The Poems of Schiller — First period by Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller
page 30 of 86 (34%)
page 30 of 86 (34%)
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But their glow thou never more canst feel;
O'er its flowers the zephyr's pinions wave, O'er thine ear its murmur ne'er can steal; Love will never tinge thine eye with gold, Never wilt thou embrace thy blooming bride, Not e'en though our tears in torrents rolled-- Death must now thine eye forever hide! Yet 'tis well!--for precious is the rest, In that narrow house the sleep is calm; There, with rapture sorrow leaves the breast,-- Man's afflictions there no longer harm. Slander now may wildly rave o'er thee, And temptation vomit poison fell, O'er the wrangle on the Pharisee, Murderous bigots banish thee to hell! Rogues beneath apostle-masks may leer, And the bastard child of justice play, As it were with dice, with mankind here, And so on, until the judgment day! O'er thee fortune still may juggle on, For her minions blindly look around,-- Man now totter on his staggering throne, And in dreary puddles now be found! Blest art thou, within thy narrow cell! To this stir of tragi-comedy, To these fortune-waves that madly swell, To this vain and childish lottery, To this busy crowd effecting naught, |
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