Mythology & Folklore
Book XIII, 29
Translated by W. R. Paton (1916–18) · From The Greek Anthology (Loeb, vol. V, 1918)
Wine is a swift horse to the poet who would charm, but, drinking water, thou shalt give birth to naught that is clever. This Cratinus said, Dionysus, and breathed the perfume not of one bottle but of all the cask; therefore was he great, loaded with crowns, and his forehead, like thine, was yellow with the ivy.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Codex Note
Paton’s metre label: ‘An iambic trimeter following a hexameter’.
Cite this poem
MLA
Nicaenetus. “Book XIII, 29.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/nicaenetus/2/.
Chicago
Nicaenetus. “Book XIII, 29.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/nicaenetus/2/.
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