Type 30502
| Ἄνασσα Πόλις στέναξον, ἀπόθου σου τὸ στέφος, | |
| ἄθροισον τὸ πολίτευμα κλαῦσαι σου τὸν δεσπότην· | |
| τοῦτο ἡ ματαιότης. | |
| Βάθος κριμάτων ἄληπτον τῶν σῶν, ἥλιε Λόγε, | |
| ὅτι τὸν κάτω ἥλιον συνέστειλας τοῦ φέγγειν. | |
| θρηνῶ σε, δέσποτα Λέων. | |
| Γηγενὴς ἅπας πέφυκε καὶ βασιλεὺς καὶ πένης, | |
| ὅθεν οὐδεὶς ἐκφεύξεται τὸν ἐπώδυνον τάφον. | |
| θρηνῶ σε, δέσποτα Λέων. | |
| Δροσερὸν οἷα ῥόδον σε ἡ πορφυρὶς βλαστάνει, | |
| ὡς ἴον ἐν τοῖς ἄνθεσιν, ὡς κρίνον ἐν τοῖς κήποις. | |
| θρηνῶ σε, δέσποτα Λέων. | |
| Τί μοι στυγνάζεις, ἥλιε, τί ζοφερὸν ἀνίσχεις; | |
| πάντως, ὅτι τὸν Λέοντα τὸν ἄνακτα οὐ βλέπεις, | |
| <Ἐ>ν ἁλουργίδι ἥλιον, ἐν βασιλείοις ἄστρον, | |
| ἐν λόγοις φέγγος ἄδυτον, ἐν χάριτι φωσφόρον. | |
| <Ζ>άλην ψυχῶν ἐκοίμιζες τοῖς πραέσι σου λόγοις· | |
| ἦθος σεμνὸν ἐδίδασκες τῷ ταπεινῷ σου ἔθει· | |
| Ἤπιος ὤν, ἐφύλαττες καὶ βασιλέως τρόπους, | |
| ἐν δὲ τῇ ταπεινώσει σου τὸ ὕψος σου ἐδείκνυς. | |
| Θαύμασον ὕμνον ἅπαντα καὶ αἴνων μελῳδίαν, | |
| ἕως ἂν τοῦ δεσπότου μου τοὺς ὕμνους ἐνωτίσῃ. | |
| Τί μοι, σελήνη, <ἔ>οικας νυκτὶ μεμελασμένῃ; | |
| πάντως, <ὅ>τι τὸν ἥλιον, τὸν Λέοντα, οὐ βλέπεις. | |
| <Ἰσ>οῦνται σου τὰ ῥεύματα τῶν λόγων τῇ θαλάσσῃ | |
| <ἡ λ>ύρα δὲ τῶν ὕμνων σου μέλιτος ἀποστάζει. | |
| <Κλ>αύσατε πάντες, κλαύσατε, τὸν πρᾶον βασι<λ>έα· | |
| τὸν συμπαθῆ καὶ ἥσυχον κλαύσατε καὶ οἱ λίθοι. | |
| <Λέω>ν καθάπερ ἔβλεπες ἀτενῶς τὸν δεσπότην· | |
| <Καὶ> στεναγμῶν βρυχήματι ἐχθρῶν κατεστρατήγεις. | |
| <Μετ>ὰ μαργάρων δάκρυα, μετὰ χρυ<σ>οῦ πραότης· | |
| ἔβλεπες καὶ ἐθαύμα<ζ>ες, καὶ μᾶλλον ἐξεπλήττου. | |
| Τί μοι <καὶ> πόλος ἄναστρος ἀπὸ νεφῶν σπιλάδος; | |
| <τάχ>α λιβὰς ἐπύκνωσε δακρύων <τὸ>ν αἰθέρα. | |
| <Νομ>ίνῳ συναφείᾳ τε καὶ οὐκ ἀθέσμῳ γάμῳ | |
| <ἡ> φύσις ἀνεβάλλετο παιδὸς ἄρρενος τόκον· | |
| ὢ βάθος θεοῦ κριμάτων. | |
| <Ξέν>ον, ἀλλ' οὕτως ἔδοξε τῇ ἄνωθεν προνοίᾳ. | |
| ἐν παραβάσει νόμου τε ὁ παῖς ἀπογεννᾶται. | |
| <Ὁ νό>μος εἰ καὶ ἤργησε, πάλιν ἐνομοθέτει· | |
| τῷ ἱερῷ κανόνι δέ, τὸ κρίνειν παρεχώρει. | |
| ὢ βάθος θεοῦ κριμάτων. | |
| <Πλ>ύνεται τοῦ μιάσματος ῥεύμασι τῶν δακρύων, | |
| καὶ τῇ μητρὶ προσφύεται πάλιν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ. | |
| "Μὰ τὸν φωσφόρον ἥλιον," κύκλος σελήνης εἶπεν, | |
| "ἤθελον τὸν ὑπέρλαμπρον ἀκμὴν Λέοντα βλέπειν." | |
| <Ῥέ>ουσι σάρκες ἅπασαι φυσικῶν ἐξ ἀνθράκων, | |
| <ἵ>να ῥυτὶς ἢ μόλυσμα ψυχῆς μὴ ἔνδον μείνῃ. | |
| Σκήπτρων εὐθὺς διάδοχος, πατρόθεν βασιλεύων, | |
| ὁ τῆς πορφύρας ἥλιος Ἀλέξανδρος ἀνίσχει. | |
| <Τῷ> Ἀλεξάνδρῳ ἄνακτι ἀστὴρ συνανατέλλει, | |
| ὁ ἐξ ὀσφύος Λέοντος ὑπάρξας Κωνσταντῖνος. | |
| Ὕμνησον πόλις, ὕμνησον, τοὺς βασιλείου παίδας, | |
| οὗτοι γὰρ πορφυρίζουσι μᾶλλον σοῦ τὴν πορφύραν. | |
| Φησὶν ὁ μέγας κύριος· "Ἐν γενεᾷ δικαίων | |
| οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου βλέπουσι, καὶ οὗς ἐμὸν ἀκούσει." | |
| ὦ πόλις εὐτυχεστάτη. | |
| Χαῖρε μοι Λέων δέσποτα καὶ ἐν Ἅιδου κευθμῶσι, | |
| χαῖρε ψυχὴ ὁλόγλυκε, ἀγγέλοις συμφοιτῶσα· | |
| Ὡς βασιλέα ὕμνησον, ὡς φίλον, ὡς δεσπότην· | |
| σὺ δέ, κἂν μετὰ θάνατον, μέμνησο Κωνσταντίνου. | |
| χαῖρε μοι, δέσποτα Λέων. | |
| Βάλλετε γόους, βάλλετε, δάκρυσι μεμιγμένους, | |
| ὅλον τὸν τάφον πλήσατε τῶν ἐμῶν στεναγμάτων. | |
| τὰ πάντα ματαιότης. |
| Title(s) | ἀλφάβητος εἰς Λέοντα τὸν βασιλέα |
| Text source | I. Ševčenko 1969-1970, Poems on the Deaths of Leo VI and Constantine VII in the Madrid Manuscript of Scylitzes, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 23-24, 187-228: 201-203 |
| Text status | Text completely known |
| Editorial status | Critical text |
| Genre(s) | |
| Metre(s) | Decapentasyllable |
| Subject(s) | |
| Tag(s) | |
| Translation(s) |
O ruling City, wail; remove thy queen's crown from thy forehead; Thy citizens bid to convene and to bemoan thy ruler. O vanity triumphant! How wondrous deep thy judgments are, O Logos, Sun transcendent, In that thou hast the glorious light of lower sun extinguished. I mourn thee, Emperor Leo. Both king and pauper are alike, for both are earthly creatures; And thus no mortal will escape the woes of the sepulchre. I mourn thee, Emperor Leo. As purple's offspring wert thou born, a rosebud, fresh and dewy, A violet in the flowerbed, a lily in the garden. I mourn thee, Emperor Leo. O Sun, why is thy face in gloom, thy rise in mists enveloped? Methinks, because no longer doth thine eye behold Lord Leo, That sun in purple garb attired, star of the sacred palace, Of eloquence the shining light, the Morning Star of kindness. The turmoil in thy subjects' souls thy mild words would compose; And seemly manners didst thou teach by thine own gentle habits. For all thy mildness, thou didst keep a true imperial bearing And in thy pure humility didst show imperial grandeur. Reader, admire any hymns, any melodious praised, But only till thine ears hear songs about my Emp'ror Leo. O Moon, why art thou like unto the black night's deepest darkness? Methinks, because no longer dost thou see our sun, Lord Leo. Thy sermons' copious flow is like the vastness of the ocean; The hymns that issue from thy lyre are drops of sweetest honey. Lament, all men, lament the king, bewail our gentle ruler; Lament, hard stones, the one who was affectionate and peaceful. Unswerving, to the heav'nly Lord thy lion's gaze was fastened; The roar of thy repentant groans subdued thy foes in battle, Thy pearls thou mixedst with thy tears, thy gold, with human kindness; This to behold, one first admired and then was struck with wonder. Why is the sky without a star, with stormy clouds cast over? Methinks the rising flow of tears condensed the ether's thinness. From wedlock sanctioned by the Law, from non-illicit marriage, Nature kept tarrying to grant the birth of male descendant; O depth of our Lord's verdicts! Such strange pronouncement from on high by Providence was rendered. The child was born, but by this birth Law's bounds were violated; Thus Law was once suspended, but another was enacted, And Leo let the Canon Law its judgment freely render. O depth of our Lord's verdicts! His soul was cleared of sinful taint by streams of tears abundant; Into the fold of Mother Church again he was admitted. "By Sun's light-bringing radiance," Moon's orb was heard declaring, "I wish I still could look upon my sweetest Master Leo." His flesh by ulcers was reduced - ordeal this, wrought by Nature - So that no wrinkles and no taint would mar his soul eternal. Forthwith the heir to Leo's throne, of lineage imperial, The purple-clad sun doth arise: his name is Alexander. A star is rising side by side with Master Alexander: 'Tis Constantine, child issued from the loins of Emp'ror Leo. O City, sing, intone the praise of Basil's noble offspring, For they impart a deeper hue to thy imperial purple. - - Saith our Lord: "In the time of the righteous generation, My eye shall see, My ear shall hear, My face will turn toward them." Most fortunate Queen of Cities! My master Leo, hail to thee in hidden depths of Hades; To thee, hail, soul exceeding sweet, companion of the angels. - - Praise him as emperor, as friend and as a rightful ruler. And as for thee, even in death thy Constantine remember; hail to thee, Emperor Leo! Send forth, send forth a wailing cry with bitter sobs commingled, Let Leo's sepulchre be fraught with my sad lamentations. All is vanity's kingdom. |
| Comment | This type is preceded by five and a half 'verses' of which the metrical status is questionable, so we have decided not to include them as part of the epigram. See Ševčenko (1970: 201, 203). |
| Bibliography | |
| Number of verses | 69 |
| Occurrence(s) |
[30537] Ἄνασσα πόλις στέναξον, ἀπόθου σου τὸ στέφο(ς)
[12th c.]
MADRID - Biblioteca Nacional Vitr. 26-2 (olim N.2) [12th c.] (f. 116v) (65 verses) |
| Acknowledgements |
Creator(s)
Contributor(s)
The credits system has been implemented in 2019. Credits from before the new system was in use might be incomplete. |
| Identification | Vassis ICB 2005, 44: "In obitum Leonis VI imp. sec. alphabetum" |
| Permalink | https://www.dbbe.ugent.be/types/30502 |
Last modified: 2021-12-08.
