| Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916. | | | XXVII. Vain Longing
To his Friend in Elysium | | By Joachim du Bellay (1552–1560) |
| | Translated by Andrew Lang
SO long you wandered on the dusky plain, | |
| Where flit the shadows with their endless cry, | |
| You reach the shore where all the world goes by, | |
| You leave the strife, the slavery, the pain; | |
| But we, but we, the mortals that remain | 5 |
| In vain stretch hands; for Charon sullenly | |
| Drives us afar, we may not come anigh | |
| Till that last mystic obolus we gain. | |
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| But you are happy in the quiet place, | |
| And with the learnèd lovers of old days, | 10 |
| And with your love, you wander evermore | |
| In the dim woods, and drink forgetfulness | |
| Of us your friends, a weary crowd that press | |
| About the gate, or labour at the oar. | | | | |
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