Social Commentaries
From an Old German Poet
From Complete Poetical Works, ed. E. H. Coleridge (1912)
That France has put us oft to rout
With powder, which ourselves found out;
And laughs at us for fools in print,
Of which our genius was the Mint;
All this I easily admit,
For we have genius, France has wit.
But 'tis too bad, that blind and mad
To Frenchmen's wives each travelling German goes,
Expands his manly vigour by their sides,
Becomes the father of his country's foes
And turns their warriors oft to parricides.
'Dass Frankreich uns pflegt zu verwunden
Durch Pulver, welches wir erfunden.'
Codex Note
Adapted by Coleridge from Wernicke's Epigrams
Cite this poem
MLA
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “From an Old German Poet.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/coleridge/342/.
Chicago
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. “From an Old German Poet.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/coleridge/342/.
Read this poem with the Codex →