Jaroslav Vrchlický

“ The spring of youth, concealed within the grass
Amid a thousand others, whence I drank
From many, and, 'tis very like, from youth:
And therefore all endured I with acclaim,
And therefore all, as in a mirror, I
Perceive within my soul, and now portray it.
The world is changed of aspect: I shall die
Like others, but my heritage remains:
The lust for seeing all and learning all,
To ransack all for the delight of man;
Legion shall be my sons: they shall proceed
Farther than I, but scarcely shall see more,
For earth sheds wonders as a snake its skin. ”

“ Once Brother Andrew was standing with the empty baskets in front of the door waiting for a companion.
Andrew, the monk, had gone to the Prior, for his latest directions. Brother Cœlestin was gazing sadly away toward the mountains. His heart was filled with an indescribable longing. Then he looked up and saw the basket-laden ass. A wild desire mastered him to learn to know the intricacies of the mountains, to breathe deeply the fresh, free air, to rejoice with the soaring lark, and to look again upon the faces of living men,—not these dried mummies who were perishing in asceticism. ”

“ Bohdan.—But, Cilka, are you again so sensitive?
Cilka.—Didn’t you hear it? Nothing but irony, sarcasm and bitterness the whole day long. How can love exist among these thorns?
Bohdan.—Why don't you try to understand Karel? In his essence he is good and pure. His sarcasm is only his self defence. Rather than to become gushy, rather than to wear out love by commonplace sentiments, he makes it more lasting by adding to it his irony. ”

“ And all this tempts me in your arms to fall.
I close my eyes, and yield to the wings of night,
Like a star, your being pours a stream of light
It seems, in you, I hold all Beauty’s mold.
Oh mystery, oh flames of a burning kiss,
Oh flaming tears, boundless abandon of bliss,
Oh budding breasts and hair of molten gold!
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content. ”

“ They placed two pans at the foot of the king, two at the head, and one on either side. They sprinkled myrrh and powdered incense upon the coals, and disappeared as softly as phantoms. The seven glowing pans lighted the dim room and sent up a blueish smoke that filled the air with fragrance. The pale face of the king looked paler. The four men who sat and watched him sank lower their heads upon their breasts.
To the warmth of the summer night was added the heat of the steaming pans. Beads of sweat stood out upon the brows of the watching men, and dotted like pearls their long, black beards. ”

“ Within my soul a sorrow—
A bitterness there dwelt.
And while I look it changes;
My mother’s face I see.
The features calm in prayer—
That prayer is for me.
The eyes with tear-drops heavy,
The lips drawn for a kiss ”

“ Seek hours of joy, whose light is in thine eyes revealed?
Come, for the sun's first splendour on the country falls,
His sheen is in thy heart, like to a thread of gold,
Entrust to him thy steps, and gain love's heavenly halls,
Where youth doth to thy lips its draught of nectar hold.
⁠What is it nigh my head doth sound?
As though were flung a cymbal on the grassy ground.
“Eclogues and Songs” (1880) . ”

“ From their tops sometimes ravens rose. Beneath, blue flames trembled, over which seductive will-o'-the-wisps floated. By the shore sat huge frogs, whose emerald-green bodies showed yellow spots. The air became heavy. Mist veiled the moon; and now they floated away over the crest of the mountains and the flute song was heard no more. They stood upon the edge of an abyss, into this measureless depth the woman leaped, riding upon pallid moonlight—and disappeared. Upon the edge of the cliff above sat Satan; he put the flute aside and laughed loudly and scornfully. Cœlestin opened his eyes. ”

“ Who can tell me whether after a great artist one who is greater will not come?—Nobody. What measurement or rule should one use if he really does come? If you will heap on your contemporaries the greatest praise and bury them in panegyrics and eulogies what shall our posterity do? That's the misfortune of our modern romancers, who now go a begging for a morsel of recognition. You have given to your so-called classics extravagant praise and now our young world is unappreciated.
Bohdan.—Just like Ladislav Bystrina. Now you have contradicted yourself.
Karel.—What! Is Bystrina a beginner? ”

“ Why should we love, I ask you. Tell me why?
When we no longer feel love’s scorching breath.
Why look for peace, where haste and storms speed by,
Where happiness to man comes after death.
Why should we tempt old dreams again to life,
When strange to us appears their joyous dance. ”

“ Seldom has a king at his anointing shown such indifference as Solomon. They did with him as they wished. They led him hither and thither. After being proclaimed king, he would gladly have gone back to Baalhamon. But David again lay as one dead, wordless, motionless, between the pans of glowing coals, wrapped in the yellow lion’s skin. Nathan, the prophet, thought the end was near. Abisag still visited the king, but her efforts were useless.
When Solomon entered the room of his father, David, the King, it was evening. Banahash, alone, was with him. ”

“ When by God thrown in the abyss.
Thus felt God at world's creation
When he realized, thereafter,
That he made the world . . . for sorrow.
Moonlight vanished . . . all is darkness
As within the prelate's bosom. ”

“ Man and even God will waver
To assist you in your plight.
You must suffer in lifers maelstrom,
Though you win, or yield to fear,
Til you’ve touched Life’s very bottom—
You know not . . . that Death is near. ”