Gwalther (Zurich, 1549)

Translated from the Greek by Enrico Prodi, University College London (2023)

To Florian Sousliga the Sarmatian,
a man most eminent for his nobility and learning 
in all domains,
little verses by Conrad Gessner.

You have an excellent name, thrice longed-for to the hearing,
            In full bloom, a bough of violets and purple-hued roses.
It bears the name of spring’s flowers, and your noble parents
            Did not call you so in vain at your birth:
Indeed, Fate often fits a name accurately
            To the deeds that are in the future.
But the Pierian Muses, who take thought of elegies,
            Urge me not to speak this name in the Romans’ tongue;
Yet nothing prevents me from saying Anthemios, 
            The corresponding name in the Greek language, or Euanthes.
Greetings, splendour of well-born men, bright flower
            Of your native land, the soil of Sarmatia!
Blessed are you, exceedingly loved by God: Christ granted you
            The understanding of many noble things for the immortal life.
I know that you are well versed in many tongues of men,
            And one excels alone among all the others: Hebrew.
Therefore Rudolf Gwalther dedicates to you now
            This play, on account of your godly excellence –
Gwalther, the glory of the Swiss, who surpassingly loves you –
            Because of his devotion and his great learning.
And many greetings to you too, Οὖλος![1] May God give you prosperity
            As you remember our friendship forever.

[1] Comment by the translator E. Prodi: "I can’t fathom who this Οὖλος might be. The adjective means either ‘woolly’, ‘curly-haired’ or ‘cruel’, ‘destructive’. I wonder if it is a pun on the name of someone involved with the book." 

Conrad Gessner, Poem to Florian Sousliga, in Rudolf Gwalther: NABAL. Zurich: Froschauer, 1549, f. 4v. Zentralbibliothek Zurich, Shelf Mark: 18.183,3; Persistent Link: https://doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-1138 . 

VD 16 entry:

Gwalther, Rudolf: NABAL.|| RODOLPHI GVAL||THERI TIGVRINI COMOEDIA || sacra, quę inscribitur Nabal, desumpta || ex I. Samuelis XXV. cap. nunc || primum conscripta || & aedita.|| [Zürich: Christoph Froschauer d.Ä. 1549]. 51 Bl. : D. ; 8

#Zurichpublisher #Gwalther #Froschauer #Nabal

**Gessner manuscript letter with poem in Zurich manuscript collection. You can zoom in if you open the image in a new tab:

Zentralbibliothek Zurich, MS A 140, 11: Rudolf Gwalther, Nabal, f. 133r-164v. Gessner's poem is on f. 134r.