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Venetian Epigram 5: I would compare to the land this anvil, its lord to the hammer
Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Venetian Epigrams
I WOULD compare to the land this anvil, its lord to the hammer,
And to the people the plate, which in the middle is bent.
Sad is the poor tin-plate's lot, when the blows are but given at random:
Ne'er will the kettle be made, while they uncertainly fall.
Cite this poem
MLA
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 5: I would compare to the land this anvil, its lord to the hammer.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/305/.
Chicago
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 5: I would compare to the land this anvil, its lord to the hammer.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/305/.
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