Database of Byzantine Book Epigrams

Type 3097
(formerly typ/1214)

	Τὴν βίβλον, ἣν στίλβουσαν, ἄνθρωπε, βλέπεις
	τῶν χρυσολαμπῶν γραμμάτων τῇ συνθέσει,
	Εὐαγγελιστῶν ἡ διπλῆ δυὰς γράφει.
	Τί τοῦτο; διπλοῦς ζωγραφοῦσα τοὺς νόμους
	τὸν τῆς Παλαιᾶς καὶ Νέας. Πλὴν τὴν χάριν,
	ἣν τῇ Νέᾳ δίδωσιν, ἐξαίρει πλέον,
	κοσμῶν ὁ χρυσὸς τῇ γραφῇ τοῦ Βιβλίου,
	ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα, πολλαχῶς ἐσπαρμένα,
	εἰς ἓν συνάψας ἐκ πόθου πολλοῦ Λέων,
	ψυχαῖς τρυφὴν δίδωσι τὴν καθ᾽ ἡμέραν·
	ἀνθ᾽ ὧν ἐκεῖθεν, σῆς τρυφῆς γεγευμένος,
	Βίβλῳ γραφείη τῶν ἀεὶ ζώντων, Λόγε.

Text source	D. Chabiaras 1916, Οἱ Βυζαντινοὶ αὐτοκράτορες Θεοδόσιος ὁ μικρὸς καὶ Λέων ὁ Σοφός: ἔξοχοι καλλιγραφεῖς, Ἐπετηρὶς τοῦ Φιλολογικοῦ Συλλόγου Παρνασσός, 12, 189-209: 199-200
Text status	Text completely known
Editorial status	Not a critical text
Genre(s)	Reader-related epigram Scribe-related epigram Text-related epigram
Metre(s)	Dodecasyllable
Subject(s)	Four Evangelists
Tag(s)	Beauty of the book Dedication Introduction to the subject
Critical Notes	12 λόγων Benesevic
Translation(s)	Man, the book that you are looking at shines with the arrangement of the golden-glowing letters. It is written by the double dyad of the Evangelists. Language English Comment Partial translation: vv. 1-3
Bibliography	Primary G. Askitis 1947, Περιγραφὴ παλαιογραφικὴ, Δωδεκανησιακὴ Ἐπιθεώρησις, 1, 136-138: 137 V. Beneševič, 1911, Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum graecorum qui in monasterio Sanctae Catharinae in monte asservantur. Codices manuscripti notabiliores bibliothecae monasterii Sinaitici ejusque metochii Cahirensis, ab archimandrita Porphyrio (Uspenskio) descripti (vol. 1), Saint-Petersburg: 119 R. Ricceri 2026, Text and Image, Text as Image: The Beauty of the Book in Byzantine Book Epigrams, in M. Cutino, F. Stella (eds.), Versus ad picturas. Text/Image Relation in Greek, Latin and Arabic Poetry, Berlin, 243-263: 247
Number of verses	12
Occurrence(s)	[18884] Τὴν βίβλον, ἣν στίλβουσαν, ἄνθρωπε, βλέπεις [10th-11th c.] RHODOS - Historiko Archeio Dodekanêsou 2 [10th-11th c.] (f. 217v) (12 verses)
Acknowledgements	Contributor(s) Maria Tomadaki, Rachele Ricceri, Anne-Sophie Rouckhout The credits system has been implemented in 2019. Credits from before the new system was in use might be incomplete.
Identification	Vassis ICB 2005, 729: "Librarii subscriptio"
Permalink	http://www.dbbe.ugent.be/types/3097

Last modified: 2026-03-24.

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