A poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
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:
- Italy poem – Aldous Huxley poems | Poetry Monster
- Олег Бундур – У кромки моря
- My Garden by Thomas Edward Brown
- My Boy Jack by Rudyard Kipling
- Ballade Of True Wisdom poem – Andrew Lang poems
- The Unchanging by Sara Teasdale
- The Fairies Break Their Dances by A. E. Housman
- Your Dream
- Юлия Жадовская – Чем ярче шумный пир
- Identity of Images by Robert Desnos
- Юргис Балтрушайтис – Нарядно выстлав дол, взбегая на холмы
- Scythe Song poem – Andrew Lang poems
- Олег Бундур – Сложный предмет
- The Happy Lunatic by William Somervile
- Late Evening Song by Weldon Kees
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
- From the Mountain by Wang Wei
- For Mêng Hao-jan by Wang Wei
- Fine Apricot Lodge by Wang Wei
- Fields and Gardens by the River Qi by Wang Wei
- Farewell (II) by Wang Wei
- Chungnan by Wang Wei
- Birds Calling in the Ravine by Wang Wei
- An Evening in the Mountains by Wang Wei
- An Early Audience at the Palace of Light. (Harmonizing a poem for Secretary Jia Zhi.) by Wang Wei
- A View of the Han River by Wang Wei
- A Study by Wang Wei
- A Song of Peach-Blossom River by Wang Wei
- A Song of an Autumn Night. by Wang Wei
- A Song of a Girl from Loyang by Wang Wei
- A Song at Weicheng. by Wang Wei
- A Message to Commissioner Li At Zizhou by Wang Wei
- A Message from my Lodge at Wangchuan to Pei Di by Wang Wei
- A Green Stream. by Wang Wei
- A Farmhouse on the Wei River by Wang Wei
- A Reply by Wang Wei
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
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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
