Title, Εργα καὶ Ἡμέραι. This means, Farming operations and lucky and unlucky days, viz. both for such operations and for domestic matters generally. It is well explained by Tzetzes (iii. p. 17 Gaisf.) διδασκαλία γεωργίας καὶ ἡμερῶν, καθ ̓ ἃς δεῖ τόδε καὶ τόδε ποιεῖν. How ancient the title is, or whether it has descended from the Author himself, it is impossible to say. In the MSS. generally, the Έργα is regarded as a distinct division of the poem (v. 383), the Ἡμέραι also forming a separate subject, from v. 765. It is very probable that this part of the poem contains precepts attributed to Orpheus, Musaeus, or Pythagoras, compiled and added at a later period.

1-10. That this prooemium proceeded from the pen of Hesiod, was denied by Aristarchus and others of the learned Grammarians. Proclus ap. Gaisf. iii. p. 3), ὅτι δὲ τὸ προοίμιόν τινες διέγραψαν, ὥσπερ ἄλλοι τε καὶ ̓Αρίσταρχος οβελίζων τοὺς[ί] στίχους, καὶ Πραξιφάνης ὁ τοῦ Θεοφράστου μαθητὴς, μηδὲ τοῦτο ἀγνοῶμεν. Οὗτος μέντοι καὶ ἐντυχεῖν φησὶν ἀπροοιμιάστῳ τῷ βιβλίῳ καὶ ἀρχομένῳ χωρίς τῆς ἐπικλήσεως τῶν Μουσῶν ἐντεῦθεν, Οὐκ ἄρα μοῦνον ἔην ἐρίδων γένος. It is highly probable that it was borrowed or adapted from some ancient Hymn to Zeus, and was prefixed as an Introduction to the genuine poem, after the usual custom of the later hymn-writers, ἐκ Διός ἀρχώμεσθα κ.τ.λ. Κ. Ο. Müller (Hist. Gr. Lit. p. 83) regards it as only one of several introductory strains which the Hesiodean rhapsodists could prefix to the 'Works and Days.' Schoemann

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(Com. Crit. p. 13) observes, “ totum hoc prooemium, sive verba sive sententias consideramus, nec bonum poetam prodere nec satis accommodatum videtur insequentis carminis argumento.” There is an important passage in Pausanias, ix. 31, 3, which shows that the prooemium had not much credit for genuineness, though it existed in his time:Βοιωτῶν δὲ οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἑλικῶνα οἰκοῦντες παρειλημμένα δόξῃ λέγουσιν, ὡς ἄλλο Ησίοδος ποιήσαι οὐδὲν ἢ τὰ ̓́Εργα· καὶ τούτων δὲ τὸ ἐς τὰς Μούσας ἀφαιροῦσι προοίμιον, ἀρχὴν τῆς ποιήσεως εἶναι τὸ ἐς τὰς Εριδας λέγοντες· καί μοι μόλιβδον ἐδείκνυσαν, ἔνθα ἡ πηγὴ, τὰ πολλὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου λελυμασμένα· γέγραπται δὲ [ἐν] αὐτῷ τὰ Ἔργα.—It has no connexion with the subject of the poem, beyond the somewhat forced allusion to the lawsuit with Perses, in the invocation to Zeus to set straight the decisions of judges. Moreover, there is a double address, first to the Muses, to sing of Zeus, then to Zeus himself; and lastly, there is a rapid transition to Perses by the awkward antithesis, Do thou, Ο Zeus, set straight men's decisions, and I will address to Perses the truth. The probable inference is, (as Goettling has well stated it,) that the first nine verses were prefixed as an introduction by some rhapsodist, while v. 10 was added by a grammarian to connect them with the direct purport of the poem, which commenced naturally and appropriately with οὐκ ἄρα μοῦνον ἔην Ερίδων γένος.

1. Πιερίηθεν, scil. ἐλθοῦσαι, like Virgil's Pastor ab Amphryso, Georg. iii. 2. II.

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xiii. 363, Οθρυονῆα Καβησόθεν.—κλείουσαι, 4 celebrating in lays, viz. τά τε θεῖα καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα. Cf. Theogon. 32. Od. xvii. 418, ἐγὼ δέ κέ σε κλείω κατ' ἀπείρονα γαῖαν. Theocr. xvi. 1, ἀεὶ τοῦτο Διὸς κώραις μέλει, αἰὲν ἀοιδοῖς, ὑμνεῖν ἀθανάτους, ὑμνεῖν ἀγαθῶν κλέα ἀνδρῶν. Eur. Alc. 448, ἐν ἀλύροις κλείοντες ὕμνοις. Iph. Α. 1046, τὸν Αἰακίδων Κενταύρων ἀν' ὄρος κλέουσαι. Ar. Pac. 777, Μούσα— κλείουσα θεῶν τε γάμους ἀνδρῶν τε δαῖτας. The verbal is κλειτος, as from κλύω κλυτός, root κλυ and κλεί.

2. Most MSS. give δεῦτε δή. Of those I have collated, one only has δεῦτε Δί' ἐννέπετε. It is clearly a better reading, and is found in some of Goettling's codices. Gaisford however and Schoemann retain δή.—σφέτερον, (though the word is etymologically connected with vester,) is scarcely used for ὑμέτερον in the early epic. See Buttmann, Lexil. p. 422, note. Theocritus (xxii. 67) has πὺξ διατεινόμενος σφετέρης μὴ φείδεο τέχνης.

3. ὁμῶς κ.τ.λ. ‘are alike unmentioned and renowned. Gloss. cod. Gal. ἄδοξοι καὶ ἔνδοξοι. The next verse is merely exegetical, and might be omitted without detriment to the sense. It is impossible to form any sure conclusion respecting repetitions of this kind ; but they may often be merely amplifications or expansions of the context emanating from the early rhapsodists. Certain it is, they are very numerous in the writings of Hesiod as we now have them. Generally, words or deeds, rather than persons, are ἄρρητα, e. g. Demosth. p. 612, τὸν δὲ ὁμοῦ ῥητὰ καὶ ἄρρητα κακὰ ἔλεγεν). Soph. Οed. Col. 1000, ἅπαν καλὸν λέγειν νομίζων, ῥητὸν ἄρρητόν τ' ἔπος. If the verse 4 is genuine, there should be a difference of meaning in the verbals. But Hesychius has ἄφατον, ἄρρητον,

and φατοὶ, ῥητοί. Again, ῥητοί, οἱ ἔνδοξοι.

5. The reason why both obscurity and celebrity depend on Zeus, is declared in what follows: for easily he makes strong, and easily the strong one he brings low ; easily too the illustrious he humbles, and the obscure one he exalts. For the monosyllable ῥέα Goettling compares Il. xvii. 461-2, ῥέα μὲν γὰρ φεύγεσκεν ὑπὲκ Τρώων ορυμαγδοῦ, ῥεῖα δ ̓ ἐπαΐξασκε πολὺν καθ ̓ ὅμιλον ὀπάζων, adding that péa ends the verse as a monosyllable in Il. xii. 381, and xx. 101. So also in xx. 263. ῥέα διελεύσεσθαι κλισίας, Il. xiii. 144. νέα μέν μοι κατέαξε, Od. ix. 283. Inf. v. 462, ἔαρι πολεῖν. It is singular that nearly all the MSS. agree in ῥεῖα μὲνῥεῖα δὲ, οι ῥεῖαρέα de. There may have been an old reading ῥεῖά τε γὰρ βριάει, ῥέα τε βριάοντα χαλέπτει. The transitive use of βριάω and μινύθω is remarkable, especially as contrasted with the intransitive βριάοντα in the same verse. Cf. Theogon. 446, ποίμνας δ ̓ εἰροπόκων οΐων — ἐξ ὀλίγων βριάει. Π. xv. 490, ῥεῖα δ ̓ ἀρίγνωτος Διὸς ἀνδράσι γίγνεται ἀλκὴ — ὅτινας μινύθῃ. xx. 242, Ζεὺς δ ̓ ἀρετὴν ἄνδρεσσιν ὀφέλλει τε μινύθει τε. More commonly μινύθειν is to dwindle,' as inf. v. 244. So βαρύνει, ν. 215.—βριάει, gloss. Cod. Gal. ἰσχυροποιεῖ.χαλέπτει, ἐλαττοῖ, id. Lat. afligit, debilem reddit. Hesych. κακίζει, βλάπτει, εἰς χαλεπότητα ἄγει. — The general doctrine is, that Zeus performs whatever he may will without effort or difficulty. Aesch. Suppl. 93, πᾶν ἄπονον δαιμόνιον. Εum. 621, οὐδὲν ἀσθμαίνων μένει. The particular reference is to the fortunes of Perses and his brother. Horace appears to imitate this passage. Carm. i. 34, 12, valet ima summis Mutare, et insignem attenuat deus Obscura promens.

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6, 7. Hesiod not unfrequently has three consecutive lines commencing with the same word; see inf. on v. 579.ἀρίζηλον, for ἀρισ-δηλον, i. e. ἀρίδηλον, οι perhaps (Curtius, Gr. Et. 604) for apiδηλος, the root being διF. Buttmann regards ἀρίδηλον as contracted from άριιδηλον. But ἄρις for ἄρι may be compared with ἀμφὶς and μέχρις.—ἀγήνορα κάρφει. Proclus, τὸν αὐθάδη καὶ ὑπερόπτην εὐτελῆ ποιεῖ καὶ ταπεινόν. Inf. v. 575, ὅτε τ' ἠέλιος χρόα κάρφει. Od. xiii. 430, κάρψεν μὲν χρόα καλὸν ἐνὶ γναμπτοῖσι μέλεσσι. Properly, to shrivel up, or contract; whence κάρφος, a bit of stick or straw.

8. This verse reads very tamely as the subject to the verbs which have preceded. Perhaps it was interpolated together with v. 10, or perhaps the first reading was κλύθι ἰδὼν ἀΐων τε, δίκῃ δ' ἴθυνε θέμιστας, Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης, ὃς ὑπέρτατα δώματα ναίεις. This clause is quoted by the Schol. Med. on Aesch. Suppl. 73.

9. θέμιστας, which the scholiasts refer to the divine law, must here mean the decisions of men, as inf. v. 221. Theogon. 85 (where see the note).—τύνη, an epic and Aeolic form for τὺ or σὺ, not uncommon in Homer. The quantity of the first syllable has an analogy in the Latin tu. Cf. Theog. 36, Τύνη, Μουσάων ἀρχώμεθα. Tzetzes compares ἐγώνη. Οἱ course, Zeus is addressed, not Perses. That idea was entertained by some who found the vocative Πέρση in place of the dative. Though an inferior reading (since σol must thus be supplied) Goettling adopts it, with Gaisford, adding “ Pauci codd. Πέρσῃ.” All the MSS. I have collated give this latter reading.

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11-26. There are, it seems, two distinct kinds of contention on earth; the one good, the other bad; the one a source of war and strife, the other the origin of an honourable emulation.' This is said as introductory to the subject immediately on the poet's mind, viz. the unjust quarrel raised against him by his own brother. To divert him from the bad kind of strife to the good, and to stimulate him to honest industry, the whole of the precepts in this didactic poem are directed. There is an interesting allusion to this twofold ěpis in Soph. Oed. Col. 367-72, where the ἡ πρὶν (ἀγαθὴ) ἔρις μὴ χραίνεσθαι πόλιν, is contrasted with the ἡ νῦν κακὴ ἔρις ἀρχῆς λαβέσθαι. In the former verse most editors have adopted Tyrwhitt's conjecture pws.-In Theog. 225 only one Ερις is spoken of, as the daughter of Night (inf. v. 17).

11. οὐκ ἄρα. Goettling would render this, ‘Το begin then, there was not merely one kind of Contentions sent from the first to men, but two distinct kinds.' There seems however no good reason for departing from the common and idiomatic use of ἦν ἄρα, ‘Well! it seems that, after all, Contention is of two kinds, not of one only, as we thought.' Schol. on Apoll. Rhod. ii. 440 (quoted by Gaisford), οὐκ ἦν, ὡς ἔοικε, μία ἔρις. Cf. Xen. Oecon. i. 20, αἳ πρϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου—καταφανεῖς γίγα νονται, ὅτι λῦπαι ἄρα ἦσαν ἡδοναῖς περιπεπεμμέναι. Od. xvii. 454, ὦ πόποι, οὐκ ἄρα σοί γ ̓ ἐπὶ εἴδεϊ καὶ φρένες ἦσαν.—ἐπὶ γαϊαν, ' over the earth, with the notion of progress and wide dissemination, not of any fixed locality, which would be ἐπὶ γαίᾳ οι γαίας. See on Theog. 95.