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Aphrodite, déesse immortelle aux beaux rires, Qui te plais aux chansons lugubres des ramiers, Les cœurs humains pour toi chantent comme des lyres Et tes bras font pâlir la blancheur des pommiers. Salut, dispensatrice auguste de la vie, Qui courbes sous ton joug les fauves indomptés, Qui fais voler la lèvre à la lèvre ravie, Salut, blanche Cypris, reine des voluptés ! C’est par toi que, le soir, sous les myrtes propices, S’enlacent doucement des groupes bienheureux, Et qu’au bord des ruisseaux et près des précipices Sanglotent dans la nuit les enfants amoureux. C’est par toi que, brûlant d’ivresse, frémissante, L’églantine se teint de son sang parfumé, Et que la vierge apporte, heureuse et rougissante, Sa couronne et son cœur aux bras du bien-aimé. Et c’est toi qui, rythmant les divines étoiles, Fais [tressaillir]1 d’amour le cœur de l’univers, Afin que l’harmonie en qui tu te dévoiles, Apprenne aux hommes purs à composer des vers. Je t’implore, déesse immense et vénérable, Soit que, glorifiant les rosiers rajeunis, Sous les lilas en fleurs et les bosquets d’érable Tu couvres de baisers les songes d’Adonis ; Soit que le dur Arès t’enchaîne à sa victoire, Ou que, domptant les flots, ô mère des amours, Les Cyclades en fleurs écoutent ton histoire : Mon encens à tes pieds s’exhalera toujours. Garde-moi de l’ennui, de la vieillesse immonde, Garde-moi, si jamais l’espoir toucha ton cœur, Ô reine qui maintiens et gouvernes le monde. Avant tout, garde-moi de l’infâme laideur ! Fais que je tombe dans ma force et ma jeunesse, Que mon dernier soupir ait un puissant écho, Et, pour qu’un jour mon âme en plein soleil renaisse, Que je meure d’amour comme Ovide et Sapho.
Confirmed with Laurent Tailhade, Le jardin des rêves: Poésies, Paris: Alphonse Lemerre, 1880, in Poèmes et bas-reliefs, pages 143-145.
1 misspelled in source as "tressailir"Authorship:
- by Laurent Tailhade (1854 - 1919), "Hymne à Aphrodite", appears in Le jardin des rêves: Poésies, in Poèmes et bas-reliefs , no. 7, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1880 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Kaikhosru Sorabji (1892 - 1988), "Hymne à Aphrodite", op. 4 no. 2, KSS 8 (1916), published 2006, first performed 2002 [ high voice and piano ], Bath, The Sorabji Archive; critical edition [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , "Hymn to Aphrodite", written 2002, first published 2002, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Charles Hopkins) , "Hymne à Aphrodite", written c2005, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2018-07-29
Line count: 36
Word count: 282
Aphrodite, immortal goddess of joyous laughter, Who takes pleasure in the mournful songs of the wood-pigeon, The hearts of men sing for you like lyres, While the whiteness of your arms is the envy of the apple-blossom. Hail [!], August dispenser of life, Beneath whose yoke the wild beasts submit, Who brings lips together in winged ecstasy. Hail[!] Radiant Cypris, queen of sensual delights! It is through you that, in the evening, under the propitious myrtle, Blissful bands of lovers fall gently into the embrace of each other’s arms, And that beside streams and at the cliff’s edge, Are heard the sobs of young sweethearts in the night. It is through you that, burning with rapture, quivering, The wild rose covers itself in the perfumed blood of its dye, And that the virgin, blushing with happiness, Brings her crown and her heart to the arms of her beloved. It is you who, in imparting rhythm to the stars in the heavens, Makes the heart of the universe flutter with love, So that the harmony in which you reveal yourself May make poets out of men of pure heart. I beseech you, mighty and venerable goddess, May it be that, as you glorify the burgeoning rosebush, Under the flowering lilac tree and in the maple groves, You smother the dreams of Adonis with kisses; May it be that harsh Ares bind you to his victory, Or that, subduing the waves, O mother of loves, The Cyclades in bloom may listen to your tale: My incense will always rise up to your feet. Protect me from boredom, from the squalor of old age, Protect me, if ever hope touched your heart, O queen who supports and governs the world, Before all else, protect me from loathsome ugliness! Make sure that I fall while I still have my strength and my youth, That my dying gasp may have a powerful resonance, And, so that one day my soul may be born again bathed in glorious sunlight, That, like Ovid and Sappho, I may die of love.
Confirmed with an original Microsoft Word Document provided by Alistair Hinton.
Authorship:
- by Charles Hopkins (1952 - 2007), "Hymn to Aphrodite", written 2002, first published 2002, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Laurent Tailhade (1854 - 1919), "Hymne à Aphrodite", appears in Le jardin des rêves: Poésies, in Poèmes et bas-reliefs , no. 7, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1880
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Another version of this text exists in the database.
Researcher for this page: Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2018-08-03
Line count: 36
Word count: 343