Isthmean
Pindar
Pindar. Arnson Svarlien, Diane, translator. Created for the Perseus Project, 1990.
- For it is no hill to climb, nor is the road steep, if one brings the honors of the Heliconian Muses to the homes of famous men.
- Having hurled the discus far, may I fling my javelin as far beyond all others, as Xenocrates obtained a sweet temper surpassing all men. He was honored in his townsmen’s company,
- and he upheld the raising of horses according to the customs of all Greeks. He also welcomed all the banquets for the gods,
- and the force of the blowing wind never made him furl his sail around his hospitable table; he journeyed as far as Phasis in the summer, and in the winter sailed to the banks of the Nile.
- Now, although envious hopes beset the minds of mortals, let him never hush in silence either his father’s excellence
- or these songs. For I did not fashion them to stand idle. Give this message, Nicasippus, when you come across my trusty friend.