morsels of classical translation
all translated by me (nan)
αἲ γάρ πως αὐτόν με μένος καὶ θυμὸς ἀνήη
ὤμ᾽ ἀποταμνόμενον κρέα ἔδμεναι, οἷα ἔοργας
If only my spirit and mind allowed me
to devour your raw cut off flesh, for the things you have done
~ Achilles, Iliad 22. 346-7
τοῦ ἐγὼ μέσον ἧπαρ ἔχοιμι
ἐσθέμεναι προσφῦσα: τότ᾽ ἄντιτα ἔργα γένοιτο
παιδὸς ἐμοῦ
I wish I could sink my teeth into the midst of his liver
and devour it, then might vengeful deeds be done for my son
~ Hecuba, Iliad 24. 212-4
ἡ δ᾽ ὧδε τλήμων ὥστε τῷ μιάστορι
ξύνεστ᾽, ἐρινὺν οὔτιν᾽ ἐκφοβουμένη:
ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ ἐγγελῶσα τοῖς ποιουμένοις,
εὑροῦσ᾽ ἐκείνην ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ τότε
πατέρα τὸν ἀμὸν ἐκ δόλου κατέκτανεν,
ταύτῃ χοροὺς ἵστησι καὶ μηλοσφαγεῖ
θεοῖσιν ἔμμην᾽ ἱερὰ τοῖς σωτηρίοις.
She is so reckless that she associates with a murderer,
Fearing no Furies,
But as if laughing at the things she has done,
Observing that day, when she killed my father by trickery,
She sets up ceremonies and makes monthly sacrifices
To the gods, her preservers.
-Sophocles, Elektra, line 275-81
Incipe, parve puer, risu cognoscere matrem,
matri longa decem tulerunt fastidia menses.
Incipe, parve puer, cui non risere parentes,
nec deus hunc mensa, dea nec dignata cubili est.
Begin, little boy, to perceive your mother with a smile,
The 10 long months have sickened her.
Begin, little boy, on whom parents have not smiled,
A god did not deem him worthy of his table, nor a goddess her bed.
-Vergil, Eclogue 4, line 60-3
τοιοῖσδε χρησμοῖς ἆρα χρὴ πεποιθέναι;
κεἰ μὴ πέποιθα, τοὔργον ἔστ᾽ ἐργαστέον.
πολλοὶ γὰρ εἰς ἓν συμπίτνουσιν ἵμεροι.
Must I trust in these oracles?
Even if I do not, the deed must be done.
For many desires dash together into one.
-Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, line 297-299
τοιάδ᾽ ἐξ ἐμοῦ
ὁ τῶν θεῶν τύραννος ὠφελημένος
κακαῖσι ποιναῖς ταῖσδὲ μ᾽ ἐξημείψατο.
ἔνεστι γάρ πως τοῦτο τῇ τυραννίδι
νόσημα, τοῖς φίλοισι μὴ πεποιθέναι.
He was aided by me in these things,
and yet the tyrant of the gods repaid me
with a malicious reward.
For somehow this malady is ever present in tyranny:
not trusting those dear to you.
-Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, lines 223-227
In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas
corpora; di, coeptis (nam vos mutastis et illas)
adspirate meis primaque ab origine mundi
ad mea perpetuum deducite tempora carmen.
My spirit leads me to speak about forms changed into new bodies.
Gods, for even you have changed those,
Breathe on my beginnings and accompany my constant song
From the very origin of the world to my present time.
-Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 1.1-4
O utinam possim populos reparare paternis
artibus atque animas formatae infundere terrae!
Nunc genus in nobis restat mortale duobus
(sic visum superis) hominumque exempla manemus.
Oh would that I was able to restore the populace with the skills
Of my father and pour breath into molded earth!
Now this mortal race stands firm in us two
(so is the will of the heavens) and we remain the examples of humanity.
-Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 1.363-6
I do have to say my favorites are the first three. I think the venom conveyed in each of those quotes is so vivid and vehement that it's almost beautiful. It is a level of anger I do not know, and yet I can clearly witness it through their words.
-nan