SAPPHO, FRAGMENT 16.

 
Some say an army on horse, some say on foot,
or borne by sea, is the most beautiful thing
upon the black earth — but I say most beautiful
is the thing one loves.
 
And nothing is more easily made plain
to all, for even she who surpassed in beauty
all that is human, Helen, abandoned
the best of men
 
when she departed for Troy by sail,
remembering neither child
nor beloved parent, led astray
 
 
     for by
          lightly
    brings to mind now Anaktoria,
who is gone
 
and whose beloved step, the spark
of whose lambent eyes I would rather see
than the chariots of Lydia, than any march
of soldiers at arms.

from the Ancient Greek