Spis treści
LamentsLament XItłum. Dorothea Prall
1
«Virtue is but a trifle!» Brutus[1] said
In his defeat; nor was he cozenèd.
What man did his own goodness e'er advance
Or piety preserve from evil chance?
5Some unknown foe confuses men's affairs;
For good and bad alike it nothing cares.
Where blows its breath, no man can flee away;
Both false and righteous it hath power to stay.
Yet still we vaunt us of our mighty mind
10In idle arrogance among our kind;
And still we gaze on heaven and think we see
The Lord and his all-holy mystery.
Nay, human eyes are all too dull; light dreams
Amuse and cheat us with what only seems.
15Ah, dost thou rob me, Grief, my safeguards spurning,
Of both my darling and my trust in learning?
Przypisy
[1]
Marcus Junius Brutus (85 BC–42 BC) — Roman polititian, one of the assassinators of Julius Caesar, committed suicide after losing battle of Philippi. [przypis edytorski]