Living
Venetian Epigram 6: What is the life of a man? Yet thousands are ever accustom'd
Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Venetian Epigrams
WHAT is the life of a man? Yet thousands are ever accustom'd
Freely to talk about man,--what he has done, too, and how.
Even less is a poem; yet thousands read and enjoy it,
Thousands abuse it.--My friend, live and continue to rhyme!
Cite this poem
MLA
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 6: What is the life of a man? Yet thousands are ever accustom'd.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/306/.
Chicago
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Venetian Epigram 6: What is the life of a man? Yet thousands are ever accustom'd.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/306/.
Read this poem with the Codex →