to kindle your cinders, so that you may first bring me the torch alight. Mistress Victory, assist us, and let us set up1 a trophy over the now present audacity of the women in the citadel. [Enter chorus of women coming out of the citadel.] CHO. OF WOм. Women, methinks I perceive flame and smoke as of a fire burning. We must hasten more quickly. Fly, fly, Nicodice, before that Calyce and Critylla, being blown upon from all sides,2 be set on fire by grievous laws and mischievous old men! But I am afraid of this. Surely I am not coming to the rescue too late? For now, having filled my bucket at the fountain early in the morning, with difficulty, by reason of the crowd and tumult and clatter of pitchers, jostling with women-servants and runaway slaves, having brought it eagerly, I come with water to the rescue of my fellow tribes-women being on fire. For I heard that old dotards were coming, carrying logs, about three talents in weight, as if about to wait upon persons at the bath, threatening most dreadful words, that it behoved them to burn the abominable women to a cinder with fire; whom, O goddess, may I never see set on fire, but to have delivered Greece and the citizens from war and madness! for which purpose, O guardian of the city with golden crest, they occupied thy seat. And I invoke thee as our ally, O Tritogenia, if any 5 man burn them 4 222, 456, 497, 687, 760, 1011. Eccles. 295, 955. Aves, 131. Vesp. 1292. Nub. 490, 824, 888, 1177. Pax, 77, 562, 1117. Cf. Krüger, Gr. Gr. § 54, 8, obs. 7. Hermann, Vig. n. 255. Harper's "Powers of the Greek Tenses," p. 114. Enger reads onws TрTIOT' μoi. Dindorf, who has left purws in his text, doubts if Aristophanes used the adverb púτws; in which opinion he is joined by Lobeck, Phryn. p. 312, and Bergk, Rhen. Mus. 1841, i. p. 80. Reisig (Conject. p. 125) proposed poopwv, Bothe πρúry Y'. See note on Ran. 169. Here the scene changes to the front of the Acropolis. 2 For the gender, see Krüger, Gr. Gr. § 44, 2, obs. 4. Hermann, Vig. n. 51, and for oλepos, ibid. § 57, 1, obs. 3. 3"Am I a tardy helper?" Wheelwright. "Werd' Ich zu spät nicht helfen?" Droysen. 66 "Tanquam balneum calefacturos." Brunck. "Als wären sie Bader, zu heizen ein Bad." Droysen. “ ὥσπερ βαλανεῖον ὑποκαύσοντες. Scholiast. 5 Enger reads ï тis-vπоπíμπρηow, and adds, "Reisig (Conject. p. 255) made this correction, in order to expel voríμяρуσiv, a form of the conjunctive unknown to the Attics, which Brunck had intro. duced in place of the indicative. Bothe follows Reisig." from below, to bring water along with us! Let be! What's1 this? O men laboriously wicked! for never would good or pious men have been for doing this. CHO. OF MEN. This affair has come unexpected for us to see.2 See! here again's a swarm of women coming out of doors to the rescue! [They make a retrograde movement.] CHO. OF WOм. Why do you insult3 us? We don't seem to be many, I suppose? And yet you don't see as yet the ten-thousandth part of us. CHO. OF MEN. O Phædrias, shall we suffer these to prate so much? Ought one not to have broken one's cudgel about them with beating them? CHO. OF WOм. Let us also now deposit our pitchers on the ground; so that, if any one lay his hand upon us, this may not be a hinderance. [They lay down their pitchers.] CHO. OF MEN. If, by Jove, one had already struck their jaws twice or thrice, like those5 of Bupalus, they would not have a voice. CHO. OF WOм. Well now, there! let any one strike me! I'll stand and offer myself; and no other bitch shall ever lay hold of your nose.7 CHO. OF MEN. If you will not be silent, I'll beat and drive away your old age. 8 Comp. Vesp. 183, 1509. Av. 859, 1495. For πóvy Tоvηpoi, cf. Vesp. 466. 2 Cf. vs. 1207, infra. Av. 1710, 1713. Pax, 821. "Quid nos formidatis?" Brunck. “τί εὐτελίζετε, ἢ φοβεῖσθε καὶ TρEμETE." Scholiast. Comp. Hesychius and Suidas." Enger. 66 The Cf. Nub. 1260. Pax, 1211. Elmsley, Acharn. vs. 122. 5 See Hor. Epod. vi. 14. "See Suidas in voc. Boúraλos. point of the allusion is that Bupalus seems after that to have been silenced." Enger. àv ɛixov is not necessarily restricted to past time. This form often denotes what is brought on from the past time up to the present. See Harper, Powers of the Greek Tenses, pp. 79, 145. Krüger, Gr. Gr. § 54, 10, obs. 3. 6 Os præbebo.' Brunck. Meaning that she would anticipate such a casualty by pulling it off. Cf. vs. 694. "Nam ego, ut canis, tibi prius eos evellam." Bergler "Doch sollte bei den Hoden dann kein Köter mehr dich packen.' Droysen. For où un, see Krüger, Gr. Gr. § 53, 7, obs. 6. Bernhardy, W. S. p. 402. 8 46 Comp. vs. 448. Thesm. 567. This passage has been rightly understood by the Scholiast in the Ravenna MS., ὡς πρὸς τὰς γραίας ὁ τῶν γερόντων χόρος.” Enger. CHO. OF WOм. Come forward and only touch Stratyllis with your finger! CHO. OF MEN. But what, if I thump her with my fists? what mischief1 will you do to me? CHO. OF WOM. I'll bite and tear out your lungs and entrails.2 CHO. OF MEN. There's no poet wiser than Euripides; for there's no creature so shameless4 as women. CHO. OF WOм. Let us take up the pitcher of water, O Rhodippe. CHO. OF MEN. Why, O thou hateful to the gods, hast thou come hither with water? CHO. OF WOM. Why then have you come with fire, you old man nigh to the grave?5 With the intention of setting yourself on fire? CHO. OF MEN. I have come in order that I may heap up a pyre and set fire to your friends underneath. CHO. OF WOм. And I, that I might extinguish your pyre with this. CHO. OF MEN. Will you extinguish my fire? CHO. OF WOм. The deed itself 7 will soon show. CHO. OF MEN. I don't know but I'll scorch you with this torch just as I am. 1 Porson compares Eurip. Bacch. 492, εἴφ' ὅ τι παθεῖν δεῖ· τί με τὸ δεινὸν ἐργάσει ; 2 Eur. Cycl. 236, τὰ σπλάγχν' ἔφασκον ἐξαμήσεσθαι βία. 3 The real meaning is, 66 more addicted to the use of the word copos in his poetry." Comp. Nub. 1376, οὔκουν δικαίως, ὅστις οὐκ Εὐριπίδην ἐπαινεῖς See also Ran. 1420. Athenæus, xiv. p. 665, A. Cf. Soph. Electr. 622. Æsch. Theb. 182. "Aristophanes seems to have had in his mind some particular line of Euripides." Enger. "Old men are called rúußoi, who are nigh to the grave." Bergler. Cf. Eur. Med. 1209. Heracl. 167. "Du Dürrholz." Droysen. "The women say they have come in order that they might extinguish the pyre (τǹv oǹv túρav), if the old men should set it on fire. Now the old men had decided to set it on fire. This is denoted by the conjunctive, the former case by the optative." Enger. "Res ipsa mox indicabit." Brunck. Soph. Lemn. Fragm. viii., Taxi d'autò deĺžε Tovoуov. Cf. Ran. 1261. Eccles. 933, 936. Vesp. 994. Plato, Theæt. p. 200, E. Hipp. Maj. p. 288, B. Eurip. Bacch. 974. Phoen. 632. See Heindorf, Plato, Phileb. § 99. • Cf. Vesp. 1372-1378. For similar examples of "Anticipation," CHO, OF WOм. If you happen to have any soap,' I'll pro vide a bath. CHO. OF MEN. You a bath for me, you filthy wretch? CHO. OF MEN. Did you hear her audacity? CHO. OF MEN. CHO. OF WOм. CHO. OF MEN. I'll stop you from your present clamour. 4 Thy task, O Achelöus! [The women empty their buckets on the men's heads.] CHO. OF MEN. Ah me, miserable! CHO. OF WOм. Was it hot? [Another volley of buckets.] CHO. OF MEN. Why, hot? Will you not stop? What are you doing? CHO. OF WOм. I am watering you, that you may grow. CHO. OF MEN. But I am parched 5 up and shaking already. CHO. OF WOм. Therefore, since you have fire, you shall warm yourself. [Enter committee-man.6] 7 COм. Has the wantonness of the women burst forth, and their drumming, and their frequent orgies, and this mourning on the roofs for Adonis, which I once heard when I was in Enger refers to vss. 754, 905. Thesm. 1134. Ran. 310. See notes on Nub. 1148. Eccles. 1126. 1 See Liddell's Lex. in voc. púμμa. "Hast du vielen Schmutz am Leib." Droysen. 2 See Krüger, Gr. Gr. § 51, 7, obs. 14. There is a play on the word λ‹oç, as in Vesp. 772. “I'll cool you down a bit. Cf. Aves, 862. She invokes the aid of the celebrated Etolian river Achelous: "Then, water, to thy work!" For this use of Achelous for water in general, Dindorf refers to Servius' note on Virgil, Georg. i. 9. Add Aristoph. Cocalus, Fragm. vii. 5άTÒ Tой vdаtos dŋλovóti тpeμεL ò yέpwv." Scholiast. "Starr bin Ich, klappr' am ganzen Leib." Droysen. "He says he has no need of being drenched with cold water, because he trembles already with old age and on account of his spare frame." Enger. See Liddell's Lex. in voc. póßovλos. Comp. Thuc. viii. 1, and Wesseling on Her. vi. 7. 7 Cicero, Legg. ii. 15, "Novos vero deos sic Aristophanes facetissimus poeta veteris comœdiæ vexat, ut apud eum Sabazius et quidam alii peregrini judicati e civitate ejiciantur." 8 Ezekiel viii. 14, "Women weeping for Tammuz," i. e. for Adonis. Comp. Becker, Charicles, i. p. 228. "Das Ich jüngst hab' gehört." Droysen. the Assembly. Demostratus (a plague take him!) was advising to sail to Sicily; but his wife, dancing, cries, "Ah! ah, for Adonis!" And Demostratus was advising2 to enlist Zacynthian hoplites; but his wife upon the roof, being rather tipsy, tells them to mourn for Adonis. But he, Cholozyges, hateful to the gods and abominable, overpowered her. Such are their acts of wantonness. 3 CHO. OF MEN. What then would you say, if you were also to hear of the insolence of these? who have both insulted us in other respects, and drenched us with their pitchers, so that we may wring our garments, as if we had made water in them. COм. Justly, by the briny Neptune! For when we ourselves join with the women in villany, and teach them to be licentious, such5 counsels spring from them; we, who speak in this wise in the workmen's shops, "Goldsmith, as my wife was dancing in the evening, the clasp of the necklace you made dropped out of the hole. For my part, I must sail to Salamis; but do you, if you have leisure, come by all On this form of imprecation, see Casaub. Athen. ii. 14, p. 112; commentators on Lucian, i. p. 218; Valckenär, Adon. p. 370, and on Schol. N. T. vol. i. p. 438. Poeta incert. ap. Athen. ii. p. 55, C. The opposite is pas kaλaîç. See Dindorf. 2 "Da rieth der Unglücksredner." Droysen. The decree for the Sicilian expedition was passed on the day for the festival of Adonis, which was thought unlucky. Cf. Plut. Nicias, xii. xiii. 3 The true reading I am persuaded is ároλaorýμara, as proposed by Bentley. See Bekk. Anecd. vol. i. 367, 21. 4 Comp. Nub. 154, τί δῆτ ̓ ἂν ἕτερον εἰ πύθοιο Σωκράτους σόφισμα ; See Elmsley, Acharn. 1011. Krüger, Gr. Gr. § 69, 7, obs. 2. Harper's Powers of the Greek Tenses, p. 96. Pax, 907. Nub. 690. Equit. 1252. Aves, 356. 5 66 • From Æsch. Theb. 600, ἀφ ̓ ἧς τὰ κεδνὰ βλαστάνει βουλεύματα.” Enger. • Brunck compares vss. 622, 1064. Eccles. 420. Ran. 69, 118. 7 A case of inverted assimilation (umgekehrte Assimilation). See Krüger, Gr. Gr. § 51, 10, obs. 9, who quotes from Lysias, (p. 649,) Fηv ovoίav v Katéλitev ov πλeiovog džia koriv. Cf. Plut. 200. Soph. Rex, 449. Trach. 283. Eur. Orest. 1604. Plato, Men. p. 96, A. Hom. II. E. 192. So Virgil, Æn. i. 577, Urbem quam statuo vestra est. Plaut. Epid. iii. 4, 12, istum quem quæris ego sum. See Bremi, Dem. Cor. 16. Dorv. Char. 593, 609. Schäfer ad Eur. Orest. 1645. Richter, Anacol. i. p. 24. Hermann, Vig. Append. p. 713. 8 "TаνTì TрÓTY." Scholiast. "It increases the force of the imperative. Cf. Fritzsche ad Thesm. 65. Nub. 1327. Ran. 1238. Eccles. 366. Thesm. 65." Enger. |