top of page

Literal Translation:

By chance oxen were cultivating the soil with the pressed plowshare, not far away from this place many brawny farmers providing produce, dig up hard farmland with sweat, 

​

The farmers, seeing the savage crowd, abandon the work and the tools of themselves, and their hoes and heavy rakes and long spades lay down strewn about the empty field

​

After the savage crowd had seized these things and torn apart cows with threatening horns, they hastened back toward the death of the poet, the wicked destroy him, outstretching his hands, saying useless things, for the first time not moving anyone with his voice

​

Through those lips (O Great Jupiter!) heard by rocks, and understood by the senses of wild beasts, exhaling life breath departed in the air

​

The sorrowful birds, the crowd of animals, the hard stones, the forests having often followed your songs, grieved you, Orpheus

​

The trees mourned you with branches laid down, having been cut with respect to their foliage 

They say, also, rivers are to have swelled with their tears, and naiads worse, and Dryads too, are too have worn their linen garments hidden beneath a dark robe and hair disheveled

​

Limbs lay in different places, you, Hebrus, received the head and the lyre: and (a miracle!) while floating in the middle of the river, the sorrowful lyre lamented, I do not know what; the lifeless tongue murmured mournfully, mournfully the banks of the river replied

​

Now, carried into the sea, they left the native river and reached the shore of Lesbos at Methymna; a wild snake attacked the exposed head of Orpheus by foreign sands, its hair dripping scattered dew

​

At last, Phoebus appeared and prevented the preparing bites, and hardened the gaping mouth of the serpent into stone, and froze the hardened opening as it was

​

The shade went under the lands, who had seen these places before and remembering all, looked through the fields of the blessed, searching for Eurydice, embracing her with desiring arms

​

Presently, these both walk with equal step, now she surpasses and he follows, now he leads, surpassing her, 

​

Looking back safely, at his Eurydice.

bottom of page