62 Part One: Texts and Contexts
that we know only a small fraction of all Byzantine poems ever written, not
only because of the loss of thousands of manuscripts, but also because most
poems, especially those of poor quality, were never copied in the first place.
**
*
Mauropous’ Poetry Book
Mauropous’ collection of poems is unique for various reasons. Firstly,
because we know for certain that it was put together by the poet himself, as he
tells us in the preface (poem no. 1). Secondly, because the preface is a kind of
programme in which the poet explains what he intended to achieve by publish-
ing his literary works. And thirdly, because the most important manuscript,
Vat. gr. 676, copied when Mauropous was still alive or shortly after his death,
is a direct and faithful apograph of the original collection^21. For most collec-
tions of poems we do not know whether the version that has been preserved is
complete and presents the poems in the original order, whether it was the poet
himself or someone else who did the editorial work, nor what the methods of
selecting and arranging the poems may have been. Mauropous put together the
collection of his literary works at the end of his life. In the first poem of the
collection, the “introduction to the whole book”, he tells us that in accordance
with the famous proverb, p@n m6tron 4riston, he selected only the best of his
literary works – a small sample of what he had written in the course of his life,
so that the reader may taste “just a few dishes from a lavish banquet”.
Whereas other authors dish out loads of words, his only desire has been to
gratify his readers with a frugal literary meal. In another passage of the poem
Mauropous criticizes his fellow poets for producing too many literary works,
often badly written, purely for the ephemeral pleasure of being applauded. He
will have no part in this editorial frenzy. Let them write all they want, he says,
for they do not achieve anything of value and the plethora of words they
produce has no substance. The true author is not only aware of his own
limitations, but also knows very well that he should not strain the patience of
his readers, as there is a limit to the amount of time people are prepared to
spend on reading^22. The concept of m6tron, “due measure”, is totally reversed in
(^21) See R. ANASTASI, SicGymn 29 (1976) 19–28 and KARPOZILOS 1982: 55–56 and 136.
(^22) On impatient Byzantine readers, see Kekaumenos, Strategikon, § 63, where he advises his
son to read a book from the beginning to the end and not to follow the example of some
lazy spermolögoi who only thumb through a book and read a few selected passages.