Vile potabis | In my inexpensive goblets

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894)

Translation © by Emily Ezust

Vile potabis

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG SPA

En mes coupes d'un prix modique
Veux-tu tenter mon humble vin ?
Je l'ai scellé dans l'urne Attique
Au sortir du pressoir Sabin.
Il est un peu rude et moderne :
Cécube, Calès ni Falerne
Ne mûrissent dans mon cellier ;
Mais les Muses me sont amies,
Et les Muses font oublier
Ta vigne dorée, ô Formies !

The title refers to this ode by Horace.

Text Authorship:

by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), "Vile Potabis", written 1852, appears in Poèmes antiques, in Études latines, no. 6, Paris, Éd. Librairie Marc Ducloux, first published 1852 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

by Reynaldo Hahn (1874 - 1947), "Vile potabis", published 1900, from Études Latines, no. 6, Paris, Heugel [sung text checked 1 time]
by Émile Nérini (1882 - 1961), "Vile potabis", 1906, published 1920 [ medium voice and piano ], from Études latines sur des poésies de Leconte de Lisle, no. 1, Éd. René Gilles [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (Emily Ezust) , "Vile potabis", copyright © 2016
SPA Spanish (Español) (José Miguel Llata) , "Villa Potabis", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 10
Word count: 54

Vile potabis

Language: English after the French (Français)

In my inexpensive goblets
Do you wish to try my humble wine?
I sealed it in the Attic urn
On leaving the Sabine press.
It is a little harsh and new;
Neither Caecuban, Calenian, nor Falernian wines
Mature in my wine-cellar;
But the Muses are friendly to me,
And the Muses help me forget
Your golden vines, oh Formian hills!

Note: the title comes from the Ode by Horace that begins with the same words, and means "You will bolt down" or "You will swill".
In the time of Horace, Caecuban, Calenian, and Falernian wines were regarded as among the best. See Wikipedia for Caecuban wine.

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2016 by Emily Ezust
Emily Ezust permits her translations to be reproduced without prior permission for printed (not online) programs to free-admission concerts only, provided the following credit is given:
Translation copyright © by Emily Ezust,
from the LiederNet Archive
For any other purpose, please write to the e-mail address below to request permission and discuss possible fees.
licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in French (Français) by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle (1818 - 1894), "Vile Potabis", written 1852, appears in Poèmes antiques, in Études latines, no. 6, Paris, Éd. Librairie Marc Ducloux, first published 1852
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2016-02-11
Line count: 10
Word count: 60