Seeing such a monster, he says he was not frightened into taking bribes, but still even now fights on your behalf.
φησίν τε μετʼ αὐτὸν §1038τοῖς ἠπιάλοις ἐπιχειρῆσαι πέρυσιν καὶ τοῖς πυρετοῖσιν, §1039οἳ τοὺς πατέρας τʼ ἦγχον νύκτωρ καὶ τοὺς πάππους ἀπέπνιγον, §1040κατακλινόμενοί τʼ ἐπὶ ταῖς κοίταις ἐπὶ τοῖσιν ἀπράγμοσιν ὑμῶν §1041ἀντωμοσίας καὶ προσκλήσεις καὶ μαρτυρίας συνεκόλλων, §1042ὥστʼ ἀναπηδᾶν δειμαίνοντας πολλοὺς ὡς τὸν πολέμαρχον.
And he says that after him he attacked the agues and fevers last year, which strangled fathers by night and choked grandfathers, and reclining on the beds of the quiet ones among you, pasted together pleas, summonses, and depositions, so that many leaped up in terror to the polemarch.
§1043τοιόνδʼ εὑρόντες ἀλεξίκακον τῆς χώρας τῆσδε καθαρτήν, §1044πέρυσιν καταπροὔδοτε καινοτάταις σπείραντʼ αὐτὸν διανοίαις, §1045ἃς ὑπὸ τοῦ μὴ γνῶναι καθαρῶς ὑμεῖς ἐποιήσατʼ ἀναλδεῖς·
Though finding such a defender and purifier of this land, last year you betrayed him when he sowed highly novel ideas, which you, through failing to understand them clearly, made fruitless.
§1046καίτοι σπένδων πόλλʼ ἐπὶ πολλοῖς ὄμνυσιν τὸν Διόνυσον §1047μὴ πώποτʼ ἀμείνονʼ ἔπη τούτων κωμῳδικὰ μηδένʼ ἀκοῦσαι.
And yet, pouring many libations on many occasions, he swears by Dionysus that no one ever heard better comic verses than these.
§1048τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἔσθʼ ὑμῖν αἰσχρὸν τοῖς μὴ γνοῦσιν παραχρῆμα, §1049ὁ δὲ ποιητὴς οὐδὲν χείρων παρὰ τοῖσι σοφοῖς νενόμισται, §1050εἰ παρελαύνων τοὺς ἀντιπάλους τὴν ἐπίνοιαν ξυνέτριψεν.
Therefore, this is indeed a disgrace for you who did not understand immediately, but the poet is considered no worse among the wise, even if, in trying to drive past his rivals, he wrecked his invention.
§1051ἀλλὰ τὸ λοιπὸν τῶν ποιητῶν §1052ὦ δαιμόνιοι τοὺς ζητοῦντας §1053καινόν τι λέγειν κἀξευρίσκειν §1054στέργετε μᾶλλον καὶ θεραπεύετε, §1055καὶ τὰ νοήματα σῴζεσθʼ αὐτῶν, §1056ἐσβάλλετέ τʼ ἐς τὰς κιβωτοὺς §1057μετὰ τῶν μήλων.
But for the future, o clever people, cherish and care for more those who seek to say and find out something new, and preserve their thoughts, and throw them into your chests along with the quinces.
And if you do this, your garments throughout the year will smell of cleverness.
§1060ὦ πάλαι ποτʼ ὄντες ἡμεῖς ἄλκιμοι μὲν ἐν χοροῖς, §1061ἄλκιμοι δʼ ἐν μάχαις, §1062καὶ κατʼ αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο μόνον ἄνδρες ἀλκιμώτατοι· §1063πρίν ποτʼ ἦν πρὶν ταῦτα, νῦν δʼ §1064οἴχεται, κύκνου τʼ ἔτι πολιώτεραι δὴ §1065αἵδʼ ἐπανθοῦσιν τρίχες.
O we who once were valiant in the choruses, and valiant in battles, and in this very respect alone most valiant men; once, once those things were, but now they are gone, and indeed whiter than a swan these hairs bloom.
§1066ἀλλὰ κἀκ τῶν λειψάνων δεῖ §1067τῶνδε ῥώμην νεανικὴν σχεῖν· §1068ὡς ἐγὼ τοὐμὸν νομίζω §1069γῆρας εἶναι κρεῖττον ἢ πολλῶν §1069aκικίννους νεανιῶν καὶ §1070σχῆμα κεὐρυπρωκτίαν.
But even from these remnants we must get youthful strength; since I consider my old age to be better than the curls of many young men and posture and broad-arsedness.
§1071εἴ τις ὑμῶν ὦ θεαταὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ἰδὼν φύσιν §1072εἶτα θαυμάζει μʼ ὁρῶν μέσον διεσφηκωμένον, §1073ἥτις ἡμῶν ἐστὶν ἡ ʼπίνοια τῆς ἐγκεντρίδος, §1074ῥᾳδίως ἐγὼ διδάξω, κἂν ἄμουσος ᾖ τὸ πρίν.
If any of you, o spectators, seeing my nature, then wonders seeing me pinched in the waist like a wasp, and what is the meaning of our sting, I will easily teach him, even if he was uncultured before.
§1075ἐσμὲν ἡμεῖς, οἷς πρόσεστι τοῦτο τοὐρροπύγιον, §1076Ἀττικοὶ μόνοι δικαίως ἐγγενεῖς αὐτόχθονες, §1077ἀνδρικώτατον γένος καὶ πλεῖστα τήνδε τὴν πόλιν §1078ὠφελῆσαν ἐν μάχαισιν, ἡνίκʼ ἦλθʼ ὁ βάρβαρος, §1079τῷ καπνῷ τύφων ἅπασαν τὴν πόλιν καὶ πυρπολῶν, §1080ἐξελεῖν ἡμῶν μενοινῶν πρὸς βίαν τἀνθρήνια.
We, to whom this rump-sting belongs, are the only truly native Atticans, indigenous, the most manly race and the one who benefited this city most in battles, when the barbarian came, smoking out the whole city with smoke and burning it, eager to take our wasp-nests by force.
§1081εὐθέως γὰρ ἐκδραμόντες ξὺν δορὶ ξὺν ἀσπίδι §1082ἐμαχόμεσθʼ αὐτοῖσι, θυμὸν ὀξίνην πεπωκότες, §1083στὰς ἀνὴρ παρʼ ἄνδρʼ, ὑπʼ ὀργῆς τὴν χελύνην ἐσθίων· §1084ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν τοξευμάτων οὐκ ἦν ἰδεῖν τὸν οὐρανόν.
For immediately running out with spear and shield, we fought them, having drunk a sharp-spirited anger, man standing by man, biting his lip from rage; and from the arrows, it was impossible to see the heaven.
§1085ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἐωσάμεσθα ξὺν θεοῖς πρὸς ἑσπέραν.
But nevertheless, we pushed them back with the gods' help toward evening.
§1086γλαῦξ γὰρ ἡμῶν πρὶν μάχεσθαι τὸν στρατὸν διέπτετο· §1087εἶτα δʼ εἱπόμεσθα θυννάζοντες ἐς τοὺς θυλάκους, §1088οἱ δʼ ἔφευγον τὰς γνάθους καὶ τὰς ὀφρῦς κεντούμενοι· §1089ὥστε παρὰ τοῖς βαρβάροισι πανταχοῦ καὶ νῦν ἔτι §1090μηδὲν Ἀττικοῦ καλεῖσθαι σφηκὸς ἀνδρικώτερον.
For an owl flew through our army before we fought; then we followed them, harpooning them into their breeches, while they fled, stung in their jaws and eyebrows; so that among the barbarians everywhere even now nothing is called more manly than an Attic wasp.
§1091ἆρα δεινὸς ἦ τόθʼ ὥστε πάντα μὴ δεδοικέναι, §1092καὶ κατεστρεψάμην §1093τοὺς ἐναντίους, πλέων ἐκεῖσε ταῖς τριήρεσιν;
Indeed, was I not terrible then, so as to fear nothing, and did I not subdue the opponents, sailing there with the triremes?
§1094οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἡμῖν ὅπως §1095ῥῆσιν εὖ λέξειν ἐμέλλομεν τότʼ, οὐδὲ §1096συκοφαντήσειν τινὰ §1097φροντίς, ἀλλʼ ὅστις ἐρέτης ἔσοιτʼ §1097aἄριστος.
For we had no thought how we were to speak a speech well, nor to play the sycophant against anyone was there a care, but only who would be the best oarsman.
τοιγαροῦν πολλὰς §1098πόλεις Μήδων ἑλόντες §1099αἰτιώτατοι φέρεσθαι §1100τὸν φόρον δεῦρʼ ἐσμέν, ὃν κλέπτουσιν §1101οἱ νεώτεροι.
Therefore, having taken many cities of the Medes, we are most responsible for bringing the tribute here, which now the younger men steal.
§1102πολλαχοῦ σκοποῦντες ἡμᾶς εἰς ἅπανθʼ εὑρήσετε §1103τοὺς τρόπους καὶ τὴν δίαιταν σφηξὶν ἐμφερεστάτους.
Looking in many ways, you will find us in all habits and lifestyle most similar to wasps.
§1104πρῶτα μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἡμῶν ζῷον ἠρεθισμένον §1105μᾶλλον ὀξύθυμόν ἐστιν οὐδὲ δυσκολώτερον· §1106εἶτα τἄλλʼ ὅμοια πάντα σφηξὶ μηχανώμεθα.
For first, no animal when irritated is more hot-tempered or more cross than we; then in all other things we manage ourselves just like wasps.
§1107ξυλλεγέντες γὰρ καθʼ ἑσμούς, ὡσπερεὶ τἀνθρήνια, §1108οἱ μὲν ἡμῶν οὗπερ ἅρχων, οἱ δὲ παρὰ τοὺς ἕνδεκα, §1109οἱ δʼ ἐν ᾠδείῳ δικάζουσʼ, οἱ δὲ πρὸς τοῖς τειχίοις §1110ξυμβεβυσμένοι πυκνόν, νεύοντες ἐς τὴν γῆν, μόλις §1111ὥσπερ οἱ σκώληκες ἐν τοῖς κυττάροις κινούμενοι.
For gathering in swarms, as if in wasp-nests, some of us where the archon is, some by the Eleven, others judge in the Odeion, others by the walls packed closely together, nodding to the earth, scarcely moving like grubs in their cells.
§1112ἔς τε τὴν ἄλλην δίαιτάν ἐσμεν εὐπορώτατοι.
And in our other lifestyle we are most resourceful.