Volume 1

Studies of the Greek poets / by John Addington Symonds.

  • John Addington Symonds
Date:
1877-1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Studies of the Greek poets / by John Addington Symonds. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    composition. His epitaph runs thus in the Appendix Planudea (ii- 532) v* e5 etScbs on OurjThs e<j)vs, Thu 6vfj.hu ae|e Tepiropeuos 6aXirtffi’ 6av6vn aroi owns our]<Tis’ Kal jap eyw cnrohhs elpi, Ntuov peydXrjs (iao'iXevcras. r6(ra i^co ocra e(payou Kal eqjvfipLaa, Kal fj.iT epwros repiru eSdifU’ ra 5e iroXXa Kal oXfiia Ketua XeXenrTaL, fyb'e (To(pT] $i6toio Trapaiueens duOpclmoiaiu. We find only the fourth and fifth lines among the sepulchral epigrams of the Anthology of Cephalas (i. 334), followed by a clever parody composed by the Theban Crates. Demetrius, the Spartan coward, is another instance of this rhetorical exercise. Among the two or three which treat of him I quote the following (i. 317) :f tm/c’ airh 7rT0A.ejU.0u TpeffcrauTa <re he^aro pd.TTfp, irduTa rhu OTrXio'Tau Khapou oXcaXeKhra, aura roi tpouiau, AapaTpie, avriKa Adjxav e?7T€ 81a TvKaTioJU wffapeua Xayhuoou ’ KarOaue, jtojS’ 'Sirdpra \poyou ’ 0v yap eKeiua jjpirXaKeu, el SeiXovs TOvp.hu eOpexpe yaXa. Agathias writes a very characteristic elegy on Lais (i. 315) :% epTrtoU els ’Ecpvpriu tacpou eSpaKou apcpl KeXevdou Aaidos apxatrjs, &>s Th \dpaypa Xeyei • * ‘1 Know well that thou art mortal : therefore raise Thy spirit high with long luxurious days. When thou art dead, thou hast no pleasure then. I too am earth, who was a king of men O’er Nineveh. My banquets and my lust And love-delights are mine e’en in the dust; But all those great and glorious things are flown. True doctrine for man’s life is this alone.” f ‘ ‘ When homeward cowering from the fight you ran Without or sword or shield, a naked man, Your mother then, Demetrius, through your side Blunged her blood-drinking spear, nor wept, but cried : Die ; let not Sparta bear the blame ; but she Sinned not, if cowards drew their life from me ! ” J “ Travelling to Ephyre, by the road-side The tomb and name of Lais I espied :