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1rjohara
I'm trying to track down the source of a verse, and I've just discovered it comes from the 18th-century English contemplative James Hervey. He in turn says he is imitating (not translating) Theocritus. Here are three of six stanzas from Hervey, going through a cycle of seasonal ephemerality; can anyone suggest something specific in Theocritus that this imitates? (I'm just starting to search now.)
When snows descend and robe the fields
In Winter’s bright array:
Touch’d by the sun, the lustre fades,
And weeps itself away.
When Spring appears; when violets blow,
And shed a rich perfume;
How soon the fragrance breathes its last!
How short-liv’d is the bloom!
Fresh in the morn, the Summer rose
Hangs with’ring ere ‘tis noon;
We scarce enjoy the balmy gift,
But mourn the pleasure gone.
When snows descend and robe the fields
In Winter’s bright array:
Touch’d by the sun, the lustre fades,
And weeps itself away.
When Spring appears; when violets blow,
And shed a rich perfume;
How soon the fragrance breathes its last!
How short-liv’d is the bloom!
Fresh in the morn, the Summer rose
Hangs with’ring ere ‘tis noon;
We scarce enjoy the balmy gift,
But mourn the pleasure gone.
2Rood
This query has been terribly neglected during the past two years. Perhaps this will help:
Hervey's inspiration was undoubtedly Idyll 23: "The Lover" which in translation reads in part:
The rose too is lovely, but with time it withers away,
The violet is lovely in spring but rapidly ages;
White is the lily, but it fades when its flowering is over,
White is the snow, but it melts when it falls to the ground.
And lovely is a boy's beauty for but a short time.
Hervey's inspiration was undoubtedly Idyll 23: "The Lover" which in translation reads in part:
The rose too is lovely, but with time it withers away,
The violet is lovely in spring but rapidly ages;
White is the lily, but it fades when its flowering is over,
White is the snow, but it melts when it falls to the ground.
And lovely is a boy's beauty for but a short time.
