This past Sunday was Palm Sunday. Don't worry; there's a poem for that. We once again return to Book 1 of The Greek Anthology. Poem 1.52 is a two-line epigram in dactylic hexameters on Palm Sunday, and I have turned it into six lines of rhymed iambic tetrameters. The...
Translations
“The Light That Gives Us Heaven”: A Greek Epigram on Paul
Here, have a new poem. (And the last one, if you like.) Today we have Greek Anthology 1.79, on the Apostle Paul. As usual, I include the Greek text according to the Loeb edition, the Loeb translation, and my poetic version, which is in alternating iambic pentameters...
“By God’s Gifts and the Widow’s Faith”: An Epigram on Elijah
Been a while; new poem today. In this post, I translate Greek Anthology 1.77, on 1 Kings 17, in which Elijah is fed by the widow. For anyone who heard John 6:1-15 for yesterday's Gospel reading, the theme will be familiar. The original is a single elegiac couplet. My...
“One Song of Angels and of Men”: A Greek Epigram
This week we're looking at another two-line epigram in elegiacs from Book 1 of the Greek Anthology. The titulus tells us it is about "the shepherds and the angels" praising Christ's Nativity, though "shepherds" are not mentioned by name in the epigram itself. Below I...
“Brought to Heel by Pen Alone”: Beza’s Poem for St. Martin’s Day
St. Philip's Day was two days ago, and I posted a translation of Theodore Beza's poem in honor of Melanchthon. Today, St. Martin's Day, I give you another--a poem by Beza on Martin Luther. (It is worth noting in passing that Beza was one of the most accomplished...
Happy 525th, St. Philip
Today is the 525th anniversary of Philip Melanchthon's birth in 1497. Here's a poem to celebrate. The poem, a tribute to Melanchthon after his death--that is, his heavenly birthday--is by Theodore Beza and comes from his Icones, a set of tributes to Reformers from...
“With Noiseless Footstep Coming Down”: Another Greek Christian Epigram
It's Monday, and we're back with another poem from Book 1 of the Greek Anthology. This week's poem, Greek Anthology 1.37, is a two line epigram consisting of a single elegiac couplet on the birth of Christ. (A little out of season, perhaps; but, then again, the...
Bucer to Bullinger (10): On the Gauls
Starting a new section today in Bucer's 1535 letter to Bullinger, on that perennially vexed question of Franco-German relations. Bucer on the Gauls Concerning our response to the Gauls: For me, in Christ there is neither Gaul nor German, and it is not permitted to...
“O Fellow-Throned”: A Greek Poem-Prayer to Christ
It's been a little while since I translated a poem from the first book of the Greek Anthology. So here's another one--a hymn of praise and prayer to Christ. First is the Greek text as found in the Loeb (volume 67), followed by the Loeb translation (in prose) by W.R....
Bucer to Bullinger (9): On a Council
Below is the rest of the section on the possibility of a council from Martin Bucer's 1535 letter to Bullinger and Leo Jud. The new material begins with "If the Lord has accomplished such things...". Bucer on a Council Concerning a council: A long time ago, under the...