Thomas Moore (Томас Мур)

From “Irish Melodies”. 85. Oh For the Swords of Former Time

OH for the swords of former time!
      Oh for the men who bore them,
When, arm’d for Right, they stood sublime,
      And tyrants crouch’d before them:
When free yet, ere courts began
      With honours to enslave him,
The best honours worn by Man
      Were those which Virtue gave him.
Oh for the swords, etc., etc.

Oh for the Kings who flourish’d then!
      Oh for the pomp that crown’d them,
When hearts and hands of freeborn men
      Were all the ramparts round them.
When, safe built on bosoms true,
      The throne was but the centre,
Round which Love a circle drew
      That Treason durst not enter.
Oh, for the Kings who flourish’d then!
      Oh for the pomp that crown’d them,
When hearts and hands of freeborn men
      Were all the ramparts round them!

Thomas Moore’s other poems:

  1. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 57
  2. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 59
  3. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 64
  4. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 62
  5. From “The Odes of Anacreon”. Ode 61





To the dedicated English version of this website