The Motto

Tentanda via est, etc.

What shall I do to be forever known,

And make the age to come my own?

I shall like beasts or common people die,

Unless you write my elegy;

Whilst others great by being born are grown,

Their mothers’ labor, not their own.

In this scale gold, in th’other fame does lie,

The weight of that mounts this so high.

These men are fortune’s jewels, molded bright,

Brought forth with their own fire and light;

If I her vulgar stone, for either look,

Out of myself it must be strook.

Yet I must on : what sound is’t strikes mine ear?

Sure I Fame’s trumpet hear;

It sounds like the last trumpet, for it can

Raise up the buried man.

Unpassed Alps stop me, but I’ll cut through all,

And march, the Muses’ Hannibal.

Hence, all the flattering vanities that lay

Nets of roses in the way;

Hence, the desire of honors or estate

And all that is not above fate;

Hence, Love himself, the tyrant of my days,

Which intercepts my coming praise.

Come, my best friends, my books, and lead me on:

‘Tis time that I were gone.

Welcome, great Stagirite, and teach me now

All I was born to know;

Thy scholar’s vict’ries thou dost far outdo,

He conquered th’earth, the whole world you.

Welcome, learn’d Cicero, whose blest tongue and wit

Preserve Rome’s greatness yet:

Thou art the first of orators; only he

Who best can praise thee, next must be.

Welcome the Mantuan swan, Vergil the wise,

Whose verse walks highest, but not flies;

Who brought green poesy to her perfect age,

And made that art which was a rage.

Tell me, ye mighty three, what shall I do

To be like one of you?

But you have climbed the mountain’s top, there sit

On the calm flour’shing head of it,

And whilst with wearied steps we upward go,

See us and clouds below.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

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 

• Il Penseroso poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• Hymn on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• How Soon Hath Time poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• From ‘Samson Agonistes’ i poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• From ‘Arcades’ poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• Comus poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• At A Vacation Exercise In The Colledge, Part Latin, Part English. The Latin Speeches Ended, The English Thus Began poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• At A Solemn Musick poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• Arcades poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• Another On The Same poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• An Epitaph On The Marchioness Of Winchester poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• An Epitaph on the Admirable Dramatic Poet W. Shakespeare poem – John Milton poems by John Milton
• Winter Seascape poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman
• Winter Landscape poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman
• Westgate-On-Sea poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman
• Verses Turned… poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman
• Upper Lambourne poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman
• Trebetherick poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman
• The Plantster’s Vision poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman
• The Olympic Girl poem – John Betjeman poems by John Betjeman

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

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

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The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works