In the Spring a Young Man's Fancy | Now the white iris blossoms, and the rain-loving narcissus

by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE)

Translation by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939)

ἤδη λευκόιον θάλλει, θάλλει δὲ φίλομβρος

Language: Greek (Ελληνικά)

ἤδη λευκόιον θάλλει, θάλλει δὲ φίλομβρος
νάρκισσος, θάλλει δ᾽ οὐρεσίφοιτα κρίνα
ἤδη δ᾽ ἡ φιλέραστος, ἐν ἄνθεσιν ὥριμον ἄνθος,
Ζηνοφίλα Πειθοῦς ἡδὺ τέθηλε ῥόδον.
λειμῶνες, τί μάταια κόμαις ἔπι φαιδρὰ γελᾶτε;
ἁ γὰρ παῖς κρέσσων ἁδυπνόων στεφάνων.

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Text Authorship:

by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE), Epigram 5.144 [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):

[ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939) , "In the Spring a Young Man's Fancy" ; composed by Amy Elise Horrocks.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-07-25
Line count: 6
Word count: 37

Now the white iris blossoms, and the...

Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

Now the white iris blossoms, and the rain-loving narcissus,
And now again the lily, the mountain-roaming, blows.
Now too, the flower of lovers, the crown of all the springtime,
Zenophila the winsome, doth blossom with the rose.
O meadows, wherefore vainly in your radiant garlands laugh ye?
Since fairer is the maiden than any flower that grows!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

by Alma Strettell (1856 - 1939), "In the Spring a Young Man's Fancy" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE), Epigram 5.144
- 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):

by Amy Elise Horrocks (1867 - 1919), "In the spring-time", 1899, published 1899 [ voice and piano ], from Six Greek Love Songs, no. 2, London : Boosey & Co. [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-07-25
Line count: 6
Word count: 57