Page:The Theatre of the Greeks, a Treatise on the History and Exhibition of the Greek Drama, with Various Supplements.djvu/329

 TRAGEDIES AND COMEDIES IN PARTICULAE. 303 viroLKOvaov etirep irwiroT avd pilsinov tivl. Ai/cttiOTToXts KaXel ere, XoWeidrjs, iyu}. ETP. dXX' ov <TXov. AIK. dW iKKVKX-qdTjT. ETP. dW dduvarov. AIK. dW o'/aws. ETP. dW iKKVKk-qcofJLai.' Kara^alveiv 5' oy axoXrj- AIK. 'Eupiirldri. ETP. ri XeXaKas. AIK. owa^ddriv TroLeis, i^bv KaTa^3d5r]v ; ovk iros X'^^o'^s Troiers. The meaning of this must be as follows : Die. What ho! Ceph. "Who's there? Die. Euripides -within? Ceph. Within and not within, if you can think. Dig. How can he be within and not within? Ceph. Rightly, old man. His mind collecting scraps. Is all abroad, and so is not within; But he himself is making tragedy With feet reposed upon his couch at home. Die. Thrice-blest Emipides, whose veiy slave Can act so well his master's character! But call him out. Ceph, It cannot be. ' Die. It must; For I will not depart, but go on knocking. Euripides I Euripides, my boy! List to my words, if ever mortal man Secured your ear. 'Tis Dicseopolis By deme Cholleides, who is calling you. Eur. But I've no time. Die. Well, let them wheel you round. EuK. It cannot be. Die. It must. EUB. Well, I'll allow them To wheel me round, but I can't leave my couch. Die. Euripides ! Eur. What say'st thou? Die. Do you write With feet laid up, when you might set them down? You're just the man to be the cripples' poet. This passage is plain enough to any one, who knows Greek ; but the Scholiast, who did not see that Kara/SaLvecv is to be ex- plained by Kara^dhriv opposed to dva^dSrjv, and means merely to get off the couch or sofa, on which the tragedian was reclining, substitutes KareXOecv, and adds that Euripides cpaiverac iirl tt]^ cTKrivrj^ fjL€Tecopo<;. Independently of the plain construction of the Greek, the context shows that this was not the case. For fii-st, the eccyclema was not and could not be used on the balcony or