SAPPHO ONE HUNDRED LYRICSBYBLISS CARMAN 1907 "SAPPHO WHO BROKE OFF A FRAGMENT OF HER SOULFOR US TO GUESS AT. " "SAPPHO, WITH THAT GLORIOLEOF EBON HAIR ON CALMÈD BROWS--O POET-WOMAN! NONE FORGOESTHE LEAP, ATTAINING THE REPOSE. " E. B. BROWNING. INTRODUCTION THE POETRY OF SAPPHO. --If all the poets and all the lovers of poetry shouldbe asked to name the most precious of the priceless things which time haswrung in tribute from the triumphs of human genius, the answer which wouldrush to every tongue would be "The Lost Poems of Sappho. " These we know tohave been jewels of a radiance so imperishable that the broken gleams ofthem still dazzle men's eyes, whether shining from the two small brilliantsand the handful of star-dust which alone remain to us, or reflected merelyfrom the adoration of those poets of old time who were so fortunate as towitness their full glory. For about two thousand five hundred years Sappho has held her place as notonly the supreme poet of her sex, but the chief lyrist of all lyrists. Every one who reads acknowledges her fame, concedes her supremacy; but toall except poets and Hellenists her name is a vague and uncomprehendedsplendour, rising secure above a persistent mist of misconception. In spiteof all that is in these days being written about Sappho, it is perhaps notout of place now to inquire, in a few words, into the substance of thissupremacy which towers so unassailably secure from what appear to be suchshadowy foundations. First, we have the witness of her contemporaries. Sappho was at the heightof her career about six centuries before Christ, at a period when lyricpoetry was peculiarly esteemed and cultivated at the centres of Greek life. Among the _Molic_ peoples of the Isles, in particular, it had been carriedto a high pitch of perfection, and its forms had become the subject ofassiduous study. Its technique was exact, complex, extremely elaborate, minutely regulated; yet the essential fires of sincerity, spontaneity, imagination and passion were flaming with undiminished heat behind thefixed forms and restricted measures. The very metropolis of this lyricrealm was Mitylene of Lesbos, where, amid the myrtle groves and temples, the sunlit silver of the fountains, the hyacinth gardens by a soft bluesea, Beauty and Love in their young warmth could fuse the most rigid formsto fluency. Here Sappho was the acknowledged queen of song--revered, studied, imitated, served, adored by a little court of attendants anddisciples, loved and hymned by Alcaeus, and acclaimed by her fellowcraftsmen throughout Greece as the wonder of her age. That all the tributesof her contemporaries show reverence not less for her personality than forher genius is sufficient answer to the calumnies with which the ribaldjesters of that later period, the corrupt and shameless writers of Atheniancomedy, strove to defile her fame. It is sufficient, also, to warrant ourregarding the picturesque but scarcely dignified story of her vain pursuitof Phaon and her frenzied leap from the Cliff of Leucas as nothing morethan a poetic myth, reminiscent, perhaps, of the myth of Aphrodite andAdonis--who is, indeed, called Phaon in some versions. The story is furtherdiscredited by the fact that we find no mention of it in Greek literature--even among those Attic comedians who would have clutched at it so eagerlyand given it so gross a turn--till a date more than two hundred years afterSappho's death. It is a myth which has begotten some exquisite literature, both in prose and verse, from Ovid's famous epistle to Addison's graciousfantasy and some impassioned and imperishable dithyrambs of Mr. Swinburne;but one need not accept the story as a fact in order to appreciate thebeauties which flowered out from its coloured unreality. The applause of contemporaries, however, is not always justified by theverdict of after-times, and does not always secure an immortality ofrenown. The fame of Sappho has a more stable basis. Her work was in theworld's possession for not far short of a thousand years--a thousand yearsof changing tastes, searching criticism, and familiar use. It had to endurethe wear and tear of quotation, the commonizing touch of the school and themarket-place. And under this test its glory grew ever more and moreconspicuous. Through those thousand years poets and critics vied with oneanother in proclaiming her verse the one unmatched exemplar of lyric art. Such testimony, even though not a single fragment remained to us from whichto judge her poetry for ourselves, might well convince us that thesupremacy acknowledged by those who knew all the triumphs of the genius ofold Greece was beyond the assault of any modern rival. We might safelyaccept the sustained judgment of a thousand years of Greece. Fortunately for us, however, two small but incomparable odes and a fewscintillating fragments have survived, quoted and handed down in theeulogies of critics and expositors. In these the wisest minds, the greatestpoets, and the most inspired teachers of modern days have foundjustification for the unanimous verdict of antiquity. The tributes ofAddison, Tennyson, and others, the throbbing paraphrases and ecstaticinterpretations of Swinburne, are too well known to call for specialcomment in this brief note; but the concise summing up of her genius by Mr. Watts-Dunton in his remarkable essay on poetry is so convincing andilluminating that it seems to demand quotation here: "Never before thesesongs were sung, and never since did the human soul, in the grip of a fierypassion, utter a cry like hers; and, from the executive point of view, indirectness, in lucidity, in that high, imperious verbal economy which onlynature can teach the artist, she has no equal, and none worthy to take theplace of second. " The poems of Sappho so mysteriously lost to us seem to have consisted of atleast nine books of odes, together with _epithalamia_, epigrams, elegies, and monodies. Of the several theories which have been advanced toaccount for their disappearance, the most plausible seems to be that whichrepresents them as having been burned at Byzantium in the year 380 AnnoDomini, by command of Gregory Nazianzen, in order that his own poems mightbe studied in their stead and the morals of the people thereby improved. Ofthe efficacy of this act no means of judging has come down to us. In recent years there has arisen a great body of literature upon thesubject of Sappho, most of it the abstruse work of scholars writing forscholars. But the gist of it all, together with the minutest survivingfragment of her verse, has been made available to the general reader inEnglish by Mr. Henry T. Wharton, in whose altogether admirable littlevolume we find all that is known and the most apposite of all that has beensaid up to the present day about "Love's priestess, mad with pain and joy of song, Song's priestess, mad with joy and pain of love. " Perhaps the most perilous and the most alluring venture in the whole fieldof poetry is that which Mr. Carman has undertaken in attempting to give usin English verse those lost poems of Sappho of which fragments havesurvived. The task is obviously not one of translation or of paraphrasing, but of imaginative and, at the same time, interpretive construction. It isas if a sculptor of to-day were to set himself, with reverence, and trainedcraftsmanship, and studious familiarity with the spirit, technique, andatmosphere of his subject, to restore some statues of Polyclitus orPraxiteles of which he had but a broken arm, a foot, a knee, a finger uponwhich to build. Mr. Carman's method, apparently, has been to imagine eachlost lyric as discovered, and then to translate it; for the indefinableflavour of the translation is maintained throughout, though accompanied bythe fluidity and freedom of purely original work. C. G. D. ROBERTS. Now to please my little friendI must make these notes of spring, With the soft south-west wind in themAnd the marsh notes of the frogs. I must take a gold-bound pipe, And outmatch the bubbling callFrom the beechwoods in the sunlight, From the meadows in the rain. CONTENTS Now to please my little friend I Cyprus, Paphos, or Panormus II What shall we do, Cytherea? III Power and beauty and knowledge IV O Pan of the evergreen forest V O Aphrodite VI Peer of the gods he seems VII The Cyprian came to thy cradle VIII Aphrodite of the foam IX Nay, but always and forever X Let there be garlands, Dica XI When the Cretan maidens XII In a dream I spoke with the Cyprus-born XIII Sleep thou in the bosom XIV Hesperus, bringing together XV In the grey olive-grove a small brown bird XVI In the apple-boughs the coolness XVII Pale rose-leaves have fallen XVIII The courtyard of her house is wide XIX There is a medlar-tree XX I behold Arcturus going westward XXI Softly the first step of twilight XXII Once you lay upon my bosom XXIII I loved thee, Atthis, in the long ago XXIV I shall be ever maiden XXV It was summer when I found you XXVI I recall thy white gown, cinctured XXVII Lover, art thou of a surety XXVIII With your head thrown backward XXIX Ah, what am I but a torrent XXX Love shakes my soul, like a mountain wind XXXI Love, let the wind cry XXXII Heart of mine, if all the altars XXXIII Never yet, love, in earth's lifetime XXXIV "Who was Atthis?" men shall ask XXXV When the great pink mallow XXXVI When I pass thy door at night XXXVII Well I found you in the twilit garden XXXVIII Will not men remember us XXXIX I grow weary of the foreign cities XL Ah, what detains thee, Phaon XLI Phaon, O my lover XLII O heart of insatiable longing XLIII Surely somehow, in some measure XLIV O but my delicate lover XLV Softer than the hill-fog to the forest XLVI I seek and desire XLVII Like torn sea-kelp in the drift XLVIII Fine woven purple linen XLIX When I am home from travel L When I behold the pharos shine LI Is the day long LII Lo, on the distance a dark blue ravine LIII Art thou the topmost apple LIV How soon will all my lovely days be over LV Soul of sorrow, why this weeping? LVI It never can be mine LVII Others shall behold the sun LVIII Let thy strong spirit never fear LIX Will none say of Sappho LX When I have departed LXI There is no more to say, now thou art still LXII Play up, play up thy silver flute LXIII A beautiful child is mine LXIV Ah, but now henceforth LXV Softly the wind moves through the radiant morning LXVI What the west wind whispers LXVII Indoors the fire is kindled LXVIII You ask how love can keep the mortal soul LXIX Like a tall forest were their spears LXX My lover smiled, "O friend, ask not LXXI Ye who have the stable world LXXII I heard the gods reply LXXIII The sun on the tide, the peach on the bough LXXIV If death be good LXXV Tell me what this life means LXXVI Ye have heard how Marsyas LXXVII Hour by hour I sit LXXVIII Once in the shining street LXXIX How strange is love, O my lover LXXX How to say I love you LXXXI Hark, love, to the tambourines LXXXII Over the roofs the honey-coloured moon LXXXIII In the quiet garden world LXXXIV Soft was the wind in the beech-trees LXXXV Have ye heard the news of Sappho's garden LXXXVI Love is so strong a thing LXXXVII Hadst thou with all thy loveliness been true LXXXVIII As on a morn a traveller might emerge LXXXIX Where shall I look for thee XC O sad, sad face and saddest eyes that ever XCI Why have the gods in derision XCII Like a red lily in the meadow grasses XCIII When in the spring the swallows all return XCIV Cold is the wind where Daphne sleeps XCV Hark, where Poseidon's XCVI Hark, my lover, it is spring! XCVII When the early soft spring-wind comes blowing XCVIII I am more tremulous than shaken reeds XCIX Over the wheat field C Once more the rain on the mountain Epilogue SAPPHO I Cyprus, Paphos, or PanormusMay detain thee with their splendourOf oblations on thine altars, O imperial Aphrodite. Yet do thou regard, with pity 5For a nameless child of passion, This small unfrequented valleyBy the sea, O sea-born mother. II What shall we do, Cytherea?Lovely Adonis is dying. Ah, but we mourn him! Will he return when the AutumnPurples the earth, and the sunlight 5 Sleeps in the vineyard? Will he return when the WinterHuddles the sheep, and Orion Goes to his hunting? Ah, but thy beauty, Adonis, 10With the soft spring and the south wind, Love and desire! III Power and beauty and knowledge, --Pan, Aphrodite, or Hermes, --Whom shall we life-loving mortals Serve and be happy? Lo now, your garlanded altars, 5Are they not goodly with flowers?Have ye not honour and pleasure In lovely Lesbos? Will ye not, therefore, a littleHearten, impel, and inspire 10One who adores, with a favour Threefold in wonder? IV O Pan of the evergreen forest, Protector of herds in the meadows, Helper of men at their toiling, --Tillage and harvest and herding, --How many times to frail mortals 5 Hast thou not hearkened! Now even I come before theeWith oil and honey and wheat-bread, Praying for strength and fulfilmentOf human longing, with purpose 10Ever to keep thy great worship Pure and undarkened. * * * * * O Hermes, master of knowledge, Measure and number and rhythm, Worker of wonders in metal, 15Moulder of malleable music, So often the giver of secret Learning to mortals! Now even I, a fond woman, Frail and of small understanding, 20Yet with unslakable yearningGreatly desiring wisdom, Come to the threshold of reason And the bright portals. * * * * * And thou, sea-born Aphrodite, 25In whose beneficent keepingEarth, with her infinite beauty, Colour and fashion and fragrance, Glows like a flower with fervour Where woods are vernal! 30 Touch with thy lips and enkindleThis moon-white delicate body, Drench with the dew of enchantmentThis mortal one, that I alsoGrow to the measure of beauty 35 Fleet yet eternal. V O Aphrodite, God-born and deathless, Break not my spiritWith bitter anguish:Thou wilful empress, 5I pray thee, hither! As once aforetimeWell thou didst hearkenTo my voice far off, --Listen, and leaving 10Thy father's goldenHouse in yoked chariot, Come, thy fleet sparrowsBeating the mid-airOver the dark earth. 15Suddenly near me, Smiling, immortal, Thy bright regard asked What had befallen, --Why I had called thee, -- 20What my mad heart thenMost was desiring. "What fair thing wouldst thouLure now to love thee? "Who wrongs thee, Sappho? 25If now she flies thee, Soon shall she follow;--Scorning thy gifts now, Soon be the giver;--And a loth loved one 30 "Soon be the lover. "So even now, too, Come and release meFrom mordant love pain, And all my heart's will 35Help me accomplish! VI Peer of the gods he seems, Who in thy presenceSits and hears close to himThy silver speech-tonesAnd lovely laughter. 5 Ah, but the heart fluttersUnder my bosom, When I behold theeEven a moment;Utterance leaves me; 10 My tongue is useless;A subtle fireRuns through my body;My eyes are sightless, And my ears ringing; 15 I flush with fever, And a strong tremblingLays hold upon me;Paler than grass am I, Half dead for madness. 20 Yet must I, greatlyDaring, adore thee, As the adventurousSailor makes seawardFor the lost sky-line 25 And undiscoveredFabulous islands, Drawn by the lure ofBeauty and summerAnd the sea's secret. 30 VII The Cyprian came to thy cradle, When thou wast little and small, And said to the nurse who rocked thee"Fear not thou for the child: "She shall be kindly favoured, 5And fair and fashioned well, As befits the Lesbian maidensAnd those who are fated to love. " Hermes came to thy cradle, Resourceful, sagacious, serene, 10And said, "The girl must have knowledge, To lend her freedom and poise. Naught will avail her beauty, If she have not wit beside. She shall be Hermes' daughter, 15Passing wise in her day. " Great Pan came to thy cradle, With calm of the deepest hills, And smiled, "They have forgottenThe veriest power of life. 20 "To kindle her shapely beauty, And illumine her mind withal, I give to the little personThe glowing and craving soul. " VIII Aphrodite of the foam, Who hast given all good gifts, And made Sappho at thy willLove so greatly and so much, Ah, how comes it my frail heart 5Is so fond of all things fair, I can never choose betweenGorgo and Andromeda? IX Nay, but always and foreverLike the bending yellow grain, Or quick water in a channel, Is the heart of man. Comes the unseen breath in power 5Like a great wind from the sea, And we bow before his coming, Though we know not why. X Let there be garlands, Dica, Around thy lovely hair. And supple sprays of blossomTwined by thy soft hands. Whoso is crowned with flowers 5Has favour with the gods, Who have no kindly eyesFor the ungarlanded. XI When the Cretan maidensDancing up the full moonRound some fair new altar, Trample the soft blossoms of fine grass, There is mirth among them. 5Aphrodite's childrenAsk her benedictionOn their bridals in the summer night. XII In a dream I spoke with the Cyprus-born, And said to her, "Mother of beauty, mother of joy, Why hast thou given to men "This thing called love, like the ache of a wound 5 In beauty's, side, To burn and throb and be quelled for an hourAnd never wholly depart?" And the daughter of Cyprus said to me, "Child of the earth, 10Behold, all things are born and attain, But only as they desire, --- "The sun that is strong, the gods that are wise, The loving heart, Deeds and knowledge and beauty and joy, -- 15But before all else was desire. " XIII Sleep thou in the bosomOf the tender comrade, While the living waterWhispers in the well-run, And the oleanders 5Glimmer in the moonlight. Soon, ah, soon the shy birdsWill be at their fluting, And the morning planetRise above the garden; 10For there is a measureSet to all things mortal. XIV Hesperus, bringing togetherAll that the morning star scattered, -- Sheep to be folded in twilight, Children for mothers to fondle, -- Me too will bring to the dearest, 5Tenderest breast in all Lesbos. XV In the grey olive-grove a small brown birdHad built her nest and waited for the spring. But who could tell the happy thought that cameTo lodge beneath my scarlet tunic's fold? All day long now is the green earth renewed 5With the bright sea-wind and the yellow blossoms. From the cool shade I hear the silver plashOf the blown fountain at the garden's end. XVI In the apple boughs the coolnessMurmurs, and the grey leaves flickerWhere sleep wanders. In this garden all the hot noonI await thy fluttering footfall 5Through the twilight. XVII Pale rose leaves have fallenIn the fountain water;And soft reedy flute-notesPierce the sultry quiet. But I wait and listen, 5Till the trodden gravelTells me, all impatience, It is Phaon's footstep. XVIII The courtyard of her house is wideAnd cool and still when day departs. Only the rustle of leaves is there And running water. And then her mouth, more delicate 5Than the frail wood-anemone, Brushes my cheek, and deeper grow The purple shadows. XIX There is a medlar-treeGrowing in front of my lover's house, And there all dayThe wind makes a pleasant sound. And when the evening comes, 5We sit there together in the dusk, And watch the starsAppear in the quiet blue. XX I behold Arcturus going westwardDown the crowded slope of night-dark azure, While the Scorpion with red AntaresTrails along the sea-line to the southward. From the ilex grove there comes soft laughter, -- 5My companions at their glad love-making, --While that curly-headed boy from NaxosWith his jade flute marks the purple quiet. XXI Softly the first step of twilightFalls on the darkening dial, One by one kindle the lights In Mitylene. Noises are hushed in the courtyard, 5The busy day is departing, Children are called from their games, -- Herds from their grazing. And from the deep-shadowed anglesComes the soft murmur of lovers, 10Then through the quiet of dusk Bright sudden laughter. From the hushed street, through the portal, Where soon my lover will enter, Comes the pure strain of a flute 15 Tender with passion. XXII Once you lay upon my bosom, While the long blue-silver moonlightWalked the plain, with that pure passion All your own. Now the moon is gone, the Pleiads 5Gone, the dead of night is going;Slips the hour, and on my bed I lie alone. XXIII I loved thee, Atthis, in the long ago, When the great oleanders were in flowerIn the broad herded meadows full of sun. And we would often at the fall of duskWander together by the silver stream, 5When the soft grass-heads were all wet with dew, And purple-misted in the fading light. And joy I knew and sorrow at thy voice, And the superb magnificence of love, --The loneliness that saddens solitude, 10And the sweet speech that makes it durable, --The bitter longing and the keen desire, The sweet companionship through quiet daysIn the slow ample beauty of the world, And the unutterable glad release 15Within the temple of the holy night. O Atthis, how I loved thee long agoIn that fair perished summer by the sea! XXIV I shall be ever maiden, If thou be not my lover, And no man shall possess meHenceforth and forever. But thou alone shalt gather 5This fragile flower of beauty, --To crush and keep the fragranceLike a holy incense. Thou only shalt rememberThis love of mine, or hallow 10The coming years with gladness, Calm and pride and passion. XXV It was summer when I found youIn the meadow long ago, --And the golden vetch was growing By the shore. Did we falter when love took us 5With a gust of great desire?Does the barley bid the wind wait In his course? XXVI I recall thy white gown, cincturedWith a linen belt, whereonViolets were wrought, and scentedWith strange perfumes out of Egypt. And I know thy foot was covered 5With fair Lydian broidered straps;And the petals from a rose-treeFell within the marble basin. XXVII Lover, art thou of a suretyNot a learner of the wood-god?Has the madness of his music Never touched thee? Ah, thou dear and godlike mortal, 5If Pan takes thee for his pupil, Make me but another Syrinx For that piping. XXVIII With your head thrown backwardIn my arm's safe hollow, And your face all rosyWith the mounting fervour; While the grave eyes greaten 5With the wise new wonder, Swimming in a love-mistLike the haze of Autumn; From that throat, the throbbingNightingale's for pleading, 10Wayward, soft, and wellingInarticulate love-notes, Come the words that bubbleUp through broken laughter, Sweeter than spring-water, 15"Gods, I am so happy!" XXIX Ah, what am I but a torrent, Headstrong, impetuous, broken, Like the spent clamour of waters In the blue canyon? Ah, what art thou but a fern-frond, 5Wet with blown spray from the river, Diffident, lovely, sequestered, Frail on the rock-ledge? Yet, are we not for one brief day, While the sun sleeps on the mountain, 10Wild-hearted lover and loved one, Safe in Pan's keeping? XXX Love shakes my soul, like a mountain wind Falling upon the trees, When they are swayed and whitened and bowed As the great gusts will. I know why Daphne sped through the grove 5 When the bright god came by, And shut herself in the laurel's heart For her silent doom. Love fills my heart, like my lover's breath Filling the hollow flute, 10Till the magic wood awakes and cries With remembrance and joy. Ah, timid Syrinx, do I not know Thy tremor of sweet fear?For a beautiful and imperious player 15 Is the lord of life. XXXI Love, let the wind cryOn the dark mountain, Bending the ash-treesAnd the tall hemlocks, With the great voice of 5Thunderous legions, How I adore thee. Let the hoarse torrentIn the blue canyon, Murmuring mightily 10Out of the grey mistOf primal chaos, Cease not proclaimingHow I adore thee. Let the long rhythm 15Of crunching rollers, Breaking and bellowingOn the white seaboard, Titan and tireless, Tell, while the world stands, 20How I adore thee. Love, let the clear callOf the tree-cricket, Frailest of creatures, Green as the young grass, 25Mark with his trillingResonant bell-note, How I adore thee. Let the glad lark-songOver the meadow, 30That melting lyricOf molten silver, Be for a signalTo listening mortals, How I adore thee. 35 But more than all sounds, Surer, serener, Fuller with passionAnd exultation, Let the hushed whisper 40In thine own heart say, How I adore thee. XXXII Heart of mine, if all the altarsOf the ages stood before me, Not one pure enough nor sacredCould I find to lay this white, white Rose of love upon. 5 I who am not great enough toLove thee with this mortal bodySo impassionate with ardour, But oh, not too small to worship While the sun shall shine, -- 10 I would build a fragrant templeTo thee, in the dark green forest, Of red cedar and fine sandal, And there love thee with sweet service All my whole life long. 15 I would freshen it with flowers, And the piney hill-wind through itShould be sweetened with soft fervoursOf small prayers in gentle language Thou wouldst smile to hear. 20 And a tinkling Eastern wind-bell, With its fluttering inscription, From the rafters with bronze musicShould retard the quiet fleeting Of uncounted hours. 25 And my hero, while so human, Should be even as the gods are, In that shrine of utter gladness, With the tranquil stars above it And the sea below. 30 XXXIII Never yet, love, in earth's lifetime, Hath any cunningest minstrelTold the one seventh of wisdom, Ravishment, ecstasy, transport, Hid in the hue of the hyacinth's 5 Purple in springtime. Not in the lyre of Orpheus, Not in the songs of Musaeus, Lurked the unfathomed bewitchmentWrought by the wind in the grasses, 10Held by the rote of the sea-surf, In early summer. Only to exquisite lovers, Fashioned for beauty's fulfilment, Mated as rhythm to reed-stop 15Whence the wild music is moulded, Ever appears the full measure Of the world's wonder. XXXIV "Who was Atthis?" men shall ask, When the world is old, and timeHas accomplished without hasteThe strange destiny of men. Haply in that far-off age 5One shall find these silver songs, With their human freight, and guessWhat a lover Sappho was. XXXV When the great pink mallowBlossoms in the marshland, Full of lazy summerAnd soft hours, Then I hear the summons 5Not a mortal loverEver yet resisted, Strange and far. In the faint blue foothills, Making magic music, 10Pan is at his love-workOn the reeds. I can guess the heart-stop, Fall and lull and sequence, Full of grief for Syrinx 15Long ago. Then the crowding madness, Wild and keen and tender, Trembles with the burdenOf great joy. 20 Nay, but well I follow, All unskilled, that fluting. Never yet was reed-nymphLike to thee. XXXVI When I pass thy door at nightI a benediction breathe:"Ye who have the sleeping world In your care, "Guard the linen sweet and cool, 5Where a lovely golden headWith its dreams of mortal bliss Slumbers now!" XXXVII Well I found you in the twilit garden, Laid a lover's hand upon your shoulder, And we both were made aware of lovingPast the reach of reason to unravel, Or the much desiring heart to follow. 5 There we heard the breath among the grassesAnd the gurgle of soft-running water, Well contented with the spacious starlight, The cool wind's touch and the deep blue distance, Till the dawn came in with golden sandals. 10 XXXVIII Will not men remember usIn the days to come hereafter, --Thy warm-coloured loving beauty And my love for thee? Thou, the hyacinth that grows 5By a quiet-running river;I, the watery reflection And the broken gleam. XXXIX I grow weary of the foreign cities, The sea travel and the stranger peoples. Even the clear voice of hardy fortuneDares me not as once on brave adventure. For the heart of man must seek and wander, 5Ask and question and discover knowledge;Yet above all goodly things is wisdom, And love greater than all understanding. So, a mariner, I long for land-fall, --When a darker purple on the sea-rim, 10O'er the prow uplifted, shall be LesbosAnd the gleaming towers of Mitylene. XL Ah, what detains thee, Phaon, So long from Mitylene, Where now thy restless loverWearies for thy coming? A fever burns me, Phaon; 5My knees quake on the threshold, And all my strength is loosened, Slack with disappointment. But thou wilt come, my Phaon, Back from the sea like morning, 10To quench in golden gladnessThe ache of parted lovers. XLI Phaon, O my lover, What should so detain thee, Now the wind comes walkingThrough the leafy twilight? All the plum-leaves quiver 5With the coolth and darkness, After their long patienceIn consuming ardour. And the moving grassesHave relief; the dew-drench 10 Comes to quell the parchingAche of noon they suffered. I alone of all thingsFret with unsluiced fire. And there is no quenching 15In the night for Sappho, Since her lover PhaonLeaves her unrequited. XLII O heart of insatiable longing, What spell, what enchantment allures theeOver the rim of the worldWith the sails of the sea-going ships? And when the rose-petals are scattered 5At dead of still noon on the grass-plot, What means this passionate grief, --This infinite ache of regret? XLIII Surely somehow, in some measure, There will be joy and fulfilment, --Cease from this throb of desire, -- Even for Sappho! Surely some fortunate hour 5Phaon will come, and his beautyBe spent like water to plenish Need of that beauty! Where is the breath of Poseidon, Cool from the sea-floor with evening? 10Why are Selene's white horses So long arriving? XLIV O but my delicate lover, Is she not fair as the moonlight?Is she not supple and strong For hurried passion? Has not the god of the green world, 5In his large tolerant wisdom, Filled with the ardours of earth Her twenty summers? Well did he make her for loving;Well did he mould her for beauty; 10Gave her the wish that is brave With understanding. "O Pan, avert from this maidenSorrow, misfortune, bereavement, Harm, and unhappy regret, " 15 Prays one fond mortal. XLV Softer than the hill-fog to the forestAre the loving hands of my dear lover, When she sleeps beside me in the starlightAnd her beauty drenches me with rest. As the quiet mist enfolds the beech-trees, 5Even as she dreams her arms enfold me, Half awaking with a hundred kissesOn the scarlet lily of her mouth. XLVI I seek and desire, Even as the windThat travels the plainAnd stirs in the bloomOf the apple-tree. 5 I wander through life, With the searching mindThat is never at rest, Till I reach the shadeOf my lover's door. 10 XLVII Like torn sea-kelp in the driftOf the great tides of the sea, Carried past the harbour-mouthTo the deep beyond return, I am buoyed and borne away 5On the loveliness of earth, Little caring, save for thee, Past the portals of the night. XLVIII Fine woven purple linenI bring thee from Phocaea, That, beauty upon beauty, A precious gift may coverThe lap where I have lain. 5 And a gold comb, and girdle, And trinkets of white silver, And gems are in my sea-chest, Lest poor and empty-handedThy lover should return. 10 And I have brought from TyreA Pan-flute stained vermilion, Wherein the gods have hiddenLove and desire and longing, Which I shall loose for thee. 15 XLIX When I am home from travel, My eager foot will stay notUntil I reach the thresholdWhere I went forth from thee. And there, as darkness gathers 5In the rose-scented garden, The god who prospers musicShall give me skill to play. And thou shalt hear, all startled, A flute blown in the twilight, 10With the soft pleading magicThe green wood heard of old. Then, lamp in hand, thy beautyIn the rose-marble entry!And unreluctant Hermes 15Shall give me words to say. L When I behold the pharos shineAnd lay a path along the sea, How gladly I shall feel the spray, Standing upon the swinging prow; And question of my pilot old, 5How many watery leagues to sailEre we shall round the harbour reefAnd anchor off the wharves of home! LI Is the day long, O Lesbian maiden, And the night endlessIn thy lone chamberIn Mitylene? 5 All the bright day, Until welcome eveningWhen the stars kindleOver the harbour, What tasks employ thee? 10 Passing the fountainAt golden sundown, One of the home-goingTraffickers, hast thouThought of thy lover? 15 Nay, but how farToo brief will the night be, When I returningTo the dear portalHear my own heart beat! 20 LII Lo, on the distance a dark blue ravine, A fold in the mountainous forests of fir, Cleft from the sky-line sheer down to the shore! Above are the clouds and the white, pealing gulls, At its foot is the rough broken foam of the sea, 5With ever anon the long deep muffled roar, --A sigh from the fitful great heart of the world. Then inland just where the small meadow begins, Well bulwarked with boulders that jut in the tide, Lies safe beyond storm-beat the harbour in sun. 10 See where the black fishing-boats, each at its buoy, Ride up on the swell with their dare-danger prows, To sight o'er the sea-rim what venture may come! And look, where the narrow white streets of the townLeap up from the blue water's edge to the wood, 15Scant room for man's range between mountain and sea, And the market where woodsmen from over the hillMay traffic, and sailors from far foreign portsWith treasure brought in from the ends of the earth. And see the third house on the left, with that gleam 20Of red burnished copper--the hinge of the doorWhereat I shall enter, expected so oft(Let love be your sea-star!), to voyage no more. LIII Art thou the top-most appleThe gatherers could not reach, Reddening on the bough? Shall not I take thee? Art thou a hyacinth blossom 5The shepherds upon the hillsHave trodden into the ground? Shall not I lift thee? Free is the young god Eros, Paying no tribute to power, 10Seeing no evil in beauty, Full of compassion. Once having found the beloved, However sorry or woeful, However scornful of loving, 15 Little it matters. LIV How soon will all my lovely days be over, And I no more be found beneath the sun, --Neither beside the many-murmuring sea, Nor where the plain-winds whisper to the reeds, Nor in the tall beech-woods among the hills 5Where roam the bright-lipped Oreads, nor alongThe pasture-sides where berry-pickers strayAnd harmless shepherds pipe their sheep to fold! For I am eager, and the flame of lifeBurns quickly in the fragile lamp of clay. 10Passion and love and longing and hot tearsConsume this mortal Sappho, and too soonA great wind from the dark will blow upon me, And I be no more found in the fair world, For all the search of the revolving moon 15And patient shine of everlasting stars. LV Soul of sorrow, why this weeping?What immortal grief hath touched theeWith the poignancy of sadness, -- Testament of tears? Have the high gods deigned to show thee 5Destiny, and disillusionFills thy heart at all things human, Fleeting and desired? Nay, the gods themselves are fetteredBy one law which links together 10Truth and nobleness and beauty, Man and stars and sea. And they only shall find freedomWho with courage rise and followWhere love leads beyond all peril, 15 Wise beyond all words. LVI It never can be mineTo sit in the door in the sunAnd watch the world go by, A pageant and a dream; For I was born for love, 5And fashioned for desire, Beauty, passion, and joy, And sorrow and unrest; And with all things of earthEternally must go, 10Daring the perilous bournOf joyance and of death, A strain of song by night, A shadow on the hill, A hint of odorous grass, 15A murmur of the sea. LVII Others shall behold the sunThrough the long uncounted years, --Not a maid in after time Wise as thou! For the gods have given theeTheir best gift, an equal mind 5That can only love, be glad, And fear not. LVIII Let thy strong spirit never fear, Nor in thy virgin soul be thou afraid. The gods themselves and the almightier fatesCannot avail to harm With outward and misfortunate chance 5The radiant unshaken mind of himWho at his being's centre will abide, Secure from doubt and fear. His wise and patient heart shall shareThe strong sweet loveliness of all things made, 10And the serenity of inward joyBeyond the storm of tears. LIX Will none say of Sappho, Speaking of her lovers, And the love they gave her, --Joy and days and beauty, Flute-playing and roses, 5Song and wine and laughter, -- Will none, musing, murmur, "Yet, for all the roses, All the flutes and lovers, Doubt not she was lonely 10As the sea, whose cadenceHaunts the world for ever. " LX When I have departed, Say but this behind me, "Love was all her wisdom, All her care. "Well she kept love's secret, -- 5Dared and never faltered, --Laughed and never doubted Love would win. "Let the world's rough triumphTrample by above her, 10She is safe forever From all harm. "In a land that knows notBitterness nor sorrow, She has found out all 15 Of truth at last. " LXI There is no more to say now thou art still, There is no more to do now thou art dead, There is no more to know now thy clear mindIs back returned unto the gods who gave it. Now thou art gone the use of life is past, 5The meaning and the glory and the pride, There is no joyous friend to share the day, And on the threshold no awaited shadow. LXII Play up, play up thy silver flute;The crickets all are brave;Glad is the red autumnal earth And the blue sea. Play up thy flawless silver flute; 5Dead ripe are fruit and grain. When love puts on his scarlet coat, Put off thy care. LXIII A beautiful child is mine, Formed like a golden flower, Cleis the loved one. And above her I valueNot all the Lydian land, 5Nor lovely Hellas. LXIV Ah, but now henceforthOnly one meaningHas life for me. Only one purport, Measure and beauty, 5Has the bright world. What mean the wood-winds, Colour and morning, Bird, stream, and hill? And the brave city 10With its enchantment?Thee, only thee! LXV Softly the wind moves through the radiant morning, And the warm sunlight sinks into the valley, Filling the green earth with a quiet joyance, Strength, and fulfilment. Even so, gentle, strong and wise and happy, 5Through the soul and substance of my being, Comes the breath of thy great love to me-ward, O thou dear mortal. LXVI What the west wind whispersAt the end of summer, When the barley harvestRipens to the sickle, Who can tell? 5 What means the fine musicOf the dry cicada, Through the long noon hoursOf the autumn stillness, Who can say? 10 How the grape ungatheredWith its bloom of bluenessGreatens on the trellisOf the brick-walled garden, Who can know? 15 Yet I, too, am greatened, Keep the note of gladness, Travel by the wind's road, Through this autumn leisure, -- By thy love. 20 LXVII Indoors the fire is kindled;Beechwood is piled on the hearthstone;Cold are the chattering oak-leaves;And the ponds frost-bitten. Softer than rainfall at twilight, 5Bringing the fields benedictionAnd the hills quiet and greyness, Are my long thoughts of thee. How should thy friend fear the seasons?They only perish of winter 10Whom Love, audacious and tender, Never hath visited. LXVIII You ask how love can keep the mortal soulStrong to the pitch of joy throughout the years. Ask how your brave cicada on the boughKeeps the long sweet insistence of his cry; Ask how the Pleiads steer across the night 5In their serene unswerving mighty course; Ask how the wood-flowers waken to the sun, Unsummoned save by some mysterious word; Ask how the wandering swallows find your eavesUpon the rain-wind with returning spring; 10 Ask who commands the ever-punctual tideTo keep the pendulous rhythm of the sea; And you shall know what leads the heart of manTo the far haven of his hopes and fears. LXIX Like a tall forest were their spears, Their banners like a silken sea, When the great host in splendour passedAcross the crimson sinking sun. And then the bray of brazen horns 5Arose above their clanking march, As the long waving column filedInto the odorous purple dusk. O lover, in this radiant worldWhence is the race of mortal men, 10So frail, so mighty, and so fond, That fleets into the vast unknown? LXX My lover smiled, "O friend, ask notThe journey's end, nor whence we are. That whistling boy who minds his goatsSo idly in the grey ravine, "The brown-backed rower drenched with spray, 5The lemon-seller in the street, And the young girl who keeps her firstWild love-tryst at the rising moon, -- "Lo, these are wiser than the wise. And not for all our questioning 10Shall we discover more than joy, Nor find a better thing than love! "Let pass the banners and the spears, The hate, the battle, and the greed;For greater than all gifts is peace, 15And strength is in the tranquil mind. " LXXI Ye who have the stable worldIn the keeping of your hands. Flocks and men, the lasting hills, And the ever-wheeling stars; Ye who freight with wondrous things 5The wide-wandering heart of manAnd the galleon of the moon, On those silent seas of foam; Oh, if ever ye shall grantTime and place and room enough 10To this fond and fragile heartStifled with the throb of love, On that day one grave-eyed Fate, Pausing in her toil, shall say, "Lo, one mortal has achieved 15Immortality of love!" LXXII I heard the gods reply:"Trust not the future with its perilous chance;The fortunate hour is on the dial now. "To-day be wise and great, And put off hesitation and go forth 5With cheerful courage for the diurnal need. "Stout be the heart, nor slowThe foot to follow the impetuous will, Nor the hand slack upon the loom of deeds. "Then may the Fates look up 10And smile a little in their tolerant way, Being full of infinite regard for men. " LXXIII The sun on the tide, the peach on the bough, The blue smoke over the hill, And the shadows trailing the valley-side, Make up the autumn day. Ah, no, not half! Thou art not here 5Under the bronze beech-leaves, And thy lover's soul like a lonely childRoams through an empty room. LXXIV If death be good, Why do the gods not die?If life be ill, Why do the gods still live? If love be naught, 5Why do the gods still love?If love be all, What should men do but love? LXXV Tell me what this life means, O my prince and lover, With the autumn sunlightOn thy bronze-gold head? With thy clear voice sounding 5Through the silver twilight, --What is the lost secretOf the tacit earth? LXXVI Ye have heard how Marsyas, In the folly of his pride, Boasted of a matchless skill, --When the great god's back was turned; How his fond imagining 5Fell to ashes cold and grey, When the flawless player cameIn serenity and light. So it was with those I lovedIn the years ere I loved thee. 10Many a saying sounds like truth, Until Truth itself is heard. Many a beauty only livesUntil Beauty passes by, And the mortal is forgot 15In the shadow of the god. LXXVII Hour by hour I sit, Watching the silent door. Shadows go by on the wall, And steps in the street. Expectation and doubt 5Flutter my timorous heart. So many hurrying home--And thou still away. LXXVIII Once in the shining street, In the heart of a seaboard town, As I waited, behold, there cameThe woman I loved. As when, in the early spring, 5A daffodil blooms in the grass, Golden and gracious and glad, The solitude smiled. LXXIX How strange is love, O my lover!With what enchantment and powerDoes it not come upon mortals, Learned or heedless! How far away and unreal, 5Faint as blue isles in a sunsetHaze-golden, all else of life seems, Since I have known thee! LXXX How to say I love you:What, if I but live it, Were the use in that, love? Small, indeed. Only, every moment 5Of this waking lifetimeLet me be your lover And your friend! Ah, but then, as sure asBlossom breaks from bud-sheath, 10When along the hillside Spring returns, Golden speech should flowerFrom the soul so cherished, And the mouth your kisses 15 Filled with fire. LXXXI Hark, love, to the tambourinesOf the minstrels in the street, And one voice that throbs and soarsClear above the clashing time! Some Egyptian royal love-lilt, 5Some Sidonian refrain, Vows of Paphos or of Tyre, Mount against the silver sun. Pleading, piercing, yet serene, Vagrant in a foreign town, 10From what passion was it born, In what lost land over sea? LXXXII Over the roofs the honey-coloured moon, With purple shadows on the silver grass, And the warm south-wind on the curving sea, While we two, lovers past all turmoil now, Watch from the window the white sails come in, 5Bearing what unknown ventures safe to port! So falls the hour of twilight and of loveWith wizardry to loose the hearts of men, And there is nothing more in this great worldThan thou and I, and the blue dome of dusk. 10 LXXXIII In the quiet garden world, Gold sunlight and shadow leavesFlicker on the wall. And the wind, a moment since, With rose-petals strewed the path 5And the open door. Now the moon-white butterfliesFloat across the liquid air, Glad as in a dream; And, across thy lover's heart, 10Visions of one scarlet mouthWith its maddening smile. LXXXIV Soft was the wind in the beech-trees;Low was the surf on the shore;In the blue dusk one planetLike a great sea-pharos shone. But nothing to me were the sea-sounds, 5The wind and the yellow star, When over my breast the bannerOf your golden hair was spread. LXXXV Have you heard the news of Sappho's garden, And the Golden Rose of Mitylene, Which the bending brown-armed rowers latelyBrought from over sea, from lonely Pontus? In a meadow by the river Halys, 5Where some wood-god hath the world in keeping, On a burning summer noon they found her, Lovely as a Dryad, and more tender. Her these eyes have seen, and not anotherShall behold, till time takes all things goodly, 10So surpassing fair and fond and wondrous, --Such a slave as, worth a great king's ransom, No man yet of all the sons of mortalsBut would lose his soul for and regret not;So hath Beauty compassed all her children 15With the cords of longing and desire. Only Hermes, master of word music, Ever yet in glory of gold languageCould ensphere the magical remembranceOf her melting, half sad, wayward beauty, 20 Or devise the silver phrase to frame her, The inevitable name to call her, Half a sigh and half a kiss when whispered, Like pure air that feeds a forge's hunger. Not a painter in the Isles of Hellas 25Could portray her, mix the golden tawnyWith bright stain of poppies, or ensanguineLike the life her darling mouth's vermilion, So that, in the ages long hereafter, When we shall be dust of perished summers, 30Any man could say who found that likeness, Smiling gently on it, "This was Gorgo!" LXXXVI Love is so strong a thing, The very gods must yield, When it is welded fastWith the unflinching truth. Love is so frail a thing, 5A word, a look, will kill. Oh lovers, have a careHow ye do deal with love. LXXXVII Hadst thou, with all thy loveliness, been true, Had I, with all my tenderness, been strong, We had not made this ruin out of life, This desolation in a world of joy, My poor Gorgo. 5 Yet even the high gods at times do err;Be therefore thou not overcome with woe, But dedicate anew to greater loveAn equal heart, and be thy radiant self Once more, Gorgo. 10 LXXXVIII As, on a morn, a traveller might emergeFrom the deep green seclusion of the hills, By a cool road through forest and through fern, Little frequented, winding, followed longWith joyous expectation and day-dreams, 5And on a sudden, turning a great rockCovered with frondage, dark with dripping water, Behold the seaboard full of surf and sound, With all the space and glory of the worldAbove the burnished silver of the sea, -- 10 Even so it was upon that first spring dayWhen time, that is a devious path for men, Led me all lonely to thy door at last;And all thy splendid beauty, gracious and glad, (Glad as bright colour, free as wind or air, 15And lovelier than racing seas of foam)Bore sense and soul and mind at once awayTo a pure region where the gods might dwell, Making of me, a vagrant child before, A servant of joy at Aphrodite's will. 20 LXXXIX Where shall I look for thee, Where find thee now, O my lost Atthis? Storm bars the harbour, And snow keeps the pass 5In the blue mountains. Bitter the wind whistles, Pale is the sun, And the days shorten. Close to the hearthstone, 10With long thoughts of thee, Thy lonely lover Sits now, rememberingAll the spent hoursAnd thy fair beauty. 15 Ah, when the hyacinthWakens with spring, And buds the laurel, Doubt not, some morningWhen all earth revives, 20Hearing Pan's flute-call Over the river-beds, Over the hills, Sounding the summons, I shall look up and behold 25In the door, Smiling, expectant, Loving as everAnd glad as of old, My own lost Atthis! 30 XC A sad, sad face, and saddest eyes that ever Beheld the sun, Whence came the grief that makes of all thy beauty One sad sweet smile? In this bright portrait, where the painter fixed them, 5 I still beholdThe eyes that gladdened, and the lips that loved me, And, gold on rose, The cloud of hair that settles on one shoulder Slipped from its vest. 10I almost hear thy Mitylenean love-song In the spring night, When the still air was odorous with blossoms, And in the hourThy first wild girl's-love trembled into being, 15 Glad, glad and fond. Ah, where is all that wonder? What god's malice Undid that joyAnd set the seal of patient woe upon thee, O my lost love? 20 XCI Why have the gods in derisionSevered us, heart of my being?Where have they lured thee to wander, O my lost lover? While now I sojourn with sorrow, 5Having remorse for my comrade, What town is blessed with thy beauty, Gladdened and prospered? Nay, who could love as I loved thee, With whom thy beauty was mingled 10In those spring days when the swallows Came with the south wind? Then I became as that shepherdLoved by Selene on Latmus, Once when her own summer magic 15 Took hold upon her With a sweet madness, and thenceforthHer mortal lover must wanderOver the wide world for ever, Like one enchanted. 20 XCII Like a red lily in the meadow grasses, Swayed by the wind and burning in the sunlight, I saw you, where the city chokes with traffic, Bearing among the passers-by your beauty, Unsullied, wild, and delicate as a flower. 5And then I knew, past doubt or peradventure, Our loved and mighty Eleusinian motherHad taken thought of me for her pure worship, And of her favour had assigned my comradeFor the Great Mysteries, --knew I should find you 10When the dusk murmured with its new-made lovers, And we be no more foolish but wise children, And well content partake of joy together, As she ordains and human hearts desire. XCIII When in the spring the swallows all return, And the bleak bitter sea grows mild once more, With all its thunders softened to a sigh; When to the meadows the young green comes back, And swelling buds put forth on every bough, 5With wild-wood odours on the delicate air; Ah, then, in that so lovely earth wilt thouWith all thy beauty love me all one way, And make me all thy lover as before? Lo, where the white-maned horses of the surge, 10Plunging in thunderous onset to the shore, Trample and break and charge along the sand! XCIV Cold is the wind where Daphne sleeps, That was so tender and so warmWith loving, --with a lovelinessThan her own laurel lovelier. Now pipes the bitter wind for her, 5And the snow sifts about her door, While far below her frosty hillThe racing billows plunge and boom. XCV Hark, where Poseidon'sWhite racing horsesTrample with tumultThe shelving seaboard! Older than Saturn, 5Older than Rhea, That mournful music, Falling and surging With the vast rhythmCeaseless, eternal, 10Keeps the long tallyOf all things mortal. How many loversHath not its lullingCradled to slumberWith the ripe flowers, 15 Ere for our pleasureThis golden summerWalked through the corn-landsIn gracious splendour! 20 How many loved onesWill it not croon to, In the long spring-daysThrough coming ages, When all our day-dreams 25Have been forgotten, And none remembersEven thy beauty! They too shall slumberIn quiet places, 30And mighty sea-soundsCall them unheeded. XCVI Hark, my lover, it is spring!On the wind a faint far callWakes a pang within my heart, Unmistakable and keen. At the harbour mouth a sail 5Glimmers in the morning sun, And the ripples at her prowWhiten into crumbling foam, As she forges outward boundFor the teeming foreign ports. 10Through the open window now, Hear the sailors lift a song! In the meadow ground the frogsWith their deafening flutes begin, --The old madness of the world 15In their golden throats again. Little fifers of live bronze, Who hath taught you with wise loreTo unloose the strains of joy, When Orion seeks the west? 20 And you feathered flute-players, Who instructed you to fillAll the blossomy orchards nowWith melodious desire? I doubt not our father Pan 25Hath a care of all these things. In some valley of the hillsFar away and misty-blue, By quick water he hath cutA new pipe, and set the wood 30To his smiling lips, and blown, That earth's rapture be restored. And those wild Pandean stopsMark the cadence life must keep. O my lover, be thou glad; 35It is spring in Hellas now. XCVII When the early soft spring wind comes blowingOver Rhodes and Samos and Miletus, From the seven mouths of Nile to Lesbos, Freighted with sea-odours and gold sunshine, What news spreads among the island people 5In the market-place of Mitylene, Lending that unwonted stir of gladnessTo the busy streets and thronging doorways? Is it word from Ninus or Arbela, Babylon the great, or Northern Imbros? 10Have the laden galleons been sightedStoutly labouring up the sea from Tyre? Nay, 'tis older news that foreign sailorWith the cheek of sea-tan stops to prattleTo the young fig-seller with her basket 15And the breasts that bud beneath her tunic, And I hear it in the rustling tree-tops. All this passionate bright tender bodyQuivers like a leaf the wind has shaken, Now love wanders through the aisles of springtime. 20 XCVIII I am more tremulous than shaken reeds, And love has made me like the river water. Thy voice is as the hill-wind over me, And all my changing heart gives heed, my lover. Before thy least lost murmur I must sigh, 5Or gladden with thee as the sun-path glitters. XCIX Over the wheat-field, Over the hill-crest, Swoops and is goneThe beat of a wild wing, Brushing the pine-tops, 5Bending the poppies, Hurrying NorthwardWith golden summer. What premonition, O purple swallow, 10Told thee the happyHour of migration?Hark! On the threshold(Hush, flurried heart in me!), Was there a footfall? 15Did no one enter? Soon will a shepherdIn rugged Dacia, Folding his gentleEwes in the twilight, 20Lifting a levelGaze from the sheepfold, Say to his fellows, "Lo, it is springtime. " This very hour 25In Mitylene, Will not a young girlSay to her lover, Lifting her moon-whiteArms to enlace him, 30Ere the glad sigh comes, "Lo, it is lovetime!" C Once more the rain on the mountain, Once more the wind in the valley, With the soft odours of springtimeAnd the long breath of remembrance, O Lityerses! 5 Warm is the sun in the city. On the street corners with laughterTraffic the flower-girls. BeautyBlossoms once more for thy pleasure In many places. 10 Gentlier now falls the twilight, With the slim moon in the pear-trees;And the green frogs in the meadowsBlow on shrill pipes to awaken Thee, Lityerses. 15 Gladlier now crimson morningFlushes fair-built Mitylene, --Portico, temple, and column, --Where the young garlanded womenPraise thee with singing. 20 Ah, but what burden of sorrowTinges their slow stately chorus, Though spring revisits the glad earth?Wilt thou not wake to their summons, O Lityerses? 25 Shall they then never behold thee, --Nevermore see thee returningDown the blue cleft of the mountains, Nor in the purple of evening Welcome thy coming? 30 Nevermore answer thy glowingYouth with their ardour, nor cherishWith lovely longing thy spirit, Nor with soft laughter beguile thee, O Lityerses? 35 Heedless, assuaged, art thou sleepingWhere the spring sun cannot find thee, Nor the wind waken, nor woodlandsBloom for thy innocent raptureThrough golden hours? 40 Hast thou no passion nor pityFor thy deserted companions?Never again will thy beautyQuell their desire nor rekindle, O Lityerses? 45 Nay, but in vain their clear voicesCall thee. Thy sensitive beautyIs become part of the fleetingLoveliness, merged in the pathos Of all things mortal. 50 In the faint fragrance of flowers, On the sweet draft of the sea-wind, Linger strange hints now that loosenTears for thy gay gentle spirit, O Lityerses! 55 EPILOGUE Now the hundred songs are made, And the pause comes. Loving Heart, There must be an end to summer, And the flute be laid aside. On a day the frost will come, 5Walking through the autumn world, Hushing all the brave endeavourOf the crickets in the grass. On a day (Oh, far from now!)Earth will hear this voice no more; 10For it shall be with thy loverAs with Linus long ago. All the happy songs he wroughtFrom remembrance soon must fade, As the wash of silver moonlight 15From a purple-dark ravine. Frail as dew upon the grassOr the spindrift of the sea, Out of nothing they were fashionedAnd to nothing must return. 20 Nay, but something of thy love, Passion, tenderness, and joy, Some strange magic of thy beauty, Some sweet pathos of thy tears, Must imperishably cling 25To the cadence of the words, Like a spell of lost enchantmentsLaid upon the hearts of men. Wild and fleeting as the notesBlown upon a woodland pipe, 30They must haunt the earth with gladnessAnd a tinge of old regret. For the transport in their rhythmWas the throb of thy desire, And thy lyric moods shall quicken 35Souls of lovers yet unborn. When the golden days arrive, With the swallow at the eaves, And the first sob of the south-windSighing at the latch with spring, 40 Long hereafter shall thy nameBe recalled through foreign lands, And thou be a part of sorrowWhen the Linus songs are sung. PRINTED ATTHE DE LA MORE PRESS32 GEORGE STREETHANOVER SQUARELONDON W [Illustration: The King's Classics] CHATTO AND WINDUS 111 St. Martin's Lane, London A CONCISE LIST OF THE KING'S CLASSICS GENERAL EDITOR: PROFESSOR I. GOLLANCZ, Litt. D. ALTHOUGH The King's Classics are to be purchased for 1/6 net per volume, the series is unique in that (1) the letterpress, paper, and binding are unapproached by any similar series. (2) "Competent scholars in every case have supervised this series, which can therefore be received with confidence. "--_Athenaeum_, (3) With few exceptions, the volumes in this series are included in no similar series, while several are copyright. THE KING'S CLASSICS UNDER THE GENERAL EDITORSHIP OF PROFESSOR I. GOLLANCZ, LITT. D. "Right Royal Series. "--_Literary World. _ "We note with pleasure that competent scholars in every case havesupervised this Series, which can therefore be received withconfidence. "--_Athenaeum_. The Series of "King's Classics, " issued under the General Editorship ofProfessor I. GOLLANCZ, aims at introducing to the larger reading publicmany noteworthy works of literature not readily accessible in cheap form, or not hitherto rendered into English. Each volume is edited by some expertscholar, and has a summary introduction dealing with the main and essentialfacts of the literary history of the book; at the end there are thenecessary notes for a right understanding of references and textualdifficulties; where necessary, there is also a carefully-compiled index. Aswill be at once seen from the accompanying list, much original and new workhas been secured for the Series, and it will be recognised that the "King'sClassics" differentiate themselves in a very marked way from the manyreprints of popular books. It should be noted, however, that while primarily rare masterpieces areincluded in the "King's Classics, " modern popular classics, more especiallysuch as have not yet been adequately or at all annotated, are not excludedfrom the Series. * * * * * NOTE. --_At the date of this list, May 1, 1907, Nos. 1-35 were published. Numbers subsequent to 35 are at press or about to go to press. _ The "King's Classics" are printed on antique laid paper, 16mo. (6 X 4-1/2inches), gilt tops, and are issued in the following styles and prices. Eachvolume has a frontispiece, usually in photogravure. Quarter bound, antique grey boards, 1/6 net. Red Cloth, 1/6 net. Quarter Vellum, grey cloth sides, 2/6 net. Special three-quarter Vellum, Oxford side-papers, gilt tops, silk marker, 5/- net. ***Nos. 2, 20 and 24 are double volumes. Price, Boards or Cloth, 3/- net; Quarter Vellum, 5/- net; special three-quarter Vellum, 7/6 net. 1. THE LOVE OF BOOKS: being the Philobiblon of RICHARD DE BURY. Translated by E. C. THOMAS. Frontispiece, Seal of Richard de Bury (as Bishopof Durham). 3. THE CHRONICLE OF JOCELIN OF BRAKELOND, MONK OF ST. EDMUNDSBURY: aPicture of Monastic and Social Life in the XIIth Century. Newly translated, from the original Latin, with notes, table of datesrelating to the Abbey of St. Edmundsbury, and index, by L. C. JANE, M. A. , sometime Exhibitioner in Modern History at University College, Oxon. , andwith an Introduction by the Right Rev. Abbot GASQUET. Frontispiece, Seal ofAbbot Samson (A. D. 1200). ***20. THE NUN'S RULE, or Ancren Riwle, in Modern English. Being the injunctions of Bishop Poore intended for the guidance of nuns oranchoresses, as set forth in the famous thirteenth-century MS. Referred toabove. Editor, the Right Rev. Abbot GASQUET. Frontispiece, Seal of Bishop Poore. _Double volume. _ 17. MEDIAEVAL, LORE. From Bartholomaeus Anglicus. Edited with notes, index and glossary byROBERT STEELE. Preface by the late WILLIAM MORRIS. Frontispiece, an oldillumination, representing Astrologers using Astrolabes. [The book is drawn from one of the most widely-read works of mediaevaltimes. Its popularity is explained by its scope, which comprisesexplanations of allusions to natural objects met with in Scripture andelsewhere. It was, in fact, an account of the properties of things ingeneral. ] 11. THE ROMANCE OF FULK FITZWARINE. Newly translated from the Anglo-French by ALICE KEMP-WELCH, with anintroduction by Professor BRANDIN. Frontispiece, Whittington Castle inShropshire, the seat of the Fitzwarines. 45. THE SONG OF ROLAND. Newly translated from the old French by Mrs. CROSLAND. Introduction byProfessor BRANDIN, University of London. Frontispiece. 22. EARLY LIVES OF CHARLEMAGNE. Translated and edited by A. J. GRANT. With frontispiece representing anearly bronze figure of Charlemagne from the Musée Carnavalet, Paris. We have here given us two "Lives" of Charlemagne by contemporaryauthorities--one by Eginhard and the other by the Monk of St. Gall. Verydifferent in style, when brought together in one volume each supplies thedeficiencies of the other. 35. WINE, WOMEN, AND SONG. Mediaeval students' songs, translated from the Latin, with an essay, byJOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS. Frontispiece after a fifteenth-century woodcut. 18. THE VISION OF PIERS THE PLOWMAN. By WILLIAM LANGLAND; _in modern English by_ Professor SKEAT, Litt. D. Frontispiece, "God Speed the Plough, " from an old MS. 8. CHAUCER'S KNIGHT'S TALE, or Palamon and Arcite. _In modern English by_ Professor SKEAT, Litt. D. Frontispiece, "TheCanterbury Pilgrims, " from an illuminated MS. 9. CHAUCER'S MAN OF LAW'S TALE, Squire's Tale, and Nun's Priest's Tale. _In modern English by_ Professor SKEAT, Litt. D. Frontispiece from anilluminated MS. 10. CHAUCER'S PRIORESS'S TALE, Pardoner's Tale, Clerk's Tale, and Canon'sYeoman's Tale. _In modern English by_ Professor SKEAT, Litt. D. Frontispiece, "ThePatient Griselda, " from the well-known fifteenth-century picture of theUmbrian School in the National Gallery. 41. CHAUCER'S LEGEND OF GOOD WOMEN. _In modern English_, with notes and introduction, by Professor W. W. SKEAT, Litt. D. Frontispiece, "Ariadne Deserted, " after the painting byANGELICA KAUFMANN. 36, 37. GEORGE PETTIE'S "PETITE PALACE OF PETTIE HIS PLEASURE. " The popular Elizabethan book containing twelve classical love-stories--"Sinorex and Camma, " "Tereus and Progne, " etc. --in style the precursor ofEuphues, now first reprinted under the editorship of Professor I. GOLLANCZ. Frontispieces, a reproduction of the original title, and of an originalpage. _In two volumes_. 21. THE MEMOIRS OF ROBERT CARY, Earl of Monmouth. Being a contemporary record of the life of that nobleman as Warden of theMarches and at the Court of Elizabeth. Editor, G. H. POWELL. With frontispiece from the original edition, representing Queen Elizabeth in a state procession, with the Earl ofMonmouth and others in attendance. 19. THE GULL'S HORNBOOK. By THOMAS DEKKER. Editor, R. B. MCKERROW. Frontispiece, The nave of St. Paul's Cathedral at the time of Elizabeth. 29. SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS. Editor, C. C. STOPES. Frontispiece, Portrait of the Earl of Southampton. 4. THE LIFE OF SIR THOMAS MORE, Knight. By his son-in-law, WILLIAM ROPER. With letters to and from his famousdaughter, Margaret Roper. Frontispiece, Portrait of Sir Thomas More, afterHolbein. 33. THE HOUSEHOLD OF SIR THOMAS MORE. By ANNE MANNING. Preface by RICHARDGARNETT. Frontispiece, "The Family of Sir Thomas More. " 40. SIR THOMAS MORE'S UTOPIA. Now for the first time edited from _the first edition by_ ROBERTSTEELE. Frontispiece, Portrait of Sir Thomas More, after an earlyengraving. 44. THE FOUR LAST THINGS, together with the Life of Pico della Mirandolaand the English Poems. By Sir THOMAS MORE. Edited by DANIEL O'CONNOR. Frontispiece after twodesigns from the "Daunce of Death. " 43. SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE'S ESSAY ON GARDENS, together with other CaroleanEssays on Gardens. Edited, and with notes and introduction, by A. FORBES SIEVEKING, F. S. A. Frontispiece, Portrait of Sir William Temple, and five reproductions ofearly "garden" engravings. 5. EIKON BASILIKE: or, The King's Book. Edited by EDWARD ALMACK, F. S. A. Frontispiece, Portrait of King Charles I. This edition, which has been printed from an advance copy of the King'sBook seized by Cromwell's soldiers, is the first inexpensive one for ahundred years in which the original spelling of the first edition has beenpreserved. 6, 7. KINGS' LETTERS. Part I. Letters of the Kings of England, from Alfred to the Coming of theTudors, newly edited from the originals by ROBERT STEELE, F. S. A. Frontispiece, Portrait of Henry V. Part II. From the Early Tudors, with the love-letters of Henry VIII. AndAnne Boleyn, and with frontispiece, Portrait of Anne Boleyn. Parts III. And IV. , bringing the series up to modern times, will shortly beannounced under the same editorship. 39. THE ROYAL POETS OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. Being Original Poems by English Kings and other Royal and Noble Persons, now first collected and edited by W. BAILEY-KEMPLING. Frontispiece, Portrait of King James I. Of Scotland, after an early engraving. 13. THE LIFE OF MARGARET GODOLPHIN. By JOHN EVELYN, the famous diarist. Re-edited from the edition of SamuelWilberforce, Bishop of Oxford. Frontispiece, Portrait of Margaret Godolphinengraved on copper. 15. THE FALSTAFF LETTERS. Editor, JAMES WHITE, possibly with the assistance of CHARLES LAMB, _cf. The Introduction_. Frontispiece, Sir John Falstaff dancing to MasterBrooks' fiddle, from the original edition. 14. EARLY LIVES OF DANTE. Comprising Boccaccio's Life of Dante, Leonardo Bruni's Life of Dante, andother important contemporary records. Translated and edited by the Rev. PHILIP H. WICKSTEED. Frontispiece, TheDeath-mask of Dante. 46. DANTE'S VITA NUOVA. The Italian text with D. G. ROSSETTI'S translation on the opposite page. Introduction and notes by Professor H. OELSNER Ph. D. , Lecturer in RomanceLiterature, Oxford University. Frontispiece after the original water-coloursketch for "Dante's Dream, " by D. G. ROSSETTI. 12. THE STORY OF CUPID AND PSYCHE. From "The Golden Ass" of Apuleius, translated by W. ADLINGTON (1566), edited by W. H. D. ROUSE, Litt. D. With frontispiece representing the"Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, " after a gem now in the British Museum. 23. CICERO'S "FRIENDSHIP, " "OLD AGE, " AND "SCIPIO'S DREAM. " From early translations. Editor, W. H. D. ROUSE, Litt. D. Frontispiece, "Scipio, Laelius and Cato conversing, " from a fourteenth-century MS. ***2. SIX DRAMAS OF CALDERON. Translated by EDWARD FITZGERALD. Editor, H. OELSNER, M. A. , Ph. D. Frontispiece, Portrait of Calderon, from an etching by M. EGUSQUIZA. _Double volume. _ 42. SWIFT'S BATTLE OF THE BOOKS. Edited, and with notes and introduction. Frontispiece. 38. WALPOLE'S CASTLE OF OTRANTO. The introduction of Sir WALTER SCOTT. Preface by Miss C. SPURGEON. Frontispiece, Portrait of Walpole, after a contemporary engraving. 30. GEORGE ELIOT'S SILAS MARNER. Frontispiece, Portrait of George Eliot, from a water-colour drawing by Mrs. CHARLES BRAY. Introduction by RICHARD GARNETT. 31. GOLDSMITH'S VICAR OF WAKEFIELD. Introduction by RICHARD GARNETT. Frontispiece, Portrait of OliverGoldsmith. 32. PEG WOFFINGTON. By CHARLES READE. Frontispiece, Portrait of Peg Woffington. Introduction byRICHARD GARNETT. 16. POLONIUS, a Collection of Wise Saws and Modern Instances. By EDWARD FITZGERALD. With portrait of Edward FitzGerald from the miniatureby Mrs. E. M. B. RIVETT-CARNAC as frontispiece; notes and index. Contains apreface by EDWARD FITZGERALD, on Aphorisms generally. ***24. WORDSWORTH'S PRELUDE. The introduction and notes have been written by W. BASIL WORSFOLD, M. A. , and the frontispiece is taken from the portrait of Wordsworth by H. W. PICKERSGILL, R. A. , in the National Gallery. A map of the Lake District isadded. _Double volume_. 25. THE DEFENCE OF GUENEVERE and other Poems by WILLIAM MORRIS. Editor, ROBERT STEELE. With reproduction of DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI'Spicture of "Lancelot and Guenevere at King Arthur's tomb" as frontispiece. 26, 27. BROWNING'S "MEN AND WOMEN. " Edited with introduction and notes by W. BASIL WORSFOLD, M. A. Two volumes, each with portrait of Browning as frontispiece. _In two volumes_. 28. POE'S POEMS. Editor, EDWARD HUTTON. Frontispiece, Poe's cottage. 34. SAPPHO: One Hundred Lyrics By BLISS CARMAN, With frontispiece after aGreek gem. _To be continued_. NOTE. --_At the date of this list, May_ 1, 1907, Nos. 1-35 were published. Numbers subsequent to 35 are at press or about to go to press_. CHATTO AND WINDUS, 111 ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W. C. THE SHAKESPEARE CLASSICS A Series of volumes of reprints, under the general editorship of ProfessorI. GOLLANCZ, embodying the Romances, Novels, and Plays used by Shakespeareas the direct sources and originals of his plays. 6-1/2 x 5-1/4 inches, gilt tops, in the following styles. Each volume will contain a photogravurefrontispiece reproduction of the original title. Publication of Nos. 1 and2 in June; No. 3 in September, and thereafter at short intervals. Quarter-bound antique grey boards, 2/6 net. Whole gold brown velvet persian, 4/- net. Three-quarter vellum, Oxford side-papers, gilt tops, silk marker, 6/- net; Postage, 4_d_. FIRST VOLUMES 1. LODGE'S "ROSALYNDE": the original of Shakespeare's "As You Like It. " Edited by W. W. GREG, M. A. 2. GREENE'S "DORASTUS AND FAWNIA": the original of Shakespeare's "Winter'sTale. " Edited by P. G. THOMAS, Professor of English Literature, Bedford College, University of London. 3. BROOKE'S POEM OF "ROMEUS AND JULIET": the original of Shakespeare's"Romeo and Juliet, " as edited by P. A. DANIEL, modernised and re-edited byJ. J. MUNRO. 4. "THE TROUBLESOME REIGN OF KING JOHN": the Play rewritten by Shakespeareas "King John. " Edited by F. J. FURNIVALL, D. Litt. 5, 6. "THE HISTORY OF HAMLET. " Together with other Documents illustrativeof the source of Shakespeare's play, and an Introductory Study of theLegend of Hamlet by Professor I. GOLLANCZ, Litt. D. , who also edits thework. (NOTE. --No. 6 will fill 2 volumes. ) 7. "THE PLAY OF KING LEIR AND HIS THREE DAUGHTERS": the old play on thesubject of King Lear. Edited by SIDNEY LEE, D. Litt. *** _Also 520 special sets (500 for sale) on larger paper, about 7-1/2 x5-3/4 inches, half-bound parchment, boards, gilt tops, as a LibraryEdition. Sold in sets only. Per volume, 5/- net; Postage, 4d. _ ***Among other items THE SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY--of which the above Seriesforms the first section--will contain a complete Old-spelling Shakespeare, edited by Dr. FURNIVALL. A full prospectus of The Shakespeare Library is inpreparation, and will be sent post free on application. _R. Clay & Sons, Ltd. , London and Bungay. _