Social Commentaries
Fragment XVIII: That happy man, my friend, was never seen
Translated by John Hookham Frere (1842; Bohn 1856) · From Fragments of Theognis (Frere, 1842)
That happy man, my friend, was never seen
Nor born into the world, whom saucy spleen
Forbore to scandalize ! I know not,
What they would have ; but whether I comply
To join with others in pursuit of ill,
Or keep myself aloof,—they blame me still.
Such is my fortune; never understood,
But censur’d by the wicked or the good.
My consolation still remains the same;
Fools cannot imitate the man they blame.
Cite this poem
MLA
Megara, Theognis of. “Fragment XVIII: That happy man, my friend, was never seen.” Translated by John Hookham Frere. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/theognis/19/.
Chicago
Megara, Theognis of. “Fragment XVIII: That happy man, my friend, was never seen.” Translated by John Hookham Frere. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/theognis/19/.
Read this poem with the Codex →