Waltey

Prevod

The creature we now call the ant was once a man. He was a farmer, but was not content with the fruits of his own labor: he was forever coveting what belonged to others and stealing his neighbors’ crops. Zeus, angered by his greed, changed him into the creature called an ant. Yet though his shape had changed, his nature remained the same. To this day he roams the fields, gathering the fruits of others’ labor and storing them up for himself.

The fable shows that those who are wicked by nature do not give up their ways, however severely they are punished.

Izvirnik

Μύρμηξ ὁ νῦν τὸ παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπος ἦν· καὶ τῇ γεωργίᾳ προσέχων τοῖς ἰδίοις πόνοις οὐκ ἠρκεῖτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐποφθαλμιῶν διετέλει, τοὺς τῶν γειτόνων καρποὺς ὑφαιρούμενος. Ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς ἀγανακτήσας κατὰ τῆς πλεονεξίας αὐτοῦ μετεμόρφωσεν αὐτὸν εἰς τοῦτο τὸ ζῶον, ὃ καλεῖται μύρμηξ. Ὁ δὲ καὶ τὴν μορφὴν ἀλλάξας τὴν διάθεσιν οὐ μετέβαλε· μέχρι γὰρ νῦν κατὰ τὰς ἀρούρας περιιὼν τοὺς πόνους τῶν ἄλλων συλλέγει καὶ ἑαυτῷ ἀποθησαυρίζει.

Ὁ λόγος δηλοῖ, ὅτι οἱ φύσει πονηροὶ, κἂν τὰ μάλιστα κολάζωνται, τὸν τρόπον οὐκ ἀποτίθενται.

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