236 quotes found
"ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι. (wrongly attributed)"
"Ō xein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tē(i)de keimetha tois keinōn rhēmasi peithomenoi."
"[Word-for-word translation] O stranger, announce to the Lacadaemonians [Spartans] that here We lie, to their words [or laws] obedient."
"Here lies Megistias, who died When the Medes crossed Spercheius' tide. A great seer, yet he scorned to save Himself, and shared the Spartans' grave."
"ἀνάγκῃ δ᾽ οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται."
"Anankei d' oude theoi makhontai."
"We did not flinch but gave our lives to save Greece when her fate hung on a razor's edge."
"… ζωγραφίαν ποίησιν σιωπῶσαν προσαγορεύει [sc. ὁ Σιμωνίδης], τὴν δὲ ποίησιν ζωγραφίαν λαλοῦσαν."
"… zographian poiesin sioposan prosagoreuei, ten de poiesin zographian lalousan."
"Alcæus mentions Aristodemus in these lines:— ’T is money makes the man; and he who ’s none Is counted neither good nor honourable."
"Thales said there was no difference between life and death. "Why, then," said some one to him, "do not you die?" "Because," said he, "it does make no difference.""
"When Thales was asked what was difficult, he said, "To know one’s self." And what was easy, "To advise another.""
"He said that men ought to remember those friends who were absent as well as those who were present."
"The apophthegm "Know thyself" is his."
"Writers differ with respect to the apophthegms of the Seven Sages, attributing the same one to various authors."
"Solon used to say that speech was the image of actions;... that laws were like cobwebs,—for that if any trifling or powerless thing fell into them, they held it fast; while if it were something weightier, it broke through them and was off."
"Solon gave the following advice: "Consider your honour, as a gentleman, of more weight than an oath. Never tell a lie. Pay attention to matters of importance.""
"As some say, Solon was the author of the apophthegm, "Nothing in excess.""
"Chilo advised, "not to speak evil of the dead.""
"Pittacus said that half was more than the whole."
"Heraclitus says that Pittacus, when he had got Alcæus into his power, released him, saying, "Forgiveness is better than revenge.""
"One of his sayings was, "Even the gods cannot strive against necessity.""
"Another was, "Watch your opportunity.""
"Bias used to say that men ought to calculate life both as if they were fated to live a long and a short time, and that they ought to love one another as if at a future time they would come to hate one another; for that most men were bad."
"Ignorance plays the chief part among men, and the multitude of words."
"The saying, "Practice is everything," is Periander’s."
"Aristophanes turns Socrates into ridicule in his comedies, as making the worse appear the better reason."
"Often when he was looking on at auctions he would say, "How many things there are which I do not need!""
"Socrates said, "Those who want fewest things are nearest to the gods.""
"He said that there was one only good, namely, knowledge; and one only evil, namely, ignorance."
"He declared that he knew nothing, except the fact of his ignorance."
"Being asked whether it was better to marry or not, he replied, "Whichever you do, you will repent it.""
"He used to say that other men lived to eat, but that he ate to live."
"Anarcharsis, on learning that the sides of a ship were four fingers thick, said that "the passengers were just that distance from death.""
"He used to say that it was better to have one friend of great value than many friends who were good for nothing."
"The market is a place set apart where men may deceive each other."
"It was a common saying of Myson that men ought not to investigate things from words, but words from things; for that things are not made for the sake of words, but words for things."
"Epimenides was sent by his father into the field to look for a sheep, turned out of the road at mid-day and lay down in a certain cave and fell asleep, and slept there fifty-seven years; and after that, when awake, he went on looking for the sheep, thinking that he had been taking a short nap."
"There are many marvellous stories told of Pherecydes. For it is said that he was walking along the seashore at Samos, and that seeing a ship sailing by with a fair wind, he said that it would soon sink; and presently it sank before his eyes. At another time he was drinking some water which had been drawn up out of a well, and he foretold that within three days there would be an earthquake; and there was one."
"Anaximander used to assert that the primary cause of all things was the Infinite,—not defining exactly whether he meant air or water or anything else."
"Anaxagoras said to a man who was grieving because he was dying in a foreign land, "The descent to Hades is the same from every place.""
"Aristippus being asked what were the most necessary things for well-born boys to learn, said, "Those things which they will put in practice when they become men.""
"Once Diogenes, who was washing vegetables, ridiculed him as he passed by, and said, "If you had learnt to eat these vegetables, you would not have been a slave in the palace of a tyrant." But Aristippus replied, "And you, if you had known how to behave among men, would not have been washing vegetables.""
"Aristippus said that a wise man’s country was the world."
"Like sending owls to Athens, as the proverb goes."
"Plato affirmed that the soul was immortal and clothed in many bodies successively."
"Time is the image of eternity."
"That virtue was sufficient of herself for happiness."
"That the gods superintend all the affairs of men, and that there are such beings as dæmons."
"There is a written and an unwritten law. The one by which we regulate our constitutions in our cities is the written law; that which arises from customs is the unwritten law."
"Plato was continually saying to Xenocrates, "Sacrifice to the Graces.""
"Arcesilaus had a peculiar habit while conversing of using the expression, "My opinion is," and "So and so will not agree to this.""
"Bion used to say that the way to the shades below was easy; he could go there with his eyes shut."
"Once when Bion was at sea in the company of some wicked men, he fell into the hands of pirates; and when the rest said, "We are undone if we are known,"—"But I," said he, "am undone if we are not known.""
"Of a rich man who was niggardly he said, "That man does not own his estate, but his estate owns him.""
"Bion insisted on the principle that "The property of friends is common.""
"Old age is the harbor of all ills."
"Wealth is the sinews of affairs."
"The road to Hades is the easiest to travel."
"He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him."
"Very late in life, when he was studying geometry, some one said to Lacydes, "Is it then a time for you to be learning now?" "If it is not," he replied, "when will it be?""
"Aristotle was once asked what those who tell lies gain by it. Said he, "That when they speak truth they are not believed.""
"The question was put to him, what hope is; and his answer was, "The dream of a waking man.""
"He used to say that personal beauty was a better introduction than any letter; but others say that it was Diogenes who gave this description of it, while Aristotle called beauty "the gift of God"; that Socrates called it "a short-lived tyranny"; Theophrastus, "a silent deceit"; Theocritus, "an ivory mischief"; Carneades, "a sovereignty which stood in need of no guards"."
"On one occasion Aristotle was asked how much educated men were superior to those uneducated: "As much," said he, "as the living are to the dead.""
"It was a saying of his that education was an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity."
"He was once asked what a friend is, and his answer was, "One soul abiding in two bodies.""
"Asked what he gained from philosophy, he answered, "To do without being commanded what others do from fear of the laws.""
"The question was once put to him, how we ought to behave to our friends; and the answer he gave was, "As we should wish our friends to behave to us.""
"He used to define justice as "a virtue of the soul distributing that which each person deserved.""
"Another of his sayings was, that education was the best viaticum of old age."
"The chief good he has defined to be the exercise of virtue in a perfect life."
"He used to teach that God is incorporeal, as Plato also asserted, and that his providence extends over all the heavenly bodies."
"It was a favourite expression of Theophrastus that time was the most valuable thing that a man could spend."
"Antisthenes used to say that envious people were devoured by their own disposition, just as iron is by rust."
"When he was praised by some wicked men, he said, "I am sadly afraid that I must have done some wicked thing.""
"When asked what learning was the most necessary, he said, "Not to unlearn what you have learned.""
"Diogenes would frequently praise those who were about to marry, and yet did not marry."
"Bury me on my face," said Diogenes; and when he was asked why, he replied, "Because in a little while everything will be turned upside down."
"One of the sayings of Diogenes was that most men were within a finger’s breadth of being mad; for if a man walked with his middle finger pointing out, folks would think him mad, but not so if it were his forefinger."
"All things are in common among friends."
"Be of good cheer," said Diogenes; "I see land."
"Plato having defined man to be a two-legged animal without feathers, Diogenes plucked a cock and brought it into the Academy, and said, "This is Plato’s man." On which account this addition was made to the definition,—"With broad flat nails.""
"A man once asked Diogenes what was the proper time for supper, and he made answer, "If you are a rich man, whenever you please; and if you are a poor man, whenever you can.""
"Diogenes lighted a candle in the daytime, and went round saying, "I am looking for a man.""
"When asked what he would take to let a man give him a blow on the head, he said, "A helmet.""
"Once he saw a youth blushing, and addressed him, "Courage, my boy! that is the complexion of virtue.""
"When asked what wine he liked to drink, he replied, "That which belongs to another.""
"Asked from what country he came, he replied, "I am a citizen of the world.""
"When a man reproached him for going into unclean places, he said, "The sun too penetrates into privies, but is not polluted by them.""
"Diogenes said once to a person who was showing him a dial, "It is a very useful thing to save a man from being too late for supper.""
"When Zeno was asked what a friend was, he replied, "Another I.""
"They say that the first inclination which an animal has is to protect itself."
"One ought to seek out virtue for its own sake, without being influenced by fear or hope, or by any external influence. Moreover, that in that does happiness consist."
"The Stoics also teach that God is unity, and that he is called Mind and Fate and Jupiter, and by many other names besides."
"They also say that God is an animal immortal, rational, perfect, and intellectual in his happiness, unsusceptible of any kind of evil, having a foreknowledge of the universe and of all that is in the universe; however, that he has not the figure of a man; and that he is the creator of the universe, and as it were the Father of all things in common, and that a portion of him pervades everything."
"But Chrysippus, Posidonius, Zeno, and Boëthus say, that all things are produced by fate. And fate is a connected cause of existing things, or the reason according to which the world is regulated."
"Apollodorus says, "If any one were to take away from the books of Chrysippus all the passages which he quotes from other authors, his paper would be left empty.""
"One of the sophisms of Chrysippus was, "If you have not lost a thing, you have it.""
"Pythagoras used to say that he had received as a gift from Mercury the perpetual transmigration of his soul, so that it was constantly transmigrating and passing into all sorts of plants or animals."
"He calls drunkenness an expression identical with ruin."
"Among what he called his precepts were such as these: Do not stir the fire with a sword. Do not sit down on a bushel. Do not devour thy heart."
"In the time of Pythagoras that proverbial phrase Ipse dixit was introduced into ordinary life."
"Xenophanes was the first person who asserted... that the soul is a spirit."
"It takes a wise man to discover a wise man."
"Protagoras asserted that there were two sides to every question, exactly opposite to each other."
"Nothing can be produced out of nothing."
"Xenophanes speaks thus:— And no man knows distinctly anything, And no man ever will."
"Democritus says, "But we know nothing really; for truth lies deep down.""
"Euripides says,— Who knows but that this life is really death, And whether death is not what men call life?"
"The mountains, too, at a distance appear airy masses and smooth, but seen near at hand, they are rough."
"If appearances are deceitful, then they do not deserve any confidence when they assert what appears to them to be true."
"The chief good is the suspension of the judgment, which tranquillity of mind follows like its shadow."
"Epicurus laid down the doctrine that pleasure was the chief good."
"He alludes to the appearance of a face in the orb of the moon."
"Fortune is unstable, while our will is free."
"Let no one be slow to seek wisdom when he is young nor weary in search thereof when he is grown old. For no age is too early or too late for the health of the soul. And to say that the season for studying philosophy has not yet come, or that it is past and gone, is like saying that the season for happiness is not yet or that it is now no more."
"Just step aside for me to enjoy the sunshine."
"Some Saian mountaineer Struts today with my shield. I threw it down by a bush and ran When the fighting got hot. Life seemed somehow more precious. It was a beautiful shield. I know where I can buy another Exactly like it, just as round."
"A Saian boasts about the shield which beside a bush though good armour I unwillingly left behind. I saved myself, so what do I care about the shield? To hell with it! I'll get one soon just as good."
"I don't give a damn if some Thracian ape strut Proud of that first-rate shield the bushes got. Leaving it was hell, but in a tricky spot I kept my hide intact. Good shields can be bought. (as translated by Stuart Silverman)"
"Let who will boast their courage in the field, I find but little safety from my shield. Nature's, not honour's, law we must obey: This made me cast my useless shield away, And by a prudent flight and cunning save A life, which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain; But who can get another life again?"
"I have saved myself - what care I for that shield? Away with it! I'll get another one no worse."
"These golden matters Of Gyges and his treasuries Are no concern of mine. Jealousy has no power over me, Nor do I envy a god his work, And I do not burn to rule. Such things have no Fascination for my eyes."
"The affairs of gold-laden Gyges do not interest me zealousy of the gods has never seized me nor anger at their deeds. But I have no love for great tyranny for its deeds are very far from my eyes."
"Be bold! That's one way Of getting through life. So I turn upon her And point out that, Faced with the wickedness Of things, she does not shiver. I know how to love those Who love me, how to hate. You whom the soldiers beat, You who are all but dead, How the gods love you And I, alone in the dark, I was promised the light."
":translated by Guy Davenport, Carmina Archilochi: The Fragments of Archilochus (1964)"
"Heart, my heart, so battered with misfortune far beyond your strength, up, and face the men who hate us. Bare your chest to the assault of the enemy, and fight them off. Stand fast among the beamlike spears. Give no ground; and if you beat them, do not brag in open show, nor, if they beat you, run home and lie down on your bed and cry. Keep some measure in the joy you take in luck, and the degree you give way to sorrow. All our life is up-and-down like this."
": Fragment 67, as translated by R. Lattimore"
"Soul, my soul, don't let them break you, all these troubles. Never yield: though their force is overwhelming, up! attack them shield to shield..."
": "Archilochos: To His Soul" : A fragment as translated from the Greek by Jon Corelis"
"Take the joy and bear the sorrow, looking past your hopes and fears: learn to recognize the measured dance that orders all our years."
"Nothing can be surprising any more or impossible or miraculous, now that Zeus, father of the Olympians has made night out of noonday, hiding the bright sunlight, and . . . fear has come upon mankind. After this, men can believe anything, expect anything. Don't any of you be surprised in future if land beasts change places with dolphins and go to live in their salty pastures, and get to like the sounding waves of the sea more than the land, while the dolphins prefer the mountains."
"Zeus, the father of the Olympic Gods, turned mid-day into night, hiding the light of the dazzling Sun; and sore fear came upon men."
"I have a high art: I hurt with cruelty those who wound me."
": Studies in Latin American Popular Culture, Vol. 20 (2001), p. 184"
"I have a high art; I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me."
": Quotations for Martial Artists : Hundreds of Inspirational Quotes to Motivate and Enlighten the Modern Warrior (2003) edited by John D. Moore"
"ὦ Ζεῦ͵ πάτερ Ζεῦ͵ σὸν μὲν οὐρανοῦ κράτος͵ σὺ δ΄ ἔργ΄ ἐπ΄ ἀνθρώπων ὁρᾶις λεωργὰ καὶ θεμιστά͵ σοὶ δὲ θηρίων ὕβρις τε καὶ δίκη μέλει."
"πόλλ' οἶδ' ἀλώπηξ, ἐχῖνος δ'ἓν μέγα"
""Old women should not seek to be perfumed" (Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, first ebook edition, 2014)"
"Summa in hoc vis elocutionis, cum validae tum breves vibrantesque sententiae, plurimum sanguinis atque nervorum, adeo ut videatur quibusdam quod quoquam minor est materiae esse, non ingeni vitium."
"There is a line among the fragments of the Greek poet Archilochus which says: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Scholars have differed about the correct interpretation of these dark words, which may mean no more than that the fox, for all his cunning, is defeated by the hedgehog's one defence. But, taken figuratively, the words can be made to yield a sense in which they mark one of the deepest differences which divide writers and thinkers, and, it may be, human beings in general. For there exists a great chasm between those, on one side, who relate everything to a single, universal, organizing principle in terms of which alone all that they are and say has significance — and, on the other side, those who pursue many ends, often unrelated and even contradictory... Their thought is scattered or diffused, moving on many levels, seizing upon the essence of a vast variety of experiences and objects for what they are in themselves, without, consciously or unconsciously, seeking to fit them into, or exclude them from any one unchanging, all-embracing, sometimes self-contradictory and incomplete, at times fanatical, unitary inner vision. The first kind of intellectual and artistic personality belongs to the hedgehogs, the second to the foxes; and without insisting on a rigid classification, we may, without too much fear of contradiction, say that, in this sense, Dante belongs to the first category, Shakespeare to the second."
"Archilochos was both poet and mercenary. As a poet he was both satirist and lyricist. Iambic verse is his invention. He wrote the first beast fable known to us. He wrote marching songs, love lyrics of frail tenderness, elegies. But most of all he was what Meleager calls him, "a thistle with graceful leaves." There is a tradition that wasps hover around his grave. To the ancients, both Greek and Roman, he was The Satirist. We have what grammarians quote to illustrate a point of dialect or interesting use of the subjunctive; we have brief quotations by admiring critics; and we have papyrus fragments, scrap paper from the households of Alexandria, with which third-class mummies were wrapped and stuffed. All else is lost. Horace and Catullus, like all cultivated readers, had Archilochos complete in their libraries. Even in the tattered version we have of Archilochos … the extraordinary form of his mind is discernible. Not all poets can be so broken and still compel attention. Archilochos kept his "two services" in an unlikely harmony. Ares did not complain that this ash-spear fighter wrote poems, and the Muses have heard everything and did not mind that their horsetail-helmeted servant sometimes spoke with the vocabulary of a paratrooper sergeant, though the high-minded Spartans banned Archilochos's poems for their mockery of uncritical bravery. And the people of his native Paros made it clear, when they honored him with a monument, that they thought him a great poet in spite of his nettle tongue."
"Τίς δὲ βίος, τί δὲ τερπνὸν ἄτερ χρυσῆς Ἀφροδίτης; τεθναίην ὅτε μοι μηκέτι ταῦτα μέλοι, κρυπταδίη φιλότης καὶ μείλιχα δῶρα καὶ εὐνή, οἷ᾽ ἥβης ἄνθ εα γίγνεται ἁρπαλέα ἀνδράσιν ἠδὲ γυναιξίν· ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ὀδυνηρὸν ἐπέλθῃ γῆρας, ὅ τ᾽ αἰσχρὸν ὁμῶς καὶ κακὸν ἄνδρα τιθεῖ, αἰεί μιν φρένας ἀμφὶ κακαὶ τείρουσι μέριμναι, οὐδ᾽ αὐγὰς προσορῶν τέρπεται ἠελίου, ἀλλ᾽ ἐχθρὸς μὲν παισίν, ἀτίμαστος δὲ γυναιξίν, οὕτως ἄργαλέον γῆρας ἔθηκε θεός."
"Ἠέλιος μὲν γὰρ πόνον ἔλλαχεν ἤματα πάντα οὐδέ κοτ᾽ ἄμπαυσις γίγνεται οὐδεμία ἵπποισίν τε καὶ αὐτῷ, ἐπεὶ ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠὼς Ὠκεανὸν προλιποῦσ᾽ οὐρανὸν εἰσαναβῇ: τὸν μὲν γὰρ διὰ κῦμα φέρει πολυήρατος εὐνὴ κοιΐλη, Ἡφαίστου χερσὶν ἐληλαμένη χρυσοῦ τιμήεντος, ὑπόπτερος, ἄκρον ἐφ᾽ ὕδωρ εὕδονθ᾽ ἁρπαλέως χώρου ἀφ᾽ Ἑσπερίδων γαῖαν ἐς Αἰθιόπων, ἵνα οἱ θοὸν ἅρμα καὶ ἵπποι ἑστᾶσ᾽, ὄφρ᾽ Ἠὼς ἠριγένεια μόλῃ: ἐνθ᾽ ἐπεβήσεθ᾽ ἑῶν ὀχέων Ὑπερίονος υἱός."
"We are all clever enough at envying a famous man while he is yet alive, and at praising him when he is dead."
"Si, Mimnermus uti censet, sinè amore jocisque Nil est jucundum, vivas in amore jocisque."
"You promise heavens free from strife, Pure truth, and perfect change of will; But sweet, sweet is this human life, So sweet, I fain would breathe it still; Your chilly stars I can forgo, This warm kind world is all I know.You say there is no substance here, One great reality above: Back from that void I shrink in fear, And child-like hide myself in love: Show me what angels feel. Till then I cling, a mere weak man, to men.You bid me lift my mean desires From faltering lips and fitful veins To sexless souls, ideal quires, Unwearied voices, wordless strains: My mind with fonder welcome owns One dear dead friend’s remember’d tones.Forsooth the present we must give To that which cannot pass away; All beauteous things for which we live By laws of time and space decay. But Oh, the very reason why I clasp them, is because they die."
"To-day belongs to me, To-morrow who can tell."
"Persuasion's flowing well."
"The black earth drinks, in turn The trees drink up the earth. The sea the torrents drinks, the sun the sea, And the moon drinks the sun. Why, comrades, do ye flout me, If I, too, wish to drink?"
"Nature gave horns to the bull, Hoofs gave she to the horse. To the lion cavernous jaws, And swiftness to the hare. The fish taught she to swim, The bird to cleave the air; To man she reason gave; Not yet was woman dowered. What, then, to woman gave she? The priceless gift of beauty. Stronger than any buckler, Than any spear more piercing, Who hath the gift of beauty, Nor fire nor steel shall harm her."
"Ah, cruel 'tis to love, And cruel not to love, But cruelest of all To love and love in vain."
"Love for lineage nothing cares, Tramples wisdom under foot, Worth derides, and only looks For money."
"Cursed be he above all others Who's enslaved by love of money. Money takes the place of brothers, Money takes the place of parents, Money brings us war and slaughter."
"Whence can we the future learn? Life to mortals is obscure."
"But when an old man dances, His locks with age are grey, But he's a child in mind."
"I fled the headless darts of slanderous tongue."
"E'en though I would not, die I must; Why stray I thus through life?"
"And last of all comes death."
"I see Anacreon smile and sing; His silver tresses breathe perfume, His cheek displays a second spring Of roses, taught by wine to bloom. Away, deceitful cares, away! And let me listen to his lay; While flowery dreams my soul employ; While turtle-wing'd the laughing hours, Lead hand in hand the festal powers, Lead youth and love, and harmless joy."
"This tomb be thine, Anacreon; all around Let ivy wreath, let flow'rets deck the ground, And from its earth, enrich'd by such a prize, Let wells of milk and streams of wine arise: So will thine ashes yet a pleasure know, If any pleasure reach the shades below."
"All thy verse is softer far Than the downy feathers are Of my wings, or of my arrows, Of my mother's doves or sparrows. Sweet as lovers' freshest kisses, Or their riper following blisses, Graceful, cleanly, smooth, and round, All with Venus girdle bound."
"It grieves me when I see what fate Does on the best of mankind wait. Poets or lovers let them be, 'Tis neither love nor poesy Can arm against death's smallest dart The poet's head, or lover's heart. For when their life in its decline Touches th' inevitable line, All the world's mortal to 'em then, And wine is aconite to men. Nay, in death's hand the grape-stone proves Fatal as thunder is in Jove's."
"Nec si quid olim lusit Anacreon, delevit aetas."
"With roses crown'd, on flowers supinely laid, Anacreon [blithe] the sprightly lyre essay'd, In light fantastic measures beat the ground, Or dealt the mirth-inspiring juice around: No care, no thought, the tuneful Teian knew, But mark'd with bliss each moment as it flew."
"Νυκτερινή, δίκερως, φιλοπάννυχε, φαῖνε, Σελήνη, φαῖνε, δι᾽ εὐτρήτων βαλλομένη θυρίδων αὔγαζε χρυσέην Καλλίστιον ἐς τὰ φιλεύντων ἔργα κατοπτεύειν οὐ φθόνος ἀθανάτῃ. ὀλβίζεις καὶ τήνδε καὶ ἡμέας, οἶδα, Σελήνη: καὶ γὰρ σὴν ψυχὴν ἔφλεγεν Ἐνδυμίων."
"Ἡνία δή τοι παῖδες ἐνί, τράγε, φοινικόενταθέντες καὶ λασίῳ φιμὰ περὶ στόματι,ἵππια παιδεύουσι θεοῦ περὶ ναὸν ἄεθλα,ὄφρ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἐφορῇ νήπια τερπομένους."
"Οὐκέτι δὴ πλωτοῖσιν ἀγαλλόμενος πελάγεσσιναὐχέν᾽ ἀναρρίψω βυσσόθεν ὀρνύμενος,οὐδὲ περὶ σκαλάμοισι νεὼς περικαλλέα χείληποιφύσσω, τἀμᾷ τερπόμενος προτομᾷ:ἀλλά με πορφυρέα πόντου νοτὶς ὦς᾽ ἐπὶ χέρσον,κεῖμαι δὲ ῥαδινὰν τάνδε παρ᾽ ἠιόνα."
"ἵζευ ἅπας ὑπὸ καλὰ δάφνας εὐθαλέα φύλλα, ὡραίου τ᾽ ἄρυσαι νάματος ἁδὺ πόμα, ὄφρα τοι ἀσθμαίνοντα πόνοις θέρεος φίλα γυῖα ἀμπαύσῃς, πνοιῇ τυπτόμενα Ζεφύρου."
"Ἑρμᾶς τᾶιδ᾽ ἕστακα παρ᾽ ὄρχατον ἠνεμόεντα ἐν τριόδοις πολιᾶς ἐγγύθεν ἀιόνος,ἀνράσι κεκμηῶσιν ἔχων ἄμπαυσιν ὁδοῖο· ψυχρὸν δ᾽ ἀχραὲς κράνα ὑποπροχέει."
"Θάεο τὸν Βρομίου κεραὸν τράγον, ὡς ἀγερώχως ὄμμα κατὰ λασιᾶν γαῦρον ἔχει γενύων,κυδιόων ὅτι οἱ θάμ᾽ ἐν οὔρεσιν ἀμφὶ παρῇδα βόστρυχον εἰς ῥοδέαν Ναῒς ἔδεκτο χέρα."
"Ἔγχει, καὶ πάλιν εἰπέ, πάλιν, πάλιν “Ἡλιοδώρας” εἰπέ, σὺν ἀκρήτῳ τὸ γλυκὺ μίσγ᾽ ὄνομα: καί μοι τὸν βρεχθέντα μύροις καὶ χθιζὸν ἐόντα, μναμόσυνον κείνας ἀμφιτίθει στέφανον. δακρύει φιλέραστον ἰδοὺ ῥόδον, οὕνεκα κείναν ἄλλοθι, κοὐ κόλποις ἁμετέροις ἐσορᾷ."
"Ἁ φίλερως χαροποῖς Ἀσκληπιὰς οἷα γαλήνης ὄμμασι συμπείθει πάντας ἐρωτοπλοεῖν."
"Ἀχήεις τέττιξ, δροσεραῖς σταγόνεσσι μεθυσθείς, ἀγρονόμαν μέλπεις μοῦσαν ἐρημολάλον ἄκρα δ᾽ ἐφεζόμενος πετάλοις, πριονώδεσι κώλοις αἰθίοπι κλάζεις χρωτὶ μέλισμα λύρας. ἀλλά, φίλος, φθέγγου τι νέον δενδρώδεσι Νύμφαις παίγνιον, ἀντῳδὸν Πανὶ κρέκων κέλαδον, ὄφρα φυγὼν τὸν Ἔρωτα, μεσημβρινὸν ὕπνον ἀγρεύσω ἐνθάδ᾽ ὑπὸ σκιερᾷ κεκλιμένος πλατάνῳ."
"Οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ οὗτος ἔρως, εἴ τις καλὸν εἶδος ἔχουσαν βούλετ᾽ ἔχειν, φρονίμοις ὄμμασι πειθόμενος: ἀλλ᾽ ὅστις κακόμορφον ἰδών, τετορημένος ἰοῖς στέργει, μαινομένης ἐκ φρενὸς αἰθόμενος, οὗτος ἔρως, πῦρ τοῦτο: τὰ γὰρ καλὰ πάντας ὁμοίως τέρπει τοὺς κρίνειν εἶδος ἐπισταμένους."
"Ἠράσθης πλουτῶν, Σωσίκρατες: ἀλλὰ πένης ὢν οὐκέτ᾽ ἐρᾷς: λιμὸς φάρμακον οἷον ἔχει. ἡ δὲ πάρος σε καλεῦσα μύρον καὶ τερπνὸν Ἄδωνιν Μηνοφίλα, νῦν σου τοὔνομα πυνθάνεται, “τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν, πόθι τοι πτόλις”; ἦ μόλις ἔγνως τοῦτ᾽ ἔπος, ὡς οὐδεὶς οὐδὲν ἔχοντι φίλος."
"Εὐκαπὲς ἄγκιστρον, καὶ δούρατα δουλιχόεντα, χὠρμιήν, καὶ τὰς ἰχθυδόκους σπυρίδας, καὶ τοῦτον νηκτοῖσιν ἐπ᾽ ἰχθύσι τεχνασθέντα κύρτον, ἁλιπλάγκτων εὕρεμα δικτυβόλων, τρηχύν τε τριόδοντα, Ποσειδαώνιον ἔγχος, καὶ τοὺς ἐξ ἀκάτων διχθαδίους ἐρέτας, ὁ γριπεὺς Διόφαντος ἀνάκτορι θήκατο τέχνας, ὡς θέμις, ἀρχαίας λείψανα τεχνοσύνας."
"Ποιμένες οἳ ταύτην ὄρεος ῥάχιν οἰοπολεῖτε αἶγας κεὐείρους ἐμβοτέοντες ὄις, Κλειταγόρῃ, πρὸς Γῆς, ὀλίγην χάριν, ἀλλὰ προσηνῆ τίνοιτε, χθονίης εἵνεκα Φερσεφόνης. βληχήσαιντ᾽ ὄιές μοι, ἐπ᾽ ἀξέστοιο δὲ ποιμὴν πέτρης συρίζοι πρηέα βοσκομέναις: εἴαρι δὲ πρώτῳ λειμώνιον ἄνθος ἀμέρσας χωρίτης στεφέτω τύμβον ἐμὸν στεφάνῳ, καί τις ἀπ᾽ εὐάρνοιο καταχραίνοιτο γάλακτι οἰός, ἀμολγαῖον μαστὸν ἀνασχόμενος, κρηπῖδ᾽ ὑγραίνων ἐπιτύμβιον εἰσὶ θανόντων εἰσὶν ἀμοιβαῖαι κἀν φθιμένοις χάριτες."
"Τὰν ἐκφυγοῦσαν ματρὸς ἐκ κόλπων, ἔτι ἀφρῷ τε μορμύρουσαν, εὐλεχῆ Κύπριν ἰδὼν Ἀπελλῆς, κάλλος ἱμερώτατον, οὐ γραπτόν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔμψυχον ἐξεμάξατο. εὖ μὲν γὰρ ἄκραις χερσὶν ἐκθλίβει κόμαν, εὖ δ᾽ ὀμμάτων γαληνὸς ἐκλάμπει πόθος, καὶ μαζός, ἀκμῆς ἄγγελος, κυδωνιᾷ: αὐτὰ δ᾽ Ἀθάνα καὶ Διὸς συνευνέτις φάσουσιν ‘ὦ Ζεῦ, λειπόμεσθα τῇ κρίσει.’"
"Ἡδύ, φίλοι, μείδημα τὸ Λαΐδος: ἡδὺ κατ᾽ αὖ τῶν ἠπιοδινήτων δάκρυ χέει βλεφάρων. χθιζά μοι ἀπροφάσιστον ἐπέστενεν, ἐγκλιδὸν ὤμῳ ἡμετέρῳ κεφαλὴν δηρὸν ἐρεισαμένη: μυρομένην δ᾽ ἐφίλησα: τὰ δ᾽ ὡς δροσερῆς ἀπὸ πηγῆς δάκρυα μιγνυμένων πῖπτε κατὰ στομάτων. εἶπε δ᾽ ἀνειρομένῳ, “Τίνος εἵνεκα δάκρυα λείβεις;” “Δείδια μή με λίπῃς: ἐστὲ γὰρ ὁρκαπάται.”"
"Ἀνέρα λυσσητῆρι κυνὸς βεβολημένον ἰῷ ὕδασι θηρείην εἰκόνα φασὶ βλέπειν. λυσσώων τάχα πικρὸν Ἔρως ἐνέπηξεν ὀδόντα εἰς ἐμέ, καὶ μανίαις θυμὸν ἐληίσατο: σὴν γὰρ ἐμοὶ καὶ πόντος ἐπήρατον εἰκόνα φαίνει, καὶ ποταμῶν δῖναι, καὶ δέπας οἰνοχόον."
"Γυρὸν κυανέης μόλιβον σημάντορα γραμμῆς, καὶ σκληρῶν ἀκόνην τρηχαλέην καλάμων, καὶ πλατὺν ὀξυντῆρα μεσοσχιδέων δονακήων, καὶ κανόνα γραμμῆς ἰθυπόρου ταμίην, καὶ χρόνιον γλυπτοῖσι μέλαν πεφυλαγμένον ἄντροις, καὶ γλυφίδας καλάμων ἄκρα μελαινομένων Ἑρμείῃ Φιλόδημος, ἐπεὶ χρόνῳ ἐκκρεμὲς ἤδη ἦλθε κατ᾽ ὀφθαλμῶν ῥυσὸν ἐπισκύνιον. * * * Τὸν τροχόεντα μόλιβδον, ὃς ἀτραπὸν οἶδε χαράσσειν ὀρθὰ παραξύων ἰθυτενῆ κανόνα, καὶ χάλυβα σκληρὸν καλαμηφάγον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν ἡγεμόνα γραμμῆς ἀπλανέος κανόνα, καὶ λίθον ὀκριόεντα, δόναξ ὅθι δισσὸν ὀδόντα θήγεται ἀμβλυνθεὶς ἐκ δολιχογραφίης, καὶ βυθίην Τρίτωνος ἁλιπλάγκτοιο χαμεύνην, σπόγγον, ἀκεστορίην πλαζομένης γραφίδος, καὶ κίστην πολύωπα μελανδόκον, εἰν ἑνὶ πάντα εὐγραφέος τέχνης ὄργανα ῥυομένην, Ἑρμῇ Καλλιμένης, τρομερὴν ὑπὸ γήραος ὄκνῳ χεῖρα καθαρμόζων ἐκ δολιχῶν καμάτων."
"α. Οὔνομά μοι. β. Τί δὲ τοῦτο; α. Πατρὶς δέ μοι. β. Ἐς τί δὲ τοῦτο; α. Κλεινοῦ δ᾽ εἰμὶ γένους. β. Εἰ γὰρ ἀφαυροτάτου; α. Ζήσας δ᾽ ἐνδόξως ἔλιπον βίον. β. Εἰ γὰρ ἀδόξως; α. Κεῖμαι δ᾽ ἐνθάδε νῦν. β. Τίς τίνι ταῦτα λέγεις;"
"Χεῖλος Ἀνικήτεια τὸ χρύσεον εἰς ἐμὲ τέγγει· ἀλλὰ παρασχοίμην καὶ πόμα νυμφίδιον."
"Λουσάμενοι, Προδίκη, πυκασώμεθα, καὶ τὸν ἄκρατον ἕλκωμεν, κύλικας μείζονας αἰρόμενοι. βαιὸς ὁ χαιρόντων ἐστὶν βίος· εἶτα τὰ λοιπὰ γῆρας κωλύσει, καὶ τὸ τέλος θάνατος."
"Ὄμματα μὲν χρύσεια, καὶ ὑαλόεσσα παρειή, καὶ στόμα πορφυρέης τερπνότερον κάλυκος, δειρὴ λυγδινέη, καὶ στήθεα μαρμαίροντα, καὶ πόδες ἀργυρέης λευκότεροι Θέτιδος. εἰ δέ τι καὶ πλοκαμῖσι διαστίλβουσιν ἄκανθαι, τῆς λευκῆς καλάμης οὐδὲν ἐπιστρέφομαι."
"Ὄμματ᾽ ἔχεις Ἥρης, Μελίτη, τὰς χεῖρας Ἀθήνης, τοὺς μαζοὺς Παφίης, τὰ σφυρὰ τῆς Θέτιδος. εὐδαίμων ὁ βλέπων σε: τρισόλβιος ὅστις ἀκούει: ἡμίθεος δ᾽ ὁ φιλῶν ἀθάνατος δ᾽ ὁ γαμῶν."
"Εἶδον ἐγὼ ποθέοντας: ὑπ᾽ ἀτλήτοιο δὲ λύσσης δηρὸν ἐν ἀλλήλοις χείλεα πηξάμενοι, οὐ κόρον εἶχον ἔρωτος ἀφειδέος: ἱέμενοι δέ, εἰ θέμις, ἀλλήλων δύμεναι ἐς κραδίην, ἀμφασίης ὅσον ὅσσον ὑπεπρήυνον ἀνάγκην, ἀλλήλων μαλακοῖς φάρεσιν ἑσσάμενοι. καὶ ῥ᾽ ὁ μὲν ἦν Ἀχιλῆι πανείκελος, οἷος ἐκεῖνος τῶν Λυκομηδείων ἔνδον ἔην θαλάμων κούρη δ᾽ ἀργυφέης ἐπιγουνίδος ἄχρι χιτῶνα ζωσαμένη, Φοίβης εἶδος ἀπεπλάσατο. καὶ πάλιν ἠρήρειστο τὰ χείλεα: γυιοβόρον γὰρ εἶχον ἀλωφήτου λιμὸν ἐρωμανίης. ῥεῖά τις ἡμερίδος στελέχη δύο σύμπλοκα λύσει, στρεπτά, πολυχρονίῳ πλέγματι συμφυέα, ἢ κείνους ῾φιλέοντας, ὑπ᾽ ἀντιπόροισὶ τ᾽ ἀγοστοῖς ὑγρὰ περιπλέγδην ἅψεα δησαμένους. τρὶς μάκαρ, ὃς τοίοισι, φίλη, δεσμοῖσιν ἑλίχθη, τρὶς μάκαρ: ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς ἄνδιχα καιόμεθα."
"Wine and treacherous toasts and the sweet love of Nicagoras sent Aglaonice to sleep; and here hath she dedicated to Cypris these spoils of her maiden love still all dripping with scent, her sandals and the soft band that held her bosom, witnesses to her sleep and his violence then."
"With wine and words of love and fervid vow He lulled me into bed. I closed my eyes, A sleepy, stupid innocent . . . And now I dedicate the spoils of my surprise: The silk that bound my breasts, my virgin zone, The cherished purity I could not keep . . . Goddess, remember we were all alone, And he was strong—and I was half asleep."
"With wine and words of love and every vow He lulled me into bed and closed my eyes, A sleepy, stupid innocent . . . So now I dedicate the spoils of my surprise: The silk that bound my breasts, my virgin zone, The cherished purity I could not keep. Goddess, remember we were all alone, And he was strong—and I was half asleep."
"The daughter of limb-relaxing Bacchus and limb-relaxing Aphrodite is limb-relaxing Gout."
"Oὐκέτι δὴ χλωροῖσιν ἐφεζόμενος πετάλοισιν ἁδεῖαν μέλπων ἐκπροχέεις ἰαχὰν ἀλλά σε γηρύοντα κατήναρεν, ἠχέτα τέττιξ, παιδὸς ἀπ᾽ ἠλιθίου χεὶρ ἀναπεπταμένα."
"No longer perched on the green leaves dost thou shed abroad thy sweet call, for as thou wast singing, noisy cicada, a foolish boy with outstretched hand slew thee."
"No more on fresh green twigs thou'lt sit a-swinging,— No more with sweet and penetrative strain, Noisy Cicada, shall we hear thee singing, For a child’s hand hath caught thee and hath slain."
"Τίπτε παναμέριος, Πανδιονὶ κάμμορε κούρα, μυρομένα κελαδεῖς τραυλὰ διὰ στομάτων; ἤ τοι παρθενίας πόθος ἵκετο, τάν τοι ἀπηύρα Θρηίκιος Τηρεὺς αἰνὰ βιησάμενος;"
"Why, unhappy daughter of Pandion, dost thou mourn all day long, uttering thy twittering note? Is it that regret is come upon thee for thy maidenhead, which Thracian Tereus took from thee by dreadful force?"
"Poor swallow, as thou glidest by, Thou dost renew thy plaintive cry;— Is this thine only song? Dost thou remember the sad day When Tereus stole thy heart away, And did thee grievous wrong?"
"Why all day long, Pandion's ill-starred child, Dost twitter mournfully? Is this thy plaint Grief which thou feelest that thou wert defiled By Thracian Tereus, using dire constraint?"
"All day I heard your high heart-broken laughter, Swallow, and, hearing, cried, ‘Is there no place Or time when you forget, Pandîon’s daughter, Your maidenhood, and Têreus, King of Thrace?’"
"The earth bore thee, the sea destroyed thee, and Pluto’s seat received thee, and thence thou didst ascend to heaven. Thou didst not perish in the deep, Pamphilus, as one shipwrecked, but in order to add an ornament to the domains of all the immortals."
"Earth brought thee forth and ocean was thy tomb, Ere yet thou shared’st the mansions of the blest: For a brief space was Pluto’s house thy home. Not conquered by the waves thou sank to rest, O Pamphilus, but would’st thy glory shed O’er all the dwellings of the undying dead."
"Κυλλήνην ὄρος Ἀρκάδων ἀκούεις: αὕτη σῆμ᾽ ἐπίκειτ᾽ Ἀπολλοδώρῳ. Πίσηθέν μιν ἰόντα νυκτὸς ὥρῃ ἔκτεινεν Διόθεν πεσὼν κεραυνός. τηλοῦ δ᾽ Αἰανέης τε καὶ Βεροίης νικηθεὶς Διὸς ὁ δρομεὺς καθεύδει."
"You have heard of Cyllene the Arcadian mountain. That is the monument that covers Apollodorus. As he journeyed from Pisa by night the thunderbolt from Zeus killed him; and far from Aeanae and Beroea the racer sleeps, conquered by Zeus."
"Πᾶσα θάλασσα θάλασσα: τί Κυκλάδας στενὸν Ἕλλης κῦμα καὶ Ὀξείας ἠλεὰ μεμφόμεθα; ἄλλως τοὔνομ᾽ ἔχουσιν ἐπεὶ τί με, τὸν προφυγ́οντα κεῖνα, Σκαρφαιεὺς ἀμφεκάλυψε λιμήν; νόστιμον εὐπλοΐην ἀρῷτό τις: ὡς τά γε πόντου πόντος, ὁ τυμβευθεὶς οἶδεν Ἀρισταγόρης."
"Every sea is sea. Why do we foolishly blame the Cyclades or the Hellespont, and the Sharp Isles? They merit not their evil fame; for why, when I had escaped them, did the harbour of Scarphaea drown me? Let who will pray for fair weather to bring him home; Aristagoras, who is buried here, knows that the sea is the sea."
"Στρυμόνι καὶ μεγάλῳ πεποτισμένον Ἑλλησπόντῳ ἠρίον Ἠδωνῆς Φυλλίδος, Ἀμφίπολι, λοιπά τοι Αἰθοπίης Βραυρωνίδος ἴχνια νηοῦ μίμνει, καὶ ποταμοῦ τἀμφιμάχητον ὕδωρ, τὴν δὲ ποτ᾽ Αἰγείδαις μεγάλην ἔριν ὡς ἁλιανθὲς τρῦχος ἐπ᾽ ἀμφοτέραις δερκόμεθ᾽ ἠιόσιν."
"Amphipolis, tomb of Edonian Phyllis, washed by the Strymon and great Hellespont, all that is left of thee is the ruin of the temple of Brauronian Artemis and the disputed water of thy river. We see her for whom the Athenians strove so long now lying like a torn rag of precious purple on either bank."
"Τάσδε θεογλώσσους Ἑλικὼν ἔθρεψε γυναῖκας ὕμνοις, καὶ Μακεδὼν Πιερίας σκόπελος, Πρήξιλλαν, Μοιρώ, Ἀνύτης στόμα, θῆλυν Ὅμηρον, Λεσβιάδων Σαπφὼ κόσμον ἐυπλοκάμων, Ἤρινναν, Τελέσιλλαν ἀγακλέα, καὶ σέ, Κόριννα, θοῦριν Ἀθηναίης ἀσπίδα μελψαμέναν, Νοσσίδα θηλύγλωσσον, ἰδὲ γλυκυαχέα Μύρτιν, πάσας ἀενάων ἐργάτιδας σελίδων. ἐννέα μὲν Μούσας μέγας Οὐρανός, ἐννέα δ᾽ αὐτὰς γαῖα τέκεν, θνατοῖς ἄφθιτον εὐφροσύναν."
"These are the divine-voiced women that Helicon fed with song, Helicon and Macedonian Pieria’s rock: ; ; Anyte, the female Homer; Sappho, glory of the Lesbian women with lovely tresses; ; renowned ; and thou, , who didst sing the martial shield of Athena; , the tender-voiced, and dulcet-toned Myrtis—all craftswomen of eternal pages. Great Heaven gave birth to nine , and Earth to these nine, the deathless delight of men."
"Ἵσχετε χεῖρα μυλαῖον, ἀλετρίδες: εὕδετε μακρά, κἢν ὄρθρον προλέγῃ γῆρυς ἀλεκτρυόνων: Δηὼ γὰρ Νύμφαισι χερῶν ἐπετείλατο μόχθους: αἱ δὲ κατ᾽ ἀκροτάτην ἁλλόμεναι τροχιήν, ἄξονα δινεύουσιν ὁ δ᾽ ἀκτίνεσσιν ἑλικταῖς στρωφᾷ Νισυρίων κοῖλα βάρη μυλάκων. γευόμεθ᾽ ἀρχαίου βιότου πάλιν, εἰ δίχα μόχθου δαίνυσθαι Δηοῦς ἔργα διδασκόμεθα."
"Cease from grinding, ye women who toil at the mill; sleep late, even if the crowing cocks announce the dawn. For Demeter has ordered the Nymphs to perform the work of your hands, and they, leaping down on the top of the wheel, turn its axle which, with its revolving spokes, turns the heavy concave Nisyrian mill-stones. We taste again the joys of the primitive life, learning to feast on the products of Demeter without labour."
"W. R. Paton, The Greek Anthology, Vol. 2, LCL 68 (1917)"
"W. R. Paton, The Greek Anthology, Vol. 3, LCL 69 (1917)"
"Various hands, The Oxford Book of Greek Verse in Translation (1938), nos. 590–2"
"Στᾶλαι, καὶ Σειρῆνες ἐμαί, καὶ πένθιμε κρωσσέ, ὅστις ἔχεις Ἀΐδα τὰν ὀλίγαν σποδιάν, τοῖς ἐμὸν ἐρχομένοισι παρ᾿ ἠρίον εἴπατε χαίρειν, αἴτ᾿ ἀστοὶ τελέθωντ᾿, αἴθ᾿ ἑτέρας πόλιος· χὤτι με νύμφαν εὖσαν ἔχει τάφος, εἴπατε καὶ τό· χὤτι πατήρ μ᾿ ἐκάλει Βαυκίδα, χὤτι γένος Τηνία, ὡς εἰδῶντι· καὶ ὅττι μοι ἁ συνεταιρὶς Ἤρινν᾿ ἐν τύμβῳ γράμμ᾿ ἐχάραξε τόδε."
"[Greek text]"
"Παυροεπὴς Ἤριννα, καὶ οὐ πολύμυθος ἀοιδαῖς: ἀλλ᾽ ἔλαχεν Μούσας τοῦτο τὸ βαιὸν ἔπος. τοιγάρτοι μνήμης οὐκ ἤμβροτεν, οὐδὲ μελαίνης νυκτὸς ὑπὸ σκιερῇ κωλύεται πτέρυγι: αἱ δ᾽ ἀναρίθμητοι νεαρῶν σωρηδὸν ἀοιδῶν μυριάδες λήθῃ, ξεῖνε, μαραινόμεθα. λωίτερος κύκνου μικρὸς θρόος ἠὲ κολοιῶν κρωγμὸς ἐν εἰαριναῖς κιδνάμενος νεφέλαις."
"Τῇδε τὸν ἐκ Μελίτης ἀργὸν κύνα φησὶν ὁ πέτρος ἴσχειν, Εὐμήλου πιστότατον φύλακα. Ταῦρόν μιν καλέεσκον, ὅτ᾿ ἦν ἔτι· νῦν δὲ τὸ κείνου φθέγμα σιωπηραὶ νυκτὸς ἔχουσιν ὁδοί."
"Κλῶνες ἀπῃόριοι ταναῆς δρυός, εὔσκιον ὕψος ἀνδράσιν ἄκρητον καῦμα φυλασσομένοις, εὐπέταλοι, κεράμων στεγανώτεροι, οἰκία φαττῶν, οἰκία τεττίγων, ἔνδιοι ἀκρεμόνες, κἠμὲ τὸν ὑμετέραισιν ὑποκλινθέντα κόμαισιν ῥύσασθ', ἀκτίνων ἡελίου φυγάδα."
"Ναυηγοῦ τάφος εἰμί: σὺ δὲ πλέε: καὶ γὰρ ὅθ᾽ ἡμεῖς ὠλλύμεθ᾽, αἱ λοιπαὶ νῆες ἐποντοπόρουν."
"Οὐκέτι δή σε λίγεια κατ᾽ ἀφνεὸν Ἀλκίδος οἶκον ἀκρὶ μελιζομέναν ὄψεται ἀέλιος: ἤδη γὰρ λειμῶνας ἐπὶ Κλυμένου πεπότησαι καὶ δροσερὰ χρυσέας ἄνθεα Περσεφόνας."
"Τίκτει δέ τε θνατοῖσιν Εἰρήνα μεγάλα στρ. πλοῦτον μελιγλώσσων τ' ἀοιδᾶν ἄνθεα, δαιδαλέων τ᾽ ἐπὶ βωμῶν θεοῖσιν αἴθεσθαι βοῶν ξανθᾷ φλογί μῆρα τανῦτρίχων τε μήλων γυμνασίων τε νέοις αὐλῶν τε καὶ κώμων μέλειν."
"Ἐν δὲ σιδαροδέτοις πόρπαξιν αἰθᾶν ἀραχνᾶν ἱστοὶ πέλονται, ἔγχεα τε λογχωτὰ ξίφεα τ᾽ ἀμφάκεα δάμναται εὐρώς."
"Συμποσίων δ᾽ ἐρατῶν βρίθοντ᾽ ἀγυιαί, παιδείοι θ᾽ ὕμνοι φλέγονται."
"Οἱ μὲν ἀδμᾶτες ἀεικελιᾶν νούσων εἰσὶν καὶ ἄνατοι, οὐδὲν ἀνθρώποις ἴκελοι."
"Ἀτθὶ κόρα μελίθρεπτε, λάλος λάλον ἁρπάξασα τέττιγα πτανοῖς δαῖτα φέρεις τέκεσιν, τὸν λάλον ἁ λαλόεσσα, τὸν εὔπτερον ἁ πτερόεσσα, τὸν ξένον ἁ ξείνα, τὸν θερινὸν θερινά; κοὐχὶ τάχος ῥίψεις; οὐ γὰρ θέμις, οὐδὲ δίκαιον, ὄλλυσθ᾽ ὑμνοπόλους ὑμνοπόλοις στόμασιν."
"Εἰμί μὲν οὐ φιλόοινος: ὅταν δ᾽ ἐθέλῃς με μεθύσσαι, πρῶτα σὺ γευομένη πρόσφερε, καὶ δέχομαι. εἰ γὰρ ἐπιψαύσεις τοῖς χείλεσιν, οὐκέτι νήφειν εὐμαρὲς, οὐδὲ φυγεῖν τὸν γλυκὺν οἰνοχόον πορθμεύει γὰρ ἔμοιγε κύλιξ παρὰ σοῦ τὸ φίλημα, καί μοι ἀπαγγέλλει τὴν χάριν ἣν ἔλαβεν."
"Εἰργομένη φιλέειν με κατὰ στόμα δῖα Ῥοδάνθη ζώνην παρθενικὴν ἐξετάνυσσε μέσην, καὶ κείνην φιλέεσκεν ἐγὼ δέ τις ὡς ὀχετηγὸς ἀρχὴν εἰς ἑτέρην εἷλκον ἔρωτος ὕδωρ, αὐερύων τὸ φίλημα: περὶ ζωστῆρα δὲ κούρης μάστακι ποππύζων, τηλόθεν ἀντεφίλουν. ἦν δὲ πόνου καὶ τοῦτο παραίφασις: ἡ γλυκερὴ γὰρ ζώνη πορθμὸς ἔην χείλεος ἀμφοτέρου."
"Τῇ Παφίῃ στεφάνους, τῇ Παλλάδι τὴν πλοκαμῖδα, Ἀρτέμιδι ζώνην ἄνθετο Καλλιρόη: εὕρετο γὰρ μνηστῆρα τὸν ἤθελε, καὶ λάχεν ἥβην σώφρονα, καὶ τεκέων ἄρσεν ἔτικτε γένος."
"Εἰ μὲν ἀπὸ Σπάρτης τις ἔφυς, ξένε μή με γελάσσηις· οὐ γὰρ ἐμοὶ μούνηι ταῦτα τέλεσσε Τύχη· εἰ δέ τις ἐξ Ἀσίης, μὴ πένθεε· Δαρδανικοῖς γὰρ σκήπτροις Αἰνεαδῶν πᾶσα νένευκε πόλις. εἰ δὲ θεῶν τεμένη καὶ τείχεα καὶ ναετῆρας ζηλήμων δηίων ἐξεκένωσεν Ἄρης, εἰμὶ πάλιν· βασίλεια σὺ δ', ὦ τέκος, ἄτρομε Ῥώμη, βάλλε καθ' Ἑλλήνων σῆς ζυγόδεσμα δίκης."
"Καὶ τόδε Δημοδόκου· Χῖοι κακοί· οὐχ ὁ μέν, ὃς δ᾽ οὔ· πάντες, πλὴν Προκλέους· καὶ Προκλέης δὲ Χίος."
"Καππαδόκην ποτ᾽ ἔχιδνα κακὴ δάκεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴ κάτθανε, γευσαμένη αἵματος ἰοβόλου."
"Μιλήσιοι ἀξύνετοι μὲν οὔκ εἰσιν, δρῶσιν δ᾿ οἷά περ ἀξύνετοι."