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42

Ἄγε δὴ χέλυ δῖά μοι φωνάεσσα γένοιο. [transcription]

Come, O divine shell, yield thy resonances to me.

 

Come, O come, divinest shell,
And in my ear all thy secrets tell.

Quoted by Hermogenes and Eustathius. Sappho is apparently addressing her lyre. The legend is that Hermes is supposed to have made the first lyre by stretching the strings across the cavity of a tortise's shell.


Next: 43: And delicately woven garlands round tender neck.