οὐ ψεύδεϊ τέγξω λόγον:
διάπειρά τοι βροτῶν ἔλεγχος ...
διάπειρά τοι βροτῶν ἔλεγχος ...
—Pindar, Olympian IV, 17-18.*
On Olympic Poets†
Who would be able
to judge the worth of poems
in competition?
These days, few even
read poems. Would you choose an
academician?
University
lecturers no longer have
the erudition
and modern “poets”
seldom have technical skill.
No, my suspicion
is that, if poets
were to compete in the games,
the exhibition
of their works would lead
to very swift regret for
such readmission.
Who would be able
to judge the worth of poems
in competition?
These days, few even
read poems. Would you choose an
academician?
University
lecturers no longer have
the erudition
and modern “poets”
seldom have technical skill.
No, my suspicion
is that, if poets
were to compete in the games,
the exhibition
of their works would lead
to very swift regret for
such readmission.
* I’ll not stain with lies
the saw: “the test of mortals
is competition”.
† a comment (edited slightly) to a suggestion by a friend, on Facebook, that more cerebral and artistic competitions—for music and poetry, say—ought to be reintroduced into the Olympic Games.
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