Les Regrets/10

IX. 'I love liberty, and I languish in service '

Les Regrets ~ X written by Joachim Du Bellay translated by A. S. Kline

XI. 'The sacred mysteries of holy Roman'

Les Regrets - X. ‘Vivons, Gordes, vivons, vivons, et pour le bruit’.

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X

"Let’s live, let’s live, Gordes, and ignore"
 
Let’s live, let’s live, Gordes, and ignore
The mutterings of the old, their long defeat:
Let’s live, since this life’s so short and sweet,
And even kings have use of it, no more.
 
Day ebbs to twilight, light dawns as before,
And season after season still we greet,
But when sweet light is gone, the dark complete,
Death brings eternal night, sleep evermore.
 
Like creatures then should we live and die?
No, raising our heads towards the sky,
To taste of pleasure’s sweetness life aspires.
 
He’s a fool, who, exchanging certainty
Of present good for dubious futurity,
Would always contradict his own desires.