Chorus [leader]: Come now, ye men, in nature darkling, like to the race of leaves, of little might, figures of clay, shadowy feeble tribes, wingless creatures of a day, miserable mortals, dream-like men.
(tr. Hickie 1853, vol. 1, p. 338)Aristophanes
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.
(tr. O'Neill 1938, Perseus)Aristophanes
Chorus [leader]: Ye Children of Man! whose life is a span, / Protracted with sorrow from day to day, / Naked and featherless, feeble and querulous, / Sickly, calamitous creatures of clay!
(heavily rewritten tr. Frere 1839, p. 38)Aristophanes
Chorus [of Birds]: Man is naturally deceitful ever, in every way!
(tr. Hickie 1853, vol. 1, p. 326)Aristophanes
Epops: Yet, certainly, the wise learn many things from their enemies; for caution preserves all things. From a friend you could not learn this, but your foe immediately obliges you to learn it. For example, the states have learned from enemies, and not from friends, to build lofty walls, and to possess ships of war. And this lesson preserves children, house, and possessions.
Chorus [leader]: It is useful, as it appears to me, to hear their arguments first; for one might learn some wisdom even from one's foes.
(tr. Hickie 1853, vol. 1, p. 322; l. 375 identical in SEA 1838, p. 236, and in Bartlett 1968, p. 91 or Archive.org)Aristophanes
Strepsiades: Vortex reigns, having expelled Zeus.
(tr. Hickie 1853, vol. 1, Perseus)Aristophanes
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