Fragments – Lines 0219 – 0220
July 6, 2023Fragments – Lines 0173 – 0178
July 6, 2023Fragments – Lines 0183 – 0192
Among rams and asses and horses, Kyrnos, we look for those
Of noble breeding, and a man wants them to mate
From worthy stock. Yet a noble man does not mind marrying
A base woman of base birth if she brings him money in abundance,
Nor does a woman shrink from becoming the wife of a base man
With wealth; she prefers a rich husband to a worthy one.
Money is what they honor; the noble weds a base man’s daughter,
The base a worthy man’s: wealth mixes stock.
Thus do not be amazed, son of Polypaos, that the citizen’s stock
Is growing feeble, for what is noble is being mixed with what is base.
Theognis
Theognis (6th century BCE) was a Greek poet known for his elegiac poetry and his reflections on social and political issues of his time.