§1442ἐγὼ μὲν οἶδα καὶ θέλω φράζειν. §1442bλέγε. §1443ὅταν τὰ νῦν ἄπιστα πίσθʼ ἡγώμεθα, §1444τὰ δʼ ὄντα πίστʼ ἄπιστα. §1444bπῶς;
(EURIPIDES) "I indeed know and wish to speak." (DIONYSUS) "Speak." (EURIPIDES) "When we consider those things which are now untrustworthy to be trustworthy, and those which are now trustworthy to be untrustworthy." (DIONYSUS) "How?
οὐ μανθάνω. §1445ἀμαθέστερόν πως εἰπὲ καὶ σαφέστερον.
I do not understand.
§1446εἰ τῶν πολιτῶν οἷσι νῦν πιστεύομεν, §1447τούτοις ἀπιστήσαιμεν, οἷς δʼ οὐ χρώμεθα, §1448τούτοισι χρησαίμεσθʼ, ἴσως σωθεῖμεν ἄν.
Speak in a somewhat more unlearned and clearer way." (EURIPIDES) "If we should distrust those of the citizens whom we now trust, and should use those whom we do not use, perhaps we might be saved.
§1449εἰ νῦν γε δυστυχοῦμεν ἐν τούτοισι, πῶς §1450τἀναντίʼ ἂν πράττοντες οὐ σῳζοίμεθʼ ἄν; §1451εὖ γʼ ὦ Παλάμηδες, ὦ σοφωτάτη φύσις.
If indeed we are now unfortunate under these, how could we not be saved by doing the opposite?" (DIONYSUS) "Well said, O Palamedes, O most wise nature!
Did you find this out yourself, or did Cephisophon?" (EURIPIDES) "I alone; but the vinegar-cruets were Cephisophon's." (DIONYSUS) "And what about you?
What do you say?" (AESCHYLUS) "Tell me first about the city, what kind of people she now uses: is it the good?" (DIONYSUS) "How could she?
§1455bπόθεν; §1456μισεῖ κάκιστα. §1456bτοῖς πονηροῖς δʼ ἥδεται; §1457οὐ δῆτʼ ἐκείνη γʼ, ἀλλὰ χρῆται πρὸς βίαν. §1458πῶς οὖν τις ἂν σώσειε τοιαύτην πόλιν, §1459ᾗ μήτε χλαῖνα μήτε σισύρα συμφέρει; §1460εὕρισκε νὴ Δίʼ, εἴπερ ἀναδύσει πάλιν. §1461ἐκεῖ φράσαιμʼ ἄν· ἐνθαδὶ δʼ οὐ βούλομαι. §1462μὴ δῆτα σύ γʼ, ἀλλʼ ἐνθένδʼ ἀνίει τἀγαθά. §1463τὴν γῆν ὅταν νομίσωσι τὴν τῶν πολεμίων §1464εἶναι σφετέραν, τὴν δὲ σφετέραν τῶν πολεμίων, §1465πόρον δὲ τὰς ναῦς ἀπορίαν δὲ τὸν πόρον. §1466εὖ, πλήν γʼ ὁ δικαστὴς αὐτὰ καταπίνει μόνος.
She hates them worst." (AESCHYLUS) "And does she delight in the wicked?" (DIONYSUS) "Not she indeed, but she uses them by force." (AESCHYLUS) "How then could anyone save such a city, whom neither a fine cloak nor a rough sheepskin suits?" (DIONYSUS) "Find a way, by Zeus, if you are to go up again!" (AESCHYLUS) "I would speak there; but here I do not wish to." (DIONYSUS) "Do not do so indeed, but send up your blessings from here." (AESCHYLUS) "When they consider the enemy's land to be their own, and their own to be the enemy's, and their ships as their resource, and their current revenue as their loss." (DIONYSUS) "Good, except the juryman swallows all those things alone." (PLUTO) "You may judge." (DIONYSUS) "This will be the judgment between you two: for I will choose the one whom my soul desires." (EURIPIDES) "Remembering then the gods by whom you swore that you would surely bring me home, choose your friends!" (DIONYSUS) 'My tongue has sworn', but I will choose Aeschylus.
§1467κρίνοις ἄν. §1467bαὕτη σφῷν κρίσις γενήσεται· §1468αἱρήσομαι γὰρ ὅνπερ ἡ ψυχὴ θέλει. §1469μεμνημένος νυν τῶν θεῶν οὓς ὤμοσας §1470ἦ μὴν ἀπάξειν μʼ οἴκαδʼ, αἱροῦ τοὺς φίλους. §1471ἡ γλῶττʼ ὀμώμοκʼ,
Αἰσχύλον δʼ αἱρήσομαι. §1472τί δέδρακας ὦ μιαρώτατʼ ἀνθρώπων; §1472bἐγώ; §1473ἔκρινα νικᾶν Αἰσχύλον.
(EURIPIDES) "What have you done, O most abominable of men?" (DIONYSUS) "Me?" I judged Aeschylus to win.
τιὴ γὰρ οὔ; §1474αἴσχιστον ἔργον προσβλέπεις μʼ εἰργασμένος; §1475τί δʼ αἰσχρόν, ἢν μὴ τοῖς θεωμένοις δοκῇ; §1476ὦ σχέτλιε περιόψει με δὴ τεθνηκότα; §1477τίς οἶδεν εἰ τὸ ζῆν μέν ἐστι κατθανεῖν, §1478τὸ πνεῖν δὲ δειπνεῖν, τὸ δὲ καθεύδειν κῴδιον; §1479χωρεῖτε τοίνυν ὦ Διόνυσʼ εἴσω. §1479bτί δαί; §1480ἵνα ξενίσω ʼγʼὼ σφὼ πρὶν ἀποπλεῖν. §1480bεὖ λέγεις §1481νὴ τὸν Δίʼ· οὐ γὰρ ἄχθομαι τῷ πράγματι.
Why shouldn't I?" (EURIPIDES) "Do you look at me, having committed the most shameful deed?" (DIONYSUS) "What is shameful, if it does not seem so to the spectators?" (EURIPIDES) "O cruel man, will you look on while I am dead?" (DIONYSUS) "Who knows if to live is indeed to die, and to breathe is to dine, and to sleep is a fleece blanket?" (PLUTO) "Go then inside, Dionysus." (DIONYSUS) "What for?" (PLUTO) "So that I may host you two before you sail away." (DIONYSUS) "Well said, by Zeus!
For I am not displeased with this business." (CHORUS) Blessed indeed is the man who possesses perfected understanding.
§1484πάρα δὲ πολλοῖσιν μαθεῖν.
And one can learn this from many things.
§1485ὅδε γὰρ εὖ φρονεῖν δοκήσας §1486πάλιν ἄπεισιν οἴκαδʼ αὖ, §1487ἐπʼ ἀγαθῶ μὲν τοῖς πολίταις, §1488ἐπʼ ἀγαθῷ δὲ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ §1489ξυγγενέσι τε καὶ φίλοισι, §1490διὰ τὸ συνετὸς εἶναι.
For this man, having been shown to be wise, is going back home again, for the good of his citizens, and for the good of his own relations and friends, because of being intelligent.
§1491χαρίεν οὖν μὴ Σωκράτει §1492παρακαθήμενον λαλεῖν, §1493ἀποβαλόντα μουσικὴν §1494τά τε μέγιστα παραλιπόντα §1495τῆς τραγῳδικῆς τέχνης.
So it is elegant not to sit by Socrates and babble, throwing away poetry and leaving aside the greatest things of the tragic art.
§1496τὸ δʼ ἐπὶ σεμνοῖσιν λόγοισι §1497καὶ σκαριφησμοῖσι λήρων §1498διατριβὴν ἀργὸν ποιεῖσθαι, §1499παραφρονοῦντος ἀνδρός.
To spend idle time on pompous words and scraping of nonsense is the mark of a man out of his mind.
§1500ἄγε δὴ χαίρων Αἰσχύλε χώρει, §1501καὶ σῷζε πόλιν τὴν ἡμετέραν §1502γνώμαις ἀγαθαῖς καὶ παίδευσον §1503τοὺς ἀνοήτους· πολλοὶ δʼ εἰσίν· §1504καὶ δὸς τουτὶ Κλεοφῶντι φέρων §1505καὶ τουτὶ τοῖσι πορισταῖς §1506Μύρμηκί θʼ ὁμοῦ καὶ Νικομάχῳ, §1507τόδε δʼ Ἀρχενόμῳ· §1508καὶ φράζʼ αὐτοῖς ταχέως ἥκειν §1509ὡς ἐμὲ δευρὶ καὶ μὴ μέλλειν· §1510κἂν μὴ ταχέως ἥκωσιν, ἐγὼ §1511νὴ τὸν Ἀπόλλω στίξας αὐτοὺς §1512καὶ συμποδίσας §1513μετʼ Ἀδειμάντου τοῦ Λευκολόφου §1514κατὰ γῆς ταχέως ἀποπέμψω. §1515ταῦτα ποιήσω· σὺ δὲ τὸν θᾶκον §1516τὸν ἐμὸν παράδος Σοφοκλεῖ τηρεῖν §1517καὶ διασῴζειν, ἢν ἄρʼ ἐγώ ποτε §1518δεῦρʼ ἀφίκωμαι.
(PLUTO) "Come then, go rejoicing, Aeschylus, and save our city with good advice, and educate the foolish—and there are many— and give this to Cleophon, and this to the tax-providers, Myrmex and Nicomachus together, and this to Archenomus; and tell them to come quickly here to me, and not to delay; and if they do not come quickly, I, by Apollo, having branded them and bound their feet, together with Adeimantus son of Leucolophus, will quickly send them down under the earth." (AESCHYLUS) "I will do these things; and you, give my seat to Sophocles to guard and preserve, in case I ever come back here.
τοῦτον γὰρ ἐγὼ §1519σοφίᾳ κρίνω δεύτερον εἶναι.
For him I judge to be second in wisdom.
§1520μέμνησο δʼ ὅπως ὁ πανοῦργος ἀνὴρ §1521καὶ ψευδολόγος καὶ βωμολόχος §1522μηδέποτʼ ἐς τὸν θᾶκον τὸν ἐμὸν §1523μηδʼ ἄκων ἐγκαθεδεῖται. §1524φαίνετε τοίνυν ὑμεῖς τούτῳ §1525λαμπάδας ἱεράς, χἄμα προπέμπετε §1526τοῖσιν τούτου τοῦτον μέλεσιν §1527καὶ μολπαῖσιν κελαδοῦντες.
But remember that the villainous man, and liar and buffoon, never onto my seat shall sit, even unwillingly." (PLUTO) "Show him then, you all, the sacred torches, and at the same time escort him, singing praises with his own songs and chants." (CHORUS) First give a good journey to the departing poet as he rises to the light, O gods below the earth, and to the city, good thoughts of great blessings.
§1528πρῶτα μὲν εὐοδίαν ἀγαθὴν ἀπιόντι ποιητῇ §1529ἐς φάος ὀρνυμένῳ δότε δαίμονες οἱ κατὰ γαίας, §1530τῇ δὲ πόλει μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν ἀγαθὰς ἐπινοίας. §1531πάγχυ γὰρ ἐκ μεγάλων ἀχέων παυσαίμεθʼ ἂν οὕτως §1532ἀργαλέων τʼ ἐν ὅπλοις ξυνόδων.
For thus we would completely cease from great griefs and from painful clashes in arms.
Κλεοφῶν δὲ μαχέσθω §1533κἄλλος ὁ βουλόμενος τούτων πατρίοις ἐν ἀρούραις.
Let Cleophon fight, and anyone else of these who wishes, in his ancestral fields.