Archilochus of Paros

On women (West p. 2)

Your tender skin has lost its former bloom,

dries out in furrows; ugly age

makes you its prey. Sweet charm from your fair face

has hopped it. After all, the winds

of many winters have assaulted you...

On war (trans. J. Porter)

I am a henchman of lord Ares,
but the Muses' servant as well,
schooled in their charming gift. (1)

My shield some Thracian now takes pride in — my blameless shield
that I left behind in a bush, having no use for it.
My self I saved. What concern that shield to me?
Let it go: I'll get another one, no worse. (5)

Not for me a huge general, one with long, straddling legs
vaunting in his aristocratic locks and fancy beard.
Give me a small man, knock-kneed,
but firm on his feet and full of heart. (114)

The vixen and the eagle (West pp. 1-2)

Papa Lycambes, what d'you mean by this?

Who has unhinged your wits

that used to be so sound? Now you turn out

the big laugh of the town...

You've turned your back on the great bond

of shared salt and table...

There is a tale men tell

of how a vixen with an eagle once

made friends...

[The eagle carries off one of the vixen's cubs and the eaglets eat it. The vixen prays:]

"O father Zeus, thine is the power in heaven,

and thou dost oversee

men's deeds, wicked and lawful; all creatures' rights

and wrongs are thy concern."

[The eagle steals some sacrificial meat that is still on fire; his nest and eaglets go up in flames.]

On Eastern wealth (West p. 9)

"Gyges and all his gold don't interest me.

I've never been prey to envy, I don't marvel

at heavenly things, or yearn for great dominion.

That's all beyond the sights of such as me."

Updated 2-10-08, bolmarcich[at]mail.utexas.edu