Celia the Fair | My goddess Lydia, heav'nly fair

by Gaius Cornelius Gallus (70 BCE - 26 BCE)

Translation possibly by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647 - 1680)

Ad Lydiam

Language: Latin

Lydia, bella puella, candida, 
  Quæ bene superas lac et lilium,
  Albamque simul rosam rubidam, 
  Aut expolitum ebur Indicum! 

[ ... ]

Pande, puella, stellatos oculos,
  Flexaque super nigra cilia.
  Pande, puella, genas roseas,
  Perfusas rubro purpuræ Tyriæ.

[ ... ]

Quid mihi sugis vivum sanguinem? 
  Conde papillas, conde gemipomas, 
  Compresse lacte quæ modo pullulant.

Confirmed with Poésies de Cornelius Gallus. Traduction nouvelle par M. Jules Genouille, Paris, C. L. F. Panckoucke, 1836, pages 40, 42.

Text Authorship:

by Gaius Cornelius Gallus (70 BCE - 26 BCE), "Ad Lydiam"

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Charles Isaac Elton, QC) , "To Lydia" [an adaptation]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2019-08-10
Line count: 25
Word count: 113

Celia the Fair

(Sung text for setting by G. Monro)

See original

Language: English after the Latin

My goddess Celia, heav'nly fair, 
As lilies sweet, as soft as air; 
Let loose thy tresses, spread thy charms, 
And to my love give fresh alarms.

 ... 

Give me ambrosia in a kiss,
That I may rival Jove in bliss;
That I may mix my soul with thine,
And make the pleasure all divine.

 ... 

Why draw'st thou from the purple flood 
Of my kind heart the vital blood?
Thou art all over endless charms; 
O ! take me, dying, to thy arms.

Composition:

George Monro

Text Authorship:

possibly by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647 - 1680), no title

Based on:

a text in Latin by Gaius Cornelius Gallus (70 BCE - 26 BCE), "Ad Lydiam"
- Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-11-16
Line count: 20
Word count: 135