Life is Toil
Works and Days by Hesiod
DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT AN ANCIENT GREEK SCHOLAR. FOR THE FULL DISCLAIMER, READ HERE
Work is no disgrace: it is idleness which is a disgrace. But if you work, the idle will soon envy you as you grow rich, for fame and renown attend on wealth. And whatever be your lot, work is best for you, if you turn your misguided mind away from other men’s property to your work and attend to your livelihood as I bid you.
Introduction
Hesiod’s Works and Days is more of a philosophical text compared to Theogony. Or, perhaps, it may be better described as a “manual for living” or a “self-help pamphlet.” It does share some similarities with Theogony, though: both contain stories of Prometheus and Pandora (though with a few more details); and, whereas Theogony describes the generations of the gods, Works and Days describes the generations of man.
There are two unique details about Works and Days. First, Hesiod is actually writing to someone (not solely dedicating it to the Muses). He frequently talks to a man named Perses. As we eventually find out, this Perses is actually Hesiod’s brother. Hesiod also alludes to an inheritance and a court ruling that did not make Hesiod happy (in fact, he seems to think the judges were corrupt or swayed by bribes). Also, it seems that Perses squandered his inheritance and is now poor (hence, all the advice Hesiod is giving him).
Second, there is some biographical information about Hesiod. First, he talks about his father as an introduction to his advice about seafaring and trade:
… even as your father and mine, foolish Perses, used to sail on shipboard because he lacked sufficient livelihood. And one day he came to this very place crossing over a great stretch of sea; he left Aeolian Cyme and fled, not from riches and substance, but from wretched poverty which Zeus lays upon men, and he settled near Helicon in a miserable hamlet, Ascra…
Hesiod then describes his limited experience with sea travel and also a contest he took part in:
Then I crossed over to Chalcis, to the games of wise Amphidamas1 where the sons of the great hearted hero proclaimed and appointed prizes. And there I boast that I gained the victory with a song and carried off an handled tripod which I dedicated to the Muses of Helicon, in the place where they first set me in the way of clear song.
It’s crazy to think that if Hesiod didn’t write all this down, we never would have known these things about him or his father.
All quotes from the Works and Days are taken from the Hugh G. Evelyn-White translation which is in the public domain. If you want a modern translation, the only other one I have experience with is by Apostolos N. Athanassakis. Athanassakis translated the three major works of Hesiod which appear in one volume. He also translated the Homeric Hymns, another valuable, though lesser known, source for ancient Greek mythology.
Summary
After paying honor to the Muses and Zeus, Hesiod tells his brother Perses to listen closely. There are two goddesses called Strife. One goddess stirs men to engage in war and violence. This Strife no one loves, but men must nonetheless pay her homage. The other goddess is older and Zeus has set her within the earth. She is far kinder, and pushes man to work and compete fairly with his neighbor for wealth. Hesiod implores his brother to look to the elder Strife and not forsake work. Work is the reality for man.
Man has to work daily for his survival because of what Prometheus did to Zeus. Prometheus, through deception, stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. Afterward, Zeus had Hephaestus and Athena craft a woman named Pandora. The other gods gave her gifts to enhance her beauty and charm, but Hermes gave her deceitfulness and craftiness, as well as speech. Zeus then gave Pandora to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, as a gift. Despite Prometheus’ warnings, Epimetheus accepted the gift. Later, Pandora opened a jar which released all forms of misfortune, disease, and toil upon mankind when none of it existed before.
Hesiod then provides another story to push his point home about work. The first generation of man was the golden race and they lived when Cronos was ruler of all. They were without sorrow, toil, and old age. The earth provided for them abundantly, and when they died, it was as painless as falling asleep. The second generation of man though, the silver race, were less noble. They grew up never leaving their mother’s side for a hundred years which caused them to be simple and childish. Afterward, they experienced sorrow only because of their selfishness, foolishness, and lack of reverence to the gods. Zeus became so angry with this generation he destroyed them.
The next generation was the brass race who were strong and loved war and violence. They ended up destroying each other. The next generation was the demi-god race when the gods had offspring with mortals. War destroyed most of them—most notably, the Siege of Thebes and the Trojan War. The rest were set apart and allowed to live on a blessed island free of toil.
The current generation, Hesiod’s generation, is the race of iron. They never have rest from labor and are susceptible to disease, the ravages of old age, and death. They are also a wicked generation, not honoring their parents, breaking oaths, speaking lies, and value power as the highest good.
Hesiod then urges Perses to not be a man who commits violence, acts cruelly, and corrupts justice to get what he wants. Living this way will destroy himself, burn bridges with others, and most importantly, bring the wrath of Zeus. Instead, he needs to work hard and justly. Hard, honest work is the will of Zeus, and the way in which he has ordered the world—for better or for worse. Acting justly is harder than acting unjustly, but Perses will be better off as a result. Hard work will make him an enemy of hunger and the wealth that will comes with it will make him confident and gain him favor with others. Laziness, on the other hand, will bring further toil and shame and put him at the mercy of others who may not be willing to provide a helping hand.
Hesiod then gives Perses general advice about agriculture and sea-trading: the best times to plant and harvest different crops, the types of people he should hire for labor, and the best times to sail and trade. Hesiod also gives advice about handling friendships, treating neighbors, generosity, marriage, and the best times to have children.
Imagine if Hesiod Lived Today…
It’s always interesting to read the words of past cultural critics—mostly because, if we invented a time machine and sent them to the present day, they would probably have an aneurysm.
Here’s Hesiod’s words on the immorality of his generation:
“The father will not agree with his children, nor the children with their father, nor guest with his host, nor comrade with comrade; nor will brother be dear to brother as aforetime. Men will dishonour their parents as they grow quickly old, and will carp at them, chiding them with bitter words, hard-hearted they, not knowing the fear of the gods. They will not repay their aged parents the cost their nurture, for might shall be their right: and one man will sack another’s city. There will be no favour for the man who keeps his oath or for the just or for the good; but rather men will praise the evil-doer and his violent dealing. Strength will be right and reverence will cease to be; and the wicked will hurt the worthy man, speaking false words against him, and will swear an oath upon them. Envy, foul-mouthed, delighting in evil, with scowling face, will go along with wretched men one and all.”
You would think he was talking about the West in the 21st century.
Was Hesiod blowing things out of proportion? Or, was it really that bad?
Somewhat related, I remember listening to Richard M. Weaver’s book Ideas Have Consequences (1948). In one part of the book, he decried Jazz as vulgar and sexualized. Today, people decry pop music and look to Jazz as the good and sophisticated music. The boundaries of what is vulgar and what is not shifted.
Recently, I listened to a podcast about a section of Francis Parker Yockey’s book Imperium (also 1948) where he decried Hollywood as a place that made women into sexual objects and men into pursuers of sexual objects (or something like that). This statement was made before Playboy magazine (1953), the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and HBO (1972)!
A final example is Dorothy Sayers’ essay “The Lost Tools of Learning” (also 1948! What the heck happened in 1948?). The way she describes schools in Britain—basically saying they teach students what to think and not how to think (making them susceptible to propaganda)—you would think she was talking about schools in America in the 21st century. By the way, I highly recommend reading this essay! You can find it on the internet for free pretty easily. It’s a good text if you’re interested in homeschooling, particularly in classical education.
There’s a sentiment, particularly on the political right, about the “good ol’ days” that includes the time period in which the above three authors wrote. And yet, here they are lamenting that something wasn’t right. Something was being lost. Their culture was slipping into moral disaster.
What are we to make of all of this?
Paradise Lost, But Never Regained
Related to the previous section is Hesiod’s two accounts about how mankind got to the point where, by the will of the gods, work and toil are the realities of life and therefore must be accepted.
One of the accounts is about the different ages man. The golden race came first and it was an era where mankind didn’t suffer and had all of their needs provided for without having to work. They never lost the vigor of youth and dying was as painless as falling asleep.
I find it interesting that it was Cronos who was the ruler while the golden race of man flourished. The same ruler that tyrannized his children and was overthrown by Zeus. The realities of toil and suffering for mankind started under Zeus. This is especially clear when Hesiod talks about the other account: Pandora. Pandora is responsible for inflicting all the ills of the world upon mankind after she opens the jar. What’s interesting to note is that, by the will of Zeus, the jar is closed and Hope is trapped inside it. Closing the jar also ensures that the evils that were released could not be put back. This effectively ends any hope (ahem) that the world will return to the way it was before. Disease, toil, violence, corruption, the ravages of old age, and death, are all realities now. Get used to it.
There are so many accounts in the ancient world of a time when mankind was living in paradise-like conditions. And then one day, it all gets disrupted and now mankind is living in the harsh reality we all experience today.
I wonder where they got those ideas from? Are they exaggerations about a time when mankind was ignorant and naive about the fact that they were toiling until one day they became aware?
What’s the point in acknowledging that there was a time, in the distant past, where toil and suffering didn’t exist? What’s that suppose to accomplish? How is mankind supposed to react to something like that? It’s a reality mankind lost. Okay, and? Do you really expect to be able to return to that former reality? What about reality right now? How can we get through today?
Applying Agricultural Advice for the Non-Farmer
“Good management is the best for mortal men as bad management is the worse.”
Hesiod gives a lot of advice to his brother Perses about farming. However, for most of us, that doesn’t do us much good. It’s also possible that Hesiod’s advice is outdated.
That’s why I decided to look at all the advice he gave to see if I could draw out some pieces of general advice (particularly when it comes to running a business or an organization). This is what I came up with:
Be prepared for the unexpected
Use appropriate materials
Don’t cut corners when it comes to your livelihood
Find out what is best for which occasion
Find suitable personnel
Give yourself the appropriate amount of time to prepare
Do things in their appropriate, and optimal, times
There is such a thing as doing something too late
However, look for moments when you can catch a break to make up for bad decisions
Don’t use poor conditions as an excuse to not work—there is always something to get done
However, there are truly moments when you need to consider your well being more
Don’t overwork your personnel
There are appropriate times to let them rest
Take good care of your equipment and properly store them when not in use (to prevent damage, rot, wear, etc.)
Quotes That Stood Out
There are a lot of them.
“Often even a whole city suffers for a bad man who sins and devises presumptuous deeds”
The consequences of your actions reach father than you may realize. This has been something very difficult for me to accept as someone who wants to be left alone, be responsible for himself, and not care about trying to affect others. I am affecting others by my actions (to my chagrin). Others’ actions are affecting me (to my even greater chagrin).
“He does mischief to himself who does mischief to another, and evil planned harms the plotter most.”
Your bad actions affect you more than the person you are afflicting them on. It kind of reminds me of the Golden Rule (Do to others what you would have them do to you).
“Badness can be got easily and in shoals: the road to her is smooth, and she lives very near us. But between us and Goodness the gods have placed the sweat of our brows: long and steep is the path that leads to her, and it is rough at the first; but when a man has reached the top, then is she easy to reach, though before that she was hard.”
This is a reality we are all too familiar with.
It’s easy to destroy. It’s hard to create.
It’s easy to break trust. It’s hard to earn it.
It’s easy to criticize. It’s hard to come up with solutions.
It’s easy to hurt yourself. It’s hard to keep yourself healthy.
It’s easy to compromise. It’s hard to stick by your principles.
“He who adds to what he has, will keep off bright-eyed hunger; for if you add only a little to a little and do this often, soon that little will become great.”
Hey, look, Hesiod discovered compound interest.
On a somewhat related note: If you haven’t read George Clason’s The Richest Man in Babylon, I highly recommend it! It’s public domain, so it should be easy to find on the internet.
“Work the work which the gods ordained for men, lest in bitter anguish of spirit you with your wife and children seek your livelihood amongst your neighbours, and they do not heed you.”
You don’t want to be at the mercy of others. You may wear out your welcome.
“Call your friend to a feast; but leave your enemy alone”
Reward your friends for their friendship.
This also seems to be the middle ground between hating your enemies and loving your enemies.
“A bad neighbour is as great a plague as a good one is a great blessing; he who enjoys a good neighbour has a precious possession.”
Love your neighbor as yourself.
“Be friends with the friendly, and visit him who visits you.”
Reciprocity is extremely important in human relationships.
“A man gives to the free-handed, but no one gives to the close-fisted.”
Generosity goes a long way. It may even save you from disaster.
Also, another reminder of the importance of reciprocity.
“Let the wage promised to a friend be fixed; even with your brother smile – and get a witness; for trust and mistrust, alike ruin men.”
Especially in this day and age. Use your phone camera to protect yourself, not destroy others.
“Industry makes work go well, but a man who puts off work is always at hand-grips with ruin.”
“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.”
No typos in that second quote. The translator or editor of edition I was reading made an error. Or, maybe there is no error?
In any case, the quotes are self-explanatory. I’ve been figuring out how to get myself to be more productive with my time.
“It will not always be summer, build barns.”
It’s interesting that, in this day and age, summer is usually the time people take to relax and do less work. To be fair, we aren’t much of an agricultural society anymore. We can do a lot of work indoors. We have light bulbs when it gets dark. The internet makes it easier than ever to set our own work schedules.
Hesiod’s statement reminds me of statements made in the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. The author implores his readers to emulate the ants who work hard in the summer (Proverbs 6:6-8; 30:25). In fact, Proverbs has a lot of warnings about working hard and not being lazy (for example: 10:4; 18:9; 20:4; 24:30-34).
“Do not get a name either as lavish or as churlish; as a friend of rogues or as a slanderer of good men.”
Be concerned about your reputation. Although, that’s getting harder to do in our day and age with how factionalized we are all becoming.
Maybe it would be better to say to be concerned about your reputation among those you respect and trust and all the others can kick rocks?
“Never dare taunt a man with deadly poverty which eats out the heart; it is sent by the deathless gods.”
The ancient Greeks believed the god of wealth, Plutus, was blind. That was why good people suffered poverty while wicked people lived in wealth.
Also, it’s always good to remind yourself that the man with deadly poverty could easily be you after a few unfortunate events out of your control.
“The best treasure a man can have is a sparing tongue, and the greatest pleasure, one that moves orderly; for if you speak evil, you yourself will soon be worse spoken of.”
There is a lot written about slander in ancient Jewish commentaries. They actually compare it with murder. This has something that has always stuck with me when I first read up on them.
This is also something difficult to do in the age of social media. There’s an inversion that has happened where people get more clout they more they dunk on someone whom their group hates.
Also, it seems like the more words that exist in the world, the less they mean anything.
Says the guy writing a blog.
May I be more careful with my words and do my part in restoring meaning to the world.
“Do not let a boy of twelve years sit on things which may not be moved, for that is bad, and makes a man unmanly; nor yet a child of twelve months, for that has the same effect.”
This was more interesting to me than anything else. Start teaching the value of hard work and the realities of toil when children are young.
Instead, we seem to be doing the opposite. We seem to be teaching the young that they deserve something.
I also wrote this thought down from another day while thinking about Works and Days:
Our society has increasingly made work ineffective (due to regulations, programs, taxation, destroying the value of currency, instilling entitlement mindsets…). This is a great evil. It’s now about gaming the system, or figuring the system out and making it work to your advantage (at the expense of others).
That’s all for the Works and Days. The next paid post will be on Hesiod’s Shield.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
Thumbnail: Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence by Charles Meynier, 1800. Courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art.
1There are a lot of Amphidamas’ in Greek legend and mythology, but apparently Hesiod is referring to an actual king of Chalcis who lived in the previous century.