Moschus (fl. c. 150 B.C.). 'Alas! alas! when in a garden fair'. Andrew Macphail, comp. 1916. The Book of Sorrow

Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916.

III. Oblivion
‘Alas! alas! when in a garden fair’

By Moschus (fl. c. 150 B.C.)


Translated by M. J. Chapman From the Elegy on the Death of Bion ALAS! alas! when in a garden fair
Mallows, crisp dill, or parsley yields to fate,
These with another year regerminate;
But when of mortal life the bloom and crown,
The wise, the good, the valiant, and the great	5
Succumb to death, in hollow earth shut down
We sleep—for ever sleep—for ever lie unknown.