You have shown, having come to the test, who you are, and I do not consider myself to have been born your child.
§642ἦ τἄρα πάντων διαπρέπεις ἀψυχίᾳ, §643ὃς τηλικόσδ’ ὢν κἀπὶ τέρμ’ ἥκων βίου §644οὐκ ἠθέλησας οὐδ’ ἐτόλμησας θανεῖν §645τοῦ σοῦ πρὸ παιδός, ἀλλὰ τήνδ’ εἰάσατε §646γυναῖκ’ ὀθνείαν, ἣν ἐγὼ καὶ μητέρα §647πατέρα τέ γ’ ἐνδίκως ἂν ἡγοίμην μόνην.
Surely then you excel all in cowardice, who, being of such an age and having come to the boundary of life, were not willing nor did you dare to die in place of your own child, but you two allowed this foreign woman to die, whom I might justly regard alone as both mother and father.
§648καίτοι καλόν γ’ ἂν τόνδ’ ἀγῶν’ ἠγωνίσω, §649τοῦ σοῦ πρὸ παιδὸς κατθανών, βραχὺς δέ σοι §650πάντως ὁ λοιπὸς ἦν βιώσιμος χρόνος.
And yet, you would have fought a noble contest, dying in place of your own child, and for you at any rate the remaining time to live was short.
§653καὶ μὴν ὅσ’ ἄνδρα χρὴ παθεῖν εὐδαίμονα §654πέπονθας· ἥβησας μὲν ἐν τυραννίδι, §655παῖς δ’ ἦν ἐγώ σοι τῶνδε διάδοχος δόμων, §656ὥστ’ οὐκ ἄτεκνος κατθανὼν ἄλλοις δόμον §657λείψειν ἔμελλες ὀρφανὸν διαρπάσαι.
And indeed, as many things as a happy man ought to experience, you have experienced; you spent your youth in royal power, and I was your child, the successor of this house, so that you were not going to die childless and leave the house desolate for others to plunder.
§658οὐ μὴν ἐρεῖς γέ μ’ ὡς ἀτιμάζοντα σὸν §659γῆρας θανεῖν προύδωκας, ὅστις αἰδόφρων §660πρὸς σ’ ἦ μάλιστα· κἀντὶ τῶνδέ μοι χάριν §661τοιάνδε καὶ σὺ χἡ τεκοῦσ’ ἠλλαξάτην.
Surely you will not say that, because I dishonored your old age, you abandoned me to die, I who was most respectful towards you; and in return for this, you and she who bore me have made such a return to me.
§662τοιγὰρ φυτεύων παῖδας οὐκέτ’ ἂν φθάνοις, §663οἳ γηροβοσκήσουσι καὶ θανόντα σε §664περιστελοῦσι καὶ προθήσονται νεκρόν.
Therefore you cannot be too quick in begetting children, who will nourish your old age and, when you are dead, shroud you and lay out your corpse.
§665οὐ γάρ σ’ ἔγωγε τῇδ’ ἐμῇ θάψω χερί· §666τέθνηκα γὰρ δὴ τοὐπὶ σέ· εἰ δ’ ἄλλου τυχὼν §667σωτῆρος αὐγὰς εἰσορῶ, κείνου λέγω §668καὶ παῖδά μ’ εἶναι καὶ φίλον γηροτρόφον.
For I indeed will not bury you with this hand of mine; for as far as lies in you, I am dead; but if, having found another savior, I look upon the light, I say that I am his child and his loving nourisher in old age.
§669μάτην ἄρ’ οἱ γέροντες εὔχονται θανεῖν, §670γῆρας ψέγοντες καὶ μακρὸν χρόνον βίου· §671ἢν δ’ ἐγγὺς ἔλθῃ θάνατος, οὐδεὶς βούλεται §672θνῄσκειν, τὸ γῆρας δ’ οὐκέτ’ ἔστ’ αὐτοῖς βαρύ.
In vain, then, do old men pray to die, complaining of old age and the long time of life; but if death comes near, no one wishes to die, and old age is no longer heavy to them.
§673παύσασθʼ· ἅλις γὰρ ἡ παροῦσα συμφορά·
Cease; for the present misfortune is enough.
§674ὦ παῖ, πατρὸς δὲ μὴ παροξύνῃς φρένας.
O child, do not provoke the mind of your father.
O child, whom do you think you are driving with insults, whether a Lydian or a Phrygian bought with your silver?
Do you not know that I am a Thessalian, and born of a Thessalian father, genuinely free?
You insult too much, and throwing youthful words at us, you shall not go away having hit us in this way.
§681ἐγὼ δέ σ’ οἴκων δεσπότην ἐγεινάμην §682κἄθρεψʼ, ὀφείλω δ’ οὐχ ὑπερθνῄσκειν σέθεν· §683οὐ γὰρ πατρῷον τόνδ’ ἐδεξάμην νόμον, §684παίδων προθνῄσκειν πατέρας, οὐδ’ Ἑλληνικόν.
I begot you to be master of this house, and brought you up, but I am not bound to die for you; for I did not receive this as an ancestral custom, that fathers should die for their children, nor as a Greek one.
For you were born, whether unfortunate or fortunate, for yourself; and what you ought to receive from us, you have.
You rule over many, and many acres of land I shall leave to you; for I received these same things from my father.
§689τί δῆτά σ’ ἠδίκηκα;
In what then have I wronged you?
τοῦ σ’ ἀποστερῶ;
Of what do I deprive you?
§690μὴ θνῇσχ’ ὑπὲρ τοῦδ’ ἀνδρός, οὐδ’ ἐγὼ πρὸ σοῦ.
Do not die for this man, nor do I for you.
§691χαίρεις ὁρῶν φῶς· πατέρα δ’ οὐ χαίρειν δοκεῖς;
You rejoice seeing the light; do you think your father does not rejoice?
Indeed, I reckon that the time below is long, and life is short, but nevertheless sweet.
§694σὺ γοῦν ἀναιδῶς διεμάχου τὸ μὴ θανεῖν, §695καὶ ζῇς παρελθὼν τὴν πεπρωμένην τύχην, §696ταύτην κατακτάς· εἶτ’ ἐμὴν ἀψυχίαν §697λέγεις, γυναικός, ὦ κάκισθʼ, ἡσσημένος, §698ἣ τοῦ καλοῦ σοῦ προύθανεν νεανίου;
You at any rate shamelessly fought against dying, and you live, having bypassed your destined fate, having killed her; then do you speak of my cowardice, having been defeated, o worst of men, by a woman, who died in place of you, the handsome youth?
§699σοφῶς δ’ ἐφηῦρες ὥστε μὴ θανεῖν ποτε, §700εἰ τὴν παροῦσαν κατθανεῖν πείσεις ἀεὶ §701γυναῖχ’ ὑπὲρ σοῦ· κᾆτ’ ὀνειδίζεις φίλοις §702τοῖς μὴ θέλουσι δρᾶν τάδʼ, αὐτὸς ὢν κακός;
Intelligently indeed you discovered a way never to die, if you will always persuade your current wife to die for you; and then do you reproach your friends who do not wish to do this, being yourself a coward?
§703σίγα· νόμιζε δʼ, εἰ σὺ τὴν σαυτοῦ φιλεῖς §704ψυχήν, φιλεῖν ἅπαντας· εἰ δ’ ἡμᾶς κακῶς §705ἐρεῖς, ἀκούσῃ πολλὰ κοὐ ψευδῆ κακά.
Be silent; and reflect, if you love your own life, that everyone loves theirs; and if you speak ill of us, you shall hear many and not false evils.
Too many evils have been spoken now and before; but cease, old man, reviling your child.
Speak, since I have spoken; and if you suffer hearing the truth, you ought not to have wronged me.
§710σοῦ δ’ ἂν προθνῄσκων μᾶλλον ἐξημάρτανον.
And would I have erred more, dying in place of you?
§711ταὐτὸν γὰρ ἡβῶντ’ ἄνδρα καὶ πρέσβυν θανεῖν;
For is it the same thing, for a man in his prime and an old man to die?
§712ψυχῇ μιᾷ ζῆν, οὐ δυοῖν, ὀφείλομεν.
We are bound to live with one life, not with two.
§713καὶ μὴν Διός γε μείζονα ζῴης χρόνον.
And indeed, may you live a longer time than Zeus!
§714ἀρᾷ γονεῦσιν οὐδὲν ἔκδικον παθών;
Do you curse your parents, having suffered nothing unjust?
§715μακροῦ βίου γὰρ ᾐσθόμην ἐρῶντά σε.
Yes, for I perceived you desiring a long life.
§716ἀλλ’ οὐ σὺ νεκρὸν ἀντὶ σοῦ τόνδ’ ἐκφέρεις;
But are you not carrying out this corpse in place of yourself?
§717σημεῖα τῆς σῆς, ὦ κάκιστʼ, ἀψυχίας.
Proofs of your cowardice, o worst of men!