King Alfred's Poems Now first turned into English Metres; By Martin F. Tupper |
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| I. |
| II. | II. A Sorrowful Fytte. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| 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 |  |
13
II. A Sorrowful Fytte.
Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi,
Flebilis, heu! mœstos cogor inire modos, &c.
Flebilis, heu! mœstos cogor inire modos, &c.
Hwæt ic liotha fela,
Lustlice geo,
Sanc on sælum, &c.
Lustlice geo,
Sanc on sælum, &c.
Lo! I sang cheerily
In my bright days,
But now all wearily
Chaunt I my lays;
Sorrowing tearfully,
Saddest of men,
Can I sing cheerfully,
As I could then?
In my bright days,
But now all wearily
Chaunt I my lays;
Sorrowing tearfully,
Saddest of men,
Can I sing cheerfully,
As I could then?
14
Many a verity
In those glad times
Of my prosperity
Taught I in rhymes;
Now from forgetfulness
Wanders my tongue,
Wasting in fretfulness
Metres unsung.
In those glad times
Of my prosperity
Taught I in rhymes;
Now from forgetfulness
Wanders my tongue,
Wasting in fretfulness
Metres unsung.
Worldliness brought me here
Foolishly blind,
Riches have wrought me here
Sadness of mind;
When I rely on them
Lo! they depart,—
Bitterly, fie on them!
Rend they my heart.
Foolishly blind,
Riches have wrought me here
Sadness of mind;
When I rely on them
Lo! they depart,—
Bitterly, fie on them!
Rend they my heart.
Why did your songs to me,
World-loving men,
Say joy belongs to me
Ever as then?
Why did ye lyingly
Think such a thing,
Seeing how flyingly
Wealth may take wing?
World-loving men,
Say joy belongs to me
Ever as then?
Why did ye lyingly
Think such a thing,
Seeing how flyingly
Wealth may take wing?
| King Alfred's Poems | |