The Parricide departs, and the dithyrambic poet Cinesias arrives.
Cinesias
Singing.
On my light pinions I soar off to
Olympus
; in its capricious flight my Muse flutters along the thousand paths of poetry in turn ...
On my light pinions I soar off to
Olympus
; in its capricious flight my Muse flutters along the thousand paths of poetry in turn ...
Pisthetaerus
This is a fellow will need a whole shipload of wings.
1375
This is a fellow will need a whole shipload of wings.
1375
Cinesias
Singing.
... and being fearless and vigorous, it is seeking fresh outlet.
... and being fearless and vigorous, it is seeking fresh outlet.
Pisthetaerus
Welcome, Cinesias, you lime-wood man! Why have you come here twisting your game leg in circles?
Welcome, Cinesias, you lime-wood man! Why have you come here twisting your game leg in circles?
Cinesias
Singing.
I want to become a bird, a tuneful nightingale.
1380
I want to become a bird, a tuneful nightingale.
1380
Pisthetaerus
Enough of that sort of ditty. Tell me what you want.
Enough of that sort of ditty. Tell me what you want.
Cinesias
Give me wings and I will fly into the topmost airs to gather fresh songs in the clouds,
in the midst of the vapors and the fleecy snow.
1385
Give me wings and I will fly into the topmost airs to gather fresh songs in the clouds,
in the midst of the vapors and the fleecy snow.
1385
Pisthetaerus
Gather songs in the clouds?
Gather songs in the clouds?
Cinesias
'Tis on them the whole of our latter-day art depends. The most brilliant dithyrambs are those that flap their wings in empty space and are clothed in mist and dense obscurity.
To appreciate this, just listen.
1390
'Tis on them the whole of our latter-day art depends. The most brilliant dithyrambs are those that flap their wings in empty space and are clothed in mist and dense obscurity.
To appreciate this, just listen.
1390
Pisthetaerus
Oh! no, no, no!
Oh! no, no, no!
Cinesias
By Hermes! but indeed you shall.
By Hermes! but indeed you shall.
Cinesias
He sings.
I shall travel through thine ethereal empire
like a winged bird, who cleaveth space with his long neck ...
I shall travel through thine ethereal empire
like a winged bird, who cleaveth space with his long neck ...
Pisthetaerus
Stop! Way enough!
Stop! Way enough!
Cinesias
... as I soar over the seas, carried by the breath of the winds ...
... as I soar over the seas, carried by the breath of the winds ...
Pisthetaerus
By Zeus! I'll cut your breath short.
He picks up a pair of wings and begins trying to stop Cinesias' mouth with them.
By Zeus! I'll cut your breath short.
He picks up a pair of wings and begins trying to stop Cinesias' mouth with them.
Cinesias
Running away.
... now rushing along the tracks of Notus, now nearing Boreas
across the infinite wastes of the ether.
1400
Ah! old man, that's a pretty and clever idea truly!
... now rushing along the tracks of Notus, now nearing Boreas
across the infinite wastes of the ether.
1400
Ah! old man, that's a pretty and clever idea truly!
Pisthetaerus
What! are you not delighted to be cleaving the air?
What! are you not delighted to be cleaving the air?
Cinesias
To treat a dithyrambic poet, for whom the tribes dispute with each other, in this style!
To treat a dithyrambic poet, for whom the tribes dispute with each other, in this style!
Pisthetaerus
Will you stay with us and form a chorus of winged birds as slender as Leotrophides for the Cecropid tribe?
1405
Will you stay with us and form a chorus of winged birds as slender as Leotrophides for the Cecropid tribe?
1405
Cinesias
You are making game of me, that's clear; but know that I shall never leave you in peace if I do not have wings wherewith to traverse the air.
You are making game of me, that's clear; but know that I shall never leave you in peace if I do not have wings wherewith to traverse the air.
Birds. Aristophanes. Anonymous (Translator), ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr., ed. Whitney J. Oates, ed. Eugene O'Neill, Jr.. New York. 1938.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.