§742οἱ δʼ ἐγκατακείμενοι παρʼ αὐτῷ πῶς δοκεῖς §743τὸν Πλοῦτον ἠσπάζοντο καὶ τὴν νύχθʼ ὅλην §744ἐγρηγόρεσαν, ἕως διέλαμψεν ἡμέρα.
And those who were lying down beside him, you cannot think how they welcomed Plutus, and the whole night long they kept awake, until the day shone through.
§745ἐγὼ δʼ ἐπῄνουν τὸν θεὸν πάνυ σφόδρα, §746ὅτι βλέπειν ἐποίησε τὸν Πλοῦτον ταχύ, §747τὸν δὲ Νεοκλείδην μᾶλλον ἐποίησεν τυφλόν.
And I praised the god very highly, because he quickly made Plutus see, but made Neocleides even more blind.
§748ὅσην ἔχεις τὴν δύναμιν ὦναξ δέσποτα.
How great is your power, o king and lord!
§749ἀτὰρ φράσον μοι, ποῦʼ σθʼ ὁ Πλοῦτος;
But tell me, where is Plutus?
§749bἔρχεται.
He is coming.
§750ἀλλʼ ἦν περὶ αὐτὸν ὄχλος ὑπερφυὴς ὅσος.
But there was a monstrously large crowd around him.
§751οἱ γὰρ δίκαιοι πρότερον ὄντες καὶ βίον §752ἔχοντες ὀλίγον αὐτὸν ἠσπάζοντο καὶ §753ἐδεξιοῦνθʼ ἅπαντες ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς· §754ὅσοι δʼ ἐπλούτουν οὐσίαν τʼ εἶχον συχνὴν §755οὐκ ἐκ δικαίου τὸν βίον κεκτημένοι, §756ὀφρῦς ξυνῆγον ἐσκυθρώπαζόν θʼ ἅμα.
For those who were previously just and had little livelihood were welcoming him and greeting him with the right hand, all for joy; while those who were rich and possessed abundant property, having acquired their livelihood not from justice, knitted their brows and looked gloomy at the same time.
§757οἱ δʼ ἠκολούθουν κατόπιν ἐστεφανωμένοι §758γελῶντες εὐφημοῦντες· ἐκτυπεῖτο δὲ §759ἐμβὰς γερόντων εὐρύθμοις προβήμασιν.
And the others followed behind, wearing wreaths, laughing and shouting acclaim; and the shoes of the old men resounded with rhythmic steps.
§760ἀλλʼ εἶʼ ἁπαξάπαντες ἐξ ἑνὸς λόγου §761ὀρχεῖσθε καὶ σκιρτᾶτε καὶ χορεύετε· §762οὐδεὶς γὰρ ὑμῖν εἰσιοῦσιν ἀγγελεῖ, §763ὡς ἄλφιτʼ οὐκ ἔνεστιν ἐν τῷ θυλάκῳ.
But come, all of you together with one voice, dance and leap and join the chorus; for no one will announce to you when you enter, that there is no barley-meal in the sack.
§764νὴ τὴν Ἑκάτην κἀγὼ δʼ ἀναδῆσαι βούλομαι §765εὐαγγέλιά σε κριβανωτῶν ὁρμαθῷ §766τοιαῦτʼ ἀπαγγείλαντα.
By Hecate, I too wish to crown you with a string of oven-baked loaves for bringing such good news.
Do not delay then any longer, for the men are already near the doors.
Come then, I will go inside and bring out welcoming-gifts, as if for newly bought eyes, myself.
§770ἐγὼ δʼ ἀπαντῆσαί γʼ ἐκείνοις βούλομαι.
And I wish to meet those people.
§771καὶ προσκυνῶ γε πρῶτα μὲν τὸν ἥλιον, §772ἔπειτα σεμνῆς Παλλάδος κλεινὸν πέδον §773χώραν τε πᾶσαν Κέκροπος ἥ μʼ ἐδέξατο.
And first indeed I worship the sun, then the glorious soil of august Pallas, and the whole land of Cecrops which received me.
§774αἰσχύνομαι δὲ τὰς ἐμαυτοῦ συμφοράς, §775οἵοις ἄρʼ ἀνθρώποις ξυνὼν ἐλάνθανον, §776τοὺς ἀξίους δὲ τῆς ἐμῆς ὁμιλίας §777ἔφευγον, εἰδὼς οὐδέν·
And I am ashamed of my own misfortunes, with what sort of men, as it turned out, I was associating without knowing it, while those worthy of my company I fled, knowing nothing.
ὦ τλήμων ἐγώ, §778ὡς οὔτʼ ἐκεῖνʼ ἄρʼ οὔτε ταῦτʼ ὀρθῶς ἔδρων·
O wretched me, how I was doing neither those things nor these things rightly!
§779ἀλλʼ αὐτὰ πάντα πάλιν ἀναστρέψας ἐγὼ §780δείξω τὸ λοιπὸν πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ὅτι §781ἄκων ἐμαυτὸν τοῖς πονηροῖς ἐπεδίδουν.
But I, turning all these things completely around, will show to all men in the future that I was giving myself up to the wicked unwillingly.
§782βάλλʼ ἐς κόρακας·
Go to the crows!
ὡς χαλεπόν εἰσιν οἱ φίλοι §783οἱ φαινόμενοι παραχρῆμʼ ὅταν πράττῃ τις εὖ.
How troublesome are the friends who appear immediately when one does well.
For they nudge and bruise my shins, each one displaying some goodwill.
§786ἐμὲ γὰρ τίς οὐ προσεῖπε;
For who did not address me?
ποῖος οὐκ ὄχλος §787περιεστεφάνωσεν ἐν ἀγορᾷ πρεσβυτικός;
What crowd of old men in the marketplace did not encircle me?
§788ὦ φίλτατʼ ἀνδρῶν καὶ σὺ καὶ σὺ χαίρετε. §789φέρε νυν, νόμος γάρ ἐστι, τὰ καταχύσματα §790ταυτὶ καταχέω σου λαβοῦσα.
"O dearest of men, both you and you, greetings!" Come now, for it is the custom, let me take these welcoming-gifts and pour them over you.
§790bμηδαμῶς.
By no means.
§791ἐμοῦ γὰρ εἰσιόντος ἐς τὴν οἰκίαν §792πρώτιστα καὶ βλέψαντος οὐδὲν ἐκφέρειν §793πρεπῶδές ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐσφέρειν.
For when I am entering the house for the very first time and having recovered my sight, to carry anything out is not fitting, but rather to bring things in.
§794εἶτʼ οὐχὶ δέξει δῆτα τὰ καταχύσματα;
Will you not then indeed receive the welcoming-gifts?
Yes, inside by the hearth, as is the custom; and furthermore we would escape the vulgarity.
§797οὐ γὰρ πρεπῶδές ἐστι τῷ διδασκάλῳ §798ἰσχάδια καὶ τρωγάλια τοῖς θεωμένοις §799προβαλόντʼ ἐπὶ τούτοις εἶτʼ ἀναγκάζειν γελᾶν.
For it is not fitting for the dramatic poet to throw dried figs and sweetmeats to the spectators and then force them to laugh at these.
You speak very well; since Dexinicus here was already standing up as if about to snatch the dried figs.
How sweet it is, o men, to fare prosperously, and that too without having brought anything out from home!
For a heap of good things has burst into our house, although we have done no wrong.
The meal-chest is full of white barley-meal, and the amphorae of dark, fragrant wine.
And all our small vessels are full of silver and gold, so as to be a marvel.
The well is full of oil, and the flasks are full of perfume, and the upper room of dried figs.
§812ὀξὶς δὲ πᾶσα καὶ λοπάδιον καὶ χύτρα §813χαλκῆ γέγονε· τοὺς δὲ πινακίσκους τοὺς σαπροὺς §814τοὺς ἰχθυηροὺς ἀργυροῦς πάρεσθʼ ὁρᾶν.
Every vinegar-cruet and small dish and pot has become bronze; and those rotten little plates for fish, you may see them now made of silver.
§815ὁ δʼ ἰπνὸς γέγονʼ ἡμῖν ἐξαπίνης ἐλεφάντινος.
And our oven has suddenly become made of ivory.
§816στατῆρσι δʼ οἱ θεράποντες ἀρτιάζομεν §817χρυσοῖς· ἀποψώμεσθα δʼ οὐ λίθοις ἔτι, §818ἀλλὰ σκοροδίοις ὑπὸ τρυφῆς ἑκάστοτε.
And we servants play odd-or-even with gold staters; and we no longer wipe ourselves with stones, but with garlic-leaves each time, out of luxury.
§819καὶ νῦν ὁ δεσπότης μὲν ἔνδον βουθυτεῖ §820ὗν καὶ τράγον καὶ κριὸν ἐστεφανωμένος· §821ἐμὲ δʼ ἐξέπεμψεν ὁ καπνός.
And now the master, wearing a wreath, is sacrificing inside a bull, a pig, a male goat, and a ram; but the smoke has driven me out.
οὐχ οἷός τε γὰρ §822ἔνδον μένειν ἦν. ἔδακνε γὰρ τὰ βλέφαρά μου.
For I was not able to remain inside; for it bit my eyelids.
Follow me, boy, so that we may go to the god.
§824bἔα τίς ἔσθʼ ὁ προσιὼν οὑτοσί;
Ah! Who is this man approaching?