Living
Maxims of Theognis: Not to no purpose, Plutus
Translated by Rev. J. Banks (Bohn, 1856) · From Hesiod, Callimachus and Theognis (Bohn, 1856)
Not to no purpose, Plutus, do mortals honour thee most, for of-a-truth thou bearest distress with ease. For verily it is fitting for the bettermost to have wealth indeed, but poverty is proper for a mean man to bear.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Codex Note
Literal prose translation by the Rev. J. Banks (Bohn, 1856), printed as prose: the plain-sense companion to Frere’s verse version. Banks’s hyphenated compounds are his own.
Cite this poem
MLA
Megara, Theognis of. “Maxims of Theognis: Not to no purpose, Plutus.” Translated by Rev. J. Banks. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/theognis/200/.
Chicago
Megara, Theognis of. “Maxims of Theognis: Not to no purpose, Plutus.” Translated by Rev. J. Banks. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/theognis/200/.
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