Plato, Symposium 176b, 177e, 185c-d, 223c-d

How to quote this translation

176b τὸν οὖν Ἀριστοφάνη εἰπεῖν, “τοῦτο μέντοι εὖ λέγεις, ὦ Παυσανία, τὸ παντὶ τρόπωι παρασξευάσασθαι ῥαιστώνην τινὰ τῆς πόσεως· καὶ γὰρ αὐτός εἰμι τῶν χθὲς βεβαπτισμένων.”

176b And Aristophanes said, “I entirely agree, Pausanias, that we should make absolutely sure to go easy on the drinking. For I was myself one of those who got thoroughly doused yesterday.”

177e Ἀριστοφάνης, ὧι περὶ Διόνυσον καὶ Ἀφροδίτην πᾶσα ἡ διατριβή.

177e Aristophanes, who is entirely occupied with Dionysus and Aphrodite.

185c-d Παυσανίου δὲ παυσαμένου (διδάσκουσι γάρ με ἴσα λέγειν οὑτωσὶ οἱ σοφοί) ἔφη ὁ Ἀριστόδημος δεῖν μὲν Ἀριστοφάνη λέγειν, τυχεῖν δὲ αὐτῶι τινα ἢ ὑπὸ πλησμονῆς ἢ ὑπό τινος ἄλλου λύγγα ἐπιπεπτωκυῖαν καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τε εἶναι λέγειν ἀλλ’ εἰπεῖν αὐτόν (ἐν τῆι κάτω γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἰατρὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον κατακεῖσθαι) “ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, δίκαιος εἶ ἢ παῦσαί με τῆς λυγγὸς ἢ λέγειν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἐγὼ παύσωμαι.”

185c-d When Pausanias paused (for clever men teach me to speak in equal units), Aristodemus said that it was Aristophanes’ turn to speak, but he happened to have an attack of hiccups, either because he’d eaten too much or for some other reason, and he was not able to make his speech, but he said (for the doctor Eryximachus was reclining on the couch below his), “Eryximachus, justice dictates either that you stop my hiccups or that you speak on my behalf until they stop of their own accord.”

223c-d Ἀγάθωνα καὶ Ἀριστοφάνη καὶ Σωκράτη ἔτι μόνους ἐγρηγορέναι καὶ πίνειν ἐκ φιάλης μεγάλης ἐπὶ δεξιά … προσαναγκάζειν τὸν Σωκράτη ὁμολογεῖν αὐτοὺς τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀνδρὸς εἶναι κωμωιδίαν καὶ τραγωιδίαν ἐπίστασθαι ποιεῖν, καὶ τὸν τέχνηι τραγωιδοποιὸν ὄντα καὶ κωμωιδοποιὸν εἶναι. ταῦτα δὴ ἀναγκαζομένους αὐτοὺς καὶ οὐ σφόδρα ἑπομένους νυστάζειν, καὶ πρότερον μὲν καταδαρθεῖν τὸν Ἀριστοφάνη, ἤδη δὲ ἡμέρας γιγνομένης τὸν Ἀγάθωνα.

223c-d He said that only Agathon and Aristophanes and Socrates were still awake and were drinking out of a large bowl on their right…Socrates had compelled them to agree that it is characteristic of the same man to know how to compose comedy and tragedy, and that the person who is a composer of tragedies by profession is also a composer of comedies. Being compelled to admit this and not following the argument very closely, they were nodding off; Aristophanes fell asleep first, and then, when day broke, Agathon did as well.

Relevant guides Aristophanes