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 | Poetical Works of Robert Bridges excluding the eight dramas |  |
Two jars, say they, await God's hand at th'entry of his court,
Stor'd ready with free gifts, of good things one, one of evil.
If mingling from both heav'n's thunderer equaly dispense,
Then will a man's fortune be chequer'd with both sorrow and joy;
But to' whom Zeus giveth only of evil that man is outcast,
Hunger houndeth him on disconsolate over the brave earth,
Unrespected alike whether of mortals or immortals.
So my sire Peleus was dow'r'd with favour abounding,
And, from birth and cradle honour'd, all men living outshone
In wealth & happiness, king o'er his Myrmidon armies:
And tho' he was but a man, Zeus made him a fair goddess espouse.
But yet an' ev'n to him was an ill thrown in, that he hath not
Sons born into his house to retain its empery,—one son
Only he gat, one doom'd to a fate untimely, nor evn he
Comforts th'old man at home, since exiled far from him I bide
Here in Troy, thy sons' destruction compassing and thine.
Thou too, sir, we have heard enjoy'd'st good fortune aforetime;
From Mytilene in Lesbos away to the boundary eastward
Of Phrygia's highlands, & north to the briny Hellespont.
Thou, sir, didst all men for wealth & progeny excel:
But when once th'high gods let loose this mischief anigh thee,
Thy city was compast with nought but fierce battle and blood.
Bear up, allow thy temper awhile some respite of anguish:
Thou wilt not benefit thy dear son vainly bewailing,
Nor restore him alive ere thou taste further affliction.’
Stor'd ready with free gifts, of good things one, one of evil.
If mingling from both heav'n's thunderer equaly dispense,
Then will a man's fortune be chequer'd with both sorrow and joy;
But to' whom Zeus giveth only of evil that man is outcast,
Hunger houndeth him on disconsolate over the brave earth,
Unrespected alike whether of mortals or immortals.
So my sire Peleus was dow'r'd with favour abounding,
And, from birth and cradle honour'd, all men living outshone
468
And tho' he was but a man, Zeus made him a fair goddess espouse.
But yet an' ev'n to him was an ill thrown in, that he hath not
Sons born into his house to retain its empery,—one son
Only he gat, one doom'd to a fate untimely, nor evn he
Comforts th'old man at home, since exiled far from him I bide
Here in Troy, thy sons' destruction compassing and thine.
Thou too, sir, we have heard enjoy'd'st good fortune aforetime;
From Mytilene in Lesbos away to the boundary eastward
Of Phrygia's highlands, & north to the briny Hellespont.
Thou, sir, didst all men for wealth & progeny excel:
But when once th'high gods let loose this mischief anigh thee,
Thy city was compast with nought but fierce battle and blood.
Bear up, allow thy temper awhile some respite of anguish:
Thou wilt not benefit thy dear son vainly bewailing,
Nor restore him alive ere thou taste further affliction.’
| Poetical Works of Robert Bridges excluding the eight dramas | |