Friday, February 04, 2022
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Aristophanes, Birds 44-45 (tr. Peter Meineck):
Newer› ‹Older
We're in search of a land free from hustle and bustleA more literal translation:
where a man can just settle down and rest.
πλανώμεθα ζητοῦντε τόπον ἀπράγμονα,
ὅποι καθιδρυθέντε διαγενοίμεθ᾽ ἄν.
We two are wandering, seeking a place free from trouble,Alan H. Sommerstein on line 44:
where settling down we might live.
Greek aprāgmōn, "not involved in troublesome affairs", "keeping itself to itself"; the very opposite of Athens, where "he who takes no part in public life is not regarded as aprāgmōn but as worthless" (Thuc. 2.40.2) and where Alcibiades in 415 had successfully argued that "a city that has not previously been aprāgmōn will be taking the quickest road to ruin if it tries to become aprāgmōn" (Thuc. 6.18.7).
