The Knights [9]
off the dust, deny his mishap and begin the struggle anew.
Not one of these generals of old time would have asked Cleaenetus to
be fed at the cost of the State; but our present men refuse to
fight, unless they get the honours of the Prytaneum and precedence
in their seats. As for us, we place our valour gratuitously at the
service of Athens and of her gods; our only hope is that, should peace
ever put a term te our toils, you will not grudge us our long, scented
hair nor our delicate care for our toilet.
SECOND SEMI-CHORUS (singing)
Oh! Pallas, guardian of Athens, you, who reign over the most pious
city, the most powerful, the richest in warriors and in poets,
hasten to my call, bringing in your train our faithful ally in all our
expeditions and combats, Victory, who smiles on our choruses and
fights with us against our rivals. Oh! goddess! manifest yourself to
our sight; this day more than ever we deserve that you should ensure
our triumph.
LEADER OF SECOND SEMI-CHORUS
We will sing likewise the exploits of our steeds! they are
worthy of our praises; in what invasions, what fights have I not
seen them helping us! But especially admirable were they, when they
bravely leapt upon the galleys, taking nothing with them but a
coarse wine, some cloves of garlic and onions; despite this, they
nevertheless seized the sweeps just like men, curved their backs
over the thwarts and shouted, "Hippapai! Give way! Come, all pull
together! Come, come! How! Samphoras! Are you not rowing?" They rushed
down upon the coast of Corinth, and the youngest hollowed out beds
in the sand with their hoofs or went to fetch coverings; instead of
luzern, they had no food but crabs, which they caught on the strand
and even in the sea; so that Theorus causes a Corinthian crab to
say, "'Tis a cruel fate, oh Posidon neither my deep hiding-places,
whether on land or at sea, can help me to escape the Knights."
(The SAUSAGE-SELLER returns.)
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Welcome, oh, dearest and bravest of men! How distracted I have
been during your absence! But here you are back, safe and sound.
Tell us about the fight you have had.
SAUSAGE-SELLER
The important thing is that I have beaten the Senate.
CHORUS (singing)
All glory to you! Let us burst into shouts of joy! You speak well,
but your deeds are even better. Come, tell me everything in detail;
what a long journey would I not be ready to take to hear your tale!
Come, dear friend, speak with full confidence to your admirers.
SAUSAGE-SELLER
The story is worth hearing. Listen! From here I rushed straight to
the Senate, right in the track of this man; he was already letting
loose the storm, unchaining the lightning, crushing the Knights
beneath huge mountains of calumnies heaped together and having all the
air of truth; he called you conspirators and his lies caught root like
weeds in every mind; dark were the looks on every side and brows
were knitted. When I saw that the Senate listened to him favourably
and was being tricked by his imposture I said to myself, "Come, gods
of rascals and braggarts, gods of all fools, and toad-eaters, and thou
too, oh market-place, wherein I was bred from my earliest days, give
me unbridled audacity, an untiring chatter and a shameless voice."
No sooner had I ended this prayer than a pederast farted on my
right. "Hah! a good omen," said I, and prostrated myself; then I burst
open the door by a vigorous push with my arse, and, opening my mouth
to the utmost, shouted, "Senators, I wanted you to be the first to
hear the good news; since the war broke out, I have never seen
anchovies at a lower price!" All faces brightened at once and I was
voted a chaplet for my good tidings; and I added, "With a couple of
words I will reveal to you how you can have quantities of anchovies
for an obol; all you have to do is to seize on all the
Not one of these generals of old time would have asked Cleaenetus to
be fed at the cost of the State; but our present men refuse to
fight, unless they get the honours of the Prytaneum and precedence
in their seats. As for us, we place our valour gratuitously at the
service of Athens and of her gods; our only hope is that, should peace
ever put a term te our toils, you will not grudge us our long, scented
hair nor our delicate care for our toilet.
SECOND SEMI-CHORUS (singing)
Oh! Pallas, guardian of Athens, you, who reign over the most pious
city, the most powerful, the richest in warriors and in poets,
hasten to my call, bringing in your train our faithful ally in all our
expeditions and combats, Victory, who smiles on our choruses and
fights with us against our rivals. Oh! goddess! manifest yourself to
our sight; this day more than ever we deserve that you should ensure
our triumph.
LEADER OF SECOND SEMI-CHORUS
We will sing likewise the exploits of our steeds! they are
worthy of our praises; in what invasions, what fights have I not
seen them helping us! But especially admirable were they, when they
bravely leapt upon the galleys, taking nothing with them but a
coarse wine, some cloves of garlic and onions; despite this, they
nevertheless seized the sweeps just like men, curved their backs
over the thwarts and shouted, "Hippapai! Give way! Come, all pull
together! Come, come! How! Samphoras! Are you not rowing?" They rushed
down upon the coast of Corinth, and the youngest hollowed out beds
in the sand with their hoofs or went to fetch coverings; instead of
luzern, they had no food but crabs, which they caught on the strand
and even in the sea; so that Theorus causes a Corinthian crab to
say, "'Tis a cruel fate, oh Posidon neither my deep hiding-places,
whether on land or at sea, can help me to escape the Knights."
(The SAUSAGE-SELLER returns.)
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Welcome, oh, dearest and bravest of men! How distracted I have
been during your absence! But here you are back, safe and sound.
Tell us about the fight you have had.
SAUSAGE-SELLER
The important thing is that I have beaten the Senate.
CHORUS (singing)
All glory to you! Let us burst into shouts of joy! You speak well,
but your deeds are even better. Come, tell me everything in detail;
what a long journey would I not be ready to take to hear your tale!
Come, dear friend, speak with full confidence to your admirers.
SAUSAGE-SELLER
The story is worth hearing. Listen! From here I rushed straight to
the Senate, right in the track of this man; he was already letting
loose the storm, unchaining the lightning, crushing the Knights
beneath huge mountains of calumnies heaped together and having all the
air of truth; he called you conspirators and his lies caught root like
weeds in every mind; dark were the looks on every side and brows
were knitted. When I saw that the Senate listened to him favourably
and was being tricked by his imposture I said to myself, "Come, gods
of rascals and braggarts, gods of all fools, and toad-eaters, and thou
too, oh market-place, wherein I was bred from my earliest days, give
me unbridled audacity, an untiring chatter and a shameless voice."
No sooner had I ended this prayer than a pederast farted on my
right. "Hah! a good omen," said I, and prostrated myself; then I burst
open the door by a vigorous push with my arse, and, opening my mouth
to the utmost, shouted, "Senators, I wanted you to be the first to
hear the good news; since the war broke out, I have never seen
anchovies at a lower price!" All faces brightened at once and I was
voted a chaplet for my good tidings; and I added, "With a couple of
words I will reveal to you how you can have quantities of anchovies
for an obol; all you have to do is to seize on all the