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Paraphrase of the Gospel of St. John, I 1-23

Ἄχρονος ἦν, ἀκίχητος, ἐν ἀρρήτῳ λόγος ἀρχῇ,
ἰσοφυὴς γενετῆρος ὁμήλικος υἱὸς ἀμήτωρ,
καὶ λόγος αὐτοφύτοιο θεοῦ γόνος, ἐκ φάεος φῶς·
πατρὸς ἔην ἀμέριστος, ἀτέρμονι σύνθρονος ἕδρῃ·
καὶ θεὸς ὑψιγένεθλος ἔην λόγος. οὗτος ἀπ‘ἀρχῆς
ἀενάῳ συνέλαμπε θεῷ, τεχνήμονι κόσμου,
πρεσβύτερος κόσμοιο· καὶ ἔπλετο πάντα δι‘αὐτοῦ,
ἄπνοα καὶ πνείοντα· καὶ ἐργοπόνου δίχα μύθου
οὐδὲν ἔφυ, τόπερ ἔσκε· καὶ ἔμφυτος ἦεν ἐν αὐτῷ
ζωὴ πασιμέλουσα, καὶ ὠκυμόρων φάος ἀνδρῶν
ζωὴ πάντροφος ἦεν. ἐν ἀχλυόεντι δὲ κόσμῳ
οὐρανίαις σελάγιζε βολαῖς γαιήοχος αἴγλη,
καὶ ζόφος οὔ μιν ἔμαρψε. μελισσοβότῳ δ‘ἐνὶ λόχμῃ
ἔσκε τις οὐρεσίφοιτος ἐρημάδος ἀστὸς ἐρίπνης,
κῆρυξ ἀρχεγόνου βαπτίσματος· οὔνομα δ‘αὐτῷ
θεῖος Ἰωάννης λαοσσόος. οὗτος ἐπέστη
ἄγγελος ἐμπεδόμυθος, ὅπως περὶ φωτὸς ἐνίψῃ
μαρτυρίην, ἵνα πάντες ἑνὸς κήρυκος ἰωῇ
ὀρθὴν πίστιν ἔχοιεν, ἀτέρμονα μητέρα κόσμου·
οὐ μὲν κεῖνος ἔην νοερὸν φάος, ἀλλ‘ἵνα μοῦνον
πᾶσιν ἀναπτύξειε θεηγόρον ἀνθερεῶνα
καὶ φάεος προκέλευθος ἀκηρύκτοιο φανείη,
ξυνὴν μαρτυρίην ἐνέπων θεοδέγμονι λαῷ.

Ere time, ere space, ere speech dwelt the archaic Word,
God’s like in age and nature, motherless, this Son,
The Word, the spawn of self-born God, light come from light,
Inseparate, interminable and enthroned
With God, conseated on God’s sempiternal chair:
The Word was God’s first offspring. Who from the beginning
Compiled with God, the universal architect,
(Himself far older than the world); and all that is,
Inert and breathing, all through him arose. And naught
Which is, but through this workman’s word was made. In him,
Innate, was every life; his light was nourishment
For short-lived men. The earth-sustaining light of glory
Flamed bolts into the murk from heav’n above, and lo,
The dark could not enfold it. From a bosky lair
Where bees do suck, came one, a lonely citizen
Of rocky crags, a mountain roaming wanderer,
And herald of the ancient baptism; his name
Was John, a godly rouser of the crowd. He came
As messenger, as steadfast preacher, as reproach
To mortal men, so that, called by his herald’s cry,
All might believe in God, creator of the world.
Though not himself the Light of mind, yet still he was
A God-filled mouth who preached to all who came,
Forerunner, bringing secret, hidden Light to light,
And testifying to the God-receptive crowd.

Source
M.A. Prost (ed.) (2003), Nonnos of Panopolis: The Paraphrase of the Gospel of St. John (Ventura, CA, The Writing Shop Press).

Dionysiaca 38.222-251

δώδεκα πάντες ἔασι πυρώδεος αἰθέρος οἶκοι,
Ζῳδιακοῦ γλαφυροῖο πεπηγότες ἄντυγι κύκλου,
κεκριμένοι στοιχηδὸν ἐπήτριμοι, οἷς ἔνι μούνοις
λοξὴ πουλυέλικτος ἀταρπιτός ἐστι πλανήτων
ἀσταθέων. καὶ ἕκαστον ἕλιξ Κρόνος οἶκον ἀμείβει
ἑρπύζων βαρύγουνος, ἕως μόγις ὀψὲ τελέσσῃ
εἴκοσι καὶ δέκα κύκλα παλιννόστοιο Σελήνης,
ζώνης ἑβδομάτης ὑπὲρ ἄντυγος· ὑψόθι δ‘ ἕκτης
ὠκύτερον γενετῆρος ἔχει δρόμον ἀντίπορος Ζεύς,
καὶ δρόμον εἰς λυκάβαντα διέρχεται· ἐν τριτάτῃ δὲ …
ἤμασιν ἑξήκοντα παρέρχεται ἔμπυρος Ἄρης,
γείτων σεῖο τοκῆος· ἐπαντέλλων δὲ τετάρτῃ
αὐτὸς ἐγὼ στεφανηδὸν ὅλον πόλον ἅρμασι τέμνω
οὐρανίων ἑλίκων πολυκαμπέα κύκλα διώκων,
μέτρα χρόνου πισύρῃσι φέρων κυκλούμενος Ὥραις,
τὴν αὐτὴν περὶ νύσσαν, ἕως ὅλον οἶκον ὁδεύσω,
πλήσας ἠθάδα μῆνα τελεσφόρον· οὐδὲ πορείην
καλλείψας ἀτέλεστον ὀπίστερον οἶμον ἀμείβω,
οὐδὲ πάλιν προκέλευθον, ἐπεὶ πολυκαμπέες ἄλλοι
ἀστέρες ἀντιθέοντες ἀεὶ στείχουσιν ἀλῆται …
ἂψ ἀνασειράζοντες ἅμα πρόσσω καὶ ὀπίσσω
ἡμιτελῆ μεθέπουσι παλίλλυτα μέτρα κελεύθου,
δέγμενοι ἀμφοτέρωθεν ἐμὴν ἑτερόσσυτον αἴγλην·
οἷς ἔνι λευκαίνουσα πόλον κερόεσσα Σελήνη
κύκλον ὅλον πλήσασα σοφῷ πυρὶ μῆνα λοχεύει,
μεσσοφανής, ἐπίκυρτος, ὅλῳ πλήθουσα προσώπῳ·
Μήνῃ δ‘ ἀντικέλευθος ἐγὼ σφαιρηδὸν ἑλίσσων
μαρμαρυγὴν θρέπτειραν ἀμαλλοφόρου τοκετοῖο
Ζῳδιακὴν περὶ νύσσαν ἀτέρμονα κύκλον ὁδεύω,
τίκτων μέτρα χρόνοιο …

There are twelve houses in all the fiery ether, set in the circle of the rounded Zodiac, one close after another in a row, each separate; through these alone is the inclined winding path of the restless planets rolling in their courses. All round these Cronos crawls from house to house on his heavy knees along the seventh zone upon the circle, until at last with difficulty he completes thirty circuits of returning Selene. On the sixth, quicker than his father, Zeus has his course opposite, and goes his round in a lichtgang. By the third, fiery Ares passes [one sign that is, of the Zodiac] in sixty days, near your father. I myself rise in the fourth, and traverse the whole sky gardland-wise in my car, following the winding circles of the heavenly orbits. I carry the measures of time, surrounded by the four Seasons, about the same centre, until I have passed through a whole house and fulfilled one complete month as usual; I never leave my journey unfinished and change to a backward course, nor do I go forward again; since the other stars, the planets, in their various courses always run contrary ways: they check backwards, and go both to and fro; when the measures of their way are half done they run back again, thus receiving on both sides my one-sided light. One of these planets is the horned moon whitening the sky; when she has completed all her circuit, she brings forth with her wise fire the month, being at first half seen, then curved, then full moon with her whole face. Against the moon I move my rolling ball, the sparkling nourisher of sheafproducing growth, and pass on my endless circuit about the turning-point of the Zodiac, creating the measures of time”

Dionysiaca 44.191-216

‘Ὦ τέκος Ἠελίοιο, πολύστροφε, παντρόφε Μήνη,
ἅρματος ἀργυρέοιο κυβερνήτειρα Σελήνη,
εἰ σὺ πέλεις Ἑκάτη πολυώνυμος, ἐννυχίη δὲ
πυρσοφόρῳ παλάμῃ δονέεις θιασώδεα πεύκην,
ἔρχεο, νυκτιπόλος, σκυλακοτρόφος, ὅττί σε τέρπει
κνυζηθμῷ γοόωντι κυνοσσόος ἔννυχος ἠχώ:
Αρτεμις εἰ σὺ πέλεις ἐλαφηβόλος, ἐν δὲ κολώναις
νεβροφόνῳ σπεύδουσα συναγρώσσεις Διονύσῳ,
ἔσσο κασιγνήτοιο βοηθόος: ἀρχεγόνου γὰρ
αἷμα λαχὼν Κάδμοιο διώκομαι ἔκτοθι Θήβης,
μητρὸς ἐμῆς Σεμέλης ἀπὸ πατρίδος: ὠκύμορος γὰρ
θνητὸς ἀνὴρ κλονέει με θεημάχος: ὡς νυχίη δὲ
νυκτελίῳ χραίσμησον ἐλαυνομένῳ Διονύσῳ:
εἰ δὲ σὺ Περσεφόνεια νεκυσσόος, ὑμέτεραι δὲ
ψυχαὶ Ταρταρίοισιν ὑποδρήσσονσι θοώκοις,
νεκρὸν ἴδω Πενθῆα, καὶ ἀχνυμένου Διονύσου
δάκρυον εὐνήσειε τεὸς ψυχοστόλος Ἐρμῆς:
σεῖο δὲ Τισιφόνης μανιώδεος ἠὲ Μεγαίρης
Ταρταρίῃ μάστιγι λαθίφρονα παῦσον ἀπειλὴν
γηγενέος Πενθῆος, ἐπεὶ δυσμήχανος Ἥρη
ὀψίγονον Τιτῆνα νέῳ θώρηξε Λυαίῳ.
ἀλλὰ σὺ φῶτα δάμασσον ἀθέσμιον, ὄφρα γεραίρῃς
ἀρχεγόνου Ζαγρῆος ἐπωνυμίην Διονύσου.
Ζεῦ ἄνα, καὶ σὺ δόκευε μεμηνότος ἀνδρὸς ἀπειλήν:
κλῦθι, πάτερ καὶ μῆτερ: ἐλεγχομένου δὲ Λυαίου
σὴ στεροπὴ γαμίη Σεμέλης τιμήορος ἔστω.’

O daughter of Helios, Moon of many turnings, nurse of all ! O Selene, driver of the silver car ! If thou art Hecate of many names, if in the night thou dost shake thy mystic torch in brandcarrying hand, come night wanderer, nurse of puppies because the nightly sound of the hurrying dogs is thy delight with their mournful whimpering. If thou art staghunter Artemis, if on the hills thou dost eagerly hunt with fawnkilling Dionysos, be thy brother’s helper now !
For I have in me the blood of ancient Cadmos, and I am being chased out of Thebes, out of my mother Semele ‘s home. A mortal man, a creature quickly perishing, an enemy of god, persecutes me. As a being of the night, help Dionysos of the night, when they pursue me ! If thou art Persephoneia, whipper – in of the dead, and yours are the ghosts which are subservient to the throne of Tartaros, let me see Pentheus a dead man, and let Hermes thy musterer of ghosts lull to sleep the tears of Dionysos in his grief.
With the Tartarean whip of thy Tisiphone, or furious Megaira, stop the foolish threats of Pentheus, this son of earth, since implacable Hera has armed a lateborn Titan against Lyaios. I pray thee, master this impious creature, to honour the Dionysos who revived the name of primeval Zagreus. Lord Zeus, do thou also look upon the threat of this madman. Hear me, father and mother! Lyaios is condemned: let thy marriage lightning be the avenger of Semele!

Source

Text and translation from W.H.D, Rouse (1940-2), Nonnos Dionysiaca, 3 vols (Cambridge MA, Loeb Classical Library).