“Surely it isn’t better when every truth bares its real face.”
οὔ τοι ἅπασα κερδίων
φαίνοισα πρόσωπον ἀλάθει’ ἀτρεκές·
Tag: Lies
Peisander, fr. 8 (Stobaeus 3.12.6)
“It is not shameful to proclaim even a lie publicly to save a life.”
οὐ νέμεσις καὶ ψεῦδος ὑπὲρ ψυχῆς ἀγορεύειν.
Peisander, you ask? Not the Spartan general or the Severan era poet.
(An epic poet, perhaps?)
Homer, Odyssey, 11.489-491
“I would rather serve as slave to another man
a man with no land and livelihood
than be a king over all the rotted corpses”
βουλοίμην κ’ ἐπάρουρος ἐὼν θητευέμεν ἄλλῳ,
ἀνδρὶ παρ’ ἀκλήρῳ, ᾧ μὴ βίοτος πολὺς εἴη,
ἢ πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσειν.
Achilles’ words to Odysseus (according, of course, to Odysseus)
Aeschylus, Fragment 381
“There is a good time for lies and god honors it”
ψευδῶν δὲ καιρὸν ἔσθ’ ὅπου τιμᾷ θεός
Aeschylus was considered old-fashioned and austere, even among the Ancient Athenians!
Pindar, Nemean 7.20-21
“I think that the story of Odysseus’ suffering was exaggerated by sweet-worded Homer”
ἐγὼ δὲ πλέον’ ἔλπομαι
λόγον ᾿Οδυσσέος ἢ πάθαν
διὰ τὸν ἁδυεπῆ γενέσθ’ ῞Ομηρον·
Pindar was a poet of Epinikion.
(but this line doesn’t seem to be about praise… for Homer, at least)