Μικρός γε μῆκος οὗτος ἀλλὰ πᾶν κακόν
small in stature, this man - but all of it bad
Translated by David Whitehead28 Sep 2001Vetting: high3 revisions
Translation
Aristophanes is speaking of Nikarchos: "look, here comes Nikarchos to lodge a denunciation" - meaning to make an accusation; for he was an informer.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Μικρός γε μῆκος οὗτος, ἀλλὰ πᾶν κακόν. τὸν Νίκαρχόν φησιν Ἀριστοφάνης· καὶ μὴν ὁδὶ Νίκαρχος ἔρχεται φανῶν. ἀντὶ τοῦ κατηγορήσων· συκοφάντης γὰρ ἦν.
Betacode
*mikro/s ge mh=kos ou(=tos, a)lla\ pa=n kako/n. to\n *ni/karxo/n fhsin *)aristofa/nhs: kai\ mh\n o(di\ *ni/karxos e)/rxetai fanw=n. a)nti\ tou= kathgorh/swn: sukofa/nths ga\r h)=n.
Notes
- The headword phrase is Aristophanes, Acharnians 909 (text at web address 1): the first half of it spoken (in dialect) by a visiting Boiotian, the second half added by Dikaiopolis. Scholiastic comment on the line, followed here, entails quoting the previous line, 908. Denunciation (phasis) was a specific procedure in Athenian law. See again at phi 81.
Nikarchos is taken to be a real person by Attic prosopographers, but is otherwise unidentifiable.
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Neighbouring entries
Revision history3 revisions · last 22 May 2013
- Revised — David Whitehead
- augmented notes and keywords — David Whitehead
- added link — Catharine Roth
- Translated — David Whitehead