It is equally wrong to speed a guest who does not want to go, and to keep one back who… — Homer
It is equally wrong to speed a guest who does not want to go, and to keep one back who is eager. You ought to make welcome the present guest, and send forth the one who wishes to go.
In the original Greek
ἶσόν τοι κακόν ἐσθ᾽, ὅς τ᾽ οὐκ ἐθέλοντα νέεσθαι ξεῖνον ἐποτρύνει καὶ ὃς ἐσσύμενον κατερύκει. χρὴ ξεῖνον παρεόντα φιλεῖν, ἐθέλοντα δὲ πέμπειν.
The Odyssey · 700 BC
★ 2.3Other tags relating to this quote
Genre
Medium
Person
Provenance
Current citation
Homer. The Odyssey, edited by Bernard Knox, translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics, 2006, bk. 15, l. 72-74.
Original citation
Homer. Ὀδύσσεια [Odyssey]. c. 710 BC, bk. 15, l. 72-74.
