Epigram | If thou should'st fly from me farther than Ethiopia's island

Translation by Jane Minot Sedgwick (b. 1859)

εἰ καὶ τηλοτέρω Μερόης τεὸν ἴχνος...

Language: Greek (Ελληνικά)

εἰ καὶ τηλοτέρω Μερόης τεὸν ἴχνος ἐρείσεις,
πτηνὸς Ἔρως πτηνῷ κεῖσε μένει με φέρει. 
εἰ καὶ ἐς ἀντολίην πρὸς ὁμόχροον ἵξεαι Ἠῶ,
πεζὸς ἀμετρήτοις ἕψομαι ἐν σταδίοις.
εἰ δέ τι σοι στέλλω βύθιον γέρας, ἵλαθι, κούρη.
εἰς σὲ θαλασσαίη τοῦτο φέρει Παφίη, ^
κάλλεϊ νικηθεῖσα τεοῦ χροὸς ἱμερόεντος,
τὸ πρὶν ἐπ᾽ ἀγλαΐῃ θάρσος ἀπωσαμένη.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Greek Anthology. with an English Translation by. W. R. Paton. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1916. 1.

Show a transliteration: DIN | ISO 843

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Paul the Silentiary (d. 575?80) [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 Jane Minot Sedgwick (b. 1859) , "Epigram", appears in Songs from the Greek ; composed by Liza Lehmann.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-08-14
Line count: 8
Word count: 54

If thou should'st fly from me farther...

Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

If thou should'st fly from me farther than Ethiopia's island, 
Love would lend me his wings thither to bear me to thee; 
If thou should'st reach the clear dawn, like thee all rosy and glowing,
Though the vast space intervene thee would I follow afoot.
And if I send thee this pearl of the ocean, receive it with kindness,
Gift of the goddess fair, sprung from the foam of the sea;
Who no longer exults in the pride of her beauty excelling, 
Seeing herself surpassed, maiden, in brightness by thee.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Songs from the Greek. Translated by Jane Minot Sedgwick, New York: George H. Richmond & Co., 1896, page 49.

Text Authorship:

by Jane Minot Sedgwick (b. 1859), "Epigram", appears in Songs from the Greek [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Paul the Silentiary (d. 575?80)
- 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 Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "If thou should'st fly from me farther than Ethiopia's Island", published 1901 [ voice and piano ], from Cameos : Five Greek Love-Songs, no. 3, London : Enoch & Sons [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-08-14
Line count: 8
Word count: 90