possibly by Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE)
Translation by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Away, away, ye men of rules
Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)
Away, away, ye men of rules, What have I do with schools? They'd make me learn, they'd make me think, But would they make me love and drink? Teach me this, and let me swim My soul upon the goblet's brim; Teach me this, and let me twine Some fond, responsive heart to mine, For, age begins to blanch my brow, I've time for naught but pleasure now. Fly, and cool, my goblet's glow At yonder fountain's gelid flow; I'll quaff, my boy, and calmly sink This soul to slumber as I drink. Soon, too soon, my jocund slave, You'll deck your master's grassy grave; And there's an end--for ah, you know They drink but little wine below!
About the headline (FAQ)
Moore's note: "This is doubtless the work of a more modern poet than Anacreon; for at the period when he lived rhetoricians were not known."--DEGEN.
Though this ode is found in the Vatican manuscript, I am much inclined to
agree in this argument against its authenticity: for though the dawnings
of the art of rhetoric might already have appeared, the first who gave it
any celebrity was. Corax of Syracuse, and he flourished in the century
after Anacreon.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852), "Ode LII", appears in Odes of Anacreon, no. 52 [an adaptation] [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) possibly by Anacreon (c582BCE - c485BCE)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "Away, away, you men of rules", 1869-1878, published 1880 [ voice and piano ], from Three Odes of Anacreon, no. 1, London: Augener [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-04-20
Line count: 18
Word count: 118