Book IV, 1: The Stephanus of Meleager

To whom, dear Muse, dost thou bring these varied fruits of song, or who was it who wrought this garland of poets? The work was Meleager’s, and he laboured thereat to give it as a keepsake to glorious Diocles. Many lilies of Anyte he inwove, and many of Moero, of Sappho few flowers, but they are roses ; narcissus, too, heavy with the clear song of Melanippides and a young branch of the vine of Simonides ; and therewith he wove in the sweet-scented lovely iris of Nossis, the wax for whose writing-tablets Love himself melted; and with it marjoram from fragrant Rhianus, and Erinna’s sweet crocus, maiden-hued, the hyacinth of Alcaeus, the vocal poets’ flower, and a dark-leaved branch of Samius’ laurel. and the graceful poplar leaves of Tymnes, the green serpolet of Nicias and the spurge of Euphemus that grows on the sands; Damagetus, the dark violet, too, and the sweet myrtle of Callimachus, ever full of harsh honey: and Euphorion’s lychnis and the Muses’ cyclamen which takes its name from the twin sons of Zeus. And with these he inwove Hegesippus’ maenad clusters and Perseus’ aromatic rush, the sweet apple also from the boughs of Diotimus and the first flowers of Menecrates’ pomegranate, branches of Nicaenetus’ myrrh, and Phaennus’ terebinth, and the tapering wild pear of Simmias; and from the meadow where grows her perfect celery he plucked but a few blooms of Parthenis to inweave with the yellow-eared corn gleaned from Bacchylides, fair fruit on which the honey of the Muses drops. He plaited in too Anacreon’s sweet lyric song, and a bloom that may not be sown in verse”; and the flower of Archilochus’ crisp-haired cardoon—a few drops from the ocean; and therewith young shoots of Alexander’s olive and the blue corn-flower of Polyclitus ; the amaracus of Polystratus, too, he inwove, the poet’s flower, and a fresh scarlet gopher from Antipater, and the Syrian spikenard of Hermodorus ; he added the wild field-flowers of Posidippus and Hedylus, and the anemones of Sicelides; yea, verily, and the golden bough of Plato, ever divine, all asheen with virtue; and Aratus therewith did he set on, wise in starlore, cutting the first-born branches from a heaven-seeking palm; and the fairtressed lotus of Chaeremon mingled with Phaedimus’ phlox, and Antagoras’ sweetly-turning oxeye, and Theodoridas’ newly flowered thyme that loveth wine, and the blossom of Phanias’ bean and the newly written buds of many others, and with all these the still early white violets of his own Muse. To my friends I make the gift, but this sweet-voiced garland of the Muses is common to all the initiated.