Wednesday 13 July 2011

From The Greek Anthology: Perfume, Scholarship, Adynata

"You are the perfume of your perfume."
(loosely) Adespoton, Anth. 5.91

**
Philip of Thessalonika:

Χαίροιθ’, οἱ περὶ κόσμον ἀεὶ πεπλανηκότες ὄμμα

οἵ τ’ ἀπ’ Ἀριστάρχου σῆτες ἀκανθολόγοι.
ποῖ γὰρ ἐμοὶ ζητεῖν, τίνας ἔδραμεν Ἥλιος οἴμους
καὶ τίνος ἦν Πρωτεὺς καὶ τίς ὁ Πυγμαλίων;
γινώσκοιμ’, ὅσα λευκὸν ἔχει στίχον· ἡ δὲ μέλαινα
ἱστορίη τήκοι τοὺς Περικαλλιμάχους.

A long farewell to your universe-swivelling optics,
and to all your Aristarchoid acanthologizing bookworms!
What do I care about aphelion or perihelion,
or the generations of Proteus or Pygmalion?
Clarity, clarity always! and may some tenebrous saga
wither the bones of the Hypercallimachoids!

Anth. 11.347 [Translated by Edwin Morgan as no. 474 in Peter Jay's Penguin]

Γραμματικοὶ Μώμου στυγίου τέκνα, σῆτες ἀκανθῶν,
τελχῖνες βίβλων, Ζηνοδότου σκύλακες,
Καλλιμάχου στρατιῶται, ὃν ὡς ὅπλον ἐκτανύσαντες,
οὐδ’ αὐτοῦ κείνου γλῶσσαν ἀποστρέφετε,
συνδέσμων λυγρῶν θηρήτορες, οἷς τὸ μὶνσφὶν
εὔαδε καὶ ζητεῖν, εἰ κύνας εἶχε Κύκλωψ,
τρίβοισθ’ εἰς αἰῶνα κατατρύζοντες ἀλιτροὶ
ἄλλων· ἐς δ’ ἡμᾶς ἰὸν ἀποσβέσατε

Anth. 11.321.

**

Οὐρανὸς ἄστρα τάχιον ἀποσβέσει ἢ τάχα νυκτὸς
ἠέλιος φαιδρὴν ὄψιν ἀπεργάσεται
καὶ γλυκὺ νᾶμα θάλασσα βροτοῖς ἀρυτήσιμον ἕξει
καὶ νέκυς εἰς ζωῶν χῶρον ἀναδράμεται,
ἤ ποτε Μαιονίδαο βαθυκλεὲς οὔνομ’ Ὁμήρου
λήθη γηραλέων ἁρπάσεται σελίδων.

The sky will estinguish its stars, and the sun
will appear shining in the folds of night,
and the seawill be a well of fresh water for men,
and the dead will come back to the land of the living,
before forgetfulness of those ancient lines
can steal from us the far-famed name of Homer.

Anth. 9.575 [Translated by Edwin Morgan as no. 472 in Peter Jay's Penguin]

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