by Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs
Translation © by Marvin J. Ward

Le tombeau sans nom
Language: French (Français) 
Our translations:  ENG GER
Mnasidika m'ayant prise par la main 
me mena hors des portes de la ville, 
jusqu'à un petit champ inculte 
où il y avait une stèle de marbre. 
Et elle me dit : « Celle-ci fut l'amie de ma mère. »

Alors je sentis un grand frisson,
et sans cesser de lui tenir la main, 
je me penchai sur son épaule,
afin de lire les quatre vers 
entre la coupe creuse et le serpent :

« Ce n'est pas la mort qui m'a enlevée, 
mais les Nymphes des fontaines. 
Je repose ici sous une terre légère 
avec la chevelure coupée de Xanthô.
Qu'elle seule me pleure. 
Je ne dis pas mon nom. »

Longtemps nous sommes restées debout, 
et nous n'avons pas versé la libation. 
Car comment appeler une âme inconnue
d'entre les foules de l'Hadès?

Text Authorship:

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

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

  • ENG English (Marvin J. Ward) , title 1: "The Nameless Tomb", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , title 1: "Das namenlose Grab", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Marvin J. Ward

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 133

The Nameless Tomb
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
Mnasidika having taken me by the hand
led me outside the gates of the city, 
to a small uncultivated field
where there was a marble stele,
and she said to me: "This was my mother's lover."

Then I felt a great shiver, 
and without letting go of her hand, 
I leaned on her shoulder, 
in order to read the four verses 
between the hollow cup and the snake:

"It is not death that took me away
but the Nymphs of the springs. 
I am resting here beneath the light earth 
with Xanthô's cut hair. 
May she alone weep for me. 
I do not tell my name." 

We remained standing for a long time,
and we did not pour the libation.
For how should we call an unknown soul 
from amongst the throngs in Hades?

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Marvin J. Ward, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

 

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 134