οὐ τῶν τυχόντων κατέλαβέ με ἔχειν διδασκάλους
τῆς σοφίας, τὰ νῦν δὲ δικαίως αὐτὸς σοφίζομαι,
I had the good luck to have no common teachers of wisdom,
but now with good reason I profess wisdom for myself.
ἐδεξάμην τὴν βίβλον ἣν σὺ ἐδέξω παρὰ τοῦ ἀνεψιοῦ,
καὶ ἀναγνώσομαι αὐτὴν πάσῃ σπουδῇ,
I received the book which you got from your cousin,
and I will read it carefully.
οὗτος ὁ νεανίας τρέχει δεινῶς· βλάψεται,
this young man runs furiously; he will hurt himself.
οὐ φοβοῦμαι, I am not afraid.
ἀσφαλὴς ἐστὶ τοῖς ποσίν, he is a steady-footed fellow.
οὗτος ὁ νεανίας ταλαιπώρως κυπτάζει εἰς τὰς βίβλους·
τρίψεται ὑπερτρυφῶν ἐν τῇ ἀναγνώσει,
this young man stoops miserably down into his books;
he will wear himself away, stuffing himself with reading.
μὴ χαλέπαινε· βαθμηδὸν ἀκμάζει πάντα. τὰ μικρότατα σπέρματα,
ἀρξάμενα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἠρινοῦ χρόνου, πρὸ τῆς ὀπώρας γενήσεται
φυτὰ μεγάλα,
do not repine. All things grow ripe by degrees.
The smallest seeds beginning with the spring by
harvest time will become large plants.
οὑτοσὶ πλήρεσιν ἀνάγεται τοῖς ἱστίοις,
ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐχ ἡττησόμεθα,
this fellow sails out with full sails,
but we shall not fall behind.
σήμερον λαμπρῷ χρώμεθα τῷ οὐρανῷ, to-day we have fine weather.
αὔριον δὲ ὕσει ὁ θεός, but it will rain to-morrow.