III YOUTH AND AGE On give me back the days when loose and free To my blind passion were the curb and rein, Oh give me back the angelic face again, With which all virtue buried seems to be! Oh give my panting footsteps back to me, That are in age so slow and fraught with pain, And fire and moisture in the heart and brain, If thou wouldst have me burn and weep for thee! If it be true thou livest alone, Amor, On the sweet - bitter tears of human hearts, In an old man thou canst not wake desire; Souls that have almost reached the other shore Of a diviner love should feel the darts, And be as tinder to a holier fire. VII DANTE WHAT should be said of him cannot be said; By too great splendor is his name attended; THE NATURE OF LOVE BY GUIDO GUINIZELLI To noble heart Love doth for shelter fly, As seeks the bird the forest's leafy shade; To blame is easier those who him of- Love was not felt till noble heart beat fended, high, Nor before love the noble heart was made. Soon as the sun's broad flame Was formed, so soon the clear light filled the air; Yet was not till he came : So love springs up in noble breasts, and there Has its appointed space, As heat in the bright flames finds its allotted place. Kindles in noble heart the fire of love, Till round it the ennobling sun has shone ; Has drawn forth what was vile, the stars impart Strange virtue in their rays; And thus when Nature doth create the heart Noble and pure and high, Like virtue from the star, love comes from woman's eye. FROM THE PORTUGUESE SONG BY GIL VICENTE IF thou art sleeping, maiden, "Tis the break of day, and we must away, O'er meadow, and mount, and moor. Wait not to find thy slippers, But come with thy naked feet : We shall have to pass through the dewy grass, And waters wide and fleet. When it shines in the skies, O Khan, "When first on earth he trod, The first words that he said Were these, as he stood and prayed, 'There is no God but God !' "And he shall be king of men, THE SIEGE OF KAZAN BLACK are the moors before Kazan, I said in my heart, with horse and man, Under the feet of Argamack, Brook, to what fountain dost thou go? I go to the fountain at whose brink Like new moons were the shoes he bare, I rise to meet her, and kiss her chin, In a talisman on his neck, a prayer. My warriors, thought I, are following me; Not one of all the band could I see, Where are our shallow fords? and where From the prison windows our maidens fair We cannot hear them; for horse and man Ah! was ever a grief like this? THE BOY AND THE BROOK Down from yon distant mountain height A boy comes forth to wash his hands, And my joy is then complete. TO THE STORK WELCOME, O Stork! that dost wing Descend, O Stork! descend To thee, O Stork, I complain, O Stork, to thee I impart When thou away didst go, Away from this tree of ours, Dark grew the brilliant sky, Cloudy and dark and drear; Liberty, which, though late, looked upon me in my inertness, After the time when my beard fell whiter from me in shaving, Yet she looked upon me, and came to me after a long while, Since Amaryllis possesses and Galatea hath left me. For I will even confess that while Galatea possessed me Neither care of my flock nor hope of liberty was there. Though from my wattled folds there went forth many a victim, And the unctuous cheese was pressed for the city ungrateful, Never did my right hand return home heavy with money. MELIBUS. I have wondered why sad thou invokedst the gods, Amaryllis, And for whom thou didst suffer the apples to hang on the branches! Tityrus hence was absent! Thee, Tityrus, even the pine trees, Thee the very fountains, the very copses were calling. |