Aristophanes, Clouds 181-3

Strepsiades has been hearing examples of Socrates’ scientific investigations and is now impatient to enrol as a student.

ἄνοιγ’ ἄνοιγ’ ἁνύσας τὸ φροντιστήριον
καὶ δεῖξον ὡς τάχιστά μοι τὸν Σωκράτη.
μαθητιῶ γάρ. ἀλλ’ ἄνοιγε τὴν θύραν.

Hurry, open up! Open up the Thinkery and show me this Socrates as soon as possible! I want to be a student! Open the door!

Aristophanes, Frogs 1054-5

τοῖς μὲν γὰρ παιδαρίοισιν
ἔστι διδάσκαλος ὅστις φράζει, τοῖσιν δ’ ἡβῶσι ποιηταί.

Little children have a teacher to explain things to them; grown-ups have poets.

Aristophanes, Knights 1152-1157

ΠΑΦΛΑΓΩΝ
ὦ Δῆμ’, ἐγὼ μέντοι παρεσκευασμένος
τρίπαλαι κάθημαι βουλόμενός σ’ εὐεργετεῖν.

ΑΛΛΑΝΤΟΠΩΛΗΣ
ἐγὼ δὲ δεκάπαλαι γε καὶ δωδεκάπαλαι
καὶ χιλιόπαλαι καὶ προπαλαιπαλαίπαλαι.

ΔΗΜΟΣ
ἐγὼ δὲ προσδοκῶν γε τρισμυριόπαλαι
βδελύττομαί σφω καὶ προπαλαιπαλαίπαλαι.

Paphlagon: O Demos, I’ve been sitting here, ready and willing to serve you, for thrice-a-long-time.
Sausage-seller: And I’ve been here for ten-times-a-long-time and twelve-times-a-long-time and a-thousand-times-a-long-time and a long-long-long-time before that.
Demos: And I’ve been waiting and getting sick of you both thrice-ten-thousand-times-a-long-time, and for a long-long-long-time before that.

Aristophanes, Wasps 39-41

Sosias recounts an unpleasant dream-vision.

ΣΩΣΙΑΣ
εἶθ’ ἡ μιαρὰ φάλαιν’ ἔχουσα τρυτάνην
ἵστη βόειον δημόν.

ΞΑΝΘΙΑΣ
οἴμοι δείλαιος·
τὸν δῆμον ἡμῶν βούλεται διιστάναι.

SOSIAS: 
And then the repulsive whale had a pair of scales and it was weighing portions of fat from an ox.

XANTHIAS:
Oh goodness me, he wants to portion out the populace!

A pun on δημόν (fat) and δῆμον (populace): ‘Dividing up the body politic’, as Barrett’s translation nicely renders it.

Aristophanes, Peace 1264

Today’s conversational Greek lesson: how to encourage a speedy departure.

χωρῶμεν, ὦ τᾶν, ἐκποδών.

Let’s get out of here, mate!

Aristophanes, Clouds 12-18

Strepsiades can’t sleep for worrying about the debts he has to pay at the end of the month to fund his son’s addiction to horse-racing.

ἀλλ’ οὐ δύναμαι δείλαιος εὕδειν δακνόμενος
ὑπὸ τῆς δαπάνης καὶ τῆς φάτνης καὶ τῶν χρεῶν
διὰ τουτονὶ τὸν υἱόν. ὁ δὲ κόμην ἔχων
ἱππάζεταί τε καὶ ξυνωρικεύεται
ὀνειροπολεῖ θ’ ἵππους. ἐγὼ δ’ ἀπόλλυμαι
ὁρῶν ἄγουσαν τὴν σελήνην εἰκάδας·
οἱ γὰρ τόκοι χωροῦσιν.

But I can’t get to sleep, poor old me. I’m being bitten by expenditure and provender and debts because of this son of mine. He wears his hair long, he rides horses, he goes chariot-racing and he dreams about horses! But as for me, I’m perishing as I watch the moon bringing on the twenties, because my interest payments are approaching.