στρο

αντιστρ.

κυρτωθένθ ̓ ἁπαλὰ σκοπεῖν, γαλακτώ

δη τ ̓ ἀφρὸν πολύκυκλον·

σὲ, δέσποιν ̓ ἀγάνοφρον, αἰνεῖν,

τὰν Λωτοφάγοις φίλαν, Κατηφεί

α· βυσσόφρονι πολλὰ θυμῷ
εἴδωλα πάλαι θανόντων,

οἶσιν βρέφη σύνη-
μεν, νῦν σποδὸν ἐξίτηλον
χαλκέλατον ἄγγος ἔνδον

χώμασι τυμβοχόοις

εἴργει, φαντασίαις πάλιν προσαυδῶν.

* ὧδύ τι κουριδίων ἐνθυμεῖσθαι ὑμεναίων

φίλαι χερῶν περιπτυχαί,

καὶ δακρύων μνάμα· τὰ δὲ πανταχοῦ ἠλλοίωται·

ἡμῶν γὰρ ἐφέστιον οἶδας

κλαρονόμον κατέχει γένος, ἢ ξένων

στρο

1 Eur. Hecub. 444-465.

2 Soph. (Ed. Tyr. 151-166.

And we should come like ghosts to trouble joy:
Or else the island-princes over-bold

Have eat our substance, and the minstrel sings
Before them of the ten-years' war in Troy,
And our great deeds, as half forgotten things.
Is there confusion in the little isle?
Let what is broken so remain.

The Gods are hard to reconcile :
"Tis hard to settle order once again.
There is confusion worse than death,
Trouble on trouble, pain on pain,

Long labour unto aged breath,

Sore task to hearts worn out with many wars,

And eyes grown dim with gazing on the pilot-stars.

But, propt on beds of amaranth and moly,

How sweet, while warm airs lull us, breathing lowly,

With half-dropt eyelids still,

Beneath a heaven dark and holy,

To watch the long bright river drawing slowly

His waters from the purple hill

To hear the dewy echoes calling

From cave to cave thro' the thick-twined vine

ὶς ὑπερηνορίᾳ· παρὰ δ ̓ ἄμναστον πολέμου λόγον ἔργα τ ̓ ἀριστήων, θεῖός τις ἀοιδὸς ἐφυμνεῖ· ἡμεῖς λυγρὸν ἰδεῖν, ὥς τις παλίνορσος ἀφ' Αΐδου. τὰ δ ̓ ἐῤῥέτω δυσέξοδα,

Θεοὶ μάλ' ἀμείλικτοι, νάσῳ δ ̓ ἔνι κόσμος ἄκοσμος·

ἔστιν θανάτου τι χέρειον,

ἄλγος ἐπ' ἄλγεσι γῆρας ἐπ ̓ ἔσχατον,

ἢ θυμῷ κακὸν ἄχθος ἄδην πολέμοις κεκορημένῳ, ὄμμασί τ ̓ ἀμβλυνθεῖσι πρὸς ἄστροισιν φιλοναύταις.

ἀντ.

μῶλυ κάτ ̓, εἴτ ̓ ἀμαραν τίναν στιβάδ' εὔστρωτον, ὑπνώσσουσι βλεφάροις, λεπτὰ Ζεφύρων πνεόντων, ὑπό τ ̓ οὐρανοῦ κνέφας ἀμβροσίου, δολιχὰς

ποταμίας ὁρᾷν

ἦκα ῥεούσας ἀπὸ πορφυρωδῶν

βούνων ὑπὲκ προχοάς· τὰ δ' Αχοῦς

κελεύσμαθ ̓ ὑγρᾶς ἐπάλληλα

σπέσσιν ἐν ἀντιτύποις

ὕλαν διὰ καλλίβοτρυν,

στρ.

ἀντιστρ.

1 Scott-Liddell Lex. in voc. 2 Eur. Hippol. 121-140.

To hear the em'rald-colour'd water falling

Thro' many a wov'n acanthus-wreath divine!

Only to hear and see the far-off sparkling brine,

Only to hear were sweet, stretch'd out beneath the pine.

The Lotos blooms below the flow'ry peak:

The Lotos blows by every winding creek:

All day the wind breathes low with mellower tone:

Thro' ev'ry hollow cave and alley lone

Round and round the spicy downs the Yellow Lotos-dust is blown.

We have had enough of action, and of motion we,

Roll'd to starboard, roll'd to larboard, when the surge was seething free,

Where the wallowing monster spouted his foam-fountains in the sea.

Let us swear an oath, and keep it with an equal mind,

In the hollow Lotos-land to live and lie reclin'd

On the hills like Gods together, careless of mankind :

ἤ που κυάνεον ὧδ'
ὕδωρ μετ' ἀκανθίνοισι

πολυδαιδάλοις πλοκαῖς
θεσπεσίοις κελάρυ

ζον, ἀπόνως κλύειν·

πόῤῥωθεν ἅλμαν ἐσιδεῖν φαεννὰν, ὑψαυχεν ̓ εἴθ ̓ ὑπὸ δένδρ ̓ ἀκούειν· τούτοις βίον ἔστι ποιμαίνειν.

παρά τ' εὐανθῶν κορυφὰς πρώνων πορθμῶν τ' ἐσόδους απολομόρφων λώτου θαλερὸν γάνος ἀκμάζει· πνεῖ παννῆμαρ μαλθακὸς ἀήρ κοίλα κατ' ἄντρα καὶ οἰόπολ ̓ ἄγκη, περὶ λειμώνων πλάτος εὐόσμων, ξανθοῦ σπέρματα

λώτου φέρεται πολυδινῆ. ἅλις εἴργασται καὶ πεπόνηται νῦν ἐπὶ δεξιὰ νῦν ἐπ' ἀριστερὰ λαβρῷ κύματι ποντοτινάκτοις, ἔνθα πελώριον ὑψόσ' ἐφύσα προκυλινδόμενον κῆτος ἀφρώδους οἴδματος ἄχναν.

ἀγετ ̓ οὖν ὀχυραῖς ὅρκια βουλαῖς

θῶμεν, σύμφωνες ὧδε διαζῆν,

τρόπον ἀθανάτων, οἵτ ̓ ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ

παρὰ νεκταρέοις κεῖνται πώμασιν

εἰκῆ χθονίων ἀμελοῦντες·