Isthmian III
What man soever hath prospered in winning prizes of high renownIn the Games, or is mighty in wealth, who yet in his spirit crusheth downPestilent arrogance, worthy is he to be graced with his townsmen's praise;For of thee, O Zeus, all excellence cometh that mortal men doth upraise;And longer abideth their bliss who reverence thee: with the froward-heartedThrough life it abides not, but lo, as a suddenly vanishing dream hath departed.
It beseems that in guerdon of glorious achievement the deeds of the valiant we sing;It beseems that mid triumph-procession with grace of loving welcomingShould our praises conspire to exalt him! In contests twain hath fortune fairFavoured Melissus, to turn his heart to delightsome joy from care.In the glens of the Isthmus he won for him crowns: where the thunder-throated lionProwled through the cavernous Nemean dell, he proclaimed him Thebe's scion
In the chariot-contest triumphant. He bringethNo stain on the mighty nameOf the prowess his sires made gloriousOf old. Well know ye the fameWhich Kleonymus won, as the old lay singethHow his chariot raced victorious.By the mother akin to the Labdakid Clan, they walked in the ways of wealth, and they trainedWith manifold toil the yoke of four.But time with its onward-rolling days bringeth change upon change: unscarred, unpainedAre none but the Gods' seed evermore.
Words in this poem 15
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- pestilent a.
- Pestilential; noxious; pernicious; mischievous. [L. pestilens, -entis, fr. pestis pest: cf. F. pestilent.]
- graced a.
- Endowed with grace; beautiful; full of graces; honorable.
- upraise v. t.
- To raise; to lift up.
- guerdon n.
- A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- valiant a.
- Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
- twain a.
- Two;- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. twegen, masc. See Two.]
- favoured a.
- Countenanced; aided; regarded with kidness; as, a favored friend.
- delightsome a.
- Very pleasing; delightful.
- cavernous a.
- Full of caverns; resembling a cavern or large cavity; hollow. [L. cavernosus: cf. F. caverneux.]
- nemean a.
- Of or pertaining to Nemea, in Argolis, where the ancient Greeks celebrated games, and Hercules killed a lion.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- prowess n.
- Distinguished bravery; valor; especially, military bravery and skill; gallantry; intrepidity; fearlessness. Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney. [OF. proece, proesce, F. prouesse. See Prow, a.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Isthmian III is in the public domain. This text is taken from Pindar in English Verse, Internet Archive, the Arthur S. Way translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Pindar, Isthmian III, in The Odes of Pindar (1922), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/pindar-odes/isthmian-3.html, id L29163.
Form and metre
Isthmian III is 22 lines in 3 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABBCC, complete in 2 of its 3 stanzas.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBCC renownA · downA · praiseB · upraiseB · heartedC · departedC
- 2 AABBCC singA · welcomingA · fairB · careB · lionC · scionC
- 3 ABCBACDEDE bringethA · nameB · gloriousC · fameB · singethA · victoriousC · trainedD · fourE · unpainedD · evermoreE
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| What man soever hath prospered in winning prizes of high renown | 17 | ··˘/˘·/˘·/˘/˘··˘/ |
| In the Games, or is mighty in wealth, who yet in his spirit crusheth down | 17 | ·····/˘······//˘· |
| Pestilent arrogance, worthy is he to be graced with his townsmen's praise; | 17 | /˘˘/˘/˘·········· |
| For of thee, O Zeus, all excellence cometh that mortal men doth upraise; | 17 | ······/˘/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| And longer abideth their bliss who reverence thee: with the froward-hearted | 17 | ·/˘/˘···/˘···/˘/˘ |
| Through life it abides not, but lo, as a suddenly vanishing dream hath departed. | 19 | ···˘/·····/˘/˘··˘/˘ |
| It beseems that in guerdon of glorious achievement the deeds of the valiant we sing; | 21 | ·····/˘·/˘˘/˘····/˘·· |
| It beseems that mid triumph-procession with grace of loving welcoming | 17 | ·····/˘˘/˘···/˘/˘ |
| Should our praises conspire to exalt him! In contests twain hath fortune fair | 18 | ·//˘˘/·˘/··/˘··/˘· |
| Favoured Melissus, to turn his heart to delightsome joy from care. | 16 | /˘········˘/˘··· |
| In the glens of the Isthmus he won for him crowns: where the thunder-throated lion | 19 | ·····/˘·······/˘/˘/ |
| Prowled through the cavernous Nemean dell, he proclaimed him Thebe's scion | 15 | ···/˘/˘··˘/··/˘ |
| In the chariot-contest triumphant. He bringeth | 12 | ··/˘/˘˘/˘·/˘ |
| No stain on the mighty name | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Of the prowess his sires made glorious | 10 | ··/˘···/˘˘ |
| Of old. Well know ye the fame | 7 | ······· |
| Which Kleonymus won, as the old lay singeth | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| How his chariot raced victorious. | 10 | ··/˘˘·˘/˘˘ |
| By the mother akin to the Labdakid Clan, they walked in the ways of wealth, and they trained | 22 | ··/˘/˘················ |
| With manifold toil the yoke of four. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| But time with its onward-rolling days bringeth change upon change: unscarred, unpained | 19 | ····/˘/˘·/˘········ |
| Are none but the Gods' seed evermore. | 9 | ······/˘· |
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