Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-02
VERSE OF BAcCuYLrpEs.
Important Translation OF Work Of a
Colleague of the Poet Pindar.

ton letter, is that OF the papyrus of I'll
Greek poet Bacchylides, which has jus
been made by an assistant I'm the BIRTHS
Museum after long and patient study
From over two hundred torn and almos
undecipherable bits OF parchment, MI
Kenyon. OF the museum, after man,
months work, has given to the world IL
first translation of one of the great an
Gent lyric poets. In addition, abou
one hundred Greek words have been adde
to the Greek language as known t,
moderns. To find parallel TO such goo
| fortune one must go back to the time
OF the Renaissance. when refugees from
the sack Of Constantnople were bringing
over Greek manuscripts to Italy. Thus
after five centuries, scholars are belne
stirred by the novelty OF an edltio prin
ceps
The first adequate or comprehensive
statement of this discovery will be givel
| to American readers in an article which
will be published in the March No
OF Biblia, the author OF the articl,
being James s. Cotton, honorary secre-
tary OF the Egypt Exploration Fund oil
| England and the United States, with hi.
| office in London. This discovery was moi
made under the auspices of the fund.
| but Mr.. Cotton is interested in all mat.
| tiers OF literary nature having been fol
| years editor Of the Academy OF London.
by consent of antiquity Bacchylides
was counted one of the nine lyric poets
| or the Golden Period, the period which
| ended with the Persian wars. All of
| these great poets, until now, have left
| little trace of their works, with the sim
gle exception of Pindar who was. per-
haps, the chief of all. We hear much OF
Sappho, Alcaeus, Alsman and Slmonides,
but of their works we know almost no
thing. The Epinikian odes of Pindar I'M
doubtedly represent a lofty conception
Of lyric poetry. With Pindar the name
Of Bacchylides has always been associ-
ated. He also wrote Epinikin odes, some
times for the same victors In the Pan
Hellenic games as those of Pindar In
one poem which is preserved in this great
discovery one written, probably, in di-
rect rivalry with Pindar he speaks in
high terms of another Boeotian poet,
showing that he had none of the jealousy
Of many of the other Greek poets.
About this discovery, Mr. Cotton says:
'The materials for the biography of
Bacchyides are very scanty. We do not
know, either the date Of his birth or or
his death, although It may be assumed
that he lived through the greater part of
the fifty century y. c. The latest of his
odes that can be dated was written in
46S; but their general style implies a stage
of lyric composition moulded upon that
of Pindar, who died at the age Of 80 in
4SS. We are told that he was a sisters
son to the elegiac poet Simonides. The
native place of both was the island OF
Coos, one of the Cyclades NOW called
Tzia). which lies not far from the coast
of Attica. He is fond of bringing in the
of ie no hat
Horace alludes to him in Car. w., 9, Z.
The only facts recorded of his life are
that he paid visit TO Hero, of Syracuse,
then the most powerful parsonage ir the
Greek world and patron of Pindar, also.
and that he was banished from his native
island and sought an asylum in the Pelo-
ponnesus.
"Hiero is said to have preferred the
poems of Bacchyides to those of Pindar
though this was not the prevalent opin-
ion. Longinus, the great critic OF the
silver age, said that Bacchylides was IN |
ferior to Pindar, but was smooth, equable, |
and pleasing neither rising so high nor |
falling so low as his great contemporary.
Horace certainly knew and copied him, |
and he is quoted frequently by one of |
the Christian fathers, Clement of Alex |
andrla, who. by the way, seems TO have |
known of the recently discovered Logia.'
1t is further recorded that the Emperor |
Julian. Julian the Apostate,' was fond |
of reading him. Nevertheless, the frag-
ments of Bacchylides previously known |
amount TO about one hundred lines only.
1.-THE unique papyrus, now edited Tor |
the first time by Mr.. Kenyon, contains
about loo lines, forming parts of twenty
poems. The majority Of these are Epini-
khan odes, Of type already familiar TO
us through Pindar. But six happen TO
be examples of a species of Greek lyric
poetry hitherto scarcely known. They
are odes or hymns, associated with the
name of some god or hero, written in a |
narrative or dialogue form, and evidently
intended to be sung at some festival.
Here is a translation OF a passage from
one OF the EpinilIian odes in which Bac-
chylides appears to deliberately challenge |
with the famous smile of |
the eagle in Pindar. Here the poet COM
pares himself TO an eagle, bearing his
need of glory to Hero across the sea.
so the eagle the envoy OF wide ruling |
thunderous Zeus, cleaves the depth OF |
sky far aloft with his swift, tawny wings, |
boldly trusting TO his strong might while |
he song birds cover in fear beneath =,
Him neither the peaks of great earth re-
strain nor the ridged pillows OF the in
lomitable sea. Amid the infnitude or |
'haos he plies the deicately-pencilled plu- i
mage with the help OF the breezes of !
Zephyr conspicuous for men to behold ,
"And here is another passage, de- l
cribing the descent of Hercules into the
lether world, which is OF interest as be-
ne the original Of smile now hack
Keyed:
" And there he was aware of the souls
helpless mortals beside the streams of
ocytus. as thick as are the leaves which
he wind whirls along the sheep-grazed
leaning headlands of Ida
The original paDyrus consisted Of a
ngle roll, certainly not less than IL feet
I length. by 10 inches wide. with the
sxt arranged in not less than forty-hve
Dlumns. hut when IL reached England
was found to be broken up into 300 torn
'agments Of various sizes, and many
cary months have been spent by Mr.
enyon in piecing the fragments to- :
ether He has succeeded In restoring
llrty-nine columns out OF a possible :
,rty-seven; but some of these still pre-
mt a very lamentable appearance. The
hole was written by single scribe In
ne unciaf handwriting which may be
lsigned TO the middle OF the first CEN
ny. B. c.. about the close of the Ptole- I
ale period AS opposed 10 the present u
Of the text Of Pindar the CO
les are very short. which has the effect u
making the metre more easy to fol- u
". lpl
I'm contrast. again, with the papyrus u