Προσπάλτιοι (fr. 261)

351

In 3, the unmetrical and nonsensical σέλας όράς τά παιδία is transmitted.
Kassel-Austin, adopting a conjecture drawn from the Aldine edition of the
Aristotle commentary, print ψ γελάς (i. e. γελάς) όράς τά παιδία (“You mock
the boys, you see” vel sim.),184 which scans but has little else to recommend
it. Cobet’s γελά <^γάρ, ώς> όράς, τά παιδία (“for the boys”, sc. in the audience,
“are laughing, as you see”; cf. Ar. Nu. 539 τοΐς παιδίοις ϊν’ ή γέλως, “so that
the boys would laugh”; referring to ostentatious display of the stage phallus)
is better, particularly if one assumes with Wilamowitz a change of speaker and
the sense “(No), for ...” (Denniston 1950. 74-5). But the common colloquial use
of όράς in reproach (see Interpretation) counts against the interpretation. In
any case, all this takes us very far from the text as it has been passed down to
us, and it seems better to concede that we do not know what Eupolis wrote.
Ecphantid. fr. 3, quoted a few lines further on in the Aristotle commentary, is
also irreparably corrupt.
Interpretation (A.) has told a joke or the like; (B.)’s failure to react prompts
(A.)’s question; and (B.) at last registers his shocked disgust. Koerte, by con-
trast, took ακούεις; in 1 to mean “Did you hear (it)?” and (comparing Ar. Ra.
9-10) argued that (A.)’s “punchline” was a fart.
The material cited in the commentary to Aristotle is the only substantial
evidence that comedy was performed in Megara in the 5th century BCE, as
[Aristotle] implies at Po. 1448a31-2, although the scene with the Megarian at
Ar. Ach. 729-817 (esp. 738 “But I’ve got a certain Megarian trick”, referring
to the ridiculous device of dressing the two girls up as piglets to sell them)
might reasonably be taken to suggest Athenian awareness of—and disdain
for—such a tradition. For Megarian comedy, see Wilamowitz 1875; Breitholtz
1960. 31-82, esp. 34-74; Kerkhof 2001. 13-38, esp. 17-24; Olson 2007. 2-6;
and on the question of the origins of the comic genre generally, Rusten 2006;
Green 2007.
1 τό δεΐν(α) A colloquial conversational space-filler, used here as at
e.g. fr. 260.19; Ar. Pax 879-80 τό δεΐν’, εις Ίσθμια / σκηνήν έμαυτοΰ τω πέει
καταλαμβάνω (“Uh ... I’m securing a tent-site for my penis for the Isthmian
games”; Trygaeus’ slave, caught handling Holiday’s rear end, tries to explain
his behavior); Av. 648 άτάρ, τό δείνα, δεϋρ’ έπανάκρουσαι πάλιν (“But ...
uh ... reverse course in this direction!”; Peisetairos abruptly realizes that life
in Birdland requires wings); Lys. 921 καίτοι, τό δείνα, ψίαθός έστ’ έξοιστέα
(“Although ... uh ... I have to bring out a mat”; Myrrhine tries to come up
with another missing item so as to keep Kinesias waiting); Henioch. fr. 4.3

184

γελάω + accusative is not used to mean “cause someone to laugh”.