§299καὶ τὸ μανιῶδες μαντικὴν πολλὴν ἔχει· §300ὅταν γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ἐς τὸ σῶμʼ ἔλθῃ πολύς, §301λέγειν τὸ μέλλον τοὺς μεμηνότας ποιεῖ.
And this madness has great prophetic power; for when the god enters the body in full force, he makes those who are mad tell the future.
§302Ἄρεώς τε μοῖραν μεταλαβὼν ἔχει τινά· §303στρατὸν γὰρ ἐν ὅπλοις ὄντα κἀπὶ τάξεσιν §304φόβος διεπτόησε πρὶν λόγχης θιγεῖν.
And he has also obtained a certain share of Ares; for a host in arms and in battle array fear strikes with panic before they even touch a spear.
§305μανία δὲ καὶ τοῦτʼ ἐστὶ Διονύσου πάρα.
And this madness too is from Dionysus.
§306ἔτʼ αὐτὸν ὄψῃ κἀπὶ Δελφίσιν πέτραις §307πηδῶντα σὺν πεύκαισι δικόρυφον πλάκα, §308πάλλοντα καὶ σείοντα βακχεῖον κλάδον, §309μέγαν τʼ ἀνʼ Ἑλλάδα.
Yet you shall see him even on the Delphic rocks, leaping with torches across the double-peaked plateau, brandishing and shaking his Bacchic branch, great throughout Greece.
ἀλλʼ ἐμοί, Πενθεῦ, πιθοῦ· §310μὴ τὸ κράτος αὔχει δύναμιν ἀνθρώποις ἔχειν, §311μηδʼ, ἢν δοκῇς μέν, ἡ δὲ δόξα σου νοσῇ, §312φρονεῖν δόκει τι·
But Pentheus, obey me: do not boast that rule has power among men, nor, if you have an opinion indeed, but your opinion is diseased, think that you have any wisdom.
τὸν θεὸν δʼ ἐς γῆν δέχου §313καὶ σπένδε καὶ βάκχευε καὶ στέφου κάρα.
But receive the god into the land, pour libations, join the Bacchic revels, and crown your head.
§314οὐχ ὁ Διόνυσος σωφρονεῖν ἀναγκάσει §315γυναῖκας ἐς τὴν Κύπριν, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῇ φύσει §317τοῦτο σκοπεῖν χρή· καὶ γὰρ ἐν βακχεύμασιν §318οὖσʼ ἥ γε σώφρων οὐ διαφθαρήσεται.
Dionysus will not compel women to be chaste in respect to Aphrodite, but in their nature this is what one must look to: for even in Bacchic revels she who is indeed chaste will not be corrupted.
§319ὁρᾷς, σὺ χαίρεις, ὅταν ἐφεστῶσιν πύλαις §320πολλοί, τὸ Πενθέως δʼ ὄνομα μεγαλύνῃ πόλις· §321κἀκεῖνος, οἶμαι, τέρπεται τιμώμενος.
You see: you rejoice when many stand at the gates, and the city magnifies the name of Pentheus; and he too, I think, delights in being honored.
§322ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν καὶ Κάδμος, ὃν σὺ διαγελᾷς, §323κισσῷ τʼ ἐρεψόμεσθα καὶ χορεύσομεν, §324πολιὰ ξυνωρίς, ἀλλʼ ὅμως χορευτέον, §325κοὐ θεομαχήσω σῶν λόγων πεισθεὶς ὕπο.
I, then, and Cadmus, whom you mock, will crown ourselves with ivy and will dance, a gray-haired pair, yet still we must dance, and I will not fight against gods, persuaded by your words.
For you are mad in the most painful way, and neither by medicines could you find a cure, nor is your sickness without them.
Chorus: Old man, you do not disgrace Phoebus by your words, and honoring Bromius, you are wise, since he is a great god.
§330ὦ παῖ, καλῶς σοι Τειρεσίας παρῄνεσεν.
Cadmus: My boy, Teiresias has counselled you well.
§331οἴκει μεθʼ ἡμῶν, μὴ θύραζε τῶν νόμων.
Dwell with us, do not stay outside the laws.
§332νῦν γὰρ πέτῃ τε καὶ φρονῶν οὐδὲν φρονεῖς.
For now you flutter, and though thinking, you think nothing wise.
§333κεἰ μὴ γὰρ ἔστιν ὁ θεὸς οὗτος, ὡς σὺ φῄς, §334παρὰ σοὶ λεγέσθω· καὶ καταψεύδου καλῶς §335ὡς ἔστι, Σεμέλη θʼ ἵνα δοκῇ θεὸν τεκεῖν, §336ἡμῖν τε τιμὴ παντὶ τῷ γένει προσῇ.
And even if this god does not exist, as you say, let him be called a god by you; and lie beautifully that he exists, so that Semele may seem to have given birth to a god, and honor may attach to us, to all our race.
§337ὁρᾷς τὸν Ἀκτέωνος ἄθλιον μόρον, §338ὃν ὠμόσιτοι σκύλακες ἃς ἐθρέψατο §339διεσπάσαντο, κρείσσονʼ ἐν κυναγίαις §340Ἀρτέμιδος εἶναι κομπάσαντʼ, ἐν ὀργάσιν.
You see the wretched fate of Actaeon, whom the raw-flesh-eating hounds he reared tore to pieces, because he boasted in the mountain glades that he was superior to Artemis in hunting.
§341ὃ μὴ πάθῃς σύ·
May you not suffer this!
δεῦρό σου στέψω κάρα §342κισσῷ· μεθʼ ἡμῶν τῷ θεῷ τιμὴν δίδου.
Come here, let me crown your head with ivy; along with us, give honor to the god.
§343οὐ μὴ προσοίσεις χεῖρα, βακχεύσεις δʼ ἰών,
Pentheus: Do not put your hand on me!
§344μηδʼ ἐξομόρξῃ μωρίαν τὴν σὴν ἐμοί;
Go and play the Bacchant, and do not wipe off your foolishness on me!
But this teacher of your folly I will pursue with justice.
στειχέτω τις ὡς τάχος, §347ἐλθὼν δὲ θάκους τοῦδʼ ἵνʼ οἰωνοσκοπεῖ §348μοχλοῖς τριαίνου κἀνάτρεψον ἔμπαλιν, §349ἄνω κάτω τὰ πάντα συγχέας ὁμοῦ, §350καὶ στέμματʼ ἀνέμοις καὶ θυέλλαισιν μέθες.
Let someone go as quickly as possible, and going to his seat where he observes birds, pry it up with levers and turn it upside down, confounding everything together, upside down, and throw his woollen bands to the winds and tempests.
§351μάλιστα γάρ νιν δήξομαι δράσας τάδε.
For by doing this I shall bite him most deeply.
§352οἳ δʼ ἀνὰ πόλιν στείχοντες ἐξιχνεύσατε §353τὸν θηλύμορφον ξένον, ὃς ἐσφέρει νόσον §354καινὴν γυναιξὶ καὶ λέχη λυμαίνεται.
And others, go throughout the city and track down the effeminate stranger, who introduces this new disease to our women and pollutes their beds.
§355κἄνπερ λάβητε, δέσμιον πορεύσατε §356δεῦρʼ αὐτόν, ὡς ἂν λευσίμου δίκης τυχὼν §357θάνῃ, πικρὰν βάκχευσιν ἐν Θήβαις ἰδών.
And if you catch him, bring him here in bonds, so that he may die, having met a justice of stoning, having seen a bitter Bacchic revelry in Thebes.
§358ὦ σχέτλιʼ, ὡς οὐκ οἶσθα ποῦ ποτʼ εἶ λόγων.
Teiresias: Wretched man, how you do not know where in your words you are!
§359μέμηνας ἤδη· καὶ πρὶν ἐξέστης φρενῶν.
You are mad now; and before you were out of your mind.
§360στείχωμεν ἡμεῖς, Κάδμε, κἀξαιτώμεθα §361ὑπέρ τε τούτου καίπερ ὄντος ἀγρίου §362ὑπέρ τε πόλεως τὸν θεὸν μηδὲν νέον §363δρᾶν.
Let us go, Cadmus, and let us pray both on behalf of this man, though he is savage, and on behalf of the city, that the god may do nothing strange.
ἀλλʼ ἕπου μοι κισσίνου βάκτρου μέτα, §364πειρῶ δʼ ἀνορθοῦν σῶμʼ ἐμόν, κἀγὼ τὸ σόν· §365γέροντε δʼ αἰσχρὸν δύο πεσεῖν· ἴτω δʼ ὅμως, §366τῷ Βακχίῳ γὰρ τῷ Διὸς δουλευτέον.
But follow me with your ivy staff, and try to support my body, and I yours; it is shameful for two old men to fall, but still we must go, for we must serve Bacchus, the son of Zeus.
§367Πενθεὺς δʼ ὅπως μὴ πένθος εἰσοίσει δόμοις §368τοῖς σοῖσι, Κάδμε· μαντικῇ μὲν οὐ λέγω, §369τοῖς πράγμασιν δέ· μῶρα γὰρ μῶρος λέγει.
But beware lest Pentheus bring grief to your house, Cadmus; I do not say this by prophecy, but by facts; for a fool speaks foolish things.
Chorus: Piety, queen of the gods, Piety, who over the earth bear your golden wing, do you hear these words of Pentheus?
§374ἀίεις οὐχ ὁσίαν §375ὕβριν ἐς τὸν Βρόμιον, τὸν §376Σεμέλας, τὸν παρὰ καλλι- §377στεφάνοις εὐφροσύναις δαί- §378μονα πρῶτον μακάρων;
Do you hear his unholy insolence against Bromius, the son of Semele, who among the beautiful-garlanded festivities is the first divinity of the blessed gods?
ὃς τάδʼ ἔχει, §379θιασεύειν τε χοροῖς §380μετά τʼ αὐλοῦ γελάσαι §381ἀποπαῦσαί τε μερίμνας, §382ὁπόταν βότρυος ἔλθῃ §383γάνος ἐν δαιτὶ θεῶν, κισ-
Who holds these things as his own: to bring into his band through dances, to laugh with the flute, and to put an end to cares, whenever the brightness of the grape-cluster comes in the feast of the gods...