Social Commentaries
On a Thief
Translated by William Cowper · From Translations
Social Commentaries
When Aulus, the nocturnal thief, made prize
Of Hermes, swift-wing'd envoy of the skies,
Hermes, Arcadia's king, the thief divine,
Who, when an infant, stole Apollo's kine,
And whom, as arbiter and overseer
Of our gymnastic sports we planted here,
Hermes! he cried, you meet no new disaster;
Ofttimes the pupil goes beyond his master.
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Codex Note
Translated from the Greek.
Cite this poem
MLA
Cowper, William. “On a Thief.” Translated by William Cowper. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/cowper/396/.
Chicago
Cowper, William. “On a Thief.” Translated by William Cowper. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/cowper/396/.
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