John Addington Symonds (1840-1893). [Koina ta ton philon]. Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. 1922. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse

Arthur Quiller-Couch, comp. The Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. 1922.

[Koina ta ton philon]

By John Addington Symonds (1840–1893)


GIVE freely to the friend thou hast;
Unto thyself thou givest:
On barren soil thou canst not cast,
For by his life thou livest.

Nay, this alone doth trouble me—	5
That I should still be giving
Through him unto myself, when he
Is love within me living.

I fain would give to him alone,
Nor let him guess the giver;	10
Like dews that drop on hills unknown,
To feed a lordly river.