Page:History of the Literature of Ancient Greece (Müller) 2ed.djvu/245

Rh The good fortune or skill of the victor could not however be treated abstractedly; but must be individualized by a description of his peculiar lot. This individual colouring might be given by representing the good fortune of the victor as a compensation for past ill fortune; or, generally, by describing the alternations of fortune in his lot and in that of his family. Another theme for anode might be, that success in gymnastic contests was obtained by a family in alternate generations; that is, by the grandfathers and grandsons, but not by the intermediate generation. If, however, the good fortune of the victor had been invariable, congratulation at such rare happiness was accompanied with moral reflections, especially on the right manner of estimating or enduring good fortune, or on the best mode of turning it to account. According to the notions of the Greeks, an extraordinary share of the gifts of fortune suggested a dread of the Nemesis which delighted in humbling the pride of man; and hence the warning to be prudent, and not to strive after further victories. The admonitions which Pindar addresses to Hiero are to cultivate a calm serenity of mind, after the cares and toils by which he had founded and extended his empire, and to purify and ennoble by poetry a spirit which had been ruffled by unworthy passions. Even when the skill of the victor is put in the foreground, Pindar in general does not content himself with celebrating this bodily prowess alone, but he usually adds some moral virtue which the victor has shown, or which he recommends and extols. This virtue is sometimes moderation, sometimes wisdom, sometimes filial love, sometimes piety to the gods. The latter is frequently represented as the main cause of the victory: the victor having thereby obtained the protection of the deities who preside over gymnastic contests; as Hermes, or the Dioscuri. It is evident that, with Pindar, this mode of accounting for success in the games was not the mere fiction of a poet; he sincerely thought that he had found the true cause, when he had traced the victory to the favour of a god who took an especial interest in the family of the victor, and at the same time presided over the games. Generally, indeed, in extolling both the skill and fortune of the victor, Pindar appears to adhere to the truth as faithfully as he declares himself to do; nor is he ever betrayed into a high flown style of panegyric. A republican dread of incurring the censure of his fellow citizens, as well as an awe of the divine Nemesis, induced him to moderate his praises, and to keep in view the instability of human fortune and the narrow limits of human strength.

Thus far the poet seems to wear the character of a sage who expounds to the victor his destiny, by showing him the dependence of his