Ἀγαθὰ καὶ κακά.

Ὑπὸ τῶν κακῶν τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδιώχθη ὡς ἀσθενῆ ὅντα: εἰς οὐρανὸν

δὲ ἀνῆλθεν. Τὰ δὲ ἀγαθὰ ἠρώτησαν τὸν Δία πῶς εἶναι
μετ'ἀνθρώπων. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν <μὴ> μετ' ἀλλήλων πάντα, ἓν δὲ καθ'
ἓν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπέρχεσθαι. Διὰ τοῦτο τὰ μὲν κακὰ συνεχῆ τοῖς
ἀνθρώποις, ὡς πλησίον ὄντα, ἐπέρχεται, τὰ δὲ ἀγαθὰ βράδιον, ἐξ
οὐρανοῦ κατιόντα.
Ὅτι ἀγαθῶν μὲν οὐδεὶς ταχέως ἐπιτυγχάνει, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν κακῶν
ἕκαστος καθ' ἑκάστην πλήττεται.

ZEUS AND THE GOOD THINGS

The Good Things were too weak to defend themselves from the Bad Things, so the Bad Things drove
them off to heaven. The Good Things then asked Zeus how they could reach mankind. Zeus told them
that they should not go together all at once, only one at a time. This is why people are constantly
besieged by Bad Things, since they are nearby, while Good Things come more rarely, since they must
descend to us from heaven one by one.
The fable shows that good things do not happen very often, while bad things happen to us all the time.

Ἀγαλματοπώλης.

Ξύλινόν τις Ἑρμῆν κατασκευάσας καὶ προσενεγκών εἰς ἀγορὰν

ἐπώλει: μηδενὸς δὲ ὠνητοῦ προσιόντος, ἐκκαλέσασθαί τινας
βουλόμενος, ἐβόα ὡς ἀγαθοποιὸν δαίμονα καὶ κέρδους
δωρητικὸν πιπράσκει. Τῶν δὲ παρατυχόντων τινὸς εἰπόντος πρὸς
αὐτόν: "Ὦ οὗτος, καὶ τί τοῦτον τοιοῦτον ὄντα πωλεῖς, δέον τῶν
παρ' αὐτοῦ ὠφελειῶν ἀπολαύειν;" ἀπεκρίνατο ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν ταχείας
ὠφελείας τινὸς δέομαι, αὐτὸς δὲ βραδέως εἴωθε τὰ κέρδη
περιποιεῖν.
Πρὸς ἄνδρα αἰσχροκερδῆ μηδὲ θεῶν πεφροντικότα ὁ λόγος
εὔκαιρος.
THE MAN AND THE STATUE OF HERMES

A man fashioned a Hermes out of wood and carried it to the market to put it up for sale
but no customers approached him. In order to attract some buyers the man began to
shout that he was selling a wish-fulfilling god who brought profit to its owner. 'Hey you,'
someone said, 'why are you putting such a thing up for sale, instead of enjoying its
benefits yourself?' The man answered, 'I am in need of some immediate benefits, but
this god happens to take his time when distributing profits!'
This fable suits a man who is so greedy for gain that he doesn't even have respect for
the gods.