Pages

Friday, January 16, 2026

Desire for Success

Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1331-1334 (tr. Alan H. Sommerstein):
All mortals have by nature an insatiable appetite for success; and no one bans it and keeps it away from houses at which fingers are pointed, saying "Don't come in here any more!"

τὸ μὲν εὖ πράσσειν ἀκόρεστον ἔφυ
πᾶσι βροτοῖσιν· δακτυλοδείκτων δ᾽
οὔτις ἀπειπὼν εἴργει μελάθρων,
"μηκέτ᾿ ἐσέλθῃς", τάδε φωνῶν.