Sunday, July 29, 2018

 

Telling the Future

Euripides, Helen 753-757 (tr. David Kovacs):
One should sacrifice to the gods and ask for blessings but leave prophecy alone. That invention is one of life's foolish traps. No idle man ever got rich by looking at burnt offerings. The best way to tell the future is to be intelligent and plan ahead.

                                            τοῖς θεοῖσι χρὴ
θύοντας αἰτεῖν ἀγαθά, μαντείας δ᾿ ἐᾶν·
βίου γὰρ ἄλλως δέλεαρ ηὑρέθη τόδε,        755
κοὐδεὶς ἐπλούτησ᾿ ἐμπύροισιν ἀργὸς ὤν·
γνώμη δ᾿ ἀρίστη μάντις ἥ τ᾿ εὐβουλία.
William Allan, commentary ad loc.:


# posted by Michael Gilleland @ 6:10 AM


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