To encourage the others

Ταύτῃ ἐν χώρῃ φρόνιμόν ἐστι ἀποκτείνειν ἐνίοτε ναύαρχον, ὅπως τοὺς ἄλλους θαρσύνῃ.

 

(Taútē en chṓrē phrónimón esti apokteínein eníote naúarchon, hópōs tous állous tharsýnē.)

 

In this country it is good to kill an Admiral from time to time, to encourage the others.

 

—Voltaire, Candide

King Lear

Τὶ εἴη ἵππῳ, κυνί, ἀρουραίῳ ζωή, καί σοι οὔ πη ψυχή;

 

(Ti eíē híppō, kyní, arouraíō zōḗ, kaí soi oú pē psychḗ?)

 

Why should a horse, a dog, a rat have life, and thee no breath at all?

 

—Shakespeare, Λεῖρ Βασιλεύς  (King Lear)

A witty saying

Χαριέντισμα οὐδὲν βεβαιοῖ.

 

(Chariéntisma ouden bebaioî.)

 

A witty saying proves nothing.

 

—Voltaire

Belisarius

“Ὑπὸ τοῖς θεοῖς παλαιοῖς,” ὁ μοῦ πρόσθεν δεσπότης ὁ Δαμοκλὴς ἔλεγε προσεπιρρητορεύων, “ἡ μὲν ἀρετὴ ἀεὶν ἐτίμα, ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία ᾐσχύνετο· τοῦ κακούργου ὁ σταυρὸς οὐκ ἐνεχρυσοῦτο καὶ ἐποικίλλετο· οὐχ οἱ ἀνθρώποι ἐτέρποντο αἰσχυνθῆναι.” Ἀλλὰ πιστεύῃ ἕκαστος ὃ δοκεῖ. Καὶ εἰ τυγχάνει ἀτεχνῶς φιλεῖν τὴν εὐσεβείαν, μηδὲ εἶναι σοφιστὴς καὶ ἀγαθοφανὴς θεολόγος ἢ ἐγκρατευτὴς διεφθαργμένος, αὕτη ἡ ἱστορία οὐκ αὐτὸν λυπήσει, ἀλλ’ ἐναντίως θαρσυνεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς κανόσι. Ὁ γὰρ Κόμης Βελισάριος ἀτεχνῶς ἐφίλει τὴν εὐσεβείαν, καὶ μηδέποτε ἐπαύσατο. Οἰ ἐξ ὑμῖν νομίζοντες τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον ἀληθὲς εἶναι λέγοισθε ὅτι Βελισάριος παρέσχε ἑαυτὸν ἐν τῇ δίκῃ παρὰ τὸν Ἰουστινιανὸν ἐν τρόπῳ τοῦ Δεσπότου παρὰ Πόντιον Πιλᾶτον, τὸν Ὕπαρχον τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ἀδικῶς κατηγορεύθεντος τῆς ὁμοίης κακουργίας, τῆς προδοσίας ἐπὶ τὴν Βασιλείαν· καὶ ὅτι ἐκεῖνος οὐ μεῖον ταπεινῶς ἔπαθε.

   Ἐξαρκεῖ οὖν περὶ ταῦτα.

 

(“Hypo toîs theoîs palaioîs,” ho moû prósthen despótēs ho Damoklēs élege prosepirrētoreúōn, “hē men aretē aein etíma, hē de hamartía ēschýneto; toû kakoúrgou ho stauros ouk enekrysoûto kai epoikílleto; ouch hoi anthrṓpoi etérponto aischynthêntai.” Alla pisteúē hékastos ho dokeî. Kai ei tynchánei atechnôs phileîn tēn eusebeían, mēde eînai sophistēs kai agathophanēs theológos ē enkrateutēs diephthargménos, haútē hē historía ouk auton lypḗsei, all’ enantíōs tharsyneî auton en toîs kanósi. Ho gar Kómēs Belisários atechnôs ephílei tēn eusebeían, kai mēdépote epaúsato. Hoi ex hӯmîn nomízontes to Euangélion alēthes eînai légoisthe hóti Belisários parésche heauton en tê díkē para ton Ioustinianon en trópō toû Despótou para Póntion Pilâton, ton Hýparchon tês Ioudaías, adikôs katēgoreúthentos tês homoíēs kakourgías, tês prodosías epi tēn Basileían; kai hóti ekeînos ou meîon tapeinôs épathe.

   Exarkeî oûn peri taûta.)

 

“Under the old gods,” my former master Damocles used to say, somewhat exaggerating the case, “virtue was always honoured, ignominy frowned upon; the felon’s cross was not gilded and jewelled; man did not revel in self-abasement.” But let everyone believe what he pleases. And if he happens to be a simple devotee of virtue, not a logic-chopping, hypocritical theologian or perverted ascetic, this story will not offend him, but contrariwise confirm him in his principles. For Count Belisarius had such a simple devotion to virtue, from which he never declined. Those of you for whom the Gospel story carries historical weight may perhaps say that Belisarius behaved at his trial before Justinian very much as his Master had done before Pontius Pilate, the Governor of Judaea, when unjustly accused of the very same crime, namely treason against the Empire; and that he suffered no less patiently.

   So much, then, for these things.

 

—Robert Graves, Ὁ Κόμης Βελισάριος  (Count Belisarius)

Tyrannies

 

Ἐκ τῶν πασῶν τῶν δεσποτείων, δεσποτεία ἕνεκα τῶν πασχόντων ἀπλῶς διοκουμένη βαρυτάτη εἴη. Ἀμείνων εἴη ἀρχιλῃστῶν ἀρχόντων βιοῦν ἢ παγκρατῶν σωφρονιστικῶν. Ἡ μὲν τοῦ ἀρχιλῃστοῦ ὠμότης ἐνίοτε καθεύδῃ, ἡ δὲ φιλοχρηματία ἔσθ’ ὅτε κορέστος· ἀλλ’ οἱ ἡμῶν ἕνεκα αἰκιζομένοι ἡμᾶς αἰκίσονται ἐκτὸς τῷ παύεσθαι, αἰκίζονται γὰρ εὐσυνειδήτοι.

 

Ek tôn pasôn tôn despoteíōn, despoteía héneka tôn paschóntōn aplôs diokouménē barytátē eíē. Ameínōn eíē archilēstôn archóntōn bioûn ē pankratôn sōphronistikôn. Hē men toû archilēstoû ōmótēs eníote katheúdē, hē de philochrēmatía ésth’ hóte koréstos; all’ hoi hēmôn héneka aikizoménoi hēmâs aikísontai ektos tô paúesthai, aikízontai gar eusyneidḗtoi.

 

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

 

—C. S. Lewis

Power

Ῥέπει ἡ ἄρχη διαφθείρειν, καὶ ἄρχη ἀνέδην διαφθείρει ἀνέδην. Οἱ ἀνθρώποι μεγάλοι σχεδὸν ἀεί εἰσιν ἀνθρώποι κακοί, καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες τὴν ῥοπὴν μηδὲ τὴν ἐξουσίαν· μᾶλιστα εἰ ἐπιποιεῖται τὸ φυσίωμα ἣ παγιότης τῆς δεσποτείᾱς εἰς τὸ διαφθείρειν. Οὔκ ἐστι αἵρεσις κακī́ων ἢ ὅτι ἡ ἀρχὴ τὸν ἄρχοντα ἁγνίζει.

 

(Rhépei hē árchē diaphtheírein, kai árchē anédēn diaphtheírei anédēn. Hoi anthrṓpoi megáloi schedon aeí eisin anthrṓpoi kakoí, kai hoi échontes tēn rhopēn mēde tēn exousían; mâlista ei epipoieîtai to physíōma hē pagiótēs tēs despoteíās eis to diaphtheírein. Oúk esti haíresis kakī́ōn ē hóti hē archē ton árchonta hagnízei.)

 

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

 

—Lord Acton

War

Οὖν δὴ πόλεμος.

 

(Oûn dē pólemos.)

 

It’s war, then.

 

—Ioannis Metaxas, Prime Minister of Greece, when the Italian ambassador demanded that Greece submit to Italian occupation during the Second  World War

Bad writers

Οἱ κακῶς γράφοντες, μάλιστα περὶ τὴν ἐπιστήμην, τὴν πολιτικήν, καὶ τοὺς ἔθνους, σχεδὸν πάντες διώκονται τῇ δόξῃ τοὺς λόγους Ῥωμαίους καὶ Ἑλληνίκους μεγαλοπρεπεστέρους εἶναι ἢ τοὺς Σάξονας, καὶ περισσοὶ λόγοι, αὐτίκα expedire, admeliorare, prædicere, extraneus, deradicinus, clandestinus, subaqueus, καὶ ἑκατοντάδες ἄλλοι ἐνδελεχῶς ἀπωθοῦσιν ἑαυτοὺς τοὺς ἀντιστρόφους Ἀγγλοσάχονας.

 

(Hoi kakôs gráphontes, málista peri tēn epistḗmēn, tēn politikḗn, kai tous éthnous, schedon pántes diṓkontai tê dóxē tous lógous Rhōmaíous kai Hellēníkous megaloprepestérous eînai ē tous Sáxonas, kai perissoi lógoi, autíka expedire, admeliorare, praedicere, extraneus, deradicinus, clandestinus, subaqueus, kai hekatontádes álloi endelechôs apōthoûsin heautous tous antistróphous Anglosáxonas.)

 

Bad writers, and especially scientific, political, and sociological writers, are nearly always haunted by the notion that Latin or Greek words are grander than Saxon ones, and unnecessary words like expedite, ameliorate, predict, extraneous, deracinated, clandestine, subaqueous, and hundreds of others constantly gain ground from their Anglo-Saxon numbers.

 

—George Orwell, Politics and the English Language

Entitlements

Ὑπερφύως νοοῦσιν οἱ ἀνθρώποι περὶ τὰς γερηφορίας ἄνευ τῶν δέων, διότι οὔκ ἐστι γερηφορία ἐκτὸς δέοντος διαπραχθέντος.

 

(Hyperphýōs noöûsin hoi anthrṓpoi peri tas gerēphorías áneu tôn déōn, dióti oúk esti gerēphoría ektos déontos diaprachthéntos.)

 

People have got the entitlements too much in mind without the obligations, because there is no such thing as an entitlement unless someone has first met an obligation.

 

—Margaret Thatcher

Oedipus

Winter is coming

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)