Greek · AI translation
Callimachus, Epigrams
English for the 1 passage of this work that the Atlas of Ancient Myth, Magic in the Ancient Texts and a study of demons and angels quote or cite, and which the library holds in no published English. The numbers are the edition's own references.
45.3–46.6
ἦλθεν ὁ βοῦς ὑπʼ ἄροτρον ἑκούσιος. εὖ γʼ, ἐμὸς Ἑρμῆς,
the ox came under the plough of its own accord. Well done, my Hermes,
εὖ γʼ, ἐμός· οὐ παρὰ τὰς εἴκοσι μεμφόμεθα.
well done, mine! I do not complain about the twenty [days].
ως ἀγαθὰν Πολύφαμος ἀνεύρετο τὰν ἐπαοιδάν
What a good charm Polyphemus discovered
τὠραμένωι· ναὶ Γᾶν, οὐκ ἀμαθὴς ὁ Κύκλωψ·
for the lover! By Earth, the Cyclops was no fool.
αἱ Μοῦσαι τὸν ἔρωτα κατισχαίνοντι Φίλιππε·
The Muses shrink love, Philip;
ἦ πανακὲς πάντων φάρμακον ἁ σοφία.
truly, skill is the all-healing remedy for everything.
τοῦτο, δοκέω, χἀ λιμὸς ἔχει μό͂νον ἐς τὰ πονηρά
Hunger too, I think, has this one thing, set against its evils,
τὠγαθόν· ἐκκόπτει τὰν φιλόπαιδα νόσον.
as its good: it cuts out the sickness of loving boys.
Translator's note. The first two lines close the preceding epigram; 'the twenty' presumably refers to days, between the dates given in its opening lines. 'Skill' renders sophia, which can also mean wisdom or poetic art.
The whole original: Perseus's Scaife Viewer.