Sep 12, 2018
A Bard Starts Out
[Vergil], Catalepton 15
Note: This epigram was appended to the end of the Catalepton by an unknown editor to assert Vergil’s authorship of the collection. “The bard/Of Syracuse” = Theocritus.
He who was sweeter than the bard Of Syracuse, who outdid Hesiod, Who did not yield to Homer’s speech- To this divine poet these works too Belong – his first attempts, a Muse Unpolished in her varied songs. Vate Syracosio qui dulcior, Hesiodoque maior, Homereo non minor ore fuit, illius haec quoque sunt divini elementa poetae, et rudis in vario carmine Calliope.
Ancient Roman mosaic depicting Vergil. Now in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Germany. Photo credit: QuartierLatin1968/Wikimedia Commons.
