NURSE: But not long
Can the extremes of grandeur ever last;
And heavier are the curses which it brings
When Fortune visits us in all her wrath.[ΤΡΟΦΌΣ:Τὰ δ᾽ ὑπερβάλλοντ᾽
οὐδένα καιρὸν δύναται θνητοῖς,
μείζους δ᾽ ἄτας, ὅταν ὀργισθῇ
δαίμων οἴκοις, ἀπέδωκεν.]Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Medea [Μήδεια], l. 127ff (431 BC) [tr. Wodhull (1782)]
(Source)
(Source (Greek)). Other translations:But the height
Of tow'ring greatness long to mortal man
Remains not fix'd; and, when misfortune comes
Enraged, in deeper ruin sinks the house.
[tr. Potter (1814)]But too high-pitched luck
Stands no mortal in stead at the time of need;
Nay, more, when the god is stirred to his wrath,
Dowers greater curse on the house.
[tr. Webster (1868)]But greatness that doth o'erreach itself, brings no blessing to mortal men; but pays a penalty of greater ruin whenever fortune is wroth with a family.
[tr. Coleridge (1891)]But excess of fortune brings more power to men than is convenient, and has brought greater woes upon families, when the Deity be enraged.
[tr. Buckley (1892)]But to men never weal above measure
Availed: on its perilous height
The Gods in their hour of displeasure
The heavier smite.
[tr. Way (Loeb) (1894)]But the fiercely great
Hath little music on his road,
And falleth, when the hand of God
Shall move, most deep and desolate.
[tr. Murray (1906)]Greatness brings no profit to people.
God indeed, when in anger, brings
Greater ruin to great men’s houses.
[tr. Warner (1944)]This is the wild and terrible justice of God: it brings on great persons
The great disasters. [tr. Jeffers (1946)]To be rich and powerful brings no blessing;
Only more utterly
Is the prosperous house destroyed, when the gods are angry.
[tr. Vellacott (1963)]Excess on the other hand
Always surpasses what is appropriate for men.
When heaven is angered at a house
It pays back ruin in plenty.
[tr. Podlecki (1989)]But excessive riches mean no advantage for mortals, and when a god is angry at a house, they make the ruin greater.
[tr. Kovacs (1994)]Excess, though, means no profit for man and pays him back with greater ruin, whenever a house earns heaven's anger.
[tr. Davie (1996)]If man holds something else dearer to moderation, he will most certainly lose out in the end. Add to that the wrath of the gods, which will fall most heavily upon such a man’s house and which will destroy him.
[tr. Theodoridis (2004)]But excess
never should have a place in our lives.
It brings all the greater ruin
when some god feels spite toward a house.
[tr. Luschnig (2007)]Going for too much brings no benefits.
And when the gods get angry with some home,
the more wealth it has, the more it is destroyed.
[tr. Johnston (2008)]Excess does not yield any gain,
for when a god is angry with a house
it pays with great destruction.
[tr. Ewans (2022)]Extreme greatness brings no balance to mortal men, and pays a penalty of greater disaster [atē] whenever a superhuman force [daimōn] is angry with a household [oikos].
[tr. Coleridge / Ceragioli / Nagy / Hour25]

