King Alfred's Poems Now first turned into English Metres; By Martin F. Tupper |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. | XVI. Of Self-rule. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
 | King Alfred's Poems |  |
63
XVI. Of Self-rule.
Qui se volet esse potentem,
Animos domet ille feroces; &c.
Animos domet ille feroces; &c.
Se the wille anwald agon
Thonne sceal he ærest tilian, &c.
Thonne sceal he ærest tilian, &c.
He that wishes power to win,
First must toil to rule his mind,
That himself the slave to sin
Selfish lust may never bind:
First must toil to rule his mind,
That himself the slave to sin
Selfish lust may never bind:
Let him haste to put away
All that fruitless heap of care:
Cease awhile thy sighs to day,
And thyself from sorrow spare.
All that fruitless heap of care:
Cease awhile thy sighs to day,
And thyself from sorrow spare.
Though to him this middle earth
For a garden all be given,
With the seastream round its girth,
East and west the width of heaven;
For a garden all be given,
With the seastream round its girth,
East and west the width of heaven;
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From that isle which lies outright
Furthest in the Western spray,
Where no summer sees a night,
And no winter knows a day;
Furthest in the Western spray,
Where no summer sees a night,
And no winter knows a day;
Though from this, far Thule's isle,
Even to the Indian East,
One should rule the world awhile
With all might and power increas'd,
Even to the Indian East,
One should rule the world awhile
With all might and power increas'd,
How shall he seem great or strong
If himself he cannot save,
Word and deed against all wrong,
But to sin is still a slave?
If himself he cannot save,
Word and deed against all wrong,
But to sin is still a slave?
| King Alfred's Poems | |