All things are best when done without excess: it is as wrong to hurry off a guest who does not wish to leave as to detain a man who longs for home. Kind care for those who stay — and warm farewells for those who go.
[ἶσόν τοι κακόν ἐσθ᾽, ὅς τ᾽ οὐκ ἐθέλοντα νέεσθαι
ξεῖνον ἐποτρύνει καὶ ὃς ἐσσύμενον κατερύκει.
χρὴ ξεῖνον παρεόντα φιλεῖν, ἐθέλοντα δὲ πέμπειν.]
Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Odyssey [Ὀδύσσεια], Book 15, l. 72ff [Menelaus to Telemachus] (c. 700 BC) [tr. Mandelbaum (1990)]
#quotation #quote #arrival #departure #detain #farewell #guest #hospitality #kick-out #leave-taking #visitor
More notes and sourcing on WIST: https://wist.info/homer/1942/
