Well, I was able to get the Haviaras version of one of the Economu translations
you posted, Mark, so here they are for comparative reading:
Best,
Rebecca
IN AN ANTIQUE BOOK (translated by Economu)
In an antique book--about a hundred years old--
forgotten between its pages,
I found an unsigned watercolor.
It must have been the work of a mighty artist.
It was entitled, "Presentation of Love."
"The utmost sensualists' love" would have been more apt.
Because it was obvious as you looked at the work
(it was easy to get the artist's idea)
that the young man in the picture had not been cut out
for those who love in more or less healthy ways,
staying within the limits of what can be
allowed--with his deeply dark chestnut eyes,
with that exquisitely beautiful face of his,
the beauty of abnormal enchantments,
with those ideal lips that bear
sensual delight to the beloved body,
with those ideal limbs of his framed for beds
that current morality calls shameless.
In An Old Book --(translated by Haviaras)
Lost between the pages of an old book --
a hundred years old more or less --
I found a watercolor without attribution.
It must have been the work of a very great artist.
It was entitled: "A representation of Eros".
"Of Eros in Extremis" would have been more to the point.
For it was quite obvious, when you considered the work
(easy to understand what the poet was thinking),
the young man captured in the painting was never
meant for those who love in healthier ways,
those who remain within the boundaries of propriety --
with his deep, dark brown eyes and the exquisite beauty
of his face, a beauty that appealed to the perverse,
with those flawless lips that deliver up
shameless gratification to the body that's loved,
with his perfect limbs created especially for the bed,
that everyday morality calls unseemly.
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