We the people

Ἡμεῖς ὁ Δῆμος τῶν Πολῑτειῶν Συνεστώτων, ὡς ποιῆται σύνστατις τελεότερα, κείηται ἡ δικαιοσύνη, φυλάσσηται ἡ ἡσυχία οἰκεῖα, προσκοπῆται ἡ σωτηρία εἰς τὸ κοινόν, ἐπισπεύδηται ἡ εὐτυχία δημόσια, καὶ λαμβάνωνται τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς ἐλευθερίης ἕνεκα καὶ ἡμῶν καὶ ἡμετέρου τοῦ ἔπειτα, νῦν καθίσταμεν καὶ τίθημεν ταύτην τὴν Καταστᾶσιν πρὸ τῶν Πολῑτειῶν Συνεστώτων Ἀμερικάνων.

 

(Hēmeîs ho Dêmos tôn Polīteiôn Synestṓtōn, hōs poiêtai sýnstasis teleótera, keíētai hē dikaiosýnē, phylássētai hē hēsychía oikeîa, proskopêtai hē sōtēría eis to koinón, epispeúdētai hē eutychía dēmósia, kai lambánōntai ta agatha tês eleutheríēs héneka kai hēmôn kai hēmetérou toû épeita, nŷn kathístamen kai títhēmen taútēn tēn Katastâsin pro tôn Polīteiôn Synestaménōn Amerikánōn.)

 

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

 

—Preamble to the U. S. Constitution

Herodotus, pt. 2

Huic Artaÿcti crucifixo major fuit Artembares, qui Persis consilium dedit, et illi hoc captum ante Cyrum posuerunt, dicentes, “Quia Juppiter regnum Persis dedit, et præsertim tibi, Cyre, Astyagen obruendo, nunc linquamus hanc terram parvulam atque asperam, et pro ea meliorem teneamus. Multæ sunt tales vicinæ, multæque longiores: unam si quarum teneamus, multo magis celebres fiemus. Opportet homines regentes sic facere, et quod melius tempus invenietur quam nunc, cum regamus multos homines et totam Asiam?” Audivit Cyrus, sed non probavit quod dixerant; eis locutus ut sic facerent, sed ferent non regere sed regi: nam e mollibus terris molles viros produci solere, nec esse unius terræ et fructūs bonos et viros fortes gignere. Huic consenserunt Persæ, et abierunt, sententiam Cyri confitientes meliorem esse; et optaverunt in terrā asperā viventes regere, magis quam agros colentes aliis servare.

 

Τούτου δὲ Ἀρταΰκτεω τοῦ ἀνακρεμασθέντος προπάτωρ Ἀρτεμβάρης ἐστὶ ὁ Πέρσῃσι ἐξηγησάμενος λόγον τὸν ἐκεῖνοι ὑπολαβόντες Κύρῳ προσήνεικαν λέγοντα τάδε, “Ἐπεὶ Ζεὺς Πέρσῃσι ἡγεμονίην διδοῖ, ἀνδρῶν δὲ σοί, Κῦρε, κατελὼν Ἀστυάγην, φέρε, γῆν γὰρ ἐκτήμεθα ὀλίγην καὶ ταύτην τρηχέαν, μεταναστάντες ἐκ ταύτης ἄλλην σχῶμεν ἀμείνω. Εἰσὶ δὲ πολλαὶ μὲν ἀστυγείτονες πολλαὶ δὲ καὶ ἑκαστέρω, τῶν μίαν σχόντες πλέοσι ἐσόμεθα θωμαστότεροι. Οἰκὸς δὲ ἄνδρας ἄρχοντας τοιαῦτα ποιέειν· κότε γὰρ δὴ καὶ παρέξει κάλλιον ἢ ὅτε γε ἀνθρώπων τε πολλῶν ἄρχομεν πάσης τε τῆς Ἀσίης;” Κῦρος δὲ ταῦτα ἀκούσας καὶ οὐ θωμάσας τὸν λόγον ἐκέλευε ποιέειν ταῦτα, οὕτω δὲ αὐτοῖσι παραίνεε κελεύων παρασκευάζεσθαι ὡς οὐκέτι ἄρξοντας ἀλλ᾽ ἀρξομένους· φιλέειν γὰρ ἐκ τῶν μαλακῶν χώρων μαλακοὺς γίνεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ τι τῆς αὐτῆς γῆς εἶναι καρπόν τε θωμαστὸν φύειν καὶ ἄνδρας ἀγαθοὺς τὰ πολέμια. Ὥστε συγγνόντες Πέρσαι οἴχοντο ἀποστάντες, ἑσσωθέντες τῇ γνώμῃ πρὸς Κύρου, ἄρχειν τε εἵλοντο λυπρὴν οἰκέοντες μᾶλλον ἢ πεδιάδα σπείροντες ἄλλοισι δουλεύειν.

 

This Artaÿctes who was crucified had a forefather named Artembares, who gave to the Persians a proposal which they took up and placed before Cyrus, saying, “Since Zeus has given lordship to the Persians, and above all to you, O Cyrus, by overthrowing Astyages, come, let us leave this small and rugged country and take instead a better one. There are many such lands on our borders, and many further away: if we take one, we shall gain far greater renown among men. It is proper that ruling people should behave in this way, and what better time will present itself than now, when we are the rulers of many men and all of Asia?” Cyrus listened to what they said, but found little good in their proposal. He bade them do what they had suggested, but advised them to be prepared not to rule but to be ruled: for soft lands produce soft men, and it is not the property of one country to bring forth both excellent fruits and warlike men. So the Persians agreed with Cyrus and left his presence, acknowledging that his opinion was superior; and they preferred to live in a rugged land and rule than to sow crops on the plain and be slaves to others.

—Herodotus, Histories, 9.122

Herodotus pt. 1

Herodoti Halicarnassensis historia hic edatur, ne facta hominum tempore exolescant, et ne gesta magna atque mirabilia, atque Gæcorum atque barbarorum, desinant cluere; et inter alia ut indicatur quare inter se pugnaverint.

 

Ἡροδότου Ἁλικαρνησσέος ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις ἥδε, ὡς μήτε τὰ γενόμενα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τῷ χρόνῳ ἐξίτηλα γένηται, μήτε ἔργα μεγάλα τε καὶ θωμαστά, τὰ μὲν Ἕλλησι τὰ δὲ βαρβάροισι ἀποδεχθέντα, ἀκλεᾶ γένηται, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ δι’ ἣν αἰτίην ἐπολέμησαν ἀλλήλοισι.

 

The history of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is here displayed, so that the works of men do not become lost in time, and great and marvellous deeds, some done by Greeks and others by foreigners, do not lose their glory; and among other things to show the cause of their fighting one another.

 

—Herodoti Halicarnassensis Novem Libri Historiarum (Herodotus, Histories)

Rest eternal

Ἡσυχίαν αἰωνίαν δίδου αὐτοῖς, Κύριε, καὶ φῶς ἀΐδιον εἰς αὐτοὺς λάμποι. Σοὶ πρέπει, Θεέ, ὕμνος ἐν Σίωνι, καί σοι τεληθήσονται εὐχωλαὶ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμῃ. Ἄκουσον τὴν εὐχὴν μοῦ· σοὶ πᾶσα ἡ γένεσις εἶσι. Ἡσυχίαν αἰωνίαν δίδου αὐτοῖς, Κύριε, καὶ φῶς ἀΐδιον εἰς αὐτοὺς λάμποι.

   Κύριε, ἐλέησον· Χριστέ, ἐλέησον· Κύριε, ἐλέησον.

   Ἡσυχίαν αἰωνίαν δίδου αὐτοῖς, Κύριε, καὶ φῶς ἀΐδιον εἰς αὐτοὺς λάμποι. Ἐν μνήμῃ αἰωνίῃ ἔσεται ὁ δίκαιος, μηδὲ φοβήσεται τὴν φωνὴν κακήν.

   Σύγγνωθι, Κύριε, ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῶν πάντων τῶν θεοσεβῶν τεθνηκότων ἐκ πάσι τοῖς δεσμοῖς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, καί, τῆς σου χάριτος βοηθούσης, ἀξίοι εἶεν φυγεῖν τὴν κατάγνωσιν τῆς τίσεως, καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς αἰωνίου τοῦ ὀλβίου ἀπολαύοιεν. Ἀμήν.

 

(Hēsychían aiōnían dídou autoîs, Kýrie, kai phôs aḯdion eis autous lámpoi. Soi prépei, Theé, hýmnos en Síōni, kaí soi telēthḗsontai euchōlai en Hierosolýmē. ákouson tēn euchēn moû; soi pâsa hē génesis eîsi. Hēsychían aiōnían dídou autoîs, Kýrie, kai phôs aḯdion eis autous lámpoi.

   Kýrie, eléēson; Christé, eléēson; Kýrie, eléēson.

   Hēsychían aiōnían dídou autoîs, Kýrie, kai phôs aḯdion eis autous lámpoi. En mnḗmē aiōníē ésetai ho díkaios, mēde phobḗsetai tēn phōnēn kakḗn.

   Sýngnōthi, Kýrie, taîs psychaîs tôn pántōn tôn theosebôn tethnēkótōn ek pási toîs desmoîs tôn hamartiôn, kaí, tês sou cháritos boēthoúsēs, axíoi eîen phygeîn tēn katágnōsin tês tíseōs, kai toû phōtos aiōníou toû olbíou apolaúoien. Amḗn.)

 

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem. Exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

    Kyrie, eleïson; Christe, eleïson; Kyrie, eleïson.

   Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. In memoria æterna erit justus; ab auditione mala non timebit.

   Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omne vinculo delictorum, et, gratia tua succurente, mereantur evadere judicium ultionis, et lucis æternæ beatitudine perfrui. Amen.

 

Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. A hymn befitteth Thee, O God, in Sion, and to Thee shall a vow be repaid in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer; to Thee all flesh shall come. Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.

   Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

   Rest eternal grant unto them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them. The righteous man shall be in everlasting remembrance: he shall not fear from evil rumours.

   Absolve, O Lord, the souls of all Thy faithful departed from all the chains of their sins, and with the help of Thy grace may they deserve to avoid the judgement of vengeance, and to enjoy the blessedness of light eternal. Amen.

 

—Ἡ Λειτουργία ὑπὲρ τῶν Τεθνηκότων (Requiem Mass)

Honour

 

 

Ubi est autem dignitas nisi ubi honestas?

 

But where is there honour without virtue?

 

—Cicero, Ad Atticum 7.2.1

 

A Know-Nothing

Οὔκ εἰμι Ἀγνοῶν. Τοῦτό ἐστι ἀναμφισβήτητον. Πῶς ὦ; Πῶς τι τὸ τοὺς μέλανας ἀδικεῖν μισῶν εὐνοῇ τῶ ἔθνεα λευκῶν ἀτιμοῦν; Ἡμέτερα ἡ ἐπίδοσις ἐπι τὸ χεῖρον μοῖ δοκεῖ θᾶττον εἶναι. Ἡμεῖς τὴν πάτρην κατεστήσαμεν φωνοῦντες ὅτι “οἱ πάντες οἱ ἀνθρώποι πεποίηνται ἴσοι”. Νῦν ἔργῳ ἑρμηνεύομεν “οἱ πάντες οἱ ἀνθρώποι πεποίηνται ἴσοι, πλὴν τῶν μελάνων”. Τῶν Ἀγνοούντων κρατούντων, ἑρμηνεύσομεν “οἱ πάντες οἱ ἀνθρώποι πεποίηνται ἴσοι, πλὴν τῶν μελάνων, τῶν ξένων καὶ τῶν Καθολικῶν”. Τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ αἱρήσομαι μεταστήσασθαι εἴς τινα χῶρον ὅπου οἱ ἀνθρώποι οὐ προσποιοῦνται τὴν ἐλευθερίαν φιλεῖν—ἴσως εἰς τὴν Ῥώσσιαν, ποῦ ἡ δεσποτεία ἄμικτον καὶ ἄκρατον κακῇ ὑκοκρισίῃ πίνηται.

 

(Oúk eimi Agnoôn. Toûtó esti anamphisbḗtēton. Pôs ô? Pôs ti to tous mélanas adikeîn misôn eunoê tô éthnea leukôn atimoûn? Hēmétera hē epídosis epi to cheîron moî dokeî thâtton eînai. Hēmeîs tēn pátrēn katestḗsamen phōnoûntes hóti “hoi pántes oi anthrṓpoi pepoíēntai ísoi”. Nŷn érgō hermēneúomen “hoi pántes hoi anthrṓpoi pepoíēntai ísoi, plēn tôn melánōn”. Tôn Agnoöúntōn kratoúntōn, hermēneúsomen “hoi pántes hoi anthrṓpoi pepoíēntai ísoi, plēn tôn melánōn, tôn xénōn kai tôn Katholikôn”. Toútō tô chrónō hairḗsomai metastḗsasthai eís tina chôron hópou hoi anthrṓpoi ou prospoioûntai tēn eleutherían phileîn—ísōs eis tēn Rhṓssian, poû hē despoteía ámikton kai ákraton kakê hypokrisíē pínētai.)

 

I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that “all men are created equal”. We now practically read it “all men are created equal, except negroes”. When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read “all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics”. When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty—to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be take pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

 

—Abraham Lincoln

The story of the Ides of March as told by sloths...

...can be found here.

The Ides of March have come

 

 

A certain seer had told him to be on his guard against great danger on a day in the month of March which the Romans call the Ides; and when this day had come and Caesar was going to a meeting of the Senate, he greeted him with a joke, saying, “Well then, the Ides of March have come”; to which the seer replied softly, “Aye, they have come; but they have not gone.”

 

Τις αὐτῷ μάντις ἡμέρᾳ Μαρτίου μηνός, ἣν Εἰδοὺς Ῥωμαῖοι καλοῦσι, προείποι μέγαν φυλάττεσθαι κίνδυνον· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας προϊὼν ὁ Καῖσαρ εἰς τὴν Σύγκλητον ἀσπασάμενος προσπαίξειε τῷ μάντει, φάμενος, “Αἱ μὲν δὴ Μάρτιαι Εἰδοὶ πάρεισιν,” ὁ δὲ ἡσυχῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν εἴποι, “Ναὶ πάρεισιν, ἀλλ’ οὐ παρεληλύθᾱσι.”

 

—Plutarch, Life of Julius Caesar 63.3

To die on your feet

Melius est in pedibus mori quam in genibus vivere.

 

It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.

 

—Dolores Ibárruri

Schleicher’s Fable

Or, the sheep and the horses

 

 

Οἶς πεπεκτημένα ἵππους τρεῖς εἶδε, ἥ μεν ἅμαξαν βαρεῖαν ἕλκουσαν, ἥ δε ἄχθος μέγα φέρουσαν, ἥ δε ἄνδρα ταχεῖαν φέρουσαν. Εἶπε ταῖς ἵπποις ἡ οἶς, “Μὲ μοῦ κῆρ ἀλγύνει ὁρᾶν ἄνδρα ἵππους ἐλαύνοντα.” Εἶπον αἱ ἵπποι, “Ἄκουσα, οἶς, ἡμᾶς ἀλγύνουσι ἡμέτερα τὰ κῆρα ταῦτα ὁρᾶν· ἀνθρώπον, τὸν δεσπότην, ποιοῦντα ἐκ τῶ τῆς οἶος ἐρίῳ χιτῶνα θερμὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἕνεκα· μηδὲ ὀν τῇ οἰΐ τι ἐρίον.” Ταῦτα ἀκούσᾱσα ἡ οἶς εἰς τὸ πεδίον ἔφυγε.

 

(Oîs pepektēména híppous treîs eîde, hḗ men hámaxan bareîan hélkousan, hḗ de áchthos méga phérousan, hḗ de ándra tacheîan phérousan. Eîpe taîs híppois hē oîs, “Me moû kêr algýnei horân ándra híppous elaúnonta.” Eîpon hai híppoi, “ákousa, oîs, hēmâs algýnousi hēmétera ta kêra taûta horân: anthrṓpon, ton despótēn, poioûnta ek tô tês oîos eríō chitôna thermon heautoû héneka; mēde on tê oiḯ ti eríon.” Taûta akoúsāsa hē oîs eis to pedíon éphyge.)

 

A sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: “My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses.” The horses said: “Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool.” Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

 

 

This story was originally written by linguist August Schleicher (1821 to 1868) in order to showcase his reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language. Since then various linguists have published revised versions, as scholars’ ideas of what Proto-Indo-European looked like have changed over time. Several versions can be found here.