Ὦ 'φήμερε

o creature of a day

Translated by Andrew Morrison20 Dec 2002Vetting: high4 revisions

5 notes · 140 words
[Meaning] o man. This is how Aristophanes introduces Socrates in Clouds saying, o mortal, o man, o thinker on things which last a day.1 He says this because he is himself already thinking about divine matters and disdaining human affairs by considering celestial phenomena. Or because Socrates was said to be very like Silenus [Author, Myth];2 for he was both snub-nosed and bald. So [Aristophanes] gives him Silenus' phrase in Pindar. For Pindar portraying him conversing with Olympos [Myth, Place, Place]3 gave him the following words, "O wretched man, creature of a day, fool, you are talking by boasting to me of money".4 At the same time too, because Socrates [sc. in Clouds] already disdains human matters and is himself among the gods,5 since he was a star-gazer, so [Aristophanes] made him talk about that which lives for one day.

Greek original · Adler’s text

Ὦ 'φήμερε· ὦ ἄνθρωπε. οὕτω παρεισάγει Ἀριστοφάνης ἐν Νεφέλαις τὸν Σωκράτην λέγοντα, ὦ θνητέ, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, ὦ τὰ ἐφήμερα φρονῶν. τοῦτο δὲ λέγει, ὡς αὐτὸς λοιπὸν τὰ τῶν θεῶν φρονῶν καὶ ὑπερηφανῶν τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων διὰ τὸ φροντίζειν περὶ μετεώρων. ἢ ὅτι ἐλέγετο ὁ Σωκράτης Σειληνῷ παρεμφερὴς εἶναι· σιμός τε γὰρ καὶ φαλακρὸς ἦν. περιέθηκεν οὖν αὐτῷ φωνὴν τὴν τοῦ παρὰ Πινδάρῳ Σειληνοῦ. ὁ γάρ τοι Πίνδαρος διαλεγόμενον παράγων τὸν Σειληνὸν τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ τοιούτους αὐτῷ περιέθηκε λόγους· ὦ τάλας, ἐφήμερε, νήπιε, βάζεις χρήματά μοι διακομπεύων. ἅμα δὲ καὶ ὡς ὑπερηφανοῦντος λοιπὸν τοῦ Σωκράτους τὰ ἀνθρώπινα καὶ ἐν θεοῖς ὄντος αὐτοῦ, διότι μετεωρολέσχης ἦν, οὕτω τὸ ἐφήμερον ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν λέγοντα.

Betacode
*)=w 'fh/mere: w)= a)/nqrwpe. ou(/tw pareisa/gei *)aristofa/nhs e)n *nefe/lais to\n *swkra/thn le/gonta, w)= qnhte/, w)= a)/nqrwpe, w)= ta\ e)fh/mera fronw=n. tou=to de\ le/gei, w(s au)to\s loipo\n ta\ tw=n qew=n fronw=n kai\ u(perhfanw=n ta\ tw=n a)nqrw/pwn dia\ to\ fronti/zein peri\ metew/rwn. h)\ o(/ti e)le/geto o( *swkra/ths *seilhnw=| paremferh\s ei)=nai: simo/s te ga\r kai\ falakro\s h)=n. perie/qhken ou)=n au)tw=| fwnh\n th\n tou= para\ *pinda/rw| *seilhnou=. o( ga/r toi *pi/ndaros dialego/menon para/gwn to\n *seilhno\n tw=| *)olu/mpw| toiou/tous au)tw=| perie/qhke lo/gous: w)= ta/las, e)fh/mere, nh/pie, ba/zeis xrh/mata/ moi diakompeu/wn. a(/ma de\ kai\ w(s u(perhfanou=ntos loipo\n tou= *swkra/tous ta\ a)nqrw/pina kai\ e)n qeoi=s o)/ntos au)tou=, dio/ti metewrole/sxhs h)=n, ou(/tw to\ e)fh/meron e)poi/hsen au)to\n le/gonta.

Notes (5)

  1. 1Socrates' (sigma 829) first words in Aristophanes' Clouds include the present headword -- "Why are you calling me, o creature of a day?" (line 223, Web address 1) -- spoken to Strepsiades. The present entry draws on the scholia to this line. ↩
  2. 2Elderly satyr (sometimes portrayed as father of the satyrs) and teacher/foster-father of Dionysus. ↩
  3. 3The legendary musician and pupil of the satyr Marsyas; cf. omicron 219. ↩
  4. 4Pindar fr.157 Snell-Maehler. Pindar's editors (e.g. S.-M.) correct nh/pie, ba/zeis ["fool, you are talking"] to nh/pia ba/zeis ["you are talking nonsense"]. Note also that diakompeu/wn ["boasting", usually diakompe/wn, Web address 2] is attested in this form only in the present entry. ↩
  5. 5This may refer to the fact that in Clouds Socrates studies celestial phenomena from a basket suspended in the air (225ff.). ↩

External resources

Linked from2 entries

Neighbouring entries

ω273ὨφελῶI benefit, I helpω274Ὤφεινopheinω275Ὦ 'φήμερεo creature of a dayω276Ὠφθαλμισμένουςinlaid, setω277Ὦφθονophthon
Revision history4 revisions · last 8 Oct 2023
  1. tweaked link — Catharine Roth
  2. more keywords; tweaking — David Whitehead
  3. cosmetics — Catharine Roth
  4. added keyword; cosmetics — David Whitehead
  5. Translated — Andrew Morrison

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