Inspirited by your words, I threaten my rivals the gods, and Iswear that if you march in alliance with me against the gods and are faithful to our just, loyal and sacred bond, we shall soon have shattered their sceptre, LEADER OF THE CHORUSWe shall charge ourselves with the performance of everything that requires force; that which demands thought and deliberation shall be yours to supply.
EPOPS
By Zeus! it's no longer the time to delay and loiter like Nicias; let us act as promptly as possible....In the first place, come, enter my nest built of brushwood and blades of straw, and tell me your names.
PITHETAERUS
That is soon done; my name is Pithetaerus, and his, Euelpides, of the deme Crioa.
EPOPS
Good! and good luck to you.
PITHETAERUS
We accept the omen.
EPOPS
Come in here.
PITHETAERUS
Very well, you are the one who must lead us and introduce us.
EPOPS
Come then.
(He starts to fly away.)
PITHETAERUS (stopping himself)
Oh! my god! do come back here.Hi! tell us how we are to follow you.You can fly, but we cannot.
EPOPS
Well, well.
PITHETAERUS
Remember Aesop's fables.It is told there that the fox fared very badly, because he had made an alliance with the eagle.
EPOPS
Be at ease.You shall eat a certain root and wings will grow on your shoulders.
PITHETAERUS
Then let us enter.Xanthias and Manodorus, pick up our baggage.
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Hi! Epops! do you hear me?
EPOPS
What's the matter?
LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Take them off to dine well and call your mate, the melodious Procne, whose songs are worthy of the Muses; she will delight our leisure moments.
PITHETAERUS
Oh! I conjure you, accede to their wish; for this delightful bird will leave her rushes at the sound of your voice; for the sake of the gods, let her come here, so that we may contemplate the nightingale.
EPOPS
Let is be as you desire.Come forth, Procne, show yourself to these strangers.
(PROCNE appears; she resembles a young flute-girl.)PITHETAERUS
Oh! great Zeus! what a beautiful little bird! what a dainty form! what brilliant plumage! Do you know how dearly I should like to get between her thighs?
EUELPIDES
She is dazzling all over with gold, like a young girl.Oh! how Ishould like to kiss her!
PITHETAERUS
Why, wretched man, she has two little sharp points on her beak!
EUELPIDES
I would treat her like an egg, the shell of which we remove before eating it; I would take off her mask and then kiss her pretty face.
EPOPS
Let us go in.
PITHETAERUS
Lead the way, and may success attend us.
(EPOPS goes into the thicket, followed by PITHETAERUS and EUELPIDES.)CHORUS (singing)
Lovable golden bird, whom I cherish above all others, you, whom I associate with all my songs, nightingale, you have come, you have come, to show yourself to me and to charm me with your notes.Come, you, who play spring melodies upon the harmonious flute, lead off our anapests.
(The CHORUS turns and faces the audience.)LEADER OF THE CHORUS
Weak mortals, chained to the earth, creatures of clay as frail as the foliage of the woods, you unfortunate race, whose life is but darkness, as unreal as a shadow, the illusion of a dream, hearken to us, who are immortal beings, ethereal, ever young and occupied with eternal thoughts, for we shall teach you about all celestial matters; you shall know thoroughly what is the nature of the birds, what the origin of the gods, of the rivers, of Erebus, and Chaos;thanks to us, even Prodicus will envy you your knowledge.
At the beginning there was only Chaos, Night, dark Erebus, and deep Tartarus.Earth, the air and heaven had no existence.Firstly, black-winged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebus, and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest.He mated in deep Tartarus with dark Chaos, winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light.That of the Immortals did not exist until Eros had brought together all the ingredients of the world, and from their marriage Heaven, Ocean, Earth and the imperishable race of blessed gods sprang into being.Thus our origin is very much older than that of the dwellers in Olympus.We are the offspring of Eros; there are a thousand proofs to show it.We have wings and we lend assistance to lovers.How many handsome youths, who had sworn to remain insensible, have opened their thighs because of our power and have yielded themselves to their lovers when almost at the end of their youth, being led away by the gift of a quail, a waterfowl, a goose, or a cock.
And what important services do not the birds render to mortals!
First of all, they mark the seasons for them, springtime, winter, and autumn.Does the screaming crane migrate to Libya,-it warns the husbandman to sow, the pilot to take his ease beside his tiller hung up in his dwelling, and Orestes to weave a tunic, so that the rigorous cold may not drive him any more to strip other folk.When the kite reappears, he tells of the return of spring and of the period when the fleece of the sheep must be clipped.Is the swallow in sight? All hasten to sell their warm tunic and to buy some light clothing.We are your Ammon, Delphi, Dodona, your Phoebus Apollo.Before undertaking anything, whether a business transaction, a marriage, or the purchase of food, you consult the birds by reading the omens, and you give this name of omen to all signs that tell of the future.