Maxims of Thales, Bias, Pittacus, and Periander — Ausonius, The Play of the Seven Sages, lines 156–230, Latin & English

156

et noster quidam μηδὲν ἄγαν.2 huc pertinet

And a certain poet of ours said, “nothing in excess.” To this belongs

uterque sensus, Italus seu Dorius.

both senses, the Italian and the Dorian.

fandi, tacendi, somni, vigilii is modus,

That measure applies to speaking, keeping silent, sleeping, waking,

beneficiorum, gratiarum, iniuriae,

to benefits, to gratitude, to wrongdoing,

160

studii, laborum: vita in omni quidquid est,

to zeal, to labors: whatever there is in all of life,

istum requirit optimae pausae modum.

requires that measure of optimal restraint.

Dixi: recedam, sit modus, venit Thales.

I have spoken: I shall withdraw, let there be limit, Thales comes.

MILESIUS sum Thales, aquam qui principem

I am Thales of Miletus, who said that water is the primary element

rebus creandis 3 dixi, ut vates Pindarus, 4

for creating things, as the poet Pindar said;

cuique¹ olim iussu Apollinis tripodem aureum 5

and to whom once, by Apollo’s command, the golden tripod

165

dedere piscatores extractum mari;

the fishermen gave, which had been dragged from the sea;

namque hi iubente Delio me legerant,

for they had chosen me at the bidding of the Delian god,

quod ille munus hoc sapienti miserat.

because he had sent this gift for the wise man.

ego recusans non recepi et reddidi

I, refusing, did not accept it, and returned it

ferendum ad alios, quos priores crederem.

to be carried to others whom I believed to be superior.

170

dein per omnes septem sapientes viros

Then, through all the seven wise men,

missum ac remissum rursus ad me deferunt.

sent and sent back, they brought it down to me again.

ego receptum consecravi Apollini;

Having received it, I consecrated it to Apollo;

nam si sapientem deligi Phoebus iubet,

for if Phoebus orders a wise man to be chosen,

non hominem quemquam, set deum credi decet.

not any man, but a god is fitting to be believed so.

175

Is igitur ego sum. causa set in scaenam fuit

I, therefore, am that man. But the reason for my coming forward

mihi prodeundi, quae duobus ante me,

onto the stage was the same as for the two before me:

adsertor ut sententiae fierem meae.

that I might become the advocate of my own maxim.

ea displicebit, non tamen prudentibus,

It will displease, yet not the wise,

quos docuit usus et peritos reddidit.

whom experience has taught and rendered expert.

180

' en ἐγγύα, πάρα δ' ἄτα, graece dicimus:

”en engya, para d’ ata”, we say in Greek:

Latinum est, sponde, noxa set praesto tibi.²

in Latin it is: “promise, but harm is ready for you.”

per mille possem currere exempla, ut probem

I could run through a thousand examples to prove

praedes vadesque paenitudinis reos.

that guarantors and sureties are guilty of regret.

sed nolo quemquam nominatim dicere:

But I do not wish to mention any one by name:

185

sibi quisque vestrum dicat et secum putet,

let each of you say to himself and consider in his own mind,

spondere quantis damno fuerit et malo.

to how many pledging has been a loss and an evil.

gratum hoc officium maneat ambobus tamen.

Yet let this pleasing duty remain for both.

Pars plaudite ergo, pars offensi explodite.

Therefore, let some applaud, and let some, being offended, hiss me off.

BIAS Prieneus quod 1 dixi oἱ πλεῖστοι κακοι,³

I, Bias of Priene, because I said “most are bad,”

190

Latine dictum suspicor: plures mali.

which, I suspect, is said in Latin as: “most are bad.”

dixisse nollem; veritas odium parit.2

I wish I had not said it; truth breeds hatred.

malos sed imperitos dixi et barbaros,

But I called those “bad” who are ignorant and barbarian,

qui ius et aequum et sacros mores neglegunt.

who neglect law and justice and sacred customs.

nam populus iste, quo theatrum cingitur,

For that people by whom the theater is surrounded,

195

totus bonorum est. hostium tellus habet,

is entirely composed of good men. The land of enemies holds

dixisse quos me creditis, plures malos,

those whom you believe me to have called “most are bad,”

sed nemo quisquam tam malus iudex fuat,⁴

but let no one be so bad a judge

quin iam bonorum partibus se copulet,

as not to join himself now to the side of the good,

sive ille vere bonus est, seu dici studet.

whether he is truly good, or desires to be called so.

200

iam fugit illud nomen invisum mali.

Now that hated name of “bad” has fled.

Abeo. valete et plaudite, plures boni.1

I depart. Farewell, and applaud, you majority of good men.

MYTILENA ego ortus Pittacus sum Lesbius,

I, born in Mytilene, am Pittacus the Lesbian,

γίνωσκε καιρὸν qui docui sententiam.

who taught the maxim “know thy opportunity.”

set iste καιρόσ, tempus ut noris, monet

But that “kairos” warns you to know the time,

205

et esse καιρόν, tempestivum quod vocant.

and that “kairon” is what they call “seasonable.”

Romana sic et est vox: veni in tempore.2

Thus also is the Roman expression: “I came in time.”

vester quoque iste comicus Terentius

Your comic poet Terence also

rerum omnium esse primum tempus autumat,

asserts that time is the primary thing in all matters,

ad Antiphilam quom venerat servus Dromo 3

when the slave Dromo had come to Antiphila,

210

nullo inpeditam, temporis servans vicem.

finding her unhindered by anything, observing the turn of time.

reputate cuncti, quotiens offensam incidat,

Reflect, all of you, how often one falls into trouble,

spectata cui non fuerit opportunitas.

to whom the proper opportunity has not been observed.

Tempus monet, ne sim molestus, plaudite.

Time warns me not to be troublesome; applaud.

EPHYRA creatus huc Periander prodeo,

I, born in Ephyra, Periander, step forward here,

215

μελέτη τὸ πᾶν qui dixi et dictum iam probo,

who said “care is everything” and now prove my saying,

meditationis esse, quod recte geras.

that whatever you do rightly is the result of careful thought.

is quippe solus rei gerendae est efficax,

For he alone is effective in accomplishing a task,

meditatur omne qui prius negotium.

who beforehand meditates on every business.

adversa rerum vel secunda praedicat

The comic poet Terence declares that adverse

220

meditanda⁵ cunctis comicus Terentius. 1

or favorable circumstances must be meditated upon by all.

locare sedes, bellum gerere aut ponere,

To establish dwellings, to wage war or to lay it down,

magnas modicasque res, etiam parvas quoque

great and moderate affairs, and even small ones too,

agere volentem semper meditari decet.

it becomes him who wishes to act always to meditate.

nam segniores omnes in coeptis novis,

For all are slower in new undertakings,

225

meditatio si rei gerendae defuit.

if meditation on the action to be done was lacking.

nil est, quod ampliorem curam postulet,

There is nothing that demands greater care

quam cogitare, quid gerendum sit. dehinc

than to reflect on what must be done. Henceforth,

incogitantes fors, non consilium regit.

chance, not counsel, rules those who do not think.

Sed ego me ad partes iam recipio, plaudite,

But I now withdraw myself to my station; applaud,

230

meditando et vestram rem curetis publicam.

and by meditating may you care for your public affairs.

Syntax notes5 items

164acuique
Analyzed into the dative relative pronoun cui (whose antecedent is Thales) and the conjunction que ("and"). The dative cui functions as the indirect object of the verb dedere ("they gave") in the following line.
181sponde, noxa set praesto tibi
The Latin translation of the Greek maxim. sponde is the second-person singular present imperative ("promise!"), set is a spelling variant of sed ("but"), and noxa is a nominative noun ("harm"). With the adverb praesto ("at hand, ready"), it forms the main clause with an omitted copula est ("harm is ready for you").
189πλεῖστοι κακοι,
The subject of the main verb pertinet. Here "both meanings / maxims" refers to both the Latin (Italian) expression mentioned previously (ut ne quid nimis) and the Greek (Dorian) expression (μηδὲν ἄγαν).
197fuat
An archaic present subjunctive form of the copula esse (equivalent to sit). Here, with the negative subject nemo, it expresses a potential or hortatory nuance ("let no one be..."). It connects with the following quin clause (quin... copulet) to form a double negative construction of result ("no one is so bad a judge as not to join...").
220meditanda
Part of an accusative-and-infinitive (A.C.I.) construction introduced by praedicat ("declares"), with the omitted infinitive esse, where the logical subject is the accusative adversa rerum vel secunda in the preceding line. It is the neuter plural accusative form of the gerundive. cunctis is a dative of agent ("by all").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:latinLit:stoa0045.stoa018.humanitext-lat2:156-230