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INSENSIBILITY TO MUSIC.

245

A TRUE FRIEND.

Give me the friend whose frank, ingenious mind,
Stamped (1) on each honest accent I may find,
Who, slave to no mean prejudice, dares think,
Nor from a free avowal e'er will shrink,
But firm to sacred Truth will never bend (2)
To be that thing, a tame (3) subservient friend,
One, who to suit the occasion forms the phrase,
And as his patron wills, can blame or praise.

Among the bland (4) assentors are my foes:
He loves me best who ventures to oppose,
Corrects my erring judgment, mends (5) my mind,
And in well meant (6) severity is kind,

Tells me my faults, ere yet too rooted grown,
And holds (7) my fame as precious as his own,
Who loves the germ of virtue to observe,
Joys to commend, but blames without reserve.

INSENSIBILITY TO THE CHARMS OF MUSIC,

The man who hath not music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,

(1) To stamp, imprimer.

(2) To bend, plier, courber, s'humilier.

(3) Tame, humble, soumis.

(4) Bland, doux, flatteur.

(5) To mend, perfectionner, corriger.

(6) Well meant, fait avec de bonnes intentions. (7) To hold, tenir, garder, estimer.

Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils (1);
The motions of his spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus (2):

Let no such man be trusted.

SHAKSPEARE.

ENVIOUS MEN IN POWER.

Fools shall be pull'd

From wisdom's seat; those baleful (3), unclean birds,
Those lazy owls, who, perch'd near fortune's top,
Sit only watchful with their heavy wings

To cuff down (4) new fledged virtues that would rise
To nobler heights and make the grove harmonious.

OTWAY.

HONOUR.

Honour is the subject of my story:

I cannot tell what you and other men

Think of this life; but, for my single self,
I'd rather sleep i'th' (5) dust, than live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself.

I was born free as Cæsar. So were you.

(1) Spoils, pillage, vols.

(2) Erebus, Érèbe, région de l'enfer.

(5) Baleful, nuisible.

(4) To cuff down, empêcher de monter, abattre, renverser. (5) I'th' pour in the.

HONOUR.

We both have fed (1) as well, and we can both
Endure the winter's cold as well as he.

For once, upon a raw and gusty day (2),

The troubled Tiber chafing (3) with his shores,
Cæsar says to me, "Dar'st thou, Cassius, now
Leap in with me into this angry flood,

And swim (4) to yonder point?" Upon the word,
Accoutred as I was, I plunged in,

And bad him follow; so indeed he did.

The torrent roared, and we did buffet it (5)
With lusty sinews (6), throwing it aside,

And stemming (7) it with hearts of controversy.
But ere we could attain the point proposed,
Help me, Cassius, or I sink. ”
Then, as Æneas, our great ancestor,

Cæsar cried: 66

Did from the flames of Troy upon his shoulders
The old Anchises bear, so from the waves of Tiber
Did I the tired (8) Cæsar: and this man

Is now become a God, and Cassius is

A wretched creature, and must bend his body
If Cæsar carelessly but nod (9) to him.

247

(1) Fed, passé de to feed, manger, nourrir.

(2) Gust, bouffée de vent; gusty day, jour orageux.

(3) To chafe, frotter, frapper.

(4) To swim, nager.

(5) To buffet, frapper, tenir tête à, débattre.

(6) Lusty sinews, nerfs forts, muscles, grandes forces. (7) To stem, refouler la marée.

(8) Tired, fatigué, épuisé.

(9) To nod, faire signe de la tête.

He had an ague (1) when he was in Spain,

And when the fit (2) was on him, I did mark
How he did shake: 'tis truth, this God did shake;
His coward lips did from their colour fly,

And that same eye, whose bend (5) doth awe the world,
Did lose its lustre; I did hear him groan :

Ay, and that tongue of his, that bad (4) the Romans
Mark him, and write his speeches in their books,
Alas! it cried "Give me some drink, Titinius;
As a sick girl. Ye, Gods, it doth amaze me,

:

A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start (5) of the majestic world,
And bear the palm alone.

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SHAKSPEARE.

THE GREEKS BEFORE TROY. SORTIE OF THE TROJANS.

Now had the Grecians snatched (6) a short repast,
And buckled on their shining arms with haste.
Troy roused as soon; for on that dreadful day
The fate of fathers, wives, and infants, lay (7).
The gates unfolding pour forth (8) all their train;

(1) Ague (prononcez éguiou), la fièvre tierce.

(2) Fit, accès, attaque.

(5) Whose bend, dont le regard.

(4) Bad ou bade, passé de to bid, ordonner, commander. (5) To get the start of, devancer, prendre le dessus.

(6) To snatch, saisir.

(7) Des événements de ce jour-là dépendait le sort de leurs pères, de leurs femmes et de leurs enfants.

(8) To pour forth, verser, vomir, envoyer en abondance.

THE GREEKS BEFORE TROY.

249

Squadrons on squadrons cloud (1) the dusky plain :
Men, steeds and chariots, shake the trembling ground;
The tumult thickens, and the skies resound.
And now with shouts the shocking armies closed,
To lances lances, shields to shields, opposed,
Host against host with shadowy legions drew;
The sounding darts (2) in iron tempests flew;
Victors and vanquish'd join promiscuous (3) cries;
Triumphant shouts and dying groans arise;

With streaming blood the slippery (4) fields are died,
And slaughter'd heroes swell (5) the dreadful tide.
Long as the morning beams increasing bright
O'er heaven's clear azure spread the sacred light,
Promiscuous death the fate of war confounds,
Each adverse battle gored (6) with equal wounds.
But when the sun the height of heav'n ascends,
The sire of Gods his golden scales suspends
With equal hand; in these explored the fate

Of Greece and Troy, and poised (7) the mighty weight.
Press'd with its load the Grecian balance lies

Low sunk on earth; the Trojan strikes the skies (8).
Then Jove from Ida's top his horrors spreads;
The clouds burst dreadful o'er the Grecian heads;

(1) To cloud, obscurcir, de cloud, nuage.
(2) The sounding darts, les traits résonnants.
(5) Promiscuous, mêlé.

(4) Slippery, glissant.

(5) To swell, augmenter, grossir.

(6) Gored, blessé.

(7) To poise, peser.

(8) To strike the skies, monter jusqu'aux cieux.

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