Death & Dying
Book XIII, 21
Translated by W. R. Paton (1916–18) · From The Greek Anthology (Loeb, vol. V, 1918)
This is the tomb of Mnasalcas of Plataeae, the writer of elegies. His Muse was a fragment torn from Simonides’ page, loud-voiced but empty, a bombastic spout of dithyrambs. He is dead; let us not cast stones at him; but if he were alive, he would be blowing as loud as a drum beats.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Codex Note
Paton’s metre label: ‘Complete iambic trimeters followed by dimeters from the hyporchematic pentameter’.
Cite this poem
MLA
Theodoridas. “Book XIII, 21.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/theodoridas/17/.
Chicago
Theodoridas. “Book XIII, 21.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/theodoridas/17/.
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