§501τὸν μοιχὸν ἐξέπεμψεν, οὐκ εἴρηκέ πω.
Third Woman: how she sent out her lover, he has not yet said.
§502ἑτέραν δʼ ἐγᾦδʼ ἣ ʼφασκεν ὠδίνειν γυνὴ §503δέχʼ ἡμέρας, ἔως ἐπρίατο παιδίον· §504ὁ δʼ ἀνὴρ περιέτρεχʼ ὠκυτόκιʼ ὠνούμενος· §505τὸ δʼ εἰσέφερε γραῦς ἐν χύτρᾳ τὸ παιδίον, §506ἵνα μὴ βό η, κηρίῳ βεβυσμένον· §507εἶθʼ ὡς ἔνευσεν ἡ φέρουσʼ, εὐθὺς βοᾷ, §508ἄπελθʼ ἄπελθʼ, ἤδη γὰρ ὦνέρ μοι δοκῶ §509τέξειν. τὸ γὰρ ἦτρον τῆς χύτρας ἐλάκτισεν· §510χὠ μὲν γεγηθὼς ἔτρεχεν, ἡ δʼ ἐξέσπασεν §511ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τοῦ παιδίου, τὸ δʼ ἀνέκραγεν.
And I know another woman who claimed to be in labor for ten days, until she bought a baby; and the husband was running around buying swift-birth remedies; but an old woman was bringing the baby in a pot, gagged with wax, so that it would not cry; then as the one carrying it nodded, she immediately cried out, "Go away, go away, for now, husband, I think to give birth." For the baby kicked the bottom of the pot; and he ran off rejoicing, while she pulled the wax out of the baby's mouth, and it cried out.
§512εἶθʼ ἡ μιαρὰ γραῦς, ἣ ʼφερεν τὸ παιδίον, §513θεῖ μειδιῶσα πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ λέγει, §514λέων λέων σοι γέγονεν, αὔτʼ ἔκμαγμα σόν, §515τά τʼ ἄλλʼ ἁπαξάπαντα καὶ τὸ πόσθιον §516τῷ σῷ προσόμοιον, στρεβλὸν ὥσπερ κύτταρον. §517ταῦτʼ οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὰ κακά;
Then the wretched old woman, who brought the baby, runs smiling to the husband and says, "A lion, a lion has been born to you, your very image, in all other parts, and especially the little penis resembling yours, twisted like a pine-cone." Do we not do these bad things?
νὴ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν §518ἡμεῖς γε.
By Artemis, we certainly do.
κᾆτʼ Εὐριπίδῃ θυμούμεθα, §519οὐδὲν παθοῦσαι μεῖζον ἢ δεδράκαμεν;
And then are we angry at Euripides, having suffered nothing worse than what we have done?
§520τουτὶ μέντοι θαυμαστόν, §521ὁπόθεν ηὑρέθη τὸ χρῆμα, §522χἤτις ἐξέθρεψε χώρα §523τήνδε τὴν θρασεῖαν οὕτω.
Chorus: This indeed is amazing, where this creature was found, and what country bred this woman so bold.
§524τάδε γὰρ εἰπεῖν τὴν πανοῦργον §525κατὰ τὸ φανερὸν ὧδʼ ἀναιδῶς §526οὐκ ἂν ᾠόμην ἐν ἡμῖν §527οὐδὲ τολμῆσαί ποτʼ ἄν.
For that this wicked woman should say these things openly and so shamelessly, I would not have thought among us nor that she would ever dare to.
§528ἀλλʼ ἅπαν γένοιτʼ ἂν ἤδη· §529τὴν παροιμίαν δʼ ἐπαινῶ §529aτὴν παλαιάν· ὑπὸ λίθῳ γὰρ §530παντί νου χρὴ §530aμὴ δάκῃ ῥητωρ ἀθρεῖν.
But anything could happen now; and I praise the proverb, the old one: for under every stone one must indeed watch out lest an orator bite.
§531ἀλλʼ οὐ γάρ ἐστι τῶν ἀναισχύτων φύσει γυναικῶν §532οὐδὲν κάκιον εἰς ἄπαντα πλὴν ἄρʼ εἰ γυναῖκες.
First Woman: But indeed there is of naturally shameless women nothing worse in all things, except indeed women themselves.
§533οὔ τοι μὰ τὴν Ἄγλαυρον ὦ γυναῖκες εὖ φρονεῖτε, §534ἀλλʼ ἢ πεφάρμαχθʼ ἢ κακόν τι μέγα πεπόνθατʼ ἄλλο, §535ταύτην ἐῶσαι τὴν φθόρον τοιαῦτα περιυβρίζειν §536ἡμᾶς ἁπάσας.
By Aglauros, women, you are certainly not in your right minds, but either you have been drugged or have suffered some other great evil, in allowing this pest to so insult all of us.
εἰ μὲν οἶν τις ἔστιν· εἰ δὲ μή, ἡμεῖς §537αὐταί τε καὶ τὰ δουλάρια τέφραν ποθὲν λαβοῦσαι §538ταύτης ἀποψιλώσομεν τὸν χοῖρον, ἵνα διδαχθῇ §539γυνὴ γυναῖκας οὖσα μὴ κακῶς λέγειν τὸ λοιπόν.
If indeed there is someone; if not, we ourselves and the little slave girls, getting ashes from somewhere, will pluck her pubic hair, so that she may be taught though being a woman, not to speak ill of women in the future.
§540μὴ δῆτα τόν γε χοῖρον ὦ γυναῖκες.
Third Woman: Please do not pluck the hair, women.
εἰ γὰρ οὔσης §541παρρησίας κἀξὸν λέγειν ὅσαι πάρεσμεν ἀσταί, §542εἶτʼ εἶπον ἁγίγνωσκον ὑπὲρ Εὐριπίδου δίκαια, §543διὰ τοῦτο τιλλομένην με δεῖ δοῦναι δίκην ὑφʼ ὑμῶν;
For if, since there is freedom of speech and it is permitted for all of us citizens present to speak, I then said what I thought was just on Euripides' behalf, must I pay the penalty of being plucked by you on this account?
§544οὐ γάρ σε δεῖ δοῦναι δίκην; ἥτις μόνη τέτληκας
First Woman: Must you not pay the penalty?
§545ὑπὲρ ἀνδρὸς ἀντειπεῖν, ὃς ἡμᾶς πολλὰ κακὰ δέδρακεν §546ἐπίτηδες εὑρίσκων λόγους, ὅπου γυνὴ πονηρὰ §547ἐγένετο, Μελανίππας ποιῶν Φαίδρας τε· Πηνελόπην δὲ §548οὐπώποτʼ ἐποίησʼ, ὅτι γυνὴ σώφρων ἔδοξεν εἶναι.
You who alone have dared to speak on behalf of a man who has done us many evils, on purpose finding arguments where a wicked woman came to be, composing Melanippes and Phaedras; but Penelope he never composed, because she seemed to be a virtuous woman.
§549ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶδα ταἴτιον.
Third Woman: For I know the reason.
Μίαν γὰρ οὐκ ἂν εἴποις §550τῶν νῦν γυναικῶν Πηνελόπην, Παίδρας δʼ ἁπαξαπάσας.
For you could not name a single Penelope among the women of today, but all of them are Phaedras.
First Woman: Do you hear, women, what things this wicked creature has said about all of us yet again?
Third Woman: And by Zeus, not yet indeed have I said all that I know; indeed do you wish me to say more?
§554ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἂν ἔτʼ ἔχοις· ὅσα γὰρ ᾔδησθʼ ἐξέχεας ἅπαντα.
First Woman: But you wouldn't still have any; for you have poured out all that you knew.
§555μὰ Δίʼ οὐδέπω τὴν μυριοστὴν μοῖραν ὧν ποιοῦμεν.
Third Woman: By Zeus, not yet the ten-thousandth part of what we do.
For I haven't said these things, you see: how taking scrapers, we then siphon off the wine.
§557bἐπιτριβείης.
First Woman: May you be ruined!
Third Woman: And how again, giving the meat from the Apaturia to our go-betweens, we then say that the weasel...
§559bτάλαινʼ ἐγώ·
First Woman: Wretched me!
φλυαρεῖς.
You are talking nonsense.
§560οὐδʼ ὡς τὸν ἄνδρα τῷ πελέκει γυνὴ κατεσπόδησεν, §561οὐκ εἶπον· οὐδʼ ὡς φαρμάκοις ἑτέρα τὸν ἄνδρʼ ἔμηνεν, §562οὐδʼ ὡς ὑπὸ τῇ πυέλῳ κατώρυξέν ποτʼ—
Third Woman: Nor how a woman brained her husband with an axe, I have not said; nor how another made her husband mad with drugs, nor how she once buried him under the tub...
§562bἐξόλοιο.
First Woman: May you perish!
§563ἁχαρνικὴ τὸν πατέρα.
Third Woman:...the Acharnian woman her father.
§563bταυτὶ δῆτʼ ἀνέκτʼ ἀκούειν;
First Woman: Is this indeed bearable to hear?
§564οὐδʼ ὡς σὺ τῆς δούλης τεκούσης ἄρρεν εἶτα σαυτῇ §565τοῦθʼ ὑπεβάλου, τὸ σὸν δὲ θυγάτριον παρῆκας αὐτῇ.
Third Woman: Nor how you, when your slave girl gave birth to a male, then for yourself substituted this, and handed your little daughter over to her.
First Woman: By the two goddesses, you certainly shall not get away with saying these things, but I will pluck your hair out.
§567bοὐ δὴ μὰ Δία σύ γʼ ἅψει.
Third Woman: By Zeus, you certainly shall not touch me.
§568καὶ μὴν ἰδού.
First Woman: Indeed, here it is!
§568bκαὶ μὴν ἰδού.
Third Woman: Indeed, here it is!