Fragments on Life and FortuneἈποσπάσματα περὶ Βίου καὶ Τύχης
Apollodorus of Carystus I Fragments on Life and Fortune PDF
The Fragments on Life and Fortune is a modern scholarly compilation of 53 poetic excerpts attributed to the New Comedy playwright Apollodorus of Carystus, who was active in early 3rd-century BCE Athens. The title is a descriptive, thematic label for the collection, reflecting the recurrent subjects of the passages, and does not correspond to an ancient work. These fragments, which consist of dialogue and monologue in verse, are preserved indirectly through quotations in later grammatical, lexicographical, and anthological sources, most notably by Athenaeus and Stobaeus. No manuscript of Apollodorus's complete plays survives, and the standard modern edition is found in the authoritative collection Poetae Comici Graeci.
The content of the fragments aligns with the conventions of New Comedy, exploring themes such as the capricious nature of fortune, romantic and domestic entanglements, and the social dynamics of family, wealth, and master-slave relationships. One extended passage presents a philosophical critique of human strife, contrasting it with an idealized vision of a life devoted to pleasure and communal celebration, while personifying Fortune as an ignorant, rustic force that governs human affairs arbitrarily. Though fragmentary, this material provides crucial evidence for the development of Hellenistic comedy. Apollodorus's work held particular significance as a direct source for Roman drama; the Latin playwright Terence adapted his plays Hecyra and Epidikazomenos. Consequently, these fragments illuminate a key link in the transmission of comic plots and character types from the Greek to the Roman theatrical tradition.
| book 1.1 | ἐμβαλόντες, ὦ πονηρὲ σύ, εἰς |
| book 1.2 | σακκοπήραν αὐτὸν ἐπιθήσουσί που ἐφ’ ὑποζύγιον. |
| book 2.1 | τοὺς |
| book 2.2 | στρωματεῖς ἔλυον. |
| book 3 | σπουδάζω |
| book 4.1 | τὴν ἐπωμίδα |
| book 4.2 | πτύξας διπλῆν ἄνωθεν ἐνεκομβωσάμην. |
| book 5.1 | ὦ πάντες ἄνθρωποι, τί τὸ ζῆν ἡδέως |
| book 5.2 | παρέντες ἐπιμελεῖσθε |
| book 5.3 | τοῦ κακῶς |
| book 5.4 | ποιεῖν |
| book 5.5 | πολεμοῦντες ἀλλήλους; πότερα |
| book 5.6 | πρὸς τῶν θεῶν ἐπιστατεῖ τις |
| book 5.7 | τοῦ βίου νυνὶ τύχη[ln_5]ἄγροικος ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ παιδείαν ὅλως εἰδυῖα, τί τὸ κακόν |
| book 5.8 | ποτ’ ἢ τί τἀγαθὸν ἔστ’ ἀγνοοῦσα |
| book 5.9 | παντελῶς εἰκῆ τέ πως ἡμᾶς κυλίνδους’ ὅντιν’ ἂν τύχῃ τρόπον; οἶμαί γε· πῶς γὰρ μᾶλλον ἂν |
| book 5.10 | προείλετο[ln_10]Ἕλλην ἀληθῶς οὖσα λεπομένους ὁρᾶν αὐτοὺς ὑφ’ αὑτῶν καὶ καταπίπτοντας νεκρούς, ἐξὸν ἱλαροὺς |
| book 5.11 | παίζοντας ὑποπεπωκότας αὐλουμένους |
| book 5.12 | σποδεῖν; λέγ’ αὐτή, γλυκυτάτη, ἔλεγχ’ ἄγροικον οὖσαν ἡμῶν τὴν τύχην. |
| book 5.1 | [ln_14]. . . . . . . . . . . .[ln_15]οὐ τοῦτο τὸ ζῆν ἐστι τὸν καλούμενον θεῶν ἀληθῶς βίον. ὅσῳ δ’ ἡδίονα τὰ πράγματ’ ἐν |
| book 5.2 | ταῖς πόλεσιν ἦν ἂν ἢ τὰ νῦν, εἰ μεταβαλόντες τὸν βίον διήγομεν· πίνειν Ἀθηναίους ἅπαντας |
| book 5.3 | τοὺς μέχρι[ln_20]ἐτῶν |
| book 5.4 | τριάκοντ’, ἐξιέναι |
| book 5.5 | τοὺς ἱππέας ἐπὶ κῶμον εἰς Κόρινθον ἡμέρας δέκα, στεφάνους ἔχοντας καὶ μύρον |
| book 5.6 | πρὸ ἡμέρας, τοὺς τὴν ῥάφανον |
| book 5.7 | πωλοῦντας ἕψειν Μεγαρέων, εἰς τὸ βαλανεῖον ἀπιέναι |
| book 5.8 | τοὺς |
| book 5.9 | συμμάχους, |
| book 5 | [ln_25]κεραννύναι τὸν οἶνον Εὐβοῆς. τρυφὴ καὶ βίος ἀληθῶς. ἀλλ’ ἀπαιδεύτῳ τύχῃ δουλεύομεν. |
| book 6 | καὶ κλῄεθ’ ἡ θύρα μοχλοῖς· ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ εἷς τέκτων ὀχυρὰν οὕτως ἐποίησεν θύραν, δι’ ἧς γαλῆ καὶ μοιχὸς οὐκ εἰσέρχεται. |
| book 7 | μέγα, ὦ Φορμίων, γλωττόκομον· οὐκ ὀφθαλμιῶ. |
| book 8 | ὀλίγαις ἐραστὴς γέγον’ ἑταίραισιν, Σύρα, βέβαιος. |
| book 9.1 | σύ με |
| book 9.2 | παντάπασιν ἥγησαι λίθον. |
| book 10.1 | οἱ γὰρ ἀτυχοῦντες τὸν |
| book 10.2 | χρόνον κερδαίνομεν, (ὁπόσον ἂν ἀγνοῶ)μεν ἠτυχηκότες. |
| book 11.1 | οὕτως ἕκαστός ἐστι |
| book 11.2 | παρὰ τὰ πράγματα ἢ σεμνὸς ἢ ταπεινός. |
| book 12.1 | Μυκόνιος |
| book 12.2 | φαλακρός |
| book 13.1 | μαρσίπιόν |
| book 13.2 | τι μικρόν |
| book 23 | μυρίας δίκας |
| book 24.1 | καινόν γέ φασι |
| book 24.2 | Χαιρεφῶντ’ ἐν |
| book 24.3 | τοῖς γάμοις ὡς τὸν Ὀφέλαν ἄκλητον εἰσδεδυκέναι. σπυρίδα λαβὼν γὰρ καὶ στέφανον, ὡς ἦν |
| book 24.4 | σκότος, φάσκων |
| book 24.5 | παρὰ τῆς νύμφης ὁ τὰς ὄρνεις φέρων[ln_5]ἥκειν, δεδείπνηχ’, ὡς ἔοικεν, εἰσπεσών. |
| book 25.1 | πλὴν τό γ’ οἰνάριον πάνυ ἦν ὀξὺ καὶ πονηρόν, ὥστ’ ᾐσχυνόμην. τὰ λοιπὰ μὲν γὰρ ὀξαλείους |
| book 25.2 | χωρία |
| book 25.3 | συκᾶς φέρει, τοὐμὸν δὲ καὶ τὰς ἀμπέλους. |
| book 26 | καλῶ δ’ Ἄρη Νίκην τ’ ἐπ’ ἐξόδοις ἐμαῖς, καλῶ δὲ Χαιρεφῶντα· κἂν γὰρ μὴ καλῶ, ἄκλητος ἥξει. |
| book 27 | οἶδ’ ὅτι καλοῦμεν ῥάφανον, ὑμεῖς δ’ οἱ ξένοι κράμβην· γυναιξὶ διαφέρειν οἴει δέ τι; |