Another healthy-minded fragment of Archilochus, recorded by Plutarch in his On Tranquility of Mind (10.470b-c):
Accordingly, since they always lack what is beyond them, they are never grateful for what befits their station.
“The possessions of Gyges1 rich in gold are of no concern to me, not yet have I been seized with jealousy of him, I do not envy the deeds of the gods, and I have no love of tyranny. That is beyond my sights.”
εἶθ᾿ οὕτως ἀεὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοὺς ἐνδεεῖς ὄντες οὐδέποτε τοῖς καθ᾿ ἑαυτοὺς χάριν ἔχουσιν.
οὔ μοι τὰ Γύγεω τοῦ πολυχρύσου μέλει,
οὐδ᾿ εἷλέ πώ με ζῆλος, οὐδ᾿ ἀγαίομαι
θεῶν ἔργα, μεγάλης δ᾿ οὐκ ἐρέω τυραννίδος·
ἀπόπροθεν γάρ ἐστιν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐμῶν.
It may seem a pedantic distinction but the Greek of ‘beyond my sights’ feels somehow stronger to me – it is more like ‘far from my eyes.’
Extracts 