§1αἶρʼ αἶρε μᾶζαν ὡς τάχιστα κανθάρῳ.
Bring, bring the dung cake as quickly as possible for the beetle.
§2ἰδού.
Here it is.
δὸς αὐτῷ, τῷ κάκιστʼ ἀπολουμένῳ §3καὶ μήποτʼ αὐτῆς μᾶζαν ἡδίω φάγοι.
Give it to him, to that scoundrel who is bound to perish miserably, and may he never eat a sweeter cake than this one!
§4δὸς μᾶζαν ἑτέραν, ἐξ ὀνίδων πεπλασμένην.
Give him another cake, molded from donkey dung.
§5ἰδοὺ μάλʼ αὖφις.
Here is another one indeed.
ποῦ γὰρ ἣν νῦν δὴ ʼφερες;
Where is the one you were just carrying?
§6κατέφαγεν;
Did he eat it up?
No, by Zeus, but snatching it away, he rolled it around with his two feet and swallowed it whole.
§8ἀλλʼ ὡς τάχιστα τρῖβε πολλὰς καὶ πυκνάς.
Come, rub many and thick ones as quickly as possible.
Men of the dung-collectors, help me, by the gods, unless you want to look on while I am choked to death.
Give another, another one, of a boy who has prostituted himself; for he says he desires one that is well-kneaded.
§12bἰδού.
Here it is.
Men, I think I am acquitted of one charge at least; for no one could say that I eat while kneading.
Ouch! Bring another, and another, and another for me, and rub still more.
No, by Apollo, not I; for I am no longer able to hold out against the bilge-water.
§18αὐτὴν ἄρʼ οἴσω συλλαβὼν τὴν ἀντλίαν.
Then I will take the bilge-bucket itself and carry it.
§19νὴ τὸν Δίʼ ἐς κόρακάς γε καὶ σαυτόν γε πρός.
By Zeus, go to the crows, and you too as well!
But if any of you knows, let him tell me, where I could buy a nose that is not pierced with nostrils.
For there was indeed no task more miserable than kneading and serving food to a beetle.
§24ὗς μὲν γάρ, ὥσπερ ἂν χέσῃ τις, ἢ κύων §25φαύλως ἐρείδει· τοῦτο δʼ ὑπὸ φρονήματος §26βρενθύεταί τε καὶ φαγεῖν οὐκ ἀξιοῖ, §27ἢν μὴ παραθῶ τρίψας διʼ ἡμέρας ὅλης §28ὥσπερ γυναικὶ γογγύλην μεμαγμένην.
For a pig or a dog, just as someone defecates, immediately greedily devours it; but this one, out of sheer pride, puts on airs and does not deign to eat, unless I serve it after kneading it all day long like a round cake kneaded for a lady.
But I will see if he has stopped eating by opening this door a little, so that he doesn't see me.
Keep eating, may you never stop eating, until you burst without realizing it yourself.
§33οἷον δὲ κύψας ὁ κατάρατος ἐσθίει, §34ὥσπερ παλαιστής, παραβαλὼν τοὺς γομφίους, §35καὶ ταῦτα τὴν κεφαλήν τε καὶ τὼ χεῖρέ πως §36ὡδὶ περιάγων, ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ σχοινία §37τὰ παχέα συμβάλλοντες ἐς τὰς ὁλκάδας.
And how the cursed thing eats, bending down, like a wrestler, working his jaw-teeth, and moreover bringing his head and two hands somehow around like this, just like men who are twisting thick cables into merchant ships.
§38μιαρὸν τὸ χρῆμα καὶ κάκοσμον καὶ βορόν·
A filthy thing, smelly and gluttonous!
And from which of the gods this visitation comes I do not know.
Ἀφροδίτης μὲν γὰρ οὔ μοι φαίνεται, §41οὐ μὴν Χαρίτων γε.
For it does not seem to me to be Aphrodite's, nor indeed the Graces'.
§41bτοῦ γάρ ἐστʼ;
Whose is it then?
It cannot be other than that this monster belongs to none other than Zeus the Descender.
Now indeed some spectator might say, a self-styled clever youth, "What is the matter?
§45ὁ κάνθαρος δὲ πρὸς τί; κᾆτʼ αὐτῷ γʼ ἀνὴρ §46Ἰωνικός τίς φησι παρακαθήμενος· §47δοκέω μέν, ἐς Κλέωνα τοῦτʼ αἰνίσσεται, §48ὡς κεῖνος ἀναιδέως τὴν σπατίλην ἐσθίει. §49ἀλλʼ εἰσιὼν τῷ κανθάρῳ δώσω πιεῖν.
What is the beetle for?" And then some Ionian man sitting next to him says: "I think this riddles at Cleon, since he shamelessly eats liquid dung." But I will go in and give the beetle something to drink.
§50ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν λόγον γε τοῖσι παιδίοις §51καὶ τοῖσιν ἀνδρίοισι καὶ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν §52καὶ τοῖς ὑπερτάτοισιν ἀνδράσιν φράσω §53καὶ τοῖς ὑπερηνορέουσιν ἔτι τούτοις μάλα.
And I will tell the story to the little children, and to the young men, and to the grown men, and to the greatest men, and still more to these overweening men.
My master is mad in a new way, not like you, but in another, completely new fashion.
§56διʼ ἡμέρας γὰρ ἐς τὸν οὐρανὸν βλέπων §57ὡδὶ κεχηνὼς λοιδορεῖται τῷ Διὶ §58καί φησιν,
ὦ Ζεῦ τί ποτε βουλεύει ποιεῖν;
For all day long, looking into heaven with his mouth agape like this, he abuses Zeus and says, "O Zeus, what on earth do you intend to do?
§59κατάθου τὸ κόρημα·
Lay down the broom!
μὴ ʼκκόρει τὴν Ἑλλάδα. §60ἔα ἔα.
Do not sweep Greece away!" Ah, ah!
§61σιγήσαθʼ, ὡς φωνῆς ἀκούειν μοι δοκῶ.
Be silent, for I think I hear a voice.
§62ὦ Ζεῦ τί δρασείεις ποθʼ ἡμῶν τὸν λεών;
"O Zeus, what are you going to do to our people?
You will destroy the cities to the core without realizing it." This is it, this very evil that I was talking about.
For you hear the proof of his madness; but what he said first when his bile began to rise, you shall hear.
ἔφασκε γὰρ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἐνθαδί· §68πῶς ἄν ποτʼ ἀφικοίμην ἂν εὐθὺ τοῦ Διός; §69ἔπειτα λεπτὰ κλιμάκια ποιούμενος, §70πρὸς ταῦτʼ ἀνηρριχᾶτʼ ἂν ἐς τὸν οὐρανόν, §71ἕως ξυνετρίβη τῆς κεφαλῆς καταρρυείς.
For he used to say to himself right here: "How could I ever go straight to Zeus?" Then, making slender little ladders, he would scramble up on them towards heaven, until he fell down and smashed his head.
§72ἐχθὲς δὲ μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἐκφθαρεὶς οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅποι §73εἰσήγαγʼ Αἰτναῖον μέγιστον κάνθαρον, §74κἄπειτα τοῦτον ἱπποκομεῖν μʼ ἠνάγκασεν, §75καὐτὸς καταψῶν αὐτὸν ὥσπερ πωλίον, §76ὦ Πηγάσειον,
φησί,
γενναῖον πτερόν, §77ὅπως πετήσει μʼ εὐθὺ τοῦ Διὸς λαβών. §78ἀλλʼ ὅ τι ποιεῖ τῃδὶ διακύψας ὄψομαι.
And yesterday, after this, having rushed off to I don't know where, he brought home a huge Etnaean beetle, and then forced me to act as its groom, while he himself patted it like a colt, saying, "O my little Pegasus, noble winged creature, see that you take me and fly straight to Zeus!" But I will peep through here and see what he is doing.