and eager mood, a star far seen, a light wherein a man shall trust, if but[1] the holder thereof knoweth the things that shall be, how that of all who die the guilty souls pay penalty, for all the sins sinned in this realm of Zeus one judgeth under earth, pronouncing sentence by unloved constraint.
But evenly ever in sunlight night and day an unlaborious life the good receive, neither with violent hand vex they the earth nor the waters of the sea, in that new world; but with the honoured of the gods, whosoever had pleasure in keeping of oaths, they possess a tearless life: but the other part suffer pain too dire to look upon.
Then whosoever have been of good courage to the abiding steadfast thrice on either side of death and have refrained their souls from all iniquity, travel the road of Zeus unto the tower of Kronos: there round the islands of the blest the Ocean-breezes blow, and golden flowers are glowing, some from the land on trees of splendour, and some the water feedeth, with wreaths whereof they entwine their hands: so ordereth Rhadamanthos' just decree, whom at his own right hand hath ever the father Kronos, husband of Rhea, throned above all worlds[2].
Peleus and Kadmos are counted of that company; and the mother of Achilles, when her prayer had moved the heart of Zeus, bare thither her son, even him who overthrew Hector, Troy's unbending invincible pillar, even him who gave Kyknos to death and the Ethiop son[3] of the Morning.
Many swift arrows have I beneath my bended arm within my
- ↑ Reading εἴ γέ μιν ἔχων. The old readings were εἰ δέ μιν ἔχων and εἰ δέ μιν ἔχει; εὖ δέ μιν ἔχων has also been suggested; but of these three none seems to me to be at all satisfactory. In the reading I suggest the change is very slight, and it makes good sense.
- ↑ For Pindar's ideas as to a future life see especially the fragments of his Dirges which remain to us. He seems to have been influenced by Pythagoreanism.
- ↑ Memnon.
