Book 6 — FOOTNOTES:
Charles Duke Yonge translation
Parios ego primus Iambos Ostendi Latio, numeros animosque secutus Archilochi, non res et agentia verba Lycamben. Epist. I. xix. 25.
And in another place he says,
Archilochum proprio rabies armavit Iambo—A.P. 74.
Pictoribus atque poetis Quidlibet audendi semper fuit æqua potestas.—A. P. 9.
Which Roscommon translates:
Painters and poets have been still allow’d Their pencil and their fancies unconfined.
Maris et terra numeroque carentis arenæ Mensorem. Od. i. 28.1.
Plato is supposed to have learned some of his views from him, and Aristotle to have borrowed from him every idea of the Categories.
Εἴπας Ἥλιε χαῖρε, Κλεόμβροτος Ὥμβρακιώτης ἥλατ’ ἀφ’ ὑψηλοῦ τείχεος εἰς Ἀΐδην, ἄξιον οὐδὲν ἰδὼν θανάτου κακὸν, ἀλλὰ Πλάτωνος ἓν τὸ περὶ ψύχης γράμμ’ ἀναλεξάμενος.
Which may be translated, perhaps,
Farewell, O sun, Cleombrotus exclaim’d, Then plunged from off a height beneath the sea; Stung by pain, of no disgrace ashamed, But moved by Plato’s high philosophy.
Provida Pompeio dederat Campania febres Optandas: sed multæ urbes et publica vota Vicerunt. Igitur Fortuna ipsius et Urbis, Servatum victo caput abstulit.—Sat. x. 283.
Aggeribus socer Alpinis atque arce Monœci Descendens, gener adversis instructus Eois.—Æn. vi. 830.
Yet if, as holiest men have deem’d, there be A land of souls beyond that sable shore To shame the doctrine of the Sadducee And sophist, madly vain or dubious lore, How sweet it were in concert to adore With those who made our mortal labors light, To hear each voice we fear’d to hear no more. Behold each mighty shade reveal’d to sight, The Bactrian, Samian sage, and all who taught the right!
Childe Harold, ii.
Ὦ ξεῖν’ ἀγγεῖλον Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα, τοῐς κείνων πειθόμενοι νομίμοις.
Ἀρχὴς μὲν μὴ φῦναι ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἄριστον, φύντα δ’ ὅπως ὤκιστα πύλας Ἀΐδϋο περῆσαι
which by some authors are attributed to Homer.
Ἔδει γὰρ ἡμᾶς σύλλογον ποιουμένους Τὸν φύντα θρηνεῖν, εἰς ὅσ’ ἔρχεται κακά. Τὸν δ’ αὖ θανόντα καὶ πόνων πεπαυμένον χαίροντας εὐφημοῖντας ἐκπέμειν δόμων
Ἤπου νήπιε, ἠλίθιοι φρένες ἀνδρῶν Εὐθύνοος κεῖται μοιριδίῳ θανάτῳ Οὐκ ἠν γὰρ ζώειν καλὸν αὐτῷ οὔτε γονεῦσι.
μήδε μοι ἄκλαυστος θάνατος μόλοι, ἀλλὰ φίλοισι ποιήσαιμι θανὼν ἄλγεα καὶ στοναχάς.
Ἀλλά μοι οἰδάνεται κραδίη χόλῳ ὅπποτ’ ἐκείνου Μνήσομαι ὅς μ’ ἀσύφηλον ἐν Ἀργείοισιν ἔρεξεν.—Il. ix. 642.
I have given Pope’s translation in the text.
Ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτο παρὰ σοφοῦ τινος μαθὼν εὶς φροντίδας νοῦν συμφοράς τ’ ἐβαλλόμην φυγάς τ’ ἐμαυτῷ προστιθεὶς πάτρας ἐμῆς. θανάτους τ’ ἀώρους, καὶ κακῶν ἄλλας ὁδοὺς ὡς, εἴ τι πάσχοιμ’ ὠν ἐδόξαζόν ποτε Μή μοι νέορτον προσπεσὸν μᾶλλον δάκοι.
Ζηλῶ σε, γέρον, ζηλῶ δ’ ἀνδρῶν ὃς ἀκίνδυνον βίον ἐξεπέρασ’, ἀγνὼς, ἀκλεής.—v. 15.
Εφυ μὲν οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐ πονεῖ βροτῶν θάπτει τε τέκνα χἄτερ’ αὖ κτᾶται νεὰ, αὐτός τε θνήσκει. καὶ τάδ’ ἄχθονται βροτοὶ εἰς γῆν φέροντες γῆν ἀναγκαίως δ’ ἔχει βίον θερίζειν ὥστε κάρπιμον στάχυν.
Ὥσθ’ ἵμερος μ’ ὑπῆλθε γῇ τε κ’ οὐρανῷ λέξαι μολούσῃ δεῦρο Μηδείας τύχας.—Med. 57.
Εἰ μεν τόδ’ ἦμαρ πρῶτον ἦν κακουμένῳ καὶ μὴ μακρὰν δὴ διὰ πόνων ἐναυστόλουν εἰκὸς σφαδάζειν ἦν ἂν, ὡς νεόζυγα πῶλον, χάλινον ἀρτίως δεδεγμένον νῦν δ’ ἀμβλύς εἰμι, καὶ κατηρτυκὼς κακῶν.
Τοὺς δ’ ἂν μεγίστους καὶ σοφωτάτους φρενὶ τοιούσδ’ ἴδοις ἂν, οἶός ἐστι νῦν ὅδε, καλῶς κακῶς πράσσοντι συμπαραινέσαι ὅταν δὲ δαίμων ἀνδρὸς εὐτυχοῦς τὸ πρὶν μάστιγ’ ἐπίσῃ τοῦ βίου παλίντροπον, τὰ πολλὰ φροῦδα καὶ κακῶς εἰρημένα.
His massy javelin quivering in his hand, He stood the bulwark of the Grecian band; Through every Argive heart new transport ran, All Troy stood trembling at the mighty man: E’en Hector paused, and with new doubt oppress’d, Felt his great heart suspended in his breast; ’Twas vain to seek retreat, and vain to fear, Himself had challenged, and the foe drew near.
But Melmoth (Note on the Familiar Letters of Cicero, book ii. Let. 23) rightly accuses Cicero of having misunderstood Homer, who “by no means represents Hector as being thus totally dismayed at the approach of his adversary; and, indeed, it would have been inconsistent with the general character of that hero to have described him under such circumstances of terror.”
Τὸν δὲ καὶ Ἀργεῖοι μέγ’ ἐγήθεον εἰσορόωντες, Τρωὰς δὲ τρόμος αἶνος ὑπήλυθε γυῖα ἕκαστον, Ἕκτορι δ’ αὐτῷ θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι πάτασσεν.
But there is a great difference, as Dr. Clarke remarks, between θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι πάτασσεν and καρδέη ἔξω στηθέων ἔθρωσκεν, or τρόμος αἶνος ὑπήλυθε γυῖα.—The Trojans, says Homer, trembled at the sight of Ajax, and even Hector himself felt some emotion in his breast.
Οὔκ ἐστιν οὐδὲν δεινὸν ὧδ’ εἰπεῖν ἔπος, Οὐδὲ πάθος, οὐδὲ ξυμφορὰ θεήλατος ἧς οὐκ ἂν ἀροιτ’ ἄχθος ἀνθρώπον φύσις.
Districtus ensis cui super impiâ Cervice pendet non Siculæ dapes Dulcem elaborabunt saporem, Non avium citharæve cantus Somnum reducent.—iii. 1. 17.
“He has been describing the Delian festival in honor of Apollo and Diana, and concludes this part of the poem with an address to the women of that island, to whom it is to be supposed that he had become familiarly known by his frequent recitations:
Χαίρετε δ’ ὑμεῖς πᾶσαι, ἐμεῖο δὲ καὶ μετόπισθε μνήσασθ’, ὅπποτέ κέν τις ἐπιχθονίων ἀνθρώπων ἐνθάδ’ ἀνείρηται ξεῖνος ταλαπείριος ἐλθὼν ὦ κοῦραι, τίς δ’ ὕμμιν ἀνὴρ ἥδιστος ἀοιδῶν ἐνθάδε πωλεῖται καὶ τέῳ τέρπεσθε μάλιστα; ὑμεῖς δ’ εὖ μάλα πᾶσαι ὑποκρίνασθε ἀφ’ ἡμῶν, Τυφλὸς ἀνὴρ, οἰκεῖ δὲ Χίῳ ἐνὶ παιπαλοέσσῃ, τοῦ πᾶσαι μετόπισθεν ἀριστεύουσιν ἀοιδαί.
Virgins, farewell—and oh! remember me Hereafter, when some stranger from the sea, A hapless wanderer, may your isle explore, And ask you, ‘Maids, of all the bards you boast, Who sings the sweetest, and delights you most?’ Oh! answer all, ‘A blind old man, and poor, Sweetest he sings, and dwells on Chios’ rocky shore.’”
Coleridge’s Introduction to the Study of the Greek Classic Poets.
——πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε,
and has been used by Virgil and other poets since Ennius.
——Terram fumare calentem.
Horace says exactly the same thing:
Hâc arte Pollux et vagus Hercules Enisus arces attigit igneas: Quos inter Augustus recumbens Purpureo bibit ore nectar. Hâc te merentem, Bacche pater, tuæ Vexere tigres indocili jugum Collo ferentes: hâc Quirinus Martis equis Acheronta fugit.—Hor. iii. 3. 9.
Thou that mak’st a day of night, Goddess excellently bright.—Ode to the Moon.
167 Ibid.
μετ’ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι τέρπεται ἐν θαλίῃς, καὶ ἔχει καλλίσφυρου Ἥβην, παῖδα Διὸς μεγάλοιο καὶ Ἥρης χρυσοπεδίλου.
which Pope translates—
A shadowy form, for high in heaven’s abodes Himself resides, a God among the Gods; There, in the bright assemblies of the skies, He nectar quaffs, and Hebe crowns his joys.
Utinam ne in nemore Pelio securibus Cæsa cecidisset abiegna ad terram trabes.
Translated from the beginning of the Medea of Euripides—
Μήδ’ ἐν νάπαισι Πηλίον πεσεῖν ποτε τμηθεῖσα πεύκη.
Lycambes had promised Archilochus the poet to marry his daughter to him, but afterward retracted his promise, and refused her; upon which Archilochus is said to have published a satire in iambic verse that provoked him to hang himself.