Love
Roman Elegy 3: Alexander, and Caesar, and Henry, and Fred'rick, the mighty
Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1853) · From Elegies
ALEXANDER, and Caesar, and Henry, and Fred'rick, the mighty,
On me would gladly bestow half of the glory they earn'd,
Could I but grant unto each one night on the couch where I'm lying;
But they, by Orcus's night, sternly, alas! are held down.
Therefore rejoice, oh thou living one, blest in thy love-lighted homestead,
Ere the dark Lethe's sad wave wetteth thy fugitive foot.
Cite this poem
MLA
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Roman Elegy 3: Alexander, and Caesar, and Henry, and Fred'rick, the mighty.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/317/.
Chicago
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. “Roman Elegy 3: Alexander, and Caesar, and Henry, and Fred'rick, the mighty.” Translated by Edgar Alfred Bowring. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/goethe/317/.
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