Praxilla OF SICYON
Πράξιλλα
(c450bc)
Beware
(Ed 4)
Beware, my friend of the
scorpion
beneath every stone.
——————–
To Adonis
(Ed 1)
The most beautiful thing I miss
is the sun’s light
Second,
the bright stars
third,
the moon’s face
as well as the lovely gourds and the apples
and the wild pears
NOTE: The last line (in Greek) is the famous “wrong line.” Scholiasts and translators suggest that it is a silly thing to include gourds (or cucumbers) and pears in the same list of things “one misses most” which includes sunlight, bright stars and the moon’s face.
——————–
You look great
(Ed 5)
You look great through the window:
The head of a virgin
The waist of a well married woman.
——————
