§26Μίκυλλος
ἄπαγε, δεινὰ ταῦτα φής, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών.
Micyllus Away! You say terrible things, O cock.
ἐμοὶ γοῦν πολὺ ἀσφαλέστερον σκυτοτομεῖν ἐπικεκυφότα ἢ πίνειν ἀπὸ χρυσῆς φιάλης κωνείῳ ἢ ἀκονίτῳ συνανακραθεῖσαν φιλοτησίαν·
To me, at any rate, it is much safer to cobble shoes, bending over them, than to drink a loving-cup of friendship from a golden cup mixed with hemlock or aconite.
ὁ γοῦν κίνδυνος ἐμοὶ μέν, εἰ παρολίσθοι τὸ σμιλίον καὶ ἁμάρτοι τῆς τομῆς τῆς ἐπʼ εὐθύ, ὀλίγον τι αἱμάξαι τοὺς δακτύλους ἐντεμόντα· οἱ δέ, ὡς φής, θανάσιμα εὐωχοῦνται, καὶ ταῦτα μυρίοις κακοῖς συνόντες.
For to me, the danger, if my small knife should slip and miss the straight cut, is only to bleed my fingers slightly from a cut; but they, as you say, feast on death, and that too while living with ten thousand evils.
εἶτʼ ἐπειδὰν πέσωσιν, ὅμοιοι μάλιστα φαίνονται τοῖς τραγικοῖς ὑποκριταῖς, ὧν πολλοὺς ἰδεῖν ἔνεστι τέως μὲν Κέκροπας δῆθεν ὄντας ἢ Σισύφους ἢ Τηλέφους, διαδήματα ἔχοντας καὶ ξίφη ἐλεφαντόκωπα καὶ ἐπίσειστον κόμην καὶ χλαμύδα χρυσόπαστον, ἢν δέ, οἷα πολλὰ γίνεται, κενεμβατήσας τις αὐτῶν ἐν μέσῃ τῇ σκηνῇ καταπέσῃ, γέλωτα δηλαδὴ παρέχει τοῖς θεαταῖς τοῦ προσωπείου μὲν συντριβέντος αὐτῷ διαδήματι, ᾑμαγμένης δὲ τῆς ἀληθοῦς κεφαλῆς τοῦ ὑποκριτοῦ καὶ τῶν σκελῶν ἐπὶ πολὺ γυμνουμένων, ὡς τῆς τε ἐσθῆτος τὰ ἔνδοθεν φαίνεσθαι ῥάκια δύστηνα ὄντα καὶ τῶν ἐμβατῶν τὴν ὑπόδεσιν ἀμορφοτάτην καὶ οὐχὶ κατὰ λόγον τοῦ ποδός.
And then, when they fall, they look most like tragic actors, many of whom one can see who are for a time Cecropses, forsooth, or Sisyphuses or Telephuses, wearing diadems and holding ivory-hilted swords and shaking their hair-pieces and wearing gold-spangled mantles; but if, as often happens, one of them takes a false step and falls down in the middle of the stage, he naturally provides laughter for the spectators, his mask being shattered along with the diadem, the real head of the actor bleeding, and his legs being exposed to a great extent, so that the wretched rags inside his clothing are seen, and the tying of his high boots is most shapeless and not in proportion to his foot.
ὁρᾷς ὅπως με καὶ εἰκάζειν ἐδίδαξας ἤδη, ὦ βέλτιστε ἀλεκτρυών;
Do you see how you have already taught me to make comparisons too, O best of cocks?
ἀλλὰ τυραννὶς μὲν τοιοῦτόν τι ὤφθη οὖσα.
But such a thing, indeed, tyranny was seen to be.
ἵππος δὲ ἢ κύων ἢ ἰχθὺς ἢ βάτραχος ὁπότε γένοιο, πῶς ἔφερες ἐκείνην τὴν διατριβήν;
But when you became a horse or a dog or a fish or a frog, how did you bear that pastime?
§27Ἀλεκτρυών
μακρὸν τοῦτον ἀνακινεῖς τὸν λόγον καὶ οὐ τοῦ παρόντος καιροῦ· πλὴν τό γε κεφάλαιον, οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐκ ἀπραγμονέστερος τῶν βίων ἔδοξέ μοι τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου, μόναις ταῖς φυσικαῖς ἐπιθυμίαις καὶ χρείαις συμμεμετρημένος·
Cock You stir up a long story, and one not for the present occasion; except, to put it in a nutshell, there is no life that did not seem to me less troublesome than the human one, being measured only by natural desires and needs.
τελώνην δὲ ἵππον ἢ συκοφάντην βάτραχον ἢ σοφιστὴν κολοιὸν ἢ ὀψοποιὸν κώνωπα ἢ κίναιδον ἀλεκτρυόνα καὶ τἆλλα ὅσα ὑμεῖς ἐπιτηδεύετε, οὐκ ἂν ἴδοις ἐν ἐκείνοις.
For you would not see among them a tax-collecting horse, a sycophant frog, a sophist jackdaw, a cook mosquito, or a catamite cock, and all the other things which you humans practice.
§28Μίκυλλος
ἀληθῆ ἴσως ταῦτα, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών. ἐγὼ δὲ ὃ πέπονθα οὐκ αἰσχύνομαι πρὸς σὲ εἰπεῖν·
Micyllus These things are perhaps true, O cock.
οὐδέπω δύναμαι ἀπομαθεῖν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἣν ἐκ παίδων εἶχον πλούσιος γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τοὐνύπνιον ἔτι πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἕστηκεν ἐπιδεικνύμενον τὸ χρυσίον, καὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ τῷ καταράτῳ Σίμωνι ἀποπνίγομαι τρυφῶντι ἐν ἀγαθοῖς τοσούτοις.
But I am not ashamed to tell you what has happened to me: I am not yet able to unlearn the desire which I have had from childhood to become rich, and indeed my dream still stands before my eyes showing me the gold, and I am especially choked by that accursed Simon enjoying so many good things.
Ἀλεκτρυών
ἐγώ σε ἰάσομαι, ὦ Μίκυλλε· καὶ ἐπείπερ ἔτι νύξ ἐστιν, ἐξαναστὰς ἕπου μοι· ἀπάξω γάρ σε παρʼ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον τὸν Σίμωνα καὶ εἰς τὰς τῶν ἄλλων πλουσίων οἰκίας. ὡς ἴδοις οἷα τὰ παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἐστι.
Cock I will cure you, Micyllus; and since it is still night, get up and follow me; for I will lead you away to that Simon himself and into the houses of the other rich men, so that you may see what things are like at their homes.
Μίκυλλος
πῶς τοῦτο, κεκλεισμένων τῶν θυρῶν;
Micyllus How is this possible, when the doors are locked?
εἰ μὴ καὶ τοιχωρυχεῖν γε σύ με ἀναγκάσεις.
Unless you are going to force me to commit housebreaking.
Ἀλεκτρυών
οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλʼ ὁ Ἑρμῆς, οὗπερ ἱερός εἰμι, ἐξαίρετον ἔδωκέ μοι τοῦτο, ἤν τις τὸ οὐραῖον πτερὸν τὸ μήκιστον, ὃ διʼ ἁπαλότητα ἐπικαμπές ἐστι —
Μίκυλλος
δύο δʼ ἔστι σοι τοιαῦτα.
Cock By no means, but Hermes, whose sacred servant I am, gave me this exceptional gift: if anyone plucks the longest tail-feather, which is curved because of its tenderness— Micyllus But you have two such feathers.
Ἀλεκτρυών
τὸ δεξιὸν τοίνυν ὅτῳ ἂν ἐγὼ ἀποσπάσαι παράσχω καὶ ἔχειν, ἐς ὅσον ἂν βούλωμαι ἀνοίγειν τε ὁ τοιοῦτος πᾶσαν θύραν δύναται καὶ ὁρᾶν ἅπαντα οὐχ ὁρώμενος αὐτός.
Cock The right one, then, to whomsoever I allow to pluck it and hold it, as long as I wish, such a person can open every door and see everything without being seen himself.
Μίκυλλος
ἐλελήθεις με, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών, καὶ σὺ γόης ὤν.
Micyllus I did not realize, O cock, that you were also a sorcerer.
ἐμοὶ δʼ οὖν ἢν τοῦτο ἅπαξ παράσχῃς, ὄψει τὰ Σίμωνος πάντα ἐν βραχεῖ δεῦρο μετενηνεγμένα· μετοίσω γὰρ αὐτὰ παρεισελθών, ὁ δὲ αὖθις περιτρώξεται ἀποτείνων τὰ καττύματα.
At any rate, if you grant me this once, you will see all of Simon's goods transferred here in a short time; for I will go in and carry them over, and he in turn will gnaw his leather again, stretching out his patches.
Ἀλεκτρυών
οὐ θέμις γενέσθαι τοῦτο· παρήγγειλε γὰρ ὁ Ἑρμῆς, ἤν τι τοιοῦτον ἐργάσηται ὁ ἔχων τὸ πτερόν, ἀναβοήσαντά με καταφωρᾶσαι αὐτόν.
Cock It is not permitted for this to happen; for Hermes commanded that, if the possessor of the feather should do any such thing, I should cry out and expose him.
Μίκυλλος
ἀπίθανον λέγεις, κλέπτην τὸν Ἑρμῆν αὐτὸν ὄντα τοῖς ἄλλοις φθονεῖν τοῦ τοιούτου.
Micyllus You speak of an unbelievable thing, that Hermes, being himself a thief, should grudge such a thing to others.
ἀπίωμεν δʼ ὅμως· ἀφέξομαι γὰρ τοῦ χρυσίου, ἢν δύνωμαι.
But let us go anyway; for I will keep away from the gold, if I can.
Ἀλεκτρυών
ἀπότιλον, ὦ Μίκυλλε, πρότερον τὸ πτίλον τί τοῦτο;
Cock Pluck, O Micyllus, the feather first—what is this?
ἄμφω ἀπέτιλας.
You have plucked both!
Μίκυλλος
ἀσφαλέστερον οὕτως, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών, καὶ σοὶ ἧττον ἂν ἄμορφον τὸ πρᾶγμα εἴη, ὡς μὴ χωλεύοις διὰ θάτερον τῆς οὐρᾶς μέρος.
Micyllus It is safer this way, O cock, and it would be less unseemly for you, so that you would not go lame on one side of your tail.