Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead
Language: English
Available translation(s): ITA
Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead,
Forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep seas swell
And the profit and loss.
A current under sea
Picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell
He passed the stages of his age and youth
Entering the whirlpool.
Gentile or Jew
O you who turn the wheel and look to windward,
Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in
Criterion, October 1922
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Flebas il fenicio", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-26
Line count: 10
Word count: 70
Flebas il fenicio
Language: Italian (Italiano)  after the English
Flebas il fenicio, morto da due settimane,
ha dimenticato il grido dei gabbiani, e i flutti profondi del mare
e il profitto e la perdita.
Una corrente sottomarina
gli ha spolpato le ossa in un sussurro. Affiorando e affondando
ha attraversato gli stadi della maturità e della giovinezza
trascinato nel gorgo.
Gentile o giudeo
Tu che ruoti il timone e scruti sopravvento,
considera Flebas, che un tempo fu bello e alto come te.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2008 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-06
Line count: 10
Word count: 73