§1328πάνυ γὰρ βραδύς ἐστί τις ὥσπερ ὄνος.
Pisthetaerus: For he is very slow, just like an donkey.
§1329Μανῆς γάρ ἐστι δειλός.
Chorus: For Manes is a coward.
§1330σὺ δὲ τὰ πτερὰ πρῶτον §1331διάθες τάδε κόσμῳ, §1332τά τε μουσίχʼ ὁμοῦ τά τε μαντικὰ καὶ §1333τὰ θαλάττιʼ.
Pisthetaerus: But you, first arrange these wings orderly, both those of the Muses and those of prophecy and the sea-birds' together.
ἔπειτα δʼ ὅπως φρονίμως §1334πρὸς ἄνδρʼ ὁρῶν πτερώσεις.
And then, looking wisely at the man, you shall feather him.
By the kestrels, I will no longer hold back from you, seeing you being so cowardly and slow.
Youth: Would that I became a high-flying eagle, so that I might fly over the barren swelling of the gray sea.
§1340ἔοικεν οὐ ψευδαγγελήσειν ἅγγελος.
Pisthetaerus: It seems the messenger will not have brought false news.
§1341ᾄδων γὰρ ὅδε τις αἰετοὺς προσέρχεται.
For here comes someone singing of eagles.
§1342αἰβοῖ·
Youth: Aha!
§1343οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν τοῦ πέτεσθαι γλυκύτερον·
There is nothing sweeter than flying.
For I am bird-mad, and I fly, and I want to dwell with you, and I desire your laws.
§1346ποίων νόμων;
Pisthetaerus: What kind of laws?
πολλοὶ γὰρ ὀρνίθων νόμοι.
For there are many laws of birds.
Youth: All of them; and especially that it is considered noble among the birds to choke and bite one's father.
Pisthetaerus: And by Zeus, we certainly consider it very manly, whoever, being a chick, strikes his father.
Youth: For this very reason indeed, having moved up here, I desire to choke my father and have everything.
§1353ἀλλʼ ἔστιν ἡμῖν τοῖσιν ὄρνισιν νόμος §1354παλαιὸς ἐν ταῖς τῶν πελαργῶν κύρβεσιν· §1355ἐπὴν ὁ πατὴρ ὁ πελαργὸς ἐκπετησίμους §1356πάντας ποιήσῃ τοὺς πελαργιδέας τρέφων, §1357δεῖ τοὺς νεοττοὺς τὸν πατέρα πάλιν τρέφειν.
Pisthetaerus: But we birds have a law, an ancient one, in the tablets of the storks: When the father stork has made all his young ones capable of flying by feeding them, the young ones must feed their father in turn.
Youth: By Zeus, then I have gained nothing by coming here, if indeed I must even feed my father.
§1360οὐδέν γʼ.
Pisthetaerus: Not at all.
ἐπειδήπερ γὰρ ἦλθες ὦ μέλε §1361εὔνους, πτερώσω σʼ ὥσπερ ὄρνιν ὀρφανόν.
For since you came, my good friend, with goodwill, I will feather you like an orphan bird.
And to you, young man, I will give no bad advice, but such as I myself learned when I was a child.
σὺ γὰρ §1364τὸν μὲν πατέρα μὴ τύπτε· ταυτηνδὶ λαβὼν §1365τὴν πτέρυγα καὶ τουτὶ τὸ πλῆκτρον θἀτέρᾳ, §1366νομίσας ἀλεκτρυόνος ἔχειν τονδὶ λόφον, §1367φρούρει στρατεύου μισθοφορῶν σαυτὸν τρέφε, §1368τὸν πατέρ ἔα ζῆν· ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ μάχιμος εἶ, §1369ἐς τἀπὶ Θρᾴκης ἀποπέτου κἀκεῖ μάχου.
For you, do not strike your father; but take this wing and this spur in the other hand, imagining that you have this crest of a rooster, stand guard, go on campaign, support yourself on your pay, let your father live; but since you are warlike, fly off to the regions of Thrace and fight there.
Youth: By Dionysus, you seem to me to speak well, and I will obey you.
§1371bνοῦν ἄρʼ ἔξεις νὴ Δία.
Pisthetaerus: By Zeus, then you will show sense.
§1373ἀναπέτομαι δὴ πρὸς Ὄλυμπον πτερύγεσσι κούφαις· §1374πέτομαι δʼ ὁδὸν ἄλλοτʼ ἐπʼ ἄλλαν μελέων — §1375τουτὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα φορτίου δεῖται πτερῶν.
Cinesias: I fly up to Olympus on light wings; and I fly now upon one path of songs, now upon another— Pisthetaerus: This business needs a whole cargo of wings.
Cinesias: pursuing a new path with fearless mind and body— Pisthetaerus: We welcome linden-man Cinesias.
§1378τί δεῦρο πόδα σὺ κυλλὸν ἀνὰ κύκλον κυκλεῖς;
Why do you wheel your lame foot here in circles?
§1380ὄρνις γενέσθαι βούλομαι λιγύφθογγος ἀηδών.
Cinesias: I wish to become a bird, a clear-voiced nightingale.
§1381παῦσαι μελῳδῶν, ἀλλʼ ὅ τι λέγεις εἰπέ μοι.
Pisthetaerus: Stop singing, and tell me what you mean.
§1382ὑπὸ σοῦ πτερωθεὶς βούλομαι μετάρσιος §1383ἀναπτόμενος ἐκ τῶν νεφελῶν καινὰς λαβεῖν §1385ἀεροδονήτους καὶ νιφοβόλους ἀναβολάς.
Cinesias: Feathered by you, I want to fly high and taking from the clouds new, air-shaken and snow-swept preludes.
§1386ἐκ τῶν νεφελῶν γὰρ ἄν τις ἀναβολὰς λάβοι;
Pisthetaerus: Could anyone get preludes from the clouds?
§1387κρέμαται μὲν οὖν ἐντεῦθεν ἡμῶν ἡ τέχνη.
Cinesias: Indeed, our art depends on them.
§1388τῶν διθυράμβων γὰρ τὰ λαμπρὰ γίγνεται §1389ἀέρια καὶ σκότιά γε καὶ κυαναυγέα §1390καὶ πτεροδόνητα·
For the brilliant parts of dithyrambs are airy, and dark, and blue-gleaming, and wing-shaken.
σὺ δὲ κλύων εἴσει τάχα.
You will soon know by listening.
§1391οὐ δῆτʼ ἔγωγε.
Pisthetaerus: Certainly not I.
§1391bνὴ τὸν Ἡρακλέα σύ γε.
Cinesias: By Heracles, yes you will.
§1392ἅπαντα γὰρ δίειμί σοι τὸν ἀέρα.
For I will traverse all the air for you.
Images of winged, ether-running, long-necked birds— Pisthetaerus: Whoa there!
Cinesias: Leaping the sea-course, may I go with the blasts of the winds.
§1398νὴ τὸν Δίʼ ἦ ʼγώ σου καταπαύσω τὰς πνοάς.
Pisthetaerus: By Zeus, indeed I will put a stop to your blasts.
§1399τοτὲ μὲν νοτίαν στείχων πρὸς ὁδόν, §1400τοτὲ δʼ αὖ βορέᾳ σῶμα πελάζων §1400aἀλίμενον αἰθέρος αὔλακα τέμνων.
Cinesias: Sometimes walking towards the southern path, sometimes again bringing my body near to the north wind, cutting the harborless furrow of the ether.
§1401χαρίεντά γʼ ὦ πρεσβῦτʼ ἐσοφίσω καὶ σοφά.
Cinesias: You have devised a charming and clever thing, old man.
§1402οὐ γὰρ σὺ χαίρεις πτεροδόνητος γενόμενος;
Pisthetaerus: For are you not glad to be wing-shaken?
Cinesias: Have you done this to the circular chorus teacher, who am always fought over by the tribes?
§1405βούλει διδάσκειν καὶ παρʼ ἡμῖν οὖν μένων §1406Λεωτροφίδῃ χορὸν πετομένων ὀρνέων §1407Κεκροπίδα φυλήν;
Pisthetaerus: So, do you wish to remain with us and teach for Leotrophides a chorus of flying birds, the Cecropid tribe?
§1407bκαταγελᾷς μου, δῆλος εἶ.
Cinesias: You are mocking me, that is clear.
But at any rate, I will not stop, know this well, until I am feathered and run through the air.
Informer: What birds are these, possessing nothing, with dappled wings, O long-winged, dappled swallow?
§1412τουτὶ τὸ κακὸν οὐ φαῦλον ἐξεγρήγορεν.
Pisthetaerus: This nuisance has woken up to no small degree.
§1413ὅδʼ αὖ μινυρίζων δεῦρό τις προσέρχεται.
Here comes someone else humming this way.