Bacchylides 14.1-18
“The best thing for humans is
To have good luck from god.
See: a heavy-enduring suffering,
Debases even a good person when it comes,
While the elevated path,
Straightens out even a wicked one.
People have different kinds of honor
And their excellence is beyond counting–
Yet one thing looms above the rest:
When someone directs the work in front of them
With just thoughts.
The lyre’s tone
And the clear-voiced choruses
Are dissonant in battles weighed down by grief,
Just as the clash of bronze sounds off at feasts.
For every human act
The right time is the most important thing:
God straightens out the one who starts well.”
εὖ μὲν εἱμάρθαι παρὰ δαίμ[ονος ἀνθρώποις
ἄριστον·
σ]υμφορὰ δ᾿ ἐσθλόν <τ᾿> ἀμαλδύνει
β]αρύτλ[α]ος μολοῦσα
καὶ τ]ὸν κα[ὸν] ὑψιφανῆ τεύχει
κ]ατορθωθεῖσα· τιμὰν
δ᾿ ἄλ]λος ἀλλοίαν ἔχει·
μυρί]αι δ᾿ ἀνδρῶν ἀρε[αί,] μία δ᾿ ἐ[κ
πασᾶ]ν πρόκειται,
ὃς τὰ] πὰρ χειρὸς κυβέρνασεν
δι]καίαισι φρένεσσιν.
μυρί]αι δ᾿ ἀνδρῶν ἀρε[αί,] μία δ᾿ ἐ[κ
πασᾶ]ν πρόκειται,
ὃς τὰ] πὰρ χειρὸς κυβέρνασεν
δι]καίαισι φρένεσσιν.
οὔτ᾿ ἐ]ν βαρυπενθέσιν ἁρμόζει
μ]χαις φόρμιγγος ὀμφὰ
καὶ λι]γυκλαγγεῖς χοροί,
οὔτ᾿ ἐ]ν θαλίαις καναχά
χαλκ]όκτυπος· ἀλλ᾿ ἐφ᾿ ἑκάστωι
καιρὸς] ἀνδρῶν ἔργματι κάλλιστος·
[ε]ὖ ἔρδοντα δὲ καὶ θεὸς ὀ[ρθοῖ.
