en en en en en en en es it la la la la es la en la la la ro la la la la la it it en la la la la en it en la en en ru en la pt lt en en es en en en en en en en en en lt en en en la la fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en ru en en en en en en en fr pt en it en ca it en de it fr it en de en fr it it it en en en it en de pt la ceb ceb it it en sv en en ca nl sv sv en fr it en en it it it en de en en en en en fr it pt en fr en de pt en it en en la ceb it en ru en en en en cs en en en cs cs da en da cs en en cs da en en en cs cs da en da cs en en cs cs en en en fr cs da en en en en en en en en da cs en en cs da en en en cs cs da en da cs en en cs cs en en en cs cs da en da cs en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en
The Latin reading blog: The epitaph of Alcuin.
Alcuin (735-804) was one of the towering figures of the Carolingian Renaissance: theologian, philosopher, poet, educator and industrious writer.  He must have been very good company: learned, witty and loving good wine. Unlike the Englishmen from his days up till now and for centuries to come donec angelica tuba personet, he disliked beer.  I like both and I wish I could share a good bottle of wine with him!
He died at Tours and was buried there with an epitaph on his stone written by himself.  The stone itself does not exist anymore, but the poem does.
Hic, rogo, pauxillum veniens subsiste, viator.
et mea scrutare pectore dicta tuo,
ut tua deque meis agnoscas fata figuris:
vertitur o species, ut mea, sicque tua.
quod nunc es fueram, famosus in orbe, viator,
et quod nunc ego sum, tuque futurus eris.
delicias mundi casso sectabar amore,
nunc cinis et pulvis, vermibus atque cibus.
quapropter potius animam curare memento,
quam carnem, quoniam haec manet, illa perit.
cur tibi rura paras? quam parvo cernis in antro
me tenet hic requies: sic tua parva fiet.
cur Tyrio corpus inhias vestirier ostro
quod mox esuriens pulvere vermis edet?
ut flores pereunt vento veniente minaci,
sic tua namque, caro, gloria tota perit.
tu mihi redde vicem, lector, rogo, carminis huius
et dic: 'da veniam, Christe, tuo famulo.'
obsecro, nulla manus violet pia iura sepulcri,
personet angelica donec ab arce tuba:
'qui iaces in tumulo, terrae de pulvere surge,
magnus adest iudex milibus innumeris.'
Alchuine nomen erat sophiam mihi semper amanti,
pro quo funde preces mente, legens titulum.
Hic requiescit beatae memoriae domnus Alchuinus abba, qui obiit in pace XIV. Kal. Iunias. Quando legeritis, o vos omnes, orate pro eo et dicite, 'Requiem aeternam donet ei dominus.' Amen.
pauxillum: for a moment
agnosco agnoti agnitum: to recognize
vertitur o species, ut mea, sicque tua = o, ut mea  species (versa est), sicque tua vertitur
verto verti versum: to change
species species (f.): appearance
sector sectatus sum: to follow eagerly
deliciae deliciarum: allurement, pleasure
cinis cinis  (m.): ashes
pulvis  pulveris (m.): dust
rus ruris (n.): estate
cerno crevi certum: to see, perceive
requies (f.): resting place
inhio: be eager for (litt. to open the mouth)
tyrio ostro: with Tyrian purple
vestirier: an early Latin passive infinitive of vestio `to cover with a garment’
edo edi esum: to eat
vermis vermis (m.): worm
reddo vicem (+ gen.): to give something in return
angelica tuba:  Revelation 11:15 et septimus angelus tuba cecinit et factae sunt voces magnae in caelo dicentes factum est regnum huius mundi Domini nostri et Christi eius et regnabit in saecula saeculorum
Alchuine nomen erat sophiam mihi semper amanti = mihi - sophiam semper amanti - nomen `Alchuine’ erat
fundo fudi fusum: to pour out
Translation by Luitpold Wallach (1959)
Here, I beg thee, pause for a while, traveler,
And ponder my words in thy heart,
That thou mayest understand thy fate in my shadow:
The form of thy body will be changed as was mine.
What thou art now, famous in the world, I have been, traveler,
And what I now am, thou wilt be in the future.
I was wont to seek the joys of the world in vain desire:
Now I am ashes and dust, and food for worms.
Remember therefore to take better care of thy soul
Than of thy body, because that survives, and this perishes.
Why dost thou look for possessions? Thou see'st in what a little cavern
This tomb folds me: Thine will be equally small.
Why are thou eager to deck in Tyrian purple thy body
Which soon in the dust the hungry worm will devour?
As flowers perish when comes the menacing wind,
So also thy flesh and all thy glory perish.
Give me, I beg thee, O reader, a return for this poem,
And pray: "Grant, O Christ, forgiveness to thy servant."
I implore thee, let no hand profane the holy rights of this tomb,
Until the angelic trumpet announces from Heaven high:
"Thou who liest in the tomb, rise from the dust of the earth,
The Mighty Judge appears to countless thousands."
My name was Alchuine, and wisdom was always dear to me.
Pour out prayers for me when thou quietly readest this inscription
Posted by Leo Tepper at 11:06
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
ce8d632a-647c-11e3-94d3-000bcdcb299631 October 2014 at 16:30
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
There was an error in this gadget
caesarius of heisterbach (1)
early christian latin (1)
gregory of tours (6)
johannis de capua (2)
paulinus of nola (1)
pliny the younger (4)
Walter of Ch√Ętillon (1)
The epitaph of Alcuin.
Einhard: an almost lasting legacy of Charlemagne.
An early Cristmas post.
Ovid: Girls, don't laugh immoderately!
Pliny longs for his wife.
Song of songs: Nigra sum, sed formosa!
Lucretius 3, 894-911: be not afraid of death.
These blogs are meant for anyone interested in Latin and are the result of my own curiosity. Have f
View my complete profile
Lucretius I.80-101: tantum religio potuit suadere malorum or on the crimes of religion.
The Roman poet Lucretius (99-55 BC) was a follower of the Greek philosopher Epicurus   (341-270 BC). Epicurus did not believe in gods a...
An early Cristmas post.
I know it is still a bit early for Christmas posts, but a befriended cellist and leader of a baroque ensemble asked me to translate the...
Martial, Liber Speculatorum VII. A gruesome scene at the arena.
I n this poem Martial describes the performance of a mimus in the amphitheatre.  A mimus is a kind of play with often comic situations es...
Carmina Burana 211: My belly is my god!
Whenever the Carmina Burana is mentioned, the music by Carl Orff will come to mind. It is less known that Orff only orchestrated 24 of t...
Paulus Diaconus, Historia Longobardorum 1.4: the miracle of the seven sleepers
During the great migrations of the 4 th -6 th century, the Roman empire, or rather what was left of it, was invaded by Germanic tribes...
Propertius 2.12: war with Amor.
This week I returned from a short holiday to Normandy and Brittany.   A lovely countryside with many remains from the Middle Ages and m...
Some Roman Epitaphs. Memento mori!
Whenever I see an old church, I walk around the graveyard, reading the inscriptions on the graves, provided they have not faded away thro...
Propertius 3,12: Don't join the army!
In 22 BC a certain Postumus was about to enter the army for an expedition to Armenia. Augustus wanted to confront the Persians there ...
Song of songs: Nigra sum, sed formosa!
Some time ago I saw a documentary on Dutch television about a new trend amongst dark skinned women, namely to use cream to whiten their...
Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis c. 61 and 62. A were-wolf story....
This extract is from the Cena Trimalchionis  `Trimalchio’s Dinner’, which is a part of the Satyricon written by Petronius Arbiter (27-66)...
There was an error in this gadget
Watermark theme. Powered by Blogger.