Laudator Temporis Acti

Dear Mike,

Here is the solution to this morning’s “Riddle”. Brogan and Mignani have taken their reference from Dámaso Alonso’s article on “Antecedentes griegos y latinos de la poesia correlativa moderna” in the fourth volume of Estudios dedicados a Menendez Pidal (Madrid, 1953), p.4. Alonso quotes the Greek, offers a Spanish translation, and has the sensibility (more common among scholars then than now) to note that “Es un delicioso y consolador epigrama al vino”. Scan attached.

But he was not quoting from any old edition. His reference to 3.241 indicates no. 241 of Book 3 of Edme Cougny's appendix to the Didot edition of the Palatine Anthology: Epigrammatum Anthologia Palatina cum Planudeis et Appendice Nova . . . (Paris, Didot, 1864-90). You’ll find the Greek text on page 331 of volume 3, which is conveniently available on HathiTrust:

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101046490171;view=1up;seq=341

The lines are attributed to Ἰωάννης Γεωμέτρης i.e. Johannes Kyriotes (or Geometres), the 10th century Byzantine poet.

As ever,

Ian [Jackson]

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Here is the Greek:

Σὺ θάρσος, ἥβη, δύναμις, πλοῦτος, πόλις
δειλῶν, γερόντων, ἀσθενῶν, πτωχῶν, ξένων.