Paul the Silentiary
Paul the Silentiary Poems
Daphnis the piper, trembling 'neath the load
Of years, this crook, his feeble hand no more
Had force to wield, to Pan, the shepherd's god,
...
Galatea slammed her door
In my face, and furthermore
Added scorn thereto.
How is it that people say
...
How long, how long do ye still mean, mine eyes,
To drain the nectarous draught of Love divine?
Have not ye learned at last to be more wise
...
A that in youth had never been
The servant of the Paphian Queen,
I that in youth had never felt
The shafts of Eros pierce and melt,
...
A witching smile my Eumenis endears,
But mightier is the magic of her tears.
But yesterday, from some unthought-of cloud,
Came sudden gusts of sobs, her head was bowed
...
My name, my country, what are they to thee?
What, whether proud or base my pedigree?
Perhaps I far surpassed all other men;
...
These withered rendings of brow-wreathing rose;
These shattered cups, where no more foams and flows
Wine's strength; this tress of myrrh-anointed hair;
Lais, from Anaxagoras' despair
...
The hands that dealt death to the Medes
Were hewn off by axes as they rested
On the curved stern of the ship
Which was hastening away,
...
The painting does not justly show thy beauty,
And would it had had the power to portray
The sweet tones of thy melodious mouth,
...
Who hangs a garland on the rose?
How idle then the 'broidered vest,
And studded fillet on thy brows,
And pearls that fade upon thy breast;
...
I meant to bid thee, sweet, farewell,
But it was not to be;
I check the words I would have said,
And stay, my love, with thee.
...
Scarcely has the pencil
Portrayed the girl's eyes,
But not at all of her hair nor
The supreme lustre of her skin.
...
The third lamp of the lonely night
Wastes silently away;
It casts a feeble flickering light.
Oh! why doth she delay?
...
Paul the Silentiary Biography
Paul the Silentiary, also known as Paulus Silentiarius (Greek: Παῦλος ὁ Σιλεντιάριος, d. Constantinople, 575-580 AD), was a Greek poet. His contemporary, the historian and poet Agathias, describes him as a rich man and a 'Silentiary' or palace official of Justinian I at Constantinople. (This title has been taken to indicate that he was responsible for silence in the palace.) Paul is best known and most admired for his short poems in the classical tradition, about 80 of which have been preserved in the Greek Anthology. Forty of these are love poems. Two are replies to poems by Agathias; in another Paul laments the death of Damocharis of Cos, Agathias's favorite pupil. These short poems also contain interesting social information. He also composed in verse an ecphrasis or evocative account of Justinian's cathedral of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia), describing its architecture and decoration after the reconstruction of the dome in 562. Paul sees the church as a 'meadow' of many-coloured marbles, and helps us to imagine the church before its many subsequent remodellings. The poem was probably commissioned by Justinian himself, and Paul had to read verses to the emperor through the inauguration. It consists of 1029 verses in Greek, starting with 134 lines of iambic trimeter, with the remainder in the classical meter of epic, dactylic hexameter. He also wrote a poem about the hot springs at Pythia. Paul died some time between 575 and 580.)
The Best Poem Of Paul the Silentiary
Daphnis the Piper
Daphnis the piper, trembling 'neath the load
Of years, this crook, his feeble hand no more
Had force to wield, to Pan, the shepherd's god,
Here offers up; his shepherd labours o'er.
His pipe he still can sweetly sound; and still
Strong his voice, although his body's weak;
But look ye, swains, yon wolves upon the hill
Ne'er of my feebleness o'erhear ye speak.
translated by Goldwin Smith
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