Laudator Temporis Acti

Aristophanes, Clouds 298-313 (song of the Clouds; tr. Stephen Halliwell):

Rain-bearing maidens,
Let us go to Pallas' lustrous country, to see where stalwart men
Abound in Kekrops' lovely land.
Where awe of secret rites abides,
Where the home in which the mysteries are housed
Is opened up in sacred ritual acts.
The heavenly gods receive gifts there as well,
High-roofed temples and glorious statues,
Sacred processions for the blessed ones,
Garlanded sacrifices and feasts for the gods
At every season of the year,
Including springtime's Dionysiac joy
When mellifluous choruses compete
And the pipes' deep-resonant notes resound.

παρθένοι ὀμβροφόροι,
ἔλθωμεν λιπαρὰν χθόνα Παλλάδος, εὔανδρον γᾶν        300
Κέκροπος ὀψόμεναι πολυήρατον:
οὗ σέβας ἀρρήτων ἱερῶν, ἵνα μυστοδόκος δόμος
ἐν τελεταῖς ἁγίαις ἀναδείκνυται,
οὐρανίοις τε θεοῖς δωρήματα,        305
ναοί θ᾽ ὑψερεφεῖς καὶ ἀγάλματα,
καὶ πρόσοδοι μακάρων ἱερώταται,
εὐστέφανοί τε θεῶν θυσίαι θαλίαι τε,
παντοδαπαῖς ἐν ὥραις,        310
ἦρί τ᾽ ἐπερχομένῳ Βρομία χάρις,
εὐκελάδων τε χορῶν ἐρεθίσματα,
καὶ μοῦσα βαρύβρομος αὐλῶν.

Charles Segal, "Aristophanes' Cloud-Chorus," Arethusa 2.2 (Fall, 1969) 143-161 (at 148), calls this "one of the most beautiful lyrical passages in Attic literature."

K.J. Dover ad loc.: