§1415τανυσίπτερε ποικίλα μάλʼ αὖθις.
"O long-winged, dappled swallow," yet again.
He seems to me to be singing his song with reference to his cloak, and he seems to need not a few swallows.
§1418τίς ὁ πτερῶν δεῦρʼ ἐστὶ τοὺς ἀφικνουμένους;
Who is the one here who feathers those who arrive?
§1419ὁδὶ πάρεστιν· ἀλλʼ ὅτου δεῖ χρὴ λέγειν.
Here he is; but you must say what you need.
§1420πτερῶν πτερῶν δεῖ· μὴ πύθῃ τὸ δεύτερον.
Wings, wings I need; do not ask a second time.
§1421μῶν εὐθὺ Πελλήνης πέτεσθαι διανοεῖ;
Are you by any chance planning to fly straight to Pellene?
No, by Zeus, but I am an island summoner and a sycophant— O blessed in your trade!
§1424καὶ πραγματοδίφης.
and a lawsuit-hunter.
εἶτα δέομαι πτερὰ λαβὼν §1425κύκλῳ περισοβεῖν τὰς πόλεις καλούμενος.
So, having got wings, I need to flutter around the cities in a circle, when summoning them.
§1426ὑπὸ πτερύγων τι προσκαλεῖ σοφώτερον;
Do you summon them any more cleverly because of wings?
§1427μὰ Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ἵνʼ οἱ λῃσταί τε μὴ λυπῶσί με, §1428μετὰ τῶν γεράνων τʼ ἐκεῖθεν ἀναχωρῶ πάλιν, §1429ἀνθʼ ἕρματος πολλὰς καταπεπωκὼς δίκας.
No, by Zeus, but so that the pirates may not harass me, and I may return back from there with the cranes, having swallowed many lawsuits instead of ballast.
§1430τουτὶ γὰρ ἐργάζει σὺ τοὔργον;
For do you actually perform this work?
εἰπέ μοι, §1431νεανίας ὢν συκοφαντεῖς τοὺς ξένους;
Tell me, being a young man, do you play the sycophant to foreigners?
§1432τί γὰρ πάθω;
What is to become of me?
σκάπτειν γὰρ οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι.
For I do not know how to dig.
§1433ἀλλʼ ἔστιν ἕτερα νὴ Δίʼ ἔργα σώφρονα, §1434ἀφʼ ὧν διαζῆν ἄνδρα χρῆν τοσουτονὶ §1435ἐκ τοῦ δικαίου μᾶλλον ἢ δικορραφεῖν.
But by Zeus, there are other honest trades, from which it is proper for a man as big as you to get a living honestly, rather than cobbling lawsuits together.
§1436ὦ δαιμόνιε μὴ νουθέτει μʼ ἀλλὰ πτέρου.
My good man, do not lecture me, but feather me!
§1437νῦν τοι λέγων πτερῶ σε.
Indeed, I am feathering you right now by speaking.
§1439bπάντες;
Everyone?
§1439cοὐκ ἀκήκοας, §1440ὅταν λέγωσιν οἱ πατέρες ἑκάστοτε §1441τοῖς μειρακίοις ἐν τοῖσι κουρείοις ταδί; §1442δεινῶς γέ μου τὸ μειράκιον Διειτρέφης §1443λέγων ἀνεπτέρωκεν ὥσθʼ ἱππηλατεῖν. §1444ὁ δέ τις τὸν αὑτοῦ φησιν ἐπὶ τραγῳδίᾳ §1445ἀνεπτερῶσθαι καὶ πεποτῆσθαι τὰς φρένας.
Haven't you heard whenever the fathers say every time to the youths in the barbershops things like this: "Diitrephes has dreadfully set my boy on wing by speaking, so that he drives chariots." And another says his own boy for tragedy has been set on wing and has his mind fluttering.
§1446λόγοισί τἄρα καὶ πτεροῦνται;
By words then are they also feathered?
§1446bφήμʼ ἐγώ.
So I say.
For by words both the mind is elevated and the man is uplifted.
Thus I also, having winged you, wish by good words to turn you to a lawful occupation.
§1450bἀλλʼ οὐ βούλομαι.
But I don't want to.
§1451τί δαὶ ποιήσεις;
What then will you do?
§1451bτὸ γένος οὐ καταισχυνῶ.
I will not disgrace my family.
§1452παππῷος ὁ βίος συκοφαντεῖν ἐστί μοι.
To play the sycophant is my ancestral livelihood.
§1453ἀλλὰ πτέρου με ταχέσι καὶ κούφοις πτεροῖς §1454ἱέρακος ἢ κερχνῇδος, ὡς ἂν τοὺς ξένους §1455καλεσάμενος κᾆτʼ ἐγκεκληκὼς ἐνθαδὶ §1456κατʼ αὖ πέτωμαι πάλιν ἐκεῖσε.
But feather me with swift and light wings of a hawk or a kestrel, so that having summoned the foreigners, and then having indicted them here, I may fly back there again.
§1456bμανθάνω.
I understand.
You mean this: so that the foreigner may lose the suit by default here, before he arrives.
§1458bπάνυ μανθάνεις.
You understand perfectly.
And then he sails here, but you fly back there again to seize his goods.
§1460bπάντʼ ἔχεις.
You've got it all.
§1461βέμβικος οὐδὲν διαφέρειν δεῖ.
One must differ in no way from a spinning top.
καὶ μὴν ἔστι μοι νὴ τὸν Δία §1463κάλλιστα Κορκυραῖα τοιαυτὶ πτερά.
And indeed I have, by Zeus, very fine Corcyrean wings like this.
§1464οἴμοι τάλας μάστιγʼ ἔχεις.
Alas, miserable me, you have a whip!
§1464bπτερὼ μὲν οὖν,
Wings, rather!
§1465οἷσί σε ποιήσω τήμερον βεμβικιᾶν.
with which I'll make you spin like a top today.
§1466οἴμοι τάλας.
Alas, miserable me!
§1466bοὐ πτερυγιεῖς ἐντευθενί;
Won't you flutter off from here?
§1467οὐκ ἀπολιβάξεις ὦ κάκιστʼ ἀπολούμενος;
Won't you clear out, you miserable scoundrel?
§1468πικρὰν τάχʼ ὄψει στρεψοδικοπανουργίαν.
You will soon find your shifty lawsuit-tricks bitter.
§1469ἀπίωμεν ἡμεῖς ξυλλαβόντες τὰ πτερά.
Let us go, gathering up the wings.
To many strange and new and wonderful places we have flown, and terrible sights we have seen.
§1473ἔστι γὰρ δένδρον πεφυκὸς §1474ἔκτοπόν τι Καρδίας ἀ- §1475πωτέρω Κλεώνυμος, §1476χρήσιμον μὲν οὐδέν, ἄλλως §1477δὲ δειλὸν καὶ μέγα.
For there is a tree that has grown, strange, some distance away from Cardia— Cleonymus, useful for nothing, but otherwise cowardly and big.
§1478τοῦτο τοῦ μὲν ἦρος ἀεὶ §1479βλαστάνει καὶ συκοφαντεῖ, §1480τοῦ δὲ χειμῶνος πάλιν τὰς §1481ἀσπίδας φυλλορροεῖ.
This, in the spring, always buds and plays the sycophant, but in the winter, in turn, it sheds its shields like leaves.
§1482ἔστι δʼ αὗ χώρα πρὸς αὐτῷ §1483τῷ σκότῳ πόρρω τις ἐν §1484τῇ λύχνων ἐρημίᾳ, §1485ἔνθα τοῖς ἥρωσιν ἄνθρωποι §1486ξυναριστῶσι καὶ ξύν- §1487εισι πλὴν τῆς ἑσπέρας.
And there is again a land near the darkness itself, far off in the solitude of lamps, where with the heroes men dine together and associate, except in the evening.
At that time indeed it is no longer safe to meet them.
§1490εἰ γὰρ ἐντύχοι τις ἥρῳ §1491τῶν βροτῶν νύκτωρ Ὀρέστῃ, §1492γυμνὸς ἦν πληγεὶς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ §1493πάντα τἀπιδέξια.
For if anyone of mortals should meet a hero Orestes by night, he was stripped, having been struck by him, in all his right side.
§1494οἴμοι τάλας, ὁ Ζεὺς ὅπως μή μʼ ὄψεται.
Alas, miserable me! I hope Zeus won't see me!
§1495ποῦ Πισθέταιρός ἐστʼ;
Where is Pisthetaerus?
§1495bἔα τουτὶ τί ἦν;
Ha! What was this?
§1496τίς ὁ συγκαλυμμός;
Who is this covered-up person?
§1497bμὰ Δίʼ ἐγὼ μὲν οὔ.
No, by Zeus, I don't.
§1498τίς δʼ εἶ σύ;
But who are you?
§1498bπηνίκʼ ἐστὶν ἄρα τῆς ἡμέρας;
What time of day is it then?
§1499ὁπηνίκα;
What time?
σμικρόν τι μετὰ μεσημβρίαν.
A little after noon.
§1500ἀλλὰ σὺ τίς εἶ;
But who are you?
§1500bβουλυτὸς ἢ περαιτέρω;
Is it ox-loosing time or further?
§1501οἴμʼ ὡς βδελύττομαί σε.
Ah! How I detest you!
§1501bτί γὰρ ὁ Ζεὺς ποιεῖ;
Well, what is Zeus doing?