Thread: Russian Poetry
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Unread 07-08-2017, 12:13 AM
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Martin Rocek Martin Rocek is offline
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I'd love to know who did the translations!

BTW, depressing poetry is an old tradition--from the Greek Anthology (Dudley Fitts translation):

Theognis:

The best of all things it were, never to be born,
never to know the light of the strong sharp sun;
but being born,
the best of all is to pass as soon as may be
to Hades' gate,
to hades' gate there to lie dead,
lost, locked beneath the world's huge weight.

Kallimachos:

Timon, since you are dead,
which do you hate more, the darkness or the light?
The darkness, man:
The darkness, manthere are more of you here in Hell.

Ptolemaios:

Ask neither my name nor my country, passers-by:
My sole wish is that all of you may die.

Palladas:

In silence walk your wretched span; in silence
be like Time, that passes silently.
And live unheeded:
And live unheeded: you shall be so, once dead.

Aaron, no doubt you have better translations of these!

Martin
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