The Works of Sir John Suckling in prose and verse/Ei men en mathein

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The Works of Sir John Suckling in prose and verse
by John Suckling
Εἰ μὲν ἦν μαθεῖν
3700940The Works of Sir John Suckling in prose and verseΕἰ μὲν ἦν μαθεῖνJohn Suckling

[Εἰ μὲν ἦν μαθεῖν]

Εἰ μὲν ἦν μαθεῖν
Ἅ δεῖ παθεῖν
Καὶ μὴ παθεῖν,
Καλὸν ἦν τὸ μαθεῖν·


Εἰ δὲ δεῖ παθεῖν15
Ἅ δεῖ μαθεῖν,
Τὶ δεῖ μαθεῖν;
Χρῆ γὰρ παθεῖν·

Scire si liceret quæ debes subire,
Et non subire, pulchrum est scire:20
Sed si subire debes quæ debes scire,
Quorsum vis scire? nam debes subire.

Englished thus

If man might know

The ill he must undergo,
And shun it so,
Then it were good to know:
But, if he undergo it,5
Though he know it,
What boots him know it?
He must undergo it.