πρὸς δ' ἐμὲ τὸν δύστηνον ἔτι φρονέοντ' ἐλέησον.
δύσμορον, ὅν ῥα πατὴρ. Κρονίδης ἐπὶ γήραος οὐδῷ
αἴσῃ ἐν ἀργαλέῃ φθίσει. κακὰ πόλλ' ἐπ' ιδόντα:
υἷάς τ' ὀλλυμένους: ἑλκηθείσας τε θύγατρας.
καὶ θαλάμους κεραϊζομένους: καὶ νήπια τέκνα
βαλλόμενα προτὶ γαίῃ ἐν αἰνῇ δηϊοτῆτι:
ἑλκομένας τε, νυοὺς ὀλοῇς ὑπο χερσὶν Ἀχαιῶν:
αὐτὸν δ' ἂν πύματόν με κύνες πρώτῃσι θύρῃσιν
ὠμησταὶ ἐρύουσιν. ἐπεί κέ τις ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ
τύψας, ἠὲ βαλὼν, ῥεθέων ἐκ θυμὸν ἕληται.
οὓς τρέφον ἐν μεγάροισι. τραπεζῆας πυλαωρούς:
οἵ κ' ἐμὸν αἷμα πιόντες. ἀλύσσοντες περι θυμῷ
κείσοντ' ἐν προθύροισι: νέῳ δέ τε πάντ' ἐπέοικεν:
ἄρηϊ κταμένῳ: δεδαϊγμένῳ ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ.
κεῖσθαι: πάντα δὲ καλὰ θανόντι περ, ὅττι φανήῃ:
ἂλλ' ὅτε δὴ πολιόν τε κάρη. πολιόν τε γένειον.
αἰδῶ τ' αἰσχύνωσι κύνες κταμένοιο γέροντος.
τοῦτο δὴ οἴκτιστον πέλεται δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσιν:
"Furthermore, have thou compassion on me that yet can feel—on wretched me whom the father, son of Cronos, will shay by a grievous fate on the threshold of old age, when I have beheld ills full many, my sons perishing and my daughters haled away, and my treasure chambers laid waste, and little children hurled to the ground in the dread conflict, and my sons' wives being haled away beneath the deadly hands of the Achaeans. Myself then last of all at the entering in of my door shall ravening dogs rend, when some man by thrust or cast of the sharp bronze hath reft my limbs of life—even the dogs that in my halls I reared at my table to guard my door, which then having drunk my blood in the madness of their hearts, shall lie there in the gateway. A young man it beseemeth wholly, when he is slain in battle, that he lie mangled by the sharp bronze; dead though he be, all is honourable whatsoever be seen. But when dogs work shame upon the hoary head and hoary beard and on the nakedness of an old man slain, lo, this is the most piteous thing that cometh upon wretched mortals."
