ΣΥΡΟΣ
εἴρηκεν;
ΣΜΙΚΡΙΝΗΣ
οὐκ ἤκουσας; εἴρηκεν.
ΣΥΡΟΣ
καλῶς.
οὐκοῦν ἐγὼ μετὰ ταῦτα. μόνος εὗρ’ οὑτοσὶ
τὸ παιδίον, καὶ πάντα ταῦθ’ ἃ νῦν λέγει295
ὀρθῶς λέγει, καὶ γέγονεν οὕτως, ὦ πάτερ.
οὐκ ἀντιλέγω. δεόμενος, ἱκετεύων ἐγὼ
ἔλαβον παρ’ αὐτοῦ τοῦτ’· ἀληθῆ γὰρ λέγει.
ποιμήν τις ἐξήγγειλέ μοι, πρὸς ὃν οὑτοσὶ
ἐλάλησε, τῶν τούτῳ συνέργων, ἅμα τινὰ300
κόσμον συνευρεῖν αὐτόν· ἐπὶ τοῦτον, πάτερ,
αὐτὸς πάρεστιν οὑτοσί. —τὸ παιδίον
δός μοι γύναι. —τὰ δέραια καὶ γνωρίσματα
οὗτός σ’ ἀπαιτεῖ Δᾶ’· ἑαυτῷ φησι γὰρ
ταῦτ’ ἐπιτεθῆναι κόσμον, οὐ σοὶ διατροφήν.305
κἀγὼ συναπαιτῶ κύριος γεγενημένος
τούτου· σὺ δ’ ἐπόησάς με δούς. νῦν γνωστέον
βέλτιστέ σοι ταῦτ’ ἐστίν, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ,
τὰ χρυσί’ ἢ ταῦθ’ ὅ τι ποτ’ ἐστὶ πότερα δεῖ
κατὰ τὴν δόσιν τῆς μητρός, ἥτις ἦν ποτε,310
τῷ παιδίῳ τηρεῖσθ’, ἕως ἂν ἐκτραφῇ,
ἢ τὸν λελωποδυτηκότ’ αὐτὸν ταῦτ’ ἔχειν,
εἰ πρῶτος εὗρε τἀλλότρια. τί οὖν τότε,
ὅτ’ ἐλάμβανον τοῦτ’, οὐκ ἀπῄτουν ταῦτά σε;
οὔπω παρ’ ἐμοὶ τότ’ ἦν ὑπὲρ τούτου λέγειν.315
ἥκω δὲ καὶ νῦν οὐκ ἐμαυτοῦ σ’ οὐδὲ ἓν
ἴδιον ἀπαιτῶν. κοινὸς Ἑρμῆς; μηδὲ ἓν
εὕρισχ’, ὅπου πρόσεστι σῶμ’ ἀδικούμενον·
οὐχ εὕρεσις τοῦτ’ ἔστιν ἀλλ’ ἀφαίρεσις.
βλέψον δὲ κἀκεῖ, πάτερ· ἴσως ἔσθ’ οὑτοσὶ320
ὁ παῖς ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς καὶ τραφεὶς ἐν ἐργάταις
ὑπερόψεται ταῦτ’, εἰς δὲ τὴν αὑτοῦ φύσιν
ᾄξας ἐλεύθερόν τι τολμήσει πονεῖν,
θηρᾶν λέοντας, ὅπλα βαστάζειν, τρέχειν
ἐν ἀγῶσι. τεθέασαι τραγῳδούς, οἶδ’ ὅτι,325
καὶ ταῦτα κατέχεις πάντα. Νηλέα τινὰ
Πελίαν τ’ ἐκείνους εὗρε πρεσβύτης ἀνὴρ
αἰπόλος, ἔχων οἵαν ἐγὼ νῦν διφθέραν,
ὡς δ’ ἤισθετ’ αὐτοὺς ὄντας αὑτοῦ κρείττονας,
λέγει τὸ πρᾶγμ’, ὡς εὗρεν, ὡς ἀνείλετο.330
ἔδωκε δ’ αὐτοῖς πηρίδιον γνωρισμάτων,
ἐξ οὗ μαθόντες πάντα τὰ καθ’ αὑτοὺς σαφῶς
ἐγένοντο βασιλεῖς οἱ τότ’ ὄντες αἰπόλοι.
εἰ δ’ ἐκλαβὼν ἐκεῖνα Δᾶος ἀπέδοτο,
αὐτὸς ἵνα κερδάνειε δραχμὰς δώδεκα,335
ἀγνῶτες ἂν τὸν πάντα διετέλουν χρόνον
οἱ τηλικοῦτοι καὶ τοιοῦτοι τῷ γένει.
οὐ δὴ καλῶς ἔχει τὸ μὲν σῶμ’ ἐκτρέφειν
ἐμὲ τοῦτο, τὴν δὲ τοῦδε τῆς σωτηρίας
ἐλπίδα λαβόντα Δᾶον ἀφανίσαι, πάτερ.340
γαμῶν ἀδελφήν τις διὰ γνωρίσματα
ἐπέσχε, μητέρ’ ἐντυχὼν ἐρρύσατο,
ἔσωσ’ ἀδελφόν. ὄντ’ ἐπισφαλῆ φύσει
τὸν βίον ἁπάντων τῇ προνοίᾳ δεῖ, πάτερ,
τηρεῖν, πρὸ πολλοῦ ταῦθ’ ὁρῶντ’ ἐξ ὧν ἔνι.345
ἀλλ’ “ἀπόδος, εἰ μή” φησ’ “ἀρέσκει.” τοῦτο γὰρ
ἰσχυρὸν οἴεταί τι πρὸς τὸ πρᾶγμ’ ἔχειν.
οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιον· εἴ τι τῶν τούτου σε δεῖ
ἀποδιδόναι, καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς ζητεῖς λαβεῖν,
ἵν’ ἀσφαλέστερον πονηρεύσῃ πάλιν,350
εἰ νῦν τι τῶν τούτου σέσωκεν ἡ Τύχη;
εἴρηκα. κρῖνον ὅ τι δίκαιον νενόμικας.
notes
294 οὑτοσὶ: = οὗτος + deictic (“pointing”) iota (“this man here…”)
302: Although Syros’ wife does not speak any lines, she has been and remains on stage throughout the scene. Even while SYROS holds the baby, she remains a strong visual presence (see performance script and video). Nothing in the script is explicit about when SYROS returns the baby to his wife, but it is evident later in the scene (lines 376-377) that she has it. There can be plenty of visual stage business with the baby along the way.
304 σ’: = σε. Δᾶ’: = Δᾶε (vocative of Daos)
305 ταῦτ’: = ταῦτα
306 κἀγὼ: = καὶ ἐγὼ
311 τηρεῖσθ’: = τηρεῖσθαι. ἐκτραφῇ: > ἐκτρέφω, 3rd sing. aor. subj. pass.
312 λελωποδυτηκότ(α): masc. acc. sg. perf. part. act.
314 ὅτ’: = ὅτε. τοῦτ’: = τοῦτο. ἀπῄτουν: > ἀπαιτέω, 1st sing. impf. indic. act.
316 σ’: = σε
317 κοινὸς Ἑρμῆς: a colloquial expression that those who find something together should share it. DAOS had referred to this idea in his speech (line 283).
318 εὕρισχ’: = εὕρισκε (a defiant “You are not ‘finding’ a single thing!”). σῶμ’: = σῶμα
320 κἀκεῖ: = καὶ ἐκεῖ. ἔσθ’ = ἐστι. οὑτοσὶ: = οὗτος + deictic (“pointing”) iota (“this man here…”)
322 ταῦτ’: = ταῦτα
323 ᾄξας: > ᾄττω, masc. sing. nom. aor. part. act.
326-327 Νηλέα τινὰ Πελίαν τ(ε): Neleus and Pelias were sons of Poseidon who were abandoned as infants and later recognized. There were multiple tragedies about their lives, none of whose scripts survive, so it is unclear whether Syros is referring to a specific play.
335 δραχμὰς δώδεκα: Perhaps it is coincidence, but this is also the amount SMIKRINES mentions in line 137.
341-343: No known tragedy specifically had a relationship between brother and sister prevented by recognition, as SYROS has it, though several plays, both comedy and tragedy, flirted with the possibility of such relationships. Multiple plays did hinge on mothers discovering long lost sons, including Euripides’ Ion (the script of which survives) and the plays about Neleus and Pelias, to which SYROS alluded earlier.
342 μητέρ’: = μητέρα
343 ἔσωσ’: = ἔσωσε. ὄντ’: = ὄντα
343-345: The commentators Gomme and Sandbach render this complicated rhetorical flourish as, “Nature has made the life of all…precarious: we must use foresight to protect it for them, keeping an eye well in advance on the means whereby it is possible to protect it.”
346 ἀπόδος: > ἀποδίδωμι, 2nd sing. aor. imper. act.
351 Τύχη: luck or random chance, was receiving ever greater interest in Menander’s day, even being worshipped as a personified goddess.
352 κρῖνον: > κρίνω, 2nd sing. aor. imper. act.
vocabulary
παιδίον -ου τό: little child
ἀντιλέγω: to disagree about
ἱκετεύω: to plead
ποιμήν -ένος ὁ: shepherd, herdsman
ἐξαγγέλλω έξαγγελῶ ἐξήγγειλα: to proclaim
συνεργέω: to work with
συνευρίσκω συνευρήσω συνεῦρον: to find in addition, alongside
παιδίον -ου τό: little child, young child
δέραιον -ου τό: necklace
γνώρισμα -ματος τό: token
ἀπαιτέω: to demand back, claim
ἐπιτίθημι ἐπιθήσω ἐπέθηκα: to put out
διατροφή -ῆς ἡ: keep, sustenance
συναπαιτέω: to demand at the same time, to demand back
γνωστεόν: one must know
βέλτιστος -η -ον: best, most excellent
χρυσίον -ου τό: little piece of gold
δόσις -εως ἡ: gift
παιδίον -ου τό: little child, young child
τηρέω: to guard, keep, watch
ἐκτρέφω: to raise, nourish, educate
λωποδυτέω: to rob
ἀλλότριος -α -ον: someone else’s
ἀπαιτέω: to demand back
οὔπω: not yet, not at all
ἀπαιτέω: to demand back
πρόσειμι: to be present
ἀφαίρεσις -εως ἡ: robbery
ἐργάτης -ου ὁ: laborer
ὑπεροράω ὑπερόψομαι: to look down on, despise
ᾄττω ᾄξω ᾖξα: to glide, be eager for
θηράω: to hunt
λέων -οντος ὁ: lion
βαστάζω: to take up
τρέχω: to run
θεάομαι θεάσομαι ἐθεασάμην τεθέαμαι: to gaze upon, see
τραγῳδός -οῦ ὁ: tragedy
κατέχω: to keep in mind, remember
πρεσβύτης -ου ὁ: old man, elder
αἰπόλος -ου ὁ: goatherd
διφθέρα -ας ἡ: leather garment, work clothes
πηρίδιον -ου τό: little pouch
γνώρισμα -ματος τό: token, memento
αἰπόλος -ου ὁ: goatherd
ἐκλαμβάνω ἐκλήψομαι ἐξέλαβον: to take from, seize
κερδαίνω: to gain
δραχμή -ῆς ἡ: drachma
δώδεκα: twelve
ἀγνώς -ῶτος: unknown
τηλικοῦτος -αύτη -οῦτον: so great, so large, of such magnitude
ἐκτρέφω: to raise, to bring up from childhood
ἀφανίζω ἀφανιῶ ἠφάνισα: to make vanish, destroy
γαμέω: to marry
γνώρισμα -ματος τό: token of recognition
ἐπέχω ἐφέξω ἐπέσχον: to avoid
ἐντυγχάνω ἐντεύξομαι ἐνέτυχον: to meet with
ῥύομαι εἰρύσσομαι ἐρρυσάμην: to save
ἐπισφαλής -ές: unstable, precarious
τηρέω: to guard, keep, watch
ἀρέσκω: to please
προσζητέω: to pursue
ἀσφαλής -ές: steadfast, safe
πονηρεύω: to act like a criminal
translation
SYROS
(to Smikrines)
Is he done sermonizing?
SMIKRINES
Are you stupid? He’s spoken! He’s finished! He’s DONE!
SYROS
(straightening his clothes, brushing off dirt [not that it helps])
Great. Then I suppose it is my turn. He did find the child alone – (292) indeed, all the things he says are quite true, that is how it happened, sir. I cannot contradict any of it. Begging, pleading, I took the child from him – he speaks the truth. A shepherd, with whom this man
(casual wave towards DAOS)
had chatted (300) – they work together you see – told me that some ornaments had been discovered at the same time, discovered with the child, sir, this child here. Woman, give me the child
(she gently tosses the child to him, anxious about its safety; SYROS catches it like a football, clearly unconcerned).
HE claims the necklaces and tokens from you, Daos! (305) He says that these things were put out as ornaments for him, not to support you.
And I demand these things on his behalf as his legally appointed guardian
(DAOS seems about to interject)
– Oh yes! Legally appointed by you!
(addressing SMIKRINES again)
Now, sir, you must understand, as I see it, it is imperative that these golden pieces, these things with which he was found, (310) these gifts from his mother whoever she may be, be kept safe at all costs until the child has grown – or should this saboteur have them simply because he found the trinkets first? Now
(turning dramatically, playing up role as prosecutor)
perhaps you wonder, why is it that I did not demand these things then, at the time of my appointment as guardian of the child? Well, sir, I’ll tell you! (315) It was not yet my place! But, here I am now, speaking on behalf of him
(gestures with the baby),
asking nothing for myself. “Finders-keepers” he says? He found nothing! Where there is an injured party there is no discovery, but a robbery!
SYROS cont.
(320) But see here, too, sir, perhaps, this child is above us in station, perhaps he will come to despise us for raising him among workmen, among commoners, even though according to his nature he is free, he may undertake to accomplish anything – to hunt lions
(acts out hunting lion, using the child as a weapon),
to take up arms
(shoulders the child like a rifle, salutes),
(325) to run in contests
(mimes running through a finish line, holds the baby up like a trophy) (the wife, horrified, chases after him around the stage, snatching the baby back)
– well, of course you’ve seen the tragedies, sir, you know.
(addressing story out towards the audience, as if a dramatic reading)
An aged goat-herd found some Neleus and some Pelias, wearing work clothes – just as I am now! – but when he perceived that they were his BETTERS! Oh! Immediately, (330) he tells them the story, how he found them, how he took them up, and then he gave them a pouch of tokens and once they had learned all there was to know about themselves, even though they were but goat-herds at the time, they became KINGS!
(returning to his role as prosecutor)
Now, if Daos takes these things and sells them in order to gain what? (335) Twelve drachmas for himself? Then perhaps a man of such magnitude will spend all time unknown… On the one hand, it is not fair that I rear this child, on the other hand, sir, Daos seizes this baby’s only (340) hope of preservation and destroys it utterly – utterly, sir! One man avoided marrying his sister through tokens, another found his mother and saved her, a third saved his brother! Life is uncertain and therefore it is necessary to guard it with forethought. Just think, far stranger occurrences happen every day, this child could be THE child! (345) But
(mocking DAOS)
“give it back if ya don’t want it” he says, he thinks such things are relevant to the situation! That is no longer fair!
(turning to DAOS)
If it is now necessary for you to give up something of his, do you seek to take it (350) in order to go be scum again with less risk, since Lady Luck herself has saved something of his? There. I have spoken. Judge what you reckon is just!