§521Λάμπων δʼ ὄμνυσʼ ἔτι καὶ νυνὶ τὸν χῆνʼ, ὅταν ἐξαπατᾷ τι.
Pisthetaerus: Lampon still even now swears by the goose, whenever he deceives in something.
§522οὕτως ὑμᾶς πάντες πρότερον μεγάλους ἁγίους τʼ ἐνόμιζον, §523νῦν δʼ ἀνδράποδʼ ἠλιθίους Μανᾶς· §524ὥσπερ δʼ ἤδη τοὺς μαινομένους §525βάλλουσʼ ὑμᾶς, κἀν τοῖς ἱεροῖς §526πᾶς τις ἐφʼ ὑμῖν ὀρνιθευτὴς §527ἵστησι βρόχους παγίδας ῥάβδους §528ἕρκη νεφέλας δίκτυα πηκτάς· §529εἶτα λαβόντες πωλοῦσʼ ἁθρόους· §530οἱ δʼ ὠνοῦνται βλιμάζοντες· §531κοὐδʼ οὖν, εἴπερ ταῦτα δοκεῖ δρᾶν, §532ὀπτησάμενοι παρέθενθʼ ὑμᾶς, §533ἀλλʼ ἐπικνῶσιν τυρὸν ἔλαιον §534σίλφιον ὄξος καὶ τρίψαντες §535κατάχυσμʼ ἕτερον γλυκὺ καὶ λιπαρόν, §536κἄπειτα κατεσκέδασαν θερμὸν §537τοῦτο καθʼ ὑμῶν §538αὐτῶν ὥσπερ κενεβρείων.
Thus everyone formerly thought you great and holy, but now slaves, fools, Manases; and just as they do madmen, they throw stones at you, and in the temples every bird-catcher sets for you nooses, traps, limed twigs, nets, purse-nets, mist-nets, and clap-traps; then, having caught you, they sell you in heaps; and the buyers buy you, poking and squeezing you; and indeed, if they decide to do this, they do not just roast you and serve you up, but they grate over you cheese, oil, silphium, vinegar, and having ground another sweet and rich sauce, and then they pour this hot sauce down over you themselves, as if you were carrion.
Chorus: Truly indeed, truly indeed, most painful words you have brought, O man.
ὡς ἐδάκρυσά γʼ ἐμῶν §541πατέρων κάκην, οἳ §542τάσδε τὰς τιμὰς προγόνων παραδόντων §543ἐπʼ ἐμοῦ κατέλυσαν.
How I wept for my fathers' cowardice, who, though their ancestors handed down these honors, abolished them in my time.
But you, by some divine power and some good fortune, have come to me as a savior.
For, having entrusted to you my young ones and myself, I shall dwell.
§548ἀλλʼ ὅ τι χρὴ δρᾶν, σὺ δίδασκε παρών· ὡς ζῆν οὐκ ἄξιον ἡμῖν, §549εἰ μὴ κομιούμεθα παντὶ τρόπῳ τὴν ἡμετέραν βασιλείαν.
But do you, being present, teach us what we must do; for life is not worth living for us, if we do not recover our kingdom by every means.
§550καὶ δὴ τοίνυν πρῶτα διδάσκω μίαν ὀρνίθων πόλιν εἶναι, §551κἄπειτα τὸν ἀέρα πάντα κύκλῳ καὶ πᾶν τουτὶ τὸ μεταξὺ §552περιτειχίζειν μεγάλαις πλίνθοις ὀπταῖς ὥσπερ Βαβυλῶνα.
Pisthetaerus: And so indeed, first of all I teach that there should be one single city of the birds, and then to wall in all the air around, and all this space between, with great baked bricks like Babylon.
§553ὦ Κεβριόνη καὶ Πορφυρίων ὡς σμερδαλέον τὸ πόλισμα.
Euelpides: O Cebriones and Porphyrion, how terrifying a city-wall!
§554κἄπειτʼ ἢν τοῦτʼ ἐπανεστήκῃ, τὴν ἀρχὴν τὸν Δίʼ ἀπαιτεῖν· §555κἂν μὲν μὴ φῇ μηδʼ ἐθελήσῃ μηδʼ εὐθὺς γνωσιμαχήσῃ, §556ἱερὸν πόλεμον πρωὐδᾶν αὐτῷ, καὶ τοῖσι θεοῖσιν ἀπειπεῖν §557διὰ τῆς χώρας τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐστυκόσι μὴ διαφοιτᾶν, §558ὥσπερ πρότερον μοιχεύσοντες τὰς Ἀλκμήνας κατέβαινον §559καὶ τὰς Ἀλόπας καὶ τὰς Σεμέλας· ἤνπερ δʼ ἐπίωσʼ, ἐπιβάλλειν §560σφραγῖδʼ αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τὴν ψωλήν, ἵνα μὴ βινῶσʼ ἔτʼ ἐκείνας.
Pisthetaerus: And then, if this is built up, to demand back the rule from Zeus; and if he says no, and is not willing, and does not immediately admit defeat, to declare a holy war against him, and to forbid the gods to pass through your territory with erections, as they used to come down formerly to commit adultery with the Alcmene-types, the Alope-types, and the Semele-types; and if they invade, to place a seal upon their members, so that they can no longer copulate with them.
§561τοῖς δʼ ἀνθρώποις ὄρνιν ἕτερον πέμψαι κήρυκα κελεύω, §562ὡς ὀρνίθων βασιλευόντων θύειν ὄρνισι τὸ λοιπόν, §563κἄπειτα θεοῖς ὕστερον αὖθις· προσνείμασθαι δὲ πρεπόντως §564τοῖσι θεοῖσιν τῶν ὀρνίθων ὃς ἂν ἁρμόττῃ καθʼ ἕκαστον· §565ἢν Ἀφροδίτῃ θύῃ, πυροὺς ὄρνιθι φαληρίδι θύειν· §566ἢν δὲ Ποσειδῶνί τις οἶν θύῃ, νήττῃ πυροὺς καθαγίζειν· §567ἢν δʼ Ἡρακλέει θύῃ τι, λάρῳ ναστοὺς θύειν μελιτοῦντας· §568κἂν Διὶ θύῃ βασιλεῖ κριόν, βασιλεύς ἐστʼ ὀρχίλος ὄρνις, §569ᾧ προτέρῳ δεῖ τοῦ Διὸς αὐτοῦ σέρφον ἐνόρχην σφαγιάζειν.
And to humans, I bid you send another bird as a herald, to declare that, since birds are kings, they must henceforth sacrifice to birds, and afterwards to the gods again; and to assign appropriately to each of the gods whichever of the birds is fitting: if one sacrifices to Aphrodite, let him sacrifice wheat to the coot; and if anyone sacrifices a sheep to Poseidon, let him consecrate wheat to the duck; and if anyone sacrifices anything to Heracles, let him offer honey-sweet cakes to the gull; and if one sacrifices a ram to Zeus the King, the wren is a king bird, to whom, before Zeus himself, one must sacrifice an uncastrated gnat.
§570ἥσθην σέρφῳ σφαγιαζομένῳ.
Euelpides: I am delighted with the sacrifice of an uncastrated gnat!
βροντάτω νῦν ὁ μέγας Ζάν.
Now let the great Zan thunder!
Chorus: And how will humans think us gods, and not jackdaws, we who fly and have wings?
§572bληρεῖς·
Pisthetaerus: You talk nonsense!
καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ὅ γʼ Ἑρμῆς §573πέτεται θεὸς ὢν πτέρυγάς τε φορεῖ, κἄλλοι γε θεοὶ πάνυ πολλοί.
By Zeus, Hermes flies, being a god, and wears wings, and so do very many other gods.
§574αὐτίκα Νίκη πέτεται πτερύγοιν χρυσαῖν καὶ νὴ Δίʼ Ἔρως γε· §575Ἥρην δέ γʼ Ὅμηρος ἔφασκʼ ἰκέλην εἶναι τρήρωνι πελείῃ.
For example, Nike flies with golden wings, and by Zeus, so does Eros; and Homer used to say Hera was like a timid dove.
§576ὁ Ζεὺς δʼ ἡμῖν οὐ βροντήσας πέμψει πτερόεντα κεραυνόν;
Euelpides: And won't Zeus send his winged thunderbolt when thundering at us?
§577ἢν δʼ οὖν ὑμᾶς μὲν ὑπʼ ἀγνοίας εἶναι νομίσωσι τὸ μηδέν, §578τούτους δὲ θεοὺς τοὺς ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ τότε χρὴ στρούθων νέφος ἀρθὲν §579καὶ σπερμολόγων ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν τὸ σπέρμʼ αὐτῶν ἀνακάψαι· §580κἄπειτʼ αὐτοῖς ἡ Δημήτηρ πυροὺς πεινῶσι μετρείτω.
Pisthetaerus: But if, then, through ignorance they think you to be nothing, and these gods on Olympus, then a cloud of sparrows must rise and seed-peckers from the fields, to gobble up all their seed; and then let Demeter measure out wheat to them when they are starving.
§581οὐκ ἐθελήσει μὰ Δίʼ, ἀλλʼ ὄψει προφάσεις αὐτὴν παρέχουσαν.
Euelpides: She won't be willing, by Zeus, but you will see her offering excuses.
§582οἱ δʼ αὖ κόρακες τῶν ζευγαρίων, οἷσιν τὴν γῆν καταροῦσιν, §583καὶ τῶν προβάτων τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐκκοψάντων ἐπὶ πείρᾳ· §584εἶθʼ ὅ γʼ Ἀπόλλων ἰατρός γʼ ὢν ἰάσθω· μισθοφορεῖ δέ.
Pisthetaerus: And then, let the crows peck out the eyes of the yoke-animals, with which they plow the earth, and of their sheep, as a trial; and then let Apollo, since he is a physician, cure them—he takes fees, after all!
§585μὴ πρίν γʼ ἂν ἐγὼ τὼ βοιδαρίω τὠμὼ πρώτιστʼ ἀποδῶμαι.
Euelpides: Not until I sell my two little oxen first, at any rate!