A poem by Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
I.
Silence! coeval with Eternity;
Thou wert, ere Nature’s-self began to be,
‘Twas one vast Nothing, all, and all slept fast in thee.
II.
Thine was the sway, ere heav’n was form’d, or earth,
Ere fruitful Thought conceiv’d creation’s birth,
Or midwife Word gave aid, and spoke the infant forth.
III.
Then various elements, against thee join’d,
In one more various animal combin’d,
And fam’d the clam’rous race of busy Human-kind.
IV.
The tongue mov’d gently first, and speech was low,
‘Till wrangling Science taught it noise and show,
And wicked Wit arose, thy most abusive foe.
V.
But rebel Wit deserts thee oft’ in vain;
Lost in the maze of words he turns again,
And seeks a surer state, and courts thy gentle reign.
VI.
Afflicted Sense thou kindly dost set free,
Oppress’d with argumental tyranny,
And routed Reason finds a safe retreat in thee.
VII.
With thee in private modest Dulness lies,
And in thy bosom lurks in Thought’s disguise;
Thou varnisher of Fools, and cheat of all the Wise!
VIII.
Yet thy indulgence is by both confest;
Folly by thee lies sleeping in the breast,
And ’tis in thee at last that Wisdom seeks for rest.
IX.
Silence the knave’s repute, the whore’s good name,
The only honour of the wishing dame;
Thy very want of tongue makes thee a kind of Fame.
X.
But could’st thou seize some tongues that now are free,
How Church and State should be oblig’d to thee!
At Senate, and at Bar, how welcome would’st thou be!
XI.
Yet speech ev’n there, submissively withdraws,
From rights of subjects, and the poor man’s cause:
Then pompous Silence reigns, and stills the noisy Laws.
XII.
Past services of friends, good deeds of foes,
What Fav’rites gain, and what the Nation owes,
Fly the forgetful world, and in thy arms repose.
XIII.
The country wit, religion of the town,
The courtier’s learning, policy o’ th’ gown,
Are best by thee express’d; and shine in thee alone.
XIV.
The parson’s cant, the lawyer’s sophistry,
Lord’s quibble, critic’s jest; all end in thee,
All rest in peace at last, and sleep eternally.
A few random poems:
- My Views of Man by Ronald G. Auguste
- Poems On Life by Rabindranath Tagore
- Black Lake by Memphis Knight
- Омар Хайям – Есть много вер, и все несхожи
- The Ballad of the Red Earl by Rudyard Kipling
- A Padlock for the Mouth by William Somervile
- Николай Языков – А. Н. Вульфу (Теперь я в Камби, милый мой)
- Songs of Joy by William Henry Davies
- The Owl And The Lark poem – Alfred Austin
- September 1815 by William Wordsworth
- Наталья Хрущева – Дождик и художник
- Weak Is The Will Of Man, His Judgement Blind by William Wordsworth
- These Are The Clouds by William Butler Yeats
- Robert Burns: A Fiddler In The North:
- Dilton Marsh Halt poem – John Betjeman poems | Poems and Poetry
External links
Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus
Talking Writing Monster’s Page –
Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh
Poems in English
- The Princess: A Medley: Our Enemies have Fall’n poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Princess: A Medley: O Swallow poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Princess: A Medley: Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Princess: A Medley: Home they Brought her Warrior Dead poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Princess: A Medley: Come down, O Maid poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Princess: A Medley: Ask me no more poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Princess: A Medley: As thro’ the land poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Passing Of Arthur poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Palace of Art poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Owl poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Oak poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Miller’s Daughter poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Merman poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Mermaid poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Marriage Of Geraint poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Lord of Burleigh poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Letters poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Last Tournament poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
- The Lady of Shalott | Best Love Poems
- The Holy Grail poem – Lord Alfred Tennyson poems
More external links (open in a new tab):
Doska or the Board – write anything
Search engines:
Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)
Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.
Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees
Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.
Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.
Parallel Translations of Poetry
The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works
