Aristophanes Peace 1

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

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Οἰκέτης Α

αἶρʼ αἶρε μᾶζαν ὡς τάχιστα κανθάρῳ.
1

Οἰκέτης Β

ἰδού. δὸς αὐτῷ, τῷ κάκιστʼ ἀπολουμένῳ

καὶ μήποτʼ αὐτῆς μᾶζαν ἡδίω φάγοι.

Οἰκέτης Α

δὸς μᾶζαν ἑτέραν, ἐξ ὀνίδων πεπλασμένην.

Οἰκέτης Β

ἰδοὺ μάλʼ αὖφις. ποῦ γὰρ ἣν νῦν δὴ ʼφερες;
5

κατέφαγεν;

Οἰκέτης Α

οὐ μὰ τὸν Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ἐξαρπάσας

ὅλην ἐνέκαψε περικυλίσας τοῖν ποδοῖν.

ἀλλʼ ὡς τάχιστα τρῖβε πολλὰς καὶ πυκνάς.

Οἰκέτης Β

ἄνδρες κοπρολόγοι προσλάβεσθε πρὸς θεῶν,

εἰ μή με βούλεσθʼ ἀποπνιγέντα περιιδεῖν.
10

Οἰκέτης Α

ἑτέραν ἑτέραν δός, παιδὸς ἡταιρηκότος·

τετριμμένης γάρ φησιν ἐπιθυμεῖν.

Οἰκέτης Β

ἰδού.

ἑνὸς μὲν ὦνδρες ἀπολελύσθαι μοι δοκῶ·

οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἂν φαίη με μάττοντʼ ἐσθίειν.

Οἰκέτης Α

αἰβοῖ, φέρʼ ἄλλην χἀτέραν μοι χἀτέραν,
15

καὶ τρῖβʼ ἔθʼ ἑτέρας.

Οἰκέτης Β

μὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλω ʼγὼ μὲν οὔ·

οὐ γὰρ ἔθʼ οἶός τʼ εἴμʼ ὑπερέχειν τῆς ἀντλίας.

Οἰκέτης Α

αὐτὴν ἄρʼ οἴσω συλλαβὼν τὴν ἀντλίαν.

Οἰκέτης Β

νὴ τὸν Δίʼ ἐς κόρακάς γε καὶ σαυτόν γε πρός.

ὑμῶν δέ γʼ εἴ τις οἶδʼ ἐμοὶ κατειπάτω,
20

πόθεν ἂν πριαίμην ῥῖνα μὴ τετρημένην.

οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔργον ἦν ἄρʼ ἀθλιώτερον

ἢ κανθάρῳ μάττοντα παρέχειν ἐσθίειν.

ὗς μὲν γάρ, ὥσπερ ἂν χέσῃ τις, ἢ κύων

φαύλως ἐρείδει· τοῦτο δʼ ὑπὸ φρονήματος
25

βρενθύεταί τε καὶ φαγεῖν οὐκ ἀξιοῖ,

ἢν μὴ παραθῶ τρίψας διʼ ἡμέρας ὅλης

ὥσπερ γυναικὶ γογγύλην μεμαγμένην.

ἀλλʼ εἰ πέπαυται τῆς ἐδωδῆς σκέψομαι

τῃδὶ παροίξας τῆς θύρας, ἵνα μή μʼ ἴδῃ.
30

ἔρειδε, μὴ παύσαιο μηδέποτʼ ἐσθίων

τέως ἕως σαυτὸν λάθοις διαρραγείς.

οἷον δὲ κύψας ὁ κατάρατος ἐσθίει,

ὥσπερ παλαιστής, παραβαλὼν τοὺς γομφίους,

καὶ ταῦτα τὴν κεφαλήν τε καὶ τὼ χεῖρέ πως
35

ὡδὶ περιάγων, ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ σχοινία

τὰ παχέα συμβάλλοντες ἐς τὰς ὁλκάδας.

μιαρὸν τὸ χρῆμα καὶ κάκοσμον καὶ βορόν·

χὤτου ποτʼ ἐστὶ δαιμόνων ἡ προσβολὴ

οὐκ οἶδʼ. Ἀφροδίτης μὲν γὰρ οὔ μοι φαίνεται,
40

οὐ μὴν Χαρίτων γε.

Οἰκέτης Α

τοῦ γάρ ἐστʼ;

Οἰκέτης Β

οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως

τοῦτʼ ἔστι τὸ τέρας οὐ Διὸς καταιβάτου.

Οἰκέτης Α

οὐκοῦν ἂν ἤδη τῶν θεατῶν τις λέγοι

νεανίας δοκησίσοφος, τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα τί;

ὁ κάνθαρος δὲ πρὸς τί; κᾆτʼ αὐτῷ γʼ ἀνὴρ
45

Ἰωνικός τίς φησι παρακαθήμενος·

δοκέω μέν, ἐς Κλέωνα τοῦτʼ αἰνίσσεται,

ὡς κεῖνος ἀναιδέως τὴν σπατίλην ἐσθίει.

Οἰκέτης Β

ἀλλʼ εἰσιὼν τῷ κανθάρῳ δώσω πιεῖν.

Peace. 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

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

Translations (1)

Peace (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

First Servant
SCENE: Behind the Orchestra on the right the farmhouse of Trygaeus, in the center the mouth of a cave closed up with huge boulders, on the left the palace of Zeus. In front of the farmhouse is a stable, the door of which is closed. Two of Trygaeus' slaves are seen in front of the stable, one of them kneading cakes of dung, the other taking the finished cakes and throwing them into the stable.

Quick, quick, bring the dung-beetle his cake.

Second Servant

There it is. Give it to him, and may it kill him! And may he never eat a better.

First Servant

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

Second Servant

5 There! I've done that too. And where's what you gave him just now? Surely he can't have devoured it yet!

First Servant

Indeed he has; he snatched it, rolled it between his feet and bolted it. Come, hurry up, knead up a lot and knead them stiffly.

Second Servant

Oh, scavengers, help me in the name of the gods, 10 if you do not wish to see me fall down choked.

First Servant

Come, come, another made from the stool of a fairy's favorite. That will be to the beetle's taste; he likes it well ground.

Second Servant

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

First Servant

15 Faugh! come, now another! keep on mixing with all your might.

Second Servant

By god, no. I can stand this awful cesspool stench no longer.

First Servant

I shall bring you the whole ill-smelling gear.

Second Servant

Pitch it down the sewer sooner, and yourself with it. To the Audience. 20 Maybe, 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 dung-beetle and to carry it to him. A pig or a dog will at least pounce upon our excrement 25 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 30 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, 35 and with head and feet together rolls up its paste like a rope-maker twisting a hawser. What an indecent, stinking, gluttonous beast! 40 I don't know what angry god let this monster loose upon us, but of a certainty it was neither Aphrodite nor the Graces.

First Servant

Who was it then?

Second Servant

No doubt Zeus, the God of the Thundercrap.

First Servant

But perhaps some spectator, some beardless youth, who thinks himself a sage, will say, “What is this? 45 What does the beetle mean?” And then an Ionian, sitting next him, will add, “I think it's an allusion to Cleon, who so shamelessly feeds on filth all by himself.” —

Second Servant

But now I'm going indoors to fetch the beetle a drink.