A mighty runner | The day when Charmus ran with five

by Nicarchus (flourished 1^st century)

Translation by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869 - 1935)

εἰς δρομέας

Language: Greek (Ελληνικά)

πέντε μετ᾽ ἄλλων Χάρμος ἐν Ἀρκαδίᾳ δολιχεύων, 
θαῦμα μέν, ἀλλ᾽ ὄντως ἕβδομος ἐξέπεσεν. 
‘ἓξ ὄντων’, τάχ᾽ ἐρεῖς, ‘πῶς ἕβδομος ;’ εἷς φίλος αὐτοῦ, 
‘ θάρσει, Χάρμε,’ λέγων, ἦλθεν ἐν ἱματίῳ. 
ἕβδομος οὖν οὕτω παραγίνεται: εἰ δ᾽ ἔτι πέντε 
εἶχε φίλους, ἦλθ᾽ ἄν, Ζωίλε, δωδέκατος.

Confirmed with The Greek Anthology. with an English Translation by W. R. Paton, London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1926, book 11, poem 82.

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Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Nicarchus (flourished 1^st century), "εἰς δρομέας" [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 Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869 - 1935) , "A mighty runner", appears in Captain Craig, in Variations of Greek Themes, no. 2, first published 1902 ; composed by Frank Lewin.

Researcher for this page: Andrew Schneider [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2018-07-14
Line count: 6
Word count: 44

A mighty runner

Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

The day when Charmus ran with five
In Arcady, as I'm alive,
He came in seventh. -- "Five and one
Make seven, you say? It can't be done." --
Well, if you think it needs a note,
A friend in a fur overcoat
Ran with him, crying all the while,
"You'll beat 'em, Charmus, by a mile!"
And so he came in seventh.
Therefore, good Zoilus, you see
The thing is plain as plain can be;
And with four more for company,
He would have been eleventh.

Text Authorship:

by Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869 - 1935), "A mighty runner", appears in Captain Craig, in Variations of Greek Themes, no. 2, first published 1902 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Nicarchus (flourished 1^st century), "εἰς δρομέας"
- 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 Frank Lewin (1925 - 2008), "A mighty runner", published 1975 [mezzo-soprano or contralto, flute, viola, harp, and piano], from Variations of Greek Themes, no. 2. [
text verified 1 time
]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-17
Line count: 13
Word count: 85