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Daughters of Zeus ruling on high, famed for the lyre, ... Pierian Muses ... weave [5] ... Isthmian land ... son-in-law of wise Nereus ... ... of the island [10] ... god-built gates of Pelops' shining island [15] ... ... yoked horses to chariots, [20] and they flew ... [45] ... thick ... maidens ... [50] of sleep, like honey to the mind ... our ... ancient city ... [homes] on the shores of the sea ... [55] [and under] the rays of the sun ... ... and Makelo, loving the distaff, [75] ... by the fair-flowing stream ... speaks ... fawning with the voice ... ... I am bereaved ... with double-edged grief ... [80] deprivation ... totally ... ... on the third day warlike Minos came with a host of Cretans [115] in fifty ships with flashing sterns. And by the will of Zeus Eukleios he subdued the deep-waisted maiden Dexithea, and left with her half of his people, [120] battle-loving men, to whom he gave the craggy land as their share; and then he sailed off to the lovely city of Knossos, the king, the son of Europa. And in the tenth month the bride with beautiful hair bore [125] Euxantius, to be ruler over the glorious island ... ... daughters ... ... city cut deep by the sun's rays. [140] From his (Euxantius'?) family descended Argeius, who has a strong hand and the spirit of a lion, whenever the need for battle befalls him; and he is [145] light on his feet, and does not ... the fine qualities of his father, those which Apollo, famed for the bow, bestowed on Pantheides: the art of healing, [150] and friendly honor towards guests. With a good share of the Graces, and admired by many men, when he ended his life he left behind five greatly-praised sons, [155] one of whom the son of Cronus seated on high has made a victor at the Isthmus, in return for good deeds, and has given a share of other shining garlands. I say it now and I always will: excellence has the greatest glory. [160] Wealth keeps company with worthless men as well, and it tends to swell a man's thoughts; but he who does well to the gods cheers his heart with a more glorious hope. [165] If a mortal has been granted health and can live off his own goods, he rivals the most fortunate. There is joy in all human life [170] as long as it lacks disease and helpless deprivation. The rich man desires great things the same way the poor man desires less. [175] But it is not sweet for mortals to get everything easily; they always seek to catch what flees from them. A man whose spirit is whirled about by the lightest ambitions [180] has honor only as long as he lives. Excellence is a difficult struggle, but when the struggle is completed rightly it leaves a man, even when he dies, the enviable ornament of renown.
Bacchylides. Diane Arnson Svarlien. Odes. 1991.
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