Pisthetaerus
Solemnly.
Far better, are they not? And firstly, we shall not have to build them temples of hewn stone, closed with gates of gold;
615
they will dwell amongst the bushes and in the thickets of green oak; the most venerated of birds will have no other temple than the foliage of the olive tree; we shall not go to
Delphi
or to Ammon
620
to sacrifice; but standing erect in the midst of arbutus and wild olives and holding forth our hands filled with wheat and barley, we shall pray them to admit us to a share of the blessings they enjoy
625
and shall at once obtain them for a few grains of wheat.
Far better, are they not? And firstly, we shall not have to build them temples of hewn stone, closed with gates of gold;
615
they will dwell amongst the bushes and in the thickets of green oak; the most venerated of birds will have no other temple than the foliage of the olive tree; we shall not go to
Delphi
or to Ammon
620
to sacrifice; but standing erect in the midst of arbutus and wild olives and holding forth our hands filled with wheat and barley, we shall pray them to admit us to a share of the blessings they enjoy
625
and shall at once obtain them for a few grains of wheat.
Birds. Aristophanes. ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr.. New York. 1938.
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