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I should rather labor as another's serf, in the home of a man without fortune, one whose… — Homer

Poem · Epic poem

I should rather labor as another's serf, in the home of a man without fortune, one whose livelihood was meager, than rule over all the departed dead.

In the original Greek

βουλοίμην κ᾽ ἐπάρουρος ἐὼν θητευέμεν ἄλλῳ, 490ἀνδρὶ παρ᾽ ἀκλήρῳ, ᾧ μὴ βίοτος πολὺς εἴη, ἢ πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι καταφθιμένοισιν ἀνάσσειν.

Homer
The Odyssey · 700 BC
★ 5.7
Other tags relating to this quote
Topic
SlaveryDeath
Genre
Epic poem
Medium
Poem
Time
700 BCClassical antiquity
Person
Homer
Provenance
Current citation
Homer. The Odyssey, edited by Bernard Knox, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2006, bk. 11, l. 489-491.
Original citation
Homer. Ὀδύσσεια [Odyssey]. c. 710 BC, bk. 11, l. 489-491.

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