f(1) The pun here cannot be kept. The word (in Greek),Paean, resembles (that for) to strike; hence the word, asrecalling the blows and wounds of the war, seems of ill omento Trygaeus.
HERMES Very well, then! Io! Io! I'll simply say, Io!
TRYGAEUS To Hermes, the Graces, Hora, Aphrodite, Eros!
CHORUS But not to Ares?
TRYGAEUS No.
CHORUS Nor doubtless to Enyalius?
TRYGAEUS No.
CHORUS Come, all strain at the ropes to tear away the stones. Pull!
HERMES Heave away, heave, heave, oh!
CHORUS Come, pull harder, harder.
HERMES Heave away, heave, heave, oh!
CHORUS Still harder, harder still.
HERMES Heave away, heave! Heave away, heave, heave, oh!
TRYGAEUS Come, come, there is no working together. Come! all pull at the same instant! you Boeotians are only pretending. Beware!
HERMES Come, heave away, heave!
CHORUS Hi! you two pull as well.
TRYGAEUS Why, I am pulling, I am hanging on to the rope and straining till I am almost off my feet; I am working with all my might.
CHORUS Why does not the work advance then?
TRYGAEUS Lamachus, this is too bad! You are in the way, sitting there. We have no use for your Medusa's head, friend.(1)
f(1) The device on his shield was a Gorgon's head. (See'The Acharnians.')
HERMES But hold, the Argives have not pulled the least bit; they have done nothing but laugh at us for our pains while they were getting gain with both hands.(1)
f(1) Both Sparta and Athens had sought the alliance of theArgives; they had kept themselves strictly neutral and hadreceived pay from both sides. But, the year after theproduction of 'The Wasps,' they openly joined Athens, hadattacked Epidaurus and got cut to pieces by the Spartans.
TRYGAEUS Ah! my dear sir, the Laconians at all events pull with vigour.
CHORUS But look! only those among them who generally hold the plough-tail show any zeal,(1) while the armourers impede them in their efforts.
f(1) These are the Spartan prisoners from Sphacteria, whowere lying in goal at Athens. They were chained fast tolarge beams of wood.
HERMES And the Megarians too are doing nothing, yet look how they are pulling and showing their teeth like famished curs; The poor wretches are dying of hunger!(1)
f(1) 'Twas want of force, not want of will. They hadsuffered more than any other people from the war. (See 'TheAcharnians.')
TRYGAEUS This won't do, friends. Come! all together! Everyone to the work and with a good heart for the business.
HERMES Heave away, heave!
TRYGAEUS Harder!
HERMES Heave away, heave!
TRYGAEUS Come on then, by heaven.
HERMES Heave away, heave! Heave away, heave!
CHORUS This will never do.
TRYGAEUS Is it not a shame? some pull one way and others another. You, Argives there, beware of a thrashing!
HERMES Come, put your strength into it.
TRYGAEUS Heave away, heave!
CHORUS There are many ill-disposed folk among us.
TRYGAEUS Do you at least, who long for peace, pull heartily.
CHORUS But there are some who prevent us.
HERMES Off to the Devil with you, Megarians! The goddess hates you. She recollects that you were the first to rub her the wrong way. Athenians, you are not well placed for pulling. There you are too busy with law-suits; if you really want to free the goddess, get down a little towards the sea.(1)
f(1) Meaning, look chiefly to your fleet. This was thecounsel that Themistocles frequently gave the Athenians.
CHORUS Come, friends, none but husbandmen on the rope.
HERMES Ah! that will do ever so much better.
CHORUS He says the thing is going well. Come, all of you, together and with a will.
TRYGAEUS 'Tis the husbandmen who are doing all the work.
CHORUS Come then, come, and all together! Hah! hah! at last there is some unanimity in the work. Don't let us give up, let us redouble our efforts. There! now we have it! Come then, all together! Heave away, heave! Heave away, heave! Heave away, heave! Heave away, heave! Heave away, heave! All together! (PEACE IS DRAWN OUT OF THE PIT.)
TRYGAEUS Oh! venerated goddess, who givest us our grapes, where am I to find the ten-thousand-gallon words(1) wherewith to greet thee? I have none such at home. Oh! hail to thee, Opora,(2) and thee, Theoria!(3) How beautiful is thy face! How sweet thy breath! What gentle fragrance comes from thy bosom, gentle as freedom from military duty, as the most dainty perfumes!
f(1) A metaphor referring to the abundant vintages thatpeace would assure.f(2) The goddess of fruits.f(3) Aristophanes personifies under this name the sacredceremonies in general which peace would allow to becelebrated with due pomp. Opora and Theoria come on thestage in the wake of Peace, clothed and decked out ascourtesans.
HERMES Is it then a smell like a soldier's knapsack?
TRYGAEUS Oh! hateful soldier! your hideous satchel makes me sick! it stinks like the belching of onions, whereas this lovable deity has the odour of sweet fruits, of festivals, of the Dionysia, of the harmony of flutes, of the comic poets, of the verses of Sophocles, of the phrases of Euripides...
HERMES That's a foul calumny, you wretch! She detests that framer of subtleties and quibbles.
TRYGAEUS ...of ivy, of straining-bags for wine, of bleating ewes, of provision-laden women hastening to the kitchen, of the tipsy servant wench, of the upturned wine-jar, and of a whole heap of other good things.
HERMES Then look how the reconciled towns chat pleasantly together, how they laugh; and yet they are all cruelly mishandled; their wounds are bleeding still.
TRYGAEUS But let us also scan the mien of the spectators; we shall thus find out the trade of each.
HERMES Ah! good gods! Look at that poor crest-maker, tearing at his hair,(1) and at that pike-maker, who has just broken wind in yon sword-cutler's face.
f(1) Aristophanes has already shown us the husbandmen andworkers in peaceful trades pulling at the rope the extricatePeace, while the armourers hindered them by pulling theother way.
TRYGAEUS And do you see with what pleasure this sickle-maker is making long noses at the spear-maker?
HERMES Now ask the husbandmen to be off.
TRYGAEUS Listen, good folk! Let the husbandmen take their farming tools and return to their fields as quick as possible, but without either sword, spear or javelin. All is as quiet as if Peace had been reigning for a century. Come, let everyone go till the earth, singing the Paean.
CHORUS Oh, thou, whom men of standing desired and who art good to husbandmen, I have gazed upon thee with delight; and now I go to greet my vines, to caress after so long an absence the fig trees I planted in my youth.
TRYGAEUS Friends, let us first adore the goddess, who has delivered us from crests and Gorgons;(1) then let us hurry to our farms, having first bought a nice little piece of salt fish to eat in the fields.
f(1) An allusion to Lamachus' shield.
HERMES By Posidon! what a fine crew they make and dense as the crust of a cake; they are as nimble as guests on their way to a feast.
TRYGAEUS See, how their iron spades glitter and how beautifully their three-pronged mattocks glisten in the sun! How regularly they align the plants! I also burn myself to go into the country and to turn over the earth I have so long neglected.—Friends, do you remember the happy life that Peace afforded us formerly; can you recall the splendid baskets of figs, both fresh and dried, the myrtles, the sweet wine, the violets blooming near the spring, and the olives, for which we have wept so much? Worship, adore the goddess for restoring you so many blessings.
CHORUS Hail! hail! thou beloved divinity! thy return overwhelms us with joy. When far from thee, my ardent wish to see my fields again made me pine with regret. From thee came all blessings. Oh! much desired Peace! thou art the sole support of those who spend their lives tilling the earth. Under thy rule we had a thousand delicious enjoyments at our beck; thou wert the husbandman's wheaten cake and his safeguard. So that our vineyards, our young fig-tree woods and all our plantations hail thee with delight and smile at thy coming. But where was she then, I wonder, all the long time she spent away from us? Hermes, thou benevolent god, tell us!
HERMES Wise husbandmen, hearken to my words, if you want to know why she was lost to you. The start of our misfortunes was the exile of Phidias;(1) Pericles feared he might share his ill-luck, he mistrusted your peevish nature and, to prevent all danger to himself, he threw out that little spark, the Megarian decree,(2) set the city aflame, and blew up the conflagration with a hurricane of war, so that the smoke drew tears from all Greeks both here and over there. At the very outset of this fire our vines were a-crackle, our casks knocked together;(3) it was beyond the power of any man to stop the disaster, and Peace disappeared.
f(1) Having been commissioned to execute a statue of Athene,Phidias was accused of having stolen part of the gold givenhim out of the public treasury for its decoration. Rewardedfor his work by calumny and banishment, he resolved to makea finer statue than his Athene, and executed one for thetemple of Elis, that of the Olympian Zeus, which wasconsidered one of the wonders of the world.f(2) He had issued a decree, which forbade the admission ofany Megarian on Attic soil, and also all trade with thatpeople. The Megarians, who obtained all their provisionsfrom Athens, were thus almost reduced to starvation.f(3) That is, the vineyards were ravaged from the veryoutset of the war, and this increased the animosity.
TRYGAEUS That, by Apollo! is what no one ever told me; I could not think what connection there could be between Phidias and Peace.
CHORUS Nor I; I know it now. This accounts for her beauty, if she is related to him. There are so many things that escape us.
HERMES Then, when the towns subject to you saw that you were angered one against the other and were showing each other your teeth like dogs, they hatched a thousand plots to pay you no more dues and gained over the chief citizens of Sparta at the price of gold. They, being as shamelessly greedy as they were faithless in diplomacy, chased off Peace with ignominy to let loose War. Though this was profitable to them, 'twas the ruin of the husbandmen, who were innocent of all blame; for, in revenge, your galleys went out to devour their figs.
TRYGAEUS And 'twas with justice too; did they not break down my black fig tree, which I had planted and dunged with my own hands?
CHORUS Yes, by Zeus! yes, 'twas well done; the wretches broke a chest for me with stones, which held six medimni of corn.
HERMES Then the rural labourers flocked into the city(1) and let themselves be bought over like the others. Not having even a grape-stone to munch and longing after their figs, they looked towards the orators.(2) These well knew that the poor were driven to extremity and lacked even bread; but they nevertheless drove away the Goddess, each time she reappeared in answer to the wish of the country, with their loud shrieks that were as sharp as pitchforks; furthermore, they attacked the well-filled purses of the richest among our allies on the pretence that they belonged to Brasidas' party.(3) And then you would tear the poor accused wretch to pieces with your teeth; for the city, all pale with hunger and cowed with terror, gladly snapped up any calumny that was thrown it to devour. So the strangers, seeing what terrible blows the informers dealt, sealed their lips with gold. They grew rich, while you, alas! you could only see that Greece was going to ruin. 'Twas the tanner who was the author of all this woe.(4)
f(1) Driven in from the country parts by the Lacedaemonianinvaders.f(2) The demagogues, who distributed the slender dole givento the poor, and by that means exercised undue power overthem.f(3) Meaning, the side of the Spartans.f(4) Cleon.
TRYGAEUS Enough said, Hermes, leave that man in Hades, whither he has gone; he no longer belongs to us, but rather to yourself.(1) That he was a cheat, a braggart, a calumniator when alive, why, nothing could be truer; but anything you might say now would be an insult to one of your own folk. Oh! venerated Goddess! why art thou silent?
f(1) It was Hermes who conducted the souls of the dead downto the lower regions.
HERMES And how could she speak to the spectators? She is too angry at all that they have made her suffer.
TRYGAEUS At least let her speak a little to you, Hermes.
HERMES Tell me, my dear, what are your feelings with regard to them? Come, you relentless foe of all bucklers, speak; I am listening to you. (PEACE WHISPERS INTO HERMES' EAR.) Is that your grievance against them? Yes, yes, I understand. Hearken, you folk, this is her complaint. She says, that after the affair of Pylos(1) she came to you unbidden to bring you a basket full of truces and that you thrice repulsed her by your votes in the assembly.
f(1) The Spartans had thrice offered to make peace after thePylos disaster.
TRYGAEUS Yes, we did wrong, but forgive us, for our mind was then entirely absorbed in leather.(1)
f(1) i.e. dominated by Cleon.
HERMES Listen again to what she has just asked me. Who was her greatest foe here? and furthermore, had she a friend who exerted himself to put an end to the fighting?
TRYGAEUS Her most devoted friend was Cleonymus; it is undisputed.
HERMES How then did Cleonymus behave in fights?
TRYGAEUS Oh! the bravest of warriors! Only he was not born of the father he claims; he showed it quick enough in the army by throwing away his weapons.(1)
f(1) There is a pun here that cannot be rendered between(the Greek for) 'one who throws away his weapons' and 'asupposititious child.'
HERMES There is yet another question she has just put to me. Who rules now in the rostrum?
TRYGAEUS 'Tis Hyperbolus, who now holds empire on the Pnyx. (TO PEACE) What now? you turn away your head!
HERMES She is vexed, that the people should give themselves a wretch of that kind for their chief.
TRYGAEUS Oh! we shall not employ him again; but the people, seeing themselves without a leader, took him haphazard, just as a man, who is naked, springs upon the first cloak he sees.
HERMES She asks, what will be the result of such a choice of the city?
TRYGAEUS We shall be more far-seeing in consequence.
HERMES And why?
TRYGAEUS Because he is a lamp-maker. Formerly we only directed our business by groping in the dark; now we shall only deliberate by lamplight.
HERMES Oh! oh! what questions she does order me to put to you!
TRYGAEUS What are they?
HERMES She wants to have news of a whole heap of old-fashioned things she left here. First of all, how is Sophocles?
TRYGAEUS Very well, but something very strange has happened to him.
HERMES What then?
TRYGAEUS He has turned from Sophocles into Simonides.(1)
f(1) Simonides was very avaricious, and sold his pen to thehighest bidder. It seems that Sophocles had also startedwriting for gain.
HERMES Into Simonides? How so?
TRYGAEUS Because, though old and broken-down as he is, he would put to sea on a hurdle to gain an obolus.(1)
f(1) i.e. he would recoil from no risk to turn an honestpenny.
HERMES And wise Cratinus,(1) is he still alive?
f(1) A comic poet as well known for his love of wine as forhis writings; he died in 431 B.C., the first year of thewar, at the age of ninety-seven.
TRYGAEUS He died about the time of the Laconian invasion.
HERMES How?
TRYGAEUS Of a swoon. He could not bear the shock of seeing one of his casks full of wine broken. Ah! what a number of other misfortunes our city has suffered! So, dearest mistress, nothing can now separate us from thee.
HERMES If that be so, receive Opora here for a wife; take her to the country, live with her, and grow fine grapes together.(1)
f(1) Opora was the goddess of fruits.
TRYGAEUS Come, my dear friend, come and accept my kisses. Tell me, Hermes, my master, do you think it would hurt me to love her a little, after so long an abstinence?
HERMES No, not if you swallow a potion of penny-royal afterwards.(1) But hasten to lead Theoria(2) to the Senate; 'twas there she lodged before.
f(1) The scholiast says fruit may be eaten with impunity ingreat quantities if care is taken to drink a decoction ofthis herb afterwards.f(2) Theoria is confided to the care of the Senate, becauseit was this body who named the deputies appointed to go andconsult the oracles beyond the Attic borders to be presentat feats and games.
TRYGAEUS Oh! fortunate Senate! Thanks to Theoria, what soups you will swallow for the space of three days!(1) how you will devour meats and cooked tripe! Come, farewell, friend Hermes!
f(1) The great festivals, e.g. the Dionysia, lasted threedays. Those in honour of the return of Peace, which was somuch desired, could not last a shorter time.
HERMES And to you also, my dear sir, may you have much happiness, and don't forget me.
TRYGAEUS Come, beetle, home, home, and let us fly on a swift wing.
HERMES Oh! he is no longer here.
TRYGAEUS Where has he gone to then?
HERMES He is harnessed to the chariot of Zeus and bears the thunder bolts.
TRYGAEUS But where will the poor wretch get his food?
HERMES He will eat Ganymede's ambrosia.
TRYGAEUS Very well then, but how am I going to descend?
HERMES Oh! never fear, there is nothing simpler; place yourself beside the goddess.
TRYGAEUS Come, my pretty maidens, follow me quickly; there are plenty of folk awaiting you with ready weapons.
CHORUS Farewell and good luck be yours! Let us begin by handing over all this gear to the care of our servants, for no place is less safe than a theatre; there is always a crowd of thieves prowling around it, seeking to find some mischief to do. Come, keep a good watch over all this. As for ourselves, let us explain to the spectators what we have in our minds, the purpose of our play.
Undoubtedly the comic poet who mounted the stage to praise himself in the parabasis would deserve to be handed over to the sticks of the beadles. Nevertheless, oh Muse, if it be right to esteem the most honest and illustrious of our comic writers at his proper value, permit our poet to say that he thinks he has deserved a glorious renown. First of all, 'tis he who has compelled his rivals no longer to scoff at rags or to war with lice; and as for those Heracles, always chewing and ever hungry, those poltroons and cheats who allow themselves to be beaten at will, he was the first to cover them with ridicule and to chase them from the stage;(1) he has also dismissed that slave, whom one never failed to set a-weeping before you, so that his comrade might have the chance of jeering at his stripes and might ask, "Wretch, what has happened to your hide? Has the lash rained an army of its thongs on you and laid your back waste?" After having delivered us from all these wearisome ineptitudes and these low buffooneries, he has built up for us a great art, like a palace with high towers, constructed of fine phrases, great thoughts and of jokes not common on the streets. Moreover 'tis not obscure private persons or women that he stages in his comedies; but, bold as Heracles, 'tis the very greatest whom he attacks, undeterred by the fetid stink of leather or the threats of hearts of mud. He has the right to say, "I am the first ever dared to go straight for that beast with the sharp teeth and the terrible eyes that flashed lambent fire like those of Cynna,(2) surrounded by a hundred lewd flatterers, who spittle-licked him to his heart's content; it had a voice like a roaring torrent, the stench of a seal, a foul Lamia's testicles and the rump of a camel."(3)
I did not recoil in horror at the sight of such a monster, but fought him relentlessly to win your deliverance and that of the Islanders. Such are the services which should be graven in your recollection and entitle me to your thanks. Yet I have not been seen frequenting the wrestling school intoxicated with success and trying to tamper with young boys;(4) but I took all my theatrical gear(5) and returned straight home. I pained folk but little and caused them much amusement; my conscience rebuked me for nothing. Hence both grown men and youths should be on my side and I likewise invite the bald(6) to give me their votes; for, if I triumph, everyone will say, both at table and at festivals, "Carry this to the bald man, give these cakes to the bald one, do not grudge the poet whose talent shines as bright as his own bare skull the share he deserves."
Oh, Muse! drive the War far from our city and come to preside over our dances, if you love me; come and celebrate the nuptials of the gods, the banquets of us mortals and the festivals of the fortunate; these are the themes that inspire thy most poetic songs. And should Carcinus come to beg thee for admission with his sons to thy chorus, refuse all traffic with them; remember they are but gelded birds, stork-necked dancers, mannikins about as tall as a pat of goat dung, in fact machine-made poets.(7) Contrary to all expectation, the father has at last managed to finish a piece, but he owns himself that a cat strangled it one fine evening.(8)
Such are the songs(9) with which the Muse with the glorious hair inspires the able poet and which enchant the assembled populace, when the spring swallow twitters beneath the foliage;(10) but the god spare us from the chorus of Morsimus and that of Melanthius!(11) Oh! what a bitter discordancy grated upon my ears that day when the tragic chorus was directed by this same Melanthius and his brother, these two Gorgons,(12) these two harpies, the plague of the seas, whose gluttonous bellies devour the entire race of fishes, these followers of old women, these goats with their stinking arm-pits. Oh! Muse, spit upon them abundantly and keep the feast gaily with me.
f(1) In spite of what he says, Aristophanes has not alwaysdisdained this sort of low comedy—for instance, hisHeracles in 'The Birds.'f(2) A celebrated Athenian courtesan of Aristophanes' day.f(3) Cleon. These four verses are here repeated from theparabasis of 'The Wasps,' produced 423 B.C., the year beforethis play.f(4) Shafts aimed at certain poets, who used their renown asa means of seducing young men to grant them pederasticfavours.f(5) The poet supplied everything needful for the productionof his piece—vases, dresses, masks, etc.f(6) Aristophanes was bald himself, it would seem.f(7) Carcinus and his three sons were both poets anddancers. (See the closing scene of 'The Wasps.') Perhapsrelying little on the literary value of their work, it seemsthat they sought to please the people by the magnificence ofits staging.f(8) He had written a piece called 'The Mice,' which hesucceeded with great difficulty in getting played, but itmet with no success.f(9) This passage really follows on the invocation, "Oh,Muse! drive the War," etc., from which indeed it is onlydivided by the interpolated criticism aimed at Carcinus.f(10) The scholiast informs us that these verses areborrowed from a poet of the sixth century B.C.f(11) Sons of Philocles, of the family of Aeschylus, tragicwriters, derided by Aristophanes as bad poets and notoriousgluttons.f(12) The Gorgons were represented with great teeth, andtherefore the same name was given to gluttons. The Harpies,to whom the two voracious poets are also compared, weremonsters with the face of a woman, the body of a vulture andhooked beak and claws.
TRYGAEUS Ah! 'tis a rough job getting to the gods! my legs are as good as broken through it. How small you were, to be sure, when seen from heaven! you had all the appearance too of being great rascals; but seen close, you look even worse.
SERVANT Is that you, master?
TRYGAEUS So I've been told.
SERVANT What has happened to you?
TRYGAEUS My legs pain me; it is such a plaguey long journey.
SERVANT Oh! tell me...
TRYGAEUS What?
SERVANT Did you see any other man besides yourself strolling about in heaven?
TRYGAEUS No, only the souls of two or three dithyrambic poets.
SERVANT What were they doing up there?
TRYGAEUS They were seeking to catch some lyric exordia as they flew by immersed in the billows of the air.
SERVANT Is it true, what they tell us, that men are turned into stars after death?
TRYGAEUS Quite true.
SERVANT Then who is that star I see over yonder?
TRYGAEUS That is Ion of Chios,(1) the author of an ode beginning "Morning"; as soon as ever he got to heaven, they called him "the Morning Star."
f(1) A tragic and dithyrambic poet, who had written manypieces, which had met with great success at Athens.
SERVANT And those stars like sparks, that plough up the air as they dart across the sky?(1)
f(1) The shooting stars.
TRYGAEUS They are the rich leaving the feast with a lantern and a light inside it.—But hurry up, show this young girl into my house, clean out the bath, heat some water and prepare the nuptial couch for herself and me. When 'tis done, come back here; meanwhile I am off to present this one to the Senate.
SERVANT But where then did you get these pretty chattels?
TRYGAEUS Where? why in heaven.
SERVANT I would not give more than an obolus for gods who have got to keeping brothels like us mere mortals.
TRYGAEUS They are not all so, but there are some up there too who live by this trade.
SERVANT Come, that's rich! But I bethink me, shall I give her something to eat?
TRYGAEUS No, for she would neither touch bread nor cake; she is used to licking ambrosia at the table of the gods.
SERVANT Well, we can give her something to lick down here too.
CHORUS Here is a truly happy old man, as far as I can judge.
TRYGAEUS Ah! but what shall I be, when you see me presently dressed for the wedding?
CHORUS Made young again by love and scented with perfumes, your lot will be one we all shall envy.
TRYGAEUS And when I lie beside her and caress her bosoms?
CHORUS Oh! then you will be happier than those spinning-tops who call Carcinus their father.(1)
f(1) It has already been mentioned that the sons of Carcinuswere dancers.
TRYGAEUS And I well deserve it; have I not bestridden a beetle to save the Greeks, who now, thanks to me, can make love at their ease and sleep peacefully on their farms?
SERVANT The girl has quitted the bath; she is charming from head to foot, both belly and buttocks; the cake is baked and they are kneading the sesame-biscuit;(1) nothing is lacking but the bridegroom's virility.
f(1) It was customary at weddings, says Menander, to givethe bride a sesame-caked as an emblem of fruitfulness,because sesame is the most fruitful of all seeds.
TRYGAEUS Let us first hasten to lodge Theoria in the hands of the Senate.
SERVANT But tell me, who is this woman?
TRYGAEUS Why, 'tis Theoria, with whom we used formerly to go to Brauron,(1) to get tipsy and frolic. I had the greatest trouble to get hold of her.
f(1) An Attic town on the east coast, noted for amagnificent temple, in which stood the statue of Artemis,which Orestes and Iphigenia had brought from the TauricChersonese and also for the Brauronia, festivals that werecelebrated every four years in honour of the goddess. Thiswas one of the festivals which the Attic people kept withthe greatest pomp, and was an occasion for debauchery.
SERVANT Ah! you charmer! what pleasure your pretty bottom will afford me every four years!
TRYGAEUS Let us see, who of you is steady enough to be trusted by the Senate with the care of this charming wench? Hi! you, friend! what are you drawing there?
SERVANT I am drawing the plan of the tent I wish to erect for myself on the isthmus.(1)
f(1) Competitors intending to take part in the greatOlympic, Isthmian and other games took with them a tent,wherein to camp in the open. Further, there is an obsceneallusion which the actor indicates by a gesture.
TRYGAEUS Come, who wishes to take the charge of her? No one? Come, Theoria, I am going to lead you into the midst of the spectators and confide you to their care.
SERVANT Ah! there is one who makes a sign to you.
TRYGAEUS Who is it?
SERVANT 'Tis Ariphrades. He wishes to take her home at once.
TRYGAEUS No, I'm sure he shan't. He would soon have her done for, absorbing all her life-force. Come, Theoria, put down all this gear.(1)
Senate, Prytanes, look upon Theoria and see what precious blessings I place in your hands. Hasten to raise its limbs and to immolate the victim. Admire the fine chimney,(2) it is quite black with smoke, for 'twas here that the Senate did their cooking before the war. Now that you have found Theoria again, you can start the most charming games from to-morrow, wrestling with her on the ground, either on your hands and feet, or you can lay her on her side, or stand before her with bent knees, or, well rubbed with oil, you can boldly enter the lists, as in the Pancratium, belabouring your foe with blows from your fist or otherwise. The next day you will celebrate equestrian games, in which the riders will ride side by side, or else the chariot teams, thrown one on top of another, panting and whinnying, will roll and knock against each other on the ground, while other rivals, thrown out of their seats, will fall before reaching the goal, utterly exhausted by their efforts.—Come, Prytanes, take Theoria. Oh! look how graciously yonder fellow has received her; you would not have been in such a hurry to introduce her to the Senate, if nothing were coming to you through it;(3) you would not have failed to plead some holiday as an excuse.
f(1) Doubtless the vessels and other sacrificial objects andimplements with which Theoria was laden in her character ofpresiding deity at religious ceremonies.f(2) Where the meats were cooked after sacrifice; this alsomarks the secondary obscene sense he means to convey.f(3) One of the offices of the Prytanes was to introducethose who asked admission to the Senate, but it would seemthat none could obtain this favour without payment. Withoutthis, a thousand excuses would be made; for instance, itwould be a public holiday, and consequently the Senate couldreceive no one. As there was some festival nearly everyday, he whose purse would not open might have to wait a verylong while.
CHORUS Such a man as you assures the happiness of all his fellow-citizens.
TRYGAEUS When you are gathering your vintages you will prize me even better.
CHORUS E'en from to-day we hail you as the deliverer of mankind.
TRYGAEUS Wait until you have drunk a beaker of new wine, before you appraise my true merits.
CHORUS Excepting the gods, there is none greater than yourself, and that will ever be our opinion.
TRYGAEUS Yea, Trygaeus of Athmonia has deserved well of you, he has freed both husbandman and craftsman from the most cruel ills; he has vanquished Hyberbolus.
SERVANT Well then, what must be done now?
TRYGAEUS You must offer pots of green-stuff to the goddess to consecrate her altars.
SERVANT Pots of green-stuff(1) as we do to poor Hermes—and even he thinks the fare but mean?
f(1) This was only offered to lesser deities.
TRYGAEUS What will you offer them? A fatted bull?
SERVANT Oh no! I don't want to start bellowing the battle-cry.(1)
f(1) In the Greek we have a play upon the similarity of thewords (for) a bull, and to shout the battle-cry.
TRYGAEUS A great fat swine then?
SERVANT No, no.
TRYGAEUS Why not?
SERVANT We don't want any of the swinishness of Theagenes.(1)
f(1) Theagenes, of the Piraeus, a hideous, coarse, debauchedand evil-living character of the day.
TRYGAEUS What other victim do you prefer then?
SERVANT A sheep.
TRYGAEUS A sheep?
SERVANT Yes.
TRYGAEUS But you must give the word the Ionic form.
SERVANT Purposely. So that if anyone in the assembly says, "We must go to war," all may start bleating in alarm, "Oi, oi."(1)
f(1) That is the vocative of the Ionic form of the word; inAttic Greek it is contracted throughout.
TRYGAEUS A brilliant idea.
SERVANT And we shall all be lambs one toward the other, yea, and milder still toward the allies.
TRYGAEUS Then go for the sheep and haste to bring it back with you; I will prepare the altar for the sacrifice.
CHORUS How everything succeeds to our wish, when the gods are willing and Fortune favours us! how opportunely everything falls out.
TRYGAEUS Nothing could be truer, for look! here stands the altar all ready at my door.
CHORUS Hurry, hurry, for the winds are fickle; make haste, while the divine will is set on stopping this cruel war and is showering on us the most striking benefits.
TRYGAEUS Here is the basket of barley-seed mingled with salt, the chaplet and the sacred knife; and there is the fire; so we are only waiting for the sheep.
CHORUS Hasten, hasten, for, if Chaeris sees you, he will come without bidding, he and his flute; and when you see him puffing and panting and out of breath, you will have to give him something.
TRYGAEUS Come, seize the basket and take the lustral water and hurry to circle round the altar to the right.
SERVANT There! 'tis done. What is your next bidding?
TRYGAEUS Hold! I take this fire-brand first and plunge it into the water.
SERVANT Be quick! be quick! Sprinkle the altar.
TRYGAEUS Give me some barley-seed, purify yourself and hand me the basin; then scatter the rest of the barley among the audience.
SERVANT 'Tis done.
TRYGAEUS You have thrown it?
SERVANT Yes, by Hermes! and all the spectators have had their share.
TRYGAEUS But not the women?
SERVANT Oh! their husbands will give it them this evening.(1)
f(1) An obscene jest.
TRYGAEUS Let us pray! Who is here? Are there any good men?(1)
f(1) Before sacrificing, the officiating person asked, "Whois here?" and those present answered, "Many good men."
SERVANT Come, give, so that I may sprinkle these. Faith! they are indeed good, brave men.
TRYGAEUS You believe so?
SERVANT I am sure, and the proof of it is that we have flooded them with lustral water and they have not budged an inch.(1)
f(1) The actors forming the chorus are meant here.
TRYGAEUS Come, then, to prayers; to prayers, quick!—Oh! Peace, mighty queen, venerated goddess, thou, who presidest over choruses and at nuptials, deign to accept the sacrifices we offer thee.
SERVANT Receive it, greatly honoured mistress, and behave not like the coquettes, who half open the door to entice the gallants, draw back when they are stared at, to return once more if a man passes on. But do not act like this to us.
TRYGAEUS No, but like an honest woman, show thyself to thy worshippers, who are worn with regretting thee all these thirteen years. Hush the noise of battle, be a true Lysimacha to us.(1) Put an end to this tittle-tattle, to this idle babble, that set us defying one another. Cause the Greeks once more to taste the pleasant beverage of friendship and temper all hearts with the gentle feeling of forgiveness. Make excellent commodities flow to our markets, fine heads of garlic, early cucumbers, apples, pomegranates and nice little cloaks for the slaves; make them bring geese, ducks, pigeons and larks from Boeotia and baskets of eels from Lake Copais; we shall all rush to buy them, disputing their possession with Morychus, Teleas, Glaucetes and every other glutton. Melanthius(2) will arrive on the market last of all; 'twill be, "no more eels, all sold!" and then he'll start a-groaning and exclaiming as in his monologue of Medea,(3) "I am dying, I am dying! Alas! I have let those hidden in the beet escape me!"(4) And won't we laugh? These are the wishes, mighty goddess, which we pray thee to grant.