Far does the man all other men excel,
Who, from his wisdom, thinks in all things well,
Wisely considering, to himself a friend, 390
All for the present best, and for the end.
Nor is the man without his share of praise,
Who well the dictates of the wise obeys:
But he that is not wise himself, nor can.
Hearken to wisdom, is a useless man.
Ever observe, Perses, of birth divine,
My precepts and the profit shall be thine;
Then famine always shall avoid thy door,
And Ceres, fair wreath'd goddess, bless thy store.
The slothful wretch, who lives from labour free,
Like drones, the robbers of the painful bee, 401
Has always men, and gods, alike his foes;
Him famine follows with her train of woes.
With cheerful zeal your moderate toils pursue,
That your full barns you may in season view.
The man industrious stranger is to need,
A thousand flocks his fertile pastures feed;
As with the drone, with him it would not prove;
Him men and gods behold with eyes of love.
To care and labour think it no disgrace,
False pride! the portion of the sluggard race:
The slothful man, who never work'd before,
Shall gaze with envy on thy growing store,
Like thee to flourish, he will spare no pains;
For lo! the rich, virtue and glory gains.
Strictly observe the wholesome rules I give, And, bless'd in all, thou like a god shalt live. Ne'er to thy neighbour's goods extend thy cares, Nor be neglectful of thine own affairs.
Let no degenerate shame debase thy mind, 420 Shame that is never to the needy kind;
The man that has it will continue poor;
He must be bold that would enlarge his store.
But ravish not, depending on thy might,
Injurious to thyself, another's right:
Who, or by open force, or secret stealth,
Or perjured wiles, amasses heaps of wealth
(Such many are, whom thirst of gain betrays),
The gods, all seeing, shall o'ercloud his days;
His wife, his children, and his friends,shall die, 430
And, like a dream, his ill got riches fly:
Nor less, or to insult the suppliant's cries,
The guilt, or break through hospitable ties.
Is there who, by incestuous passion led,
Pollutes with joys unclean his brother's bed;
Or who, regardless of his tender trust,
To the poor helpless orphan proves unjust;
Or, when the father's fatal day appears,
His body bending through the weight of years,
A son who views him with unduteous eyes, 440
And words of comfort to his age denies,
Great Jove vindictive sees the impious train,
And, equal to their crimes, inflicts a pain.
These precepts be thy guide through life to
Next learn the gods immortal to revere:
With unpolluted hands, and heart sincere,
Let from your herd, or flock, an offering rise;
Of the pure victim burn the white fat thighs;
And to your wealth confine the sacrifice.
Let the rich fumes of odorous incense fly, 450
A grateful savour, to the powers on high;
The due libation nor neglect to pay,
When evening closes, or when dawns the day:
Then shall thy work, the gods thy friends, succeed; Then may you purchase farms, nor sell through
Enjoy thy riches with a liberal soul, [need. Plenteous the feast, and smiling be the bowl; No friend forget, nor entertain thy foe, Nor let thy neighbour uninvited go. Happy the man, with peace his days are crown'd, Whose house an honest neighbourhood surround; Of foreign harms he never sleeps afraid, They, always ready, bring their willing aid; Cheerful, should he some busy pressure feel, They lend an aid beyond a kindred zeal; They never will conspire to blast his fame; Secure he walks, unsullied his good name. Unhappy man, whom neighbours ill surround, His oxen die oft by a treacherous wound. Whate'er you borrow of your neighbour's store, Return the same in weight; if able, more; 471 So to yourself will you secure a friend; He never after will refuse to lend. Whatever by dishonest means you gain, You purchase an equivalent of pain.
To all a love for love return: contend In virtuous acts to emulate your friend. Be to the good thy favours unconfined; Neglect a sordid and ungrateful mind. From all, the generous a respect command, 480 While none regard the base ungiving hand. The man who gives from an unbounded breast, Though large the bounty, in himself is bless'd: Who ravishes another's right shall find, Though small the prey, a deadly sting behind. Content, and honestly enjoy your lot, And often add to that already got:
From little, oft repeated, much will rise,
And of thy toil the fruits salute thine
How sweet at home to have what life demands, 490
The just reward of our industrious hands;
To view our neighbour's bliss without desire,
To dread not famine, with her aspect dire:
Be these thy thoughts, to these thy heart incline,
And lo! these blessings shall be surely thine.
When at your board your faithful friend you
Without reserve, and liberal, be the treat:
To stint the wine a frugal husband shows,
When from the middle of the cask it flows.
Do not, by mirth betray'd, your brother trust;
Without a witness, he may prove unjust:
Alike it is unsafe for men to be
With some too diffident, with some too free.
Let not a woman steal your heart away
By tender looks, and her apparel gay:
When your abode she languishing inquires,
Command your heart, and quench the kindling
If love she vows, 'tis madness to believe, [fires;
Turn from the thief, she charms but to deceive.
Who does too rashly in a woman trust,
Too late will find the wanton proves unjust.
Take a chaste matron, partner of your breast,
Contented live, of her alone possess'd;
Then shall you number many days in peace,
And with your children see your wealth increase;
Then shall a duteous careful heir survive,
To keep the honour of the house alive.
If large possessions are in life thy view,
These precepts with assiduous care pursue.
FIRST BOOK OF WORKS AND DAYS.
Ver. 1. ARISTARCHUS, and some others, are for having this exordium left out, as not a part of the poem. Praxiphanes, a scholar of Theophrastus, says, he had a copy which begun from this verse,
As here on earth we tread the maze of life.
The reason which Proclus assigns for it not being writ by Hesiod, is, that he who begun his Theogony with an invocation to the muses from Helicon, and who was himself brought up at the foot of that mountain, would never call on the Pierian muses. A weak objection, and unworthy a critic. The distinction is as follows: the muses are said to be the daughters of Jove; that is, of that power by which we are enabled to perform. Pieria is said to be the birthplace of the muses, and the seat of Jove; that is, the mind, whence all our conceptions arise. Helicon is a place of residence to the muses, where they celebrate the praises of their father, and search into the knowledge of antiquity. In this work Hesiod instructs his brother in the art of tillage and morality, all which doctrines proceed from his own experience, his own natural sentiments, and therefore he invokes the muses from Pieria; his account of the Generation of the Gods, being received, partly from books, and partly
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