Aristophanes Wealth 1

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

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Καρίων

ὡς ἀργαλέον πρᾶγμʼ ἐστὶν ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ θεοὶ
1

δοῦλον γενέσθαι παραφρονοῦντος δεσπότου.

ἢν γὰρ τὰ βέλτισθʼ ὁ θεράπων λέξας τύχῃ,

δόξῃ δὲ μὴ δρᾶν ταῦτα τῷ κεκτημένῳ,

μετέχειν ἀνάγκη τὸν θεράποντα τῶν κακῶν.
5

τοῦ σώματος γὰρ οὐκ ἐᾷ τὸν κύριον

κρατεῖν ὁ δαίμων, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐωνημένον.

καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ταῦτα. τῷ δὲ Λοξίᾳ,

ὃς θεσπιῳδεῖ τρίποδος ἐκ χρυσηλάτου,

μέμψιν δικαίαν μέμφομαι ταύτην, ὅτι
10

ἰατρὸς ὢν καὶ μάντις, ὥς φασιν, σοφὸς

μελαγχολῶντʼ ἀπέπεμψέ μου τὸν δεσπότην,

ὅστις ἀκολουθεῖ κατόπιν ἀνθρώπου τυφλοῦ,

τοὐναντίον δρῶν ἢ προσῆκʼ αὐτῷ ποιεῖν.

οἱ γὰρ βλέποντες τοῖς τυφλοῖς ἡγούμεθα,
15

οὗτος δʼ ἀκολουθεῖ, κἀμὲ προσβιάζεται,

καὶ ταῦτʼ ἀποκρινομένῳ τὸ παράπαν οὐδὲ γρῦ.

ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως σιγήσομαι,

ἢν μὴ φράσῃς ὅ τι τῷδʼ ἀκολουθοῦμέν ποτε

ὦ δέσποτʼ, ἀλλά σοι παρέξω πράγματα.
20

οὐ γάρ με τυπτήσεις στέφανον ἔχοντά γε.

Χρεμύλος

μὰ Δίʼ ἀλλʼ ἀφελὼν τὸν στέφανον, ἢν λυπῇς τί με,

ἵνα μᾶλλον ἀλγῇς.

Καρίων

λῆρος· οὐ γὰρ παύσομαι

πρὶν ἂν φράσῃς μοι τίς ποτʼ ἐστὶν οὑτοσί·

εὔνους γὰρ ὤν σοι πυνθάνομαι πάνυ σφόδρα.
25

Χρεμύλος

ἀλλʼ οὔ σε κρύψω· τῶν ἐμῶν γὰρ οἰκετῶν

πιστότατον ἡγοῦμαί σε καὶ κλεπτίστατον.

ἐγὼ θεοσεβὴς καὶ δίκαιος ὢν ἀνὴρ

κακῶς ἔπραττον καὶ πένης ἦν·

Καρίων

οἶδά τοι.

Χρεμύλος

ἕτεροι δʼ ἐπλούτουν ἱερόσυλοι ῥήτορες
30

καὶ συκοφάνται καὶ πονηροί·

Καρίων

πείθομαι.

Χρεμύλος

ἐπερησόμενος οὖν ᾠχόμην ὡς τὸν θεόν,

τὸν ἐμὸν μὲν αὐτοῦ τοῦ ταλαιπώρου σχεδὸν

ἤδη νομίζων ἐκτετοξεῦσθαι βίον,

τὸν δʼ υἱόν, ὅσπερ ὢν μόνος μοι τυγχάνει,
35

πευσόμενος εἰ χρὴ μεταβαλόντα τοὺς τρόπους

εἶναι πανοῦργον, ἄδικον, ὑγιὲς μηδὲ ἕν,

ὡς τῷ βίῳ τοῦτʼ αὐτὸ νομίσας συμφέρειν.

Καρίων

τί δῆτα Φοῖβος ἔλακεν ἐκ τῶν στεμμάτων;

Χρεμύλος

πεύσει. σαφῶς γὰρ ὁ θεὸς εἶπέ μοι τοδί·
40

ὅτῳ ξυναντήσαιμι πρῶτον ἐξιών,

ἐκέλευε τούτου μὴ μεθίεσθαί μʼ ἔτι,

πείθειν δʼ ἐμαυτῷ ξυνακολουθεῖν οἴκαδε.

Καρίων

καὶ τῷ ξυναντᾷς δῆτα πρώτῳ;

Χρεμύλος

τουτῳί.

Καρίων

εἶτʼ οὐ ξυνίης τὴν ἐπίνοιαν τοῦ θεοῦ
45

φράζουσαν ὦ σκαιότατέ σοι σαφέστατα

ἀσκεῖν τὸν υἱὸν τὸν ἐπιχώριον τρόπον;

Χρεμύλος

τῷ τοῦτο κρίνεις;

Καρίων

δῆλον ὁτιὴ καὶ τυφλῷ

γνῶναι δοκεῖ τοῦθʼ, ὡς σφόδρʼ ἐστὶ συμφέρον

τὸ μηδὲν ἀσκεῖν ὑγιὲς ἐν τῷ νῦν χρόνῳ.
50

Wealth. Aristophanes. ed. F. W. Hall, ed. William M. Geldart. Oxford. 1907.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Πλοῦτος (Greek) (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.)

Translations (1)

Wealth (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

Cario
SCENE: —The Orchestra represents a public square in Athens . In the background is the house of Chremylus. A ragged old blind man enters, followed by Chremylus and his slave Cario.

What an unhappy fate, great gods, to be the slave of a fool! A servant may give the best of advice, but if his master does not follow it, 5 the poor slave must inevitably have his share in the disaster; for fortune does not allow him to dispose of his own body, it belongs to his master who has bought it. Alas! 'tis the way of the world. But the god, Apollo, in tragic style whose oracles the Pythian priestess on her golden tripod makes known to us, 10 deserves my censure, for surely he is a physician and a cunning diviner; and yet my master is leaving his temple infected with mere madness and insists on following a blind man. Is this not opposed to all good sense? 15 It is for us, who see clearly, to guide those who don't; whereas he clings to the trail of a blind fellow and compels me to do the same without answering my questions with ever a word. To Chremylus Aye, master, unless you tell me why we are following this unknown fellow, I will not be silent, 20 but I will worry and torment you, for you cannot beat me because of my sacred chaplet of laurel.

Chremylus

No, but if you worry me I will take off your chaplets, and then you will only get a sounder thrashing.

Cario

That's an old song! I am going to leave you no peace till you have told me who this man is; 25 and if I ask it, it's entirely because of my interest in you.

Chremylus

Well, be it so. I will reveal it to you as being the most faithful and the most rascally of all my servants. I honored the gods and did what was right, and yet I was none the less poor and unfortunate.

Cario

I know it but too well.

Chremylus

30 Others amassed wealth —the sacrilegious, the demagogues, the informers, indeed every sort of rascal.

Cario

I believe you.

Chremylus

Therefore I came to consult the oracle of the god, not on my own account, for my unfortunate life is nearing its end, 35 but for my only son; I wanted to ask Apollo if it was necessary for him to become a thorough knave and renounce his virtuous principles, since that seemed to me to be the only way to succeed in life.

Cario
with ironic gravity

And with what responding tones did the sacred tripod resound?

Chremylus

40 You shall know. The god ordered me in plain terms to follow the first man I should meet upon leaving the temple and to persuade him to accompany me home.

Cario

And who was the first one you met?

Chremylus

This blind man.

Cario

45 And you are stupid enough not to understand the meaning of such an answer? Why, the god was advising you thereby, and that in the clearest possible way, to bring up your son according to the fashion of your country.

Chremylus

What makes you think that?

Cario

Is it not evident to the blind, 50 that nowadays to do nothing that is right is the best way to get on?