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 „μὶν“ ἢ „σφὶν“
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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