A poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744) , the greatest English poet of “Augustan” or Georgian period
I.
Silence! coeval with Eternity;
Thou wert, ere Nature’s-self began to be,
‘Twas one vast Nothing, all, and all slept fast in thee.
II.
Thine was the sway, ere heav’n was form’d, or earth,
Ere fruitful Thought conceiv’d creation’s birth,
Or midwife Word gave aid, and spoke the infant forth.
III.
Then various elements, against thee join’d,
In one more various animal combin’d,
And fam’d the clam’rous race of busy Human-kind.
IV.
The tongue mov’d gently first, and speech was low,
‘Till wrangling Science taught it noise and show,
And wicked Wit arose, thy most abusive foe.
V.
But rebel Wit deserts thee oft’ in vain;
Lost in the maze of words he turns again,
And seeks a surer state, and courts thy gentle reign.
VI.
Afflicted Sense thou kindly dost set free,
Oppress’d with argumental tyranny,
And routed Reason finds a safe retreat in thee.
VII.
With thee in private modest Dulness lies,
And in thy bosom lurks in Thought’s disguise;
Thou varnisher of Fools, and cheat of all the Wise!
VIII.
Yet thy indulgence is by both confest;
Folly by thee lies sleeping in the breast,
And ’tis in thee at last that Wisdom seeks for rest.
IX.
Silence the knave’s repute, the whore’s good name,
The only honour of the wishing dame;
Thy very want of tongue makes thee a kind of Fame.
X.
But could’st thou seize some tongues that now are free,
How Church and State should be oblig’d to thee!
At Senate, and at Bar, how welcome would’st thou be!
XI.
Yet speech ev’n there, submissively withdraws,
From rights of subjects, and the poor man’s cause:
Then pompous Silence reigns, and stills the noisy Laws.
XII.
Past services of friends, good deeds of foes,
What Fav’rites gain, and what the Nation owes,
Fly the forgetful world, and in thy arms repose.
XIII.
The country wit, religion of the town,
The courtier’s learning, policy o’ th’ gown,
Are best by thee express’d; and shine in thee alone.
XIV.
The parson’s cant, the lawyer’s sophistry,
Lord’s quibble, critic’s jest; all end in thee,
All rest in peace at last, and sleep eternally.
A few random poems:
- Олег Бундур – Кулинар
- Юлия Друнина – Я, признаться, сберечь не сумела шинели
- Robert Burns: Inscription: Written on the blank leaf of a copy of the last edition of my poems, presented to the Lady whom, in so many fictitious reveries of passion, but with the most ardent sentiments of real friendship, I have so often sung under the name of-“Chloris.”
- Sonnet 74: But be contented when that fell arrest by William Shakespeare
- Two sparrows and my heart by Nizar Sartawi
- Memorials of A Tour In Scotland, 1803 I. Departure From The Vale Of Grasmere, August 1803 by William Wordsworth
- Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady poem – Alexander Pope
- Геннадий Айги – Два эпилога
- Низами Гянджеви – Спустилась ночь
- Владимир Высоцкий – Я верю в нашу общую звезду
- On The Tomb Of A Priestess Of Artemis by Sappho
- Black Market Love by Taisha Destin
- Николай Языков – Е. А. Тимашевой (Молодая ученица)
- I know you will remember ME by Neelam Sinha
- Apologetic Postscript Of A Year Later by Robert Louis Stevenson
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- Олег Бундур – Поросенок и свиньи
- Олег Бундур – Полёт
- Олег Бундур – Под сосной
- Олег Бундур – Почему собаки дерутся
- Олег Бундур – Письмо от бабушки
- Олег Бундур – Певец Александр Серов
- Олег Бундур – Первый пирог
- Олег Бундур – Переселение
- Олег Бундур – Папино влияние
- Олег Бундур – Папа возмущается
- Олег Бундур – Папа собирается на рыбалку
- Олег Бундур – Папа пристал
- Олег Бундур – Папа и родительское собрание
- Олег Бундур – Орлан-белохвост
- Олег Бундур – Окошки
- Олег Бундур – Однажды на даче
- Олег Бундур – Обновки
- Олег Бундур – Неправильный кот
- Олег Бундур – Не ходите ночью
- Олег Бундур – Не верится
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.
Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees
Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.
Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works
Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) was a a post-Restoration English poet and satirist. He is a poet of the (British) Augustan period and one of its greatest artistic exponents.