interpreted by Althea Northage-Orr
Pay honor first to the Immortal Gods,
As order hath established Their Choirs;
Reverence the Oath,
The Heroes great and good
Revere thou nest,
and earth’s good Geniuses, paying honor as are due.
Honor thy parents and thy next of kin;
Of others – make the Virtuous thy friends;
yeild to their gentle word, their timely acts,
nor for a petty fault take back your love.
Bear what thou canst;
Power cometh at one’s need.
Know this for truth, and learn to conquer theses:
Thy belly first, sloth, luxury and rage.
Do nothing base with others or alone;
and above all things, thine own self respect.
Next practice justice in thy word and deed
and learn to act unreasonalby in naught;
but know that all must die.
wealth comes and goes—
Of ills the Goddess Fortune gives to us
bear meekly thy lot,
and greive at it,
but cure it as thou canst.
Remember this:
Fate gives the least of evil to the Good.
Many the reasonings that on our ears fall,
both good & bad..
admire not all of such,
nor shun them neither.
If one speaks flase be calm.
And practice ever this that I now say:
let no one’s word or deed seduce thee
to do or say, snything not in thy best good.
First think, then act,
Lest foolish be thy deed.
Unhappy are those who thoughtless act and speak.
And that which vexes do not do,
Do nothing you do not understand;
and learn to love what is good,
then sweet will be thy life.
Nor should you your body’s health neglect,
But give it food nd drink
and exercise in measure,
that is, to cause it no distress.
Decent without van show thy way of life;
By unmeet expenses like one who envious make
Nor niggard be: In all the Mean is best.
Do that which cannot harm thee.
When first thou doth from soothing sleep uprise
Hasten about thy day’s intended work;
Nor suffer sleep to fll on thy soft lids
Till thrice tho hast each act of the day recalled.
How have I sinned? What done?
What duty misses?
Go through them first to last,
And if they seem good rejoice,
If evil, reproach thyself.
Toil at and practice this: this must thou love,
This to the path of Heavenly Virtue leadss.
By the One who gave us the Tetractys to our soul.
Fount of Eturnal Nature this I swear; begin thy work,
first having prayed to the Gods to accomplish it.
Thou, having mastered this,
That essence of God and mortal men shalt know
Which all things permeates and all obey.
And thou shalt know that Law have established
the inner nature of all things alike.
And thou shalt know for what cannot be,
Nor aught that is impossible shall escape thee.
Thou shalt know
Self - chosen are the woes that fall us.
How wretched! For we see not good so near
Nor hearken to its voice – few only know the pathways of Deliverance from Ill!
For Fate doth blind us all,
who up and down,
with countless woes are carried by her wheel,
and bitter strife companions us
and does us secret harm.
Provoke it not, O Humans!
But only yield and in yielding find escape.
O Father Zeus, t’would free from countless ills
Did thou but show what Genius works in each!
But courage! We are the children of the Gods,
and sacred Nature all things hid reveals.
And if the Mysteries have part in thee
thou shall prevail in all bade thee do,
and thoroughly cured,
shall save thy soul from toil.
Eat not the foods prescribed,
And use discretion in lustral rites
And the freeing of thy soul.
Establish high that soul
that best of chairoteers.
and if at length, leaving behind thy body
thus dost come to the free Upper Air,
then shalt thou be
deathless,
divine,
a mortal one no more.
As order hath established Their Choirs;
Reverence the Oath,
The Heroes great and good
Revere thou nest,
and earth’s good Geniuses, paying honor as are due.
Honor thy parents and thy next of kin;
Of others – make the Virtuous thy friends;
yeild to their gentle word, their timely acts,
nor for a petty fault take back your love.
Bear what thou canst;
Power cometh at one’s need.
Know this for truth, and learn to conquer theses:
Thy belly first, sloth, luxury and rage.
Do nothing base with others or alone;
and above all things, thine own self respect.
Next practice justice in thy word and deed
and learn to act unreasonalby in naught;
but know that all must die.
wealth comes and goes—
Of ills the Goddess Fortune gives to us
bear meekly thy lot,
and greive at it,
but cure it as thou canst.
Remember this:
Fate gives the least of evil to the Good.
Many the reasonings that on our ears fall,
both good & bad..
admire not all of such,
nor shun them neither.
If one speaks flase be calm.
And practice ever this that I now say:
let no one’s word or deed seduce thee
to do or say, snything not in thy best good.
First think, then act,
Lest foolish be thy deed.
Unhappy are those who thoughtless act and speak.
And that which vexes do not do,
Do nothing you do not understand;
and learn to love what is good,
then sweet will be thy life.
Nor should you your body’s health neglect,
But give it food nd drink
and exercise in measure,
that is, to cause it no distress.
Decent without van show thy way of life;
By unmeet expenses like one who envious make
Nor niggard be: In all the Mean is best.
Do that which cannot harm thee.
When first thou doth from soothing sleep uprise
Hasten about thy day’s intended work;
Nor suffer sleep to fll on thy soft lids
Till thrice tho hast each act of the day recalled.
How have I sinned? What done?
What duty misses?
Go through them first to last,
And if they seem good rejoice,
If evil, reproach thyself.
Toil at and practice this: this must thou love,
This to the path of Heavenly Virtue leadss.
By the One who gave us the Tetractys to our soul.
Fount of Eturnal Nature this I swear; begin thy work,
first having prayed to the Gods to accomplish it.
Thou, having mastered this,
That essence of God and mortal men shalt know
Which all things permeates and all obey.
And thou shalt know that Law have established
the inner nature of all things alike.
And thou shalt know for what cannot be,
Nor aught that is impossible shall escape thee.
Thou shalt know
Self - chosen are the woes that fall us.
How wretched! For we see not good so near
Nor hearken to its voice – few only know the pathways of Deliverance from Ill!
For Fate doth blind us all,
who up and down,
with countless woes are carried by her wheel,
and bitter strife companions us
and does us secret harm.
Provoke it not, O Humans!
But only yield and in yielding find escape.
O Father Zeus, t’would free from countless ills
Did thou but show what Genius works in each!
But courage! We are the children of the Gods,
and sacred Nature all things hid reveals.
And if the Mysteries have part in thee
thou shall prevail in all bade thee do,
and thoroughly cured,
shall save thy soul from toil.
Eat not the foods prescribed,
And use discretion in lustral rites
And the freeing of thy soul.
Establish high that soul
that best of chairoteers.
and if at length, leaving behind thy body
thus dost come to the free Upper Air,
then shalt thou be
deathless,
divine,
a mortal one no more.
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