268 ARISTOPHANES
Poet. Intimations, swift as air,
To the Muses' ear, are carried, Swifter than the speed and force Of the fiery -footed horse ;
Hence, the tidings never tarried. 25
Father, patron, mighty lord,^
Founder of the rising State, What thy bounty can afford.
Be it little, be it great. With a quick resolve, incline ao
To bestow on me and mine. Peisthetairus. This fellow will breed a bustle, and make mischief, If we don't give him a trifle, and get rid of him. You there,^ you 've a spare waistcoat ; pull it off ! And give it this same clever, ingenious poet — 3.5
There, take the waistcoat, friend ! Ye seem to want it ! Poet. Freely, with a thankful heart.
What a bounteous hand bestows, Is received in friendly part ;
But amid the Thracian snows, 40
Or the chilly Scythian plain.
He the wanderer, cold and lonely, With an under-waistcoat only. Must a further wish retain ;
Which, the Muse averse to mention, 45 To your gentle comprehension. Trusts her enigmatic strain. Peisthetcm'us. I comprehend it enough ; you want a jerkin ;
1 The Scholiast informs us that these lines are in ridicule of certain mendieatory passages in the poems of Pindar ; one in particular, ad- dressed to Hiero on the foundation of a new city.
2 This was said to the priest who was conducting a sacrifice.
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