Pindar
Pindar
Pindarwas an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is by far the greatest, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich exuberance of his language and matter, and his rolling flood of eloquence, characteristics which, as Horace rightly held, make him inimitable." His poems however can also seem difficult and...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionPoet
insecure errors long
Wrapt up in error is the human mind, And human bliss is ever insecure; Know we what fortune yet remains behind? Know we how long the present shall endure?
full life resources seek thy within
Seek not, my soul, the life of the immortals; but enjoy to the full the resources that are within thy reach.
sweet war knows
War is sweet to them that know it not.
lying action ends
Even now I am full of hope, but the end lies in God.
long endure difficult
The present will not long endure.
night fire water
Water is best, but gold shines like fire blazing in the night, supreme of lordly wealth.
wisdom witness stills
The days that are still to come are the wisest witnesses.
dream men shadow
Men are the dreams of a shadow.
lying speech tests
I will not steep my speech in lies; the test of any person lies in action.
sweet war knows
Sweet is war to those who know it not.
mother horse queens
Mother of the Sun, Theia of many names, for your sake men honor gold as more powerful than anything else; and through the value you bestow on them, o queen, ships contending on the sea and yoked teams of horses in swift-whirling contests become marvels.
lying men tests
The test of any man lies in action.
death moving men
Rich man and poor move side by side toward the limit of death.
thinking men deception
If any man thinks to swindle God, he is wrong.