Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, BELLEROPHON: THERE ARE NO GODS, by EURIPIDES



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

BELLEROPHON: THERE ARE NO GODS, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Doth some one say that there are gods above?
Last Line: Is built up from our good and evil luck.
Variant Title(s): Kings
Subject(s): Agnosticism; Religion; Theology


Doth someone say that there are gods above?
There are not; no, there are not. Let no fool,
Led by the old false fable, thus deceive you.
Look at the facts themselves, yielding my words
No undue credence: for I say that kings
Kill, rob, break oaths, lay cities waste by fraud,
And doing thus are happier than those
Who live calm pious lives day after day.
How many little States that serve the gods
Are subject to the godless but more strong,
Made slaves by might of a superior army!
And you, if any ceased from work and prayed
To gods, nor gathered in his livelihood,
Would learn gods are not. All Divinity
Is built up from our good and evil luck.




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