Fame! thou roamest with tidings o’er the tribes of men, and declarest them to all, shining afar,
even in the depths of the nether world: and those who win renown have a joy that is shared in every place, because their eyes have seen golden, blessed Victory, and they have found a restful pause from their toils.
’Tis on behalf of Aglaos now that his sister’s husband has moved the clear-voiced singer, the island bee, in order that the immortal tribute of the Muses, a monument not made with hands, might be a common joy for mankind,— that it might tell all men, Aglaos, of thy prowess, seen as oft as, by grace of Victory, thou hast caused thy golden hair to be crowned with flowers, and hast brought glory to spacious Athens, with honour for the Oeneidae.
In Poseidon’s renowned games thou didst show thy rushing speed to the Greeks at the outset:— then a second time did he take his stand at the bounds of the course,—still breathing a storm of hot breath,—and again he darted forward, the olive-oil from his body sprinkling the garments of the spectators as he rushed into the cheering crowd, after finishing the fourth round of the course.
Twice have the spokesmen of the prudent judges declared him a victor at the Isthmus, and twice at Nemea by the holy altar of Zeus son of Cronus: illustrious Thebes too has duly welcomed him, and spacious Argos, and Sicyon ;
also the dwellers in Pellene, and in the region of Euboea with many cornfields, and in the sacred isle of Aegina. Men seek various paths which they shall tread to the winning of bright renown. And countless are the kinds of human knowledge. A man is rich in golden hope because he has wisdom ; or has been honoured with the gifts of the Graces, or has skill in some manner of soothsaying ; another aims his wily shaft at wealth; while some there be who take delight in the works of husbandry, and in herds of oxen.
The future brings forth issues which cannot be judged beforehand, so as to tell how Fortune will incline the scale. The noblest lot for a man is that his own worth should make him widely admired among his fellows.
I know also the mighty power of riches, which can clothe even the useless man with merit.—But wherefore have I turned my strain so far out of its due course? After victory, festal joy is appointed for mortals: blend ye the shrill sounds of flutes with the clear voice of the lyre, and with tuneful songs.
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