- Ἐπεὶ δ’ ἔτ’ οὐκ ἦν οὐδαμοῦ φεῦ! προσβλέπειν
- αὐτὴν ἐκείνην τὴν ἀοίδιμον πόλιν
- τὴν, δυσαρίθμου καὶ μακραίωνος χρόνου
- λήθης βυθοῖς κρύψαντος, ἠφαντωμένην,
- ἐρωτολήπτων ἀτεχνῶς πάσχω πάθος·
‘And since it was not possible anywhere (alas!) to look upon / that same city of song / which—through an immeasurably long time, / in the depths of hidden forgetfulness—has vanished, / I simply suffer the symptom of those seized by love.’
Notes: I’m not happy with this translation. It just seems clumsy, and I’m probably taking certain liberties. Then there’s that hissing last line, which doesn’t do justice to the sound effects of the original. I’m reading a hendiadys in line 6. Alright—just 22 lines to go.