Arnold The Greatest Poems of Edwin Arnold (Illustrated Edition)

1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-80-272-3652-7
Verlag: Musaicum Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 425 Seiten

The Greatest Poems of Edwin Arnold (Illustrated Edition) showcases the poetic prowess of Edwin Arnold, a prolific writer known for his deeply spiritual and philosophical themes. Arnold's literary style combines vivid imagery with profound insights, making his poems both captivating and thought-provoking. This illustrated edition enhances the reading experience by providing visual depictions that complement Arnold's poetic themes, creating a multi-sensory journey for readers. The poems in this collection span various genres, including epic poetry, romantic verse, and reflective narratives, offering a diverse selection of Arnold's poetic works. Arnold's works are a testament to his commitment to exploring the human experience and spiritual truths, making this collection a valuable contribution to the world of poetry. Readers will be captivated by Arnold's eloquent prose and timeless themes, transcending cultural and temporal boundaries with each poem. The Greatest Poems of Edwin Arnold (Illustrated Edition) is a must-read for poetry enthusiasts seeking a blend of artistic beauty and philosophical depth in their literary pursuits.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Arnold, Edwin

Leseproben

Book The Second

Table of Contents

Now, when our Lord was come to eighteen years,

The King commanded that there should be built

Three stately houses, one of hewn square beams

With cedar lining, warm for winter days;

One of veined marbles, cool for summer heat;

And one of burned bricks, with blue tiles bedecked,

Pleasant at seed-time, when the champaks bud—

Subha, Suramma, Ramma, were their names.

Delicious gardens round about them bloomed,

Streams wandered wild and musky thickets stretched,

With many a bright pavilion and fair lawn

In midst of which Siddartha strayed at will,

Some new delight provided every hour;

And happy hours he knew, for life was rich,

With youthful blood at quickest; yet still came

The shadows of his meditation back,

As the lake's silver dulls with driving clouds.

Which the King marking, called his Ministers:

"Bethink ye, sirs I how the old Rishi spake,"

He said, "and what my dream-readers foretold.

This boy, more dear to me than mine heart's blood,

Shall be of universal dominance,

Trampling the neck of all his enemies,

A King of kings—and this is in my heart;—

Or he shall tread the sad and lowly path

Of self-denial and of pious pains,

Gaining who knows what good, when all is lost

Worth keeping; and to this his wistful eyes

Do still incline amid my palaces.

But ye are sage, and ye will counsel me;

How may his feet be turned to that proud road

Where they should walk, and all fair signs come true

Which gave him Earth to rule, if he would rule?"

The eldest answered, "Maharaja! love

Will cure these thin distempers; weave the spell

Of woman's wiles about his idle heart.

What knows this noble boy of beauty yet,

Eyes that make heaven forgot, and lips of balm?

Find him soft wives and pretty playfellows;

The thoughts ye cannot stay with brazen chains

A girl's hair lightly binds."

And all thought good,

But the King answered, "if we seek him wives,

Love chooseth ofttimes with another eye;

And if we bid range Beauty's garden round,

To pluck what blossom pleases, he will smile

And sweetly shun the joy he knows not of."

Then said another, "Roams the barasingh

Until the fated arrow flies; for him,

As for less lordly spirits, some one charms,

Some face will seem a Paradise, some form

Fairer than pale Dawn when she wakes the world.

This do, my King! Command a festival

Where the realm's maids shall be competitors

In youth and grace, and sports that Sakyas use.

Let the Prince give the prizes to the fair,

And, when the lovely victors pass his seat,

There shall be those who mark if one or two

Change the fixed sadness of his tender cheek;

So we may choose for Love with Love's own eyes,

And cheat his Highness into happiness."

This thing seemed good; wherefore upon a day

The criers bade the young and beautiful

Pass to the palace, for 't was in command

To hold a court of pleasure, and the Prince

Would give the prizes, something rich for all,

The richest for the fairest judged. So flocked

Kapilavastu's maidens to the gate,

Each with her dark hair newly smoothed and bound,

Eyelashes lustred with the soorma-stick,

Fresh-bathed and scented; all in shawls and cloths

Of gayest; slender hands and feet new-stained

With crimson, and the tilka-spots stamped bright.

Fair show it was of all those Indian girls

Slow-pacing past the throne with large black eyes

Fixed on the ground, for when they saw the Prince

More than the awe of Majesty made beat

Their fluttering hearts, he sate so passionless,

Gentle, but so beyond them. Each maid took

With down-dropped lids her gift, afraid to gaze;

And if the people hailed some lovelier one

Beyond her rivals worthy royal smiles,

She stood like a scared antelope to touch

The gracious hand, then fled to join her mates

Trembling at favour, so divine he seemed,

So high and saint-like and above her world.

Thus filed they, one bright maid after another,

The city's flowers, and all this beauteous march

Was ending and the prizes spent, when last

Came young Yasodhara, and they that stood

Nearest Siddartha saw the princely boy

Start, as the radiant girl approached. A form

Of heavenly mould; a gait like Parvati's; the

Eyes like a hind's in love-time, face so fair

Words cannot paint its spell; and she alone

Gazed full-folding her palms across her breasts

On the boy's gaze, her stately neck unbent.

"Is there a gift for me?" she asked, and smiled.

"The gifts are gone," the Prince replied, "yet take

This for amends, dear sister, of whose grace

Our happy city boasts;" therewith he loosed

The emerald necklet from his throat, and clasped

Its green beads round her dark and silk-soft waist;

And their eyes mixed, and from the look sprang love.

Long after—when enlightenment was full—

Lord Buddha—being prayed why thus his heart

Took fire at first glance of the Sakya girl,

Answered, "We were not strangers, as to us

And all it seemed; in ages long gone by

A hunter's son, playing with forest girls

By Yamun's spring, where Nandadevi stands,

Sate umpire while they raced beneath the firs

Like hares at eve that run their playful rings;

One with flower-stars crowned he, one with long plumes

Plucked from eyed pheasant and the junglecock,

One with fir-apples; but who ran the last

Came first for him, and unto her the boy

Gave a tame fawn and his heart's love beside.

And in the wood they lived many glad years,

And in the wood they undivided died.

Lo! as hid seed shoots after rainless years,

So good and evil, pains and pleasures, hates

And loves, and all dead deeds, come forth again

Bearing bright leaves or dark, sweet fruit or sour.

Thus I was he and she Yasodhara;

And while the wheel of birth and death turns round,

That which hath been must be between us two."

But they who watched the Prince at prize-giving

Saw and heard all, and told the careful King

How sate Sidddrtha heedless till there passed

Great Suprabuddha's child, Yasodhara;

And how—at sudden sight of her—he changed,

And how she gazed on him and he on her,

And of the jewel-gift, and what beside

Passed in their speaking glance.

The fond King smiled:

"Look! we have found a lure; take counsel now

To fetch therewith our falcon from the clouds.

Let messengers be sent to ask the maid

In marriage for my son." But it was law

With Sakyas, when any asked a maid

Of noble house, fair and desirable,

He must make good his skill in martial arts

Against all suitors who should challenge it;

Nor might this custom break itself for kings.

Therefore her father spake: "Say to the King,

The child is sought by princes far and near;

If thy most gentle son can bend the bow,

Sway sword, and back a horse better than they,

Best would he be in all and best to us

But how shall this be, with his cloistered ways?"

Then the King's heart was sore, for now the Prince

Begged sweet Yasodhara for wife—in vain,

With Devadatta foremost at the bow,

Ardjuna master of all fiery steeds,

And Nanda chief in sword-play; but the Prince

Laughed low and said, "These things, too, I have learned;

Make proclamation that thy son will meet

All comers at their chosen games. I think

I shall not lose my love for such as these."

So 't was given forth that on the seventh day

The Prince Siddartha summoned whoso would

To match with him in feats of manliness,

The victor's crown to be Yasodhara.

Therefore, upon the seventh day, there went

The Sakya lords and town and country round

Unto the maidan; and the maid went too

Amid her kinsfolk, carried as a bride,

With music, and with litters gaily dight,

And gold-horned oxen, flower-caparisoned.

Whom Devadatta claimed, of royal line,

And Nanda and Ardjuna, noble both,

The flower of all youths there, till the Prince came

Riding his white horse Kantaka, which neighed,

Astonished at this great strange world without

Also Siddartha gazed with wondering eyes

On all those people born beneath the throne,

Otherwise housed than kings, otherwise fed,

And yet so like—perchance—in joys and griefs.

But when the Prince saw sweet Yasodhara,

Brightly he smiled, and drew his silken rein,

Leaped to the earth from Kantaka's broad back,

And cried, "He is not worthy of this pearl

Who is not...