Series V · Card 10 of 21 · THE MINE
It has often seemed to us that the city treats its finest citizens just as it treats the old coinage and the new gold. … We don’t use them at all, but these shoddy copper coins …
ARISTOPHANES · THE FROGS · 405 BC
Original (grc)
πολλάκις γ᾽ ἡμῖν ἔδοξεν ἡ πόλις πεπονθέναι / ταὐτὸν ἔς τε τῶν πολιτῶν τοὺς καλούς τε κἀγαθοὺς / ἔς τε τἀρχαῖον νόμισμα καὶ τὸ καινὸν χρυσίον. / … χρώμεθ᾽ οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ τούτοις τοῖς πονηροῖς χαλκίοις …Translation: Benedikt Stafflinger
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Source
“The Frogs” (405 BC), parabasis of the chorus, ll. 718–726 (abridged)
About the author
Athenian comic playwright (c. 450–385 BC). Mocked the politicians, philosophers and fashions of his city; “The Frogs” was staged in 405 BC, when wartime Athens had to strike emergency coins.
The question on the back
How will people one day judge the money of your time?