| T. R. Smith, comp. Poetica Erotica: Rare and Curious Amatory Verse. 1921–22. | | | | Sappho’s Ode | | By Gaius Valerius Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 B.C.) |
| | (Translated by Ambrose Phillips)
BLEST as th’ immortal gods is he, | |
| The youth, who fondly sits by thee, | |
| And hears and sees thee all the while | |
| Softly speak, and sweetly smile. | |
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| ’Twas that deprived my soul of rest, | 5 |
| And raised such tumults in my breast; | |
| For while I gazed, in transport toss’d, | |
| My breath was gone, my voice was lost. | |
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| My bosom glow’d; the subtle flame | |
| Ran quick through all my vital frame; | 10 |
| On my dim eyes a darkness hung; | |
| My ears with hollow murmurs rung: | |
| |
| With dewy damp my limbs were chill’d; | |
| My blood with gentle horrors thrill’d; | |
| My feeble pulse forgot to play; | 15 |
| I fainted, sank, and died away. | | | | |
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