Jupiter and Minos

Fable by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Period 18th century

My son, Jupiter said one day to Minos,
you who judge the human race,
explain to me why hell is scarcely enough
for the numerous criminals that Atropos sends you.
What is the fatal adversary of virtue
that corrupts feeble humanity to such a degree?
It is, I believe, self-interest. —Self-interest? No, father.
—And what is it, then? —Idleness.

Florian

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-jupiter-and-minos-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/