Excerpt
Scene: The interior of a sleeping-apartment:Strepsiades, Phidippides, and two servants are in theirbeds; a small house is seen at a distance. Time:midnight.Strepsiades (sitting up in his bed). Ah me! Ah me! OKing Jupiter, of what a terrible length the nights are!Will it never be day? And yet long since I heard thecock. My domestics are snoring; but they would not havedone so heretofore! May you perish then, O war! For manyreasons; because I may not even punish my domestics.Neither does this excellent youth awake through thenight; but takes his ease, wrapped up in five blankets.Well, if it is the fashion, let us snore wrapped up. [Lies down, and then almost immediately starts upagain.]But I am not able, miserable man, to sleep, beingtormented by my expenses, and my stud of horses, and mydebts, through this son of mine. He with his long hair,is riding horses and driving curricles, and dreaming ofhorses; while I am driven to distraction, as I see themoon bringing on the twentieths; for the interest isrunning on. Boy! Light a lamp, and bring forth mytablets, that I may take them and read to how many I amindebted, and calculate the interest.[Enter boy with a light and tablets.]Come, let me see; what do I owe? Twelve minae toPasias. Why twelve minae to Pasias? Why did I borrowthem? When I bought the blood-horse. Ah me, unhappy!Would that it had had its eye knocked out with a stonefirst!Phidippides (talking in his sleep). You are actingunfairly, Philo! Drive on your own course.Strep. This is the bane that has destroyed me; for evenin his sleep he dreams about horsemanship.Phid. How many courses will the war-chariots run?Strep. Many courses do you drive me, your father. Butwhat debt came upon me after Pasias? Three minae toAmynias for a little chariot and pair of wheels.Phid. Lead the horse home, after having given him a goodrolling.Strep. O foolish youth, you have rolled me out of mypossessions; since I have been cast in suits, and otherssay that they will have surety given them for theinterest.Phid. (awakening) Pray, father, why are you peevish, andtoss about the whole night?Strep. A bailiff out of the bedclothes is bitingme.Phid. Suffer me, good sir, to sleep a little.Strep. Then, do you sleep on; but know that all thesedebts will turn on your head.[Phidippides falls asleep again.]Alas! Would that the match-maker had perished miserably,who induced me to marry your mother. For a country lifeused to be most agreeable to me, dirty, untrimmed,reclining at random, abounding in bees, and sheep, andoil-cake. Then I, a rustic, married a niece of Megacles,the son of Megacles, from the city, haughty, luxurious,and Coesyrafied. When I married her, I lay with herredolent of new wine, of the cheese-crate, and abundanceof wool; but she, on the contrary, of ointment, saffron,wanton-kisses, extravagance, gluttony, and of Colias andGenetyllis. I will not indeed say that she was idle;but she wove. And I used to show her this cloak by wayof a pretext and say "Wife, you weave at a greatrate."Servant re-enters.Servant. We have no oil in the lamp.Strep. Ah me! Why did you light the thirsty lamp? Comehither that you may weep!Ser. For what, pray, shall I weep?Strep. Because you put in one of the thick wicks.[Servant runs out]After this, when this son was born to us, to me,forsooth, and to my excellent wife, we squabbled thenabout the name: for she was for adding hippos to thename, Xanthippus, or Charippus, or Callipides; but I wasfor giving him the name of his grandfather, Phidonides.For a time therefore we disputed; and then at length weagreed, and called him Phidippides....