Coulon (1924) · Athenian Society (1912)

1 Οι. ΑʹΑἶρ' αἶρε μᾶζαν ὡς τάχος τῷ κανθάρῳ.

First ServantQuick, quick, bring the dung-beetle his cake.

Οι. ΒʹἸδού. Δὸς αὐτῷ, τῷ κάκιστ' ἀπολουμένῳ·

καὶ μήποτ' αὐτῆς μᾶζαν ἡδίω φάγοι.

Second ServantComing, coming.

First ServantGive it to him, and may it kill him!

Second ServantMay he never eat a better.

Οι. ΑʹΔὸς μᾶζαν ἑτέραν, ἐξ ὀνίδων πεπλασμένην.

First ServantNow give him this other one kneaded up with ass's dung.

5 Οι. ΒʹἸδοὺ μάλ' αὖθις. Ποῦ γὰρ ἣν νυνδὴ 'φερες;

Οὐ κατέφαγεν;

Second ServantThere! I've done that too.

ὅλην ἐνέκαψε περικυλίσας τοῖν ποδοῖν.

Ἀλλ' ὡς τάχιστα τρῖβε πολλὰς καὶ πυκνάς.

First ServantAnd where's what you gave him just now; surely he can't have devoured it yet!

Second ServantIndeed he has; he snatched it, rolled it between his feet and boiled it.

First ServantCome, hurry up, knead up a lot and knead them stiffly.

Οι. ΒʹἌνδρες κοπρολόγοι, προσλάβεσθε πρὸς θεῶν,

10 εἰ μή με βούλεσθ' ἀποπνιγέντα περιιδεῖν.

Second ServantOh, scavengers, help me in the name of the gods, if you do not wish to see me fall down choked.

Οι. ΑʹἙτέραν ἑτέραν δός, παιδὸς ἡταιρηκότος·

τετριμμένης γάρ φησιν ἐπιθυμεῖν.

First ServantCome, come, another made of the stool of a young scapegrace catamite. 'Twill be to the beetle's taste; he likes it well ground.

Ἑνὸς μέν, ὦνδρες, ἀπολελύσθαι μοι δοκῶ·

οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἂν φαίη με μάττοντ' ἐσθίειν.

Second ServantThere! I am free at least from suspicion; none will accuse me of tasting what I mix.

15 Οι. ΑʹΑἰβοῖ· φέρ' ἄλλην χἀτέραν μοι χἀτέραν,

καὶ τρῖβ' ⟨ἔθ'⟩ ἑτέρας.

First ServantFaugh! come, now another! keep on mixing with all your might.

οὐ γὰρ ἔθ' οἷός τ' εἴμ' ὑπερέχειν τῆς ἀντλίας.

Second ServantI' faith, no. I can stand this awful cesspool stench no longer, so I bring you the whole ill-smelling gear.

Οι. ΑʹΑὐτὴν ἄρ' οἴσω συλλαβὼν τὴν ἀντλίαν.

First ServantPitch it down the sewer sooner, and yourself with it.

Οι. ΒʹΝὴ τὸν Δί' ἐς κόρακάς γε, καὶ σαυτόν γε πρός.

20 Ὑμῶν δέ γ' εἴ τις οἶδέ μοι κατειπάτω

πόθεν ἂν πριαίμην ῥῖνα μὴ τετρημένην.

Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔργον ἦν ἄρ' ἀθλιώτερον

ἢ κανθάρῳ μάττοντα παρέχειν ἐσθίειν.

Ὗς μὲν γάρ, ὥσπερ ἂν χέσῃ τις, ἢ κύων

25 φαύλως ἐρείδει τοῦθ'· ὁ δ' ὑπὸ φρονήματος

βρενθύεταί τε καὶ φαγεῖν οὐκ ἀξιοῖ,

ἢν μὴ παραθῶ τρίψας δι' ἡμέρας ὅλης

ὥσπερ γυναικὶ γογγύλην μεμαγμένην.

Ἀλλ' εἰ πέπαυται τῆς ἐδωδῆς σκέψομαι

30 τῃδὶ παροίξας τῆς θύρας, ἵνα μή μ' ἴδῃ.

Ἔρειδε, μὴ παύσαιο μηδέποτ' ἐσθίων

τέως ἕως σαυτὸν λάθῃς διαρραγείς.

Οἷον δὲ κύψας ὁ κατάρατος ἐσθίει,

ὥσπερ παλαιστής, παραβαλὼν τοὺς γομφίους,

35 καὶ ταῦτα τὴν κεφαλήν τε καὶ τὼ χεῖρέ πως

ὡδὶ περιάγων, ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ σχοινία

τὰ παχέα συμβάλλοντες εἰς τὰς ὁλκάδας.

Μιαρὸν τὸ χρῆμα καὶ κάκοσμον καὶ βορόν,

χὤτου ποτ' ἐστὶ δαιμόνων ἡ προσβολὴ

40 οὐκ οἶδ'. Ἀφροδίτης μὲν γὰρ οὔ μοι φαίνεται,

οὐ μὴν Χαρίτων γε.

Second ServantMaybe, one of you can tell me where I can buy a stopped-up nose, for there is no work more disgusting than to mix food for a beetle and to carry it to him. A pig or a dog will at least pounce upon our excrement without more ado, but this foul wretch affects the disdainful, the spoilt mistress, and won't eat unless I offer him a cake that has been kneaded for an entire day.... But let us open the door a bit ajar without his seeing it. Has he done eating? Come, pluck up courage, cram yourself till you burst! The cursed creature! It wallows in its food! It grips it between its claws like a wrestler clutching his opponent, and with head and feet together rolls up its paste like a ropemaker twisting a hawser. What an indecent, stinking, gluttonous beast! I know not what angry god let this monster loose upon us, but of a certainty it was neither Aphrodité nor the Graces.

First ServantWho was it then?

τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ τέρας οὐ Διὸς Σκαταιβάτου.

Second ServantNo doubt the Thunderer, Zeus.

Οι. ΑʹΟὐκοῦν ἂν ἤδη τῶν θεατῶν τις λέγοι

νεανίας δοκησίσοφος· «Τόδε πρᾶγμα τί;

45 Ὁ κάνθαρος δὲ πρὸς τί;» Κᾆτ' αὐτῷ γ' ἀνὴρ

Ἰωνικός τίς φησι παρακαθήμενος·

«Δοκέω μέν, ἐς Κλέωνα τοῦτ' αἰνίσσεται,

ὡς κεῖνος ἀναιδέως τὴν σπατίλην ἐσθίει.»

Ἀλλ' εἰσιὼν τῷ κανθάρῳ δώσω πιεῖν.

First ServantBut perhaps some spectator, some beardless youth, who thinks himself a sage, will say, "What is this? What does the beetle mean?" And then an Ionian, sitting next him, will add, "I think 'tis an allusion to Cleon, who so shamelessly feeds on filth all by himself."--But now I'm going indoors to fetch the beetle a drink.

50 Οι. ΒʹἘγὼ δὲ τὸν λόγον γε τοῖσι παιδίοις

καὶ τοῖσιν ἀνδρίοισι καὶ τοῖς ἀνδράσιν

καὶ τοῖς ὑπερτάτοισιν ἀνδράσιν φράσω

καὶ τοῖς ὑπερηνορέουσιν ἔτι τούτοις μάλα.

Ὁ δεσπότης μου μαίνεται καινὸν τρόπον,

55 οὐχ ὅνπερ ὑμεῖς, ἀλλ' ἕτερον καινὸν πάνυ.

Δι' ἡμέρας γὰρ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν βλέπων

ὡδὶ κεχηνὼς λοιδορεῖται τῷ Διὶ

καί φησιν· «Ὦ Ζεῦ, τί ποτε βουλεύει ποεῖν;

Κατάθου τὸ κόρημα· μὴ 'κκόρει τὴν Ἑλλάδα.»

60 Ἔα ἔα·

σιγήσαθ', ὡς φωνῆς ἀκούειν μοι δοκῶ.

Second ServantAs for me, I will explain the matter to you all, children, youths, grown-ups and old men, aye, even to the decrepit dotards. My master is mad, not as you are, but with another sort of madness, quite a new kind. The livelong day he looks open-mouthed towards heaven and never stops addressing Zeus. "Ah! Zeus," he cries, "what are thy intentions? Lay aside thy besom; do not sweep Greece away!"

Aristophanes, Peace — Greek text with English translation