§865πόθεν προσέπτονθʼ οἱ κακῶς ἀπολούμενοι §866ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν μοι Χαιριδῆς βομβαύλιοι; §867νεὶ τὸν Ἰόλαον ἐπεχαρίττα γʼ ὦ ξένε· §868Θείβαθε γὰρ φυσᾶντες ἐξόπισθέ μου §869τἄνθια τᾶς γλάχωνος ἀπέκιξαν χαμαί. §870ἀλλʼ εἴ τι βούλει, πρίασο τῶν ἐγὼ φέρω §871τῶν ὀρταλίχων ἢ τῶν τετραπτερυλλίδων. §872ὦ χαῖρε κολλικοφάγε Βοιωτίδιον. §873τί φέρεις; §873bὅσʼ ἐστὶν ἀγαθὰ Βοιωτοῖς ἁπλῶς, §874ὀρίγανον γλαχὼ ψιάθως θρυαλλίδας §875νάσσας κολοιὼς ἀτταγᾶς φαλαρίδας §876τροχίλως κολύμβως. §876bὡσπερεὶ χειμὼν ἄρα §877ὀρνιθίας ἐς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἐλήλυθας. §878καὶ μὰν φέρω χᾶνας λαγὼς ἀλώπεκας §879σκάλοπας ἐχίνως αἰελούρως πικτίδας §880ἰκτῖδας ἐνύδρως ἐγχέλεις Κωπαΐδας. §881ὦ τερπνότατον σὺ τέμαχος ἀνθρώποις φέρων, §882δός μοι προσειπεῖν, εἰ φέρεις, τὰς ἐγχέλεις. §883πρέσβειρα πεντήκοντα Κωπᾴδων κορᾶν, §884ἔκβαθι τῶδε κἠπιχάριτται τῷ ξένῳ. §885ὦ φιλτάτη σὺ καὶ πάλαι ποθουμένη, §886ἦλθες ποθεινὴ μὲν τρυγῳδικοῖς χοροῖς, §887φίλη δὲ Μορύχῳ.
\nWhere did these accursed buzz-pipers of the tribe of Chaeris\n\nfly from to my door?\n\nBy Iolaus, you are indeed pleased, stranger;\n\nfor blowing behind me all the way from Thebes,\n\nthey have blown the blossoms of my pennyroyal to the ground.\n\nBut if you want anything, buy from what I bring,\n\nwhether of the chicks or the four-winged creatures.\n\nOh, greetings, roll-eating little Boeotian.\n\nWhat do you bring?\n\nSimply everything that is good in Boeotia,\n\nmarjoram, pennyroyal, rush-mats, wicks,\n\nducks, daws, francolins, coots,\n\nplovers, divers.\n\nSo indeed you have come\n\nto the market like a winter gale of birds.\n\nAnd furthermore I bring geese, hares, foxes,\n\nmoles, hedgehogs, cats, badgers, otters, beavers,\n\nand Copaic eels.\n\nO you who bring the most delightful delicacy to men,\n\ngrant me to greet the eels, if you really bring them.\n\nO eldest of the fifty Copaic maidens,\n\ncome out here and please the stranger.\n\nO dearest one, so long yearned for, you have come,\n\ndesired by the comic choruses,\n\nand dear to Morychus.
δμῶες ἐξενέγκατε §888τὴν ἐσχάραν μοι δεῦρο καὶ τὴν ῥιπίδα. §889σκέψασθε παῖδες τὴν ἀρίστην ἔγχελυν, §890ἥκουσαν ἕκτῳ μόλις ἔτει ποθουμένην· §891προσείπατʼ αὐτὴν ὦ τέκνʼ· ἄνθρακας δʼ ἐγὼ §892ὑμῖν παρέξω τῆσδε τῆς ξένης χάριν. §893ἀλλʼ ἔσφερʼ αὐτήν· μηδὲ γὰρ θανών ποτε §894σοῦ χωρὶς εἴην ἐντετευτλανωμένης. §895ἐμοὶ δὲ τιμὰ τᾶσδε πᾷ γενήσεται; §896ἀγορᾶς τέλος ταύτην γέ που δώσεις ἐμοί· §897ἀλλʼ εἴ τι πωλεῖς τῶνδε τῶν ἄλλων λέγε. §898ἰώγα ταῦτα πάντα. §898bφέρε πόσου λέγεις; §899ἢ φορτίʼ ἕτερʼ ἐνθένδʼ ἐκεῖσʼ ἄξεις ἰών; §900ὅ τι γʼ ἔστʼ Ἀθάναις, ἐν Βοιωτοῖσιν δὲ μή. §901ἀφύας ἄρʼ ἄξεις πριάμενος Φαληρικὰς §902ἢ κέραμον. §902bἀφύας ἢ κέραμον;
Servants, bring out\n\nthe brazier and the fan here to me.\n\nLook, boys, at the finest eel,\n\nwhich has come, yearned for, in the sixth year at last;\n\ngreet her, O children, and I will provide\n\ncoals for you for the sake of this stranger.\n\nBut bring her inside; for may I never even in death\n\nbe apart from you when you are stewed in beet-leaves.\n\nBut how shall payment for this be made to me?\n\nYou will surely give me this as market-dues;\n\nbut if you want to sell any of these other things, speak.\n\nI want to sell all of these.\n\nCome, how much do you say?\n\nOr will you take other goods from here back there when you go?\n\nWhatever is in Athens, but not among the Boeotians.\n\nThen you will buy and take Phaleric anchovies\n\nor pottery.\n\nAnchovies or pottery?
ἀλλʼ ἔντʼ ἐκεῖ· §903ἀλλʼ ὅ τι παρʼ ἁμῖν μή ʼστι, τᾷδε δʼ αὖ πολύ. §904ἐγᾦδα τοίνυν· συκοφάντην ἔξαγε, §905ὥσπερ κέραμον ἐνδησάμενος. §905bνεὶ τὼ θιὼ §906λάβοιμι μέντἂν κέρδος ἀγαγὼν καὶ πολύ, §907ᾇπερ πίθακον ἀλιτρίας πολλᾶς πλέων. §908καὶ μὴν ὁδὶ Νίκαρχος ἔρχεται φανῶν. §909μικκός γα μᾶκος οὗτος. §909bἀλλʼ ἅπαν κακόν. §910ταυτὶ τίνος τὰ φορτίʼ ἐστί; §910bτῶδʼ ἐμὰ §911Θείβαθεν, ἴττω Δεύς. §911bἐγὼ τοίνυν ὁδὶ §912φαίνω πολέμια ταῦτα. §912bτί δὲ κακὸν παθὼν §913ὀρναπετίοισι πόλεμον ἤρα καί μάχαν; §914καὶ σέ γε φανῶ πρὸς τοῖσδε. §914bτί ἀδικείμενος; §915ἐγὼ φράσω σοι τῶν περιεστώτων χάριν· §916ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων γʼ εἰσάγεις θρυαλλίδας. §917ἔπειτα φαίνεις δῆτα διὰ θρυαλλίδα; §918αὕτη γὰρ ἐμπρήσειεν ἂν τὸ νεώριον. §919νεώριον θρυαλλίς; §919bοἶμαι· §919cτίνι τρόπῳ; §920ἐνθεὶς ἂν ἐς τίφην ἀνὴρ Βοιώτιος §921ἅψας ἄν ἐσπέμψειεν ἐς τὸ νεώριον §922διʼ ὑδρορρόας, βορέαν ἐπιτηρήσας μέγαν. §923κεἴπερ λάβοιτο τῶν νεῶν τὸ πῦρ ἅπαξ, §924σελαγοῖντʼ ἂν εὐθύς. §924bὦ κάκιστʼ ἀπολούμενε, §925σελαγοῖντʼ ἂν ὑπὸ τίφης τε καὶ θρυαλλίδος; §926μαρτύρομαι. §926bξυλλάμβανʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ στόμα· §927δός μοι φορυτόν, ἵνʼ αὐτὸν ἐνδήσας φέρω §928ὥσπερ κέραμον ἵνα μὴ καταγῇ φερόμενος. §929ἔνδησον ὦ βέλτιστε τῷ §930ξένῳ καλῶς τὴν ἐμπολὴν §930aοὕτως ὅπως §931ἂν μὴ θέρων κατάξῃ. §932ἐμοὶ μελήσει ταῦτʼ, ἐπεί §933τοι καὶ ψοφεῖ λάλον τι καὶ §933aπυρορραγὲς §934κἄλλως θεοῖσιν ἐχθρόν. §935τί χρήσεταί ποτʼ αὐτῷ; §936πάγχρηστον ἄγγος ἔσται, §937κρατὴρ κακῶν, τριπτὴρ δικῶν, §938φαίνειν ὑπευθύνους λυχνοῦχος §939καὶ κύλιξ— §939aκαὶ πράγματʼ ἐγκυκᾶσθαι. §940πῶς δʼ ἂν πεποιθοίη τις ἀγγείῳ §941τοιούτῳ χρώμενος §941aκατʼ οἰκίαν §942τοσόνδʼ ἀεὶ ψοφοῦντι; §943ἰσχυρόν ἐστιν ὦγάθʼ, ὥστʼ §944οὐκ ἂν καταγείη ποτʼ, εἴπερ §944aἐκ ποδῶν §945κατωκάρα κρέμαιτο. §946ἤδη καλῶς ἔχει σοι. §947μέλλω γά τοι θερίδδειν. §948ἀλλʼ ὦ ξένων βέλτιστε συνθέριζε §949καὶ τοῦτον λαβὼν §950πρόσβαλλʼ ὅποι βούλει φέρων §951πρὸς πάντα συκοφάντην. §952μόλις γʼ ἐνέδησα τὸν κακῶς ἀπολούμενον. §953αἴρου λαβὼν τὸν κέραμον ὦ Βοιώτιε. §954ὑπόκυπτε τὰν τύλαν ἰὼν Ἰσμήνιχε. §955χὤπως κατοίσεις αὐτὸν εὐλαβούμενος. §956πάντως μὲν οἴσεις οὐδὲν ὑγιές, ἀλλʼ ὅμως· §957κἂν τοῦτο κερδήνῃς ἄγων τὸ φορτίον, §958εὐδαιμονήσεις συκοφαντῶν γʼ οὕνεκα.
But those are there too;\n\nrather, whatever is not with us, but is abundant here.\n\nI know then; pack up a sycophant\n\nand take him out, just like pottery.\n\nBy the two gods,\n\nI would indeed make a great profit by taking him,\n\njust like an ape full of much wickedness.\n\nAnd look, here comes Nicarchus to denounce.\n\nHe is indeed small in height.\n\nBut he is entirely evil.\n\nWhose goods are these?\n\nMine, from Thebes,\n\nlet Zeus be witness.\n\nThen I here\n\ndenounce them as enemy goods.\n\nWhat harm have you suffered\n\nthat you stir up war and battle against little birds?\n\nAnd I will denounce you too in addition to these.\n\nHaving done what wrong?\n\nI will tell you for the sake of the bystanders;\n\nyou are importing wicks from the enemy.\n\nAnd do you really denounce on account of a wick?\n\nFor this could set fire to the dockyard.\n\nA dockyard, by a wick?\n\nI think so.\n\nIn what way?\n\nA Boeotian man might place it in a water-insect,\n\nlight it, and send it into the dockyard\n\nthrough a drain, watching for a strong north wind.\n\nAnd if the fire should once catch the ships,\n\nthey would blaze up at once.\n\nO you wretched scoundrel,\n\nwould they blaze up because of a water-insect and a wick?\n\nI call you to witness!\n\nSeize his mouth!\n\nGive me some straw, so that I may pack him up and carry him\n\nlike pottery, so that he won't be broken on the way.\n\nBind, O best of men, the purchase\n\nwell for the stranger,\n\nin such a way that\n\nhe won't break it as he carries it.\n\nI will see to this, since\n\nindeed it makes a cracked sound, talkative and\n\nfire-cracked,\n\nand otherwise hateful to the gods.\n\nWhat will he ever use it for?\n\nIt will be an all-purpose vessel:\n\na mixing-bowl of evils, a mortar for lawsuits,\n\na lantern to expose officials under audit,\n\nand a cup—\n\nand for stirring up trouble!\n\nBut how could anyone have confidence using such a vessel\n\nin his house,\n\nwhen it is always\n\nmaking such a clatter?\n\nIt is strong, my good friend, so that\n\nit would never break, even if\n\nit were hung\n\nupside down by its feet.\n\nNow it is well packed for you.\n\nIndeed I am about to harvest.\n\nBut, O best of strangers, join in the harvest,\n\nand take this man,\n\ncarry him away and throw him wherever you like\n\nagainst every sycophant.\n\nWith difficulty indeed I have bound up this accursed wretch.\n\nTake up the pottery, O Boeotian.\n\nStoop your shoulder as you go, Ismenichus.\n\nAnd mind how you carry him down with great care.\n\nIn any case, you will carry nothing wholesome, but nevertheless;\n\nand if you make a profit by taking this cargo,\n\nyou will be happy, as far as sycophants are concerned.