Continue amongst you?
Eu. Some few specimens[1]
You'll meet with, here and there, in country places.
Hoo. And what has brought you here? What was your object?
Eu. We wished to advise with you.
Hoo. With me! For what?
Eu. Because you were a man: the same as us;
And found yourself in debt: the same as us; 115
And did not like to pay: the same as us;
And after that, you changed into a bird;
And ever since have flown and wandered far
Over the lands and seas, and have acquired
All knowledge that a bird or man can learn.
Therefore we come as suppliants, to beseech 120
Your favour and advice to point us out
Some comfortable country, close and snug,
A country like a blanket or a rug,
Where we might fairly fold ourselves to rest.
Hoo. Do you wish then for a greater state than Athens?
Eu. Not greater; but more suitable for us.
Hoo. It's clear you're fond of aristocracy. 125
Eu. What him, the son of Scellias! Aristocrates?[2]
I abhor him.
Hoo. Well, what kind of a town would suit ye?
Eu. Why, such a kind of town as this, for instance,
A town where the importunities and troubles
Are of this sort. Suppose a neighbour calls
Betimes in the morning with a sudden summons: 130
"Now, don't forget," says he, "for heaven's sake,
To come to me to-morrow, bring your friends,
Children and all, we've wedding cheer at home.
Come early, mind ye, and if you fail me now,
Don't let me see your face, when I'm in trouble."
Hoo. So, you're resolved to encounter all these hardships! 135
[To Peisthetairus.
And what say you?
- ↑ The love of litigation and the passion for sitting on Juries, with the exception of a few who retained their old agricultural habits, had infected the whole Athenian community.
- ↑ Little or nothing is known of Aristocrates. He lived to the end of the war, and acted in concert with Thrasybulus against Critias. Dem. in Timoc.
