SAPPHO

And | will set) γώ! reclining on soft
cushions ;
and
You shall lie on new cushions ;

where it should be noted that ve is not the copula.?

58
Galen Behortation to Learning: It is better therefore, since
we know that the prime of youth is like the spring flowers
and its pleasures transitery, to approve the words of the
Lesbian daine:

He that is fair is fair to outward show ;
He that is good will soon be fair also.

59, 60, 61

Demetrius 0 Side fon rage J The charms of comedy,
particularly, are those which arise from hyperbole, and every
hyperbole is an impossibility ; compare Aristophanes,

Of the same kind are phrases such as ‘healthier than a
eucumber,’ * balder than a calm sea, and Sappho'’s:

far sweeter-tunéd than the lyre,
and :
more golden than gold.*

Gregorius on Hermogenes: The ear is improperly tlattered
by erotic turns of phrase sueh as these of Anaereon aud
Sappho; for instance, ‘whiter than milk, ‘more delicate
than water,’ ‘more tuneful than a lyre. ‘more wanton than
amare, ‘daintier than rosebuds,’ ὁ softer than a fine robe,”
‘more precious than gold.’

e.g. .. . softer than fine raiment

. &
fo]

! for μέν τε cf. 35. 2 2 cf. Demetr. Elec. 127

[Ὁ]
N
σι

VOL. 1. Q