Μεταπήδα
hop about, leap about, spring about
Translated by David Whitehead2 Oct 2009Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] go across, change place.1
Aristophanes [writes]:2 "but swift/swiftly, when you fall into a cul-de-sac, hop/leap/spring to another thought of mind." ['Cul-de-sac' means a situation] where no way forward can be found. He is saying that if the thought-process falls into a cul-de-sac of an enquiry, change to another. Through these [words] he is wishing to poke fun at Sokrates, as someone scorned in his investigations and stuck in a confined space. He is teaching him that if you are at loss [when looking] into anything, quickly hop to another way of thinking. But he who is subordinated to another, obviously being set a test of what is being said, is subordinated.3
Aristophanes [writes]:2 "but swift/swiftly, when you fall into a cul-de-sac, hop/leap/spring to another thought of mind." ['Cul-de-sac' means a situation] where no way forward can be found. He is saying that if the thought-process falls into a cul-de-sac of an enquiry, change to another. Through these [words] he is wishing to poke fun at Sokrates, as someone scorned in his investigations and stuck in a confined space. He is teaching him that if you are at loss [when looking] into anything, quickly hop to another way of thinking. But he who is subordinated to another, obviously being set a test of what is being said, is subordinated.3
Greek original · Adler’s text
Μεταπήδα· διάβαινε, μετέρχου. Ἀριστοφάνης· ταχὺς δ', ὅταν εἰς ἄπορον ἐμπέσῃς, ἐπ' ἄλλο πήδα νόημα φρενός. οὗ πόρον οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν. φησὶν ὅτι ἐὰν ἡ διάνοια εἰς ζήτημα ἄπορον ἐμπέσῃ, μετάβηθι ἐπ' ἄλλο. σκώπτειν διὰ τούτων βούλεται τὸν Σωκράτην ὡς χλευαζόμενον ἐν ταῖς συζητήσεσι καὶ μεθιστάμενον ὑπὸ στενοχωρίας. διδάσκει αὐτόν, ὅτι ἐὰν ἀπορήσῃς εἴς τι, ταχέως ἐπ' ἄλλο πήδα νόημα. ὁ δὲ ὑποτιθέμενος ἄλλῳ, δηλονότι αὐτὸς ἐν πείρᾳ γενόμενος τῶν ὅσα λέγεται, ὑποτίθεται.
Betacode
*metaph/da: dia/baine, mete/rxou. *)aristofa/nhs: taxu\s d', o(/tan ei)s a)/poron e)mpe/sh|s, e)p' a)/llo ph/da no/hma freno/s. ou(= po/ron ou)k e)/stin eu(rei=n. fhsi\n o(/ti e)a\n h( dia/noia ei)s zh/thma a)/poron e)mpe/sh|, meta/bhqi e)p' a)/llo. skw/ptein dia\ tou/twn bou/letai to\n *swkra/thn w(s xleuazo/menon e)n tai=s suzhth/sesi kai\ meqista/menon u(po\ stenoxwri/as. dida/skei au)to/n, o(/ti e)a\n a)porh/sh|s ei)/s ti, taxe/ws e)p' a)/llo ph/da no/hma. o( de\ u(potiqe/menos a)/llw|, dhlono/ti au)to\s e)n pei/ra| geno/menos tw=n o(/sa le/getai, u(poti/qetai.
Notes (3)
- 1The headword imperative is evidently extracted from somewhere. This is not the Aristophanes passage about to be quoted (which has the simple rather than this compound verb); but note that the only other extant instance occurs in an earlier scholion (to line 696) of that same play, addressing the same material. ↩
- 2Aristophanes, Clouds 703-705 (a lyric passage; web address 1), with scholion; again at tau 204. ↩
- 3After the various changes of pronoun, this last point is hard to comprehend. ↩
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Neighbouring entries
Revision history6 revisions · last 18 Aug 2020
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- typo (mine), noticed by a reader — David Whitehead
- x-ref; tweaks — David Whitehead
- cosmetics, link, status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — David Whitehead