§700ἀλλὰ τῆς ὀργῆς ἀνέντες ὦ σοφώτατοι φύσει §701πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἑκόντες συγγενεῖς κτησώμεθα §702κἀπιτίμους καὶ πολίτας, ὅστις ἂν ξυνναυμαχῇ.
But relaxing your anger, O you who are wisest by nature, let us willingly acquire all men as kinsmen, both disenfranchised and citizens, whoever fights at sea with us.
§703εἰ δὲ ταῦτʼ ὀγκωσόμεσθα κἀποσεμνυνούμεθα, §704τὴν πόλιν καὶ ταῦτʼ ἔχοντες κυμάτων ἐν ἀγκάλαις, §705ὑστέρῳ χρόνῳ ποτʼ αὖθις εὖ φρονεῖν οὐ δόξομεν.
But if we puff ourselves up and give ourselves airs about this, especially while we hold our city in the arms of the waves, at a later time we will not seem to have been of sound mind.
§706εἰ δʼ ἐγὼ ὀρθὸς ἰδεῖν βίον ἀνέρος ἢ τρόπον ὅστις ἔτʼ §707οἰμώξεται, §708οὐ πολὺν οὐδʼ ὁ πίθηκος οὗτος ὁ νῦν ἐνοχλῶν, §709Κλειγένης ὁ μικρός, §710ὁ πονηρότατος βαλανεὺς ὁπόσοι κρατοῦσι κυκησιτέφρου §711ψευδολίτρου κονίας §712καὶ Κιμωλίας γῆς, §713χρόνον ἐνδιατρίψει· ἰδὼν δὲ τάδʼ οὐκ §715εἰρηνικὸς ἔσθʼ, ἵνα μή ποτε κἀποδυθῇ μεθύων ἄνευ §716ξύλου βαδίζων.
But if I am correct in discerning the life of a man or his character, who is yet to howl, not for long will this monkey who is now annoying us, Cleigenes the small, the most villainous bath-keeper of all who rule over adulterated ash, false soda, and Cimolian earth, spend his time; and seeing this, he is not peaceful, lest he should ever be stripped of his clothes while drunk, walking without a stick.
§718πολλάκις γʼ ἡμῖν ἔδοξεν ἡ πόλις πεπονθέναι §719ταὐτὸν ἔς τε τῶν πολιτῶν τοὺς καλούς τε κἀγαθοὺς §720ἔς τε τἀρχαῖον νόμισμα καὶ τὸ καινὸν χρυσίον.
Often indeed it has seemed to us that the city has suffered the same thing regarding both the noble and good of the citizens and the ancient coinage and the new gold.
§721οὔτε γὰρ τούτοισιν οὖσιν οὐ κεκιβδηλευμένοις, §722ἀλλὰ καλλίστοις ἁπάντων, ὡς δοκεῖ, νομισμάτων §723καὶ μόνοις ὀρθῶς κοπεῖσι καὶ κεκωδωνισμένοις §724ἔν τε τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῖς βαρβάροισι πανταχοῦ §725χρώμεθʼ οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ τούτοις τοῖς πονηροῖς χαλκίοις §726χθές τε καὶ πρώην κοπεῖσι τῷ κακίστῳ κόμματι.
For we do not use these indeed, which are not counterfeit, but are the finest of all coins, as it seems, and the only ones correctly struck and tested by ringing both among the Greeks and the barbarians everywhere; but instead we use these miserable bronze ones, struck yesterday or the day before with the worst stamp.
§727τῶν πολιτῶν θʼ οὓς μὲν ἴσμεν εὐγενεῖς καὶ σώφρονας §728ἄνδρας ὄντας καὶ δικαίους καὶ καλούς τε κἀγαθοὺς §729καὶ τραφέντας ἐν παλαίστραις καὶ χοροῖς καὶ μουσικῇ, §730προυσελοῦμεν, τοῖς δὲ χαλκοῖς καὶ ξένοις καὶ πυρρίαις §731καὶ πονηροῖς κἀκ πονηρῶν εἰς ἅπαντα χρώμεθα §732ὑστάτοις ἀφιγμένοισιν, οἷσιν ἡ πόλις πρὸ τοῦ §733οὐδὲ φαρμακοῖσιν εἰκῇ ῥᾳδίως ἐχρήσατʼ ἄν.
And among the citizens, those whom we know to be noble and self-controlled men, and just, and noble and good, and trained in palaestras and choruses and music, we insult, but we use for everything the bronze ones, and strangers, and redheads, and villains and sons of villains, who are the latest arrivals, whom the city in former times would not even have used easily as scapegoats at random.
§734ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν ὦνόητοι μεταβαλόντες τοὺς τρόπους §735χρῆσθε τοῖς χρηστοῖσιν αὖθις· καὶ κατορθώσασι γὰρ §736εὔλογον, κἄν τι σφαλῆτʼ, ἐξ ἀξίου γοῦν τοῦ ξύλου, §737ἤν τι καὶ πάσχητε, πάσχειν τοῖς σοφοῖς δοκήσετε.
But even now, O foolish ones, change your ways and use the good ones again; for if you succeed, it is reasonable, and if you trip up at all, at least from a worthy tree, if you suffer anything, you will seem to the wise to suffer it worthily.
§738νὴ τὸν Δία τὸν σωτῆρα γεννάδας ἀνὴρ
XANTHIAS: By Zeus the Savior, a noble man is your master.
AEACUS: How indeed is he not noble, since he knows only how to drink and make love?
XANTHIAS: But for him not to strike you when you were exposed outright, that although you were a slave you claimed to be the master.
§743ᾤμωξε μέντἄν.
AEACUS: He would have howled indeed!
XANTHIAS: This slave-like thing indeed you did immediately, which I rejoice in doing.
§745χαίρεις, ἱκετεύω;
AEACUS: You rejoice, I entreat you?
XANTHIAS: Nay, I seem to be at the mysteries, whenever I curse my master in secret.
AEACUS: And what about muttering when you go outdoors after receiving many blows?
§748bκαὶ τοῦθʼ ἥδομαι.
XANTHIAS: I enjoy that too.
§749τί δὲ πολλὰ πράττων;
AEACUS: And what about being a busybody?
§749bὡς μὰ Δίʼ οὐδὲν οἶδʼ ἐγώ.
XANTHIAS: By Zeus, I know nothing like it.
§750ὁμόγνιε Ζεῦ·
AEACUS: O Zeus of kinsmen!
καὶ παρακούων δεσποτῶν §751ἅττʼ ἂν λαλῶσι;
And eavesdropping on masters in whatever they chatter?
§751bμἀλλὰ πλεῖν ἢ μαίνομαι.
XANTHIAS: Nay, but I am more than mad for it!
§752τί δὲ τοῖς θύραζε ταῦτα καταλαλῶν;
AEACUS: And what about blabbing this to outsiders?
§752bἐγώ;
XANTHIAS: Me?
§753μὰ Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ὅταν δρῶ τοῦτο, κἀκμιαίνομαι.
By Zeus, whenever I do this, I am even ecstatic.
§754ὦ Φοῖβʼ Ἄπολλον ἔμβαλέ μοι τὴν δεξιάν,
AEACUS: O Phoebus Apollo!
§755καὶ δὸς κύσαι καὐτὸς κύσον, καί μοι φράσον §756πρὸς Διός, ὃς ἡμῖν ἐστιν ὁμομαστιγίας, §757τίς οὗτος οὕνδον ἐστὶ θόρυβος καὶ βοὴ §758χὠ λοιδορησμός;
Give me your right hand, and let me kiss you and do you kiss me, and tell me by Zeus, who is our fellow-scourgee, what is this noise and shouting inside, and the abuse?
§758bΑἰσχύλου κεὐριπίδου.
AEACUS: Of Aeschylus and Euripides.
§759ἆ.
XANTHIAS: Ah!
AEACUS: A matter, a great matter, has been stirred up, a great one, among the dead, and a very great discord.
§761ἐκ τοῦ;
XANTHIAS: From what?
§761bνόμος τις ἐνθάδʼ ἐστὶ κείμενος §762ἀπὸ τῶν τεχνῶν ὅσαι μεγάλαι καὶ δεξιαί, §763τὸν ἄριστον ὄντα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ συντέχνων §764σίτησιν αὐτὸν ἐν πρυτανείῳ λαμβάνειν §765θρόνον τε τοῦ Πλούτωνος ἑξῆς— §765bμανθάνω.
AEACUS: There is a certain law established here, from all the arts that are great and skilled, that he who is the best among his fellow-artists receives his meals in the Prytaneum, and a throne next to Pluto— XANTHIAS: I understand.
AEACUS: until some other person wiser in the art should arrive; then he had to yield.
§768τί δῆτα τουτὶ τεθορύβηκεν Αἰσχύλον;
XANTHIAS: Why then has this disturbed Aeschylus?
AEACUS: He used to hold the tragic throne, as being the best in the art.
§770bνυνὶ δὲ τίς;
XANTHIAS: And who is it now?
§771ὅτε δὴ κατῆλθʼ Εὐριπίδης, ἐπεδείκνυτο §772τοῖς λωποδύταις καὶ τοῖσι βαλλαντιοτόμοις §773καὶ τοῖσι πατραλοίαισι καὶ τοιχωρύχοις, §774ὅπερ ἔστʼ ἐν Ἅιδου πλῆθος, οἱ δʼ ἀκροώμενοι
AEACUS: When indeed Euripides came down, he began to show off to the clothes-stealers and the cutpurses and the parricides and housebreakers, of which there is a great multitude in Hades.
And they, listening to his counter-arguments and twistings and turnings, went completely mad for him and thought him the wisest.
And then, puffed up, he laid claim to the throne, where Aeschylus was sitting.
§778bκοὐκ ἐβάλλετο;
XANTHIAS: And wasn't he pelted?
AEACUS: By Zeus, no, but the mob cried out to hold a trial as to which of the two was wiser in the art.
§781ὁ τῶν πανούργων;
XANTHIAS: The mob of rascals?
§781bνὴ Δίʼ οὐράνιόν γʼ ὅσον.
AEACUS: Yes, by Zeus, as high as heaven!