§924ἰπούμενος ταῖς ἐσφοραῖς.
being crushed by property taxes!
For I will see to it that you are enrolled among the rich.
§927ἐγὼ δʼ ἀπειλήσω μὲν οὐδέν, §928εὔχομαι δέ σοι ταδί· §929τὸ μὲν τάγηνον τευθίδων §930ἐφεστάναι σίζον· σὲ δὲ §931γνώμην ἐρεῖν μέλλοντα περὶ §932Μιλησίων καὶ κερδανεῖν §933τάλαντον, ἢν κατεργάσῃ, §934σπεύδειν ὅπως τῶν τευθίδων §935ἐμπλήμενος φθαίης ἔτʼ εἰς §936ἐκκλησίαν ἐλθών· ἔπειτα §937πρὶν φαγεῖν ἀνὴρ μεθήκοι, §938καὶ σὺ τὸ τάλαντον λαβεῖν §939βουλόμενος ἐσθίων §940ἐναποπνιγείης.
Sausage-Seller: But I will threaten nothing; rather, I pray for you as follows: that a frying-pan of squids should be set over the fire, sizzling; and that you, when about to speak your opinion concerning the Milesians, and to gain a talent if you succeed, should hasten to stuff yourself with the squids so that you might arrive first at the Assembly; and then, before you can eat them, an envoy should come for you, and you, wishing to get the talent, while eating in haste, should choke to death.
§941εὖ γε νὴ τὸν Δία καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω καὶ τὴν Δήμητρα.
Demus: Excellent, by Zeus, Apollo, and Demeter!
§942κἀμοὶ δοκεῖ· καὶ τἄλλα γʼ εἶναι καταφανῶς §943ἀγαθὸς πολίτης, οἶος οὐδείς πω χρόνου §945ἀνὴρ γεγένηται τοῖσι πολλοῖς τοὐβολοῦ.
I think so too; and in all other respects he is clearly an excellent citizen, such as no man has yet been to the common people of the three-obol class.
§946σὺ δʼ ὦ Παφλαγὼν φάσκων φιλεῖν μʼ ἐσκορόδισας.
But you, O Paphlagonian, while claiming to love me, have stuffed me with garlic.
And now, give back the ring, as you shall no longer be my steward.
§948bἔχε·
Cleon: Take it.
τοσοῦτον δʼ ἴσθʼ ὅτι, §949εἰ μή μʼ ἐάσεις ἐπιτροπεύειν, ἕτερος αὖ §950ἐμοῦ πανουργότερός τις ἀναφανήσεται.
But know this much, that if you do not allow me to steward for you, another, far more rascal than I, will appear.
§951οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως ὁ δακτύλιός ἐσθʼ οὑτοσὶ §952οὑμός· τὸ γοῦν σημεῖον ἕτερον φαίνεται, §953ἀλλʼ ἢ οὐ καθορῶ.
Demus: It cannot be that this ring is mine; at any rate, the device appears different, or else I do not see clearly.
§953bφέρʼ ἴδω τί σοι σημεῖον ἦν;
Sausage-Seller: Let me see, what was your device?
§954δημοῦ βοείου θρῖον ἐξωπτημένον.
Demus: A leaf of beef-tallow, well-roasted.
§955οὐ τοῦτʼ ἔνεστιν.
Sausage-Seller: That is not on it.
§955bοὐ τὸ θρῖον;
Demus: Not the leaf?
ἀλλὰ τί;
What then?
§956λάρος κεχηνὼς ἐπὶ πέτρας δημηγορῶν.
Sausage-Seller: A seagull, with its beak wide open, speechmaking on a rock.
§957αἰβοῖ τάλας.
Demus: Oh, disgusting!
§957bτί ἔστιν;
Sausage-Seller: What is it?
§957cἀπόφερʼ ἐκποδών.
Demus: Take it away!
§958οὐ τὸν ἐμὸν εἶχεν ἀλλὰ τὸν Κλεωνύμου.
He did not have mine, but Cleonymus'.
§959παρʼ ἐμοῦ δὲ τουτονὶ λαβὼν ταμίευέ μοι.
But taking this one from me, be my steward.
Cleon: Not yet indeed, O master, I beseech you, before you hear my oracles!
§962καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν νυν.
Sausage-Seller: And mine too, then!
Cleon: But if you obey this man, you are destined to become a leather bottle.
Sausage-Seller: And if you obey this one, you are destined to be stripped bare to the bone.
Cleon: But mine tell me that you are destined to rule over the whole land, crowned with roses.
§967οὑμοὶ δέ γʼ αὖ λέγουσιν ὡς ἁλουργίδα §968ἔχων κατάπαστον καὶ στεφάνην ἐφʼ ἅρματος §969χρυσοῦ διώξει Σμικύθην καὶ κύριον.
Sausage-Seller: And mine in turn tell me that, wearing a gold-spangled purple robe and a crown on a golden chariot, you shall pursue Smicythe and her husband.
Demus: Go then and bring them, so that this man here may hear them.
§971bπάνυ γε.
Cleon: Very well.
καὶ σύ νυν φέρε.
And you bring yours now.
§972ἰδού.
Sausage-Seller: Here!
§972bἰδοὺ νὴ τὸν Δίʼ·
Cleon: Here, by Zeus!
οὐδὲν κωλύει.
Nothing prevents it.
§973ἥδιστον φάος ἡμέρας §974ἔσται τοῖσι παροῦσι καὶ §975τοῖσι δεῦρʼ ἀφικνουμένοις, §976ἢν Κλέων ἀπόληται.
Chorus: It will be the sweetest light of day to those present and to those who arrive here, if Cleon is destroyed.
§977καίτοι πρεσβυτέρων τινῶν §978οἵων ἀργαλεωτάτων §979ἐν τῷ δείγματι τῶν δικῶν §980ἤκουσʼ ἀντιλεγόντων, §981ὡς εἰ μὴ ʼγένεθʼ οὗτος ἐν §982τῇ πόλει μέγας, οὐκ ἂν ἤστην §983σκεύη δύο χρησίμω, §984δοῖδυξ οὐδὲ τορύνη.
And yet I heard some of the most crabbed old men arguing in the sample-market of the law-courts, that if this man had not become great in the city, there would not have been two useful utensils, the pestle and the ladle.
§985ἀλλὰ καὶ τόδʼ ἔγωγε θαυμάζω §986τῆς ὑομουσίας §987αὐτοῦ· φασὶ γὰρ αὐτὸν οἱ §988παῖδες οἳ ξυνεφοίτων, §989τὴν Δωριστὶ μόνην ἂν ἁρμόττεσθαι §990θαμὰ τὴν λύραν, §991ἄλλην δʼ οὐκ ἐθέλειν μαθεῖν· §992κᾆτα τὸν κιθαριστὴν §993ὀργισθέντʼ ἀπάγειν κελεύειν, §994ὡς ἁρμονίαν ὁ παῖς §995οὗτος οὐ δύναται μαθεῖν §996ἢν μὴ Δωροδοκιστί.
But I also marvel at this, namely his piggish culture; for the boys who went to school with him say that he would often tune his lyre to the Dorian mode alone, and refused to learn any other; and then the cithara teacher, in a rage, would order him to be taken away, saying that this boy could not learn any harmony except in the bribe-taking style.
§997ἰδοὺ θέασαι, κοὐχ ἅπαντας ἐκφέρω.
Cleon: Look here, see, and I am not even bringing them all out!
§998οἴμʼ ὡς χεσείω, κοὐχ ἅπαντας ἐκφέρω.
Sausage-Seller: Oh, I want to ease myself, and I am not bringing them all out either!
§999ταυτὶ τί ἔστι;
Demus: What are these?
§999bλόγια.
Cleon: Oracles.
§999cπάντʼ;
Demus: All of them?
§999dἐθαύμασας;
Cleon: Are you amazed?
§1000καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ἔτι γέ μοὔστι κιβωτὸς πλέα.
And by Zeus, I still have a chest full of them!
§1001ἐμοὶ δʼ ὑπερῷον καὶ ξυνοικία δύο.
Sausage-Seller: And I have an upper-room and two apartment blocks full of them.
§1002φέρʼ ἴδω, τίνος γάρ εἰσιν οἱ χρησμοί ποτε;
Demus: Let me see. Whose oracles are they indeed?
§1003οὑμοὶ μέν εἰσι Βάκιδος.
Cleon: Mine are by Bacis.
§1003bοἱ δὲ σοὶ τίνος;
Demus: And whose are yours?
§1004Γλάνιδος, ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ Βάκιδος γεραιτέρου.
Sausage-Seller: By Glanis, the older brother of Bacis.
§1005εἰσὶν δὲ περὶ τοῦ;
Demus: And what are they about?
Cleon: About Athens, about Pylos, about you, about me, about all things.
§1007οἱ σοὶ δὲ περὶ τοῦ;
Demus: And what are yours about?
§1007bπερὶ Ἀθηνῶν, περὶ φακῆς, §1008περὶ Λακεδαιμονίων, περὶ σκόμβρων νέων, §1009περὶ τῶν μετρούντων τἄλφιτʼ ἐν ἀγορᾷ κακῶς, §1010περὶ σοῦ, περὶ ἐμοῦ, περὶ ἁπάντων πραγμάτων.
Sausage-Seller: About Athens, about lentil soup, about the Lacedaemonians, about fresh mackerel, about those who measure barley dishonestly in the market, about you, about me, about all things.
§1011ἄγε νυν ὅπως αὐτοὺς ἀναγνώσεσθέ μοι, §1012καὶ τὸν περὶ ἐμοῦ ʼκεῖνον ᾧπερ ἥδομαι, §1013ὡς ἐν νεφέλαισιν αἰετὸς γενήσομαι.
Demus: Come then, see that you read them to me, especially that one about me which delights me, that I shall become an eagle in the clouds.
§1014ἄκουε δή νυν καὶ πρόσεχε τὸν νοῦν ἐμοί.
Cleon: Listen then now, and pay attention to me.
§1015φράζευ Ἐρεχθεΐδη λογίων ὁδόν, ἥν σοι Ἀπόλλων
"Mark well, O son of Erechtheus, the path of the oracles, which Apollo..."