§864φεύγων τραπέζαις ὅστις ἐξογκοῖτʼ ἄγαν §865τἀρκοῦντʼ ἀτίζων· οὐ γὰρ ἐν γαστρὸς βορᾷ §866τὸ χρηστὸν εἶναι, μέτρια δʼ ἐξαρκεῖν ἔφη.
Shunning whoever puffed himself up too much at the table, despising what was sufficient; for he said that not in the feeding of the belly was nobility to be found, but that moderate things were enough.
And to his friends he was a true friend, both to those present and to those not present; of whom the number is not great.
An unfeigned character, a polite mouth, having nothing unfulfilled either toward his servants or toward the citizens.
τὸν δὲ δεύτερον λέγω §872Ἐτέοκλον, ἄλλην χρηστότητʼ ἠσκηκότα· §873νεανίας ἦν τῷ βίῳ μὲν ἐνδεής, §874πλείστας δὲ τιμὰς ἔσχʼ ἐν Ἀργείᾳ χθονί.
And now I speak of the second, Eteoclus, who had practiced another virtue; he was a youth needy indeed in his means of life, yet he held the greatest honors in the Argive land.
§875φίλων δὲ χρυσὸν πολλάκις δωρουμένων §876οὐκ εἰσεδέξατʼ οἶκον ὥστε τοὺς τρόπους §877δούλους παρασχεῖν χρημάτων ζευχθεὶς ὕπο.
Though his friends often offered him gold as a gift, he did not receive it into his house, so as not to render his character a slave, being yoked under wealth.
§878τοὺς δʼ ἐξαμαρτάνοντας, οὐχὶ τὴν πόλιν §879ἤχθαιρʼ· ἐπεί τοι κοὐδὲν αἰτία πόλις §880κακῶς κλύουσα διὰ κυβερνήτην κακόν.
And those who did wrong, and not the city, he hated; since indeed the city is not at all to blame when it is spoken of ill because of a bad helmsman.
§881ὁ δʼ αὖ τρίτος τῶνδʼ Ἱππομέδων τοιόσδʼ ἔφυ· §882παῖς ὢν ἐτόλμησʼ εὐθὺς οὐ πρὸς ἡδονὰς §883Μουσῶν τραπέσθαι πρὸς τὸ μαλθακὸν βίου, §884ἀγροὺς δὲ ναίων, σκληρὰ τῇ φύσει διδοὺς §885ἔχαιρε πρὸς τἀνδρεῖον, ἔς τʼ ἄγρας ἰὼν §886ἵπποις τε χαίρων τόξα τʼ ἐντείνων χεροῖν, §887πόλει παρασχεῖν σῶμα χρήσιμον θέλων.
And again the third of these, Hippomedon, was of such a nature: being a child, he dared not turn at once to the pleasures of the Muses, towards the softness of life, but dwelling in the fields, giving hard trials to his nature, he rejoiced in manly deeds, and going to the hunt, rejoicing in horses and stretching bows with his hands, wishing to provide a useful body to the city.
§888ὁ τῆς κυναγοῦ δʼ ἄλλος Ἀταλάντης γόνος §889Παρθενοπαῖος, εἶδος ἐξοχώτατος, §890Ἀρκὰς μὲν ἦν, ἐλθὼν δʼ ἐπʼ Ἰνάχου ῥοὰς §891παιδεύεται κατʼ Ἄργος.
And the other son of the huntress Atalanta, Parthenopaeus, most outstanding in form, was an Arcadian, but coming to the streams of Inachus he was educated in Argos.
ἐκτραφεὶς δʼ ἐκεῖ §892πρῶτον μέν, ὡς χρὴ τοὺς μετοικοῦντας ξένους, §893λυπηρὸς οὐκ ἦν οὐδʼ ἐπίφθονος πόλει §894οὐδʼ ἐξεριστὴς τῶν λόγων, ὅθεν βαρὺς §895μάλιστʼ ἂν εἴη δημότης τε καὶ ξένος.
And having been reared there, first of all, as is necessary for resident aliens, he was not troublesome nor envious to the city, nor was he a wrangler of words, from which a citizen or an alien would indeed be most offensive.
§896λόχοις δʼ ἐνεστὼς ὥσπερ Ἀργεῖος γεγὼς §897ἤμυνε χώρᾳ, χὡπότʼ εὖ πράσσοι πόλις, §898ἔχαιρε, λυπρῶς δʼ ἔφερεν, εἴ τι δυστυχοῖ.
But standing in the ranks just as if he were an Argive born, he defended the land, and whenever the city fared well, he rejoiced, and bore it grievously if it met with any misfortune.
And though he had many lovers, and how many from women, he guarded himself against doing any wrong.
§901Τυδέως δʼ ἔπαινον ἐν βραχεῖ θήσω μέγαν· §907φιλότιμον ἦθος πλούσιον, φρόνημα δὲ §908ἐν τοῖσιν ἔργοις, οὐχὶ τοῖς λόγοις, ἴσον.
Of Tydeus I will set down a great praise in brief: a character rich in love of honor, and a spirit equal in deeds, not in words.
From these things spoken, do not wonder, Theseus, that these dared to die before the towers.
§911τὸ γὰρ τραφῆναι μὴ κακῶς αἰδῶ φέρει· §912αἰσχύνεται δὲ τἀγάθʼ ἀσκήσας ἀνὴρ §913κακὸς γενέσθαι πᾶς τις.
For to be reared not badly brings noble shame; and every man who has practiced good things is ashamed to become base.
And courage is teachable, if indeed even a babe is taught to speak and to hear those things of which it has no knowledge.
And what things one learns, these are loved to be preserved unto old age.
οὕτω παῖδας εὖ παιδεύετε.
Thus educate your children well.
§918ἰὼ τέκνον, δυστυχῆ σʼ §919ἔτρεφον, ἔφερον ὑφʼ ἥπατος §920πόνους ἐνεγκοῦσʼ ἐν ὠδῖσι· καὶ §921νῦν Ἅιδας τὸν ἐμὸν §922ἔχει μόχθον ἀθλίας, §923ἐγὼ δὲ γηροβοσκὸν οὐκ ἔχω, τεκοῦσʼ §924ἁ τάλαινα παῖδα.
Chorus: O child, to an unfortunate fate I reared you, and carried you beneath my heart, bearing pains in birth-pangs; and now Hades holds my labor, wretched as I am, and I have no nurse for my old age, though I gave birth, wretched one, to a child.
§925καὶ μὴν τὸν Οἰκλέους γε γενναῖον τόκον §926θεοὶ ζῶντʼ ἀναρπάσαντες ἐς μυχοὺς χθονὸς §927αὐτοῖς τεθρίπποις εὐλογοῦσιν ἐμφανῶς· §928τὸν Οἰδίπου τε παῖδα, Πολυνείκην λέγω, §929ἡμεῖς ἐπαινέσαντες οὐ ψευδοίμεθʼ ἄν.
Adrastos: And indeed, the noble offspring of Oecles, the gods, snatching him alive into the depths of the earth with his four-horse chariot, clearly bless him; and the son of Oedipus, I mean Polynices, we should not speak falsely if we praised him.
For he was my guest-friend before, leaving the city of Cadmus by his own choice to cross over in flight to Argos.
§932ἀλλʼ οἶσθʼ ὃ δρᾶσαι βούλομαι τούτων πέρι;
But do you know what I wish to do concerning these?
§933οὐκ οἶδα πλὴν ἕν, σοῖσι πείθεσθαι λόγοις.
Theseus: I do not know, except one thing, to obey your words.
Adrastos: Capaneus, who was struck by the fire of Zeus— do you wish to bury him apart as a sacred corpse?
§936ναί· τοὺς δέ γʼ ἄλλους πάντας ἐν μιᾷ πυρᾷ.
Theseus: Yes; but all the others on a single pyre.
§937ποῦ δῆτα θήσεις μνῆμα τῷδε χωρίσας;
Adrastos: Where indeed will you place his monument, separating him?
§938αὐτοῦ παρʼ οἴκους τούσδε συμπήξας τάφον.
Theseus: Building a tomb right here near this house.
§939οὗτος μὲν ἤδη δμωσὶν ἂν μέλοι πόνος.
Adrastos: This labor indeed would now be for the servants.
§940ἡμῖν δέ γʼ οἵδε· στειχέτω δʼ ἄχθη νεκρῶν.
Theseus: But for us, these others; let the burdens of the dead go forward.
§941ἴτʼ, ὦ τάλαιναι μητέρες, τέκνων πέλας.
Adrastos: Go, wretched mothers, near your children.
§942ἥκιστʼ, Ἄδραστε, τοῦτο πρόσφορον λέγεις.
Theseus: Not at all, Adrastos; you speak of what is not fitting.
§943πῶς;
Adrastos: How?
τὰς τεκούσας οὐ χρεὼν ψαῦσαι τέκνων;
Is it not right for those who gave birth to touch their children?
§944ὄλοιντʼ ἰδοῦσαι τούσδʼ ἂν ἠλλοιωμένους.
Theseus: They would perish seeing them thus disfigured.
§945πικρὰ γὰρ ὄψις αἷμα κὠτειλαὶ νεκρῶν.
Adrastos: For the sight of the blood and wounds of the dead is bitter.
§946τί δῆτα λύπην ταῖσδε προσθεῖναι θέλεις;
Theseus: Why indeed do you wish to add grief to these women?
§947νικᾷς.
Adrastos: You win.
μένειν χρὴ τλημόνως· λέγει γὰρ εὖ
They must remain patiently; for Theseus speaks well.