To have a good allotment from the gods is the best thing for men. Fortune can destroy even a noble man, if she comes as a grievous burden, [5] and can make a worthless man shine on high, if she works out well. Different people have different honors. There are countless forms of excellence among men, but one stands out among all of them: [10] when a man has conducted whatever lies at hand with a just mind. The voice of the lyre and clear-sounding choruses do not harmonize with the deep griefs of battle, [15] nor does the clang of clashing bronze with festivities. For every work of men [appropriateness] is the finest thing. When someone does well, a god [advances?] him too. In gratitude to Cleoptolemus, [20] we must now sing of the precinct of Poseidon Petraios, and of the glorious son of Pyrrichus, victorious with his horses, who ... of hospitable and just ... 1
1 The rest of the ode is lost.
Bacchylides. Diane Arnson Svarlien. Odes. 1991.
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