"But even as trouble, bringing memory of pain, drips over the mind in sleep, so wisdom comes to men, whether they want it or not."
— Aeschylus (c. 525/524 BC-c. 456/455)
Work Title
Date
c. 458 BC
Metaphor
"But even as trouble, bringing memory of pain, drips over the mind in sleep, so wisdom comes to men, whether they want it or not."
Metaphor in Context
Chorus
Zeus, who sets mortals on the path to understanding, Zeus, who has established as a fixed law that “wisdom comes by suffering.” But even as trouble, bringing memory of pain, drips over the mind in sleep, [180] so wisdom comes to men, whether they want it or not. Harsh, it seems to me, is the grace of gods enthroned upon their awful seats.
[Χορός
τὸν φρονεῖν βροτοὺς ὁδώ-
σαντα, τὸν πάθει μάθος
θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν.
στάζει δ᾽ ἔν θ᾽ ὕπνῳ πρὸ καρδίας
μνησιπήμων πόνος: καὶ παρ᾽ ἄ- 180
κοντας ἦλθε σωφρονεῖν.
δαιμόνων δέ που χάρις βίαιος
σέλμα σεμνὸν ἡμένων.]
Zeus, who sets mortals on the path to understanding, Zeus, who has established as a fixed law that “wisdom comes by suffering.” But even as trouble, bringing memory of pain, drips over the mind in sleep, [180] so wisdom comes to men, whether they want it or not. Harsh, it seems to me, is the grace of gods enthroned upon their awful seats.
[Χορός
τὸν φρονεῖν βροτοὺς ὁδώ-
σαντα, τὸν πάθει μάθος
θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν.
στάζει δ᾽ ἔν θ᾽ ὕπνῳ πρὸ καρδίας
μνησιπήμων πόνος: καὶ παρ᾽ ἄ- 180
κοντας ἦλθε σωφρονεῖν.
δαιμόνων δέ που χάρις βίαιος
σέλμα σεμνὸν ἡμένων.]
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Text from Herbert Weir Smyth's edition at Perseus.
Reading Richmond Lattimore's translation, Aeschylus I: Oresteia (University of Chicago Press, 1953).
Reading Richmond Lattimore's translation, Aeschylus I: Oresteia (University of Chicago Press, 1953).
Date of Entry
06/22/2014
