Euripides Suppliant Women 1101-2

 

“Nothing is sweeter to an old father than a daughter”

 

πατρὶ δ᾽ οὐδὲν †ἥδιον†

γέροντι θυγατρός:

 

This isn’t any less true for young fathers either!

Euripides, fr. 657 (Protelisaus)

“Anyone who lumps all women together in blame

Is unsubtle and unwise.

For among the many women you will find one wicked

And another with a spirit as noble as this one”

ὅστις δὲ πάσας συντιθεὶς ψέγει λόγῳ

γυναῖκας ἑξῆς, σκαιός ἐστι κοὐ σοφός

πολλῶν γὰρ οὐσῶν τὴν μὲν εὑρήσεις κακήν

τὴν δ᾿ ὥσπερ ἥδε λῆμ᾿ ἔχουσαν εὐγενές

Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 1250-52

“It is  light that is sweetest for men to see

And the world below is nothing. Whoever prays for death

Is mad. Living badly is better than dying well.”

 

τὸ φῶς τόδ᾽ ἀνθρώποισιν ἥδιστον βλέπειν,

τὰ νέρθε δ᾽ οὐδέν: μαίνεται δ᾽ ὃς εὔχεται

θανεῖν. κακῶς ζῆν κρεῖσσον ἢ καλῶς θανεῖν.

Euripides, Rhesus 132

 

“I don’t like that the generals’ feeble rule”

 

σφαλερὰ δ᾽ οὐ φιλῶ στρατηγῶν κράτη

Euripides, Phoenician Women, 392

“This is the life of a slave: not speaking what one thinks.”

δούλου τόδ᾿ εἶπας, μὴ λέγειν ἅ τις φρονεῖ

Euripides, fr. 644 (Polyidus)

“Whenever some base man does well in a city, he contaminates the minds of better men who learn by example the resources of the wicked.”

 

ὅταν τις ἐν πόλει πράσσῃ καλῶς

νοσεῖν τίθησι τὰς ἀμεινόνων φρένας

παράδειγμ᾿ ἐχόντας τῶν κακῶν ἐξουσίαν;

Euripides, Herakleidai 939-940

“For it is the sweetest thing to see an enemy who is plagued by misfortune after enjoying prosperity.”

…ἐκ γὰρ εὐτυχοῦς
ἥδιστον ἐχθρὸν ἄνδρα δυστυχοῦνθ’ ὁρᾶν.

Euripides, Hippolytus 189-190

“The life of men is wholly grievous, nor is there any release from toil.”

πᾶς δ’ ὀδυνηρὸς βίος ἀνθρώπων
κοὐκ ἔστι πόνων ἀνάπαυσις.

Euripides, fr. 420 (Ino)

 

“Do you see how small things bring down once far-reaching tyrants and a single day lays some things low and raises up others?”

 

ὁρᾷς τυράννους διὰ μακρῶν ηὐξημένους

ὡς σμικρὰ τὰ σφάλλοντα, καὶ μί ᾿ ἡμέρα

τὰ μὲν καθεῖλεν ὑψόθεν, τὰ δ ᾿ ἦρ᾿ ἄνω;

 

I know, I cheated a little bit here: ηὐξημένους doesn’t mean “far-reaching” (it means “increasing”). I just liked that more. And I put the sense of the aorist into the temporal “once”.  Lazy summer days.

Euripides, fr. 760

 

 

“For the wicked, profit is superior to justice”

 

κακοῖς τὸ κέρδος τῆς δίκης ὑπέρτερον