Lucian of Samosata, Hesiod, Kenneth Kilburn (Translator), 4

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HESIOD

My fine friend, there is an easy answer to it all. I could say that nothing that I composed belonged to me personally, but to the Muses, and you should have asked them for an account of what was put in and what left out. But for what I knew for myself—tending, herding, driving, milking, and the other practices and lore of shepherds—I would be rightly accountable; but the goddesses give their gifts to whom they will and for as long as they think it proper.

Hesiod. Lucian of Samosata. Kenneth Kilburn (Translator). Medford, MA. Perseus 5.0.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

A conversation with Hesiod (English) (Lucian, Vol. 6. Kilburn, Kenneth, translator. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959 (unrenewed copyright).)

Editions (2)

Διάλογος πρὸς Ἡσίοδον Perseus (Lucian. Luciani Samosatensis Opera, Vol. 3. Jacobitz, Karl, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1913.) — 4 focus

Ἡσίοδος

ἐνῆν μέν μοι, ὦ βέλτιστε, ῥᾳδίαν ἀπόκρισιν ἀποκρίνασθαί σοι περὶ ἁπάντων, ὅτι μηδέν ἐστι τῶν ἐρραψῳδημένων ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ ἴδιον ἐμόν, ἀλλὰ τῶν Μουσῶν, καὶ ἐχρῆν σε παρʼ ἐκείνων τοὺς λογισμοὺς τῶν τε εἰρημένων καὶ τῶν παραλελειμμένων ἀπαιτεῖν· ἐγὼ δὲ ὑπὲρ μὲν ὧν ἰδίᾳ ἠπιστάμην, λέγω δὲ τοῦ νέμειν καὶ ποιμαίνειν καὶ ἐξελαύνειν καὶ βδάλλειν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσα ποιμένων ἔργα καὶ μαθήματα, δίκαιος ἂν εἴην ἀπολογεῖσθαι, 243 αἱ θεαὶ δὲ τὰς αὐτῶν δωρεὰς οἷς τε ἂν ἐθέλωσι καὶ ἐφʼ ὅσον ἂν οἴωνται καλῶς ἔχειν, μεταδιδόασιν.

Διάλογος πρὸς Ἡσίοδον Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 6. Kilburn, Kenneth, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959 (unrenewed copyright).) — 4 focus

ΗΣΙΟΔΟΣ

Ἐνῆν μέν μοι, ὦ βέλτιστε, ῥᾳδίαν ἀπόκρισιν ἀποκρίνεσθαί σοι περὶ ἁπάντων, ὅτι μηδέν ἐστιν τῶν ἐρραψῳδημένων ὑπ' ἐμοῦ ἴδιον ἐμόν, ἀλλὰ τῶν Μουσῶν, καὶ ἐχρῆν σε παρ' ἐκείνων τοὺς λογισμοὺς τῶν τε εἰρημένων καὶ τῶν παραλελειμμένων ἀπαιτεῖν. ἐγὼ δὲ ὑπὲρ μὲν ὧν ἰδίᾳ ἠπιστάμην—λέγω δὲ τοῦ νέμειν καὶ ποιμαίνειν καὶ ἐξελαύνειν καὶ βδάλλειν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσα ποιμένων ἔργα καὶ μαθήματα—δίκαιος ἂν εἴην ἀπολογεῖσθαι· αἱ θεαὶ δὲ τὰς αὐτῶν δωρεὰς οἷς τε ἂν ἐθέλωσι καὶ ἐφ' ὅσον ἂν οἴωνται καλῶς ἔχειν μεταδιδόασιν. ἀπολογίας. ¹

Translations (1)

A Word with Hesiod Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 4. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 4 focus

[4]

Hesiod

My poor friend, there is one very simple answer to all your questions: I might tell you that not one of my poems is my own work; all is the Muses’, and to them I might refer you for all that has been said and left unsaid. For what came of my own knowledge, of pasturage, of milking, of driving afield, and all that belongs to the herdsman’s art, I may fairly be held responsible: but for the Goddesses,—they give whatso they will to whom they will.—

Lucian of Samosata Hesiod 4

Kenneth Kilburn (Translator)

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