On himself | As I, a mortal, happened

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 Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE)

Translation © by Lawrence Sisk

Εις εαυτον

Language: Greek (Ελληνικά)

Our translations: ENG

Ἐπειδὴ βροτὸσ ἐτύχθην
βιότου τρίβον ὁβεύειν,
χρόνον ἔγνων, δν παρῆλθον,
δν δ ̓ ἔχω δραμεῖν, οὐχ οἴδα.
Μέθετ ̓ οὔν με φροντίδεσ δή,
μηδε’ν μοι χαὶ ὑμῖν ἔστω.
Πρὶν ἐμὲ φθάσῃ τὸ τέλοσ,
παίξω, γελάσω, χορεύσω,
μετὰτοῦ χαλοῦ Λυαίου.

See also Ronsard's Imitation d'Anacreon.

Show a transliteration: DIN | ISO 843

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE), "Εις εαυτον", appears in Odes, no. 24 [author's text not yet checked 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 Carl Loewe (1796 - 1869), "Εις εαυτον", 1815?, also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in French (Français), a translation by Rémy Belleau (1527/8 - 1577) , "De vivre gayement" ; composed by Jacques-Michel Zoubaloff.
- Go to the text.
Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist , "An sich selbst" ; composed by Carl Loewe.
- Go to the text.

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

ENG English (Lawrence Sisk) , "On himself", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
FRE French (Français) (Ernest Falconnet) , "Sur lui-même", first published 1847

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 39

On himself

Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

As I, a mortal, happened
to travel the road of life,
I came to know time, which passed.
How far I still have to run, I do not know.
Release me, wine, from my cares;
Let them be nothing to me and you.
Before I reach the end
I shall play, laugh and dance
with the handsome Lyaeus.

Translator's note for line -1: Lyaeus is an epithet of Dionysus, who frees men from cares.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Greek (Ελληνικά) to English copyright © 2019 by Lawrence Sisk, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE), "Εις εαυτον", appears in Odes, no. 24
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-12-10
Line count: 9
Word count: 58