§527μόνον δ’ ἂν ἀντὶ χρημάτων οὐκ ἂν λάβοις
γενναιότητα κἀρετήν· καλὸς δέ τις
κἂν ἐκ πενήτων σωμάτων γένοιτο παῖς.
Only nobility and virtue you could not receive in exchange for wealth; but a beautiful child might come even from poor bodies.
§528μισῶ γυναῖκα. . , ἐκ πασῶν δὲ σέ,
ἥτις πονηρὰ τἄργ’ ἔχουσ’ 〈εἶτ’〉 εὖ λέγεις.
I hate a woman..., and of them all, you especially, who speak well though having evil deeds.
§529ὡς ἡδὺ δούλοις δεσπότας χρηστοὺς λαβεῖν
καὶ δεσπόταισι δοῦλον εὐμενῆ δόμοις.
How sweet it is for slaves to obtain good masters, and for masters to have a well-disposed slave in the house.
§530Τελαμὼν δὲ χρυσοῦν αἰετὸν πέλτης ἔπι
πρόβλημα θηρός, βότρυσι δ’ ἔστεψεν κάρα,
Σαλαμῖνα κοσμῶν πατρίδα τὴν εὐάμπελον.
And Telamon placed a golden eagle upon his small shield as a defense against the beast, and crowned his head with bunches of grapes, honoring Salamis, his vine-rich homeland.
Κύπριδος δὲ μίσημ’, Ἀρκὰς Ἀταλάντη, κύνας
καὶ τόξ’ ἔχουσα, πελέκεως δὲ δίστομον
γένυν ἔπαλλ’ Ἀγκαῖος· οἱ δὲ Θεστίου
παῖδες τὸ λαιὸν ἴχνος ἀνάρβυλοι ποδός,
τὸ δ’ ἐν πεδίλοις, ὡς ἐλαφρίζον γόνυ
ἔχοιεν, ὃς δὴ πᾶσιν Αἰτωλοῖς νόμος.
And Atalanta of Arcadia, the hatred of Cypris, holding dogs and bows, and Ancaeus brandished the double-edged blade of his axe; and the sons of Thestius had their left foot unshod, but the other in sandals, so that they might have a light knee, which is indeed the custom for all Aetolians.
§531σιδηροβριθές τ’ ἔλαβε δεξιᾷ ξύλον
And he took in his right hand a wood heavy with iron.
§532τοὺς ζῶντας εὖ δρᾶν· κατθανὼν δὲ πᾶς ἀνὴρ
γῆ καὶ σκιά· τὸ μηδὲν εἰς οὐδὲν ῥέπει.
One should do well to the living; for every man when dead is earth and shadow; what is nothing inclines towards nothing.
§533τερπνὸν τὸ φῶς τόδ’· ὁ δ’ ὑπὸ γῆς Ἅιδου σκότος
οὐδ’ εἰς ὄνειρον ἡδὺς ἀνθρώποις μολεῖν.
This light is pleasant; but the darkness of Hades under the earth is not sweet for men to approach, not even in a dream.
ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν γεγῶσα τηλικήδ’ ὅμως
ἀπέπτυσ’ αὐτὸ κοὔποτ’ εὔχομαι θανεῖν.
I, therefore, though being of such an age, nevertheless spit upon it and never pray to die.
§534τὸ μὲν γὰρ· ἐν φῶ, τὸ δὲ κάτω σκότος κακόν.
For to be in the light is (good), but the darkness below is an evil.
§535ὁρᾷς σὺ νῦν δή μ’ ὡς ἐπράυνας, τύχη.
Do you see now indeed, Fortune, how you have pacified me.
§536φεῦ, τὰ τῶν εὐδαιμονούντων ὡς τάχιστα στρέφει θεός.
Alas, how swiftly God overturns the affairs of the prosperous.
§537εἰς ἀνδροβρῶτας ἡδονὰς ἀφίξεται
κάρηνα πυρσαῖς γένυσι Μελανίππου σπάσας.
He will arrive at man-eating pleasures, having torn Melanippus' head with his red jaws.
§538ἀντήλιοι θεοί
Gods facing the sun He consecrated.
And drawing in its tail under its lion-footed base, it sat...
§541ἡμεῖς δὲ Πολύβου παῖδ’ ἐρείσαντες πέδῳ
ἐξομματοῦμεν καὶ διόλλυμεν κόρας.
And we, having pressed the son of Polybus to the ground, tear out his eyes and destroy his pupils.
§542οὔτοι νόμισμα λευκὸς ἄργυρος μόνον
καὶ χρυσός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ κἀρετὴ βροτοῖς
νόμισμα κεῖται πᾶσιν, ᾗ χρῆσθαι χρεών.
Indeed, white silver and gold are not the only currency, but virtue also is established as a currency for all mortals, which they must use.
§543μεγάλη τυραννὶς ἀνδρὶ τέκνα καὶ γυνή· ἴσην γὰρ ἀνδρὶ συμφορὰν εἶναι λέγω
τέκνων θ’ ἁμαρτεῖν καὶ πάτρας καὶ χρημάτων
ἀλόχου τε κεδνῆς, ὡς μόνον τῶν χρημάτων
ἢ κρεῖσσόν ἐστιν ἀνδρί, σώφρον’ ἢν λάβῃ.
Children and a wife are a great sovereignty for a man; for I say it is an equal misfortune for a man to lose children, fatherland, wealth, and a dear wife, which is the only thing among possessions, or even better for a man, if he receives a sensible one.
§544ἄλλως δὲ πάντων δυσμαχώτατον γυνή.
On the other hand, a woman is the most difficult of all things to fight.
§545πᾶσα γὰρ δούλη πέφυκεν ἀνδρὸς ἡ σώφρων γυνή· ἡ δὲ μὴ σώφρων ἀνοίᾳ τὸν ξυνόνθ’ ὑπερφρονεῖ.
For every sensible woman is by nature a slave to her husband; but she who is not sensible, through folly, looks down on the one she lives with.
§546πᾶσα γὰρ ἀνδρὸς κακίων ἄλοχος,
κἂν ὁ κάκιστος
γήμῃ τὴν εὐδοκιμοῦσαν.
For every wife is inferior to her husband, even if the worst man marries the highly esteemed woman.
§547ἑνὸς 〈δ’〉 ἔρωτος ὄντος οὐ μί’ ἡδονή· οἳ μὲν κακῶν ἐρῶσιν, οἳ δὲ τῶν καλῶν.
Though love is one, its pleasure is not one; some love bad things, and others love beautiful things.
§548νοῦν χρὴ θεᾶσθαι, νοῦν· τί τῆς εὐμορφίας
ὄφελος, ὅταν τις μὴ φρένας καλὰς ἔχῃ;
One must look to the mind, the mind; what is the use of beautiful form when one does not have a beautiful heart?
§549ἀλλ’ ἦμαρ 〈ἕν〉 τοι μεταβολὰς πολλὰς ἔχει.
But indeed, a single day holds many changes.
§550ἐκ τῶν ἀέλπτων ἡ χαρὰ μείζων βροτοῖς
[φανεῖσα μᾶλλον ἢ τὸ προσδοκώμενον].
From unexpected things, joy appears greater to mortals than what was expected.
§551φθόνος δ’ ὁ πολλῶν φρένα διαφθείρων βροτῶν
ἀπώλεσ’ αὐτὸν κἀμὲ συνδιώλεσεν.
Envy, which ruins the mind of many mortals, destroyed him and destroyed me along with him.
§552πότερα γενέσθαι δῆτα χρησιμώτερον
συνετὸν ἄτολμον ἢ θρασύν τε κἀμαθῆ;
Is it indeed more useful to become wise but timid, or bold and ignorant?
τὸ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν σκαιόν, ἀλλ’ ἀμύνεται,
τὸ δ’ ἡσυχαῖον ἀργόν· ἐν δ’ ἀμφοῖν νόσος.
For the latter of them is foolish, but defends himself, while the former is quiet but inactive; in both there is a disease.
§553ἐκμαρτυρεῖν γὰρ ἄνδρα τὰς αὑτοῦ τύχας
εἰς πάντας ἀμαθές, τὸ δ’ ἐπικρύπτεσθαι σοφόν.
For it is ignorant for a man to testify of his own fortunes to everyone, but to conceal them is wise.
§554πολλάς γ’ ὁ δαίμων τοῦ βίου μεταστάσεις
ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν μεταβολάς τε τῆς τύχης.
The divinity has given us many transitions of life and changes of fortune.
§555οὐ δῆκταί πως κύνες οἱ θεοί,
ἀλλ’ ἡ Δίκη γὰρ καὶ διὰ σκότου βλέπει.
The gods are not biting dogs in any way, but Justice sees even through the darkness.
§556ἀηδόνα §557ἄναρθρος §558ΔΙΟΜ. Ὦ γῆς πατρῴας χαῖρε φίλτατον πέδον
Καλυδῶνος, ἔνθεν αἷμα συγγενὲς φυγὼν
Τυδεύς, τόκος μὲν Οἰνέως, πατὴρ δ’ ἐμός,
ᾢκησεν Ἄργος;
Nightingale Without joints (unarticulated) DIOMEDES: O dearest soil of my ancestral land, Calydon, from where Tydeus, son of Oeneus and my father, having fled because of kindred blood, inhabited Argos?
παῖδα δ’ Ἀδράστου λαβὼν
συνῆψε γένναν
And having taken the daughter of Adrastus, he joined our race.
§559ἐγὼ δὲ πατρὸς αἷμ’ ἐτιμωρησάμην
σὺν τοῖς ἐφηβήσασι τῶν ὀλωλότων
And I avenged my father's blood with those of the fallen who had grown to manhood.
§560ἀλλ’ ἄλλος ἄλλοις μᾶλλον ἥδεται τρόποις.
But one person is pleased by some ways, and another by others.
§561. . . . . σὺ δὲ τρέφοντά 〈νιν〉 τρέφεις;
...and do you nourish him who nourishes you?
§562πυκνοῖς δ’ ἔβαλλον Βακχίου τοξεύμασιν
κάρα γέροντος· τὸν βαλόντα δὲ στέφειν
ἐγὼ ἐτετάγμην, ἆθλα κοσσάβων διδούς.
And they struck the head of the old man with frequent arrows of Bacchus (wine); and I was appointed to crown the one who hit, giving the prizes of cottabus.
§563σχολὴ μὲν οὐχί, τῷ δὲ δυστυχοῦντί πως
τερπνὸν τὸ λέξαι κἀποκλαύσασθαι πάλιν.
There is indeed no leisure, but to the unfortunate it is somehow pleasant to speak and then weep again.