Living
Venetian Epigram 1: Urn and sarcophagus erst were with life adorn'd by the heathen
Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Venetian Epigrams
URN and sarcophagus erst were with life adorn'd by the heathen
Fauns are dancing around, while with the Bacchanal troop
Chequerd circles they trace; and the goat-footed, puffy-cheekd player
Wildly produceth hoarse tones out of the clamorous horn.
Cymbals and drums resound; we see and we hear, too, the marble.
Fluttering bird! oh how sweet tastes the ripe fruit to thy bill!
Noise there is none to disturb thee, still less to scare away Amor,
Who, in the midst of the throng, learns to delight in his torch.
Thus doth fullness overcome death; and the ashes there cover'd
Seem, in that silent domain, still to be gladdend with life.
Thus may the minstrel's sarcophagus be hereafter surrounded
With such a scroll, which himself richly with life has adorn'd.
Cite this poem
MLA
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 1: Urn and sarcophagus erst were with life adorn'd by the heathen.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/301/.
Chicago
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 1: Urn and sarcophagus erst were with life adorn'd by the heathen.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/301/.
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