King Alfred's Poems Now first turned into English Metres; By Martin F. Tupper |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. | VI. Of Change. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
 | King Alfred's Poems |  |
27
VI. Of Change.
Quum polo Phœbus roseis quadrigis
Lucem spargere cœperit, &c.
Lucem spargere cœperit, &c.
Tha se wisdom eft
Word-hord onleac. &c.
Word-hord onleac. &c.
Then did Wisdom again
Unlock his word-hoard well,
And sang in soothful strain
The truths he had to tell.
Unlock his word-hoard well,
And sang in soothful strain
The truths he had to tell.
When with clearest blaze
The bright sun shines in the sky,
The stars must quench their rays
Over the earth so high;
The bright sun shines in the sky,
The stars must quench their rays
Over the earth so high;
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For that, set in the light
Of her that rules by day,
Their brightness is not bright,
But dimly dies away.
Of her that rules by day,
Their brightness is not bright,
But dimly dies away.
When the wind south-west
Under the cloud blows low,
Field-flowers wax their best
Fain to be glad and grow.
Under the cloud blows low,
Field-flowers wax their best
Fain to be glad and grow.
But when East and by North
The stark storm strongly blows,
Speedily drives he forth
All beauty from the rose.
The stark storm strongly blows,
Speedily drives he forth
All beauty from the rose.
So, with a stern needs-be
The northern blast doth dash
And beat the wide waste sea
That it the land may lash.
The northern blast doth dash
And beat the wide waste sea
That it the land may lash.
Alas, that ever on earth
Nothing is fast and sure;
No work is found so worth
That it for ever endure.
Nothing is fast and sure;
No work is found so worth
That it for ever endure.
| King Alfred's Poems | |