- Source
- Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0019.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:402-477
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
While the Chorus denounces Cleon's greed and praises the Sausage-seller's childhood cunning, Cleon and the Sausage-seller exchange fierce mutual accusations of corruption and treason, employing vivid sailing metaphors.
ὦ περὶ πάντʼ ἐπὶ πᾶσί τε πράγμασι
O you who sit on bribing flowers
δωροδόκοισιν ἐπʼ ἄνθεσιν ἵζων,
in all things and on all matters,
εἴθε φαύλως ὥσπερ ηὗρες ἐκβάλοις τὴν ἔνθεσιν.
would that you might spit out that mouthful as easily as you found it.
ᾄσαιμι γὰρ τότʼ ἂν μόνον,
For only then would I sing,
πῖνε πῖνʼ ἐπὶ συμφοραῖς.
”Drink, drink, upon misfortunes.”
τὸν Ἰουλίου τʼ ἂν οἴομαι γέροντα πυροπίπην
And I think the old wheat-watcher, the son of Iulius,
ἡσθέντʼ ἰηπαιωνίσαι καὶ βακχέβακχον ᾆσαι.
would rejoice and sing a paean and shout “Bacchus, Bacchus.”
οὔτοί μʼ ὑπερβαλεῖσθʼ ἀναιδείᾳ μὰ τὸν Ποσειδῶ,
By Poseidon, you shall never surpass me in impudence,
ἢ μή ποτʼ ἀγοραίου Διὸς σπλάγχνοισι παραγενοίμην.1
or may I never again be present at the sacrifice of Zeus of the Agora.
ἔγωγε νὴ τοὺς κονδύλους οὓς πολλὰ δὴ ʼπὶ πολλοῖς
I indeed, by the fists which I endured so often and many times
ἠνεσχόμην ἐκ παιδίων, μαχαιρίδων τε πληγάς,
from childhood, and the blows of knives,
ὑπερβαλεῖσθαί σʼ οἴομαι τούτοισιν, ἢ μάτην γʼ ἂν
think I shall surpass you in these, or else in vain would I
ἀπομαγδαλιὰς σιτούμενος τοσοῦτος ἐκτραφείην.
have been reared so big by eating bread-crumbs.
ἀπομαγδαλιὰς ὥσπερ κύων; ὦ παμπόνηρε πῶς οὖν
Eating bread-crumbs like a dog? O you scoundrel, how then,
κυνὸς βορὰν σιτούμενος μαχεῖ σὺ κυνοκεφάλλῳ;
being fed on dog’s food, will you fight with a dog-headed one?
καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ἄλλα γʼ ἐστί μου κόβαλα παιδὸς ὄντος.
And by Zeus, there are other knavish tricks of mine when I was a child.
ἐξηπάτων γὰρ τοὺς μαγείρους ἐπιλέγων τοιαυτί·
For I used to deceive the cooks by saying things like this:
σκέψασθε παῖδες· οὐχ ὁρᾶθʼ; ὥρα νέα, χελιδών.
”Look, boys! Don’t you see? The spring is early, a swallow!”
οἱ δʼ ἔβλεπον, κἀγὼ ʼν τοσούτῳ τῶν κρεῶν ἔκλεπτον.
And they would look, and in the meantime I would steal some meat.
ὦ δεξιώτατον κρέας σοφῶς γε προὐνοήσω·
O most clever piece of meat, you planned indeed wisely;
ὥσπερ ἀκαλήφας ἐσθίων πρὸ χελιδόνων2 ἔκλεπτες.
you used to steal before the swallows, just as if eating nettles.
καὶ ταῦτα δρῶν ἐλάνθανόν γʼ· εἰ δʼ οὖν ἴδοι τις αὐτῶν,
And doing this I went unnoticed; but if indeed any of them saw me,
ἀποκρυπτόμενος ἐς τὼ κοχώνα τοὺς θεοὺς ἀπώμνυν·
I would deny it on oath by the gods, hiding it between my thighs.
ὥστʼ εἶπʼ ἀνὴρ τῶν ῥητόρων ἰδών με τοῦτο δρῶντα·
So that one of the orators, seeing me doing this, said:
οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως ὁ παῖς ὅδʼ οὐ τὸν δῆμον ἐπιτροπεύσει.
”There is no way this boy will not govern the people.”
εὖ γε ξυνέβαλεν αὔτʼ· ἀτὰρ δῆλόν γʼ ἀφʼ οὗ ξυνέγνω·
Well indeed did he conjecture it; yet it is clear from what he perceived it:
ὁτιὴ ʼπιώρκεις θʼ ἡρπακὼς καὶ κρέας ὁ πρωκτὸς εἶχεν.
because you swore falsely after snatching, and your rump held the meat.
ἐγώ σε παύσω τοῦ θράσους, οἶμαι δὲ μᾶλλον ἄμφω.
I will stop you from your boldness, and I think rather both of us.
ἔξειμι γάρ σοι λαμπρὸς ἤδη καὶ μέγας καθιείς,
For I will go out against you already bright and strong, coming down,
ὁμοῦ ταράττων τήν τε γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλατταν εἰκῇ.
and at once throwing into confusion both the land and the sea at random.
ἐγὼ δὲ συστείλας γε τοὺς ἀλλᾶντας εἶτʼ ἀφήσω
And I indeed, having furled my sausages, will then let myself go
κατὰ κῦμʼ ἐμαυτὸν οὔριον, κλάειν σε μακρὰ κελεύσας.
down a favorable wave, bidding you weep long.
κἄγωγʼ, ἐάν τι παραχαλᾷ, τὴν ἀντλίαν φυλάξω.
And I, if anything gives way, will guard the bilge.
οὔτοι μὰ τὴν Δήμητρα καταπροίξει τάλαντα πολλὰ
By Demeter, you shall not get away with stealing many talents
κλέψας Ἀθηναίων.
of the Athenians.
ἄθρει καὶ τοῦ ποδὸς παρίει·3
Watch out and slacken the sheet!
ὡς οὗτος ἤδη καικίας καὶ συκοφαντίας πνεῖ.
For this fellow is already blowing a northeastern wind and a gale of slander.
σὲ δʼ ἐκ Ποτειδαίας ἔχοντʼ εὖ οἶδα δέκα τάλαντα.
But I know well that you have ten talents from Potidaea.
τί δῆτα; βούλει τῶν ταλάντων ἓν λαβὼν σιωπᾶν;
What indeed? Do you wish to take one of those talents and keep silent?
ἁνὴρ ἂν ἡδέως λάβοι. τοὺς τερθρίους παρίει·
The man would gladly take it. Let go the halyards!
τὸ πνεῦμʼ ἔλαττον γίγνεται.
The wind is becoming less.
φεύξει γραφὰςἑκατονταλάντους τέτταρας.
You shall face four hundred-talent lawsuits.
σὺ δʼ ἀστρατείας γʼ εἴκοσιν,
And you indeed twenty for desertion,
κλοπῆς δὲ πλεῖν ἢ χιλίας.
and more than a thousand for theft.
ἐκ τῶν ἀλιτηρίων σέ φημι
I say that you are descended from the accursed ones
γεγονέναι τῶν τῆς θεοῦ.
of the goddess.
τὸν πάππον εἶναί φημί σου
I say that your grandfather was one of
τῶν δορυφόρων —
the spear-bearers —
ποίων; φράσον.
Of whom? Tell me.
τῶν Βυρσίνης τῆς Ἱππίου.
Of Byrsine, the wife of Hippias.
κόβαλος εἶ.
You are a knave.
πανοῦργος εἶ.
You are a scoundrel.
παῖʼ ἀνδρικῶς.
Strike manfully!
ἰοὺ ἰού,
Oh! Oh!
τύπτουσί μʼ οἱ ξυνωμόται.
The conspirators are beating me!
παῖʼ αὐτὸν ἀνδρειότατα, καὶ
Beat him most bravely, and
γάστριζε καὶ τοῖς ἐντέροις
punch his belly, and with the entrails
καὶ τοῖς κόλοις,
and the colons,
χὤπως κολᾷ τὸν ἄνδρα.
and chastise the man.
ὦ γεννικώτατον κρέας ψυχήν τʼ ἄριστε πάντων,
O most noble piece of meat and best soul of all,
καὶ τῇ πόλει σωτὴρ φανεὶς ἡμῖν τε τοῖς πολίταις,
appearing as a savior to the city and to us, the citizens,
ὡς εὖ τὸν ἄνδρα ποικίλως θʼ ὑπῆλθες ἐν λόγοισιν.
how well and craftily you have undermined the man in words.
πῶς ἄν σʼ ἐπαινέσαιμεν οὕτως ὥσπερ ἡδόμεσθα;
How could we praise you as much as we rejoice?
ταυτὶ μὰ τὴν Δήμητρά μʼ οὐκ ἐλάνθανεν
By Demeter, these matters did not escape my notice
τεκταινόμενα τὰ πράγματʼ, ἀλλʼ ἠπιστάμην
as they were being constructed, but I knew them
γομφούμενʼ αὐτὰ πάντα καὶ κολλώμενα.
all being bolted and glued together.
οἴμοι σὺ δʼ οὐδὲν ἐξ ἁμαξουργοῦ λέγεις;
Alas, do you speak nothing from the cart-wright?
οὔκουν μʼ ἐν Ἄργει γʼ οἷα πράττεις λανθάνει.
At least what you are doing in Argos does not escape me.
πρόφασιν μὲν Ἀργείους φίλους ἡμῖν ποιεῖ,
On pretext he makes the Argives our friends,
ἰδίᾳ δʼ ἐκεῖ Λακεδαιμονίοις ξυγγίγνεται.
but in private he meets with Lacedaemonians there.
καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐφʼ οἷσίν ἐστι συμφυσώμενα
And I know for what these things are being blown together;
ἐγᾦδʼ· ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῖς δεδεμένοις χαλκεύεται.4
for the blacksmith work is done for the prisoners.
εὖ γʼ εὖ γε, χάλκεὐ ἀντὶ τῶν κολλωμένων.
Well indeed, well indeed! Blacksmithing instead of gluing.
καὶ ξυγκροτοῦσιν ἄνδρες αὔτʼ ἐκεῖθεν αὖ,
And the men from there are forging it together in turn,
καὶ ταῦτά μʼ οὔτʼ ἀργύριον οὔτε χρυσίον
and you will not persuade me by giving silver or gold,
διδοὺς ἀναπείσεις οὔτε προσπέμπων φίλους,
nor by sending friends,
ὅπως ἐγὼ ταῦτʼ οὐκ Ἀθηναίοις φράσω.
so that I shall not tell these things to the Athenians.
ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν αὐτίκα μάλʼ ἐς βουλὴν ἰὼν
Therefore I will go to the Council this very moment and
ὑμῶν ἁπάντων τὰς ξυνωμοσίας ἐρῶ,
tell the conspiracies of you all,
καὶ τὰς ξυνόδους τὰς νυκτερινὰς τὰς ἐν πόλει,
and the nightly gatherings in the city,
- 410ἢ μή ποτʼ ἀγοραίου Διὸς σπλάλχνοισι παραγενοίμην
An optative of wish expressing a self-imprecating oath. Literally, "otherwise, may I never partake of the sacrificial entrails of Zeus of the Agora," used as a formula to assert the absolute truth of one's claim under pain of divine abandonment.
- 422ὥσπερ ἀκαλήφας ἐσθίων πρὸ χελιδόνων
An idiomatic comparison based on Athenian habits. Eating nettles (a sign of early spring) before the arrival of swallows (true spring) is likened to the Sausage-seller's proactive trickery, where he preemptively steals meat using the lie about the swallow.
- 436bτοῦ ποδὸς παρίει
A nautical directive where 'ποδός' is a partitive genitive referring to the sheet (the rope attached to the lower corner of a sail). Combined with 'παρίημι' (to slacken), it commands the loosening of the sail to weather the storm of Cleon's rage.
- 469ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῖς δεδεμένοις χαλκεύεται
The preposition 'ἐπί' with the dative 'τοῖς δεδεμένοις' indicates the object or cause ("concerning / for the sake of the prisoners"). Cleon uses this metalworking metaphor to accuse his opponent of plotting secret conspiracies regarding the Spartan prisoners captured at Pylos.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1