ἢ ὥσπερ Σαπφώ• 
ὅτι τὸ ἀποθνῄσκειν κακόν• 
οἱ θεοὶ γὰρ οὕτω κεκρίκασιν• 
ἀπέθνησκον γὰρ ἄν.

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Aristotle quotes the poet Sappho

Text 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 ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in English, a translation by Mary Barnard (1909 - 2001) , "We know this much", appears in Sappho: A New Translation, no. 87, first published 1958, copyright © ; composed by Eric Hudes.
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Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-04-05
Line count: 4
Word count: 15