Night | O Night, O Night, O sleepless tossing, longing for Heliodora!

by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE)

Translation by Dudley Fitts (1903 - 1968)

ὦ Νύξ, ὦ φιλάγρυπνος ἐμοὶ πόθος...

Language: Greek (Ελληνικά)

ὦ Νύξ, ὦ φιλάγρυπνος ἐμοὶ πόθος Ἡλιοδώρας,
καὶ † σκολιῶν ὄρθρων κνίσματα δακρυχαρῆ,
ἆρα μένει στοργῆς ἐμὰ λείψανα, καὶ τὸ φίλημα
μνημόσυνον ψυχρᾷ θάλπετ᾽ ἐν εἰκασίᾳ;
ἆρά γ᾽ ἔχει σύγκοιτα τὰ δάκρυα, κἀμὸν ὄνειρον
ψυχαπάτην στέρνοις ἀμφιβαλοῦσα φιλεῖ;
ἢ νέος ἄλλος ἔρως, νέα παίγνια; μήποτε, λύχνε,
ταῦτ᾽ ἐσίδῃς, εἴης δ᾽ ἧς παρέδωκα φύλαξ.

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The Greek Anthology. With an English Translation by. W. R. Paton, London, William Heinemann, Ltd., 1916, No. 166.

Show a transliteration: DIN | ISO 843

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE) [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 Dudley Fitts (1903 - 1968) ; composed by Geoffrey Bush.
Also set in French (Français), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Charles-Gaston Levadé.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2020-01-15
Line count: 8
Word count: 53

Night

Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

O Night, O Night, O sleepless tossing, longing for Heliodora!
Poor eyes hot with tears in the lingering white dawn!
Is she lonely too? is she dreaming of how I kissed her.
And dreaming so, does she turn to kiss the dream of me?
Or a new love? a newer toy?
Forbid it, lamp! See it never!
Did I not set you to guard her? Forbid it!
O Night, O Night, O sleepless tossing, longing for Heliodora!

Text Authorship:

by Dudley Fitts (1903 - 1968) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE)
- 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 Geoffrey Bush (1920 - 1998), "Night", 1964 [ baritone and piano ], from Seven Greek Love Songs, no. 5, Confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-09-16
Line count: 8
Word count: 77