Aristophanes Knights 1

ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart

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Δημοσθένης

ἰατταταιὰξ τῶν κακῶν, ἰατταταῖ.
1

κακῶς Παφλαγόνα τὸν νεώνητον κακὸν

αὐταῖσι βουλαῖς ἀπολέσειαν οἱ θεοί.

ἐξ οὗ γὰρ εἰσήρρησεν ἐς τὴν οἰκίαν

πληγὰς ἀεὶ προστρίβεται τοῖς οἰκέταις.
5

Νικίας

κάκιστα δῆθʼ οὗτός γε πρῶτος Παφλαγόνων

αὐταῖς διαβολαῖς.

Δημοσθένης

ὦ κακόδαιμον πῶς ἔχεις;

Νικίας

κακῶς καθάπερ σύ.

Δημοσθένης

δεῦρο δὴ πρόσελθʼ, ἵνα

ξυναυλίαν κλαύσωμεν Οὐλύμπου νόμον.

Δημοσθένης καὶ Νικίας

μυμῦ μυμῦ μυμῦ μυμῦ μυμῦ μυμῦ.
10

Δημοσθένης

τί κινυρόμεθʼ ἄλλως; οὐκ ἐχρῆν ζητεῖν τινα

σωτηρίαν νῷν, ἀλλὰ μὴ κλάειν ἔτι;

Νικίας

τίς οὖν γένοιτʼ ἄν;

Δημοσθένης

λέγε σύ.

Νικίας

σὺ μὲν οὖν μοι λέγε,

ἵνα μὴ μάχωμαι.

Δημοσθένης

μὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλω ʼγὼ μὲν οὔ.

Νικίας

πῶς ἂν σύ μοι λέξειας ἁμὲ χρὴ λέγειν;

Δημοσθένης

ἀλλʼ εἰπὲ θαρρῶν, εἶτα κἀγὼ σοὶ φράσω.
15

Νικίας

ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἔνι μοι τὸ θρέττε. πῶς ἂν οὖν ποτε

εἴποιμʼ ἂν αὐτὸ δῆτα κομψευριπικῶς;

Δημοσθένης

μὴ ʼμοί γε, μὴ ʼμοί, μὴ διασκανδικίσῃς·

ἀλλʼ εὑρέ τινʼ ἀπόκινον ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσπότου.
20

Νικίας

λέγε δὴ μόλωμεν ξυνεχὲς ὡδὶ ξυλλαβών.

Δημοσθένης

καὶ δὴ λέγω μόλωμεν.

Νικίας

ἐξόπισθε νῦν

αὐτὸ φάθι τοῦ μόλωμεν.

Δημοσθένης

αὐτό.

Νικίας

πάνυ καλῶς.

ὥσπερ δεφόμενος νῦν ἀτρέμα πρῶτον λέγε

τὸ μόλωμεν, εἶτα δʼ αὐτό, κᾆτʼ ἐπάγων πυκνόν.
25

Δημοσθένης

μόλωμεν αὐτὸ μόλωμεν αὐτομολῶμεν.

Νικίας

ἢν

οὐχ ἡδύ;

Δημοσθένης

νὴ Δία· πλήν γε περὶ τῷ δέρματι

δέδοικα τουτονὶ τὸν οἰωνόν.

Νικίας

τί δαί;

Δημοσθένης

ὁτιὴ τὸ δέρμα δεφομένων ἀπέρχεται.

Νικίας

κράτιστα τοίνυν τῶν παρόντων ἐστὶ νῷν,
30

θεῶν ἰόντε προσπεσεῖν του πρὸς βρέτας.

Δημοσθένης

† ποῖον βρέτας †; ἐτεὸν ἡγεῖ γὰρ θεούς;

Νικίας

ἔγωγε.

Δημοσθένης

ποίῳ χρώμενος τεκμηρίῳ;

Νικίας

ὁτιὴ θεοῖσιν ἐχθρός εἰμʼ. οὐκ εἰκότως;

Δημοσθένης

εὖ προσβιβάζεις μʼ. ἀλλʼ ἑτέρᾳ πῃ σκεπτέον.
35

βούλει τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῖς θεαταῖσιν φράσω;

Νικίας

οὐ χεῖρον· ἓν δʼ αὐτοὺς παραιτησώμεθα,

ἐπίδηλον ἡμῖν τοῖς προσώποισιν ποιεῖν,

ἢν τοῖς ἔπεσι χαίρωσι καὶ τοῖς πράγμασιν.

Knights. Aristophanes. ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart. Oxford. 1906.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Ἱππῆς (Greek) (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 1. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.)

Translations (1)

Knights (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 1 focus

Demosthenes
SCENE: —The Orchestra represents the Pnyx at Athens ; in the background is the house of Demos.

Oh! alas! alas! Oh! woe! oh! woe! Miserable Paphlagonian! may the gods destroy both him and his cursed advice! Since that evil day when this new slave entered the house 5 he has never ceased belaboring us with blows.

Nicias

May the plague seize him, the arch-fiend —him and his lying tales!

Demosthenes

Hah! my poor fellow, what is your condition?

Nicias

Very wretched, just like your own.

Demosthenes

Then come, let us sing a duet of groans in the style of Olympus .

Demosthenes and Nicias

10 Boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo! boo, hoo!!

Demosthenes

Bah! it's lost labour to weep! Enough of groaning! Let us consider how to save our pelts.

Nicias

But how to do it! Can you suggest anything?

Demosthenes

No, you begin.

Nicias

I cede you the honor.

Demosthenes

By Apollo! no, not I

Nicias
in tragic style

“Ah! would you but tell me what I should tell you!”

Demosthenes

15 Come, have courage! Speak, and then I will say what I think.

Nicias

I dare not. How could I express my thoughts with the pomp of Euripides?

Demosthenes

Oh! please spare me! Do not pelt me with those vegetables, 20 but find some way of leaving our master.

Nicias

Well, then! Say “Let-us-bolt,” like this, in one breath.

Demosthenes

I follow you —“Let-us-bolt.”

Nicias

Now after “Let-us-bolt” say “at-top-speed!”

Demosthenes

“At-top-speed!”

Nicias

Splendid! Just as if you were masturbating; first slowly, 25 “Let-us-bolt”; then quick and firmly, “at-top-speed!”

Demosthenes

Let-us-bolt, let-us-bolt-at-top-speed!

Nicias

Hah! does that not please you?

Demosthenes

Yes, indeed, yet I fear your omen bodes no good to my hide.

Nicias

How so?

Demosthenes

Because masturbation chafes the skin.

Nicias

30 The best thing we can do for the moment is to throw ourselves at the feet of the statue of some god.

Demosthenes

Of which statue? Any statue? Do you then believe there are gods?

Nicias

Certainly.

Demosthenes

What proof have you?

Nicias

The proof that they have taken a grudge against me. Is that not enough?

Demosthenes

35 I'm convinced it is. But to pass on. Do you consent to my telling the spectators of our troubles?

Nicias

There's nothing wrong with that, and we might ask them to show us by their manner, whether our facts and actions are to their liking.