University of Virginia Library

FRAGMENTS FROM SAPPHO.

I.

[Hesperus, thou bringest near]

Hesperus, thou bringest near
All that garish day
Scattered far away:
Thou bringest back the sheep,
Thou bringest back the goat,
Thou bringest back the children to their mother dear.

II.

[Sweet mother mine, I cannot weave my web]

Sweet mother mine, I cannot weave my web,
For I am faint with deep desire
For thinking of the youth I love.

III.

[Full-faced in the sky the moon was shining]

Full-faced in the sky the moon was shining,
The maidens were standing round the altar.

IV.

[All the stars that cluster around the moonlight]

All the stars that cluster around the moonlight
Back from sight their glittering faces cover,
Whensoe'er the earth at the full she lightens.

V.

[Thou shalt lie in the grave: never of thee mention or memory]

Thou shalt lie in the grave: never of thee mention or memory
Men shall hold in the long ages to come. Thou hast inherited
No Pierian flowers: down in the dark house of forgetfulness
Thou shalt go with the dim ghosts of the dead, flitting and vanishing.