§782μετʼ Αἰσχύλου δʼ οὐκ ἦσαν ἕτεροι σύμμαχοι;
XANTHIAS: Were there no other allies on Aeschylus's side?
§783ὀλίγον τὸ χρηστόν ἐστιν, ὥσπερ ἐνθάδε.
AEACUS: There are few who are good, just as it is here.
§784τί δῆθʼ ὁ Πλούτων δρᾶν παρασκευάζεται;
XANTHIAS: What then is Pluto preparing to do?
AEACUS: To hold a contest immediately, and a trial and examination of their art.
XANTHIAS: And then why did Sophocles not also lay claim to the throne?
§788μὰ Δίʼ οὐκ ἐκεῖνος, ἀλλʼ ἔκυσε μὲν Αἰσχύλον,
AEACUS: By Zeus, not he!
§789ὅτε δὴ κατῆλθε, κἀνέβαλε τὴν δεξιάν, §790κἀκεῖνος ὑπεχώρησεν αὐτῷ τοῦ θρόνου· §791νυνὶ δʼ ἔμελλεν, ὡς ἔφη Κλειδημίδης, §792ἔφεδρος καθεδεῖσθαι· κἂν μὲν Αἰσχύλος κρατῇ, §793ἕξειν κατὰ χώραν· εἰ δὲ μή, περὶ τῆς τέχνης §794διαγωνιεῖσθʼ ἔφασκε πρός γʼ Εὐριπίδην.
But he kissed Aeschylus, when he came down, and shook his right hand, and Aeschylus yielded him a share of the throne; but now he was intending, as Cleidemides said, to sit as a third competitor; and if Aeschylus wins, to remain in his place; but if not, he said he would contest for the art against Euripides.
§795τὸ χρῆμʼ ἄρʼ ἔσται;
XANTHIAS: Will the event actually take place then?
§795bνὴ Δίʼ ὀλίγον ὕστερον.
AEACUS: Yes, by Zeus, in a little while.
§796κἀνταῦθα δὴ τὰ δεινὰ κινηθήσεται.
And indeed right here dreadful things will be set in motion.
For tragedy will be weighed by the scale— XANTHIAS: What?
μειαγωγήσουσι τὴν τραγῳδίαν;
Will they weigh tragedy like cattle?
AEACUS: And they will bring out rulers and yardsticks for words, and folded frames— XANTHIAS: What, are they going to make bricks?
§801καὶ διαμέτρους καὶ σφῆνας.
AEACUS: And compasses and wedges.
ὁ γὰρ Εὐριπίδης §802κατʼ ἔπος βασανιεῖν φησι τὰς τραγῳδίας.
For Euripides says he will test the tragedies word by word.
§803ἦ που βαρέως οἶμαι τὸν Αἰσχύλον φέρειν.
XANTHIAS: I suppose Aeschylus takes this very hard.
§804ἔβλεψε γοῦν ταυρηδὸν ἐγκύψας κάτω.
AEACUS: He certainly glared like a bull, lowering his head.
§805κρινεῖ δὲ δὴ τίς ταῦτα;
XANTHIAS: And who then will judge these things?
AEACUS: That was difficult; for they found a scarcity of wise men.
For Aeschylus did not get along with the Athenians— XANTHIAS: Perhaps he thought there were too many housebreakers.
§809λῆρόν τε τἄλλʼ ἡγεῖτο τοῦ γνῶναι πέρι §810φύσεις ποιητῶν· εἶτα τῷ σῷ δεσπότῃ §811ἐπέτρεψαν, ὁτιὴ τῆς τέχνης ἔμπειρος ἦν.
AEACUS: And he considered the rest to be nonsense when it came to judging the nature of poets; then they entrusted it to your master, because he was experienced in the art.
But let us go in; for whenever the masters are in earnest, it turns to weeping for us.
§814ἦ που δεινὸν ἐριβρεμέτας χόλον ἔνδοθεν ἕξει, §815ἡνίκʼ ἂν ὀξύλαλον παρίδῃ θήγοντος ὀδόντα §816ἀντιτέχνου· τότε δὴ μανίας ὑπὸ δεινῆς §817ὄμματα στροβήσεται.
CHORUS: Surely the loud-thunderer will have terrible wrath within, when he catches sight of his sharp-talking rival sharpening his tooth; then indeed, from terrible madness, his eyes will roll.
§818ἔσται δʼ ἱππολόφων τε λόγων κορυθαίολα νείκη §819σχινδαλάμων τε παραξόνια σμιλεύματά τʼ ἔργων, §820φωτὸς ἀμυνομένου φρενοτέκτονος ἀνδρὸς §821ῥήμαθʼ ἱπποβάμονα.
And there will be helmet-glittering strifes of horse-crested words, and close-shaved slivers, axle-grazing chippings of works, of a man defending himself against the horse-riding words of a mind-carpenter man.
§822φρίξας δʼ αὐτοκόμου λοφιᾶς λασιαύχενα χαίταν, §823δεινὸν ἐπισκύνιον ξυνάγων βρυχώμενος ἥσει §824ῥήματα γομφοπαγῆ πινακηδὸν ἀποσπῶν §825γηγενεῖ φυσήματι· §826ἔνθεν δὴ στοματουργὸς ἐπῶν βασανίστρια λίσφη §827γλῶσσʼ ἀνελισσομένη φθονεροὺς κινοῦσα χαλινοὺς §828ῥήματα δαιομένη καταλεπτολογήσει §829πλευμόνων πολὺν πόνον.
And bristling the shaggy-necked hair of his self-grown crest, drawing together his terrible brow, roaring he will launch bolt-fastened words, tearing them up like planks with giant-born breath; while on the other side, the mouth-working, word-testing, smooth tongue, uncoiling and moving envious bits, dissecting words, will micro-analyze the great labor of the lungs.
§830οὐκ ἂν μεθείμην τοῦ θρόνου, μὴ νουθέτει.
EURIPIDES: I will not yield the throne, do not advise me.
§831κρείττων γὰρ εἶναί φημι τούτου τὴν τέχνην.
For I say I am better than him in the art.
§832Αἰσχύλε τί σιγᾷς;
DIONYSUS: Aeschylus, why are you silent?
αἰσθάνει γὰρ τοῦ λόγου.
For you hear his words.
EURIPIDES: He will play the solemn hero first, just as he always used to make portents in his tragedies.
§835ὦ δαιμόνιʼ ἀνδρῶν μὴ μεγάλα λίαν λέγε.
DIONYSUS: O wondrous man, do not speak too big.
§836ἐγᾦδα τοῦτον καὶ διέσκεμμαι πάλαι, §837ἄνθρωπον ἀγριοποιὸν αὐθαδόστομον, §838ἔχοντʼ ἀχάλινον ἀκρατὲς ἀπύλωτον στόμα, §839ἀπεριλάλητον κομποφακελορρήμονα.
EURIPIDES: I know this fellow and have examined him long ago, a man who makes wild things, stubborn-mouthed, having an unbridled, uncontrolled, ungated mouth, un-talk-around-able, a bundle-of-boasts-speaker.
§840ἄληθες ὦ παῖ τῆς ἀρουραίας θεοῦ;
AESCHYLUS: Is that so, you son of the market-garden goddess?
Do you say this of me, you gossip-gatherer, creator of beggars, and patcher of rags?
§843ἀλλʼ οὔ τι χαίρων αὔτʼ ἐρεῖς.
But you shall not say it with joy!
DIONYSUS: Stop, Aeschylus, and do not warm your heart with wrath to anger.
AESCHYLUS: Not indeed until I show clearly what kind of creator of cripples this man is, who makes himself so bold.
§847ἄρνʼ ἄρνα μέλανα παῖδες ἐξενέγκατε·
DIONYSUS: Bring out a black lamb, boys, a black lamb!
§848τυφὼς γὰρ ἐκβαίνειν παρασκευάζεται.
For a hurricane is preparing to burst forth!
AESCHYLUS: O you who collect Cretan monodies, and bring unholy marriages into the art!
§851ἐπίσχες οὗτος ὦ πολυτίμητʼ Αἰσχύλε.
DIONYSUS: Hold on there, highly honored Aeschylus!
§852ἀπὸ τῶν χαλαζῶν δʼ ὦ πόνηρʼ Εὐριπίδη §853ἄναγε σεαυτὸν ἐκποδών, εἰ σωφρονεῖς, §854ἵνα μὴ κεφαλαίῳ τὸν κρόταφόν σου ῥήματι §855θενὼν ὑπʼ ὀργῆς ἐκχέῃ τὸν Τήλεφον·
And you, miserable Euripides, get yourself out of the way of the hailstones, if you are wise, lest striking your temple with some head-word, in his anger he spill your Telephus.
§856σὺ δὲ μὴ πρὸς ὀργὴν Αἰσχύλʼ ἀλλὰ πρᾳόνως §857ἔλεγχʼ ἐλέγχου· λοιδορεῖσθαι δʼ οὐ πρέπει §858ἄνδρας ποιητὰς ὥσπερ ἀρτοπώλιδας.
And you, Aeschylus, do not argue in anger, but gently refute and be refuted; it is not fitting for poets to abuse one another like bread-selling women.
§859σὺ δʼ εὐθὺς ὥσπερ πρῖνος ἐμπρησθεὶς βοᾷς.
But you instantly flare up and shout like a holm-oak on fire.
§860ἕτοιμός εἰμʼ ἔγωγε, κοὐκ ἀναδύομαι, §861δάκνειν δάκνεσθαι πρότερος, εἰ τούτῳ δοκεῖ, §862τἄπη, τὰ μέλη, τὰ νεῦρα τῆς τραγῳδίας, §863καὶ νὴ Δία τὸν Πηλέα γε καὶ τὸν Αἴολον §864καὶ τὸν Μελέαγρον κἄτι μάλα τὸν Τήλεφον.
EURIPIDES: I am ready, and I do not shrink back, to bite and be bitten first, if he pleases, in the lines, the songs, the sinews of tragedy, and by Zeus, Peleus and Aeolus and Meleager and still more, Telephus.
§865τί δαὶ σὺ βουλεύει ποιεῖν;
DIONYSUS: And what do you plan to do?
λέγʼ Αἰσχύλε.
Speak, Aeschylus.
AESCHYLUS: I would have wished not to compete here; for the contest is not on equal terms for the two of us.
§867bτί δαί;
DIONYSUS: Why so?
AESCHYLUS: Because my poetry has not died with me, but his has died with him, so he will have it here to recite.
§870ὅμως δʼ ἐπειδή σοι δοκεῖ, δρᾶν ταῦτα χρή.
Nevertheless, since you think it best, we must do this.