Love
To My Friend
Translated by John Bowring (1830) · From Poetry of the Magyars (1830)
Not from Pindus' darksome mountain,
Not from the Castalian fountain,
Not from Tempe's desert valley,
Do the heavenly Muses sally;
Vainly there ye seek to find them,
Ages left their shades behind them.
They were Muses wild and savage,
Headed by a boor-Apollo:
Time's regenerating ravage
Brought a better race to follow;
And our Muses, young and laughing,
Dwell in vineyards of Tokay;
Ever there the grape-juice quaffing,
Ever gratulant and gay.
Cite this poem
MLA
Vitéz, Mihály Csokonai. “To My Friend.” Translated by John Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/csokonai/2/.
Chicago
Vitéz, Mihály Csokonai. “To My Friend.” Translated by John Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/csokonai/2/.
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