John Bowring

“ Living in the remotest mountainous regions of Mindanao, never, I believe, explored by European adventurers, there is a race in the very lowest stages of barbarism, I cannot say of civilization, for of that they present no trace. They are said to wear no garments, to build no houses, to dress no food. They wander in the forest, whose wild fruits they gather by day, and sleep among the branches of the trees by night. They have no form of government, no chief, no religious rites or usages. ”

“ Sonnet 37.
Negen že ge kinene slowanského.
'Tis not alone that of Slavonia's stem, She is a simple and a smiling flower;
Tho' the obdurate frank and saxon's power
Have sought to rose the impress of the gem.
Oh! many erring sons of Slawa know
Too little of her glories—they conspire,
Her language—their sire's fame—to overthrow,
Nor heed the frownings of celestial ire.
A heart as pure as are the pearls of dew—
An english spirit in a child-like guise—
A magic on the lips and in the eyes,
And friendship's strength, and beauty's sparkling hue.
Ye fame-full tribes and tongues! ”

“ For it is the condition, curse and condemnation of monopoly, that while it narrows the vision and cramps the intellect of the monopolist, it delivers the great interests of commerce to the guardianship of an inferior race of traders, excluding those higher qualities which are associated with commercial enterprise when launched upon the wide ocean of adventurous and persevering energy. How is the tree to reach its full growth and expansion whose branches are continually lopped off lest their shadows should extend, and their fruit fall for the benefit of others than its owner? ”

“ The most distinguished and acceptable present from the ladies of the harem is, however, a fairly woven kerchief, or napkin, on which the receiver’s name, or a verse of poetry, or a sentence of the Koran, is wrought in Arabic letters of gold.
There is a little hidden coquetry in all women’s nature which, conceal it as they may, will break out in the presence of admiring man, and ordinarily the coquetry will be in the proportion of the comeliness of the possessor. No woman is insensible to the charms of her own beauty, and she will seldom fail to exhibit it when she finds the opportunity. ”

“ While bearing its allegiance to its lord.
"O noble prince! our master and protector—
Noble prince! our lord and benefactor!"
He enters thro' the portal at the sound,
And then renew'd rejoicings swell around.
But the "renew'd rejoicings" soon are dumb,
And stillness is where late were noisy joys;
For love, with its anxieties, is come—
Come with its silence, solitude, and sighs.
"Such beauty, and such virtue shine upon her,
They, even the palace of a prince will honor:
None, none but she shall grace my marriage bed,
No other maiden in the world I'll wed." ”

“ The thick and many-tinted foliage of the mango—the tall bamboos shaking their feathery heads aloft—the cocoa-nut loftier still—the areca and the nipa palms—the plantains, whose huge green leaves give such richness to a tropical landscape—the bread-fruit, the papaya, and the bright-coloured wild-flowers, which stray at will over banks and branches—the river every now and then visible, with its canoes and cottages, and Indian men, women, and children scattered along its banks. ”

“ Traveler, ages are its own;
See, it bursts o'er all the earth.
Watchman, tell us of the night,
For the morning seems to dawn.
Traveler, darkness takes its flight,
Doubt and terror are withdrawn.
Watchman, let thy wanderings cease;
Hie thee to thy quiet home.
Traveler, lo! the Prince of Peace,
Lo! the Son of God is come!
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”

“ What is narrow or exclusive in benevolence I would widen; all that is selfish I would fain control. The virtues become more intellectual—the intellect becomes more virtuous, by sometimes travelling beyond the little limits of family, and tribe, and nation. It is most delightful and most improving to feel concerned in the well-being of those who are removed from us—to hail them as part of the great family of man. To influence their felicity is the lot of but few—to rejoice in it and so to share it, might be the privilege of all. ”

“ To foreign nations—to our own especially—the particular interest felt in the state of the Philippines is naturally more of a commercial than of a political character. They must grow in trading importance; already enough has been done to make a retrograde or even a stationary policy untenable. Every step taken towards emancipation from the ancient fetters which ignorance and monopoly laid upon their progress has been so successful and so productive as to promise and almost to ensure continuance in a course now proved to be alike beneficial to the public treasury and to the common weal. ”

“ To suffering he the stamp of joy has given,
And poor'd on earth the sunny light of heaven.
Sonnet 27.
Gešté spj! O ticho srdce hlasné.
She sleepeth! cease, thou noisy heart! to beat; Let every step be silence—birds! be still;
Ye guardian spirits, on your pinions fleet,
Fly—hurry back the sun-light from the hill.
It were a sin to lose an hour so sweet:
Ungrateful not love's mandates to fulfil;—
Disturb her not—kiss gently, eager will,
Those lips—that brow—both love and beauty's seat. ”

“ Confined as is the population of Manila within the fortification walls, the neighbouring country is full of attractions. To me the villages, the beautiful tropical vegetation, the banks of the rivers, and the streams adorned with scenery so picturesque and pleasing, were more inviting than the gaiety of the public parade. Every day afforded some variety, and most of the pueblos have their characteristic distinctions. ”

“ Be present to my eyes—as to my mind—
⁠Hither again—O hither bend thy way.
'Midst the dark foliage in the full-moon's light
⁠Thou didst first fan the fire of holiest love;
There did my pure lips pledge their early plight,
⁠While listening nightingales were group'd above.
Hear (saidst thou) hear my words than blue-bright heaven;
⁠Hear them, thou moon! whom yon fair stars attend;
And if I leave thee—curs'd and unforgiven
⁠Let poison with each breeze, each breathing blend.
O thou wilt see, bewitching, blinding maids,
⁠Maids who o'er youth's fond dreams supremely reign ”

“ As far as my experience goes, lawyers are the curse of colonies. I remember one of the most intelligent of the Chinese merchants who had settled at Singapore, after having been long established at Hong Kong, telling me that all the disadvantages of Singapore were more than compensated by the absence of “the profession,” and all the recommendations of Hong Kong more than counterbalanced by the presence of gentlemen occupied in fomenting, and recompensed for fomenting, litigations and quarrels. Many of them make large fortunes, not unfrequently at the expense of substantial justice. ”

“ The flowers are mirrors, made by dewdrops' ray,
The bolts and bars of human dwellings fly,
And noise rolls o'er the lately silent way:
The darkness and the weariness are past
Of yesternight—and now the morning breaks
In light and beauty undisturb'd—a vast
And glorious renovation; but for me
No morn of hope—no day of brightness wakes—
'Tis an eternal night of misery.
Sonnet 110.
Dunagi, ty i wšech toků knjže.
Duna! [9] thou queen of many rivers—thou Of all Slavonia, venerable mother!
Why to a foreign ocean dost thou flow,
Why leave thy native home to seek another? ”

“ I found the love and the practice of music universal, and saw some remarkable specimens of sculptural ability, but of painting nothing Indian was ever presented to my attention, and the examples of persevering dedication to any sort of labour were few indeed. As servants, the Tagáls are in all respects inferior to the Chinese; as soldiers, the officers generally reported of them favourably. The Indians settled in Manila are said to be the worst of their races: no doubt great cities are the recipients of the dregs of a people, but they attract at the same time the highest order of merit. ”

“ And tarry not a moment night or day.
"Speed thee—I bid thee speed; and say the prince—
The prince himself will wed th' unparallel'd:
Fly for the god-like child—fly swiftly—since
Till thou return I am in misery held.
Take thou this ring—I charge thee not to linger—
This princely ring, and place it on her finger;
And bring her swiftly to the castle gates,
Where welcome, with her marriage song, awaits."
He springs—he spurs—he speeds—he flies along, O'er plains, and changing fields, for many a day,
And sometimes he is followed by a throng
Of peasants thro' the dark and doubtful way ”

“ In visiting the fine scenery of the rivers, roads, and villages in the neighbourhood of Manila, we seldom met with a carriage, or a traveller seeking to enjoy these beauties. And in a harbour so magnificent as that of Manila one would expect to see skiffs and pleasure-boats without number, and yachts and other craft ministering to the enjoyment and adding to the [14] variety of life; but there are none. Nobody seems to like sporting with the elements. There are no yacht regattas on the sea, as there are no horseraces on the shore. I have heard the life of Manila called intolerably monotonous ”

“ With a poor maiden, are the proud and mighty:
O how my cheeks were burning, when he said,
'Time may tell other tales, thou lovely maid!"
And then his voice was silent—but her cheeks
Crimson'd—aye! crimson'd like an early rose:
Her heart beat high—she bids it rest—she speaks
In vain—its beating loud and louder grows.
The prince mov'd slowly o'er the fields—moved only
In erring steps, but sorrowful and lonely—
While every eye but his was gay and bright,
And every, every heart but his was light. ”

“ If the poverty-struck Irish could emigrate in such multitudes to American or Australian regions, far greater are the facilities possessed by those better conditioned labouring masses of Europe who are still heavily pressed by the competition of neighbours more fortunate than themselves.
It is a matter of surprise that the Spanish colonies should not have attracted a greater number of Spaniards to settle in them; but the national spirit of the Iberian peninsula has ceased to be ambulatory or adventurous. Spain itself is thinly peopled, and offers great resources to its satisfied peasantry. ”

“ He said, to whom the Prince "Shall subjects choose,
Where, whom they will, and by their choice evince
Their sense, and build their bliss; and ye refuse
The privilege of his subjects to your prince?
Is rank more dear than happiness?—high station,
Nought but a mark for sorrow and vexation?
No! love has mark'd me out a flower-strown way,
I hear his mandate, and I must obey."
But hear! but hear! the tramping hoofs of steeds;
Tramp, tramp, tramp, tramp, and now their riders’ voice—
Up starts the prince—another knight succeeds
Another, and another at the noise. ”

“ In the last generation a wonderful sensation was produced by the propagation of the great Malthusian discovery—the irresistible, indisputable, inexorable truth—that the productive powers of the soil were less and less able to compete with the consuming demands of the human race; that while population was increasing with the rapidity of a swift geometrical progression, the means of providing food lagged with the feebleness of a slow arithmetical advance more and more behind ”

“ There are many blind wanderers through unbounded fields of instruction, who can discover nothing but nakedness—nothing but barrenness around them. Fertility itself offers no attractions to them—how much less can they understand the power of that benign principle which makes the waters gush forth, fresh, pure, and sparkling, from the very rocks of the desert.
If one purpose more than another has been ever present to my mind, in the attempts I have made to glean some stalks among the foreign harvests of literature, it has been, to extend the circle of benevolence and of generous affections. ”

“ The theories current as to the derivation of the many varieties of the human race from a few primitive types will not bear examination. Civilization and education will modify the character of the skull, and the differences between the crania of the same people are so great as to defy any general law of classification. The farther back we are enabled to go, the greater will be the distinction of types and tongues; and it will be seen that the progress of time and commerce and knowledge and colonization, has annihilated many an independent idiom, as it has destroyed many an aboriginal race. ”

“ Sonnet 118.
Na tě mysljm, když tmy šeré hynau.
I think of thee when night's dark shadows fly, And morning's ray spreads slowly o'er the hills;
When girt with stars and clouds, the morn on high
Smiles on the birchen grove and gilds the rills.
I hear thee in the gentle music, made
By streams that rush to other streams—by flowers
That whisper to the winds, or catch the showers—
Or green leaves rustling in the vernal glade.
Thee do I see—thee would I recognize—
A pilgrim hasting to a holy shrine;
When mists that seem all-sacred wrap the skies,
With thee I dwell, and I am ever thine ”

“ I have had the advantage of much conversation with the Catholic Vicar Apostolic of Borneo, whose knowledge of the natives is probably greater than that of any other European, as he has lived so much among them in the discharge of the duties of his mission. He represents the different tribes as engaged in perpetual wars with one another, each taking any opportunity of pillaging or doing mischief to its neighbours; and our involving ourselves in the native quarrels, by ill-judged partisanship, must lead, he thinks, to much cruelty and injustice. ”

“ In love's own madness—danc'd with gladness—smil'd but 'twas to sigh:
Nights all-sleepless—chas'd the error—sad and lone was I.
At morning ere the matin bell—and ere the matin prayer [2]
I rose to hear the choral songs of minstrels of the air.
The forests shaded—I invaded—and my hapless eye
Ah! false maiden—wretched lover—saw—O agony!
'Twas in the valley's deepest dell [3] she sat—and not alone;
I heard the vow—I saw the kiss—she smil'd—he said 'Mine own'
He fondly press'd her—I address'd her—'Wretched, wretched be;' Sown not gather'd—lov'd not wedded—luckless doom for me. ”

“ Territory and harbours in Oriental regions, rich and abundant, they hold in superfluity; and assuredly Cochin China affords nothing very inviting to well-informed ambition; nor are the Philippines in a condition to sacrifice their population to distant, uncertain, perilous, and costly adventures. There is no national pride to be flattered by Annamite conquests, and the murder of a Spanish bishop may be considered as atoned for by the destruction of the forts and scattering of the people, at the price, however, of the lives of hundreds of Christians and of a heavy pecuniary outlay. ”

“ Vain dreams! for I thro' darksome woods am creeping—
I have no mansion, but the clouds' wild hues.
Turn not, O turn not back—shine, day-star, shine!
Ye birds of heaven pour out your loudest songs—
Lift, thou fierce storm, that awful voice of thine—
Shout mountains, shout! what pang to man belongs,
Man may bear bravely—I resolve—and yet
Turn back—and then I feel my eyes are wet.
Sonnet 54.
Lasko! lasko! ó ty sladký klame. ”

“ It ought not, however, to be forgotten that whatever may have been the progress of Christianity in the Philippines, the persecutions, disasters, discomfiture, and death of so many professing Christians in Japan, are probably attributable to the ill-guided zeal of the Portuguese preachers of the Gospel in these still remoter regions. It is well for the interests of truth, as most assuredly it is for the interests of commerce and civilization, that a more temperate and tolerant spirit has for the last century been associated with the progress of European influence in the East. ”

“ Like other great men, and especially like those greatest of men, who have devoted themselves, and sacrificed themselves to an unsuccessful popular cause, he has been delivered over to ages of calumny, from which some after and more enduring ages of glorious fame will rescue his memory. To the name of Žižka, rebel attaches—to that of John Hus, heretic—to that of George Poděbrad, usurper. Time will tear away the scrolls which falsehood has attached to their histories—and write Patriot—Reformer—Hero:—and the words will be indelible. ”

“ I shall have occasion to speak of a visit I made to a district (Molo, near Iloilo) , which in former times had been the seat of a large Chinese colony, where the Chinese race had disappeared centuries ago, but the Chinese physiognomy, and the Chinese character, had left their unmistakable traces in the whole population. I found nowhere among the natives a people so industrious, so persevering, so economical, and, generally, so prosperous. Almost every house had a loom, and it is the place where the best of the piña fabrics are woven. ”

“ When Etna opens wide his fiery lips—
Turns pale the star-hair'd moon and shakes the sphere!
Yet this, and more than this, my soul can bear—
But not thine innocent look,—thy gentle smile—
What magic, might, and majesty, are there:
A trembling agitation shakes me, while
Confus'd amidst thy varied charms I see
The powers of earth and heaven all blent in thee.
Sonnet 12.
Malug obraz, genž se zářj hrawau.
Mould thee of brightest dreams an airy creature, The loveliest soul in loveliest body dress;
Bid beauty overflow from every feature—
Bid mind uplift them from earth's narrowness. ”

“ A few were not backward in their knowledge of the mechanical arts; one or two examples there were of genius as sculptors; a universal love and devotion to the musical art, and some appreciation even of the merits of European composers; but, it must be added, little or nothing is done to develop such capacities as the Indians possess; the field of public instruction is narrowed alike by religious and official influences, and the social tone of the opulent classes, to which alone the Indian can look up, is greatly below that of the Spanish peninsula. ”

“ Of bullets—while like seeds of thistles o'er
⁠Torn limbs fly by—thy love shall be my bliss.
Should I return to our bohemian land, ⁠When the blest trump of peace is heard again,
What bliss—what bliss supreme to take thy hand—
⁠How will my spirit thrill with rapture then!
Thy rosy lips my eager kiss shall press,
⁠My arms around thy smiling form shall be;
Thine eyes—thy cheeks—the kiss of love shall bless;
⁠O! the unutterable extasy!
Hark! hark ! ”

“ The sale of the nipa wine is a monopoly in the hands of the Government. The monopoly is much and reasonably complained of by the Indians. Excise duties leading to domiciliary visits, and interfering with the daily concerns of life, have been always and in all countries deemed one of the most vexatious and disagreeable forms of taxation. Man, whatever be his colour, is everywhere man, and everywhere exhibits, though in different forms, the same general dislikes and sympathies. ”

“ And many, many ages pass'd away, ⁠Their gloomy shades o'er our Bohemia flinging,
That church in melancholy ruins lay,
⁠The tower o'erturn'd—thebell had ceas'd its ringing:
Yet when that church and tower in fragments fell,
⁠A heavenly angel, clad in light, appearing,
Convey'd the silver relic to the well—
⁠Žizkians! that bell will toll not in your hearing. ”