Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database

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²¹³ ὦ Πέρση, σὺ δʼ ἄκουε δίκης, μηδʼ ὕβριν ὄφελλε· ²¹⁴ ὕβρις γάρ τε κακὴ δειλῷ βροτῷ· οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλὸς, ²¹⁵ ῥηιδίως φερέμεν δύναται, βαρύθει δέ θʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῆς, ²¹⁶ ἐγκύρσας ἄτῃσιν· ὁδὸς δʼ ἑτέρηφι παρελθεῖν, ²¹⁷ κρείσσων ἐς τὰ δίκαια· Δίκη δʼ ὑπὲρ Ὕβριος ἴσχει, ²¹⁸ ἐς τέλος ἐξελθοῦσα· παθὼν δέ τε νήπιος ἔγνω. ²²⁵ Οἳ δὲ δίκας ξείνοισι καὶ ἐνδήμοισι διδοῦσιν, ²²⁶ ἰθείας καὶ μή τι παρεκβαίνουσι δικαίου, ²²⁷ τοῖσι τέθηλε πόλις, λαοὶ δʼ ἀνθεῦσιν ἐν αὐτῇ·, ²²⁸ εἰρήνη δʼ ἀνὰ γῆν κουροτρόφος, οὐδέ ποτʼ αὐτοῖς, ²²⁹ ἀργαλέον πόλεμον τεκμαίρεται εὐρύοπα Ζεύς·, ²³⁰ οὐδέ ποτʼ ἰθυδίκῃσι μετʼ ἀνδράσι λιμὸς ὀπηδεῖ, ²³¹ οὐδʼ ἄτη, θαλίῃς δὲ μεμηλότα ἔργα νέμονται. ²³² τοῖσι φέρει μὲν γαῖα πολὺν βίον, οὔρεσι δὲ δρῦς, ²³³ ἄκρη μέν τε φέρει βαλάνους, μέσση δὲ μελίσσας·, ²³⁴ εἰροπόκοι δʼ ὄιες μαλλοῖς καταβεβρίθασιν·, ²³⁵ τίκτουσιν δὲ γυναῖκες ἐοικότα τέκνα γονεῦσιν·, ²³⁶ θάλλουσιν δʼ ἀγαθοῖσι διαμπερές· οὐδʼ ἐπὶ νηῶν, ²³⁷ νίσσονται, καρπὸν δὲ φέρει ζείδωρος ἄρουρα. ²³⁸ οἷς δʼ ὕβρις τε μέμηλε κακὴ καὶ σχέτλια ἔργα, ²³⁹ τοῖς δὲ δίκην Κρονίδης τεκμαίρεται εὐρύοπα Ζεύς. ²⁴⁰ πολλάκι καὶ ξύμπασα πόλις κακοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀπηύρα, ²⁴¹ ὅς κεν ἀλιτραίνῃ καὶ ἀτάσθαλα μηχανάαται. ²⁴² τοῖσιν δʼ οὐρανόθεν μέγʼ ἐπήγαγε πῆμα Κρονίων, ²⁴³ λιμὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ λοιμόν· ἀποφθινύθουσι δὲ λαοί. ²⁴⁴ οὐδὲ γυναῖκες τίκτουσιν, μινύθουσι δὲ οἶκοι, ²⁴⁵ Ζηνὸς φραδμοσύνῃσιν Ὀλυμπίου· ἄλλοτε δʼ αὖτε, ²⁴⁶ ἢ τῶν γε στρατὸν εὐρὺν ἀπώλεσεν ἢ ὅ γε τεῖχος, ²⁴⁷ ἢ νέας ἐν πόντῳ Κρονίδης ἀποαίνυται αὐτῶν.

²¹³ What it purports, a fable: once, on high, ²¹⁴ Clutched in its talon-grip, a bird of prey, ²¹⁵ Took off a speckled nightingale whose cry, ²¹⁶ Was “Pity me”, but, to this bird’s dismay, ²¹⁷ He said disdainfully: “You silly thing, ²¹⁸ Why do you cry? A stronger one by far,
²²⁵ Perses – heed justice and shun haughtiness; ²²⁶ It aids no common man: nobles can’t stay, ²²⁷ It easily because it will oppre, ²²⁸ Us all and bring disgrace. The better way, ²²⁹ Is Justice, who will outstrip Pride at last. ²³⁰ Fools learn this by experience because, ²³¹ The God of Oaths, by running very fast, ²³² Keeps pace with and requites all crooked laws. ²³³ When men who swallow bribes and crookedly, ²³⁴ Pass sentences and drag Justice away, ²³⁵ There’s great turmoil, and then, in misery, ²³⁶ Weeping and covered in a misty spray, ²³⁷ She comes back to the city, carrying, ²³⁸ Woe to the wicked men who ousted her. ²³⁹ The city and its folk are burgeoning, ²⁴⁰ However, when to both the foreigner, ²⁴¹ And citizen are given judgments fair, ²⁴² And honest, children grow in amity, ²⁴³ Far-seeing Zeus sends them no dread warfare, ²⁴⁴ And decent men suffer no scarcity, ²⁴⁵ of food, no ruin, as they till their field, ²⁴⁶ And feast; abundance reigns upon the earth; ²⁴⁷ Each mountaintop a wealth of acorns yields,

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¹⁹ Let the seal of the wise man, Cyrnus, be set upon these lines, and they shall never be filched from him, nor shall evil ever be changed with their good, but every man shall say These are the lines of Theognis of Megara, famous throughout the world, albeit I have not yet been able to please all my fellow-towns-men — nor is that to be marvelled at, thou son of Polypaus, seeing that Zeus himself pleaseth not every man neither in the sending of the rain nor in the withholding of it. But tis with good intent to thee, Cyrnus, that I shall give thee the counsels which I learnt from good men in my own childhood. Be thou wise and draw to thyself neither honours nor virtues nor substance on account of dishonourable or unrighteous deeds. This then I would have thee to know, nor to consort with the bad but ever to cleave unto the good, and at their tables to eat and to drink, and with them to sit, and them to please, for their power is great. of good men shalt thou learn good, but if thou mingle with the bad, thou shalt een lose the wit thou hast already. Consort therefore with the good, and someday thoult say that I counsel my friends aright.", " ⁴³ Never yet, Cyrnus, have good men ruined a city; but when it pleases the bad to do the works of pride and corrupt the common folk and give judgment for the unrighteous for the sake of private gain and power, then expect not that city to be long quiet, for all she be now in great tranquillity, ay, then when these things become dear to the bad — to wit, gains that bring with them public ill. For of such come discords and internecine slaughter, and of such come tyrants; which things I pray may never please this city. ⁵³ Cyrnus, this city is a city still, but lo! her people are other men, who of old knew neither judgments nor laws, but wore goatskins to pieces about their sides, and had their pasture like deer without this city; and now they be good men, O son of Polypaus, and they that were high be now of low estate. Who can bear to behold such things? Yet they deceive one another even while they smile at one another, knowing the marks neither of the bad nor of the good. ⁶¹ Make not friends, son of Polypaus, with any of these thy townsmen from the heart and not for need; but let thy tongue give all men to think thou art their friend, while in act thou mingle with no man any sober business whatsoever: for thou shalt know the minds of the miserable sort, and that theres no trusting them in what they do, but they have come to love wiles and deceits and cozenings like men no longer sure of life.", ⁶⁹ Never take confident counsel, Cyrnus, with a bad man when thou wouldst accomplish a grave matter, but seek the counsel of the good, Cyrnus, even if it mean much labour and a long journey.
⁷³ Share not thy device wholly with all thy friends; few among many, for sure, have a mind that may be trusted. "
¹¹⁷ Nothing is harder to know, Cyrnus, than a counterfeit man, nor is aught worth more heed. ¹¹⁹ The loss of counterfeit gold or silver, Cyrnus, is easily endured, nor hard is it for a man of skill to find them out; but if the mind of a friend be false within him unbeknown, and the heart in his breast deceitful, this hath God made most counterfeit for mankind, this is most grievous hard of all things to discover; for mind of man nor yet of woman shalt thou know till thou hast made trial of it like a beast of burden, nor shalt thou ever guess it as when thou comest to buy, because outward shapes do so often cheat the understanding. " ¹³³ No man is himself the cause of loss and gain, Cyrnus; the Gods are the givers of them both: nor doth any that laboureth know in his heart whether he moveth to a good end or a bad. For often when he thinketh he will make bad he maketh good, and maketh bad when he thinketh he will make good. Nor doth any man get what he wisheth; for his desires hold the ends of sore perplexity. We men practise vain things, knowing nought, while the Gods accomplish all to their mind. "
¹⁴⁵ Choose rather to dwell with little wealth a pious man, than to be rich with possessions ill-gotten. Righteousness containeth the sum of all virtue; and every righteous man, Cyrnus, is good. "
¹⁵⁵ When thou art wroth with a man, never, I pray thee, reproach him with heartbreaking Penury nor deadly Need; for surely tis Zeus poiseth the scale at one time on this side and another on that, now to be rich and now again to have nothing.",
¹⁶⁵ No man living is rich or poor, bad or good, without fortune. "
¹⁷¹ Pray to the Gods; with the Gods is power; tis certain that without the Gods man getteth neither good nor ill.", "

¹⁹⁷ A possession that cometh from Zeus, and of right and in seemly wise, abideth evermore; but if one shall win it unrighteously and unduly with a covetous heart, or by unrighteous seizure upon an oath, at the first him seemeth to get him gain, but in the end it becometh bad likewise, and the mind of the Gods overcometh him. But these things deceive mans understanding, seeing that the Blessed Ones requite not wrongdoing at the moment; nay, albeit this man may pay his evil debt himself and not make ruin to overhang his dear children after him, that other man Retribution overtaketh not, because too soon did unconscionable Death settle upon his eyelids fraught with his Doom.",
²¹¹ Surely to drink much wine is an ill; yet if one drink it with knowledge, wine is not bad but good. ²¹³ Turn, my heart, towards all friends a changeful habit, mingling thy disposition to be like unto each. Be thy disposition that of the convolved polyp, which taketh the semblance of the rock he hath converse with; now be guided this way, and now be of different hue. Surely skill is better than unchangeableness. " ²³⁷ I have given thee wings to fly with ease aloft the boundless sea and all the land. No meal or feast but thoult be there, couched twixt the lips of many a guest, and lovely youths shall sing thee clear and well in orderly wise to the clear-voiced flute. And when thou comest to go down to the lamentable house of Hades in the depths of the gloomy earth, never, albeit thou be dead, shalt thou lose thy fame, but men will think of thee as one of immortal name, Cyrnus, who rangeth the land of Greece and the isles thereof — crossing the fishy unharvestable deep not upon horseback mounted but sped of the glorious gifts of the violet-crowned Muses unto all that care to receive thee; and living as they thou shalt be a song unto posterity so long as Earth and Sun abide. Yet as for me, thou hast no respect for me, great or small, but deceivest me with words as if I were a little child.", "
²⁸³ If thou best honest, go not a step to meet any of these thy fellow-townsmen, in reliance neither on oath nor friendliness, not though, willing to grant thee security, he give thee the Great King of the Immortals for his surety. A fault-finding city liketh nothing so well as that which shall make many men live more unhappily, and now the ills of the good become the joys of the bad, who rule with strange laws; for Honour is perished, and Shamelessness and Pride have conquered Right and prevail in the land.",
³⁰⁵ The bad are not all bad from the womb, but have learnt base works and unholy words and wanton outrage from friendship with the bad because they thought all they said was true. " ³⁶¹ Tis certain the heart of a man shrinketh small in great trouble, Cyrnus, and thereafter increaseth when he taketh requital of it.", ³⁶³ Speak thy enemy fair; but when thou hast him in thy power be avenged without pretext. " ³⁷³ †Dear Zeus! I marvel at Thee. Thou art lord of all, alone having honour and great power; well knowest Thou the heart and mind of every man alive; and Thy might, O King, is above all things. How then is it, Son of Cronus, that Thy mind can bear to hold the wicked and the righteous in the same esteem, whether a mans mind be turned to temperateness, or, unrighteous works persuading, to wanton outrage? Nor is aught fixed for us men by Fortune, nor the way a man must go to please the Immortals. Yet the wicked enjoy untroubled prosperity, whereas such as keep their hearts from base deeds, nevertheless, for all they may love what is righteous, receive Penury the mother of perplexity, Penury that misleadeth a mans heart to evil-doing, corrupting his wits by strong necessity, till perforce he endureth much shame and yieldeth to Want who teacheth all evil, both lies and deceits and baleful contentions, even to him that will not and to whom no ill is fitting; for hard is the perplexity that cometh of her.", " ³⁹³ In Penury both the man of the baser sort and he that is much better are shown for what they are when Want restraineth. For the mind of him in whose breast ever springeth straight judgment thinketh righteous thoughts; the others mind accepteth neither good hap nor ill, whereas your good man should bear a diverse lot with hardihood.", ³⁹⁹ Give heed that thou honour and respect thy friends and shun oaths that destroy men, avoiding the wrath of the Immortals.
⁴⁴⁷ If thou wilt fain wash me, the water will ever flow unsullied from my head; thou wilt find me in all matters as it were refined gold, red to the view when I be rubbed with the touchstone; the surface of me is untainted of black mould or rust, its bloom ever pure and clean. "
⁴⁶³ Tis certain the Gods bestow neither a good thing nor a bad thing easily; fame belongeth to a deed that is hard.",
⁵⁷¹ Repute is a great ill, trial is best; many have repute for good, that have never been tried. "
⁵⁷⁹ She. I hate a bad man and veil my face as I pass him, keeping my heart light as a little birds. He. And I hate both a gadabout woman and a lustful man that chooseth to plough anothers land. Both. But whats done cannot be undone: tis the future that needs watch and ward.",
⁵⁹¹ We ought to put up with that which the Gods give to man, and bear in patience either lot. "
⁶⁵⁹ †Neither shouldst thou swear that a thing can never be — for the Gods resent it and the end is theirs — albeit thou shouldst do something. Good may come of bad, and bad of good; a poor man may very quickly become rich, and he that hath very great possessions lose them all suddenly in one night; the wise may err, and fame often cometh to the fool and honour to the bad.

⁷³¹ †Father Zeus, I would it were the Gods pleasure that wanton outrage should delight the wicked if so they choose, but that whosoever did acts abominable and of intent, disdainfully, with no regard for the Gods, should thereafter pay penalty himself, and the ill-doing of the father become no misfortune unto the children after him; and that such children of an unrighteous sire as act with righteous intent, standing in awe of thy wrath, O Son of Cronus, and from the beginning have loved the right among their fellow-townsmen, these should not pay requital for the transgression of a parent. I say, would that this were the Gods pleasure; but alas, the doer escapeth and another beareth the misfortune afterward. Yet how can it be rightful, O King of the Immortals, that a man that hath no part in unrighteous deeds, committing no transgression nor any perjury, but is a righteous man, should not fare aright? What other man living, or in what spirit, seeing this man, would thereafter stand in awe of the Immortals, when one unrighteous and wicked that avoideth not the wrath of God or man, indulgeth wanton outrage in the fulness of his wealth, whereas the righteous be worn and wasted with grievous Penury?", "
⁷⁵⁷ May Zeus that dwelleth in the sky ever keep his right arm over this city for her safetys sake, and with him the other Blessed Immortals; may Apollo set straight both our tonque and our wits; and may harp and pipe sound holy music; and let us conciliate the Gods with a libation, and drink in pleasant converse one with another, fearing no whit the war of the Medes. Twere better thus, twere better to spend our days in jolly revelry, of one accord and cares apart, and to keep far away those evil Spirits, baleful Eld and the end that is Death.", " ⁷⁷³ †Lord Apollo, Thou Thyself didst fence this citys heights, to please Alcathous son of Pelops; Thou Thyself protect this city from the wanton outrage of the host of the Medes, so that in glad revelry at the coming-in of Spring the people should give Thee splendid hecatombs, rejoicing with lute and pleasant feast, with dance and cry of Paeans about Thy altar. For verily I fear me when I see the heedlessness and people-destroying discord of the Greeks. But do Thou, O Phoebus, be gracious and guard this our city.", " ⁷⁸³ †For I have been ere now to the land of Sicily, ere now to the vine-clad lowlands of Euboea, and to Sparta the glorious town of reedy Eurotas, and all made me welcome in right friendly wise; but not one of them came as a joy to my heart, so true is it after all that theres no place like home.",
⁸²³ Neither exalt a man to be despot on expectation, yielding to gain, nor slay him when thou hast taken an oath to him by the Gods.

⁸⁹¹ Alas for weakness! Cerinthus is destroyed, and the good vinelands of Lelantus are laid waste; the good men are banished and evil persons order the city. O that Zeus would destroy the race of the Cypselids!

⁸⁹⁷ If Zeus were wroth alway with mortal men, knowing as he doth the mind of each man in his breast and the deeds alike of righteous and unrighteous, great would be the woe of man.
⁹⁴⁹ Like a lion sure of his strength, I have drunk not the blood of the fawn my claws seized away from his dam; I have climbed the high walls and yet not sacked the city; I have yoked the horses and not mounted the chariot; I have done and yet not done, and achieved and yet not achieved, accomplished yet not accomplished, finished yet not finished. "
⁹⁵⁹ So long as I alone drank of the black-watered spring, the water thereof methought was sweet and good; but now tis all fouled and the water mixed with mud. Ill drink from another and a purer spring.", ⁹⁶³ †Never praise a man ere thou know him for certain, what he is in disposition, in feeling, and in character. Many, for sure, that are of a tricksy counterfeit turn of mind, hide it, putting into themselves a temper that is ordinary; yet Time exposeth the nature of each and all of them. I too, it seems, have gone far beyond good sense; I praised thee ere I knew all thy ways; and now I give thee a wide berth.
¹⁰⁴⁵ By Zeus, even though one of these be abed and asleep, he will receive our serenade right gladly. ¹⁰⁴⁷ Now let us rejoice over our cups, saying good things; what shall come after is for the Gods to look to. "
¹⁰⁶³ In youth a man may sleep all night with one of his age and have his fill of delights, and may sing in revels to the pipe. Tis certain nothing is sweeter either to man or woman. What worth to me is wealth or honour? Gaiety and good cheer together surpass all things.",
¹⁰⁷¹ Turn to all men a changeful habit, Cyrnus, mingling thy disposition to the like of each; now imitate this man, and now make thy disposition of another sort; surely skill is a better thing even than great virtue.
¹¹⁸⁵ Mind is a good thing and so is speech, but they are found in few men that be stewards over them both. ¹²⁸³ Wrong me not, lad （still would I fain be to thy liking）, but understand this with good shrewdness; thy wiles shall not circumvent me nor deceive me; thou hast won, and thine is the advantage hereafter, but yet will I wound thee as thou fliest me, even as they tell that the daughter of Iasius once fled the young Hippomenes, refusing wedlock for all she was ripe to wed; ay, girded herself up and accomplished the unaccomplishable, forsaking her fathers house, the fair-haired Atalanta, and was away to the high tops of the hills, flying from delightful wedlock, gift of golden Aphrodite; yet for all her refusing, she came to know the end.", ¹³²⁷ My lad, so long as thy cheek be smooth I will never cease to pay my court, no, not if I have to die.
¹³⁴⁵ A pleasant thing hath lads-love ever been since Ganymede was loved of the great Son of Cronus, the king of the Immortals, who seized and brought him to Olympus and made him a God, what time his boyhood was in its lovely flower. In like manner, Simonides, be not thou astonished that tis come out that I too am taken with the love of a fair lad.",

" ² What if a man win victory in swiftness of foot, or in the pentathlon, at Olympia, where is the precinct of Zeus by Pisas springs, or in wrestling,—what if by cruel boxing or that fearful sport men call pankration he become more glorious in the citizens eyes, and win a place of honour in the sight of all at the games, his food at the public cost from the State, and a gift to be an heirloom for him,-what if he conquer in the chariot-race,—he will not deserve all this for his portion so much as I do. Far better is our art than the strength of men and of horses! These are but thoughtless judgements, nor is it fitting to set strength before goodly art. Even if there arise a mighty boxer among a people, or one great in the pentathlon or at wrestling, or one excelling in swiftness of foot—and that stands in honour before all tasks of men at the games—the city would be none the better governed for that. It is but little joy a city gets of it if a man conquer at the games by Pisas banks; it is not this that makes fat the store-houses of a city."

^629a ΑΘ. τάχʼ ἂν ἴσως· δεῖ δὲ οὐδὲν σκληρῶς ἡμᾶς αὐτοῖς διαμάχεσθαι τὰ νῦν ἀλλʼ ἠρέμα ἀνερωτᾶν, ὡς μάλιστα περὶ ταῦτα ἡμῶν τε καὶ ἐκείνων σπουδαζόντων. καί μοι τῷ λόγῳ συνακολουθήσατε. προστησώμεθα γοῦν Τύρταιον, τὸν φύσει μὲν Ἀθηναῖον, τῶνδε δὲ πολίτην γενόμενον, ὃς δὴ μάλιστα ἀνθρώπων περὶ ταῦτα ἐσπούδακεν εἰπὼν ὅτι— οὔτʼ ἂν μνησαίμην οὔτʼ ἐν λόγῳ ἄνδρα τιθείμην Tyrtaeus 12 Bergk ^630a ΑΘ. ἡμεῖς δέ γε ἀγαθῶν ὄντων τούτων ἔτι φαμὲν ἀμείνους εἶναι καὶ πολὺ τοὺς ἐν τῷ μεγίστῳ πολέμῳ γιγνομένους ἀρίστους διαφανῶς· ποιητὴν δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς μάρτυρʼ ἔχομεν, Θέογνιν, πολίτην τῶν ἐν Σικελίᾳ Μεγαρέων, ὅς φησιν— πιστὸς ἀνὴρ χρυσοῦ τε καὶ ἀργύρου ἀντερύσασθαι ἄξιος ἐν χαλεπῇ, Κύρνε, διχοστασίῃ. Theognis 5.77-8 τοῦτον δή φαμεν ἐν πολέμῳ χαλεπωτέρῳ ἀμείνονα ἐκείνου πάμπολυ γίγνεσθαι, σχεδὸν ὅσον ἀμείνων δικαιοσύνη καὶ,

^629a but mildly interrogate them, since both we and your legislators are earnestly interested in these matters. Pray follow the argument closely. Let us take the opinion of Tyrtaeus (an Athenian by birth and afterwards a citizen of Lacedaemon ), above all men, was keenly interested in our subject. This is what he says: Though a man were the richest of men, Tyrtaeus 12 Bergk
^630a Clin. of course. Ath. Yet, brave though these men are, we still maintain that they are far surpassed in bravery by those who are conspicuously brave in the greatest of wars; and we also have a poet for witness,—Theognis (a citizen of Sicilian Megara), who says: In the day of grievous feud, O Cyrnus, the loyal warrior is worth his weight in silver and gold. Theognis 5.77-8 Bergk Such a man, in a war much more grievous, is, we say, ever so much better than the other—nearly as much better, in fact, as the union of justice, prudence and wisdom,

^95d ἀλλὰ καὶ Θέογνιν τὸν ποιητὴν οἶσθʼ ὅτι ταὐτὰ ταῦτα λέγει; ΜΕΝ. ἐν ποίοις ἔπεσιν; ΣΩ. ἐν τοῖς ἐλεγείοις, οὗ λέγει— καὶ παρὰ τοῖσιν πῖνε καὶ ἔσθιε, καὶ μετὰ τοῖσιν ἵζε, καὶ ἅνδανε τοῖς, ὧν μεγάλη δύναμις. ἐσθλῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄπʼ ἐσθλὰ διδάξεαι· ἢν δὲ κακοῖσιν

^95d are in two minds as to whether virtue is to be taught, but Theognis the poet also says, you remember, the very same thing? Men. In which part of his poems? Soc. In those elegiac lines where he says— Eat and drink with these men; sit with them, and he pleasing unto them, who wield great power; for from the good wilt thou win thee lessons in the good; but mingle with the bad,

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