παντοίην βιότοιο τάμοις τρίβον· ἐν ἀγορῇ μὲν
κύδεα καὶ πινυταὶ πρήξιες· ἐν δὲ δόμοις
ἄμπαυμ'· ἐν δ' ἀγροῖς φύσιος χάρις· ἐν δὲ θαλάσσῃ
κέρδος· ἐπὶ ξείνης, ἢν μὲν ἔχῃς τι, κλέος·
ἢν δ' ἀπορῇς μόνος οἶδας· ἔχεις γάμον; οἶκος ἄριστος
ἔσσεται· οὐ γαμέεις; ζῇς ἔτ' ἐλαφρότερος·
τέκνα πόθος, ἄφροντις ἄπαις βίος· αἱ νεότητες
ῥωμαλέαι, πολιαὶ δ' ἔμπαλιν εὐσεβέες·
οὐκ ἄρα τῶν δισσῶν ἑνὸς αἵρεσις, ἢ τὸ γενέσθαι
μηδέποτ' ἢ τὸ θανεῖν· πάντα γὰρ ἐσθλὰ βίῳ.[239]
Some of the epigrams of this section are written in the true style of elegies. The following splendid threnody by Antipater of Sidon upon the ruins of Corinth, which was imitated by Agathias in his lines on Troy, may be cited as perfect in this style of composition (ii. 29):
ποῦ τὸ περίβλεπτον κάλλος σέο, Δωρὶ Κόρινθε;
ποῦ στέφανοι πύργων, ποῦ τὰ πάλαι κτέανα,
ποῦ νηοὶ μακάρων, ποῦ δώματα, ποῦ δὲ δάμαρτες
Σισύφιαι, λαῶν θ' αἱ ποτὲ μυριάδες;
οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδ' ἴχνος, πολυκάμμορε, σεῖο λέλειπται,
πάντα δὲ συμμάρψας ἐξέφαγεν πόλεμος·
μοῦναι ἀπόρθητοι Νηρηΐδες, Ὠκεανοῖο
κοῦραι, σῶν ἀχέων μίμνομεν ἁλκυόνες.[240]
It is a grand picture of the queen of pleasure in her widowhood and desolation mourned over by the deathless daughters of the plunging sea. Occasionally the theme of the epigram is historical. The finest, perhaps, of this sort is a poem by Philippus on Leonidas (ii. 59):
πουλὺ Λεωνίδεω κατιδὼν δέμας αὐτοδάϊκτον
Ξέρξης ἐχλαίνου φάρεϊ πορφυρέῳ·
κἠκ νεκύων δ' ἤχησεν ὁ τᾶς Σπάρτας πολὺς ἥρως·
οὐ δέχομαι προδόταις μισθὸν ὀφειλόμενον·
ἀσπὶς ἐμοὶ τύμβου κόσμος μέγας· αἶρε τὰ Περσῶν
χἤξω κεἰς ἀΐδην ὡς Λακεδαιμόνιος.[241]
Few, however, of the epigrams rise to the altitude of those I have been lately quoting. Their subjects are for the most part simple incidents, or such as would admit of treatment within the space of an engraved gem. The story of the girls who played at dice upon the house-roof is told very prettily in the following lines (ii. 31):
αἱ τρισσαί ποτε παῖδες ἐν ἀλλήλαισιν ἔπαιζον
κλήρῳ, τίς προτέρη βήσεται εἰς ἀΐδην·
καὶ τρὶς μὲν χειρῶν ἔβαλον κύβον, ἦλθε δὲ πασῶν
ἐς μίαν· ἡ δ' ἐγέλα κλῆρον ὀφειλόμενον·
ἐκ τέγεος γὰρ ἄελπτον ἔπειτ' ὤλισθε πέσημα
δύσμορος, ἐς δ' ἀΐδην ἤλυθεν, ὡς ἔλαχεν·
ἀψευδὴς ὁ κλῆρος ὅτῳ κακόν· ἐς δὲ τὸ λῷον
οὔτ' εὐχαὶ θνητοῖς εὔστοχοι οὔτε χέρες.[242]
Not the least beautiful are those which describe natural objects. The following six lines are devoted to an oak-tree (ii. 14):