by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE)
Translation by Mary Barnard (1909 - 2001)
ἢ ὥσπερ Σαπφώ•
Language: Aeolic Greek
ἢ ὥσπερ Σαπφώ• ὅτι τὸ ἀποθνῄσκειν κακόν• οἱ θεοὶ γὰρ οὕτω κεκρίκασιν• ἀπέθνησκον γὰρ ἄν.
About the headline (FAQ)
Aristotle quotes the poet SapphoText Authorship:
- by Sappho (flourished c610-c580 BCE), appears in Fragments, no. 201 [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Mary Barnard) , "We know this much", appears in Sappho: A New Translation, no. 87
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-27
Line count: 4
Word count: 15
We know this much
Language: English after the Aeolic Greek
Death is an evil; we have the gods' word for it; they too would die if death were a good thing
Confirmed with Mary Barnard, Sappho; A New Translation, Berkeley : University of California Press, 2019
Text Authorship:
- by Mary Barnard (1909 - 2001), "We know this much", appears in Sappho: A New Translation, no. 87 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
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 ]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-03-27
Line count: 5
Word count: 21