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Milton's L'allegro and Il penseroso, tr. into Fr. by J. Roberts
Milton's L'allegro and Il penseroso tr into Fr by J Roberts Author:John Milton Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: // Penseroso. HENCE, vain deluding joys, The brood of Folly without father bred ! How little you bestead, Or fill the fixed mind with all your toys ! D... more »well in some idle brain,- And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess, As thick and numberless As the gay motes that people the sunbeams ; Or likest hovering dreams, The fickle pensioners of Morpheus' train. But hail, thou goddess sage and holy, Hail, divinest Melancholy! // Penseroso. Allez, Plaisirs fallacieux, Enfants sans père, enfants de la seule Folie ; Qu'ils ont peu d'attraits tous vos jeux Pour séduire l'amant de la philosophie ! Allez chercher un creux cerveau, Pour le remplir de vos fantastiques images, Essaim pareil au léger flot D'atomes dans le rayon chaud ; Essaim plus inconstant que les songes volages Environnant Morphée en bizarre troupeau. Mais honneur à toi, nymphe sage, Mélancolie au saint visage, Whose saintly visage is too bright To hit the sense of human sight, And therefore to our weaker view O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's hue; Black, but such as in esteem Prince Memnon's sister might beseem, Or that starr'd Ethiop queen that strove To set her beauty's praise above The sea-nymphs, and their powers offended Yet thou art higher far descended ; Thee bright-hair'd Vesta, long of yore, To solitary Saturn bore; His daughter she (in Saturn's reign, Such mixture was not held a stain). Au visage trop radieux Pour les mortels aux faibles yeux Tu parais à notre faiblesse Noirâtre comme la Sagesse : Oh ! mais de nulle autre couleur Ne fut du roi Memnon la sœur ; Telle fut la céleste reine, La belle reine éthiopienne, La beauté qui se compara A Thétis et l'exaspéra. Mais plus haute est ton origine, E...« less