Page:Masterpieces of Greek Literature (1902).djvu/387

357 THE CHOICE OF HERACLES 357

" Heracles, hearing these words, made answer : ' What, Ο lady, is the name you bear ? ' To which she : ' Know that my friends call me Happiness, but they that hate me have their own nicknames for me. Vice and Naughtiness.'

" But just then the other of those fair women ap- proached, and spoke : ' Heracles, I too am come to you, seeing that your parents are well known to me, and in your nurture I have gauged your nature ; wherefore I entertain good hope that if you choose the path which leads to me, you shall greatly bestir yourself to be the doer of many a doughty deed of noble emprise ; and that I too shall be held in even higher honor for your sake, lit with the lustre shed by valorous deeds. I will not cheat you with prelud- ings of pleasure, but I will relate to you the things that are according to the ordinances of God in very truth. Know then that among things that are lovely and of good report, not one have the Gods bestowed upon mortal man apart from toil and pains. Would you obtain the favor of the gods, then must you pay these same gods service ; would you be loved by your friends, you must benefit these friends ; do you desire to be honored by the state, you must give the state your aid ; do you claim admiration for your virtue from all Hellas, you must strive to do some good to Hellas ; do you wish earth to yield her fruits to you abundantly, to earth must you pay your court ; do you seek to amass riches from your flocks and herds, on them must you bestow your labor ; or is it your ambition to be potent as a warrior, able to save your friends and to subdue your foes, then must you learn the arts of war from those who have the knowledge, and practice their application in the field when learned ;