§787φέρʼ ἴδω τί μέντοι πρῶτον ἦν;
Strepsiades: Let me see, what indeed was the first thing?
τί πρῶτον ἦν;
What was the first thing?
§788τίς ἦν ἐν ᾗ ʼματτόμεθα μέντοι τἄλφιτα;
What was the thing in which we used to knead the barley-meal indeed?
§789οἴμοι τίς ἦν;
Oh, what was it?
Socrates: Will you not go to the crows and perish, most forgetful and most awkward little old man?
§791οἴμοι τί οὖν δῆθʼ ὁ κακοδαίμων πείσομαι;
Strepsiades: Oh, what then indeed shall I, unfortunate wretch, suffer?
§792ἀπὸ γὰρ ὀλοῦμαι μὴ μαθὼν γλωττοστροφεῖν.
For I shall utterly perish if I do not learn to twist the tongue.
§793ἀλλʼ ὦ Νεφέλαι χρηστόν τι συμβουλεύσατε.
But, O Clouds, give me some good advice.
§794ἡμεῖς μὲν ὦ πρεσβῦτα συμβουλεύομεν, §795εἴ σοί τις υἱός ἐστιν ἐκτεθραμμένος, §796πέμπειν ἐκεῖνον ἀντὶ σαυτοῦ μανθάνειν.
Chorus: We indeed, old man, advise you, if you have a grown-up son, to send him to learn in your place.
Strepsiades: But I do have a son, beautiful and good; but indeed he is not willing to learn.
τί ἐγὼ πάθω;
What am I to do?
§799σὺ δʼ ἐπιτρέπεις;
Chorus: And you permit this?
Strepsiades: For he is healthy in body and vigorous, and he is from those high-flown women of the family of Koisyra.
But anyway I will go for him; and if he is not willing, there is no way I will not drive him out of the house.
§803ἀλλʼ ἐπανάμεινόν μʼ ὀλίγον εἰσελθὼν χρόνον.
But wait for me a little time, going inside.
Chorus: Do you perceive that you will immediately have the most benefits through us, alone of the gods?
Since this man is ready to do everything whatever you may command.
§810σὺ δʼ ἀνδρὸς ἐκπεπληγμένου καὶ φανερῶς ἐπηρμένου §811γνοὺς ἀπολάψεις ὅ τι πλεῖστον δύνασαι, §812ταχέως· φιλεῖ γάρ πως τὰ τοιαῦθʼ ἑτέρᾳ τρέπεσθαι.
And you, having recognized the state of a man stunned and clearly excited, will lap up as much as you can, quickly; for such things somehow love to turn to the other side.
Strepsiades: By Mist, you shall certainly not stay here any longer; but go and eat the pillars of Megakles.
§816ὦ δαιμόνιε, τί χρῆμα πάσχεις ὦ πάτερ;
Pheidippides: O extraordinary father, what is happening to you?
§817οὐκ εὖ φρονεῖς μὰ τὸν Δία τὸν Ὀλύμπιον.
By Olympian Zeus, you are not in your right mind.
§818ἰδού γʼ ἰδού, Δίʼ Ὀλύμπιον·
Strepsiades: Look at that, look, "Olympian Zeus"!
τῆς μωρίας, §819τὸν Δία νομίζειν ὄντα τηλικουτονί.
What folly, to believe in Zeus, being of such an age as this.
§820τί δὲ τοῦτʼ ἐγέλασας ἐτεόν;
Pheidippides: But why indeed did you laugh at this?
Strepsiades: Because I was thinking that you are a mere child and think in an old-fashioned way.
Yet nevertheless come here, so that you may know more, and I will tell you something which, having learned, you will be a man.
§824ὅπως δὲ τοῦτο μὴ διδάξεις μηδένα.
But see that you do not teach this to anyone.
§825ἰδού· τί ἔστιν;
Pheidippides: Look, what is it?
§825bὤμοσας νυνὶ Δία.
Strepsiades: You just now swore by Zeus.
§826ἔγωγʼ.
Pheidippides: I did.
§826bὁρᾷς οὖν ὡς ἀγαθὸν τὸ μανθάνειν;
Strepsiades: Do you see then how good learning is?
§827οὐκ ἔστιν ὦ Φειδιππίδη Ζεύς.
There is no Zeus, Pheidippides.
§827bἀλλὰ τίς;
Pheidippides: But who is there?
§828Δῖνος βασιλεύει τὸν Δίʼ ἐξεληλακώς.
Vortex rules, having driven out Zeus.
§829αἰβοῖ τί ληρεῖς;
Pheidippides: Bah! What nonsense are you talking?
§829bἴσθι τοῦθʼ οὕτως ἔχον.
Strepsiades: Know that this is so.
§830τίς φησι ταῦτα;
Pheidippides: Who says this?
Strepsiades: Socrates the Melian, and Chaerephon, who knows the footprints of fleas.
Pheidippides: Have you come to such a pitch of madness as to believe men who are full of bile?
§833bεὐστόμει §834καὶ μηδὲν εἴπῃς φλαῦρον ἄνδρας δεξιοὺς §835καὶ νοῦν ἔχοντας· ὧν ὑπὸ τῆς φειδωλίας §836ἀπεκείρατʼ οὐδεὶς πώποτʼ οὐδʼ ἠλείψατο, §837οὐδʼ ἐς βαλανεῖον ἦλθε λουσόμενος· σὺ δὲ §838ὥσπερ τεθνεῶτος καταλόει μου τὸν βίον.
Strepsiades: Speak well of them, and do not say anything worthless of clever men and those who have sense; from whose thriftiness no one ever cut his hair or anointed himself, nor went to a bathhouse to wash; but you are washing away my life as if I were a dead man.
§839ἀλλʼ ὡς τάχιστʼ ἐλθὼν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ μάνθανε.
But go as quickly as possible and learn in my stead.
§840τί δʼ ἂν παρʼ ἐκείνων καὶ μάθοι χρηστόν τις ἄν;
Pheidippides: And what useful thing could anyone learn from them?
§841ἄληθες;
Strepsiades: Really?
ὅσαπερ ἔστʼ ἐν ἀνθρώποις σοφά· §842γνώσει δὲ σαυτὸν ὡς ἀμαθὴς εἶ καὶ παχύς.
As many things as are wise among men; and you will know yourself, how ignorant and thick you are.
§843ἀλλʼ ἐπανάμεινόν μʼ ὀλίγον ἐνταυθοῖ χρόνον.
But wait for me here a little time.
§844οἴμοι τί δράσω παραφρονοῦντος τοῦ πατρός;
Pheidippides: Alas, what shall I do, my father being out of his mind?
Should I bring him in for insanity and convict him, or should I tell the coffin-makers about his madness?
§847φέρʼ ἴδω, σὺ τοῦτον τί ὀνομάζεις;
Strepsiades: Let me see, what do you call this?
εἰπέ μοι.
Tell me.
§848ἀλεκτρυόνα.
Pheidippides: A chicken.
§848bκαλῶς γε.
Strepsiades: Good indeed.
ταυτηνὶ δὲ τί;
And this one, what?
§849ἀλεκτρυόνʼ.
Pheidippides: A chicken.
§849bἄμφω ταὐτό;
Strepsiades: Both the same?
καταγέλαστος εἶ.
You are ridiculous.
Do not do so for the future, but call this one a "chickeness", and this other one a "cock".
§852ἀλεκτρύαιναν;
Pheidippides: A "chickeness"?
ταῦτʼ ἔμαθες τὰ δεξιὰ §853εἴσω παρελθὼν ἄρτι παρὰ τοὺς γηγενεῖς;
Did you learn these clever things just now, having gone inside to those sons of the Earth?
Strepsiades: And many other things too; but whatever I learned each time, I would immediately forget because of the multitude of my years.
§856διὰ ταῦτα δὴ καὶ θοἰμάτιον ἀπώλεσας;
Pheidippides: Is it indeed because of this that you also lost your cloak?
§857ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἀπολώλεκʼ, ἀλλὰ καταπεφρόντικα.
Strepsiades: I have not lost it, but have thought it away.
§858τὰς δʼ ἐμβάδας ποῖ τέτροφας ὦνόητε σύ;
Pheidippides: And where have you wasted your shoes, you foolish man?
§859ὥσπερ Περικλέης ἐς τὸ δέον ἀπώλεσα.
Strepsiades: Like Pericles, I lost them for a necessary purpose.
§860ἀλλʼ ἴθι βάδιζʼ, ἴωμεν· εἶτα τῷ πατρὶ §861πιθόμενος ἐξάμαρτε· κἀγώ τοί ποτε, §862οἶδʼ, ἑξέτει σοι τραυλίσαντι πιθόμενος, §863ὃν πρῶτον ὀβολὸν ἔλαβον ἡλιαστικόν, §864τούτου ʼπριάμην σοι Διασίοις ἁμαξίδα.
But come, walk, let us go; and then, having obeyed your father, err; and indeed I too once, I know, obeyed you when you were six years old and lisping, and the first obol I received as a court-fee, with this I bought you a little toy cart at the Diasia.
§865ἦ μὴν σὺ τούτοις τῷ χρόνῳ ποτʼ ἀχθέσει.
Pheidippides: Truly you will some day be grieved by these things in time.
§866εὖ γʼ ὅτι ἐπείσθης.
Strepsiades: It is good indeed that you were persuaded.
Come here, come here, Socrates, come out; for I bring you this son of mine, having persuaded him against his will.
§868bνηπύτιος γάρ ἐστʼ ἔτι,
Socrates: For he is still a mere child,