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diff --git a/35907-0.txt b/35907-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7990069 --- /dev/null +++ b/35907-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1344 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 35907 *** + +LOVE, WORSHIP AND DEATH + +Some renderings from the Greek Anthology + +BY + +SIR RENNELL RODD + + +AUTHOR OF + +'BALLADS OF THE FLEET' + +'THE VIOLET CROWN,' ETC. + + + +LONDON + +EDWARD ARNOLD + +1916 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Among the many diverse forms of expression in which the Greek genius has +been revealed to us, that which is preserved in the lyrics of the +anthology most typically reflects the familiar life of men, the thought +and feeling of every day in the lost ancient world. These little flowers +of song reveal, as does no other phase of that great literature, a +personal outlook on life, kindly, direct and simple, the tenderness +which characterised family relations, the reciprocal affection of master +and slave, sympathy with the domestic animals, a generous sense of the +obligations of friendship, a gentle piety and a close intimacy with the +nature gods, of whose presence, malignant or benign, the Greek was ever +sensitively conscious. For these reasons they still make so vivid an +appeal to us after a long silence of many centuries. To myself who have +lived for some years in that enchanted world of Greece, and have sailed +from island to island of its haunted seas, the shores have seemed still +quick with the voices of those gracious presences who gave exquisite +form to their thoughts on life and death, their sense of awe and beauty +and love. There indeed poetry seems the appropriate expression of the +environment, and there even still to-day, more than anywhere else in the +world, the correlation of our life with nature may be felt +instinctively; the human soul seems nearest to the soul of the world. + +The poems, of which some renderings are here offered to those who cannot +read the originals, cover a period of about a thousand years, broken by +one interval during which the lesser lyre is silent. The poets of the +_elegy_ and the _melos_ appear in due succession after those of the +_epic_ and, significant perhaps of the transition, there are found in +the first great period of the lyric the names of two women, Sappho of +Lesbos, acknowledged by the unanimous voice of antiquity, which is +confirmed by the quality of a few remaining fragments, to be among the +greatest poets of all times, and Corinna of Tanagra, who contended with +Pindar and rivalled Sappho's mastery. The canon of Alexandria does not +include among the nine greater lyrists the name of Erinna of Rhodes, who +died too young, in the maiden glory of her youth and fame. The earlier +poets of the _melos_ were for the most part natives of + + 'the sprinkled isles, + Lily on lily that overlace the sea.' + +Theirs is the age of the austerer mood, when the clean-cut marble +outlines of a great language matured in its noblest expression. Then a +century of song is followed by the period of the dramatists during which +the lyric muse is almost silent, in an age of political and intellectual +intensity. + +A new epoch of lyrical revival is inaugurated by the advent of +Alexander, and the wide extension of Hellenic culture to more distant +areas of the Mediterranean. Then follows the long succession of poets +who may generally be classified as of the school of Alexandria. Among +them are three other women singers of high renown, Anyte of Tegea, +Nossis of Locri in southern Italy, and Moero of Byzantium. The later +writers of this period had lost the graver purity of the first lyric +outburst, but they had gained by a wider range of sympathy and a closer +touch with nature. This group may be said to close with Meleager, who +was born in Syria and educated at Tyre, whose contact with the eastern +world explains a certain suggestive and exotic fascination in his poetry +which is not strictly Greek. The Alexandrian is followed by the Roman +period, and the Roman by the Byzantine, in which the spirit of the muse +of Hellas expires reluctantly in an atmosphere of bureaucratic and +religious pedantry. + +These few words of introduction should suffice, since the development of +the lyric poetry of Greece and the characteristics of its successive +exponents have been made familiar to English readers in the admirable +work of my friend J.W. Mackail. A reference to his _Select Epigrams from +the Greek Anthology_ suggests one plea of justification for the present +little collection of renderings, since the greater number of them have +been by him translated incomparably well into prose. + +Of the quality of verse translation there are many tests: the closeness +with which the intention and atmosphere of the original has been +maintained; the absence of extraneous additions; the omission of no +essential feature, and the interpretation, by such equivalent as most +adequately corresponds, of individualities of style and assonances of +language. But not the least essential justification of poetical +translation is that the version should constitute a poem on its own +account, worthy to stand by itself on its own merits if the reader were +unaware that it was a translation. It is to this test especially that +renderings in verse too often fail to conform. I have discarded not a +few because they seemed too obviously to bear the forced expression +which the effort to interpret is apt to induce. Of those that remain +some at least I hope approach the desired standard, failing to achieve +which they would undoubtedly be better expressed in simple prose. And +yet there is a value in rendering rhythm by rhythm where it is possible, +and if any success has been attained, such translations probably convey +more of the spirit of the original, which meant verse, with all which +that implies, and not prose. + +The arrangement in this little volume is approximately chronological in +sequence. This should serve to illustrate the severe and restrained +simplicity of the earlier writers as contrasted with the more complex +and conscious thought, and the more elaborate expression of later +centuries when the horizons of Hellenism had been vastly extended. + +The interpretation of these lyrics has been my sole and grateful +distraction during a period of ceaseless work and intense anxiety in the +tragic years of 1914 and 1915. + +R.R. + + + + +INDEX OF AUTHORS + + +MIMNERMUS--CARPE DIEM + +SAPPHO-- + I. A BITTER WORD + II. THE BELOVED PRESENCE + III. HESPER + IV. OUT OF REACH + +ANACREONTICA-- + I. LOVE'S CHALLENGE + II. BACCHANAL + III. HER PORTRAIT + IV. METAMORPHOSIS + V. APOLOGIA + +UNKNOWN--ANACREON'S GRAVE + +SIMONIDES-- + I. ON THE SPARTANS + II. ON THE ATHENIANS + +PLATO-- + I. A GRAVE IN PERSIA + II. STARWORSHIP + III. THE UNSET STAR + IV. LAIS + +PERSES--A RUSTIC SHRINE + +ANYTE OF TEGEA-- + I. A SHRINE BY THE SEA + II. THE GOD OF THE CROSS-ROADS + +ADDAEUS--THE ANCIENT OX + +ASCLEPIADES--THE PRAISE OF LOVE + +MICIAS--A WAYSIDE FOUNTAIN + +CALLIMACHUS--CAST UP BY THE SEA + +NOSSIS-- + I. ROSES OF CYPRIS + II. RINTHO'S GRAVE + +LEONIDAS OF TARENTUM-- + I. ERINNA + II. THE FOUNTAIN HEAD + +DIONYSUS--THE ROSE OF YOUTH + +DAMAGETUS--THEANO + +ARCHIAS-- + I. THE HARBOUR GOD + II. A GRAVE BY THE SEA + +MELEAGER-- + I. LOVE'S QUIVER + II. THE CUP + III. ZENOPHILE + IV. LOVE AND DEATH + V. LOVE'S MALICE + VI. ASCLEPIAS + VII. HELIODORA + VIII. THE WREATH + IX. LIBATION + X. THE GRAVE OF HELIODORA + XI. HIS EPITAPH + +CRINAGORAS--ROSES IN WINTER + +JULIUS POLYAENUS-- + AN EXILE'S PRAYER + +ANTIPATER OF THESSALONICA-- + A GRAVE AT OSTIA + +UNKNOWN-- + FRIENDSHIP'S EPITAPH + +UNKNOWN-- + THE COUNSEL OF PAN + BÉNITIER + THE END OF THE COMEDY + +STRATO--THE KISS + +AMMIANUS--THE LORD OF LANDS + +ALPHEUS--MYCENAE + +MACEDONIUS--THE THRESHOLD + +NOTES + + + +MIMNERMUS + +7TH CENTURY B.C. + + + + CARPE DIEM + + + Hold fast thine youth, dear soul of mine, new lives will come to birth, + And I that shall have passed away be one with the brown earth. + + + + + SAPPHO + + 7TH AND 6TH CENTURY B.C. + + + + I + + A BITTER WORD + + + Dying thou shalt lie in nothingness, nor after + Love shall abide here nor memory of thee; + For thou hast no portion in the roses of Pieria; + But even in the nether world obscurely shalt thou wander + Flitting hither thither with the phantoms of the dead. + + + Note 1 + + + + II + + THE BELOVED PRESENCE + + + Blest as the Gods are esteem I him who alway + Sits face to face with thee and watching thee forgoes not + The voice that is music and the smile that is seduction, + Smile that my heart knows + Fluttered in its chambers. For lo, when I behold thee + Forthwith my voice fails, my tongue is tied in silence, + Flame of fire goes through me, my ears are full of murmur, + Blinded I see naught: + Sweat breaketh forth on me, and all my being trembles, + Paler am I grown than the pallor of the dry grass, + Death seemeth almost to have laid his hand upon me.-- + Then I dare all things. + + + Note 2 + + + + III + + HESPER + + + Thou, Hesper, bringest homeward all + That radiant dawn sped far and wide: + The sheep to fold, the goat to stall, + The children to their mother's side. + + + + IV + + OUT OF REACH + + + Like the apple that ripens rosy at the end of a branch on high, + At the utmost end of the utmost bough, + Which those that gather forgot till now. + Nay, did not forget, but only they never might come thereby. + + + + + ANACREONTICA + + ANACREON, 6TH CENTURY B.C. + + + + I + + LOVE'S CHALLENGE + + + Love smote me with his jacinth wand and challenged me to race, + And wore me down with running till the sweat poured off my face, + Through breaks of tangled woodland, by chasms sheer to scale, + Until my heart was in my lips and at the point to fail. + Then as I felt his tender wings brush lightly round my head, + ''Tis proven that thou lackest the strength to love,' he said. + + + Note 3 + + + + II + + BACCHANAL + + + When Bacchus hath possessed me my cares are lulled in wine, + And all the wealth of Croesus is not more his than mine: + I crown my head with ivy, I lift my voice to sing, + And in my exultation seem lord of every thing. + So let the warrior don his arms, give me my cup instead, + If I must lie my length on earth, why better drunk than dead. + + + + III + + HER PORTRAIT + + + Master of all the craftsmen, + Prince of the Rhodian art, + Interpret, master craftsman, + Each detail I impart, + And draw as were she present + The mistress of my heart. + + First you must match those masses + Of darkly clustered hair, + And if such skill be in your wax + The scent that harbours there; + And where the flowing tresses cast + A warm-toned shadow, trace + A forehead white as ivory, + The oval of her face. + Her brows you must not quite divide + Nor wholly join, there lies + A subtle link between them + Above the dark-lashed eyes. + And you must borrow flame of fire + To give her glance its due, + As tender as Cithera's + And as Athena's blue. + For cheek and nostril rose-leaves + And milk you shall enlist, + And shape her lips like Peitho's + Inviting to be kissed. + Let all the Graces stay their flight + And gather round to deck + The outline of her tender chin, + The marble of her neck. + And for the rest--bedrape her + In robe of purple hue, + With here and there to give it life + The flesh tint peeping through. + Now hold thy hand,--for I can see + The face and form I seek, + And surely in a moment's space + I think your wax will speak. + + + Note 4 + + + + IV + + METAMORPHOSIS + + + If she who, born to Tantalus, + As Niobe we know, + Was turned to stone among the hills + Of Phrygia long ago; + If Proene by such magic change + Was made a bird that flies, + Let me become the mirror + That holds my lady's eyes! + Or let me be the water + In which your beauty bathes, + Or the dress which clinging closely + Your gracious presence swathes; + Or change me to the perfume + You sprinkle on your skin, + Or let me be the pearl-drop + That hangs beneath your chin; + And if not these the girdle + You bind below your breast; + Or be at least the sandal + Your little foot hath pressed. + + + + V + + APOLOGIA + + + The brown earth drinks from heaven, and from the earth the tree, + The sea drinks down the vapour, and the sun drinks up the sea, + The moon drinks in the sunlight; now therefore, comrades, say + What fault have you to find in me if I would drink as they? + + + + + AUTHOR UNKNOWN + + + + ANACREON'S GRAVE + + + You that pass this place of graves + Pause and spill a cup for me, + For I hold Anacreon's ashes, + And would drink as once would he. + + + + + SIMONIDES + + 556-467 B.C. + + + + _THE PLATAEAN EPITAPHS_ + + + + I + + ON THE SPARTANS + + + These who with fame eternal their own dear land endowed + Took on them as a mantle the shade of death's dark cloud; + Yet dying thus they died not, on whom is glory shed + By virtue which exalts them above all other dead. + + + + II + + ON THE ATHENIANS + + + If to die nobly be the meed that lures the noblest mind, + Then unto us of all men in this was fortune kind. + For Greece we marched, that freedom's arm should ever round her fold; + We died, but gained for guerdon renown that grows not old. + + + + + PLATO + + 429-347 B.C. + + + + I + + A GRAVE IN PERSIA + + + Far from our own Ægean shore + And the surges booming deep, + Here where Ecbatana's great plain + Lies broad, we exiles sleep. + Farewell, Eretria the renowned, + Where once we used to dwell; + Farewell, our neighbour Athens; + Beloved sea, farewell! + + + Note 5 + + + + II + + STARWORSHIP + + + Thou gazest starward, star of mine, whose heaven I fain would be, + That all my myriad starry eyes might only gaze on thee. + + + + III + + THE UNSET STAR + + + Star that didst on the living at dawn thy lustre shed, + Now as the star of evening thou shinest with the dead! + + + + IV + + LAIS + + + I that through the land of Hellas + Laughed in triumph and disdain, + Lais, of whose open porches + All the love-struck youth were fain, + Bring the mirror once I gazed in, + Cyprian, at thy shrine to vow, + Since I see not there what once was, + And I would not what is now. + + + + + PERSES + + 4TH CENTURY B.C. + + + + A RUSTIC SHRINE + + + I am the god of the little things, + In whom you will surely find, + If you call upon me in season, + A little god who is kind. + You must not ask of me great things, + But what is in my control, + I, Tychon, god of the humble, + May grant to a simple soul. + + + Note 6 + + + + + ANYTE OF TEGEA + + 4TH CENTURY B.C. + + + + I + + A SHRINE BY THE SEA + + + This is the Cyprian's holy ground, + Who ever loves to stand + Where she can watch the shining seas + Beyond the utmost land; + That sailors on their voyages + May prosper by her aid, + Whose radiant effigy the deep + Beholding is afraid. + + + + II + + THE GOD OF THE CROSS-ROADS + + + I, Hermes, by the grey sea-shore, + Set where the three roads meet, + Outside the wind-swept garden, + Give rest to weary feet; + The waters of my fountain + Are clear, and cool, and sweet. + + + + + ADDAEUS + + 4TH CENTURY B.C. + + + + THE ANCIENT OX + + + The ox of Alcon was not led to the slaughter when at length + Age and the weary furrow had sapped his olden strength. + His faithful work was honoured, and in the deep grass now + He strays and lows contentment, enfranchised from the plough. + + + + + ASCLEPIADES + + 3RD CENTURY B.C. + + + + THE PRAISE OF LOVE + + + Sweet is the snow in summer thirst to drink, and sweet the day + When sailors see spring's garland bloom and winter pass away. + But the sweetest thing on earth is when, one mantle for their cover, + Two hearts recite the Cyprian's praise as lover unto lover. + + + + + MICIAS + + 3RD CENTURY B.C. + + + + A WAYSIDE FOUNTAIN + + + Rest here beneath the poplars, + When tired with travelling, + And drawing nigh refresh you + With water from our spring. + So may you keep in memory + When under other skies + The fount his father Simus set + By the grave where Gillus lies. + + + + + CALLIMACHUS + + 3RD CENTURY B.C. + + + + CAST UP BY THE SEA + + + Who were you, shipwrecked sailor? The body that he found, + Cast on the beach, Leontichus laid in this burial mound; + And mindful of his own grim life he wept, for neither he + May rest in peace who like a gull goes up and down the sea. + + + + + NOSSIS + + 3RD CENTURY B.C. + + + + I + + ROSES OF CYPRIS + + + Of all the world's delightful things most sweet is love. The rest, + Ay, even honey in the mouth, are only second best. + This Nossis saith. And only they the Cyprian loves may know + The glory of the roses that in her garden grow. + + + + II + + RINTHO'S GRAVE + + + Give me a hearty laugh, and say + A friendly word and go thy way. + Rintho was I of Syracuse, + A modest song bird of the muse, + Whose tears and smiles together sown + Have born an ivy all my own. + + + Note 7 + + + + + LEONIDAS OF TARENTUM + + 3RD CENTURY B.C. + + + + I + + ERINNA + + + The lyric maid Erinna, the poet-bee that drew + The honey from the rarest blooms the muses' garden grew, + Hath Hades snatched to be his bride. Mark where the maiden saith, + Prophetic in her wisdom, 'How envious art thou, Death!' + + + Note 8 + + + + II + + THE FOUNTAIN HEAD + + + Pause not here to drink thy fill + Where the sheep have stirred the rill, + And the pool lies warm and still-- + Cross yon ridge a little way, + Where the grazing heifers stray, + And the stone-pine's branches sway + O'er a creviced rock below; + Thence the bubbling waters flow + Cooler than the northern snow. + + + + + DIONYSUS + + 2ND CENTURY B.C. (?) + + + THE ROSE OF YOUTH + + + Girl with the roses and the grace + Of all the roses in your face, + Are you, or are the blooms you bear, + Or haply both your market ware? + + + + + DAMAGETUS + + 2ND CENTURY B.C. + + + + THEANO + + + These words, renowned Phocæa, were the last Theano said, + As she went down into the night that none hath harvested. + Hapless am I, Apellichus, beloved husband mine, + Where in the wide, wide waters is now that bark of thine? + My doom hath come upon me, and would to God that I + Had felt my hand in thy dear hand on the day I had to die. + + + + + ARCHIAS + + 1ST CENTURY B.C. + + + + I + + THE HARBOUR GOD + + + Me, Pan, whose presence haunts the shore, + The fisher folk set here, + To guard their haven anchorage + On the cliff that they revere; + And thence I watch them cast the net + And mind their fishing gear. + Sail past me, traveller: for I send + The gentle southern breeze, + Because of this their piety, + To speed thee over seas. + + + + II + + A GRAVE BY THE SEA + + + I, shipwrecked Theris, whom the tide + Flung landward from the deep, + Not even dead may I forget + The shores that know not sleep. + Beneath the cliffs that break the surf + My body found a grave, + Dug by the hands of stranger men, + Beside the cruel wave: + And still ill-starred among the dead + I hear for evermore + The hateful booming of the seas + That thunder on the shore. + + + + + MELEAGER + + 1ST CENTURY B.C. + + + + I + + LOVE'S QUIVER + + + By Heliodora's sandalled foot, and Demo's waving hair, + By Dorothea's wreath of blooms unbudding to the air, + By Anticlea's winsome smile and the great eyes of her, + And by Timarion's open door distilling scent like myrrh, + I know the god of love has spent his arrows winged to smart, + For all the shafts his quiver held I have them in my heart. + + + + II + + THE CUP + + + The cup takes heart of gladness, whose boast it is to be + Sipped by the mouth of love's delight, soft-voiced Zenophile. + Most favoured cup! I would that she with lips to my lips pressed + Would drink the soul in one deep draught, that is my body's guest. + + + + III + + ZENOPHILE + + + Sweet is the music of that air, by Pan of Arcady, + Thou drawest from the harpstrings, too sweet, Zenophile; + The thronging loves on every side close in and press me nigh, + And leave me scarce a breathing space, so whither can I fly? + Is it thy beauty or thy song that kindles my desire, + Thy grace, or every thing thou art? For I am all on fire. + + + + IV + + LOVE AND DEATH + + + Friend Cleobulus, when I die + Who conquered by desire, + Abandoned in the ashes lie + Of youth's consuming fire, + Do me this service, drench in wine + The urn you pass beneath, + And grave upon it this one line, + 'The gift of Love to Death.' + + + + V + + LOVE'S MALICE + + + Cruel is Love, ah cruel, and what can I do more + Than moaning love is cruel, repeat it o'er and o'er? + I know the boy is laughing and pleased that I grow grim, + And just the bitter things I say are the bread of life to him. + But you that from the grey-green wave arising, Cyprian, came, + 'Tis strange that out of water you should have borne a flame. + + + + VI + + ASCLEPIAS + + + Like the calm sea beguiling with those blue eyes of hers, + Asclepias tempteth all men to be love's mariners. + + + + VII + + HELIODORA + + + Say Heliodore, and Heliodore, and still say Heliodore, + And let the music of her name mix with the wine you pour. + And wreath me with the wreath she wore, that holds the scent of myrrh, + For all that it be yesterday's, in memory of her. + The rose that loveth lovers, the rose lets fall a tear + Because my arms are empty, because she is not here. + + + + VIII + + THE WREATH + + + White violet with the tender-leaved narcissus I will twine, + And the laughing lips of lilies with myrtle blooms combine; + And I will bind the hyacinth, the dark red-purple flower, + With crocus sweet and roses that are the lovers' dower, + To make the wreath that Heliodore's curl-scented brow shall wear, + To strew with falling petals the glory of her hair. + + + + IX + + LIBATION + + + Pour out as if for Peitho, and for the Cyprian pour, + Then for the sweet-voiced Graces, but all for Heliodore; + For there is but one goddess whose worship I enshrine, + And blent with her beloved name I drink the virgin wine. + + + + X + + THE GRAVE OF HELIODORA + + + Tears for thee, Heliodore, and bitter tears to shed, + If all that love has left to give can reach thee with the dead; + Here at thy grave I offer, that tear-drenched grave of thine, + Libation of my longing before affection's shrine. + Forlorn I mourn thee, dearest, in the land where shadows dwell, + Forlorn, and grudge the tribute death could have spared so well. + Where is the flower I cherished? Plucked by the god of doom; + Plucked, and his dust has tarnished the scarce unbudded bloom. + I may but pray thee, mother earth, who givest all thy best, + Clasp her I mourn for ever close to thy gentle breast. + + + + XI + + HIS EPITAPH + + + Tread softly, ye that pass, for here + The old man rests his head, + And sleeps the sleep that all men must + Among the honoured dead. + Meleager, son of Eucrates, + Who linked the joyous train + Of Graces and of Muses + With love's delicious pain. + From Gadara, the sacred land, + I came and god-built Tyre, + But Meropis and pleasant Cos + Consoled life's waning fire. + If thou be Syrian, say Salaam, + Or Hail, if Greek thou be, + Say Naidios, if Phœnician born, + For all are one to me. + + + + + CRINAGORAS + + 1ST CENTURY B.C. + + + + ROSES IN WINTER + + + In spring it was we roses + Were used to bloom of old, + Who now in midmost winter + Our crimson cells unfold, + To greet thee on the birthday + That shall thy bridal bring. + 'Tis more to grace so fair a brow + Than know the suns of spring. + + + + + JULIUS POLYAENUS + + 1ST CENTURY B.C. + + + + AN EXILE'S PRAYER + + + Among the myriad voices that seek to win thine ear + From those whose prayers are granted, from those who pray in fear, + O Zeus of Scheria's holy plain, let my voice reach thee too, + And hearken and incline the brow that binds thy promise true. + Let my long exile have an end, my toil and travel past, + Grant me in my own native land to live at rest at last! + + + + + ANTIPATER OF THESSALONICA + + 1ST CENTURY B.C. + + + + A GRAVE AT OSTIA + + + Ausonian earth contains me + That was a Libyan maid, + And in the sea's sand hard by Rome + My virgin form was laid. + Pompeia with a mother's care + Watched o'er my tender years, + Entombed me here among the free, + And gave me many tears. + Not as she prayed the torch was fired, + She would have burned for me; + The lamp which took the torch's place + Was thine, Persephone. + + + + + AUTHOR UNKNOWN + + + + FRIENDSHIP'S EPITAPH + + + This stone, my good Sabinus, although it be but small, + Shall be of our great friendship a witness unto all. + Ever shall I desire thee, and thou, if this may be, + Forbear to drink among the dead the lethe-draft for me. + + + Note 9 + + + + THE COUNSEL OF PAN + + + In this green meadow, traveller, yield + Thy weary limbs to rest: + The branches of the stone pine sway + To the wind from out the west; + The cricket calls, and all noon long + The shepherd's piping fills + The plane-grove's leafy shadows + By the spring among the hills. + Soothed by these sounds thou shalt avoid + The dogstar's autumn fires, + And then to-morrow cross the ridge;-- + Such wisdom Pan inspires. + + + + BÉNITIER + + + Touch but the virgin water, clean of soul, + Nor fear to pass into the pure god's sight: + For the good a drop suffices. But the whole + Great ocean could not wash the unclean white. + + + + THE END OF THE COMEDY + + + Fortune and Hope, a long adieu! + My ship is safe in port. + With me is nothing left to do, + Make other lives your sport. + + + Note 10 + + + + + STRATO + + 2ND CENTURY A.D. + + + + THE KISS + + + It was at even and the hour in which good-nights are bid + That Mœris kissed me, if indeed I do not dream she did. + Of all the rest that happened there is naught that I forget, + No word she said, no question of all she asked,--and yet + If she indeed did kiss me, my doubt can not decide, + For how could I still walk the earth had I been deified! + + + + + AMMIANUS + + 2ND CENTURY A.D. + + + + THE LORD OF LANDS + + + Though till the gates of Heracles thy land-marks thou extend, + Their share in earth is equal for all men at the end; + And thou shalt lie as Irus lies, one obol all thy store, + And be resolved into an earth that is thine own no more. + + + Note 11 + + + + + ALPHEUS + + 2ND CENTURY A.D. + + + + MYCENAE + + + The cities of the hero age thine eyes may seek in vain, + Save where some wrecks of ruin still break the level plain. + So once I saw Mycenae, the ill-starred, a barren height + Too bleak for goats to pasture,--the goat-herds point the site. + And as I passed a greybeard said, 'Here used to stand of old + A city built by giants, and passing rich in gold.' + + + Note 12 + + + + + MACEDONIUS + + 6TH CENTURY A.D. + + + + THE THRESHOLD + + + Spirit of Birth, that gave me life, + Earth, that receives my clay, + Farewell, for I have travelled + The stage that twixt you lay. + I go, and have no knowledge + From whence I came to you, + Nor whither I shall journey, + Nor whose I am, nor who. + + + + +NOTES + + +Note 1. + +In this, No. 68 of the Sappho fragments, I have followed the reading + + _κατθάνοισα δὲ κείσεαι οὐδέ ποτα μναμοσύνα_ + _σέθεν_ + _ἔσσετ' οὐδ' ἔρος εἰς ὔστερον·_ + +rather than + + _κατθάνοισα δὲ κείσεαι πότα, κωὐ μναμοσύνα σέθεν._ + _ἔσσετ' οὔτε τότ' οὔτ' ὔστερον·_ + + 'Dying thou shalt lie in nothingness, nor of + thee + There nor thereafter shall memory abide.' + + +Note 2. + +A portion of this fragment was adopted by Catullus. + + +Note 3. + +Anacreon's date is 563-478 B.C. It must, alas, be admitted that the +poems attributed to him are, with the exception of a few fragments, all +of them dubious and most of them certainly spurious. He had a great +number of imitators down to a much later time, and a considerable number +of the pseudo-Anacreontic poems are preserved in an appendix to the +Palatine anthology. It may be assumed that some of them reflect a +portion of his spirit, and many of them are graceful in conceit and +beautiful in form. The specimens here given must be classed upon the +productions of his later imitators, although they are inserted in the +place where in chronological order the real Anacreon would have +followed. + + +Note 4. + +The portraiture of the Greeks was executed with tinted wax, and not with +colours rendered fluid by a liquid or oily medium. The various tints and +tones of wax were probably laid on with the finger tips or with a +spatula. + + +Note 5. + +There was more than one Plato, but the great Plato is evidently referred +to in the prefatory poem of Meleager as included among the poets of his +anthology. + +Captives from Eretria were established in a colony in Persia by Darius +after the first Persian war. The colony at Ardericca was, however, +hundreds of miles from Ecbatana. + +If the epigram on Lais is not attributed to the great Plato by the most +competent authorities, the dates of the two famous courtesans who bore +the name would not exclude the possibility of his being the author. + + +Note 6. + +Tychon is identified with Priapus. + + +Note 7. + +Rintho founded a new school of serio-comic drama about 300 B.C. The ivy +was sacred to Dionysus, in whose worship the drama had its origin. + + +Note 8. + +Also attributed to Meleager. The phrase, _βάσκανος ἔσσ' Ἀΐδα_, here +quoted is from Erinna's lament for Baucis, one of the rare surviving +lyrics of the Rhodian poetess. + + +Note 9. + +The anonymous epigrams here inserted are probably not in their proper +chronological places. But as they could not be definitely assigned to +any date I have placed them between the two categories of B.C. and A.D. + + + +Note 10. + +There is a Latin version of this epigram on a tomb in the pavement of a +church in Rome (S. Lorenzo in Panisperna). + + Inveni portum, spes et fortuna valete, + Nil mihi vobiscum, ludite nunc alios. + + +Note 11. + +Irus was the beggar of the Odyssey who ran messages for the suitors of +Penelope. The obol referred to is the small coin placed between the lips +of the dead to pay the toll to the ferryman of Hades. + + +Note 12. + +It is interesting to know from the evidence of Alpheus, who visited the +sites of the Homeric cities, that nearly two thousand years ago the site +of Mycenae was just as it remained until the excavations of Schliemann. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Love, Worship and Death, by Rennell Rodd + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 35907 *** |