Aristophanes Knights 40

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

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Δημοσθένης

λέγοιμʼ ἂν ἤδη. νῷν γάρ ἐστι δεσπότης
40

ἄγροικος ὀργὴν κυαμοτρὼξ ἀκράχολος,

Δῆμος πυκνίτης, δύσκολον γερόντιον

ὑπόκωφον. οὗτος τῇ προτέρᾳ νουμηνίᾳ

ἐπρίατο δοῦλον, βυρσοδέψην Παφλαγόνα,

πανουργότατον καὶ διαβολώτατόν τινα.
45

οὗτος καταγνοὺς τοῦ γέροντος τοὺς τρόπους,

ὁ βυρσοπαφλαγών, ὑποπεσὼν τὸν δεσπότην

ᾔκαλλʼ ἐθώπευʼ ἐκολάκευʼ ἐξηπάτα

κοσκυλματίοις ἄκροισι τοιαυτὶ λέγων·

ὦ Δῆμε λοῦσαι πρῶτον ἐκδικάσας μίαν,
50

ἐνθοῦ ῥόφησον ἔντραγʼ ἔχε τριώβολον.

βούλει παραθῶ σοι δόρπον; εἶτʼ ἀναρπάσας

ὅ τι ἄν τις ἡμῶν σκευάσῃ, τῷ δεσπότῃ

Παφλαγὼν κεχάρισται τοῦτο. καὶ πρώην γʼ ἐμοῦ

μᾶζαν μεμαχότος ἐν Πύλῳ Λακωνικήν,
55

πανουργότατά πως περιδραμὼν ὑφαρπάσας

αὐτὸς παρέθηκε τὴν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ μεμαγμένην,

ἡμᾶς δʼ ἀπελαύνει κοὐκ ἐᾷ τὸν δεσπότην

ἄλλον θεραπεύειν, ἀλλὰ βυρσίνην ἔχων

δειπνοῦντος ἑστὼς ἀποσοβεῖ τοὺς ῥήτορας.
60

ᾄδει δὲ χρησμούς· ὁ δὲ γέρων σιβυλλιᾷ.

ὁ δʼ αὐτὸν ὡς ὁρᾷ μεμακκοακότα,

τέχνην πεποίηται. τοὺς γὰρ ἔνδον ἄντικρυς

ψευδῆ διαβάλλει· κᾆτα μαστιγούμεθα

ἡμεῖς· Παφλαγὼν δὲ περιθέων τοὺς οἰκέτας
65

αἰτεῖ ταράττει δωροδοκεῖ λέγων τάδε·

ὁρᾶτε τὸν Ὕλαν διʼ ἐμὲ μαστιγούμενον;

εἰ μή μʼ ἀναπείσετʼ, ἀποθανεῖσθε τήμερον.

ἡμεῖς δὲ δίδομεν· εἰ δὲ μή, πατούμενοι

ὑπὸ τοῦ γέροντος ὀκταπλάσιον χέζομεν.
70

νῦν οὖν ἀνύσαντε φροντίσωμεν ὦγαθέ,

ποίαν ὁδὸν νὼ τρεπτέον καὶ πρὸς τίνα.

Νικίας

κράτιστʼ ἐκείνην τὴν μόλωμεν ὦγαθέ.

Δημοσθένης

ἀλλʼ οὐχ οἷόν τε τὸν Παφλαγόνʼ οὐδὲν λαθεῖν·

ἐφορᾷ γὰρ οὗτος πάντʼ. ἔχει γὰρ τὸ σκέλος
75

τὸ μὲν ἐν Πύλῳ, τὸ δʼ ἓτερον ἐν τἠκκλησίᾳ.

τοσόνδε δʼ αὐτοῦ βῆμα διαβεβηκότος

ὁ πρωκτός ἐστιν αὐτόχρημʼ ἐν Χάοσιν,

τὼ χεῖρʼ ἐν Αἰτωλοῖς, ὁ νοῦς δʼ ἐν Κλωπιδῶν.

Νικίας

κράτιστον οὖν νῷν ἀποθανεῖν.
80

Δημοσθένης

ἀλλὰ σκόπει,

ὅπως ἂν ἀποθάνοιμεν ἀνδρικώτατα.

Νικίας

πῶς δῆτα πῶς γένοιτʼ ἂν ἀνδρικώτατα;

βέλτιστον ἡμῖν αἷμα ταύρειον πιεῖν.

ὁ Θεμιστοκλέους γὰρ θάνατος αἱρετώτερος.

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.) — 40 focus

Demosthenes

40 I will begin then. We have a very brutal master, a perfect glutton for beans, and most bad-tempered; it's Demos of the Pnyx, an intolerable old man and half deaf. The beginning of last month he bought a slave, a Paphlagonian tanner, 45 an arrant rogue, the incarnation of calumny. This man of leather knows his old master thoroughly; he plays the fawning cur, flatters, cajoles, wheedles, and dupes him at will with little scraps of leavings, which he allows him to get. 50 “Dear Demos,” he will say, “try a single case and you will have done enough; then take your bath, eat, swallow and devour; here are three obols.” Then the Paphlagonian filches from one of us what we have prepared and makes a present of it to our old man. The other day I 55 had just kneaded a Spartan cake at Pylos , the cunning rogue came behind my back, sneaked it and offered the cake, which was my invention, in his own name. He keeps us at a distance and suffers none but himself to wait upon the master; 60 when Demos is dining, he keeps close to his side with a thong in his hand and puts the orators to flight. He keeps singing oracles to him, so that the old man now thinks of nothing but the Sibyl. Then, when he sees him thoroughly obfuscated, he uses all his cunning and piles up lies and calumnies against the household; then 65 we are scourged and the Paphlagonian runs about among the slaves to demand contributions with threats and gathers them in with both hands. He will say, “You see how I have had Hylas beaten! Either content me or die at once!” We are forced to give, for otherwise 70 the old man tramples on us and makes us crap forth all our body contains. To Nicias There must be an end to it, friend. Let us see! what can be done? Who will get us out of this mess?

Nicias

The best thing, friend, is our famous “Let-us-bolt!”

Demosthenes

But none can escape the Paphlagonian, 75 his eye is everywhere. And what a stride! He has one leg on Pylos and the other in the Assembly; his arse gapes exactly over the land of the Chaonians, his hands are with the Aetolians and his mind with the Clopidians.

Nicias

80 It's best then to die; but let us seek the most heroic death.

Demosthenes

Let me think, what is the most heroic?

Nicias

Let us drink the blood of a bull; that's the death Themistocles chose.