§402ὦ περὶ πάντʼ ἐπὶ πᾶσί τε πράγμασι §403δωροδόκοισιν ἐπʼ ἄνθεσιν ἵζων, §404εἴθε φαύλως ὥσπερ ηὗρες ἐκβάλοις τὴν ἔνθεσιν.
O you who sit on bribing flowers in all things and on all matters, would that you might spit out that mouthful as easily as you found it.
§405ᾄσαιμι γὰρ τότʼ ἂν μόνον, §406πῖνε πῖνʼ ἐπὶ συμφοραῖς. §407τὸν Ἰουλίου τʼ ἂν οἴομαι γέροντα πυροπίπην §408ἡσθέντʼ ἰηπαιωνίσαι καὶ βακχέβακχον ᾆσαι. §409οὔτοί μʼ ὑπερβαλεῖσθʼ ἀναιδείᾳ μὰ τὸν Ποσειδῶ, §410ἢ μή ποτʼ ἀγοραίου Διὸς σπλάλχνοισι παραγενοίμην.
For only then would I sing, "Drink, drink, upon misfortunes." And I think the old wheat-watcher, the son of Iulius, would rejoice and sing a paean and shout "Bacchus, Bacchus." By Poseidon, you shall never surpass me in impudence, or may I never again be present at the sacrifice of Zeus of the Agora.
§411ἔγωγε νὴ τοὺς κονδύλους οὓς πολλὰ δὴ ʼπὶ πολλοῖς §412ἠνεσχόμην ἐκ παιδίων, μαχαιρίδων τε πληγάς, §413ὑπερβαλεῖσθαί σʼ οἴομαι τούτοισιν, ἢ μάτην γʼ ἂν §414ἀπομαγδαλιὰς σιτούμενος τοσοῦτος ἐκτραφείην.
I indeed, by the fists which I endured so often and many times from childhood, and the blows of knives, think I shall surpass you in these, or else in vain would I have been reared so big by eating bread-crumbs.
§415ἀπομαγδαλιὰς ὥσπερ κύων;
Eating bread-crumbs like a dog?
ὦ παμπόνηρε πῶς οὖν §416κυνὸς βορὰν σιτούμενος μαχεῖ σὺ κυνοκεφάλλῳ;
O you scoundrel, how then, being fed on dog's food, will you fight with a dog-headed one?
§417καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ἄλλα γʼ ἐστί μου κόβαλα παιδὸς ὄντος.
And by Zeus, there are other knavish tricks of mine when I was a child.
For I used to deceive the cooks by saying things like this: "Look, boys!
οὐχ ὁρᾶθʼ;
Don't you see?
ὥρα νέα, χελιδών. §420οἱ δʼ ἔβλεπον, κἀγὼ ʼν τοσούτῳ τῶν κρεῶν ἔκλεπτον.
The spring is early, a swallow!" And they would look, and in the meantime I would steal some meat.
O most clever piece of meat, you planned indeed wisely; you used to steal before the swallows, just as if eating nettles.
§423καὶ ταῦτα δρῶν ἐλάνθανόν γʼ· εἰ δʼ οὖν ἴδοι τις αὐτῶν, §424ἀποκρυπτόμενος ἐς τὼ κοχώνα τοὺς θεοὺς ἀπώμνυν·
And doing this I went unnoticed; but if indeed any of them saw me, I would deny it on oath by the gods, hiding it between my thighs.
§425ὥστʼ εἶπʼ ἀνὴρ τῶν ῥητόρων ἰδών με τοῦτο δρῶντα· §426οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως ὁ παῖς ὅδʼ οὐ τὸν δῆμον ἐπιτροπεύσει. §427εὖ γε ξυνέβαλεν αὔτʼ· ἀτὰρ δῆλόν γʼ ἀφʼ οὗ ξυνέγνω· §428ὁτιὴ ʼπιώρκεις θʼ ἡρπακὼς καὶ κρέας ὁ πρωκτὸς εἶχεν.
So that one of the orators, seeing me doing this, said: "There is no way this boy will not govern the people." Well indeed did he conjecture it; yet it is clear from what he perceived it: because you swore falsely after snatching, and your rump held the meat.
§429ἐγώ σε παύσω τοῦ θράσους, οἶμαι δὲ μᾶλλον ἄμφω.
I will stop you from your boldness, and I think rather both of us.
§430ἔξειμι γάρ σοι λαμπρὸς ἤδη καὶ μέγας καθιείς, §431ὁμοῦ ταράττων τήν τε γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλατταν εἰκῇ.
For I will go out against you already bright and strong, coming down, and at once throwing into confusion both the land and the sea at random.
§432ἐγὼ δὲ συστείλας γε τοὺς ἀλλᾶντας εἶτʼ ἀφήσω §433κατὰ κῦμʼ ἐμαυτὸν οὔριον, κλάειν σε μακρὰ κελεύσας.
And I indeed, having furled my sausages, will then let myself go down a favorable wave, bidding you weep long.
§434κἄγωγʼ, ἐάν τι παραχαλᾷ, τὴν ἀντλίαν φυλάξω.
And I, if anything gives way, will guard the bilge.
By Demeter, you shall not get away with stealing many talents of the Athenians.
§436bἄθρει καὶ τοῦ ποδὸς παρίει·
Watch out and slacken the sheet!
§437ὡς οὗτος ἤδη καικίας καὶ συκοφαντίας πνεῖ.
For this fellow is already blowing a northeastern wind and a gale of slander.
§438σὲ δʼ ἐκ Ποτειδαίας ἔχοντʼ εὖ οἶδα δέκα τάλαντα.
But I know well that you have ten talents from Potidaea.
§439τί δῆτα;
What indeed?
βούλει τῶν ταλάντων ἓν λαβὼν σιωπᾶν;
Do you wish to take one of those talents and keep silent?
§440ἁνὴρ ἂν ἡδέως λάβοι.
The man would gladly take it.
τοὺς τερθρίους παρίει·
Let go the halyards!
§441τὸ πνεῦμʼ ἔλαττον γίγνεται.
The wind is becoming less.
And you indeed twenty for desertion, and more than a thousand for theft.
I say that you are descended from the accursed ones of the goddess.
I say that your grandfather was one of the spear-bearers — Of whom?
§448bποίων; φράσον.
Tell me.
§449τῶν Βυρσίνης τῆς Ἱππίου.
Of Byrsine, the wife of Hippias.
§450κόβαλος εἶ.
You are a knave.
§450bπανοῦργος εἶ.
You are a scoundrel.
§451παῖʼ ἀνδρικῶς.
Strike manfully!
§451bἰοὺ ἰού,
Oh! Oh!
§452τύπτουσί μʼ οἱ ξυνωμόται.
The conspirators are beating me!
§453παῖʼ αὐτὸν ἀνδρειότατα, καὶ §454γάστριζε καὶ τοῖς ἐντέροις §455καὶ τοῖς κόλοις, §456χὤπως κολᾷ τὸν ἄνδρα.
Beat him most bravely, and punch his belly, and with the entrails and the colons, and chastise the man.
§457ὦ γεννικώτατον κρέας ψυχήν τʼ ἄριστε πάντων, §458καὶ τῇ πόλει σωτὴρ φανεὶς ἡμῖν τε τοῖς πολίταις, §459ὡς εὖ τὸν ἄνδρα ποικίλως θʼ ὑπῆλθες ἐν λόγοισιν.
O most noble piece of meat and best soul of all, appearing as a savior to the city and to us, the citizens, how well and craftily you have undermined the man in words.
§460πῶς ἄν σʼ ἐπαινέσαιμεν οὕτως ὥσπερ ἡδόμεσθα;
How could we praise you as much as we rejoice?
§461ταυτὶ μὰ τὴν Δήμητρά μʼ οὐκ ἐλάνθανεν §462τεκταινόμενα τὰ πράγματʼ, ἀλλʼ ἠπιστάμην §463γομφούμενʼ αὐτὰ πάντα καὶ κολλώμενα.
By Demeter, these matters did not escape my notice as they were being constructed, but I knew them all being bolted and glued together.
§464οἴμοι σὺ δʼ οὐδὲν ἐξ ἁμαξουργοῦ λέγεις;
Alas, do you speak nothing from the cart-wright?
§465οὔκουν μʼ ἐν Ἄργει γʼ οἷα πράττεις λανθάνει.
At least what you are doing in Argos does not escape me.
On pretext he makes the Argives our friends, but in private he meets with Lacedaemonians there.
And I know for what these things are being blown together; for the blacksmith work is done for the prisoners.
§470εὖ γʼ εὖ γε, χάλκεὐ ἀντὶ τῶν κολλωμένων.
Well indeed, well indeed! Blacksmithing instead of gluing.
§471καὶ ξυγκροτοῦσιν ἄνδρες αὔτʼ ἐκεῖθεν αὖ, §472καὶ ταῦτά μʼ οὔτʼ ἀργύριον οὔτε χρυσίον §473διδοὺς ἀναπείσεις οὔτε προσπέμπων φίλους, §474ὅπως ἐγὼ ταῦτʼ οὐκ Ἀθηναίοις φράσω.
And the men from there are forging it together in turn, and you will not persuade me by giving silver or gold, nor by sending friends, so that I shall not tell these things to the Athenians.