§14.19Στίχ. ιθ΄.
Verse 19.
(Πάντα τὰ ἑρπετὰ τῶν πετεινῶν ἀκάθαρτα ἔσται. Τῶν πετεινῶν, οἶμαι, ὅσα μὲν σκόλοπας ἔχει κατωτέρω τῶν γονάτων ὑπὲρ τὰς βάσεις, καθαρὰ εἶναι βούλεται· ὅσα δὲ μὴ, ἀκάθαρτα. ) Ἀποφάσκει τοίνυν ὁ νόμος τὸν ἀετὸν, καὶ τὸν γρύπα, καὶ τὸν ἀλίαιτον, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὸν γύπα.
'And every creeping thing that flies shall be unclean.' (Of winged things, I think, those which have legs above their feet for leaping below their knees, it wishes to be clean; and those which do not, unclean.) Therefore the law rejects the eagle, the griffon, the osprey, and indeed also the vulture.
Διίπταται γὰρ ὑψοῦ τὰ τοιάδε, καὶ τοῖς ἀνωτάτω λίαν ἐναμβρύνεσθαι φιλεῖ, καὶ μισεῖ τὰ κάτω· Νεοσσοὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, γυπὸς τὰ ὑψηλὰ πέτανται. Τοιουτωσὶ δέ πως ὁ ἐξοφρυσσάμενον (35) ἄγαν, καὶ ἐπῃρμένον ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν νοῦν, καὶ τοῦ μὲν ἐπιεικοῦς καὶ μετρίου φρονήματος ὑπερορᾷν ἠθισμένος, ἥκιστα δὲ ἀγαπῶν τὸ τοῖς ταπεινοῖς συναπάγεσθαι.
For such birds fly on high, and love to pride themselves in the highest places, and hate the lower parts; for he says, 'The young of the vulture fly on high.' In this way is someone who raises his eyebrows (35) too much, and has a haughty mind within himself, and is accustomed to look down on a gentle and moderate disposition, and least of all loves to associate with the lowly.
Συγκαταψέγει δὲ τούτοις (36) καὶ τὸν ἰκτῖνα, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ· διʼ ὧν εὖ μάλα σημαίνεται τό τε ἁρπάζειν εἰδὸς καὶ δεινὸν εἰς κακουργίαν ἀνθρώπων γένος.
Along with these (36), he also condemns the kite and its kind, by which a class of men skilled in plundering and terrible in evildoing is very well signified.
Καὶ τούτων μὲν πρωτότυπος ἰκτὶν, οὐ θατέρου γε μὴν ὁ μελανώτατος καὶ βαθύς.
And among these, the kite is the prototype, but not the other one which is very black and deep in color.
Σκοτεινοὶ δέ πως καὶ οὐχ ἅπασιν ἐναργεῖς (37) οἱ δρομεῖς εἰς πονηρίαν καὶ ἀσυμφορεῖς (37· )τοῖς πολλοῖς, ἔν γε δὴ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς παρέχοντες μοχθηρίαν.
Those who run toward wickedness and are unprofitable (37) to the many, (37·) presenting mischief among themselves, are somehow dark and not manifest to all.
Παραπέφυκέ πως ἀεὶ τοῖς τὴν ἐπάρατον ἀλαζονείαν ἠῤῥωστηκόσι τὸ πλεονεκτεῖν ἐθέλειν· οὓς οὐ δύναται τὸ τυχὸν καὶ πολυτρόποις κακουργίαις (38) ἐκπλεονεκτεῖν εὑρήμασιν· καθαρπάζειν δὲ οὕτω καὶ τοῦτο ἀπλήστως.
To desire to get the better of others somehow always grows alongside those who are sick with accursed pride; whom an ordinary thing cannot satisfy, but they seek to get the better of others by various wicked devices (38), and thus greedily to snatch away this also.
Ταύτῃ τοι (39) συνάπτει λέγων εὐθύς· Καὶ στρουθίον, καὶ λάρον. Ἄπληστα γὰρ οἶμαι ταυτὶ, τὸ παρεμπῖπτον ἀεὶ συλλέγοντα.
For this very reason (39) he immediately connects this, saying: 'And the ostrich, and the gull.' For I think these are greedy, always collecting whatever falls in their way.
Εἶτά φησιν, ὅτι ἱέρακα καὶ τὰ ὅμοια αὐτῷ, καὶ νυκτικόρακα, καὶ καταράκτην, καὶ ἴβιν, καὶ προσφορίονα, καὶ πελεκᾶνα, καὶ κύκνον.
Then he says that the hawk and its kind, the night-raven, the gull, the ibis, the purple coot, the pelican, and the swan are unclean.
Καταγράψει δ᾿ ἂν ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τάδε, καὶ τοὺς ὠμοὺς καὶ ἀγρίως ἑτέρους ἐπιβουλεύοντας, καὶ ἀσχέτως ἐπιφυομένους οἷς ἂν δύναιντο τυχόν·
And these would depict in themselves those who plot against others cruelly and savagely, and relentlessly set upon whomever they might happen to be able to.