⸻ · ⸻
The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 34, lines 13–15 · Beginning and end are yours
34.13
The Orphic Hymns 34.13 · Beginning and end are yours
His sight reaches the roots of the world below, and he holds the limits of everything.
· · ·
ἐν1
en
in
ἡσυχίῃσιν2
hēsychíēisin
the stillness
νυκτὸς3
nyktòs
of the night
, ὑπʼ4
hyp’
under
ἀστεροομμάτου5
asteroommátou
the star-eyed
ὄρφνης6
órphnēs
darkness
, δέδορκας7
dédorkas
you seeyou have looked
ῥίζας8
rhízas
the roots
νέρθε9
nérthe
below
, δέ10
dé
and
τε11
te
—
you
ἔχεις12
écheis
hold
πείρατα13
peírata
the limitsends
παντός14
pantós
of the whole
κόσμου15
kósmou
world
; δʼ16
d’
and
ἀρχή17
archḗ
beginning
τʼ18
t’
and
τελευτή19
teleutḗ
end
τε20
te
—
ἐστὶ21
estì
are
μέλουσα22
mélousa
a concerna care
σοὶ23
soì
to you
. in the stillness of the night, under the star-eyed darkness, you see the roots below, and you hold the limits of the whole world; and beginning and end are a concern to you.
in the stillness of the night, under the star-eyed darkness, you see the roots below, and you hold the limits of the whole world; and beginning and end are a concern to you.
Interpretation
in the stillness of the night, under the star-eyed dark, you see the roots below, and you hold the limits of the whole world; beginning and end are in your care.
Apollo's sight reaches down to the roots of the world in the dark, and he holds its outer limits. The last words echo an old Orphic idea. Plato quotes "an ancient saying" that god holds "the beginning, the end and the middle of all things," and an Orphic poem already quoted in the fourth century BC said of Zeus, "Zeus the head, Zeus the middle, from Zeus all things are made." Here it is Apollo who has beginning and end in his care.
34.16
The Orphic Hymns 34.16 · The lyre that tunes the heavens
Apollo plays the whole sky like a lyre, from the highest string to the lowest.
· · ·
You who make all things bloom, you tune the whole heavens with your many-sounding lyre, now going to the limits of the highest string, at other times again to the lowest, sometimes blending the whole heavens into the Dorian order, you distinguish the life-sustaining races,