Living
Maxims of Theognis: Would it was allowed, Academus
Translated by Rev. J. Banks (Bohn, 1856) · From Hesiod, Callimachus and Theognis (Bohn, 1856)
Would it was allowed, Academus, that thou shouldst chant a lovely hymn, and that a slave in the fair flower of youth might be the prize proposed to thee and me contending on the score of skill—then shouldst thou know how much better are mules than asses.
This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.
Codex Note
Literal prose translation by the Rev. J. Banks (Bohn, 1856), printed as prose: the plain-sense companion to Frere’s verse version. Banks’s hyphenated compounds are his own.
Cite this poem
MLA
Megara, Theognis of. “Maxims of Theognis: Would it was allowed, Academus.” Translated by Rev. J. Banks. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/theognis/307/.
Chicago
Megara, Theognis of. “Maxims of Theognis: Would it was allowed, Academus.” Translated by Rev. J. Banks. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/theognis/307/.
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