δύστηνος
ὦ δυσπάλαιστον γῆρας, ὡς μισῶ σ' ἔχων, μισῶ δ' ὅσοι χρῄζουσιν ἐκτείνειν βίον, βρωτοῖσι καὶ ποτοῖσι καὶ μαγεύμασι παρεκτρέποντες ὀχετὸν ὥστε μὴ θανεῖν: οὓς χρῆν, ἐπειδὰν μηδὲν ὠφελῶσι γῆν, θανόντας ἔρρειν κἀκποδὼν εἶναι νέοις → Old age, resistless foe, how do I loathe your presence! Them too I loathe, whoever desire to lengthen out the span of life, seeking to turn the tide of death aside by food and drink and magic spells; those whom death should take away to leave the young their place, when they no more can benefit the world
English (LSJ)
Dor. δύστᾱνος, ον,
A wretched, unhappy, unfortunate, disastrous, poet. Adj.: 1 mostly of persons, as always in Hom. and mostly Trag., A.Pers.909 (anap.), etc.; δυστήνων δέ τε παῖδες ἐμῷ μένει ἀντιόωσιν unhappy are they whose sons... Il.6.127. 2 of sufferings and the like, μόχθος δ. Pi.P.4.268; θέρος A.Ag.1655; αἰκίαι S.El.511 (lyr.); ὄνειδος Id.Aj.1191 (lyr.); ὄνειρος Ar.Ra.1333 (lyr.); πάθος D.H.6.20. Adv., Sup. δυστανοτάτως γηράσκω E.Supp. 967 (lyr.). II after Hom., in moral sense, wretched, S.El.121 (Sup., lyr.), Ph.1016; λόγοι E.HF1346.—Rare in Prose, though D. 19.255 has δ. λογάρια, in latter sense: Sup. (v. supr. 1); no Comp. is found. (Cf. ἄστηνος.)
