If I had money, Simonides, I would not feel such pain <br /> As I do now, when in the company of the noble. <br />As it is, wealth recognizes me but passes by, and I am speechless <br /> Out of want, although it would seem that I know better than most <br />That now, with our white sails lowered, we are being carried <br /> Out of the Melian Sea through the murky night, <br />And the men refuse to bail, although the sea sweeps over <br /> Both sides of the ship. Indeed, only with great difficulty is anyone likely to be <br />Saved, acting as they are: they have stopped the helmsman, <br /> Good though he was, who kept watch skillfully; <br />And they are plundering the cargo by force. Discipline has perished, <br /> And fair division is no longer carried out in an open fashion; <br />The deckhands are in control, and the base have the upper hand over the noble. <br /> I am afraid that the waves may swallow up the ship. <br />Let this, well hidden, be my riddling message for the noble, <br /> Though a base man too may understand it, if he is clever.<br /><br />Theognis<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fragments-lines-0667-0682/
