Saturday, January 30, 2016
Lauro de Bosis (1901-1931): from "Icaro", The First Act
...
PASIPHAE
Icarus, love can do all things.
ICARUS
Mine can do nothing. It dares to look too high.
PASIPHAE
Look at me, poet.
ICARUS
Queen, thine eyes cause me to lower mine.
PASIPHAE
Look at me, poet. Icarus, read in my heart.
ICARUS
Lady, the human heart is a dread abyss.
PASIPHAE
And thou fearest to look into it?
ICARUS
Queen, to-day a mortal unrest, relentless and obscure, op-
presses me. Let the poet first regain his calm.
PASIPHAE
What torments thee?
ICARUS
An eagle that has wildly beating wings but whose claws are
caught fast in the rock.
PASIPHAE
Thou, the hunter of eagles - now their prey? Let me disperse thy phantoms: I know a philtre for all thy torment.
Lauro de Bosis, "Icaro"
Silver Olympic Medal
Arts, Dramatic Works
Amsterdam 1928
Oxford University Press
London:Humphrey Milford 1933
Translation Ruth Draper
Icaro
Art Competitions at The Olympic Games
PASIPHAE
Icarus, love can do all things.
ICARUS
Mine can do nothing. It dares to look too high.
PASIPHAE
Look at me, poet.
ICARUS
Queen, thine eyes cause me to lower mine.
PASIPHAE
Look at me, poet. Icarus, read in my heart.
ICARUS
Lady, the human heart is a dread abyss.
PASIPHAE
And thou fearest to look into it?
ICARUS
Queen, to-day a mortal unrest, relentless and obscure, op-
presses me. Let the poet first regain his calm.
PASIPHAE
What torments thee?
ICARUS
An eagle that has wildly beating wings but whose claws are
caught fast in the rock.
PASIPHAE
Thou, the hunter of eagles - now their prey? Let me disperse thy phantoms: I know a philtre for all thy torment.
Lauro de Bosis, "Icaro"
Silver Olympic Medal
Arts, Dramatic Works
Amsterdam 1928
Oxford University Press
London:Humphrey Milford 1933
Translation Ruth Draper
Icaro
Art Competitions at The Olympic Games
Monday, January 11, 2016
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) : from "The Masque of Pandora"
III
TOWER OF PROMETHEUS ON MOUNT CAUCASUS
PROMOTHEUS.
I HEAR the trumpet of Alectryon
Proclaim the dawn. The stars begin to fade,
And all the heavens are full of prophecies
And evil auguries. Blood-red last night
I saw great Kronos rise ; the crescent moon
Sank through the mist, as if it were the scythe
His parricidal hand had flung far down
The western steeps. O ye immortal Gods,
What evils are ye plotting and contriving ?
HERMES and PANDORA at the threshold
PANDORA.
I cannot cross the threshold. An unseen
And icy hand repels me. These blank walls
Oppress me with their weight !
PROMETHEUS.
Powerful ye are,
But not omnipotent. Ye cannot fight
Against Necessity. The Fates control you,
As they do us, and so far we are equals !
PANDORA.
Motionless, passionless, companionless
He sits there muttering in his beard. His voice
Is like a river flowing underground!
HERMES.
Prometheus, hail !
PROMETHEUS.
Who calls me ?
HERMES.
It is I.
Dost Thou not know me ?
PROMETHEUS.
By thy winged cap
And winged heels I know thee. Thou art Hermes,
Captain of thieves ! Hast thou again been stealing
The heifers of Admetus in the sweet
Meadows of asphodel ? Or Hera's girdle ?
Or the earth-shaking trident of Poseidon ?
HERMES.
And thou, Prometheus ; say , hast thou again
Been stealing fire from Helios' chariot-wheels
To light thy furnaces ?
PROMETHEUS.
Why comest though hither
So early in the dawn ?
HERMES.
The Immortal Gods
Know naught of late or early. Zeus himself
The omnipotent hath sent me.
PROMETHEUS.
For what purpose ?
HERMES.
To bring this maiden to thee.
PROMETHEUS.
I mistrust
The Gods and all their gifts. If they have sent her
It is for no good purpose.
HERMES.
What disaster
Could she bring on thy house, who is a woman ?
PROMETHEUS.
The Gods are not my friends, nor am I theirs.
Whatever comes from them, though in a shape
As beautiful as this, is evil only.
Who art though ?
PANDORA.
One who, though to thee unknown,
Yet knoweth thee.
PROMETHEUS.
How shouldst thou know me, woman ?
The Masque of Pandora , 1875
TOWER OF PROMETHEUS ON MOUNT CAUCASUS
PROMOTHEUS.
I HEAR the trumpet of Alectryon
Proclaim the dawn. The stars begin to fade,
And all the heavens are full of prophecies
And evil auguries. Blood-red last night
I saw great Kronos rise ; the crescent moon
Sank through the mist, as if it were the scythe
His parricidal hand had flung far down
The western steeps. O ye immortal Gods,
What evils are ye plotting and contriving ?
HERMES and PANDORA at the threshold
PANDORA.
I cannot cross the threshold. An unseen
And icy hand repels me. These blank walls
Oppress me with their weight !
PROMETHEUS.
Powerful ye are,
But not omnipotent. Ye cannot fight
Against Necessity. The Fates control you,
As they do us, and so far we are equals !
PANDORA.
Motionless, passionless, companionless
He sits there muttering in his beard. His voice
Is like a river flowing underground!
HERMES.
Prometheus, hail !
PROMETHEUS.
Who calls me ?
HERMES.
It is I.
Dost Thou not know me ?
PROMETHEUS.
By thy winged cap
And winged heels I know thee. Thou art Hermes,
Captain of thieves ! Hast thou again been stealing
The heifers of Admetus in the sweet
Meadows of asphodel ? Or Hera's girdle ?
Or the earth-shaking trident of Poseidon ?
HERMES.
And thou, Prometheus ; say , hast thou again
Been stealing fire from Helios' chariot-wheels
To light thy furnaces ?
PROMETHEUS.
Why comest though hither
So early in the dawn ?
HERMES.
The Immortal Gods
Know naught of late or early. Zeus himself
The omnipotent hath sent me.
PROMETHEUS.
For what purpose ?
HERMES.
To bring this maiden to thee.
PROMETHEUS.
I mistrust
The Gods and all their gifts. If they have sent her
It is for no good purpose.
HERMES.
What disaster
Could she bring on thy house, who is a woman ?
PROMETHEUS.
The Gods are not my friends, nor am I theirs.
Whatever comes from them, though in a shape
As beautiful as this, is evil only.
Who art though ?
PANDORA.
One who, though to thee unknown,
Yet knoweth thee.
PROMETHEUS.
How shouldst thou know me, woman ?
The Masque of Pandora , 1875
Thursday, January 7, 2016
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