text:solon_poems
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Elegy and Iambus. with an English Translation by. J. M. Edmonds. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1931. 1. | Elegy and Iambus. with an English Translation by. J. M. Edmonds. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1931. 1. | ||
- | ====== Solon Poems ====== | + | ====== Solon: Poems ====== |
- | “Solon: —Son of Execestides, | + | “Solon: —Son of Execestides, |
+ | |||
+ | Suidas Lexicon | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “In the ante-chamber of the temple at Delphi are inscribed maxims for the bettering of human life. Their authors are the men the Greeks say were wise, namely. ... These men came to Delphi and dedicated to Apollo the well-known sayings Know thyself and Moderation in all things .2” Pausanias Description of Greece | + | “In the ante-chamber of the temple at Delphi are inscribed maxims for the bettering of human life. Their authors are the men the Greeks say were wise, namely. ... These men came to Delphi and dedicated to Apollo the well-known sayings Know thyself and Moderation in all things .2” |
+ | |||
+ | Pausanias Description of Greece | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “When he became chief of the people he made such laws and so regulated public affairs and the constitution of the state that we are content with the system he established to this day.” Isocrates On the Exchange [Solon] | + | “When he became chief of the people he made such laws and so regulated public affairs and the constitution of the state that we are content with the system he established to this day.” |
+ | |||
+ | Isocrates On the Exchange [Solon] | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “How monstrous, that while your ancestors chose to die to save the laws of their country, you should not see fit even to punish those who break them! How monstrous that while they set up in the marketplace a statue of Solon who wrote them,3 you should be seen to despise the very laws which have given such exceeding honour to his name!” Demosthenes Against Aristogeiton | + | “How monstrous, that while your ancestors chose to die to save the laws of their country, you should not see fit even to punish those who break them! How monstrous that while they set up in the marketplace a statue of Solon who wrote them,3 you should be seen to despise the very laws which have given such exceeding honour to his name!” |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Demosthenes Against Aristogeiton | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “... the provision of Solon that the man who took neither side in civil discord should lose his citizenship.” Plutarch On the Slow Revenge of the Deity | + | “... the provision of Solon that the man who took neither side in civil discord should lose his citizenship.” |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Plutarch On the Slow Revenge of the Deity | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “When Solon had become master, he set the people free once and for all by forbidding loans on the security of the person, and made laws and cancelled debts both public and private, which cancellation is called the Seisachtheia or Disburdening. ... He established a constitution and made other laws, and all the ordinances of Dracon except those that dealt with homicide became null and void. The laws were inscribed on the ‘pivot-boards’4 and set up in the Royal Colonade, and all the citizens took an oath to observe them, while the Nine Archons made a formal promise upon oath at the altar in the marketplace that if they transgressed any of the laws they would dedicate a golden statue; which is why they take the oath in this way at the present day. Solon made the laws unalterable for a hundred years, and arranged the constitution as follows: He divided the people by assessment into four classes, etc.” Aristotle Constitution of Athens | + | “When Solon had become master, he set the people free once and for all by forbidding loans on the security of the person, and made laws and cancelled debts both public and private, which cancellation is called the Seisachtheia or Disburdening. ... He established a constitution and made other laws, and all the ordinances of Dracon except those that dealt with homicide became null and void. The laws were inscribed on the ‘pivot-boards’4 and set up in the Royal Colonade, and all the citizens took an oath to observe them, while the Nine Archons made a formal promise upon oath at the altar in the marketplace that if they transgressed any of the laws they would dedicate a golden statue; which is why they take the oath in this way at the present day. Solon made the laws unalterable for a hundred years, and arranged the constitution as follows: He divided the people by assessment into four classes, etc.” |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Aristotle Constitution of Athens | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “The most democratic of Solon' | + | “The most democratic of Solon' |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Aristotle Constitution of Athens | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “When the system above described was established, | + | “When the system above described was established, |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Aristotle Constitution of Athens | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Aelian: —One evening over the wine, Execestides the nephew of Solon the Athenian sang a song of the poetess Sappho' | + | “Aelian: —One evening over the wine, Execestides the nephew of Solon the Athenian sang a song of the poetess Sappho' |
+ | |||
+ | Stobaeus Anthology | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Solon, Thales, and Pittacus, who were of the so-called Seven Sages, lived each a hundred years (cf. fr. 27. 17).” | + | “Solon, Thales, and Pittacus, who were of the so-called Seven Sages, lived each a hundred years (cf. fr. 27. 17).” |
+ | Lucian Longevity | ||
- | ---- | ||
- | “ Besides, of course, the laws, he wrote Speeches to the People and Exhortations to Himself in elegiacs, and the poems on Salamis and The Athenian Constitution , in all 5000 lines, as well as Iambi and Epodes . His statue is thus inscribed: “Solon the lawgiver is this, Son of yon holy Salamis That made the pride of Media cease. | + | ---- |
- | ”5 He flourished, according to Sosicrates, in the 46th Olympiad, in the 3rd year of which (594 B.C.) he was archon at Athens; it was then that he enacted his laws. He died in Cyprus at the age of eighty, leaving instructions to his kinsfolk that his bones should be carried to Salamis and there burnt to ashes and scattered over the soil. And this is why Cratinus in the Cheirons makes him say: “My home's an island, and my dust men tell Is scattered o' | + | “Besides, of course, the laws, he wrote Speeches to the People and Exhortations to Himself |
- | ” | + | ”5 He flourished, according to Sosicrates, in the 46th Olympiad, in the 3rd year of which (594 B.C.) he was archon at Athens; it was then that he enacted his laws. He died in Cyprus at the age of eighty, leaving instructions to his kinsfolk that his bones should be carried to Salamis and there burnt to ashes and scattered over the soil. And this is why Cratinus in the Cheirons makes him say: “My home's an island, and my dust men tell Is scattered o'er the towns of Ajax' land." |
- | ” | ||
Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon | Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon | ||
Line 66: | Line 88: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “According to Heracleides of Pontus, Solon survived the beginning of the reign of Peisistratus by some considerable time, according to Phanias of Eresus, by less than two years. Peisistratus' | + | “According to Heracleides of Pontus, Solon survived the beginning of the reign of Peisistratus by some considerable time, according to Phanias of Eresus, by less than two years. Peisistratus' |
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “If I am not mistaken, hardly anybody in this city could point to two Athenian houses which would have united to produce so true a nobleman as the two from which you spring. The fame of your father' | + | “If I am not mistaken, hardly anybody in this city could point to two Athenian houses which would have united to produce so true a nobleman as the two from which you spring. The fame of your father' |
+ | |||
+ | Plato Charmides | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “As he stood there upon the pyre, Croesus, it is said, remembered, for all he was in such evil case, how truly inspired was the saying of Solon that no man living is happy.6” Herodotus Histories | + | “As he stood there upon the pyre, Croesus, it is said, remembered, for all he was in such evil case, how truly inspired was the saying of Solon that no man living is happy.6” |
+ | |||
+ | Herodotus Histories | ||
Line 83: | Line 112: | ||
“ But the Megarians nevertheless persevering (in the war for Salamis), the Athenians, who both suffered and inflicted much hardship in the war, appointed Sparta to arbitrate between them and their enemies. Most authorities declare Solon' | “ But the Megarians nevertheless persevering (in the war for Salamis), the Athenians, who both suffered and inflicted much hardship in the war, appointed Sparta to arbitrate between them and their enemies. Most authorities declare Solon' | ||
- | ” But the Athenians themselves consider this an idle tale, and maintain that Solon proved to the court that Philaeus and Eurysaces, sons of Ajax, gave Athens the island on receiving Athenian citizenship, | + | ” But the Athenians themselves consider this an idle tale, and maintain that Solon proved to the court that Philaeus and Eurysaces, sons of Ajax, gave Athens the island on receiving Athenian citizenship, |
- | + | ||
- | ” | + | |
Plutarch Life of Solon | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
Line 92: | Line 119: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “After beginning on a large scale his history or fable of Atlantis, a fable which the learned men of Sais related to him as one that concerned the Athenians, he gave it up, not as Plato says for lack of time, but rather because he was grown old and feared the task would be too great.” Plutarch Life of Solon | + | “After beginning on a large scale his history or fable of Atlantis, a fable which the learned men of Sais related to him as one that concerned the Athenians, he gave it up, not as Plato says for lack of time, but rather because he was grown old and feared the task would be too great.” |
+ | |||
+ | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
Line 107: | Line 136: | ||
Salamis | Salamis | ||
- | “7Having waged a long and grievous war against Megara for the possession of the isle of Salamis, the Athenians of the city at last made an end of it and passed a law that none should prefer Athens' | + | 7Having waged a long and grievous war against Megara for the possession of the isle of Salamis, the Athenians of the city at last made an end of it and passed a law that none should prefer Athens' |
- | A herald am I from lovely Salamis, and have made me instead of a speech11 a song that is an ornament of words. | + | //A herald am I from lovely Salamis, and have made me instead of a speech11 a song that is an ornament of words.// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.1 | + | |
This poem is entitled Salamis and contains a hundred lines; it is a very fine piece of work. When it ended, Solon' | This poem is entitled Salamis and contains a hundred lines; it is a very fine piece of work. When it ended, Solon' | ||
- | ” | + | |
Plutarch Life of Solon | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
Line 121: | Line 148: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “... Solon feigned madness and rushed garlanded into the marketplace, | + | ... Solon feigned madness and rushed garlanded into the marketplace, |
- | Then may I change my country and be a man of Pholegandros or Sicinus13 instead of an Athenian, for full soon would this be the report among men: This is an Athenian of the tribe of Salaminaphetae or Letters-go of Salamis. | + | //Then may I change my country and be a man of Pholegandros or Sicinus13 instead of an Athenian, for full soon would this be the report among men: This is an Athenian of the tribe of Salaminaphetae or Letters-go of Salamis.// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.2 | + | |
And again:14 | And again:14 | ||
- | Let us to Salamis, to fight for a lovely isle and put away from us dishonour hard to bear. | + | //Let us to Salamis, to fight for a lovely isle and put away from us dishonour hard to bear.// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.3 | + | |
- | ” | ||
Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon | Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon | ||
- | ---- | + | |
===== Other ===== | ===== Other ===== | ||
- | “15Now take and recite, pray, these elegiac lines of Solon, that the jury may know that Solon, like us, hated such men as the defendant. The point is, Aeschines, not that you should keep your hand in your cloak when you play the orator, but that you should do so when you play the ambassador; instead of which you held it out and opened it wide in Macedonia and brought your colleagues to disgrace; and now you hold forth here, and you just con and mouth some miserable rigmaroles, and then think, I suppose, that you will escape the penalty of a long list of heinous crimes if you merely don a little cap16 and walk abroad and abuse me. Now, Sir, recite. | + | 15Now take and recite, pray, these elegiac lines of Solon, that the jury may know that Solon, like us, hated such men as the defendant. The point is, Aeschines, not that you should keep your hand in your cloak when you play the orator, but that you should do so when you play the ambassador; instead of which you held it out and opened it wide in Macedonia and brought your colleagues to disgrace; and now you hold forth here, and you just con and mouth some miserable rigmaroles, and then think, I suppose, that you will escape the penalty of a long list of heinous crimes if you merely don a little cap16 and walk abroad and abuse me. Now, Sir, recite. |
But Athens, albeit she will never perish by the destiny of Zeus or the will of the happy Gods immortal —for of such power is the great-hearted Guardian, Daughter of a Mighty Sire, that holdeth Her hands over us —, Her own people, for lucre' | But Athens, albeit she will never perish by the destiny of Zeus or the will of the happy Gods immortal —for of such power is the great-hearted Guardian, Daughter of a Mighty Sire, that holdeth Her hands over us —, Her own people, for lucre' | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.4 | + | Demosthenes On the Embassy |
- | + | ||
- | ” Demosthenes On the Embassy | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
Line 153: | Line 173: | ||
“20To support what I say there is not only the unanimous testimony of all other authorities, | “20To support what I say there is not only the unanimous testimony of all other authorities, | ||
- | For I gave the common folk such privilege as is sufficient for them, neither adding nor taking away; and such as had power and were admired for their riches, I provided that they too should not suffer undue wrong. Nay, I stood with a strong shield thrown before the both sorts, and would have neither to prevail unrighteously over the other. | + | //For I gave the common folk such privilege as is sufficient for them, neither adding nor taking away; and such as had power and were admired for their riches, I provided that they too should not suffer undue wrong. Nay, I stood with a strong shield thrown before the both sorts, and would have neither to prevail unrighteously over the other.// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.5 | ||
And again he sets forth how the commons should be treated:21 | And again he sets forth how the commons should be treated:21 | ||
- | So best will the people follow their leaders, neither too little restrained nor yet perforce; for excess breedeth outrage when much prosperity followeth those whose mind is not perfect.22 | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.6 | + | //So best will the people follow their leaders, neither too little restrained nor yet perforce; for excess breedeth outrage when much prosperity followeth those whose mind is not perfect.22// |
- | ” | + | |
Aristotle Constitution of Athens | Aristotle Constitution of Athens | ||
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“Wishing to escape the ill-feeling and fault-finding of his fellow-citizens, | “Wishing to escape the ill-feeling and fault-finding of his fellow-citizens, | ||
- | In great matters it is hard to please all, | + | //In great matters it is hard to please all,// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.7 | ||
he obtained ten years' leave-of-absence of his fellow-countrymen and went abroad. | he obtained ten years' leave-of-absence of his fellow-countrymen and went abroad. | ||
- | ” | + | |
Plutarch Life of Solon | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
Line 179: | Line 199: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “For the land knows how to bear all the offspring of the seasons for its inhabitants, | + | For the land knows how to bear all the offspring of the seasons for its inhabitants, |
- | a shining nurse of youth, | + | //a shining nurse of youth,// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.8 | ||
and the sea, etc.— | and the sea, etc.— | ||
- | ” | + | |
Choricius Declamations | Choricius Declamations | ||
Line 192: | Line 211: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “23Solon is said to have warned his fellow-countrymen of the coming despotism in elegiac verse: | + | 23Solon is said to have warned his fellow-countrymen of the coming despotism in elegiac verse: |
- | The strength of snow and of hail is from a cloud, and thunder cometh of the bright lightning; a city is destroyed of great men, and the common folk fall into bondage unto a despot because of ignorance. For him that putteth out too far from land 'tis not easy to make haven afterward; all such things as these should be thought of ere it be too late. | + | //The strength of snow and of hail is from a cloud, and thunder cometh of the bright lightning; a city is destroyed of great men, and the common folk fall into bondage unto a despot because of ignorance. For him that putteth out too far from land 'tis not easy to make haven afterward; all such things as these should be thought of ere it be too late.// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.9 | ||
Later, when Peisistratus' | Later, when Peisistratus' | ||
- | If ye suffer bitterly through your own fault, blame ye not the Gods for it; for yourselves have ye exalted these men by giving them guards,24 and therefore it is that ye enjoy foul servitude. Each one of you walketh with the steps of a fox, the mind of all of you is vain; for ye look to a man's tongue and shifty speech, and never to the deed he doeth. | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.10 | + | //If ye suffer bitterly through your own fault, blame ye not the Gods for it; for yourselves have ye exalted these men by giving them guards,24 and therefore it is that ye enjoy foul servitude. Each one of you walketh with the steps of a fox, the mind of all of you is vain; for ye look to a man's tongue and shifty speech, and never to the deed he doeth.// |
- | ” | + | |
Diodorus of Sicily Historical Library | Diodorus of Sicily Historical Library | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “25Thereafter the people gave him their ears, and would gladly have suffered him even to rule them; but he would not have it, nay, according to Sosicrates, when he got wind of the designs of his kinsman Peisistratus he did all he could to hinder them. For he rushed one day into the assembly armed with spear and shield, warned them of Peisistratus' | + | 25Thereafter the people gave him their ears, and would gladly have suffered him even to rule them; but he would not have it, nay, according to Sosicrates, when he got wind of the designs of his kinsman Peisistratus he did all he could to hinder them. For he rushed one day into the assembly armed with spear and shield, warned them of Peisistratus' |
- | The truth will out, and a little time will show my fellow-citizens, | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.11 | + | //The truth will out, and a little time will show my fellow-citizens, sure enough, whether I be mad or no.// |
- | ” Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon | + | Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon |
---- | ---- | ||
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“In physical philosophy he is very naive and old-fashioned; | “In physical philosophy he is very naive and old-fashioned; | ||
- | The sea is stirred by the winds; it if be not stirred 'tis the quietest26 of all things. | + | //The sea is stirred by the winds; it if be not stirred 'tis the quietest26 of all things.// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.12 | + | Plutarch Life of Solon |
- | + | ||
- | ” Plutarch Life of Solon | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “27Solon: — | + | 27Solon: — |
- | Splendid children of Memory and Olympian Zeus, give ear, Pierian Muses, unto my prayer. Grant me prosperity at the hands of the Blessed Gods, and good fame ever at the hands of men; make me, I pray You, sweet to my friends and sour unto my foes, to these a man reverend to behold, to those a man terrible. Wealth I desire to possess, but would not have it unrighteously; | + | //Splendid children of Memory and Olympian Zeus, give ear, Pierian Muses, unto my prayer. Grant me prosperity at the hands of the Blessed Gods, and good fame ever at the hands of men; make me, I pray You, sweet to my friends and sour unto my foes, to these a man reverend to behold, to those a man terrible. Wealth I desire to possess, but would not have it unrighteously; |
We mortal men, alike good and bad, are minded thus: —each of us keepeth the opinion he hath ever had29 till he suffer ill, and then forthwith he grieveth; albeit ere that, we rejoice open-mouthed in vain expectations, | We mortal men, alike good and bad, are minded thus: —each of us keepeth the opinion he hath ever had29 till he suffer ill, and then forthwith he grieveth; albeit ere that, we rejoice open-mouthed in vain expectations, | ||
- | Aye, surely Fate it is that bringeth mankind both good and ill, and the gifts immortal Gods offer must needs be accepted; surely too there' | + | Aye, surely Fate it is that bringeth mankind both good and ill, and the gifts immortal Gods offer must needs be accepted; surely too there' |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.13 | + | Stobaeus Anthology [on righteousness] |
- | + | ||
- | ” Stobaeus Anthology [on righteousness] | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Solon: — | + | Solon: — |
- | Nor is any mortal happy, but all men are unfortunate that the Sun can see.35 | + | //Nor is any mortal happy, but all men are unfortunate that the Sun can see.35// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.14 | + | Stobaeus Anthology [that life is short, of little account, and full of cares] |
- | + | ||
- | ” Stobaeus Anthology [that life is short, of little account, and full of cares] | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “36That he reckoned himself among the poor rather than the rich, is shown by these lines: | + | 36That he reckoned himself among the poor rather than the rich, is shown by these lines: |
- | Many bad men are rich, many good men poor; but we, we will not exchange virtue for these men's wealth; for the one endureth whereas the other belongeth now to this man and now to that. | + | //Many bad men are rich, many good men poor; but we, we will not exchange virtue for these men's wealth; for the one endureth whereas the other belongeth now to this man and now to that.// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.15 | + | Plutarch Life of Solon |
- | + | ||
- | ” Plutarch Life of Solon | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “37Now Solon has well said of God: | + | 37Now Solon has well said of God: |
- | 'Tis very hard to tell the unseen measure of sound judgment, which yet alone hath the ends of all things.38 | + | //'Tis very hard to tell the unseen measure of sound judgment, which yet alone hath the ends of all things.38// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.16 | + | Clement of Alexandria Miscellanies |
- | + | ||
- | ” Clement of Alexandria Miscellanies | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “39Well may Solon the Athenian say, after Hesiod, in his Elegies: | + | 39Well may Solon the Athenian say, after Hesiod, in his Elegies: |
- | The mind of the Immortals is all unseen to man. | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.17 | + | //The mind of the Immortals is all unseen to man.// |
- | ” Clement of Alexandria Miscellanies | + | Clement of Alexandria Miscellanies |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “40Compare Solon: — | + | 40Compare Solon: — |
- | + | ||
- | But as I grow old I learn many things. | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.18 | + | //But as I grow old I learn many things.// |
- | ” [Plato] Lovers | + | [Plato] Lovers |
---- | ---- | ||
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To Philocyprus | To Philocyprus | ||
- | “41... the king of the Solians, Aristocyprus the son of Philocyprus. This is the Philocyprus whom Solon the Athenian on his visit to Cyprus praised in verse above all other despots. | + | 41... the king of the Solians, Aristocyprus the son of Philocyprus. This is the Philocyprus whom Solon the Athenian on his visit to Cyprus praised in verse above all other despots. |
- | But as it is, I pray that you and yours may long dwell in this city as lords of the Solians, that I may be sped unharmed a-shipboard from this famous isle by Cypris of the Violet Crown, and that the same may grant me favour and good fame after this sojourn, and safe return unto my native land. | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.19 | + | But as it is, I pray that you and yours may long dwell in this city as lords of the Solians, that I may be sped unharmed a-shipboard from this famous isle by Cypris of the Violet Crown, and that the same may grant me favour and good fame after this sojourn, and safe return unto my native land. |
- | ” Herodotus Histories | + | Herodotus Histories |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Then (after visiting Egypt) he went to Cyprus, where he made great friends with a king of those parts called Philocyprus... So Solon persuaded him, by changing its site to a fair plain that lay beneath it, to make the city greater and more pleasant to live in. And he stayed there and took charge of the gathering of the people into the city, and helped him to arrange it in the best way for the convenience and safety of its inhabitants, | + | |
+ | Then (after visiting Egypt) he went to Cyprus, where he made great friends with a king of those parts called Philocyprus... So Solon persuaded him, by changing its site to a fair plain that lay beneath it, to make the city greater and more pleasant to live in. And he stayed there and took charge of the gathering of the people into the city, and helped him to arrange it in the best way for the convenience and safety of its inhabitants, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
---- | ---- | ||
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To Mimnermus | To Mimnermus | ||
- | “42It is said that when Mimnermus wrote (Mimn. fr. 11) that he hoped he might die at the age of sixty, he found fault with him, saying: | + | 42It is said that when Mimnermus wrote (Mimn. fr. 11) that he hoped he might die at the age of sixty, he found fault with him, saying: |
- | But if thou with listen to me so late in the day, blot this out, Ligyastades, | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.20 | + | //But if thou with listen to me so late in the day, blot this out, Ligyastades, |
- | ” Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon | + | Diogenes Laertius Life of Solon |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Furthermore, | + | Furthermore, |
- | Nor may death come to me without a tear; rather would I have my decease make sorrow and lamentation for my friends, | + | //Nor may death come to me without a tear; rather would I have my decease make sorrow and lamentation for my friends,// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.21 | + | |
he argues Publicola a happy man. For his death filled, not only his friends and kinsfolk, but a whole city of tens of thousands, with tears and regret and downcast looks. | he argues Publicola a happy man. For his death filled, not only his friends and kinsfolk, but a whole city of tens of thousands, with tears and regret and downcast looks. | ||
- | ” | ||
Plutarch Lives of Solon and Publicola | Plutarch Lives of Solon and Publicola | ||
Line 331: | Line 333: | ||
To Critias | To Critias | ||
- | “43Critias: —Now he was connected with my family and a great friend of Dropides my great-grandfather, | + | 43Critias: —Now he was connected with my family and a great friend of Dropides my great-grandfather, |
- | Tell flaxen-haired Critias to listen to his father; for if so, he will have a guide of no erring judgment. | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.22 | + | //Tell flaxen-haired Critias to listen to his father; for if so, he will have a guide of no erring judgment.// |
- | ” Plato Timaeus [on Solon] | + | Plato Timaeus [on Solon] |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “The history of Solon' | + | “The history of Solon' |
+ | |||
+ | Proclus on the passage | ||
Line 347: | Line 350: | ||
“44People then are not lovers of horses, it would seem, unless their horses love them in return, nor in like manner of quails nor yet of dogs, nor of wine, nor of gymnastics, nor of wisdom, unless wisdom loves them in return; or does each sort love each of these without the object of their friendship being their friend, thus proving the poet wrong who says: | “44People then are not lovers of horses, it would seem, unless their horses love them in return, nor in like manner of quails nor yet of dogs, nor of wine, nor of gymnastics, nor of wisdom, unless wisdom loves them in return; or does each sort love each of these without the object of their friendship being their friend, thus proving the poet wrong who says: | ||
- | Happy he who hath dear children,45 whole-hooved46 steeds, hunting hounds, and a friend in foreign parts. | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.23 | + | //Happy he who hath dear children,45 whole-hooved46 steeds, hunting hounds, and a friend in foreign parts.// |
- | ” Plato Lysis | + | Plato Lysis |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “47He had no admiration for wealth; indeed he declares : | + | 47He had no admiration for wealth; indeed he declares : |
- | Surely equal is the wealth of him that hath much silver and gold and fields of wheatland and horses and mules, to that of him that hath but this —comfort in belly and sides and feet.48 This is abundance unto men, seeing that no man taketh with him the many things he hath above this when he goeth below, nor shall he for a price escape death nor yet sore disease nor the evil approach of Age. | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.24 | + | //Surely equal is the wealth of him that hath much silver and gold and fields of wheatland and horses and mules, to that of him that hath but this —comfort in belly and sides and feet.48 This is abundance unto men, seeing that no man taketh with him the many things he hath above this when he goeth below, nor shall he for a price escape death nor yet sore disease nor the evil approach of Age.// |
- | ” Plutarch Life of Solon | + | Plutarch Life of Solon |
---- | ---- | ||
Line 366: | Line 367: | ||
“Protegenes was willing and eager to say still more, but Daphnaeus stopped him, exclaiming ‘I am very glad you mentioned Solon; he shall be our criterion of the “erotic” man’49: | “Protegenes was willing and eager to say still more, but Daphnaeus stopped him, exclaiming ‘I am very glad you mentioned Solon; he shall be our criterion of the “erotic” man’49: | ||
- | till in the flower of youth he love a lad with the desire of things and sweet lips; | + | //till in the flower of youth he love a lad with the desire of things and sweet lips;// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.25 | + | |
And that surely is why Solon wrote what I have just quoted when he was full of youth and vigour, as Plato says, and when he was old the following lines: | And that surely is why Solon wrote what I have just quoted when he was full of youth and vigour, as Plato says, and when he was old the following lines: | ||
- | Dear to me now are the works of the Cyprus-born and of Dionysus and of the Muses, works which make good cheer for man, | + | //Dear to me now are the works of the Cyprus-born and of Dionysus and of the Muses, works which make good cheer for man,// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.26 | + | |
as though after the storm and stress of less worthy loves he had found haven for his life in a calm of marriage and philosophy.50 | as though after the storm and stress of less worthy loves he had found haven for his life in a calm of marriage and philosophy.50 | ||
- | ” | + | |
Plutarch Amatorius | Plutarch Amatorius | ||
Line 384: | Line 381: | ||
“51These Ages of Life are given by Solon the Athenian lawgiver in the following elegiac lines: | “51These Ages of Life are given by Solon the Athenian lawgiver in the following elegiac lines: | ||
- | In seven years the half-grown boy casteth the first teeth he cut as a child; when God hath accomplished him seven years more he showeth signs that his youthful prime is nigh; in the third seven, when his limbs are still a-waxing, his chin groweth downy with the bloom of changing skin; in the fourth every man is at his best in the strength which men bear for a token of virtue and valour52; in the fifth 'tis time for a man to bethink him of marriage and to seek offspring to come after him; in the sixth a man's mind is trained in all things, and he wisheth not so much now for what may not be done; in seven sevens and in eight he is at his best in mind and tongue, to wit fourteen years of both; in the ninth age he is still an able man, but his tongue and his lore have less might unto great virtue53; and if a man come to the full measure of the tenth, he will not meet the fate of Death untimely. | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.27 | + | //In seven years the half-grown boy casteth the first teeth he cut as a child; when God hath accomplished him seven years more he showeth signs that his youthful prime is nigh; in the third seven, when his limbs are still a-waxing, his chin groweth downy with the bloom of changing skin; in the fourth every man is at his best in the strength which men bear for a token of virtue and valour52; in the fifth 'tis time for a man to bethink him of marriage and to seek offspring to come after him; in the sixth a man's mind is trained in all things, and he wisheth not so much now for what may not be done; in seven sevens and in eight he is at his best in mind and tongue, to wit fourteen years of both; in the ninth age he is still an able man, but his tongue and his lore have less might unto great virtue53; and if a man come to the full measure of the tenth, he will not meet the fate of Death untimely.// |
- | ” Philo Creation of the World | + | Philo Creation of the World |
---- | ---- | ||
Line 394: | Line 390: | ||
“When such was the condition of the body politic and the many were slaves of the few, the commons rose against the men of note. The struggle was bitter and the mutual opposition long, but finally they agreed upon an arbitrator and ruler in the person of Solon, putting the reins of government into his hands on his composing the Elegy which begins: | “When such was the condition of the body politic and the many were slaves of the few, the commons rose against the men of note. The struggle was bitter and the mutual opposition long, but finally they agreed upon an arbitrator and ruler in the person of Solon, putting the reins of government into his hands on his composing the Elegy which begins: | ||
- | I know, and pain lieth in my heart as I see it, that the oldest land of Ionia is being slain.54 | + | //I know, and pain lieth in my heart as I see it, that the oldest land of Ionia is being slain.54// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.28 | + | |
In this poem he champions either party alternately and then exhorts both together to make up their quarrel. Now Solon belonged to the highest rank in character and reputation, and to the middle sort in estate and business, as is agreed on other grounds and as he himself attests in these lines, wherein he exhorts the rich not to be covetous: | In this poem he champions either party alternately and then exhorts both together to make up their quarrel. Now Solon belonged to the highest rank in character and reputation, and to the middle sort in estate and business, as is agreed on other grounds and as he himself attests in these lines, wherein he exhorts the rich not to be covetous: | ||
- | But do ye who have had more than your fill of many good things, calm the strong heart that is in your breast, and be moderate in your aspirations55; | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.29 | + | //But do ye who have had more than your fill of many good things, calm the strong heart that is in your breast, and be moderate in your aspirations55; |
and speaking generally he ascribes the discord to the rich; and that is why at the beginning of the same Elegy he says that he fears | and speaking generally he ascribes the discord to the rich; and that is why at the beginning of the same Elegy he says that he fears | ||
both pride and the love of pelf, | both pride and the love of pelf, | ||
- | |||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.30 | ||
considering those to be the cause of the enmity. | considering those to be the cause of the enmity. | ||
- | ” | + | |
Aristotle Constitution of Athens | Aristotle Constitution of Athens | ||
Line 415: | Line 406: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Well says the proverb:57 | + | Well says the proverb:57\\ |
Poets tell many lies. | Poets tell many lies. | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.31 | + | [Plato] On Justice |
- | + | ||
- | ” [Plato] On Justice | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | | + | |
+ | |||
+ | Scholiast on the passage | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “He first visited Egypt, and spent some time, as he says himself, | + | He first visited Egypt, and spent some time, as he says himself, |
- | + | ||
- | at Nile's outpourings nigh the Canopic strand, | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.32 | + | //at Nile's outpourings nigh the Canopic strand,// |
and for a while shared the studies of the most erudite of the priests, Psenopis of Heliopolis and Sonchis of Sais, from whom it was, as Plato tells us, that he learnt the history of Atlantis, which he began to make known to the Greeks by means of a poem he did not finish. | and for a while shared the studies of the most erudite of the priests, Psenopis of Heliopolis and Sonchis of Sais, from whom it was, as Plato tells us, that he learnt the history of Atlantis, which he began to make known to the Greeks by means of a poem he did not finish. | ||
- | ” | + | |
Plutarch Life of Solon | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
Line 444: | Line 433: | ||
- | “Some writers declare that he also made a beginning of putting his laws into Epic verse and thus publishing them to the world, and they record the opening lines as follows: | + | Some writers declare that he also made a beginning of putting his laws into Epic verse and thus publishing them to the world, and they record the opening lines as follows: |
- | First let us pray to King Zeus Son of Cronus, that he bestow good fortune and honour upon these ordinances. | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.33 | + | //First let us pray to King Zeus Son of Cronus, that he bestow good fortune and honour upon these ordinances.// |
- | ” Plutarch Life of Solon | + | Plutarch Life of Solon |
- | ---- | ||
===== Book 2 Tetrameters ===== | ===== Book 2 Tetrameters ===== | ||
Line 458: | Line 445: | ||
To Phocus | To Phocus | ||
- | “He is said to have observed to his friends that despotism is a fine position from which there' | + | He is said to have observed to his friends that despotism is a fine position from which there' |
- | If I have spared my country and not put my hand forth unto despotism and relentless violence, befouling and disgracing my good name, I am not ashamed of it; for thus methinks I shall the rather surpass the world. | + | //If I have spared my country and not put my hand forth unto despotism and relentless violence, befouling and disgracing my good name, I am not ashamed of it; for thus methinks I shall the rather surpass the world.// |
- | + | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.34 | + | |
From which it is quite clear that he stood in high repute even before his legislation. And with regard to the ridicule heaped upon him for shirking supreme power, he writes as follows: | From which it is quite clear that he stood in high repute even before his legislation. And with regard to the ridicule heaped upon him for shirking supreme power, he writes as follows: | ||
+ | |||
Solon is no wiseacre nor sage, for he hath of his own free will refused good hap when Heaven offered it. Though he hath his quarry in the trammels he is too amazed to draw the great net to, as one that hath lost both will and wit. Now had I the power, I had been only too glad to be flayed for a wineskin and my posterity wiped out, if only I might first have wealth abundant and rule Athens for a single day. | Solon is no wiseacre nor sage, for he hath of his own free will refused good hap when Heaven offered it. Though he hath his quarry in the trammels he is too amazed to draw the great net to, as one that hath lost both will and wit. Now had I the power, I had been only too glad to be flayed for a wineskin and my posterity wiped out, if only I might first have wealth abundant and rule Athens for a single day. | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.35 | ||
Thus he makes the baser sort speak of him. All the same, though he refused the supreme power, he did not govern in the mildest possible way, nor show in his legislation any lack of courage or any bending to the powerful or pandering to his electors, but rather where it was tolerable to leave things alone he applied no remedy and made no change, lest he | Thus he makes the baser sort speak of him. All the same, though he refused the supreme power, he did not govern in the mildest possible way, nor show in his legislation any lack of courage or any bending to the powerful or pandering to his electors, but rather where it was tolerable to leave things alone he applied no remedy and made no change, lest he | ||
- | throw the city into so utter confusion as to be too weak afterwards to re-establish her and make her at unity59 | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.36 | + | //throw the city into so utter confusion as to be too weak afterwards to re-establish her and make her at unity59// |
+ | |||
with what is best. | with what is best. | ||
- | ” | + | |
Plutarch Life of Solon | Plutarch Life of Solon | ||
Line 481: | Line 467: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “And in another place, too, he says of the persons who wished to re-distribute the land: | + | And in another place, too, he says of the persons who wished to re-distribute the land: |
- | But they that came for plunder had rich hopes, reckoning every man that he would find himself great prosperity, and that for all my smooth words I should show a hard heart. Vain were their imaginings then, and now they are angered with me and all eye me askance as if I were an enemy —wrongly, for with the Gods' help I have done what I said, and what I said not, that did I not do without due thought, nor did it please me to do aught by force of the supreme power,60 nor yet that the bad should have equal share of their fat fatherland with the good.61 | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.37 | + | //But they that came for plunder had rich hopes, reckoning every man that he would find himself great prosperity, and that for all my smooth words I should show a hard heart. Vain were their imaginings then, and now they are angered with me and all eye me askance as if I were an enemy —wrongly, for with the Gods' help I have done what I said, and what I said not, that did I not do without due thought, nor did it please me to do aught by force of the supreme power,60 nor yet that the bad should have equal share of their fat fatherland with the good.61// |
- | ” Aristotle Constitution of Athens [on Solon] | + | Aristotle Constitution of Athens [on Solon] |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “And it is proved that he lied ... and you who know Solon are not unaware whom you should blame instead of us. | + | And it is proved that he lied ... and you who know Solon are not unaware whom you should blame instead of us. |
You are not unaware of whom you should blame instead of us. | You are not unaware of whom you should blame instead of us. | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.38 | + | Libanius Letters |
- | ” Libanius Letters | ||
- | ---- | ||
===== Book 3 Iambi ===== | ===== Book 3 Iambi ===== | ||
Line 503: | Line 486: | ||
- | “62And again Solon speaks of the cancelling of debt, and of the citizens that were set free from slavery by the ‘Disburdening’: | + | 62And again Solon speaks of the cancelling of debt, and of the citizens that were set free from slavery by the ‘Disburdening’: |
- | But as for me, why did I stay me ere I had won that for which I gathered the commons?63 Right good witness shall I have in the court of Time,64 to wit the Great Mother of the Olympian Gods, dark Earth,65 whose so many fixed landmarks66 I once removed, and have made her free that was once a slave. Aye, many brought I back to their God-built birthplace, | + | //But as for me, why did I stay me ere I had won that for which I gathered the commons?63 Right good witness shall I have in the court of Time,64 to wit the Great Mother of the Olympian Gods, dark Earth,65 whose so many fixed landmarks66 I once removed, and have made her free that was once a slave. Aye, many brought I back to their God-built birthplace, |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.39 | ||
And again he upbraids both sides for the complaints they made afterwards: | And again he upbraids both sides for the complaints they made afterwards: | ||
- | As for the commons, if 'tis right to upbraid them openly, I say that what they have now they never would have dreamt of ... And the greater men and stronger might well praise me and be friends with me; for had another than I won such honour,70 he had not restrained nor checked the commons till his churning were done and the richness taken from the milk,71 whereas I, I stood as a mark in the midway betwixt the two hosts of them.72 | + | //As for the commons, if 'tis right to upbraid them openly, I say that what they have now they never would have dreamt of ... And the greater men and stronger might well praise me and be friends with me; for had another than I won such honour,70 he had not restrained nor checked the commons till his churning were done and the richness taken from the milk,71 whereas I, I stood as a mark in the midway betwixt the two hosts of them.72// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.40 | ||
- | ” | ||
Aristotle Constitution of Athens | Aristotle Constitution of Athens | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “He made the upper council overseering-general and guardian of the law, believing, etc. | + | He made the upper council overseering-general and guardian of the law, believing, etc. |
[And I believed] that anchored to two councils the city73 could the better ride out a storm and keep her people in the greater quiet. | [And I believed] that anchored to two councils the city73 could the better ride out a storm and keep her people in the greater quiet. | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.41 | + | Plutarch Life of Solon |
- | + | ||
- | ” Plutarch Life of Solon | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “That γοῦρος was a kind of cake is shown by Solon, who says in his Iambi: | + | That γοῦρος was a kind of cake is shown by Solon, who says in his Iambi: |
- | They drink, and some of them eat the while sesame-cakes and others bread, and yet others guri mingled with lentils. There, too, wants not any sort of pastry, and whatsoever the dark earth brings forth for man, they have it all in profusion. | + | //They drink, and some of them eat the while sesame-cakes and others bread, and yet others guri mingled with lentils. There, too, wants not any sort of pastry, and whatsoever the dark earth brings forth for man, they have it all in profusion.// |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.42 | + | Athenaeus Doctors at Dinner |
- | + | ||
- | ” Athenaeus Doctors at Dinner | + | |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Solon calls the mortar ἴγδις in his Iambi, where he says: | + | Solon calls the mortar ἴγδις in his Iambi, where he says: |
- | And some fetch a mortar and others silphium and others again vinegar. | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.43 | + | //And some fetch a mortar and others silphium and others again vinegar.// |
- | ” Pollux Onomasticon | + | Pollux Onomasticon |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “And ordinary people are right in calling the pomegranate-seed κόκκων to this day; for Solon uses the word thus in his poems: | + | And ordinary people are right in calling the pomegranate-seed κόκκων to this day; for Solon uses the word thus in his poems: |
- | One brought pomegranate-seeds, | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.44 | + | //One brought pomegranate-seeds, and another sesame.// |
- | ” Phrynichus Introduction to Learning | + | Phrynichus Introduction to Learning |
---- | ---- | ||
- | “From the Elegiacs of Solon; hortatory: | + | From the Elegiacs of Solon; hortatory: |
- | Obey the lawful authorities, | + | |
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.45 | + | //Obey the lawful authorities, |
+ | |||
+ | Diogenian Proverbs | ||
- | ” Diogenian Proverbs | ||
- | ---- | ||
===== Three Unclassifiable Fragments ===== | ===== Three Unclassifiable Fragments ===== | ||
- | “ | ||
- | sumach | ||
- | CURFRAG.tlg-0263.46 | + | // |
+ | |||
the seasoning; Solon. | the seasoning; Solon. | ||
- | ” | + | |
Photius Lexicon | Photius Lexicon | ||
Line 582: | Line 555: | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “Solon believed that boxers and runners and other athletes contribute nothing worth speaking of to the preservation of a state, but only men conspicuous for wit and virtue can keep their country safe in time of danger.74” Diodorus of Sicily Historical Library | + | “Solon believed that boxers and runners and other athletes contribute nothing worth speaking of to the preservation of a state, but only men conspicuous for wit and virtue can keep their country safe in time of danger.74” |
+ | |||
+ | Diodorus of Sicily Historical Library | ||
---- | ---- | ||
- | “It were better therefore, since we know that the prime of youth is like the Spring flowers and its pleasures transitory, to approve the words of the Lesbian dame, ‘He that is fair, is fair to outward show; He that is good will soon be fair also’; and to agree with Solon when he gives the same counsel.75” Galen Exhortation to Learning | + | “It were better therefore, since we know that the prime of youth is like the Spring flowers and its pleasures transitory, to approve the words of the Lesbian dame, ‘He that is fair, is fair to outward show; He that is good will soon be fair also’; and to agree with Solon when he gives the same counsel.75” |
+ | |||
+ | Galen Exhortation to Learning | ||
---- | ---- |
text/solon_poems.1376701444.txt.gz · Last modified: 2014/01/15 11:15 (external edit)