Advice for Rioters who “have to go”

 “A long-haired protester stood at the base of the Capitol steps and urinated right onto the marble.”–Andrew McCormick, “Madness on Capitol Hill,” Thenation.com, Jan 7. 2021

Hesiod, Works & Days, 727-732

don’t pee standing facing the sun.
but also, from the time the sun sets, remember, and until it rises,
neither in the road nor beside it may you piss while walking,
and don’t expose yourself either:
the nights belong to the blessed ones.
the godly man in his wisdom knows to stoop,
or he goes to the wall of an enclosed courtyard.

μηδ᾽ ἄντ᾽ ἠελίου τετραμμένος ὀρθὸς ὀμιχεῖν:
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κε δύῃ, μεμνημένος, ἔς τ᾽ ἀνιόντα:
μήτ᾽ ἐν ὁδῷ μήτ᾽ ἐκτὸς ὁδοῦ προβάδην οὐρήσῃς
730μηδ᾽ ἀπογυμνωθείς: μακάρων τοι νύκτες ἔασιν:
ἑζόμενος δ᾽ ὅ γε θεῖος ἀνήρ, πεπνυμένα εἰδώς,
ἢ ὅ γε πρὸς τοῖχον πελάσας ἐυερκέος αὐλῆς.

Larry Benn has a B.A. in English Literature from Harvard College, an M.Phil in English Literature from Oxford University, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Making amends for a working life misspent in finance, he’s now a hobbyist in ancient languages and blogs at featsofgreek.blogspot.com.