LAST EPITAPH Under the black leaves of the laurels, under the amorous blooms of the roses, it is here that I lie, I who have known how to braid line with line, and exalt the kiss. I grew in the land of the nymphs; I lived in the isle of lovers; I died in the isle of Cypros. It is for this that my name is illustrious and my stèle cleaned with oil. Weep not for me, thou who pausest; they made me fair funeral rites; the weepers bruised their cheeks; they have laid in my tomb my mirrors and my necklaces. And now, over the pale meadows of asphodel, I walk, an impalpable shadow, and the remembrance of my earthly life is the joy of my life in the underworld. BIBLIOGRAPHY I. Bilitis’ saemmtliche Lieder zum ersten Male herausgegeben und mit einem Woerterbuche versehen, von G. Heim.--Leipzig. 1894. II. Les Chansons de Bilitis, traduites du Grec pour la première fois par P. L. Paris. 1895. III. Six Chansons de Bilitis, traduites en vers par Mme. Jean Bertheroy.--Revue pour les jeunes filles. Paris. Armand Colin. 1896. IV. Vingt-six Chansons de Bilitis, traduites en allemand par Richard Dehmel.--Die Gesellschaft. Zeitung. 1896. V. Vingt Chansons de Bilitis, traduites en allemand par le Dr. Paul Goldmann. Frankfurter Zeitung. 1896. VI. Les Chansons de Bilitis, par le Pr. von Willamovitz-Moellendorf.--Goettingsche Gelehrte--Goettingen. 1896. VII. Huit Chansons de Bilitis, traduites en tcheque par Alexandre Backovsky.--Prague. 1897. VIII. Quatre Chansons de Bilitis, traduites en suédois par Gustav Uddgren.--Nordisk Revy.--Stockholm. 1897. IX. Trois Chansons de Bilitis, mises en musique par Claude Debussy.--Paris. Fromont. 1898. NOTES AND COMMENT “Translated from the Greek.” The antique sketches here rendered in English, some of which possess great beauty, appeared first, in French, in 1894, bearing the legend “Translated from the Greek.” This feeling of translation the Author attempted to strengthen by recording, in his Index, certain “songs” marked “not translated” which, as a matter of fact, never existed. It is extremely doubtful, however, whether anyone really acquainted with the Greek Poets was misled, even for a moment. Internal evidence often points to modern thought and ideas; and a number of the pieces, if not exactly “translated” are at least adapted from epigrams by various writers of established place in the Greek Anthology. These would at once indicate “Bilitis” as an imaginary personage. In the following notes, some of the more important of the direct translations and paraphrases from antique writers have been indicated, with an occasional comment, for the convenience and interest of the reader. The English translation itself is complete and has been kept in close parallel with the French text, except for a few changes in tense which seemed advisable. M. S. B. LIFE OF BILITIS “Psappha.”