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I be no thief nor highwayman—tis not for that I'm abroad at night—, but a lover; and lovers deserve all aid.

— Bion of Smyrna

οὐδ᾿ ἵνα νυκτὸς ὁδοιπορέοντας ἐνοχλέω,
ἀλλ᾿ ἐράω· καλὸν δέ τ᾿ ἐρασσαμένῳ συναρέσθαι.

Original text (Ancient Greek)

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Notes from Wikiquote

I am no thief, no highway man to plague a traveller at night. A lover I am. And those in love must be helped.

Variants

(W. Barnstone, 1967)

More quotes by Bion of Smyrna

Blessed are they who love, if they are loved in turn.

Ill it seems that man should judge God's handiwork.

May the Muses ever give me song at my desire, dear melodious song, the sweetest physic in the world.

The unceasing drip of water, as they say,
Will wear a channel in the hardest stone.

Sleep no more, Cypris, beneath thy purple coverlet, but awake to thy misery; put on the sable robe and fall to beating thy breast, and tell it to the world, The beauteous Adonis іs dead.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Bion of Smyrna (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.