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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 63, lines 8–11 · Delighting in peace and equality
63.8
The Orphic Hymns 63.8 · Delighting in peace and equality
Justice loves peace, festivity and a steady life; she hates greed and delights in equality.
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ἀστασίαστε1
astasíaste
free from strifenot torn by faction
, φίλη2
phílē
friend
πάντων3
pántōn
of all
, φιλόκωμʼ4
philókōm’
lover of festivityfond of feasting and dancing
, ἐρατεινή5
erateinḗ
lovely
, χαίρουσα6
chaírousa
delighting
εἰρήνῃ7
eirḗnēi
in peace
, ζηλοῦσα8
zēloûsa
striving for
a
βέβαιον9
bébaion
steady
βίον10
bíon
life
; γὰρ11
gàr
for
you
αἰεὶ12
aieì
always
στυγέεις13
stygéeis
hate
τὸ14
tò
—
πλέον15
pléon
the larger sharemore
, δὲ16
dè
but
χαίρεις17
chaíreis
you delight
ἰσότητι18
isótēti
in equality
; γὰρ19
gàr
for
ἐν20
en
in
σοὶ21
soì
you
σοφίη22
sophíē
wisdom
ἱκάνει23
hikánei
reaches
the
ἐσθλὸν24
esthlòn
noble
τέλος25
télos
goalend
ἀρετῆς26
aretês
of virtue
. free from strife, friend of all, lover of festivity, lovely, delighting in peace, striving for a steady life; for you always hate the larger share, but you delight in equality; for in you wisdom reaches the noble goal of virtue.
free from strife, friend of all, lover of festivity, lovely, delighting in peace, striving for a steady life; for you always hate the larger share, but you delight in equality; for in you wisdom reaches the noble goal of virtue.
Interpretation
free from strife, friend of all, lover of festivity, lovely, delighting in peace, striving for a steady life; for you always hate the larger share and delight in equality; for in you wisdom reaches the noble goal of virtue.
Justice here keeps the peace inside a community. Stasis was the Greek word for civil strife, faction against faction within one city, and Thucydides describes what it did to the cities of his day; Justice is astasiastos, "free from faction." She is also philokōmos, "fond of the revel," a surprising title built on kōmos, the festive procession of Hymn 53, as if peace and fairness left room for feasts. The goal of it all is aretē, virtue, and the last line says that wisdom reaches it in Justice.
63.12
The Orphic Hymns 63.12 · A life in balance
The prayer: break the wickedness of mortals, so that men and every creature of land and sea may live in balance.
· · ·
Hear, goddess, justly breaking the wickedness of mortals, so that the good life of mortal men, who eat the fruit of the ploughland, and of all the creatures that Earth, the goddess and mother, and sea-dwelling Zeus of the deep nurse in their bosom, may always go on in balance.