Английская поэзия XIV–XX веков в современных русских переводах - Антология

To keep the garden from dismay,

And bless the sight from dearth.

LXII.

The pheasant shows his pompous neck;

And ermine, jealous of a speck,

With fear eludes offence:

The sable, with his glossy pride,

For ADORATION is descried,

Where frosts the wave condense.

LXIII.

The chearful holly, pensive yew,

And holy thorn, their trim renew;

The squirrel hoards his nuts:

All creatures batten o’er their stores,

And careful nature all her doors,

For ADORATION shuts.

LXIV.

For ADORATION, DAVID’s psalms

Lift up the heart to deeds of alms;

And he, who kneels and chants,

Prevails his passions to controul,

Finds meat and med’cine to the soul,

Which for translation pants.

LXV.

For ADORATION, beyond match,

The scollar bulfinch aims to catch

The soft flute’s iv’ry touch;

And, careless on the hazle spray,

The daring redbreast keeps at bay

The damsel’s greedy clutch.

LXVI.

For ADORATION, in the skies,

The Lord’s philosopher espies

The Dog, the Ram, and Rose;

The planet’s ring, Orion’s sword;

Nor is his greatness less ador’d

In the vile worm that glows.

LXVII.

For ADORATION on the strings

The western breezes work their wings,

The captive ear to sooth. —

Hark! ’tis a voice-how still, and small —

That makes the cataracts to fall,

Or bids the sea be smooth.

LXVIII.

For ADORATION, incense comes

From bezoar, and Arabian gums;

And on the civet’s furr.

But as for prayer, or e’re it faints,

Far better is the breath of saints

Than galbanum and myrrh.

LXIX.

For ADORATION from the the down,

Of dam’sins to th’ anana’s crown,

God sends to tempt the taste;

And while the luscious zest invites,

The sense, that in the scene delights,

Commands desire be chaste.

LXX.

For ADORATION, all the paths

Of grace are open, all the baths

Of purity refresh;

And all the rays of glory beam

To deck the man of God’s esteem,

Who triumph o’er the flesh.

LXXI.

For ADORATION, in the dome

Of Christ the sparrow’s find an home;

And on his olives perch:

The swallow also dwell with thee,

O man of God’s humility,

Within his Saviour CHURCH.

LXXII.

Sweet is the dew that falls betimes,

And drops upon the leafy limes;

Sweet Hermon’s fragrant air:

Sweet is the lilly’s siluer bell,

And sweet the wakeful tapers smell

That watch for early pray’r.

LXXIII.

Sweet the the young nurse with love intense,

Which smiles o’er sleeping innocence;

Sweet when the lost arrive:

Sweet the musician’s ardour beats,

While his vague mind’s in quest of sweets,

The choicest flow’rs to hive.

LXXIV.

Sweeter in all the strains of love,

The language of thy turtle dove,

Pair’d to thy swelling chord;

Sweeter with ev’ry grace endu’d,

The glory of thy gratitude,

Respir’d unto the Lord.

LXXV.

Strong is the horse upon his speed;

Strong in pursuit the rapid glede,

Which makes at once his game:

Strong the tall ostrich on the ground;

Strong thro’ the tubulent profound

Shoots xiphias to his aim.

LXXVI.

Strong is the lion-like a coal

His eye-ball-like a bastion’s mole

His chest against the foes:

Strong, the gier-eagle on his sail,

Strong against tide, th’enormous whale

Emerges as he goes.

LXXVII.

But stronger still, in earth and air,

And in the sea, the man of pray’r;

And far beneath the tide;

And in the seat to faith assign’d,

Where ask is have, where seek is find,

Where knock is open wide.

LXXVIII.

Beauteous the fleet before the gale;

Beauteous the multitudes in mail,

Rank’d arms and crested heads:

Beauteous the garden’s umbrage mild,

Walk, water, meditated wild,

And all the bloomy beds.

LXXIX.

Beauteous the moon full on the lawn;

And beauteous, when the veil’s withdrawn,

The virgin to her spouse:

Beauteous the temple deck’d and fill’d,

When to the heav’n of heav’n’s they build

Their heart-directed vows.

LXXX.

Beauteous, yea beauteous more than these,

The shepheard king upon his knees,

For his momentous trust;

With wish of infinite conceit,

For man, beast, mute, the small and great,

And prostrate dust to dust.

LXXXI.

Precious the bounteous widow’s mite;

And precious, for extream delight,

The largess from the churl:

Precious the ruby’s blushing blaze,

And alba’s blest imperial rays,

And pure cerulean pearl.

LXXXII.

Precious the penitential tear;

And precious is the sigh sincere,

Acceptable to God:

And precious are the winning flow’rs,

In gladsome Israel’s feast of bow’rs,

Bound on the hallow’d sod.

LXXXIII.

More precious that diviner part

Of David, ev’n the Lord’s own heart,

Great, beautiful, and new:

In all things where it was intent,

In all