The Birds of Aristophanes | ||
ARGUMENT.
Euelpides and Pisthetærus, two ancient Athenians, thoroughly weary of the folly, injustice, and litigious temper of their countrymen, determine to leave Attica for good and all; and having heard much of the fame of Epops, king of the birds, who was once a man under the
The scene is a wild, unfrequented country, which terminates in mountains; there the old men are seen, (accompanied by two slaves, who carry their little baggage), fatigued and fretting at the carelessness of their guides, who, though they cost them a matter of a groat in the market, are good for nothing but to bite them by the fingers, and lead them out of the way. They travel
Trochilus, a bird that waits upon Epops, appears above; he is frightened at the sight of two men, and they are much more so at the length of his beak and the fierceness of his aspect. He takes them for fowlers; and they insist upon it, that they are not men but birds. In their confusion, their guides, whom they held in a string, escape and fly away. Epops, during this, is asleep within, after having dined upon a dish of beetles and berries: their noise wakens him, and he comes out of the grove.
SCENE III.At the strangeness of his figure they are divided between fear and laughing. They tell him their errand, and he gives them the choice of several cities fit for their purpose, one particularly on the coast of the Red Sea, all which they refuse, for many comical reasons. He
The birds come flying down, at first one by one, and perch here and there about the scene; and at last the Chorus, in a whole body, come hopping, and fluttering, and twittering in. At the sight of the two men they are in great tumult, and think that their king has betrayed them to the enemy. They determine to tear the two old men to pieces, draw themselves up in battle array, and are giving the word to fall on. Euelpides and Pisthetærus, in all the terrors of death, after upbraiding each the other for bringing him into such distress, and trying in vain to escape, assume courage from mere despair, seize upon the kitchen-furniture which they had brought with them, and armed with pipkins for helmets, and with spits for lances, they present a resolute front to the enemy's phalanx. On the point of battle Epops interposes, pleads hard for his two guests, who are, he
They sing their own nobility and ancient grandeur, their prophetic skill, the benefits they do mankind
The old men, now become birds, and magnificently fledged, after laughing awhile at the new and awkward figure they make, consult about the name which they shall give to their rising city, and fix upon that of Nephelococcygia, or Cuckoocloudland; and while one goes to superintend the workmen, the other prepares to sacrifice for the prosperity of the city, which is growing apace.
SCENE II.They begin a solemn prayer to all the birds of Olympus, putting the swan in the place of Apollo, the cock in that of Mars, and the ostrich in that of the great mother Cybele, &c.
A miserable poet having already heard of the new settlement, comes with some lyric poetry, which he has composed on this great occasion. Pisthetærus knows his errand from his looks, and makes them give him an old coat; but not contented with that, he begs to have the waistcoat to it, in the elevated style of Pindar: they comply, and get rid of him.
SCENE IV.The sacrifice is again interrupted by a begging prophet, who brings a cargo of oracles, partly relating to the prosperity of the city of Nephelococcygia, and partly to a new pair of shoes, of which he is in extreme want. Pisthetærus loses patience, and cuffs him and his religious trumpery off the stage.
SCENE V.Meto, the famous geometrician, comes next, and offers a plan which he has drawn for the new buildings, with much importance and impertinence: he meets with as bad a reception as the prophet.
An ambassador, or licensed spy, from Athens, arrives, and a legislator with a body of new laws. They are used with abundance of indignity, and go off, threatening every body with a prosecution. The sacred rites being so often interrupted, they are forced to remove their altar, and finish them behind the scenes.
SCENE VIII.The Chorus rejoice in their own increasing power; and (as about the time of the Dionysia it was usual to make proclamation against the enemies of the republic) they set a price upon the head of a famous poulterer, who has exercised infinite cruelties upon their friends and brethren; then they turn themselves to the judges and spectators, and promise, if this drama obtain the victory, how propitious they will be to them.
ACT III.—SCENE I.Pisthetærus returns, and reports, that the sacrifice appears auspicious to their undertaking: a messenger then enters, with an account how quick the works advance,
Another messenger arrives in a violent hurry, to tell how somebody from heaven has deceived the vigilance of the jackdaws, who were upon guard, and passed through the gates down into the lower air; but that a whole squadron of light-winged forces were in pursuit of this insolent person, and hoped to fetch him back again. The birds are in great perturbation, and all in a flutter about it.
SCENE III.This proves to be Iris, who in her return is stopped short, and seized by order of Pisthetærus. He examines her, where is her passport? Whether she had leave from the watch? What is her business? Who she is? in short, he treats her with great authority. She tells her name, and that she was sent by Jove with orders to mankind, that they should keep holiday, and perform a grand sacrifice; she wonders at their sauciness and madness, and threatens them with all her father's thunder.
The herald, who had been despatched to the lower world, returns with an account that all Athens was gone bird-mad; that it was grown a fashion to imitate them in their names and manners; and that shortly they might expect to see a whole convoy arrive, in order to settle among them. The Chorus run to fetch a vast cargo of feathers and wings to equip their new citizens, when they come.
SCENE V.The first who appears is a profligate young fellow, who hopes to enjoy a liberty, which he could not enjoy so well at home, the liberty of beating his father. Pisthetærus allows it indeed to be the custom of his people; but at the same time informs him of an ancient law preserved among the storks, that they shall maintain their parents in their old age. This is not at all agreeable to the
The next is Cinesias, the dithyrambic writer, who is delighted with the thought of living among the clouds, amidst those airy regions, whence all his poetical flights are derived; but Pisthetærus will have no such animal among his birds: he drives him back to Athens with great contempt.
SCENE VII.He then drives away also (but not without a severe whipping) an informer, who for the better despatch of business comes to beg a pair of wings to carry him round the islands and cities subject to Athens, whose inhabitants he is used to swear against for an honest livelihood, as did, he says, his fathers before him. The birds, in the ensuing chorus, relate their travels, and describe the strange things and strange men they have seen in them.
A person in disguise, with all the appearance of caution and fear, comes to inquire for Pisthetærus, to whom he discovers himself to be Prometheus, and tells him (but first he makes them hold a large umbrella over his head for fear Jupiter should spy him) that the Gods are all in a starving, miserable condition; and, what is worse, that barbarian gods (who live no one knows where, in a part of heaven far beyond the gods of Greece) threaten to make war upon them, unless they will open the ports, and renew the intercourse between mankind and them, as of old. He advises Pisthetærus to make the most of this intelligence, and to reject all offers boldly, which Jupiter may make him, unless he will consent to restore to the birds their ancient power, and give him in marriage his favourite attendant, Basilea. This said, he slips back again to heaven, as he came. The chorus continue an account of their travels.
SCENE II.An embassy arrives from heaven, consisting of Hercules, Neptune, and a certain Triballian god. As they approach the city walls, Neptune is dressing and scolding
A messenger returns with the news of the approach of Pisthetærus and his bride; and accordingly they appear in the air in a splendid machine, he with Jove's thunderbolt in his hand, and by his side Basilea, magnificently adorned: the birds break out into loud songs of exultation, and conclude the drama with their hymeneal.
The Birds of Aristophanes | ||