Life’s Games at Any Age

Anacreonta 7

The women say
“Anacreon, you’re old
Look at a mirror and see
Your hair has gone missing,
Your brow is picked clean”

I don’t know whether
My hair is going or gone
But I know this:

Pleasurable games are fine
For an old man
As long as Life lingers on.”

λέγουσιν αἱ γυναῖκες·
‘Ἀνάκρεον, γέρων εἶ·
λαβὼν ἔσοπτρον ἄθρει
κόμας μὲν οὐκέτ᾿ οὔσας,
ψιλὸν δέ σευ μέτωπον.’

ἐγὼ δὲ τὰς κόμας μέν,
εἴτ᾿ εἰσὶν εἴτ᾿ ἀπῆλθον,
οὐκ οἶδα· τοῦτο δ᾿ οἶδα,
ὡς τῷ γέροντι μᾶλλον

πρέπει τὸ τερπνὰ παίζειν,
ὅσῳ πέλας τὰ Μοίρης.

Close-up crop of BHC2720 – Captain Lord George Graham in his Cabin (1715-1747). William Hogarth

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