Type 5030
(formerly typ/3084)

Ἄρξου χείρ μου ἀγαθή,
γράφε γράμματα καλά,
μὴ δαρθῇς καὶ λυπηθῇς
καὶ ὕστερον μετανοήσῃς.
Text source DBBE (based on occurrence ἄρξου χῆρ μου ἀγαθεὶ)
Text status Text completely known
Editorial status Not a critical text
Genre(s) Scribe-related epigram
Metre(s) Heptasyllable
Tag(s)
Translation(s) Begin, good hand of mine,
write beautiful letters,
so you are not beaten and hurt,
and later feel regret.
Language
English
Translator(s)
Maria Tomadaki, Lev Shadrin, Floris Bernard
Comment This epigram appears predominantly in late-/post-Byzantine manuscripts, where it often functions as a probatio pennae with multiple iterations and comprises from one to four verses. A number of occurrences feature a variant reading for verse 4: 'καὶ εἰς τὸν φόρον ἐντραπῇς ] τὸ φῶρον'.

The epigram also occurs in:
- the 18th-century manuscript Sofia, Cărkovno-istoričeski i archiven institut 860 (on the inner face of the upper cover, three times on f. 69r, on f. 69v and three times on f. 70v) (Getov 2014: 196);
- the 16th/17th-century manuscript Sofia, Cărkovno-istoričeski i archiven institut 881 (on f. 20v and f. 80v) (Getov 2014: 247).
Bibliography
Number of verses 4
Occurrence(s)
Acknowledgements

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Identification
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Last modified: 2024-04-03.