- 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.tlg003.humanitext-grc2:1362-1431
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Strepsiades recounts the violent clash with his son Pheidippides, which began with a literary disagreement at a feast. Pheidippides then uses sophistical arguments and natural analogies, such as the behavior of animals, to justify beating his father and challenge established laws.
καὶ τὸν Σιμωνίδην ἔφασκʼ εἶναι κακὸν ποιητήν.
And he claimed that Simonides was a bad poet.
κἀγὼ μόλις μὲν ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἠνεσχόμην τὸ πρῶτον·
And I, with difficulty at first, but nevertheless endured.
ἔπειτα δʼ ἐκέλευσʼ αὐτὸν ἀλλὰ1 μυρρίνην λαβόντα
But then I bid him at least to take a myrtle branch
τῶν Αἰσχύλου λέξαι τί μοι· κᾆθʼ οὗτος εὐθὺς εἶπεν·
and recite to me some of Aeschylus; and then he straightway said:
ἐγὼ γὰρ Αἰσχύλον νομίζω πρῶτον ἐν ποιηταῖς,
“For do I indeed think Aeschylus is first among poets,
ψόφου πλέων ἀξύστατον στόμφακα κρημνοποιόν;
a fellow full of noise, incoherent, bombastic, and a cliff-creator?”
κἀνταῦθα πῶς οἴεσθέ μου τὴν καρδίαν ὀρεχθεῖν;
And at this, how do you think my heart leapt?
ὅμως δὲ τὸν θυμὸν δακὼν ἔφην, σὺ δʼ ἀλλὰ τούτων
Nevertheless, biting my anger, I said: “Then you, at least instead of these,
λέξον τι τῶν νεωτέρων, ἅττʼ ἐστὶ τὰ σοφὰ ταῦτα.
recite some of those newer ones, whatever these clever things are.”
ὁ δʼ εὐθὺς ᾖσʼ Εὐριπίδου ῥῆσίν τινʼ, ὡς ἐκίνει
And he straightway sang a speech of Euripides, how a brother
ἀδελφὸς ὦλεξίκακε τὴν ὁμομητρίαν ἀδελφήν.
— O warder-off of evil! — moved his uterine sister with passion.
κἀγὼ οὐκέτʼ ἐξηνεσχόμην, ἀλλʼ εὐθέως ἀράττω
And I could no longer endure it, but straightway struck him
πολλοῖς κακοῖς καἰσχροῖσι· κᾆτʼ ἐντεῦθεν, οἷον εἰκός,
with many bad and shameful words; and then from there, as was likely,
ἔπος πρὸς ἔπος ἠρειδόμεσθʼ· εἶθʼ οὗτος ἐπαναπηδᾶ,
we thrust word against word; then he leapt upon me,
κἄπειτʼ ἔφλα με κἀσπόδει κἄπνιγε κἀπέθλιβεν.
and then he bruised me, and beat me, and choked me, and crushed me.
οὔκουν δικαίως, ὅστις οὐκ Εὐριπίδην ἐπαινεῖς
Pheidippides: Was it not then justly, since you do not praise Euripides,
σοφώτατον;
who is the wisest?
σοφώτατόν γʼ ἐκεῖνον·ὦ — τί σʼ εἴπω;
Strepsiades: He the wisest! O — what shall I call you?
ἀλλʼ αὖθις αὖ τυπτήσομαι.
But I shall be beaten again.
νὴ τὸν Δίʼ ἐν δίκῃ γʼ ἄν.
Pheidippides: By Zeus, justly indeed.
καὶ πῶς δικαίως; ὅστις ὦ ʼναίσχυντέ σʼ ἐξέθρεψα,
Strepsiades: And how justly? Since I, you shameless wretch, brought you up,
αἰσθανόμενός σου πάντα τραυλίζοντος, ὅ τι νοοίης.
understanding all your baby-talk, whatever you meant.
εἰ μέν γε βρῦν εἴποις, ἐγὼ γνοὺς ἂν πιεῖν ἐπέσχον·
If indeed you said ‘bryn’, I, understanding, would hold out drink to you;
μαμμᾶν δʼ ἂν αἰτήσαντος ἧκόν σοι φέρων ἂν ἄρτον·
and when you asked for ‘mamman’, I would come bringing bread to you;
κακκᾶν δʼ ἂν οὐκ ἔφθης φράσας, κἀγὼ2 λαβὼν θύραζε
and you would no sooner say ‘kakkan’, and I, taking you,
ἐξέφερον ἂν καὶ προὐσχόμην σε· σὺ δʼ ἐμὲ νῦν ἀπάγχων
would carry you out of doors and hold you out. But you now, choking me
βοῶντα καὶ κεκραγόθʼ ὅτι
as I am shouting and crying out that
χεζητιῴην, οὐκ ἔτλης
I want to ease myself, did not have the heart
ἔξω ʼξενεγκεῖν ὦ μιαρὲ
to carry me out, you wretch,
θύραζέ μʼ, ἀλλὰ πνιγόμενος
out of doors, but being choked,
αὐτοῦ ʼποίησα κακκᾶν.
I did ‘kakkan’ right there!
οἶμαί γε τῶν νεωτέρων τὰς καρδίας
Chorus: I think indeed that the hearts of the younger men
πηδᾶν ὅ τι λέξει.
are leaping to hear what he will say.
εἰ γὰρ τοιαῦτά γʼ οὗτος ἐξειργασμένος
For if he, having done such things,
λαλῶν ἀναπείσει,
will persuade us by talking,
τὸ δέρμα τῶν γεραιτέρων λάβοιμεν ἂν
we would not buy the skin of the older men
ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐρεβίνθου.
even for a chickpea.
σὸν ἔργον ὦ καινῶν ἐπῶν κινητὰ καὶ μοχλευτὰ
It is your task, O mover and shaker of new words,
πειθώ τινα ζητεῖν, ὅπως δόξεις λέγειν δίκαια.
to seek some persuasion, so that you will seem to speak justly.
ὡς ἡδὺ καινοῖς πράγμασιν καὶ δεξιοῖς ὁμιλεῖν,
Pheidippides: How sweet it is to associate with new and clever affairs,
καὶ τῶν καθεστώτων νόμων ὑπερφρονεῖν δύνασθαι.
and to be able to look down on the established laws!
ἐγὼ γὰρ ὅτε μὲν ἱππικῇ τὸν νοῦν μόνῃ προσεῖχον,
For when I was paying attention to horsemanship alone,
οὐδʼ ἂν τρίʼ εἰπεῖν ῥήμαθʼ οἷός τʼ ἦν πρὶν ἐξαμαρτεῖν·
I was not able to say even three words before making a mistake;
νυνὶ δʼ ἐπειδή μʼ οὑτοσὶ τούτων ἔπαυσεν αὐτός,
but now since this man himself made me cease from those things,
γνώμαις δὲ λεπταῖς καὶ λόγοις ξύνειμι καὶ μερίμναις,
and I live with subtle thoughts, arguments, and contemplations,
οἶμαι διδάξειν ὡς δίκαιον τὸν πατέρα κολάζειν.
I think I shall show that it is just to chastise one’s father.
ἵππευε τοίνυν νὴ Δίʼ, ὡς ἔμοιγε κρεῖττόν ἐστιν
Strepsiades: Ride horses then, by Zeus! Since for me it is better
ἵππων τρέφειν τέθριππον ἢ τυπτόμενον ἐπιτριβῆναι.
to feed a four-horse chariot team than to be beaten and destroyed.
ἐκεῖσε δʼ ὅθεν ἀπέσχισάς με τοῦ λόγου μέτειμι,
Pheidippides: But I will return to where you broke me off from the argument,
καὶ πρῶτʼ ἐρήσομαί σε τουτί· παῖδά μʼ ὄντʼ ἔτυπτες;
and first I will ask you this: did you beat me when I was a child?
ἔγωγέ σʼ εὐνοῶν τε καὶ κηδόμενος.
Strepsiades: Yes, wishing you well and caring for you.
εἰπὲ δή μοι,
Pheidippides: Tell me then,
οὐ κἀμέ σοι δίκαιόν ἐστιν εὐνοεῖν ὁμοίως
is it not just for me also to wish you well in the same way,
τύπτειν τʼ, ἐπειδήπερ γε τοῦτʼ ἐστʼ εὐνοεῖν τὸ τύπτειν;3
and to beat you, since indeed to beat is to wish well?
πῶς γὰρ τὸ μὲν σὸν σῶμα χρὴ πληγῶν ἀθῷον εἶναι,
For why indeed should your body be exempt from blows,
τοὐμὸν δὲ μή; καὶ μὴν ἔφυν ἐλεύθερός γε κἀγώ.
but mine not? And indeed I also was born free.
κλάουσι παῖδες, πατέρα δʼ οὐ κλάειν δοκεῖς;
Children weep, and do you think a father should not weep?
φήσεις νομίζεσθαι σὺ παιδὸς τοῦτο τοὔργον εἶναι·
You will say that this is established by custom to be the child’s lot;
ἐγὼ δέ γʼ ἀντείποιμʼ ἂν ὡς δὶς παῖδες οἱ γέροντες·
but I would reply that old men are twice children;
εἰκὸς δὲ μᾶλλον τοὺς γέροντας ἢ νέους τι κλάειν,
and it is more reasonable for the old to weep than the young,
ὅσῳπερ ἐξαμαρτάνειν ἧττον δίκαιον αὐτούς.4
by as much as it is less just for them to do wrong.
ἀλλʼ οὐδαμοῦ νομίζεται τὸν πατέρα τοῦτο πάσχειν.
Strepsiades: But nowhere is it customary for a father to suffer this!
οὔκουν ἀνὴρ ὁ τὸν νόμον θεὶς τοῦτον ἦν τὸ πρῶτον
Pheidippides: Was not indeed the one who established this law originally a man,
ὥσπερ σὺ κἀγώ, καὶ λέγων ἔπειθε τοὺς παλαιούς;
just like you and me, and did he not persuade the ancients by speaking?
ἧττόν τι δῆτʼ ἔξεστι κἀμοὶ καινὸν αὖ τὸ λοιπὸν
Is it then any less permitted for me also in the future
θεῖναι νόμον τοῖς υἱέσιν, τοὺς πατέρας ἀντιτύπτειν;
to establish a new law for sons, to beat their fathers in return?
ὅσας δὲ πληγὰς εἴχομεν πρὶν τὸν νόμον τεθῆναι,
But as many blows as we received before the law was established,
ἀφίεμεν, καὶ δίδομεν αὐτοῖς προῖκα συγκεκόφθαι.
we remit, and we grant them to have beaten us for free.
σκέψαι δὲ τοὺς ἀλεκτρυόνας καὶ τἄλλα τὰ βοτὰ ταυτί,
But look at the cocks and these other beasts,
ὡς τοὺς πατέρας ἀμύνεται· καίτοι τί διαφέρουσιν
how they defend themselves against their fathers; and yet how do they differ
ἡμῶν ἐκεῖνοι, πλήν γʼ ὅτι ψηφίσματʼ οὐ γράφουσιν;
from us, except indeed that they do not write decrees?
τί δῆτʼ, ἐπειδὴ τοὺς ἀλεκτρυόνας ἅπαντα μιμεῖ,
Strepsiades: Why then, since you imitate the cocks in everything,
οὐκ ἐσθίεις καὶ τὴν κόπρον κἀπὶ ξύλου καθεύδεις;
do you not eat dung and sleep on a perch?
- 1364ἀλλά
A particle used in commands or requests (here depending on ἐκέλευσα ... λέξαι) to introduce a concession, meaning 'at least' or 'at any rate'.
- 1384οὐκ ἔφθης φράσας, κἀγὼ
The construction of φθάνω with a participle (φράσας) followed by the coordinating conjunction καί. Literally 'you did not anticipate saying, and I...', it is an idiomatic expression meaning 'no sooner had you said..., than I...'.
- 1412τοῦτʼ ἐστʼ εὐνοεῖν τὸ τύπτειν
The articular infinitive τὸ τύπτειν ('beating') is the subject of the clause, while the anarthrous infinitive εὐνοεῖν ('wishing well') serves as the predicate, forming the equivalence: 'since beating is indeed wishing well.'
- 1419ὅσῳπερ ἐξαμαρτάνειν ἧττον δίκαιον αὐτούς
The dative of measure of difference ὅσῳπερ ('by as much as') modifies the comparative adverb ἧττον. The infinitive clause ἐξαμαρτάνειν αὐτούς serves as the subject of the impersonal expression δίκαιόν [ἐστι], with the accusative αὐτούς referring to the old men as the subject of the infinitive.