§8ὁπότε δὲ ἐκ τούτων ἀρξάμενον ἐτόλμησε καττίτερον εἰπεῖν καὶ κάττυμα καὶ πίτταν, εἶτα ἀπερυθριᾶσαν καὶ βασίλισσαν βασίλιτταν ὀνομάζειν, οὐ μετρίως ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀγανακτῶ καὶ πίμπραμαι δεδιὸς μὴ τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ τὰ σῦκα τῦκά τις ὀνομάσῃ.
When, starting from these, he dared to say kattiteron, kattyma, and pittan, and then, casting off all shame, even to call a queen basilittan, I am immoderately indignant at these things and burn with rage, fearing lest in time someone may even call syka as tyka.
καί μοι πρὸς Διὸς ἀθυμοῦντι καὶ μεμονωμένῳ τῶν βοηθησόντων σύγγνωτε τῆς δικαίας ὀργῆς· οὐ γὰρ περὶ μικρὰ καὶ τὰ τυχόντα ἐστὶν ὁ κίνδυνος, ἀφαιρουμένῳ τῶν συνήθων καὶ συνεσχολακότων μοι γραμμάτων.
And by Zeus, forgive my just anger, despondent and deprived of helpers as I am; for the danger is not about small or trivial things, as I am being deprived of letters that are my intimates and companions.
κίσσαν μου, λάλον ὄρνεον, ἐκ μέσων ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν τῶν κόλπων ἁρπάσαν κίτταν ὠνόμασεν· ἀφείλετο δέ μου φάσσαν ἅμα νήσσαις τε καὶ κοσσύφοις ἀπαγορεύοντος Ἀριστάρχου· περιέσπασε δὲ καὶ μελισσῶν οὐκ ὀλίγας· ἐπʼ Ἀττικὴν δὲ ἦλθε καὶ ἐκ μέσης αὐτῆς ἀνήρπασεν ἀνόμως Ὑμησσὸν ὁρώντων ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων συλλαβῶν.
My jay, a talkative bird, he snatched from the very midst of my bosom, so to speak, and named it kitta; he took away my wood-pigeon along with ducks and blackbirds, though Aristarchus forbade it; and he tore away not a few of my bees; and he came against Attica and from the midst of it unlawfully snatched away Hymettus, while you and the other syllables looked on.
§9ἀλλὰ τί λέγω ταῦτα;
But why do I say these things?
Θεσσαλίας με ἐξέβαλεν ὅλης Θετταλίαν ἀξιοῦν λέγειν, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποκέκλεικέ μοι τὴν θάλασσαν οὐδὲ τῶν ἐν κήποις φεισάμενον σευτλίων, ὡς τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον μηδὲ πάσσαλόν μοι καταλιπεῖν.
He expelled me from the whole of Thessaly, demanding that it be called Thettalia, and he has closed every sea against me, not even sparing the beet in the gardens, so as, according to the proverb, not even to leave me a peg.
ὅτι δὲ ἀνεξίκακόν εἰμι γράμμα, μαρτυρεῖτέ μοι καὶ αὐτοὶ μηδέποτε ἐγκαλέσαντι τῷ Ζῆτα σμάραγδον ἀποσπάσαντι καὶ πᾶσαν ἀφελομένῳ Σμύρναν, μηδὲ τῷ Ξῖ πᾶσαν παραβάντι συνθήκην καὶ τὸν συγγραφέα τῶν τοιούτων ἔχοντι Θουκυδίδην σύμμαχον· τῷ μὲν γὰρ γείτονί μου Ῥῶ νοσήσαντι συγγνώμη, καὶ παρʼ αὐτῷ φυτεύσαντί μου τὰς μυρρίνας καὶ παίσαντί μέ ποτε ὑπὸ μελαγχολίας ἐπὶ κόρρης.
And that I am a long-suffering letter, you yourselves bear witness, since I never accused Zeta when it snatched away the emerald and took away all Smyrna, nor Xi when it violated every treaty and had Thucydides, the writer of such things, as an ally; for my neighbor Rho is to be forgiven when he was sick, both when he planted my myrtles and once struck me on the cheek in a fit of melancholy.
κἀγὼ μὲν τοιοῦτον.
Such indeed am I.
§10τὸ δὲ Ταῦ τοῦτο σκοπῶμεν ὡς φύσει βίαιον καὶ πρὸς τὰ λοιπά.
But let us look at this Tau, how violent it is by nature even toward the rest.
ὅτι δὲ οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπέσχετο γραμμάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Δέλτα καὶ τὸ Θῆτα καὶ τὸ Ζῆτα, μικροῦ δεῖν πάντα ἠδίκησε τὰ στοιχεῖα, αὐτά μοι κάλει τὰ ἀδικηθέντα γράμματα.
And to show that he did not keep his hands off the other letters, but wronged Delta, Theta, Zeta, and indeed almost all the elements, call the wronged letters themselves for me.
ἀκούετε, Φωνήεντα δικασταί, τοῦ μὲν Δέλτα λέγοντος· ἀφείλετό μου τὴν ἐνδελέχειαν, ἐντελέχειαν ἀξιοῦν λέγεσθαι παρὰ πάντας τοὺς νόμους· τοῦ Θῆτα δακρύοντος καὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τὰς τρίχας τίλλοντος ἐπὶ τῷ καὶ τῆς κολοκύνθης ἐστερῆσθαι· τοῦ Ζῆτα, τὸ συρίζειν καὶ σαλπίζειν, ὡς μηκέτʼ αὐτῷ ἐξεῖναι μηδὲ γρύζειν.
Hear, Vowel judges, Delta saying: 'He took away my endelecheia, demanding that it be called entelecheia contrary to all laws'; and Theta weeping and tearing the hair of its head because it has been deprived of even its gourd; and Zeta, deprived of its hissing and trumpeting, so that it is no longer allowed to make even a peep.
τίς ἂν τούτων ἀνάσχοιτο;
Who could endure these things?
ἢ τίς ἐξαρκέσειε δίκη πρὸς τὸ πονηρότατον τουτὶ Ταῦ;
Or what justice could suffice against this most wicked Tau?
§11τὸ δὲ ἄρα οὐ τὸ ὁμόφυλον τῶν στοιχείων μόνον ἀδικεῖ γένος, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἀνθρώπειον μεταβέβηκε τουτονὶ τὸν τρόπον· οὐ γὰρ ἐπιτρέπει γε αὐτοὺς κατʼ εὐθὺ φέρεσθαι ταῖς γλώσσαις·
But it turns out that he does not wrong only the kindred race of elements, but has now even crossed over to the human race in the following way; for he does not allow them to keep a straight course with their tongues.
μᾶλλον δέ, ὦ δικασταί, μεταξὺ γάρ με πάλιν τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πράγματα ἀνέμνησε περὶ τῆς γλώσσης, καὶ ταύτης με τὸ μέρος ἀπήλασε καὶ γλῶτταν ποιεῖ τὴν γλῶσσαν.
Or rather, O judges, for in the midst of things human affairs reminded me again of the tongue, he has expelled me from my share in this too and makes the glossa a glotta.
ὦ γλώσσης ἀληθῶς νόσημα Ταῦ.
O Tau, truly a disease of the tongue!
ἀλλὰ μεταβήσομαι πάλιν ἐπʼ ἐκεῖνο καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συναγορεύσω ὑπὲρ ὧν εἰς αὐτοὺς πλημμελεῖ· δεσμοῖς γάρ τισι στρεβλοῦν καὶ σπαράττειν αὐτῶν τὴν φωνὴν ἐπιχειρεῖ.
But I will return to that point and plead for men in respect of the offenses he commits against them; for he attempts to distort and tear their speech as if with bonds.
καὶ ὁ μέν τι καλὸν ἰδὼν καλὸν εἰπεῖν αὐτὸ βούλεται, τὸ δὲ παρεισπεσὸν ταλὸν εἰπεῖν αὐτοὺς ἀναγκάζει ἐν ἅπασι προεδρίαν ἔχειν ἀξιοῦν· πάλιν ἕτερος περὶ κλήματος διαλέγεται, τὸ δὲ — τλῆμον γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθῶς — τλῆμα πεποίηκε τὸ κλῆμα.
And when someone sees something beautiful and wishes to say kalon, this character, slipping in, forces them to say talon, claiming the front seat in everything; again, another speaks of a vine-branch, and this—for it is truly wretched—makes the klema into a tlema.
καὶ οὐ μόνον γε τοὺς τυχόντας ἀδικεῖ, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ τῷ μεγάλῳ βασιλεῖ, ᾧ καὶ γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν εἶξαί φασι καὶ τῆς αὑτῶν φύσεως ἐκστῆναι, τὸ δὲ καὶ τούτῳ ἐπιβουλεύει καὶ Κῦρον αὐτὸν ὄντα Τῦρόν τινα ἀπέφηνεν.
And it does not wrong only ordinary men, but even against the Great King, to whom they say both land and sea yielded and departed from their own nature, this character plots even against him, and made him, who was Cyrus, into some Tyros.
§12οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὅσον ἐς φωνὴν ἀνθρώπους ἀδικεῖ· ἔργῳ δὲ πῶς;
In this way, then, he wrongs men as far as speech is concerned; but how in deed?
κλάουσιν ἄνθρωποι καὶ τὴν αὑτῶν τύχην ὀδύρονται καὶ Κάδμῳ καταρῶνται πολλάκις, ὅτι τὸ Ταῦ ἐς τὸ τῶν στοιχείων γένος παρήγαγε· τῷ γὰρ τούτου σώματί φασι τοὺς τυράννους ἀκολουθήσαντας καὶ μιμησαμένους αὐτοῦ τὸ πλάσμα ἔπειτα σχήματι τοιούτῳ ξύλα τεκτήναντας ἀνθρώπους ἀνασκολοπίζειν ἐπʼ αὐτά· ἀπὸ δὲ τούτου καὶ τῷ τεχνήματι τῷ πονηρῷ τὴν πονηρὰν ἐπωνυμίαν συνελθεῖν.
Men weep and lament their own fortune and often curse Cadmus for introducing Tau into the family of letters; for they say that tyrants, following its body and imitating its shape, then fashioned timbers of such a figure and crucified men upon them; and from this, that evil name came to the evil engine.
τούτων οὖν ἁπάντων ἕνεκα πόσων θανάτων τὸ Ταῦ ἄξιον εἶναι νομίζετε;
For all these things, then, how many deaths do you think Tau deserves?
ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οἶμαι δικαίως τοῦτο μόνον ἐς τὴν τοῦ Ταῦ τιμωρίαν ὑπολείπεσθαι, τὸ τῷ σχήματι τῷ αὑτοῦ τὴν δίκην ὑποσχεῖν.
For my part, I think that in justice this alone remains for the punishment of Tau: to suffer the penalty in his own shape.