Reading Room

Whisper's Muses

A classical oracle and reading room arranged in paper, ink, and line.

Search, draw, and read public-domain verse with stable line references and quiet editorial structure.

Verse

Works and Days

Book 1, Line 42 by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (English)

(ll 493-501) Pass by the smithy and its crowded lounge in winter time when the cold keeps men from field work,-for then an industrious man can greatly prosper his house-lest bitter winter catch you helpless and poor and you chafe a swollen foot with a shrunk hand. The idle man who waits on empty hope, lacking a livelihood, lays to heart mischief-making; it is not an wholesome hope that accompanies a need man who lolls at ease while he has no sure livelihood.

Works and DaysHesiodHugh G. Evelyn-WhiteEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 1

Book 1, Line 42ProseID works-and-days-evelyn-white-en-prose-1-42

Project Gutenberg #348, Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, and Homerica (Hugh G. Evelyn-White), Works and Days