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Χρεμύλος

σὺ γὰρ ἂν πορίσαι τί δύναιʼ ἀγαθὸν φῴδων ἐκ βαλανείου
535

καὶ παιδαρίων ὑποπεινώντων καὶ γραι·δίων κολοσυρτόν;

φθειρῶν τʼ ἀριθμὸν καὶ κωνώπων καὶ ψυλλῶν οὐδὲ λέγω σοι

ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους, αἳ βομβοῦσαι περὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀνιῶσιν,

ἐπεγείρουσαι καὶ φράζουσαι, πεινήσεις, ἀλλʼ ἐπανίστω.

πρὸς δέ γε τούτοις ἀνθʼ ἱματίου μὲν ἔχειν ῥάκος· ἀντὶ δὲ κλίνης
540

στιβάδα σχοίνων κόρεων μεστήν, ἣ τοὺς εὕδοντας ἐγείρει·

καὶ φορμὸν ἔχειν ἀντὶ τάπητος σαπρόν· ἀντὶ δὲ προσκεφαλαίου

λίθον ἐυμεγέθη πρὸς τῇ κεφαλῇ· σιτεῖσθαι δʼ ἀντὶ μὲν ἄρτων

μαλάχης πτόρθους, ἀντὶ δὲ μάζης φυλλεῖʼ ἰσχνῶν ῥαφανίδων,

ἀντὶ δὲ θράνους στάμνου κεφαλὴν κατεαγότος, ἀντὶ δὲ μάκτρας
545

φιδάκνης πλευρὰν ἐρρωγυῖαν καὶ ταύτην. ἆρά γε πολλῶν

ἀγαθῶν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἀνθρὠποις ἀποφαίνω σʼ αἴτιον οὖσαν;

Πενία

σὺ μὲν οὐ τὸν ἐμὸν βίον εἴρηκας, τὸν τῶν πτωχῶν δʼ ὑπεκρούσω.

Χρεμύλος

οὐκοῦν δήπου τῆς Πτωχείας Πενίαν φαμὲν εἶναι ἀδελφήν.

Πενία

ὑμεῖς γʼ οἵπερ καὶ Θρασυβούλῳ Διονύσιον εἶναι ὅμοιον.
550

ἀλλʼ οὐχ οὑμὸς τοῦτο πέπονθεν βίος οὐ μὰ Δίʼ, οὐδέ γε μέλλει.

πτωχοῦ μὲν γὰρ βίος, ὃν σὺ λέγεις, ζῆν ἐστιν μηδὲν ἔχοντα·

τοῦ δὲ πένητος ζῆν φειδόμενον καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις προς έχοντα,

περιγίγνεσθαι δʼ αὐτῷ μηδέν, μὴ μέντοι μηδʼ ἐπιλείπειν.

Χρεμύλος

ὡς μακαρίτην ὦ Δάματερ τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ κατέλεξας,
555

εἰ φεισάμενος καὶ μοχθήσας καταλείψει μηδὲ ταφῆναι.

Πενία

σκώπτειν πειρᾷ καὶ κωμῳδεῖν τοῦ σπουδάζειν ἀμελήσας,

οὐ γιγνώσκων ὅτι τοῦ Πλούτου παρέχω βελτίονας ἄνδρας

καὶ τὴν γνώμην καὶ τὴν ἰδέαν. παρὰ τῷ μὲν γὰρ ποδαγρῶντες

καὶ γαστρώδεις καὶ παχύκνημοι καὶ πίονές εἰσιν ἀσελγῶς,
560

παρʼ ἐμοὶ δʼ ἰσχνοὶ καὶ σφηκώδεις καὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἀνιαροί.

Χρεμύλος

ἀπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ γὰρ ἴσως αὐτοῖς τὸ σφηκῶδες σὺ πορίζεις.

Πενία

περὶ σωφροσύνης ἤδη τοίνυν περανῶ σφῷν κἀναδιδάξω

ὅτι κοσμιότης οἰκεῖ μετʼ ἐμοῦ, τοῦ Πλούτου δʼ ἐστὶι ὑβρίζειν.

Χρεμύλος

πάνυ γοῦν κλέπτειν κόσμιόν ἐστιν καὶ τοὺς τοίχους διορύττειν.
565

Βλεψίδημος

†νὴ τὸν Δίʼ, εἰ δεῖ λαθεῖν αὐτόν, πῶς οὐχὶ κόσμιόν ἐστι;†

Πενία

σκέψαι τοίνυν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν τοὺς ῥήτορας, ὡς ὁπόταν μὲν

ὦσι πένητες, περὶ τὸν δῆμον καὶ τὴν πόλιν εἰσὶ δίκαιοι,

πλουτήσαντες δʼ ἀπὸ τῶν κοινῶν παραχρῆμʼ ἄδικοι γεγένηνται,

ἐπιβουλεύουσί τε τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῷ δήμῳ πολεμοῦσιν.
570

Χρεμύλος

ἀλλʼ οὐ ψεύδει τούτων γʼ οὐδέν, καίπερ σφόδρα βάσκανος οὖσα.

ἀτὰρ οὐχ ἧττόν γʼ οὐδὲν κλαύσει, μηδὲν ταύτῃ γε κομήσῃς,

ὁτιὴ ζητεῖς τοῦτʼ ἀναπείθειν ἡμᾶς, ὡς ἔστιν ἄμεινον

Πενία Πλούτου.

Πενία

καὶ σύ γʼ ἐλέγξαι μʼ οὔπω δύνασαι περὶ τούτου,

ἀλλὰ φλυαρεῖς καὶ πτερυγίζεις.
575

Χρεμύλος

καὶ πῶς φεύγουσί σʼ ἅπαντες;

Πενία

ὅτι βελτίους αὐτοὺς ποιῶ. σκέψασθαι δʼ ἔστι μάλιστα

ἀπὸ τῶν παίδων· τοὺς γὰρ πατέρας φεύγουσι φρονοῦντας ἄριστα

αὐτοῖς. οὕτω διαγιγνώσκειν χαλεπὸν πρᾶγμʼ ἐστὶ δίκαιον.

Χρεμύλος

τὸν Δία φήσεις ἆρʼ οὐκ ὀρθῶς διαγιγνώσκειν τὸ κράτιστον·

κἀκεῖνος γὰρ τὸν Πλοῦτον ἔχει.
580

Βλεψίδημος

ταύτην δʼ ἡμῖν ἀποπέμπει.

Πενία

ἀλλʼ ὦ Κρονικαῖς λήμαις ὄντως λημῶντες τὰς φρένας ἄμφω,

ὁ Ζεὺς δήπου πένεται, καὶ τοῦτʼ ἤδη φανερῶς σε διδάξω.

εἰ γὰρ ἐπλούτει, πῶς ἂν ποιῶν τὸν Ὀλυμπικὸν αὐτὸς ἀγῶνα

ἵνα τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἅπαντας ἀεὶ διʼ ἔτους πέμπτου ξυναγείρει,

ἀνεκήρυττεν τῶν ἀσκητῶν τοὺς νικῶντας στεφανώσας
585

κοτίνου στεφάνῳ; καίτοι χρυσῷ μᾶλλον ἐχρῆν, εἴπερ ἐπλούτει.

Χρεμύλος

οὐκοῦν τούτῳ δήπου δηλοῖ τιμῶν τὸν Πλοῦτον ἐκεῖνος·

φειδόμενος γὰρ καὶ βουλόμενος τούτου μηδὲν δαπανᾶσθαι,

λήροις ἀναδῶν τοὺς νικῶντας τὸν Πλοῦτον ἐᾷ παρʼ ἑαυτῷ.

Πενία

πολὺ τῆς Πενίας πρᾶγμʼ αἴσχιον ζητεῖς αὐτῷ περιάψαι,
590

εἰ πλούσιος ὢν ἀνελεύθερός ἐσθʼ οὑτωσὶ καὶ φιλοκερδής.

Χρεμύλος

ἀλλὰ σέ γʼ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐξολέσειεν κοτίνου στεφάνῳ στεφανώσας.

Πενία

τὸ γὰρ ἀντιλέγειν τολμᾶν ὑμᾶς ὡς οὐ πάντʼ ἔστʼ ἀγάθʼ ὑμῖν

διὰ τὴν Πενίαν.

Χρεμύλος

παρὰ τῆς Ἑκάτης ἔξεστιν τοῦτο πυθέσθαι,

εἴτε τὸ πλουτεῖν εἴτε τὸ πεινῆν βέλτιον. φησὶ γὰρ αὕτη
595

τοὺς μὲν ἔχοντας καὶ πλουτοῦντας δεῖπνον κατὰ μῆνʼ ἀποπέμπειν,

τοὺς δὲ πένητας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἁρπάζειν πρὶν καταθεῖναι.

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 (2)

Wealth (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 535 focus

Chremylus

535 And what good thing can you give us, unless it be burns in the bath, and swarms of brats and old women who cry with hunger, and clouds uncountable of lice, gnats and flies, which hover about the wretch's head, trouble him, awake him and say, “You will be hungry, but get up!” 540 Besides, to possess a rag in place of a mantle, a pallet of rushes swarming with bugs, that do not let you close your eyes, for a bed; a rotten piece of matting for a coverlet; a big stone for a pillow, on which to lay your head; to eat mallow roots instead of bread, and leaves of withered radish instead of cake; 545 to have nothing but the cover of a broken jug for a stool, the stave of a cask, and broken at that, for a kneading-trough, that is the life you make for us! Are these the mighty benefits with which you pretend to load mankind?

Poverty

It's not my life that you describe; you are attacking the existence beggars lead.

Chremylus

Is Beggary not Poverty's sister?

Poverty

550 Thrasybulus and Dionysius are one and the same according to you. No, my life is not like that and never will be. The beggar, whom you have depicted to us, never possesses anything. The poor man lives thriftily and attentive to his work; he has not got too much, but he does not lack what he really needs.

Chremylus

555 Oh! what a happy life, by Demeter! to live sparingly, to toil incessantly and not to leave enough to pay for a tomb!

Poverty

That's it! Jest, jeer, and never talk seriously! But what you don't know is this, that men with me are worth more, both in mind and body, than with Plutus. With him they are gouty, 560 big-bellied, heavy of limb and scandalously stout; with me they are thin, wasp-waisted, and terrible to the foe.

Chremylus

No doubt it's by starving them that you give them that waspish waist.

Poverty

As for behavior, I will prove to you that modesty dwells with me and insolence with Plutus.

Chremylus

565 Oh! the sweet modesty of stealing and burglary.

Blepsidemus

†By Zeus, how is it not modesty if you have to go unnoticed?

Poverty

Look at the orators in our republics; as long as they are poor, both state and people can only praise their uprightness; but once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, 570 plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy.

Chremylus

That is absolutely true, although your tongue is very vile. But it matters not, so don't put on those triumphant airs; you shall not be punished any the less for having tried to persuade me that poverty is worth more than wealth.

Poverty

Not being able to refute my arguments, 575 you chatter at random and exert yourself to no purpose.

Chremylus

Then tell me this, why does all mankind flee from you?

Poverty

Because I make them better. Children do the very same; they flee from the wise counsels of their fathers. So difficult is it to see one's true interest.

Chremylus

Will you say that Zeus cannot discern what is best? 580 Well, he takes Plutus to himself ...

Blepsidemus

... and banishes Poverty to the earth.

Poverty

Ah me! how purblind you are, you old fellows of the days of Cronus! Why, Zeus is poor, and I will clearly prove it to you. In the Olympic games, which he founded, and to which he convokes the whole of Greece every four years, 585 why does he only crown the victorious athletes with wild olive? If he were rich he would give them gold.

Chremylus

That's the way he shows that he clings to his wealth; he is sparing with it, won't part with any portion of it, only bestows baubles on the victors and keeps his money for himself.

Poverty

590 But wealth coupled to such sordid greed is yet more shameful than poverty.

Chremylus

May Zeus destroy you, both you and your chaplet of wild olive!

Poverty

Thus you dare to maintain that Poverty is not the fount of all blessings!

Chremylus

Ask Hecate 595 whether it is better to be rich or starving; she will tell you that the rich send her a meal every month and that the poor make it disappear before it is even served.

English (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) Experimental (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) — 535 focus

Chremylus: for you could find some good thing to say coming from the bathhouse.

535

Chremylus: And the cry of starving children and old women, the cry of the hungry?

Chremylus: Nor do I tell you the number of lice, gnats, and fleas.

Chremylus: by the crowd, who, buzzing around my head, annoy me,

Chremylus: Waking up and looking around, you will be hungry, but get up.

Chremylus: and to add to this, he has a rag in place of a cloak, but instead of a bed

540

Chremylus: a pallet full of cords, which wakes the sleepers;

Chremylus: and he has a rotting bolster instead of a carpet; instead of a pillow

Chremylus: a large stone by his head; and to eat instead of bread

Chremylus: stalks of mallows, and instead of a cake, leaves of thin radishes,

Chremylus: instead of the doorposts, the head of a broken jar, and instead of the sieve

545

Chremylus: a snake's rib, and this one too. Is it really many?

Chremylus: 'Do I declare that you are the cause of all good things for all men?'

Poverty: you have not spoken of my life, but you have deceived the lives of the poor.

Chremylus: Well then, do we not say that Poverty is the sister of Destitution?

Poverty: You, who even considered Thrasybulus to be like Dionysius.

550

Poverty: But my life has not suffered this, not by Zeus, nor indeed is it about to.

Poverty: for the life of a poor man, which you speak of, is to live having nothing;

Poverty: living frugally for the poor man and having to do with his own labors,

Poverty: may nothing come to him, yet may he not lack anything either.

Chremylus: "As for the blessed life of the woman, you have described it well, Demeter."

555

Chremylus: if, having been thrifty and having toiled, he leaves without even being buried.

Poverty: you try to mock and ridicule, having neglected to be earnest,

Poverty: not realizing that I provide better men than Wealth

Poverty: both in opinion and in appearance. For with those who suffer from gout

Poverty: And they are belly-bearing and thick-kneed and fat, wantonly,

560

Poverty: But with me they are thin and wasp-like and a nuisance to my enemies.

Chremylus: For perhaps it is from hunger that you supply them with the wasp-like nature.

Poverty: then, in regard to self-control, I shall soon finish for you and also teach you.

Poverty: because modesty dwells with me, but it is for Wealth to act insolently.

Chremylus: At any rate, it is very respectable to steal and to tunnel through the walls.

565

Blepsydemus: By Zeus, if he must be deceived, is it not decent?

Poverty: therefore consider in the cities the orators, whenever

Poverty: woe to the poor, for they are just in the people and the city,

Poverty: 'Once they have become rich from the common funds, immediately they become unjust.'

Poverty: They are plotting against the people and making war on the demos.

570

Chremylus: But none of these is false, although she is extremely envious.

Chremylus: Nevertheless, he will not weep any the less, nor will he in any way give way on this point,

Chremylus: Because you seek to persuade us of this, that it is better.

Chremylus: Poverty, [you are] Plutus's.

Poverty: And you still cannot refute me on this matter,

Poverty: But you chatter and flap about.

575

Chremylus: And how do they all flee from you?

Poverty: Because I make them better. It is possible, above all, to consider it.

Poverty: from the children; for they flee their fathers when they are thinking very well.

Poverty: to them. For it is a difficult thing to judge what is just.

Chremylus: 'You will say, won't you, that Zeus does not judge correctly the best thing?'

Chremylus: for he too has Plutus.

580

Blepsydemus: But send her away from us.

Poverty: But truly, you two who are truly drunk with the blasts of Kronos in your minds,

Poverty: Zeus, surely, is in need, and this I shall now teach you plainly.

Poverty: For if he were rich, how could he himself be holding the Olympic contest?

Poverty: so that she may gather all the Greeks every fifth year,

Poverty: having crowned the victors among the athletes, she was proclaiming them.

585

Poverty: with a wreath of straw? Yet she ought rather to have used gold, if indeed she was rich.

Chremylus: So then, by honoring that man, that one clearly honors Wealth, doesn't he?

Chremylus: since he was saving and wishing to spend nothing on this,

Chremylus: Letting the liars who beat Chremylus, the one who defeats Wealth, stay by his side.

Poverty: you are seeking something much more shameful than Poverty to put on him,

590

Poverty: If being rich makes one ignoble and love of gain in this way.

Chremylus: But may Zeus destroy you, having crowned you with a vine-leaf wreath.

Poverty: for it is bold of you to contradict [me] by saying that not everything is good for you.

Poverty: because of Poverty.

Chremylus: it is possible to learn this from Hecate,

Chremylus: Whether it is better to be rich or to be hungry. For she says this

595

Chremylus: those who have and are rich he sends away with a meal every month,

Chremylus: but to snatch the poor among men before they deposit [it].

Commentary

Commentary (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) focus

550. mvp-tlg0019-tlg011-sanjaya-com-eng1-12

Line 550

ὑμεῖς γʼ οἵπερ καὶ Θρασυβούλῳ Διονύσιον εἶναι ὅμοιον.

The sentence contains a specific and historically charged allusion to the relationship between Thrasybulus and Dionysius. Thrasybulus was the Athenian general who led the democratic restoration after the fall of the Thirty Tyrants (403 BCE), while Dionysius refers to Dionysius I of Syracuse, a notorious tyrant. The playwright is likely drawing a satirical parallel between the two, suggesting the addressees are so corrupt or tyrannical that they resemble Dionysius, despite Thrasybulus being the symbol of democratic liberation. This juxtaposition relies on the audience's knowledge of the political irony: Thrasybulus was the enemy of tyrants, yet here he is invoked to describe a tyrant-like figure, or perhaps the joke is that the audience (or a specific group) is so bad they are even worse than the tyrant, or that Thrasybulus himself was being mocked as a tyrant by oligarchs. The precise target of the satire depends on the immediate context of the play, but the allusion itself is a dense piece of political commentary requiring knowledge of the specific historical figures and their opposing reputations in 4th-century Athenian memory.

Aristophanes Wealth 535

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

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Πενία

σὺ μὲν οὐ τὸν ἐμὸν βίον εἴρηκας, τὸν τῶν πτωχῶν δʼ ὑπεκρούσω.

Χρεμύλος

οὐκοῦν δήπου τῆς Πτωχείας Πενίαν φαμὲν εἶναι ἀδελφήν.

Χρεμύλος

ὡς μακαρίτην ὦ Δάματερ τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ κατέλεξας,
555

εἰ φεισάμενος καὶ μοχθήσας καταλείψει μηδὲ ταφῆναι.

Χρεμύλος

ἀπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ γὰρ ἴσως αὐτοῖς τὸ σφηκῶδες σὺ πορίζεις.

Πενία

περὶ σωφροσύνης ἤδη τοίνυν περανῶ σφῷν κἀναδιδάξω

ὅτι κοσμιότης οἰκεῖ μετʼ ἐμοῦ, τοῦ Πλούτου δʼ ἐστὶι ὑβρίζειν.

Χρεμύλος

πάνυ γοῦν κλέπτειν κόσμιόν ἐστιν καὶ τοὺς τοίχους διορύττειν.
565

Βλεψίδημος

†νὴ τὸν Δίʼ, εἰ δεῖ λαθεῖν αὐτόν, πῶς οὐχὶ κόσμιόν ἐστι;†

Πενία

καὶ σύ γʼ ἐλέγξαι μʼ οὔπω δύνασαι περὶ τούτου,

ἀλλὰ φλυαρεῖς καὶ πτερυγίζεις.
575

Χρεμύλος

καὶ πῶς φεύγουσί σʼ ἅπαντες;

Χρεμύλος

τὸν Δία φήσεις ἆρʼ οὐκ ὀρθῶς διαγιγνώσκειν τὸ κράτιστον·

κἀκεῖνος γὰρ τὸν Πλοῦτον ἔχει.
580

Βλεψίδημος

ταύτην δʼ ἡμῖν ἀποπέμπει.

Πενία

πολὺ τῆς Πενίας πρᾶγμʼ αἴσχιον ζητεῖς αὐτῷ περιάψαι,
590

εἰ πλούσιος ὢν ἀνελεύθερός ἐσθʼ οὑτωσὶ καὶ φιλοκερδής.

Χρεμύλος

ἀλλὰ σέ γʼ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐξολέσειεν κοτίνου στεφάνῳ στεφανώσας.

Πενία

τὸ γὰρ ἀντιλέγειν τολμᾶν ὑμᾶς ὡς οὐ πάντʼ ἔστʼ ἀγάθʼ ὑμῖν

διὰ τὴν Πενίαν.

Current edition Perseus

Poverty

It's not my life that you describe; you are attacking the existence beggars lead.

Chremylus

Is Beggary not Poverty's sister?

Chremylus

555 Oh! what a happy life, by Demeter! to live sparingly, to toil incessantly and not to leave enough to pay for a tomb!

Chremylus

No doubt it's by starving them that you give them that waspish waist.

Poverty

As for behavior, I will prove to you that modesty dwells with me and insolence with Plutus.

Chremylus

565 Oh! the sweet modesty of stealing and burglary.

Blepsidemus

†By Zeus, how is it not modesty if you have to go unnoticed?

Poverty

Look at the orators in our republics; as long as they are poor, both state and people can only praise their uprightness; but once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, 570 plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy.

Chremylus

That is absolutely true, although your tongue is very vile. But it matters not, so don't put on those triumphant airs; you shall not be punished any the less for having tried to persuade me that poverty is worth more than wealth.

Poverty

Not being able to refute my arguments, 575 you chatter at random and exert yourself to no purpose.

Chremylus

Then tell me this, why does all mankind flee from you?

Poverty

Because I make them better. Children do the very same; they flee from the wise counsels of their fathers. So difficult is it to see one's true interest.

Chremylus

Will you say that Zeus cannot discern what is best? 580 Well, he takes Plutus to himself ...

Blepsidemus

... and banishes Poverty to the earth.

Chremylus

That's the way he shows that he clings to his wealth; he is sparing with it, won't part with any portion of it, only bestows baubles on the victors and keeps his money for himself.

Poverty

590 But wealth coupled to such sordid greed is yet more shameful than poverty.

Chremylus

May Zeus destroy you, both you and your chaplet of wild olive!

Poverty

Thus you dare to maintain that Poverty is not the fount of all blessings!

Chremylus

Ask Hecate 595 whether it is better to be rich or starving; she will tell you that the rich send her a meal every month and that the poor make it disappear before it is even served.

Commentary

Line 550

Stable identifiers

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Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Πενία σὺ μὲν οὐ τὸν ἐμὸν βίον εἴρηκας, τὸν τῶν πτωχῶν δʼ ὑπεκρούσω.

Χρεμύλος οὐκοῦν δήπου τῆς Πτωχείας Πενίαν φαμὲν εἶναι ἀδελφήν.

Χρεμύλος ὡς μακαρίτην ὦ Δάματερ τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ κατέλεξας, 555 εἰ φεισάμενος καὶ μοχθήσας καταλείψει μηδὲ ταφῆναι.

Χρεμύλος ἀπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ γὰρ ἴσως αὐτοῖς τὸ σφηκῶδες σὺ πορίζεις.

Πενία περὶ σωφροσύνης ἤδη τοίνυν περανῶ σφῷν κἀναδιδάξω ὅτι κοσμιότης οἰκεῖ μετʼ ἐμοῦ, τοῦ Πλούτου δʼ ἐστὶι ὑβρίζειν.

Χρεμύλος πάνυ γοῦν κλέπτειν κόσμιόν ἐστιν καὶ τοὺς τοίχους διορύττειν. 565

Βλεψίδημος †νὴ τὸν Δίʼ, εἰ δεῖ λαθεῖν αὐτόν, πῶς οὐχὶ κόσμιόν ἐστι;†

Πενία καὶ σύ γʼ ἐλέγξαι μʼ οὔπω δύνασαι περὶ τούτου, ἀλλὰ φλυαρεῖς καὶ πτερυγίζεις. 575

Χρεμύλος καὶ πῶς φεύγουσί σʼ ἅπαντες;

Χρεμύλος τὸν Δία φήσεις ἆρʼ οὐκ ὀρθῶς διαγιγνώσκειν τὸ κράτιστον· κἀκεῖνος γὰρ τὸν Πλοῦτον ἔχει. 580

Βλεψίδημος ταύτην δʼ ἡμῖν ἀποπέμπει.

Πενία πολὺ τῆς Πενίας πρᾶγμʼ αἴσχιον ζητεῖς αὐτῷ περιάψαι, 590 εἰ πλούσιος ὢν ἀνελεύθερός ἐσθʼ οὑτωσὶ καὶ φιλοκερδής.

Χρεμύλος ἀλλὰ σέ γʼ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐξολέσειεν κοτίνου στεφάνῳ στεφανώσας.

Πενία τὸ γὰρ ἀντιλέγειν τολμᾶν ὑμᾶς ὡς οὐ πάντʼ ἔστʼ ἀγάθʼ ὑμῖν διὰ τὴν Πενίαν.

Current edition Perseus

Poverty It's not my life that you describe; you are attacking the existence beggars lead.

Chremylus Is Beggary not Poverty's sister?

Chremylus 555 Oh! what a happy life, by Demeter! to live sparingly, to toil incessantly and not to leave enough to pay for a tomb!

Chremylus No doubt it's by starving them that you give them that waspish waist.

Poverty As for behavior, I will prove to you that modesty dwells with me and insolence with Plutus.

Chremylus 565 Oh! the sweet modesty of stealing and burglary.

Blepsidemus †By Zeus, how is it not modesty if you have to go unnoticed?

Poverty Look at the orators in our republics; as long as they are poor, both state and people can only praise their uprightness; but once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, 570 plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy.

Chremylus That is absolutely true, although your tongue is very vile. But it matters not, so don't put on those triumphant airs; you shall not be punished any the less for having tried to persuade me that poverty is worth more than wealth.

Poverty Not being able to refute my arguments, 575 you chatter at random and exert yourself to no purpose.

Chremylus Then tell me this, why does all mankind flee from you?

Poverty Because I make them better. Children do the very same; they flee from the wise counsels of their fathers. So difficult is it to see one's true interest.

Chremylus Will you say that Zeus cannot discern what is best? 580 Well, he takes Plutus to himself ...

Blepsidemus ... and banishes Poverty to the earth.

Chremylus That's the way he shows that he clings to his wealth; he is sparing with it, won't part with any portion of it, only bestows baubles on the victors and keeps his money for himself.

Poverty 590 But wealth coupled to such sordid greed is yet more shameful than poverty.

Chremylus May Zeus destroy you, both you and your chaplet of wild olive!

Poverty Thus you dare to maintain that Poverty is not the fount of all blessings!

Chremylus Ask Hecate 595 whether it is better to be rich or starving; she will tell you that the rich send her a meal every month and that the poor make it disappear before it is even served.

Commentary

Line 550

Stable identifiers

Πενία

σὺ μὲν οὐ τὸν ἐμὸν βίον εἴρηκας, τὸν τῶν πτωχῶν δʼ ὑπεκρούσω.

Χρεμύλος

οὐκοῦν δήπου τῆς Πτωχείας Πενίαν φαμὲν εἶναι ἀδελφήν.

Χρεμύλος

ὡς μακαρίτην ὦ Δάματερ τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ κατέλεξας,
555

εἰ φεισάμενος καὶ μοχθήσας καταλείψει μηδὲ ταφῆναι.

Χρεμύλος

ἀπὸ τοῦ λιμοῦ γὰρ ἴσως αὐτοῖς τὸ σφηκῶδες σὺ πορίζεις.

Πενία

περὶ σωφροσύνης ἤδη τοίνυν περανῶ σφῷν κἀναδιδάξω

ὅτι κοσμιότης οἰκεῖ μετʼ ἐμοῦ, τοῦ Πλούτου δʼ ἐστὶι ὑβρίζειν.

Χρεμύλος

πάνυ γοῦν κλέπτειν κόσμιόν ἐστιν καὶ τοὺς τοίχους διορύττειν.
565

Βλεψίδημος

†νὴ τὸν Δίʼ, εἰ δεῖ λαθεῖν αὐτόν, πῶς οὐχὶ κόσμιόν ἐστι;†

Πενία

καὶ σύ γʼ ἐλέγξαι μʼ οὔπω δύνασαι περὶ τούτου,

ἀλλὰ φλυαρεῖς καὶ πτερυγίζεις.
575

Χρεμύλος

καὶ πῶς φεύγουσί σʼ ἅπαντες;

Χρεμύλος

τὸν Δία φήσεις ἆρʼ οὐκ ὀρθῶς διαγιγνώσκειν τὸ κράτιστον·

κἀκεῖνος γὰρ τὸν Πλοῦτον ἔχει.
580

Βλεψίδημος

ταύτην δʼ ἡμῖν ἀποπέμπει.

Πενία

πολὺ τῆς Πενίας πρᾶγμʼ αἴσχιον ζητεῖς αὐτῷ περιάψαι,
590

εἰ πλούσιος ὢν ἀνελεύθερός ἐσθʼ οὑτωσὶ καὶ φιλοκερδής.

Χρεμύλος

ἀλλὰ σέ γʼ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐξολέσειεν κοτίνου στεφάνῳ στεφανώσας.

Πενία

τὸ γὰρ ἀντιλέγειν τολμᾶν ὑμᾶς ὡς οὐ πάντʼ ἔστʼ ἀγάθʼ ὑμῖν

διὰ τὴν Πενίαν.

Poverty

It's not my life that you describe; you are attacking the existence beggars lead.

Chremylus

Is Beggary not Poverty's sister?

Chremylus

555 Oh! what a happy life, by Demeter! to live sparingly, to toil incessantly and not to leave enough to pay for a tomb!

Chremylus

No doubt it's by starving them that you give them that waspish waist.

Poverty

As for behavior, I will prove to you that modesty dwells with me and insolence with Plutus.

Chremylus

565 Oh! the sweet modesty of stealing and burglary.

Blepsidemus

†By Zeus, how is it not modesty if you have to go unnoticed?

Poverty

Look at the orators in our republics; as long as they are poor, both state and people can only praise their uprightness; but once they are fattened on the public funds, they conceive a hatred for justice, 570 plan intrigues against the people and attack the democracy.

Chremylus

That is absolutely true, although your tongue is very vile. But it matters not, so don't put on those triumphant airs; you shall not be punished any the less for having tried to persuade me that poverty is worth more than wealth.

Poverty

Not being able to refute my arguments, 575 you chatter at random and exert yourself to no purpose.

Chremylus

Then tell me this, why does all mankind flee from you?

Poverty

Because I make them better. Children do the very same; they flee from the wise counsels of their fathers. So difficult is it to see one's true interest.

Chremylus

Will you say that Zeus cannot discern what is best? 580 Well, he takes Plutus to himself ...

Blepsidemus

... and banishes Poverty to the earth.

Chremylus

That's the way he shows that he clings to his wealth; he is sparing with it, won't part with any portion of it, only bestows baubles on the victors and keeps his money for himself.

Poverty

590 But wealth coupled to such sordid greed is yet more shameful than poverty.

Chremylus

May Zeus destroy you, both you and your chaplet of wild olive!

Poverty

Thus you dare to maintain that Poverty is not the fount of all blessings!

Chremylus

Ask Hecate 595 whether it is better to be rich or starving; she will tell you that the rich send her a meal every month and that the poor make it disappear before it is even served.