ground. 
 
 8au. So ; there : what is it ? 
 
 Dem. Man supremely fortunate. 
 
 Humble to-day, to be to-morrow more than great, 
 Captain of Athens. 
 
 Sau. Pooh ! you're joking : let me go 
 
 And wash my tripe. 
 
146-174.] KNIGHTS. 71 
 
 Dem. Tripe ! fool ; see you row after row, 
 
 Tliat mass of people ? ^ 
 
 8au. Yes, I see them. 
 
 Dem. All tlie herd 
 
 In market, ports, and Pnyx must wait upon your word : 
 You'll shut and open prisons, spend the State's resources ; 
 'Tis yours to make and break commanders of the forces ; 
 The senate will lie abject underneath your heels. 
 And in the Prytaneum you will have your meals. 
 
 Sau, I shall ? 
 
 Dem. Aye, you. And yet you have not seen the whole. 
 Set down your dresser, mount upon your chopping-bole, 
 Now, look the islands round. 
 
 Sau, I see them great and small. 
 
 Dem. And marts, exchanges, merchantmen? 
 
 8au. I see them all. 
 
 Dem. How great your fortune ! carry now your eye — the 
 right — 
 To Caria ; on the left, Chalcedon is in sight. 
 
 Sau, Shall I be fortunate if I contract a squint ? 
 
 Dem. Nay, but these all may be to you a mint. 
 For you must be the head ; the oracle is plain. 
 
 Sau, How can a sausage-factor be the man to reign ? 
 
 Dem, That is the virtue of it : you are from the crowd, 
 A very raggamuffin, confident and loud. 
 
 Sau. I cannot think that I am fit for dignity. 
 
 Dem. Nonsense, I say ; for where can your unfitness be? 
 I fancy that you think there is some spark of worth 
 About you now. I ask, are you of gentle birth ? 
 
 Sau, Not I, but of the basest. 
 
 Dem, Happy in your fate. 
 
 It is the warrant for advancement in the State. 
 
 Sau. But, Sir, I have no education but a touch 
 Of letters ; and, in truth, of them I know not much. 
 
 Dem. Not much is all too much ; that is a fault indeed ! 
 Effective leading of the masses does not need 
 
 1 The actor no doubt pointed towards the benches of the spectators. 
 The people whose good temper and sense could be content only to laugh 
 at this deliberate and hearty insult deserve our respect. 
 
72 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [175-206. 
 
 The character and gifts which studied arts enhance, 
 But falls, of right, to Coarseness and to Ignorance. 
 The Gods have marked you out to this high fature bom. 
 I pray you do not leave and lose it in your scorn. 
 
 Sau, What says the oracle? 
 
 Dem. It is the choicest bit 
 
 Of chequered light and shade, and enigmatic wit : — 
 
 Smoultf ^iWia JBrafl0n, Iil00tf--fctr, Bear afcoag, 
 tri^^ Pajpl^lasonian'jS fiarltc %xmt i^ treaXf, 
 
 ^nlt^^ ]^0 In in ^^n ^au^afif^ ttt^tca^. 
 
 8au, But what is this to me*? explain what you have 
 said. 
 
 Dem, Tan-eagle is of course the Paphlagonian. 
 
 Sau, Why is he hooked ? 
 
 Dem. That is to represent the man 
 
 With ever-busy hands clawing unrighteous gain. 
 
 Sau. Then what means dragon ? 
 
 Dem. That is absolutely plain. 
 
 Is not the dragon long ? so is a sausage too. 
 The dragon feeds on blood : what does a sausage do ? 
 'Tis said, unless he lets himself be fobbed with words. 
 The dragon's fortune shall be better than the bird's. 
 
 Sau. I like the oracle, but can't conceive how I 
 Should manage the affairs of a democracy. 
 
 Dem, Nothing is easier. You know your trade. The 
 fact is. 
 You've but to foUow out your ordinary practice. 
 Throw everything together, keep the mixture stirred. 
 Humour the people's taste, throw in a wily word ' 
 To give a pleasant flavour. All a man can want 
 To lead a populace you have — voice dissonant. 
 Mean birth and vulgar manners ; your success is made : 
 The oracles concur ; the Pythian gives his aid. 
 Put, then, a chaplet on, make sacrifice with prayer 
 To Stupid,' and to meet the enemy prepare. 
 
 A divinity, apparently, made for the occasion. 
 
207-226.] KNIGHTS. 73 
 
 8au. But who will be my Mends ? The rich men fear his 
 power, 
 The poorer sort bewildered in his presence cower. 
 
 Bern, There are the Knights, a thousand valiant men 
 and true, 
 They hate him, and will frankly aid and comfort you ; 
 Among the citizens all men of worth and sense, 
 And every honest fellow in this audience. 
 I will be with you : and the Gods will aid our task. 
 So fear you not : for you will not behold his mask. 
 The artists for our stage, poor terror-stricken creatures. 
 Dared not supply us with that image of his features. 
 No matter.^ [pointing towards the audience,) 
 
 These are shrewd, and they will know the man. 
 
 [NiciAS runs in, 
 Nic, Alackaday, here comes the Paphlagonian ! 
 
 Enter Cleon. 
 
 Clean, By the twelve gods, you two shall answer for your 
 crime. 
 You plot against the people, and have done long time. 
 Ha, ha ! what means this cup ? ^ It is Chalcidian. 
 Soh ! Chalcis shall rebel ? — You see, I know your plan. 
 You shall be ruined. Ah, you villains, you shall die. 
 
 [The Sausage-seller is intimidated and slinhs 
 aside, 
 Bern, Stop, don't desert us. Sausage -man : why do you 
 fly? 
 Valiant Horsemen, to the rescue ! — 
 
 Simon,^ now your squadrons bring. 
 On the right, Pansetius ^ forward ! 
 
 Will you not support the wing ? 
 
 1 Not only would not the artists make the mask to represent Cleon, 
 according to custom wlien any public character was introduced upon the 
 stage, but the actor declined to take the part. It was therefore borne by 
 Aristophanes himself with his face smeared with wine-lees. So says 
 tradition. 
 
 2 The cup brought out of the house by Nicias. 
 
 3 At this time captains of the two divisions of Horse or * Knights.' 
 
74 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES, [227-242. 
 
 Courage ! now the men are coming ; 
 
 turn and stand on your defence. 
 See, tlie dust which, they are raising. 
 
 Stand and drive the fellow hence. ^ 
 
 'Enter Chorus. 
 
 Cho, Hit the rascal ; rank-confounder, 
 
 public-money-taking cheat. 
 Plunder-swallow, Tax-Charybdis, 
 
 rascal, rascal, I repeat ; 
 Twenty times a day a rascal. 
 
 Follow, hit him, kick him out ; 
 Loathe the fellow just we do. 
 
 Up and at him with a shout. 
 Stop the passage, pray be careful, 
 
 he'll escape you ; for the man 
 Knows how Eucrates before him 
 
 went the shortest way to — bran.* 
 Cleon. (appealing to the audience). 
 
 Ancients of the Courts of Justice, 
 
 •brothers of three-obol zeal. 
 Whom, by roaring right or wrong, I 
 
 furnish with a daily meal. 
 Help me : I am being beaten, 
 
 victim of a shameful plot. 
 Chorus, You are served for gulping down the 
 
 shares you did not get by lot. 
 All the men in state employment 
 
 who will have account to render 
 You delight to handle, just like 
 
 figs when they are growing tender ; 
 One is hard, another softer, 
 
 here is one about to fall. 
 So you search and pinch the victims : 
 
 if you find among them all 
 
 1 Eucrates (see 1. 117) was a miller, and did not avoid roguery ; Lis 
 flour became ' bran ' ; he brought his ^ noble to ninepence ; ' being 
 detected in some corruption, he fled the country to escape the penal con- 
 sequences. 
 
243-262.] KNIGHTS. 75 
 
 One that like a slieep is simple, 
 
 trembling at the thought of law, 
 Holding courts and men of business 
 
 in a stupid kind of awe, 
 Him you drag from Chersonesus, 
 
 fling him down and bind him fast, 
 Twist his throat behind his shoulder 
 
 and secure a rich repast. 
 Cleon, You to fall upon me also ! 
 
 I am beaten then for you ! 
 When I was about to say that, 
 
 it was nothing less than due. 
 That the city should set up a 
 
 monument upon the heights 
 To record her estimation 
 
 of the valour of our Knights. 
 Chorus, Lying varlet, cringing fellow. 
 
 see you how he tries to sneak ? 
 Does he think he has to cozen 
 
 men in second childhood weak P 
 If by this device he wins it, 
 
 we a counter-stroke must try ; 
 If he drop his head to push me, 
 
 he shall butt upon the thigh. 
 Cleon, City, People, what a sort of 
 
 beasts are banded to my hurt ! 
 Chorus, You to make an outcry who are 
 
 bent the city to subvert ! 
 Sausage-seller. 1 will fright you with my bellow. 
 Chorus. That were wonderfully done ; 
 
 But in impudence surpass him 
 
 and the victory is won, 
 Cleon, I declare this is the fellow 
 
 who is loiown in many trips 
 To have furnished stores and slops for 
 
 sundry of the Spartan ships. 
 Saus. I declare this is the man who 
 
 to the Prytaneum goes 
 Empty-bellied, but comes from it 
 
 filled as everybody knows. 
 
76 
 
 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. 
 
 [263-294. 
 
 Dem. A.je and, not contented, filches 
 
 from it bread and meat and fish. 
 Such as Pericles had never 
 
 set before him in a dish. 
 Knaves ! ye shall die : no more ado. 
 I'll bellow down three such as you. 
 Bellow ? I'll bellow you to death. 
 Bah ! I will roar you out of breath. 
 Get a command : I'll trip you up. 
 I'll lash you as I would a pup. 
 I'll clip your wings for all your crowing. 
 I'll mine the paths where you are going. 
 Now, — dare to look -me in the face. 
 Pooh ! I am from the market-place. 
 Another word, and you'll be hurt. 
 Speak, and I'll smother you with dirt. 
 I own to stealing : you'd be loth. 
 By Mercury I pledge my oath 
 Against the very men who see. 
 Ha ! meddler, that belongs to me 
 With barefaced perjury to cheat. 
 But I'll inform the Prytanes 
 You sacrilegiously possess 
 The holy tithes of sausage-meat. 
 Loathsome brawler, where's the spot 
 Where your arrogance is not ? 
 'Tis in Council-hall, and Court ; 
 Offices of every sort 
 Welter with the noisome flood. 
 Oh you stirrer of all mud. 
 You that have completely deafened 
 
 Athens with jour endless din. 
 And sit on the rocks to watch ' the 
 
 shoals of tribute coming in ! 
 Cleon, I know all about this matter, 
 
 whence you've patched it altogether. 
 Sau, Truly, if you don't know how to 
 
 set a cunning patch in leather 
 
 Cleon. 
 
 8au. 
 
 Cleon, 
 
 Sau, 
 
 Cleon, 
 
 Sau. 
 
 Cleon, 
 
 Sau, 
 
 Cleon, 
 
 Sau. 
 
 Cleon, 
 
 Sau, 
 
 Cleon, 
 
 Sau, 
 
 Cleon, 
 
 Chorus, 
 
 ^ In tlie original the word is borrowed from the practice of an ^ga^an- 
 sea fisherman watching for ' thunnies ' as for mackerel. 
 
295-319.] KNIGHTS. 77 
 
 I'm no hand at sausage-making. 
 
 You know how to cut a hide, 
 Though the bullock that it come from 
 
 in a ditch of murrain died, 
 So that it shall cheat the bumpkins ; 
 
 they shall think it thick and stout. 
 But the wear of half a day shall 
 
 spread it some six inches out. 
 Bern, So he cheated me, and all my 
 
 Pergassean neighbours voted. 
 Since they were no boots I came in, 
 
 it was evident I boated. 
 Chorus, 'Twas Impudence of old, 
 
 (On whom as on a friend 
 The pleaders all depend) 
 Who made thee first so bold 
 To pluck what golden fruit the Strangers bring : ' 
 See, Archeptolemus ^ sits sorrowing. 
 
 But here comes one to my delight 
 Whose foulness will eclipse you quite ; 
 Your master, it is plain to see, 
 In force of lung. 
 In reckless tongue. 
 And every act of knavery. 
 But come, you Sir, in whom we feel 
 
 this age is well reflected. 
 Display to us what bootless zeal 
 
 is that, to be respected. 
 8au, The man is such that, though I try, 
 I can't be his traducer — 
 Gleon, But let me — 
 8au, No ; by Jove ; for I 
 
 am quite as bad as you, Sir. 
 Gho, If that is not enough, aver 
 
 that, in their generation. 
 Your fathers' fathers always were 
 
 dregs of the population. 
 Cleon, But let me speak — 
 Sau, You sha'nt : that's flat. 
 
 ^ In the original only ' tlie Son of Hippodamus j ' the scoliast supplit 
 the name, but without pointed explanation. 
 
78 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [319-338. 
 
 Cleon, I will, by Jove, despite you. 
 
 8au, Speak first ? By Neptune, upon that I will begin 
 
 to fight you. 
 Cleon, Oh ! I shall burst — 
 8au, You sha'nt, I say. 
 
 Ctio. Nay, nay, 'tis my petition. 
 
 If bursting really is his way, 
 
 don't think of opposition. 
 Cleon, On what do you set confidence 
 
 that you should dare defy me ? 
 Ban, That I can speak ; and have some sense 
 in sauce-compounding. Try me. 
 Cleon, You speak ! A very dainty treat 
 
 would you make of a question ; 
 To serve your raw and ragged meat 
 
 for other folk's digestion. 
 I know what happens with you all. 
 
 For once you had a victim, 
 A foreigner, the case was small, 
 
 and handsomely you pick'd him ; 
 You muttered all the night and then, 
 
 you walked the roads reciting ; 
 You gave your friends a specimen, 
 
 but not by their inviting : 
 Wine was not to be had so weak, 
 
 you took to water-drinking. 
 And then you think that you can speak ! — 
 the more fool you for thinking. 
 SoAi, What liquor was it aided you, 
 the only living duper. 
 To talk as no one else could do 
 a city into stupor ? 
 Cleon, And whom will you presume to think 
 my better or my equal ? 
 I'll eat my turbot hot, and drink 
 
 a pot of wine for sequel ; 
 Neat wine, no water in it, I 
 
 do not approve the mixture. 
 And put our generals at Pylus 
 
 in an awkward fixture. 
 
339-362.] 
 
 KNIGHTS. 
 
 79 
 
 8au, And I will eat a dish of tripe, 
 
 With chitterlings to follow, 
 And staying not my mouth to wipe, 
 
 at one draught will I swallow 
 The broth they're boiled in : then I'll slit 
 the throat of every pleader ; 
 And Nicias ^ shall smart for it, 
 
 as I'm a dainty feeder. 
 Cho, In other things your moral tone 
 merits our approbation, 
 But drinking up the broth alone ! — 
 
 should have some explanation. 
 Cleon. Pooh ! you won't eat a dog-fish steak, 
 
 and tackle the Milesians. 
 8au, I'll eat a side of ox, and make 
 
 the mines my own possessions. 
 Cleon. I'll take you up and hind-before 
 
 Will pitch you doubled through the door. 
 Chorus, By Neptune, that if you should do. 
 
 You'll after have to pitch me too. 
 Cleon, The stocks shall hold you like a vice. 
 8au, I'll have you tried for cowardice. 
 
 Cleon, I'll tan your hide. 
 Sau, I'll make your skin 
 
 A bag for thieves to put things in. 
 Cleon, I'll peg you down. 
 
 8au, Nay, you I'll chop. 
 
 Cleon, I'll pluck you hairs. 
 8au, I'll cut your crop. 
 
 Clio, Clap a ring upon his snout, 
 
 You may do it boldly, easily. 
 Catch his tongue and drag it out ; 
 
 Let us look if it be measly. 
 Fire, had we experience. 
 
 Might be feeble found to burn ; 
 
 ^ Bentley well makes a question whether Nicias, the soldier, is here 
 intended: for he, with Demosthenes, is represented as abetting the 
 Sausage-seller. In another comedy reference is made to another Nicias, 
 one of the * pleader' tribe. 
 
80 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [363-384 
 
 These are feats of impudence 
 We had jet to live and learn. 
 Methinks that this 
 Is not amiss. 
 But at him, seize him, 
 Twist him, teaze him. 
 Do nothing small, 
 But let him have a heavy fall. 
 If he only yield a little, 
 
 stubborn though the hide and tough, 
 He will prove an arrant coward ; 
 
 for I know him well enough. 
 8au, That he had been all his life long 
 
 till he was for better known ; 
 When he put his sickle in the 
 
 harvest by another sown. 
 Now he has the ears he gathered 
 
 in the stocks exposed to dry. 
 And is looking for the people, 
 
 who he thinks will come to buy.^ 
 Cleon. You I fear not while the Senate 
 has direction of affairs. 
 And while Demus,^ like a dummy 
 
 yonder sits and nothing cares. 
 Oho, He says it ! yet upon his cheek 
 
 There's not a tint of shame to speak. 
 Cleon, May Cratinus spit upon me, 
 
 Morsimus teach me a part 
 In his play, if I don't hate you 
 
 frankly and with all my heart. 
 Chorus, Oh, settler on each flower that yields 
 The sweet of bribes, in all the fields, 
 
 ^ In allusion to the Spartan prisoners : many of them were men con- 
 nected with the best families in Sparta. It is said that they were ill- 
 treated in order to induce their countrj'men to be willing to make 
 political sacrifices for their release. 
 
 ^ That is, the people sitting on the benches of the theatre. This at 
 least is more like Aristophanes than Wieland's suggestion, that the cha- 
 racter ' Demus ' to be presently introduced, was already seen at the back of 
 the stage. 
 
385-402.] KNIGHTS. 81 
 
 Be made the pleasant theft to quit 
 As lightly as you swallowed it. 
 So will I sing the merry lay, 
 ' Drink, for the luck that falls to-day.' ^ 
 Cleon. If you beat me in impudence, 
 
 I'll own to the disgrace, 
 Nor share the feast of Jove from hence 
 
 set in the market-place.^ 
 8au. I swear by every fisticuft*, 
 
 and every cut of knife 
 Which (and they have been quite enough) 
 
 I have endured through life, 
 I'll beat you to your heart's content, 
 
 or vainly I will own 
 Dog's meat has been the nutriment 
 
 on which my bulk has grown. 
 Cleon. Fed on the meat of dogs you were ! 
 
 then how can you escape. 
 You utter scoundrel, when you dare 
 
 contend with a dog-ape ? 
 8au, Ha ! when I was a little boy 
 
 I had my tricks to play 
 Upon the slaves in cook's employ : 
 
 for instance, I would say, 
 ' Ha ! ha ! a swallow ; summer's nigh ; 
 
 he's flying up the street.' 
 And while they gaped into the sky, 
 
 I'd filch a piece of meat. 
 Cho. A pretty piece of flesh ! as though 
 
 you made a nettle -meal ! ^ 
 Before the swallows ! Did you so ? 
 
 Such early days to steal ! 
 
 * A song of Simonides. 
 
 ^ An image of Jupiter was set up in the market-place to admonish men 
 to be honest in their dealings. It was understood that a proved rogue 
 should be excommunicated from all part in the Deity's sacrificial feast. 
 Cleon here assigns as against himself a different ground of unworthiness, 
 namely, finding a man who could outdo him in impudence. 
 
 3 The style of wit exhibited in this encounter is not worth much 
 enquiry or comment. I own myself unsatisfied by the only explanation 
 offered of this ' nettle-meal.' Nettles were used as food only when young 
 in the early spring. 
 
 a 
 
82 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [403-422. 
 
 8au. And then, if any stander-by 
 
 charged me with the offence, 
 I'd clap the meat beneath my thigh, 
 
 and swear my innocence. 
 A pleader once, who saw the game, 
 
 remarked when it was done, 
 * This lad will make his way to fame, 
 
 and govern everyone.' 
 Gho. And reason for it, on my word. 
 
 He knew what you had got ; 
 He saw you steal it, and he heard 
 
 you swear that you had not. 
 Cleon. I'll make your courage somewhat small : 
 aye, aye, the pair of ye ; 
 In tempest I am going to fall 
 
 and mingle earth and sea. 
 8au. I'll reef my sausages and catch 
 
 the weather at my ease, 
 And not at yours. 
 Bern, And I will watch 
 
 if we ship any seas. 
 Cleon. By Ceres, I will not endure 
 
 to see the public robbed : 
 Some hundred talents, I am sure, 
 
 you villain, you have fobbed. 
 Gho. Look out, and slack the sheet ; I see a 
 cyclone of accusation. 
 Gleon} Ten talents had from Potidsea, 
 
 I have on information. 
 8au. Will you take one of them yourself, 
 
 and let proceedings stop ? 
 Gho, Aye, willingly. Let out a reef ; 
 
 the wind begins to drop. 
 Gleon, Four hundred talents, less or more — 
 
 I'll bring you to account for four. 
 8au, I twenty you, for service left. 
 
 Besides a thousand for sheer theft. 
 
 * This dialogue is a contest of barefaced impudence.- It is here brought 
 to a climax by representing Cleon charging against the other a piece of 
 corruption which in fact he had himself committed. 
 
423-444.] KNIGHTS. 83 
 
 Cleon. I'll challenge you ; for I engage 
 
 You come of cursed ^ parentage. • 
 
 Sau. Your grandfather was henchman to — 
 
 Cleon, To what ? to whom ? 
 Sau. To Byrsine.2 
 
 Cleon. Knave. 
 Sau. Rogue. 
 
 Cho. Strike manfiillj. 
 
 [Sau. and Dem. heat Cleon. 
 Cleon. Oh! oh! 
 
 They beat me in. conspiracy. 
 Cho. {to Sau.). Oh, noble mass of flesh and bone, 
 oh, soul sublimely great. 
 How have you dawned to be alone 
 
 the saviour of the state ? 
 You have so well and artfully 
 
 sustained the wordy fight. 
 How can I make an eulogy 
 
 to match my soul's delight ? 
 Cleon. By Ceres ! this does not surprise me. I'm aware 
 Where all these things were pinned and glued upon the 
 square. 
 Cho. Oh, dear ! he's talking wheelwright ; can't you do 
 
 it too ? 
 Sau. Ah, ah ! he went to Argos ; I know what to do. 
 To win the Argives ? — Nonsense. For his private ends. 
 It was to forge a compact with his Spartan friends. 
 I know what sort of metal was in^hiefest use. 
 And how they welded chains — to let the captives loose. 
 Cho. That's giving smith for wheelwright. Capital ! 
 
 bravo ! 
 Sau. And there were people here who struck in blow for 
 blow. 
 Nay, send me not your friends, your silver and your gold. 
 The Athenians shall know, the story shall be told. 
 
 ^ Meaning ^ of the family of Megacles,' reputed to be under a curse for 
 having slain the adherents of Cylon at the altar of Minerva. 
 
 ^ Put for Myrrhine, wife of Hippias, to imply the charge of giving aid 
 and comfort to 'the tyrants.' 'Myrrhine' might signify Miaving the 
 odour of myrtle ' — ' Byrsine ' ' having the odour of a tan-yard.' 
 
 C 2 
 
84 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [445-470. 
 
 Cleon. I'll to the Conncil-liaU. Aye, I will bring to light 
 Your vile intrigues, your plots, your meetings in the night, 
 Your secret dealings with the King, and what you squeeze 
 From your Boeotian vats. 
 
 8au, What is the price of cheese ? 
 
 Cleon. By Hercules ! I'll rack you. 
 
 [Exit Cleon, infuriated. 
 Cho. Now is the time for you 
 
 To show your mettle. What do you propose to do ? 
 For he, I know, will rush into the Council-hall 
 And smother us with calumnies, and make a brawl. 
 
 8au. And I will follow him. But here awhile be laid 
 The meat which I have brought, and sausage-chopping 
 blade. 
 Cho. A moment — on your neck smear you some little fat, 
 That you may slip his calumnies. 
 
 8au. Well thought of, that ; 
 
 And like a trainer. 
 
 Cho. Eat these knobs of garlic. 
 
 8au. Why ? 
 
 Cho. To mettle you for fight. Make haste. 
 8au. No sluggard I. 
 
 Cho. Now bite, abuse, accuse, and let the spurs go home,* 
 And come back having made a meal upon his comb. 
 Now go you and fulfil 
 The utmost of my will. 
 Jove of the market-square 
 Have you in constant care ; 
 And having won the day. 
 Come back with many garlands gay. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
 PAEABASIS. 
 
 Cho, And now, the theme to change. 
 
 Ye who, with ample range. 
 Judge every taste and style, 
 Attently hear our anapests awhile. 
 
 * Four lines above the Chorus uses the language of a trainer preparing 
 wrestler ; here, that of cock-fighting, a favourite Athenian amusement. 
 
471-484.J KNIGHTS. 85 
 
 If any one of the elder poets 
 
 who put comedies on to your stage, 
 Had asked us ^ to recite his verses, 
 
 we should have been very loth to engage 
 In his service. But this poet 
 
 comes to us with a different claim. 
 Certain men he marks for hatred ; 
 
 we have a thorough disgust for the same : 
 While he shows the spirit and courage 
 
 well becoming a valiant knight. 
 Who will face all storm and tempest 
 
 while he does his battle for right. 
 Much surprise exists among you, 
 
 so he says, and many have sought. 
 Why his claims to have a chorus ^ 
 
 up to this time had never been brought. 
 We are charged with his explanation. 
 
 It was not any folly, he says. 
 But a sad conviction, which has 
 
 stood in the way of his offering plays. 
 Muses and maidens many are hard to 
 
 please ; and coyer than Comedy none. 
 Many indeed have been her suitors ; 
 
 few who have found in her wiU to be won. 
 Then, he says, that your critical favour 
 
 has too much of an annual cast : 
 Those who have won it in earlier days have 
 
 found, to their sorrow, it does not last. 
 
 ^ Under ordinary circumstances it would have been an insult to a class 
 who even in democratic Athens had a recognised position as the ' higher 
 order ' to introduce the Knights as the Chorus of a comedy. Aristo- 
 phanes here offers his explanation for doing so. The emphasis of restric- 
 tion upon the original word y'lfxae in this place does not appear to have 
 been noticed by the scoliast and commentators or translators who have 
 followed. 
 
 2 In the ordinary course a dramatic poet having composed his play, 
 ' asked for a chorus ' ; that is to say, he offered his composition to one of 
 tbe Choregi, whose duty it was to be at the cost of putting the play upon 
 the stage. The three comedies of Aristophanes which had been already 
 represented were not offered to the Choregus, or the public, in his own 
 name. 
 
86 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [485-500- 
 
 He observed what Magnes had to 
 
 bear when his crown was gathering grey ; 
 He who had carried off more prizes 
 
 than any other man of his day. 
 He who went through all the gamut, 
 
 one while Harping, then as a Bird, 
 Lydian, Palmer-worm, or as dipped in 
 
 Frog-colour,^ always merrily heard, 
 Pleased you not in his later days, for 
 
 he could not for ever be young : 
 So you cast away the old man, 
 
 when the merry jest failed on his tongue. 
 He remembers too, Cratinus,^ 
 
 flowing once in the glory of force 
 Through a soil that broke before him : 
 
 how he swept in his violent course 
 Oaks and planes and all opposers : 
 
 then, at meetings of jovial souls, 
 ' Fig-shod Doro ' was the favourite 
 
 song they chanted over their bowls ; 
 That, and ' Craftsmen hymn-composers.' 
 
 Such was he then in the flush of bloom : 
 Now, without a pang, you see him 
 
 poor, and drivelling down to his tomb. 
 Tuneless, unstrung, from the lyre its 
 
 amber stops are dropping away. 
 So the old man, like a Connas,^ 
 
 dully maunders into decay. 
 On his brow the chaplet withers, 
 
 on his lips is a deadly thirst : 
 He, who in the Pry taneum [first ; 
 
 should have drunk with the honoured and 
 
 ^ These are allusions to the names of comedies of Mao-nes. 
 
 * Cratinus was at this time ninety-six years old. Probably he was not 
 grateful for Aristophanes's style of patronage and commiseration. At any 
 rate, with a comedy entitled The Wine-Jlask he carried off the first prize in 
 the next year against Aristophanes himself, with his favourite production 
 Clouds. 
 
 3 Connas was a flute-player, who, though he won the honours of his 
 art in the Olympic contests, spent his latter days in unrelieved poverty. 
 
601-622.] KNIGHTS. 87 
 
 He, who in this ^ Temple of Bacchus 
 
 should have sat the mark of all eyes, 
 Waking the thought of his ancient glories, 
 
 shame to you, a driveller dies. 
 And Crates too, from your whimsical tastes, 
 
 what has the poor man not had to bear ? 
 Who, at the least ^ expense, has sent you 
 
 feasted full of capital fare : 
 Mincing though his lips are, he can 
 
 cook tit-bits for the many or few ; 
 Sometimes falling, sometimes otherwise, 
 
 he alone has favour with you. 
 These examples scared the poet. 
 
 Furthermore, he made the remark, 
 One should learn to row before one 
 
 undertakes to govern the bark. 
 Now do you, respecting these his 
 
 reasons and prudential fears, 
 Send him with eleven oars ^ forwards, 
 
 gladdened in heart with spirited cheers. 
 SemichoTus. Neptune, thou horseman king, 
 Who lov'st the coursers' whinnying. 
 And clatter of their brazen feet. 
 And blue-stemmed galleys fleet. 
 
 And youths all emulous 
 To be the foremost and to vie 
 In the splendour of their chariotry — 
 
 (May it not ruin us !) 
 Lord of the golden trident, to our Chorus come. 
 Oh, dolphin-driver, shrined in Sunium, 
 And in Gersestus worshipped, Saturn's son. 
 Most loved and reverenced by Phormion,'* 
 
 1 The theatre. 
 
 ^ At the least expense of wit, it is said, because his comedies were 
 remarkably short. 
 
 * This expression is not unanimously and conclusively accounted for j 
 but it represents some then well-known mark of honour. 
 
 * An enterprising and successful officer at sea. — Vide Table at the year 
 429. 
 
COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [523-538. 
 
 And, as our fortunes now appear. 
 Of all Gods most unto Athenians dear. 
 Cho, We would speak our ' fathers' praises. 
 
 Men thej were, to tell their tale. 
 Worthy of the land that bore them, 
 
 worthy of the Temple veil.^ 
 Wheresoever battle called them, 
 
 on the land or on the sea, 
 Won they glory for the city, 
 
 bringing home a victory. 
 Never one of them was known to 
 
 count the foes that stood in front ; 
 But a soul that bore them forward 
 
 made them bear the battle's brunt. 
 If one fell upon the shoulder, 
 
 he would wipe away the stain. 
 Disallow it was a faU, and 
 
 grapple with his man again. 
 Did one lead some expedition, 
 
 and come back victorious. 
 He would ask no public mess,^ or 
 
 beg it of Clesenetus. 
 Now, unless they have their messes, 
 
 and a preference of place. 
 They decline to fight your battles. 
 
 We will ask this as a grace. 
 For our city and religion 
 
 only let us freely fight. 
 Nothing further will we ask you, 
 
 save it be this little right. 
 
 ^ As the foregoing Ode and tliat which follows are in character for 
 'Horsemen/ so here it must be understood that the ' Chorus ' are speaking 
 restrictively of their fathers, the Knights. 
 
 2 A veil or curtain, the object of much care, upon which were em- 
 broidered the acts of Gods and heroes, and in later times, the acts of 
 distinguished Athenian citizens ; it was carried in procession at the festi- 
 val Panathensea, but usually hung in the Temple of the Goddess. 
 
 5 In the Prytaneum, as guests of the State. It has already been 
 invidiously observed of Cleon, that he not only had this privilege but 
 abused it. It was a privilege much coveted and envied. 
 
639-561.] KNIGHTS. 89 
 
 When tlie peace is re-established, 
 
 and we aU may live at ease, 
 Let us not be grudged to wear our 
 
 hair, and comb it if we please.* 
 Semichorus. Pallas, our city's queen. 
 
 Under whose guardian sway is seen 
 The holiest land, and given to it 
 Man's best in might, in war, in wit, 
 
 Hither ; and bring with thee, 
 Friend to the Knights, against all foes 
 Our trusty aid in battle blows, 
 
 Our help-mate Victory. 
 Come, PaUas, come, if ever on our side 
 Thou wiliest to sustain our native pride, 
 Regard thou us in these men's eyes. 
 And let us carry off the victor's prize. ^ 
 Chorus. What we feel about our horses 
 
 we would willingly relate. 
 They deserve our warmest praises, 
 
 for their service has been great. 
 Many times in march and action 
 
 have they borne us stoutly on : 
 Still their feats on land are little 
 
 worthy of comparison 
 With their conduct on the transports ; 
 
 when they bravely leaped on board, 
 Bought their mugs with leeks and onions 
 
 for the voyage to be stored ; 
 Then they seized the oars and plied them 
 
 just like ordinary men. 
 Shouting as they bent upon them, 
 
 ' Hippapai, — that stroke again,' 
 ' Now go to it,' — ' what's the matter, 
 
 Samphora,^ you shirk your oar P ' 
 
 ^ Like our Cavaliers, the Knights cherished their locks : it was an 
 aristocratic fashion not approved by the people. Probably it was a 
 Spartan fashion. When a vidette from Xerxes went to reconnoitre the 
 Spartans encamped at Thermopylae, he saw them, some engaged in 
 athletic exercise, some combing their hair. 
 
 ^ For the best comedy at this festival. 
 
 ^ A frequent name given to a horse. 
 
90 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [562-584. 
 
 Then they leapt upon the Isthmns.^ 
 
 Soon as they had touched the shore, 
 Colts began to kick their beds up, 
 
 and to look for overcoats. 
 Others caught the crabs, and eat them, 
 
 just as they would Poland oats ; 
 Digging for them, if one did not 
 
 from his burrow pop his head. 
 So Theorus tells a story 
 
 that a crab 2 of Corinth said, 
 ' Neptune, 'tis beyond endurance, 
 
 neither on the land nor sea. 
 Can I get beyond the clutches 
 
 of this hungry cavalry.' 
 
 E7iter Sausage-sellee. 
 
 Cho. Oh, most beloved of men, and least to be repressed, 
 How have I been for thee by anxious thoughts possessed. 
 But since you have returned safely, it seems, and well. 
 How went the matter with you, we beseech you, tell. 
 Sau. Then, in a word, I am the Council-conqueror ! 
 Cho, Oh ! tidings worthy shouting for ! 
 
 Oh, speaker of good words, of deeds beyond expression 
 The doer! Of the facts 
 Put me in full possession ; 
 For these are acts 
 No journey would be long to hear. 
 Speak then ; be bold ; 
 Your story will be told 
 Into a weU-pleased ear. 
 Sau. In truth 'tis worth your while to hear how matters 
 went. 
 Soon as he left this place I followed to prevent 
 
 ^ Aristophanes humorously transfers to the horses an affair in ' 
 200 Knights were engaged, having been embarked with 4,000 infantiy, for 
 & sudden descent on the coast of Corinth. It occurred only a few months 
 before the production of this comedy. 
 
 '■^ The allusion is to a man named Carcinus — that is ^ Crab ' — who had 
 made himself obnoxious to the Knights. 
 
685-618.] KNIGHTS. ^ 91 
 
 Advantage from his start. He, wlien lie got within. 
 
 At once broke forth in thunders with a horrent din. 
 
 To overwhelm the Knights he flung at them — what not ? 
 
 Whole cliffs of words ; and made it seem there was a plot. 
 
 The Council quickly answered to the seed of lies ; 
 
 Mustard it looked ; and from knit brows glared angry eyes. 
 
 "When that I knew and saw it so profoundly stirred. 
 
 Implicitly believing all the lies it heard, 
 
 ' Tag,' said I, ' Eag and Bobtail, Thimble-rig and Plant, ^ 
 
 And thou, oh Market-place, that ever wast my haunt 
 
 From earliest days, inspire me now with daring force, 
 
 A fluent tongue, and tone of impudence of course.' 
 
 Here, somewhere on my right I heard a sound which I 
 
 Interpreted for favour ; whereupon I cry, 
 
 ' Oh Council, I esteem my fortune very great 
 
 That I the first am here good tidings to relate. 
 
 For never since the war's commencement have there been 
 
 Anchovies so abundant as may now be seen.' — 
 
 All countenances brightened as my news was heard, 
 
 I seized my time and added underneath a word 
 
 For wise men — ' It were well to clear the shops of dishes 
 
 That each might get one's obole's worth of little fishes.' 
 
 They clapped their hands, with open mouths on me intent. 
 
 Whereon the Paphlagonian, knowing what it meant. 
 
 And what would please the Council — said, upon the shift, 
 
 ' We owe the Goddess thanks for this most welcome gift, 
 
 And therefore I propose a hundred beeves be slain.' 
 
 Whereon at once the Council fell to him again. 
 
 But I, unwilling to be worsted, said ' 'Twas mean ; 
 
 Make it,' said I, ' two hundred,' and outshot him clean. 
 
 ' And further to the Huntress^ vow,' suggested I, 
 
 ' A thousand goats to-morrow, if a man may buy 
 
 Sardines a hundred for the obole.' In a trice 
 
 The Council all was bent to hang on my advice. 
 
 * These are to be understood as the patron Gods, or Guardian Genii, of 
 the Sausage -seller, whom he is invoking. The tame, trading associations 
 of ' Market-place ' with us, of course give no adequate idea of that City 
 centre where all the idle and mischievous of the lowest class congi*egated 
 for their daily amusement. 
 
 ^ Artemis or Diana. 
 
92 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [619-652. 
 
 He heard amazed, and babbling out some stufiP, 
 
 Met from tbe officers with treatment ratber rougb : 
 
 Tbej dragged him from his place, while all the clamorous 
 
 crowd 
 Were talking of anchovies. ' Might he be allowed,' — 
 ' A herald had come in ' — he only wished to say 
 ' What were the Spartan overtures for peace,' — but nay. 
 With one accord they shouted, ' Peace ! that's very nice ! 
 Anchovies you should say : for they have heard the price ; 
 We want no peace. No ; let the war go on.' And so 
 They cried upon the president to let them go. 
 And then they leapt the rails. But I had slipped away 
 To buy up all the fennel to be had to-day ; 
 Which I bestowed in presents, as it was required. 
 For fish sauce. How I was applauded and admired. 
 It needs not to describe. Suffice it, that it means 
 I've bought the Council for an obole's worth of greens. 
 Clio, In this business your address 
 
 Is a pledge of all success. 
 Yonder wily rogue hath found 
 There's a rogue upon the ground 
 Who can teach him. 
 Overreach him ; 
 And in his especial game 
 Put his knaveries to shame. 
 But consider, now you know him 
 Once again how you may throw him, 
 
 Ere you take the prize. 
 We —but that you understand — 
 Shall be always close at hand, 
 Yery staunch allies. 
 
 [Cleon is seen approaching, 
 Sau. Here comes the Paphlagonian trundling the wave 
 That is to overwhelm us. Ah, but he looks brave. 
 Ready. to drink me. 
 
 Enter Cleon. 
 
 Cleon. If there yet remain a lie 
 
 In me unused, it shall go hard but you shall die. 
 
653-677.] KNIGHTS. 93 
 
 8au. I like your threats ; your smoky fustian charms 
 me too ; 
 It sets me dancing — so — hey, cock-a-doodle-doo ! 
 
 Gleon. By Ceres, I will eat you, that shall be your death. 
 Clean off the earth, or never draw another breath. 
 
 Sau. Eh ? eat me, did you say ? But I will drink you first. 
 And when I've swallowed the last drop of you I'll burst. 
 
 Gleon, I swear it, by the seat of honour which I won 
 For what I did at Pylus, you shall be undone. 
 
 Sau, The seat of honour ! you ! But I will see you cast 
 Headlong from that, and sitting last among the last. 
 
 Cleon. By heaven I'll have you put into the pillory. 
 
 Sau, Hah ! you are angry. Bring some food.^ What 
 shall it be ? 
 What like you best ? A purse ? 
 
 Cleon. I'll claw your bowels out. 
 
 Sau. I'U pare the public mess in which you thrust your 
 snout. 
 
 Cleon. I'll have you before Demus; ^ you shall have your 
 due. 
 
 Sau, I'll with you ; I can lay it on as thick as you. 
 
 Cleon, What does he care for you ? You do not know his 
 bent; 
 But I can fool him to his very heart's content. 
 
 Sau. You fancy Demus is your private property. 
 
 Cleon. I know the bits he relishes : leave that to me. 
 
 Sau. And like a wicked nurse, you chew for him one bit 
 And swallow three yourself. 
 
 Cleon. That is the trick of it. 
 
 But let us in to Demus. 
 
 Sau. Good, I follow you. 
 
 Let nothing stop us. 
 
 Cleon, Demus, pray come out. 
 
 Sau. Aye, do : 
 
 Come out. 
 
 1 With allusion to a proverb, ' Beware of approaching a hungry man, 
 because he is apt to be snappish. 
 
 2 The General Assembly of the People, impersonated. 
 
94 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [677-696. 
 
 Cleon. Come out, my Demet dear, and you shall know 
 How I'm insulted. 
 
 [Demus appears from the doors at the 
 hack of the stage. 
 
 Demus. Who are these that clamour ? Go, 
 
 You've torn my olive branch.^ — My Paphlagonian, 
 What have they done to you P 
 
 . Cleon. I'm beaten by this man 
 
 And these young puppies. 
 
 Demus. Why ? 
 
 Cleon. Because I love you, dear. 
 
 Demus {to Sau.). And who on earth are you? 
 
 Sau. ' His rival 'twill appear : 
 
 For long since I have been your lover and desired 
 To do you services ; as others have aspired, 
 Men of good stamp : but he prevented us : for you 
 Will not admit to favour honest men and true ; 
 But give yourself to tanners, cutters-up-of-hides. 
 To cobblers, chandlers, and I don't know whom besides. 
 
 Cleon. For I take care of Demus. 
 
 Sau. How so ? What d'ye mean ? 
 
 Cleon. At Pylus I slipped by the Generals, as was seen, 
 Took ship and brought the Spartans back. 
 
 Sau. Just as I took 
 
 For him a mess of pottage which I did not cook. 
 
 Cleon. Now call a meeting, Demus ; put it to the test 
 Which is the most devoted to your interest ? 
 And let it be decreed on me your love you fix. 
 
 Sau. Let him decide : but anywhere but in the Pnyx.^ 
 
 ^ The Eiresione ; a branch of oliye usually placed near or over the 
 door of a private house, probably in its origin having some significance of 
 Peace and Welcome; and so in some distant degree related to the 'bush' 
 hung out from an inn : vv^hence the proverb, ' Good wine needs no 
 bush.' It is apparently intended to signify the captiousness of Demus, 
 that he begins by laying a charge against somebody for something. 
 
 ^ It was the ' Council ' or ' Senate of Five Hundred,' before whom 
 took place that scene described by the Sausage-seller, when he comes back 
 to the Chorus describing himself as Council-conqueror, 1. 573. Here 
 Cleon moves the appeal to the whole ' demus ' or Populace in General 
 Assembly, described in the opening of Achamians. 
 
697-716.1 KNIGHTS. 95 
 
 Demus. It must be in the Pnyx : I cannot sit elsewhere. 
 8au, I'm ruined then : for he's an idiot when there. 
 Cho, Out aU your cables, and belay : 
 
 And strike no blow that he can parry. 
 He has the art to find a way 
 
 Where men of duller wit miscarry. 
 Assume a full and dashing style : 
 Be firm and on your guard the while, 
 Prepared to break his bold attack : 
 And push him as he staggers back.^ 
 
 [_The scene is changed, and the characters ar- 
 ranged so as to represent a popular meet- 
 ing in the Pnyx, Demus, however, is the 
 single representative of ^ The People.' 
 Cleon. To the Lady Athensea 
 
 this my prayer I make and crave. 
 If I have towards this Demus 
 
 been the most attentive slave, 
 (Always saving Lysicles and 
 
 Cinna and Salabaccho),^ 
 As it is at present, may I, 
 
 doing nothing, always go 
 To the public hall for dinner. 
 
 If I entertain a thought 
 Short of pure affection to you ; 
 
 if indeed I have not fought 
 One against a thousand for you, 
 
 may my death avenge your wrongs, 
 Be my body sawn in pieces, 
 
 and cut into leather thongs. 
 8au. If I do not love you, Demus, 
 
 do not as my father treat, 
 May I too be chopped to atoms, 
 
 and boiled up for sausage-meat. 
 
 1 The figure seems to be drawn from a manceuvre of naval combat 
 wherein one vessel waits the attack of the other, with a heavy weight 
 suspended from a cross-beam ; the efiect of the fallen weight is to be 
 followed by an attack with the prow. 
 
 2 Lysicles, or the 'sheep-dealer ' referred tol. 119, as People's favourite 
 before Cleon. The two others are women notorious and infamous. 
 
96 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [717-734. 
 
 If you don't believe it, scrape me 
 
 with some cheese into a pie. 
 Put a flesh-liook in my body ; 
 
 drag me out and let me die. 
 Cleon, Let the pledges of my love be 
 
 taken into fair account. 
 Who has brought to your exchequer 
 
 wealth to such a great amount ? 
 Some I racked, and some I strangled, 
 
 some I asked it of as due ; 
 What cared I about who owned it 
 
 so I had to give to you, 
 8au, That is but a trifle, Demus, 
 
 I will do for you as much ; 
 Serve your table with the loaves which 
 
 I from other people clutch. 
 His regard for you is nothing, 
 
 that I undertake to show, 
 But his loving for the corner 
 
 where your pleasant embers glow. 
 You, for token, you, whose sabre 
 
 slew the Medes at Marathon, 
 And for us a theme of glory 
 
 not to be exhausted won, 
 You, without a care, he suffers 
 
 here to sit upon the stones.^ 
 I have brought for you a cushion, 
 
 to relieve your aching bones v 
 Do, I beg you, rise a moment 
 
 and sit softly upon this ; 
 Pray do not be galled and blistered 
 
 as you were at Salamis. 
 Demus {accepting a cushion and much gratified). Who 
 are you ? Are you descended 
 from the good Harmodius ? 
 It is nobly done of you, to 
 
 show us your affection thus. 
 
 1 The meeting of the whole people in the Pnyx was of course in the 
 open air: see the opening of the Achamians. It appears there was no 
 accommodation for sitters but the native rock or stone benches. 
 
735-750.] KNIGPITS. 97 
 
 Cleon, What a very mean attention 
 
 to him puts yon at your ease ! 
 Sau. You no doubt have often caught your 
 
 fish with cheaper bait than these. 
 Cleon, I will stake my life upon it, 
 
 never did the man appear 
 Who regarded more your comfort, 
 
 or to whom you are so dear. 
 Sau. ^ Comfort ' quotha ! Yet you see him 
 
 eight years stifled up in huts. 
 Creeping into dog-deserted 
 
 holes and empty water-butts.^ 
 Yet when Archeptolemus ^ came, 
 
 bringing overtures for truce. 
 You expelled him from the city, 
 
 treating him with gross abuse. 
 Cleon. Should not Demus lord it over 
 
 all the Greeks ? for, is it not 
 Prophesied about his future, 
 
 that it is his coming lot 
 As a judge in Arcady to 
 
 earn &ve oboles for the day f 
 Only let him wait a little, 
 
 I will try to make a way — 
 Foul, if fair is insufficient — 
 
 how he may achieve the three. ^ 
 Sau. You will try : but not that he may 
 
 be the lord of Arcady, 
 But that you may plunder more, and 
 
 finger bribes from the allies : 
 While good Demus, war-perplexed and 
 
 with a mist before his eyes, 
 
 ^ Wlien the rural population retired before the Peloponnesian in- 
 vaders within the walls of Athens^ they were put to great straits for 
 accommodation. 
 
 ^ As appears from this place the name of a deputy from Sparta who 
 brought overtures from Sparta soon after the affair of Pylos. 
 
 2 The dicast's pay at Athens was now two oboles; it is therefore 
 the difference which is here meant. 
 
98 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [751-767. 
 
 Shall not see your rascal doings, 
 
 or at least has no escape, 
 And by gross corruption shall be 
 
 held to you with mouth agape. 
 But if ever peace should come, and 
 
 he get out into the fields. 
 Taste a dish of furmifcy, or 
 
 know the fruit an olive yields. 
 He will know what he has lost by 
 
 taking wages, ^ and return 
 Keen and angry : then the manner 
 
 of his vengeance you will learn : 
 This you know and so beguile him, 
 
 dealing out your prophecies. 
 Cleon, Is it not too bad that you should 
 
 rail on me and tell such lies ? 
 When my services to Athens 
 
 and the people have been such 
 That Themistocles did never 
 
 for the city half as much. 
 8au. Hear him, Argos ! ^ You comparing 
 
 merits with Themistocles ! 
 He, that when the city's cup might 
 
 barely touch the lips with ease. 
 Made it full and brimming over : 
 
 served her as a morning dish 
 With Piraeus,^ and supplied her 
 
 with a double stock of fish. 
 You, his match, would make the city 
 
 in your fashion small enough. 
 Cross-walling,'* and feeding her with 
 
 windy food of Prophet's stuff. 
 He, 'tis true, was banished — you are 
 
 feeding on a double mess. 
 
 ^ Either as dicast in the courts, or as military pay. 
 
 * Words from a drama of Euripides. 
 
 * Themistocles taught the Athenians the value of Piraeus as a port, 
 and fortified it. 
 
 ^ These words seem to indicate that Cleon had proposed some plan for 
 a cross-wall, probahly to reduce the line of defence : but it does not 
 appear that any other record of such a design remains. 
 
768-794.] KNIGHTS. 99 
 
 Cleon, For the love I bear you, Demus, 
 
 nrnst I hear this foul address ? 
 Demus {to Cleon) . Hold your tongue and don't be saucy. 
 Know that you have had your day. 
 All too long have you escaped me, 
 
 cheating in your sneaking way. 
 8au, Yes, my Demet, he is stinking; 
 Ever upon plunder thinking. 
 While your mouth is catching flies 
 Both his busy hands he plies ; 
 Here a tender sprout he robs 
 From the peculator's jobs ; ^ 
 There he dips to get a scoop 
 Out of your exchequer soup. 
 Cleon. I will show your peculation ; 
 Thirty thousand defalcation. 
 8au, Pooh ! your rowing is a joke. 
 
 Smacking water, missing stroke. 
 Felon shall the people know you, 
 Bribed to cheat them I will show you. 
 What did Mitylene give 
 
 For your voice the other day ? 
 Forty minse, as I live- 
 How much more I cannot say. 
 Cho, Oh ! born to aid the human race, 
 
 I bless that tongue. Your blows redouble : 
 Then step into the highest place : 
 
 All will obey you without trouble. 
 You have the Trident ; ^ if you strike. 
 You may be wealthy as you like. 
 
 ^ The sources of Athenian revenue were various : they are summed 
 in one line of Wasps (Gr. 659, Transl. 419-20). The collection of these 
 in any form must have involved a great number of officials, through 
 whose hands money passed. These were all liable to pass their accounts. 
 Those who had peculated even grossly might contrive to pass through 
 this ordeal by making influential people sharers in the plunder. It is 
 suggested that Cleon thus enriched himself. The figure seems to be that 
 of regarding the accountable man as a fine head of cauliflower, of which 
 Cleon had the stripping. 
 
 ^ The instrument and symbol of Neptune, wherewith he had power to 
 shake the earth to its foundations. 
 
 h2 
 
100 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [795-812. 
 
 Quit not your man ; you have liim fast ; 
 With sides like yours he must be cast. 
 Cleon. Hold there, my friends ; it is not so ; 
 
 and you are much deceived ; 
 For by my hand, by Neptune, yes ! 
 
 a deed has been achieved 
 Enough to stop the mouths of all 
 
 of those who dare revile us. 
 As long as there remains a shield 
 
 of those I took at Pylus. 
 Sau. The shields, say you ? — You give me there 
 
 a handle to my mind. 
 Why, when you offered them, were not 
 
 the handles left behind ? ' 
 Is that your love to Demus P — No : 
 
 it was his dark intent 
 To baulk you if you wished to bring 
 
 this rogue to punishment. 
 For ever at his heels a band 
 
 of tanner-lads one sees. 
 The honey-dealers live next them, 
 
 and then the men of cheese ; 
 They understand each other, they : 
 
 and if you ever took 
 Some act of his amiss, and had 
 
 an oyster- shellish look,^ 
 No doubt about it, we shall find 
 
 they are engaged to steal 
 The shields, some night, and occupy 
 
 the passes to — our meal. 
 Demus. Alackaday ! and they have got 
 
 the handles on them still ! 
 And, with this base deception, 
 
 you have treated me so iU ? 
 
 * When arms were dedicated as votive offerings it was usual and 
 proper to render them unserviceable, lest they should fall into the hands 
 of enemies. It appears that Cleon in offering the shields had neglected 
 this precaution. 
 
 * Threatening him, like Themistocles, with ostracism. 
 
813-831.] liNIGHTS: 101 
 
 Cleon, Good Sir, I beg you not to give 
 
 your faith too readily, 
 Or think that you will ever find 
 
 a better friend than me. 
 I ever was the one to find 
 
 a plot, and nothing stirred 
 Within the city, but I made 
 
 my voice directly heard. 
 San, Aye, truly. Like the cunning men 
 
 who fish for eels ; they take 
 No victims when the pond is clear : 
 
 but stir it with a rake 
 Until the mud comes up ; why then 
 
 they catch ; and so do you. 
 The city must be troubled, that 
 
 you may your game pursue. 
 But come now, only answer this : 
 
 for all the hides you sell. 
 Did ever you present to him 
 
 you say you love so well 
 A shoe-sole P 
 Demus. By Apollo, no. 
 
 8au. {to Demus). Ah ! then you see him there. 
 And what he is. — But these I've brought. — Pray, Sir, accept 
 a pair. [Sau. gives Demus a pair of shoes. 
 
 Bemus, Of all the men I know, jovl are 
 
 the one whose conduct shows 
 The kindest interest in us,, 
 
 the city, and our toes. 
 Cleon, 'Tis hard a single pair of shoes 
 
 should have such great effect, 
 And all that you have had from me 
 
 you should not recollect. 
 Sau, And you have seen how he for clothes 
 is put to sorry shift, 
 Nor thought a coat with sleeves might be 
 
 a seasonable gift. 
 In winter too ! — But here is one, 
 
 my modest offering. 
 
102 ,% .:-''.:- cdM^hlJF,^ 'or: 'AEISTOPIIANES. [832-852. 
 
 Demus. It did not strike Themistocles 
 
 to find me such a thing ! 
 A bright idea, too, was that, 
 
 Piraeus ! but compare it 
 With this invention, and I think 
 
 the overcoat will bear it. 
 Cleon, Alas, what jack-an-apish tricks 
 
 you use to circumvent me ! 
 8au. I do not use such monkey-tricks 
 
 as you yourself have lent me. 
 Cleon. I'll not be beat in fawning, I. 
 
 Pray you, accept this cloak : 
 Sir, it becomes you. 
 
 ^Giving Demus a cloak from his own shoulders. 
 (To Sau.) Rascal there ! now you may go and choke. 
 Demus. Out on you ! faugh ! you smell so ill 
 of tanner}^, I hate you. 
 Sau. Ah, that's the reason he puts on 
 
 the cloak, to suffocate you. 
 He had a like design before. 
 
 You must remember when 
 The assafoetida was cheap ? 
 Demus. Of course I do : what then ? 
 
 Sau. He made it cheap, that men might buy 
 it, compassing your death. 
 Por dicasts in the courts would kill 
 
 each other with their breath. 
 Cleon. What foolery is this you try, 
 
 you villain foul and base ? 
 Sau. The Goddess has commanded me 
 
 to put you out of face. 
 Cleon. That shall you not — I'll see to it. 
 There is a galley you shall fit ; ^ 
 'Tis old and wanting some repair — 
 May ruin you — that's your affair. 
 And I will see 'tis not forgotten. 
 The sail you go with shall be rotten. 
 
 * By way of tax upon property the richer citizens were called upon to 
 fit out ships for service. Probably enough, as here indicated, this was 
 sometimes made a means of oppression and wreaking personal spite. 
 
853-886.] KNIGHTS. 103 
 
 Chorus, Beware ! the man is boiling hot, 
 And will be over. Check the pot. 
 Take off some fire, and from the brew 
 A ladleful of threats or two. 
 Cleon. My vengeance will be sweet when you shun 
 The pressure of a ' contribution.' 
 For I will see you are not missed 
 In making out the ' Wealthy List.' 
 Sau, Your threats I answer with a — wish. 
 All hissing be the jelly-fish 
 Within the frying-pan, when you 
 In Council have a thing to do 
 For the Milesians ; and therein 
 A talent, as your price, to win. 
 May you intend to finish eating 
 The jelly-fish before the meeting ; 
 But just as you are setting to. 
 May some one call for you ; and you, 
 Eager to get the talent, poke 
 
 Too large a piece into your swallow. 
 And choke ! 
 That is my prayer. 
 Cho, By Jove, by Ceres, and Apollo ! 
 
 But this is rare ! 
 Demus, True. And he is besides a thorough People's man 
 As ever was, But you, you Paphlagonian, 
 Who say you love me — faugh ! your kisses poison me — 
 There's garlic in them. But you shall no longer be 
 Steward of mine. Give me the ring. 
 
 Cleon {giving the ring). There. But know this. 
 
 Me from the stewardship rashly should you dismiss, 
 A greater knave than I must come into my place. 
 
 Demus {loohing at the ring). This cannot be my ring. 
 So far as I can trace. 
 It bears another sign. 
 Sau. What was the sign ? 
 
 Demus. A leaf ^ 
 
 Of fat beef cooked. 
 
 Vide Acharnicms, 1. 967. 
 
104 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [886-904. 
 
 8au. This is not sucli. 
 
 Demus, What! not the beef ? 
 
 What then ? 
 
 Sau. A cormorant agape, to speak or dine, 
 
 Demus, Ah ! bah ! 
 Sau. What? 
 
 Demus. Off with it. It is no ring of mine. 
 
 Cleonymus ^ will own it. 
 
 {Giving another ring). Take you this, and charge 
 To rule my house. 
 
 Cleon, Not so, till you have heard at large 
 
 My oracles, good Sir. 
 
 Sau, And mine. • 
 
 Cleon, In mine 'tis said 
 
 That you shall rule the world with roses on your head. 
 
 Sau. In mine, that clothed in purple and embroidery. 
 Crowned, in a golden car, you shall chase Smecythe.^ 
 Cleon. Fetch yours that he may hear. 
 Sau. Of course. 
 
 Demus {to Cleon). And let us see 
 
 Yours too. 
 Cleon. I wiU. 
 Sau. And I, for what should hinder me ? 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 Chorus. Delightful wiU the dawning be 
 To us and all posterity 
 That brings the day when we shall see 
 
 Cleon's clean overthrow. 
 And yet there are, as I am told, 
 A certain few morose and old. 
 Who haunt the Mart,^ where suits are sold, 
 Who say they think not so. 
 
 ^ Achamians, 1. 79. 
 
 2 If from the origincal the words ^ and master ' were added, it would 
 only turn twilight into absolute darkness, which the scoliast's glimmer of 
 light, does not dispel. Smecyth^ is said to have been a king of Thrace. 
 
 * So I understand ^uyna twv Sikwv. The Deigma was a sample-hall 
 or sort of Merchants' Exchange at Piroeus, but Aristophanes here adding 
 * of suits or causes ' indicates I think the Court of Helicea, where 'justice ' 
 was bought and sold. 
 
905-930.J KNIGHTS. 105 
 
 * If tliis man never had appeared, 
 To be by all the city feared,' — 
 
 For so runs their demurrer — 
 ' We never should have had at hand 
 Two articles in great demand — 
 
 A Pestle, and a Stirrer.' ^ 
 For me, I often have admired 
 Under what master he acquired 
 The music of a hog ; but they 
 Who were his fellow-scholars say 
 He was so slack to learn as lad 
 
 To touch the lyre and sing, 
 That all concluded that he had 
 
 No gift for fingering. 
 In vain his master would employ 
 
 Each artifice and shift ; 
 Till, angered at the last, ' This boy,' 
 Said he, ' will never, never learn 
 To touch a lyre : his only turn 
 
 Is — fingering a gift.' ^ 
 
 Re-enter Cleon and Sausage-seller, each loaded with 
 oracles, 
 
 Cleon. See yon what I have here. But much is left 
 
 behind. 
 Sau. See you what I have here ; a sample of their kind. 
 Demus. What are they ? 
 Cleon, Oracles. 
 
 Demus, What, aU ? 
 
 Cleon. You think it much ? 
 
 By Jupiter, I have a coffer filled with such. 
 
 Sau. Besides an upper room, two blocks of buildings, I. 
 
 Demus. Who made all these predictions ? 
 
 Cleon. Bacis mine are by. 
 
 1 In Peace Cleon is again called a ' pestle ' ; the other article 
 commonly means a ' ladle,' but here and below a ladle especially for 
 stirring the ingi'edients of soup while boiling. 
 
 2 Aristophanes is not responsible for the exact play on words here 
 given : he has his own, which is untranslatable, between ^ Doristi,' in 
 the Dorian mode, and ^ Doro-dokisti/ 'fingering gifts.' 
 
lOe COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [931-964. 
 
 Bemus, And yours ? 
 
 8au, By Glanis, Bacis' brother : elder too. 
 
 Demus, But what are they about? 
 
 Cleon, Athens, Pylus, and you. 
 
 And me and everything. 
 
 Demus. Of what have yours to tell ? 
 
 Sau, Of Athens, lentils, Sparta, shoals of mackerel ; 
 Of market-men who cheat us in the weight of bread ; 
 Of you, of me. 
 
 Demus. Make haste and let me hear them read. 
 Especially that one in which I take delight, 
 How, like an eagle, ^ I through clouds shall take my flight. 
 
 Cleon. True for you : but attend to me while I recite : — 
 
 §)an af (^tci^txt^t marlft l^t impavt ^Kbt 
 
 ^f &)0rtf^ ^^0110 ^pcalfejS from out l}ii tKbt 
 
 <^ljer t^t ]^0ln trtpoXf unto i^tt. 
 
 Witt^ CKxeUiXi^ tfit ^titxtti SBofl, ^attTj Ije, 
 
 ^]^arjj*t00tl)etr, iMitrc--|a&j^tf. JFor t^tt troc^ !)f jpurbcg, 
 
 3Barittus mo^t frtflibtfting, ^u^^litS of pag ; 
 
 Slti^iclb ^^^^ fcDOultf fail. E]^c IBalusI, l)i^ tntmitSy 
 
 |9ur^u^ tlit flootr ©ojj Mtti iU-ammtn txit^. 
 
 Demus. By Ceres, I see not to what this jingle draws : 
 "VSTiat business has Erectheus with a dog and daws ? 
 
 Cleon, I am the dog ; for you I bark so loud : and, see, 
 Phoebus desires that you will keep the dog — that's me. 
 
 Sau. That is not what the prophet, but the dog, dictates. 
 Who gnaws at oracles just as he does your gates. 
 I have an oracle that speaks of him aright. 
 
 Demus. Read it. But let me get a stone, and hold it tight. 
 For fear the oracle about the dog should bite. 
 
 Sau. ^an of «!5reftf)cu^, matit tfjat ^teaXti^l? ^Ofl, 
 E^at Ccrfjcru^, tol)0, loitl) an t^t ta prog, 
 JH^Kioni an jjou S»1)ilc yon jSup, autf ^uajpjS a fi^^ 
 WnltiS gou fecep your tpe u^an tX)t tft^I), 
 23 1) ntfll)t afiout tT)e Xartrer fiotU T)0 profiol, 
 ^iitf carrg off an Jj^lantr ' li&e a foi»T. j 
 
 Demus. By Neptune, Glanis is by much the better seer. 
 Cleon. Reserve your judgment for a little while, and hear. 
 
 1 See Comedy Birds, 1. 943. 
 
 ^ The dominion of Athens over the Islands, nominally independent 
 offered many occasions to corrupt demagogues for taking bribes. 
 
965-992.] KNIGHTS. 107 
 
 ^ Intfe (it l)olj| ^tfjcitiS icarjS a Eton, 
 aSS]^0, for t]^e People, mati^ fluat^ iBtll % 0it, 
 ^jS for ]^t^ fioi^elpS : f)im fteejp you antr enbtroit 
 Wa^ii^ fioan of Juootf antr toluer^ of ma^stiie iroit. 
 
 Demus {to Sau.). Have you a notion what this means ? 
 
 Sau, By Phoebus, none. 
 
 Gleon, Surely the meaning is as patent as the sun. 
 The God desires that you will have a care for me ; 
 For I to you am Lion. 
 
 Sau, One thing willingly 
 
 That here appears he fain would smother if he could : 
 Namely, what is the ' iron,' what the ' wall of wood,' 
 In which Apollo bids the man be kept in ward. 
 
 Demus, How has the God shown that ? 
 
 Sau, He means the stocks ^ afford. 
 
 With pillory attached, the place where he should be. 
 
 Demus. This oracle will be fulfilled, it seems to me. 
 
 Gleon, SSeliebe "^im not, for enfatoit^ 3^atjen^ troait, 
 ^tit lobe tl^e l^atDfe, antf let !)tm Still mbo&e 
 (grateful rememfirauce of ti^e tfartnjj tsttO 
 ?izai)tcl) brouglbt S^^ ^ome tt^t CrotuS of Spartan Breetr. 
 
 Sau, A deed he did when drunk. But here's a prophecy 
 About the fleet ; to which 'twere well you should apply 
 Your best attention. 
 
 Demus, I attend ; so read, and say 
 
 First, how the men who man my ships shall get their pay. 
 
 Sam, Wan iStealtl)}? tfOj5--aiitr4o)r, ^eflitfeiS, marit, 
 
 ^toift, Knts l)iS 6tte fcotll come Before i)iS Bar]fe. 
 
 You see the drift ? 
 
 Demus, Philostratus, it may be guessed. 
 
 Sau. Not so : but yonder rogue has always in request 
 Swift ships upon exchequer-service. Phoebus now 
 Enjoins you that demand of his to disallow.^ 
 
 ^ The application of the words to the stocks is not as far-fetched as it 
 would seem. Herodotus, ix. 37. ^vXq) aidT}podkr({j is used to describe 
 the stocks from which Hegesistratus escaped by cutting off the blade of 
 his foot. 
 
 ^ J£ there is little wit in this oracle and its exposition, there is here a 
 stroke in behalf of political honesty which it is creditable to Aristophanes 
 to haA'e made in the presence of the Athenian people. They were in 
 the habit of sending ships round to the islands, ostensibly to protect their 
 commerce and to receive the contributions which each city or community 
 
108 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [993-1017. 
 
 Demus. Why call the ship a ' dog-and-fox ' ? 
 
 8au. The ship is quick ; 
 
 So is the dog. 
 
 Demus. But what of * fox ' ? 'tis there I stick. 
 
 8au. The foxes represent the men-at-arms, for they 
 Will always eat the grapes that come across their way. 
 
 Demus. That may be so. But where shall these same 
 foxes get 
 Their pay ? 
 
 Sau. Leave that to me ; I will provide that yet. 
 
 Cleon. I have an oracle, and that is hearing's worth. 
 That you shall be an eagle. King of all the earth — 
 
 Sau, The Eed Sea is included in my prophet's plan, 
 And lunch while you decide a case at Ecbatan. 
 
 Cleon. But I have had a dream, and there the Goddess 
 seemed 
 To hold a spoon, and from it health and plenty streamed. 
 
 8au. And so have I, by Jove. I saw the Goddess stand, 
 An owl upon her head, a bucket in her hand : 
 Therefrom upon your several heads she let to trickle. 
 On yours ambrosia, on that man's garlic-pickle. 
 
 Demus. I see your Glanis is the veritable sage. 
 Myself to you I trust to govern my old age. 
 And bring me up again. 
 
 Cleon. Nay, I beseech you, stay : 
 
 I'll find you barley and your dinner every day. 
 
 Demus. ' Barley ! ' don't mention it, the very name dis- 
 pleases : 
 I've been too much your dupe, yours and Theophanes's. 
 
 Cleon. It shall be barley-meal. 
 
 Sau. I'll give you cakes and fish. 
 
 All ready fried ; and nothing else to do or wish 
 But eat. 
 
 made to the League in lieu of personal services. Dishonest commanders 
 coveted this employment, as it gave them great opportunities for exacting 
 ' presents ' for themselves and their crews. The suggestion of Aristo- 
 phanes's oracle is that this nefarious practice should be discontinued. 
 Perhaps he did not venture to make his oracle speak more plainly. Two 
 or three of these * oracles ' are here omitted; as formed upon mere puns, 
 with very little humour. 
 
1017-1052.] 
 
 KNIGHTS. 
 
 109 
 
 Demus. Then lose no time about it. For the rest, 
 
 Which ever of you two shall furnish me the best, 
 To him will I consign the reins of government. 
 Cleon, I'll be the first to run. 
 
 Sau. 'Not you : that's my intent. 
 
 [Exeunt Cleon and Sau. 
 Chorus. You, Demus, have a nice domain ; 
 For all men fear you, and you reign 
 
 As though you were a king. 
 And yet it takes but little skill 
 To make you follow where one will : 
 For flattery is your delight, 
 And you may be bamboozled quite. 
 The cunning orator will find 
 Your mouth is open, and your mind 
 Is gone wool-gathering. 
 Demus, Your hair ^ is longer than your wits. 
 If you suppose my foolish fits 
 
 Outrun my own control. 
 Though I am fond of sitting still 
 And tippling day by day my fill, 
 I like an ofiicer-in-chief 
 Of mine to be an arrant thief. 
 When he has gathered up a stock, 
 I've nothing else to do but knock 
 The pursy fellow's poll. 
 Chorus. If you are artful as you say. 
 
 And that the subtle game you play, 
 
 You needs must be a winner ; 
 If thus upon your man you fix. 
 And stall your oxen in the Pnyx, 
 Against the day when fish is bad. 
 Or cannot for your means be had. 
 Then pick one from the feeding cribs. 
 An ox with fat upon his ribs. 
 And kill him for your dinner. 
 Demus. Do I not shrewdly circumvent 
 
 The rogues who come with full intent 
 
 1 See 1. 540. 
 
110 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1053-1074 
 
 To plunder me by stealth ? 
 I watch my time ; I mark my fox ; 
 And then I make the ballot-box, 
 Which gave them power, disgorge its votes : * 
 I put a feather down their throats. 
 Knowing exactly what they stole, 
 I make them give me back the whole 
 
 Of their ill-gotten wealth. 
 
 Enter Cleon, carrying a chair, Sausage-seller a table 
 and each a sujpjper-hox, 
 
 Cleon, Out of my way ! 
 
 8au, Be hanged ! 
 
 Cleon, This age I've been preparing 
 
 All I can think of, Demus, for your better faring. 
 
 San, An age ! — I've been a thousand in the same em- 
 ployment. 
 
 Demus, And I have spent a million — waiting for enjoy- 
 ment, 
 And am disgusted with you both. 
 
 8au, What's to be done 
 
 You understand. 
 
 Demus, Explain, what ? 
 
 8au, Let us run : 
 
 Placed for a fair start from the barrier let us try 
 Which will do most for your advantage — he or I. 
 
 Demus, Well. 
 
 Bau, I'm ready. 
 
 Demus, Run. 
 
 Cleon, He shan't slip by, as I did.^ 
 
 Demus, Between the two to-day I shall be well provided. 
 
 Cleon. See you, I am the first to bring you forth a chair. 
 
 Bau. But not a table ; I am far the foremost there. 
 
 Cleon, Here is a cake of grain from Pylus. 
 
 Bau, Here a sippet, 
 
 Made by Minerva's ivory hand : I pray you dip it. 
 
 1 That is, by a popular vote, I cause the recall of ao appointment to 
 office which had been given by a popular vote. 
 '^ See his boast, line 690. 
 
1075-1094.] KNIGHTS. Ill 
 
 Cleon. And here is some pea-soup, high-coloured, rich, 
 and hot ; 
 Pallas, who fought with us at Pylus, stirred the pot. 
 
 8au. The Goddess has a care for you, it is well seen : 
 Over your head she pours this broth, a full tureen. 
 
 Demus. The city would not be worth living in, I ween. 
 If she above my head held less than a tnreen. 
 
 Cleon, Our Lady Fright-the-host^ has sent this steak to 
 
 you. 
 Sau. Our Lady Noble- Sire ^ presents this tripe and stew. 
 Demus, We thank her, she remembers that her veil with 
 
 pleasur.e. 
 Sau. And pray Sir, taste this cup, mixed with the nicest 
 measure — 
 Just three to two. 
 
 Demus, And bears it well upon my word ! 
 
 How sweet ! 
 
 Sau. Tritogenes herself put in the third. ^ 
 
 Cleon, I beg you to accept a slice of my rich cake. 
 Sau, This cake, the whole of mine, I beg of you to take. 
 Cleon. Ha, ha, look you at this. You cannot give him hare. 
 Sau. Alas, I cannot. How can I procure it ? where ? 
 {aside) Oh, Wit ! suggest some trick to make the fault's 
 
 amends. 
 Cleon. You see it? 
 
 Sau. Never mind : for hither come my friends. 
 
 Cleon. Who are they ? 
 
 Sau. Legates, and their purses carry double. 
 
 Cleon. Where ? where ? 
 
 Sau. What's that to you ? don't give the 
 
 strangers trouble. 
 ' [CLEOisr passes to the side of the Sausage- 
 seller to endeavour to see the 'Legates.' 
 Sau. seizes the opportunity to take 
 Cleon's dish of hare. 
 
 ^ Titles for Minerva, probably invented in derision of such conceits 
 in general. 
 
 2 That is, the third measure of water to two of wine. We may infer 
 from this place that such proportions of wine and water were considered 
 handsome. 
 
112 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1095-1118. 
 
 Dear Demey, on this dish of hare vouchsafe to dine. 
 Cleon, Oh ! oh ! you artful thief, and you have stolen mine. 
 Sau, As you did those from Pylus. 
 
 Demus. Answer me this question : 
 
 Whence did you get this happy filching-it suggestion ? 
 Sau. The Goddess gave me that, and I directly —took it. 
 Cleon, I hunted him the hare. 
 
 Sau, I was the one to cook it.* 
 
 Demus. Away ! My thanks are only due to him who 
 
 brought it. 
 Cleon. I am outdone in impudence — who would have 
 
 thought it ? 
 Sau. But which of us has done the better to provide 
 For you and for your palate ? Pray you, Sir, decide. 
 
 Demus. To what criterion may I my judgment trust, 
 And give the audience assurance I am just P 
 
 Sau. I wiU suggest one. Search my canteen of provi- 
 sion. 
 And then examine his. I fear not the decision. 
 
 Demus (looMng into Sausage -seller's provision-hox). 
 Ha, ha ! what shall I find ? — ■ 
 
 Sau. ' Nothing ! — my Daddy dear; 
 
 My offerings to you have made the cupboard clear. 
 
 Demus. The cupboard tells the truth that Demus is your 
 
 care. 
 Sau. Try now the Paphlagonian's. What see you there ? 
 Demus. All sorts of dainty things ; — a monstrous cake — 
 how nice ! 
 And yet he only gave me such a little slice ! 
 
 Sau. That ever was his way. Whatever he could clutch. 
 The little went to you, while he enjoyed the much. 
 
 Demus. The rascal that you were to steal, and cheat me 
 too! 
 And I had honoured and bestowed so much on you. 
 
 ^ The wit in this line is keen and happy. Aristophanes naturally puts 
 into the mouth of his Paphlagonian just what Demosthenes, the general, 
 might be supposed to urge against the real Cleon in regard to the Lace- 
 dseraonian captives : ' I was at the pains and risk of hunting the hare,' 
 while the Sausage-seller adopts what would be the nonchalant answer of 
 Cleon : *Eut I served it up.' 
 
1119-1143.] KNIGHTS. 11,3 
 
 Gleon, 'Twas for the city's good that I have played the 
 knave. 
 
 Demus, Give up to him the chaplet. 
 
 Sau, Quickly, quickly, slave. 
 
 Cleon, Not so : an oracle from Phoebus has related 
 By whom, and whom alone, I am to be abated. 
 
 8au, Telling my name distinctly. 
 
 Cleon, I should like. to see 
 
 How far your tokens with the oracle agree. 
 To test it, I will put you on examination. 
 In what school, as a boy, had you your education ? 
 
 8au, The Shambles were my school : with fist-cuffs I was 
 broken. 
 
 Cleon, Ah ! say you ? How my mind misgives about the 
 token. 
 What art of fence learnt you in any other place ? 
 
 Sail, To steal ; deny on oath ; and look you in the face. 
 
 Cleon, Oh Lycian Apollo ! what must be my fate ? 
 What calling did you follow when at man's estate ? 
 
 8au, Sold sausages. 
 
 Cleon. Alas ! I am undone. 'Tis slight 
 
 The hope that yet remains ere I am ruined quite. 
 Answer me only this. In the market-place did you. 
 Or at the city-gates, that sausage-trade pursue ? 
 
 8au, Where else but at the gates, where they buy salted 
 stuff. 
 
 Cleon, Alas ! the prophet's words are only sure enough ! 
 Bear off the hapless wretch ! — Away : my sun has set. 
 And, chaplet, fare thee well ; though all unwilling yet 
 I part with thee : Thee shall another now possess. 
 No greater thief perhaps, but rogue with more success.^ 
 
 [Exit Cleon.^ 
 
 Sau, Hellanian Jove ! the honour of the day is thine 1 
 
 ^ A parody from a line in Euripides, where Alcestis takes leave of lier 
 marriage-bed. 
 
 ^ Dramatically Cleon should leave the stage here ; though in the 
 original there are two or three touches which imply that he is still 
 present ; these, however, the translator has ventured to suppress, and to 
 make some other slight abbreviations. 
 
114 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1144-1164. 
 
 Demosthenes, And I salute thee. But bethink, the stroke 
 was mine. 
 That made a man of you. 
 
 Bemus. Your name, Sir : what is it ? 
 
 Bau, 'Tis Agoraceitus.^ 
 
 Demus. Myself then I commit 
 
 To Agoraoritus. 
 
 Agoracritus, And I will you provide 
 
 As never citizen of Catch-flies ^ did beside. [Exeunt. 
 
 Chorus, I have lain awake at night. 
 Thinking how Cleonymus, 
 Spending less than most of us, 
 Manages his appetite. 
 Only let him (people say) 
 
 Dine with those who can afford 
 To put plenty on their board. 
 He will never move away : 
 They will say, (unless 'tis fable) 
 ' Eat the viands without stint. 
 But for heaven's sake take the hint. 
 Do have mercy on the table ! ' ^ 
 It is said the ships in port have 
 
 had a meeting for debate, 
 Where an ancient Galley took 
 
 upon her to expostulate. 
 ' Ladies, have you heard the doings 
 in the city touching us ? 
 'Tis reported, that a nasty 
 
 fellow named Hyperbolus '* 
 
 ^ By this name the ' Sausage-seller' appears to the end of the comedy. 
 As the name is untranslated, it does not seem necessary to give the line 
 which pretends to point its significance : more especially as the explanation 
 presents difficulties to the critics. 
 
 2 ' Athens,' he should have said. Aristophanes's word seems to be the 
 same as the French ' Gobe-mouches.' 
 
 3 As the point of this epigram seems to have been sometimes at least 
 missed, it may be well to fortify the idea by reference to the very well- 
 known lines : — 
 
 Cum te, nate, fames ignota ad littora vectum 
 
 Accisis coget dapibus consumere mensas. — ^n. vii. 124. 
 
 * A lamp-manufacturer, and leading man in the democratic party. See 
 Clouds, 1. 945. 
 
1165-1181.] KNIGHTS. 116 
 
 Has demanded that a hundred 
 
 of us should be sent with him, 
 On a business to Chalcedon.' — 
 
 This made all of them look prim. 
 Then spoke up a little craft, who 
 
 yet had known no master's hand ; 
 ' Heaven forbid that I should ever 
 
 go to sea in his command. 
 Rather than submit to such a 
 
 captain upon any terms, 
 I would die of age in harbour 
 
 and be eaten up by worms. 
 He have ISTauson's tight Nauphante ! ^ 
 
 God forbid he ever should ! 
 Never ! as I am a galley 
 
 built of honest pitch and wood. 
 If a thing so out of reason 
 
 Athens should be pleased to grant, 
 We must sail to the Theseum, 
 
 there to sit all suppliant : 
 Or invoke The Venerable 
 
 Goddesses ^ to shield our fame. 
 We at least will never aid him 
 
 on the city to bring shame. 
 He has barrows for his lamp-trade, 
 
 let him go to sea in those ; 
 They are good enough to take him 
 
 on his voyage to the crows.' 
 
 Enter Agoracritus. 
 
 Agor. Hushed be every sound of evil ; 
 
 let all legal processes stay. 
 Shut the Courts of Justice, for our 
 
 city is bent on its holiday. 
 For this happy change of fortune, 
 
 let this audience shout to the sky. 
 
 ^ The name of a ship. 
 ^ An euphemism for ' The Furies.' 
 i2 
 
lie COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1182-1] 96. 
 
 Clio. Glorious light of holy Athens, 
 
 all the islands' friend and ally, 
 Will your news diffuse the smell of 
 
 victims through the neighbourhood? ' 
 Ag. I have happily boiled up Demus ; 2 
 
 he is changed from bad into good. 
 Cho. Oh deviser of wonderful notions, 
 
 where at present may he be found ? 
 Ag. His abode is in the city of 
 
 antique Athens, violet-crowned.^ 
 Cho, When may we see him 9 what is he dressed in ? 
 
 what sort of person has he turned out ? 
 Ag. As when wdth Aristides or Mil- 
 
 tiades he sat drinking a bout. 
 You shall see him ; for I hear some 
 
 sounding as of an opening door. 
 So prepare your throats to welcome 
 
 Athens seen in the fashions of yore. 
 l^Scene changes to a representation of Athens in 
 
 the olden time, and Demus appears with 
 
 his hair dressed with crohulon, surmounted 
 
 by a golden grasshopper — lihe a fine old 
 
 Attic gentleman, All of the olden time. 
 Cho. Glistening Athens, crowned with violets, 
 
 envy of all for thy glory and worth. 
 Take to thyself the monarch of Greece, and 
 
 of the whole inhabited earth. 
 Ag. There you see him with his grasshopper, 
 
 such in form as our grandfathers went. 
 Smelling not of fish-shells ^ but of 
 
 truces and most delicate scent. 
 Cho. Hail, oh king of all the Grecians ! 
 
 and you too ! foi' by you are done 
 Deeds most worthy of our city, and 
 
 of our trophy at Marathon. 
 
 * Sliall the city feast on the meat of sacrifices at the public cost ? 
 
 ' An allusion to the myth of Medea, who induced the daughters of 
 Pelias so to treat their father, as a method of restoring him from age 
 to youth. 
 
 ^ See Acharninns, 1. 684. 
 
 4 A small shell used as * pebbles ' for judicial voting. 
 
1197-1230.] KNIGHTS. 117 
 
 Demus. My Agoracritus, my dearest friend and best, 
 Your boiling has done good that cannot be expressed. 
 
 Ag. Good sir, if you but knew how very sad and odd 
 You were before it, you would reckon me a God. 
 
 Demus. What did I do ? What was I like ? Do tell me, 
 
 pray. 
 Ag. For instance, at the Meeting, should a speaker say, 
 * Demus, the love of you preoccupies my breast ; 
 Believe it, I alone study your interest : ' 
 On such a preface you would clap your wings and crow : 
 Or like a bull-calf shake your horns. 
 
 Demus, Eh ; did I so ? 
 
 Ag. Of course he went away with what he liked from 
 
 you. 
 Dem. Eh? that I did; did I? and yet I never knew. 
 Ag. And then, by Jupiter, the ears upon your poll 
 Expanded and contracted like a parasol. 
 
 Demus. And was I such a fool ? To think that I should 
 
 dote ! 
 Ag. Two orators should be contending for your vote : 
 One urges building ships, and asks the money, ' ISTay, 
 'Twere better,' says the. other, ' spent in soldiers' pay.' 
 The man who asked for pay would rapidly eclipse 
 The efforts of the man who asked for building ships. 
 Why do you hang your head? Why cannot you stand 
 still? 
 Demus. I am ashamed to think of what I did so ill. 
 Ag. Nay, do not grieve. It was not you that did amiss ; 
 You were misled by others. Come now, tell me this : 
 Suppose some scurril pleader should concluding say, 
 ' Condemn this man ; the fine will find you meal to-day ; 
 Or let him off, if you have no desire to feed.' 
 What will you do with him who ventures thus to plead ? 
 
 Demus. I'll lift him in the air, and throw him in the pit. 
 With a weight about his neck, — Hyperbolus to wit. 
 
 Ag. That's spoken like a man of honesty and sense. 
 But for administration, how will you commence ? 
 
 Demus. I'll see to it that men who in the galleys pull. 
 When they come into port receive their pay in fuU. 
 
118 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1231-1252. 
 
 Ag. For that there's many a hardy fellow owes yon 
 thanks. 
 
 Bemus. Then will I have no jobbing in my soldiers' ranks. 
 By time and worth of services, and not by grace, 
 My citizens shall win and keep the higher place. 
 
 Ag. That will abate Cleonymus, 'tis to be feared. 
 
 Bemus. Then no one shall be heard until he gets a beard. 
 
 Ag. That strikes at Cleisthenes' and Strato's arguments. 
 
 Bemus. It is the boys, I mean, lads of uncommon scents. 
 Who babble to each other fashionable cant : 
 * A clever fellow Phaeax : carries all with rant. 
 Syncretic to a fault, and so original. 
 His crousis is superb : no having him at all.' 
 Long speeches and decrees I will forbid from hence : 
 And not to hunt shall be a capital offence. 
 
 Ag. 'Twill be well done. 
 
 Bemus. For yonder Paphlagonian, 
 
 What shall we do with him ? 
 
 Ag. Not much to hurt the man. 
 
 Give him my ancient trade : he might have harder fate. 
 Let him sell sausages before the city-gate : 
 And air his ribaldry among the riff-raff there. 
 
 Bemus. Well thought of. For yourself, come in and take 
 the chair 
 Vacated by that villain at my public mess ; 
 And, for a mark of honour, take this festal dress. [Exeunt. 
 
CLOUDS. 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 In this comedy Aristophanes has for ever connected his 
 name with that of Socrates, and that in a way more to the 
 credit of his wit than of his candour. 
 
 More fortunate in that respect than Cleon, Socrates 
 is known to us as painted by another and friendly hand. 
 When Clouds was being represented at Athens, there was 
 a little boy of six years old who was to live and redeem 
 Socrates from the outrageous misrepresentations of Aris- 
 tophanes. Whatever might otherwise, on the credit of 
 this author, have been accepted as fact, thanks to Plato, 
 we may confidently assert that Socrates was not the master 
 of a school of starveling disciples with whom he lived in 
 community ; that it is odious that his name should be con- 
 nected with the idea of filching and petty trickeries ; that 
 there never was a man who more emphatically lifted his 
 voice in behalf of truth and right, or more earnestly de- 
 nounced every attempt to confound right and wrong. Let 
 it be that at Athens there were unprincipled ' Sophists ' 
 who, at least as a trick of rhetoric, undertook to teach the 
 art of making the worse appear the better reason, Socrates 
 was not one of them. It is inconceivable that a man of 
 such sagacity as Aristophanes could have been mistaken 
 on that point. 
 
 Had the obvious purport of this comedy been no more 
 than a witty exposure of those Sophists, no more need 
 have been said than to make this protest on the part of 
 Socrates personally. But the animus of Aristophanes goes 
 much farther. There is a studied attempt to stimulate 
 hatred and even violence against Socrates as an unbeliever 
 in the poi^ular Gods, to confound him with, and overwhelm 
 him in, the obloquy of Diagoras the Melian. More : it is 
 not merely sophistical rhetoric which is the butt of the 
 
122 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 comedian's shafts, but tbe piirsuit of. learning generally. 
 Geometry, geography, astronomy, all pursuit of physical 
 knowledge, are equally sneered at, not from the point of 
 one who had or cared to have better knowledge, but with 
 the disposition which, even to our own time, animates the 
 man of mere sesthetic literature to decry the later births 
 of science. With this there is combined in the comedy a 
 parade of zeal to rehabilitate education on the better, the 
 old-fashioned system. When, however, we look to the 
 features of this education, it will be seen to be confined 
 to the moral discipline of order, obedience, and respectful- 
 ness, the mere cultivation of the taste, included under the 
 general term /nova-iKr}, and bodily exercise. 
 
 What is the meaning of the part taken by Aristophanes? 
 and why was his zeal for this education connected with an 
 assault upon Socrates ? We may find an answer to these 
 questions by regarding Aristophanes as nothing more than 
 a spokesman and partisan of the retrograde school of his 
 day. He lived in the generation and in the very focus of 
 great changes, social, political, and intellectual. It is 
 everywhere evident that he most cordially hated the 
 changes social and political. Does it not follow that he 
 equally suspected send hated the movement of intellect 
 too ? That he really misliked the spread of education, or 
 at any rate would have confined it to the cultivation of 
 taste ? In this idea we may find a key not only to this 
 comedy, but to sentiments scattered elsewhere. Naturally 
 enough, he would identify Socrates with the school of pro- 
 gress ; he would regard him as a dangerous man before 
 whose spirit of criticism the venerable traditions of the 
 past, with their supposed guarantees for social order, 
 would crumble away. Aristophanes was sagacious enough. 
 He was almost a generation before his time in detecting 
 that there was a side on which Socrates might be dis- 
 credited with a remarkably superstitious populace. He 
 bent himself to the attack with unusual earnestness. He 
 was proportionately chagrined by failure. The dramatic 
 judges and people did not share the feelings which the 
 comedian kept in reserve. The caricature which he put 
 upon the stage did not answer to the features of the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 123 
 
 Socrates known to all. It required a violent and reaction- 
 ary revolution in the interest of Aristophanes's politics 
 before Meletus succeeded in an attack upon the lines 
 opened twenty years before by Aristophanes. The comedy 
 failed ; its author had even the mortification of seeing the 
 first prize carried off by the veteran Cratinus, the 'driveller' 
 whom he had insolently patronised in the Parabasis of 
 Knights. 
 
 As a mere argument against Sophistry, the plot of the 
 comedy cannot be commended. Strepsiades, a thickwitted 
 yeoman, is, to begin with, an unprincipled rogue. Being 
 rich in land, he has been matched with a lady of family 
 and breeding ; he grudges all outlay in maintaining his 
 wife and son in any condition above that of the coarse 
 farmer ; spending seems to him to be ruin. He conceives 
 the idea of avoiding that evil by simply cheating his 
 creditors. It seems that he has heard of the power of 
 rhetoric to prove that black is white : in search of such 
 power, to be used against his creditors, he goes to the So- 
 phists. Whether the result proves anything to the dis- 
 credit of the school reflective readers will judge. Some 
 observations on the part and character assigned to 
 Pheidippides are postponed to the end of the comedy, that 
 the fresh reader may form in the perusal his own unbiassed 
 impressions. 
 
 Failing to obtain the prize, Aristophanes reproduced 
 this comedy, probably with some alterations, in the follow- 
 ing year ; but that comedy which has come down to us is 
 fortunately the First Clouds, with the small exception of 
 some angry lines prefacing the Parabasis. These lines, 
 however, are not here translated, as for other reasons, so 
 because, however interesting to the student of the Greek 
 Drama, they could not be made so to the English reader. 
 
4^ 
 
 ^i^^^^^A^c 
 
 i 
 
 
 t^-4 
 
 .'t^-^ 
 
 ^l^ 
 
 
 Pheidippides, 5o« o/ Strepsiades. ^^ ^ ^/XA^ 
 Servant o/" Strepsiades. ^ { 
 
 SOCEATES. 
 
 Disciples of Socrates. 
 
 CH^aEREPHON, a sophist. 
 
 Chorus of Clouds. 
 
 Eight-reason. 
 
 Wrong-reason. 
 
 Pasias, creditor of St7'epsiades. 
 
 Witness. 
 
 Amynias^ creditor of Pheidippides, a broken-doim racing-man. 
 
Scene. — In the house^ of Strepsiades, Strepsiades, Phei- 
 DIPPIDES, and house-slaves, in bed. 
 
 Strepsiades. This niglit is everlasting while I lie awake. 
 Oh dear ! Oh Jupiter ! will the day never break ? 
 And yet I'm sure I heard the cock crow long ago. 
 But here these slaves lie snoring. 'T used not to be so. 
 Plague on the war ! for other reasons as for this, 
 One can't correct one's servants when they do amiss.^ 
 And that nice son of mine — there's nothing breaks his rest, 
 But there he sleeps, and five good blankets make his nest. 
 Well, if it must be so, close be the bed-clothes drawn, 
 I'll try to snore in chorus. — No ! there is the dawn. 
 I cannot sleep. I'm eaten up with thoughts of duns. 
 Mangers, and mortgages. This work is all my son's. 
 Aye, he must be a gentleman ; and have his horse — 
 His riding horse — and drive a handsome pair of course. 
 He dreams of horses. I am dying day by day 
 With watching of the moon still wane and wane away. 
 While interest is growing. — 
 
 {To a slave in bed). Fellow, strike a light. 
 
 Bring me the ledger. I should like to know my plight, 
 The number of my creditors, and calculate 
 The interest now due. Come, let me see the state. — 
 ' To Pasias twelve minse.' How did that arise P 
 To buy the nag that has the star between his eyes.^ 
 I'd rather that a stone had knocked out one of mine ! 
 
 Pheidippides {spealcing in his sleep) . Philon,'* you're going 
 wrong : keep to your proper line. — 
 
 * Perhaps this should be a court partially open to the sky ; the beds 
 being under a colonnade ; so that from the place a view may be had of 
 the Phrontisterion or Meditation- hall of Socrates and his fellows. 
 
 ^ They would run away and find protection with the enemy. 
 
 ' This is really not the ' mark ' by which Aristophanes has distinguished 
 this horse ; but it seemed more material to force some connection between 
 the mark and malediction of Strepsiades, than to preserve the numeral 
 
 * The name either of one of his horses, or of the driver in a race. 
 
126 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [25-50. 
 
 r . . . 
 
 I Streps, See there ! 'tis that which brings nie ruin and 
 
 disgrace ; 
 Even in sleep he dreams of nothing but a race. 
 
 Pheid. (still asleep). How many heats do war-appointed 
 
 chariots run ? 
 Streps. 'Tis many heats that you are driving me, my 
 son. 
 What's next to Pasias ? — Amynias I see. 
 * Item, a pair of wheels and body — minse three.' 
 
 Pheid. {as he/ore). Let the colt have his roll, and take 
 
 him to his stall. 
 Streps. ' Roll ' do you say, young dog ? You've rolled 
 me out of all. 
 Some creditors have got their judgments, and the rest 
 Ask for security, at least for interest. 
 
 Pheid. {wahing). Why do you, father, toss and fidget all 
 
 the night ? 
 Streps. I've bailiffs in the bed who never cease to bite.v/ 
 Pheid. Good man, I wish you'd let one get a wink of 
 
 sleep. 
 Streps. Sleep on then : but the day is coming when this 
 heap 
 Of debts wiU lay no little burden on your head. 
 
 [Pheidippides /aZZs asleep again. 
 A plague on match-makers ! would that one had been dead 
 Before she matched me with thy mother ! I was well 
 Before I learnt to know foul linen by the smell ; 
 Living a country farmer's life ; richly at ease 
 Among my grapes, and flocks of sheep, and hives of bees. 
 Then I must be the fool to wed a city dame ! 
 Of Megacles of Megacles my lady came. 
 A haughty dainty Coesyra,^ she married me 
 Rank from my wine-vats, cheese-press, sheep-shearing! 
 
 but she. 
 All perfumes, saffron, pretty kisses at our meeting. 
 Extravagant in dress, and delicate in eating. 
 
 ' The name of the wife of Alcmjeon ; here taken to represent a lady 
 of very aristocratic connections. 
 
51-81.] CLOUDS. 127 
 
 I will not say that she was idle : nay, she span.^ 
 But she was more than active : such a race she ran 
 That, holding up my coat in irony, I'd say, 
 The rate you go will use you up before your day. 
 
 Slave, The lamp is going out for want of oil. 
 
 Streps. You scamp. 
 
 What did you mean by lighting such a thirsty lamp ? 
 Come here, I'll stripe your skin. 
 
 Slave. Why should you stripe my skin ? 
 
 Streps. Because you put a wick of double thickness in. — 
 Then when we had this son, I and my lady had. 
 Some wrangles on the point how we should name the lad. 
 Nothing but ' hippus ' could her horsey fancy please — 
 Xanthippus, or Charippus, or Callippides. 
 I would have had ' Pheidonides ; ' ^ the name my sire 
 Bore with respect. Long time this kept us Both on fire. 
 We settled it at last, by way of compromise, 
 Pheidippides. Then newer contests would arise ; 
 For she would take the child and say in early days, 
 ' When you are grown a man and drive a pair of bays 
 Like Megacles, and wear a splendid suit : ' but I, 
 ' When you go out to fetch the goats home by and bye. 
 In leather jerkin as your father does.' But nay. 
 He never would attend to what I had to say. 
 And so at last has brought upon my whole estate 
 A galloping consumption. — After much debate 
 Within my mind to-night, I've hit upon a course — 
 It is the only one — a most superb resource ; 
 By which, if I can bring this heady youngster to it, 
 All may be well. I'll wake him. Aye, but how to do it ? 
 How shall I wake him gently ? Dear Pheidippides, 
 Pheidy, my boy — 
 
 Pheid. (drowsily). What, father? 
 
 Streps. Kiss me if you please ; 
 
 Give me your hand. 
 
 * We must suppose that her spinning was ' fancy ' work : while the 
 husband's coat was ragged. 
 
 ^ Hippus, signifying horse, as the compound of a name would imply 
 some pretension to the habits of gentlemen of good estate. Pheidon 
 signifies sparing or parsimonious. Pheidonides * the son of a careful 
 man.' 
 
128 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [81-104. 
 
 Pheid, So, why ? 
 
 Streps, Do you love me, my lad ? 
 
 Pheid, By IsTeptnne of the horse, I do. 
 
 Streps, You'll drive me mad. 
 
 Not ' of the horse ' I beg : for 'tis to him I owe 
 The weight of trouble which has brought my fortune low. 
 But if you really love your father as you say. 
 Hear and obey me, boy. 
 
 Pheid. In what shall I obey ? 
 
 Streps, Give up the course of life that you are now 
 pursuing, 
 And learn as I would wish. 
 
 Pheid, What would you have me doing ? 
 
 Streps, But will you do it ? 
 
 Pheid. Yes, by Bacchus. 
 
 Streps, Then look here ; 
 
 You see that little door and little mansion near. 
 
 Pheid. I see it : what of that ? . ^ 
 
 Streps, 'Tis Meditation-hall ; .jf 
 
 Where shrewd wits meditate on matters great and smalLj^r^ 
 There live the men who teach that the o'erarching skyv }^ 
 Is one great oven ; ^ men its constant coal supplyis (k[v 
 They are the men who teach you for a little pay \ 
 The art to make the right or wrong side win the day. 
 
 Pheid. Who are these men ? 
 
 Streps. By name I do not know them all. 
 
 But Meditants they are, and quite respectable. M 
 
 Pheid. Bah, rogues ! the men who set all reason at deo 
 fiance, *^ 
 
 The shoeless, meagre-faced pretenders to a science ; 
 Like that poor devil Socrates and — what's his name ? 
 That Ch^rephon. 
 
 Streps. Hush, hush ! don't be a fool ; for shame. 
 
 But, if you father's meal-chest may deserve your care, 
 Give up your stable-life and be a scholar there. 
 
 ^ The cosmioal theory that the sky is a solid firmament over-arching 
 the earth sug-gosted to the wits that the earth is the floor of an oven, and 
 the Gods tlie bakers. This had been represented before the Athenian 
 audience by the comic poet Crates in a comedy called PanopUp. 
 
105-134.] CLOUDS. 129 
 
 Pheid. Not I, if yon would give me4-tlioiigli--'twere 
 worth tlie gaining — 
 The Phasian thorongh-breds Leogoras is training. 
 
 Streps. My dearest, dearest boy, I do beseech you, go : 
 Do go and learn. 
 
 Pheid. What is it you would have me know ? 
 
 Streps. 'Tis said they have two Reasons, both exceeding 
 strong — 
 The Eeason for the Right, and Reason for the Wrong. 
 This latter one, they say, will put a decent face, — 
 Aye, bring you winner through the most dishonest case. 
 Now, if you'll learn me that, with confidence I'll rob all 
 My creditors, and never pay another obole. 
 
 Pheid. It cannot be. How could a man of my connection 
 Endure the being seen with such a bad complexion ? 
 
 Streps. By Ceres then you may despatch yourself from 
 hence, 
 Pole-horse and hack ! you shall not live at my expense. 
 Out of this house you go : pack off to feed the crows. 
 
 Pheid. The noble Megacles, I venture to suppose, 
 Will not permit it that his kinsman shall remain 
 Without a horse. I go : and treat you with disdain. [Exit. 
 
 Streps. I'm not the man to lie because I have been 
 thrown. 
 No ! praying to the Gods, I'll learn what may be known 
 At Meditation-hall myself. I own, 'tis late 
 To learn the niceties of logical debate 
 Now that my apprehension is becoming slow 
 And memory failing ; notwithstanding I must go. 
 Why do I hesitate when matters are so grave ? 
 Why don't I knock ? — I wiU. — What hoa ! within there ! 
 Slave ! [hiochs. 
 
 Disciple, looMng out. 
 
 Bis. Who's knocking at the door? 
 
 Streps. Strepsiades, good sir. 
 
 Pheido's son of Cicynna. 
 
 Bis. Then, by Jupiter, 
 
 It was a clownish trick your coming with a dash on 
 The door in such an unpremeditated fashion : 
 A great conception has miscarried. 
 
 K 
 
130 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [135-1G4. 
 
 Streps. Pray forgive : 
 
 For buried in the country 'tis my hap to live. 
 But what was that which came to such untimely fate ? 
 
 Bis. That may we but among our own communicate. 
 
 Streps. Then safely you may say : the purpose of my call 
 Is to be entered at your Meditatioist-hall. 
 
 Dis. I'll tell you. But the thing must be observed as 
 one 
 Of our close mysteries. 'Twas asked of Ch^rephon^^ 
 By SocEATES, How many times the little thing 3 
 
 A flea would measure its own foot's length in the spring, 
 Which just before had happened, as they lay in bed, 
 From Ch^rephon's eyebrow to Socrates's head? 
 
 Streps. How did he measure it ? 
 
 Dis. With great dexterity : 
 
 Having first melted wax, he lightly took the flea 
 And in the fluid dipped its feet. The wax grew cold * 
 And gave to Ch^rephon a perfect flea's foot mould, 
 Just like a Persian slipper, easily applied 
 To measure the dimensions of the insect's stride. 
 
 Streps. King Jupiter, how exquisite ! With such a mind 
 One might be sure to leave one ^s creditor s behind. 
 
 Dis. No meal was in oureEest for supper yesternight. 
 
 Streps. Granted. What dainty art supplied your appe- 
 tite? 
 
 Dis. First laying dust upon his problem board, he took 
 A spit ; one end of which he bent into a hook ; ^ 
 He takes me his dividers — while we're looking on, 
 A little jacket, left upon the bench, was gone! 
 
 Streps. Who's Thales that we talk of him ! Undo the 
 door, 
 And let me all the wonders of the place explore ; 
 Pray you, undo the door, and show me Socrates. 
 
 [Doors of the Hall are thrown open, and dis- 
 cover gaunt Students in various occupa- 
 tions and strange attitudes. 
 Oh, He rcules ! what sort of animals are these ? 
 
 1 To make an instrument wherewith to operate on the clothes of some 
 unwary scholar in this school. The stealing- of clothes seems to have 
 been in ancient times the substitute for picking pockets. 
 
165-186.] CLOUDS. 131 
 
 Dis. What think jou they are like ? what moves yon to 
 
 such wonder ? 
 Streps, Like the Laconians whom famine had brought 
 under 
 At Pj/los.^ Why do those men look upon the ground ? 
 Dis. Upon inquiry subterrestrial they are bound. 
 Strejps. What? looking after truffles? Pity that they 
 should ; 
 I know a place where they are plentiful and good. ' 
 
 \_8ome of the Students come about Strep- 
 SIADES and the Disciple. 
 Dis. Go in : lest Soceates should chance to come this 
 
 way. 
 Streps. No, no, not yet ; I beg of you to let them stay. 
 I wish to let them know about my small affair. 
 
 Dis. They may not squander time here in the open air. 
 Streps, [seeing some of the scientific apparatus). By all the 
 
 Gods, inform me what can these things be ? 
 Dis. That is astronomy. 
 Streps. And this ? 
 
 Dis. Geometry. 
 
 Streps. What is the use of it ? 
 
 Dis. To measure out the land. 
 
 Streps. What ? the allotments ? 
 Dis. No, the whole. 
 
 St/reps. I understand. 
 
 Sharing the whole among the citizens there are : 
 A useful measure that, and very popular. 
 
 Dis. (showing a map of the world) . Here is a plan of all 
 the earth. Eh ! do you see ? 
 Here's Athens. 
 
 Streps. What d'ye say ? It's not like it to me. 
 
 I do not see the dicasts sitting in their courts. 
 Dis. 'Tis really Attica, its places and its ports. 
 Streps. Where is Cicynna? and my fellow-townsmen 
 
 there ? 
 Dis. 'Tis here : and here's Eubcea stretched out long and 
 fair. 
 
 ^ The prisoners emaciated by famine, whom Cleon brought from 
 Sphacteria. 
 
 k2 
 
132 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [187-211. 
 
 Streps. ' Stretched' say you — racked by us and Pericles.* 
 Where's Lacedsemon ? 
 
 Dis. Here : as everybody sees. 
 
 Streps. How very close to us ! I beg you'U meditate 
 To put at greater distance such, a noxious state. 
 
 Dis. By Jove, it cannot be. 
 
 Streps. A whipping for your fee ! 
 
 But who is that up yonder, in the basket ? 
 
 Dis. He. 
 
 Streps. Who's he? 
 
 Dis. Why, Socrates.'^ 
 
 Streps. Oh, Socrates ! Good man, 
 
 I wish you'd shout to him, and call him if you can. 
 
 Dis. Call him j^ourself ; I have not leisure for it. 
 
 Streps. Ho ! 
 
 My jewel, Socrates. 
 
 Soc. [from the hasJcet.) Mortal, why call you so ? 
 
 Streps. But tell me first, I beg, what you are doing there ? 
 
 Soc. Considering the sun, and walking on the air. 
 
 Streps. Then is it from your crate exalted to a height 
 That you disdain the Gods ? Tor if on earth, you might^ — 
 
 Soc. 'Nsij, if I had not hung my observation high, -> 
 How could I have detected things 'twixt earth and skys^ 
 'Tis therefore that I blend with air, to which 'tis kin, / 
 Mind's subtle essence. So the higher truths we win. 
 It needs must be : for earth draws with constraining thirst 
 The dew-beads which from earnest Contemplation burst. 
 Just as with cardamums — 
 
 Streps. What say you about wet ? 
 
 That Contemplation causes cardamums to sweat ? 
 But, prithee, Socrates, come down to help me through 
 The dif&culties which have brought me here to you. 
 
 Soc. What may you want ? 
 
 1 The inhabitants of Euboea had tried to throw off the yoke of Athens. 
 They were reduced by Pericles. 
 
 2 In the stage arrangements Socrates is exhibited swinging in a lar"-e 
 basket from the roof. 
 
 3 If the text is not corrupt, it is not clear what is the diift of the 
 broken sentiment. I suppose the suggestion to be something like — 
 * might suffer as a blapphemer.' 
 
211-232.] CLOUDS. 133 
 
 8treps. To learn to speak : for I'm distressed 
 
 By duns inordinate and compound interest ; 
 While all my property I see in mortgage going. 
 
 Soc, But how came you so much in debt without your 
 knowing ? 
 
 Strejps. A horse disease consumes me eating at all seasons. 
 So pray instruct me in the one of your two Reasons, 
 The reason for not paying. You shall have your fee, 
 T swear by all the Gods, whatever it may be. 
 
 Soc. Swear ? by what Gods ? the Gods are not a coin to 
 pass. 
 
 Streps. By what then do you swear? by something 
 worse than brass ? 
 By iron ? such as that which is called Byzantine ? ^ 
 
 Soc. Will you be made acquainted with the true Divine, 
 The genuine ? 
 
 Streps. By Jove, I would, if such there is. 
 
 Soc. To hold communication with our Deities, 
 The Clouds ?\'>^'j3 
 
 Streps. Ind^d I would. 
 
 Soc. Then please you to sit down 
 
 Upon the sacred couch. 
 
 Streps. I'm sitting. 
 
 Soc. Take the crown. 
 
 Streps. Why should I have the chaplet, Soceates ? alas ! 
 I'm going to be sacrificed like Athamas.^ 
 
 Soc. 'Tis your initiation ; think you nothing of it : 
 'Tis what we do to all. 
 
 Streps. But what will be the profit ? 
 
 Soc. You will be such a speaker ! rattle ! pepper ! dust ! ^ 
 \_Ahashetfull of mason'' s rubbish is emptied 
 over Strepsiades. 
 Hold fast. 
 
 Streps. By Jupiter, under this shower I must. 
 
 ^ None of the ' iron coin ' of Byzantium has survived to testify to its 
 existence. 
 
 '^ In a drama of Sophocles Athamas is introduced with a chaplet upon 
 his head in view to his being sacrificed. 
 
 ^ It is not easy to see how theoriginal words here used signify anything 
 to the purpose. Probably they had acquired a ^ cant ' meaning as far 
 from the original as our words ' beak/ ' fence/ &c. The scoliasts say 
 
134 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [232-253. 
 
 Soc. Let this elder hear in silence, 
 
 let iiim hear my invocation. 
 Air ! thou lord of realms unmeasured 
 
 round our earthy habitation ; 
 Splendid ^ther ! Clouds majestic, 
 
 bringing flashing light and thunder, 
 Eise before the meditant, who 
 
 bows to you with reverent wonder. 
 Streps. Let me wrap my cloak about me, 
 
 I shall get a thorough wetting ; 
 I have not my leather cap here — 
 
 'twas unlucky my forgetting. 
 Soc, Clouds, of highest honour worthy, 
 
 come, your glory manifesting. 
 Whether upon the snowy peaks of 
 
 hoar Olympus you are resting ; 
 Or in your Ocean father's gardens 
 
 with the nymphs a dance ye hold • 
 Or from the mouths of Nile are drawing 
 
 water in your ewers of gold ; 
 Or ye hang o'er lake Mseotis ; 
 
 or on Mimas' peaked ice : 
 Graciously attend my prayers, and 
 
 pleased accept this sacrifice. 
 
 Choeus of Clouds 
 {heard as the voices of women at a distance) . 
 Rise we overflowing Clouds, 
 Visible in misty shrouds. 
 From our parent Ocean-beds, 
 
 Where billows hoarsely roar : 
 Rise we to the tree-capt heads 
 
 Of mountains high and hoar. 
 Thence to behold the beacon towers, 
 The holy earth, its fruits and flowers. 
 To see the ancient rivers sweep, 
 And hear the bellowings of the deep. 
 
 that the rubbish poured over Strepsiades represents the ' salted meal ' 
 poured on the head of a victim at the altar. But it seems more like a 
 baptism or- other ceremony of initiation parodied. 
 
254-282.] CLOUDS. 135 
 
 For -<Et]ier's never- wearied eye 
 Flames in the sky 
 With lustrous rays. 
 Shake off the darkness of the storm, 
 Unveil your own immortal form 
 On earth afar to gaze. 
 Soc. Great and gracious Clouds, ye heard me. 
 Stirring with a song like bees 
 When the mother leads them swarming, 
 come the blessed Deities. 
 Chorus, Bearers of the gracious rain. 
 Maidens gather all your train, 
 Let us see the shining land ^ 
 Which Pallas loves of old. 
 Hardily by Cecrops manned. 
 Home of the rites untold. 
 The cell of Mysteries is there,^ 
 And lofty shrines, and offerings fair. 
 The blessed gathering to their feasts. 
 And victims garlanded, and priests 
 Through all the circle of the sun ; 
 But chief that one. 
 The joy and grace 
 Of Bacchus,^ when the spring comes in. 
 When dance and song and piping din 
 Make life in all the place. 
 Streps. Jiipiter ! but who can these be 
 
 making such a solemn hymning ? 
 Socrates, I do implore you, 
 
 tell me ; are they hero-women ? 
 Soc. Nay, but they are clouds of heaven, 
 
 great divinities for those 
 Who are not disposed to labour. 
 
 Unto us do they disclose 
 
 ^ Attica. 
 
 ^ The lioly house of Demeter (Ceres) at Eleusis, where the Mysteries 
 of Eleusis were celebrated. 
 
 3 The Bacchic or Dionysian Festivals, at which dramatic contests 
 took place. The first, Lensea, about the end of February ; the second or 
 ' great festival in the city/ when allies and foreigners were present, at 
 the end of March or beginning of April. 
 
136 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [283-296. 
 
 Arts of logic, power of judgment, 
 
 requisites for an oration, 
 Catching, hitting, controverting, 
 
 and creating a sensation.* 
 Streps. Since my soul has heard their voices, 
 
 even now it longs to caper. 
 Make refinements on a trifle, 
 
 fiddle-faddle about vapour. 
 Thirsts to put two little notions 
 
 into active opposition. 
 If it may be, with the ladies 
 
 let me conie to open vision. 
 Soc. Look you now toward Mount Parnes — 
 
 I can see them, now descending 
 Quietly — 
 Streps. Where ? prithee, show me. 
 
 Soc. Now they are obliquely tending 
 
 Through the thickets and the hollows — 
 Streps. How is it I do not see P 
 
 Soc. Yonder by the gorge — 
 Streps. Ah ! now I 
 
 almost fancy that must be — 
 Soc. Surely now you see, unless your 
 
 eyes are glued with plumtree gum.^ 
 \_The chorus of women, dressed as Clouds, 
 now enter the Orchestra. 
 Streps. Aye, by Jove, the honoured ladies ! 
 
 Everywhere they come, they come. 
 Soc. Truly had you not a notion 
 
 these were goddesses ? 
 Streps. Not I. 
 
 I supposed that they were mist or 
 
 vapour floating in the sky. 
 
 * As the art of E-hetoric became a fashionable study, its professors 
 multiplied and refined the terms of their art. We have no true English 
 equivalents for them : mere etymological translations will not give the 
 ideas. 
 
 ^ This expression of the idea hero meant is borrowed from a well- 
 known passage in Hamlet. A more literal translation would import an 
 idea not easily intelligible. 
 
297-316.] CLOUDS. 137 
 
 Soc, Ah, you did not know how many 
 in the scientific ranks 
 Have their living from the clouds, as 
 
 poets, prophets, mountebanks ; 
 Idlers with their signet rings, their 
 
 dirty nails and bushy hair ; 
 All the class of speculators, 
 
 who contrive to live on air. 
 Streps. Yes, I know ; you mean the sort of 
 
 versifiers who discourse 
 Of the ' moist clouds ray averting, 
 
 rushing on with mighty force,' 
 ' Locks of Typho hundred-headed,' 
 
 ' wind-born tempests, airy, wet,' 
 ' Swimming-birds with hooked talons ; ' ^ 
 as rewards for which they get 
 Turbot slices good and mighty, 
 
 dainty shares of thrushes' fat. 
 Soc. Don't you think they quite deserve it ? 
 Streps, Tell me how it happens that 
 
 These are just like mortal women, 
 
 if the clouds they really be ? 
 Clouds are not at all like women. 
 Soc, What are clouds like that you see P 
 
 Streps. 'Tisn't easy quite exactly 
 
 to describe what one supposes ; 
 Puffy fleeces, say ; not women : 
 
 but these clouds of yours have noses. 
 Soc. Answer now to what I ask you. 
 Streps. Ask it, if not very hard. 
 
 Soc. Saw you never cloud that pictured 
 
 centaur, lion, wolf, or pard ? 
 Streps. Often, doubtless ; what of that tho' ? 
 Soc. They can change their forms at pleasure. 
 
 If they see some dirty fellow 
 
 growing hair beyond all measure. 
 Like the son of Xenophontes, 
 
 he shall see himself reflected 
 In the likeness of a centaur. 
 
 ^ Probably descriptions of clouds by dithyrambic poets. 
 
138 - COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [316-333. 
 
 Streps. Wliat if Simon is detected 
 
 Plundering tlie public treasure ? 
 Soc, Him they as a wDlf display. 
 
 Streps, When Cleonymus ^ was throwing 
 
 yesterday his shield away, 
 Were they deer to show him timid ? 
 Bo6. - ^ Doubtlessly ; and therefore these 
 
 Took the shape of women since they 
 
 caught a sight of Cleisthenes.^ 
 Streps. Welcome, then, my mistresses, and 
 
 if at all such thing can be, 
 Wake your heaven-commeasured voices, 
 
 universal queens, for me. 
 Chorus. Welcome, father ; welcome relic /xi-^fV^ 
 of a former generation, 
 Youthful student in the arts of 
 
 subtle ratiocination ! 
 Thou, too, priest of tittle-tattle, 
 
 make thy wishes known to us. 
 For no misty speculatist, 
 
 saving only Prodicus,^ 
 Has such willing ear of us ; for 
 
 thy conceit is very great. 
 Proudly mean is all thy raiment, 
 
 and thy countenance elate. 
 Streps. Earth ! how solemn is their talking ! 
 
 quite amazes one, it does. 
 Soc. These are your true Deities, for 
 
 all the rest are simple buzz. 
 Str&ps. Jupiter upon Olympus 
 
 we a god must surely call ? 
 Soc. Nonsense ! who is Jupiter ? there 
 
 is no Jupiter at all. 
 Streps. Not a Jupiter ? who rains, then ? 
 
 Let your teaching start at this. 
 
 * Acharnians, 1. 79. 
 
 2 Cleistlienes is frequently reflected on for foppishness and effeminacy. 
 Birds, 1. 790. 
 
 ^ Prodicus of Ceos, a sophist then at Athens, who undertook to teach 
 his pupil a rule of reason applicable to every case : the fee for admission 
 to each of his lectures was 50 drachmas. 
 
334-349.] CLOUDS. 130 
 
 Soc, These do. I will give you tokens 
 
 of it which you cannot miss. 
 When no clouds were present, did you 
 
 ever see it raining, pray ? 
 But your Jupiter should rain when 
 
 all the clouds are gone away. 
 Streps. By Apollo ! you have neatly 
 
 put your argument together. 
 Who, then, makes the thunder? tell me, 
 
 for I tremble in such weather. 
 Soc. These do ; rolling on each other. 
 Streps. You are not ashamed to say it? 
 
 How? 
 Soc. When they are filled with water, 
 
 and are driven to convey it. 
 Tottering beneath their burden, 
 
 they are very apt to stumble 
 Over one another and to 
 
 make a clatter when they tumble. 
 Streps. If it be not Jove who drives them, 
 
 who compels the clouds to go ? 
 Soc. 'Tis the mighty Whirl ^ of ^ther. 
 Streps. Whirl ? eh ? — that I did not know ! 
 
 So, then, Jove exists no longer, 
 
 but this WHIRL is king instead. 
 Whence, however, comes the lightning 
 
 terrible to strike one dead ? 
 Clearly it is Jupiter who 
 
 hurls about the burning flashes. 
 And especially reduces 
 
 wicked perjurers to ashes. 
 Soc. Simple son of Saturn's reign, and 
 
 born a day before the moon ; ^ 
 
 * Referring-, probably, to a doctrine of Protagoras, or some other physical 
 philosopher, who supposed that the action of the universe was sustained 
 by an inherent, perpetual and circular motion or ' Dinos.' But ' Dinos ' 
 also was the name of some large yase or vessel, referred to in the end, 
 line 1416. 
 
 ^ ' Did first Arcadia her Pelasgus bear, 
 
 Pelasgus elder than the moon.' 
 Translation by Dean Milman, Quart. Rev., vol. Ixxxix. p. 180. 
 
140 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [3o0-368. 
 
 How can you believe such, fables ? 
 
 I will disabuse you soon. 
 If he strikes the perjurers, how 
 
 is it Simon is before us ? 
 And Cleonymus ? how is it 
 
 he has not consumed Theorus P 
 All of these we know are perjured. 
 
 Neither does he spare to strike 
 Sunium of Athens, or a 
 
 temple of his own alike. 
 Just as he will sbiver oak-trees, 
 
 glories of the .forest. Why ? 
 How have they deserved it ? have the 
 
 oaks committed perjury ? 
 Streps. That I cannot answer ; but you 
 
 seem to me to speak with reason. 
 After all, what is the lightning ? 
 Soc. Passing through a parching season, 
 
 Needs must be the wind is heated 
 
 and unnaturally dry; 
 So it gets enclosed among the 
 
 clouds that float about the sky ; 
 There it blows them up like bladders. 
 
 If there be a little force 
 Then applied : eh ? what will happen ? 
 
 An explosion comes of course ! 
 What with all the noise and chafing 
 
 in the struggle to get out. 
 It will set itself on fire ; there 
 
 cannot be the slightest doubt. 
 Streps. No, by Jove ! and that is just what 
 
 happened to me with a haggis : 
 I was cooking for some friends, and 
 
 did'nt slit it where the bag is ; 
 Just as I had served it up, and 
 
 we were going to begin, 
 Crack it went, and threw a juice which 
 
 blinded me and burnt my skin. 
 
369-388.] CLOUDS. 141 
 
 Chorus, Thou, whose soul for its perfection 
 
 in the school of wisdom seeks, 
 High in honour shalt thou be 
 
 among Athenians and Greeks. 
 Only be a Meditator, 
 
 not from any hardness flinching, 
 Not by any labour broken, 
 
 not by cold however pinching ; 
 Never care to break your fast, 
 
 abstain from wine and exercise ; 
 Look on such indulgences as 
 
 something much beneath the wise. 
 As becomes a man of sense, 
 
 consider this a perfect life, 
 To be busy, thoughtful, and to 
 
 get the best in wordy strife. 
 Streps. As to spirit, never fear me. 
 
 Mine's a heart that mocks at grief; 
 Hardy, frugal, I've a stomach 
 
 which can dine upon a leaf. 
 Thought and sleeplessness will never 
 
 give me any trouble. Pooh ! 
 I'm an anvil, and upon me 
 
 you may cut a bar in two. 
 Soc. You determined not to credit 
 
 any other Gods than we ; 
 Firstly Chaos, Clauds the second, / 
 
 thirdly Tongue ; these only three ? 
 Streps. Not if I should meet them would I 
 
 enter into conversation. 
 Nor upon their altars offer 
 
 victim, incense, or libation. 
 Chorus. Fear not now to ask a favour. 
 
 Since you pay us honour due. 
 And are anxious to be clever, - • 
 
 we'll do anything for you. 
 Streps. Ladies, it is little I shall 
 
 ask of your according smiles ; 
 'Tis that I may distance all the 
 
 Greeks in speaking twenty miles. 
 
142 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [389-420. 
 
 Chorus. Be contented, you sliall have it : 
 
 Not a speaker from to-day 
 Half so many striking things, or 
 
 so victorious shall say. 
 Streps, 'Tisn't striking things I care for ; 
 vs^hat I v^ant is to defeat 
 Justice, and to make the ruin 
 
 of my creditors complete. 
 Chorus. You shall have your utmost wishes ; 
 
 'tis a modest thing you ask. 
 Take my servants for your teachers, 
 
 and apply you to your task. 
 Streps. In reliance on your favour 
 
 I will do it, for those horses 
 And that marriage with my madam 
 
 lay upon me strongest forces. 
 Let them now do what they like 
 With my body : they may strike, 
 Wet it, dry it, starve it thin. 
 Broil ifc, freeze it, flay my skin. 
 So I slip the debts that thrall me, 
 I consent that men shall call me 
 Daring, prater, pushing, pert, 
 Lie-compounder, mass of dirt. 
 Snappish, pettifogger, hack. 
 Fox, bore, thong, dissembler, clack. 
 Oily, coxcomb, shufier, patcher. 
 Foul, vexatious, dainty-catcher. 
 I care not if those who meet me 
 With such titles like to greet me. 
 They may do just what they please ; 
 Cut me into sausages. 
 By Demeter, if they will. 
 Meditators' mouths to fill. 
 Chorus. He seems not disposed to shirk, 
 But is ready for our work. 
 Make yourself content. 
 Only be obedient ; 
 And you shall attain a name 
 Wide as heaven in fame. 
 
421-449.] CLOUDS. I43 
 
 Streps, What must I go through ? 
 
 Chorus, No man, while you stay with me, 
 
 Happier in life than you ! 
 Streps, Shall I such a fortune see ? 
 
 Chorus, There will be such troops of clients at your door 
 Rushing, crushing, your assistance to implore ; 
 Actions and cross-actions, pleas and counter-pleas, 
 Worthy of you, bringing talents for the fees. 
 
 {To Socrates), Take in hand the elder; let him go to 
 school ; 
 Try him ; see if he is clever or a fool. 
 
 Soc, Come, let me know your mind, that I may judge 
 your bent. 
 And see if there is any need to supplement 
 Your native force by novel engines in support. 
 
 Streps. Do you suppose that I am going to scale a fort ? 
 Soc, No ; but my questions go to see how far your mind 
 Is furnished as to memory. 
 
 Streps, ^Tis of double kind : 
 
 I well remember if a person is my debtor ; 
 But if a creditor — I am a sad forgetter. 
 
 Soc. Have you a talent for collecting in and stating 
 What is before you 9 
 
 Streps. No : but for appropriating. 
 
 Soc. How can you ever learn ? 
 Streps, Oh, well enough. 
 
 Soc, Suppose 
 
 I throw some inference before you, such as those 
 In Meteorics, will your apprehension catch it ? 
 
 Streps, Must I treat wisdom as a dog does garbage ? 
 
 snatch it ! 
 Soc. The man is stupid and intensely ignorant. — 
 I fear, old gentleman, some stripes are what jou want. 
 Come tell me what you'd do if you were beaten ? 
 
 Streps, Why — 
 
 I'm beaten : — then I call on one to testify : 
 And bring in proper time my action for assault.^ 
 
 ^ Strepsiades supposes himself beiog put through an elementary course 
 of common law. 
 
144 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [450-470. 
 
 Soc. Now, sir, strip off your coat. 
 
 Streps. Eh ! where am I in fault ? 
 
 Soc. When pupils enter here the clothes are always left. 
 Streps. But I have no intention to commit a theft. ^ 
 Soc. Nonsense : put down the coat. 
 
 Streps. Do tell me this one thing : 
 
 If to my studies I severe attention bring, 
 Which of you shall I most resemble ? 
 
 Soc. Ch^rephon. 
 
 Streps. A man it makes one think of death to look upon.^ 
 Soc. Do learn to hold your tongue, sir : quickly here this 
 way. 
 And follow after me. 
 
 Streps. Nay, sir, I pray you stay, 
 
 And give into my hands a piece of honey cake, 
 For I — I feel and fear as if about to make 
 A visit to Trophonius.^ 
 
 Soc. Go on before : 
 
 Why are you hanging back to poke about the door ? 
 Chorus. Go, with your heart so stout. 
 And fortune bear thee out. 
 
 \_Exemit Socrates, Strepsiades, and 
 Disciples. 
 Good luck to him who spares 
 No pains for truth ; but dares. 
 
 In ages's dull decline, 
 His paling mind to dye 
 With yoimger thoughts and try 
 Wisdom's stern discipline. 
 
 ^ Because, say the commentators, burglars left their clothes behind 
 them when they entered a house. 
 
 2 On account of his emaciated appearance. 
 
 ^ The oracle of Trophonius was in a cave. Those who entered took a 
 honied cake to appease the serpents. It was observed that those who 
 entered the cave always returned sad. 
 
471-491.] CLOUDS. 145 
 
 (%M-"0 
 
 PAEABASIS. 
 
 Semichorus. Sovereign on high 
 
 Over all Gods, I call 
 Jove to our festival. 
 Then Him who doth the trident ply. 
 Sternly to shake the earth and bitter sea. 
 
 And thee, great-named, who feedest all, 
 JEther, most worshipful, our proper sire. 
 And Him, the Charioteer, whose fire 
 
 Glows for the earth ; with equal love 
 Esteemed by men and Gods above 
 A mighty deity ! 
 Chorus, Oh, most clever audience, 
 
 pray you give us your attention. 
 Where you give us great offence 
 
 we will scruple not to mention. 
 Unto us, and us alone, 
 
 you neglect to bring oblation. 
 Yet no Deity, you'U own, 
 
 tenders more the state's salvation. 
 If, in prudence's disdain, 
 
 ye contemplate some excursion. 
 Then, in thunder or in rain, 
 
 we proclaim our strong aversion. 
 When for general of late 
 
 you were bent to choose the tanner 
 (Whom all Gods agree to hate), 
 
 in a most decided manner 
 We our high displeasure showed ; 
 
 with the lightning there was thunder; 
 Then the moon forsook the road ; 
 
 and the sun, to show your blunder, 
 
 Cleon. 
 L 
 
146 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [492-516. 
 
 Drew his wick within his lamp ; 
 
 showing his determination 
 Not to light yon if that scamp 
 
 Cleon held the situation. 
 Yet yon chose him not the less ! 
 
 But it happens, when the city's 
 Counsel is but foolishness, 
 
 that some Deity makes it his 
 Business to redress it by 
 
 turning error into profit. 
 Bad as is this policy, 
 
 you may get .advantage of it. 
 Let this cormorant be caught 
 
 at his bribes and peculation. 
 And to pillory be brought ; 
 
 it is his befitting station. 
 If his office comes to this, 
 
 we will be the first confessing 
 That which you have done amiss 
 
 has come out the city's blessing. 
 Semichorus, Come, glory-crowned 
 
 Phoebus, and leave the while 
 Thy lofty-peaked isle ; 
 And thou, whom Lydian maids surround. 
 Come from thy golden house of Ephesus. 
 
 Come, thou, who o'er this city's pile 
 Castest thy shield, Athene, to thine own. 
 And thou, among thy revellers known. 
 Where on Parnassian rocks at night 
 They follow on thy leading light. 
 Come, Bacchus, unto us. 
 Chorus, Just as we were coming out [us ; 
 
 chanced it that the Moon was nigh 
 Learning what we were about, 
 
 she has sent a message by us. 
 After you and your allies 
 
 are with all good wishes greeted. 
 She declares with some surprise 
 
 that she finds herself ill-treated. 
 
517-532.] CLOUDS. 147 
 
 She has served yon in the night, 
 
 not in words, but very clearly ; 
 Saving each in torches' light 
 
 twelve or thirteen drachmas yearly : 
 Some one stepping from his porch 
 
 (he goes out to visit nightly) 
 Says, ' You need not buy a torch, 
 
 for the moon is shining brightly.' 
 Such, and more, her favours are, 
 
 as she says with much assurance. 
 Yet you have your calendar 
 
 disarranged beyond endurance. 
 All the Gods are out of sorts 
 
 from confusion thence arising.* 
 You are squabbling in your courts 
 
 when you should be sacrificing. 
 So, upon the ancient days 
 
 disappointed of a dinner, 
 They will turn on her, she says, 
 
 and reproach her as the sinner. 
 Oftentimes again when we, 
 
 at a time by all agreed on, 
 Fast with mourning, it may be 
 
 for a Memnon or Sarpedon, 
 You are at high holiday ! 
 
 We may hint it was this hap led 
 Some rough Gods to take away 
 
 from Hyperbolus his chaplet, 
 When he was Remembrancer.^ 
 
 Let it fix his observation 
 That the Gods their feasts prefer 
 
 by a lunar regulation. 
 
 1 The grievance of the Moon arose from a rearrangement of the Athe- 
 nian calendar under the direction of Meton. By the intercalation of a 
 month, or one lunation, at certain intervals the solar and lunar periods 
 were made to coincide in a cycle of nineteen years. The alteration caused 
 some imcertainty and misunderstanding as to annual celebrations. If their 
 places in the year were kept, the day would fall in an unusual month. If 
 kept to the month, the month itself would not always follow its prede- 
 cessor in the old order. Hence the disappointment and displeasure of 
 the Gods. 
 
 ^ Hyperbolus was one of two deputies to the Amphictyonic Council, 
 
 L 2 
 
148 COMEDIES OF AKISTOPHANES. [633-552. 
 
 Enter Socrates. 
 
 8oc. By Respiration ! Chaos ! Atmosphere, mj God ! 
 I never saw a man so absolute a clod, 
 Blockhead so thick or so much lacking memory ! , 
 Try you to furnish him with some slight matters, he 
 Forgets before he learns. I'll try in open day. 
 Steepsiades, come out and bring your bed this way. 
 
 Streps, {within.) The bugs won't suffer me. 
 
 8oc. Make haste ; and pay attention. 
 
 Enter Steepsiades, carrying a truckle bed. 
 
 Put the bed down. 
 
 8trej)s. Yes, sir. 
 
 8oc. Be good enough to mention 
 
 What you would know that you have not already learned. 
 Measures ? or Rhythm ? or Yerses, how they should be 
 turned? 
 
 8treps. By all means about Measures. No long time ago 
 A mealman cheated me-of half a peck, I know : 
 
 8oc. I asked not of such measures ; but which you 
 prefer : 
 A verse in trimeter, or in tetrameter ? ' 
 
 8trejps. There's nothing beats a gallon ! 
 
 8oc. Nonsense. 
 
 Streps. Will you stake 
 
 A wager on that point, four measures do not make 
 A gallon ? 
 
 Boc. You're a blockhead ! you learn rhjrfchms indeed ! 
 
 Streps. And what may rhythms do to help a man to 
 feed? 
 
 Soc. Nay, but in conversation an accomplished man 
 Of course should show that he is competent to scan. 
 
 and bore the office of ' Hieromnemon ' or * Sacred Remembrancer ' ; as 
 such it was his distinction to wear a chaplet. It appears that on a late 
 occasion as he was returning home his chaplet was blown off by the 
 wind. 
 ^ That is; of ' Three-measure ' or ^ Four-measure.' 
 
553-572.] CLOUDS. 149 
 
 And have it at his fingers' ends how many feet are 
 Admissible in ' war-dance ' or ^ dactylic ' metre. 
 
 Streps. Dactylic fingers' ends ! why, every body knows, 
 What fingers are — I do. It isn't things like those 
 I want to know. 
 
 Soc, What then? 
 
 Streps. Wh y that i — t he thi ck and thin 
 
 Wrong-Reason. 
 
 Soc. But 'tis not with that that we begin. 
 
 With males of quadrupeds 'tis proper to commence. 
 
 Streps. I know the males, unless I've lost my common 
 sense: 
 Crios, Tragos, Tauros, Kuon, Alectruon — ^ 
 
 Soc. Ah, there ! stay, don't you see how you are over- 
 thrown ? 
 Alectruon you say at once for coch and hen. 
 
 Streps. By Neptune that I do ! How should I say it 
 then? 
 
 Soc. Alectruaina, female, and Alector, male. 
 
 Streps. Alectruaina ! Be the atmosphere my bail ! 
 I am so much obliged for being taught it thus ; 
 I'll put two doles of meal into your Cardopus. 
 
 Soc. Ah ! there again the Cardopus is feminine. 
 And you were wrong. 
 
 Streps. How did I make it masculine ? 
 
 Soc. Just like Cleonymus. 
 
 Streps. How so? explain. 
 
 Soc. In ' us ' ; 
 
 So Cardopus would be just like Cleonymus. 
 
 * ' Earn, Buck, Bull, Dog, Cock,' evidently the first elements of Gram- 
 mar. As it is impossible to carry out the corrective instructions here 
 given, if the English equivalent of 'Alectruon ' is used, in this case, and 
 in ' Cardopus,' the original words are retained. ^ Cardopus ' signifies a 
 kneading-trough. A noun ending in os (or, as in the latinised form, in ns) 
 is generally masculine, but cardopus formed one exception. The addition 
 of the definite article in Greek, enabled Socrates to recognise that Strep- 
 siades has assigned the right gender ; but it appears that he, perhaps 
 representing some grammarians of the day, would have had the noun 
 reformed into a feminine termination, in e. The terminations ' 6r ' and 
 * ama ' are by rule respectively masculine and feminine. 
 
160 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [573-596. 
 
 Streps. Cleonymus has not a Cardopus at all. 
 But kneads his meal up in a pipkin round and small : 
 But how must I hereafter say it ? 
 
 Soc, Cardope ; 
 
 Just as you call your wife or daughter Sostrate. 
 
 Strejps. So, Cardope the feminine ? 
 
 8oc. Yes, that's the name. 
 
 Streps, If so, I ought to make Cleonyme ^ the same. 
 
 Soc, Now as to Proper Nouns, or human names, they 
 should 
 As masculines and feminines be understood. 
 
 Streps. I know the feminines. • 
 
 Soc. Say some, that I may know. 
 
 Streps. Lucilla, Philinna, Demetria, and so. — 
 
 Soc. And which are masculine ? 
 
 Streps. They make a largish class, 
 
 Philoxenus, Melesias, Amynias. 
 
 Soc. Why these, you varlet, are not masculines at all. 
 
 Streps. Not masculines ! how so? 
 
 Soc. Having a wish to call 
 
 Amynias to you, what, tell me, would you say. 
 
 Streps. What would I say ? why, ' Here this way, 
 Amynia.' 
 
 Soc. See there you make a woman ^ of him ! 
 
 Streps. Eight enough ; 
 
 He never fights. But wherefore should I learn this stuff 
 That everybody knows ? what is the use of it ? 
 
 Soc. 'Tis of no use. Lie down. 
 
 Streps. For what ? 
 
 Soc. To whet your wit 
 
 By meditation. 
 
 Streps. Not abed, I do implore. 
 
 If lie I must, do let it be upon the floor. 
 
 Soc. No, no, it cannot be allowed. 
 
 Streps. I go my way 
 
 Unto the bugs ! Ah what a penalty to pay. 
 
 ^ To mark his want of manliness. 
 
 ^ The terminations ' a ' or ^ ^ ' are feminine. But the vocative case of 
 a masculine in ^ as ' or ' (^s ' drops the final consonant, and gives occasion 
 to Socrates to make his reproof, probably at the cost of some Amynias 
 well known to the audience. 
 
697-628.] CLOUDS. 151 
 
 8oc, Now meditate, and inside out 
 
 Turn your conjectures. If a doubt 
 
 Raises debate. 
 And cbecks the stream ; then take a theme 
 
 Less obstinate. 
 But let no mind-seducing sleep 
 One moment o'er your eyelids creep. 
 Streps. Oh dear, oh dear ! oh dear, oh dear ! 
 Soc. What is the matter, let me hear. 
 
 Streps, The bugs, the bugs ! The bed is filled 
 With bugs and I am being killed. 
 Here while I am lying thinking, 
 In my nostrils they are stinking, 
 Of my very life blood drinking. 
 They at least are never winking. 
 And I am gradually sinking. 
 Soc, Good man, don't grieve so very sadly. 
 
 Streps, Eh ? not when I am treated badly ? 
 My money's gone, my colour too. 
 My spirit's gone, gone is my shoe. 
 And last, like some lone sentinel. 
 
 While with a tune 
 I try my sorrows to dispel, 
 Gone too I shall be very soon. 
 
 [J. silence, 
 Soc, What are you doing ? are you meditating ? 
 Streps, I ? 
 
 By Neptune, yes. 
 
 Soc, And what your mind may occupy? 
 
 Streps, How much the bugs will leave when they begin 
 
 their fast. 
 Soc, An evil death to you ! 
 
 Streps. That, sir, is come ; and past. 
 
 Soc, Pooh, milksop : wrap the blanket round your head 
 and catch 
 A pure abstraction, some repudiative fetch. 
 
 Streps, The blanket is of wool ; I would that it had sent 
 Into my mind some very fleecing sentiment. 
 
 [Silence again. 
 
152 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [629-652. 
 
 Soc. Come now, I'll see this man, and how his ijiatter 
 
 You sir ; are yon asleep ? 
 
 Streps. Not I ; Apollo knows. 
 
 Soc, Have yon got anything P 
 
 Streps, No, not a ray of light. 
 
 Soc. Then slip beneath the clothes and think with all 
 your might. 
 
 Streps, But what about? do mention something, 
 Socrates. 
 
 Soc. Choose your own subject : you have but yourself to 
 please. 
 
 Streps, I want to know, a thousand times you've heard 
 me say it. 
 About the Interest ; how I may never pay it. 
 
 Soc, Then wrap the clothes about you and pursue the 
 thought. 
 Resolve it into atoms, and let each be brought 
 To several introspection by the inward eye. 
 
 Streps, Oh dear ! — 
 
 Soc, Be quiet. If it comes to nothing, — why. 
 
 Let it depart ; and give the sentiment a shift : 
 Again seize on a thought and follow up its drift. 
 
 Streps, Dear Soceates. 
 
 Soc. Eh? what? 
 
 Streps. My mind is in commotion ; 
 
 I've got a practical repudiative notion. 
 
 Soc. Declare it. 
 
 Streps. Tell me now. 
 
 Soc. What tell you? 
 
 Streps. If I buy 
 
 A witch of Thessaly, I'll draw down from the sky 
 The moon some night, and shut her in a round strong box. 
 Such as we use for mirrors, fasten it with locks — 
 
 Soc. How would that help you ? 
 
 Streps. How ? if I could but restrain 
 
 The rising of the moon, I never should again 
 Have interest to pay. 
 
 Soc. I don't see why, I own. 
 
 Streps. Because it was on monthly terms I took the loan. 
 
653-677.] CLOUDS. 153 
 
 Soc, That's pretty. Try another problem for your wit. 
 You owe five talents, say : a clerk writes out the writ : 
 How may you cancel it ? 
 
 Stress. Upon the thought I'll enter. 
 
 Soc. ' Keep not your sentiment too closely to its centre : 
 Give it the air, and let it wheel about your head. 
 As though it were a chafer fastened to a thread. [A silence. 
 
 Streps. I've got a clever plan for cancelling the writ. 
 Yon'U own it such. 
 
 Soc. What is its nature ? tell me it. 
 
 Streps. You know that sort of stone the oddment-dealers 
 sell, 
 A pretty thing, and you can see through it quite well, 
 'Tis used for lighting fires. 
 
 Soc. The lens you mean ? 
 
 Streps. A.ye, so. 
 
 Soc. Well what about it ? 
 
 Streps. If I had it I would go 
 
 Upon the sunny side, some distance from the clerk. 
 And fast as he could write — would melt out every mark.* 
 
 Soc. That's clever, by the Graces ! 
 
 Streps. I am gratified 
 
 To think how that five-talent writ was put aside. 
 
 Soc. Now, quickly hit me this. 
 
 Streps. What ? 
 
 Soc. How a man may parry 
 
 The judgment in an action, where he must miscarry 
 For lack of witnesses ? 
 
 Streps. That method's very short. 
 
 Soc. What is it? 
 
 Streps. I'll explain. I'll wait about the court. 
 
 Until they call the case that's next preceding mine, 
 Then I'll run out and hang myself upon a line. 
 
 Soc. That would'nt do. 
 
 Streps. It would : for I will wage my head 
 
 No one would carry on the case when I was dead. 
 
 Soc. You drivel. I will have no more to do with you. 
 
 * The clerk would use the common instrument of the time, a stylus, or 
 bodkin to write upon a tablet covered with a thin coating of wax. 
 
164 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [678-704. 
 
 8treps. Why, Socrates? Nay, by the Gods, I pray 
 
 you, do. 
 8oc, You're so forgetful, that one's teaching goes for 
 nought. 
 Now, tell me if you can, the first thing you were taught. 
 Streps, The first thing — let me see — the first thing — ah, 
 I know. 
 What is the thing? the thing in which we kaead our 
 
 dough ? 
 Oh, dear ! what is the thing ? 
 
 Soc, Out with you, feed the crows ! 
 
 A dotard with more dulness than a body knows. 
 
 [Socrates in disgust ascends to his hashet. 
 Streps, I have not learnt to quibble ; I am ruined quite. 
 What shall I do ? Oh, Clouds, advise me in my plight. 
 
 Clio. Old man, if you have got a son to serve the turn. 
 We would advise that you should send him here to learn. 
 
 Streps, Oh yes, I have a son, a pretty fellow too : 
 But he declines to learn : so what am I to do ? 
 Cho. But you permit it ? 
 
 Streps. Yes ; he's stout, and puffed with pride, 
 
 And comes of haughty people by his mother's side. 
 I'll go for him : and if he still is obstinate, 
 I'll turn him out of doors : and so, I beg you, wait. 
 
 [Exit Strepsiades. 
 Chorus {addressing Socrates). 
 
 See you what a living you will make of this ? 
 That is all the giving of us deities. 
 Lacking self-possession, that excited man 
 Lies at your discretion : snap him while you can. 
 Such a chance neglected, you are not to learn. 
 When you least expect it, takes another turn. 
 
 Strepsiades : Pheidippides. 
 
 Streps, Here, by the Mist, you do not stay : go, if you 
 please, 
 And eat the marble colonnades of Megacles. 
 
 Pheid. What is the matter ? by Olympian Jupiter, 
 I do believe that you are rather crazy, sir. 
 
705-728.] CLOUDS. 156 
 
 Streps. Ha-ha! ' Olympian Jupiter!' I can't but langli — 
 Believing Jupiter ! and you ! a full-grown calf. 
 
 Pheid. Why do you laugh at that ? 
 
 Streps. To think that you're a child 
 
 So much behind the times : no wonder that I smiled. 
 But come, I'll teach you what will make a man of you. 
 But you are not to tell it further if I do. 
 
 Pheid. Eh? what? 
 
 Streps. You swore ' by Jupiter ' just now. " 
 
 Pheid. I did ; 
 
 What then ? 
 
 Streps. You see how learning helps one to be rid 
 Of lies. There is no Jupiter. 
 
 Pheid. Indeed ! who then ? 
 
 Streps. Jove is deposed and Whirl is King of Gods and 
 men ! 
 
 Pheid. You're joking. 
 
 Streps. Not at all : I say 'tis true, young man. 
 
 Pheid. Who talks this nonsense ? 
 
 Streps. Socrates the Melian : ^ 
 
 And Ch^eephon, who knows the footmarks of a ilea. 
 
 Pheid. What? are you, father, reaUy crazed to that 
 degree 
 That you believe these moping madmen ? 
 
 Streps. Hush, my boy. 
 
 In speaking of such men do not these terms employ. 
 Long-headed men, who hold it waste to spend their means 
 On oil, soap, shaving, anything that cleans. 
 But you are wasting mine as though you thought me dead. 
 But come and be their pupil in your father's stead. 
 
 Pheid. What can one learn of value from such men as 
 those ? 
 
 Streps. Eh ? everything you may, that anybody knows. 
 You'll know yourself to be the booby that you are. 
 Wait here till I come back ; I am not going far. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 ^ Socrates had np connection with Melos. The epithet is here used in 
 order to throw upon Socrates the popular ill-fame of Diagoras, the Melian. 
 Diagoras was apparently a man much before his age. Having openly 
 scorned the traditional theology, he was persecuted as an atheist. 
 
156 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [729-750. 
 
 Pheid, Alas ! my father is beside himself. Shall I 
 Take him before the courts ? ^ or, seeing he will die. 
 Look for an undertaker ? 
 
 Re-enter Steepsiades carrying a cock and a hen. 
 
 Strejps, (showing the cock). I should like to know 
 What you call this, my lad ? 
 
 Pheid. Alectruon. 
 
 Streps. So, so. 
 
 And this (showing the hen) 9 
 
 Pheid. Alectruon. 
 
 Streps. Kidiculous indeed ! 
 
 What ? both the same P In future, pray, with better heed. 
 Call this Alectruaina, — this one Alector. 
 
 Pheid. Alectruaina ? And is this the precious store • 
 Of learning you have gathered from the Sons of Earth ! ^ 
 
 Streps. Aje is it : and besides much more of equal 
 worth. 
 But, more's the plague of it, that everything I'm told 
 Goes faster out than in, for I have got too old. 
 
 Pheid. And is it then for this your upper coat is gone ? 
 
 Streps. Not gone exactly, but — I scorn to put it on. 
 
 Pheid. And how have you consumed the shoes in which 
 you stood? 
 
 Streps. Like Pericles's talents they are gone — ' for 
 good.' ^ 
 But come, come ; let us go. Set off the ' little sense ' 
 Against an act of filial obedience. 
 Tor I remember when you were a babbling child. 
 Some six years old, and how your winning ways beguiled 
 Your siUy father with his first court fee ^ to part 
 To buy you at Diasia a little cart. 
 
 ^ Thfi equivalent to our ' taking out a statute of lunacy.' 
 
 ^ ' Gegeneis,' that is ' Giants ' ; the allusion is to the conspiracy of the 
 * Giants ' to displace Jupiter and the other denizens of Heaven. 
 
 ' In rendering an account of some public money which had passed 
 through his hands, Pericles set down some talents as spent ' for a proper 
 purpose.' The account was allowed without further question. It was 
 understood that they had been spent in bribes at Sparta. 
 
 * The oboles which he had received for a day's service as dicast. 
 
761-776.] CLOUDS. 157 
 
 Pheid. Hereafter you will mucli regret this step I doubt. 
 
 Streps, Enough., if you obey. — Here, Socrates ! come 
 out. 
 I've brought my son to you, but much against his will. 
 
 8oc. {from his hanging hashet) . A babe in knowledge, who 
 has yet to climb the hill. 
 But in the court of wisdom suitor ^ let us hope, 
 
 Pheid. You'd be a wsigged thuit^ if hung upon a ii;ope. 
 
 Streps. Out on you ! You revile the master of the school. 
 
 Soc. ' Upon a wo^q ' indeed ! Observe the lisping fool. 
 How can a man like that be taught to cross an action. 
 To handle witnesses, or prove to satisfaction 
 That black is white by nice degrees of shade ? — and yet 
 Hyperbolus acquired the art to bilk a debt. 
 And only paid a talent as his master's fee. 
 
 Streps. Teach him. Be not afraid. He's sharp enough 
 you'll see. 
 I tell you when he was, oh, such a little boy, 
 He used to cut out boats, and he could any toy ; 
 And made a little house, and glued it all together, 
 And little waggons too he made with strips of leather. 
 And wonderful the frogs out of pomegranate rinds. 
 Ah, if he could but learn those reasons of two kinds : 
 The Eeason for the Right and Eeason for the Wrong, . 
 Which always shows itself insuperably strong. 
 Or, let him keep to that, learn that at any rate. 
 
 Soc. He shall be taught them both, by hearing them 
 debate. 
 
 Streps. I'll go ; but recollect, he shall be taught and 
 must. 
 To answer any case however true and just. 
 
 [Exit Strepsiades. 
 
 * A slight variation on the original is here made in order to retain a 
 play upon words, and the reference to the shabby clothes of Socrates. It 
 appears from the reply of Pheidippides that it was then the habit of 
 yomig gentlemen of fashion to be affected or slovenly in pronunciation. 
 Probably the actor who personated this young man had throughout given 
 the drawl or proper mispronunciations ; but it does not seem worth 
 while to write them except in this instance. 
 
158 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [777-802. 
 
 Enter Right-eeason and Weong-eeason, suspended in 
 hasJcets and dressed as fighting -cochs, 
 
 Right-Reason, Come on : I do not tliink you fear. 
 
 Let the spectators see your face. 
 Wrong-Reason. Just where you please : the more to hear. 
 
 The more will witness your disgrace. 
 R, R. Disgrace me ! will you ! who are you ? 
 W, R. I'm Reason. 
 
 R. R. Aye, the worser too ! 
 
 W, R. And you the better, so you say. 
 
 But I will beat you. 
 R. R, In what way ? 
 
 W. R, By sentiments of new invention. 
 R. R. Aye, such I know have won attention ; 
 
 For these are fools [towards the audience), 
 W, R, Because they're wise. 
 
 R. R. I'll overthrow you. 
 W. R, What your art ? 
 
 R, R, Mere righteousness. 
 W, R. But I'll devise 
 
 Good reason on the other part. 
 
 I say the thing does not exist. 
 R, R, Not righteousness ? 
 W, R, If so, where is 't ? 
 
 R, R. Among the Gods. 
 W, R, N^ay, sure it died 
 
 When Jupiter his father tied. 
 R, R, Oh ! frightful ! this is worse and worse. 
 
 I'm sick — 
 W, R, And old and want a nurse. 
 
 R, R, You profligate and shameless hound ! 
 W, R, Your words are roses ; I'm beholden. 
 R, R You low buffoon ! 
 W, R. I'm lily crowned. 
 
 R. R. You strike your father ! 
 W, R, That is golden. 
 
 R, R, You heretofore were trimmed with lead.^ 
 W, R, But now wear gold about my head. 
 
 ^ No further explanation of this expression is given than ' had in dis- 
 honour.' 
 
803-840.] CLOUDS. 159 
 
 R, B. Sir, jour audacity is great. 
 W, B. Your fashions, sir, are out of date. 
 B. B. The rising youth decline to go. 
 Through you, to schools. 
 Athenians will one day know. 
 
 And rue it, what you teach the fools. 
 W, B. Your raiment is the worse for use. 
 B, B. And yours, I see, is very spruce. 
 
 Though once a beggar dressed in rags 
 As Telephus ^ you used to greet us. 
 And hoarded your scrap-hints in bags 
 Picked up from Pandeletus. 
 W. B. What clever things — B. B. Infatuation ! 
 W. B. Do you recall?— i?. B. The city's too; 
 Which, to its ruin, leaves to you 
 The rising generation. 
 W, B, Then will you, Saturn, keep a school 
 
 For this man's education? 
 B. B. If he desires a healthy rule. 
 
 And not mere declamation ! 
 W, B. {to Pheid.) Come ; leave his dotage till it's spent. 
 B. B. You will regret if you consent. 
 Chorus. Now leave your virulent debate. 
 And tell us how to educate. 
 You, sir, explain the ancient plan ; 
 You — how to make the modern man : 
 That, having heard your several schemes. 
 He may elect as good it seems. 
 B. B. I am quite willing. 
 W. B. So am I. 
 
 Chorus, Which shall begin and which reply ? 
 W. B. Let him begin. Then from his stuff 
 I'll pick conceptions new and trim 
 Shall make me dainty shafts enough 
 
 To settle him. 
 Or, if at last he dares to grunt, 
 
 I wiU let loose a hornets' nest 
 Of notions on him, rear and front. 
 And lay him in eternal rest. 
 
 ^ The allusion is to the drama of Euripides, in which Telephus is 
 represented as a beggar. See Acharnians, 1. 368. 
 
100 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [841-864. 
 
 Chorus. With mental throes, and wordy twists, 
 Here meet two shrewd antagonists 
 
 To win a day. 
 Each, as the other, confident ; 
 Which has the best in argument 
 
 Will they display. 
 The cause is great, the lists are free. 
 
 And Wisdom is the prize. 
 On her the friends who foUow me 
 Have set their constant eyes. 
 Thou, who didst our elders crown with 
 
 noble morals, as with bays. 
 Show thy dispositions, and the 
 
 voice, in which thou gloriest, raise. 
 B, JR. I will tell the ancient fashions, 
 
 how your fathers trained their youth ; 
 When men listened to my words of 
 
 justice, soberness, and truth. 
 Seemly boys were made to walk the 
 
 streets in silence all together. 
 Bare-foot, bare-backed ; shining, snowing, 
 whatsoever was the weather. 
 So they sought their music-master's ; 
 
 where they learnt by his assistance, 
 ' Pallas, sacker of the cities,' 
 
 or, ' The cry that sounds at distance,' • 
 With their harmony according 
 
 to the strict primaeval version. 
 For if any played his pranks or 
 
 ventured on his own insertion. 
 Turns, and trills, and variations, 
 
 such as Phrynis has invented. 
 Stripes informed the innovator 
 
 'twas a taste to be repented. 
 In the School of Exercises, 
 
 motion, posture, voice, and eye, 
 All were cared for, all were ruled to 
 
 manliness and modesty. 
 
 * The initial lines of old martial songs. 
 
865-880.] CLOUDS. 161 
 
 Daintiness was not permitted : 
 
 none would take tlie lettnce-lieart, 
 Or partake his herb until his 
 
 seniors had had their part. 
 Fish was not for striplings' palates. 
 
 Noisy levity was stopped. 
 Woe to him who crossed his legs, 
 W, B. when 
 
 you were all grasshopper-topped ! * 
 Kept ' Boufonia ' and ' Dipolia,' 
 
 and Cecides was your poet ! 
 B. B, Such our training was ; I call the 
 
 men of Marathon to show it. 
 Now you teach your tender boys to 
 
 muffle themselves up in clothing. 
 Wherefore, lad, elect for me, and 
 
 look upon this rogue with loathing. 
 You will learn to scorn the warm baths, 
 
 and eschew the market-place. 
 Made a jest of, you will have an 
 
 honest blush upon your face. 
 You, when elder men are come in, 
 
 will know how to yield a seat. 
 You will think it shame your parents 
 
 disrespectfully to treat. 
 Never call your father ' Japet,' ^ 
 
 or withhold a reverence due. 
 Scorn-requiting him who spent his 
 
 love and substance upon you. 
 All your character an image 
 
 of a proud and worthy shame. 
 Not by wanton word or gesture 
 
 will you smirch an honoured name. 
 
 * Thucydides mentions, among habits whicli had passed away, the 
 fashion of wearing the hair in a knot, brooched with golden grasshoppers, 
 probably symbolic of their claim to be Autochthones, ' children of the 
 soil.' It must be understood that the religious feasts here referred to 
 had passed away, as ' May-games ' or ' pilgrimages to Canterbury ' with 
 us. 
 
 2 One of the Titan sons of Heaven and Earth, father of Atlas and Pro- 
 metheus. It will be seen that the order of these lines is slightly changed. 
 
 M 
 
102 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [881-908. 
 
 W, B, Help us, Bacclms ! if you listen 
 
 to this ancient proser, you will 
 Oust Hippocrates's litter,^ 
 
 boys will call you ' water-gruel.' 
 E. B. You wiU be in good condition 
 
 for the boxing, wrestling, races ; 
 Much unlike our modem idlers 
 
 chaffing in the market-places. 
 Undisturbed by petty actions, 
 
 spun into perplexities, 
 Tou in the Academy ^ will 
 
 run beneath the olive trees. 
 For yourself and your companion 
 
 twining chaplets by the way, 
 Eedolent of ivy-berries 
 
 and of happy holiday ; 
 When the poplar buds are bursting, 
 
 when ye glory in the spring. 
 When the breeze is in the leaves and 
 
 Plane to Elm is whispering. 
 Take my counsel ; give your thought 
 To do the things I say you ought. 
 Broad and strong your chest shall be. 
 Your complexion bright to see, 
 You shall have your arms well hung. 
 Stalwart shoulders, slender tongue. 
 Otherwise, be as the rest, 
 Notable for narrow chest. 
 Sallow skin and feeble knees. 
 Monstrous tongue and — long decrees. 
 
 And finally receive 
 That Good is but a make-believe ; 
 
 That foul is fair. 
 And Honour is not anywhere. 
 Chorus. Sweet is the air that breathes from thy discourse, 
 Thou, whose firm feet with undiminished force 
 The castled steep of wisdom love to climb ; 
 Oh happy were the men of olden time. 
 
 ' The sons, or as by a little perversion of the original word they were 
 called the * pigs/ of Hippocrates passed as a proverb for ^ boobies.' 
 ^ The grove Academia. 
 
909-931.] • CLOUDS. 163 
 
 Now thou, whose Muse has smiling airs to catch 
 Our preference, come forth to meet thy match. 
 So well hath he sustained the ancient ways. 
 That thou some unsuspected points must raise 
 To wrest our judgment unto his defeat ; 
 Or earn thyself the scorn that boasters meet. 
 W, B. I really have been almost choked 
 
 waiting for his conclusion : 
 And long with reasonable views 
 
 to put him to confusion. 
 I know that I have got the name 
 
 among the Meditators 
 Of ' worser ' Reason. Why ? Because, 
 
 the first of good debaters, 
 I dared to meet old saws and laws 
 
 with open contradiction. 
 What ? if I take the weaker side 
 
 and yet induce conviction ? 
 It is a talent better worth 
 
 than any money gaining. 
 See now, how I will overthrow 
 
 this boasted plan of training. 
 At once, I cannot understand 
 
 what ground he has for viewing 
 Our Baths with such disfavour that 
 
 warm water must be ruin ! 
 JB. R, It is a most disgraceful thing, 
 
 and makes a man a coward ! 
 W, E. Stay there : I have you round the waist, 
 
 and you are overpowered. 
 Of all the sons of Jupiter, 
 
 tell me, who was the bravest P 
 And, as to hardships, underwent 
 
 by far the most and gravest ? 
 jB. E. For me, I reckon Hercules 
 
 the best among the bold ones. 
 W. B. And who, pray, ever thought the baths ^ 
 
 of Hercules were cold ones ? 
 Yet never was there braver man. 
 
 ^ The Thermae, * warm springs/ Thermopylae, were said to have been 
 produced by Minerva for the refreshment of Hercules. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 COMEpiES OF AlilSTOPHANES. [931-946. 
 
 B, B, This is the common babble 
 
 That empties the Gymnasium 
 
 and fills the Baths with rabble. 
 W. B. Then he proscribes the Market-place, 
 
 where all the wise and witty 
 Meet as in common Council on 
 
 the business of the City. 
 He calls the habit bad ; but I 
 
 affirm it for the best ; or 
 Assure yourselves that Homer would 
 
 have never called his ^TSTestor 
 The ' market-man/ ^ the Councillor, 
 
 as others of good credit. 
 I pass, however, to the ' tongue ' ; 
 
 for lads he seems to dread it : 
 That cannot I at all approve. 
 
 But that which is the oddest. 
 Is his enforced prescription that 
 
 a young man should be modest ! 
 For Modesty, (and if you can, 
 
 confute me and deny it) 
 You never saw or heard of man 
 
 who got advantage by it. 
 B. B. Aye many ! Peleus ^ got a sword 
 
 with beasts to do his battle. 
 W, B. Poor devil for his modesty ! 
 
 a broad sword : and was that all ? 
 Hyperbolus,^ and not for lamps, 
 
 nor modesty's reward, sir. 
 Has got his thousands, sterling cash : 
 
 and not a simple sword, sir. 
 
 ^ ' Agora,' the market-place. ' Agoretes/ the designation of Nestor. 
 Our habits do not afford a pair of kindred words in the same relation. 
 
 ^ Peleus having been slandered, like Joseph in the house of Potiphar, 
 was exposed to the risk of becoming the prey of wild beasts in a wilder- 
 ness. The Gods sent to him a sword forged by Vulcan for his self- 
 defence. 
 
 ' Referred to in the Pence as successor of Cleon. He was a lamp- 
 dealer, and had the repute of liaving enriched himself by the fraud of se- 
 cretly loading his lamps with lead, and selling them by weight as solid 
 bras^. It must be supposed that he also was not famous for his modesty. 
 
947-967.] CLOUDS. 165 
 
 You doat, old man. — But, modest youth, 
 
 I'd Lave you think at starting 
 How many pleasant things in life 
 
 you never can have part in ; 
 Wife, children, Cottabus, good wine, 
 
 fish dinners, fun and laughter I 
 And if all these are gone away, 
 
 is life worth living after ? 
 Well, be it so. Be virtuous ; 
 
 at least intend to be it ; 
 But under some temptation slip, 
 
 and let a tattler see it : 
 You're ruined quite. You cannot speak. 
 You have no word to offer. 
 Take part with me, and be yourself, 
 
 a wag, a scamp, a scoffer. 
 You are detected in the act ; 
 
 ' detected ' — ^but what matter ? 
 Your words are stout, you face it out : — 
 
 it all goes off in chatter. 
 Or, at the worst, some God has done 
 
 the like : and you cut short all 
 Reflections on your virtue by 
 
 alleging — ^you are mortal. 
 B, B. Your art may make him profligate ; 
 
 but can you heal the sorrow. 
 That comes as sure as night on day 
 
 on Profligacy's morrow ? 
 W, B. Pooh, Profligacy's sorrow ! there 
 
 you show yourself but queasy : 
 If I can satisfy you that 
 
 these pains are very easy ? 
 B. B, I'll hold my tongue hereafter. 
 W, B. Say, 
 
 Our learned pleaders what are they ? 
 B. B, They're profligates. 
 W. E. And what are those 
 
 Who for the Tragic stage compose ? 
 B, B, They're profligates. 
 
B. 
 
 B. 
 
 W.B. 
 
 B. 
 
 B. 
 
 W.B. 
 
 B, 
 
 B. 
 
 166 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [967-990. 
 
 W, B, The people's choice, 
 
 Directors of the public voice ? 
 B. B. They're profligates. 
 W. B, You see that these 
 
 Endure the pains you fear with ease. 
 
 Now look the audience round, and see. 
 
 Which find you in majority ? 
 
 I'm looking round. 
 
 Which have it ? say. 
 
 The profligates must have the day. 
 
 I know that fellow sitting there, 
 
 And this one with the length of hair. 
 
 Say, have you had enough of it? 
 
 Aye. I am beaten, and submit. 
 
 [Combatants withdrawn, 
 
 Steepsiades, Socrates, Pheidippides. 
 
 Soc. Have you determined ? will you take your stripling 
 hence ? 
 Or shall he learn of me the art of eloquence ? 
 
 Streps, Teach him, and spare him not. You'll sharpen 
 up one cheek 
 That he may like a thorough pettifogger speak. 
 The other you shall whet that he may bear a part 
 Not undistinguished in the higher branch of art. 
 
 8oc. Fear not : a perfect sophist you shall have him 
 
 back. 
 Pheid, And, as I fear, a pale-faced miserable hack. 
 Cho, Go now. 
 
 Pheid. Unless I judge amiss, 
 
 One day you wiU repent of this. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 Chorus, We, the Clouds, think right to mention 
 what you, Judges, may expect 
 If we meet with kind attention. 
 
 And your judgment is correct.^ 
 
 * That is to say, in assigning the prize in the dramatic contest to this 
 comedy. 
 
991-1008.] CLOUDS. 167 
 
 Wlien you set about your cropping, 
 
 breaking up your fallowed swards. 
 You sball have our early dropping ; 
 
 others not till afterwards. 
 When your T'ines put out their promise, 
 
 we will care that they shall get 
 Not too little moisture from us, 
 
 nor be surfeited with wet. 
 But if you should venture scorning 
 
 Our Divinity, — beware ! 
 We accord you timely warning 
 
 how your insolence shall fare. 
 You henceforth shall never bring in 
 
 pleasant produce from your farm : 
 Yolley after volley flinging, 
 
 we will try to do a harm 
 To the vine and olive setting : 
 
 we will batter them to sticks : 
 We will never cease from wetting 
 
 when we see you making bricks. 
 Then a hail shall crack your tiling, 
 
 big as pebble-stones at least. 
 And when you are spruce and smiling, 
 
 looking for your marriage-feast, 
 We will set the rivers swelling 
 
 all the night ; and you shall say, 
 ' Would that Egypt were my dwelling ' ! ' — 
 
 — If you judge amiss to-day. 
 
 Enter Strepsiades, carrying a sack of meal. 
 
 Streps. The fifth, the fourth, the third, and after that 
 the second. 
 And after that, of all the days that can be reckoned, 
 The one in all the month I hate and fear the worst. 
 Aye, then comes that abominable ' last-and-first ' ! ^ 
 
 ^ In Egypt, says Herodotus, it never rains. 
 
 ^ Strepsiades is looking forward to the first of the month, when his 
 debt and interest would become due. The Greeks reckoned the days of 
 the month towards a point in advance. So the last four days of the 
 
168 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES, [1009-1038. 
 
 My creditors are pledged, for so at least they swear. 
 
 To see me ruined, though I ask them to forbear : 
 
 ' Good Sir, a little time ; ' ' you wiU take less than that ; ' 
 
 ' Remit it ; ' but they are unanimous and flat 
 
 In their refusals. ' That,' say they, ' is not the way 
 
 ' To get our own again.' And they must needs display 
 
 Suspicion of me ! Say — I am a rogue ; in short, 
 
 That they will 'court' me. Well, then, let them go to court. 
 
 I do not care about it if Pheidippides 
 
 Has learnt the art of speaking. Be it as they please ; 
 
 I soon will know. I'll knock at Meditation-hall. 
 
 Boy, boy !— 
 
 Soc. Strepsiades ? Ha ; is it you who call ? 
 
 Good morning to you. 
 
 8treps, Worthy Sir, the same to you. 
 
 And I have brought, you see, the master's proper due. 
 
 [Deposits the sack of meal. 
 How fares my son with you ? and is he yet complete in 
 His studies ? 
 
 8oc. Perfectly. 
 
 Streps. Good, by most mighty Cheating ! 
 
 Soc. He can defeat with ease the strongest action known. 
 Streps. If witnesses were present when I took the loan? 
 Soc. A thousand if you like ; it makes the case so clear. 
 Streps. If that be so, I must sing out my hearty cheer. 
 Woe to the money that's lent ! 
 
 Woe to the men who lend it ! 
 Hey, for the money that's spent ; 
 
 I am the man who spend it. 
 Money put out is gain. 
 
 Interest makes it double ; 
 Paying it back is pain ; 
 
 I will have no such trouble. 
 I have a son, and he a tongue 
 / With double edge, and trimly hung, 
 
 month were tlie 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd before the first. This day was 
 expressed by a compound phrase, which, without etymological accuracy, 
 is here rendered Mast-and-first.' The original has this plurality of 
 form : it will be seen by the sequel that it was necessary to preserve and 
 emphasize it. 
 
1039-1062.] CLOUDS. 160 
 
 Born to support his house and name, 
 And bring my enemies to shame. 
 
 Go, bring him hither ; run. 
 
 Here, to thy father, son ! 
 
 Enter Pheidippides. 
 
 8oc, See, here he is. 
 
 Strejps. This is a joy ! 
 
 Boc, Take him and go. 
 
 Btrejps. Ha ! ha ! my boy ! 
 
 How charmed I am to see your white and yellow tint ! 
 One sees at once there is repudiation in't. 
 And contradiction. You have caught the local fashion — 
 ' What say you. Sir ? nay, pray, don't get into a passion ; 
 You say that you are injured. Doubtless ; I see through 
 
 it; 
 Yes, injury there is, and you're the man to do it.* 
 You have upon your face the thorough Attic sneer. 
 You've ruined, you must save, me. 
 
 Pheid. What is it you fear ? 
 
 Streps. The first-and-last day. 
 
 Pheid, Eh ? how call you that a day ? 
 
 Streps, 'Tis when my creditors will pay the fees,^ they 
 say. 
 
 Pheid, Then must they lose the fees. 'Tis patent as the 
 sun; 
 Two days are clearly two, and never can be one. 
 
 Streps. They cannot. 
 
 Pheid, No ; unless you are disposed to own 
 
 A woman may at once be young girl and old crone. 
 
 Streps. But yet it is the law. 
 
 Pheid, People have not the gift, 
 
 Eeading the law, to see its drift. 
 
 Streps. What is its drift ? 
 
 Pheid. Old Solon had an eye to popularity. 
 
 Streps. But what is ' last-and-first ' to that ? I cannot 
 see. 
 
 * To commence an action the plaintiff paid in to the proper officer the 
 Court-cost by way of deposit j if he gained his cause he recovered the 
 amount from the defendant. 
 
170 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1063-1094. 
 
 Pheid, On two days, ^ last and first,' the summons should 
 be made ; 
 The first day of the moon the fees were to be paid. 
 Streps. Why did he add the ' first ' ? 
 Pheid. Dull man ! that the defendant 
 
 Upon the former day might pay and make an end on't ; 
 That failing, on the morrow when the moon is new. 
 The rigour of the law should make him pay his due. 
 
 Strejps. Why do the magistrates accept the fees so soon 
 Upon the ' last-and-first,' and not on the new moon? 
 
 Pheid. It seems to me, they act like tasters at a table ; 
 They like to taste the fees as soon as they are able. 
 And so they get them in a whole day in advance. 
 
 Strejps. {contemptuously toivard the audience) . Poor people. 
 There you sit in blessed ignorance ! 
 That men of sense may use you ; number, nothing more ; 
 Blocks as it were, or sheep, or barrels in a store. 
 So that, with none to listen but myself, I raise 
 My self-congratulating voice in songs of praise. 
 Happy man Strepsiades is ! 
 Clever (that's as nature pleases). 
 Only see what he has done — 
 Educated such a son ! 
 All our neighbours envious 
 Will be talking of us thus ; 
 When the plaintiffs are defeated. 
 When the creditors are cheated. 
 But come you in, my boy, and dine ; 
 The dishes are prepared, and wine. 
 
 ■ [Exeunt, 
 
 Enter Pasias, a Creditor, with his Witness. 
 
 Pasias. Why should a man be bound to throw away his 
 own? 
 He is not. But it had been well to let alone 
 This traffic, and have borne the shame of saying ' no,' 
 Rather than serve a friend and then be treated so. 
 See, here am I obliged, all for this money's sake, 
 To drag you here to be my witness, and to make 
 
1095-1113.] CLOUDS. 171 
 
 A fellow-townsman enemy. But while I live 
 
 My country shall not be ashamed of me.^ I'll give 
 
 The summons to Strepsiades. 
 
 Enter Steepsiades. 
 
 Streps, What's this about ? 
 
 Pas, The last-and-first. 
 
 Streps, {appealing to the witness). He said, and you will 
 bear me out, 
 Two days. What debt are you pretending to enforce ? 
 
 Pas. Twelve minse which you borrowed for the star- 
 marked horse. 
 
 Streps, A horse ! you know I hold all horsing in disgust. 
 
 Pas. You swore, by all the Gods, you would redeem the 
 trust. 
 
 Streps. By Jove, that was before Pheidippides had 
 learned 
 The -counter -logic which cannot be overturned. 
 
 Pas. You do not therefore mean to try repudiation ? 
 
 Streps. How else should I be answered for his education ? 
 
 Pas. On oath before the Gods, if called, will you demur to 
 The justice of my claim? 
 
 Streps. What Gods do you refer to ? 
 
 Pas. Jove, Mercury, and Neptune. 
 
 Streps. Jove ! I have you there. 
 
 I'll pledge three oboles extra for the chance ^ to swear. 
 
 Pas. Perish the perjurer ! out on your impudence ! 
 
 Streps. Some salt would do you good to flavour you with 
 sense. 
 
 Pas. Scoffer. 
 
 Streps, You'll take six pecks. 
 
 1 
 ness 
 
 2 
 
 That is, for any falling off from the Athenian character for litigious- 
 
 In defect of witnesses on the part of the plaintiff in an action for money, 
 the defendant would he put upon his oath. Diagoras, referred to before 
 (note, p. 155), is said to have renounced his faith in the traditional Deities 
 in consequence of such an incident. On suing for a sum of money he had 
 lent he was met by the oath of the defendant denying the fact of the 
 loan. 
 
172 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [1113-1134. 
 
 Pas. Bj Jupiter tlie Great, 
 
 A nd all the Gods, you'll not escape me at that rate ! 
 
 Streps. I'm tickled at your Gods. To men of sense like 
 us. 
 Swearing by Jupiter is quite ridiculous. 
 
 Pas. Some day you'U pay for this. But answer, yes or no, 
 Do you intend to pay your debt ? and I will go. 
 
 Strejps. Stay here a moment and I will distinctly say. 
 
 [Steeps, goes into the house. 
 
 Pas. What, think you, will he do ? 
 
 Witness. I think that he will pay. 
 
 [Strepsiades returns with a kneading -trough. 
 
 Streps. Let anyone who says that there is money due 
 Tell me what this is. 
 
 Pas. That? a Cardopus. 
 
 Streps. And you 
 
 Ask me for money ! No. I'll pay no obolus 
 To one who calls a Gardope a Cardopus. 
 
 Pas. You'll not refund ? 
 
 Streps. Not if I know it ; you may go. 
 
 And speedily. 
 
 Pas. I wiU : but for a surety know. 
 
 As I'm alive I'll pay the fees and start the suit. 
 
 [Exeunt Pasias and Witness. 
 
 Streps. You'll lose your dozen minse and the fees to 
 boot. 
 And 3^et, in truth, I'm sorry you should suffer thus 
 For your simplicity in saying Cardopus. 
 
 Enter Amynias. 
 
 Amyn. Woes me, woes me ! 
 
 Streps. Whence come such mourning notes as these ? 
 Or was it one of Carcinus's ^ Deities ? 
 
 Amyn. What's that you ask? I am a man in deep 
 dejection. 
 If you would know. 
 
 ^ Carcinus had introduced in Tragedy some deity or hero making 
 unseemly lamentation. Some of the lines which here follow are said to 
 be either quoted or parodied from Carcinus. Hence, it seems probable, the 
 reference to * Tlepolemus/ a character in one of these dramas. 
 
1134-1161.] CLOUDS. 173 
 
 Streps, Then do not scatter the infection. 
 
 Amyn, Oil utter breakdown of my horses ! Oh cursed 
 spite 
 Of luck ! oh Pallas, thou hast ruined me outright. 
 
 Streps, What ? has Tlepolemus wrought you a grief so 
 sore? 
 
 Amyn, Fling not your scoffs at me, but bid your son 
 restore 
 The money he has had, as well for honesty. 
 As that my fortune seems to have deserted me. 
 
 Streps. What money might that be ? 
 
 Amy 71, He had it as a loan. 
 
 Streps, Your fortune does appear extremely bad, I own. 
 
 Amyn, I've had a heavy fall ; indeed I drove too fast. 
 
 Streps, You're rambling, like a man who has been 
 donkey-cast. 
 
 Amyn, And is it rambling to demand my own again ? 
 
 Streps, "fou cannot be quite sound, that's obvious. 
 
 Amyn. WTiat then ? 
 
 Streps. Your brain is shaken. 
 
 Amyn. 'Tis as clear to me that you 
 
 Will be in court unless you pay me what is due. 
 
 Streps. Tell me, I beg, if you suppose that Jupifcer 
 Rains water new each time ? or, do you. Sir, prefer 
 The view that 'tis the sun which through the nether air 
 Draws the same water back ? 
 
 Amyn. I neither know nor care. 
 
 Streps. And can you ask your money back without 
 compunction 
 When you know nothing of the meteoric function ? 
 
 Amyn. Nay if you really are at fault for it, at least 
 Pay me the interest. 
 
 Streps. Tell me what sort of beast 
 
 Is Interest ? 
 
 Amyn. What else but that the little store 
 
 Of money month by month and day by day grows more 
 And more as time flows gently on. 
 
 Streps. Nicely explained ! 
 
 Now tell me, if you think the sea at all has gained 
 Upon its ancient bulk ? 
 
174 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1161-1191. 
 
 Amyn. By Jupiter, not it, 
 
 It is but common sense to think so, — not a bit. 
 
 Streps. Then, blockhead, if with aU the rivers ever 
 flowing 
 Into the sea, you say, it never yet is growing. 
 Can you desire to make your stock of money more ? 
 Go follow up your own pursuit : there is the door. 
 Hey there ! bring me a whip. 
 
 [Strepsiades lashes Amtnias. 
 Amyn, I do — I do protest. 
 
 Streps. Get up; you're lazy. Sir,- and hang behind the 
 
 rest. 
 Amyn. Nay, this is insolence. 
 
 Streps. I'll make you show your paces. 
 
 I'll tickle you and make you tighten up the traces. 
 
 [Exit Amynias. 
 So, So ! You're running now. I thought that I could 
 
 move you. 
 You and your rattle-traps. A breathing will improve you. 
 
 [Exit. 
 Chorus. How sad is this propensity to cheat ! 
 Therewith infected, this old man 
 With tricks his creditors will treat 
 
 And rob them if he can. 
 Before the day is out, a something will 
 
 This scheming sharper overtake. 
 And for his aim conceived so ill 
 
 A fair requital make. 
 He'll find, methinks, that which he went to seek. 
 
 His son wiU prove a clever wight, 
 With capability to speak 
 In honesty's despite. 
 So much that he shall get the best. 
 Whoever may with him contest ; 
 Although he dresses with all art. 
 The pure and simple scoundrel's part. 
 And he, the father, wish in vain 
 He had a wordless son again. 
 [Strepsiades running, followed hy Pheidippides. 
 Streps. Oh! oh! 
 
1191-1220.] CLOUDS. 176 
 
 Here neighbours, kinsmen, fellow-townsmen, run to me. 
 Defend me ; I am being beaten shamefully. 
 Oh ! oh ! m J wretched head ; you hit me in the face ; 
 Yillain, you strike your father ? 
 
 Pheid. Yes, that is the case. 
 
 Strejps. You see, that he confesses it. 
 Pheid. Oh yes, they heard. 
 
 Streps. You villain, you ! you parricide, you gallows-bird ! 
 Pheid. Repeat the words, and any more you can produce. 
 There's nothing pleases me so much as such abuse. 
 Streps. You infamous ! 
 Pheid. Another rose. 
 
 Streps. You strike your father ! 
 
 Pheid. That I admit, by Jove : I justify it rather. 
 Streps. You profligate, how will you justify such sin ? 
 Pheid. That I'll explain ; and speaking undertake to 
 
 win. 
 Streps. You'U. argue that, and win ? 
 Pheid. ^J^y that will I with ease. 
 
 And of the Eeasons you may take which one you please. 
 Streps. What Eeasons ? eh ? 
 
 Pheid. The Worse and Better. 
 
 Streps. 'Twas to fruit 
 
 I had you taught the art to beat an honest suit. 
 If you will undertake to prove by arguing 
 That beating fathers is a fit and proper thing ! 
 
 Pheid. That thesis I will take and make so very clear 
 You cannot answer it. 
 
 Streps. That should I like to hear. 
 
 Chorus. Old man, if you your ground would hold 
 
 Against a man so shrewd and bold. 
 
 Look well on either hand. 
 He never would have been so bad. 
 Be sure, unless he felt he had 
 
 Some ground on which to stand. 
 But you should tell the Chorus first. 
 
 What spark between you two 
 To such a flame of discord burst. 
 So, that proceed to do. 
 
176 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1221-1256. 
 
 Streps. Aje, truly ; I will tell you that : 
 
 And he was the beginner. 
 'Twas thus. We both at table sat 
 
 (You know we went to dinner). 
 Amongst the kind of melodies 
 
 There's one I'm fond of hearing, 
 A ballad of Simonides, 
 
 About the ram and shearing. 
 ' Sing that and try this lyre of mine/ 
 
 Said I : but in a passion 
 He said that singing with your wine 
 
 Was quite gone out of. fashion. 
 Pheid. 'Tis so. And when I spoke in vain, 
 
 A thrashing was quite proper, 
 To teach you not to entertain 
 
 A guest like a grasshopper.^ 
 Streps, Aye, that he said within : and he's 
 
 Quite willing you should know it. 
 He said, besides, Simonides 
 
 Was but a middling poet. 
 'Twas trying to be treated thus, 
 
 But willing to content him, 
 I, asking for some JEschylus, 
 
 The myrtle-chaplet sent him.^ 
 ' The prince of bards is ^schylus,' 
 
 Said he, in tone sarcastic, 
 * But turbulent, precipitous. 
 
 And something too bombastic' 
 To hear him speak in such a way. 
 
 Of course was most provoking, 
 But I restrained myself to say. 
 
 Albeit nearly choking, 
 ' The moderns write with greater ease. 
 
 And taste beyond correction. 
 Pray favour me with one of these. 
 
 And make your own selection.' 
 
 ^ The Cicada, the chirping of whick seems to have been regarded as 
 cheerful. 
 
 2 The chaplet was passed to the guest who was going to sing or recite: 
 he, it appears, passed it on as a ' call ' on another of the party. 
 
1257-1296.1 
 
 CLOUDS. 
 
 177 
 
 Pheid. 
 
 Streps. 
 
 Pheid, 
 Chorus. 
 
 Pheid. 
 
 Therewith he took Euripides, 
 
 And sung a horrid fable. 
 Made up of immoralities. 
 
 Of course I left the table. 
 I made him feel, while they were hot, 
 
 My scorn and indignation. 
 He answered me : and so we got 
 
 To sharp recrimination. 
 Then leaping up quite suddenly. 
 
 He struck and got me under ; 
 And kicked and strangled me : that I 
 
 Am living is a wonder ! 
 He disapproved Euripides ! 
 
 It was quite right to strike him : 
 A man of such abilities 
 
 That there is no one like him ! 
 Abilities ! — but I abstain, 
 
 I must not speak too lightly, 
 Or he will set on me again. 
 
 And serve you very rightly. 
 Now, all young men are in a flutter 
 To hear what this sharp lad will utter. 
 If he his case should win. 
 
 And justify his deed ; for me 
 
 I would not at a single pea 
 Appraise an old man's skin. 
 It is your business, engineer 
 
 Of forces in debate. 
 To make your arguments appear 
 
 To have the greater weight. 
 'Tis pleasant living in the reign 
 
 Of mental revolutions. 
 And looking with sublime disdain 
 
 On ancient institutions. 
 When I was occupied about 
 
 The going of my horses, 
 I could not speak three words without 
 
 Missing my proper courses; 
 But since my father stopped me there. 
 
 And I have been expanding, 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1297-133'4 
 
 By studious thought and constant care, 
 
 Mj powers of understanding, 
 I undertake to prove the right 
 
 Of sons to beat a father. 
 Streps, Then drive again with aU your might ; 
 
 For very much I'd rather 
 Maintain four horses, car and aU, 
 
 Than bear the filial beating. 
 Pheid, You interrupt me. I recall 
 
 The point that I was treating. 
 Pray did you ever beat your son ? — 
 
 I wait for your reply. Sir. 
 Streps, Of course I did — 'twas kindly done 
 
 To make you grow up wiser. 
 Pheid, Since kindness then in beating lies, 
 
 I am not an abuser. 
 If I beat you to make you wise. 
 
 But simply kind to you. Sir. 
 Why should your body be reserved 
 
 From stripes although you need 'em. 
 And mine exposed ? I'm tender nerved 
 
 And bom like you in freedom. 
 Children may cry : 'tis not denied. 
 
 Then why not fathers ? Say you, 
 The law approves the blows applied 
 
 To make a child obey you. 
 But are not dotards children twice ? 
 
 And if you find them swerving 
 From wisdom's common way to vice. 
 
 Of stripes much more deserving ? 
 Streps, But such a law was never heard 
 
 As gave a son permission 
 To beat his father — 
 Pheid. Stay : a word : 
 
 Who made the prohibition ? 
 If such there be. At any rate. 
 
 Who makes a father free. Sir, 
 To beat his son, if obstinate ? 
 
 But men like you or me, Sir. 
 
1335-1372.] 
 
 CLOUDS. 
 
 179 
 
 Then what forbids that any day, 
 
 And at a public meeting, 
 I make a law that sons shall pay, 
 In kind, their fathers' beating. 
 The law shall not, we will agree, 
 
 Have ex-post-facto action. 
 But beatings had before shall be 
 
 Without their satisfaction. 
 Cocks beat their fathers when they please. 
 
 And creatures game and tame do ! 
 Except in making of decrees. 
 Are we not all the same too ? 
 Streps, If precedents you go to search 
 
 Among the hens and chickens. 
 Go you and roost upon a perch 
 And live on dunghill pickings. 
 Pheid, The ratios are not alike, 
 
 3 1^ And Socrates would say it. 
 Streps, Then you be cautious how you strike. 
 
 Or you perhaps may pay it. 
 Pheid, How so ? 
 Streps, Your rights are on your son ; 
 
 Treat him as you were treated. 
 Pheid, But if I never should have one, 
 My rights would be defeated. 
 Streps, He's right, my friends. I will be taught : 
 His arguments affect me. 
 And if I do not what I ought, 
 May't please him to correct me. 
 Pheid, One striking sentiment hear yet. 
 Streps, 1 yield you all my senses. 
 Pheid, And you may think without regret 
 
 On your experiences. 
 Streps, How so ? they have been sad indeed ; 
 
 And how can they be other ? 
 Pheid, As I beat you — I pray you heed — 
 
 I now will beat — My Mother. 
 Streps, What do you say ? — What can you mean ? 
 Such monstrous deed was never seen ! 
 
 n2 
 
180 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1373-1402. 
 
 Pheid. If with the Reason for the Wrong 
 I make it clear by process strong 
 That mothers should be beaten too ? — 
 Streps. There would be nothing else to do 
 But that foul Wrong to take, 
 
 And Socrates with it ; 
 And one long leap to make 
 Into the Bottomless Pit.^ 
 And this then is, ye Clouds, the recompense I meet 
 For having laid myself devoutly at your feet ? 
 
 Gho, Nay, friend, you have none other than yourself to 
 blame 
 For having turned aside to ways of evil aim. 
 
 Streps. Why did you warn me not before it was too late, 
 But let the poor old man be quite infatuate ? 
 
 Cho. Ever it is our way, when we behold a man 
 Bent upon evil courses, to abet his plan ; 
 Till through misfortunes we can lead him to the mind 
 In reverence to the Gods his certain strength to find. 
 Streps. Your words to me, oh Clouds, are bitter, but most 
 just. 
 I should not have attempted to belie a trust. 
 And cheat my friends. But now, aid me, my dearest son. 
 To wreak my wrongs on Socrates and Chserephon. 
 
 Pheid. I cannot lend myself to wrong my masters. Sir. 
 Streps. Nay, nay, but reverence our Guardian Juj)iter. 
 Pheid. Our Guardian Jupiter ! again that musty creed 
 Is there a Jupiter ? 
 
 Streps. There is. 
 
 Pheid. There's not indeed ; 
 
 Since Jupiter is driven out and Whirl is king ! 
 
 Streps. Jove's not deposed. True, once I thought this 
 whirling ^ thing 
 Was truly Jove and King. I was a monstrous fool. 
 Pheid. I'll take my leave of you to let your folly cool. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 * See note at the end on the character of Pheidippides. — The Pit. See 
 note, Plutus, 381. 
 
 * A modification is here made in order to give to the reader some idea 
 
1403-1428.] CLOUDS. " 181 
 
 Streps, How came such madness on my silly brain to 
 seize, 
 That I should throw away the Gods for Socrates ? 
 But, dearest Mercury, be not too much enraged. 
 That I, the fool, was with such chatterers engaged. 
 Advise me, shall I risk a process and indict them ? 
 Or do you know a better manner to requite them ? 
 
 [Applies his ear to an image of Mercury. 
 ' Appeal not to the law,' you say ; aye, very good ; — 
 ' But burn the house which holds the prating brotherhood.' 
 Fetch out the ladder, Xanthias, and bring an axe ; 
 Mount to the roof and strike its timbers till it cracks. 
 Quick, let your zeal appear by hastening its fall ; 
 And pluck about their ears their Meditation-hall. 
 Bring me a lighted torch, I'll make some pretty ruins. 
 Which shall for me requite the coxcombs for their doings. 
 
 First Disciple {rushing out). Ho, ho, there ! 
 
 Streps, Go, my torch, and do thy business blazing. 
 
 Is^ Dis, HuUoa, Sir, what are you about ? 
 
 Streps, I'm simply raising 
 
 A nice discussion with the rafters of this dwelling. 
 
 2nd Dis, {rushing out). Ah ! who was that who threw 
 the blazing torch which fell in ? 
 
 Streps, The man whose coat you stole. 
 
 2nd Dis, You'll ruin us, my friend. 
 
 Streps, Exactly : 'tis the very thing which I intend, 
 Unless the mattock should my ardent wishes check, 
 Or I by some unlucky fall should break my neck. 
 
 Enter Socrates and Ch^erephon". 
 
 Soc, Hey ! you Sir, on the roof, what are you doing there? 
 Streps, Contemplating the sun, and walking on the air.^ 
 Soc, Oh, my misfortune ! I am being suffocated. 
 Cheer, And I, unhappily, am being incremated. 
 
 answerable to the self-justifying allegation of Socrates. It is supposed 
 that he referred to a large sort of vase called by the same name as 'whirl ' 
 or ' vortex.' It is at least supposable that he may have referred to some 
 ^ turnabout ' representation of Mercury near the door, such as that 
 alluded to in Plutus, 1153, especially as we see directly afterwards that 
 Strepsiades does address ' Mercury ' and apparently receives an answer. 
 * Vide line 198. 
 
182 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1429-1434. 
 
 Streps, Why did ye dare the Gods on Science' lofty 
 height ? 
 Why of the Moon demand how she dispenses light ? 
 For many reasons, follow, strike, and pelt, and ply them, 
 But chiefly to avenge the Gods insulted by them. 
 Chorus, Let us depart. Lead on the way. 
 For we have danced enough to-day. 
 
 The moral crisis of the comedy and the character assigned to Phei- 
 dippides seem to have been often misapprehended. It is assumed that 
 Pheidippides is a profligate, whose moral corruption the Sophists have 
 completed, so that he at last beats his father and justifies it. Not S9. 
 He is no profligate. His father was a rogue from the beginning, but 
 Aristophanes has been careful to preserve the son from all assent to his 
 father's kntwrish intentions. His worst fault is a touch of that Megacles' 
 blood, which{|fc|fc6i?ies him to the aristocratic taste for horseflesh. Strep- 
 siades, who is^^iurl, does not like to spend money on such tastes. He 
 would like to redeem it by defrauding his creditors ; creditors whom 
 Aristophanes has been careful to make not common money-lenders. Not- 
 withstanding that he has such a father, Pheidippides carries his filial duty 
 so far as to consent to become a scholar of the Sophists. Butjlt is with 
 his own aim, not with his father's. It is to obtain the faculty which he^ 
 will use to redeem his father from his infatuation. He comes out 
 accomplished in the art of maintaining either side of a question. He 
 practises this upon his father even to justify father-beating. But even 
 this, as Pheidippides finds, does not open the old man's eyes to the 
 immorality of the rogue-rhetoric which he is invoking against his credi- 
 tors. It is not until Pheidippides goes on to justify mothei'-heating that 
 StrepsiadS'ffis "corrected. Then the work of Pheidippides is done ; his 
 father recognises his son's good purpose and principle, and confidently 
 asks him to join in the onslaught upon the Sophists. But the taste of 
 Aristophanes withdraws him from so mean an action. The Sophists had 
 done Strepsiades no wrong. They had not corrupted his principles or 
 his son's. But they had enabled his son to vindicate the fundamental 
 principles of morality, so that such a rogue as Strepsiades should become 
 sensible of duty. In truth, the part and character assigned to Pheidip- 
 pides is remarkably Socratic. He is corrective ; indirectly corrective ; 
 he is an embodiment of that most delicate moral habit Elpuvda. He 
 plays a part, and assumes a character, not his own, in order effectually to 
 convict another of false principles. Viewed in this light, the character of 
 Pheidippides is the most original which Aristophanes put upon the stage. 
 It is conceived and carried out with admirable art. It is true that this 
 view interferes with the construction of the comedy as an argument 
 against Socrates. But what of that ? Aristophanes appropriately sup- 
 plies the deficiency of moral force by recommending the application of 
 'mattock' and Horch.' The Athenians were not persuaded, and the 
 dramatist was deeply mortified. 
 
WASPS. 
 
INTEODUCTION. 
 
 This comedy was produced in the year following Aristo- 
 phanes' great disappointment with Clouds, The introduc- 
 tion, put into the mouth of Xanthias, seems to bear marks 
 of chagrin and resentment. The poet had flown at the 
 highest game, at Euripides and popular taste in poetic 
 art, at Cleon and the demagogues, at Socrates and the 
 professors of science. But the reception given to his 
 pieces had not answered to his hopes. Probably the am- 
 bition of Aristophanes looked for more success than the 
 mere crowning of his Chorus ; he hoped to stem and turn 
 public opinion. He now told himself that his themes had 
 been too high for the audience which he had to please. 
 On the present occasion they should look for ' nothing very 
 great,' an argument not above common understandings. 
 
 The result is what has been pronounced ' the feeblest of 
 the pieces of Aristophanes.' Yet, as this comedy contains 
 at least a strain of humour, not only equal to the best of 
 Aristophanes, but rarely surpassed by any humourist, such 
 an epithet must at least be restricted to its comparative 
 force. The humorous conception which especially cha- 
 racterises it has been followed by Eacine in 'Les Plaideurs.' 
 But the piece is prolix and unequal ; unequal in the worst 
 form, in that it falls off; so much so, that the translator, 
 addressing himself to the fastidious English reader, has not 
 here ventured to carry the translation beyond the break 
 for the Parabasis, and even to that point has taken great 
 liberty of abridgment ; greater, he is well aware, than will 
 be readily conceded to him by those whose taste has been 
 already Aristophanised. Carried to the point which is 
 here translated, the comedy arrives at a climax of humour 
 which could not be sustained through a second part, unless 
 indeed the old Dicast was himself to appear before the 
 
186 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 court as a defendant. It seems as if tlie poet had really 
 intended this, but that the plot was too long for his space. 
 But, as it is, to produce the old man under the tutelage of 
 his son, tipsy upon the stage, and with all the follies and 
 vices of a roue young man, is a downfall in moral which 
 vexes one. Better, one must feel, that he should have 
 continued for ever the rigid old Dicast, through whose 
 incorruptible fingers, at least, no rogue ever slipped. 
 
 For the elucidation of the comedy it does not seem 
 necessary to enter into any detail of the judicial system of 
 the Athenians, beyond what will be supplied by the comedy 
 and some notes. 
 
 Besides the high court of Areopagus, there were the or- 
 dinary tribunals. All citizens were qualified to sit upon their 
 judicial benches. Under an official president, the office of 
 these dicasts was doubtless more like that of jurymen with 
 us than judges : those who were willing to act gave their 
 names in to a public officer ; lot determined to which court 
 each man should be appointed ; he received a ticket bear- 
 ing the number of his court for the day. It does not 
 seem that the number of dicasts in any court was limited. 
 For the day's service, or for each cause, each dicast re- 
 ceived the fixed fee of three oboles. It was probably in 
 consequence of the war pressing all the population into the 
 city, that the number of applicants for this pittance, by 
 way of eking out a livelihood, was enormous. A line in this 
 comedy (Greek 662, Trans. 442) is quoted as authority for 
 the number, 6,000. If it were not for the distinct word of 
 Aristophanes that these were ' dicasts,' one would suppose 
 that it must include all those who received pay for attend- 
 ing public meetings at the Pnyx.^ 
 
 There is no need to dilate upon the vicious consequences 
 of such a judicial system ; this is just what the satirist 
 proposes to expose. 
 
 The comedy obtained the first prize. 
 
 ^ Clinton, Fast. Hell. p. 70, estimates the usual attendance at the 
 Pnyx at about 6,000 j being rather less than one in three of the adult 
 male citizens. 
 
gramatb |)er5aim. 
 
 Love-Cleon. 
 
 Hate-Cleo]!^, son of Looe-Cleon. 
 
 Xanthias."! 
 
 r Slaves in the household of Lovc-Cleon. 
 SosiAS. J 
 
 Chorus of Dicasts, dressed as Wasps. 
 
 Boys, attending on Chorus. 
 
 A Dog. 
 
 Dog Seizer^ a mute person. 
 
Scene. — In front of the house of Love-Cleon, which is 
 covered with netting. Two slaves, Xanthias and SosiAS. 
 Time — night, 
 
 Xanthias, Hold, while I give the audience to understand 
 That this is no great matter which we have in hand. 
 We task no simple wits, we strike at no high prey, 
 But just present the men and thoughts of every day. 
 Our master, yonder, on the roof, and fast asleep — 
 An independent man — has set us here to keep 
 Strict watch upon his father, who requires a warder, 
 As being subject to a curious disorder — 
 You will not guess it : try. — Amynias, I hear. 
 Suggests, the love of dicing. No : he is not near. 
 
 Sosias, By Jove, he judges others' ailments by his own. 
 
 Xan. But it begins with Love ; I let so much be known. 
 ' The love of drinking,' Sosia whispers to his neighbour. 
 
 Sos, Nay, that's an ailment under which good fellows 
 labour. 
 
 Xan. Mcostratus says — but you're all beside the mark ; 
 You will not hit it. Come, I'll lead you through the dark. 
 'Tis love of Court- work ; yes, administering law. 
 If not the first upon the bench, you never saw 
 Man so distracted. If he sleeps, he's dreaming, 
 And ever wakes with his three fingers closed, as seeming 
 To drop a ballot in an urn. A cock that crew 
 Some hour or so after the sun was down, he knew, 
 Had been corrupted by some rogue to make him late. 
 Supper is scarcely cleared away, when he can wait 
 No longer ; calls for shoes, is off, his place to keep. 
 And, like a limpet, on a column drops asleep. 
 That he may never want a pebble for his votes. 
 He keeps a shingle-beach at home : so much he dotes. 
 His son, in grief at this, has tried what counsel could 
 To move him from his fancy ; but it did no good. 
 
190 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [31-53. 
 
 A course of water-treatment failed ; then Corybanting ^ 
 Impelled him to the new court with a timbrel ranting. 
 Religion and its rites proved unavailing thus ; 
 We took him to the shrine of -^sculapius,^ 
 Crossing the water ; there we laid him down at night, 
 But he appeared in Chancery ^ with morning light. 
 Since that, we keep him in the house ; but stiU he found 
 Means to escape us through the sewers underground. 
 Whereon we looked for every hole, and stuffed them all 
 With shards and rags. But he drove pegs into the wall. 
 Whereon, supported like a daw or parrakeet. 
 He clambered down and made his way into the street. 
 Thus driven to our last resource, besides the setting 
 A constant guard, we have enclosed the house with netting. 
 The old man's name is Love-Cleon, as well it may ; 
 His son is Hate-Cleon, high-minded in his way. 
 
 Hate-Cleon {calling from the outside) . Heigh ! slave, are 
 you asleep ? 
 
 Xan, and Sos, What, Sir P 
 
 H.-G, Come here — ^by Jove ! — 
 
 My father — run — has got into the bath-room stove. 
 And hides himself, and runs about it like a mouse ; 
 Look to the funnel, else he'll get upon the house. 
 Lean you against the door. 
 
 [Xanthias runs out and returns. 
 
 Sos. Aye, Sir. 
 
 H.-G, I hear a scraping 
 
 r the chimney {loohing up). Who are you? 
 
 Love-Cleon {appearing out of the chimney). Only the smoke 
 escaping. 
 
 H.-G, The smoke ! what ! bring me here a slab — the 
 kitchen table. 
 
 [Hate-Cleon ascends to the roof drives 
 Love-Cleon down, and puts the table 
 upon the vent, 
 
 ^ The Corybantes were priests of Cybele. Their rites were those of 
 madmen dancing. It appears that a course of this was sometimes pre- 
 scribed medically. It must be understood, too, that the water-treatment 
 was at once medical and religious. 
 
 2 At ^gina. 
 
 3 Within the Cancelli or railing which separated the dicasts In their 
 court from the suitors and public. 
 
54-78.] WASPS. 191 
 
 A log above — there now : escape if you are able. 
 
 The door, — man, push with all your might. I'll help you 
 
 too. 
 Look to the bolts : beware, he'll break the cross bar through. 
 [Love-Cleon inside, trying to force the door. 
 
 L.-G, You wretches, let me out. I will — I must — in short, 
 Dracontides will be acquitted by the court. 
 
 jEf.-O. And that you could not bear. 
 
 L.-a At Delphi I was told 
 
 If ever a defendant should slip through my hold 
 And get acquitted through an act of mine, that I 
 Should pine away. 
 
 H.-G. Apollo ! what a prophecy ! 
 
 L.-G. I do beseech you let me out ; I shall be dead. 
 
 H.-G. By Neptune, never. That is positively said. 
 
 L.-G. Then I will gnaw the net. 
 
 H.-G. But that you cannot do : 
 
 You have no teeth. 
 
 L.-G. How can I make an end of you? 
 
 Give me a dagger or a verdict-board.^ 
 
 H.-G. He's bent 
 
 On mischief. 
 
 L.-G. No, but let me out : I only meant. 
 
 To-day is market-day, and I should like to sell 
 The ass and panniers. 
 
 H.-G. 1 can do that just as weU. 
 
 Xan. It is a trick to make you let him pass the gate. 
 
 H.-G. He does not take his fish, for I perceive the bait. 
 Fetch me some stones to block the door. By Jove ; I'd 
 
 rather 
 Be set to counter- wall Scione ^ than my father. 
 
 Sos. Now he has not a hole through which a mouse 
 could creep. 
 Why may we not lay down, and get a snatch of sleep ? 
 
 H.-G, No no : his bench-fellows thinking to find him 
 waking, 
 Will soon be here. 
 
 * That which is here represented as a weapon for murder is a tablet on 
 which the President would mark the result of the Dicasts' votes. 
 
 ^ A city on the peninsula Pallene, which, having revolted from Athens, 
 was now being blockaded by the Athenians. 
 
192 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [78-98. 
 
 80s. How so ? The day is scarcely breaking. 
 
 H.'C. Pooh! they are late this morning. Commonly they 
 come 
 Soon after midnight, by their lantern-light, and hum 
 Some new-old-fashioned catch of Phrynicus. 
 
 80s. Why not 
 
 Despatch a flight of pebble-stones amongst the lot ? 
 
 H.-G. As well to meddle with a nest of wasps as such 
 Old men, distempered. They have got a sting, whose 
 
 touch 
 Is of the keenest ; and they use it, dashing, crying. 
 Like sparks about one's head from kindled brushwood 
 flying. 
 80s. That would not frighten me. If I had got the 
 stones, 
 I would disperse a swarm of such judicial drones. 
 
 [Exit Hate-Cleon. Xanthias and SosiAS 
 sit down he/ore the door, and fall asleep. 
 
 Enter Chorus, attended hy Boys carrying lanterns. 
 
 Chorus. Come on, come on. Why, Comias, 
 
 we do not step together. 
 By Jove you are not what you were 
 
 when you were tough as leather. 
 Charinades would beat you now. 
 
 What ho ! my Strymodorus, 
 The model dicast of our day, 
 
 and any time before us, 
 Where's Chabes ? where's Euergides ? 
 
 Ah, there they are behind me. 
 And is that all that now is left 
 
 of Chabes to remind me 
 Of that night in Byzantium ? 
 
 (to think how one remembers) 
 We stole the baker's kneading-trough 
 
 and turned it into embers 
 To cook our greens. But come along : 
 
 Here is a smell of honey. 
 Laches will be arraigned to-day 
 
 and he, they say, has money. 
 
99-130.] WASPS. 193 
 
 So Cleon warned us yesterday 
 
 to come this morning early, 
 And bring with us a store of wrath 
 
 to keep us three days surly. 
 So quicken step ; and let the light 
 
 be everywhere directed, 
 That anyone who is about 
 
 may be at once suspected. 
 Boy, Mud — father, look, or you will stick. 
 Choregus. Pick up a straw and clear your wick. 
 Boy. My finger can do that : look here. 
 Choreg. Your finger, fool : and oil so dear. 
 Look at the growth upon the wick, 
 
 and notice how it sputters : 
 Within four days I say there will 
 
 be water in the gutters. 
 Aye, here is our companion's house. 
 
 But what can ail our neighbour ? 
 He was not wont to be a slug, 
 
 or hanger-back from labour. 
 What can it mean ? not at his door ? 
 I never knew it so before. 
 It may be he has lost his shoes ; 
 
 Or, in the dark, has tripped within 
 And hurt his toe, or got a bruise ; 
 
 And inflammation has set in. 
 And, at his years, to get a fall ! 
 
 He will be missed. He had a heart 
 i^or hardness that could beat us all. 
 One never knew him take the part 
 Of pity : when the rest of us 
 Were well-nigh soft and credulous. 
 He would hold out, and be alone. 
 ' Mv friend/ he'd say^ ' you s r>?^.lr ^, stnTio,* 
 There was a man — it may be that — 
 
 Slipped through our fingers yesterday, 
 Swearing he was a ' democrat,' 
 
 And useful in the spying way. 
 That may have made our neighbour fret — 
 A likely man enough — and yet 
 
 
194 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPPIANES. [131-166. 
 
 May keep him fevered in his bed. 
 But, neighbour, drive such care away, 
 And do not die Eemorse's prey. 
 
 Pity it were that you were dead. 
 When we shall have before the court 
 
 A man upon the Thracian treason; 
 And very rich they say. In short. 
 
 Get up, and help us to have reason. 
 Love-Cleok" {within), 
 
 I, pining here, my friends, have heard. 
 Yes, through a crevice, every word. 
 But ah, I cannot join your song. 
 
 For I am guarded here and barred. 
 
 What can I do ? 'tis very hard ; 
 I can't get out, although I long 
 To join you at the voting-urn. 
 And do some man an evil turn. 
 Oh Jupiter, with lightning-stroke 
 Convert me into sudden smoke : 
 Resolve the solid thing I am 
 
 Into a Proxeniades, 
 Or son of sillus ; — something sham ; 
 
 Two vapouring inanities ! 
 Or, of thy pity, let thy flashes 
 Reduce my body into ashes ; 
 And these be caught away and blown. 
 
 To be in brine and acid stored. 
 Or make me at the least, the stone,* 
 
 On which the dicasts' votes are poured. 
 Cho, But what is this restraint about ? 
 
 Who dares to bar your coming out ? 
 
 Do say ; and be not nervous. 
 
 L.'G. Hush ! softly : — 'Tis my son : he's here. 
 
 Or sleeping somewhere very near ; 
 
 I fear he may observ^e us. 
 Cho, But, silly, wherefore is it done ? 
 What object in it has your son ? 
 
 ' When the dicasts had put their voting-pebbles into one or other of 
 the nms, these were emptied upon a stone in front of the president, and 
 counted. 
 
167-202.] WASPS. 1»5 
 
 Why should yon so accuse him ? 
 L,-C, He says, I shall not go to court ; 
 
 And undertakes my whole support ; 
 But stiffly I refuse him. 
 Cho, Because you spoke unpleasant truth 
 About the navy, dares the youth 
 To set us at defiance ? 
 L,-C, I'm very certain he would not. 
 
 Unless there were some horrid plot. 
 On which he has reliance, 
 Cho, But you must think about a plan 
 
 For getting down without his knowing. 
 Zv.-C Do only tell me how I can ; 
 
 So anxious am I to be going. 
 Cho, There is a hole, which if you please 
 
 You may enlarge and burrow through it. 
 L,-C, Aye, but the wall is not a cheese : 
 
 At present not a mite could do it. 
 Cho, Remember you outdid us all 
 
 At Naxos ' with that feat of daring. 
 When you slipped down the city wall. 
 The spits, which you had stolen, bearing. 
 L.-C, Aye, I remember ; but I feel 
 
 That this and that are divers cases : 
 Then I was young, and I could steal. 
 And let who would come on my traces ; 
 And nobody was then alarmed ; 
 • But here are watchers fully armed, 
 Set here and there, 
 To cut off my retreat. 
 Two of them stand 
 With a spit in each hand. 
 As though I were 
 A cat with stolen meat. 
 Cho, But think on some contrivance. See, 
 The day is breaking, busy bee. 
 
 * Besieged and reduced about fifty years before. It is noticed by 
 Thucydides as the first of the independent republics reduced to absolute 
 subjection by the Athenians after the Persian War. 
 
 o 2 
 
19G COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [203-220. 
 
 L,'G, This net must be surmounted, I 
 
 must gnaw its cords asunder. 
 Cho, Aje, gnaw away ; and all defy 
 
 to bring your proud soul under. 
 L,-G, There, there ; 'tis done, but mind my son, 
 
 make no incautious cheering. 
 Cho, I'm in the trim to deal with him ; 
 
 so venture, nothing fearing. 
 Now get a rope, and make it fast 
 
 upon some hook or pin, do. 
 A loop beneath your shoulders cast 
 
 and drop down from the window. 
 L,-C, But what if these two men should wake 
 while I in air am dangling ? 
 For they might come above and make 
 
 some sport of me by angling. 
 Cho. We will defend you, might and main, 
 
 with all our ancient mettle. 
 They shall not pull you up again ; 
 
 leave us with them to settle. 
 L.-C, Then I will venture it. But see, 
 
 if there be fatal failing. 
 Do pick me up and bury me 
 
 beneath the dicasts' railing.^ 
 [Hate-Cleon rushes in, and wahes the Slaves. 
 H.-C, Wake up, you dog. 
 
 Sos. Eh ? what sir ?— what ? 
 
 H,-C. I hear some voices humming. 
 
 Sos, What ? surely has the old man got — 
 H.-C, — a rope, and he is coming 
 
 Down from the window while you gape. 
 Sos, {to L.-C.) Ha ! I will show you which is 
 
 The way that you shall not escape. 
 H.-C, {to Xanth.) Go, run and take some switches. 
 And from the other window reach, — 
 
 you need not stint in thwacking ; 
 This rover we perhaps may teach 
 
 the simple art of backing. 
 
 See note ^ p. 190. 
 
221-241.] WASPS. 197 
 
 L.-G. To aid, all who intend to be 
 
 this year before us suitors ; 
 Or you will lose a friend in rae 
 
 by these my persecutors. 
 [Hate-Cleon and Slaves try to prevent Ms descent. 
 Chorus. Wherefore longer, wherefore should the 
 bilious anger be repressed, 
 Which is always ready when a 
 
 fool disturbs a hornets' nest : 
 Only such wiU dare it ; 
 Sharply stinging. 
 Vengeance bringing. 
 Draw, and do not spare it. 
 Children, throw your coats away, and 
 
 run as quickly as you can ; 
 Shout for Cleon ; tell him we have 
 
 got a monster of a man, 
 Who is preaching novel doctrine, 
 
 and subversion of the State ; 
 Saying, Dicasts are a nuisance, 
 
 which the City should abate. 
 H,'C. Nay, but hear me, my good fellows, 
 
 wherefore should you clamour so ? 
 Cho, Heaven shall hear and split before we 
 
 let our bench-companion go. 
 [Struggle for possession of Love-Cleon. 
 Xan, Hercules ! what stings they carry ! 
 Cho. They shall be the death of you. 
 
 All in order, full of fury, [through, 
 
 draw your stings and pierce them 
 Xan. See you, Master, what a weapon 
 
 each one to the battle brings ? 
 I am frightened at the look of 
 
 these abominable stings. 
 Cho. Then unhand our old companion ; 
 
 if you do not, I foretell. 
 You shall wish you were a tortoise 
 
 comfortably cased in shell. 
 L.-C. Bitter-hearted wasps, be at them, 
 
 fellow-dicasts, worthy friends, 
 
198 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [242-261. 
 
 Some of yon about their eyes, and 
 
 some abont their fing^er-ends. 
 H,-G, Hold him fast, yon Lydian mongrels ; 
 if yon let him get away. 
 Shod in fetters yon shall breakfast 
 
 npon nothing-broth to-day. 
 Let them bonnce, say I, and crackle ; 
 
 Idndled fig-leaves do the like. 
 Cho. Loose the man directly : yon will 
 
 snfPer for it if I strike. 
 L,-C. Cecrops ! do yon see this outrage ? 
 
 I am in these villains' grip. 
 Who have often filled a bucket 
 
 with their tears beneath my whip. 
 Cho. Truly this is one among the 
 
 sorrows which to age belong. 
 Here we see two men who do their 
 
 venerable master wrong ; 
 Quite forgetting all the coats and 
 
 waistcoats they have had of him. 
 All the caps, and all the shoes to 
 
 shield their feet in winter grim ; 
 All the purchase of his money I 
 
 Now we see the shameless dogs, 
 Lost to every decent feeling, 
 
 have no sense of ancient clogs. 
 L.-C, Yon ungracious beast, release me : 
 
 surely yon cannot forget 
 That one day, when in the vineyard 
 
 unexpectedly we met ; 
 Grapes you had been stealing, when I 
 
 led you to the olive tree ; 
 Where I gave you such a flogging, 
 
 that the others stood to see. 
 Pale with envy I — yet do you no 
 
 proper gratitude display ! 
 Now unhand me, you and you, 
 
 before my son here mns away. 
 H,-C. Thrash them ; smash them, Xanthias, and 
 
 drive the creatures from the place. 
 
262-288.] WASPS. 199 
 
 Xan, Aye, Sir ; that I'm doing ; but some 
 
 smoke would better suit the case. 
 Sos, Hang you, hornets ; vanish : will you ? 
 
 take this crack upon your crown. 
 Xan. That has settled them : I knew that 
 
 we in time must put them down. 
 
 [Chorus draw off beaten, 
 Cho, We must bow ; and you must reign ! 
 None so poor but they can see 
 I am cozened ; and again 
 
 Come the days of tyranny. 
 If with wickedness and pride 
 You may set the laws aside. 
 Not that you are eloquent. 
 And have won us to consent : 
 But because, and simply that. 
 You must needs be Autocrat. 
 If.-O. Can we not without a battle, 
 
 aye, without this noise and pother. 
 Quietly discuss the case, and 
 
 come to terms with one another ? 
 Cho. I discuss with you — a traitor. 
 Monarch-lover, people-hater. 
 Friend of Brasidas, who wear 
 
 Frin ges on your s kirts like those! 
 Aye^and cultivate the hair 
 
 Up to and beneath your nose ! * 
 H.-G. Better give my father up, and 
 
 be at once from trouble freed ! 
 Cho. Softly, Sir ; that calculation 
 
 indicates more haste than speed. 
 You are pleased to think of ease ; but 
 
 when the prosecutor tells. 
 Thus and thus you said and did ; and 
 
 your conspirators compels — 
 H.-C. Answer, by ihe Gods, I beg you, 
 
 will you take yourselves away? 
 If not I will stop and beat you 
 
 and be beaten all the day. 
 
 ^ These fashions were odious to the Chorus as being ^ Spartan.' 
 
200 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [289-309. 
 
 Cho, Never ! —Think not that of me. 
 
 When you threaten Tyranny. 
 jff.-O. Everything is Tyranny ; 
 
 and every man Conspirator \ 
 Whatsoever be his crime, 'tis 
 
 that a man must answer for. 
 Some while since it was a word we 
 
 had not heard for fifty year's ; 
 Now the name of Salt-fish is not 
 
 rung so often in our ears. 
 Even in the market-place the 
 
 term is vollied at one's head ; 
 If a man would buy a turbot 
 
 and declines a sole instead. 
 He who has the soles upon his 
 
 fish-board will at once exclaim, 
 
 * By his marketing 'tis clear that 
 
 Tyranny is this man's aim.* 
 If a man who buys anchovies 
 
 ask for fennel for the sauce, 
 
 * Fennel quotha ' — says a coster- 
 
 monger, looking very cross, 
 
 * Why should such as you want fennel ? 
 
 'tis a tyrant's dainty dish ; 
 
 * Is the city to be taxed to 
 
 find you sauces for your fisL? ' 
 Now, if I would get my father 
 
 to give up this way of life, 
 Early-getting-up-to-nourish- 
 
 pettifogging-spite-and-strife ; 
 And to be a gentleman ; I 
 
 am to bear the obloquy 
 Of conspiring to evert the 
 
 order of Democracy. 
 L,-C, Justly too. For pigeon's milk should 
 
 not entice me to give up 
 Such a life as I have chosen. 
 
 Do not think I care to sup 
 Daintily on skate and eels : a 
 
 dish which better hits my taste 
 
310-33G.] WASPS. 201 
 
 Is a pretty little quarrel, 
 
 cooked into a suit in haste. 
 jff.-O. Yes, I know these are your pleasures : 
 
 but I pledge my word to this, 
 I will prove, if you will listen 
 
 quietly, you judge amiss. 
 L,-G, I, a dicast, judge amiss ! 
 JB[,-G. ^y^j that you are the jest of those 
 
 Whom you only do not worship, 
 
 while they lea.d you by the nose. 
 Slave you are, and do not know it. 
 
 L.-G, Slave indeed ! I'm not a slave. 
 
 I am lord of all. 
 
 H.-G. Not you, Sir. You are but the working knave 
 Of the men you think you govern. 
 
 What advantage have you got 
 From receiving all the harvest 
 
 fruits of Greece ? I ask you what ? 
 L.-G. Much I say, and I am willing by that issue to abide. 
 H.-G. So am I. So now release him ; 
 
 and these ancients shall decide. 
 Ghorus. Now our pupil is upon test. 
 
 Risking all to win this contest. 
 He must striking skill employ 
 To gainsay this headstrong boy. 
 L.-G. What if I fail in my intent. 
 
 And his the better argument ? 
 Ghorus. I shall say that all our number 
 Are but so much ancient lumber. 
 Proper butts for random wit. 
 Things to look at, only fit 
 To carry walkingsticks and clothes, 
 Empty shells of broken oaths. 
 But, oh thou, on whom are all our 
 
 hopes of saving our dignity hung. 
 Open the case with tact displaying 
 
 all the powers of a voluble tongue. 
 L.-G. This I start from, this is the thesis 
 
 which I undertake to debate. 
 That the Dicasts' own dominion 
 
 is nothing less than a royal estate. 
 
202 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [337-356. 
 
 Who so blessed as the dicast ? 
 
 Find me an animal, if you can, 
 Half so pampered or so terrible, 
 
 more especially if an old man. 
 Soon as he leaves his bed in the morning, 
 
 and creeps off to the sacred space. 
 Strapping fellows six foot high will 
 
 humbly watch him and wait on his pace. 
 Presently I shall feel the fawning 
 
 courteous touch of a delicate hand. 
 That has filched the public monies. 
 
 Then when I stop the suppliants stand, 
 Making lament with broken voices : — 
 
 * Kind Sir, father, pity and spare : 
 If you ever were in office and [share : 
 
 should have fingered more than your 
 If you ever have cheated your comrades 
 
 when engaged to market for mess.' 
 This shall be said by a man who but when 
 
 he had some such favour to press 
 Never since I was born has seen me. — 
 ff.-O. I will make a memorial note. 
 
 ' Supplications,' 
 L,-G, Then, when entered, 
 
 thus besought to promise a vote. 
 First I wipe away ill humour ; 
 
 then I undertake to forget 
 Every promise of support which 
 
 I may have made to the people I met. 
 Then comes hearing all the various 
 
 tones in which their fear is expressed. 
 What is the art and shift of wheedling 
 
 which to a dicast is not addressed ? 
 Some their poverty fall to bewailing, 
 
 and supply in pitiful tone 
 Woes fictitious added to true griefs 
 
 till they almost equal my own. 
 Some have got a wondrous story ; 
 
 some with ^sop try to beguile ; 
 Some with a biting jest attempt to 
 
 carry my temper ofiP with a smile. 
 
357-370.] WASPS. 203 
 
 All this proving unavailing, [stage, 
 
 then are the children brought on the 
 Little girls and boys all standing, 
 
 one in his arms of the tenderest age. 
 I give them my whole attention. 
 
 All of them in symphony cry. 
 Treating me like his God, the father 
 
 falls to supplicating, — *If I 
 Hear the voice of a lamb with pleasure, 
 
 will I pity the voice of his boy ? 
 If the squeaking of sucking pigs is 
 
 such a sound as I rather enjoy. 
 May the cry of his little daughter 
 
 move me just to —pass his account ! 
 Surely a man so tender-hearted 
 
 will not stick for a little amount.' 
 Then will we relent a little. 
 
 Could I not in mockery sing. 
 When I see rich rascals cringeing ? 
 
 Is not this to be more than a king ? 
 H,-G. That I note again — your * mockery. "* 
 
 But, Sir, I am longing to hear. 
 How the benefits you derive from 
 
 governing Greece are made to appear. 
 L,-G, If before our court ^agrus ^ 
 
 has to establish his innocence. 
 He must give us a recitation 
 
 from his ' Niobe ' in his defence. 
 If a piper gets acquitted, 
 
 he of course must pay for the sport 
 By a melody played as an afterpiece 
 
 at the breaking up of the court. 
 Should a father make his wiU and 
 
 constitute his daughter his heir. 
 And by testament signed and sealed in 
 
 lawful form and manner declare 
 Such or such a friend shall marry her ; 
 
 we can say ' A fig for the seal : 
 We will find the girl a husband : ' 
 
 this we do without any appeal. 
 
 * A tragic actor. 
 
204 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPILA.NES. [377-408. 
 
 H,-C. And commit a great iniquity. 
 L,-C. Sucli is a dicast's common employ : 
 
 You would have me leave it, and call tlie 
 
 sum of my constant profit and joy 
 Service ! Slavery ! 
 H,-a Speak your fill. 
 
 L,-G, As to power to have my will, 
 
 Only Jupiter is my match ! 
 One indeed may often catch 
 Words that might be meant for him. 
 Or for me, when I am grim. 
 As when 'tis said with awe and wonder 
 ' Hark ! the court is launching thunder ! ' 
 Yes, I fling my fiery brands, 
 And your proudest kiss my hands. 
 You too tremble at my breath, 
 
 ^y®, by Ceres, that is true. 
 But, I take it on my death, 
 I am not afraid of you. 
 Chorus, We never listened to discourse 
 
 So lucid and so full of force. 
 L.-C. He thought, may be, to pick the grapes while ] 
 was out.^ 
 For that he knew my strength there cannot be a doubt. 
 Chorus. He took his points up one by one 
 With perfect ease, omitting none. 
 I seemed transported from the place, 
 And while I listened to the case, 
 To be a dicast and addressed 
 Within the Islands of the Blest. 
 L.-C, You see he is exhausted, lost in his surprise. 
 Nothing but whips to-day shall flit before his eyes. 
 Chorus, All that a wily man can do 
 
 You must attempt, young man, if you 
 Intend escaping. You will find 
 My disposition hard to grind ; 
 
 * Meaning ' to have it all his own way ' j — as a vineyard robber would 
 if the owner left his vines unwatchcd. 
 
409-425.] WASPS. 205 
 
 And the mill yon get shonld be of the best, 
 
 flinty stone and thoroughly dressed, 
 To reduce what I feel of angry zeal 
 
 against the mind you have expressed. 
 H.-G, High the aim and hard the task is 
 
 on this stage to try to abate 
 Mischief anciently engendered, 
 
 grown now into the life of the State. 
 Yet, oh Father, son of Saturn — 
 L.-O. Stop, you sir ! no ' fathering ' here : 
 
 I am a Slave, say you ; and if you 
 
 do not make that perfectly clear. 
 You shall die, though I must fast for it.^ 
 I will not be pitiful now. 
 H,-C, Nay good Daddy, do but hear me : 
 
 pray unknit that teiTible brow. 
 Now, to begin with, reckon roughly — 
 
 not with pebbles but on your hand — 
 At what figure for the total 
 
 may our public revenue stand. 
 Contributions from the cities, 
 
 taxes, with per-centage, fines. 
 Court-dues, port-dues, tolls at market, 
 
 sales of public property, mines. 
 Shall I say two thousand talents ? 
 
 Put the dicasts' pay for a year — 
 (Some six thousand ^ all included) a 
 
 hundred and fifty talents or near. 
 L.-C. Dicasts do not draw a tenth then ? 
 H.-G. No ; but what becomes of the rest ? 
 
 L.-G. That rewards the zeal of those whose 
 
 love for the People is never at rest. 
 H,-G. Yes, my father, these are the men who [guides, 
 cozen you, whom you take for your 
 
 * Those who had committed homicide were not allowed any portion 
 from the public sacrifices. 
 
 ^ 6,000 men at 3 oboles, would draw 18,000 oboles per diem, or half a 
 talent. The ' business ' days being reckoned at 300 in the year, the sum 
 named is accounted for. 
 
206 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [426-441. 
 
 They will take in bribes from the cities ^ 
 
 well-nigh fifty talents besides. 
 You are content with scraps and parings ; 
 
 they go off with the bulk of the prize. 
 This is a course that all may reckon on ; 
 
 so much so that, when the allies 
 See that the rabble of judges are lean and 
 
 do not share with the rest in the sweets. 
 You they treat as Connus's vote ; ^ but 
 
 rush to load the others with treats. 
 Baskets of salt-fish, wine, embroidery, 
 
 pillows, honey, sesame, cheese, 
 Goblets, clothing, liquors, chaplets, 
 
 and in fact whatever they please. 
 But to you, the lord of empire, 
 
 will they give for the matter of that 
 Not so much as a head of garlic, 
 
 if you wish to flavour a sprat. 
 L,-G. Eight, by Jupiter ! Not so long since 
 
 Eucharides denied to me three. 
 But you wear me out with waiting 
 
 for your proof of my slavery. 
 H,-G. Slavery ! what is it else when those who 
 
 hold high offices carry away, 
 By themselves and by their flatterers, 
 
 every post of credit and pay ? 
 While you take your mean three oboles : 
 
 aye, and requite the disburser with thanks. 
 You, who won them watching, marching, 
 
 fighting every day in our ranks. 
 Then to bow and take your orders — 
 
 yes, that throttles me more than it all — 
 
 ^ Meaning especially the island cities in nominal confederacy with, but 
 really in subjection to, Athens. 
 
 ^ The explanations of this expression are so far-fetched that it seems 
 better to rest under the conviction that we do not know who this Connus 
 was, nor why his * vote ' proverbially expressed that which was of no 
 importance. In the previous year Ameipsias had presented a comedy 
 with the title ' Connus.' It is possible that there may be some allusion 
 to that. 
 
442-460.] WASPS. 207 
 
 From some insolent son of Cineas ! 
 
 So — he saunters into the hall, 
 Posing his body into an attitude, 
 
 ere he deems it proper to say, 
 ' Dicasts, be in the court to-morrow 
 
 something after the break o' the day. 
 None will be allowed their oboles 
 
 who come after the close of the gate.' 
 He, however, will take his drachma,' 
 
 come Sir Counsel never so late. 
 All, beside his share in a present, 
 
 fingered by his magistrate friend. 
 To compound an affair of roguery. 
 
 They soon bring the case to an end. 
 Two men saw through the log of timber. 
 
 You meanwhile may sit in the sun. 
 Look to the bursar for your oboles, 
 
 and know nothing of what has been done. 
 L.-C. Thus they serve me ! Do they really ? 
 
 There is something that troubles my breast. 
 What can it be ? I own that I am 
 
 deeply moved at what you suggest. 
 H.-G. While there is wealth galore for all of you. 
 
 That indeed is easily seen. 
 Shame it is these fellows should manage you ; 
 
 wheel you about just like a machine. 
 From Sardinia up to Pontus 
 
 how many cities call you their lord ? 
 Yet you are wearing a coat all threadbare ! 
 
 Is it the best that you can afford ? 
 No ! but it squares with your allowance, 
 
 dropped like oil on the point of a hair. 
 Poor you are, almost to starving : 
 
 'tis their meaning to keep you there. 
 Why ? — I will tell you. 'Tis that, knowing 
 
 where is the hand by which you are fed. 
 You may be ready to seize and worry 
 
 anyone they may happen to dread. 
 
 ^ Value six oboles : a fee to counsel j of whom it appears the number 
 was limited. 
 
208 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [461-486. 
 
 Look you; if they really wished it, 
 
 you might all be living at ease. 
 Are there not a thousand cities, all 
 
 bound to supply whatever you please ? 
 Why not make them nourish our people, 
 
 giving to every city its score ? 
 Twenty thousand men would thus have 
 
 everything they could wish for and more ; 
 As becomes the men of Marathon. 
 
 Now like men who look for a stray 
 Olive where others have picked the trees, you 
 dog the heels of the man with the pay. 
 ly.-O. What can this be? Is it palsy 
 
 dully creeping over my hand? 
 See, the knife is dropping from it. 
 
 — I feel scarcely able to stand. 
 H.-C. Presently some dark fears disturb them. 
 Then they think to give you a treat. 
 You shall have Eubcea ; ^ or they 
 
 promise you fifty measures of wheat. 
 What have you had ? Some bushels of barley, 
 
 doled to you a quart at a time. 
 While your citizen-claim to take it 
 
 seemed to be regarded a crime. 
 Therefore have I shut you up : 
 Bent to bar your way. to those 
 Who but lead you by the nose. 
 I will for your needs provide. 
 
 In person, plate, and cup : >■ 
 
 Amply they shall be supplied 
 With everything that you can think. 
 Excepting bursar's milk to drink. 
 Chorus, To give everyone his credit, 
 
 'Twas wisely said, whoever said it, 
 ' Reserve your judgment, till you may 
 Hear what both parties have to say.' 
 So have I heard, and I protest 
 Your argument is much the best. 
 
 * That the inhabitants of Eubcea shall be dispossessed of their island, 
 and that it shall be assigned in lots to needy Athenian citizens. 
 
487-525.] WASPS. 209 
 
 I feel my anger pacified, 
 
 And with my stick 'tis laid aside. 
 
 And yon, my own judicial mate. 
 
 Listen, and be not obstinate. 
 
 I would for me some friend would feel, 
 
 Or kinsman, such a lively zeal, 
 
 And offer me the like provision. 
 Some Deity for you must care. 
 And make this thing his own affair. 
 Accept the kind interposition. 
 jff.-O.' To find him all that suits his age, 
 As coat and blanket, I engage. 
 
 And groats for gruel. 
 But why this silence so profound ? 
 To give no sign, to make no sound, 
 Methinks, is cruel. 
 Chorus. His silence marks the self-reproof 
 That now is going on within. 
 He feels that to have held aloof. 
 
 When you were urging, is a sin. 
 And probably he will from hence 
 Change, and live like a man of sense. 
 L.-G. Ah, me ! ah, me ! [with tragic energy) 
 H.-a My fa,ther, why 
 
 Bursts from thy lips that bitter cry ? 
 L,-C. Recall, my son, recall, deny 
 
 Your promises, and spare me, spare, 
 I long for them indeed, but I 
 
 Would fain be there, be there 
 Among them when the herald cries, 
 ^ Who has not voted let him rise ! ' 
 Then will I rise to be the last 
 My vote into the urn to cast. — 
 Quickly, my soul ! — Dark thought, begone ! 
 Avaunt, avaunt ! Let me pass on. 
 Ah no, I cannot bear the thought — 
 
 By Hercules, I might have left 
 The dicasts' benches, when there's brought 
 Cleon before us — for a theft ! 
 H,-C, Father, I do beseech you, listen to your son. 
 
 p 
 
210 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [526-556. 
 
 L.-C. What should I listen to ? say anything but one. 
 
 H,-G. ' But one,'— what's that? 
 
 L.-G, That I resign the dicasts' bench ; 
 
 Hades decide it ere I yield to such a wrench. 
 
 H.-G. Since you have pleasure in it, prithee go not hence 
 Abroad for your enjoyment, but at home dispense 
 Justice among your household. 
 
 L.-G. Nonsense ! — what about ? 
 
 H.-G, Our household matters. If the servant- girl goes out 
 By stealth and leaves the door ajar ; that is a case 
 For simple fine. So did you in the other place. 
 And all may be so well and reasonably done. 
 On sunny mornings you wiU coui't it in the sun : 
 But if it snows or rains, avoiding colds and mire. 
 You comfortably hold your court before the fire. 
 And should it happen that some morning you lie late. 
 You will not have to fear the closing of the gate. 
 
 Iv.-O. Aye, that will do. 
 
 H.-G. Besides, if any case should last 
 
 Inordinately long, you are not bound to fast, 
 Worried yourself and worrying the speaker too. [do. 
 
 L-.G. What ! take a snack between ? But that will never 
 How can I, going through the process of digestion. 
 Decide, as heretofore, the merits of a question ? 
 
 H.-G. Tut, better. 'Tis observed when evidence conflicts 
 A dicast ruminates ; and barely then convicts. 
 
 L.-G. Agreed. But one thing is not settled as I would : 
 Where shall I draw the pay ? 
 
 B.-G. From me. 
 
 L.-G. -^ye? very good. 
 
 I take the fee myself. There will be none to play 
 The trick Lysistratus served me the other day : 
 He took the drachma,^ and in order to arrange. 
 He went aside into a fishmonger's for change. 
 I popped it in my mouth as usual, for I thought 
 They were three oboles ; ^ but in truth the rogue had 
 brought 
 
 ' Value, six oboles, the pay of two dicasts. 
 
 2 If the oboles were in silver coin, they would not much differ in size 
 and appearance from fish-scales 
 
557-584.] WASPS. 211 
 
 Three mullet's-scales ! I spat tlie things away, 
 And prosecuted him. 
 
 H,-G, And what had he to say ? 
 
 L.-G. He said I was a cock, and had of course a gizzard 
 Which could digest a coin, or anything that is hard. 
 
 S.-C. You see how much you gain by change. 
 
 L.-G, 'Twas not so small. 
 
 But fetch the things. 
 
 H.-G, Aye, wait and I will bring them all. 
 
 [Exit HATE-CLEOiir. 
 
 L.-G, How strange this is ! For I have heard 'twas said 
 of old, 
 The time should come when we Athenians should hold 
 Courts in our private houses, when a man should build 
 A court before his door. These things are now fulfilled. 
 
 Re-enter Hate-Cleon, with various articles for the Gourt. 
 H.-G. See here. What can you want ? Have I not every- 
 thing ? 
 A brazier too with fire, I thought it well to bring 
 To keep the gruel warm., 
 
 L.-G. 'Tis just as I could wish ; 
 
 For if I have a cold and should be feverish 
 I still can earn the wages, supping while I sit. 
 Why bring a cock, though ? what can be the use of it ? 
 
 H.-G. It is to wake you up in case you should be dozing. 
 When any speaker is unusually prosing. 
 But sit you down. The sooner you are in your place. 
 The quicker I shall be in bringing on a case. 
 
 L.-G. Then call one. I am only waiting to begin. 
 H.-G. Then — let me see — what case shall be the first 
 called in ? 
 What has been done within the house, which we can 
 
 settle? 
 The kitchen-maid has burnt the bottom of a kettle — 
 
 L.-G. Hold, hold ! how fortunate that we had not begun ! 
 We have not got a railing. What should we have done ? 
 The thing of most importance, so we always reckoned. 
 H.-G. By Jupiter, we've not. I'll get one in a second. 
 
 [Turns to go out, 
 
 P 2 
 
212 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [585^10. 
 
 How very strange, this slavery to prejudice ! 
 
 [He is met hy Xanthias, dragging in a great dog, 
 
 Xan. Hang ye — to think of keeping such a dog as this. 
 
 H,-G. Eh, what's the matter ? 
 
 Xan, What? a great Sicilian cheese 
 
 This dog, this villain Seizer, has contrived to seize. 
 He stole it from the pantry. 
 
 H.-C, Good : we'll have the brute 
 
 Into my father's court, and you shall prosecute. 
 
 Xan, Not I. The other dog will do it with good will. 
 If anyone will sign and introduce the bill. 
 
 H.-G. Go then, and bring them both. [Exit. 
 
 Xan, 1 will. [Ties up Seizer, and exit. 
 
 Re-enter Hate-Cleon with a gate, 
 
 L.-C, Eh, what? and why? 
 
 What have you there ? 
 
 H.-C, The pigs have lent it from their stye, 
 
 A gate, Sir, for your railing. 
 
 L.-G, Prithee do make haste : 
 
 I'm looking for a fine. 
 
 H.-G. Where wiU you have them placed. 
 
 The forms for verdicts and — 
 
 L.-G. Plague on the man, what next ? 
 
 You squander all the day. I really am perplexed. 
 Do caU a case. 
 
 H.-G. I will. 
 
 H.-G, What is the first ? 
 
 H.-G. Aye, so — 
 
 To think I had forgotten them : but I will go — 
 
 L.-G. Where are you going now ? 
 
 H.-G. To fetch the voting-urns. 
 
 L.-G. No, no : the gruel jug and cups will serve the turns. 
 
 H.-G. Aye, excellently well. So fetch us myrtle boughs 
 And incense ; that we may begin with proper vows. 
 
 Chorus, With thankful prayers, and streaming wine 
 Will I address the Powers Divine, 
 For gladness that the strife is past. 
 And after war ye two are fast 
 In concord bound. 
 
611-644] 
 
 WASPS. 
 
 213 
 
 H.-C. Away, ill-omened sound. 
 Chorus. Apollo, prosper with success 
 
 This man's design for peace. 
 Make all discordance cease ; 
 And all of us be pleased to bless. 
 B.-C. Oh, Lord and King, whose holy shrine 
 Neighbours this lowly door of mine, 
 This sacrifice be pleased to take. 
 Here offered for my father's sake. 
 Let him be softened and unlearn 
 AJl tempers too austere and stem. 
 Accept this must, and blend a touch 
 Of honey with his wrath too much. 
 His sympathies do thou dispose 
 More to defendants than to those 
 Who prosecute : and give him tears 
 For those who cry to him with fears. 
 To wrath no more inclined. 
 
 May he the suppliant heed, 
 And weed, Aguieus,^ weed 
 The nettle from his mind. 
 Chorus. Your prayers are ours ; and one in voice. 
 Will we in your new power rejoice. 
 
 For we perceive that you 
 Tender the People's interest 
 With love more zealous than the rest, 
 At least of young men, do. 
 
 [Scene arranged for a Court.) 
 
 H.-C. If any, cited to the court, is at the door. 
 Come in. When they begin, we shall admit no more. 
 
 L.-C. Now which is the defendant ? There, conviction 
 stares — 
 
 Xan. Hear the indictment. Dog, of Cydathon, declares 
 That Seizes, of ^xone, did with covetise 
 Unaided and alone eat a Sicilian cheese. 
 The penalty a collar made of fig-tree wood. 
 
 L.-G. An he be guilty, Sir, a dog's death is too good. 
 
 ^ An appellative of Apollo. 
 
214 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [645-675. 
 
 E,-G, Here Seizee, the defendant, is to meet the charge. 
 
 L.-G. Rascal, upon his features thief is written large. 
 I see his teeth, but I will not be put upon. 
 Where is the prosecutor. Dog of Cydathon ? 
 
 Dog, Bough-Wough. 
 
 H.-G. Ah there : another Seizer, for that matter : 
 
 Good dog enough no doubt to bark and lick a platter. 
 
 Sosias as court-Jceeper. Sit down, sir : hold your peace. 
 (To Xanthias.) Go up and prove your case. 
 
 L.-G. Aye so ; I'll take a draught while you are changing 
 place. 
 
 Xan. Your ears have heard the charge, good dicasts, 
 which I lay 
 Against this Dog. A crime I will take leave to say 
 Of the most hideous type, not only against me 
 But all the gallant tars, by whom we rule the sea. 
 He ran into the corner, — took it at his ease, — 
 He gorged himself : in short, unsicelized the cheese. 
 
 L.-G. By Jove, it's manifest : his breath, I smell it here — 
 Ah, faugh — is rank of cheese : the scurvy dog, it's clear. 
 
 Xan. And gave me not a morsel, though I asked it. 
 
 L.-G. .What? 
 
 No share ? 
 
 Xan. No : though I was his partner, not a spot. 
 
 What can you look for from his generosity. 
 Who would not throw a morsel to a dog, that's me 9 
 
 L.-G, 'Tis a hot rogue : hot as this gruel. 
 
 H.-G, Father, nay. 
 
 Do not prejudge. Hear what the other has to say. 
 
 L.-G. But, my good sir, the case is clear, it bellows out. 
 
 Xan. By no means let him off. He is without a doubt 
 The most alone-devouring brute ; he has no match ; 
 He'll walk about a bowl to see if he can catch 
 The paring of a cheese. 'Tis time that he should grieve. 
 One thicket will not keep two men disposed to thieve.^ 
 If he is not put down, my barking is in vain. 
 In short he must be ; or I wiU not bark again. 
 
 L.-G. Ha, ha ! 'tis weU exposed. A mass of villanies. 
 
 Where one foot-pad might gain a livelihood two would starve. 
 
676-703.] WASPS. 215 
 
 The whole thing's thief. What think you, cock ? Yes, he 
 agrees. 
 
 JT.-O. Ah, will you never soften, rugged as you are. 
 And always adverse to the prisoner at the bar ? 
 
 Bosias. Come forward witnesses for Seizer; Dish and 
 Pot, 
 Pestle, Cheesegrater, Pan, Dutch-oven, and what not. 
 
 H.-C. Go Seizer up, and bring the truth to light of day. 
 Wliy don't you speak P 
 
 L.-G. Because there's nothing he can say. 
 
 ■ H.-G. Nay, but it is with him as with Thucydides,^ 
 That he is speechless struck when he should make his 
 
 pleas. 
 Give way ; for I will undertake the Dog's defence. 
 
 To answer for a Dog, oppressed with false pretence, 
 Judges, is hard. But I will try. For he is good. 
 And keeps the wolves at distance from the neighbourhood. 
 
 L,-G. Thief and conspirator. 
 
 II,-G. One that will never sleep 
 
 When ravening beasts are prowling round your flock of 
 sheep. 
 
 L.-G, But what has that to do with eating up the cheese? 
 
 H.-G. He watches at your door and is prepared to seize 
 lU-willers to you. 'Tis in fact a dog of merit. 
 Perhaps he stole. But what of that? why should one 
 
 ferret 
 For such slight faults ? He cannot sing.^ 
 
 L.-G. I wish the knave 
 
 Had never learnt to write a speech : for that would save 
 Our time and temper. 
 
 H.-G. Let the witnesses appear. 
 
 You, Cheesegrater, come forward, let his worship hear. 
 Speak up : for you were in the pantry at the time 
 When this event took place which is alleged as crime. 
 Did you not for the soldiers grate the cheese you had ? 
 Now, clear your throat, and answer like an honest lad. 
 He says he did. 
 
 * The son of Milesias. See Acharmans, 1. &yS. 
 2 See p. 203, lines 369-372. 
 
216 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [703-728. 
 
 iy.-O. Why then, by Jove, he lies. 
 
 H.-C. Oh, Sir, 
 
 Have pity on an undeserving sufferer ! 
 This Seizer is a shifty dog and he will sup 
 On any odds and ends he chances to pick up. 
 Whereas this other dog is always in the yard 
 Observing those who come, and looking very hard 
 At all they bring ; whereof he always asks a share ; 
 And if they do not give it, bites them then and there. ^ 
 
 L.-G. Ah, something is the matter — I. am — I am reeling. 
 What can have happened ? I have got a touch of feehng. 
 
 H.-C. Aye, father, I implore you do regard, do spare. 
 And do not ruin him. Where are" the puppies ? where ? 
 Get up, you little dogs, and try your best at helping 
 To move his stony heart by whining and by yelping. 
 
 \_The puppies yelp. 
 
 L.-C. Get down, get down, get down. 
 
 H.-C. -^J^y then I will get down. 
 
 But what has seemed a smile has often hid a frown, 
 When you have said those words. I get down not the 
 less. 
 
 L.-C. A plague ! There's something bad in drinking I 
 confess. 
 Ah, what? Have I been shedding tears ? aye, sure enough. 
 That can be nothing but this water-gruel stuff. 
 
 H.-G. Then really he escapes ? 
 
 L.-C. 'Tis very hard to say. 
 
 H.-C. Yes, dearest father, turn you to the better way. 
 This. — Take the pebble. Shut your eyes and run 
 To the absolving urn, yes, to the hinder one. 
 
 L.-G. No, no. My finger has not skill to touch that note. 
 
 H.-G. Come, come, I'll lead you round — the shortest way 
 ■ — to vote. 
 
 [HATE-CLEOisr leads Mm, 
 
 * The humour of the ^Twa Dogs ' was enhanced to the audience by 
 the fact that they are a very palpable caricature of Laches and Cleon. 
 Laches had had a command on the Sicilian coast, and was supposed to 
 have taken some 'presents.' As in T?ie Knights Cleon is not put on the 
 stage in his own name, so here it is to be observed that ' The Other dog ' 
 is unnamed. But these four lines are sufficient to identify him. 
 
729-746.] WASPS. 217 
 
 L.-G. Is this the nearest? 
 
 3,-0. Yes. 
 
 L.-G, I put the pebble inJ 
 
 H.-G. (aside) Acquitted ! yes, he does not know it : and 
 we win. 
 
 L.-G, I empt the urns. — How has it gone ? 
 
 H.-G. That we shall see 
 
 When I have counted votes. — Ha, Seize r, you are free. 
 What ails you, father ? 
 
 L.-G. Water. I shall faint away. 
 
 H.-G. Hold up, hold up, dear Sir. 
 
 L.-G. But tell me truly, say, 
 
 Is he acquitted P 
 
 B.-G, Yes. 
 
 L.-G. Ah ! then I am no more. 
 
 S.-G. Nay, take it not to heart ; come rise you from the 
 floor. 
 
 L.-G. How shall I answer to my conscience for the 
 deed? 
 That ever vote of mine a prisoner has freed. 
 What will become of me ? Forgive me. Powers Divine : 
 A. deed against my will should not be reckoned mine. 
 \H.-G. Do not reproach yourself. Good father, you shall 
 
 ' fare 
 
 R.ght nobly. I will take you with me everywhere ; 
 To supper, banquet, play, procession, every sight ; 
 Hereafter you shall spend your days in all delight. 
 Hyperbolus with all his pride of wealth shall know 
 We snap our fingers at him. 
 
 L.-G. Be it so. I go. 
 
 ^ In the Courts the urns to receive the pebbles were so aiTanged that 
 the one nearest to the dicasts was for the votes of those who confirmed 
 the charge, the further one for the votes of acquittal. In our case Hate- 
 Cleon has led his father (obviously to the audience) round the table on 
 which the urns were set, so that unwittingly Love-Cleon acquits the 
 prisoner while depositing his pebble in the ^ nearest ' urn. 
 
PEACE. 
 
INTEODUCTIOK 
 
 In political order this comedy follows Acharnians and 
 Knights. The appeal for peace made in Acharnians found 
 no favour with the Athenian people. Before the end of 
 that year Cleon and Demosthenes had brought to Athens 
 the Spartans who had surrendered at Pylos. Even before 
 the actual surrender, as has been said, the Lacedaemonians 
 made overtures for peace, which were ineffectual. After 
 the possession of such hostages the Athenians were too 
 elated to listen to any terms the Confederates could unite 
 to offer. So the war went on, though with no great energy 
 and with no signal advantage on either side. One Spartan 
 indeed, Brasidas, manifested a political and military ability 
 which, had it been supported at Sparta, might have led his 
 country to a political position which would have changed 
 the course of Grecian history. But Sparta was not Eome, 
 and did not answer to the genius and ambition of Brasidas. 
 Inflated doubtless by the result of his stroke of energy at 
 Pylos, Cleon went to confront this dangerous Spartan, 
 where he was intriguing to undermine Athenian influence, 
 in Thrace. There, at Amphipolis, in a very slight affair, 
 on the part of Cleon miserably mismanaged, they fell, both 
 of them, Cleon and Brasida,s. The consequence was that 
 the principal parties on both sides were disposed to come 
 to terms. The Lacedsemonians met with difficulties inter- 
 posed by their confederates the Corinthians and Boeotians : 
 but driven to act independently, in order to redeem their 
 relatives from the Athenian war-prisons, they agreed to a 
 truce for flfty years. 
 
 Immediately after the great Dionysian festival at 
 Athens, to which persons representing all the states lately 
 at war would come to see the new tragic and comic dramas. 
 
222 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 this treaty was to come into operation. Exactly for such 
 an occasion this comedy, Peace, seems to have been com- 
 posed. But, strange to say, if our text (in line 955 Greek, 
 795 trans.) is correct, it was not brought out until two 
 years later. Even if some circumstances should have pre- 
 vented its being produced on the actual occasion of peace, 
 it is unaccountable that Aristophanes should have inserted 
 a line, which in the face of the audience who knew they 
 had been at peace, included the last two years in the 
 period of war-suffering. It is true that we reckon the 
 years of the war to the surrender of Athens as if they were 
 continuous ; and so does Thucydides, who saw the renewal 
 of the contest ; but this could not have been the view in 
 the thirteenth year, when the peace made two years before 
 must have seemed stable and permanent. 
 
 If any reader of the Clouds has accepted in simple faith 
 the indignation of Aristophanes at the implied scepticism 
 of Socrates, he will be startled at the handling of Mercury, 
 as a character in the play. This, however, is only a pre- 
 lude to the manner in which the popular Gods will be 
 treated in the remaining comedies. It is remarkable 
 among the phenomena of superstition that the people who 
 could bear and enjoy this impudent profaneness, should 
 a few years afterwards have been thrown into a phrenzy of 
 horror at the secret and sudden mutilation of the statues 
 of this very God. That very incident it was, which, affecting 
 the career and ambition of Alcibiades, indirectly operated 
 to rekindle the Peloponnesian War as between Athens and 
 Sparta. 
 
 In the Parabasis Aristophanes takes credit to himself 
 for effecting certain reformations in the taste of the Comic 
 drama. It seems not difficult to illustrate from his own 
 comedies every fault in taste which he reproves. One 
 thing at least never offended his taste, namely dirt, un- 
 mitigated ultra-Swiffcian noisomeness. The reader of the 
 original has to pass through a perfect bog of it in the in- 
 troduction to this comedy. Of course it is removed here. I 
 should have been glad to have escaped every the slightest 
 suggestion of it by retrenching the whole of the opening 
 
INTRODUCTION. 223 
 
 scene. But the character and quest of TRTGiEUS must be 
 explained. He must go to heaven in search of Peace. In 
 parody of Bellerophon upon Pegasus, he must be carried 
 there on a Beetle ; the Beetle therefore must be introduced. 
 I hope the reader will not regret having made acquaintance 
 with it. 
 
gramntis ^crsonit* 
 
 Trtgjeus of Athmonos, an Attic vinegroioer. 
 
 Daughters of Trygceus. 
 
 Slaves of Trygcmis. 
 
 Mercury. 
 
 War. 
 
 CoN^rusioN. 
 
 HiEROCLES of Oreum, a Seer. 
 
 A Maker of Sickles. 
 
 A Maker of Helmet-crests. 
 
 A Maker of Spear-shafts. 
 
 First Boy, Son of Lamachus. 
 
 Second Boy, Smi of Cleonymus. 
 
 Chorus of Athmonean farmers. 
 
 Peace. ■\ 
 
 Opora. > mute persons. 
 
 Theoria. » 
 
Scene. — House o/TrtG-^us ; two Slayhs feeding with dirt- 
 cakes a monstrous Beetle, confined in a stye off the stage. 
 
 First Slave, A pudding for the beetle. 
 
 Second Slave, Here it is. 
 
 1st S. Make haste 
 
 And give it to the brute. 
 
 2nd S, And may he never taste 
 
 A sweeter morsel. 
 
 1st S. Make another — quick — and let it 
 
 Be strong. 
 
 2nd S. Here's one. 
 
 1st S, But where's the other? has he eat it? 
 
 2nd S. Aye ; snatched it, rolled with his feet, and gulped 
 it whole. 
 
 1st S. More ; more and larger. 
 
 2nd S, Faugh ! it won't be said I stole 
 
 The sweetmeats from the pudding. 
 
 1st S, More, I tell you ; more. 
 
 2nd S. Not I, until I get a nose without a bore. 
 Take the whole tub of it. 
 
 \_Gives the tub of filth to his fellow, who 
 emj^ties it into the stye. 
 
 1st S, Ugh ! you go with it, beast. 
 
 2nd S. (loohing over the stye), I'll peep to see if he is 
 glutted with his feast. — 
 Eat till you burst yourself. — How the thing works its jaws. 
 And wheels its head, and roundabouts its horrid claws. 
 Just as one coils a cable. — Each God has his pet * ^ 
 Which of them has this filthy thing I quite forget : 
 Not Yenus, nor the Graces. 
 
 1st S, Who then ? 
 
 2nd S, I'U be bound 
 
 It is a monster-sign of Jove-upon-the-ground.^ 
 
 * As Jupiter tlie eagle, Juno the peacock. 
 
 ^ It seems that Pausanias mentions an altar dedicated to Jupiter under 
 the title ' Cataibates ' the ' Descender.' 
 
226 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPFIANES. [17-46. 
 
 1st S. Kow one of you spectators will have asked, no 
 doubt — 
 Some smart conceited youth — what is all this about ? 
 
 * What is this beetle for ? ' and some one at his side — 
 A shrewd Ionian — will briskly have replied, 
 
 ' It must be Cleon, man ; I know it by the stink.' — 
 But I must now go in and give the beetle drink. 
 
 [Exit First Slave. 
 
 Slave. And I to boys, to mannikins, to men, to those 
 Who are yet older, to the eldest will disclose 
 Our history. — My master is completely cracked ; 
 Not with a common madness, such as yours ; in fact, 
 'Tis quite a new invention in the way of craze. 
 So — will he stand all day, with open mouth, agaze 
 Up to the sky, to rail on Jupiter, and say, 
 ' Jove, lay thy besom down, and sweep not Greece away.' ^ 
 
 Trygceus {behind the scene). Ahi ! Ahi ! 
 
 Slave. Hush, hush. I hear his voice. 
 
 Try. {as before). Oh, Jupiter, beware ! 
 
 What wilt thou make our people suffer ? Have a care. 
 Or all the cities will but emptied nutshells be. 
 
 Slave. You hear. That is a sample of his lunacy. 
 When first he felt the action of disordered bile, 
 Here would he stand alone, and mutter all the while : — 
 
 * How might a man contrive to get straight up to Jove ? ' 
 So made he little ladders, on the which he strove 
 
 To clamber up to heaven ; until he met a check. 
 Falling upon his head, and nearly broke his neck. 
 But yesterday, gone to his wit's end for inventions. 
 He brought a beetle back jEtnsean in dimensions. 
 Which I must groom, forsooth ; — and patting it, says he, 
 
 * My little Pegasus, my noble winged one, see 
 
 You bear me straight to Jove.' — But 'twill not be amiss 
 To see what it is doing. 
 
 [_Loo7cs into the stye, and starts hack. 
 
 ^ A learned friend called my attention to the parallel of this forcible 
 expression in Tsaiah xiv. 23, as rendered in our Translation and in tlie 
 Vulgate. The Septuagint altogether changes the idea. Pursuing at my 
 desire enquiry into this variation, he informs me that it arises from 
 the use of a word, the root of which is debateable amongst Hebrew 
 scholars. 
 
46-76.] PEACE. 227. 
 
 What a sight is this ! 
 My master in the air ! — Run neighbours, run : alack, 
 My master is astride upon the beetle's back. 
 
 Enter Tryg^us, on the Beetle, 
 
 Try, Easy now, steady ; 
 
 Gently, my neddy ; 
 Trust not at first 
 To the fire of a burst 
 Over- confiding ; 
 But quietly gliding. 
 Wait a bit — wait till it comes to a push. 
 Soon with a rustle 
 Each fibre and muscle 
 Warmed to the course 
 Will double its force, 
 Supplied with sweat. 
 Dripping with wet ; 
 Then, with the fling of your wing, we will ofP with a rush. 
 But breathe not in my face, my lad — 
 Slave, My lord, my master, you are mad. 
 Try, Hush, hush. 
 
 Slave, Where are you going through the air ? 
 Try. It is for all the Greeks I'm flying, 
 
 A venture yet unheard of trying. 
 Slave, But why so mad ? what do you there ? 
 Try, Tush ! tush ! Forbear ill words to utter, 
 Or make unseemly cry or mutter ; 
 But tell all men to hold their peace, 
 And make all open sewers to cease. ^ 
 Slave, 1 will not hold my peace until you tell me, Sir, 
 Where you intend to fly. 
 
 Try, Where ? but to Jupiter 
 
 In heaven. 
 
 Slave, And what to do ? 
 
 Try, To know what end he seeks 
 
 Fomenting this embittered strife among the Greeks ? 
 
 ^ Lest his dirt-feeding beetle should be enticed down, 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPILVNES. [77-100. 
 
 Slave, But if he will not say ? 
 
 Try, Why, then 'tis plain indeed 
 
 That he holds treasonable commerce with the Mede. 
 I will indict him for betraying Greece. 
 
 Slave, Not you, 
 
 While I'm a living man. 
 
 Try, There's nothing else to do. 
 
 Slave, Here, children, here : to heaven is your father 
 stealing ; 
 You will be orphans ; try the force of your appealing. 
 
 Enter little Girls, daughters of Trtg^us. 
 
 Girls, Father, oh father, and can it be true ? 
 Bumour has borne us a story that you 
 Are flying np where nobody knows. 
 Sillily travelling off to the crows.^ 
 Say, if you love me, father dear. 
 Is there truth in the story we hear P 
 Try, So seems it, girls : but, ah ! 
 
 Truth is, my heart has bled 
 When you have said ' Papa ' 
 
 So coaxingly, for bread ; 
 And I — no, not a spot 
 Rain-size of coin had got. 
 But if I reach the skies 
 
 And do my business there, 
 A bun of double size 
 
 Shall be my children's fare. 
 Girl. But, Pappy, how came you to think of such a thing 
 As getting to the Gods upon a beetle's wing ? 
 
 Try. It is the only beast on wings that has succeeded 
 In getting to the Gods : in ^sop you may read it. 
 
 Girl. I never can believe the filthy thing was able 
 To mount up to the Gods : it is a silly fable. 
 
 * This phrase is of constant recurrence in this language of common 
 life, sometimes as a mere petty malediction, sometimes, as in this 
 instance, with a comical pertinence. It suggests the wish for a death of 
 disgrace to the person addressed, the gibbet, cross, or pit, where the body 
 would be left exposed. 
 
101-124.] PEACE. 229 
 
 Try, 'Twas once upon a time, her wrath would not be 
 foiled, 
 She spilt the eagle's eggs, and all of them were spoiled.^ 
 Girl, 'Twere better you had borrowed Pegasus awhile 
 To come before the Gods in higher tragic style. 
 
 Try. But how could I provide the food for such a steed? 
 Girl, Be careful lest you fall ; that would be sad indeed ; 
 For if you should be lamed, Euripides some day 
 May make a plot for you, and put you in a play. 
 
 Try. Leave me to see to that. And so good-bye to you 
 And all whose interest my labour has in view. 
 Forward, my Pegasus, proudly advancing, 
 Prick up your ears to the rattle entrancing. 
 Where the gay gold on your trappings is glancing. 
 Pegasus, forward ! 
 [Trtg^uS ascends out of sight. Exeunt hy slanders. 
 
 Scene. — The Palace of Jupiter, on a platform above the 
 stage, Tryg^us enters upon his beetle. 
 
 Try, Dramatic machinist, this is beyond a joke ; 
 Mind what you are about before my neck is broke. 
 Surely the Gods' abode is somewhere hereabout. 
 Ah, yes, I see the house of Jove to end my doubt. 
 Who is the porter here ? Heigh, answer if you please. 
 
 [Mercury puts his head out of the door, 
 
 Mer, Wlience comes this smell of mortal ? {recognising 
 Tryg^us.) Eh ! King Hercules ! 
 What have we here ? 
 
 Try, A hippocanthar.2 
 
 Mer, Impudent, 
 
 Audacious, refuse, scum of scum ! Oh to invent 
 A name to fit thy filthiness. How didst thou come ? 
 How callest thou thyself ? wilt thou not answer ? 
 
 Try, Scum, 
 
 * The Eagle preyed on tlie young of the Beetle. The Beetle ascended 
 to the nest of the Eagle and rolled out her eggs. She appealed to Jupiter, 
 who bade her deposit her eggs in his own bosom. Then came the Beetle 
 and buzzed about Jupiter's head. He rose to brush the insect away, 
 forgetting the eggs ; they rolled out and were broken. A wrong-doer is 
 not secure from vengeance even if he takes refuge in the bosom of God 
 himself. 
 
 ^ Meaning a horse-beetle, or huge beetle ; a parody on Hippo-C5entaur. 
 
230 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [125-152. 
 
 Mer, Who are your people ? 
 
 Try, Scum. 
 
 Mer, To wliom owe yon a birth ? 
 
 Who is your father ? 
 
 Try, Scum, 
 
 Mer, I vow by holy Earth, 
 
 There's nothing for it but that you shall die the death 
 Unless you tell your name without another breath. 
 
 Try, Trtg^us the Athmonian, grower of good wine : 
 No sycophant, nor meddler in affairs not mine. 
 
 Mer, What is your business here ? 
 
 Try, To bring these chops to you. 
 
 Mer, How did you come, you rogue ? 
 
 Try, You change your point of view : 
 
 I am not Scum, you greedy ? — Go, call Jupiter. 
 
 Mer, Ah, dear ! that after all you should not find him. 
 Sir! 
 The Gods all emigrated only yesterday. 
 
 Try, What ! where on earth ? 
 
 Mer, On earth ! 
 
 Try, Well, where ? 
 
 Mer, Far, far away. 
 
 In short, into the heaven's very farthest zone. 
 
 Try, Then how is it that you are left behind alone ? 
 
 Mer, The remnant of their furniture, the earthenware, 
 Tables and tankards, are committed to my care. 
 
 Try, But what could have induced the Gods to emi- 
 grate ? 
 
 Mer, The Greeks have brought them to a most distem- 
 pered state ; 
 So much so, that, before they quitted this domain, 
 They gave it up to War ; with nothing to restrain 
 His doing what he likes with you folks down below. 
 Meantime they have withdrawn as far as they can go. 
 That they may neither see the struggles of your nation, 
 Nor be exposed to listen to your supplication. 
 
 Try, But tell me why the Gods treat us in such a way. 
 
 Mer, Because you both are so intent on war, while they 
 For proper truce have made occasions numberless. 
 But so it was, when those Laconics had success. 
 
153-180.] PEACE. 23l 
 
 ' By Castor and by Pollux,' should we liear them say, 
 ' Aye now the Attican his penalty shall pay ;' 
 But when a turn of fortune flattered Attic pride, 
 And overtures for peace came from the other side, 
 Your cry was, ' By Athene, we shall be betrayed ; 
 ' By JoYe we must not let a hasty peace be made. 
 ' When Pylos is secured then let them come again.' 
 
 Try. On our side, I admit, this always was the strain. 
 
 Mer, I doubt if eyes of yours will ever look upon 
 The face of Peace again. 
 
 Try. Why not ? where is she gone ? 
 
 Mer, Into a pit, where Wae has thrown her, dark and 
 deep. 
 
 Try. Where is it ? 
 
 Mer, Here below : and you may see the heap 
 
 Of mighty stones that he has piled on it, that you 
 May never more recover her. 
 
 Try, What will he do ? 
 
 What means he we should suffer ? 
 
 Mer. That I cannot say ; 
 
 Except that in the evening he brought yesterday 
 A monstrous Mortar, 
 
 Try. Wherefore ? 
 
 Mer, I believe that ib is 
 
 A part of his intent therein to bray your cities. 
 But I must get away, for, judging by the din, 
 I fancy Wau himself is coming from within. 
 
 [Exit Mercubt. 
 
 Try. Ah ! this is frightful. Let me fly : for I too hear 
 The ring and bellow of the Mortar coming near. 
 
 Enter War, who sets uj>on the stage a huge brazen mortar. 
 War, Oh, mortals, mortals, mortals ; what have ye to 
 bear ! 
 What racking of the jaws do I for you prepare ! 
 
 Try. Apollo ! what a breadth of mortar ! Ah, that 
 glance : 
 What woe and mischief is there in War's countenance ! 
 And this is truly He whom man in reason flies. 
 The terrible, the stalwart, sturdy on his thighs. 
 
232 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [181-200. 
 
 War {putting prason (leeks) into the mortar). 
 Three measures, Prasise,^ — not three but five of sorrow, 
 Nay, mete her many tens : — for her there is no morrow. 
 
 Try. At any rate for us there was no trouble there ; 
 'Tis altogether a Laconian affair. 
 
 War {putting in garlic, produce of Meg ar a). 
 Ho ! Megara, the happy garlic plots possessing. 
 So shalt thou bruised be into a salad dressing. 
 
 Try. Alackaday ! indeed how many and how sore 
 The lamentations are for Megara in store. 
 
 War {slicing Sicilian cheeses into the mortar). 
 Ho ! Sicily, and thou shalt perish without pity. 
 
 Try.^ Oh how wilt thou be pounded, miserable city. 
 
 War. And now I will infuse a jar of Attic honey. 
 
 Try. Oh spare the Attic, Sir; it were sad waste of 
 money. 
 Do use some other kind. 
 
 Wa/r, Here, Sir, you slave, Confusion. 
 
 Enter Confusion. 
 Conf. Sir, did you call ? 
 
 War. What are you gaping for ? contusion ? 
 
 [hits him a heavy blow with the fist. 
 Conf. My ribs ! that was a heavy one : there were I 
 know 
 Some knobs of garlic ^ in the fist that struck that blow. 
 War. Eun, bring me here a Pestle. 
 Conf. That we have not got : 
 
 It was but yesterday we settled on this spot. 
 
 War. Eun quickly then to Athens, fetch me one from 
 
 thence. 
 Conf. Aye, for I know the cost of disobedience. 
 
 [Exit Confusion. 
 
 ^ A small town on the coast of Laconia, taken and destroyed in the 
 second year of the war. 
 
 2 In the texts this line is continued to War ; hut the sentiment as 
 well as the symmetry of the lines seem to require that it should be given 
 
 to TRYGiErS. 
 
 3 With allusion at once to the pungent flavour of the bulb and to the 
 practice of loading the fiat with metal to make the blow heavier. 
 
201-219.] PEACE. 233 
 
 Try, Now, poor Humanity, you see the risk we run : 
 And we must settle sharply what is to be done. 
 For if that man upon his errand shall have found 
 A Pestle for his purpose, he will sit and pound 
 The Cities at his leisure. Bacchus, stand our friend. 
 And break the fellow's neck before his journey's end. 
 
 Be-enter Confusion. 
 
 War, Well ? 
 
 Conf, Yes, Sir. — 
 
 War, Where is it ? 
 
 Conf, The Tanner what's-his-name. 
 
 The Pestle ^ of all Greece, was dead before I came. 
 
 Try, In happy time, good lady Pallas, was he dead. 
 Before we had that salad-dressing on our head. 
 
 War, Then go to Lacedsemon, surely you can find 
 One for the purpose there. 
 
 Conf, Yes, Sir. 
 
 [Exit 
 
 War, And quickly, mind. 
 
 Try, What will become of us, my friends ? for now, 
 alas ! 
 Things have arrived at an exceeding ticklish pass. 
 Those who in Samothrace have been initiated 
 Will pray ^ — The fellow's ankles may be dislocated. 
 
 Be-enter Confusion. 
 
 Conf, Oh dear ! I am unlucky, most unfortunate. 
 War, Have you not brought it then ? 
 Conf, Again I was too late. 
 
 The Spartan ^ pestle is no more. 
 
 War, How so ? 
 
 1 Cleon died before Amphipolis nearly three years before this comedy 
 was exhibited. Vide Knights, 1. 910. 
 
 * Those who had been initiated in the mysteries of the Cabiri were 
 reputed to be assured of answer to prayer. 
 
 3 Brasidas j he was slain at the same time and place as Cleon. 
 
284 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [219-238. 
 
 Conf, Employed 
 
 On loan by certain folks in Thrace it was destroyed. 
 Try, Castor and Pollux too, well have ye done your 
 parts. 
 All may be well as yet. Mortals, lift up your hearts. 
 War, Then take these things away and put them on the 
 
 shelf; 
 I will go in and make a Pestle for myself. 
 
 [Exeunt War and Confusion. 
 
 Trtg^us and Chorus.^ 
 Try, Prom business and from battles now that we are 
 free, 
 This is a breathing space, a happy time, when we 
 Before another Pestle ^ hinders, men of Greece, 
 May draw back into light that all-beloved Peace. 
 Come ye that plough the land, and ye that plough the sea, 
 Come smiths and artisans of every degree. 
 Come from the mainland, from the Islands great and 
 
 small. 
 Come neighbours, foreigners, come hither and come all ; 
 Bring y^ur mattocks, levers, cables, 
 
 bring the will to work in haste ; 
 Luck' is in the undertaking, 
 
 'tis the cup that we may taste. 
 Chorus, Hither come, each honest man who 
 
 has a zeal for our salvation. 
 Now if ever let there be a 
 
 gathering of the Grecian nation. 
 Quit of blood-empurpled troubles, 
 
 quit of military fuss ; 
 Por a day has dawned upon us 
 
 hated-much-of-Lamachus.* 
 
 * How or when the Chorus finds its way to Trygseus it is not easy to 
 conjecture. 
 
 * Supposed to allude to Alcibiades. 
 
 ' The pledge of the first cup appears to have been something like 
 ' Here's to our Good Fortune.' 
 
 * See Acharnians. He was one of the seventeen commissioners from 
 Athens who signed the terms of truce at Lacedsemon two years before 
 this. 
 
239-255.] PEACE. 235 
 
 Pray direct our operations ; 
 
 tell us how we should begin ; 
 For I feel so stout about it 
 
 that I never will give in, 
 Till we manage with our tackle 
 
 to get up before our eyes 
 This the greatest and most vineyard- 
 loving of the Deities. 
 [^During the singing of these words the 
 Tnemhers of the Chorus are dancing. 
 Try, Do be quiet ; your excessive 
 
 spirits else will be our ruin : 
 You will waken War to fury 
 
 when he knows what we are doing. 
 Chorus, Really this is such a pleasure. 
 
 It was quite another thing 
 When the summons came to muster 
 
 and three days' provisions bring. 
 Try, If you are not careful you will 
 
 wake that Cerberus ^ below, 
 Who with bluster and with barking, 
 
 as his manner was, you know. 
 When he was alive among us, 
 
 will put something in our way 
 To prevent our drawing up this 
 
 Goddess to the light of day. 
 Chorus. Dead or living there is not the 
 
 being who shall pluck her back 
 If I can but once contrive to 
 
 get her in my hands. 
 Try. Alack ! 
 
 You will be my death unless this 
 
 noisy exultation ceases : 
 We shall have him running out and 
 
 stamping all our plans to pieces. 
 Chorus, Let him stamp and let him trample, 
 
 let him knead them into clay ; 
 
 1 Cleon. 
 
236 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [256-274. 
 
 I do not intend to pttt a 
 
 check upon my joy to-day. 
 
 [Chorus dances with increased energy. 
 Try, What is this ? oh, what can ail you ? 
 
 do not, I beseech you, bring 
 Ruin on our undertaking 
 
 by your foolish figuring. 
 Chorus, It is not my will to do it, 
 
 but my legs for very pleasure, 
 Quite without my instigation, 
 
 fling themselves into a measure. 
 Try, Stop it, I beseech you, stop it, 
 
 dancing like a Bacchanal. 
 Chorus, There now, I have stopped. 
 Try, You say so, 
 
 but you have not stopped at all. 
 Chorus, Just this figure let me finish ; 
 
 I will not begin again. 
 Try, Be it so, if necessary ; 
 
 after that you must refrain. 
 Chorus, We would not have danced a figure 
 
 if we could have aided you. 
 Try, You are just as bad as ever. 
 
 Really, men, it will not do. 
 Chorus, Just a leg — the right leg only — 
 
 let me fling and I have done. 
 Try, If you will not ask another, 
 
 I allow you just the one. 
 Chorus, Nay, the left must have its turn, it 
 
 cannot, will not be denied. 
 I am so delighted, merry, 
 
 frolicsome and gratified. 
 Not if I had cast away my 
 
 wrinkled skin and load of years. 
 Should I be so happy as in 
 
 getting rid of shields and spears. 
 Try, Hold awhile in your rejoicing, 
 
 for we hardly know as yet 
 How the thing may go ; but when this 
 
 Peace herself we really get, 
 
275-302.] PEACE. 
 
 Dance and sing, and^iaugh. your fill, 
 Rove or sojourn at your will. 
 Lie abed, on holidays 
 Early rise to see the plays. 
 Take a friendly cup with us. 
 Pass the time at cottabus,^ 
 Spend your time in all delight. 
 And ' Hurrah,^ with all your might. 
 Chorus. Would that I could see that day 
 After all I've undergone. 
 Bedding upon musty hay. 
 
 Soldiering with Phormion ! ^ 
 Crusty as I used to be, 
 
 In the court a judge severe. 
 Sharp to speak and slow to hear ; 
 That you never more shall see : 
 I will be an easy fellow. 
 
 Younger than my teeth and hair. 
 Something soft and very mellow. 
 
 When I'm quit of war and care. 
 We have had enough of drilling. 
 
 In and out with spear and shield ; 
 We have had enough of killing. 
 Death at home, and wounds afield. 
 Only tell us how we may be 
 
 useful to your plan, 
 Since good fortune has designed you 
 
 for our leading man. 
 \_The scene shows the large stones over the 
 pit where Peace is buried. 
 Try. See you these stones ? I must contrive to move 
 them hence. 
 
 Re-enter Meecury. 
 Mer. Ah ! what are yoa about, you dirt and impudence ? 
 
 * A favourite amusement requiring some little skill, by wliicli a small 
 quantity of wine was thrown from a cup so that it might fall upon, and 
 depress to the legitimate point, a scale suspended on the balance. 
 
 See Knights, 1. 522. Landing on the coast of Acarnania, he made 
 some "successful operations. 
 
238 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [303-320- 
 
 Try, Like Cillicon ' no harm.' ^ 
 
 Mer. You rascal, you must die. 
 
 Try. Aje, if I have the lot : as you are Meecurt, 
 No doubt you will contrive it.^ 
 
 Mer, Think not of delay, 
 
 'Tis settled, jou must die. 
 
 Try, But when ? 
 
 Mer, This very day. 
 
 Try. But I have not laid in my stores for a campaign. 
 My barley and my cheese.^ 
 
 Mer, The case you know is plain : 
 
 For Jupiter has said, if anyone shall try 
 To dig up her who here is buried, he shall die. 
 
 Try, So I must die ? 
 
 Mer. You know it. 
 
 Try, Lend me then a shilling. 
 
 To buy myself a pig ; for I should be unwilling 
 To quit the world before I am initiate.'* 
 
 Mer, Jove and his thunderbolt ! 
 
 Try, But you will not relate 
 
 Wliat we are doing. 
 
 Mer, That I must, or I shall rue it. 
 
 Try, Nay, by the chops I brought, I beg you not to 
 do it. 
 
 Mer. Unhappy man, but Jove would knead me into dough 
 If I should fail with all exactitude to show 
 And to denounce these matters. 
 
 Try, Clear away this storm, 
 
 Sweet little Mercury, and, prithee, don't inform. 
 
 [Turning to the Chorus, 
 
 * Cillicon, intriguing to betray Miletus, was asked ^What he was 
 about ? ' * No harm/ he answered. 
 
 * The Athenians put to death only one malefactor a day. When 
 several were under sentence, precedence for execution was determined by 
 lot. Some official might have it in his power to arrange on whom the 
 lot should fall. At any rate Mercury could manage that, as being the 
 God whose specialty it was to regulate 'lots.' 
 
 * Trygaeus affects to suppose that he is being ordered to join a regiment 
 going on service before the enem3^ 
 
 * Those who when living had been initiated in the Mysteries of 
 Eleusis enjoyed in Hades perpetual light and other advantages. See 
 Frogs, 1. 133, 311. 
 
321-346.] PEACE. 239 
 
 Men, what ails you ? what's the use of 
 
 standing dilly-dally thus ? 
 Have you not a word to utter ? 
 
 he's about denouncing us. 
 Chorus. Mercury, my lord, I beg you 
 
 not to think of such a thing. 
 Is not pig a dainty dish ? 
 If with that we ever had the 
 
 hap to gratify your wish, 
 In our present circumstances 
 
 that is worth remembering. 
 Try. Hear you how they coax and wheedle ? 
 
 Listen to them, lord and king. 
 Chorus. Do not be ill-natured to the 
 
 fervour of our supplication. 
 Let her rise before our eyes. 
 Thou the most man-loving and mu- 
 nificent of Deities. 
 So we supplicants will ever 
 
 manifest our adoration 
 By redoubled sacrifices 
 
 and unparalleled dotation. 
 Try. Oh, have regard unto their cry, I supplicate you : 
 Since more than ever they desire to venerate you. 
 Mer. Since more than ever, they desire, you mean, to 
 
 steal. 
 Try. Attend to me, for I have something to reveal. — 
 To overthrow the Gods there is a villain plot. 
 
 Mer. Well, tell me what it is. I may believe or not. 
 Try. The plan is now matured, though long ago begun. 
 Between the Moon and that most good-for-nothing Sun 
 To bring upon the Gods a great humiliation. 
 By handing over Greece to foreign domination. 
 Mer. What is their motive ? 
 
 Try. What ? 'Tis evident ; because 
 
 We sacrifice to you, according to our laws. 
 But foreigners to them.^ They have it then in view, 
 'Tis not to be mistaken, to abolish you, 
 
 ' The Greeks supposed that the Persians worshipped the Siui and 
 Moon. Herodotus (Erato. 97) says that Datis was ordered by his sove- 
 reign to spare the territory of the ' two Gods,' 
 
240 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [347-37G. 
 
 And, filling all your places, to impropriate 
 All sacrificial dues that form tlie Gods' estate. 
 
 Mer. The thing is quite apiece with their most thievish 
 ways 
 In driving to cut off the corners of the days.^ 
 
 Try. By Jove 'tis true. Now you will join with us to 
 save, 
 And draw, dear Mercury, this lady from the cave; 
 So will we celebrate the great Panathenaea, 
 The Mysteries, Adonia, Diipolsea, 
 And all the rites of all the other Gods to Thee : 
 For thou alone shalt bear the honour, Mercury. 
 And everywhere the Cities, finding the relief, 
 WiU worship Mercury, the saver-out-of-grief. 
 Then other things will follow. But at present take 
 This trifle of a goblet, wherewithal to make 
 Libations. 
 
 Mer, 'Tis my weakness ; I am soft of heart. 
 
 When goblets are in question. You must do your part. 
 So now go in, my men, and heave the stones away. 
 
 Chorus. We will : and you shall stand, you clever God, 
 to say 
 What we shall do. A master in the craft we know you ; 
 And that we are no lazy workmen we will show you. 
 
 Try. Pray take the goblet. Sir, to make the due libation. 
 While I will pray the Gods to bless the operation. 
 
 Mer, The wine-drops fall : 
 
 Be silent all. 
 
 Try. So may the day on which these sacred drops we 
 pour 
 To all the Greeks all good and joyous things restore. 
 And whoso on the rope shall lay a hearty strain. 
 Oh never may he have to carry shield again ; 
 But whoso chooses war, — from out his elbow-joints 
 May he employ his time in drawing arrow-points. 
 
 * Aristophanes has here, for him, an unusually good pun between 
 apuaruAia, expert driving of a chariot, and aiJiaprwXia, sinfulness. 
 The allusion of course is to eclipses and such variations of the sun's and 
 moon's period, as involve the making of calendar months and years longer 
 or shorter. 
 
377-404.] PEACE. 241 
 
 Chorus. Lady, if there be one who grudges winning thee, 
 Because he wishes to command a company. 
 May he experience Cleonymus's fare, 
 And, coming from the field, have left his honour there. 
 
 Try, If any knave by whom accoutrements are made 
 Wishes more battles, for the benefit of trade, 
 May robbers take him off and feed him with the horses. 
 
 Chorus, If one has hope to be Commander of the Forces, 
 And therefore will not lend a hand ; or if he be 
 A slave who is deserting to the enemy. 
 Let him be whipped upon the wheel. — Ho ! Paion,^ Ho ! 
 All fortune be with us. 
 
 Try, Na^Jj do not say it so, 
 
 'Say ' Ho ' without the Paion, — Paion is too striking. 
 
 Chorus, I'll strike it out — Ho, Ho ! — and say it to your 
 liking. 
 
 Try, Now to the Graces, Seasons, Venus, Mercury — 
 
 Chorus, And Mars. 
 
 Try, No, no. 
 
 Chorus, Nor Enyalius ? 
 
 Try, Not I. 
 
 Chorus, Bend now the cables round the stone and make 
 them tight. 
 And each one to his place to pull with all his might. 
 
 [Chorus and bystanders haul ; Mercury 
 gives the time. 
 
 Mer, Ho-e-yah. 
 
 Chorus, E-yah, fair. 
 
 Mer, Ho-e-yah. 
 
 Chorus, E-yah, stouter there. 
 
 Mer, Ho-e-yah. 
 
 Try. Half the fellows are not working : 
 
 You, Boeotians, are shirking. 
 
 Mer, E-yah, go. 
 
 Try, E-yah-o. 
 
 Chorus, You two hardly put a hand in. 
 
 * The word will be more generally recognised in the form of ' Psean.' 
 It is a cry to Apollo, and stimulates to energy, as the middle-age cries 
 * St. George ! ' 'St. Denys ! ' By the form here adopted Aristophanes 
 gets a pun, as the same letters form the participle of the verb ' to strike.' 
 
 R 
 
242 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [405-436. 
 
 Try, I'm at work with all my heart, 
 
 Pulling till my arms will part. 
 Mer, How is it the work is standing ? 
 Chorus. Yon, Lamachus, why will you sit there to 
 observe us ? 
 The aspect of your dreadM Mormon ^ makes us nervous. 
 
 Mer. Those Argives are not drawing. I believe, in short, 
 They only make your griefs the matter of their sport. 
 And draw, from either party mercenary meal. 
 
 Try. But there are the Laconians pulling with a zeal. 
 Mer. Those whom you see are men who work in wooden 
 ware; 
 I undertake to say, no armourer is there. 
 
 Chorus. The men of Megara do nothing, though they 
 groan 
 And struggle at the rope like puppies at a bone : 
 They're famine-struck. But come, we're losing time, my 
 
 men. 
 Now one and all together, at the work agam. 
 Mer. Ho-e-yah. 
 Try. E-yah, fair. 
 Mer. Ho-e-yah. 
 Try. E-yah, Jupiter ! 
 Cho. We hardly stir. 
 
 Try. Shame it is that some are slacking. 
 While the rest are almost cracking, 
 Argives, you shall smart for this. 
 Mer. E-yah, go. 
 Try. E-yah-ho. 
 
 Cho. There are somewhere hearts amiss. 
 Try. You that love Peace, buckle to it. 
 Cho. There are some who will not do it. 
 
 [All give up pulling. 
 Try. You men of Megara, you do us mischief: hence ! 
 The Goddess hates your savour ; for your rank offence 
 Is garlic. — Men of Athens, pray what are you doing ? 
 Yes, busy in your law-courts, judging, pleading, suing. 
 
 1 Mormon means generally a bugl)ear to frighten children, but is here 
 used in mockery of the * Gorgon ' bearing of Lamachus's shield. 
 
437-460.] PEACE. 243 
 
 You do no service here. I say, let go the rope, 
 Ye wrangling citizens. But if ye ever hope 
 To see the face of Peace, take this advice from me, 
 Shift and v^^ithdraw yourselves a little toward the sea.' 
 Cho, Now neighbours, close ; let none but those 
 
 Who till the land touch cable. 
 Mer, Aje, it will do, if left to you 
 Who willing are, and able. 
 Cho. He says we can : so let each man 
 
 To work, and put his heart in't. 
 Try. Work, farmers all, both great and small, 
 For none else shall have part in't. 
 
 [Chorus and TRxa^us only handle the ropes. 
 To work now fall, pull one, pull all. — J^S^ 
 
 Ah ! there now she is nearing ; 
 ISTay, never slack, though sinews crac] 
 
 Hurrah ! she is appearing. |\ 
 Ho-e-yo, away we go, 
 Ho-e-yo, Ho-e-yo. 
 
 [Peace is landed upon the stage, attended by 
 Opoea and Theoria. 
 Try. Oh, Lady Cluster- giver, how shall I address you 9 
 Where shall I find the pipe of word which shall express 
 
 you? 
 When pipes of wine for us exist scarce in idea. 
 Opora, fair befall thee ! welcome, Theoria,^ 
 How pleasant is thy countenance ! thy breath how nice ! 
 Sweet with discharge-from-service and the oil of spice. 
 
 1 If, as Brunck says, the point of this line is no more than to recommend 
 that policy which had been long ago prescribed by Themistocles, the air 
 of originality with which it is introduced is strange. Besides^ one can 
 hardly think that in the time of Aristophanes Athens would have stood 
 in need of the advice, if he had been the man to give it. 
 
 ^ The names of these Attendants on Peace are left untranslated because 
 the translator knows no single words which would really represent them 
 to an English mind. The nearest single terms would perhaps be 
 * Harvest ' and ' Holiday.' But Opora must signify the season and 
 gathering of all fruits, and Theoria, the exhibition of plays, and cele- 
 bration of festivals with hymns and processions ; such as the Athenian, 
 in time of peace, expected to have provided for the amusements of his 
 holiday at the public expense. 
 
 R 2 
 
244 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [461-488. 
 
 Mer. It does not, then, smell like a soldier's havresack? 
 Cho. I hate and utterly abjure both man and pack : 
 It smells of onions, bah ! her breath of fruits, and plays 
 Of Sophocles, feasts, thrushes, piping, holidays, 
 Euripides's tit-bits — 
 
 Mer. That is calumny ; 
 
 She is not fond of snip-snap pettifoggery. [jiiice, 
 
 Cho. Of ivy, straining-cloths dyed with the glorious 
 Flocks bleating in the homesteads, quarts in constant use. 
 And twenty other things as good. 
 
 Mer. {loohing towards the spectators). How merrily 
 The Cities^ reconciled talk of the days gone by : 
 Albeit many eyes are black, and half the nation 
 Are bringing bruises down by constant fomentation. 
 
 Try. Now cast your eyes around the theatre and give 
 A guess at each man's craft. 
 
 Mer. Yon fellow, as I live, 
 
 The little man, you see him scratching at his head, 
 Whileome made crests for helmets, now his trade is dead. 
 That maker of wood shovels grinning pokes his thumb 
 Into the army-cutler's ribs ; and he is glum. 
 
 Try. The sickle-maker cocks his finger at his neighbour, 
 The polisher of spear-shafts, who has lost his labour. 
 Mer. Now send the farmers home. 
 
 Try. Hear, people, and obey. 
 
 Let all the farmers with their dead stock go away. 
 Sword and spear will not be wanted. 
 
 Peace is brimming everywhere. 
 Go and fill the fields with labour, 
 
 and with songs of joy the air. 
 Chorus. Day, for which all honest men and 
 
 farmers have been sighing long, 
 Now at last to see thee dawning 
 
 tunes my language into song. 
 How I yearn to see again the 
 
 vine with cluster berries hung. 
 And the fig-trees which I planted 
 
 in the days when I was young. 
 
 ^ Among the strangers present at the feast would be representatives 
 of the States lately at war. 
 
489-518.] PEACE. 245 
 
 Try. To the Goddess, worthy neighbours, 
 
 be our hearty praise addressed. 
 Who has sent our crests and gorgons 
 
 in the lumber-room to rest. 
 Now, as fast as legs can carry, 
 
 to the homestead and the field. 
 Lay your money out in dressing, 
 
 'twill repay with double yield. 
 Mer, Neptune ! what a troop assembles 
 
 and by numbers is increased ! 
 Close as barley-cake and keen as 
 
 eaters at a common feast. 
 Try. Let your crusher be in order, 
 
 let the prong gleam in the sun ; 
 Fair and clean will be the alley 
 
 and the work be deftly done. 
 Aye, my heart is there already, 
 
 I am on the fret to stand 
 On the plot I worked from boyhood 
 
 with the old fork in my hand. \ 
 Think you how we used to live : 
 Think, what Peace was wont to give ; 
 Mellow figs, or dried and pressed. 
 Brow with wreath of myrtle dressed. 
 Grape juice from the presses flowing, 
 Violets by the fountain growing, 
 Olives, — oh, their savour yet. 
 Mingles longing with regret. 
 Peace, the giver of such treasure. 
 Welcome with a grateful measure. 
 Chorus. Welcome, welcome. Peace returning. 
 Now resume thy happy reign. 
 Long for thee have we been yearning. 
 
 Lead us to our fields again. 
 Eichly thou repayest toil 
 Spent upon the willing soil : 
 Yea, and freely will we spend. 
 While we have thee, labour's friend. 
 
 Thrifty joys but long enduring, 
 Joys uu bought by fear and care. 
 
246 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [519-538. 
 
 Dost thou give us, while assuring 
 
 Healthful work and country fare. 
 There's a thrill among the vines ; 
 Gladness from the fig-tree shines ; 
 Every budding herb and tree 
 Laughs its welcome back to thee. 
 But, oh most benevolent of 
 
 Gods, I wish you would explain. 
 Where the lady Peace has been, and 
 
 why she left us in disdain ? 
 Mer, Most intelligent small farmers, 
 
 you with ease will comprehend 
 How it happened that this lady 
 
 came to an untimely end. 
 Phidias began the business, 
 
 falling into your displeasure,' 
 Then was Pericles alarmed lest 
 
 he should meet with equal measure. 
 Knowing as he did your temper, 
 
 strong and stubborn in its ire. 
 He, before the trouble caught him, 
 
 set the City all on fire. 
 It was but a spark he threw in, 
 
 the Megarian decree : 
 But he blew it into war that 
 
 raging far as eye could see 
 Pilled the land of Greece with smoke and, 
 
 overclouding all the skies. 
 Blinded friend and foe alike and 
 
 brought the tears to many eyes. 
 Soon as knocks and counter-knocks had 
 
 passed among the angry jars,^ 
 There was none to stay the strife, and 
 
 Peace retired among the stars. 
 
 ^ The story told in explanation of these lines is this. Phidias was 
 employed by the State to execute a work of art. He purloined some of 
 the gold which was provided for him. Being detected he was banished. 
 Pericles, conscious of misappropriating public treasure, diverted attention 
 from liimself by engaging the citizens with political ambition. 
 
 ^ Videlicet, earthen wine-jars, representing the States of Greece. 
 
539-668.] PEACE. 247 
 
 Try, Odd it is that I knew nothing 
 
 of the facts which yon have stated, 
 Nor suspected Phidias and 
 
 Peace in any way related ! 
 Cho. Nor did I. What ? his relation ? 
 
 but the fact would seem to show 
 How it is she is good looking. 
 
 But there's much one does not know ! 
 Mer. See what followed : when the Cities, 
 
 hitherto obedient, 
 Saw you tearing at each other, 
 
 only on your quarrel bent ; 
 They set all their wits at work to 
 
 shake you off and break away : 
 For, said they, whoever wins or 
 
 loses, we shall have to pay. 
 Off they went to Lacedsemon, 
 
 not without a weighty purse. 
 Calculated to establish 
 
 all the tales they would rehearse. 
 False to friends as true to lucre. 
 
 Spartan gentlemen were gained. 
 Peace was foully thrown aside and 
 
 War had license unrestrained. 
 Spartan gains were farmers' losses ; 
 
 for the men sent out to sea 
 Eat the figs of honest fellows ^ 
 
 innocent as men could be. 
 Try, That was but a retribution. 
 
 Was it not a Spartan hand 
 Cut the cherished tree I set and 
 
 raised upon my father's land ? 
 Cho. Figs indeed ! It served them rightly : 
 
 there was my six-bushel bin. 
 What should these Laconians do, but 
 
 with a stone they stove it in ? 
 Mer, Presently the country people, 
 
 pushed within the City wall, 
 Got entrapped in politics they 
 
 did not understand at all. 
 
248 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [669-678. 
 
 Having not a fig to eat, or 
 
 raisin-stone to throw away, 
 They misspent their time in hearing 
 
 what the talkers had to say : 
 Eogues who knew their hearers' weakness, 
 
 what a hungry man would stand. 
 How they railed at Peace and drove her 
 
 with a pitchfork from the land ! 
 But when they could lay a finger 
 
 on a rich and fat ally. 
 Who with profit could be plundered — 
 
 They could give a reason why ! 
 Some intrigue with Brasidas, if 
 
 nothing better could be found. 
 You would turn upon the victim, 
 
 and despatch him like a hound. 
 Pale and frightened sat the City, 
 
 and, believing all they said. 
 Ever as the lie was greater 
 
 snapped it up for sweeter bread. 
 All your foreign friends, perceiving 
 
 who could do them mischief, ran 
 With a gag of gold to stop the 
 
 mouth of any noisy man. 
 So while Greece was growing weaker, 
 
 though you did not know the manner. 
 Richer grew the rogues among you. 
 
 This was managed by the Tanner.* 
 Try, Stop, I beg you. Mercury, and 
 
 let the wretched man alone. 
 Being down below, he is no 
 
 longer ours, he is your own.^ 
 Grrant him clever to contrive 
 Mischief, when he was alive. 
 Say, he chattered all the day. 
 Say, he flattered to betray, 
 
 * Cleon. 
 
 ^ It was one of the offices of Mercury to convey the souls of the dead 
 to Hades. 
 
579-609.] PEACE. 249 
 
 Say, he stirred sedition-broth, 
 Say, he ladled out the froth, 
 What you will ; — but all your wit 
 Yainly sounding. 
 Back rebounding. 
 Will but your own subjects hit. 
 
 [Turning to address Peace. 
 Lady, why no word from thee 9 
 Break that silence ; speak to me. 
 Mer, She may not speak, at least before the audience, 
 For they have given her by far too grave offence. 
 
 Try, Perhaps she will vouchsafe to whisper in your ear ? 
 Mer, [sjpeaking to Peace, listening for her whispered 
 answers and conveying them to the others). 
 Aye, tell me what you think about them, lady dear. 
 You, who of all your sex most hate a buckler band. 
 — Ah, yes, I hear. Is that the charge ? I understand. — 
 Now hear the reason why she holds you much to blame. 
 After the Pylos business she declares she came 
 Of her good will to bring a box of overtures ; 
 But twice was she rejected in that hall of yours. 
 
 Try, There we were wrong. But beg her to forgive the 
 crime ; 
 For we in fact were leather-headed ^ at the time. 
 
 Mer, The Goddess bids me ask you. Who it is of late 
 That in the Pnyx has occupied your chair of state ? 
 
 Try, Hyperbolus ^ at present occupies the place. 
 But, Lady, why is this ? Why turn away your face ? 
 
 Mer, She holds the populace in such abomination 
 For putting such a rascal in so high a station. 
 
 Try, We'll throw the man aside. But, happening as it 
 then did 
 That they had lost their guardian, and were undefended. 
 The mob strapped on in haste the sword that came to hand. 
 Mer, What service he could do she cannot understand. 
 Try, Our counsels would be bettered. 
 Jtfer. What could he confer ? 
 
 * Under the influence of Cleon. 
 « Knights, 1. 1164. Clouds, 1. 945. 
 
260 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [610-635. 
 
 Try, It chanced he was a lantern manufacturer : 
 So, whereas heretofore we only groped our way, 
 His lantern to our council lends its kindly ray. 
 
 Mer, {after listening to Peace, laughs). Ho ! ho ! 
 To think of what she bids me ask of you ! 
 
 Try. What is it? 
 
 Mer. Old matters she remembers from her former visit. 
 First, she would know how goes the world with Sophocles ? 
 
 Try. Well ; though he sniffers from a very strange disease. 
 
 Mer. What is it ? 
 
 Try. He is changed into Simonides. 
 
 Mer. Simonides ! How so ? 
 
 Try. Now he is growing old, 
 
 He'd go to sea upon a twig in search of gold.^ 
 
 Mer. And is that clever man Cratinus ^ in good case ? 
 
 Try. He died when last the Spartans overran the place. 
 
 Mer. Of what? 
 
 Try. A swoon : poor man, he could not bear the guilt. 
 He saw a wine-jar broken and good Hquor spilt. 
 And much beside has happened to our hurt and pain : 
 So, Lady, will we never let you go again. 
 
 Mer. Agreed : and you shall take Opora for your mate. 
 In love live with her, and your clusters shall be great. 
 Take Theoeia to the Senate on your way ; 
 And let them all the care they owe to her display.^ 
 
 Try. Oh, happy Senators, how much soup will you 
 swallow ! 
 And in your roast and boiled for three whole days will 
 
 wallow. 
 Dear Meecury, farewell. 
 
 Mer. Farewell, Humanity. 
 
 A pleasant journey to you ; and remember me. 
 
 Try. Now homeward, homeward. Beetle, homeward let 
 us fly. 
 
 * Simonides had the repute, and it was an evil repute, of being the 
 first poet who regarded pay as well as credit for his verses. The reproach 
 here is, that Sophocles had become too fond of money. 
 
 ^ Knights, 1. 491. Cratinus then died in the year after his triumph over 
 Aristophanes, at the age of 97. 
 
 ^ It would be the duty of the Senate to institute a three days' feast on 
 the re-establishment of Peace. 
 
636-652.] PEACF. 261 
 
 Mer. Good man, it is not here. 
 
 Try. Where is it gone ? and why ? 
 
 Mer, 'Tis harnessed to Jove's car to carry lightning out. 
 
 Try. Then how shall I go down ? 
 
 Mer. Oh, very weU, no doubt, 
 
 In company with Peace. 
 
 Try. Then, ladies, let us go ; 
 
 For many are the hearts that long for us below. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
 PAEABASIS. 
 
 Chorus. Fare you well. In the meantime we will 
 
 give up these things ^ to the property-man. 
 Ever about a playhouse rogues are 
 
 watching to steal whatever they can. 
 Sir, I put them into your charge. Now, 
 
 if we can without giving offence, 
 We will address to the lookers-on a 
 
 very few words of passable sense. 
 If your Playwright uses his Interlude 
 
 as an occasion to force upon you 
 His self-praises, whip him, I say, for 
 
 so shall he have no more than his due. 
 But, if ever a Comedy-maker, 
 
 as the best in general fame. 
 Be entitled to honour, our Author 
 
 thinks it fair to put in his claim. 
 When he began he found you amused with 
 
 figures stale and silly as these ; 
 Hercules baking, Eunaways, Sharpers, 
 
 wretches in rags and fighting with fleas. 
 Here was a slave who came in howling, 
 
 there was another, his fellow, to say 
 How is your hide, man ? Has the bristle-whip 
 
 made an attack in battle-array ? 
 
 The cables and implements wherewith Peace had been raised. 
 
262 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [653-674* 
 
 These were the rivals he supplanted : 
 
 raising instead a fabric of art, 
 Where the thoughts and words were large, and 
 
 polished with wit in every part. 
 Little men fear him not ; nor ever has 
 
 woman by him been set on your stage. 
 His is the Hercules-vein, which, seeking 
 
 subjects worthy his wit to engage. 
 Flies at the highest ; nothing daunted 
 
 though he pass through a tannery yard : 
 Undiverted though by a kennel of 
 
 threats and wrath his way may be barred. 
 First, I fought with the saw-toothed monster : 
 
 lust and fury flashed from his eyes, 
 Eound his head a hundred flatterers 
 
 fondled him with slaver and lies ; 
 Out of his throat there came a roaring 
 
 as of a dam that has broken away ; 
 Sea-calf was his smell, and his hide was 
 
 scaled with the dirt of many a day. 
 Undismayed I engaged the Portent, 
 
 doing battle for you and the isles. 
 Wherefore, not all undeserving, 
 
 I may claim your favouring smiles. 
 Nor I think will you deny me 
 
 such a measure of credit as this, — 
 What we looked for he has given us; 
 
 much that is good and little amiss. 
 Therefore, men and boys, stand by me, 
 
 Let the bald fill up the chorus. 
 Every merry tongue will ply me. 
 
 When the wine-cup is before us : 
 — Honour to the shining pate ; 
 Bald ^ he is, and let him know it ; 
 But his verses do not show it. 
 For he is a worthy poet. 
 
 ^ Aristophanes among the comedians of course had not the monopoly 
 of personalities. It seems that Eupolis had quizzed him for his baldness ; 
 which was the more noticeable as he was at this time only about six-and- 
 twenty. 
 
675-706.] PEACE. 253 
 
 And withal a merry mate ; 
 Fill his cup and heap his plate. 
 1st Semichorus, Away with wars, dear Mnse, and link thy 
 hand with mine 
 To dance a measure. It is thine 
 To glorify the sponsals of the Gods above, 
 Their banquets and men's feasts : for such thy early love.^ 
 But certainly decline. 
 If Carcinus should beg of thee 
 To dance in his sons' company : 
 Eefuse to give them any aid. 
 For they are villanously made. 
 With length of neck and body short, 
 Tame quails bred in a dingy court. 
 Stage-carpenters. Alas the day ! 
 
 Their father says. Who would have thought it. 
 Just when he almost had a play 
 A cruel cat one evening caught it. 
 2nd Semichorus. Such festal songs as might the bright- 
 haired Graces please. 
 When crowds are listening, such as these, 
 Let the wise Poet tune his soul and voice to sing. 
 What time the cheerful swallow brings with her the Spring, 
 And Spring the tragedies ; 
 If Morsimus has not to bore us, 
 Nor yet Melanthius a chorus : 
 His screaming notes I heard when he 
 Exhibited a tragedy. 
 He and his brother, Gorgon-throats 
 To swallow dainty fish, he-goats. 
 Matched in depravity and crime : 
 
 Whom, Muse, reject with scorn and spitting ; 
 And sport with me to make this time 
 The feast of joyaunce that is fitting. 
 
 1 The four first lines of this strophe and of that which follows are 
 adapted from lines of Stesichorus, the poet who is said to have invented 
 < Chorus.' Carcinus, Morsimus, and Melanthius were contemporary tragic 
 poets, of whom little more is now known than what Aristophanes says of 
 them. The explanation given of the point in the first strophe is, that 
 Carcinus had succeeded in ' getting a chorus ' — that is, the opportunity of 
 exhibiting a tragedy, the title of which was The Mice. It was, however, 
 as we should say, hissed oif the stage. 
 
254 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [707-730 
 
 Scene. — House of Teyg^us. Tryg^us arrived from 
 heaven, accompanied by Peace, Opora, and Theoria, 
 Slave and Chorus. 
 
 Try. That journey to the Gods was no slight under- 
 taking ; 
 And, I will fairly own it, that my legs are aching. 
 When I was up aloft and looked down upon you. 
 You men seemed very small ; and yet 'tis certain, too. 
 As rogues you still were great when looked at from afar. 
 Yet still, the nearer seen the greater rogues you are. 
 
 Slave. What, master, are you come ? 
 
 Try. So heard I some one say. 
 
 Slave. How have you fared ? 
 
 Try. Badly about the legs ; the way 
 
 Was long. 
 
 Slave. Come, tell me. 
 
 Try. What ? 
 
 Slave. When you were in the air. 
 
 Met you another man upon his travels there ? 
 
 Try. Not I; except some souls, freed from their late 
 abodes. 
 Some two or three, of crazy poets who write odes. 
 
 Slave. What were they doing ? 
 
 Try. Catching notions on the wing, 
 
 To introduce into some flimsy, cloudy thing. 
 
 Slave. And is there any truth in what is sometimes said. 
 About us being turned to stars when we are dead ? 
 
 Try. No doubt of it. 
 
 Slave. Who is the newest star that shines ? 
 
 Try. Ion of Chios, he who made the pretty lines 
 About the Morning Star. Immediately he came 
 Among them, they in compliment gave him the name. 
 
 Slave. What sort of stars are those that shoot and 
 quickly pass 
 As though they were on fire ? 
 
 Try. Stars of the richer class, 
 
 Who, after some convivialities, retire 
 With lanterns in their hands, and in the lanterns fire. 
 
731-764.] PEACE. 255 
 
 But now into the house conduct this lady fair, 
 Make warm some water quickly, fill the bath, prepare 
 A marriage-bed for us ; Opora is to be 
 My bride this night. This done, do you come back to me. 
 
 \_Exit Slave, with Opora. 
 And, Members of the Senate, you I charge with this — 
 The lady Theoria. 
 
 \_A prytanis steps forward to receive Theoria. 
 See the prytanis ! 
 How nimbly he came forward ! 'Twere another thing 
 If I, without his bribe, had called on him to bring 
 Some matter into Council ; then, ' Sir,' you would say, 
 ' Impossible : the Council does not meet to-day.' 
 Chorus. Worthy man, and truly great, 
 Serviceable to the State 
 Is such a citizen. 
 Try. Aye, aye, when vintage comes, you'll know me better 
 
 then. 
 €horus. Nay, you are already known — 
 Born to be, and be alone. 
 All the nation's saver. 
 Try. You'll say it when you know the new wine's fruity 
 
 flavour. 
 Chorus. But come, what's next to do ? 
 Try. To set us up a shrine 
 
 Where we with fitting rite may worship Peace Divine. 
 So choose me out a sheep, and bring it in a trice. 
 And I will find an altar for the sacrifice. 
 Chorus. When God declares his will. 
 And Fortune ratifies it. 
 All must succeed ; 
 Need after need 
 Occasion brings, and still 
 Spontaneously supplies it. 
 Try. {observing an altar at the side of the stage). 
 That never was more true than now ; 
 Here is an altar for our vow. 
 Chorus. Speed, then, your preparations while 
 The gusty gale of war is falling, 
 For Providence begins to smile. 
 The happy ancient times recalling. 
 
256 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [765-797. 
 
 Try, Here is the basket, with the meal, 
 The woollen fillet, and the steel, 
 And here is fire ; so what should keep 
 Us waiting longer but the sheep ? 
 Chorus. Up, stir yourselves, for if that Chseris 
 
 Should chance to learn what business here is. 
 He will without an invitation 
 Come with his pipes and botheration ; 
 And then, I know, you'll be bestowing 
 A something for his pipes and blowing. 
 Try, {giving directions to the slaife). Take you the basket, 
 with the water-stoup, and run 
 From left to right about the altar. 
 
 Slave, It is done : 
 
 What next? 
 
 Try, I dip this torch ; you whirl it rapidly ; 
 
 OfPer some meal upon the altar ; hand to me 
 The water-stoup ; dip your own finger ; now dispense 
 Handfuls of barley-corns among the audience. 
 Slave, Ready. 
 
 Try, Let us commence the office : — ' Who is here ? ' 
 
 The ' many and the good,'* it seems, do not appear ! 
 
 Slave, Shall I not give to these, ^ who many are and good? 
 Try, Good do you reckon them ? 
 
 Slave, At any rate they stood, 
 
 When I upon their heads rained holy water down 
 Enough to have dispersed the rabble of a town. 
 
 Try, Now, let us pray ; so let your idle babble cease. 
 Goddess of our love and Queen, 
 
 Honoured Peace, 
 Thou whom marriage-feast delights, 
 And the dance upon the green. 
 Deign accept our sacred rites. 
 Lady, hear thy lovers crying. 
 For their long-lost mistress sighing. 
 Thirteen heavy years have worn us. 
 Trouble and dissension torn us. 
 
 Since we doated on thy charms. 
 
 * The audience. 
 
798-830.J PEACE. - 257 
 
 Oh, receive us with a kiss, 
 
 Oh, embrace us, and dismiss 
 
 Battle-cries and clash of arms. 
 
 Stay the carpings, stay the chatter, 
 
 When each other we bespatter ; 
 
 Mingle us in heart and soul, 
 
 Dropping love-juice in the bowl; 
 
 And let Gentleness fill up 
 
 Judgment's hot untempered cup. 
 
 Fill the market, as of yore, 
 
 With its rich and varied store. 
 
 Heaped in every pot and pan, its 
 
 Early cucumbers, pomegranates. 
 
 Jackets for the slaves between 
 
 Apples red and onions green. 
 
 Let Bceotians never cease 
 
 Bringing pigeons, ducks, and geese. 
 
 With the sweet Copaic eel. 
 
 Let us jostle round to deal 
 
 In the crowd with Teleas,^ 
 
 Morychus, and Glaucetas, 
 
 And a score of others there 
 
 Looking out for dainty fare. 
 
 When the market has grown thin, 
 
 Let Melanthius come in, 
 
 Ask for eels, and finding none, 
 Sing in tragic measure meet, 
 
 ' Woe is me, I am undone. 
 
 Widowed of my eels in beet ; ' "^ 
 
 Let bystanders see the jest. 
 So hearken, honoured Peace, and grant thy servant's quest. 
 Slave. Take you the knife and kill the sheep as cookishly 
 As you can do it. 
 
 Try. But 'tis not permitted. 
 
 Slave. Why ? 
 
 1 Birds, 1. 149. 
 
 ^ A parody of lines in the Medea of Melanthius. 
 
2o8 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [831-8G0. 
 
 Try. Peace is not pleased with slaughter, and it were a 
 sin 
 With blood to stain her altar ; but take you it in, 
 There kill it, and bring out the legs of mutton ; so 
 A sheep's cost shall be saved in charges for the show.' 
 
 [Exit Slave. 
 Chorus. 'Tis yours with proper care. 
 
 Keeping your present station. 
 To lay the wood. 
 Just as you should. 
 And other things prepare 
 To perfect the oblation. 
 Try, Have I not laid the faggots here 
 
 As though I were a very seer ? 
 Chorus. Aye, nothing can be lost on you; 
 
 For yours that keen intelligence, 
 All to provide and all to do 
 
 As 'fits a man of nerve and sense. 
 Try. This faggot makes a wondrous smoke, 
 
 And Stilbides ^ is like to choke. 
 I will supply my servant's lack, 
 And put the table farther back. 
 Chorus. Oh, wondrous man ! for it would shame us 
 Not to extol a man so famous : 
 For has he not the City saved. 
 After such great adventures braved ? 
 So must he in each generation 
 Be held the mark of emulation. 
 
 Enter Slave, carrying two haunches of mutton. 
 Slave. Sir, I have done my work, and beg you take these 
 haunches. 
 While I run for the incense and prepare the paunches. 
 Try. Leave that to me, and stay ; I've been expecting 
 
 you. 
 Slave. Surely, I've not been long ; and what am I to do? 
 
 ^ The humour of this speech of coui'se lay in the fact^ visible to the 
 nudirnce, that they had no sheep. 
 
 ^ Trygreus, playing the part of a seer, speaks of himself as Stilbides. 
 Stilbides was the seer of the dav. 
 
861-882.] PEACE. 259 
 
 Try, Look to the cooking well, for some one comes this 
 way 
 Who has upon his head what seems a laurel-spray. 
 Who can it be ? 
 
 Slave, He seems a coxcomb at his ease. 
 
 It is a Seer. 
 
 Try. Ah, no ; 'tis only Hierocles.^ 
 
 Slave. FromOreum? — It is. What can he want with us? 
 
 Try. To make our plans for peace occasion for a fuss. 
 
 Slave, Pooh, pooh ! he is attracted by the smell of food. 
 
 Try, That's very probable. Seem not to see him. 
 
 Slave, Good. 
 
 Enter Hieeocles. 
 
 Hier, What sacrifice is this ? and to what Deity ? 
 
 Try, {to slave). Go on, and take no notice. Leave the loin 
 to me. 
 
 Hier. Will ye not answer me? — To whom this pious care? 
 
 Try. The tail is doing well. 
 
 Slave, Sweet Peace, but this is rare ! 
 
 Hier. Now cut it up and let me have the primal slice. 
 
 Try. 'Twere best to cook it first. 
 
 Hier, But this is very nice. 
 
 Try. {to Hier.) You meddle. 
 {to the slave) Where's the table ? bring me the libation. 
 
 Hier. The tongue apart.^ 
 
 Try. We do not need the information. 
 
 Hier. But tell me — 
 
 Try. P^a.y, sir, let these interruptions cease. 
 
 We are about a solemn sacrifice to Peace. 
 
 Hier. Oh, hapless mortals and unwise — 
 
 Try. Yourself to wit. 
 
 Hier. Who knowing not God's mind, or disregarding it, 
 Being men make terms with fierce-eyed monkeys — 
 
 Slave. He-he -he. 
 
 Try. Why do you laugh ? 
 
 Slave. The fierce-eyed monkeys tickled me. 
 
 ^ In his own estimation unquestionably a seer. 
 ^ An Attic custom in sacrifice. See Birds, 1. 1611. 
 s 2 
 
260 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [883-908. 
 
 Hier. And, timid pigeons as you are, put confidence 
 In foxes full of guile and dangerous pretence. 
 
 Try. Coxcomb, I only wish your liver was as hot 
 As this is. 
 
 Hier. Bacis,' if the nymphs deceive him not, 
 
 Nor Bacis men, nor him again the nymphs — 
 
 Try. , Grod grant 
 
 A speedy choking to you with your silly rant. 
 
 Hier. The chains of Peace, I say, or Bacis is at fault, 
 Shall not be loosed before — 
 
 Try. This wants a little salt. 
 
 Hier. The blessed Gods design that strife shall not 
 abate 
 Till whelps shall see at birth, and wolves with sheep shall 
 mate. 
 
 Try. What would you have us do ? maintain a constant 
 pother ? 
 Or draw lots for it which of us should do the other 
 The greatest mischief? while, if rivalry should cease. 
 We might in concord share dominion over Greece. 
 
 Hier. Thou never wilt induce the crab to travel straight. 
 
 Try. Thou, after the event, shalt not vaticinate : 
 Nor eat thy suppers at the charges of the town.^ 
 
 Hier. Thou canst not change the hedgehog's bristles into 
 down. 
 
 Try. When will you stop your course of trickery and 
 lies ? 
 
 Hier. What ordinance of God enjoins to bum the 
 thighs ? 
 
 Try. That noted one which Homer long ago rehearsed — 
 ' Whereas the hateful cloud of war was now dispersed, 
 
 * Peace took they in embrace and solemnly enshrined. 
 
 * Then did they burn the thighs and on the entrails dined, 
 ' Draining their mighty cups. I was the author of it ; 
 
 * But no one gave a shining goblet to the prophet.' 
 
 1 See Knights, 1. Ill and 930. 
 
 * Seers, especially in time of war, were made much of and allowed their 
 maintenance in the Prjtaneum. As Tryg?eus had already secured peace, 
 this entertainment for Hierocles would come to an end. 
 
909-933.] PEACE. 261 
 
 ffier. 'Tis nouglit to me : the Sibyl never said such 
 things. 
 
 Try, Nay, but again Homer, the Master, wisely sings, 
 ' Unbrothered, outlawed, houseless may he pass his life, 
 ' Who sets his heart upon blood- chilling civil strife.' 
 
 ffier. A guileful kite is overhead. I say beware 
 Lest he should stoop on thee — 
 
 Try. {to slave), -^je, surely, have a care; 
 
 For the blackpuddings 'tis an evil augury. 
 So, pour you out the wine and bring the meat to me. 
 
 Kier, So, so : then fpr myself I'll do the server's part. 
 
 Try, I pour, I pour, {making libation.) 
 
 Hier. For me : and reach me here some heart. 
 
 Try. The blessed Gods design that it shall not be so. 
 They will that we should drink the wine, and you should 
 
 go. 
 Deign, venerated Peace, with us through life to stay — 
 
 Hier. Give me the tongue. 
 
 Try. I wish you'd take your own away. 
 
 Hier. {taking the cup as if to help himself) . I pour. 
 
 Try. {striking him). Take that for pouring. 
 
 Hier. How long must I wait ? 
 
 Give me some liver. 
 
 Try. Not till wolf and sheep shall mate. 
 
 Hier. Nay, by your knees, I pray. 
 
 Try. In vain you clutch my gown : 
 
 Thou canst not change the hedgehog's bristles into down. 
 Spectators, join with us, and make the joy completer. 
 
 Hier. And what shall I do ? 
 
 Try. Catch your Sibyl, man, and eat her. 
 
 Hier. By Earth, you too shall not be left to eat this 
 dinner. 
 I'll fight for it ; and let it follow to the winner. 
 
 \_Seizes apiece of meat. 
 
 Try, Hit him. 
 
 Hier< I call on these to witness. 
 
 Try, So do I, 
 
 That you're a greedy coxcomb. Hither, Slave, and ply 
 The stick about this Bacis. 
 
 \_Exit HiEKOOLES running. 
 
262 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [933-960. 
 
 8lave. Hark, I'll make you drop 
 
 That sheepskin you have stolen. Stop, you rascal, stop. 
 [Exeunt Slave and Tetg^us, pursuing 
 
 HiEEOCLES. 
 
 Semichorus, Happy, happy day ! 
 
 I may throw my shield away. 
 Cheese and onion fare with fighting 
 Is not such as I delight in. 
 True enjoyment, to my thinking, 
 Centres in a bout of drinking. 
 When some good companions meet 
 With a bright hearth at their feet. 
 Fed with logs that have been lying 
 All the sunny summer drying. 
 There we gossip at our ease, 
 Roasting nuts and parching peas. 
 There's nothing pleasanter than when the sowing time is 
 
 done. 
 And God is giving rain, to have a neighbour say to one, 
 ' Aye, truly, friend Comarchides, 'tis seasonable weather ; 
 ' What can we better do to-day than have a cup together ? 
 ' So, mistress, roast some haricots, a bushel at the least, 
 ' A little corn will mend the fare and figs will make a 
 
 feast. 
 ' There's Manes ^ in the vineyard must be soaking to the 
 
 skin; 
 ' 'Tis much too wet to prune the vines ; go, girl, and fetch 
 
 him in* 
 ' And bring me from the larder, boy, four fillets of a hare, 
 ' A thrush, two finches and a dish of curds that should be 
 
 there ; 
 ' Unless the cat has got them ; for I own I heard a 
 
 clatter 
 ' Last night, and did not give a thought to what might be 
 
 the matter. 
 ' So if you find them bring me three, and take your father 
 
 one : 
 ' And beg some boughs of myrtle from iEschinades, boy ; 
 
 ^ The name of one of the farm-slaves. 
 
OGl-990.] PEACE. 203 
 
 ' And as you go look in upon Charinades and say, 
 ' We expect liim here to day : 
 ' While the rain of God is dressing 
 ' Every field with fruitful blessing.' 
 SemicJiorus, That's a day of pleasure ! 
 
 When the cricket chirps his measure ; 
 When I see along the lines 
 Shoots upon the Lemnian vines 
 ('Tis the first to ripen well) . 
 When the fig begins to swell ; 
 Oh, and when the juice is sweet, 
 How I smack and taste the treat ! 
 Then to cure all summer ails 
 Thyme-tea is draught that never fails. 
 I grow fat and say with reason, 
 Blessings on the pleasant season ! 
 'Tis better seeing than the Captain with his triple crest, 
 (Oh, how the Gods abhor him) in his scarlet mantle 
 
 dressed. 
 He says it is of Sardian dye, but when the foe's in view. 
 The mantle and its master too are apt to change their 
 
 hue. 
 The buzzard is the first to fly ; and, leading in the race, 
 You may observe his streaming crests, while I must keep 
 
 my place ! 
 But when they are at home again they treat us worst of 
 
 all. 
 There's no one knows on whom the turn for service is to 
 
 faU; 
 One's in the list and out again. Just when a man feels 
 
 free. 
 He casts a careless eye upon the lists ; — and what to see ? 
 His name in full ! — and he must go, poor fellow, to his 
 
 sorrow ; 
 For no provision has been bought, and he must march to- 
 morrow. 
 Though thus they treat us countrymen, 'tis not the game 
 
 they play 
 With citizens, who take no shame their shields to throw 
 away. 
 
264 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [991-1011. 
 
 But, yes, — for all the wrong they've done, which I will not 
 forget. 
 
 They shall pay the reckoning yet : 
 Lions in the city walls. 
 Foxes when the trumpet calls. 
 
 Scene. — House of Tryg^us. Preparations for a wedding 
 feast. TRYG^TJsi Slave. 
 
 Try. Well ! such a company was surely never seen 
 To grace a wedding feast. 
 
 [Taking from his helmet its horsehair crest, 
 and giving it to the slave. 
 
 Here, sweep the tables clean. 
 This thing is useless now except to serve for brushes. 
 And now bring in the cakes, the rabbits, and the thrushes. 
 
 Enter Sickle-maker and Cask-maker. 
 
 S. M. Where is Trtg^us ? 
 
 Try. Roasting thrushes, as you see. 
 
 8. M. Good Sir, the Peace you've made has set our busi- 
 ness free ; 
 And we are come to thank you. Sickles would not bring 
 A groat apiece, but now they will fetch anything ; 
 Yes, forty, fifty drachmas. And here's a man who asks 
 And gets three drachmas freely for his country casks. 
 So, please you, on your marriage take in kindly part 
 These sickles, and this cask, the produce of our art. 
 
 Try. I thank you, put them down, and, pray you, take 
 your places. 
 The supper is just ready. — Here is one whose face is 
 Significant of trouble ! — 'Tis the armourer. 
 
 Enter Ceest and Spear-makers. 
 
 Cr.-M. You've ruined me, Trtgjsus. 
 Try. What's the matter. Sir ? 
 
 Are you crest-fallen ? 
 
1011-1038.] PEACE. 265 
 
 Cr.-M, You liave quite undone our crafts, 
 
 Mine and my fellow's liere who polishes spear-shafts. 
 
 Try. What is your price for these two crests ? 
 
 Cr.-M, What will you give ? 
 
 Try. I'm half ashamed to say, — I know a man must 
 live, — 
 The boss is good and must, as far as I can judge. 
 Have cost some little labour ; so I would not grudge 
 Two bushels of dried figs. At least they'll serve the turn 
 Of table-brushes. 
 
 Cr.-M. Take them ; I would rather earn 
 
 The figs than nothing. 
 
 Try. Pooh ! I will not have them here. 
 
 Look you, they shed the hair. A fig for them were dear. 
 
 Cr.-M. Shafter, let's go. 
 
 Try. Don't think of it ; for he and I 
 
 May deal about the spears ; I am prepared to buy. 
 
 Shafter. What will you give ? 
 
 Try. Saw them in-two, and I will take 
 
 A hundred for a groat. Each one will make a stake. 
 
 8haft. 'Tis insult, let us go. 
 
 Try. Aye, do. 
 
 [Exeunt Crest-maker and Shafter. 
 What boys are these ? 
 
 Enter Boys. 
 
 The children of my guests, who come to sing some glees. 
 'Tis well. Come let me hear, to tune your voices up. 
 The song which you intend to sing us while we sup. 
 First Boy. I sing of men in armour proof. 
 Try. I'll none of that : 
 
 Armour ! in time of peace, you ill-conditioned brat ! 
 First B. Now when the foremost dashing 
 Met the line embattled. 
 Shield against shield was crashing. 
 Bossy bucklers rattled. 
 Try. Eh ! bucklers — I say, no, 
 
 I will not have such stuff. 
 Boy. Then were there cries of woe. 
 
 And men said, Hold, enough.^ 
 
2G6 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [1039-10G9. 
 
 Try, By Bacclius, I will bring 
 
 The tears into your eyes, 
 If you persist to sing 
 
 About those ' bossy ' cries. 
 Boy. What shall I sing about ? 
 Try. Slaying of beeves to eat, 
 
 And laying viands out 
 Both savoury and sweet. 
 Boy. So many beeves and fat 
 
 They slew, and from the car 
 Loosing their hot steeds, sat 
 As satiate with war. 
 Try. Aye, satiate indeed. 
 
 That's just what I should think. 
 Sing how they sat to feed. 
 And doubtless too to drink. 
 Boy. Then buckled to again — 
 Try. With good will I suppose. 
 
 Boy. And rushing to the plain, 
 A mighty shout arose. 
 Try. A plague upon you, boy, and on your battles too ! 
 You only sing of wars. And, pray, whose son are you ? 
 Boy. Who? I? 
 Try. Yes, you. 
 
 Boy. The son of Lamachus. 
 
 Try. Eh-heigh ! 
 
 I thought, to hear you sing, that you must be a spray 
 Of some war-monger stock. Sing to the men of spears. 
 
 Sir. 
 Where is Cleonymus's son among you ? 
 
 2nd B. Here, Sir. 
 
 Try. The son of that retiring man from whom you spring 
 Will keep quite clear of actions. Let me hear you suig. 
 Boy. With pride some Saian shows the shield 
 
 I scatheless left upon the field — 
 Try. Do you sing that, you dog, before your father's 
 face? 
 
 ^ Aristopliancs here uses some verses of Arcliiloclms, composed in 
 reference to his own conduct in having left too prematurely a field of 
 
 battle {igainst tlie f^aitms. 
 
1070-1106.] PEACE. 207 
 
 Boy {continues singing). My life I brought away — 
 Try. You tell your sire's disgrace ! 
 
 But let's go in, my boy, you'll not forget your part ; 
 Your father's son must have those verses well by heart. 
 Good people all, fall to the fare ; 
 There's plenty for your filling. 
 It is not well to chew the air. 
 For stones were made for milling. 
 So come, with right good will, in 
 And set your jaws at once to grind. 
 
 The lower and the upper : 
 White teeth their only value find 
 When masticating supper. 
 Chorus. Leave that to us ; but you are right 
 
 In thus expatiating. 
 Try. For all who have an appetite 
 
 A dish of hare is waiting : 
 And pardon me for stating. 
 You will not often meet astray 
 Dumplings of dough or suet ; 
 So catch and eat them while you may. 
 Or you'll hereafter rue it. 
 
 [Exit TuYGMVS to bring the Bride, 
 Cho. Attention now : you go to bring 
 The bride and bridal party. 
 Fetch torches ; and let people sing, 
 
 With voices loud and hearty. 
 And pray we for the wealth of Greece. 
 May its barley crops increase ; 
 May the bounteous Powers divine 
 Bless the fig-tree and the vine ; 
 Give us honey in our hives ; 
 Give us children to our wives ; 
 All the good we had before, 
 And never to touch weapon more. 
 
 Re-enter Tetgjsus, leading Opoea. 
 
 Try. Where the fields are green and free, 
 Lady, follow on with me. 
 Thou, to be mine honest wife, ^ 
 We, to lead an honest life. 
 
COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1107-1118. 
 
 Cho. Hymen, Hymenseus, 0. 
 
 Semicho, Happy man, possessing 
 RigMfully all blessing. 
 Cho, Hymen, Hymenseus, O. 
 
 Semicho, What shall we do with the vine ? 
 
 Pluck the clusters ; tread the wine. 
 Chorus. Up and bear the bridegroom home ; 
 For the vintage time is come. 
 
 Hymen, Hymenseus, 0, 
 Free from care, and free from strife, 
 Happy be your honest life. 
 Hymen, Hymenseus, 0. 
 
 [Exeunt all in procession. 
 
BIEDS. 
 
INTEODUCTIOK 
 
 This comedy is not inspired by partisan politics or per- 
 sonal acrimony. It requires therefore little introduction 
 for those who have slight knowledge or interest in the 
 politics or public characters of Athens at the time in 
 question. 
 
 The opening scene and explanation offered to the 
 audience by Euelpides is really so little in harmony with 
 the middle and ending of the drama, that it seems as if 
 Aristophanes himself had set out with a design from which 
 he was early diverted by the unexpected creation of his 
 own humorous fancy. 
 
 Two Athenians, disgusted by the unending litigiousness 
 of their fellow-citizens, set out on their travels in quest of 
 a quiet city. With this view their first object is to find 
 Tereus. They counted upon his good offices in their behalf 
 on the ground that he had married an Athenian wife. It 
 is true the match had not been originally very happy ; 
 but, as it would seem, all difficulties and jealousies had 
 been accommodated when Tereus, with his wife Procne, and 
 her sister Philomela, had been metamorphosed into Birds. 
 Tereus had become the Epops or Hoopoo. As such the 
 Athenians sought his assistance. For, with their powers 
 of locomotion, who should have such large knowledge of 
 the world as the Birds ? If there was anywhere a quiet city, 
 the Birds must know it. With the help of a jackdaw and 
 raven as guides, they succeed in finding Tereus. Here, as 
 it seems for the first time, and independently, the idea 
 strikes Euelpides that it might be a pleasant end of their 
 journey to remain where they are and join the company 
 of the Birds. Peisthetserus, his companion, after some 
 silent thought, goes beyond him in conception : — ' Why not 
 gather the Birds into a community, which shall supplant 
 
272 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the Olympian Gods, and draw to itself the reverence and 
 religious services of men ? ' The Epops is delighted 
 with the proposal. The comedy proceeds with the carry- 
 ing out of the idea. The ' quiet city ' plan is dropped. 
 Euelpides, who has done nothing more for the action than 
 make the aforesaid short suggestion, has no further work 
 to do ; and is shortly dismissed from the stage, not to re- 
 appear. Peisthetserus alone does the work, and carries off 
 the undivided honours of the situation. 
 
 In the course of the comedy Aristophanes finds occasion 
 to introduce his favourite characters, an Informer, an 
 Oracle-monger, and two Poets, and, in spite of his satirical 
 observations in the Parabasis of Peace, sl gluttonous 
 Hercules. The grand idea, however, of Peisthetserus is 
 crowned with success by the intervention of no less a 
 person than Prometheus.!/ An unclassical reader may 
 look for some explanation 6f the very extraordinary part 
 taken in the piece by this mythical person. No legend in 
 the Greek mythology is more engaging to the speculative 
 mind than that of Prometheus. It is enough, however, for 
 this place to say, that he appears broadly as the antag- 
 onist of Zeus, in whom the power and disposition of the 
 Gods is represented. He does not question the God's ab- 
 solute title to power, or seek to meet it with direct force, as 
 the Titans had done. So far he is like the Satan of Milton 
 at a certain point : but there is this great difference in 
 L Prometheus, that he is actuated by a beneficent disposition 
 (towards the human race. The Gods, having given to man 
 a place upon earth, had malignantly left him the mere 
 victim of physical evils. Prometheus devotes himself to 
 redress this stinted and envious providence. "^ That boon to 
 men which is most frequently referred to as the gift of 
 Prometheus is fire. But the arts of working in metals, do- 
 mestication of animals, building, writing — in short, all the 
 great conquests of civilisation — have been ascribed to him. 
 Por this meddling with the will and empire of the Gods he 
 drew upon himself the displeasure and overwhelming ven- 
 geance of Zeus. On the whole he seems to represent the 
 (power of knowledge in contrast with the power of original 
 (Imaterial force. Natural forces originally possessed the 
 
rNTIlODUCTie:5f. 273 
 
 field, and stand still. Wisdom progresses, and converts 
 evils into instruments of good. The legend of Prometheus 
 illustrates the struggle of all times by vrhich the weak 
 establish their right and their good against the pride of 
 brute force and arbitrary power ; and more perhaps, the I 
 paradoxical law that moral victories are won only by the / 
 apparent defeat, dishonour, and suffering of the conqueror. ' 
 However that be, it will be evident from the scene in this 
 comedy that some such ideas about Prometheus, in relation 
 to Zeus and to Humanity, must at the time have been in 
 popular acceptation. 
 
 The piece obtained only the second prize. Would that 
 we had the Revellers of Ameipsias, which in the opinion of 
 the judges was a better comedy. 
 
^' ' Y Citizetis of Athens on their travels. 
 
 EUELPIDES J 
 
 Tkochilus (the Wren)^ Set'vant of the Epops. 
 
 Epops (Hoopoo), formerly Tereus king of Daulis, married to Procne, 
 
 daughter of Pandion king of Attica. 
 Choetjs of Birds. 
 Priest, of the Birds, 
 A Poet. 
 
 A Textuary, collector and student of Oracles. 
 Meton, The Geometrician. 
 Political Agent. 
 Decree-dealer. 
 Heralds. 
 Messengers. 
 
 Iris of Olympus (the Eainbo2v). 
 Father-beater. 
 
 C1NESIA.S, the Dithyramhic Poet. 
 Informer. 
 Prometheus. 
 Neptune. 
 Hercules. 
 
 Triballus, a barbarian God, who cannot speak Greek. 
 Servant of Petsthet^rus. 
 Basileia, the royal authority of Jupiter. A mute person. 
 
Scene. — Peisthet^rus and Euelpides ; the former hav- 
 ing a raven attached to a string, the latter a jackdaw. 
 They observe and follow the motions and flight of the birds 
 in a wild and rocky place, 
 
 Euelpides {to the jackdaw). What! yonder by the tree, is 
 
 that, say you, the track ? 
 Peisthetcerus {to the raven). Burst you ! — This bird of mine 
 
 again is croaking ' back.' 
 Eu. What means this tramping up and down P we shall 
 be dead. 
 Making an endless journey, like a weaver's thread. 
 
 Peis. A thousand stadia round about have I obeyed 
 This raven's leading. 'Tis a fool's march I have made. 
 
 Eu. And I, poor fool, this jackdaw's : 'twas a silly trick; 
 I've scrambled till my nails are worn down to the quick. 
 Peis. And where on earth we are is more than I can say. 
 Eu. If we would turn back home, could you find out the 
 
 way? 
 Peis. From hence ? not Execes tides ^ himself would 
 
 know. 
 Eu. Woe ! woe ! 
 
 Peis. At any rate, don't take the road to Woe. 
 
 Eu. He used us scurvily, that mad Philocrates 
 The poulterer, when he persuaded us that these. 
 Of all the birds, could show us where to have a word 
 With the Epops, that is Tereus, who became a bird. 
 For this jackdaw, this son of Tharrecleides,^ he 
 Charged me an obole, and for yonder raven three ; 
 But both are good for nothing else but pecking — 
 
 {To the daw.) Ho ! 
 
 1 He, as it will afterwards appear, made claim to be admitted a citizen 
 of Athens, but was reputed to be of foreign birth from nobody-knows- 
 where ; he therefore, if anybody, should know the road from that spot to 
 Athens : with these characteristics of a foreign adventurer in Athens, lie 
 is alluded to several times in the comedy, 11. 731, 1450. 
 
 ^ It is presumed known for garrulity. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [20-48. 
 
 What are you gaping for, eli ? would you have us go 
 Under the rocks ? — there is no path. 
 
 Feis. Nor here a trace. 
 
 Eu. What has your raven got to say about the place ? 
 
 Peis. Nothing. 
 
 Eu. No hint about a road ? 
 
 Peis, No, for his tone 
 
 Remains the same ; he'll gnaw my fingers to the bone. 
 
 Eu, {towards the audience). Good people present, is it not 
 too bad that those 
 Who are disposed to make the journey ' to the crows,' ^ 
 Should fail to find the way ? 'Tis so we are perplexed ; 
 For, be it kjiown, we are by a disorder vexed 
 Clean opposite to Saca's : ^ he, no citizen, 
 Fain would be one perforce ; we, honourable men. 
 In tribe and family the equals of your best. 
 Disquieted by no one, not content to rest. 
 With all the speed we can our native country quit. 
 Not that we hate the city, or deny to it 
 The name of ' great and happy.' One may spend a life 
 And fortune there, we own, impartially in strife. 
 The grasshoppers sit singing but a month or two 
 fUpon the fig-tree tops ; at Athens, all life through 
 llVEen sit and sing among their common pleas. So we 
 Have started on our travels, carrying, as you see. 
 Basket, and vase, and myrtle,^ till we find a spot 
 Where we may live in peace and processes are not. 
 At present our immediate object is to find 
 Tereus the Epops, trusting he may be so kind 
 As to inform us whether he has come to sig]it 
 Or hearsay of such city in his utmost flight. 
 
 Peis. Stay. 
 
 Eu. What? 
 
 Peis, Just now the raven croaked a sort of sign 
 
 Of something overhead. 
 
 Eu, Aye, and this daw of mine 
 
 ' See Peace, 1. 8(3. 
 
 2 Saca, or Thracian, like * Phrygian ' in the mouth of an Athenian, a 
 term of contempt as signifying a 'slave.' It is here meant to apply to 
 Acestor, a tragic poet, residing in Athens. 
 
 ^ Preparations for sacrilicc as soon as they find a new settlement. 
 
49-72.] BIRDS. 277 
 
 Is gaping upward, which, unless I judge amiss, 
 
 Means something. Birds must live in such a place as this: 
 
 A noise will prove it. 
 
 Peis. ' Strike your foot against the rock. 
 
 Eu. Strike your own head ; 'twill make a double knock. 
 
 Peis. Then take a stone to hit with. 
 
 Eu, Well, to please you — ' Boy ' ! 
 
 Peis. You call the Epops 'boy'? you should say 'Epopoi.' 
 
 Eu. Ho, Epopoi ! what ! will you make me knock again? 
 
 Enter Trochilus. 
 
 Tro. Who calls my master, and in such a noisy strain ? 
 
 Eu. Apollo help us ! what a stretch of beak is here ! 
 
 Tro. Alas ! these are some horrid bird-catchers I fear. 
 
 Eu. Fie on the word ! you do us wrong. 
 
 Tro. Yes, ye shall die. 
 
 Eu. We are not men at all. 
 
 Tro. What then? 
 
 Eu. The Timid, I, 
 
 A Lybian bird. 
 
 Tro. Pooh, nonsense. 
 
 Eu. Truly. 
 
 Tro. Who is he? 
 
 Peis. The Phasian Dirty. 
 
 Eu. But, by all the Gods, tell me 
 
 What animal are you. 
 
 Tro. A slave-bird. 
 
 Eu. Were you, then, 
 
 Defeated by some cock in battle ? 
 
 Tro. No ; but when 
 
 My master was made Epops, I, at his request. 
 Also became a bird, to serve at his behest. 
 
 Eu. What ! does a bird require a slave ? 
 
 Tro. He does, at least ; 
 
 For when he was a man, nor has the fancy ceased, 
 He learned to like anchovies, true Phaleric fish ; 
 I often, therefore, have to run and fetch a dish. 
 Whilome he wishes porridge ; then I have to trot 
 That he may be supplied with spoon and porridge-pot. 
 
278 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [73-9-3. 
 
 Eu. Good Trochilus, you know your duties well ; so run 
 And call your master out. 
 
 Tro. By Jove, it can't be done. 
 
 After some mjrrtle-berries and a score of worms. 
 My lord has dropped asleep. 
 
 Eu. Wake Mm on any terms. 
 
 Tro. He will be very angry ; but you shall be served ; 
 I'll wake him. [Exit Teochiltjs. 
 
 Peis. Plague upon you ! I am quite unnerved ; 
 
 What mischief yon have done ! 
 
 Eu. It is a pretty scrape ; 
 
 For in my terror I have let the daw escape. 
 
 Peis. What ! mean you, coward, you have let the jack- 
 daw slip ? 
 
 Eu. And did you loose the raven when I saw you trip P 
 
 Peis. Not I, by Jove. 
 
 Eu. Where is it ? 
 
 Peis. Flown away. 
 
 Eu. Oh, then 
 
 You did not loose it, most magnanimous of men. 
 Epops {within). 
 
 Epops. Undo the wood ; let me go out. 
 
 Enter Epops. 
 
 Eu. ^ Oh, Hercules ! 
 
 What brute is this? what wings and triple crests are these? 
 
 Ep. Who ask for me ? 
 
 Eu. The Gods ! — But you are much misused. 
 
 Ep, Is it my plumage, strangers, makes you so amused ? 
 But once I was a man. 
 
 Eu. We did not laugh at yon. 
 
 Ep. At what, then, did you smile ? 
 
 Peis. That beak of yours, 'tis true. 
 
 Is most ridiculous. 
 
 Ep. And yet in this array 
 
 Did Sophocles costume me, Teeeus, in his play.* 
 
 1 In a drama of Sophocles, Tereua undergoes the change into a bird. 
 It seems by the text that Aristophanes had here taken care to caricature 
 the costume in which the Tereus of the tragedy hud been represented. 
 
93-116.] BIRDS. 279 
 
 JEu. Then you are Tereus ? bird or portent ? 
 
 Ep, I am bird. 
 
 Eu» Where are your feathers ? 
 
 Ep. Cast. 
 
 Eu. Has some disease occurred ? 
 
 Ep, No ; but we birds in winter regularly shed 
 Our feathers, and acquire another set instead. 
 But tell me who are you ? 
 
 Eu. Two mortals. 
 
 Ep. Of what race ? 
 
 Eu. Of that where ships are good. 
 
 Ep. What ! courtiers out of place ? ^ 
 
 Eu. Nay, of another stamp ; men who detest the court. 
 
 Ep. Does that seed grow there ? 
 
 Eu. You would find the crop but short. 
 
 Ep. What business might it be that brings you to this 
 spot ? 
 
 Eu. The wish to have some conference with you. 
 
 Ep. On what ? 
 
 Eu. Because you formerly were man, as we are yet. 
 And so, like us at present, you have been in debt ; 
 Because there was the time when you, like us, have known 
 The joy of not repaying what you took on loan. 
 Then you became a bird and travelled upon wings 
 The breadth of earth and sea ; so that you know all things 
 That bird or man can know. Therefore for information 
 We are your suppliants. Know you the place or nation 
 Where we may find a fleecy comfortable town. 
 In which, as in a blanket, we may settle down ? 
 
 Ep. A city larger than the Cranaan ^ you would find ? 
 
 Eu. Not larger, but much more according to our mind. 
 
 Ep. You wish aristocratic rule, 'tis manifest. 
 
 ^ This translation is nearer to the letter than to the meaning of the 
 original. The ' Courts ' to which allusion is made are the law courts ; so 
 the true meaning is 'are you then judges or jury who cannot find 
 employment ? ' The answer made by Euelpides is apparently a pun on 
 the word used by the Epops. The traditional interpreters give no other 
 meaning to the word than that by which it is here rendered ; but I sus- 
 pect it is also the name of some herb. Then the rejoinder of the Epops 
 has significance. 
 
 ^ That is to say ' than Athens.' 
 
280 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [116-142 
 
 Eu, That son of Scellias ^ I utterly detest. 
 
 Ep, What sort of city is it that you would prefer ? 
 
 Eu. Where troubles, when they come, are of this cha- 
 racter : — 
 At early dawn there comes a friend to me to say, 
 ' By the Olympian Jove, you dine with me to-day. 
 You and your children, early : for I have in hand 
 To keep my wedding-day ; so, pray you, understand 
 I will take no denial ; or, remember this. 
 Don't think to help me when my fortune goes amiss.' 
 
 Ep, Your liking for misfortunes is extravagant ; 
 And yet I know a city just such as you want. 
 By the Red Sea. 
 
 Eu. Not by the sea, or some fine day 
 
 The Salaminian ^ might appear within the bay 
 With summoners on board her. Can you not suggest 
 Some city of the Greeks where one might live at rest ? 
 
 Ep. There's Lepreum of Elis, why not settle there ? 
 
 Eu. I never saw it ; but the place I cannot bear ; 
 It calls to mind Melanthius. 
 
 Ep. Then why not try 
 
 Locris, and make your home among the Opuntii ? 
 
 Eu. I would not for a talent be Opuntius.^ 
 What sort of life is this among the birds ? Discuss ; 
 You know it well. 
 
 Ep. One easily might find a worse. 
 
 To start with, — one is bound to live vdthout a purse. 
 
 Eu. You take at once from life all that is counterfeit. 
 C Ep. The gardens where we live provide us daily meat, 
 [White sesame and myrtle-berries are our fare. 
 
 Eu. You live on what they give a newly-married pair ! '* 
 
 ^ The allusion to a citizen of Athens named Aristocrates here helps 
 Aristophanes to parry the charge of being an aristocrat. 
 
 ^ The Salaminian and the Parahis were two state vessels of the 
 Athenians used especially for carrying official persons. The allusion here 
 is perhaps particularly to the mission of the Salaminian to Sicily to bring 
 back Alcibiades to answer a charge of treason : an event which had 
 memorable influence on the future fortune of Athens. 
 
 3 ' Opuntius ' means generally an Opuntian citizen ; but here also a 
 man of the name, well known as having only one eye. 
 
 4 Sesamum entered into the composition of a kind of wedding-cake. 
 
143-167.] BIRDS. 281 
 
 Peis. {who has given little attention to the dialogue between 
 Ep. and Eu.) Ha ! if the birds would only do as I could 
 
 teacli, 
 A miglity stroke for empire is within their reach. 
 
 E]p. What would you have ? 
 
 Feis, What would I have ? ye should forbear 
 
 Your flitting openmouthed here, there, and everywhere. 
 'Tis not respectable. When any one refers, 
 Down among us, to such unsettled flutterers. 
 Asking, ' What bird is that ? ' then Teleas will say, 
 ' The man's a bird of passage ; he came here to-day 
 And wiU be off to-morrow ; ever on the wing. 
 He's of no mark, nor ever sticks to anytbing.' 
 
 E]). By Bacchus, your remark is just as it is witty. 
 What would you have us do ? 
 
 Peis. Lay out a single city. 
 
 Ep. And pray what sort of city could be built by birds ? 
 
 Peis. What sort ? oh, utterer of very idle words. 
 Look down ! 
 
 E;p, I'm looking down. 
 
 Peis, Look up. 
 
 Ep. I take the hint. 
 
 Peis. ISTow turn your neck. 
 
 Ep. 'Tis lucky if I do not squint. 
 
 Peis. What see you ? 
 
 Ep. Clouds and sky. 
 
 Peis. But is not all this space 
 
 The pole of birds ? 
 
 Ep. The pole ? how so ? 
 
 Peis. As one should say the ' place.' 
 
 But since this all is turned about, and to the whole 
 Is central, therefore is it rightly called ' the pole.' ^ 
 Here if you found your city, and enclose the same. 
 Then from this pole your polity shall take its name. 
 The human race like gnats will be at your direction. 
 And famine must reduce the Gods to your subjection. 
 
 Ejp. How so ? 
 
 * The author here labours for such puns as are to be had between TroAof, 
 TTuA/r, TToXilTai, and TToXlTat : pole, city, rotates, citizens. 
 
282 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [167-200. 
 
 Peis, The atmosphere lies intermediate 
 
 Between the earth and heaven ; as the Boeotian state 
 Lies between us and Delphi : just as we are bound 
 To ask a thoroughfare through the Boeotian ground ; 
 So, when the men below you offer sacrifice, 
 It lies with you to make the Gods at your device 
 Pay tribute ; otherwise, you disallow the thighs 
 To send their savour up through chaos and the skies. 
 
 Ep. Ho ! ho ! By earth ! by trap ! by clouds ! by nets ! 
 I vow 
 So very neat a thought I never heard till now. 
 With your assistance and the other .birds' consent 
 I'll found the city. 
 
 Peis. Who will tell them our intent ? 
 
 jETp. You shall : for though they were before barbarian. 
 They have at length from me acquired the tongue of man. 
 
 Peis. How will you summon them ? 
 
 Ep. Oh ! with the greatest ease ; 
 
 I have no more to do than hop into the trees. 
 And call my nightingale. Soon as they hear the sound 
 Of our united voices they will gather round. 
 
 Peis. Proceed at once, dear bird; let not the business fail. 
 But hop into the trees, and call your nightingale. 
 
 Ep. Up from thy slumbers, mate of mine ; 
 Let forth the flood of strains divine. 
 As when, the wonder of thy throat. 
 Thou trillest Sorrow's bubbling note. 
 For Itys ^ wailed with many a tear 
 By thee and me. The warbling clear 
 Forth of the yew-tree's close-leaved tresses 
 Issues, and mounting upward presses 
 To Jove's own seats ; when golden-haired 
 Apollo hears. To answer dared. 
 His ivory-fashioned lyre he takes. 
 And such soul-touching chords awakes. 
 That, as the melody advances. 
 The Gods move forward to their dances ; 
 
 1 Itys, the son of Tereus and Procne, killed by Procne in her fury at 
 the deceit and infidelity of Tereus. 
 
201-233.] BIRDS. 283 
 
 And lips immortal deign to borrow 
 And sing with thee 
 In harmony 
 A marvellous sweet song of sorrow. 
 
 [The sound of a pipe behind the scene, 
 Peis. King Jove ! how through one's soul the little bird's 
 voice thrilled, 
 And all the thicket with its melody was filled. 
 Eu. Hush! 
 Peis, What? 
 
 Eu. Be quiet. 
 
 ^ Peis. Why? 
 
 Eu. List for another strain ; 
 
 The Epops is preparing to begin again. 
 Ep. Epopoi, popopo, popoi, popoi ! 
 lo-io, ito-ito, ito-ito. 
 Hither all of kindred feather ; 
 Ye that on the fertile plain 
 Share the sower's ample gain, 
 Ye that on the barley feed, 
 Ye that pick the dainty seed, 
 Swiftly winging. 
 Softly singing. 
 Gather all your tribes together. 
 
 Hither, hither, troop to us. 
 Ye that multitudinous 
 Twitter modestly around 
 Clods upon the fallowed ground. 
 Tio-tio-tio-tio-tio-tio-tio-tio. 
 
 Shrubbery and garden quit. 
 
 Ye that in the ivy sit. 
 
 Quit the mountains, quit your fare. 
 
 Arbutus and olive there. 
 
 Away, away. 
 
 My call obey. 
 Trioto-trioto-trioto-to-brix. 
 
 Leave the stinging gnats 
 
 Uncaught upon the fen ; 
 Leave the dewy flats. 
 
284 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [234-260. 
 
 And pleasant Marathon ; 
 Come speckled attagen. 
 
 And come all ye 
 Wlio with, the halcyon 
 
 Brood o'er the heaving sea. 
 Come to hear the news that's stirring. 
 All the slender-necks concurring, 
 There is come a shrewd adviser 
 
 On our revolution bent ; 
 He intends to make us wiser : 
 Come unto the parliament. 
 Hithero— hithero — hithero. 
 Cries of strange hirds in the distance, 
 
 Torotoro — torotoro — torotinx. 
 
 Kikkabo — kikkabo, 
 Torotoro, torotoli — lililinx. 
 Peis. Do you see any bird ? 
 Eu, None by Apollo, I, 
 
 Though I have gaped through every region of the sky, 
 
 Peis. The Epops, like a lory went into the tree 
 To sit on addled eggs, as far as I can see. 
 A bird coming. Torotinx — torotinx. 
 Peis. Birds ! but bless you, my good fellow, 
 
 look at this one coming now ! 
 
 Enter Scarlet-wing hird.^ 
 
 Eu. Bird, by Jove, it is ! what is it ? 
 
 Not a peacock anyhow. 
 Peis. He will tell us what the name is. 
 
 "What is it you call this bird ? 
 Epops, 'Tis a foreign bird of which you 
 
 probably have never heard : 
 He inhabits lakes and marshes. 
 
 Peis. 'Tis a very handsome thing. 
 
 Ep. Your remark is very happy, 
 
 for we call him Scarlet-wing, 
 Eu. Look you ! 
 Peis. What ? 
 
 Eu, Here comes another. 
 
 * Perhaps the Flamingo. 
 
260-274.] BIRDS. 285 
 
 Enter Mede-bird} 
 
 Peis. Out of what outlandish, place 
 
 Did a creature such as that is 
 
 bring his solemn form and face ? 
 
 Ep, Mede is the bird's appellation. 
 
 Peis. Mede indeed ! but, very good. 
 
 How did he without a camel fly into this neighbourhood ? 
 
 Eu. Here's another crested creature. 
 
 Enter another Epops, with ragged plumage. 
 Peis. In the name of wonder, he's 
 
 Just like you, another Epops ! 
 
 Ep. 'Tis the son of Philocles ; ^ 
 
 I am father's father to him ; just as it has come to pass 
 Callias had Hipponicus — Hipponicus Callias. 
 Peis. Then this bird is Callias; but 
 
 many feathers he has lost. 
 Ep. Aye, the sycophants have got 'em — 
 'tis his lineage's cost : 
 Something too the hens may pluck him.^ 
 
 Enter another bird. 
 Peis. Neptmie ! whence does this thing fall ? 
 
 Particoloured what d'ye call him P 
 
 Ep. This bird is the Swallow-all, 
 
 Peis. Has Cleonymus ^ a double ? 
 
 yet, the truth must be confessed, 
 If it be Cleonymus, he has not thrown away his crest. 
 Tell me what is all this cresting ? 
 
 Are they coming to the races ? ^ 
 
 ^ Perhaps the Adjutant. 
 
 ^ Sophocles first introduced the Epops in his tragedy Tereus ; Philo- 
 cles subsequently produced another ' Tereus ' with its Epops, bearing a 
 sufficient likeness to that of Sophocles to establish the relationship here 
 insinuated. 
 
 ' Callias inherited the property and principles of one of the old Aristo- 
 cratic families of Attica. Sycophants (in the modern sense) and ^ hens ' 
 had helped him to dilapidate his fortune. 
 
 * Knights, 1. 1150, and Acharnians, 1. 79. 
 
 ^ Young men of fashion attended a certain favourite race in full mili- 
 tary costume with casque and crest. Whatever may be the point of the 
 rejoinder, 'crests' must there mean the hill tops. 
 
286 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [275-292. 
 
 Ep. Nay but like the Carians they 
 
 choose the crests for safer places. 
 Peis. What a plague of birds is gathered ! 
 Eu. By Apollo ! what a storm ; 
 
 One can hardly see the way in 
 
 for the curtain which they form. 
 Peis. Here by Jupiter is partridge, 
 
 yonder is a guinea hen. 
 After kingfisher and widgeon, 
 
 Eu. What is that which follows then ? 
 
 Peis. That's the halcyon of Barbar — 
 Eu. Is a barber then a bird ? 
 
 Peis. What besides is Sporgilus ^ ? — 
 Ah ! here's the owl. 
 Eu. What ? How absurd ! 
 
 Who has brought an owl to Athens ? 
 
 Peis. There's a brown-owl to the white. 
 
 Magpie, pigeon, lark and turtle, 
 
 dabchick, cuckoo, plover, kite, 
 Woodpecker, and water wagtail, 
 
 bottletit and dove and coot, 
 Golden-crested wren and osprey, 
 
 grouse and cormorant to boot.^ 
 Eu. What a quantity of blackbirds ! 
 
 How they twitter, how they run 
 Hither, thither in confusion ! 
 
 They are screaming everyone. 
 Ah ! I think they mean to threaten, 
 
 eyeing fiercely me and you, 
 And with open mouth advancing. 
 
 Peis. I'm of that opinion too ! 
 
 Chorus. Popopopopopopoi. 
 
 Where is he who called this meeting ? 
 How and where may he be found ? 
 
 ^ Nothing is known about Sporgilus. Of course Aristophanes had too 
 nice a sense of right to raise a laugh at anyone who did not deserve it : 
 so — suggests a commentator — ' Perhaps he was a greedy man/ or, as 
 Wieland suggests, ^ used blunt razors.' 
 
 ^ We have here from the * partridge ' four-and-twenty birds introduced 
 into the orchestra ; no doubt so costumed as to be recognised by the audi- 
 ence. From this point they constitute the Chorus. 
 
293-317.] BIRDS. 287 
 
 Ep. I am here upon the ground. 
 
 Ready with a friendly greeting. 
 Chorus, Be then good enough to state, 
 
 What's the subject for debate ? 
 Ep, Something just, safe, pleasant, usefal 
 and for common interests ; 
 For two men of great acuteness 
 
 have arrived and are our guests. 
 Chorus, How so ? — what's that ? — say you 9 
 Ep, That two ancients of the human kind 
 
 Have arrived and bring the trunk ^ of 
 
 something vast and well designed. 
 Chorus, Never since I was a chicken 
 
 made you such a monstrous error : 
 What say you ? 
 
 Ep. Pray do not let the 
 
 mention cause you so much terror. 
 Chorus. What's the scrape you've brought us into ? 
 Ep, Simply I have welcomed here 
 
 Two good men, to whom the welfare 
 
 of this company is dear. 
 Chorus. 'Tis a fact that you have done it ? 
 Ep. And with pleasure you should know. 
 
 Chorus. And the two are now among us ? 
 Ep. Yes, if I myself am so. 
 
 Chorus. Betrayed we are and foully wronged 
 
 By one who shared the feeding plains. 
 To all that equally belonged. 
 
 Our ancient statutes he disdains, 
 And sacred oaths defies, 
 Contriving upon us his snares to throw, 
 And hand us to a tribe, the eternal foe 
 Of everything that flies. 
 For the bird that has offended, — 
 
 leave his reckoning to stand ; 
 But the ancients, to my thinking, 
 
 should be dealt with out of hand. 
 Let us tear them both in pieces. 
 
 ^ This term follows the original, and seems intended to signify some- 
 thing more pretentious than the ' root.' 
 
288 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [317-336- 
 
 Peis. We must die. 
 
 Eu. You are to blame. 
 
 Wherefore did you bring me with you ? 
 
 Peis. 'Twas to follow me you came. 
 
 Eu, It was for my bitter weeping. 
 Peis. That remark is scarcely wise : 
 
 How shall you contrive your weeping, 
 
 if they pick out both your eyes ? 
 Chorus. Upon them ! at them ! in a ring 
 
 Encircle them with bloody force : 
 Make onslaught with embattled wing ! 
 Eor these two men must die of course, 
 And glut my beak with prey. 
 No gloomy glen is there, nor airy cloud 
 Nor hoary sea that can their persons shroud 
 And let them get away. 
 Pluck them ; tear them ; bite them, scare them : 
 
 do not let us be afraid. 
 Where is he who should command us ? 
 
 let him lead the light brigade.* 
 Eu. Now it's coming : where am I to get to ? 
 Peis. Silly fellow, stay. 
 
 Eu. Stay — and let these horrid creatures 
 pull me into pieces ! 
 Peis. Pray, 
 
 How do you propose escaping ? 
 
 Eu. That's a different affair. 
 
 Peis. Then we must remain and fight it ! 
 
 we have got the earthenware. 
 Eu. Earthenware ! but what will that do ? 
 Peis, Owls at least will not come near it.^ 
 
 Eu. But an eagle with his talons ? 
 Peis. I will take the spit and spear it. 
 
 1 Aristophanes says ' right wing ' ; but he has a word which avoids 
 any confusion of idea with a bird's wing. These strophes are clever 
 parodies of the style of the tragedians. 
 
 ^ The earthenware is that which they brought from Athens for 
 sacrificial vessels. The owls would recognise the Attic pottery and 
 respect it. 
 
337-354.] BIRDS. 
 
 Eu, How can we protect our eyes 
 
 against such enemies as those ? 
 Peis. Take a dish or salad-bowl, and 
 
 hold it up before your nose. 
 Eu, Ah, how wonderfully clever 
 
 in expedients you are ! 
 Nicias^ was great in tactics, 
 
 but you distance him by far. 
 Chorus. Forward : forward : put the beak in ; 
 put it home and do not spare : 
 Pluck them ; slay them ; strike them ; flay them ; 
 first knock down the earthenware. 
 Ep. Most unconscionable, listen : 
 
 tell me, brutes, why ? what is this ? 
 "Why should you attack these strangers, 
 
 who have nothing done amiss ? 
 Why, without a provocation, 
 
 should you hurt in limb or life 
 These two quiet men, the tribesmen 
 
 and relations of my wife 9 
 Chorus. WTiy should we regard them more than 
 wolves or other enemies ? 
 When shall we find foes deserving 
 
 sharper recompense than these ? 
 Ep. Though they be our foes by nature, 
 
 these are come with friendly mind 
 To instruct us in a scheme of 
 
 great advantage to our kind. 
 Chorus. Who can credit we should hear of 
 
 anything like that from those 
 WTio have been through generations 
 
 all our fathers' fathers' foes ? 
 Ep. Yet from enemies the wise get 
 
 lessons of the greatest value. 
 What protects us more than caution ? 
 
 That's a lesson never shall you 
 
 ^ Nicias was at tliis time engaged in command of the Athenian expe- 
 dition to Sicily. 
 
 U 
 
290 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [355-379. 
 
 Learn from friends ; a foe compels it : 
 
 Not from any friendly powers 
 Learn the states to clierish navies, 
 
 and to bnild their walls and towers : 
 So they learned to keep in surety 
 
 children, houses^ and estate. 
 Chorus, It may be as well to hear you : 
 
 one may learn from a debate. 
 Pels, {to Eu.) They, it seems, relent a little ; 
 
 stand at ease ; we may retire. 
 Ep. {to Chorus), You may thank me for abating 
 
 your unconscionable fire. 
 Chorus, Nay, we never could maintain an 
 opposition to your wishes. 
 Peis. So then. Peace is more established ; 
 
 we may lay aside the dishes. 
 Not the less I think it fit. 
 Spear in hand — (I mean the spit), 
 You and I should make the rounds 
 Cautiously within our bounds. 
 Keep the bowl within your sight. 
 We should never think of flight. 
 Eu, Certainly. If we should fall 
 
 Where could we find burial ? 
 Peis, WTiere they bury soldiers, like us 
 Dying, in the Ceramicus.^ 
 That the state may bear the cost. 
 We will say that we were lost. 
 Fighting with the enemy 
 Gallantly at Ornese.^ 
 Chorus. Fall back into the loose array. 
 
 And, soldier-like, your anger lay 
 
 Beside your wrath.^ Let us know whence 
 
 * That is, a potter's field : no doubt originally a piece of exhausted 
 land, and naturally enough applied to the purpose of a burial-ground. 
 Here, obviously, the word has a merry allusion to the ' pots and pans ' 
 which the two heroes were now guarding. 
 
 ^ A town in Peloponnesus, but sounding to Greek ears as ' Bird-bury * 
 would to ours. 
 
 3 Compare Wasps^ 1. 487 :— 
 
 ' 1 feel my anger pacified. 
 And with my stick 'tis laid aside.' 
 
BIRDS. 
 
 291 
 
 Ep, 
 
 Chorus, 
 
 Ep. 
 Chorus, 
 
 These men are come : on what pretence. 
 Hear, Epops, what I have to ask. 
 Ep, To listen is a pleasant task. 
 
 Chorus, What men are these ? and whence are they ? 
 Ep, They are two strangers on their way 
 
 From clever Greece. 
 Chorus, What fortune then 
 
 Amongst ns birds has brought the men ? 
 The strong desire they have to share 
 Our mode of living in the air. 
 They wish to come and live with us, 
 In perfect intimacy. 
 
 Eh? 
 Have they got anything to say 9 
 Yes, that they have, and marvellous. 
 Wliat ? Does the man foresee some gain 
 That should induce him to remain ? 
 Will our assistance serve his end 
 To crush a foe, or serve a friend ? 
 Ep, He sees, surpassing all belief, 
 
 A happiness for us. In brief, 
 All that is here and elsewhere too 
 By his account belongs to you. 
 Chorus, Insane ? 
 Ep, A wit 
 
 Past telling it. 
 Chorus, There's something in him ? 
 Ep, Fox complete. 
 
 Fine, double-bolted, shrewdness neat. 
 CJiorus, Oh bid, oh bid him utter 
 
 His views ; for your account 
 Has made my fancy mount, 
 And I am in a flutter. 
 Ep. {to Peis, and Eu.) Come now, do you, and you, take 
 all your armour back. 
 And happily replace it in the kitchen rack. 
 {to Peis.) And now, do you explain to them the reason why 
 I have convoked this general parliament. 
 
 Peis, Not I ; 
 
 Till they accord to me, to make an end of strife, 
 The terms the tinker fellow settled with his wife — 
 
 u 2 
 
292 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [415-439. 
 
 ' You shall not bite, item, nor scratch.' 
 
 Chorus. I will engage. 
 
 Feis. Confirm it with an oath. 
 
 Chorus, I swear npon this stage. 
 
 On these conditions I will carry off the prize,^ 
 By every judge's voice, and yours, whose ears and eyes 
 Bear witness. 
 
 Peis. Be it so. 
 
 Chorus. Whereas, if I transgress. 
 
 My best competitor shall have but one vote less. 
 
 Herald. 
 Good people, hear. The soldiers will go home with speed, 
 And pay attention to the notices they read. 
 Chorus, 'Tis man's whole nature to deceive. 
 
 Speak not the less ; you have my leave. 
 
 May be that you have hit 
 Some great advantage on my side. 
 Some right inherent, unde scried 
 
 By my more humble wit. 
 This if you see, unlock 
 The secret to us all. 
 The benefit, or great or small. 
 Shall be in common stock. 
 But whatever may be the business 
 
 which has induced your travelling here. 
 Speak it boldly : we shall observe our 
 
 treaty of peace with honour clear. 
 Peis. I am anxious, Jupiter knows ; and 
 my materials for a speech 
 Nothing hinders being kneaded. 
 
 Bring me a chaplet,^ slave, and reach 
 Hither a ewer to lave my hands. 
 Eu, Then are we going to dinner ? or what? 
 
 Peis, [aside to Eu.) No : but I am going to open a 
 marvellous rich and excellent plot. 
 Which shall captivate their fancy, 
 
 and put them into leading strings. 
 
 1 That is, the prize for the best comedy of the festival : there were five 
 official judges. 
 
 2 Orators spoke crowned witli a chaplet. 
 
440-45G.] BIRDS. 293 
 
 {to Birds). Most profoundly do I pity you, 
 
 you who once on a time were kings — 
 Chorus, We were kings ! of what ? 
 Peis, I say, you : 
 
 Kings of all, aye kings of Me, 
 Lords of Jupiter, kings of all that 
 
 ever has been or can possibly be. 
 Does it not fall by primogeniture ? 
 
 You undoubtedly reckon your birth . 
 Long to have preceded that of 
 
 Time, or Titans, aye, of the Earth. 
 Chorus, Of the Earth? 
 Peis. ^ye, by Apollo ! 
 
 Chorus. That by Jupiter did I not know. 
 
 Peis. That is because you are not a scholar, 
 
 in such matters are apt to be slow. 
 You have neglected to con your ^sop, 
 
 or you would have read or have heard 
 How, before the world was made, the 
 
 top-knotted lark was the earliest bird. 
 When her father died she was puzzled, for 
 
 after he had been five days dead. 
 There was no earth in which to bury him : 
 
 so she buried him in her head.^ 
 E;p. Ere the Earth and Gods existed, 
 
 seeing that birds were in being and known, 
 Surely we by primogeniture 
 
 are entitled to sit on the throne. 
 Eu. Yea, by Apollo, but you must look to it ; 
 
 cherish your beaks, for it seems to me, 
 Jupiter will not tamely yield to the . 
 
 bird that taps the hollow beech tree. 
 Peis. That with men in ancient times no 
 
 Gods were allowed to interfere. 
 But that the rule of birds was admitted, 
 
 there are signs exceedingly clear. 
 
 ^ Therefore out of her head grew the ^top-knot ' or ' crest.' The fable 
 ascribed to ^sop has not come down to us. The line that follows has 
 been omitted because we have no known place which could represent the 
 pun : it requires a name like ' Head-bury.' 
 
294 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [457-472. 
 
 Take the Cock as a first example. 
 
 Over tlie Persians he held sway, 
 Ere Darius and Megabazus : 
 
 Persian ^ he is called to this day. 
 Eu, Therefore just as the Great King does, and 
 
 as one might in reason expect, 
 He alone of all the birds now 
 
 carries the comb on his head erect.^ 
 Feis. Nay, of that once great dominion 
 
 some observance still is in force ; 
 For as soon as he sings the day-break, 
 
 up they jump as a matter of course ; 
 Out in the dark they shuffle to business, 
 
 braziers, potters, journeymen bakers. 
 Farriers, bagnio-keepers, curriers, 
 
 martial and musical instrument makers. 
 Eu. I have a tale to tell of his crowing. 
 
 Once to my sorrow it cost me the loss 
 Of a coat of superfine Phrygian wool, 
 
 new it was with a beautiful gloss. 
 Being one of a party invited 
 
 the nameday of a baby to keep. 
 As it happened I drank a little, and 
 
 just for a minute had fallen asleep : 
 Hardly had I winked when some un- 
 timely ^ cock must set up a crowing. 
 What could I do but think it sunrise 
 
 and of course high time to be going 
 Home to Alimous ? So I do : but 
 
 barely was I clear of the wall 
 When some footpad comes behind me, 
 
 strikes me a blow on the head, and I fall. 
 
 1 ' Persian fowl/ as we say ' Turkey-cock ' or Guinea-fowl.' 
 
 * It is said the Persian king wore his tiara erect, his subjects theirs 
 leaning backward. 
 
 ^ Failing to make any sense from the common reading of this line 
 apposite to the story of Euelpides, I have ventured to guess a verbal 
 emendation which in effect explains that the cock who woke Euel- 
 pides crowed unseasonably. 
 
 ■* For irpiv AEIIINEIN I read Trph> ETTAINEIN Tovg ('t\\otic,SC. a\eKTpv6rac. 
 
 The word is used in the sense of ' to assent ' by Aristophanes. 'Opr. 
 1616 J Ai'<T. 70. 
 
473-488.J ' BIRDS. 295 
 
 Just as I was about to shout, I 
 
 felt a scarcely perceptible pull : 
 All was done in a minute, and I was 
 
 eased of my coat of Phrygian wool. 
 Peis. All the Greeks were under the kite's rule. 
 Ep. Greeks ? 
 
 Peis, Aye, for it was under his reign 
 
 Men were taught to roll on the ground when 
 kites are hovering over the plain. ^ 
 Eu, I remember one day rolling 
 
 flat on my back on seeing a kite. 
 When I swallowed ^ an obolus which was 
 
 meant to pay for my supper at night. 
 Peis, Egypt then obeyed the cuckoo, 
 
 Egypt and Phenicia too ; 
 People did not dare so much as 
 
 reap their grain till he said ' cuckoo.' 
 Nay, so far were birds considered 
 
 that we see our earlier kings. 
 As Menelaus or Agamemnon, 
 
 always bore such a figure with wings 
 Sitting upon the top of their sceptres 
 
 ready to take their share of a gift. 
 Eu, That explains a thing of which I 
 
 own I could not fathom the drift. 
 Why our tragedy kings have always 
 
 sceptres tipped with the aquiline tribe ; 
 Now I know they watch Lysicrates, 
 
 hoping to get a part of his bribe. 
 Peis, But the most significant fact is, 
 
 that the now possessor of power, 
 Jupiter, ever is represented 
 
 having an eagle up to this hour ; 
 
 * Brand, * Popular Antiq., Omens/ quotes : ^ Some bileve that yf the 
 kyte or the puttock flie over the way afore them that they should fare 
 well that daye.' 
 
 In many parts of England, magpies are saluted by taking off the hat, 
 or a curtsey. It is to be feared that the magpies find that the politeness 
 of the English is on the decline. 
 
 ^ Euelpides, like Love-Cleon, Wasps, 1. 556, had the habit of carrying 
 his money in his mouth. 
 
296 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [489-517. 
 
 So has his daughter an owl ; and Apollo 
 
 has a hawk for his lower degree. 
 Eu, Very well said ; but can jou teU us 
 
 why this disposition should be ? 
 Peis, That the bird may be in place to 
 
 take to himself the Deity's rights. 
 When a victim is divided ; 
 
 so he gets the liver and lights. 
 None in those days swore by a God, but 
 
 only the names of birds were in use ; 
 Lampon, when he means deceiving, [goose.' ^ 
 
 keeps the fashion, and swears ' by the 
 Such was once your estimation ! 
 
 Now they say in the name of a fowl. 
 Silly as a goose, stupid as an owl ; 
 Kill me the booby, knock him on the head. 
 Even in temples, with shame be it said, 
 Lurks some birdcatcher.^ Nets fall around you^ 
 
 ^' Springes entangle, cages impound you. 
 Sent by the hundred, hung up to dangle. 
 Over your bodies poulterers wrangle. 
 Comes in a buyer — he fingers and thumbs you ; 
 Then comes the cook, who lards you and crumbs you. 
 Takes out your entrails, puts in instead 
 Onions and sage, suet, pepper and bread ; 
 Nor yet has he done ; 
 A savoury liquid has he got. 
 Over your bodies he pours it hot. 
 
 As though your flesh were carrion ! 
 Chorus. Oh, man, this is a sad, sad tale ; 
 And I with bitter tears bewail 
 
 My fathers' baseness, who 
 Let pass this brave inheritance. 
 But you are come with happy chance 
 To be my saviour ; you 
 Shall be my citadel : 
 
 ^ Ma X^va, instead of /id Zi/va. 
 
 '^ The reference is here to a scene in the Imi of Euripides. 
 
518-538.] BIRDS. 297 
 
 Myself and little ones from hence 
 Entrusting to yonr providence, 
 I will securely dwell. 
 Tell me, however, what's to be done ; for 
 
 life is not worth living, I see. 
 If no method can be hit on 
 
 for regaining our sovereignty. 
 Peis. First, then, there must be a city, 
 
 built by birds and common to all ; 
 Bound the city and the suburbs 
 
 you will enclose the air with a wall. 
 Ramparted with massive brickwork 
 
 of the Babylonian sort. 
 Ej>, Oh, Cebriones and Porphyrion ! ^ 
 
 will it not be a terrible fort ! 
 Peis. After this is finished, you will 
 
 send a herald to Jupiter 
 Asking back the empire from him. 
 
 If then he makes any demur, 
 Temporising or refusing, 
 
 and does not acknowledge his wrong. 
 Then proclaim a holy war ; for 
 
 you at least are ready and strong. 
 As the Gods are in the habit of 
 
 coming down from the upper abodes 
 On their feasting expeditions, 
 
 you will refuse the use of the roads. 
 Then you will send another herald 
 
 duly commissioned to let the world know 
 You are kings, and therefore entitled to 
 
 all that men have been wont to bestow 
 Hitherto upon their sovereigns : 
 
 you, at any rate, call for the best : 
 Let them, if they think it proper, 
 
 still to the Deities offer the rest : 
 Pair the Grods and Birds together ; 
 
 so when Yenus her dues shall take, 
 Let the bald coot have some barley : 
 
 let there be some peas for the drake, 
 
 ^ The names of Giants engaged in the war with the Gods. 
 
298 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [539-556. 
 
 \hoi 
 Wirg 
 
 When a slieep is slain to Neptune : 
 
 when the ox to Hercules falls, 
 Honied cake should go to the cormorant : 
 
 when for his ram great Jupiter calls, 
 :st to the wren of the golden coronet 
 
 let them slaughter a masculine gnat. 
 Eu, Exquisite thought ! a gnat to be slaughtered ! 
 
 let great Jupiter thunder at that. 
 Ep, How should men be taught to treat us as 
 
 Gods, not daws, as we come and we go, 
 Travelling through the air on pinions ? 
 Peis. Nonsense, doth not Mercury so ? 
 
 Does not many a god beside him ? 
 
 Victory flies upon golden wings : 
 And Love, by Jove : and Iris flew, 
 
 ' like a timorous dove,^ as Homer sings. 
 Ep, Will not Jupiter, in his anger, 
 
 send among us his thundering bolts ? ' 
 Peis. What if men who live below you, 
 
 showing themselves to be nothing but dolts. 
 Still insist on the gods of Olympus 
 
 and reply to your title with scorn ? 
 Then you will send a cloud of seed-eating 
 
 sparrows and other birds into their com : 
 And let Ceres, when they are famine-struck, 
 
 give to her worshippers measures of grain. 
 Ep. Nay, she will give them reasons why she 
 
 should from any such measures abstain. 
 Peis. Let the eyes of all their plough steers 
 
 be at once pecked out by the crows ; 
 Likewise of their sheep ; that they may 
 
 choose between you, as friends or as foes. 
 Then let Apollo descend to cure them : 
 
 he, however, will ask for his fee. 
 Eu. Not till I have sold my two steers ; 
 that I beg as a favour to me. 
 
 1 It is observed that Peisthetasrus does not reply to tlie question of the 
 Epops. Because, says Wieland, he could give him no satisfaction. 
 Reise, however, suggests what would have answered very well for an 
 intermediate line, * lie cannot do it for the want of an eagle to carry 
 his weapons.' 
 
557-574.] BIRDS. 299 
 
 Peis. If, however, their Life, their Deity, 
 
 they will see and honour in you. 
 You their Earth, their Time, their Neptune, 
 
 then to them will all blessings accrue. 
 Ep. Tell me one of them. 
 Peis, If, for instance, 
 
 locusts attack the bud of the vine, 
 On such food a troop of buzzards 
 
 and of owls will be happy to dine. 
 If the palmer-worm and the maggot 
 
 threaten to make their figs disappear. 
 Send a band of thrushes among them ; 
 
 soon will the trees be thoroughly clear. 
 Ep. How can we contrive to enrich them, 
 
 so that their utmost wish may be crowned ? 
 Peis, That you may do by indicating ^ 
 
 where the richest mines may be found : 
 Merchants too may learn from the augurs 
 when to make a prosperous trip ; 
 No more will the pilot be in 
 
 danger of losing himself or his ship. 
 Ep, Pilots, how so ? 
 Peis, When an augur 
 
 is required to tell in advance. 
 What wiU be the state of the weather ; 
 
 it will not be a matter of chance : 
 One of your birds will pre -instruct him — 
 ' Do not think of putting to sea, 
 ' There is such a tempest brewing,' or 
 
 ' Sail, for you will do fortunately.' 
 Eu, 1 will buy a hoy and sail her. 
 
 I decline to dally with you. 
 Peis, Then you can disclose the treasures 
 
 hidden of old where nobody knew, 
 Save, as they commonly say, some ' little bird.' 
 Eu, No, no. I will part with the hoy ; 
 
 I will have a spade and mattock, 
 
 digging for urns is a better employ. 
 
 ^ This and following services of birds refer to the common custom of 
 drawing auguries from the appearance or fliglit of birds. 
 
300 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [575-604. 
 
 Ep, How shall birds supply men's bodies witb 
 
 Health, who assuredly dwells with the Blest ? 
 Peis. Only give them wealth in abundance ; 
 
 that they will own is health of the best. 
 Peis, Never at any rate is there a poor man 
 
 whose condition is thoroughly sound. 
 Ep, How shall we make them attain to old age ? 
 that in Olympus is certainly found. 
 Must they all of them die in childhood ? 
 Peis. You may give them three centuries more. 
 
 Ep. Where shall we get them ? 
 
 Peis. Whe're shall you get them ? 
 
 From your special property store. 
 Do you not know that the croaking raven 
 
 lives through five generations of ours P 
 Eu. How much better than Jupiter is it that 
 
 birds should be the dominant powers ! 
 Peis. Better ! — there will be no need of building 
 Temples of marble : no need of gilding 
 / Doors for the temples. Gods such as these 
 I Will live in the bushes and holly trees. 
 \ Birds of the highest degree will reside 
 I In the boughs of the olive-tree for pride. 
 JL We shall not go for a voice divine 
 I To Delphi or to Ammon's shrine ; 
 / But by the arbutus we shall stand, 
 / Or by the wild-olives, barley in hand, 
 / Making our prayer : 
 
 I At the simple cost of a handful of seed 
 >jf \ They will give us whatever we need 
 /* In answer to our pious care. 
 
 Cho. Thou who once wast most detested, 
 
 but art now the most dear of old men. 
 Never can I, while I have my senses, 
 
 dream of rejecting your counsel again. 
 By your words made strong to dare, 
 I have threatened and I swear, 
 If you to me as I to you 
 Will faithful be, guileless and true. 
 And with a true intent 
 Acting with one consent. 
 
605-625.] BIRDS. 801 
 
 Against tlie Gods will go ; not long 
 Shall they my sceptre treat with, wrong. 
 All that mnst be done by mainforce 
 we will be directed to do ; 
 Yours it is to give the counsel ; 
 
 therein we depend upon you. 
 Ep, This is no time for sleeping, now the thing is 
 planned : 
 Leave that to Mcias. Do something out of hand. 
 Meantime I beg of you to come into my nest ; 
 Partake my sticks and straw and feel yourself my guest. 
 And, if I may presume, your name. Sir ? 
 
 Peis. If you please ; 
 
 My name is Peisthet^rus. 
 
 Ep. His? 
 
 Peis. EuELPiDES. 
 
 OfTHRIA. 
 
 Ep, Welcome both. 
 
 Peis. We thank you. 
 
 Ep. In, I pray. 
 
 Peis. We vdll : show us the road. 
 
 Ep. Go on. 
 
 Peis. Heigh, you sir, stay. 
 
 There's this : you all have wings, but we are pinionless : 
 How can we live with you ? 'tis more than I can guess. 
 
 Ep. Oh; easily. 
 
 Peis. Besides, the case is monitory 
 
 Of the Eagle and the Pox, as ^sop tells the story. ^ 
 
 Ep. Nay, do not be afraid : there is a root we knowTl 
 Which, taken as a drug, will cause your wings to growj 
 
 Peis. If so, we will go in. Heigh ! Xanthias,^ quick, 
 pack; 
 You, Manodorus ^ put the luggage on your back. 
 
 Cho. {to Ep.) Stay, hearken, Sir. 
 
 Ep. To what ? 
 
 ^ The scoliast tells us no more than that this is a fable of Archilochus 
 and not of ^sop. 
 
 ^ These are common names of slaves: either two such had come 
 with the Athenians, or Peisthetserus addresses ideal slaves while doing 
 the work himself. 
 
302 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [625-652. 
 
 Gio, Go jou and entertain 
 
 T'Tie strangers handsomely ; no stinting of the grain. 
 But, prithee, let the Muses' darling come the while, 
 The sweet-voiced Nightingale, our waiting to beguile. 
 
 Peis, I join in that petition ; be it kindly heard. 
 Grant it, by Jove, and from the thicket call the bird. 
 By aU the Gods I beg it, call her without fail ; 
 That we too may behold the charming Nightingale. 
 
 ^. You wish it ? — I will not refuse in such a case. 
 Procne, come forth, and let the strangers see your face. 
 
 Enter Nightingale {a woman's figure with the bird's mash) . 
 
 Peis, Oh Jupiter the honoured ! what a lovely creature : 
 So soft, so fair, such pretty trinkets. 
 
 Eu, I beseech her 
 
 To let me have a kiss. 
 
 Peis. You blockhead ; but her lips 
 
 Are like two spits. 
 
 Eu. But one might manage as one strips 
 
 The top shell from an egg : and so — 
 
 Ep. But we delay. 
 
 Let us be going. 
 
 Peis. Aye : and Fortune lead the way. 
 
 [Exeunt Ep., Peis., Eu. 
 
 PAEABASIS. 
 
 Chorus (to the Nightingale), 
 ,.. My dainty one, above 
 
 ^j'' All birds my choice for love, 
 
 ' J ' jj- > , ^ My mate, to whom belongs 
 
 W 5V Chief part in all my songs : 
 
 And art thou come again 
 With thy enchanting strain, 
 Seen in some bosky vale. 
 My own, my Nightingale ? 
 Oh then come forth and fill 
 Thy musical pipe to trill 
 A spring-tide melody. 
 So lead the strain with me. 
 
 \_To the Audience, 
 
653-G70.] BIRDS. 303 
 
 Listen, ye men who grope in twilight, 
 
 clayborn structures of fictile art. 
 Leaves of the forest, punies, ye who 
 
 come like shadows and so depart, 
 Wingless insects, born for suffering, 
 
 men whose being is but a dream, 
 Listen to us, the true immortals, 
 
 whose it is to be and not seem. 
 Children of air, whom age never creeps on, 
 
 contemplators of infinite things : 
 Ye shall know by what we tell you, 
 
 from their very original springs, 
 All about Birds and Gods and Eivers, 
 
 of Chaos too and Erebus. 
 So that with this information, 
 
 ye may take leave of Prodicus.* 
 Chaos was, and Night and Erebus ; 
 
 these with Tartarus occupied space : 
 All was blackness ; Earth as yet nor 
 
 Atmosphere nor Heaven had place , 
 In the boundless tracts of Erebus 
 
 first did raven-pinioned Night 
 Lay a wind-egg ; from which ripely 
 
 Love, the charming, sprang into light. 
 On his back were feathered wings like [wind. 
 
 glistening gold and the whirls of the 
 Mated he with winged Chaos ; 
 
 hard by Tartarus nestled our kind. 
 We were the first born ; born or ever 
 
 brooding Love had begotten a race. 
 Which in their turn, with each other mating, 
 
 bore as their progeny into space 
 Heaven, and Ocean, Earth and all the 
 
 infinite Beings called divine. 
 Thus we are, by primogeniture, 
 
 first in all the immortal line. 
 
 * A sophist, professor of natural philosophy : in the Clotids, 1. 326^ 
 Aristophanes connects him with Socrates. 
 
304 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [671-688. 
 
 That we were by Love engendered 
 
 needs for proof but very few words. 
 We have wings like him ; but further 
 
 what would lovers do without birds ? 
 Mortal men for their convenience 
 
 owe to us well-nigh everything. 
 First we announce to them the Seasons, 
 
 such as Autumn, Winter, and Spring. 
 When the crane departs for Lybia 
 
 then the sowing they know is to do ; 
 Then the seaman, hanging his rudder, [through ; 
 
 settles to sleep for the whole night 
 Then should they weave a coat for Orestes,* 
 
 lest in the cold he be driven to steal. 
 Afterwards comes the kite, another 
 
 change in the time of year to reveal ; 
 Then from the sheep you take its spring fleece ; 
 
 after that comes the swallow to say 
 Sell your great coat and provide some 
 
 dress that is fit for midsummer day. 
 Ammon, Delphi, and Dodona, 
 
 Phoebus Apollo are we to you. 
 'What do the Birds say ' is the question 
 
 first to be answered whatever you do. 
 Wliether it be to buy or sell : or 
 
 earn your living or take to a wife ; 
 Everything is ' a bird ' ^ to you that 
 
 betrays the shadow of coming life ; 
 A phrase, a sneeze, two people meeting, 
 
 a sound, a slave, an ass is a ' bird.' 
 So, that we are your prophet Apollo, 
 
 is too clear for another word. 
 Take us as Gods, and for your uses 
 You will have in us Prophets, Muses, 
 
 1 Orestes was a noted footpad, whose ill offices are invoked by the 
 Chorus in the AchariiianSy 1. 1032. Euelpides (460-476) has described 
 hoiv such as he provided themselves with clothing according to the 
 season. 
 
 2 From the usage of drawing auguries from birds, omens in general, 
 from whatever source derived; passed under the general name ^ hird.' 
 
/ 
 
 689-723.] BIRDS. 306 
 
 Winter, simiiiier, wind and weather, 
 To your liking altogether. 
 We shall not retire for state 
 Up to the clouds like Jove the Great : 
 But residing handilj by you 
 We shall hear, and not deny you 
 All that you may wish to possess ; 
 Health and wealth and happiness, 
 Length of days, a state of peace. 
 Laughter that shall never cease. 
 Constant feasting, dances, youth. 
 With milk of birds : so that in truth 
 You and your heirs 
 Shall have no cares 
 But how to live 
 On the very abundance of wealth we give. 
 SemicJiorus, Muse of the copse, ^ 
 
 Tio-tio-tio-tio-tio-tio-tinx, 
 Haunting with me the glade. 
 Or wooded mountain-tops, 
 Tio-tio-tio-tio-tinx, 
 Beneath the ash-tree's full-leaved shade, 
 Tio-tio-tio-tio. 
 Oft have I blended with thine my note. 
 Pouring the strain from my brown-feathered throat. 
 The Holy Mother ^ has heard with pleasure. 
 And Pan leapt up to the sacred measure. 
 To-to-to-to-to-to-tinx. 
 Then, like a bee 
 Feeding upon ambrosial meat, 
 Phrynichus ^ has gathered the sweet, 
 And borne away a melody. 
 Tio-tio-tio-tinx. 
 Cho. If now one of you, spectators, 
 
 of our life is emulous. 
 And desires to end his days in 
 
 comfort, let him come to us. 
 
 * HotibiuS is energetic upon this ode : — ' Dispeream nisi ligec a luscinia 
 canantur.' * Death o' me, hut this is the nightingale's song ! ' 
 
 * Cybele, or Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. 
 
 ^ Not the Tragedian, hut a Lyric poet of the same name. 
 
306 COMEDIES OF AKISTOPHANES. [724-745. 
 
 Much, that under law's provisions, 
 
 is in bad repute with you. 
 Is among us birds regarded 
 
 as the proper thing to do. 
 Tou think that to beat his father 
 
 is disgraceful to a son ; 
 That with us is thought quite decent : 
 
 so that one of us shall run 
 Straight upon his father, saying, 
 
 ' Cock your spur if you will fight.' 
 If a rascal slave of yours has 
 
 earned some branding marks by flight. 
 He would be described among us 
 
 as a speckled attagen ; 
 A Phrygian slave a frygilus, and 
 
 Execestides might then 
 Show his ancestors and cousins ; 
 
 while another in a scrape 
 Might, while law was looking for him, 
 
 play the partridge and escape.^ 
 Semicho. So the swan sings, 
 Tio-tio-tio. 
 Praise to Apollo high- 
 Sounding, with clash of wings, 
 Tio-tio-tiotinx. 
 Sitting where Hebrus' streams flow by. 
 Tio-tio-tio-tio, 
 Up, through the clouds that float in the air. 
 Up springs the cry. In weald and in lair 
 All creatures cower ; the waters lie 
 Abashed beneath a breathless sky. 
 To-to-to-to-totinx. 
 
 ^ It is just to Aristophanes to say, that these lines are but slightly ren- 
 dered, because we can neither satisfactorily identify the birds, nor know 
 the characteristics of the persons alluded to. The old commentators, 
 in explaining the allusion to the partridge, ascribe to it the habit of 
 throwing itself upon its back and covering itself with litter, when pressed 
 by the sportsman. For Execestides, vide 1. 4 It must be understood 
 that the words here freely rendered by ancestors and cousins were also, 
 YikQ frygilus and attagen, the names of certain birds. 
 
746>766.] BIRDS. 307 
 
 With awe profound 
 Olympus hears : the royal faces 
 Are darkened. But Olympian Graces 
 And Muses catch the dying sound. 
 Tio-tio-tio-tiotinx. 
 Cho, Take my word, I do assure you 
 
 that of all the handy things, 
 Nothing would be half so pleasant 
 
 as to grow a pair of wings. 
 Just suppose that one of you had 
 
 such appendages as these. 
 When he comes to see and hear the 
 
 chorus in the tragedies ; 
 When his interest was failing, 
 
 and his hunger getting keen. 
 Would he not his wings expanding 
 
 take a hop and leave the scene ? 
 Presently refreshed with luncheon 
 
 we should have him dropping in, 
 In the very nick of time to 
 
 see the comedy begin. 
 Nothing can exceed their value : 
 
 there's Diotrephes in sight. 
 Who had only wicker bottles ^ 
 
 to assist him in his flight ; 
 See how he has mounted with them ; 
 first he was an overseer. 
 Then a captain ; now he is the 
 
 loudest-crowing chanticleer. 
 
 Peisthet^rus and Euelpides, with wings \ Epops. 
 
 Feis, [amused at the appearance of Euel.) And is it come 
 to this ! excuse me, on my word, 
 I never saw a thing so utterly absurd. 
 
 Eu. What are you laughing at ? 
 
 Peis, Your wings. Have you a notion 
 
 What you are like with your new instruments of motion ? 
 
 * A reference to the trade by whieli Diotrephes had made his fortune. 
 
 X 2 
 
808 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [767-790; 
 
 Just like a limner's goose, drawn at tlie cheapest rate. 
 
 Eu. And yon are like a blackbird bald about the pate. 
 
 Peis. If so they sketch us, 'tis, as said by ^schylus, 
 ' 'Not other's feathers, but our own,'^ have marred us thus. 
 
 Ep. But come, what shall we do ? 
 
 Peis. First we should take in hand 
 
 To find a name for our new city, something grand : 
 Then we should offer sacrifice. 
 
 Eu. I think the same. 
 
 Ep. Well said : consider what shall be the city's name. 
 
 Peis, What say you then to Sparta as a name of dread ? 
 
 Eu, Broom-string ! ^ I would riot use it for a truckle 
 bed. 
 
 Peis, What shall it be ? 
 
 Eu. It should, in altitudes so rare 
 
 Of clouds and meteors, be something — with an air. 
 
 Peis. What think you of High-Cuckoobuet ? 
 
 Ep. Capital ! 
 
 An admirable hit, and dignified withal. 
 
 Eu. HiGH-CucKOOBURT, where Theagenes holds fees, 
 And where lie those estates talked of by ^schines. 
 Is it not so ? 
 
 Peis. Nay more : 'tis that Phlegrsean field 
 
 Where braggart Gods compelled the Sons of Earth to yield.' 
 
 Eu. A jewel of a city. What God shall we choose 
 To be its guardian ? and the woven veil "^ be whose ? 
 
 Peis. Minerva Polias ? why not ? 
 
 Eu. 'Twould be a pity : 
 
 How shall it ever be a well-conducted city. 
 Whose God, a woman bom, prefers to stand at ease 
 In arms, and leaves the woman's work to Cleisthenes ? ® 
 
 ^ ^schylus, referring it to an old Lybian fable, has expressed the 
 well-known image of an eagle wounded by an arrow feathered from its 
 own wing. 
 
 ^ Unless there is corruption of the text, there seems to be here a 
 laboured and ineffective play upon the meaning of the word ' Sparta ' as 
 a rope made of the broom-shrub. 
 
 3 Not only as imaginary as the ^ esta,te8 ' of those men, but as the 
 Wars of the Gods with the Giants. 
 
 * See note. Knights, 1. 526. 
 
 5 See Clouds, 1. 320. 
 
791-818.] BIRDS. 309 
 
 Peis. But wlio shall have the charge to guard the 
 citadel ? 
 
 Up. That will a bird of ours do marvellously well, 
 Of Persian family and very high repute, 
 The very chick of Mars.^ 
 
 Eu. The lordly chick will suit ; 
 
 He is the very God to stand upon a wall. N. 
 
 Peis, But come, to business ; go, as I appoint you all. 
 Do you, EuELPiDES, go out into the air. 
 Fly to the battlements and help the workers there ; 
 Bring limestone, strip and stir the mortar, see 'tis thick, 
 Fall from the ladder, pick the bucket up ; be quick ; 
 Tell off and set the guards ; don't let a fire be seen ; 
 Run round and ring a bell, and drop asleep between. 
 Select a herald for the Gods and let him go : 
 Despatch another to the men that live below : 
 And then come back to me. 
 
 Eu. {in manner declining to go). And you the while shall 
 
 stay. 
 With — my best wishes ! 
 
 Peis. My good fellow, go I pray. 
 
 For else I shall get nothing done. For, myself, I 
 Must sacrifice to these new deities and try 
 To find a priest who can a good procession group. 
 
 [Exit EUELPIDES. 
 
 Here, boy, take up the basket ; you, bring on the stoup. 
 
 Chorus. I am thoroughly with you. 
 Quite approving all you do. 
 Costly acts and splendid sights 
 Be our novel worship rites. 
 Also let a sheep be slain 
 For Gratitude. In joyful strain 
 High let the P^dihian hymn ascend. 
 And Chseris with his pipe attend. 
 
 1 The Cock. 
 
310 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [819-850. 
 
 Enter a Piper (who, having the mash of a raven and the lea- 
 ther mouthpiece then used hy pipers, begins an air) j and 
 a Priest. 
 
 Peis, You sir, stop blowing. Hercules ! what have we 
 now? 
 I have seen many things and odd, but I allow 
 Never a raven with a leather on his chin ! 
 
 Up. Attend your duty. Priest. Let sacrifice begin. 
 Priest, 1 will : — but let the basket-bearer come this way. 
 So let us pray 
 To Yesta of the painted feather, 
 
 And to the Kite with guardian pens, 
 To aU Olympian Birds together. 
 Both cocks and hens. 
 Cho. King of Pelargus, Sun-hawk, hail. 
 Priest, Unto Latona-Quail, 
 
 To Swan the Pythian, 
 And Goldfinch- Artemis, 
 To Ostrich too, who is 
 Mother of Gods and man. 
 Cho, Grant, Ostrich, mother of Cleocritus, 
 
 Unto the High-Cuckooburians health 
 And abundance of wealth. 
 And to the Chians with us. 
 Peis, I'm glad the Chians have a share. 
 
 Priest, To all heroic birds and their 
 
 Descendants : to the Pelican, 
 /Vf The Dodo and the Cassowary, 
 ■ The Albatross and Ptarmigan, 
 I Caper-cailzie and Canary, 
 
 I Peacock, Buzzard, Cockatoo ^ — 
 
 Peis. Off to the crows, man : that will do. 
 What need to call the eagles, vultures, all the lot 
 To dine upon the paltry victim we have got ? 
 One kite would stoop and make the whole affair his own : 
 Off with your fillets ; I will sacrifice alone. 
 
 ^ The translator pleads the difficulty of a more exact rendering of this 
 litany into metre, and allows that he may not be scientifically correct in 
 identifying the birds named with those expressed by Aristophanes. 
 
51-884.] BIRDS. 311 
 
 Priest, Nay, pardon me, but stop, 
 
 Just from the ewer^s brim 
 I'll sprinkle but a drop 
 
 And sing a second hymn. 
 
 It shall be rightly done ; 
 I'll bid unto the feast 
 The blessed ; — if at least 
 
 There is enough for — one ! 
 
 But that is to be feared ; 
 The sacrifice is nothing now 
 
 But horns and beard. 
 Pels, Hear, winged Gods : to you we offer thus and vow — 
 
 Enter Poet. 
 Poet. In strains to such a lofty subject due 
 Sing, Muse, High-Cuckoobury : 
 City of the free and merry — 
 Peis, Heigh ! — what have we got here ? — and pray sir, 
 
 who are you ? 
 Poet, One whose lips distil the honey-drops of song,^ 
 One who waits upon the Muses i 
 
 Constantly, — as Homer uses. -J 
 
 Peis, Methinks that for a slave your hair is rather long. 
 Poet, Not so : but all we singers of sweet lays 
 Are busy servants of the Muses, 
 For Homer that expression uses. 
 Peis, Your livery has done its work in better days. 
 But in the name of lunacy what brought you here ? 
 
 Poet, Something of verses ; pretty things as will appear. 
 About HiGH-CucKOOBURT : a dithyrambic strain, 
 For women's voices, in Simonides's vein. 
 Peis, Pray when did you compose the verses ? 
 Poet, Long since, loiig. 
 
 This famous city was the subject of my song. 
 
 Peis. But was I not about its Tenth-Day ^ as you came 
 And have but even now given the babe a name. 
 Poet, Fame, with the Muses, flies far and is fleet 
 As the twinkling of the courser's feet. 
 
 * ^ Tenth-day ' after birth was fixed by custom for giving the new-born 
 a name : it was of course a family festival. 
 
812 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [885-916. 
 
 Etna's founder ! Sire of kings 
 Co-titled with divinest things,* 
 
 A boon, a boon for me 
 According to thy high estate 
 And worthiness commensurate — 
 A boon becoming me and thee. 
 Peis. This nuisance will increase, unless we make a shift 
 To purchase his retirement with some sort of gift. 
 You sir, you have a cloak and coat ; without more fuss 
 Strip ojff the cloak and give it to this Genius. 
 Accept the cloak ; you seem to feel the cold to-day. 
 Poet, Not all unwillingly the Muse 
 
 This gift from thee will take and use. 
 But let this ver^e of Pindar reach 
 Thy inner mind with power to teach — 
 Peis. The man seems not disposed to take himself away. 
 Poet Among the nomad Scythians straying 
 Was Strato, unpossessed 
 Of woven garment, like the rest ; 
 For glory-less was cloak of skin 
 Unless he had a coat within. 
 You understand what I am saying ? 
 Peis, I understand you want the little coat. Strip you, 
 And give it up, to let the Poet have his due. 
 — Now, take it and retire. 
 
 Poet I will ; and as I go 
 
 In lyric measure will I praise your city, so — 
 Oh, Golden-throned,^ the frosty air 
 
 Whereto I came — hah ! hah ! 
 Snow-smitten plains, with harvests fair 
 Make known to fame. Hurrah ! 
 
 [Exit Poet. 
 Peis, By Jupiter, you have at last escaped the frost ; 
 And we are rid of you, but at the jacket's cost. 
 
 ^ These lines are from Pindar, and refer to Hieron ; his name admits 
 the play upon the word hpMi' — ' sacred things.' As introduced here they 
 are mere fustian, as intended no doubt. Probably Aristophanes in this 
 place did not mean so much to parody the lyric poets, as to attribute to 
 his ' Poet ' impudent plagiarism. 
 
 ^ That is, Apollo. 
 
917-939.] BIRDS. 313 
 
 I did not think to have that sort of bore appear, 
 Or that our city's fame so soon would reach his ear. 
 (To the Priest.) 
 
 But go you round the altar, sprinkle it again. 
 Priest. Be silent every one ! 
 
 Enter Textuart.^ 
 
 Text, Touch not the goat, refrain. 
 
 Peis. And who are you ? 
 
 Text. One who makes it his care to know 
 
 What things to come have been revealed. 
 
 Peis. Be hanged, sir ; go. 
 
 Text. Nay treat not holy things so loosely. You may 
 learn — 
 'Tis here, in Bacis, — things that obviously concern 
 
 HiGH-CuCKOOBURY. 
 
 Peis. Why then was it not propounded 
 
 Before the city was by my endeavour founded ? 
 
 Text. Divine restraint was on me. 
 
 Peis. Now at any rate 
 
 Tell me what fortune you for us vaticinate. 
 
 <3axint\) miis ^ic^an t0 XiisitU are Stm— 
 Peis. But what have I to do with Corinth ? 
 Text. Eiddlewise, 
 
 Clearly it is the Air which Bacis signifies. 
 
 iffit^t at Panlf0ra'tf altar tf)cy ^l^all jSlag 
 ^ fio!)tte--iM0onctr Ham. ^ittr iaf^a^a in ti^at tfau 
 ^l^aH ie mg jir0jpi)rt antf aitiT0uncc tl^i^ iw&jjS 
 ^^an "^Kbt clean Itneu antf a jiatr 0f ^f^at^, 
 
 Peis. Are the shoes really in the writing ? 
 
 Text. Take the book. 
 
 McMOsti i^t ntjp antf eittratW in IjtjS ]^antf. 
 Peis. The entrails — are they there ? 
 Text. Pray take the text and look. 
 
 ^ We seem to have no word which describes the quality of this person. 
 He is not a ' prophet ; ' because he pretends to no personal inspiration. 
 Probably many collections of ' Oracles ' were current. Such persons 
 as the man now brought on to the stage made it their business to study 
 these revelations, and were thus prepared to produce texts apposite to any 
 occasion. 
 
314 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [940-966. 
 
 if, fab0uretf polity, t^an tfOjSt Hi 3E commaiiti 
 (!i:]^0u gljaXt Become an (i^agle in tl^f ^^B J 
 JJut otl)erii)i^e nor il^aflTe, Ii0tie, nor |9(e. 
 
 Pe^s. Is that there ? 
 Teaj^. Take the book. 
 
 Peis. These words, although divine, 
 
 Differ from some which I brought from Apollo's shrine. 
 
 3Jut ial^tii a mait toTjom nfli0trg inhitti 
 ^]^an tl^ru^t i)tm^elf upoit your jfacretf rtte^, 
 ^utf aiSlfe for entrails ; let tf)e ro^c0mB talte 
 ^ Buffet to^^irf) Si^all eauSe \)ii xihi ta aci^e. 
 
 Tea?^. For shame, you are but trifting. 
 
 Peis. Pray you take the book. 
 
 ^0itS]^t fax fS)t (l^agle m tl^e Sltg aftate 
 
 C0 Eamjpoit, 0r J9t0jpit|)eS, tlb^^ufl^ ^^ *^ * t^^ (Sreat* 
 
 Text. Is that there ? 
 
 Peis. Take the text. Well, if you wiU not look. 
 
 Out to the crows, you vagabond. [Beats him. 
 
 Text. Oh spare me, spare — 
 
 [Runs out. 
 Peis. Be off and favour others with your sacred ware. 
 
 Enter Me ton, the Geometrician, with instruments. 
 
 Met. I'm come among you — 
 
 Peis. What ? another pestilence ? 
 
 What may your business be ? Aye, what is your pretence ? 
 What scheme have you ? what boot has carried you this 
 way? 
 
 Met. 1 wish to make a geometrical survey 
 Of air and to lay out enclosures in the sky. 
 
 Peis. Do tell me, by the Gods, who are you ? 
 
 Met. Who am I ? 
 
 I'm Meton, known in Greece, aye at Colonus too. 
 
 Peis. Now tell me, what are these things ? what are 
 they to do ? 
 
 Met. Air-metres : for the air being in its extent 
 Most like an oven, I apply this instrument, — 
 You see its curve — setting, as is my wont, 
 The great dividers thus — you understand ? 
 
 Peis. I don't. 
 
967-985.] BIRDS. 315 
 
 Met, Aye, tlius I find a line, and when I let it faU, ^ 
 Your circle is a square, and in the midst of all 
 There is the market-place ; the roads, you see, all run 
 Straight to the centre, like the rays about the sun. 
 
 Peis, The man's a Thales ? — Metgist. 
 
 Met. What ? 
 
 Peis, I am your friend ; 
 
 Believe me ; 'tis advice on which you may depend. 
 
 Met Eh ? what's the matter ? 
 
 Peis. As in Lacedsemon, here 
 
 They drive out foreigners. Already as I fear 
 Blows must be stirring in the city ; — 
 
 Met. What? sedition? 
 
 Peis. Oh no, not that. 
 
 Met. What then ? 
 
 Peis. A common disposition 
 
 To dress all coxcombs' jackets. 
 
 Met. Jove ! I will not stay. 
 
 Peis. I hardly know if you have time to get away ; 
 They are upon you. [Beats him. 
 
 Met. Oh ! [Exit. 
 
 Peis. I told you to prepare ; 
 
 Now go ', and take the measure of yourself elsewhere. 
 
 Enter Political Agent. 
 
 Pol. Ag. Where are my hosts ? * 
 
 Peis. Sardanapalus, who are you ? 
 
 Pol. I come, so named and ordered in assembly due. 
 As Agent to High-Cuckooburt. 
 
 Peis. Agent ? so ! 
 
 Who sent you here ? 
 
 Pol. {Showing a paper). This sorry little scroll may 
 show: 
 The words are Teleas's. 
 
 ^ The principal states of Greece were in the habit of sending political 
 agents to small cities and new settlements over which they arrogated any- 
 political supremacy. The business of these was to meddle with and 
 manage the internal policy of the place so as to make it subserve the 
 interests of the so-called mother state. In all towns there would be 
 ' proxeni/ ^ public hosts/ whose business it was to entertain these officers, 
 or other persons of distinction having a public character. 
 
316 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES [985-1006. 
 
 Peis, {confidentially). If jou take your price, 
 You will feel free to go ? 
 
 PoL That would be very nice : 
 
 For, truth to say, I should take part in the debate ; 
 For I have been engaged with Pharnaces ^ of late. 
 
 Peis. (heating him). 
 Take your deserts and go. You shall have double fees. 
 
 Pol, What's this? 
 
 Peis, The payment for your speech on Pharnaces. 
 
 Pol. I testify you use a Functionary thus. 
 
 Peis. You and your voting ware^ be off: — 'tis scandalous; 
 They send their officers to meddle here, before 
 The city yet has served the Gods it will adore. 
 
 Enter Deoree-dealee.^ 
 
 Deal. * If a Ws^'^ntkaafinvmn jSljall 'Ha Kmiii 
 C0 an ^tl^cnian *— 
 
 Peis. What villain scroll is this ? 
 
 Deal. I am a dealer in decrees, and come this way 
 To sell you the new laws. 
 
 Peis. ' New laws,' eh ? what are they ? 
 
 Deal. |^tj5f)--Cucii0nlburtan^, it t^ '^ttt'byi tf^crcetf, 
 
 ^ball nit f^t toctfll)t^ antr mea^urc^, autr tii laiu pr0rfetf 
 ^i l)atl) iittii truly 0rtfc;r£tf lax tf)C Ma^'^^ymni. 
 
 Peis. And you — will have the measure of the Ototyxians."* 
 
 [^Beats him. 
 
 Deal. Heigh ! what's the matter now ? 
 
 Peis. Off with your litter ; pack : 
 
 I'U give you laws indeed to carry on your back. 
 
 Pol. Ag. I summon Peisthetserus at Munychion ^ 
 For insult. 
 
 ^ A Persian satrap with whom the citizen has been secretly intriguing. 
 ^ He had brought with him urns for collecting the votes in a popular 
 
 * This man's business was to copy out and sell the latest decrees of 
 the People. 
 
 * Olophyxus, really the name of a town in Thrace : the parody upon it 
 is formed on the sound * ototoi/ an expression of grief used by ^schylus. 
 
 ^ A form of summons for the first court-day in the month of this name 
 at Athens. 
 
1006-lOBS.] BIKDS. 317 
 
 Peis. Ha ! you rogue, I thought that you were gone. 
 
 Deal, jf aat|) one fig ^ovce tv^tl a M^QiitvuUf 
 <Bi' abtvtli} xefxt^t to tafee antf reinstate 
 ^cfortfttiff ta tanbtntian irulg ^ettlctf, ^iQtit^ 
 ^nts jp0jStetf— 
 
 Pe*s. Vagabond, have you remained behind ? 
 
 PoL Ag. You will be ruined by the fine you'll have to pay. 
 Peis, Ha ! ha ! seize me the rogue : a minute, villain, stay. 
 [The Chorus threatening an attack, the two 
 officers run off. 
 Priest, Let us remove and find a comer more remote 
 Where we may serve our Gods and sacrifice the goat. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 Bemicho, Soon to me, the All-surveyor, 
 All-disposer, will all people 
 Offer sacrifice with prayer ; 
 
 For I see all the earth, and keep all. 
 Guardian of the growing fruit, 
 
 I am on the watch to slay, 
 In the bud and in the shoot. 
 
 All the thousand tribes that prey 
 On gardens sweet with fruit and flower. 
 Greedier growing while they devour. 
 And erst with battling wing, 
 
 I stoop from the sky 
 On venomous beast and creeping thing; 
 And they too die. 
 Chorus, You have heard a talent offered 
 by the city to the man 
 Who will knock upon the head 
 
 Diagoras ^ the Melian ; 
 Likewise whoso kills a tyrant 
 
 (though he be already dead). 
 He shall have a talent also : 
 
 so the proclamation said. 
 
 * See notes, Clouds, 11. 716, 1126. Diagoras was an object of popular 
 hatred on account of his rejection of the mythical Deities. Perhaps the 
 proclamation against the old ^ tyrants' was rather in the nature of an old 
 form gratifying to the self-respect of the populace. 
 
318 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1033-1058. 
 
 Now do we proclaim it furtlier, 
 
 whoso kills Philocrates ^ 
 Shall receive a single talent ; 
 
 four however if he seize 
 And bring him living. He's the man who 
 
 strings the finches in a row 
 And retails them seven a penny : 
 
 further he is known to blow ^ 
 Thrushes in a shameful manner : 
 
 also when the villain kills 
 Blackbirds he will dress their noses, 
 
 putting feathers in their bills. 
 What is more, he catches pigeons, 
 
 and his prisoners employs. 
 Fastened well in cunning nets, to 
 
 act on others as decoys. 
 So we set this price upon him. 
 
 Furthermore be warned and know 
 If you have got birds in cages, 
 
 you at once shall let them go. 
 Otherwise we birds will catch you 
 
 unawares, and you shall learn 
 What it is to be entrapped and 
 
 made decoys of in your turn. 
 Semicho, Happy race of birds in feathers ! 
 We need not a cloak's assistance 
 In the most severe of weathers. 
 
 Us no ray shot from the distance 
 Scorches in the summer-tide ; 
 
 When the fields are green and gay 
 Bosomed in the leaves I hide : 
 
 While the cricket shriUs his lay 
 Glorying in the midsummer heat. 
 Then in winter I find a retreat 
 
 With nymphs and spend the hours 
 
 In merry-making 
 Till forth with the Graces among the flowers 
 I fly in the spring. 
 
 1 Tlie poulterer and bird-dealer mentioned 1. 13. 
 
 * Probably a poulterer's artifice to make the birds look plump. 
 
1059-1074] BIRDS. 319 
 
 Cho, We would have the judges know what 
 
 they will have if they are wise, 
 And in this day's competition, 
 
 they assign to us the prize. 
 Better gifts than Alexander ' 
 
 from the Goddesses could boast 
 Shall they have ; for every judge shall 
 
 have what he will value most, 
 Laureatic owls ^ in plenty. 
 
 In your purses they shall dwell, 
 Make their nests, and lay their eggs, and 
 
 silver small-change chip, the shell. 
 In your houses you shall live at 
 
 large, as do the Gods or kings ; 
 Tor when you construct your mansion, 
 
 we will surely add the wings. ^ 
 When you have secured an office 
 
 and are anxious to make of it 
 Something more to your advantage 
 
 than the regulation profit. 
 We will send a little falcon, 
 
 light of wing and keen of eye. 
 Not a tittle will he let go 
 
 unappropriated by. 
 Lastly, when you feel at supper 
 
 almost driven to a stop. 
 Courage ! and begin again, for 
 
 we will furnish you a crop. 
 
 Enter Peisthet^etjs. 
 
 Peis, Our sacrifices. Birds, have had complete success; 
 But no one from the wall — and why I cannot guess — 
 
 ^ Otherwise ' Paris ; ' "vvitli reference to the rewards offered to him by. 
 the three Goddesses when he was to assign the primacy of beauty among 
 them. 
 
 ^ Many of the silver coins of Attica bear the characteristic Owl of 
 Minerva. The silver was obtained from the rich mines of Momit Lamium 
 in Attica. 
 
 ^ This is not a true rendering of the idea of the original, which is ^ we 
 will roof it to the eagle ' — understood to be a sort of pinnacle. 
 
320 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1075-1005. 
 
 Is come to tell us how tliat business is proceeding. 
 
 But ha ! I see — here comes one out of breath with speeding. 
 
 Enter Messenger. 
 
 Mess, Where's Peis — oh, ho, where, where's — Pe- 
 Peisth — oh, where's — oh dear ! 
 Where's Peisthet^rus ? where's the governor ? 
 
 Peis, I'm here. 
 
 Mess. Your wall's completely built. 
 Peis. . That's well. 
 
 Mess. ' The work is splendid ; 
 
 Indeed, magnificent '.—the breadth is so extended 
 That on the top Proxenides of Brag might meet 
 And pass Theagenes, horses and cars complete; 
 And each horse like the Trojan ! 
 
 Peis. Hercules ! the strength ! 
 
 Mess. Aye, and a hundred fathoms good it is in length ; 
 For I have measured it. 
 
 Peis. Oh, Neptune ! what a wall ! 
 
 And who constructed it ? 
 
 ^ Mess. The Birds have done it all. 
 
 fThej did not fetch from Egypt men to make the bricks, 
 I Or masons to cut stones, or artisans to fix. 
 ^'Twas all done by themselves to my astonishment. 
 !With stones for the foundation Lybia had sent 
 
 Eerthirty thousand cranes ; ^ the bitterns then received 
 nd dressed them with their beaks ; ten thousand storks 
 upheaved 
 ^he clay for bricks ; moor-hens with water came and went, 
 With other river-birds. 
 
 Peis. But who brought the cement ? 
 
 Mess. Herons, in bowls. 
 
 1 Before making their long migratory flight the cranes were believed 
 to load themselves with stones by swallowing them, as is here expressed 
 in the original. To what purpose the stones ? A scoliast tells us. 'As 
 the cranes fly high and straight they could not well see what was below 
 them ; land, or water ? So when they wish to rest they drop a stone ; if 
 it falls upon the sea they must continue their flight, but if it strikes land 
 they may come down.' 
 
1095-1117.] BIRDS. 321 
 
 Peis. But liow did they contrive to fill 
 
 The^bowls with mud ? 
 
 Mess. ^Twas done with admirable skill : 
 
 The geese, using their feet for shovels, backward struck 
 Mud to the bowls. 
 
 Peis. What mayn't be done with feet ! 
 
 Mess. The duck. 
 
 Tucking her skirts within her girdle, found the knack 
 Of taking loads of bricks, like ducklings, on her back.^ 
 
 Peis. So much for journeymen ! hence, why should they 
 be hired ? 
 But say, who did the timber- work that was required ? 
 
 Mess. Those clever carpenters the pelicans ^ did all. 
 To hear the noise you'd think it vras an arsenal. 
 So all the circuit now is furnished with its gates ; 
 And all the gates are barred ; at each a warder waits. 
 Sentries are set and bells are rung at stated hours ; 
 And birds to light the beacons sit upon the towers, j 
 But I am so befouled with dust that I must run 
 And wash myself. Do you see what is to be done. 
 
 [Exit Messenger. 
 
 Chorus {to Peis. in reverie). You, Sir, what are you doingi^ 
 Are you so amazed 
 At finding that the wall has been so quickly raised ? 
 
 Peis. Aye, by the Gods I am. And well I may ; for why ? 
 The whole of the report appears to me a lie. 
 But see, here comes a sentry hitherward advancing 
 With speed and heat, as though he had been weapon- 
 dancing. 
 
 Enter 2nd Messenger. 
 
 Mess, Ho-ho ! ho -ho ! ho-lio ! 
 
 Peis. Is any news astir? 
 
 * The translator does not undertake to justify to a scholar the rendering 
 of these lines : he waits for light as to their real sense. The appreciative 
 taste of Brunck is followed in rejecting the line about the 'swallows.' 
 It wants the humour of hroad absurdity that characterises all the other 
 assignments of work. 
 
 ^ The Greek gives an opportunity for pun between ' pelican ' and 
 * hewing.' 
 
 Y 
 
322 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [1118-1147. 
 
 Mess. A very grievous thing : some God from Jupiter, 
 Before the jackdaws on the ramparts were aware. 
 Slipped through the city gates, and fled into the air. 
 Peis. 'Tis an ill deed. Which of the Gods? 
 Mess. We do not know ; 
 
 But he had wings, 'tis certain. 
 
 Peis. Why were you so slow 
 
 In sending followers after ? 
 
 Mess. ^ay, we sent a rout : 
 
 Some thirty thousand hawks, horse-archers, are gone out. 
 And falcons, vultures, eagles, are upon the fret ; 
 Kestrels and buzzards all, they have their talons set ; 
 And all the air is sounding with the rush of wings. 
 It is not far from here. 
 
 Peis. Then we should have our slings 
 
 And bows. Let every one go out immediately ; 
 Shoot at him ; spare him not : and bring a sling to me. 
 Chorus, The deed is done : 
 
 War is begun, 
 A war unheard, 
 'Twixt God and Bird. 
 Watch each with care 
 The clouded air. 
 The child, like us. 
 Of Erebus ; 
 Lest, ere you spy, 
 Some God slip by. 
 Look sharply all the circuit round : 
 For hark ! I hear a whirring sound. 
 As of a Deity on rushing wings not far. 
 Peis. Heigh, madam ! stop ! where are you off? Stop 
 where you are. 
 Stand still. 
 
 Enter Iris. 
 
 Who are you ? you must say ; and whence you came ? 
 Iris, From the Olympian Gods came I. 
 Peis. And what's your name ? 
 
 Helmet or Shippi 
 
 * Because of her wings and feathers, he affects to take her for a sailing 
 ship — the Salaminian or Paralus, or a feathered helmet. 
 
1147-1174.] BIRDS. 323 
 
 Iris, Swift Iris. 
 
 Peis, Salaminian 
 
 Or Paralus ? 
 
 Iris, What's this ? {spreading her wings to rise again.) 
 
 Peis, Heigh ! let some bird who can, 
 
 Some buzzard, apprehend her. 
 
 Iris, Say yon ' apprehend ' ? 
 
 Apprehend me ? — ^What's this ? and whereto does it tend ? 
 
 Peis, Towards grief for you. 
 
 Iris, This is some great absurdity. 
 
 Peis, By which gates did you enter? baggage, answer me. 
 
 Iris, By Jove, I do not know. How should I know your 
 gates ? 
 
 Peis, There ! you are witnesses how she prevaricates. 
 Did you request the daws to let you through the line "? 
 Will you not answer ? did the storks give you the sign ? 
 
 Iris, What stuff is this ? 
 
 Peis, You had no leave. 
 
 Iris, Are you not cracked ? 
 
 Peis, No ofG-cer gave you the countersign in fact. 
 
 Iris, To me ? — ISTo. 
 
 Peis, Then you fly in silence and defiance 
 
 Through Chaos and a city not in your alliance ? 
 
 Iris, What other way is open for the Gods to go ? 
 
 Peis, That is not my affair ; I don't pretend to know ; 
 You do not go by this. You trespass here to-day : 
 And were you twenty thousand Irises should pay 
 The penalty of death. 
 
 Iris, But I'm immortal. 
 
 Peis, Pooh ! 
 
 Death is, I say, the proper penalty for you. 
 A very grievous thing to bear it would be, truly. 
 If others should obey, but you Gods be unruly. 
 You must be taught to know your betters, and obey. 
 And where might you be piloting your wings, I pra^ 
 
 Iris. I ? — I am bearing down to men my father's will 
 That they should do high service to the Gods, and kiU 
 Oxen and sheep, and let the savour, thick and rich. 
 Fill all the streets. 
 
 Peis, To which Gods do you mean ? 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPIIANES. [1174-1202 
 
 Iris. To whicli ? 
 
 To us, the Gods in heaven. 
 
 Peis. But are you Gods indeed ? 
 
 Iris. Pray, then, who else is God ? 
 
 Peis. The Bieds have now agreed 
 
 To be the Gods of men ; and men it will behove 
 To sacrifice to them : by Jove, and not to Jove. 
 
 Iris. Fool ! fool ! Beware thou stirr'st the Gods' most 
 dreadful ire. 
 And Jove's just mattock should evert thy race ; and fire 
 Should lap thee and thy houses in Licymnian flashes. 
 Leaving of thee alone a blackened heap of ashes. 
 
 Peis. Hear you : allay these ebullitions : pray be quiet. 
 Am I a Lydian or a Phrygian slave ^ to fly at. 
 And terrify with bugbears ? Think it not. But learn, 
 If Jupiter dares trouble me, that I will burn 
 By my fire-bearing eagles his high walls of pride 
 And houses of Amphion. I will send beside, 
 Porphyrion ^ birds, more than six hundred strong. 
 All clothed in leopard-skins. The time is not so long 
 But he can well remember one Porphyrion, 
 And what it cost him ere a stubborn fight was won. 
 
 Iris. Wretch ! perish with your words. 
 
 Peis. 0&, off with you : despatch : 
 
 Quick, presto. ^ 
 
 Iris. In my father you will find a match. 
 
 Peis. Ah ! bah ! Be off, and wing it while you may and 
 can ; 
 Go play the trick of ' ashes ' on some younger man. 
 
 [Exit Iris. 
 
 Chorus. We do hereby 
 
 Henceforth deny 
 
 * To Gods above. 
 
 The sons of Jove, 
 All right of road 
 Through our abode. 
 
 1 Parodied from the Atcestis of Euripides. 
 
 * Here again is use made of tlie name of a bird, perhaps one of the 
 
 Heron tribe, as identical with that of the Giant. 
 
1203-1228.] BIRDS. 325 
 
 And disallow 
 All smoke or vow, 
 By mortals sent, 
 A passage through, our firmament. 
 Peis. 'Tis strange that herald whom we sent to men 
 Has not come back. Surely he will return again. 
 
 Enter Herald, returning from Men, 
 
 Her. Oh, blessed Peisthet^rus, wisest, cleverest. 
 Choice spirit, famous man, most blessed of the blest, — 
 Bid me go on. 
 
 Peis. What would you say ? 
 
 Her. This golden crown 
 
 All people send thee for thy wisdom's great renown. 
 
 Peis. I take it : but from whence does all this praise 
 arise ? 
 
 Her. Oh, founder of the famous city of the skies. 
 You know not then the honour you of men have got ; 
 And what devoted love is centred on this spot. 
 Before you founded this community men were 
 All Lacomaniacs ; ^ they chose to wear long hair. 
 To go without their meals, to carry scytales. 
 To dread the touch of soap as much as Socrates. 
 The fashion now is changed, it really is absurd. 
 For everybody's pleasure is to be a bird. 
 From bed the citizen at early mom resorts. 
 Like sparrows, to pick up the crumbs about the courts : ^ 
 The cause-list is his field on which he hunts for prey. 
 And finding verdicts gives employment for the day. 
 So far the crazy fancy runs that they will take 
 Their names from us : they have their Wren, and Hawke, 
 and Drake, 
 
 ' Other writers have noticed that there was at one time in Athens a 
 fashion, a mania for imitating Spartan habits. 
 
 ^ It is not always possible to find equivalents for word-plays. In the 
 Greek the same word stands for ' feeding-ground ' and ^ law ' ; this gives 
 Aristophanes his opportunity to make his usual stroke at the pleasure 
 and profit which Athenians drew from the law-courts. 
 
326 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1229-1258. 
 
 Their Martin, Swift, and Partridge, Coote and Jay, and 
 
 Crowe, 
 rinch. Peacock, Pigeons, plenty, and a Gull I know.^ 
 Then, all the songs that are in fashionable use 
 Have something of a ' Swallow,' ' Dove,' or ' Duck,' or 
 
 ' Goose,' 
 Or ' wings,' or touch at least of ' feather,' for adorning. 
 Such is the state of things, but you should have this 
 
 warning ; 
 We very soon shall have ten thousand of our friends 
 Desiring wings, or talons at their fingers' ends. 
 That they may be as vultures. So you must provide 
 A store of wings for those who come here to reside. 
 Peis. By Jupiter this is no time for standing still. 
 Go with all speed and fetch me baskets here, and fill 
 The hampers too with wings : and let a slave stand by 
 To hand them to me while all comers I supply. 
 Cho. Our city soon is like to be. 
 
 As men say, multitudinous. 
 Peis. Only let Fortune prosper us. 
 
 Cho, They yearn toward our community. 
 Peis. Haste, will ye not obey my orders ? 
 Cho. The man who dwells within our borders 
 What is there not to bless ! 
 With wisdom, love, ambrosial graces 
 And quietness, on whose calm face is 
 The beam of happiness. 
 Peis. {to slave.) How sluggishly you serve your master : 
 
 Do try to move a- little faster.^ 
 Cho, Let some one fetch these feather-cases. 
 I pray you stir the man to go : 
 Give him a handsome buffet — so. 
 He is a donkey in his paces. 
 
 ^ The idea in these lines has been adapted rather than translated. In 
 the original the bird-names are nick-names, by which persons were 
 already known to the audience, or which are here offered to them by 
 Aristophanes. 
 
 ^ It should be remembered that these lyrics were the accompaniment 
 of a dance movement, on the comic effect of which it may be that the 
 dramatist here relies. 
 
1259-1288.] BIRDS. 327 
 
 Peis. Ah, Manes is a coward slave. 
 Cho. Do you lay out the wings you have 
 According to a plan ; 
 Poetic here, prophetic there ; 
 Sea-wings apart, that each may wear 
 Just what becomes the man. 
 Peis, By all the screech-owls ! you shall pay 
 For creeping in this lazy way. 
 
 Father-Beater {heard singing before he enters), 
 
 F,~B, Oh give me but to soar 
 
 An Eagle, high and free, 
 Above the surge and roar 
 Of the blue and barren sea. 
 Peis, 'Twas nothing but the truth we heard the herald 
 say, 
 For here comes one who sings of Eagles on the way. 
 
 Enter Father-Beater. 
 F.-B. There would be nothing half so pleasant as to 
 
 fly; 
 
 With all my heart I long the life of birds to try ; 
 I feel quite flighty, having such desires to be 
 Admitted to the laws of your community. 
 
 Peis, What laws ? the Birds have many. 
 
 F,-B, All of them : but one 
 
 Especially I long for : that which gives a son 
 The right to choke or peck his father ; since, in fact, 
 To kill him is with you an honourable act. 
 
 Peis, By Jupiter, we think it quite a manly trick 
 For one to beat his father, being but a chick. ^ 
 
 F,~B, 'Tis that which brings me here : I wish to suf- 
 focate 
 My father and possess the whole of the estate. 
 
 Peis. But there's a law amongst the Birds in high repute, 
 The tables of the storks preserve the institute, 
 Enjoining them, that, when the father on his side 
 The early wants of all the storklings has supplied 
 
 * Cockfigliting was a favourite amusement -with Athenians. 
 
328 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1289-1318. 
 
 Till they can fly alone, they shall requite in kind, 
 And thenceforth the old father's maintenance shall find. 
 
 F,-B, By Jupiter, my journey here will prove a rather 
 Too costly pleasure, if I must maintain my father. 
 
 Peis. Oh not at all: for, since you came with kind 
 intent, 
 I will receive you as an orphan ; and present 
 A feathered gift to you ; with this advice, (not bad 
 Though nothing new, for I received it when a lad) 
 ' Do not ill treat your father.' — Take now for a shield 
 The wing of this brave cock, and let your right hand wield 
 This spur ; suppose yourself to have that warrior's crest. 
 Now go, make marches, keep the guard, and do your best 
 To live upon your pay. Since wars with you agree. 
 Fly off to Thrace and fight ; and let your father be. 
 
 F.-B. By Bacchus you say well : and frankly I defer 
 To your good counsel. 
 
 Peis. Wisely done, by Jupiter. 
 
 [Exit Father-Beater. 
 
 Enter Cinesias, the Dithyramhic Poet, 
 
 Gin. Up to Olympus flying 
 
 On wings, light wings ; and melodies 
 Now one and now another trying. 
 Peis. This will require a load of wings to make it rise. 
 Gin, I venture all. 
 
 And fear nor weariness nor fall. 
 Peis. We bid Cinesias, the linden-wand,' good cheer: 
 But wherefore has your lame leg circled to our sphere ? 
 Gin. It is because I long 
 
 To be a nightingale of thrilling song. 
 Peis. A truce with poetry, and tell me what you mean. 
 ^ Gin. Oh give me wings, that bathing in the silvery 
 sheen 
 Of clouds, I may catch preludes quivering with the air 
 And snow-tipped. 
 
 ^ We have no choice but to accept the explanation of this epithet 
 given by Athena3us. Cinesias being very slender supported the weakness 
 of his body by a wand or board of linden-wood. He was not really 
 ' lame/ so tlie imputation is to be carried to the account of his verses. 
 
1318-1344. J BIPtDS. 329 
 
 Peis, From tlie clouds ? do men get preludes there ? 
 Cin. The secret of our art is there. Our strains are 
 light, 
 The very substance of the air, and dark as night, 
 The purple of a cloud, the quivering of a wing : 
 For such are dithyrambs. But you shall hear me sing. 
 Feis, Not I, I prithee. No. 
 
 Gin. You shall by Hercules. 
 
 I'll trip it, for you, through the air with ease, 
 The forms of winged ones, the ether-specks. 
 Far stretching their delicate necks — 
 Peis. Hoop ! 
 Gin. And anon would I cut the seas. 
 
 Borne by the breath of the breeze — 
 Peis. By Jove, I'll stop your breath. 
 Gin. My body southward steered. 
 
 The keelless vessel flies ; 
 Now suddenly to northward veered 
 Furrows the harbourless skies. 
 A charming thing, old man, and daintily delivered. 
 
 Peis. But you will not be charmed when you are feather- 
 quivered. 
 
 [Buffets CiNESiAS in the face with a large wing. 
 Gin. And is it thus you treat a master in the song, 
 Whom to possess the tribes have been contending long ? 
 Peis. And will you stay with us as master of the words 
 To teach for Leotrophides ^ a quire of birds, 
 Cecropian tribe ? 
 
 Gin. You mock me, but I will not stay 
 
 My course for you, through air cleaving my winged way. 
 
 [_Exit. 
 Infoemer, without, heard singing. 
 Inf. What birds are these of varied wing. 
 
 Wide-pinioned swallow, ^ . 
 
 Possessors of not anything. 
 Black and white swallow ? 
 
 ^ Either the point of these lines dismissing Cinesias is lost, or it 
 seems very slight. Leotrophides was a dithyrambic poet of the same class 
 as Cinesias. 
 
330 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHzVNES. [1345-1365. 
 
 Peis. This matter is becoming grave and troublesome : 
 Trilling his ditty too, — here is another come. 
 
 Enter Informee. 
 
 Inf. Broad-pinioned swallow, 
 BlacF and white swallow ! 
 
 Peis. His shabby coat suggests that song of his I'm sure : 
 And that — one swallow hardly will suffice to cure.^ 
 
 Inf. Who gives away the wings ? 
 
 Peiis. I do : but pray explain, 
 
 What your desire. 
 
 Inf. Wings, wings ; so do not ask again. 
 
 Peis. To fly straight to Pallene ? ^ 
 
 Inf. No ; I'm summoner 
 
 About the islands and Informer. 
 
 Peis. 'Save you. Sir, 
 
 A happy trade. 
 
 Inf. And scent-suit. So I want the wings 
 
 To expedite the cycle of my journey ings ? 
 
 Peis. Will wings in any way enhance your faculties 
 Eor making informations ? 
 
 Inf. Not in anywise. 
 
 But I should fear no harm from pirates when I fl.y 
 In company with cranes, stone-ballasted,^ but I 
 With suits. 
 
 Peis. And you do this ? a well-grown able youth, 
 
 You worry foreigners with actions ? is this truth ? 
 
 Inf. What should I do ? I know not how to dig. 
 
 Peis. There are 
 
 Many more ways of living, honester by far 
 Than process-cobbling. 
 
 1 The critic who discovered the point here deserves credit for shrewd- 
 ness. The informer's coat was too threadbare for even early spring wear ; 
 he must needs, with such a garment, wish for the season when swallows 
 are no longer counted by ones and twos. 
 
 ^ It was known to the audience that at Pallene there were games at 
 which new clothes were given as prizes to athletes. 
 
 * This seems to point at another theory about the stone -carrying 
 cranes. They require the stones, as ballast, to prevent their being driven 
 from their course by currents of wind. 
 
13G5-1390.] BIEDS. 331 
 
 Inf, Sir, pray spare your liomily, 
 
 And wing me. 
 
 Peis, JSTay ; my words the best of wings should be. 
 
 Inf. How should words wing a man ? 
 
 Feis. All men are winged this way. 
 
 Inf, All men ? 
 
 Pm. Aye, you have often heard some father say, 
 
 Standing in barbers' shops, ' Diitrephes' discourse 
 Has put wings on my son's desire to have a horse.' 
 Another, speaking of his son, will say, that ' he 
 ' Is ^one into the clouds about this tragedy.' 
 
 Inf And is this being winged by words ? 
 
 Feis. Aye, so say I; 
 
 By them the mind is lifted up and floats on high. 
 And so by words of higher tone have I essayed 
 To make you take a flight and learn an honest trade. 
 
 Inf I will not. 
 
 Feis. Then what will you do ? 
 
 Inf. I'll not bring shame 
 
 Upon my father's father's calling and his name. 
 So find and fit me with some wings both swift and light, 
 A hawk's or falcon's ; that I may be off and cite 
 Some foreigner ; and having made the charges here 
 I may fly back again. 
 
 Feis. Your object then is clear ; 
 
 He shall be fined before he comes. 
 
 Inf. Exactly so. 
 
 Feis. And then, while he is coming here by ship, you go 
 And execute upon his goods. 
 
 Inf. You've nought to learn. 
 
 One should be like a top, for ever on the turn. 
 
 Feis. Ah ! I can whip a top. By Jupiter these strings 
 Will make it fly as well as Corcyrsean ^ wings. 
 
 [Whirls a douhle-thonged wJii^p over Informer's head. 
 
 Inf. Ah-ha ! you have a whip. 
 
 Feis. You mean a pair of wings, 
 
 With which I mean to spin my top until it sings. 
 
 [Lashes him. 
 
 ^ The police at Corcyra were armed with notable scourges of double 
 thonj?. 
 
332 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1391-1418. 
 
 Inf, Oh! ah! 
 
 Feis. Come, trj your wings in flying off : be quick. 
 
 Will you not scamper, rogue ? Aye, you shall know a 
 
 trick 
 Of just administration, tasting something bitter. 
 
 \Exit Informer. 
 But come let us be going. Gather up the litter. 
 
 [Exeunt Peisthet^rus and Attendants, 
 Chorus. Many things and very strange 
 Have I seen within my range. 
 There for instance is a tree 
 Very marvellous to see ; 
 In it is no heart at all. 
 Men Cleonymus it call ; 
 Good for nothing ; very fat ; 
 And a coward for all that : 
 In the spring it buds and yields 
 
 Slanders with a heavy crop ; 
 But unhappily its shields 
 
 At the breath of winter drop. 
 Then there is another spot 
 Where a gleam of light is not : 
 There may even mortals hold 
 Communion with heroes old ; 
 Breakfast with them, and abide 
 Any time tiU eventide. 
 Then it is not safe to be 
 In a hero's company. 
 If one should by evil luck 
 
 Meet Orestes ^ after dark. 
 One might find his right side struck, 
 And himself left naked stark. 
 
 * An allusion to Orestes the footpad and his operations after dark ; 
 with a reference also to evil influences, such as palsy strokes, upon those 
 who irreverently passed certain places dedicated to Heroes. Acharnians, 
 1. 1032. 
 
1^19-1438.] BIRDS. 333 
 
 Enter Prometheus, a;pproaching timidly with his head 
 
 covered. 
 
 u- Prom. Ah ! how may I contrive Jove shall not spy me 
 V out? 
 
 Hist ! where is Peisthetserus ? 
 
 Enter Peisthet^rus. 
 
 Peis. What is this about ? 
 
 Why does he hide his head ? 
 
 Prom. Behind me, — in the sky, — 
 
 Do you see any God ? 
 
 Peis. By Jupiter, not I. 
 
 But who are you ? 
 
 Prom. What time of day is it with you ? 
 
 Peis. What time ? — A little after noon, if that will do. 
 But who are you ? 
 
 Prom. Ox-loosing time ? or more than that ? 
 
 Peis. This conduct is disgusting, quite. 
 
 Prom. What is Jove at ? 
 
 Clearing the weather ? or does he o'ercloud the skies ? 
 
 Peis. Confound you. 
 
 Prom. Then I will come out from my disguise. 
 
 [Throws off the covering of his head. 
 
 Peis. My dear Prometheus ! — 
 
 Prom, Stop, stop : you are to blame. 
 
 Peis. What is the matter ? 
 
 Prom. Hush ! don't call me by my name ; 
 
 For I shall be destroyed if Jove should see me here. 
 I'm come to tell you news about the upper sphere : 
 So take this parasol and hold it over me 
 While I am speaking, lest the upper Gods should see. 
 
 Peis. Ha ! ha ! 'tis neatly done, with wondrous provi- 
 dence ; 
 So, getting quickly under, fearlessly commence. 
 
 Prom. Now, listen. 
 
 Peis. I am listening. 
 
 Prom. Jupiter 's undone. 
 
 Peis. Undone ? How long since ? 
 
334 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1438-1466. 
 
 Prom, Since this city was begun. 
 
 Since that time men have quite foregone their sacrifices ; 
 /No grateful savour of the roasting thighs arises 
 \. To our abodes ; and we in one unending fast 
 [Keep Thesmophoria. Some Gods of foreign caste, 
 'Who like lUyrians gibber instead of speaking, 
 Starved out, have taken arms ; and are intent on wreakiug 
 Vengeance on Jupiter and all the other Gods, 
 Unless he will provide a market where the odds 
 And ends of offal may be bought. 
 
 Peis, -What ? Is it true 
 
 There are barbaric Gods beyond and over you ? 
 
 Prom. Barbarian indeed ! — Not so, when it is known 
 That Execestides ^ calls one of them his own. 
 
 Pels. And what may be the names of these Divinities 9 
 
 Prom. Triballi. 
 
 Peis. Tribulation — comes from that one sees. 
 
 Prom. ISTo doubt of it. But this that you should know 
 is meet : 
 Ambassadors will soon be here on peace to treat 
 From Jove and those Triballi ; make it on no terms 
 Except that Jove gives up the sceptre and confirms 
 The act of restitution by the gift to you 
 Of Basileia for a wife. 
 
 Peis. No doubt : but who 
 
 Is Basileia ? ^ 
 
 Prom. An incomparable girl, 
 
 Whose business is to deal the bolts for Jove to hurl ; 
 She sees to government, controls the pay and ports. 
 Provides the market, judges' fees, and public sports. 
 
 Peis. Quite his factotum ? 
 
 Prom. Yes : have her and you have all. 
 
 To let you know this was the object of my call. 
 For ever well disposed to serve mankind am I. 
 
 Peis. You only of the Gods enable us to fry.^ 
 
 1 See 1. 4, note (1). 
 
 ^ Basileia means both ^ Kingly rule ' and ' Queen ' : in this equivocal 
 sense it is used here and to the end of the comedy. 
 5 By having supplied to men^re. 
 
1467-1488.] BIEDS. 335 
 
 Prom, And, as you know, all Gods I utterly detest. 
 Peis. Aye, hated of the Gods as hating, 'tis confessed. 
 Prom, A perfect Timon. But ^tis time that I should 
 run : 
 Give me the parasol, that Jove may be outdone, 
 Thinking, if he should see, 'tis only some affair 
 Of basket-carrying. 
 Peis, Aye so, and take the chair. ^ 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 Chorus, Where the Shadow-feet ^ reside 
 There have I a lake espied ; 
 Out of its unwashen holes 
 Comes Socrates to draw up souls. 
 Much Pisander longs to see 
 Once again the spirit which he 
 Lost when living : for a lamb he'll 
 Cut the weasand of a camel. 
 And retire as did Ulysses. 
 
 To the blood and camel-fat, 
 'Tis a feast he never misses. 
 Up comes Chserephon the Bat. 
 
 Enter Neptune, Heecules, and Triballus the Barbarian 
 
 God, 
 
 Nep, Fellow ambassadors, survey this city round. 
 This is HiGH-CucKOOBURY, whither we are bound. 
 
 [To Triballus, whose dress, language, and 
 habits are very unbecoming a God and a 
 Gentleman, 
 What are you at ? One would suppose you did not know 
 How to put on a mantle ! — Over your shoulder, — so ; — 
 
 ^ In a sacrificial procession a parasol and stool were usually carried 
 behind the * basket-bearer.' 
 
 ^ This strophe, and that which follows, 1. 1605, are continuations of 
 the narrative of strange sights seen by the Birds. The references to 
 Socrates and Chserephon are in the spirit of the Clouds. The Shadow- 
 feet are a tribe supposed to live in the hottest parts of Libya ; they walk 
 on all-fours, and forasmuch as there are no trees to protect them from 
 the direct heat of the sun, they are favoured by nature with such large 
 feet, that one of them, held up over the back^ provides an agreeable shade 
 for the whole body. 
 
336 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1489-1508. 
 
 Not the left shoulder, boobj : we shall he disgraced : 
 Laspodias himself would dress with better taste. 
 Democracy has brought us to a strange abyss, 
 When Gods elect for Legate such a clown as this ! 
 
 Tri. Wo'ot-thee houd thee noise ? 
 ' Nep, Bah ! God so uncouth as you 
 
 I never saw. — Come, Hercules, what shall we do? 
 
 Her, You know my mind. I wish to suffocate the man 
 Who first conceived against the Gods this walling plan. 
 
 Nep, But we have been despatched commissioners to try 
 For terms of peace. 
 
 Her, So, so ! then hang them twice, say I. 
 
 Enter Peisthetjerus {in his hands birds ready for 
 
 coohing). 
 
 w 
 Peis, Bring me the cheesegrater, some silphium and 
 
 cheese. 
 
 And blow the fire. 
 
 Her, We three Gods this occasion seize 
 
 To offer our respects.^ 
 
 Peis. {not noticing Her.), Put in the seasoning. 
 
 Her, What meats are these ? 
 
 Peis, Some birds whom they thought right to bring- 
 
 To justice for sedition. 
 
 Her, Is this then your way 
 
 To season them ? 
 
 Peis, {recognising Her,), Ah ! worthy Heecules, good 
 day. 
 What brings you here ? 
 
 Her, The Gods, wishing this war to cease, 
 
 Have sent us to arrange an honourable peace. 
 
 Enter Servant of Peisthetcerus, 
 
 Ser, There is no oil, Sir, in the flask. 
 Peis, No oil ? that's bad : 
 
 For look the birds be basted well : some must be had. 
 
 * It should not be lost upon the unclassical reader, that it is the sight 
 of the birds made ready for the spit which works this sudden change in 
 Hercules's sentiments towards Peisthetaerus. 
 
1509-1540.] BIRDS. 337 
 
 Her. We find that we gain no advantage by the war : 
 And you, if you be friends with us as heretofore. 
 Will have rain-water in your pools, and all your days 
 Be halcyon. The terms we are prepared to raise. 
 
 Peis, It was not we who did commence the war ; but 
 • still 
 We are disposed to hear your overtures ; and will. 
 If you wiU do but right, accord you terms of ease 
 For solid peace. The terms which we think just are 
 
 these : — 
 Let Jupiter give back the sceptre to the Birds ; 
 We will be pacified. What need of further words ? 
 And hereupon we ask the Legates in to dine. 
 
 Her, {to the other twcy Commissioners). 
 Well, that is fair. H^ are your votes ? — I give it mine. 
 
 Ne'p. Half-witted giutton, for your belly's sake alone 
 Would you deprive your father of his ancient throne ? 
 
 Peis. Nay ; will not your dominion so much vigour gain 
 If we, the BiEDS, below resume our former reign ? 
 At present mortals take advantage of a cloud 
 And, swearing by your names, stoop down and lie aloud. 
 But if the Birds were your allies, and one should swear, 
 ' By the Raven and by Jove,' — before he was aware, 
 A Raven on the wing might hear the fellow lie. 
 And at a blow knock out the perjurer's right eye. 
 Nep. By Neptune ! I admit it, in that point of view. 
 Her, And so do I. 
 
 Peis. {to Tri.) And what say you ? 
 
 Tri, Nabaisatrew. 
 
 Peis, You see that he assents. — But further, I suggest 
 A case in which we might promote your interest. 
 Suppose a man has vowed to you some sacrifice. 
 But when it comes to payment, — says his avarice, — 
 ' The Gods are very patient.'— T/i-a^ we will arrange. 
 Nejp, How so ? 
 
 Peis. We watch a time when he is counting change, 
 Or may be, at the bath, and stripped, — down comes a kite 
 And swoops two-sheeps'-worth, that the God may have his 
 right. 
 
338 COMEDIES OF AHISTOPHANES. [1541-1566. 
 
 Her, On this, tlie sceptre sliall go back with my consent ; 
 That is my vote. 
 
 Nep, But is Teiballus quite content? 
 
 Her, Teiballus, will you yield yourself to feed the 
 
 crows ? ^ 
 Tri, Sunaka baktarikrousa. 
 Her, He will not oppose. 
 
 JVep. Since both of you consent, I also vote to cede. 
 Her, The sceptre, Sir, is ceded ; we are all agreed. 
 Peis, By Jove there is another thing, I recollect. 
 Juno of course I leave with Jove, but I expect 
 That Basileia shall be yielded for my wife. 
 
 [Neptune moves to go away in disgust, 
 NeiJ. Let us go home. You wish for nothing else but 
 
 strife. 
 Peis, 'Tis all the same to me. — Cook, let the sauce be 
 
 sweet. 
 Her, My good man, Neptune, what is this ? We came 
 to treat. 
 What ? Do you mean to let the hope of peace drop through 
 About a single wench ? 
 
 Nejp. What would you have me do ? 
 
 Her, Wliat do ? Make friends. 
 
 Nef. You have been cozened all along. 
 
 And do not know it, fool. You do yourself a wrong. 
 See you, if Jupiter should cease to be the king. 
 And afterwards should die, you would lose everything. 
 For, being how the heir, in you at once would vest 
 The whole estate in fee of which he died possessed. 
 
 Peis, Dear, dear ! How he bamboozles you ! Come 
 here to me. 
 And in a word I will explain how things would be. 
 Poor rogue, your uncle tricks you ; not a single straw 
 Of all your father's goods would fall to you by law, 
 For you are base-born. 
 
 Her, I ? I base-born ? what d'ye mean ? 
 
 Peis, You are, by Jove ; your mother was some foreigii 
 quean. 
 
 Note; Peace, 1. 8G. 
 
1567-1594.] BIRDS. 339 
 
 How could Minerva have been heiress if there were 
 Brothers legitimate ? — then, daughters take no share. 
 
 Ser, But if my father should devise, as he sees fit, 
 The ' bastard's havings ' ? 
 
 Pels, That the law would not permit. 
 
 Neptune would be the first (though now he fires your mind) 
 To lay his claim to all your father left behind ; 
 Alleging he was brother, and legitimate. 
 Listen to Solon's law about deceased's estate : 
 
 (SJ^t ta^tartr Sl^all not i^aftt a ^\^KXt 
 M X^txt 6c txut'hQnx ^qvl for ^eir. 
 5( i^txt 6c none, or i^c l^abc Utctr, 
 Cl)c ntyi Qi Ittn tl)c i»]^0lc tiibiXfe. 
 
 Her, Then I should have no portion of my father's goods ? 
 Feis, Nothing. — Has he inscribed you in the brother- 
 hoods ? ^ 
 Come, tell me that. 
 
 Her. Not he ; and much to my surprise. 
 
 Peis. Why do you stand with open mouth and glaring 
 eyes, 
 Just like an injured man ? Pooh, pooh ! come you to me ; 
 I'll make you king, and pigeon's milk your food shall be. 
 Her, I thought before that you were right in what you 
 said 
 About the wench ; and I assign to you the maid. 
 Peis, {to Neptune). And what say you? 
 iVep. I go against you on division. 
 
 Peis, It lies, then, with Triballus. [To Tri.] What is 
 
 your decision ? 
 TtL Oi moind ta burd sud morrid tu ta bonny lass, 
 Un ha ta gear. 
 
 Her. You mean that the concessions pass ? 
 
 Nep, He does not say concede, but chatters like the 
 
 swallows. 
 Peis, Then, that the swallows have it, manifestly follows. 
 Nep. Do you two, then, draw up the terms of settlement; 
 Since good it seems to you, my silence gives assent. 
 
 * An Athenian father, on the third day of the feast of Apaturia, intro- 
 duced his son to the brotherhood of the tribe to which he belonged. 
 Hereupon the son's name was enrolled and he was admitted true citizen. 
 
 z2 
 
340 COMEDIES OF AKISTOPHANES. [1595-1622 
 
 Her. We are agreed in ceding all that yon demand ; 
 But go with ns to heaven, there to receive the hand 
 Of Basileia with possession of the rest. 
 
 Peis. The malefactors were cut off, and will be dressed 
 Just opportunely for the marriage-feast. 
 
 Her, Shall I 
 
 Stay here and cook them while you go into the sky 9 
 Peis, You cook ? there spoke the man who loves to serve 
 his throat. 
 No. Go with us. 
 
 Her, 'Twould suit me. 
 
 Peis, Bring a wedding coat. 
 
 \_Exeunt„ 
 Chorus. There in Phanse dwells a race, 
 Clepsydra is near the place, 
 Who, such is their clever plan, 
 Make the tongue support the man ; 
 Make it sow for them and reap. 
 Tread the grape, and shear the sheep ; 
 But outlandish aU the class is, 
 Phillipses and Gorgiases.^ 
 From them has the custom. sprung. 
 
 Which through Attica has grown. 
 That in sacred rites the tongue 
 Is cut out and set alone. 
 
 Enter Messenger. 
 
 Mess. Oh, happy in your fortune past the power of words. 
 Oh, thrice to be congratulated race of Birds, 
 Take home to you your king. He comes as never star 
 Was like him shining from its golden house afar. 
 As never shone the sun, far darting fiery rays ; 
 So comes he with his bride, in beauty passing praise. 
 Jove's winged thunderbolt is quivering in his hand ; 
 And round him, circling to the very outmost band, 
 
 ^ Aristophanes was shocked that Simonides should have taken money 
 reward for his verses : we see here that he was as much scandalised that 
 Gorgias, and other professors of the art of Rhetoric, should have received 
 fees from the attendants at their lectures. Many of these professors were 
 then foreiofners. 
 
1623-1655.] BIRDS. 341 
 
 There floats a nameless odour. Oh, the sight is fair, 
 Where breezes lift the incense-fumes as braids of hair. — 
 But here he is. So doth it to the Muse belong 
 Her holy lips to open with a welcome-song. 
 
 Enter Peisthet^eus in state, with Basileia and 
 Attendants, 
 
 Semichorus, Retire ! avoid ! depart ! away ! 
 Flit round him who comes again 
 "With Fortune in his train. 
 Ah ! what a delicate creature ! 
 Ah ! what grace in each feature ! 
 Wed for this city in happy day. 
 For fortunes great 
 Beyond all thought 
 Hath this man brought 
 Unto the Birds' estate. 
 And therefore fill the skies 
 Around the path 
 Of him who hath 
 The Bride, with bridal melodies. 
 Semichorus. Once the Fates Olympian Juno led 
 Unto the high-throned king, 
 Lord of lords, to share his marriage -bed ; 
 
 Then did the welkin ring, 
 Ho ! Hymen, Hymenseus. 
 
 Brideman, meet for such a blessed pair. 
 The bridegroom and fair bride. 
 
 Love, the blooming, golden-winged, was there 
 The coursers' reins to guide. 
 
 Ho ! Hymen, Hymenseus. 
 
 Peis, Your hymns and songs delight mine ear ; 
 Your welcome fills my heart with cheer. 
 Be Jove's own weapons now your theme, 
 Earth-shaking thunders and the gleam 
 Of lightning's fiery sheen. 
 
342 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1656-1675. 
 
 Chorus, Gold-glowing flash, oh, shaft of fire, 
 Jove's messenger of deathful ire. 
 And ye storm-bearers, at whose sound 
 This man who wields you shakes the ground. 
 Through you he all commands. 
 And Jove's own throne-mate stands 
 
 Beside him as his Queen. 
 Ho ! Hymen, Hymenseus. 
 
 Peis, Follow, follow, to the wedding. 
 
 All that wing through field or grove. 
 Follow to the land of Jove, 
 And to the nuptial bedding. 
 {To Basileia). Touch me, blessed one, so slightly, 
 Lay thy hand upon my wing. 
 Linked we will dance and sing. 
 For I will lift thee lightly. 
 CJiorus, Paean, Paean. Lift the cry. 
 Shout the song of victory 
 For him who reigneth in the sky. 
 
FEOGS. 
 
INTEODUCTieW. 
 
 If the reader will glance at the.ClironologicaJ Table, lie 
 will see that the deaths of Euripides and Sophocles, and 
 the production of this comedy, rapidly followed each other. 
 No sooner was Euripides dead than Aristophanes must 
 have conceived the idea of making merry at his expense 
 at the next dramatic festival. The comedy was completed 
 and the actors prepared for the earliest celebration, Lensea, 
 that is, by the end of February. This rapidity of concep- 
 tion and execution is the more worthy of notice, because 
 by many, perhaps by the greater number, this comedy will 
 be considered the chef-d'oeuvre of the author. 
 
 It is unfortunate for the translator that there are impor- 
 tant parts in this play which present to him unusual diffi- 
 culties. He has to do his best in rhymed verse to repre- 
 sent humorous criticism on the rhythm of verses of 
 entirely different construction; he has to translate parodies 
 so as to tell their own tale of humour, perhaps to those 
 who know nothing of the characteristic style of the 
 original author. For this part of his work, then, es- 
 pecially, he asks the kind and considerate judgment of the 
 . scholar. 
 
 The idea of the piece is this. Euripides was dead. 
 I Bacchus, the patron of the Dramay regretted him. Who 
 could supply his place on the Athenian stage ? The God 
 hits upon an expedient. After the example of Hercules, he 
 determines to make a descent into Hades in order to recover 
 his favourite tragedian. Sophocles died such a very short 
 time before the exhibition of the comedy, that we must be 
 convinced that Bacchus had come to this determination 
 before an event which only gave it the more reason. The 
 references to Sophocles are like insertions made to meet 
 the case of his being in Hades too ; but he does not appear 
 as a character. 
 
346 INTEODUCTION. 
 
 On his way to Hades Bacclius has to cross the Stygian 
 Lake ; here he falls in with the Feogs, who have given 
 their name to the piece. They play but a small part in 
 it : they are, so far as appears, heard only ; certainly they 
 do not appear as a Chorus. The true Chorus of thej^lav 
 are the Mystics, or Ijiitiated in TBTe EleusinianlSysteries, 
 whom Bacchus falls in with while they are celebrating 
 their joyous orgies in their own place of eternal light. In 
 the hymns of graceful fancy with which Aristophanes in 
 his happiest vein treats this part of his plan, we have 
 probably represented the style of hymns with which the 
 Initiated accompanied their annual procession from Athens 
 to Eleusis. Bacchus, having, after many adventures, 
 arrived at Pluto's palace, finds Hades in commotion. 
 A high strife is on hand. Euripides is disputing with 
 ^schylus the right to occupy the Chair of Dramatic Art 
 in Hades. The arrival of Bacchus is, then, happily timed. 
 Where could be found a better judge of dramatic composi- 
 tion? The case between the two is referred to him. The 
 trial of merits affords substance for the latter half of the 
 comedy, and ample field for the wit of Aristophanes. 
 
 Since the representation of Birds Athens had gone 
 through a sea of troubles. The expedition to Sicily, 
 which had just then set out with brilliant anticipations of 
 empire in the Italian seas, had ended in disaster. Alci- 
 biades had become the foulest traitor to his country ; war 
 with Sparta had been rekindled ; the Lacedaemonians had 
 established an effective power at sea, and had leagued with 
 the hereditary, the natural enemy of the free Greek, 
 Persia. Our old friend, Demtjs, had quietly succumbed 
 to an Oligarchy of 400 ; they, in turn, had become in- 
 tolerable. Yet Fortune had not quite deserted the city : 
 at ArginussG the Athenian fleet inflicted a heavy blow 
 upon the combined forces of the enemy. But the very 
 darkest day of Athens had now come. Some of its deep 
 shadows may be observed on the text of this comedy. The 
 minds of all were dejected ; they knew not whom to trust, 
 to what quarter to look for hope. Before -^schylus could 
 arrive to prescribe for the sick Commonwealth, the navy of 
 
INTEODUCTION. 347 
 
 Athens was utterly, gratuitously destroyed at ^gos-potami. 
 Lysander laid siege to the city by land and sea ; Athens 
 surrendered upon terms of extreme humiliation. So ended 
 the Peloponnesian War, with which so many of these co- 
 medies were closely connected. 
 
 Frogs carried off the first prize in the contest. 
 
BACCHrs. 
 
 Xanthia! 
 
 Hekcules. 
 
 Corpse. 
 
 Charon. 
 
 The Frogs of the Stygian Lake. 
 
 Chorus of Eleusinian Mystics. 
 
 Euripides. 
 
 ^SCHYLUS. 
 
 Pluto. 
 
 Womaji, attendant on Proserpine. 
 
 First Hostess. 
 
 Second Hostess. 
 
-X^ 
 
 ■^uf^ 
 
 Scene. — Bacchus and Xanthias, on their road to the 
 house of Heecules ; Xanthias riding on a donhey, and 
 carrying a bundle; Bacchus on foot, dressed in the 
 saffron-coloured frock and hid hoots of a lady, and 
 carrying a club and lion's skin in the fashion of Hee- 
 
 cules. ^ 
 
 Xanthias, My lord, shall I4)egm tlie st%e-slave's com- 
 monplaces 
 To catch the usual laugh from those expectant faces ? 
 
 Bacchus, Say what you will, except ' I'm galled ; ' be- 
 ware of that ; 
 It tends to stir the bile, as being rather flat. 
 
 Xan, Then something clever ? 
 
 Bacc, Yes ; excepting ' How I ache ! ' 
 
 Xan. 1 may say something funny. 
 
 Bacc, Yes, I only make 
 
 Those slight exceptions. 
 
 Xan. There ! why do I bear a pack 
 
 If I am not allowed the liberty to crack 
 The jokes of which our high authorities make use, 
 Whenever they can find occasion to produce 
 A slave upon the stage ? 
 
 Bacc. And every time I hear 
 
 The artifice, I feel I'm older by a year. 
 So pray forego it. 
 
 Xan. Then, to my chagrin, the yoke 
 
 Must gall my neck, and I am disallowed the joke. 
 
 Bacc. Tut ! have not pride and luxury too much of it ? 
 When I, the son of Barrel, Bacchus, thus submit 
 To trudge a-foot, and set this rogue on donkey-back, 
 Lest he should be fatigued by carrying the pack. 
 
 Xan. But don't I carry it ? 
 
 Bacc. How so ? you ride, say I. 
 
 Xan. Why, this I carry. 
 
 Bacc, How ? 
 
 Xan, This weight you can't deny. 
 
350 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [21-40. 
 
 Bacc, The weigM yon say you bear does not the donkey- 
 bear? 
 Xan, By Jupiter, not he ! it is my single share. 
 Bacc, How take you it, when what you take the donkey 
 
 takes ? 
 Xan, I won't pretend to say ; I know my shoulder aches, 
 Bacc, Come, since you say the donkey's labour does not 
 profit, 
 Get off and carry him : and hear what he says of it. 
 
 Xan, Why hadn't I the luck to go and fight at sea? * 
 I would have shown you what it was to order me. 
 
 Bacc, Get down, you rogue : For here the door, methinks, 
 I win 
 To which my steps were bound. [KnocTcs at the door,) 
 
 Hoi ! Slave, I say, within. 
 
 Hercules, looMng out. 
 
 Her, Who's knocking at the door a blow as it had been 
 A centaur charging ? what does this disturbance mean ? 
 
 Bacc. {frightened at the angry aspect q/" Hercules). 
 My lad. 
 
 Xan, What ? 
 
 Bacc, Did you not perceive ? 
 
 Xan, What sort of fact ? 
 
 Bacc, How he alarmed me. 
 
 Xan, ^ye, he might have thought you cracked. 
 
 Her, {bursting into boisterous laughter at the dress of 
 Bacchus). 
 This is too much ! — this is — I've bit my lip in half — 
 I cannot stop it — no — I must have out my laugh. 
 
 Bacc, Good Sir, I have to beg your very kind attention. 
 
 Her, No, really I must have my laugh ; there's no pre- 
 vention. 
 The lady's saffron gown and lion-skin thrown over ! 
 Kid boots and club ! what means it ? whence came you, my 
 rover ? 
 
 * The fatal Sicilian expedition had caused such a drain upon the 
 strength of Athens, that the Athenians were driven to employ slaves to 
 make up the complement of their ships. So they fought the battle of 
 ArginusoB. The slaves engaged in that action were rewarded with their 
 freedom. 
 
41-68.] FEOGS. 851 
 
 Bacc. It chanced to me that lately on a summer trip 
 I read Euripides ; and, lying on the ship, 
 Was musing over the Andromeda apart. 
 When suddenly a longing shot into my heart. „^J 
 
 Her, How large was it ? 
 
 Bacc. Nay, do not quiz me, if you please ; 
 
 The thing is past a jest ; and I am ill at ease. 
 'Tis such a longing, brother, wasting me away ! 
 
 Her. It's nature, little fellow ? 
 
 Bacc. Ah, I may not say. 
 
 But I can riddle you my thought, if you will stoop 
 To guess it. — You have had a sudden wish for soup ? 
 
 Her. Soup ? bless you ; yes, a thousand times. 
 
 Bacc, More must I tell ? 
 
 Her. Nay, not about the soup : I uiiderstand it well. 
 
 Bacc, A longing such as that consumes me night and 
 day 
 To have Euripides : though he has passed away. 
 Yea, man shall not divert my fixed intent to go 
 And find him where he is. 
 
 Her, What ? down in Hell below ? 
 
 Bacc, Aye, lower ; if there is a place. 
 
 Her, What is your aim ? 
 
 Bacc. I want a clever Poet, worthy of the name. 
 The good we had are dead ; those whom we have are 
 naught'. 
 
 Her. But lophon is living ? 
 
 Bacc. Truly : if we ought 
 
 To reckon him among the good? But thereabout 
 There lies in my opinion certain ground of doubt. 
 
 Her. But if you go so far your longing to appease, 
 Why not bring back the older poet Sophocles ? 
 
 Bacc. I'll ring the metal of which lophon is made. 
 And see what he can do without his father's aid.^ 
 Besides, that rogue Euripides is just the man 
 To put his artfulness to use, and help my plan 
 
 * lophon was the son of Sophocles. He had produced some tragedies, 
 but it was supposed that he was much indebted to works left unfinished 
 by his father. 
 
352 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [69-93. 
 
 By giving Hell the slip : whereas the other one, 
 An easy fellow always, would not care to run. 
 
 Her, But where is Agathon ? 
 
 Bacc. Alas, he has departed. 
 
 A genuine poet he. His friends are broken-hearted. 
 
 Her» Poor man, where is he gone ? 
 
 Bacc. To the Banquet of the Blest. 
 
 Her, AndXenocles? -. 
 
 Bacc. Please Jove to take him — to the rest ! 
 
 Her. Pythangelus? 
 
 X.an. {spealcing towards the audience aside), 
 'Tis very strange that no one takes 
 Notice of me this while ! and yet my shoulder aches,^ 
 
 Her, But you must have a thousand lads whose powers 
 of talking 
 Might give Euripides a length, and beat him, walking ! 
 
 Bacc, Pooh ! grapes you would not glean : swallows that 
 twitter round 
 The Muses' halls ; art-spoilers ; utterers of sound : 
 Let them produce a drama, give a Chorus to them, 
 You need but do it once, you perfectly undo them. 
 We want a man of mettle, such as can invent 
 And worthily express a noble sentiment. 
 
 Her. Of mettle how ? 
 
 Bacc, One who will risk the true sublime ; 
 
 ' JEther the dwelling-house of Jove ' — ' the foot of Time ; ' 
 Or thus : ' To be forsworn the honest mind is loth ; 
 * But say it is the tongue, and you may break the oath.' ^ 
 
 Her, But is this what you like ? 
 
 Bacc. It charms me overmuch. 
 
 Her. It is a rascal's rubbish, and you knoAv it such. 
 
 Bacc. Enjoy your mind. Leave me without your inter- 
 ference. 
 
 Her, Why then, 'tis villany ! and that is its appearance. 
 
 Bacc, Do you teach me to sup ? 
 
 1 Again, it will be seen, Aristophanes puts into the slave's mouth the 
 claptrap of the stage-slave. 
 
 '■^ These expressions, considered to offend against piety, taste, or common 
 morality, are drawn, with more or less fairness, from the dramas of Euri- 
 pides. 
 
93-117.] FROGS. 353 
 
 Xan. {aside), Yon'd think I wasn't here. 
 
 Bacc, But to the business which has brought me in this 
 gear 
 After your fashion : 'tis that I may know, if wanted. 
 The hospitable Mends and houses that you haunted 
 When you went after Cerberus. So explain in detail 
 The towns, the roads, the havens, hostels, shops of retail, 
 The stages, fountains, lodgings where you got a bed 
 Most free from bugs. 
 
 Xan, {aside). Of me no syllable is said. 
 
 Her, Have you the impudence to think of going too ? 
 
 Bacc. Prithee, no more of that. I only ask of you 
 The shortest way to Hell, provided it is not 
 Extremely cold, nor yet insufferably hot. 
 
 Her, Which shall I mention first P — the shortest you can 
 
 go 
 Is by a beam and rope. 
 
 Bacc. Hanging you mean ? Oh no. 
 
 Her. There is another way, in some respects the best — 
 That through the mortar. 
 
 Bacc. Hemlock you suggest ? 
 
 Her. Exactly. 
 
 Bacc. That is cold ; as bad as two Decembers, 
 
 And gradually chills one from the lower members. 
 
 Her. Then shall I mention that which is both short and 
 straight ? 
 
 Bacc. Do : for my walking powers are very far from great. * 
 
 Her. Then leisurely go to the Ceramicus — 
 
 Bacc. And ? 
 
 Her. Ascend the lofty tower — 
 
 Bacc. What to do there ? 
 
 Her, Stand ; 
 
 Look at the torch-race ; then, when the spectators say, 
 ' Off with it '—off yourself. 
 
 Bacc. Where 9 
 
 Her. Down. 
 
 Bacc. No, not that way. 
 
 The membranes in the brain-case might perchance be rent. 
 
 Bacchus would be represented on the stage as a corpulent young man. 
 
 A A 
 
354 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [118-139. 
 
 Her. What will you tlien ? 
 
 Bacc, The way you followed when you went. 
 
 Her. That voyage is very tedious : you will find a lake, 
 Wide and of depth unknown — 
 
 Bacc, And how am I to make 
 
 The transit? 
 
 Her. You will see an old man keeping there 
 
 A nutshell of a boat : two oboles is his fare. 
 
 Bacc. How mighty are two oboles,^ wheresoe'er one goes ! 
 But how did they get there ? 
 
 Her. With Theseus I suppose. 
 
 Then serpents, and ten thousand thousand beasts you see. 
 Fearful to look upon. 
 
 Bacc. Don't try to frighten me ; 
 
 I will not be diverted. 
 
 Her. Then a foul morass 
 
 Of ever-floating filth. There welter in a mass 
 Guest-wrongers, parricides, and perjurers ; with whom 
 Transcribers of a line of Morsimus ^ have doom. 
 
 Bacc. If due were done, they would be brought to that 
 same pass 
 Whoever learned the Pyrrhic of Cinesias.^ 
 ^Her. Thereafter wiU the breath of pipes salute your ear, 
 jkxLdi daylight glorious as our own will reappear : 
 /There will be myrtle-groves ; and in them happy bands 
 (Of men and women, and much clapping of the hands. 
 
 Bacc. Who, then, are these ? 
 
 Her. Those who have been Initiate."* 
 
 Xan. [aside). And I'm the ass who bear the Mysteries in 
 state ! ^ 
 But I'll no more of it. 
 
 1 The scoliast refers these * two oboles' to the dicasts' fee, so often 
 mentioned in these comedies. It appears that at diflerent periods the 
 fee varied between one and three oboles. By other authors Charon's fee 
 is said to have been only one obole, which was put into the mouth of the 
 corpse. 
 
 ^ A tragic poet. See Feace, 1. G97. 
 
 ' A dithyrambic poet, introduced as a character in Bit'ds, 1. 1305. 
 
 * In the Mysteries of Eleusis. Aristophanes here describes what were 
 supposed to be the special privileges of those who in life had been ad- 
 mitted to the Mysteries. People going to Eleusis carried the requisites 
 
139-157.] FROGS. 355 
 
 Ser, They will impart to you 
 
 All that is requisite for you to know and do. 
 They have their habitation just beside your road, 
 And close upon the gates of Pluto's own abode. 
 So fare you well, my brother. 
 
 Bacc. Take your wishes back 
 
 Eedoubled, my good friend. [To Xan.] And you, pick up 
 the pack. 
 
 Xan, Before I've put it down ? 
 
 Bacc, And quickly. 
 
 Xan, Sir, I crave 
 
 You'll hire A Body being carried to its grave. 
 
 Bacc. Suppose I cannot find one ? 
 
 Xan, Then I go. 
 
 Bacc, Agreed. 
 
 Ah ! here they bring a Corpse exactly at our need. 
 
 Enter hearers carrying a Corpse. 
 Heigh, Sir ! You dead man ! fellow ! if I pay you well 
 Are you disposed to take my luggage down to Hell ? 
 
 Corpse, How much is there ? 
 
 Bacc, {showing the bundle). There's this. 
 
 Corpse, Two drachmas for the load ? 
 
 Bacc, By Jove, no ! something less. 
 
 Corpse, On, bearers ; on your road. 
 
 Bacc, Good fellow, stay : we — 
 
 Corpse, No, unless you mean to give 
 
 Two drachmas. 
 
 Bacc. Take nine oboles.^ 
 
 Corpse. Nay — I'd rather live 
 
 Again! [Bearers carry out Corpse. 
 
 Xan. How consequential is the dog ! He'U smart, 
 I hope. Now I will go. 
 
 Bacc. Said with a noble heart ! 
 
 So now will we to ship. 
 
 for due celebration of the rites on pack-asses ; hence ' An ass carrying the 
 Mysteries' became a proverb to signify A man insensible to the importance 
 of a business in which he was an instrument. 
 * A drachma and a half ! 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [157-174. 
 
 Enter Chaeon, in his boat. 
 
 Cha, Ho-oop ! keep her afloat. 
 
 Xan. What's this ? 
 
 Bacc. It is the lake ; and there I see the boat. 
 
 Xan, By Neptune, it is Charon ! 
 
 Bacc. Charon, how d'ye do ? 
 
 Good morning, Charon. 
 
 Cha. Who's for Best-from-trouhle ? who 
 
 For Lethe-land ? for Donhey^s-wool, a pleasant cruise ? 
 Dogs ? Crows ? or Tcenarum ? ^ 
 
 Bacc, I am. 
 
 Cha. No time to lose ; 
 
 Jump in. 
 
 Bacc. But are you really going to the crows ? 
 
 Cha. Aye, aye, to put you down. Now Sir, get in. Who 
 goes? 
 
 Bacc. Here, slave, be quick. 
 
 Cha. Your slave ? I cannot take him in. 
 
 Unless he fought at Arginusse for his skin.^ 
 
 Xan. It was but my ill-luck. It chanced my eyes were 
 sore. 
 
 Cha, Then please you find your way by running round 
 the shore. 
 
 Xan. Where shall I wait ? 
 
 Cha. Close to the landing-place where you will see 
 The Drying-Stone. 
 
 Bacc. You understand ? 
 
 Xan. Yes, perfectly. 
 
 (Aside) See there it is again ! I'm out of luck to-day. 
 When I was coming out what could have crossed my way ? 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Cha, [to Bacc). Sit to the oar. [more? 
 
 {to the ghosts ashore) . Make haste, we're going. Any 
 {to Bacc). You, Sir, what are yon at ? 
 
 ^ A southern promontory of Peloponnesus j near it was a cave supposed 
 to afford an approach to Hades. 
 
 ^ The only property an unfortunate slave had and could be supposed 
 to fight for. This translation is a guess at an ol)scure original. 
 
174-201.] FROGS. 357 
 
 Bacc. {who has seated himself on the oar), I'm sitting at 
 the oar. 
 As jou directed. 
 
 Cha, Here. — Now, out your arms and back. 
 
 Bacc, Wliat, so ? {jperforming with his arms, without touch- 
 ing the oar.) 
 
 Cha, Don't think to play the fool with me, you sack. 
 Take to the oar and pull. 
 
 Bacc. What ? row ? I cannot do it ; 
 
 I'm not a waterman : I never was bred to it. 
 
 Cha. 'No matter, dip : and lovely music will be heard. 
 
 Bacc. Of what? 
 
 Cha. Of singing frogs and swans. 
 
 Bacc. Then give the word. 
 
 Cha. Ho-oop, hoop ; ho-oop, hoop ! 
 
 Fkogs, heard from the laJce. 
 
 Breke-kekex-coax-coax. 
 Brood of the pool and spring. 
 Open your mellow throats 
 And pour your sweetest notes 
 In harmony to sing 
 Coax coax. 
 Such is the shout we raise. 
 When on the pitcher ^ days 
 
 Nissean Bacchus comes. 
 And draws the revelling throng, 
 Noisy with wine and song. 
 Into our marshy homes. 
 Breke-kekex, coax coax. 
 Bacc. Coax, coax. But I begin 
 
 To feel the chafing of my skin. 
 Frogs. Brekekekex, coax coax. 
 
 Bacc. But what care you what state I'm in ? 
 
 Frogs. Brekekekex, coax coax. 
 
 Bacc, Perdition catch your throats with coax ; 
 
 Have you no other notes but coax ? 
 
 * See Acharnians, 1. 
 
358 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [202-236. 
 
 Frogs, Then, meddler, mend thine ear. 
 
 The Muses hold me dear ; 
 And homed Pan, who draws 
 Trilling music from his straws ; 
 Nor less Apollo deigns 
 With grateful smile to pay the pains 
 With which for him I tend, 
 
 Down in my watery deeps. 
 The reed ^ on which to bend 
 
 The strings he lordly sweeps. 
 Brekekekex, coax coax. 
 Baec, Blisters now are rising fast. 
 
 And my patience will not last. 
 Fond as you are of the strain 
 Do not let me hear again 
 Brekekex, coax coax. 
 Frogs. Nay, hut the louder we 
 
 Will sing our melody : 
 As oft on sunny days 
 Into the sedge we spring. 
 And reappear to sing 
 Our many-diving lays : 
 Or, flying sullen thunder 
 And darkening skies, we go 
 To weave our dance below 
 With sinking, rising, over, under. 
 Timed in many whirls and doubles 
 To the bursting of the bubbles.^ 
 Brekekex, coax coax. 
 Bacc» I must put a stop to this. 
 
 Frogs, Truly you would do amiss. 
 
 Bacc, I should suffer much the worst 
 
 If in rowing I should burst. 
 Frogs, Brekekex, coax coax. 
 
 Bacc, Have it then ! who cares ? not I. 
 
 [Striking at the frogs with the oar. 
 
 * The strings of the lyre were in some way bridg-ed over the reed. 
 ^ Dindorf suggests, with great probability, that in the whole of this lyric 
 Aristophanes is parodying the style of the dithyrambic poets. 
 
237-262.] FROGS. 359 
 
 Frogs, Ha, ha ! we will the louder crj ; 
 
 Every day, and all day long 
 Stretch our throats to shout our song, 
 Brekekex, coax coax. 
 Bacc, No, you shall not beat me thus. 
 
 Frogs. No, you shall not conquer us. 
 
 Bacc, {striking the water furiously), ^ 
 
 If I cry the whole day long, 
 I will drown your coax song, 
 Brekekex, coax coax. 
 
 [Frogs are silenced, 
 I knew that I should stop you coaxing at last. 
 
 Gha, Ease her now ; stop her : you Sir, shove her in ; 
 hold fast : 
 And now get out. The fare ? 
 
 Bacc, Two oboles ; here they are. 
 
 Ho ! Xanthias. Where is the man ? 
 
 Xan, {outside). Not very far. 
 
 Bacc, Come here. 
 
 Xan, {entering) , How are you, master ? 
 Bacc, Well, and what did you find there ? 
 
 Xan, Darkness and mud. 
 
 Bacc, Then did you not see anywhere 
 
 The parricides and perjurers ? 
 
 Xan, What ? did not you ? 
 
 Bacc, By Neptune not as yet. But ah — yes. — Now I do. 
 What is our best course think youP 
 
 Xan, I say. Push ahead ; 
 
 For hereabouts we ought to find, from what he said. 
 Those dreadful beasts. 
 
 Bacc, Ha ! ha ! — I'll serve the fellow out. 
 
 It was his vapouring : to frighten me no doubt. 
 'Twas jealousy. He knows my taste for martial sport. 
 I know my Hercules ; and bouncing is his forte. 
 I only wish we could with some adventure meet, 
 A something to be talked of worthy of our feat. 
 Xan, Hist ! hist ! — I heard a noise. 
 Bacc» Which way ? 
 
 Xan, Behind. 
 
860 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [262-280. 
 
 Bacc, Eh?— Stay, 
 
 Get you behind. 
 
 Xan, Oh no ; it comes the other way. 
 
 Bacc, Then go you to the front. 
 
 Xan, By Jove, I see him now, — 
 
 A monstrous beast ! 
 
 Bacc, What like? 
 
 Xan, It changes. It's a cow ; 
 
 Now it's a mule ; and now — it is, by Jupiter, 
 A lovely woman ! 
 
 Bacc. Where ? oh let me go to her. 
 
 Xan, 'Tis not a woman now ; it is a dog. 
 
 Bacc. Eh ? what ? 
 
 It is Empusa then. 
 
 Xan, Its face is fiery hot. 
 
 Bacc, And has a leg of brass ? 
 
 Xan. By Neptune, one at least ! 
 
 Bacc. Oh, whither shall I fly? 
 
 Xan. And where shall I ? 
 
 Bace, My Priest, 
 
 Save me ! — that you and I may yet take many a cup 
 Together.^ 
 
 Xan. Hercules ! we shall be eaten up. 
 
 Bacc, Don't call on me, or speak the name : you'll drive 
 me mad. 
 
 Xan, Then Bacchus I will say. 
 
 Bacc, No, no : that's quite as bad. 
 
 Xan. At any rate, get on. — But no ; stay, master, stay. 
 
 Bacc. What is it ? 
 
 Xan. Reassure yourself : we win the day. 
 
 And we in happy time Hegelochus may quote : 
 ' The storm has cleared away, and I behold a — stoat.' ^ 
 Empusa disappears. 
 
 * This appeal was suddenly made by the Bacchus on the stage to the 
 ' High Priest of Bacchus ' sitting in his place of honour among the audi- 
 ence, as being a high functionary at this Bacchic Festival. 
 
 ^ Perhaps this couplet should have been omitted altogether in transla- 
 tion. The point lies in the fact that ' calm ' and ' stoat/ in the original, 
 admit a pun. 
 
280-304.] FROGS. 861 
 
 Bacc. Yon swear ? 
 
 Xan. By Jove, it's true ! 
 
 Bacc, Swear it again. 
 
 Xan, By Jove. 
 
 Bacc. Swear it. 
 
 Xan. By Jove, I do. 
 
 Bacc. Ah me, how pale I grew to see her ! — But this 
 varlet, 
 For very cowardice, outblushed me into scarlet. 
 What God brings me to this for any fancied crime ? 
 '^ther, the dwelling-house of Jove,' or ' Foot of Time ? ' ^ 
 
 [Distant sound of pipes within. 
 
 Xan. Hist, Sir! 
 
 Bacc. What is it ? 
 
 Xan. Don't you hear ? 
 
 Bacc. Hear what? and where? 
 
 Xan. A sound of piping. 
 
 Bacc. Aye, I do ; and I declare 
 
 I feel the breath of torches mystically pleasant. 
 So let us creep aside, and listen for the present. 
 
 Chorus {within). Come, come, lacchus. 
 
 Xan. Yes, master, it is so ; 'tis the Initiated 
 Are sporting hereabouts, as Heecules related, 
 And singing to lacchus. 
 
 Bacc. So it seems to me. 
 
 Let us be silent and observe what we may see. - ^ Q 
 
 ' Enter Chorus singing. 
 
 Come jfrom thy holy seats, 
 Come from thy deep retreats. 
 
 Come, come, lacchus. 
 Dancing along the mead. 
 Come, thine own troop to lead, 
 
 Come, come, lacchus. 
 Let the fresh myrtle bough. 
 
 Studded with flowers. 
 Wave o'er thy crowned brow. 
 
 Free mirth is ours. 
 
 see. - ^^ 
 
 1 There is much reasonable doubt whether this line is not in its place 
 here spurious. It is a mere repetition or quoting of line 86. 
 
362 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [305-332. 
 
 So let thy foot advance, 
 Bold in tlie graceful dance. 
 This holy company, 
 Gathered for revelry. 
 Wistfully waits for thee : 
 
 Come, come lacchus. [nice ! 
 
 Xan. Much-honoured Proserpine, this smell of pork ^ is 
 Bacc. Pray you be still, and you may ohaMOO to get a slice. 
 Chorus, Kindle the flaming brands. 
 Uplift them in thy hands, 
 
 Light ! light ! lacchus. 
 All the field shines afar ; 
 Thou art our Evening Star, 
 
 Bright, bright, lacchus. 
 Elders, by thee inspired. 
 
 Cast away pain, 
 Cast away years, and fired 
 
 Dance in thy train. 
 Be thy bright torch on high 
 Polestar to every eye ; 
 While o'er thy dewy lea, 
 Dancing in company. 
 Fleetly we follow thee. 
 
 Blessed lacchus. 
 
 AnojpcesUc Interlogue. 
 
 A reverent silence fits this place ; 
 
 and from our Chorus let him depart 
 Who is yet untaught in the Mysteries ; 
 
 who has stain of guile on his heart ; 
 Who has not won from the Muses' secrets 
 
 freedom of thought, and bodily grace ; 
 Who has not learned from Cratinus the bull-fed ^ 
 
 what is befitting the time and the place ; 
 
 1 Young pigs were sacrificed in the celebration of the Mysteries. See 
 Peace, 1. 313. 
 
 * The epithet translated ' bull-fed ' appears to be in mere humour 
 transferred to Cratinus, from the God of Ms special service, Bacchus or 
 Dionysus. No real explanation is given by the scoliast of the reference 
 to Cratinus. I venture to suspect that the allusion may be to some 
 comedy of Cratinus of which these 'Mysteries' were the chief subject. 
 
333-360.] FROGS. 363 
 
 Who takes pleasure in scurrilous jesting, 
 
 not regarding tlie 'whom' and the 'wnen;' 
 Who stays not a strife in the city, but 
 
 is a churl towards his own townsmen ; 
 Who, for his private object, fans their 
 
 factious fury and mutual hate ; 
 Who, for a gift or favour, ministers 
 
 wrong for right as their magistrate ; 
 Sells his ship, or deserts his post, or, 
 
 under colour of trafficking, sends, 
 Like a Thorycio,^ thongs, or hemp, or 
 
 pitch to serve the enemies' ends ; 
 He who at the feast of Bacchus, 
 
 having been smartly lashed in a play, 
 Goes to the Courts, and bringing his action, \ 
 
 nibbles a hole in the poet's pay : 
 These, one and all, I forewarn, I forbid, I pro- 
 hibit from hearing our mystical song ! 
 And summon all others to lend us their voices, 
 
 and keep this feast the merry night long. 
 
 Semichorus. Where the turf invites our feet, 
 Where the flowers are rank and sweet. 
 
 Brave hearts, advance, advance ! 
 Stirring foot and merry lip, 
 Flinging wanton jest and quip, 
 Befit the Mystics' dance. 
 Semichorus. Nay, enough of frolic wit ; 
 
 Wear the palm who wins in it. 
 
 Praise ye the Holy Maid :^ 
 Lady, Saviour, unto thee, 
 Rise our strains ; for thou wilt be 
 Our never-failing aid. 
 Chorus. And now with holy hymns adorn 
 
 Queen Ceres of the golden corn. 
 Semichorus, Ceres, let thine eye be o'er us, 
 Lady of the Mysteries ! 
 Look benignly on thy Chorus ; 
 Shield us from our enemies. 
 
 We have no information about Thorycio. * Minerva. 
 
364 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [361-394. 
 
 So in mirth and dance and song 
 We may while the whole day long. 
 Semichorus, Much to please the langhter-loving. 
 Much to please the wiser head. 
 May I speak : that, all approving. 
 
 Everywhere it may be said, 
 Worthily our part was done. 
 Worthily the garland won. 
 Chorus, Invoke ye now the lusty God 
 
 Who oft with us the dance has trod. 
 Semichorus. Come, master of the sweetest strain, 
 lacchus come, to guide our train 
 
 Forth to the Goddess' dwelling ; ^ 
 And show how, toil-dispelling. 
 Thy guidance in our festal sport 
 Beguiles the way, and makes it short. 
 
 Come, lover of the dance and song, 
 
 lacchus come : to thee belong 
 The skirt in frolic tatters. 
 And sandal rent. What matters ? 
 
 Protected by thy festal sway, 
 
 TJnchided we may dance and play. 
 
 Come, lover of the song and dance, 
 lacchus come : looking askance, 
 I saw two eyes that twinkled, 
 A cheek with laughter wrinkled. 
 For she looked merrily at me. 
 lacchus, join our company. 
 Xan, Where is that lass ? for I am much disposed to try 
 To break a jest and dance with her. 
 
 Bacc, And so am I. 
 
 Good people, can you tell me, where does Pluto dwell ? 
 For we are just arrived, and never here before. 
 
 Chorus. Ye need no farther go, nor ask again ; for know 
 That happily ye stand before the very door. 
 
 * At Eleusis. These lyrics probably represent the general character 
 and songs of the Procession formed at Athens to go to Eleusis for the 
 celebration of the Mysteries. 
 
395-421.] FROGS. 365 
 
 Bacc. You sir, pick up the pack. 
 Xan, Ideas are to lack ! 
 
 It is the very thing he said no great while back. 
 Semichorus. Ye who have the holy sign. 
 Ye who share the feast divine, 
 Through the flowery grove advance. 
 Form the circle, lead the dance. 
 I must to the deeper shade, 
 Where holy women, wife and maid. 
 Worshipping shall spend the night ; 
 For them I must lift the light. 
 Semichorus. To our meadows, sprent with flowers. 
 With our measured step and sound. 
 Gracefully tread ye the ground ; 
 Ever as the blessed Hours 
 
 Bring the festal season round, 
 Onward to our rosy bowers. 
 Unto us, and us alone. 
 
 Who, at the divine behest, 
 Duteously have shared our best 
 In service to our own 
 
 And to the stranger coming guest,* 
 Is this cheerful sun-light shown. 
 
 [At the conclusion of their dance the Chokits 
 retires to the right and left of the orchestra, 
 until drawn forward presently hy interest 
 in the dialogue. 
 
 Scene. — Before the fa] 
 
 Bacc. Stay : shall I knock ? — 1 did not think of that 
 before. 
 How do the natives here knock at a neighbour's door ? 
 Xan. Pooh ! do not hesitate ; do it with might and 
 main ; 
 You must do everything in Hercules's vein. 
 Bacc. (knoching) . Ho ! slave ! ho ! 
 
 ' From this we see that the Initiate in the Mysteries of Eleusis were 
 particularly engaged to the duties of charity and hospitality. 
 
366 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [421-446 
 
 ^AOUS, coming out 
 
 JEac, Who is this ? 
 
 Bacc. 'Tis Hercules the puissant. 
 
 jiEac. Oh, you abominable, shamelessly indecent, 
 Unutterable blotch ! you dare to come to us ? 
 You, Sir ! who carried off our good dog Cerberus, 
 Twisting the poor thing's neck, and ran with him away 
 From my particular charge. But you are caught to-day. 
 There is a Stygian rock, black to the very heart, 
 A blood-distiUing cliff, where thou wilt have thy part ; 
 Hounds of Cocytus will around thee chase and yell ; 
 Echidna, with her hundred heads, hungry and fell. 
 Will rend thy vitals ; and thy lungs shall be a prey 
 To the Tartesian Mursena ; rent away 
 Thy bleeding kidneys shall Tithrasian Gorgons taste. 
 For whom, to set them on their dainty feast, I haste. 
 
 [Exit 
 [Bacchus, during this speech, staggers, leans 
 against the wall, and sinks to sitting on 
 the ground, 
 
 Xan, What is the matter ? 
 
 Bacc. Oh — I feel — 
 
 Xan, Pooh, pooh ! get up. 
 
 Lest a^nyone should see. 
 
 Bacc. I'm faint — get me a cup — 
 
 Oh no, a sponge of water. 
 
 Xan. Was there ever seen 
 
 So rank a coward ? 
 
 Bacc. Coward ? I ? whom do you mean ? 
 
 I asked you for a sponge ; what is there in the fact 
 To make me coward ? 
 
 Xan. Nay, it was a manful act. 
 
 Bacc. Aye, so I think. But were you not indeed afraid 
 To hear his words ? 
 
 Xan. Not I ; I cared not what he said. 
 
 Bacc. Well, since you swagger thus and are so stout of 
 heart, 
 I'll give up Hercules, and you shall bear the part. 
 So take the lion's skin, and take the bludgeon too. 
 And I will take the pack, and be the slave to you. 
 
447-472.] FROGS. 3G7 
 
 Xan. Done ! if it must be so. You'll see that Herculeo- 
 Xanthias will not be faint at heart, like you. 
 
 Bacc. Like me? oh, 
 
 You whipping-post of Melite, you leather-back ! 
 But come, it is a bargain : so. I take the pack. 
 
 [Xanthias tahes the insignia of Hercules. 
 
 Enter Maidservant of Proserpine. 
 
 Maid [addressing Xanthias as Hercules). 
 Dear Hercules, come in ; come in without a word. 
 Soon as my Goddess-mistress, Proserpine, had heard 
 That yon were at the door, she made the oven hot. 
 Put an ox upon the spit, and pea-soup in the pot ; 
 There's white bread and brown bread, and every sort of cake. 
 Of which my mistress bids you come in and partake. 
 
 Xan. (hesitating). That's very kind indeed. 
 
 Maid. Nay, by Apollo ! stay. 
 
 We never could permit that you should go away. 
 The birds are on the spit, the fish is dishing up. 
 The fry is in the pan, the wine is in the cup ; 
 My lady tempers it ; so, without more ado. 
 Come in. 
 
 Xan. Most certainly {moves to go in). 
 
 Bacc. Pooh ! you're not going. You? 
 
 Xan. (to Bacc.) Here, slave, bring on the pack. 
 
 Bacc. {solemnly). You do not mean to say 
 
 You think to take in earnest what I did in play ? 
 The jest has had its time. Fool Hercules no more ; 
 Be Xanthias, and take the luggage as before. 
 
 Xan. What's this? You are not thinking, surely, to recall 
 The part you gave to me ? 
 
 Bacc. . Eh ? thinking ? not at all : 
 
 I do. Put down the hide. 
 
 Xan. {giving up the insignia). The Gods will see me 
 righted ; 
 I call on them. 
 
 Bacc. What Gods ? why, is it not benighted 
 
 That you, a slave and mortal, should, except in fun. 
 Suppose that you can pass for Alcmena's mighty son ? 
 
368 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [473-498. 
 
 Xan. Well, never mind, then : take the things ; but 
 liaply, yet, 
 You may want that of me which you will scarcely get. 
 Chorus. 'Tis a smart fellow's way, when the sea runs high 
 / And over the deck, to keep a bright eye 
 For a berth where he may be always dry, 
 j A thoroughly sharp old salt : 
 
 \ He is not a painted figure that sticks 
 ^.. For ever and ever in the selfsame fix ; 
 i But he sees it coming, and the time he nicks 
 / To be off with a spring and a vault. 
 / So when times are hard, if there be a spot 
 j Which is downy and snug, to shift one's lot 
 V. Into that quarter is clever, and what 
 Can hardly be called a fault. 
 
 [While the Chorus is singing, First Hostess 
 enters and looks steadily at Bacchus in 
 the lion's hide. 
 1st Host. Why, bless me, Plathane ! here, Plathane, 
 don't stop ; 
 Here is the vagabond who came into the shop 
 And ate the sixteen rolls. 
 
 Enter Second Hostess, running. 
 
 2nd Host. Don't let the rogue escape. 
 
 It is the man indeed ! 
 
 Xan. {aside to Bacc.) Somebody's in a scrape ! 
 
 1st Host. And twenty coUops stewed, just taken from 
 the kettle. 
 Each a half-obole worth. 
 
 Xan, {as before). Wliich somebody must settle. 
 
 2nd Host. And garlic without end. 
 
 Bacc. Good woman, you are mad, 
 
 And don't know what you say. 
 
 1st Host. That really is too bad. 
 
 Because you have those boots, then, does it so surprise you 
 That, when you least expect it, I should recognise you ? 
 
 2nd Host. Good truth, there was the pickle — that I 
 have not told, 
 Nor the new cheese he ate ; and after that the mould ; 
 
499-523.] FROGS. 369 
 
 And when I only asked him to pay me, — the fellow. 
 He eyed me through and through, and oh ! to hear him 
 bellow ! 
 Xan, Just what he always does : 'tis really very sad. 
 2nd Host, And then he drew his sword, I thought that 
 
 he was mad. 
 Xan, Poor thing ! 
 
 2nd Host. We ran up stairs, as fast as we were able. 
 But he ran out, taking the napkins from the table. 
 
 Xan. And that's a trick of his ; but something must be 
 
 done. 
 1st Host. There's Cleon ^ is the Mayor ; go, fetch him 
 
 for me : run. 
 2nd Host, And beg, on my account, Hyperbolus to 
 follow. 
 We'll make the rascal smart. 
 
 1st Host. Fie on your greedy swallow ! 
 
 What pleasure it would be to knock the grinders out 
 With which you ate my little stores, you heavy lout. 
 2nd Host. And I should like to throw him into Felon's 
 
 Hole. 
 1st Host. I'd cut the throat which ate the short-bread 
 that he stole. 
 But I will go to Cleon ; he will find the thread 
 And wind the fellow off : there need no more be said. 
 
 [Exeunt Women. 
 Bacc. I love you, Xanthias : yes, hang me but I do. 
 Xan. Don't speak: I wouldn't stand in Heecules's shoe. 
 Bacc. My dearest Xanthias — 
 
 Xan. Pooh ! pooh ! except in fun, 
 
 How can I, slave and mortal, be Alcmena's son ? 
 
 Bacc. I know, I know you're angry; justly so: but now — 
 — Yes, thrash me if you please ; I won't complain, I voav. 
 Pray take the Club and Hide, and if I ever try 
 To get them back again, then may my Wife and I, 
 And may my children too, be hurried to perdition. 
 
 ' The reader of Knights and Peace, especially 1. 574 and following-, may 
 reflect with what pleasure Aristophanes found himself in the neighbour- 
 hood of the ^ tanner ■ ! And nowj we see, he may speak of him by his 
 true name. 
 
 B B 
 
370 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [524-550. 
 
 Xan, I take tliein back upon your oath and proposition. 
 [Xanthias resumes the costume of Hercules. 
 Chorus, Now you have got again 
 
 The Club and Lion's mane. 
 You must pluck up your spirit and look very brave : 
 For if you bring a shame 
 On Hercules's name 
 You will carry the bundle again like a slave. 
 Xan. You are quite right, my friend, 
 
 I know, if matters mend, 
 That he will try to cheat me as he did before. 
 I'll look, to take your hint, 
 Like a sprig of peppermint, 
 And at once ; for I hear there's a noise at the door. 
 
 Enter ^ACUS and Attendants. 
 
 ^ac. Take this dog-stealer up : clap handcuffs on the 
 thief. 
 He'll smart for it ; be quick. 
 
 Bacc. {aside to Xanthias). Somebody comes to grief. 
 
 [Attendants go to seize Xanthias, who brandishes 
 the club. 
 
 Xan. Be hanged ; don't come near me. 
 
 ^ac. Ho ! ho ! Sir, you would fight ? 
 
 Some three of you go in ; and do not spare your might. 
 
 [Xanthias knoclcs down his assailants. 
 
 Bacc. This really is too bad ! The fellow, after stealing, 
 Is beating honest men. 
 
 Xan. 'Tis very handsome dealing. 
 
 ^ac. 'Tis not to be endured. |^j 
 
 Xan. Good Sir, by Jove, I swear, 
 
 I never stole from you the value of a hair ; 
 Nor ever came before upon this expedition. 
 But come, Sir, I will make a handsome proposition. 
 You see that slave of mine : now, put him to the trial : 
 I take it on my life he'll second my denial. 
 
 JEac. How put him to the trial ? 
 
 Xan. Bind him and strip his back ; 
 
 Scourge him with bristle whips ; put him upon the rack ; 
 
 I 
 
551-578.] FROGS. 371 
 
 Let him be crushed with bricks, the better if they're hot ; 
 PoTir acids up his nose ; — but one thing you shall not, — 
 Do anything besides — yes, scourge him till he's raw, 
 But not with onion tops, nor yet with barley straw. 
 
 JSac. The offer's fair. And if, while I the truth unearth, 
 I chance to maim your slave, I'll pay you what he's worth. 
 
 Xan, Don't speak of such a trifle ; take him off and try 
 
 him. 
 
 --' 
 
 ^ac, Nay, I will do it here ; while you are standing by 
 him, 
 To hear his words yourself. 
 
 {To Bacchus.) Now drop the pack and strip: 
 And don't tell any lies while I lay on the whip. 
 
 Bacc. What ? torture an Immortal ? no. Dare not to 
 lay 
 A hand on me : or, blame yourself. 
 
 ^ac. What's that you say ? 
 
 Bacc. I am the Immortal, Bacchus ; Jupiter's my 
 father : 
 He is a slave. 
 
 ^ac. {to Xante.) You hearP 
 
 Xan, And say, 'tis reason rather 
 
 Why you should lay it on : a whipping will reveal it ; 
 For if he is a God, of course he will not feel it. 
 
 Bacc. You vagabond ! yourself, you say, you are a God : 
 Why should not you, like me, be tested with the rod ? 
 
 Xan. The offer's fair, I own. Come, worthy Sir, and try; 
 Whichever of us two is first to raise a cry. 
 Or show a sense of whip by flinch, or wink or quaking. 
 That fellow is no God : there can be no mistaking. 
 
 u^ac. A noble heart spoke there ! — to own it is your 
 due : 
 No flinching from the right. — So, now, strip, both of you. 
 Xan. But how will you be fair ? 
 
 j^ac. Without the slightest pother ; 
 
 I'll give you cut for cut, first one and then the othjer. 
 
 Xan. Unimpeachable the plan ! so now, go to the work ; 
 Watch narrowly in me the least desire to shirk. 
 
 [Xanthias offers his bach for a blow. ^ACUS 
 strikes. 
 
 li B 2 
 
372 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [579-597. 
 
 JEac, I hit you. 
 
 Xan. No, by Jove ? 
 
 ^ac. You did not feel it then ? 
 
 I'll try a cut upon the other fellow. 
 
 Bacc. {sucking a breath while he is hit) . When ? 
 
 ^ac, I hit you. 
 
 Bacc, Ah ? indeed ? how did I stop a sneeze ? 
 
 ^ac. I'm sure I do not know. — Now, you Sir, if you 
 please 
 
 Xan. Be quick {is hit) — e-ah-te-tse ! 
 
 JEac. What's that ' e-ah-te-tse ' ? 
 
 Did you feel anything ? 
 
 Xan, Oh ! not at all. You see 
 
 It crossed my thought just as you might have touched my 
 
 skin, 
 When the next sacred Eites to Hercules begin. ^ 
 
 u^ac. You are a pious man. — So now to him again. 
 
 Bacc. Hoa ! hoa ! 
 
 ^ac. What's that ? 
 
 Bacc. I see some horsemen on the plain. 
 
 jEac. But tears are in your eyes ? 
 
 Bacc. There's onion in the air. 
 
 JEac. You do not feel the lash ? 
 
 Bacc. Pooh ! nothing : 'tis a hair ! 
 
 jEac. Well then, the other one must take his turn about. 
 
 Xan. Dear ! dear ! 
 
 JEac. What's that? 
 
 Xan. {putting up his foot). A thorn; I wish you'd take 
 
 it out. 
 
 JEac. Now you ; — for which is rogue there really is no 
 telling. 
 
 Bacc. Apollo ! — who at Delos, or in Delphian caves art 
 dwelling. 
 
 Xan. He smarted then : you heard him. Sir. 
 
 Bacc. What I ? I smart ? 
 
 I did but quote a verse of Hipponax by heart. 
 
 Xan. Try the breadbasket. Sir ; that is the place, you'll 
 find. 
 
 ^ The explanation given is that the exclamation uttered by Xantliias 
 was a cry in use at the feast of Hercules in the Attic borough Diomeia. 
 
598-619.] FROGS. 3$3 
 
 jEac. We're losing time indeed. 
 
 [To Bacchus.^) Come, turn jour front behind. 
 Bacc. Neptune ! 
 
 Xan. That touched the nerves ! 
 
 Bacc, Whom the ^gean serves ; 
 
 Lord of the rocky shore. 
 Lord of the waves that roar. 
 JEac. By Ceres, I cannot a safe conclusion win 
 Which of you is the God ; so, both of you come in : 
 My Lord upon his throne, and Lady Proserpine, 
 Will find it out at once, being themselves divine. 
 
 Bacc. That's true ! I only wish that you had thought of 
 that. 
 Before you welted me with your confounded cat. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
 PAEABASIS. 
 
 oste^^^-M^yv. 
 
 Chorus. Muse of the sacred choirs, descend ; 
 
 Invited by our pleasant song. 
 
 Here you shall see a mighty throng 
 Where clevernesses have no end. 
 
 More daring each than Cleophon ; ^ 
 Whose twice-loquacious lips beat hollow 
 The twitter of a Thracian swallow 
 
 Her spray outlandish sitting on : 
 But he vies with the Nightingale 
 Piping his melancholy wail. 
 
 Although the votes had even gone. 
 
 ^ It should not be lost upon tlie reader tliat the mischievous sugges- 
 tion of Xanthias has disturbed the fair reckoning- of JEacus. He, and 
 Bacchus too, forget that this ^ turn ' should have fallen to Xanthias. 
 
 ^ Cleophon was the Cleon of his day, a leader of the popular party. 
 Some five years earlier he had sufficient influence to defeat a pro- 
 posal for peace with the Lacedaemonians. In the course of this year, 
 during the siege of Athens, the aristocratic party effected his overthrow 
 and death. It does not appear to what circumstances the last lines of the 
 strophe allude. Equal votes were held to give acquittal of a criminal 
 charge. 
 
374 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [620-633. 
 
 Semichorus, We shall be within the office 
 
 which the sacred Chorus bears, 
 If we tender to the City 
 
 good advice on state affairs. 
 Unto us, then, good it seems that 
 
 citizens should be relieved 
 From disturbing fears and forfeits. 
 
 What though one has been deceived 
 By the arts of Phrynichus,^ and 
 
 failed in duty once or twice. 
 He admits his fault : then, be not 
 
 in forgiving over nice. 
 To degrade a citizen must 
 
 surely be a great mistake. 
 While the fighting of an action 
 
 on your galleys is to make 
 Any slave a full Platsean ^ 
 
 and a master out of hand. 
 Not that such a gift of honour 
 
 is a policy ill-planned ; 
 Nay, I praise your wisdom in it. 
 
 But when citizens have fought. 
 And their fathers, all your battles, 
 
 and are kinsmen too, you ought 
 Eeadily to grant the pardon 
 
 which they heartily desire. 
 You are genial in your nature : 
 
 Pray relax this stubborn ire : 
 
 ^ The scoliasts are very uncertain in determining this Phrjoiichus ; 
 but regarding^the strength and direction of Aristophanes's political prin- 
 ciples, it seems most probable that he refers to Phrjnichus the oligarch, 
 •who entered warmly into the revolution of the Four Hundred, and was 
 assassinated during their term of power. On their subversion Pisander, 
 Aristarchus, and doubtless many others, were obliged to leave Attica. 
 Then the subject of this Choric address will be an appeal to the Athenians 
 to reverse the attainder of so many of that broken party as had not yet 
 returned to the country, or recovered the rights of citizenship. See 
 Chron. Table. 
 
 ^ After the loss of their city the faithful Platceans were adopted to 
 the rank and rights of Athenian citizens. 
 
634-G58.] FROGS. 375 
 
 Let us frankly repossess them, 
 
 overlooking little slips. 
 Who have common blood and country, 
 
 vv^ho have fought upon our ships. 
 Give them back their rights as freemen, 
 
 let them tread high Honour's road. 
 If we will be proud and stubborn, 
 
 if we lay our rancour's load 
 On the City in its struggles 
 
 with the angry seas and skies, 
 Time will come when we shall find that 
 
 our proceedings were not wise. 
 Chorus, If I have any skill to scan 
 
 The bearings of a human ape. 
 Who will not very long escape,. 
 That Cleigenes, the little man. 
 
 The nuisance in our public way, 
 Bath-keeping scamp, and rogue in soap. 
 Win early find his length of rope. 
 
 He knows what people think and say. 
 Therefore he is to quarrel quick ; 
 And never goes without a stick. 
 Lest, drunk, he should be stripped some day. 
 Semichorus, It has often struck me that the 
 
 men employed about the State, 
 And the new and ancient coinage 
 
 undergo a common fate. 
 That, which we have ceased to use, was 
 
 honest metal through and through. 
 Handsome of the handsomest, and 
 
 ever truest of the true ; 
 Fairly struck from perfect die ; and 
 
 ringing with a cheery sound ; 
 Equally with Greek and Stranger 
 
 current all the country round. 
 This is gone from circulation ; 
 
 that which now supplies its place 
 Is of yesterday's production, 
 
 faulty die and metal base. 
 
376 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [059-670. 
 
 Thus among our Citizens, if • 
 
 there are any known for worth, 
 Unimpeachable in honour, 
 
 sterling principle and birth, 
 In the schools of taste and science 
 
 formed and liberally bred. 
 These we treat with contumely : 
 
 ♦ while the men-^v^e use instead 
 Are a trash of brass, and strangers ; 
 
 ' slave ' is written on each face ; 
 Rogue-bom sons of rogue the father ; 
 
 latest comers to the place ; 
 Whom, in better times, the City 
 
 barely would have deigned to use,^ 
 In a time of plague or blasting, 
 
 when a demon claimed his dues. 
 Foolish people, change your fashion, 
 
 use again the better mint. 
 If they right the city vessel, 
 
 there wiU be a credit in't. 
 If we come to misadventure, 
 
 whatsoever that may be, 
 Men of sense will have to say, we 
 
 hung upon a worthy tree. 
 
 ' Evidently as propitiatory human victims. 
 
671-690.] FROGS. 377 
 
 Enter Xanthias and ^Acus ^ in conversation, 
 
 Mac. Bj Jove, a noble-minded fellow, I should think. 
 Your master is. 
 
 Xan, -A^ye, noble truly; he can drink. 
 
 Mac, Nay, but I mean 'twas noble in him, when you said 
 You were his Master, that he did not break your head. 
 
 Xan, He dared not. 
 
 Mac, You can do that servant's duty well. 
 
 Which always gives me more delight than I can tell. 
 
 Xan, Delight ? I miss your meaning. 
 
 Mac, When I get mj fling 
 
 Of backbiting my master, I feel like a king. 
 
 Xan, But what when on your back a thrashing has been 
 lavished. 
 And you go out of doors and mutter ? 
 
 Mac, I am ravished ! 
 
 Xan, If you have meddled, what ? 
 
 Mac, I cannot find the word ! 
 
 Xan, What, eavesdropping and telling neighbours what 
 you heard ? 
 
 Mac, I'm frantic ! 
 
 Xan, Let me have your hand ; give me a kiss. 
 
 And let me kiss you too. But tell me what is this ? 
 By Jove (who is our fellow-slave), explain to me 
 What all this noise within and quarrelling can be ? i 
 
 Mac, 'Tis ^scHYLUs's wrangle with Eueipides. ; 
 
 Xan, Indeed ! 
 
 Mac, A mighty suit with pleas and counterpleas 
 
 Is moved among the dead with party strife and railing. 
 
 Xan, But what about ? 
 
 * Some MSS. read ' A slave of ^acus,' which certainly would better 
 accord with the tenor of the dialogue. But here, as generally elsewhere, 
 the text of Bekker is followed as an authority. If Aristophanes had 
 given the part really to a slave, there seems no reason why he should 
 not have assignedit to a slave 'of Pluto.' 
 
878 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [690-718. 
 
 r^ Mac, We have a custom here prevailing, 
 
 I Touching the higher arts, that, for the time, the man. 
 Who in his craft has proved the master artisan, 
 Should in the public hall enjoy a daily mess. 
 And have a seat of honour next to Pluto. 
 
 Xan, — Yes — 
 
 Mac, Until a greater artist in his proper line 
 Should come ; who then of course would have the right to 
 dine. 
 
 X.an, But why in such a strife should ^schylus take 
 part? 
 
 Mac. Because he had the seat assigned to Tragic Art. 
 
 X.an. Who has it now ? 
 
 Mac. No sooner had Euripides 
 
 Come down than with his art he set about to please 
 The men who break into our houses, steal our coats. 
 Cut now a purse, or, changeably, their fathers' throats ; 
 Of whom hell has great store. The villains of this sort, 
 Charmed with his shifts and quirks, and keenness in 
 
 retort. 
 Declared he was the master man. Whereat puffed up. 
 He claimed the seat where ^schylus was set to sup. 
 
 Xan. Was he not stoned ? 
 
 Mac. Oh, not at all. The people cried. 
 
 Demanding that the right to mastership be tried. 
 
 Xan. The rascals ! 
 
 Mac. Yes : they filled the heaven with their cries. 
 
 Xan. But surely \^schylus was not without allies? 
 
 Mac. The better sort are fewer : 
 {njoiih a motion towards the Audience) just as in this place. 
 
 Xan. But how does Pluto mean to manage in the 
 case? 
 
 Mac. He means to make a match between them even 
 now. 
 And bring the art of each to proof. 
 
 Xan. But tell me, — how 
 
 It happens Sophocles has never claimed the seat ? 
 
 Mac. Not he ! — But when he came right glad he was to 
 meet [face ; 
 
 His former friend ; and shook his hand, and kissed his 
 And yielded willingly to ^sohylus the place. 
 
719-744.] FROGS. 379 
 
 But now, for so I heard Cleidemides aver, 
 He means to make himself a bye-competitor : 
 If ^SCHYLUS should win he leaves the place alone ; 
 But with Euripides he will contest the throne. 
 
 Xan. And will this be ? / 
 
 ^ac. The conflict is immediate. 
 
 Frightful to think of ! Muse-work will be tried by weighty 
 
 Xan, What ? will they put a tragedy upon the scales ? 
 
 JEac, Aye, bring the standards ; see where an expression 
 fails ; 
 Mete words by cubits ; bring the substance to degrees. 
 Diameters and angles. For Euripides 
 Requires that verse by verse they shall be scrutinised. 
 
 Xan. If iEsCHTLUS is not indignant — I'm surprised. 
 
 ^ac. He lowers his head just like a bull about to toss. 
 
 Xan, But who is to be judge ? 
 
 JE/ac. There they were at a loss ; 
 
 For fit men were so scarce that they could think of none : 
 And ^SCHTLUS and Athens hardly were at one. 
 
 Xan, He thought, belike, the tribe of thief abounded 
 there. 
 
 JEac, At any rate he thought that the Athenians Tyere 
 Slight judges of a poet. So, it is committed 
 Into your master's hands, as eminently fitted. 
 But let us in. For, when a master has a trouble, 
 The servant's back will often have to carry double. 
 
 JHn^ y^ [Exeunt,- 
 
 Chorus,' ^^^^'^^'"'^'^^^^^'C^ 
 Indignation indeed in the heart of the Thunderer will boU, 
 Soon as he catches a sight of his agile and voluble rival 
 
 Whetting his tusks : and his eyes in their terrible mad- 
 ness, 
 
 Roll about incessantly. 
 
 ^ The translator, in the instance of this Chorus only, has endeavoured 
 without rhyme to imitate the metre and rhythm of the original, where 
 every syllable corresponds through the four stanzas. In the original at 
 least, itwill be recognised as an admirable preface to the critical exami- 
 nation of the style of the twopoets. 
 
380 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [745-772. 
 
 ' Then will towering phrases in eagerness rush to the 
 battle : 
 Quibbles will break at the axle, contrivances fly into splin- 
 
 Iters, 
 In the repelling the high-riding words of the hero, 
 Sounding-phrasi-tectural. 
 Bristling up on his neck all the shaggy endowment of 
 nature, 
 Knitting his terrible brows, he will gather to launch with 
 a bellow 
 Contabulations of syllables, torn from the text-block 
 With a giant's energy. 
 Smooth-Tongue comes to the battle, the mouth- working 
 tester of verses. 
 Quietly splits an expression, and shaking the envious 
 bridles, 
 •V Into a nothing reduces the words which have tried the 
 LunffS of his antasfonist. # 
 
 Enter Pluto, Bacchus, j^schtlus, Euripides. 
 
 Eur, Urge me no more. The seat by right, I say, is 
 mine : 
 I am the better Artist ; and he should resign. 
 
 Bacc. Why are you silent, ^schtlus ? you surely hear, 
 r Eur, He's ever to begin with silent and austere ; 
 Lin all his tragedies he does it, for sensation. 
 
 Bacc, Good Sir ; do not begin with too much exultation. 
 r^tJur. 1 know the man and have considered him of old, 
 /Uncouth in his conceptions, arrogantly bold, 
 I Undoored, unbitted, of his lips incontinent, 
 I A rambler in discourse, much-fiistianiloquent. 
 ^^^JSsch, Child of the greenfield-goddess, beggar-maker, 
 f patcher ; 
 
 lAnd dare you this to me, you floating-chitcat-catcher ? 
 
 E*^ut yet you shall repent. 
 Bacc. Stay, ^schylus, do not, 
 
 beg you, let your wrath become so very hot. 
 jEsch, Nay, check me not, until I bring to proper shame. 
 With all his consequence, this poet of the lame. 
 
773-802.] FROGS. 381 
 
 Bacc, Be quick, my lad, a lamb ; — bring out a lamb 
 that's black ; ^ 
 A tempest is upon us, and the skies will crack. 
 
 JEsch, Oh thou who strin^'st together Cretan monodies. 
 And introducest to the Art incestuous ties, — 
 
 Bacc. Much-honoured ^schylus, pray moderate thy 
 course ; 
 Eestrain thyself. Thou, surely, wilt not bide the force 
 Of such a pitiless hailstorm, poor Euripides ! 
 Withdraw thee to some shelter for thy better ease ; 
 Lest by some angry word your brain-pan should be broken. 
 And from the fracture Telejplius be spilt — unspoken. 
 
 Restrain that vehemence to which you are addicted, " 
 
 And gently, ^schylus, convict and be convicted. 
 
 It is not fitting that two Poets vent their ire 
 
 Like baker-wives : but you roar like an oak on fire. 
 
 Enr. For me, I am prepared to do just as he likes. 
 I shall not hesitate at striking if he strikes. 
 The lines, the rhythm, the sinews of my plays I wager, 
 The Peleus, or the jEoIus, or Meleager ; 
 Nay, I will not decline if he choose Telephus. 
 
 Bacc. Explain how you intend to fight it, ^schylus. 
 
 ^sch. 'Twas not my wish at all to fight it here below. 
 The trial is not made on even terms. 
 
 Bacc. How so ? 
 
 JEsch. Like his with him, my poems did not die with me j 
 So he may read. But as you wish, so let it be. 
 
 Baccl~ FelcE me some incense here, and fire, that, as 'tis 
 fit, 
 I may devoutly pray, before this strife of wit. 
 For power to judge the cause with critical acumen. 
 Meantime in proper strain invoke the Muses, you men. 
 
 Chorus. Ye Mne pure Maids of Jove, whose ken 
 Pierces the shrewd and subtle minds of men. 
 
 ^ Black sheep were saciificed to tlie Infernal Gods and to Tempest. 
 Sic fatus, meritos avis mactavit honores . . . 
 Nigram hiemi pecudem, Zephyris felicibus albam. 
 
 Ain. III. 118-120. 
 
382 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPIIANES. [803-834. 
 
 That strike new thouglits, when, racking the invention 
 To find new falls, ^ they meet in fierce contention, 
 Come, Muses ; and presiding sit : 
 Watch ye the force of rival wit ; 
 And give them, words ; that neither fail 
 When verse-dust may incline the scale. 
 
 The contest is engaged, 
 And this great wit- war must be waged. 
 Bacc. Now I allow to both a fitting space of leisure 
 To make your several prayers before ye quote a measure. 
 j^sch, Ceres, who ever cherishedst this mind of mine. 
 Make thou me worthy of thy mysteries divine. 
 
 Bacc. (to Euripides.) Now you. Sir, put your incense 
 
 on the altar. 
 Eur, Nay : 
 
 For they are other Gods than these to whom I pray. 
 Bacc. Gods of your own perhaps, new minted ? ^ 
 Eur. Possibly. 
 
 Bacc. Pray to your private Gods, whoever they may be. 
 JEther, who dost to me the food of life dispense. 
 Tongue's Yersatility, and Shrewd Intelligence, 
 Nostrils that snuff all essences too fine for sight, 
 Grant me a hold on words, and strong refuting might. 
 Chorus.y/^ Let us too have our station 
 
 To view the strife ; where wits so keen 
 ^Will fence with words in dainty modulation. 
 For passions stirred and tongue unsparing 
 
 Leave one no room to choose between 
 Two poets of unquestioned daring. 
 One will produce, as ever, 
 A something very clever 
 
 And exquisitely neat : 
 Him will the other shake 
 With words of weight to make 
 Discomfiture complete. 
 
 ^ Devices for tlirowing an antagonist. Language borrowed from the 
 wrestling-ground. 
 
 ^ Aristophanes always treats Euripides as a disciple of Socrates, the 
 Socrates of the comedy Clouds. It was now eighteen years since that 
 picture was exhibited ; we may understand from this and some other like 
 touches that Aristophanes deliberately persisted in the view there given 
 of the character and doctrine of Socrates. 
 
Uf^ JFROGS. 
 
 835-850.] Uf/^ J FROGS. 883 
 
 Bacc, Now, forth to the encounter spring : 
 and looking to your credit. 
 See that you say a clever thing, 
 
 " and no one else has said it. 
 Eur» Hereafter I will manifest 
 
 what I am, as a Poet : 
 That he is but a cheat at best, 
 
 I say and I will show it, 
 When he brings foolish persons in 
 
 to mock the poor spectator 
 (A habit caught from taking Phryn- 
 
 ichus^ for educator). 
 A figure you will sometimes see, 
 
 wrapped in a veil that flutters, 
 Achilles or a Mobe ; 
 
 but not a word it utters ! 
 A mere excuse, a gross abuse, 
 
 not tragedy at all, sir. 
 Bacc. By Jove, it's true ! I grant it you. 
 Eur. A fault not rare nor small, sir. 
 
 Meanwhile the Chorus had to sing 
 
 three melodies, in fact, or 
 Some four, in an unbroken string ; 
 
 but not a word the actor ! 
 Bacc. That silence used to win my praise ; 
 I was not less delighted 
 Than with the speakers nowadays. 
 Eur. Because you were benighted. 
 
 Bacc. And so say I. But tell me why 
 
 he did it? 
 Eur. For sensation. 
 
 To keep the hapless sitters by 
 
 in constant expectation, 
 
 ^ There can "be no question that this Phrynichiis is the successor of 
 Thespis and predecessor of ^schylus as tragic dramatist. I presume 
 that it is understood that the Attic Drama was founded upon the Chorus. 
 Gradually only would other characters and plot absorb the chief interest of 
 the drama. The mere want of qualified actors would for some time limit 
 the invention of the poet. The use of mute persons, or characters nearly 
 mute, by ^schylus and by Phrynichus would doubtless be offensive to 
 those whose taste was already formed upon an improved art. 
 
384 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [851-866. 
 
 Till Niobe should speak ! meanwhile, 
 
 the drama was proceeding. 
 Bacc, Oh, fool ! to let him so beguile 
 
 mj ignorance unheeding ! 
 Praj, pray, compose yourself : what need 
 to be so agitated? 
 Eur, Because I hit him home ; indeed 
 
 I may be too elated. 
 Thus, having fooled us, when at last 
 
 his play is in the middle, 
 Come twelve huge words of pure bombast, 
 
 to all a perfect riddle. 
 High-crested, beetle-browed, and taU, 
 
 to fill us all with fear, sir. 
 ^sch. Oh! oh!— 
 Bacc. Be quiet. 
 
 Eur. ^ Nonsense all. 
 
 Bacc. {to ^SCHTLUS). Don't grind your teeth, my dear sir. 
 Eur, Scamanders, words like dizzy cliflPs, 
 abysmal excavations, 
 Or brazen-taloned eagle-grifis, 
 
 their broad shield's decorations. 
 'Twas not an easy work to set 
 
 oneself to find a meaning. 
 Bacc, True, true : I never can forget 
 
 the fever I have been in. 
 Tossing about my bed, because 
 
 my mind would still be seeking 
 What sort of bird the ' horse-cock ' ^ was, 
 
 of which I heard him speaking. 
 JEsch, You blockhead ! 'twas a figure-head, 
 such as a captain fixes 
 For mark upon his ship. — 
 Bacc, Instead, 
 
 I thought it was Eryxis.* 
 
 ^ Tlie word of whicli this is etymologically a translation was used by 
 ^scbylus. Its meaning was not very obvious in Aristophanes's day, or 
 we should not find it quizzed by him here and elsewhere. It seems 
 likely that the word * horse ' was used adjectively, in the sense of ' huge.' 
 
 2 To the audience Eryxis was hnown, and probably the reason why- 
 Bacchus fell into the error of thinking that he was the * horse-cock. 
 I am afraid that we must be content to remain in ignorance. 
 
867-883.] FROGS. ^ 385 
 
 Eur, A cock in Tragedy at all 
 
 is highly indecorous. 
 ^sch. You infidel, what shall I call 
 
 what you have set before us ? 
 Eur, Not ' horsecocks ' nor ' goatstags ' by Jove, 
 
 the creatures he has made his ; 
 Like those that rove through field and grove 
 
 in needlework by ladies. 
 But when from you to me the art 
 
 came dovm in due succession. 
 Puffed and disfigured in each part 
 
 with tumours of expression. 
 At once I used emollients, 
 
 and, to relieve the burden. 
 Threw in some light divertisements, 
 
 with here and there a word in 
 Beet-poultices I then applied, 
 
 where swellings showed it needing,! 
 And juice of little speeches tried, '^ 
 
 strained through my former reading; ' 
 Last, monodies I gave for fare, 
 
 Cephisophon^ infusing, ^ 
 
 Mixing the articles with care, / 
 
 not trifles lightly using. / 
 
 The Prologist was made to tell 
 
 the drama's first suggestion. 
 Its origin and — 
 Bacc, It was well 
 
 your own ^ was not in question. 
 Eur, The story's course no dumb show broke, 
 
 for mutes — I would not stand them ; 
 The slave as well as master spoke, 
 
 the master, maid, and grandame. 
 jEsch, And did you not deserve to die 
 
 for outrage so un- Attic ? 
 
 ^ The slave and familiar of Euripides, supposed to assist him in compo- 
 sition. See Acharnians, 1. 331. 
 
 '^ Again the invidious reference to the mother of Euripides. See 
 Acharmans, 1. 405, and many other places. 
 
 C C 
 
386 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [884-910. 
 
 Eur. Tliat, by Apollo, did not I ; 
 
 'twas truly democratic ! 
 Bacc. Nay, do not tell ns your intent, 
 
 to justify tlie action ; 
 Tor this is a divertisement 
 
 that gives no satisfaction. 
 Eur. From me spectators caught a store 
 
 of points for an oration. 
 Bacc, I would that you had burst before 
 
 you gave that education. 
 Eur. I introduced the nicest laws 
 
 and measures of expression ; 
 To seize a thought, to weigh a cause, 
 
 to estimate profession. 
 To look about, to cast a doubt, 
 
 and be somewhat suspicious. 
 Bacc. I grant your claim, and to your shame ; 
 
 for what is this but vicious ? 
 Eur. The ways and thoughts of every day, 
 
 before your eyes presented. 
 Challenged your judgment on the play, 
 
 for well or ill invented. 
 I never tried the hearer's mind 
 
 to dazzle or astony 
 With Cycnuses, or Memnon-kind, 
 
 or ' bell-begarnished-pony ' ; 
 But, dissipating such pretence, 
 I made the art speak common sense ; 
 And those who came to hear were taught 
 To shape an argument or thought ; 
 And what they had to do and tell. 
 To do it and to say it well. 
 The master of a house would find 
 The use of an enquiring mind. 
 When saying, ' What have you been at ? ' 
 ' Where's this ? ' and ' Who has taken that ? ' 
 Bacc. Aye ; now, each smart Athenian, 
 On going home, says to his man, 
 * Where is the pot ? ' ' Was it the cat 
 Ate t le fore-quarter of the sprat ? ' 
 
911-942.] FROGS. 387 
 
 ' Alas ! the disli I bought last year 
 Is broken.' ^ It is very clear 
 Some one has touched the olives ; — who ? — 
 And yesterday's cooked garlic, too.' 
 Whereas before, with open mouths. 
 They sat as mute as Mammacouths ! 
 Chorus. ' Thou seest this, illustrious Achilles.' ^ 
 How wilt thou answer him ? But, prithee, learn 
 To rein thy temper, lest the fillies 
 Bear thee beyond the olive ^ turn. 
 Though grievous be the accusation, 
 Yet answer not with irritation. 
 Close-reef thy sails : so shalt thou keep 
 Thy boat the better in thy hand : 
 But when the tempest falls asleep. 
 And light winds follow thee, let them command. «*»«*^ 
 First of the Greeks to build the lofty verse and show ( 
 Wliat Tragedy might be, now let thy fountain fl ow. _] 
 ^sch. It angers me to answer him ; and I am vexed 
 At such a chance : but, lest he say I am perplexed. 
 Answer me this : How should a Poet earn men's praise P— 
 Eur. By wi sdom and instruction that shall tend to raise 
 Thet one "of public morals . 
 
 Mscli. Be it so. If you 
 
 Have not this done, but have converted to a crew 
 Of reprobates a people that was great and high, 
 Tell me, what penalty is due to you ? 
 
 Bacc. To die. 
 
 Do not ask him. 
 
 JEsch. What were the men I left behind ? 
 
 A six-foot race ; upright in carriage as in mind : 
 Not skulking idlers, talkers in the market-place ; 
 Not tricksters by profession, as is now the case ; 
 But men whose hearts were on a spear, a blow well 
 
 struck, 
 A handsome helmet, greaves, and seven-bull-hided pluck. 
 
 1 This line is from a lost drama of ^EschyluSj The Myrmidons. 
 ^ An olive tree, or clump of olives, marked the point of turning in the 
 chariot-race-course. The course lay within the olives. 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [943-970. 
 
 Bacc. The miscliief ! lie will kill me with, this helmet- 
 trade. 
 Eur. But tell me how your men of this brave mould were 
 
 made ? 
 Bacc. ISTay, ^schtlus, no haughty airs : say, how 'twas 
 
 done. 
 ^sch. I made a drama breathing martial life. 
 Eur. .' •: Which one? 
 
 ^sch. Seven against Thebes; for everyone who saw it 
 burned 
 With zeal for war. 
 
 Bacc. There you did ill, and richly earned 
 
 A whipping; for you made the Thebans better men. 
 Mscli. You might have trained yourselves : but you de- 
 clined it then. 
 Then in my Persians, gracing glorious actions, I 
 Spurred the desire to work and win the mastery. 
 
 Bacc. That pleased me, when, about Darius' death, the 
 Chorus 
 Cried ' ah-i-ah,' and beat their hands, like this, before us. 
 JSsch. Such is the Poet's business. See, what service 
 they, 
 The nobler, to their fellows rendered in their day. 
 rOrpheus instructed us in holy mysteries. 
 And forbade bloodshedding. Musseus made us wise 
 To heal distempers and to learn the words of God ; 
 The tillage of the soil was taught by Hesiod : 
 And whence his high renown had Homer the divine ? 
 But that he taught to form the glorious batfcle-line, 
 
 G"^"" i points of soldiership, and weapons' seemly trim. 
 ^acc. Not Pantacles the awkward ! Homer failed with 
 him ; 
 Who, lately leading a procession, to our laughter. 
 Put on his casque and tried to tie the crest on after. 
 JEsch. Nay, but the valiant men are many he 
 taught. 
 Not least, our Lamachus. Thence I myself have sought 
 The many types of virtue which I have expressed : 
 Patroclus, lion-hearted Teucer, and the rest. 
 
971-996.] FROGS. 389 
 
 If haplj I might move some virtuous citizen 
 To train himself unto the measure of these men. 
 Phsedras and Sthenobseas were not of my fashion ! 
 Nay, never did I shape a woman slave of passion.^ 
 
 Eur. True : Yenus had no part in thee ! 
 
 JEscli. Might she have none ! 
 
 She bad in thee and thine ; as thou didst find, undone.^ 
 
 Bacc. By Jupiter, that's true : for characters you 
 feigned 
 For others' wives to bear, your own full well sustained. 
 
 Eur. How say you, wretch, my Sthenobseas hurt the 
 state ? 
 
 JEsch. As vice its likeness vice ever does propagate. 
 
 Eur. But did my Phoedra sin against the common 
 tale? 
 
 uEsch. It did not. But the Poet ought to throw a veil 
 Over the evil : not parade it. Children's ears 
 We trust to tutors. Poets train the riper years. 
 And Poets should but speak what useful is and good 
 
 Eur. ^An^~when they make men speak what shoulcf be 
 understood. 
 Should they express themselves in mountain-altitude ? 
 Call you that useful ? , 
 
 ^sch. Must I tell a wit so rude. 
 
 That ample thoughts and great conceptions justly breed 
 Proportionate expression ? Demigods must need 
 Use a more large discourse than ours ; as they invest 
 Their forms in statelier robes, appropriately dre ssed^ 
 At my suggestion. You have marred that order. 
 
 Eur. How ? 
 
 ^sch. To move the souls of men to wholesome pity, 
 now 
 You dress a prince in rags. 
 
 Eur. What harm can thence arise ? 
 
 uEsch. The dignity of place is lowered in men's eyes. 
 
 ^ It is noted that this hoast put into the mouth of /Eschylus is not jus- 
 tified by fact. Clytemnestra is such, in Agamemnon. 
 
 ^ Euripides at least did not, like Moliere, make merry with adulteiy ; 
 hut if he did anything to taint public morals, his wife, it is said, like 
 Moliere's, requited the fault upon him. 
 
390 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [997-1028. 
 
 Your man of wealtli avoids the service of the city ; 
 And, showing poverty in dress, invites your pity.^ 
 
 Bacc, Aye, but the softest wool is had for underlining", 
 And on the best of fish you'll see that he means dining. 
 JEscli. Through him it is the rising generation courts 
 Praises for chattering, and flies athletic sports. 
 The sort of men that used with will to ply the oar 
 Now answer to their captains, and obey no more. 
 In my time such a kind of rascal did not know 
 Another form of words than ' soup ' and ' ho-e-yo ! ' 
 To him a thousand ills are owing ; 
 Through him the place is overflowing 
 With law-clerks making out decrees. 
 Indictments, processes and pleas ; 
 With hustings-wags and mountebanks, 
 To cheat and trick the people's thanks : 
 Till, out of all condition, none 
 Are able with a lamp to run. 
 Bacc, By Jove, no : at Panathensea 
 
 I laughed till I was faint to see a 
 Fellow running almost double. 
 White, hindmost, corpulent, in trouble : 
 The mob within the gate that stands 
 Received him with their open hands ; 
 Oh ! but his naked ribs and back 
 Sounded with many a hearty smack ; 
 
 Till, blowing out his lamp. 
 In dudgeon did the rogue decamp. 
 Chorus. This is no light affair, and .vigorously pressed. 
 Where one so stifily holds his cause, 
 And one from falls new vantage draws. 
 It is not easy to divine which has the best. 
 
 ' When the richer citizens are marked to bear extraordinary public 
 burdens, many will try to dissemble their wealth. Men so disposed would 
 hardly wait for the sanction of Euripides's heroes. In every case where 
 the point of a reflection depends upon the name of an article of clothing, 
 it becomes an insurmountable difficulty to a translator to render the idea 
 simply. Such is the case with the word x:"'wj' in the next line. It must 
 mean a garment next the skin and not seen. The dissembling rich 
 man would wear that of the finest texture. 
 
1029-1063.] FROGS. 391 
 
 But sliiffc your ground : recruit your forces : 
 For artifice is fertile in design. 
 
 If ye have any such resources, 
 
 Speak from your stores of new or old ; 
 
 Some unsuspected art unfold 
 And something venture on that clever is and fine. 
 
 But if ye have a fear lest among these that sit 
 Spectators, there be lack of sense 
 To appreciate your finer fence ; 
 Lay such misgiving by, there is no ground for it : 
 
 For old campaigners are they all ; 
 And each one has his Book of Art, and knows the 
 Eules ; 
 Besides a mother- wit not small 
 And keenly sharpened for this fray. 
 So give your wit its freest play, 
 With no suspicion that your audience are fools. 
 Eur. Now take his Prologues. There the Tragedy begins : 
 There first will I reprove your clever Poet's sins. 
 In giving out the facts he is not clear at all. 
 Bacc, Which will you have of him ? 
 Eur. 1 will have several : 
 
 One from the Oresteia I will first discuss. 
 
 Bacc. Hold every man his tongue. Repeat it, -^schtlus. 
 ^sch. ' Hermes of Earth, who watchest with a friendly 
 eye 
 My Father's realm, be thou my guardian and ally : 
 Here to this land I come and have returned once more.' 
 Bacc. Find you a fault in that ? 
 
 Eur. Aye, more than half a score. 
 
 Bacc. But all the lines together are no more than three. 
 Eur. But twenty faults in every one of them I see. 
 Bacc. Be counselled, jEschtlus, and hold your tongue ; 
 each verse 
 Over the three will only make the matter worse. 
 j^Esch, I hold my tongue for him ? 
 
 Bacc. If you let me advise. 
 
 Eur. At once there's fault enough in that to fiU the 
 skies. 
 
392 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [1063-1084. 
 
 ^sch, {to Bacc.) You are mistaken, see. 
 
 Bacc. 'Tis no affair of mine. 
 
 ^sch. Pray where am I in fault ? 
 
 Eur. Again recite the line. 
 
 JEsch, ' Hermes of Earth, who watchest with a friendly 
 eye 
 My Father's realm.' — 
 
 Eur. And this Orestes says hard by 
 
 The tomb of his dead father ? 
 
 JEsch. That I don't deny. 
 
 Eur. And Hermes was then watching with that friendly 
 eye, 
 And aiding, it may be with fraud, his father's wife, 
 When she by force despoiled her husband of his life ? 
 
 Bacc. Not of that Hermes spoke he, but of ' Good-at- 
 need ' 
 Hermes of Earth. ^ And that is clear if you would heed ; 
 'Twas of his father he had this official care. 
 
 Eur. Oh ? 'of his father ' ? he took to it as the heir ? 
 This Hermes of the Earth ! the fault is so much bigger. 
 
 Bacc. Then in his father's right, he must have been 
 grave-digger. 
 
 u^sch. Bacchus, the wine you drink does not smell 
 pleasantly. 
 
 Bacc. Continue now. 
 
 JEsch. ' Be thou my guardian and ally : 
 
 Here to this land I come and have returned once more.' 
 
 Eur. Your clever ^schylus repeats what he said just 
 before. 
 
 Bacc. Repeats ? how ? 
 
 Eur. Note the word : I'll make you understand. 
 
 He says ' I have returned ' and ' I come to ' — this land : 
 They are the same. 
 
 Bacc. By Jove, as though a man had said. 
 
 Lend me a huchet, or a pail will do instead ! 
 
 ^sch. 'Tis not the same, you chatterbox, and I maintain, 
 'Tis the best verse of all. 
 
 Bacc. How so ? I pray ; explain. 
 
 ^ For the curious variety of the attributives of Mercury, and the uses 
 they are comically turned to, see the last scene in the comedy Plvtus. 
 
1085-1112.] FROGS. 893 
 
 JEsch. A man who wills may ' come ; ' but exiles driven 
 out 
 Come and return unto the land once more. 
 
 Bacc. No doubt. 
 
 Euripides, what say you ? 
 
 Eur. Driven forth to roam, 
 
 Orestes did not so return back to his home. 
 But came back privily. 
 
 Bacc. By Mercury, 'twas so ; 
 
 And shrewdly said ! — But what you mean I hardly know. 
 
 Eur. Recite another line. 
 
 Bacc. Aye, ^schtlus, recite. * 
 
 And you, Sir, keep an eye to bring the fault to light. 
 
 ^sch. ' From this sepulchral mound, Father, I summon 
 thee i 
 
 To hear and listen.' — 
 
 Eur. There ! again tautology. 
 
 ' To hear ' and ' listen ' are synonymous it's clear. 
 
 Bacc. But pray observe, you rogue, whom he addresses 
 here; 
 When one desires attention from the Dead to gain 
 One has to speak three times : — and often then in vain. 
 
 ^sch. But how do you make Introductions ? 
 
 Eur. You shall know. 
 
 And if you find tautologies, or you can show 
 That I have stuffed in matter in the tale's despite. 
 Spit on me and my work. 
 
 Bacc. So then do you recite. 
 
 For I have nothing else to do but sit and hear 
 The excellences of your Prologues made appear. 
 
 Eur. 'At first was (Edipus a fortune-favoured man.' 
 
 jEsch. Not so : his evil fate his very life foreran ; 
 Being his father's slayer, as ere birth predicted. 
 
 Eur. ' Then of all mortals he became the most afflicted.' 
 
 ^sch. Not so : There was no change. Beneath an 
 angry sky 
 Immediately on birth was he exposed to die. 
 Lest his own father he should yet survive to kill : 
 With swollen feet ^ his evil fortune to fulfil 
 
 ' The name ' (Edipus ' is derived from words which express this. 
 
394 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1113-1138. 
 
 He came to Polybus : then, still in early life, 
 
 He took a woman far advanced in years to wife. 
 
 And that his mother ! After which with his own hand 
 
 He plucked his eyes out. 
 
 Bacc, Still, if he had held command 
 
 With Erasinides, his fortune might excel. ^ 
 
 Eur. You trifle. Sir. I say that I write Prologues well. 
 
 ^sch. But come, I will not crush each verse ; but I will 
 spoil 
 Your Prologues simply with — a little flask of oil. 
 
 Eur. A little flask of oil you say ? 
 
 JEsch. Yes : only one. 
 
 As you compose, the thing may easily be done. 
 I'll show you with a Flask, or Purse, or Little Skin. 
 
 Eur. You'll show me ? will you ? 
 
 uEsch. Yes. 
 
 Bacc, Euripides, begin. 
 
 Eur. ' -^gyptus, as tradition bears the general tale. 
 With fifty sons aboard a fleet of twenty sail. 
 Touching at Argos — ' 
 
 jEsch. — lost a little flask of oil ! 
 
 Eur. What's this ? Eebuke him, Sir. 
 
 Bacc. I do not want a broil. 
 
 Recite another Prologue. See what he can find. 
 
 Eur. 'Bacchus, who oft with thyrsus, vine and ivy 
 twined. 
 And wrapped in kid-skins on Parnassus treads the soil, 
 With light foot dancing — ' 
 
 uEsch. — lost a little flask of oil ! 
 
 Bacc. Dear, dear ! the little flask again ; and we are hit ! 
 
 Eur, Pooh, pooh ! I'll find a Prologue where it will not fit. 
 * The world knows not the man in all things fortunate. 
 For either rich in blood he falls to poor estate. 
 Or, humbly sprung, has ' 
 
 jEsch. — lost a little flask of oil ! 
 
 Bacc. Euripides ! 
 
 1 The remarkable good fortune of Erasinides was manifested in this. 
 He was one of the six victorious commanders at Arginiisae, who were 
 put to death on their return to Athens for not having remained to gather 
 and bury those who had fallen in the action. 
 
1138-1160.] FROGS. 395 
 
 Eur, Aye, what? 
 
 Bacc. I think you must recoil : 
 
 This flask— 
 
 Eur, I'll crack it soon, 
 
 Bacc, Good : but beware its powers. 
 
 Eur. ' Cadmus, Agenor's son, of Sidon's princely towers, 
 Leaving the city — ' 
 
 ^sch, — lost a little flask of oil ! 
 
 Bacc, Nay, buy it : buy it, man ; for fear that it should 
 spoil 
 Our Prologue altogether. 
 
 Eur, Not at any price ! 
 
 What? buy of him? 
 
 Bacc, You will, if you will take advice. 
 
 Eur, No, no, I've many Prologues yet will sorely task 
 His ingenuity to baffle with his flask. 
 ' Pelops the Tantalan, coming to Pisan soil 
 With rapid horses — ' 
 
 jEsch. — lost a little flask of oil ! 
 
 Bacc. There, there ! You see he fastened on the flask 
 again. 
 {to ^SCH.) Good fellow, sell the thing ! to save us further 
 
 pain. 
 You'll get the article, a good one, for a penny. 
 
 Eur. Not yet by Jove : my Prologues still are very many. 
 ' (Eneus at harvest — ' 
 
 JEsch, — lost a little flask of — 
 
 Eur, Nay ; 
 
 Let me at least complete the lines, I pray. 
 
 (Eneus at harvest, having won rich grain with toil. 
 While sacriflcing — ' 
 
 ^sch, — lost a little flask of oil ! 
 
 Bacc, What ? sacrificing too ? Who stole it ? 
 
 Eur, Stay, my friend, 
 
 Just this ; and let him tack his flasket to the end. 
 ' Zeus, if the common breath of history be true.' 
 
 Bacc. Pooh, pooh ! he'll say he lost the flask,' and ruin 
 
 you^ 
 
 ' Of course this criticism by the * flask ' is merely wliirasical. At the 
 most it indicates a slight mannerism in Euripides. In the first sentence 
 
396 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1161-1185. 
 
 It sticks upon your Prologues just as styes on eyes. 
 But are there* not his Melodies to criticise? 
 
 Eur. Aye, I will turn to them, and show you in a trice, 
 That all his Melodies have one persistent vice. 
 Chorus. What is going to happen next ? 
 Truly I am quite perplexed. 
 Thinking what he will or can 
 Say, to reprehend a man 
 Unto whom the nation owes 
 All the choicest songs it knows. 
 
 Yes, I am amazed to think 
 What impeachment he will bring 
 On the very Tragic King. 
 
 And I cannot choose but shrink. 
 Eur. Oh ! wondrous Melodies ! reducible to one ! 
 I'll amputate his limbs : ^ it will be qiiickly done. 
 
 Bacc. And I will score and keep account of what you do. 
 \_An air is played upon a pipe to accotnpany 
 Euripides. 
 Eur. {singing) . Pthiotian Achilles ! why, hearing the 
 
 fury of slaughter. 
 Toil-allaying dost thou not bring us assistance? ^ 
 Hermes our forefather we honour that dwell by the water; 
 Toil-allaying dost thou not bring us assistance ? 
 Bacc. Ha ! ^schylus, there are two ' toils ' for you ! 
 Eur. Achaean chief of wide command. 
 
 Son of Atreus, understand,^ 
 Toil-allaying dost thou not bring us assistance ? 
 
 of a narrative he, at least occasionally, fell into a certain rhythmical period, 
 which allowed the Iambic verse to he finished by the two (original) 
 words of nonsense, supplied by ^schylus. 
 
 ^ Euripides seems invited to this operation in particular because one 
 word in the original expresses both ' limbs ' and ' songs,' /xtXt]. 
 
 ^ These two lines are quoted from a lost play of ^schylus. The Myr- 
 midons. The other lines here and below are patched together without 
 meaning ; but, as it seems, to illustrate to the ear of the Greek audience 
 the charge of sameness of rhythm. So far it is a fair return for the 
 ' flask.' But it is not the purpose of Aristophanes to let Euripides make 
 a real hit. 
 
 ' I would fain follow some scholar who would satisfactorily settle the 
 text of these two lines by making them one, and that, such that it should 
 have the same rhythm as the other lines objected to by Euripides. 
 
1186-1212.] FKOGS. 397 
 
 Bacc. See, ^schylus, a third ' toil ' to tlie two. 
 
 Eur. Silence ! Forth from the shrine of Artemis are 
 
 they advancing. 
 Toil-allaying wilt thou not bring us assistance ? 
 May I not tell of men their power by justice enhancing. 
 Toil-allaying wilt thou not bring us assistance ? 
 Bacc. King Jupiter ! I must after such ' toils ' as those 
 Betake me to the bath for washing and repose. 
 
 Eur. Nay, prithee, not till you have heard a single strain, 
 Of lyric measure. 
 
 Bacc. So we have not ' toil ' again. 
 
 Eur. When as Achsea's twin-throned power. 
 
 With flatto-thratto-flatto-thrat. 
 Despatches Sphinx in evil hour, 
 
 With flatto-thratto-flatto-thrat. 
 With armed hand a bird to stoop, 
 With flatto-thratto-flatto-thrat. 
 Meeting the dogs through air that swoop 
 
 With flatto-thratto-flatto-thrat. 
 To Ajax as they cower 
 
 With flatto-thratto-flatto-thrat. 
 Bacc. What is this ' flatto-thrat ' ? Is it a Persian song ? 
 Or bucket in a well upon a leathern thong ? 
 
 jEsch. Nay but from a fair plot, unto a plot as fair. 
 Did I transfer the melody,^ that none should dare 
 To say that on the Muses' mead I sought my store 
 Where Phrynichus ^ had culled the choicest flowers before. 
 But he — he picks his measures up from ballads, glees. 
 Street pipers, catches, dirges, dances, — what you please. 
 
 ^ This is understood to signify, that ^Eschylus found the rhythm in use 
 in old lyric poetry and transferred it to Tragedy : but, in connection with the 
 question of Bacchus, it seems to include the very comical refrain itself. 
 It must he confessed that the words assigned to Bacchus are here rather 
 a gloss than a translation. He asks, ' Is it from Marathon ? ' Because, says 
 the scoliast, a great deal of the herb ' Phleos ' grows there, or, because 
 yEschylus fought there. Nor is the next line much clearer ; but it appears 
 to suggest that the sound or rhythm was like that made by a leather 
 strap upon a wheel. 
 
 * This is yet another Phrynichus, the lyric poet referred to in Bi7-ds, 
 1. 719. 
 
398 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1213-1248. 
 
 The thing will show itself. Bring me a Ijre : but, nay, 
 What need of lyre ? find me the wench that used to play 
 Her tunes upon two sherds. Muse of Euripides, 
 Advance ; for thou art fit to time such airs as these. 
 
 [He sings : accompanied hy the rattle of castanets. 
 Halcyons, who by the waves of the ocean 
 Ever in motion, 
 Are singing. 
 And flinging 
 From wings with plumage soft and bright 
 Sparkling drops of dewy light. 
 And spiders, who with slender joints 
 Hang at all points 
 Over our heads 
 Delicate threads, 
 Erame-stretched webs, as one that plies 
 Shuttle, singing as it flies. 
 Or where pipe -loving dolphin chases 
 By azure prows, weird words and races, 
 
 Gleam of the grape a-blossoming. 
 Care-soothing tendril of the vine. 
 
 Oh fling ! oh fling 
 Thine arms about me, child of mine ! 
 See you this foot ? 
 Bacc. I do. 
 
 /Esch, Nay, look ye to't. 
 
 Bacc, I do. 
 
 JEsch. And you, that write such stuff as this. 
 
 Presume to take my lines amiss ? 
 But sufier me awhile, for I should like to show 
 The style in which he makes his Monodies to flow. 
 
 Black darkness of the night. 
 What wretched dream is this thou sendest me. 
 
 Out of thy invisible. 
 
 Soul soulless, minister of hell. 
 Raven night's child, and terrible to see. 
 
 In corpse clothes dight, 
 With murder, murder in its looks. 
 
 And nails like hooks ? 
 
1249-1280.] FROGS. 399 
 
 But maidens, strike a light ; 
 In vases fetcli the dew of stream ; 
 
 Set it to heat, that I aright 
 May purge away this morning dream. 
 Ho ! demon of the flood ! my soul divines ! 
 Ho, housemates, see these wondrous signs ! 
 My cock ! yes, I see. 
 That thief, that Glyce, 
 Has stolen it, and disappeared. 
 Ho, Mania,^ seize upon the jade : 
 Nymphs, daughters of the hills, to aid ! 
 While I, who nothing feared. 
 My proper business minding 
 Was winding, winding, winding 
 A ball of yarn to sell 
 As soon as evening fell. 
 But he, he sprung, as ever he springs. 
 Into the air on lightest wings ; 
 But he left to me, he left to me 
 
 Troubles, fears, tears, tears, 
 Which I shed incessantly. 
 Ida's children, men of Crete, 
 Seize your bows and stir your feet. 
 Haste, cut off the thief's retreat. 
 Virgin Dictynna, Artemis the fair. 
 Come with thy little hounds and beat the lair ! 
 And thou, Jove's daughter, Hecate, to stand, 
 A fiery lamp in each extended hand, 
 
 To light me while I search each nook. 
 Where Glyce hides the prey she took.^ 
 Bacc. Enough of this. 
 
 JEsch, For me ! I only wish to bring 
 
 This fellow to the scales : that is the only thing 
 
 1 The name of a female slave. 
 
 ^ Amid the rapid changes of this Euripidean ballad it may escape the 
 reader that it is narrative. The singer of it is warned by an uncomforta- 
 ble dream of an impending misfortune. The event declares the meaning 
 of the dream. Glyce steals her noble cock. First the household slaves, 
 and afterwards the police, are called upon to follow the thief and recover 
 the bird. The rest is given by way of illustrating how Euripides would 
 poetically tell and ornament an event of e very-day life. 
 
400 
 
 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1281-1310. 
 
 To put it to the test, which of us is the Poet : 
 
 The weight of our respective words will clearly show it. 
 
 Bacc. So be it : I ani ready. Bring them if you please, 
 If I must try a poet's talents like a cheese. 
 Chorus, These clever folks go far to find ! 
 
 For surely never was there heard 
 So strange a fancy and absurd 
 From any ordinary mind. 
 I do declare if such a one 
 
 Had broached to me the odd idea 
 I should have taken him to be a 
 
 Wag or simpleton ! 
 \_A large jpair of scales is brought on the stage, 
 Bacc. Now stand you at the scales, each at his basin. 
 Eur. and ^sch. So ? 
 
 Bacc. And holding on, each say a verse : and don't let go 
 Till I say ' Cuckoo.' 
 
 Eur. and JEsch. We are holding. 
 
 Bacc. Turn your face in. 
 
 And each one quote his verse, speaking into his basin. 
 Eur. ' I would the Argo ship had never winged its way.' 
 Msch. ' River Spercheius ! Pastures where the oxen 
 
 stray.' 
 Bacc. Cuckoo ! Let go. Euripides, the side that he's 
 on 
 Goes much the farthest down. 
 
 Eur. But what can be the reason ? 
 
 Bacc. He put a ' River.' Moisture is a heavy thing : 
 Wool-sellers know that well. But you put in a ' wing.' 
 Eur. Well let him speak again and put another in. 
 Bacc. Hold on again. 
 Msch. I do. 
 
 Eur. And%6 dJ) T. 
 
 Bacc. Begin. 
 
 Eur. ' The voice of Reason is Persuasion's only shrine.' 
 Msch. ' Death is the only God who will a bribe decline.' 
 Bacc. Let go, let go. Ah, see, his basin downmost goes ; 
 And why ? he put in ' Death,' — the heaviest of woes. 
 Eur. But I put in ' Persuasion,' — word of excellence. 
 Bacc. Persuasion is but light, not ballasted by Sense. 
 
1311-1333.] FROGS. 401 
 
 But look for something else of good substantial weight, 
 That may draw down your scale. 
 
 Eur. What have I that is great ? 
 
 Bacc. ' Achilles made his cast, two aces and a four.'^ 
 Say on, for there remains but this one weighing more. 
 
 Eur. ' An ironweighted club he heaved above his head.' 
 
 uEsch. ^ Car upon car confounded lay, and dead on dead.' 
 
 Bacc. Oh, there again he has outwitted you ! 
 
 Eur. How so ? 
 
 Bacc. As if two cars were not enough alone ! to throw" 
 Two bodies, for a make-weight, is enough to tax 
 A hundred of the best Egyptian porters' backs. 
 
 JEsch. A fig for verses in the scale ! Let him get on, 
 Himself, his wife, his children and Cephisophon, 
 Yes, and his books ^ to boot : to me it matters not. 
 Two lines of mine shall be enough to match the lot. 
 ■ Bacc. The men are both of them my friends : I love them 
 both: 
 I cannot make a choice between them, and am loth 
 With either to incur the risk of enmity. 
 One I think clever and the other pleases me.^ 
 
 Pluto. But think. Sir, that the object of your expedition 
 Will be frustrate unless you come to a decision. 
 
 Bacc. What if I judge ? 
 
 Pluto. Then take the one you choose and go -, 
 
 That not in vain you may have come to us below. 
 
 Bacc. {to Pluto). I thank you. 
 
 ^ It seems uncertain whence this line is quoted ; but probably from 
 Euripides : nor is the application clear. One scoliast on the passage 
 tells us that dicers said ' 2, 4, 3, 5.' It is understood to mean at any 
 rate, on- the part of Bacchus, that -^schylus had been victorious in the 
 two casts. 
 
 ^ That Aristophanes harboured a strong- suspicion and hatred of 
 learning, apart from the cultivation of taste, and in the modern sense of 
 science, has been suggested in the Introduction to Clouds. I apprehend 
 that it is to such ' books ' he here refers. 
 
 ^ It is rather amusing to find that the ancient commentators are not 
 agreed in apportioning to the several Poets this critical appraisement 
 of them : but the word cleverness (jjo<pia) is so constantly used \iy Aristo- 
 phanes with a sneer, that the epithet must surely belong to Euripides. 
 
 D D 
 
402 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1333-1363. 
 
 {To JEsCH. and EuR.) Let me now inform you why I 
 
 came. 
 It was to find a Poet. 
 
 Eus. Wherefore ? with what aim ? 
 
 Bacc. To aid the City ; that, redeemed from low estate, 
 It might its Choric feasts with leisure celebrate. 
 1 will take back with me whichever of you two 
 Will give the City wisest counsel what to do. 
 Now tell me what you think of Alcibiades ? 
 'Tis a moot point on which the City disagrees. 
 
 Eur, But what thinks it of him ? 
 
 Bacc. According to the vein : 
 
 Regrets him, hates him, wishes he were back again. 
 Now, touching him, I pray, your sentiments reveal. 
 
 Eur. I hate the citizen who for his country's weal 
 Is slow to move, but quick to do it mighty hurt ; 
 To serve the State unapt, but for himself expert. 
 
 Bacc. Well said, by Neptune ! Now, do you give us your 
 help. 
 
 jEsch. 'Tis hazard in the State to breed the Lion's whelp ; 
 But wise to suffer him, if you have perilled it. 
 
 Bacc. I can't decide between them : one has so much 
 wit. 
 The other clearness. Yet once more. The State, one 
 
 knows, 
 Is sick : what for its healing would you each propose ? 
 
 Eur. 1 know and I could say. 
 
 Bacc. Speak then. 
 
 Eur, That we distrust 
 
 Our trust ; and hold our present fancies in disgust. 
 
 Bacc. How so ? Consider me a rather stupid hearer ; 
 And speak less learnedly, I pray, and somewhat clearer. 
 
 Eur. When we distrust our present leaders, and emj)loy 
 Those whom we trust not now, the City shall have joy. 
 When, doing as we do, our state is getting worse, 
 How shall we not do well if we do the reverse ? 
 
 Bacc. Well said, my Palamedes, shrewdest of the witty ! 
 But what say you ? 
 
 JEsch. I'd know what soi-t of men the City 
 
 Employs about its service : Are they of her best ? 
 
[3G4-1384.] FROGS. 403 
 
 Bacc. How so ? it hates all sucli. 
 
 JEsch, Then does it love the rest ? 
 
 Bacc, I say not that. But, when the good have been 
 rejected, 
 The rogues remain the only men to be elected. 
 
 JEsch, How can a city hope to be at any ease, 
 Whom broad-cloths do not suit, and flannels do not 
 please ? 
 
 Bacc, Pray you, suggest some means by which the City still 
 May thrive again. 
 
 ^sch, ISTot here. When I am there, I will. 
 
 Bacc, Nay, nay : but from below send up a cheerful hope. 
 
 JEsch, When they shall treat the land of those with whom 
 they cope 
 As their own property, and yield their own to be 
 A pleasaunce at discretion of the enemy. 
 When Ships are Income : and what now they Income call 
 Seems thriftlessness.^ 
 
 Bacc, Well ! — but the Dicast gets it all. 
 
 Pluto, Now judge. 
 
 Bacc, I will decide ; and I will take the one 
 
 In whom my soul delights. 
 
 Eur. Remember what you've done. 
 
 And take me homo. You swore by all the Gods to us. 
 
 Bacc, The tongue it was that swore, but — I choose iEs- 
 
 CHYLUS.^ 
 
 Eur. Most infamous of men, what have you done ? 
 Bacc, What? I? 
 
 Adjudged the palm to^scHYLUS. Who should ask why? 
 Eur, Having disgraced yourself, you look me in the face? 
 Bacc, If bystanders approve, what is there in disgrace?^ 
 
 ^ To explain these lines would be to enter on an essay on the policy of 
 Athens. But the substance of the advice put into the mouth of ^scliy- 
 lus seems to be that which Pericles had given so many years before ; 
 namely, to prosecute the war vigorously and trust to the domain of the sea. 
 This is very different from the policy advocated in the Acharmans and 
 Peace. The reference to the public revenue means that it was very 
 ill spent in paying fees to idle citizens to play Dicasts in the courts. 
 
 * In allusion to the notable line of Euripides, Ilipiwlytus, 1. 612 : — 
 ' The tongue it was that swore, the mind remains unsworn.' 
 
 * A parody 'on a line of Euripides, as are 11. 1-385-6-7. 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [1385-1418. 
 
 Eur, Wretch, will you leave me dead ? 
 r^ Bacc, Eh ? dead ? Who knows if death 
 
 Be but a truer life ? Who knows if drawing breath 
 Be but a sort of supping ? Sleep itself may be 
 A blanket ! 
 ^•TZ^fc^o. Now, this finished, come you in with me. 
 Bacc. Why so ? 
 
 Pluto. That I may ofPer you some slight collation 
 
 Before you go. 
 
 Bacc, Well said ; it meets my inclination. 
 
 Chorus. Happy the man whose intellect 
 Is such as to command respect. 
 The man is going home to see 
 His friends and kindred, and to be 
 A blessing to his neighbourhood ; 
 And all because his sense was good. 
 A happy thing, one therefore sees, 
 Not to sit under Socrates, 
 Learning to prattle and to part 
 With all that's great in taste and art. 
 To make a great display of force 
 About a trifle, and discourse 
 According to a solemn rule. 
 Is the employment of a fool. 
 Pluto. Go, with my felicitation, 
 ^ JEscHTLUS. With counsels wise 
 Seek our citizens' salvation. 
 And the many fools chastise. 
 This {giving a halter) to Cleophon ^ from me ; 
 And these (halters), the tribute-farmers' fee, 
 To Mjrrmex and Mcomachus : 
 This, also, to Archenomus. 
 Bid them, at an early day. 
 Come to me without delaj' ; 
 
 And let them know. 
 If they are not very quick, 
 I will come, and with a kick 
 Send them below. 
 
 (u/ 
 
 See note, 1. 615. 
 
1419-14340 FROGS. 406 
 
 J]jsch. I will do so. If you please. 
 
 Give my seat to Sophocles ; 
 
 He is next to me in skill, 
 
 And is equal to fulfil 
 
 All the duties of the station 
 
 Till my coming back again : 
 
 If I ever have occasion 
 
 To revisit your domain. 
 
 Do not let that arrant knave, 
 
 Lying coxcomb, fooling slave — 
 
 Do not let him for a minute, 
 
 Not against his will, sit in it. 
 Pluto, Forward, with your torches burning. 
 Lead the Poet, home returning ; 
 Lead, and high your voices raise. 
 Singing his own, his glorious lays. 
 
I- 
 
 PLFTUS. 
 
INTEODUCTIOK 
 
 One can hardly presume in the present day that many 
 readers will have been arrested by Paper 464 of 'The Spec- 
 tator,' and thence have been stimulated by Addison himself 
 to make further acquaintance with, what he describes as, 
 * a very pretty Allegory, which is wrought into a play by 
 Aristophanes the Greek comedian.' — Plutus is that play. 
 Those who before or after reading a translation desire to 
 see an outline of the drama drawn by Addison himself, 
 may find it there. 
 
 The comedy differs much in structure and character 
 from the others, bearing marks of the changed circum- 
 stances under which it was produced. Three years before 
 the Frogs, Aristophanes had produced a comedy with this 
 title, Plutus. But that which we have here, called the 
 Second Plutus, was not brought out till twenty years later. 
 In the meantime the political temperament of the 
 Athenians had cooled down. The comedians, and no 
 wonder, were not allowed to bring eminent living citizens 
 upon the stage by name and character. The composition 
 of Comedy necessarily was modified, and the 'New Comedy 
 was developed ; the comedy of plot and character derived 
 only from private life. There was, however, an interme- 
 diate period : to this the Second Plutus belongs. The 
 dramatis personse here are ordinary Athenian citizens, but 
 in contact with such mythical persons as Plutus and 
 Mercury. While these, as well as Jupiter, still were ac- 
 knowledged as Deities, they can hardly be considered as 
 characters for ' allegory.' Be that, however, as it may 
 be judged, the moral of the drama is scarcely, what Ad- 
 dison suggests, ' A Satire on the Rich,' or on the vices 
 of the rich : it is rather the elementary lesson in Political 
 
410 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Economy, that the unequal, but not absolutely arbitrary, 
 distribution of riches and poverty serves the common 
 interest of society. 
 
 How far the Second Plutus was a rehabilitation of the 
 First, we cannot say. In the earlier play, doubtless, the 
 usual part was assigned to the Chorus. That which the 
 Chorus then sung would now be out of date. If new lyric 
 compositions were supplied to the substance of the older 
 comedy, they have not come down to us. The Chorus 
 still remains in name, but its life and poetry are gone. 
 The pauses or changes in the action of the drama are no 
 longer sustained by snatches of song or extravaganzas of 
 humour. Their omission in this comedy has, we may say, 
 left deep scars upon it. As however, the piece shows at 
 least rudiments of regular division into five acts, these 
 notes have been superscribed in the translation, by way of 
 indicating to the reader's eye and mind a pause or change 
 in the action. 
 
 It is said that the comedy was produced in order that Aris- 
 tophanes might introduce his son Araros as an actor on 
 the Athenian stage. Subsequently Araros introduced other 
 comedies of his father's, and of his own. 
 
gramatts "^txBOixK^ 
 
 Pltjtus, the God of Miches. 
 
 Chkemyltjs, a poor Yeoman of Attica. 
 
 Carion, Slave of Chremylus. 
 
 Blepsidemtjs, Citizen of Athens. 
 
 Poverty. 
 
 Wife of Chremylus. 
 
 J USTMAN. 
 
 An Informer. 
 
 Mercury. 
 
 The Priest of Jupiter. 
 
 Chorus of Attic Yeomen, neighbours of Chremylus. 
 
ACT I. 
 
 Scene. — On the road from Delphi, near Athens. 
 
 Enter Plutus, squalidly clothed, as a blind old man; Chee- 
 MYLUS and Caeion, with laurel chaplets, follow, 
 
 Carion. It vexes one to think, a man may be a slave 
 And have a fool for master. Look ye, if the knave 
 Should happen, as may be, to speak a word of sense 
 His master does not see, — what is his recompense ? 
 Curses and kicks. — So He that orders the world wills it : 
 The body's purchaser, and not the soul that fills it 
 Is Body's master. Be it so. — But, for myself, I 
 Am most indignant with this God that lives at Delphi, 
 And from his golden tripod mutters prophecies : 
 In medicine too he has a name for being wise. 
 Yet here — he sends my master bilious, cross and yellow. 
 Still dodging at the haunches of a blind old feUow, 
 Against all common sense. We, that have eyes to see. 
 Should lead the blind ; but now, for so he makes me, we. 
 Stark idiots, are doing nothing else but hunt 
 A man, who for an answer will not even grunt. 
 I'll speak. — So, Sir, unless you wish to come to trouble. 
 Say frankly, why we are by this old dotard led ? 
 You will not thrash me with the chaplet ^ on my head. 
 
 Chremylus, By Jove, but I will knock it off", and give you 
 double. 
 If you are saucy. 
 
 Car. Nonsense ! I insist on knowing 
 
 Who yonder fellow is ? and where on earth we're going ? 
 And this demand I make with very good intent 
 For you at least. 
 
 Chrem. I know your words are kindly meant ; 
 
 So I will tell you ; for you are in my belief 
 Of all my slaves the faithfuUest — and greatest thief. 
 
 1 The chaplet with which he had gone with Chremylus to consult 
 Apollo at Delphi. 
 
414 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [27-57. 
 
 Though honest I have been, and paid the Gods their due. 
 Yet have I never thriven, and am poor. 
 
 Car. That's true. 
 
 Chrem. While men that steal and cheat and lie without 
 remorse. 
 The rogues of every grain, were growing rich. 
 
 Car, Of course. 
 
 Chrem, So came I to the God to satisfy a doubt. 
 My term of wretched years is now well-nigh shot out ; 
 I care not for myself; but for my only son 
 I asked the God's advice the best thing to be done. 
 Would it secure for him the hope of better days 
 If he should change the course of my old-fashioned ways ? 
 And should I now begin to educate the lad 
 To be a rogue, a cheat, an everything that's bad ? 
 
 Car, And from his laurelled tripod, pray, what said 
 Apollo? 
 
 Chrem. I'll tell you : very clearly he told me to follow 
 The first man that I met ; and not to let him rest 
 Until I got him home, and had him for my guest. 
 
 Car. Whom did you meet with first ? 
 
 Chrem. That man. 
 
 Car. Then, you must see 
 
 The meaning of the God is clear as it can be. 
 He tells you, stupid man, that your son's education 
 Should be conducted on the fashion of the nation. 
 
 Chrem. How judge you that ? 
 
 Car. Bless me, one really would suppose 
 
 A blind man could not miss a thing before his nose ! 
 The proper education for success to-day 
 Is roguery of course ; it is the common way. 
 
 Chrem. I do not think the words admit of such a turn ; 
 There's more in it than that. If we could only learn 
 Who this man is ? and what his business with us here ? 
 What we should understand might certainly appear. 
 
 Car. {to Plutus). HuUoh ! Sir, who are you ? Be quick 
 and say before I 
 Take other measures with you : don't make a long story. 
 
 Pint. Be hanged to you, I say. 
 
 Car. There, Sir ; you hear his name ! 
 
58-80.] PLUTUS. 415 
 
 Chrem, He spoke to you, not me : but you are much to 
 blame 
 For asking him so rudely, {to Plutus) Speak to me, I 
 
 pray, 
 I am an honest man. 
 
 Plut, Be hanged to you, I say. 
 
 Car, There ; — take the man and omen ; make the most 
 of it. ' 
 
 Chrem, {to Plut.) By Ceres, you shall not so easily be 
 quit. 
 
 Car. Tell me your name, or I will kill you on the spot. 
 
 Plut. Good fellows, go away ; and leave me. 
 
 Chrem. We will not. 
 
 Car, There's nothing to be said for bettering my plan ; 
 I'll make a wretched end of this most wretched man. 
 I'll take him to a cliff, and there I'll let him go ; 
 He's sure to break his neck. 
 
 Chrem. {both seizing Plut.) Yes, off with him ! 
 
 Plut. No, no. 
 
 Chrem. Then will you tell us who you are ? 
 
 Plut. And if I do it, 
 
 I'm sure you will not let me go, and I shall rue it. 
 
 Chrem. Nay, by the Gods, we will, if such your wish 
 should be. 
 
 Plut. Take off your hands at once. 
 
 Chrem. Well, there. Sir, you are free. 
 
 Plut. Then listen : for perforce it seems that I must 
 yield. 
 And tell the fact which I was bent to keep concealed. 
 Know then that I am — Plutus. 
 
 Chrem. And you wished to go, 
 
 You rogue, you villain, you ! and not to let us know ? 
 
 Car. You Plutus, God of Wealth? in such a filthy 
 suit ? 
 
 Chrem. Apollo ! Gods and Demons ! Jupiter to boot ! 
 What did you say ? Eh, really, are you Plutus ? 
 
 Plut. Yes. 
 
 Chrem. The very ? 
 
 Plut. Yes, the very. 
 
 Chrem. Why in such a dress ? 
 
 So dirty ! 
 
416 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [81-110. 
 
 Plut. I have been lioused with a man of pelf. 
 Who never in his life was known to wash himself; 
 You know him, — Patrocles. 
 
 Chrem. That was a wretched fate : 
 
 How happened it ? 
 
 Plut. ^Twas Jove, that brought me to this state. 
 
 In jealousy of men. For, when I was a youth, 
 I said that I would favour Honesty and Truth, 
 And never enter houses where I could not find 
 Good character within. On this he struck me blind ; 
 That, groping in the dark, I might no more discern 
 Between the bad and good. So does his rancour burn. 
 
 Chrem. And yet no sort of men pay Jupiter his due 
 Except the good and honest. 
 
 Plut. That is very true. 
 
 Chrem. Come; if you had your eyesight as you had 
 before, 
 Would you avoid all wicked people ? 
 
 Plut. Ever more. 
 
 Chrem. And go to honest folk ? 
 
 Plut. -A.ye, with a willing mind ; 
 
 The more because 'tis long since I have seen the kind. 
 
 Chrem. Truth, nor have I — with all my eyes. 
 
 Plut. Xow let me go ; 
 
 I've done my part, and all you wished of me you know. 
 
 Chrem. By Jove, that only gives us reason more to hold 
 you! 
 
 Plut. There now ! you're bringing on me trouble as I 
 told you. 
 
 Chrem. Pray be persuaded not to leave me in the lurch ; 
 I am a worthy man. I give you leave to search. 
 You will not find a better all the country round ; 
 Indeed I'm sure there is no other to be found. 
 
 Plut. Just what they always say, — the poor, I mean ; 
 but when 
 They once have got me fast, and come out wealthy men. 
 Their wickedness is such, you'd think that they were mad. 
 
 Chrem. It is so ! yes, it is. But all are not so bad. 
 
 Plut. Just one and all alike. 
 
 Car. That speech shall cost you dear ! 
 
 Chrem. But only listen. Sir ; be good enough to hear 
 
111-137.] PLUTUS. 417 
 
 How mucli it is to your advantage to remain. 
 I hope it, yes, I liope the boon of God to gain; 
 I hope to be the means of your recovering 
 The blessing of your eyes. 
 
 Plut. Don't think of such a thing ; 
 
 I would not see again. 
 
 Ghrem. You would not ! 
 
 Car. The man said it, 
 
 And shows a despicable nature beyond credit. 
 
 Plut, If Jove should come to know these wretched fel- 
 lows' schemes. 
 He'd grind me. 
 
 Chrem. That he does already, as it seems, 
 
 Who sends you out in darkness through the world to 
 blunder. 
 
 Plut. Perhaps so : but I stand in great fear of his 
 thunder. 
 
 Chrem. Afraid ! you basest deity ! why, what on earth 
 Do you suppose that Jove and all his power were worth, 
 If you could see again ? I tell you that they are things 
 That need not be to you the value of three farthings ! 
 
 Plut. Hush, hush ! you wicked man. 
 
 Chrem. Content you ; I will show you, 
 
 Jupiter is a God who ought to rank below you. 
 
 Plut. You'll show me that? 
 
 Chrem. I will. What makes the other Gods 
 
 Look up to Jupiter and tremble at his nods? 
 
 Car. ' His money ' — say ; for he has so much more to 
 spend. 
 
 Chrem. Now tell me who it is that gives him that ? 
 
 Car. {pointing to PiiVTVS) . Our friend. 
 
 Chrem. Why do men sacrifice ? for his sake, is it not ? 
 
 Car. Yes ; and, by Jove, they pray for riches on the 
 spot. 
 
 Chrem. 'Tis money all ! and Plutus can at any hour 
 Alter the disposition of this mighty power. 
 
 Plut. How so ? 
 
 Chrem. Because there's not a mortal who would bring 
 A bullock to the altar, cake, or anything 
 Against your will. 
 
 E E 
 
418 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [137-162. 
 
 Plut How so ? 
 
 Chrem, Eh 9 how ? — he could not buy it, 
 
 If wanting money, and your kindness to supply it. 
 So, if he's troublesome, you might in my opinion 
 Alone annihilate all Jupiter's dominion. 
 Plut. For my sake is he worshipped? 
 Chrem. Yes ; and more, I swear. 
 
 There's nothing that is splendid, elegant, or fair. 
 So reckoned among men, but what they owe to you, Sir : 
 Wealth is the universal master and producer. 
 For you are carried on all arts that one can mention ; 
 You set all men to work and stimulate invention. 
 For you a man will sit the whole day cutting leather. 
 Car. One forges brass, another hammers boards to- 
 gether. 
 Chrem. In fashioning of gold one fellow is expert. 
 Car. One robs his neighbour's house, another steals his 
 
 shirt. 
 Chrem. One is a fuller. 
 
 Car. And another washes feUs, 
 
 Chrem. This one tans hides for you. 
 Car. And that one onions sells. 
 
 Plut. And all this is for me ? to think I did not know 
 
 it! 
 Car. If great men have long hair — 'tis he who lets them 
 
 grow it. 
 Chrem. And does not he supply the council hall with 
 
 votes ? 
 Car. Of course he does, and finds the crews that man 
 
 our boats. 
 Chrem. And does he not at Corinth keep the foreign 
 troops ? [droops ? 
 
 Car. And is it not through him that Pamphilus still 
 Chrem. To him the public owe Philepsius' descriptions ? 
 Car. And are indebted for alliance with Egyptians. 
 Chrem. And Lais for his sake receives Philonides. 
 Car. Timotheus's tower — * 
 
 1 I would not venture to be positive in givinof explanations of all the 
 personal allusions which here follow. It is sufficient that more or less 
 
162-178.] PLUTUS, 419 
 
 Chrem, May crusb. you if it please ! 
 
 The sum and substance is, — whatever people do. 
 For evil or for good, it all is done for you. 
 
 Car. At any rate in war, no matter which is strongest. 
 They win, who by his aid, can hold the game the longest. 
 
 Plut. And can I do so much, I that am only one ? 
 
 Chrem. The story of your power is barely yet begun : 
 Your power is infinite : a man may have too much 
 Of everything besides that's reckoned pleasant ; such 
 As love. 
 
 Car. Bread. 
 
 Chrem. Music. 
 
 Car. Sweetmeats. 
 
 Chrem. Honour. 
 
 Car. Toasted cheese. 
 
 Chrem. Prize-winning. 
 
 Car, Figs. 
 
 Chrem. Ambition. 
 
 Car. Dough-nuts. 
 
 Chrem. Office. 
 
 Car. Peas.^ 
 
 Chrem. But man was never known to have too much of 
 
 you ! [do ? 
 
 Give him a round three thousand down, — what will he 
 
 Wish that it was but four ! Well, give him that, — and 
 
 then? 
 Forsooth he'd rather die than live with less than ten ! 
 
 Plut. Your views are well expressed, and quite correct, 
 no doubt. 
 But yet I have a fear — 
 
 they are dependent on the influence of AVealth. Men of fortune and 
 fashion wore their hair long -, as a sort of indirect property tax, wealthy 
 citizens equipped the State's ships ; the troops at Corinth were mer- 
 cenaries ; the Athenians would not incur the cost of an expedition to 
 relieve their general Pamphilus, blockaded by the Lacedaemonians; 
 Philepsius bored his guests with long stories. The point about the 
 Egyptian alliance is very obscure, and the explanation too long to give 
 here. Lais may be supposed to have found the presents of Philonides 
 more agreeable than his person. Timotheus's Tower was probably a 
 Timotheus's ' Folly.' 
 
 ^ The translator admits that under stress of rhyme he has taken some 
 liberty with the names of Carion's delicacies. 
 
 E E 2 
 
420 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [178-202. 
 
 Chrem. Pray, what is that about ? 
 
 Plut. Although my right to power is clear to under- 
 stand, 
 I fear that I shall never get it into hand. 
 
 Chrem. By Jupiter, that's true which people often say, 
 ' There's nothing half so full of fears as riches.' ^ 
 
 Plut. Nay, 
 
 That is the libel of some disappointed thief, 
 Who entering a house, and finding to his grief 
 The locks and bolts too strong, has come away in dud- 
 geon 
 And called a prudent man a cowardly curmudgeon. 
 
 Chrem. Then never mind your fears, do only as I bid, 
 And you shall see as well as ever Lynceus did. 
 
 Plut. But how can you, a mortal, do so great a thing ? 
 
 Chrem. Apollo's words to me were most encouraging. 
 
 Plut. Does he know anything about this business P 
 
 Chrem. Yes. 
 
 Plut. Beware. 
 
 Chrem. I pray you. Sir, don't fear for our success. 
 
 Assure yourself of this, that I would rather die 
 Than fail to carry out the plan. 
 
 Car. And so would I. 
 
 Chrem. We shall have many friends to back our cause 
 with zeal. 
 Good fellows that have more of honesty than meal. 
 
 Plut. Allies of little substance ! 
 
 Chrem. 'Tis a failing which 
 
 Will very soon be mended, if we make them rich. 
 But go you, slave. 
 
 Car. What for ? 
 
 Chrem. To get our friends together : 
 
 You'U find them at their farms -(and grumbling at the 
 
 weather 
 Or at the price of wheat), that each may have his share 
 Of Plutus since we have him ; that is only fair. 
 
 ^ To catch the full p()int of the author here, one must have a varied 
 reading of this line ; thus, 
 
 ' There's nothing half so full of fears as Plutus ' — Nay, 
 In the original both the ideas are conveyed by the same word. 
 
203-226.] PLUTUS, 421 
 
 Gar. I'm off: but who will take this dainty piece of 
 fat?i 
 Call some one from the house. 
 
 Chrem, Leave me to care for that ; 
 
 And run, I say. [Exit Carion. 
 
 Now you, most sovereign God of Riches, 
 Vouchsafe to cross the threshold of my cottage, which is 
 The house that you propose to fill with wealth to-day 
 Acquired by righteous means, — or in some other way. 
 
 Plut. Nay, but I hate to go to ' any house that's 
 strange : 
 I never yet have got advantage from the change. 
 If in a miser's house by hap I should be found. 
 He digs a hole at once and puts me underground ; 
 Then when a neighbour comes some trifling sum to borrow, 
 Oh no ! my host has never seen me to his sorrow ! 
 If then some witless spendthrift I should chance to visit. 
 He does not bury me, but, how much better is it ? 
 I'm feasted on and fleeced, I'm drabbed and diced away. 
 And bundled bareback out of doors some early day. 
 
 Chrem. You have not found the man who guides himself 
 between 
 The two extremes ; but that is just what I have been. 
 I have a turn for saving, no man likes it more ; 
 But when occasion calls I can dispense the store. 
 But come into the house or nothing will be done : 
 And you must see my wife, and know my only son. 
 Whom I love very much, — next after you. 
 
 Plut. No doubt. 
 
 Chrem. That is the truth for you ! and why not speak it 
 out? 
 
 [Exeunt Plutus and Cheemylus. 
 
 * The slave Carion was bringing home a piece of the animal sacrificed 
 to Apollo at Delphi. 
 
422 COMEDIES OF AKISTOPHANES. [227-241. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 Scene. — Near the /lottse 0/ Chremylus. 
 
 Enter Carion leading The Chorus, step;ping to dance music. 
 
 Ga/r, Men wlio have eaten many a time 
 
 leek porridge with my master, 
 Good neighbours and good workmen too, 
 
 pray move a little faster ; 
 Indeed you must knock up the dust, 
 
 nor grudge a little labour. 
 So pray be quick, 'tis just the nick 
 
 to serve a worthy neighbour. 
 Chorus, You blockhead, don't you see that we 
 make all the haste we can ? 
 What more can be expected from 
 an old and broken man ? 
 You think it fan to make me run 
 
 without the information 
 Why Chremtltjs has sent for us, 
 and what his expectation ? 
 Car, Did I not tell you long ago ? 
 
 — but you are hard of hearing — 
 He fancies you would like to know 
 
 how much the times are clearing. 
 And gladly you would bid adieu 
 to all your former labours. 
 Chorus, But is there ground on which to found 
 
 this notion of our neighbour's ? 
 Car, It is an ancient gentleman 
 
 he has in his possession. 
 Bald, wrinkled, wretched, toothless, bent, 
 
 filthy leyond expression. 
 And powers divine, there is a sign 
 
 by which I think him — Jew ! 
 
242-256.] PLUTUS. 423 
 
 Chorus, Oh words of gold too quickly told, 
 the flattering tale renew ; 
 It makes one wink only to think 
 the heap that he has got ! 
 Car, Old age's failings, aches and ailings, 
 
 — yes, he has the lot; 
 Chorus, You rascal, do you think, if you 
 should play us any trick, 
 You will get off without your pay ? 
 No, if I have a stick. 
 Car, Do you suppose I'm one of those 
 who are so very clever 
 That they must always poke their joke, 
 and speak in earnest never ? 
 Chorus, A rogue in earnest — that it is ! 
 
 I know your shins are crying- 
 All for the fetters and the stocks, 
 
 where they are used to lying. 
 Car, To play the judge in coffin-court ' 
 
 I know you have the ticket ; 
 And Charon stands with cheque in hand 
 to pass you through the wicket. 
 Chorus, Now you be hung, jom limber tongue, 
 you thorough gallows-bird ; 
 'Tis very cool to play the fool, 
 
 while we have never heard 
 The reason why my friends and I 
 
 are sent for by your master. 
 Though in our way to lose a day 
 may prove a sore disaster. 
 
 ^ The Dicasts or judges for the ten law courts at Athens were taken hy 
 lot from their tribes. Each lot had on it one of the first ten letters of 
 the alphabet. The letter indicated the Court where the holder of the 
 ticket was to sit for the day. On the presentation of his ticket the 
 Dicast received some countercheck from the proper officer, which entitled 
 him to draw his fee of three oboles. An allusion has been made to 
 this in a previous passage, where Plutus is said to supply votes to the 
 Council ; and another allusion is made later, where the Chorus say they 
 are accustomed to bear being hustled all day in the Assemblies for this 
 paltry sum. 
 
424 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [257-282. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding that, we ran 
 
 with all our zeal and muscle. 
 And trampled flat a pretty plat 
 of garlic in our bustle. 
 Car, Good honest men, I'll tell you then, 
 
 — my master has got Plutus, 
 The God himself, who with his pelf 
 is well disposed to suit us. 
 Chorus. Shall we be rich ! 
 
 Car, Of course you will ; 
 
 dismiss all idle fears ; 
 You^U be as rich as Midases, 
 
 unless you lack the ears. 
 Chorus. If that is true — Ri-too-ral-loo ! 
 Away with melancholy : 
 Eh ! dash my wig ! I'll dance a jig : 
 I never felt so jolly ! 
 Car. Good masters, now a truce to fun : 
 
 There's work on hand that must be done. 
 
 And I will join you in it. 
 But first —behind my master's back, 
 I'll just run in and get a snack — 
 I shan't be gone a minute. 
 
 [Exit Carion. 
 
 Enter Chremylus, greeting the Chorus. 
 
 Chrem. To wish you a ' Good Morning,' neighbours, is a 
 phrase 
 Quite out of date and keeping with our polished days : 
 But I salute you all ! The zeal demands my thanks. 
 Which brings you at my call with full and ready ranks. 
 Prepared in all respects to countenance a friend. 
 And for the God's protection willing help to lend. 
 
 Chorus. Pear not for that, fear not : I warrant you should 
 see 
 No fiercer look in Mars than you shall see in me. 
 A pretty thing, if we to draw three oboles' pay 
 Should let ourselves in court be hustled every day. 
 And then should lightly let the very God of Gold 
 By any man alive be ravished from our hold. 
 
283-311.] PLUTUS. 425 
 
 Ghrem. But liere comes Blepsidemus ; by his haste and 
 air 
 ^Tis evident he has got wind of the affair. 
 
 Enter Blepsidemus. 
 
 Blejps, Eh ! Chremylus, what's this ? Why how on earth 
 have you 
 So suddenly got rich ? I don't believe it's true. 
 And yet, by Hercules, there cannot be a doubt. 
 In all the barbers' shops the story is about 
 That Chremylus has come to be a wealthy man : 
 And further, that he sends (believe the tale who can) 
 For friends to share his fortune ! — I can only say 
 That's very strange indeed, and not our country way. 
 
 Chrem. I will not hide the fact, not I, by all the Powers, 
 My fortune is improved in four-and- twenty hours. 
 And, Blepsidemus, since I take you for my friend. 
 If you are so disposed, your fortune too shall mend. 
 
 Bleps, But are you, as they say, in truth become so rich ? 
 
 Chrem, I shall be, please the God ! — There's just a little 
 hitch : 
 It's nothing : but a — something which must intervene — 
 
 Bleps. And what is that ? 
 
 Chrem. Eh ? 
 
 Bleps. Pooh, pooh ! teU me what you mean. 
 
 Chrem. If we succeed our fortune will be made for ever ; 
 But we are ruined if we fail in our endeavour. 
 
 Blejps, Ho, ho ! There's contraband aboard — it's pretty 
 clear ! 
 I cannot say I like the look of things : when fear 
 Comes at the heels of growing suddenly so wealthy, 
 It marks a man whose dealings scarcely can be healthy ! 
 
 Chrem. Be healthy ! how ? 
 
 Blejps. We know there's gold and silver stored 
 
 At Delphi — and you may have stolen from the hoard. 
 Yes, yes ! you may regret it now — 
 
 Chrem. Phoebus forbid ! 
 
 By Jupiter, I swear such thing I never did. 
 
 Blejps. Pooh ! hold your tongue, my man, the thing is 
 clear enough. 
 
428 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [312-336. 
 
 Ghrem, Don't entertain so foul a thought about me. 
 
 Ble:ps. Stuff! 
 
 How sad ! there is not one but is at heart a knave ; 
 And Lucre soon or late makes every man its slave. 
 
 Chrem. By Ceres, Blepsidemus, I must think you crazy. 
 
 Bleps. How fallen from the higher tone of other days he ! 
 
 Chrem. Your liver, I should think, is in a sorry state. 
 
 Bleps, His eyes betray it too ! -See how they vacillate. 
 'Tis something very bad — yes, that is my belief. 
 
 Chrem, I know your note, my crow : that you would 
 have me thief, 
 And go in for your share. 
 
 Bleps. , I for a share ! in what ? 
 
 Chrem. You need not think it is : I tell you it is not — 
 
 Bleps. You did not steal — you robbed ; that is what you 
 would say ! 
 
 Chrem. I say you're mad. 
 
 Bleps. Or — yes, you only took away ! 
 
 Chrem. Not I. 
 
 Bleps. Oh, Hercules ! 'tis past me then to guess 
 
 How you are to be had : in short, you'll not confess. 
 
 Chrem. You charge me without knowing what I have 
 to do. 
 
 Bleps. Good Sir, a trifling cost will carry the thing 
 through. 
 Before the city gets an inkling of the matter : 
 Some coins were well bestowed to stop the fellows' chatter. 
 
 Chrem. Oh yes, I understand, — quite as a friend you'd 
 cozen; 
 Just lay me out three pounds, and charge them as a dozen ! 
 
 Bleps. Methinks, — behind the bar I see a figure stand 
 Imploring mercy with an olive-branch in hand ; 
 Beside him are his wife and children all untidy, 
 Like Pamphilus's picture of the Heraclidse.^ 
 
 ^ The Heraclidse, driven from country to country by the persecutions of 
 Eurystheus, came to Athens, and sat as suppliants at the altar of Zeus. 
 Pamphilus's picture was in the Poecile or 'Painted Chamber.' The 
 treatment of the scene no doubt suggests the visionary fears of Blepside- 
 mus for his friend Chremvlus. 
 
337-355.] PLUTUS. 427 
 
 Ghrem, Out, out you lunatic ! I don't intend that anj 
 But decent sober people should receive a penny 
 Of what I have. I'll make the honest fellows fat. 
 
 Bleeps, And have you stolen then as much as comes to 
 that? 
 
 Ghrem, You'll do for me ! 
 
 Bleps. I think you'll be your own undoing. 
 
 Ghrem. I have got Plutus, stupid. That is not like ruin ! 
 
 Bleps, Plutus : what sort of one P 
 
 Ghrem. The God. 
 
 Bleps. And where is he ? 
 
 Ghrem. Within. 
 
 Bleeps. Where? 
 
 Ghrem, At my house. 
 
 Bleps. ^ At yours ? 
 
 Ghrem. Yes. 
 
 Bleps. Don't tell me ! 
 
 Plutus vdth you ? 
 
 Ghrem. I swear it. 
 
 Bleps. Yes, but is it true ? 
 
 Ghrem. Yes. 
 
 Bleps, By your hearth ? 
 
 Ghrem, By Neptune ! 
 
 Bleps. Of the sea — mean you ? 
 
 Ghrem. If there's another, Yes. By him and his con- 
 cern ! 
 
 Bleps. But you will send him on to us your friends in turn? 
 
 Ghrem. It is not ripe for that. 
 
 Ble^s, You mean that you will not ? 
 
 Not let us have a share ? 
 
 Ghrem, By Jove, we first must — 
 
 Bleps. What ? 
 
 Ghrem, Must give him eyes to see. 
 
 Bleps, Eh ! eyes ? to whom ? explain. 
 
 Ghrem, To Plutus we must give the power of sight again. 
 
 Bleps, Then is he really blind ? 
 
 Ghrem, By heaven, he cannot see. 
 
 Bleps, Then that accounts for it, he never came to me. 
 Ghrem. Aye, but he will I promise, by the Gods' per- 
 mission. 
 
428 COME])IES OF ARISTOPHANES. [356-380. 
 
 Bleps. Then must we not at once get in a good physician? 
 
 Ghrem, Physician there is none in all the city ; skill, 
 And will to pay for it, stand equally at ' nil.' 
 
 Bleps. Consider. 
 
 Chrem. There is none. 
 
 Bleps, True, that must be confessed. 
 
 Chrem. By Jove, my first intention still I think the best : 
 Which is, to lay him down at night within the shrine 
 Of ^sculapius. 
 
 Bleps, A capital design : 
 
 So up and go at once ; delay may spoil the brewing. 
 
 Chrem, I'm going. 
 
 Bleps, Then be quick. 
 
 Chrem, The very thing I'm doing. 
 
 Enter Poverty, a gaunt woman in dirt and rags, 
 
 Pov. You wretched mannikin ! you who have dared to 
 plan 
 A deed of infamy, abhorred of God and man. 
 Stop, stop ! why are you flying, wretches ? 
 
 Bleps. Hercules ! 
 
 Pov, Yes, with a villain's death I'U pay your villanies. 
 For you have ventured on a deed beyond endurance, 
 "Which never man had yet, or even God, assurance 
 To think of enterprising. You are lost and gone ! 
 
 Chrem, Whom do you call yourself, with look so pale 
 and wan ? 
 
 Bleps. I think she is a Pury — come out from the play- 
 house ; 
 She has a tragic air, as though she meant to slay us. 
 
 Chrem. She hasn't got her torch. 
 
 Bleps. {offers to attack her) , A fault my fist shall teU her. 
 
 Pov. Whom think ye that I am ? 
 
 Chrem. A tripe-and-onion-seUer, 
 
 Or costermongeress ; for no one else, I know. 
 Would have abused two unoffending people so. 
 
 Pov, Indeed! ye who for me have foulest mischief 
 planned ! 
 And even now would banish me from off the land. 
 
881-402.] PLUTUS. 429 
 
 Chrem, The pit without a bottom ' — would not that re- 
 main ? 
 But who and what you are will you at once explain ? 
 Pov, Me you would banish ! me ! Indeed it was your 
 thought ; 
 But I will make you pay the penalty you ought. 
 
 Bleps. It is the barmaid — yes ! I recognise the treasure 
 Who always cheats me with a half-pint of short measure. 
 Pov, I am your ancient house-mate : I am Poverty. 
 Bleps. Oh, King Apollo ! Gods ! oh, whither may one 
 flee? 
 
 [Blepsidemus is going to run off: Chremt- 
 LUS lays his hand upon him to stop him. 
 Chrem, What are you doing, fellow ? Coward-hearted 
 beast, 
 Why not remain ? 
 
 Bleps. 1 don't desire it in the least. 
 
 Chrem, Two men fly from a woman ! What's your man- 
 hood worth ? 
 Bleps. 'Tis Poverty, you fool, the greatest curse on earth. 
 Chrem. Stop, I beseech you, stop. 
 
 Bleps, By Jove, that will I not. 
 
 Chrem, I tell you it would be the very foulest blot. 
 If, terrified by her, we two should run away 
 And leave the God behind. No : fight it out and stay. 
 Bleps. What arms could we oppose ? Before the sword 
 was drawn. 
 Or corslet buckled on, she'd put them into pawn. 
 
 Chrem. Assure yourself the God wiU rout her without 
 blows. 
 And for a trophy hang her out to scare the crows. ^ 
 
 Pov, Offscourings ! do ye dare to mutter to my face. 
 Caught in the very act of plotting my disgrace ? 
 
 ^ The ' barathron,' a deep hole into which malefactors were thrown at 
 Athens. Allusion is again made to this horrible place at the end of the 
 play by Mercury. Clouds, 1. 1396. 
 
 2 There is here a little variation from the idea of the original, which is 
 Tintranslatable as involving a small pun. 
 
430 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [403-431. 
 
 Chrem, Pray, why slioiild yon come here, abominable hag. 
 To rail at ns, who never damaged you a rag ? 
 
 Pov, Yon think it, by the Gods, no damage done to me 
 That yon are going to make the God of Riches see ? 
 
 Ghrem. How wonld it injure you, if we propose the good 
 Of every man alive ? 
 
 Pov, If that intention stood, 
 
 Pray how should you propose to manage it ? 
 
 Chrem. The piece 
 
 We should begin with is — to turn you out of Greece. 
 
 Pov, To turn me out ! indeed ! And do you think you 
 can 
 Contrive a greater wrong and injury to man 
 Than do as you propose ? 
 
 Chrem, There's one thing I could mention ; 
 
 To set about it, but— to drop the good intention. 
 
 Pov, That is a point on which my wish is to supply you 
 With somewhat sounder views. What, if I satisfy you 
 That every good you have you owe to me alone. 
 Including life itself ! If that's not clearly shovni, 
 I freely give you leave to do as you are bent. 
 
 Chrem. You slut, how dare you utter such a sentiment ? 
 
 Pov, With confidence and ease. I'll prove that you 
 would make. 
 If you will only learn, a very great mistake, 
 If you should make the righteous very well to do. 
 
 Chrem. Ho ! cudgels to my aid ! joint-twisters, where 
 are you ? 
 
 Pov. Do not disturb yourself. Your noise is out of 
 season. 
 At least, till you have heard a word or two of reason. 
 
 Chrem. Who can endure with any sort of patience 
 To listen to such stuff? 
 
 Pov. A man of common sense. 
 
 Chrem. Then let us settle what the penalty shall be. 
 If you are cast. 
 
 Pov. What you think proper. 
 
 Chrem, We agree. 
 
 Pov. If you should lose your case, you will endure the 
 same. 
 
432-450.] PLUTUS. 43] 
 
 Bleps. Think you that twenty deaths will be enough to 
 name? 
 
 Chrem. No whit too much for her ; but as for me and you 
 'Tis somewhat overdone ; we need no more than two. 
 
 Pov. Be quick about it then, and set about to die ; 
 For what I have to say admits of no reply. 
 
 ^Actors arrange themselves as for an Athenian Court of 
 Justice. The Choeus as judges. Chremtlus and 
 Blepsidemus as prosecutors. Toyehty defendant. 
 
 Chorus. Something that's clever, and nothing soft, you 
 must 
 find in your wits to this woman to say ; 
 Eapping out reasons, and capping her arguments, 
 if you hope to carry the day. 
 Chrem. This at the least, I suppose, to begin with, 
 
 nobody will be found to deny, 
 ' That it should ever be well with the righteous, 
 and that the wicked in sorrow should lie. 
 There is a fault in the world about this, which 
 
 we have discovered a plan to correct. 
 Nobly designed, and such that, from using it, 
 
 nothing but good is it fair to expect. 
 Look you ; if Plutus recovers his sight and 
 
 wanders no more in error and blind. 
 Will he not go to the honest, and only 
 
 stick to the excellent men he will find ? 
 While he will fly from the evil and impious. 
 
 How can it happen otherwise, then. 
 But that the world will be furnished alone with 
 
 wealthy, and sober, and worshipful men ? 
 Who can devise a more feasible scheme for 
 bringing the world to an excellent state ? 
 Bleps. Nobody ! — trust me ; and as to this woman, 
 
 why should we trouble ourselves with her prate ? 
 Chrem. As the world goes, one really would think it 
 crazy, or by some ill spirit possessed. 
 Here is a rogue, who is rolling in riches 
 
 robbed from his fellows to feather his nest ; 
 
432 COMEDIES OF AEISTOPHANES. [451-469. 
 
 There are the honest, who never know fortune, 
 
 never from hunger or scantiness free, 
 All through a life of toil unending, 
 
 desperate Poverty, stable with thee. 
 This I aver without fear of a question, 
 Plutus can never be doing amiss, 
 If he should use the renewal of sight for 
 curing the world of disorder like this. 
 Pov. Elderly dotards ! drivellers ! never were 
 men so easily proved to be mad ! 
 Only allow you to tinker the world, and 
 you would make it thoroughly bad. 
 Plutus will see, and divide himself equally ; 
 
 Science and Art will fall into decay. 
 Who will be smith ? or shipwright ? or shoemaker ? 
 
 who will tan leather ? or puddle in clay ? 
 Who will look after the ploughing and reaping ? 
 
 washing of linen ? or setting a stitch ? 
 Who is to care for laborious arts, when 
 all may be idle as all will be rich ? 
 Chrem. Truce to your list ! and the nonsense you're talk- 
 ing ! 
 all that we want our slaves will supply. 
 Pov. Aye ! — but who will supply you the article slaves ? 
 Chrem. Slaves ! — have we not money to buy ? 
 Pov. Who is to sell them, when money's an article 
 
 not in demand ? 
 Chrem. Some lucre-led hound, 
 
 Merchant in man-flesh from Thessaly coming ; 
 where as we know man-stealers abound. 
 Pov. Softly ! but, as you order the world, there 
 never will be a man-stealer at all : 
 Who that is rich will encounter the risks that 
 must to the share of the kidnapper fall ? 
 Driven each man for himself to dig and 
 labour, your world will certainly be 
 Yery much fuller than now of trouble. 
 Chrem. Pall it, prophet of evil, on thee ! 
 Pov. Never will you go to sleep on a bed ; for 
 beds, of course, will never be made : 
 
470-488.] PLUTUS. 433 
 
 Never put foot on a handsome carpet ; 
 
 will a rich man be a weaver by trade ? 
 Never with perfumed spirit or essence 
 
 charm the nose of your beautiful bride ; 
 Never delight her eye with a satin 
 
 cut to the fashion, and charmingly dyed. 
 What is the value of silver and gold if 
 
 you are at fault for such matters as these ? 
 Under my reign if you require a 
 
 thing of the kind, you have it with ease : 
 I, like a sharp tyrannical mistress, 
 
 ever sit by the artificer's side, 
 • Threatening death, or making him work for a 
 
 call from within that will not be denied. 
 Chrem, You to pretend to be our benefactress ! 
 
 Truly you give us — blains on our toes. 
 Hungering children, withered old women, 
 
 fleas in numbers that nobody knows. 
 Armies of gnats to slaughter our sleep, ever 
 
 trumpeting, while they encircle one's head, 
 ' Sleeper, awake ! you may waken to hunger, 
 
 nevertheless, you must get out of bed.' 
 Bed, did I say ? — 'tis a mattress of rushes, your 
 
 cover a moth-eaten matting of flags ; 
 Under your head you may have a great stone, and 
 
 wear for a coat a mere bundle of rags. 
 Add to these treasures the stalks of a mallow, 
 
 succulent food when one cannot get bread ; 
 Dishes of peas in their season — oh, no ! old 
 
 tops of the turnip will serve one instead. 
 Is it a stool, or a basin you wish for ? 
 
 Jars that are broken * will serve you ; and then 
 What would you ask more ? — These are the treasures, 
 
 Poverty, you have presented to men. 
 Pov. You are describing the fare of a beggar : while 
 
 I by my labour my livelihood win. 
 Chrem, Say we not well that Poverty is but 
 
 naked Beggary's sister and twin ? 
 
 ^ Large earthenware jars for wine. 
 
43i COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [489-508. 
 
 Pov. Yes, you say it, and much, beside, tliat 
 anyone may believe if lie can. 
 That which you speak of is not my life, nor 
 
 will be the fare of a labouring man. 
 Poor, not a beggar, he wants not and wastes not ; has 
 
 bread for his eating, and clothes for his back ; 
 All day cheerfully sticking to work he has 
 nothing superfluous, nothing to lack. 
 Clirem. Happy indeed, is the man you describe, and 
 blessed, by Ceres, the life he has led ! 
 All through his days he has laboured and stinted, yet 
 leaves not enough to bury him, dead. 
 Fov. Try to be funny when reasoning fails you ! 
 
 Do you not know that the men of my breed 
 Are, as to figure and mind, much better than 
 
 any who spring from Plutus's seed. 
 His are the men with the ' fair round belly,' the 
 
 fat on their ankles, and gout in the toes ; 
 Mine are the slender, the lithesome, and lively, 
 wasps in the waist, and wasps to their foes. 
 Glirem. Elegant, terrible wasps if you please, all 
 
 carefully starved to the requisite shape. 
 Fov, Now look at character : there I will have you 
 beyond all hope of reply or escape : 
 Mine you will note for their habits of order ; 
 his for their insolence, license, and pride. 
 Chrem. Burglars and thieves are an orderly sort ! 
 Bleps. Concealment being a duty, — they hide. 
 Pov. Everywhere look at the Friends of the People, the 
 favourite leaders of public opinion ; 
 While they are poor, how honest and just are their 
 
 views about popular rights and dominion : 
 Let them, however, but get into office ; 
 
 let them get fat on the spoils of the town, 
 Straight they will turn into rogues, and will talk of the 
 duty of putting the Populace down. 
 Chrem, There you have spoken the truth no doubt ; 
 though 
 jealousy prompts you to say it : but, pray, 
 Be not conceited upon it or think that 
 
 we wi)l allow you to lengthen your stay. 
 
509-527.] PLUTUS. 436 
 
 After your shameful endeavour to talk us 
 
 into a thesis so wild and absurd, — 
 Poverty better than Eiches : impossible 1 
 Pov, Yet you could answer me never a word ; 
 
 Nothing to purpose ; all empty vapouring. 
 Chrem. Why does everyone fly from your face ? 
 
 Answer me that. 
 Pov. Because I improve them. 
 
 Children will show you a parallel case : 
 Do they not fly from the face of their fathers. 
 
 Be they never so loving and wise ? 
 So very rare is that soundest wisdom 
 
 which discerns where our interest lies. 
 Chrem. Jupiter, next you will say, is a fool, who, 
 not knowing well what riches are worth. 
 Chooses this mischievous Wealth — 
 Bleps. and packs off 
 
 Poverty down to us upon earth. 
 Pov. Oh, but the eyes of your mind are glued by 
 ancient rheum and primitive dirt ! 
 Jupiter's poor. And that I will show you by 
 
 process of reasoning lucid and curt. 
 If he were rich, how could it have happened that 
 
 when he set up the Olympian course. 
 Duly to which in quinquennial periods 
 
 Greeks from all quarters assemble in force. 
 He should have offered the winner no more than a 
 
 spray of wild olive to set on his hair ? 
 Nothing but gold would have met the occasion, 
 if, as you fancy, he had it to spare. 
 Chrem. Rather it shows him as valuing gold, and 
 holding his own with remarkable thrift : 
 Nothing is lost from his store, while conquerors 
 go away proud with a trumpery gift. 
 Pov. That's a reproach far greater than any that 
 poverty ever entailed of itself; 
 Being so wealthy, as you maintain, but a 
 mean and pitiful lover of pelf. 
 Chrem. Off to destruction ! thou foulest of creatures, with 
 Jiipiter's wild olive crown on thy head. 
 
436 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [528-552. 
 
 Pov, Fie on your impudence ! beaten in argument, 
 
 you tliat have dared to gainsay what I said, 
 — All that is pleasant and good in your life, is 
 
 Poverty's earning and Poverty's gift. 
 Chrem. Hecate knows and will say if it's better, to 
 
 have an abundance, or live by a shift. 
 If it be true, as she says, that the wealthy 
 
 send her each month a supper ^ to eat. 
 But that the poor waylay the servers, and 
 
 snatch it before it is set in the street. 
 
 Perdition catch thee ! hence ! away ! 
 No whisper more ! I tell thee, none ! 
 
 Win my reason as you may. 
 No ! I never will be won. 
 Pov. Hear it, Argos ! noble city. 
 
 Hear the things that they have said.^ 
 Chrem, Have you not a friend to pity ? 
 Call in Pauson ^ to your aid. 
 Pov. Heavy, heavy, are my woes ! 
 
 Chrem. Hussey, off ! to feed the crows. 
 Pov. Earth, where go I ? 
 
 Chrem. To the rack. 
 
 Do not trifle with delay. 
 Pov. You will surely fetch me back. 
 
 Chrem. Then return : but now away. 
 
 [Exit Poverty. 
 I profess that I prefer 
 Wealth for me, and grief for her. 
 Bleps. I too have decided wishes 
 For an easy kind of life. 
 Living upon dainty dishes 
 
 With my children and my wife : 
 
 * At the new moons the rich sent into the streets a supper for Ilecate : 
 it was commonly disposed of as here described, hence ' Hecate's supper ' 
 came proverbially to mean pretty much the same as ' dining with Duke 
 Humphrey.' 
 
 2 Burlesque references to passages of Euripides. 
 
 * A painter and very poor, as such here and elsewliere made a butt by 
 Aristophanes. Pope would have assigned some bookseller's hack as the 
 * trencher-fellow ' of Poverty. 
 
553-562.] PLUTUS. 437 
 
 Coming daily from the bath 
 ^ Clean and comfortably fat, 
 
 Working men that cross my path 
 I will snap my fingers at. 
 Chrem. Now that the jade is gone, 'tis time the God 
 were led 
 To ^sculapius's shrine and put to bed. 
 
 Bleps. Let there be no delay, for fear that anyone 
 Should hinder us again, before the thing is done. 
 
 Chrem. {calling to the slave in the house). 
 Ho ! Carion, my lad, lead Plutus carefully. 
 Bring on the beds and stores for night, and follow me. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
438 COMEDIES OF AEISTOniANES. [663-584. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 Enter Caeion to Chorus. 
 
 Car, Good men, who on a criist, and that one of the 
 least. 
 Have often kept Theseia ! ^ your luck is increased : 
 Good days indeed are come to you and all the rest, 
 The morals of whose lives will bear a searching test. 
 Gho, Eh ! what have you to say, your own most worthy 
 friend ? 
 Your salutation seems good tidings to portend. 
 
 Car. My master's business has succeeded to his mind. 
 Or rather Plutus's ; instead of being blind, 
 His sight is perfect with a pair of brilliant eyes. 
 JEsculapius has proved a doctor good and wise. 
 Cho, Charming tidings ! I must shout. 
 Car, If you wish it, sing it out. 
 Cho, Light of Science, bright for us. 
 Thou hast many sons of fame. 
 Worthy of their father's name ; 
 Hail ! hail, JEsculapius. 
 
 Enter Wife of Cheemtlus. 
 
 Wife, What is the shouting for ? good news ? I long to 
 learn ; 
 For I have sat indoors waiting for their return. 
 
 Car, Here, mistress, bring us out some wine in double 
 haste. 
 And take a cup yourself ; I know it's to your taste : 
 For such a heap of good I'm bringing home to you. 
 Wife, Where is it ? 
 Car, Only wait to hear my story through. 
 
 * A feast in honour of Theseus, kept on the 8th of each month : with 
 the poorer classes an occasion for what would be with us a Sunday's 
 dinner. 
 
585-616.J PLUTUS. 439 
 
 Wife, Be quick about it then. 
 
 Car. Be patient, as I said : 
 
 From foot to head you'll have the things. 
 
 Wife. Not at my head ? 
 
 Car. The good? 
 
 Wife. Aye, not the things. 
 
 Car. — Soon as we reached the place. 
 
 Leading the man that was in most afflicted case, 
 But is — oh, fortunate and blest beyond the reach 
 Of competition : him we took down to the beach, 
 And bathed him there — 
 
 Wife. By Jove, a blessed man was he. 
 
 When he, and at his years, stood shivering in the sea. 
 
 Car. This done, unto the Temple of the God we came. 
 And offered there the meal cakes, which by Yulcan's 
 
 flame 
 Were consecrate : then duly laid we Plutus down 
 Upon a bed ; and each of us contrived his own. 
 
 Wife. Were there no other suppliants for succour there 
 reclined ? 
 
 Car. Yes, there was Neoclides, seeming to be blind 
 (In thieving he can distance any man that sees). 
 And others, representing every disease. 
 Now, when the reverend priest had put out every light. 
 And charged us, if disturbed by noises in the night. 
 To take no notice of them, we lay down in rows. 
 But I — I could not sleep ; disturbing my repose, 
 I saw a pot of furmity beside the bed 
 Of an old woman, no great distance from her head. 
 I had a mind to creep a little nearer, when. 
 On looking up, I saw that most revered of men. 
 Our friend the priest, was busy taking figs and cakes 
 From off the holy table : after that he makes 
 A circuit of the altars, haply to espy 
 If anywhere a dough-nut might neglected lie, 
 Which he might consecrate into a kind of basket. 
 Seeing the thing was right I had no need to ask it, 
 So made no more ado, but rose at once to fetch 
 The pot of furmity. 
 
440 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [616-648. 
 
 ^e. You most abandoned wretch. ! 
 
 Did you not fear tlie God ? 
 
 Gar. Indeed I did ; lest he 
 
 Should be beforehand with me at the furmity ; 
 I mean when he should come, just as his priest had said. 
 To see the patients with the laurel ^ on his head. 
 Meantime the ancient dame, hearing the noise I made. 
 To draw the pot away with crafty hand essayed ; 
 But, hissing like a snake, I seize her with my jaws ; 
 Whereon her hand again she rapidly withdraws. 
 And wrapping up her head she lies profoundly still. 
 While of the furmity of course I take my fill. 
 
 Wife, But did not the God come ? 
 
 Car, After a while he did ; 
 
 When, feeling rather nervous, I confess, I hid 
 My head beneath the rug. At once he went the round. 
 Inspecting all the sick who lay upon the ground. 
 And followed by a slave, who bore, as might be guessed, 
 A mortar and its pestle, and a little chest. 
 
 Wife, Of marble? 
 
 Car, Not the chest ! 
 
 Wife, You vagabond, but how 
 
 Did you contrive to see it ? when, as you allow. 
 Your head was in the rug. 
 
 Car, I saw it through the stuff; 
 
 I take my oath of it, that there were holes enough. 
 It was for Neoclides he began to make 
 An ointment for the eyes : for that I saw him take 
 Three heads of garlic ; bruise them ; then add squills and 
 
 juice : 
 When strained with vinegar, the salve was fit for use. 
 This pretty preparation being then applied 
 To Neoclides' eyelids, on the inner side, 
 He smarted, I should think : at any rate he screamed 
 And rushed away. The God was tickled, as it seemed, 
 And cried, ' Now sit you still ; that salve is for the health 
 Of liars who pretend to serve the commonwealth.' 
 
 Wife, 'Twas clever of the God ; and most considerate. 
 And shows his interest in the welfare of the State. 
 
 The head of ^sculapius is so represented on some ancient coins. 
 
649-676.] PLUTUS. 441 
 
 Gar, Next after this the God entered on Pluto's ^ case : 
 He handled first his head, and then he wiped his face, 
 Especially his eyes ; and Panacsea spread 
 A sort of crimson veil that covered all the head. 
 Then the God whistled, when there came out from the 
 
 shrine 
 A pair of — Oh such snakes ! tremendous ! 
 
 Wife. Powers divine ! 
 
 Car, Twisting themselves beneath the veil, it seemed to 
 me, 
 They licked his eyelids ; for I well could see 
 Plutus recovered sight, while you might drink a cup 
 Of wine. I clapped my hands and woke my master up. 
 The God, as did the snakes, straight vanished out of 
 
 sight. 
 But we and all the rest got up and spent the night 
 Congratulating Plutus, as you may suppose. 
 With very cheerful spirits, till the sun arose. 
 I give the God the greater praise because, beside his 
 Giving Plutus sight, he blinded Neoclides. 
 
 Wife, How mighty is Thy power, most gracious Lord 
 and King ! 
 But tell me, where is Plutus ? 
 
 Gar, Coming with a string 
 
 Of people at his heels. There's such a how-d'ye-doing. 
 Shaking of hands, and rushing, crushing and hallooing 
 Of honest men who've found it hard to live till now : 
 And then again such scowls and knitting of the brow 
 By all the men who have won property and station 
 By lying, robbing, jobbing, bribes, and peculation. 
 But all the others follow laughing out and cheering. 
 With crowns upon their heads. And now the crowd is 
 
 nearing. 
 Hark ! you may hear the old shoes tramp it to the dance. 
 Aye, one and all, old boys, kick up your heels and prance. 
 
 ^ The waggery of saying Pluto for Plutus is what might have been 
 expected perhaps from anyone who had written in times since the Gods 
 of the Greek mythology have become less than objects of faith. Such a 
 jest put into the mouth of Carion must surely show that all reality of 
 belief in Pluto was already gone in Athens. 
 
442 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [677-700. 
 
 And go home when you're tired : for, when you enter in, 
 You never more shall hear — ' There's no meal in the bin.' 
 
 Wife. So love me Hecate ! for bringing news so good, 
 I'd wreathe you with a string of biscuits, that I would ! 
 
 Car, Make haste, for here they are. 
 
 Wife. No ; I'll get some supplies 
 
 Of sweetmeats, nuts and figs, to throw for Plutus' eyes, 
 As new-come slaves to us, 'tis proper I should greet 
 them.^ 
 
 Car. Now that the men are near, I will go out to meet 
 them. \_Exeunt. 
 
 Enter Plutus, Chremtlus, Caeion, and followers. 
 
 Pint. Pirst I salute the Sun, whom now I see again : 
 And holy Pallas, mistress of this famous plain : 
 And all the land of Cecrops, which now entertains me ! 
 To recollect the wrongs which I have suffered pains me ! 
 How was my ignorance imposed upon, when I 
 Favoured the men I did. While I, it seems, would fly 
 The very men that were most worthy of my grace ; 
 By ignorance misled to wrong in either case. 
 But every one shall know, since I begin again. 
 How I against my will befriended evil men. 
 
 \_People press on Chremtlus importunately. 
 
 Chrem. Be hanged to you ! Oh, what a nuisance are the 
 friends 
 That spring up round a man as soon as fortune mends ! 
 They tread upon one's heels, and knock against one's 
 
 shins ; 
 And each one with some petty complaisance begins. 
 "Who did not speak to me ? — and then to see the race 
 Of gaffers to get round me in the market-place ! 
 
 ^ When a newly-purchased slave was hroiight into the house it was 
 customary to throw such things at him ; the other domestics of the house 
 scrambled for them. I have ventured in some measure to develope what 
 I conceive to be the innuendo of Chremylus's wife : that the new ' eyes ' 
 of Plutus were to enter her service^ and to be to her better than an army 
 of wealth -producing slaves. 
 
701-708.J PLUTUS. 443 
 
 [Enter Wife of Cheemtlus, bringing a has- 
 Tcet of jigs, &c., which she offers to throw 
 at Plutus, to he scramhled for hy the 
 slaves and others around. 
 
 Wife, Good morning, dearest husband : Sir, the same to 
 you; 
 And you : accept, as is but right, I pray you do, — 
 Accept these little trifles — 
 
 Plut, Madam, no such thing : 
 
 It is not fit to take ; 'tis rather mine to bring, 
 On entering a house, now that I have my sight. 
 
 Wife. Pray take the little sweetmeats ; 'tis but common 
 
 right. 
 Plut, At least within the house: without another 
 word : 
 Don't have a scramble here ; the thing would be absurd. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
444 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [709-730. 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 Carion, coming out of the house. Chorus. 
 
 Car. 'Tis very pleasant, friends, to live from day to day in 
 Every sort of ease and plenty without paying. 
 The house is full of all that's good to eat or see ; 
 And we — as innocent of earning as can be : 
 The bin is full of flour, superlatively white ; 
 The jars of fruity wine, a nose's pure delight ; 
 The coffers, boxes, chests, whatever things will hold, 
 Are ftdl as they can be of silver and of gold ; 
 The well is full of oil ; the flasks have nard instead ; 
 And figs fill up the place of lumber overhead ; 
 The pots and pans are brass, that earthen were of late ; 
 The dishes for the fish are turned to silver-plate ; 
 The mousetrap's ivory ; and, wonder never ceases, 
 We servants play at odd-and-even with gold pieces. 
 My master in the house is sacrificing now, 
 With a wreath upon his head, a ram, and goat, and sow. 
 But, truth to say, the smoke so makes my eyelids smart 
 That for a little while, methought, I would depart. 
 
 Enter Justman, with a Slave [carrying a 
 smoch-froch) . 
 
 Just. Here ! this way to the God, boy. 
 
 Ent&r Cheemylus, on the opposite side. 
 
 Chrem. ^ Pray, Sir, who are you ? 
 
 Just. One that was beggared once, but now am well to 
 
 do. 
 Chrem. One of the Eighteous then, it fairly may be 
 
 guessed ? 
 Just. Exactly so. 
 
730-752.] PLUTUS. 445 
 
 Chrem, Then, pray, of what are you in quest ? 
 
 Just, I come to see the God to whom I am beholden 
 For rendering my life and prospects truly golden. 
 'Tis right I should explain that, when my father died, 
 I had a nice estate, from which I could provide 
 For all my friends that needed, as I thought was right. 
 
 Chrem, And so your nice estate soon came to nothing ? 
 
 Just, Quite. 
 
 Chrem, And you were beggared ? 
 
 Just, Yes ; but I had thought that they. 
 
 Whom I had so befriended in their evil day. 
 If ever I should want it, some return would show me ; 
 But no ! They turned aside and did not seem to know 
 me. 
 
 Chrem, And laughed at you, no doubt ? 
 
 Just. Especially my dress. 
 
 The shabbiness of which completed my distress. 
 
 Chrem, Now it is well enough. 
 
 Just, Thafc brings me here to-day ; 
 
 Before the God my just acknowledgment to pay. 
 
 Chrem, But, tell me, why your slave is carrying with 
 care 
 The smock-frock which I see so much the worse for wear ? 
 Does that concern the God ? 
 
 Just, Truly ; 'tis my oblation. 
 
 Chrem, Pray, is it that you wore at your Initiation? ' 
 
 Just, No ; but I shivered in it thirteen years on end. 
 
 Chrem, The slippers too ? 
 
 Just, They bore me company to spend 
 
 A bitter winter. 
 
 Chrem, And are they an offering ? 
 
 Just. They are. 
 
 Chrem, The God must thank you for the gifts 
 
 you bring. 
 
 ' It was customary to offer to Ceres the garment in which one was 
 habited at Initiation to the Great Mysteries of Eleusis. The question of 
 Chremylus may have more point if we suppose that some persons took 
 care to go to Eleusis in their oldest clothes. 
 
446 COMEDIES OF AKISTOPHANES. [753-780. 
 
 Enter a Common Inpoemee. 
 
 Inf, I'm utterly undone ! alas, my evil fate ! 
 I'm threefold, fourfold, yes, fivefold unfortunate ! 
 I'm twelvefold, — nav it is a hundred-thousand-fold ! 
 So am I drowned in woe that never can be told. 
 
 Chrem, Apollo save us ! wliat can all this be about ? 
 
 Inf. 1 have endured enough to make a man cry out, 
 Of all my goods and chattels by this God bereft ; 
 Who will be blind again, if there is justice left. 
 
 Just. I guess this is a man fallen to poor estate ; 
 Some faulty piece of coin in die, and sound, and weight ! 
 
 Chrem. Then he is rightly served, by Jove, in faring 
 thus. 
 
 Inf. Where's he that said he would make wealthy men 
 of us. 
 If he recovered sight ? Far from it, there are some 
 Who by his acts to utter poverty are come. 
 
 Chrem. Pray who has suffered this ? 
 
 Inf. Why, I have. 
 
 Chrem. Are you. Sir, 
 
 A ruined swindler ? or a broken housebreaker ? 
 
 Inf. You're all the same, by Jove, rogues every one; 
 that's flat : 
 And you have got my goods, I'm positive of that. 
 
 Car. By Ceres, the Informer runs a furious pace ! 
 The fellow's hungry. — 
 
 Inf. Go, Sir, to the market-place ; 
 
 I'U break you on the wheel, (it is a rare tongue-looser,) 
 Till you have told your crimes. 
 
 Car. 1 thank you ; after you. Sir. 
 
 Just. By Jupiter the Saver, but the God would do 
 A blessed deed to Greece, to extirpate the crew 
 Of villanous Informers. 
 
 Inf. Do you dare to laugh, 
 
 While you parade the fact that you have had your half? 
 Pray where got you that cloak hanging upon your shoulder? 
 Did I not yesterday see you in something older ? 
 
781-80G.] PLUTUS. 447 
 
 Just. A fig for you ! the ring I wear's an antidote ; 
 'Tis of Eudemus' ^ make ; I bought it for a groat. 
 
 Chrem. But not against the bite of the Informer tribe. 
 Inf. Is not this insolence too great ? Ah, ye may jibe ; 
 But yet ye have not said what ye are doing here : 
 ^Tis not for good to anyone ; that's very clear. 
 Chrem. By Jove, it's not for yours. 
 
 Inf, I know you two will dine, 
 
 I'll take my oath on it, this day on what is mine. 
 
 Chrem. You, and your witness too, may do your very 
 worst. 
 And swear it — on an empty stomach till you burst. 
 
 Inf. And do ye dare deny ? ye most dishonour-soiled. 
 The house is full of cutlets, full of roast and boiled ! 
 
 [Informer sniffs. 
 Chrem. Do you smell anything ? 
 
 Just. He has a cold, perhaps. 
 
 Considering how thin and ragged are his wraps. 
 
 Inf. Oh Jupiter, oh Gods ! it is not to be borne 
 That I so true a patriot should be held to scorn ; 
 That men like these should dare my honoured name to 
 blot— 
 Chrem, What ? Yours an honour'd name ? what ! you 
 
 a patriot ? 
 Inf. None more. 
 
 Chrem. I'll ask you this ; and answer if you list. 
 
 Inf. Answer to what ? 
 
 Chrem. Are you an agriculturist? 
 
 Inf. Eh ? do you think me crazy ? Try another guess. 
 Chrem. A merchant ? 
 
 Inf. 'Tis a line which I at times profess. 
 
 Chrem, What then ? have you learnt any trade ? 
 Inf. By Jove, not I. 
 
 Chrem. How do you feed ? what do you get your living 
 
 by? 
 Inf. I'm active superintendent of the State's affairs. 
 And private persons'. 
 
 Chrem. How do you discharge your cares ? 
 
 ^ Known as a maker of charm-rings. 
 
448 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [807-S27. 
 
 Inf, I am willing to be plaintiff. 
 
 Ghrem. That is your honour then ! 
 
 Meddling with business that belongs to other men. 
 
 Inf. And does it not belong to me, you gull, by right 
 To bear assistance to the State with all my might ? 
 
 Chrem. And busy-bodying is then a public blessing ? 
 
 Inf, To bring a man to justice, who is caught transgress- 
 ing, 
 Is to support the laws. 
 
 Chrem. Does not the State depute 
 
 That work to magistrates ? 
 
 Inf. But who would prosecute 9 
 
 Chrem. Whoever wills. 
 
 Inf. I am that^ man. And so you see 
 
 The business of the State comes to devolve on me. 
 
 Chrem. By Jove, the City has a rogue for its intendant ! 
 You would not do it if you could be independent ? 
 You would prefer to be an idle man ? 
 
 Inf. What? lead 
 
 The soulless life of sheep ? do nothing else but feed ? 
 
 Chrem. You will not then repent, and learn a new em- 
 ployment ? 
 
 Inf. Not if you give me Plutus for my free enjoyment ! 
 
 Chrem. Come ! quick ; strip off your coat. 
 
 Car. {to Infoemer). You sir! are spoken to. 
 
 Chrem. Off with your shoes. 
 
 Car. Attend ! that also is for you. 
 
 Irf. Here one of you ; I want a witness to stand by ; 
 Let anyone who will. [LooTcing towards Carion. 
 
 Car. No, no. It is not I. 
 
 Inf. I'm stripped in open day, dear ! dear ! 
 
 [Chrem. and Just, strijp him. 
 
 * The point here depends upon a phrase common at the end of Statutes. 
 It was the formula giving permission to anyone to prosecute for the 
 penalty. 'Let him sue whoever is willing.' 'I am just that man/ 
 says the Informer. So, a few lines above, he has said that was his ' calling.' 
 / am in all cases willmcf to be prosecutor for a penalty. Here it is con- 
 trived that Chremylus should use the formula without apparently think- 
 ing of the application. 
 
827-842.] PLUTUS. 449 
 
 Car, And so you made 
 
 A pretty living by tlie busybody trade ? 
 
 Inf. You see what lie is doing. Bear me witness. 
 
 Chrem. Nay. 
 
 The fellow, whom you brought for that, has run away. 
 
 Inf. Oh ! dear ! I'm caught alone. 
 
 Chrem. Now, would you like to bellow ? 
 
 Inf Oh! 
 
 Car. Let me have the smock, I'll put it on the fellow. 
 
 Just. Nay, nay ; 'tis dedicate to Plutus long ago. 
 
 Car. We cannot to my mind do better than bestow 
 The clout upon this old acquaintance of the gaoler ; 
 But Plutus should appear a credit to his tailor. 
 
 Inf. I will withdraw ; for one is not a match for three ; 
 But if I find a compeer, cut from the same tree, 
 I'll make that God of yours, for all he is so strong. 
 Smartly aware that he has done the City wrong. 
 He's introducing here a novel institution 
 Without THE People's leave. I say 'tis Revolution. 
 
 [Informer runs off. The others go into the 
 house. 
 
 a G 
 
450 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [843-866. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 Enter Mercury {after hnoching at the door he hides himself) . 
 
 Car, {answering the Jcnoch, comes out). Who's knocking 
 at the door? Eh ? what? why this is queer ! 
 Did the door knock itself? It seems there's no one here. 
 
 Mer. {coming forward). You, Carion, Sir, stop. 
 
 Car. And was it jou. Sir, pray. 
 
 Who beat the door just now in such a furious way ? 
 
 Mer. By Jove, not I : but that is what I was about 
 Just when you opened it. Run, fetch your master out ; 
 And then his wife and children, then the slaves and dog ; 
 And after them yourself, and after you the hog. 
 
 Car. Eh ? what's this ? 
 
 Mer. Jupiter, you scoundrel, has a wish 
 
 To have and knead you uj) together in a dish. 
 And pitch you in the Hole. 
 
 Car. Such messages as those 
 
 Are apt to get the tongue slit ! Why does he propose 
 To treat us thus ? 
 
 Mer. Because of the enormous crime 
 
 Of which you have been guilty. Ever since the time 
 When Plutus had his sight, no single man has brought 
 Cake, incense, laurel, victim, anything he ought, 
 To any of us Gods. 
 
 Car. By Jove, nor ever will. 
 
 You see, in former days you cared for us so ill. 
 
 Mer. I care not for the rest : I won't make that pretence, 
 But I myself am ruined. 
 
 Car, Now you're talking sense. 
 
 Mer. The women at the stalls at daybreak used to bring 
 A wine-cake, honey, figs, or some such dainty thing ; ^ 
 In short, what it was fit for Mercury to eat. 
 But now — I lie, for hunger cocking up my feet. 
 
 * As fee-bribes to Mercury, the Tutelary Deity of Cheats. 
 
867-891.] PLUTUS. 461 
 
 Car, It serves jou right for living idly at their cost, 
 On dainty things indeed ! 
 
 Mer. Woe's me, for I have lost 
 
 My fourth-day ^ cake ! shall I not seek for it again ? 
 
 Car. Thou seek'st an absent one, and caUest out in vain.'^ 
 
 Mer. Woe's me, I've lost the ham, on which I loved to 
 dine ! 
 
 Car. Eefresh yourself vdth capers-sauce, the day is fine. 
 
 Mer. The chitterlings I had just piping from the pot ! 
 
 Car. It seems your own are griped a little ! are they not? 
 
 Mer. Woe's me, for I have lost the well-concocted cup ! 
 
 Car. Come, swallow what you've got, and pick your 
 bundle up. 
 
 Mer. I ever was your friend, — so give a friend a lift. 
 
 Car. If anything I can will serve you for a shift. 
 
 Mer. Get me a slice of bread, a little roll at least, 
 With just a cut of meat, a fillet from the feast. 
 That pleasant sacrifice, now going on within. 
 
 Car. What ! bring it out of doors ? but that would be a 
 sin! 
 
 Mer. When anything was filched, and you were most 
 suspected, 
 I always stood your friend to keep you undetected. 
 
 Car. Upon condition that you gained in the affair ; 
 And so you always had a pasty for your share. 
 
 Mer. And you as duly ate it. 
 
 Car. As, of course, I ought. 
 
 You would not share the stripes whenever I was caught. 
 
 Mer. Don't harbour grudges now ; find me some quiet 
 berth. 
 
 Car. Then will you leave the Gods and stop with us on 
 earth ? 
 
 Mer. Life being pleasanter, I readily will stay. 
 
 ^ The fourth day of the month, dedicated to Mercury. 
 
 ^ A burlesque application of a Tragic line representing Hercules seek- 
 ing Hylas. 
 
 ^ That is ' dance.' In the original the idea seems forced in for the 
 sake of a very small pun, on the word signifying ' ham.' As that can- 
 not be represented, perhaps it might have been better to omit the couplet. 
 The ^ dance ' signified, however, implies contempt towards the God, as it 
 was an exhibition which would be about equivalent to climbing a greased 
 pole. 
 
452 COMEDIES OF ARISTOPHANES. [892-914. 
 
 Car, And think it well to bear the name of Ennaway ? 
 
 Mer. One's country is where Fortune is in giving mood. 
 
 Car, What service can you render to be worth your food ? 
 
 Mer, Make me a turnabout,^ to stand behind the door. 
 
 Car, A turnabout ! but shifts are what we need no more. 
 
 Mer, Your President of Trade. 
 
 Car, But we have Wealth itself, 
 
 And want no huckster to look after petty pelf. 
 
 Mer, Professor of Chicane. 
 
 Car, Chicane ! That cannot be ; 
 
 We don't want trickiness, but simple honesty. 
 
 Mer, Director of the Roads. 
 
 Car, No question can arise 
 
 Which way we ought to go since Plutus has his eyes. 
 
 Mer, Tour Master of the Games. I have you there at 
 least ; 
 'Tis just the thing for Wealth to hold a noble feast, 
 Where Poetry and Prowess, Wit and Strength shall vie 
 To win the Critic's ear, and please the manly eye. 
 
 Car. I did not think a lot of titles was so good ! 
 'T has given him a shift to get a livelihood. 
 Thus prudent citizens, however it be done. 
 Contrive to get their names ^ on more court-lists than one. 
 
 Mer, On these terms I may stay ? 
 
 Car, To show what you can do. 
 
 Go to the well and wash this tripe ; and quickly too. 
 
 [Exit Mercury, with the tripe. 
 
 Enter Priest of Jupiter. 
 
 Priest, Where, tell me, may a word with Chremtlus be 
 
 had? 
 Chrem, {entering). What is it, worthy Sir? 
 
 ^ Alluding to a figure of Mercury, in some form, set up near house- 
 doors to act against thieves. All the suggestions of Mercury here have 
 a reference to some character in which he was recognised as Tutelary 
 Deity. 
 
 ^ The commentators are not clear or agreed how the thing was to be 
 done. But the purpose is sufficiently obvious. The citizen would 
 manage to have his name on more than one tribe-list in order at the ballot 
 to double his chance of being called to serve in court, and thereby earn 
 his three oboles. 
 
914-940.] PLUTUS. 453 
 
 Priest Wliat is it else but bad ? 
 
 For ever since tbis Plutus bas recovered sigbt 
 I, Jove tbe Saver's priest, am famisbing outrigbt. 
 
 Chrem, Gods ! bow is tbat ? 
 
 Priest. Tbere's no sucb tbing as sacrifice : 
 
 Tbere's no one tbinks it wortb bis wbile to bring a slice ! 
 
 Chrem. How so? 
 
 Priest. Because tbej're ricb : it was not so before 
 
 Wben tbej were poor. Some mercbant, got to sbore 
 Witb cargo safe, would bring us sometbing bandsome in ; 
 Or, one wbo, baving been to law, bad saved bis skin ; 
 Or, one at times would sacrifice and make a feast 
 To celebrate bis birtbday, and invite tbe Priest. 
 But now tbere is not one ! Tbere's notbing of tbe kind ! 
 And so, to say tbe trutb, I'm very mucb inclined 
 To let tbe Saver Jove look to bis interest, 
 And stay witb you. 
 
 Chrem. No doubt. Sir, tbat will be tbe best : 
 
 Tbe Saver Jove, assure yourself, is well content ; 
 For be is bere already. 
 
 Priest. Tbat is excellent. 
 
 Chrem. And we are on tbe point of forming a procession, 
 And putting — pray don't move — Pluttjs in repossession 
 Of bis own proper sbrine,^ unoccupied of late, 
 Tbe cbapel where be keeps tbe monies of tbe State. 
 — Bring torcbes for tbe Priest — for you will lead no doubt. 
 
 Priest. Unquestionably, Sir. 
 
 Chrem. And now call Plutus out. 
 
 [Procession is formed and moves off the stage. 
 
 Chorus. Now all are past, and we are last ; 
 We bave no business bere. 
 So witb a song we'll join tbe tbrong. 
 And follow in tbe rear. 
 
 ^ A small chamber behind the Parthenon was used as the Public 
 Treasury. It appears that there was there an ancient painting of Plutus 
 ' with eyes and winged.' 
 
 LOITDOW 
 
 PRIITTBD BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. 
 
 KBW-STBEET SQUARB 
 
IRETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 
 ilQmm^ 202 Main Library 
 
 LOAN PERIOD 1 
 HOME USE 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 
 1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405 
 
 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk 
 
 Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AHK25I982 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "■• " MAR 1 1 
 
 T9BZ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 /. 
 
 
 
 / '^ 
 
 
 
 t\ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 UNIVERSITY 01- . 
 FORM NO. DD6, 60m, 12/80 BERKELEY 
 
 rnJa 
 

 '<r 
 
 )^.^'^^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 .■4\'^'»».: