Sanjaya translations: Πλοῦτος

Carion: oh, having eaten the same thing many times for the master, Carion: Friends and fellow-citizens and lovers of toil, Carion: Come on, hasten, make haste, for the time does not permit delay, Carion: But it is at the very peak, at which one must be present to ward it off. Chorus: Don't you see that we have long been rushing eagerly? Chorus: As it is likely, are they weak old men already? Chorus: Perhaps you wish me to go, before you tell me these things. Chorus: For whose sake has your master summoned me here? Charon: Haven't I been saying this for a long time now? But you yourself do not listen. Carion: for the master says that he wants all of you. Charon: To be released from a life that is cold and difficult. Chorus: So what is this thing, and where does it come from, that he says? Carion: He has come here bringing an old man, you villains. Carion: a filthy, hunchbacked, wretched, stinking, filthy, mute man. Carion: I think, by heaven, that he is also a eunuch. Chorus: O gold, tell me, how do you say it? Say it to me again. Chorus: for you show that he is coming having a heap of money. Carion: So I have, then, a heap of old-age troubles. Chorus: Do you think it right, having tricked [us], then to be rid of [us]? Chorus: Unworthy, and yet having my staff? Carion: for certainly man is by nature such in every respect Carion: Do you lead me to believe that I would think nothing of saying something healthy? Chorus: How dignified this ragged one is! But your shins are shouting. Chorus: ouch o ouch, longing for the jugs and the chains. Charios: I was just now chosen by lot to judge your case. Charon: But you are not walking, and Charon is giving the token. Chorus: torn, as you are an old man and by nature a mischievous fellow, Chorus: You who deceive, you have not yet dared to tell us, Chorus: those who, having labored much, when there was no leisure, eagerly Chorus: We have come here, uprooting the roots of many spirits. Carion: But I should no longer be able to hide it. For indeed, men, Wealth has come. Charon: The master is coming, who will make you rich. Chorus: Indeed, is it really possible for all of us to be rich? Carion: By the gods, indeed, if you take a donkey's ears. Chorus: How delighted and delighted and I want to dance Chorus: from pleasure, if indeed you say that these things are true. Carion: And indeed, I shall wish for a Cyclops to be my foster-son. Carion: mimicking and moving the feet in this way, too Charon: to lead you. But come on, while calling out to our children again and again Carion: and wounded sheep Charios: the limbs of bleating goats Charon: Follow, those with shrunken testicles; and you goats are drunk. Chorus: But we, in turn, will seek the Cyclops with his fleece. Chorus: having been wounded, finding this man here starving, Chorus: [they took] having wild, cool greens, intoxicating Chorus: leading the little sheep, Chorus: having fallen asleep somewhere for no reason Chorus: having taken a large woven wasp's nest, [we] would blind [him]. Charon: but I, indeed, the Circe who mixed up the drugs, Kario: she who once was the companion of Philonides in Corinth Carion: he persuaded [him] that they were boars. Carion: [he said that] he had eaten a raw fig, but she was vomiting it up to them, Carion: I will imitate all the ways; Carion: And you, grunting out of fondness Carion: Follow the sow, piglets. Chorus: So then, certainly you [have turned into] Circe, she who turned the drugs around, Chorus: and she who practices magic and defiles her companions Chorus: having taken under the impulse of pleasure, Chorus: Hanging the Larthus, we imitate the dancers, Chorus: we will bray just like a goat. Chorus: the nose; but you, Aristyllus, will say it with your mouth wide open, Chorus: Follow me, piglets. Carion: but come now, having already been freed from the jokes Carion: Turn yourselves to another kind of business, Charon: But I, having gone, now secretly Charon: I shall be willing to [be a slave] of the master. Carion: having taken some bread and meat Carion: I shall endure the rest of this suffering. Chremylus: Greetings, you men of the people. Chremylus: to call [it] already ancient and rotten; Chremylus: I greet you, since you have come eagerly. Chremylus: And in an orderly fashion, not in a lazy manner. Chremylus: And how may he also stand by me in everything else? Chremylus: You will indeed be saviors of the god. Chorus: Have courage; for you will think that you see me face to face with Ares. Chorus: for it is terrible, indeed, if for the sake of a drachma Chorus: We are constantly being beaten in the assembly, Chorus: but may I himself take Plutus. Chremylus: And indeed, I see even this Blepsidemus. Chremylus: He is approaching; and it is clear that he is of the affair Chremylus: He has heard something about the slowness and the speed. BLEPSIDEMUS: So what might the matter be? And from where and in what way? Blepsidemus: Has Chremylus suddenly become rich? I do not believe it. Blepsidemus: And yet there was a long speech, by Heracles! Blepsidemus: at the barbers' of those sitting down, Blepsidemus: How suddenly the man has become rich. Blepsydemus: But this very thing is wonderful to me, how Blepsidemus: he is summoning his friends when doing some good deed. Blepsydemus: Then he is not doing a local business. Chremylus: But I will say nothing hidden; by the gods Chremylus: O Blepsidemus, we are doing better than yesterday. Chremylus: So it is possible to participate; for you are one of my friends. Blepsydemus: Have you really become rich, as they say? Chremylus: I shall indeed be there immediately, if the god wills. Chremylus: For there is some danger in the matter. Blepsydemus: Who is it? Chremylus: 'What kind?' Blepsydemus: Say it, having finished what you are always saying. Chremylus: If we succeed, [we shall] prosper forever; Chremylus: But if we make a mistake, we will be utterly ruined. Blepsydemus: This load looks wicked. Blepsydemus: And he does not please me. For the fact that it is all at once too much Blepsidemus: So it is to be exceedingly wealthy, and yet again to be afraid. Blepsydemus: nothing is sound in a man who has been ruined. Chremylus: How is nothing sound? Blepsydemus: if I have somehow stolen it, by Zeus Blepsidemus: Have you come from there with silver or gold? Blepsidemus: from the god, and then perhaps you are sorry. Chremylus: Apollo the averter, by Zeus, I certainly will not. Blepsydemus: Stop talking nonsense, good man; for I know clearly. Chremylus: You must not suppose anything like this of me. Blepsydemus: Alas, Blepsidemus: 'Indeed, nothing is truly healthy for anyone,' Blepsidemus: But all are less than the profit. Chremylus: No, by Demeter, you don't seem to be well. Blepsidemus: How far he has departed from his former ways. Chremylus: You are melancholy, man, by heaven. Blepsidemus: But not even the look itself is in the right place, Blepsidemus: But it is quite obvious to someone who has been cheated. Chremylus: You certainly know what you are cawing about; as if I had stolen something from me. Chremylus: You are seeking to share. Blepsydemus: Do you seek to share in it? In what? Chremylus: But that is not so, but rather it is otherwise. Blepsidemus: Have you not stolen it, but rather seized it by force? Chremylus: You are unlucky. Blepsydemus: But you have not deprived anyone, have you? Chremylus: Indeed, I certainly do. Blepsidemus: O Heracles, bring us somewhere! Blepsidemus: "Would that it were so? For the truth is unwilling to be revealed." Chremylus: For you accuse before you have learned my affair. Blepsydemus: Oh, I really mean it about this! Blepsydemus: I want to accomplish this before learning about the city, Blepsydemus: covering the mouth with the coins of the orators. Chremylus: And indeed, by the gods, you seem friendly to me. Chremylus: having spent three minae, count up twelve. Blepsidemus: I see someone sitting on the platform. Blepsidemus: having a supplication with the children Blepsidemus: And of the wife too, and bring her straight out. Blepsydemus: not one of the Heracleids at all of Pamphilus'. Chremylus: Not so, wretched man, but only the good ones. Chremylus: I certainly [am] both on the right and temperate. Chremylus: I will soon make him rich. Blepsydemus: What are you saying? Blepsidemus: Have you stolen so very many things? Chremylus: Alas for the evils, Chremylus: You will be ruined. Blepsydemus: Then you, at any rate, yourself, as it seems to me. Chremylus: Well, indeed, since you, wretched man, [are] Plutus Chremylus: I have. Blepsydemus: You [mean] Wealth? Which one? Chremylus: the god himself. Blepsidemus: And where is he? Chremylus: Inside. Blepsydemus: Where? Chremylus: with me. Blepsidemus: "By you?" Chremylus: Very much. Blepsydemus: To the crows? Is Wealth by you? Chremylus: By the gods. Blepsydemus: Are you speaking the truth? Chremylus: I say. Blepsydemus: By Hestia? Chremylus: By Poseidon. Blepsidemus: Do you mean the one from the sea? Chremylus: if there is another Poseidon, the other one. Blepsidemus: Then don't you send [it] also to us, your friends? Chremylus: The situation is not yet in this state. Blepsidemus: What do you say? Blepsydemus: Not to give a share? Chremylus: By Zeus. For one must first Blepsidemus: "What?" Blepsidemus: Whom to look at? Tell me. Chremylus: I mean to help Wealth in some way or other, just as before. Blepsidemus: For is he truly blind? Chremylus: By heaven! Blepsydemus: Has he ever come to me, not even once, as expected? Chremylus: But if the gods will it, he will arrive now. Blepsydemus: Shouldn't we then bring in some doctor? Chremylus: But who is the doctor in the city now? Chremylus: For neither is the wage anything nor is the craft. Blepsydemus: Let us look. Chremylus: But it is not. Blepsydemus: Nor does it seem so to me. Chremylus: By Zeus, but I was preparing for this long ago. Chremylus: I, to place him into [the temple] of Asclepius Chremylus: It is best. Blepsydemus: Indeed, by the gods, by far. Blepsydemus: So do not linger, but set about doing some one thing. Chremylus: And now I am going. Blepsidemus: Hurry now. Chremylus: I am doing just that. Poverty: O hot deed, impious and unlawful! Poverty: You, wretched man, dare to do things for a human being— Poverty: Where, where? Why are you fleeing? Will you not stay? Blepsidemus: By Heracles. Poverty: for I will utterly destroy you, wicked men, in a wicked way; Poverty: for daring is not to be endured. Poverty: But never has anyone been like anyone else. Poverty: neither a god nor a human; so I am destroyed. Chremylus: And who are you? For you seem to me to be pale. Blepsidemus: Perhaps she is an Erinys from a tragedy; Blepsydemus: It does indeed look something mad and tragic. Chremylus: But he does not have torches, for he has none. Blepsidemus: So he will cry. Poverty: Do you think that I am someone? Chremylus: a landlady Chremylus: Or a leek-seller? For he would not have been so much Chremylus: You shouted at us as though we had been wronged. Poverty: Is it true? For I have not done the most terrible things. Poverty: [Do you think that] seeking to expel [you] from every land? Chremylus: So then, isn't the abyss becoming a remainder for you? Chremylus: But what should you have said immediately? Poverty: I will make you two pay the penalty today. Poverty: for these things they were seeking to destroy me from here. Blepsidemus: Is the shopkeeper one of the neighbors? Blepsydemus: Does it always make me dizzy with its jugs? Poverty: Poverty, then, who has lived with you both for many years. Blepsidemus: Lord Apollo and gods, where can one flee? Chremylus: What is this one doing? O most cowardly beast of a man; Chremylus: Are you not staying with me? Blepsidemus: By far the least of all. Chremylus: Will you not stay? Chremylus: But do we two men flee from one woman? Blepsydemus: For it is Poverty, you wretch, from whom [one gets] nowhere. Blepsidemus: No creature has a nature more wretched. Chremylus: Stand still, I beg you, stand still. Blepsydemus: By Zeus, I certainly do not. Chremylus: Yes, I say, by far the most amazing thing. Chremylus: We shall undertake all tasks, if [we have] the god Chremylus: Having left a deserted place, where shall we flee? Chremylus: I am afraid of this, and let us not argue. Blepsydemus: On what weapons or power do you rely? Blepsydemus: For which breastplate is not [his], and which shield is not [his]? Blepsydemus: Does that most filthy one not put up a pledge? Chremylus: Courage; for only this god knows that Chremylus: He would set up a trophy of these tricks. Poverty: but even you, you scum, dare to hiss! Poverty: Caught in the very act of doing terrible things? Chremylus: But you, most wretched woman, why are you reviling me as you wash? Chremylus: Has she come over to us without being wronged in the least? Poverty: for you do not believe anything, I beg you, by the gods Poverty: [she says that] Poverty tries to make me commit injustice against Wealth. Poverty: to look again? Chremylus: So what wrong are we doing to you, Chremylus: if we provide for all men Chremylus: "Good?" Poverty: What good could you discover? Chremylus: What? Chremylus: after having first expelled you from Greece. Poverty: Having thrown me out? And what would you suppose? Poverty: Is it worse for humans to work? Chremylus: What? Chremylus: if, while intending to do this, we were to forget. Poverty: And indeed, I wish to give an account to both of you concerning this matter. Poverty: his first [point]; and if I speak alone Poverty: I, being the cause of all good things Poverty: You live through me, you who are alive; but if not, Poverty: Do this now whatever you think best. Chremylus: Do you dare to say these things, most detestable woman? Poverty: And you, too, teach; for I think it very easily. Poverty: 'I will prove that you are making mistakes in everything.' Poverty: if you say you will make the just rich. Chremylus: Oh drums and kettledrums, will you not help? Poverty: One must not chatter and shout before one learns. Chremylus: And who would not cry out 'Io! Io!' Chremylus: hearing such things? Poverty: whoever is sound-minded. Chremylus: What, then, shall I set as the penalty for the lawsuit? Chremylus: "If you are caught?" Poverty: Whatever seems good to you. Chremylus: You speak well. Poverty: for if you are defeated, you two must suffer the same thing. Chremylus: So you think that twenty deaths are enough? BLEPSIDEMUS: Indeed here; but two will be enough for us. Poverty: She would not have had the time to do this, or rather what would she? Poverty: Would anyone be able to offer a just objection yet? Chorus: But now you ought to say something clever by which you will defeat this one. Chorus: In their arguments, you will concede nothing soft. Chremylus: I think it is clear to all alike that I have come to know this, Chremylus: that it is just for the good men of men to fare well, Chremylus: As for the wicked and the impious among them, surely they must have the opposite. Chremylus: Therefore, we, desiring this, found it with difficulty, so that it might come to be. Chremylus: a noble and generous and useful plan for every task. Chremylus: For if Wealth now looks out and, being not blind, goes about, Chremylus: as he walks among the good people and will not abandon them, Chremylus: But he will flee the wicked and the godless; and then he will make Chremylus: Surely all good and wealthy people, both those who reverence the divine things. Chremylus: Yet who could ever find for these people a better one? Blepsydemus: No one; I am a witness to this for you; do not ask her about this at all. Chremylus: For as things now stand for us, the life of men is arranged, Chremylus: Who would not consider it madness and a greater misfortune? Chremylus: For many wicked people are rich, though they are men, Chremylus: unjustly they gathered them; for though they were many, they were very good men Chremylus: They fare badly and are hungry along with you, and most of them come to visit. Chremylus: I do not say that he will be, if Wealth once sees this and stops it, Chremylus: What road he might take to procure greater goods for men. Poverty: But oh, having been persuaded most easily of all men not to be well Poverty: two old men, companions in babbling and going mad, Poverty: If this were to happen which you desire, I say it would not be profitable for you. Poverty: for if Wealth were to see again and distribute himself equally, Poverty: neither would she study any art of men nor wisdom. Poverty: No one; but both of you, these two, being destroyed, will wish. Poverty: Who is to forge or to build ships or to sew or to turn on the lathe, Poverty: either to cut leather, or to make bricks, or to wash, or to sew shoes, Poverty: or after breaking up the ground with ploughs, to reap the harvest of Demeter, Poverty: Should you be allowed to live idly while everyone neglects [things]? Chremylus: You are talking nonsense. For all these things that you have just now listed are ours. Chremylus: The servants will suffer. Poverty: Then from where will you have servants? Chremylus: We will surely buy some silver. Poverty: Who will be the first to sell? Poverty: "Even when he himself has money?" Chremylus: someone wanting to make a profit Chremylus: a merchant who has come from Thessaly from most slave-traders. Poverty: But no one will be first of all, nor will anyone be a slave-catcher. Poverty: According to the argument you are making, surely. For who would be willing to become rich? Poverty: 'Does he risk his own soul to do this?' Poverty: So that he, being compelled to dig himself and to toil at other things as well. Poverty: You will grind out a more painful life than the present one. Chremylus: 'To the head, to you.' Poverty: You will still not have even the opportunity to be beaten on a couch, for there will not be any. Poverty: Not even in the bedrooms; for who would be willing to weave, since gold exists? Poverty: neither to anoint oneself with dripping perfumes whenever one leads a bride. Poverty: nor to adorn with expenses of dyed garments of varied shapes. Poverty: Yet what is there more to be wealthy than to be in want of all these things? Poverty: but with me these things are abundant for you all of which you desire; for I Poverty: Sitting down, forcing the artisan to wait on me like a mistress. Poverty: because of need and poverty, to seek from where one will have a livelihood. Chremylus: for you could find some good thing to say coming from the bathhouse. 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 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 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. 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." 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, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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 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]. Chremylus: But ruin him, and do not grumble. Chremylus: Not yet, not even a little. Chremylus: For you will not persuade [him], nor even if you persuade [him]. Poverty: O city of Argos, hear what I say. Chremylus: Call Chremylus to stop the scraper. Poverty: What shall I suffer, wretched me? Chremylus: Go to the crows, quickly, from us. Poverty: Where shall I go now on the land? Chremylus: 'Into the dog's hole!' But he does not delay. Chremylus: You should, but [you do] not accomplish [it]. Poverty: By Zeus, you will still keep me here. Poverty: Summon them! Chremylus: Then you will return; but now destroy. Chremylus: For it is better for me to be rich, Chremylus: But I let you weep for a long time with your head. Blepsydemus: By Zeus, I for one want to be rich. Blepsydemus: 'to feast with the boys.' Blepsidemus: both the woman, and having bathed Blepsydemus: a fat man coming out of the bathhouse. Blepsydemus: of the craftsmen Blepsydemus: and to fart on Poverty. Chremylus: She is going away from us untrampled. Chremylus: But you, as quickly as possible, the god Chremylus: Let us take him reclining into the temple of Asclepius. Blepsydemus: And let us not linger, lest again someone... Blepsydemus: having come, may he hinder something from doing what is profitable. Chremylus: It was necessary for you, boy, to bring out the bedding, Karios. Chremylus: that he is leading Wealth, as it is believed, Chremylus: And all the other things that are inside have been prepared. Carion: O you who are most initiated into the mysteries of the Theseia! Charon: old men, on very little barley flour, Carion: How you have fared happily, how blessedly! Charon: Others, too, as many as have a share of the good character. Chorus: But what is it, best of your own friends? Chorus: for a messenger seems to be arriving from some good man. Charon: The master has sold most successfully, Carion: rather, Wealth himself; for instead of being blind, Carion: He has gone barefoot and his hair is shining. Carion: Having obtained a gracious hymn of Asclepius. Chorus: You speak joy to me, you speak a shout to me. Charon: I am well, whether you wish it or not. Chorus: I will shout out the well-fathered man and Chorus: a great light for mortals is Asclepius. Woman: Whose shout is this, I wonder? Is it being announced? Woman: Something good? For this is what I have long desired. Woman: I am sitting inside, waiting for this man. Carion: Quickly, quickly, bring wine, mistress, so that Carion: And you drink that too; you certainly enjoy doing it very much. Charon: as good things, all of them together, I bring to you. Woman: And where is he? Carion: You will soon enter among those who are spoken of. Woman: then, finish what you are saying, once you have completed it. Charon: listen then, how I [manage] the affairs Carion: I will tell you everything from your feet to your head. Woman: Don't, then, [hit me] on the head. Carion: 'Don't touch the good things!' Charon: What has just happened? Woman: Then, for heaven's sake, about the business. Carion: for as quickly as we arrived at the god's Carion: 'Leading a man, at that time the most wretched.' Carion: Now if any other blessed and fortunate person, Carion: first of all we led him to the sea, Carion: Then let's buy it. Woman: By Zeus, she was indeed fortunate. Woman: An old man being washed in the cold sea. Carion: Then let us go to the sanctuary of the god. Carion: for when a barley-cake and first-fruit offerings [are placed] on the altar Charon: a pot of Hephaestus has been purified with fire, Charon: We have reclined Wealth, as was proper; Carion: and each of us pushed a couch in front of him. Woman: Were there others besides also asking the god? Carion: one, at least, is Neocleides, who is indeed blind, Carion: but he has mocked the seeing ones by stealing. Chario: and many others [suffering] from all sorts of diseases. Charon: holding them; but when I had extinguished the lamps Carion: He ordered us to sleep because of the god. Carion: the servant, having said, 'if anyone hears a noise' Carion: Be quiet; we were all lying down in an orderly manner. Carion: Nor could I sleep, but I Carion: A certain earthenware pot was lying there, unscathed. Carion: a little bit away from the head of the old woman, Charon: on which I wished terribly to creep. Carion: Then, looking up, I see the priest. Carion: snatching the figs and the chickpeas. Carion: from the sacred table; after this, then Carion: He has gone around all the altars in a circle, Carion: if perhaps there is any bread left over; Carion: After that, he carried these things into a certain bag. Charon: And I, thinking that the matter is very holy Charon: I rise up to the pot of the broth. Woman: Didn't you fear that god, who takes men's talents? Carion: By the gods, I hope that it will not anticipate me. Charon: having come to the pot, holding the garlands; Carion: For his priest taught me beforehand. Charon: 'But as soon as the old woman heard my noise,' Carion: Hurry up and take it away; then, whistling, I Carion: I was bitten like a viper, having been in my senses. Carion: but she immediately drew back her hand again, Carion: She lay wrapped up quietly. Carion: she urinates more sharply than a weasel from fear. Carion: And at that time I was already eating a large amount of the cheese. Carion: And then, since it was full, I shook it. Woman: But did not the god come to you? Charon: Not yet. Carion: after this, then, it is already something ridiculous, indeed. Carion: I did it. For when he was approaching, very greatly Carion: I have vomited; for my stomach had been blowing up. Woman: Surely you were immediately detested on this account. Cario: No, but Iasō follows along with us. Charon: Panacea's face turned red; she turned away. Charon: Grab her by the nose; for I do not urinate frankincense. Woman: 'But he himself, then?' Carion: No, by Zeus, he did not care at all. Woman: So you say that the god is a boor. Carion: By Zeus, not I, but a shit-eater. Woman: Oh wretch. Cario: after this I immediately covered myself. Carion: Having feared, that one [is] in a circle the illnesses Carion: he walked around looking about everywhere very orderly. Carion: Then a stone incense-burner for him. Carion: he also offered a couple of loaves and a chest. Woman: a stone one? Carion: By Zeus, certainly not that box! Woman: And how do you see, you most wretched of bathers? Woman: "The one whom you say has been covered?" Carion: through the door! Charon: For he had not a few coins, by Zeus. Carion: First of all, a medicine for Neocleides. Carion: he tried to make a mess of it, having thrown himself in. Charon: three heads of Chian garlic. Then I smelled it. Carion: mixing the pepper in the vinegar Carion: and also a broad bean; then he rubbed it with vinegar for Sphettios. Carion: He terrified him by turning his eyelids inside out, so that Carion: He would be in more pain. But the one who had shouted and was shouting Carion: he fled, groaning; and the god, laughing, said: Carion: Sit down here now, utterly battered, Carion: So that I may stop you from reminding them about the assemblies. Woman: How patriotic and clever this spirit is. Carion: after this, he sat down beside Pluto, Carion: and first of all he indeed laid hold of the head, Carion: Then, taking a half-new cloak,... Carion: he rubbed his eyelids; but Panacea... Carion: hang his head down with a purple cloth. Charios: and the whole face; then the god looked on. Carion: So I bought two drachmas from the temple. Carion: They are of gigantic size. Woman: O dear gods. Carion: but this one, slip under the crimson cloak quietly. Carion: They were licking their eyelids, so it seems to me. Charon: and before you drink ten cups of wine, Charon: Wealth was standing up looking, mistress. Carion: But I clapped my two hands from pleasure. Charon: I woke up the master. And the god immediately Carion: He has hidden himself like the snakes into the temple. Chario: And how do you think those who are lying there beside him are? Charon: they greeted Wealth and the whole night. Charon: They have woken up, until the day broke. Carion: I was praising the god very much indeed, Charon: because he made Wealth see quickly, Carion: but he made Neocleides blind rather. Woman: How great a power you have, O lord, master. Woman: But tell me, where is Wealth? Carion: He comes. Carion: But there was a crowd around him exceeding in size. Carion: for the just, having been before and a life Carion: Having a little of it, they greeted him and Carion: They all shook hands on account of the pleasure; Carion: as many as were rich and had much property Charon: having acquired a livelihood not from justice, Carion: they were frowning and drawing their eyebrows together at the same time. Carion: but the others followed behind, crowned. Carion: laughing and praising; and it was being struck Carion: stepping in with the long, rhythmic strides of old men. Carion: But be gone, all of you, at once. Charon: dance and leap and perform the chorus; Carion: for no one will announce [it] to you as you enter, Carion: There is no flour in the pouch. Woman: By Hecate, I too wish to make a public declaration. Woman: I bring you good news about the kneading troughs. Woman: Report such things. Charon: do not delay any longer, Charon: As the men are already near the doors. Woman: Bring in now, going inside, the pouring-off. Woman: just like my eyes, which have just been made new. Carion: But I want to meet them. Wealth: And I do reverence, first of all, to the sun, Plutus: Afterwards, the glorious ground of august Pallas. Plutus: the whole land of Kekrops that received me. Plutus: I am ashamed of my own misfortunes, Wealth: With what sort of people, then, was he living unseen, Wealth: but those worthy of my company Wealth: I was fleeing, knowing nothing; wretched me, Wealth: as indeed I did not do those things, nor these, correctly; Plutus: But I myself having turned everything back again, Plutus: I will show from now on to all people that Plutus: Unwillingly I was handing myself over to the wicked. Chremylus: Throw them to the crows; how difficult it is to have friends. Chremylus: Those who appear immediately whenever someone does well. Chremylus: for they bite and sting the shins, Chremylus: showing each one some goodwill. Chremylus: For who did not address me? What crowd did not [do so]? Chremylus: Did an old man crown him in the marketplace? Woman: O dearest of men, and you and you, greetings. Woman: Bring it now, for it is the law, the pourings. Woman: Now I will pour this over you after taking it. Wealth: by no means. Wealth: for when I was entering the house Plutus: first of all, even after having looked, he brings out nothing. Wealth: It is seemly, but rather it is better to give. Woman: Then won't you at least pour out the dregs? Plutus: Inside, certainly, by the hearth, as is the custom; Wealth: Then we might also escape the burden. Plutus: for it is not seemly for the teacher. Wealth: ribs and mutton for the spectators. Wealth: stepping forward on these things, then he forces [them] to laugh. Woman: You speak very well; Dexinous, this fellow here... Woman: Get up, as if you are about to snatch the buttocks. Carion: How sweet it is for men to live happily! Carion: and even taking these things out from home. Carion: for we have a heap of good things into the house. Carion: He has not wronged anyone. Charon: So to be rich is a truly pleasant thing, then. Carion: the jar is full of white barley. Carion: But the amphorae of black wine of the vintage. Carion: all [is] for us of silver and gold Carion: The equipment is full, so that one can marvel. Carion: but the well is full of oil; but the oil-flasks Carion: They are full of perfume, but the upper room is full of garlic. Carion: and every sharp thing and a ladle and a cooking-pot. Carion: it has become bronze; but the rotten little tablets Carion: Buy the silver fish, that they may be seen. Carion: But the oven has suddenly become ivory for us. Carion: With staters, the servants will make it up. Chario: With gold; but we shall not be filled anymore with stones, Charon: but because of luxury, [he is] constantly with garlic. Carion: And now indeed the master is sacrificing inside. Charon: crowned with a sow, a goat, and a ram; Carion: But the smoke drove me out. For I am not able to Carion: I had to stay inside. For I was gnawing on my eyelids. Dikaios: Follow me, little boy, so that [we may go] to the god. Dikaios: Let us go. Charon: Let him be; who is this man coming here? Dikaios: a man formerly wretched, but now fortunate. Charon: clearly you are one of the good men, it seems. Dikaios: Most certainly. Carion: "And then you are in need?" Dikaios: to the god Dikaios: I have come; for I am the cause of great good things. Dikaios: for I have a sufficient estate from my father. Dikaios: having taken, I was exhorting the friends who needed [it], Dikaios: believing to be useful for life. Carion: No wonder your money has soon deserted you. Dikaiopolis: By all means, then. Carion: And so afterwards you were wretched. Dikaios: By all means, then. And I thought that until now... Dikaios: I have done good to those who were in need, [and] they will have friends. Dikaios: Indeed, I would be steadfast, if I were ever to be asked. Dikaiopolis: But they were going out of their way and did not seem to see me anymore. Carion: And indeed I know well that I laughed. Dikaios: certainly then; Dikaios: for being dry he ruined me. Charon: But not now. Dikaios: for these things I [am speaking] to the god Dikaios: I have come here praying justly. Carion: But what can the cloak do in the eyes of the gods, Charon: Who is carrying this little boy with you? Tell me. Dikaios: And I am coming to offer this as a votive offering to the god. Carion: Then surely you were initiated into the Greater Mysteries? Dikaios: No, but he has grown thick with hair for thirteen years. Carion: And what about the sandals? Dikaios: And this was wintered. Carion: And so you brought these things to be dedicated as well? Dikaios: by Zeus. Carion: charmingly you come, bringing gifts to the god. Sycophant: Alas, wretched me, how I am lost, poor wretch! Sycophant: and wretched, and four times and five times Sycophant: And twelve times and ten thousand times; oh, alas. Sycophant: So thoroughly am I mixed up with the rich god. Carion: Apollon, averting one, and dear gods, Charon: What evil has this man suffered, I wonder? Sycophant: for I am not suffering terrible troubles now, Sycophant: having lost everything that was in the house. Sycophant: by this god, who is to become blind. Sycophant: Again, if only the lawsuits do not cease! Dikaios: I think I am nearly coming to know the matter. Dikaios: for a man who is faring badly is approaching, Dikaios: It seems that he belongs to the wicked party. Carion: By Zeus, then, he is well doing in perishing. Sycophant: where, where is he who alone makes us all rich? Sycophant: 'This fellow, promising, will do it immediately,' Sycophant: if he were to see again from the beginning? But he Sycophant: it is much more the case that some are completely destroyed. Carion: And who has done this, then? Sycophant: Me, this one. Carion: Were you really one of the scoundrels and wall-climbers? Sycophant: By Zeus, no indeed, none of you is in good health, Sycophant: And there is no way that you do not have my money. Carion: How seriously Damater has entered! Charon: the sycophant. It is clear that he is a glutton. Sycophant: you, going to the market, would not arrive in time. Sycophant: for on the wheel you must be there twisted. Sycophant: to speak what you have acted with cunning. Carion: Alas, so you are. Dikaios: By Zeus the savior, he is certainly of great worth. Dikaios: The god is just to all the Greeks. Dikaios: may he destroy the evil slanderers evilly. Sycophant: Alas, wretch! Do you too laugh at me while participating? Sycophant: since from where have you taken this cloak? Sycophant: Yesterday I saw you, a ragged man. Dikaios: I value nothing of yours. For I am wearing what I bought. Dikaios: This ring, from Eudamos, for a drachma. Carion: But there is no room for a slanderous plot. Sycophant: Are not these great insults? Mock on, Sycophant: Whatever you were doing here, I have not told. Sycophant: For there is nothing good for anyone here. Dikaios: By Zeus, certainly not by yours; be quite sure of that. Sycophant: for from my [things], by Zeus, they will dine. Carion: but in truth you, along with the witness, Charon: being filled without having burst anyone. Sycophant: Shall I deny it? He is inside, you most filthy wretch. Sycophant: a great deal of money, and chopped and roasted meat. Sycophant: Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh. Charon: Is he smelling something foul? Dikaios: Perhaps because of the cold. Dikaios: for he wears a shabby cloak like that. Sycophant: These things, then, are unbearable, O Zeus and gods, Sycophant: These men are insulting me? Alas, how much I am vexed! Sycophant: because, being good and loving my city, I suffer ill. Dikaios: You are a patriot and a good man? Sycophant: "As if no man at all." Dikaios: And indeed, having been asked, answer me. Sycophant: 'What?' Dikaios: Are you a farmer? Sycophant: you think I'm being melancholy like this? Dikaios: But a merchant? Sycophant: Yes, I swear, whenever I happen to. Dikaiopolis: What then? Have you learned some craft? Sycophant: By Zeus, no. Dikaios: So how did you live, or from where, doing nothing? Sycophant: I am a caretaker of the affairs of the city. Sycophant: and of all his own possessions. Dikaios: You? Having learned what? Sycophant: I wish. Dikaiopolis: So how could you be good, you wall-crawler? Dikaios: If it was fitting for you in no way, then do you hate it? Sycophant: For it is not fitting that I should have my own city. Sycophant: Shall I do good, O Kephphos, as much as I am able? Dikaios: Is it then to be doing good to be meddling? Sycophant: 'Well then, to assist the existing laws' Sycophant: and not to permit if someone should make a mistake. Dikaios: Does the city not then appoint judges intentionally? Dikaios: He appoints him to rule? Sycophant: 'And who is bringing charges?' Just: the one who wishes. Sycophant: "Then I am indeed that man," Sycophant: So things have come to this point with me concerning the city. Dikaios: By Zeus, he surely has a villainous master. Dikaios: But that he would not wish, keeping quiet. Dikaios: to live idle? Sycophant: but you speak of a sheep's life, Sycophant: if a certain way of life does not become apparent. Dikaiopolis: Not even then would you change your mind? Sycophant: nor even if you were to give [it] to me Sycophant: 'Plutus himself and the silphium of Battus.' Dikaios: Put it away quickly, the cloak. Carion: This man is speaking to you. Dikaios: Then, go and release him. Carion: He tells you all these things. Sycophant: Indeed, let him approach me from you all here. Sycophant: the one who wishes. Charon: Surely I am that one. Sycophant: Alas, wretch, I am stripping off by daylight. Carion: for you, by doing other people's work, deserve to eat. Sycophant: Do you see what you are doing? I bear witness to this. Dikaios: but he is going away, fleeing the man whom you were leading as a witness. Sycophant: Alas, I am completely ruined all alone. Carion: Are you shouting now? Sycophant: Alas, again! Carion: Give me your cloak, Chario: so that I may clothe this sycophant. Dikaios: Not at all; for it has long been sacred to Plutus. Carion: And then where will it be more beautifully hung up? Carion: Or is it about a wicked man and a wall-climber? Carion: It is fitting to dress Plutus in dignified robes. Dikaiopolis: But what use will anyone have for the small steps? Tell me. Charon: And this right on the forehead at once. Carion: Just as I will strike this one with a cudgel. Sycophant: I am going away, for I know that I am far inferior. Sycophant: of you; but if I should take a wife, anyone Sycophant: and fig-cake, this powerful god Sycophant: "I will make him pay the penalty today," Sycophant: because he destroys openly, being alone. Sycophant: the democracy, neither persuading the council Sycophant: 'Neither the assembly of the citizens nor the [assembly of the] people.' Dikaios: And so, since my panoply Dikaios: Walking, you go; run to the bathhouse. Dikaios: And then, standing there on top, he is baking. Dikaios: For I also once had this opinion. Carion: But the bathman will drag him out, having seized him by the door. Charon: of the testicles; for having seen him, he will recognize him. Carion: Because he is from that scoundrel's shop. Carion: But let us go in, so that you may pray to the god. Old Woman: Come now, friends, old men, to the house. Old Woman: Indeed, we have come to this new god, Old Woman: Have we gone completely off the road? Chorus: but know that she has come to these very doors. Chorus: O young girl, for you will soon learn. Old Woman: Come then, I will call someone from inside. Chremylus: No indeed, for I myself have gone out. Chremylus: But whatever you most of all came to say, you ought to have said. Old Woman: I have suffered terrible and unlawful things, most dear friend; Granny: for since this god began to see, Old Woman: She has made my life unlivable for me. Chremylus: But what is it? Surely you are a slanderer too. Chremylus: Were you among the women? Old Woman: By Zeus, I say no. Chremylus: But you did not drink in the lottery? Old Woman: You are mocking me; but I am thoroughly frightened. Chremylus: Surely, after you have extinguished the smoke, you will not tell us who it is? Old Woman: Listen now. I once had a young man as a friend, Old Woman: Poor, but otherwise good-looking and beautiful. Old Woman: and good; for if I were to be asked by anyone, Old Woman: She did everything for me in an orderly and beautiful manner. Gr. But I served all these things for him. Chremylus: But what was it that you most needed each time? Old Woman: Not much; for he treated me shamefully according to the law. Old Woman: But I would have asked for twenty drachmas of silver. Old Woman: into a cloak, but eight [drachmas] into shoes; Old Woman: and [tell them] to buy a little tunic for the sisters. Old Woman: He would have ordered a little cloak for his mother; Old Woman: I would have needed four bushels of wheat. Chremylus: Well then, by Apollo, not many of these things, at least. Chremylus: You have spoken, but it is clear that he was ashamed of you. Old Woman: And yet these things, then, are not out of hatred. Old Woman: She said that she asked me, but for the sake of friendship, Old Woman: So that, wearing my cloak, you might remember me. Chremylus: You speak of a man who is in love most lawlessly. Old Woman: But surely now the wretch no longer has his wits about him. Old Woman: The same, but it has quite changed. Old Woman: for indeed I myself have given him this cake. Old Woman: And the other snacks from the table. Old Woman: 'after having sent [him] and after having said this:' Old Woman: I would come in the evening— Chremylus: What are you doing? Tell me. Old Woman: The old man has sent this fellow away from us. Old Woman: 'on the condition that you never come there again.' Old Woman: and on top of this, he said, sending her away, that Old Woman: Long ago, the Milesians were valiant. Chremylus: It is clear that someone was not a base person. Chremylus: Then, once he is rich, he no longer delights in lentil soup. Chremylus: but before this, he was devoured by poverty in every way. OLD WOMAN: And indeed, before that, every day, by the two goddesses, Old Woman: She was always walking to my door. Chremylus: To the funeral? OLD WOMAN: By Zeus, but only the voice Old Woman: I want to hear. Chremylus: Well then, to be grateful. Old Woman: And by Zeus, if he were to realize that I am grieving, Old Woman: she would have been washing the tub and the basin. Chremylus: Then perhaps he would have asked you for shoes. Old Woman: carried off by the great mysteries. Old Woman: 'Why is someone looking at the wagon?' Old Woman: I was beaten all day long because of this. Old Woman: So very jealous was the young man. Chremylus: for he eats alone, it seems. Old Woman: And she taught me to have very fine hands. Chremylus: Whenever he offered even twenty drachmas. Old Woman: She said that my skin had a sweet smell. Chremylus: If you have a Thasian [wine], by Zeus, it is only natural. Old Woman: I wish that my glance were soft and beautiful. Chremylus: He was not an ignorant man, but he knew. Chremylus: A shrewish old woman is devouring my provisions. Old Woman: Therefore, this is not how the god is acting, my dear man, Old Woman: claiming always to help those who are wronged. Chremylus: For what will he do? Tell me, and it will be accomplished. Old Woman: It is just, by Zeus, to force. Old Woman: that after suffering well at my hands he should again make me a partner in his misfortunes, Old Woman: Or is it not just to have anything good at all? Chremylus: Did he not, then, pay you back every night? Woman: but she said that she would never leave me while I was still alive. Chremylus: True. But now he thinks that you are no longer alive. Old Woman: For indeed the pain has melted me away, dearest friend. Chremylus: No, but you have rotted completely, at least it seems to me. Old Woman: Therefore, you would certainly have dragged me through a ring. Chremylus: If, by chance, the ring were indeed a ring. Old Woman: And indeed, this young man is approaching, Old Woman: for whom I have long been a prosecutor; Old Woman: It seems that we are to go to a feast. Chremylus: It seems. Chremylus: he goes along wearing a wreath and carrying a torch. Young man: I greet you. Old Woman: What does he say? Young Man: "old friend," Young man: You have become white very quickly, by heaven. Old Woman: Wretched am I of the insolence with which I am insulted. Chremylus: It seems I have seen you after a long time. Old Woman: Whose talent was it, the one that was with me yesterday? Chremylus: On the contrary, it has happened to the many, then; Chremylus: for, as it seems, a drunkard sees more sharply. Old Woman: No, but she is always undisciplined in her ways. Young man: O Pontoposeidon and old gods, Young Man: the number of wrinkles in his face. Old Woman: Ah ah, Old Woman: Don't bring the torch to me. Chremylus: Well, he speaks truly. Chremylus: for if one single spark seizes it Chremylus: He will burn it like an old ship. Young Man: Do you want to play with me for a while? Old Woman: Where are you going, you wretch? Young Man: There, take the walnuts. Old Woman: a little girl? Young man: How many teeth do you have? Chremylus: But I will find out. Chremylus: And I too, for he has perhaps three or four. Young Man: Pay up, for he wears only one nail. Woman: You do not seem to me to be well, with your talents of men, Old Woman: While you are washing me in the midst of so many men. Young Man: I wish that someone were washing you. Chremylus: Not at all, since now it is in a retail manner, Chremylus: but if this white lead is washed out, Chremylus: You will see the rags of his face clearly. Old Woman: Although you are an old man, you do not seem to me to be healthy. Young man: Well, perhaps you will try even the little breasts. Young Man: He seems to be trying to touch you, but he is trying to escape my notice. Old Woman: By Aphrodite, it is not [my fault], you wretch. Chremylus: By Hecate, not at all; for I would go mad. Chremylus: But, young man, I will not allow the girl. Chremylus: to hate her like this. Young Man: But I love him greatly. Chremylus: And indeed he accuses you. Young man: 'What is he accusing?' Chremylus: he says that you are a brute and that you say that Chremylus: In times long past, the Milesians were valiant. Young Man: I shall not fight with you about this matter. Chremylus: "What is it?" Young man: ashamed of your age, since Young Man: I would never entrust this to another to do. Young man: Now go away, rejoicing, having taken hold of the little girl. Chremylus: I know, I know the mind; perhaps you no longer deserve it. Chremylus: She is with him. OLD WOMAN: And who is the one who will give it over? Young Man: I would not have conversed with her while she was being entangled. Young man: By ten thousand years and three thousand. Chremylus: Nevertheless, since you also deemed the wine worthy, Chremylus: you have to drink along with the must. Young Man: But it is indeed a very old and rotten mess. Chremylus: Will a vintager then cure all these things? Young Man: But come inside, for I wish to offer a sacrifice to the god. Young Man: to come and hang up these crowns which I have. OLD WOMAN: But I want to tell him something as well. Young Man: But I certainly will not go in. Chremylus: Have courage, do not be afraid. Chremylus: For he will not be forced. Young Man: Very well, then, you speak. Young Man: For I had given her enough time before. Old Woman: Go! I will enter after you. Chremylus: How strongly, O king Zeus, the old woman! Chremylus: Just as he was holding the basket to the boy. Carion: Who is knocking on the door? What was that? Cario: No one seems to [be here]; but, by the gods, the little door! Charon: she is weeping as if she were making a sound. Hermes: I am telling you this, Hermes: Charon, wait. Charon: tell me this, Carion: Are you knocking on the door so hard like this? Hermes: By Zeus, but I was about to; then you opened me, having arrived first. Hermes: But run quickly and call out the master, Hermes: "Then the wife and the children," Hermes: "Then the servants, then the dog," Hermes: Then yourself, then the sow. Carion: "Tell me," Charon: What is it? Hermes: Zeus, you wretch, wants to do this. Hermes: having stirred you all together into a single pot. Hermes: to throw all of them into the abyss. Charon: The tongue of this herald is being cut out. Charon: But why, pray, is he plotting to do these things? Charon: Us? Hermes: for most cleverly of all things Hermes: You have worked. For since you began to see from the beginning Hermes: Wealth, no one [offers] frankincense, no [one offers] bay, Hermes: not a piece of meat, not a sacrifice, not even a single one. Hermes: they still sacrifice to the gods on our behalf. Charon: by Zeus, not at all. Carion: Let him sacrifice, for he cared for us badly at that time. Hermes: and of the other gods I care less, Hermes: But I am ruined and worn out. Carion: You are being sensible. Hermes: for previously I had [it] at the wine-sellers'. Hermes: All good things at once from dawn, a wine-jar of honey. Hermes: figs, as many as Hermes is wont to eat; Hermes: But now, while I am hungry, I am resting as I go up. Charon: Not justly, since you were causing damage. Charon: sometimes having such good things? Hermes: Alas, wretched me, Hermes: Alas for the pancake of the four-sided loaf that has been sliced. Carion: you long for the one who is not present and you call him in vain. Hermes: Alas for the leg I was eating! Carion: I will fart right here in the courtyard. Hermes: of the hot entrails which I was eating. Charon: It seems to me that pain is turning your entrails around. Hermes: Alas! a cup mixed equal to equal. Carion: Having drunk this, you would not catch up while running. Hermes: Would you have been helpful to your own friend? Carion: If you need anything at all, I will help you in any way I am able. Hermes: if you were to procure for me some well-preserved bread Hermes: may you eat up even young meat. Hermes: Sacrifice these things inside. Carion: but it is not a funeral procession. Hermes: And indeed, whenever some little utensil of the master Hermes: I wish I had been, I was always making you slip from your mind. Carion: on the condition that you too should be a wall-climber. Charon: For a well-packed vessel would have come to you. Hermes: Then you yourself would have eaten that. Carion: for you did not share the equal blows with me, Carion: Whenever I had been caught having acted cunningly. Hermes: Do not bear a grudge, if you have seized Phyle. Hermes: But by the gods, let a fellow dweller receive me. Charon: And having left the gods, will you remain here? Hermes: For the things here with you are much better. Carion: But what about it? Do you think that it is witty to come with the same story? Hermes: For every homeland is wherever one may prosper. Carion: But what good would you be to us, being here? Hermes: Set me down in a corner by the door. Carion: a twist? But it is not at all a task of twisting. Hermes: But it is a bargain. Chario: But we are rich; so what? Carion: Must we keep raising Hermes the swindler? Hermes: But it is indeed a trick. Carion: Deceitful? By no means. Carion: for it is not a deed of deceit now, but of simple ways. Hermes: But, a leader! Carion: But the god already sees, Carion: so that we shall need no leader anymore. Hermes: Then I shall be an athlete. What, then, will you say? Hermes: For this is most fortunate for Wealth. Hermes: to hold musical and gymnastic contests. Carion: how good it is to have many names! Carion: for he has found for himself a livelihood. Carion: It is not the year, all the judges often. Chario: They are hurrying that it has been written in many letters. Hermes: So, am I to go on these terms? Carion: And wash it, then. Carion: approaching the well himself, the bellies, Carion: so that you may seem to be a servant right away. Priest: Who would tell me clearly where Chremylus is? Chremylus: What is it, sir? Priest: For what else but badly? Priest: for since this Wealth began to see, Priest: I am ruined by hunger. For I have nothing left to eat, Priest: And yet, being a priest of the savior Zeus, [you say] this. Chremylus: And what is the reason, by the gods? Priest: No one wishes to sacrifice anymore. Chremylus: For whose sake? Priest: because everyone is rich; and yet then, Priest: when I had nothing, the merchant who came... Priest: He sacrificed a certain victim after being saved, but who would...? Priest: having escaped punishment, and whoever should be called a priest Priest: And he used to call me the priest, but now not even one. Priest: The sacrifice is completely useless, nor does it enter, Priest: except that more than ten thousand will fart. Chremylus: Then you don't take these things as is customary? Priest: So I myself seem to [know] the savior Zeus. Priest: Let her go, but stay here. Chremylus: Courage, for it will be well, if the god wills it. Chremylus: For Zeus the Savior is here. Chremylus: He came of his own accord. Priest: All things good, then, you say. Chremylus: So let us set up shop immediately, but wait a moment. Chremylus: Wealth, in whose house he was previously established. Chremylus: always guarding the inner shrine of the goddess. Chremylus: But let someone bring here the torches that are lit, Chremylus: so that, having it, you may lead the god ahead. Priest: By all means, then. Priest: One must do these things. Chremylus: Someone is calling Wealth outside. Old Woman: But what am I to do? Chremylus: the pots, with which [I intend to cook] the god Chremylus: We shall establish it; take it and carry it on your head. Chremylus: gravely; having it, you came yourself with varied things. Old Woman: For what things did I come? Chremylus: Everything will happen to you. Chremylus: For the young man will come to you around evening. Old Woman: But if, by Zeus, you really promise me Old Woman: That he will come to me, I will take the pots. Chremylus: And indeed, the opposite of all the other pots. Chremylus: These do it, for the other pots Chremylus: The old woman is on top, and now this one... Chremylus: The pots are boiling over the surface of the old woman. Chorus: Then it is no longer reasonable for us either to delay, but to withdraw. Chorus: To the back, for those singing must follow after these.