§1118ὕσομεν πρώτοισιν ὑμῖν, τοῖσι δʼ ἄλλοις ὕστερον. §1119εἶτα τὸν καρπὸν τεκούσας ἀμπέλους φυλάξομεν, §1120ὥστε μήτʼ αὐχμὸν πιέζειν μήτʼ ἄγαν ἐπομβρίαν. §1121ἢν δʼ ἀτιμάσῃ τις ἡμᾶς θνητὸς ὢν οὔσας θεάς, §1122προσεχέτω τὸν νοῦν, πρὸς ἡμῶν οἷα πείσεται κακά, §1123λαμβάνων οὔτʼ οἶνον οὔτʼ ἄλλʼ οὐδὲν ἐκ τοῦ χωρίου. §1124ἡνίκʼ ἂν γὰρ αἵ τʼ ἐλαῖαι βλαστάνωσʼ αἵ τʼ ἄμπελοι, §1125ἀποκεκόψονται· τοιαύταις σφενδόναις παιήσομεν. §1126ἢν δὲ πλινθεύοντʼ ἴδωμεν, ὕσομεν καὶ τοῦ τέγους §1127τὸν κέραμον αὐτοῦ χαλάζαις στρογγύλαις συντρίψομεν. §1128κἂν γαμῇ ποτʼ αὐτὸς ἢ τῶν ξυγγενῶν ἢ τῶν φίλων, §1129ὕσομεν τὴν νύκτα πᾶσαν· ὥστʼ ἴσως βουλήσεται §1130κἂν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ τυχεῖν ὢν μᾶλλον ἢ κρῖναι κακῶς. §1131πέμπτη, τετράς, τρίτη, μετὰ ταύτην δευτέρα, §1132εἶθʼ ἣν ἐγὼ μάλιστα πασῶν ἡμερῶν §1133δέδοικα καὶ πέφρικα καὶ βδελύττομαι, §1134εὐθὺς μετὰ ταύτην ἔσθʼ ἕνη τε καὶ νέα. §1135πᾶς γάρ τις ὀμνὺς οἷς ὀφείλων τυγχάνω, §1136θείς μοι πρυτανεῖʼ ἀπολεῖν μέ φησι κἀξολεῖν, §1137κἀμοῦ μέτριά τε καὶ δίκαιʼ αἰτουμένου, §1138ὦ δαιμόνιε τὸ μέν τι νυνὶ μὴ λάβῃς, §1139τὸ δʼ ἀναβαλοῦ μοι, τὸ δʼ ἄφες
, οὔ φασίν ποτε §1140οὕτως ἀπολήψεσθʼ, ἀλλὰ λοιδοροῦσί με §1141ὡς ἄδικός εἰμι, καὶ δικάσεσθαί φασί μοι.
We will rain upon you first, and upon the others later. Then we will guard the grapevines that produce fruit, so that neither drought nor excessive rain oppresses them. But if anyone, being a mortal, dishonors us who are goddesses, let him pay attention to what kind of evils he will suffer from us, receiving neither wine nor anything else from his land. For whenever the olives and the vines sprout, they will be cut off; we will strike with such slingshots. And if we see him making bricks, we will rain, and we will shatter the tiles of his roof with round hailstones. And if ever he himself, or any of his kinsmen or friends, gets married, we will rain the whole night; so that he will probably wish even to have happened to be in Egypt rather than to have judged badly. Strepsiades: Fifth, fourth, third, and after this the second, and then the day which I, most of all days, fear and shudder at and detest, straight after this is the Old-and-New day. For everyone to whom I happen to owe money, depositing court fees, says he will ruin and destroy me, and when I ask for moderate and just terms, saying, “My good sir, don't take one part now, and postpone another part for me, and forgive another,” they say they will never receive it back in this way, but they abuse me, saying that I am unjust, and say they will sue me. Now then let them sue!
§1142νῦν οὖν δικαζέσθων· ὀλίγον γάρ μοι μέλει, §1143εἴπερ μεμάθηκεν εὖ λέγειν Φειδιππίδης. §1144τάχα δʼ εἴσομαι κόψας τὸ φροντιστήριον.
For I care little, if indeed Pheidippides has learned to speak well. And soon I shall know, having knocked at the Thinkery. Boy!
§1145παῖ, ἠμί, παῖ παῖ. §1145bΣτρεψιάδην ἀσπάζομαι. §1146κἄγωγέ σʼ· ἀλλὰ τουτονὶ πρῶτον λαβέ· §1147χρὴ γὰρ ἐπιθαυμάζειν τι τὸν διδάσκαλον. §1148καί μοι τὸν υἱὸν εἰ μεμάθηκε τὸν λόγον §1149ἐκεῖνον εἴφʼ ὃν ἀρτίως εἰσήγαγες. §1150μεμάθηκεν. §1150bεὖ γʼ ὦ παμβασίλειʼ Ἀπαιόλη. §1151ὥστʼ ἀποφύγοις ἂν ἥντινʼ ἂν βούλῃ δίκην. §1152κεἰ μάρτυρες παρῆσαν, ὅτʼ ἐδανειζόμην; §1153πολλῷ γε μᾶλλον, κἂν παρῶσι χίλιοι. §1154βοάσομαί τἄρα τὰν ὑπέρτονον §1155βοάν. ἰὼ κλάετʼ ὦ ʼβολοστάται §1156αὐτοί τε καὶ τἀρχαῖα καὶ τόκοι τόκων· §1157οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄν με φλαῦρον ἐργάσαισθʼ ἔτι, §1158οἷος ἐμοὶ τρέφεται §1159τοῖσδʼ ἐνὶ δώμασι παῖς, §1160ἀμφήκει γλώττῃ λάμπων, §1161πρόβολος ἐμός, σωτὴρ δόμοις, ἐχθροῖς βλάβη, §1162λυσανίας πατρῴων μεγάλων κακῶν· §1163ὃν κάλεσον τρέχων ἔνδοθεν ὡς ἐμέ. §1165ὦ τέκνον ὦ παῖ ἔξελθʼ οἴκων, §1166ἄιε σοῦ πατρός. §1167ὅδʼ ἐκεῖνος ἀνήρ. §1168ὦ φίλος ὦ φίλος. §1169ἄπιθι συλλαβών. §1170ἰὼ ἰὼ τέκνον, ἰὼ ἰοῦ ἰοῦ.
I say, boy, boy! Socrates: I greet Strepsiades. Strepsiades: And I you; but first take this here; for one must pay some tribute of admiration to the teacher. And tell me if my son has learned that argument, the one which you recently introduced him to. Socrates: He has learned it. Strepsiades: Splendid, O all-ruling Deceit! Socrates: So that you could escape whatever lawsuit you wish. Strepsiades: Even if witnesses were present when I was borrowing? Socrates: Much more so, even if a thousand were present. Strepsiades: Then indeed I will shout that loudest shout. “Ho, weep, O obol-weighers, both yourselves and your principals and interest upon interest! For you could never do anything harmful to me anymore, such a son is being reared for me in these houses, shining with a double-edged tongue, my champion, savior for the home, harm to enemies, deliverer from great paternal troubles! Run and call him out from within to me.” “O child, O son, come out of the house, listen to your father.” Socrates: Here is that man. Strepsiades: O dear one, O dear one! Socrates: Take him and go. Strepsiades: Oh, oh, child!
§1171ὡς ἥδομαί σου πρῶτα τὴν χρόαν ἰδών. §1172νῦν μέν γʼ ἰδεῖν εἶ πρῶτον ἐξαρνητικὸς §1173κἀντιλογικός, καὶ τοῦτο τοὐπιχώριον §1174ἀτεχνῶς ἐπανθεῖ, τὸ
τί λέγεις σύ; καὶ δοκεῖν §1175ἀδικοῦντʼ ἀδικεῖσθαι καὶ κακουργοῦντʼ οἶδʼ ὅτι· §1176ἐπὶ τοῦ προσώπου τʼ ἐστὶν Ἀττικὸν βλέπος. §1177νῦν οὖν ὅπως σώσεις μʼ, ἐπεὶ κἀπώλεσας. §1178φοβεῖ δὲ δὴ τί; §1178bτὴν ἕνην τε καὶ νέαν. §1179ἕνη γάρ ἐστι καὶ νέα τις ἡμέρα; §1180εἰς ἥν γε θήσειν τὰ πρυτανεῖά φασί μοι. §1181ἀπολοῦσʼ ἄρʼ αὔθʼ οἱ θέντες· οὐ γὰρ ἔσθʼ ὅπως §1182μίʼ ἡμέρα γένοιτʼ ἂν ἡμέρα δύο. §1183οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο; §1183bπῶς γάρ;
Oh, oh, oh! How pleased I am, first at seeing your complexion! Now indeed, to look at, you are first of all denying, and argumentative, and this local thing absolutely blooms: the “what do you say?” and the seeming, even when doing wrong to seem to be wronged, I know well. And upon your face is an Attic look. Now then, see that you save me, since you also ruined me. Pheidippides: What indeed do you fear? Strepsiades: The Old-and-New day. Pheidippides: For is there any day that is old and new? Strepsiades: On which indeed they say they will deposit the court fees against me. Pheidippides: Then those who deposit them will lose them; for there is no way one day could become two days. Strepsiades: It could not? Pheidippides: For how?
εἰ μή πέρ γʼ ἅμα §1184αὑτὴ γένοιτʼ ἂν γραῦς τε καὶ νέα γυνή. §1185καὶ μὴν νενόμισταί γʼ. §1185bοὐ γάρ, οἶμαι, τὸν νόμον §1186ἴσασιν ὀρθῶς ὅ τι νοεῖ. §1186bνοεῖ δὲ τί; §1187ὁ Σόλων ὁ παλαιὸς ἦν φιλόδημος τὴν φύσιν. §1188τουτὶ μὲν οὐδέν πω πρὸς ἕνην τε καὶ νέαν. §1189ἐκεῖνος οὖν τὴν κλῆσιν ἐς δύʼ ἡμέρας §1190ἔθηκεν, ἔς γε τὴν ἕνην τε καὶ νέαν, §1191ἵνʼ αἱ θέσεις γίγνοιντο τῇ νουμηνίᾳ. §1192ἵνα δὴ τί τὴν ἕνην προσέθηχʼ; §1192bἵνʼ ὦ μέλε §1193παρόντες οἱ φεύγοντες ἡμέρᾳ μιᾷ §1194πρότερον ἀπαλλάττοινθʼ ἑκόντες, εἰ δὲ μή, §1195ἕωθεν ὑπανιῷντο τῇ νουμηνία. §1196πῶς οὐ δέχονται δῆτα τῇ νουμηνίᾳ
Unless indeed at the same time the same woman could become both an old woman and a young woman. Strepsiades: And yet it is established by law. Pheidippides: Yes, because, I think, they do not know the law correctly, what it intends. Strepsiades: And what does it intend? Pheidippides: Ancient Solon was by nature a friend of the people. Strepsiades: This is not yet anything to do with the Old-and-New. Pheidippides: He therefore set the summons for two days, to the Old-and-New day, so that the deposits might be made on the new moon. Strepsiades: For what purpose then did he add the “Old” day? Pheidippides: So that, my good sir, the defendants, being present, on the day before might settle and get off voluntarily; otherwise, they would be harassed early in the morning on the new moon. Strepsiades: Why then indeed do they not receive them on the new moon,