Lucian of Samosata, Hesiod, ed. Kenneth Kilburn, 6

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εἰ δὲ καὶ χρὴ ὁμόσε χωρήσαντα τῇ αἰτίᾳ τὴν ὀρθοτάτην ἀπολογίαν ἀπολογήσασθαι, ἀνάγνωθι, ὦ οὗτος, τὰ Ἔργα μου καὶ τὰς Ἡμέρας. εἴσῃ γὰρ ὅσα ἐν τῷ ποιήματι τούτῳ μαντικῶς ἅμα καὶ προφητικῶς προτεθέσπισταί μοι τὰς ἀποβάσεις προδηλοῦντα τῶν τε ὀρθῶς καὶ κατὰ καιρὸν πραττομένων καὶ τῶν παραλελειμμένων τὰς ζημίας. καὶ τὸ

οἴσεις δ’ ἐν φορμῷ, παῦροι δέ σε θηήσονται,

καὶ πάλιν ὅσα ἀγαθὰ περιέσται τοῖς ὀρθῶς γεωργοῦσιν χρησιμωτάτη ἂν ¹ τῷ βίῳ μαντικὴ νομίζοιτο.

Hesiod. Lucian of Samosata. ed. Kenneth Kilburn. Medford, MA. Perseus 5.0.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

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

Editions (1)

Διάλογος πρὸς Ἡσίοδον Perseus (Lucian. Luciani Samosatensis Opera, Vol. 3. Jacobitz, Karl, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1913.) — 6 focus

Ἡσίοδος

εἰ δὲ καὶ χρὴ ὁμόσε χωρήσαντα τῇ αἰτίᾳ τὴν ὀρθοτάτην ἀπολογίαν ἀπολογήσασθαι, ἀνάγνωθι, ὦ οὗτος, τὰ Ἔργα μου καὶ τὰς Ἡμέρας· εἴσῃ γὰρ ὅσα ἐν τῷ ποιήματι τούτῳ μαντικῶς ἅμα καὶ προφητικῶς προτεθέσπισταί μοι τὰς ἀποβάσεις προδηλοῦντα τῶν τε ὀρθῶς καὶ κατὰ καιρὸν πραττομένων καὶ τῶν παραλελειμμένων τὰς ζημίας. καὶ τὸ
οἴσεις δʼ ἐν φορμῷ, παῦροι δέ σε θηήσονται,
καὶ πάλιν ὅσα ἀγαθὰ περιέσται τοῖς ὀρθῶς γεωργοῦσι, χρησιμωτάτη ἂν τῷ βίῳ μαντικὴ νομίζοιτο.

Translations (2)

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

Well, if I have to come to grips with the charge, and make a clear-cut defence, read my Works and Days, my man. You will see how much, like a real seer and prophet, I foretold in that poem, predicting the outcome of right and timely action and the penalties of neglect. Remember my

“you will carry it in a basket, and few there’ll be

to admire” ¹

and again the blessings that follow right farming—this should be thought a prophecy most useful for living.

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.) — 6 focus

[6] —Come, now, I will meet my accuser on fair ground, face to face. Read, fellow, in my Works and Days: mark the inspired prophecies there set forth: the doom foretold to the negligent, the success promised to him that labours aright and in due season.

One basket shall suffice to store thy grain,

And men shall not regard thee.

Could there be a more timely warning, balanced as it is by the prospect of abundance held out to him that follows the true method of agriculture?

Notes on the current edition

Διάλογος πρὸς Ἡσίοδον

1. ἂν Dindorf: ἐν MSS.

Lucian of Samosata Hesiod 6

ed. Kenneth Kilburn

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