Available translations: English
νῦν γὰρ δὴ ζάπεδον καθαρὸν καὶ χεῖρες ἁπάντων
καὶ κύλικες· πλεκτοὺς δ’ ἀμφιτιθεῖ στεφάνους,
ἄλλος δ’ εὐῶδες μύρον ἐν φιάλῃ παρατείνει·
κρατὴρ δ’ ἕστηκεν μεστὸς ἐυφροσύνης·
ἄλλος δ’ οἶνος ἑτοῖμος, ὃς οὔποτέ φησι προδώσειν,
μείλιχος ἐν κεράμοισ’, ἄνθεος ὀσδόμενος·
ἐν δὲ μέσοισ’ ἁγνὴν ὀδμὴν λιβανωτὸς ἵησιν,
ψυχρὸν δ’ ἔστιν ὕδωρ καὶ γλυκὺ καὶ καθαρόν·
πάρκεινται δ’ ἄρτοι ξανθοὶ γεραρή τε τράπεζα
τυροῦ καὶ μέλιτος πίονος ἀχθομένη·
βωμὸς δ’ ἄνθεσιν ἀν τὸ μέσον πάντῃ πεπύκασται,
μολπὴ δ’ ἀμφὶς ἔχει δώματα καὶ θαλίη.
χρὴ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν θεὸν ὑμνεῖν εὔφρονας ἄνδρας
εὐφήμοις μύθοις καὶ καθαροῖσι λόγοις.
σπείσαντας δὲ καὶ εὐξαμένους τὰ δίκαια δύνασθαι
πρήσσειν· (ταῦτα γὰρ ὦν ἐστι προχειρότερον·)
οὐχ ὕβρις πίνειν ὁπόσον κεν ἔχων ἀφίκοιο
οἴκαδ’ ἄνευ προπόλου, μὴ πάνυ γηραλέος·
ἀνδρῶν δ’ αἰνεῖν τοῦτον, ὃς ἐσθλὰ πιὼν ἀναφαίνει,
ὥς οἱ μνημοσύνη καὶ <πόνος> ἀμφ’ ἀρετῆς.
οὔτι μάχας διέπειν Τιτάνων οὐδὲ Γιγάντων,
οὐδέ τι Κενταύρων, πλάσματα τῶν προτέρων,
ἢ στασίας σφεδανάς· τοῖσ’ οὐδὲν χρηστὸν ἔνεστιν·
θεῶν <δὲ> προμηθείην αἰὲν ἔχειν ἀγαθόν.
For now the floor is clean, the hands of all and the cups are clean; one puts on the woven garlands, another passes around the fragrant ointment in a vase; the mixing bowl stands full of good cheer, and more wine, mild and of delicate bouquet, is at hand in jars, which {5} says it will never fail. In the midst frankincense sends forth its sacred fragrance, and there is water, cold, and sweet, and pure; the yellow loaves are near at hand, and the table of honour is loaded with cheese and rich honey. The altar in the midst is thickly covered with {10} flowers on every side; singing and mirth fill the house. Men making merry should first hymn the god with propitious stanzas and pure words; and when they have poured out libations and prayed for power to do the right (since this lies nearest at hand), then it is no unfitting {15} thing to drink as much as will not prevent your walking home without a slave, if you are not very old. And one ought to praise that man who, when he has drunk, unfolds noble things as his memory and his toil for virtue suggest; but there is nothing praiseworthy in {20} discussing battles of Titans or of Giants or Centaurs, fictions of former ages, nor in plotting violent revolutions. But it is good always to pay careful respect to the gods.
Arthur Fairbanks · The First Philosophers of Greece (1898)How this fragment survives
- Athenaeus
The Learned Banqueters · xi. p. 462
Citation in the source record
Athen. xi. p. 462.
Compared the Greek of 21-B-1 with Fairbanks’ fragment 21; the numbering is not assumed to be identical.
Check the source record ↗Passage correspondence
νῦν γὰρ δὴ ζάπεδον καθαρὸν καὶ χεῖρες ἁπάντων καὶ κύλικες· πλεκτοὺς δ’ ἀμφιτιθεῖ στεφάνους, ἄλλος δ’ εὐῶδες μύρον ἐν φιάλῃ παρατείνει· κρατὴρ δ’ ἕστηκεν μεστὸς ἐυφροσύνης· ἄλλος δ’ οἶνος ἑτοῖμος, ὃς οὔποτέ φησι προδώσειν, μείλιχος ἐν κεράμοισ’, ἄνθεος ὀσδόμενος· ἐν δὲ μέσοισ’ ἁγνὴν ὀδμὴν λιβανωτὸς ἵησιν, ψυχρὸν δ’ ἔστιν ὕδωρ καὶ γλυκὺ καὶ καθαρόν· πάρκεινται δ’ ἄρτοι ξανθοὶ γεραρή τε τράπεζα τυροῦ καὶ μέλιτος πίονος ἀχθομένη· βωμὸς δ’ ἄνθεσιν ἀν τὸ μέσον πάντῃ πεπύκασται, μολπὴ δ’ ἀμφὶς ἔχει δώματα καὶ θαλίη. χρὴ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν θεὸν ὑμνεῖν εὔφρονας ἄνδρας εὐφήμοις μύθοις καὶ καθαροῖσι λόγοις. σπείσαντας δὲ καὶ εὐξαμένους τὰ δίκαια δύνασθαι πρήσσειν· (ταῦτα γὰρ ὦν ἐστι προχειρότερον·) οὐχ ὕβρις πίνειν ὁπόσον κεν ἔχων ἀφίκοιο οἴκαδ’ ἄνευ προπόλου, μὴ πάνυ γηραλέος· ἀνδρῶν δ’ αἰνεῖν τοῦτον, ὃς ἐσθλὰ πιὼν ἀναφαίνει, ὥς οἱ μνημοσύνη καὶ <πόνος> ἀμφ’ ἀρετῆς. οὔτι μάχας διέπειν Τιτάνων οὐδὲ Γιγάντων, οὐδέ τι Κενταύρων, πλάσματα τῶν προτέρων, ἢ στασίας σφεδανάς· τοῖσ’ οὐδὲν χρηστὸν ἔνεστιν· θεῶν <δὲ> προμηθείην αἰὲν ἔχειν ἀγαθόν.
Fairbanks (1898) records this citation for fragment 21, corresponding to part or all of this passage. This is supporting source evidence; the chosen translation may follow a different text or arrangement.
Citation in a linked historical source record.
These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.
Original-text edition
Original text: Arthur Fairbanks, The First Philosophers of Greece (1898), at the linked original-language page. English source and edition are cited separately
Open the historical edition ↗
Notes & source
Identified by comparison of the Greek text, not by matching edition numbers: Fairbanks fragment 21 corresponds to DK 21-B-1. Complete published fragment translation; footnote callouts and page/line numbers removed; words unchanged. Fairbanks’s matching Greek text is supplied so differing editorial readings and line order remain aligned
Original text: Arthur Fairbanks, The First Philosophers of Greece (1898), at the linked original-language page. English source and edition are cited separately View original source ↗
English: Arthur Fairbanks · The First Philosophers of Greece (1898) Published translation ↗
English translation: Public domain