Theognis of Megara Dubious Fragments in Greek
The work titled Dubious Fragments is attributed to the archaic Greek elegiac poet Theognis of Megara, who is known solely for his poetic output. The authentic Theognidean corpus consists of over 1,400 lines of elegiac verse addressing aristocratic values and social strife, preserved in an anthology within two medieval manuscripts. The description of Dubious Fragments as a prose work is unattested in the standard scholarly sources on Theognis and contradicts the universal characterization of his literary production. No substantive themes or content for this specific prose compilation are recorded, nor is it mentioned in any account of the manuscript tradition. Theognis's historical influence derives entirely from his canonical elegiac poetry, which was widely quoted in antiquity and used for moral education; the Dubious Fragments possesses no independent reception history or attested scholarly significance.
| 1 | ὑμεῖς δ’, ὦ Μεγαρεῖς, οὔτε τρίτοι οὔτε τέταρτοι οὔτε δυωδέκατοι οὔτ’ ἐν λόγωι οὔτ’ ἐν ἀριθμῶι. |
| 2 | ... φόρμιγγα ἄχορδον ... |
| 3 | † βόμβων † ἐπαινήσω, 〈Πολυπαίδη〉 ... |
| 4 | Μήποτέ μοι πενίην θυμοφθόρον ἀνδρὶ χαλεφθείς, μηδ’ ἀχρημοσύνην, Κύρνε, κακὴν πρόφερε. Ζεὺς γάρ τοι τὸ τάλαντον ἐπιρρέπει ἄλλοτε ἄλλως, ἄλλοτε μὲν πλουτεῖν, ἄλλοτε μηδὲν ἔχειν. |
| 4 | χρὴ δ’ ἀεὶ κατὰ γῆν τε καὶ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης δίζεσθαι χαλεπῆς, Κύρνε, λύσιν πενίης. |
| 5 | Κύρν’, ἀγαθὸς μὲν ἀνὴρ γνώμην ἔχει ἔμπεδον αἰεί, τολμᾶι δ’ ἔν τ’ ἀγαθοῖς κείμενος ἔν τε κακοῖς. εἰ δὲ θεὸς κακῶι ἀνδρὶ βίον καὶ πλοῦτον ὀπάσσηι ἀφραίνων βίοτον οὐ δύναται κατέχειν. |
| 6 | Πολλοῖς’ ἀνθρώπων γλώσσηι θύρα οὐκ ἐπίκειται ἁρμοδίη, καί σφιν πόλλ’ ἀλάλητα πέλει. πολλάκι γὰρ τὸ κακὸν κατακείμενον ἔνδοθεν ἦλθεν· ἐσθλὸν δ’ ἐξελθεῖν λώιον ἢ τὸ κακόν. |
| 7 | Ἐν πυρὶ μὲν χρυσόν τε καὶ ἄργυρον ἴδριες ἄνδρες γινώσκους’, ἀνδρὸς δ’ οἶνος ἔδειξε νόον, καὶ μάλα περ πινυτοῦ· κακότητα δὲ πᾶσαν ἐλέγχει, ὥστε καταισχύνειν καὶ τὸν ἐόντα σοφόν. |
| 8 | Οἶνος πινόμενος πολὺς κακός· ἢν δέ τις αὐτὸν πίνηι ἐπισταμένως, οὐ κακός, ἀλλ’ ἀγαθός. |
| 9 | Οὐδένα θησαυρὸν καταθήσεαι ἔνδον ἀμείνω αἰδοῦς, ἢν ἀγαθοῖς’ ἀνδράσι, Κύρνε, διδῶις. |
| 10 | Χρῆμα γυναικὸς ἀνὴρ ἐσθλῆς λαίζεται οὐδὲν κάλλιον, 〈οὐδέ ποτ’ αὖ ῥίγιον ἄλλο κακῆς.〉 |