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sometimes misattributed to Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE) and by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
Translation by Abraham Cowley (1618 - 1667)

The grasshopper
Language: English  after the Greek (Ελληνικά) 
Happy insect! what can be
In happiness compar'd to thee?
Fed with nourishment divine,
The dewy morning's gentle wine!
Nature waits upon thee still,
And thy verdant cup does fill;
'Tis filled wherever thou dost tread,
Nature self's thy Ganymede.
Thou dost drink, and dance, and sing;
Happier than the happiest king!
All the fields which thou dost see,
All the plants belong to thee;
All that summer hours produce;
Fertile made with early juice.
Man for thee does sow and plow;
Farmer he, and landlord thou!
Thou dost innocently joy;
Nor does thy luxury destroy;
The shepherd gladly heareth thee,
More harmonious than he.
Thee country-hinds with gladness hear,
Prophet of the ripen'd year!
Thee Phoebus loves, and does inspire;
Phoebus is himself thy sire.
To thee, of all things upon earth,
Life's no longer than thy mirth.
Happy insect, happy, thou
Dost neither age nor winter know;
But, when thou'st drunk, and danc'd and sung
Thy fill, the flowery leaves among,
(Voluptuous and wise withal,
Epicurean animal!)--
Sated with thy summer feast,
Thou retir'st to endless rest.

Text Authorship:

  • by Abraham Cowley (1618 - 1667), "The grasshopper" [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) misattributed to Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE) and by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "Εἰς τέττιγα"
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Carl von Blankensee ENG FRE ; composed by Johann Karl Gottfried Loewe.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) , "An die Zikade", subtitle: "Nach dem Anakreon" ENG FRE ; composed by Anton Urspruch.
      • Go to the text.
  • Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ENG FRE ; composed by Stefan Stocker.
      • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2015-03-24
Line count: 34
Word count: 179

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