Love
Book XII, 18
Translated by W. R. Paton (1916–18) · From The Greek Anthology (Loeb, vol. IV, 1918)
Love
Unhappy they whose life is loveless; for without love it is not easy to do aught or to say aught. I, for example, am now all too slow, but were I to catch sight of Xenophilus I would fly swifter than lightning. Therefore I bid all men not to shun but to pursue sweet desire; Love is the whetstone of the soul.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Cite this poem
MLA
Mitylene, Alpheius of. “Book XII, 18.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/alpheius/9/.
Chicago
Mitylene, Alpheius of. “Book XII, 18.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/alpheius/9/.
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