The Burdens of Belief and Other Poems By The Duke of Argyll [i.e. G. D. Campbell] |
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PARAPHRASE FROM METASTASIO
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 | The Burdens of Belief and Other Poems |  |
PARAPHRASE FROM METASTASIO
Waters from the Ocean torn,The valleys and the mountains lave,
Down rapid rivers calling,
From prisoned fountains falling,
They murmur, and they rave
With passion for the Main,
From whence they came in cloud and rain:
The mighty Sea where they were born,
Far from the hills their drops have worn,
Wherein, when all their wand'rings past,
They long to lose themselves at last.
This passage is taken from the ‘Artaserse’ (Act iii. sc. I) of Metastasio—lines to which my attention was called by my friend Canon Knox Little. But the beauty, point, and delicacy of the Italian is unapproachable in English.
L' onda dal mar divisa
Bagna la valle e'l monte;
Va passaggiera
In fiume,
Va prigioniera
In fonte,
Mormora sempre, e geme
Fin che non torna al mare,
Al mar, dove ella nacque,
Dove acquistò gli umori,
Dove da lunghi errori
Spera di riposar.
Bagna la valle e'l monte;
Va passaggiera
In fiume,
Va prigioniera
In fonte,
Mormora sempre, e geme
Fin che non torna al mare,
Al mar, dove ella nacque,
Dove acquistò gli umori,
Dove da lunghi errori
Spera di riposar.
| The Burdens of Belief and Other Poems | |