Читать книгу The Greatest German Classics (Vol. 1-14) - Various - Страница 177

Unhappy man, I only loose thy bonds

In token of a still severer doom.

The freedom which the sanctuary imparts,

Like the last life-gleam o'er the dying face,

But heralds death. I cannot, dare not, say

Your doom is hopeless; for, with murderous hand,

Could I inflict the fatal blow myself?

And while I here am priestess of Diana,

None, be he who he may, dare touch your heads.

But the incensed king, should I refuse

Compliance with the rites himself enjoin'd,

Will choose another virgin from my train

As my successor. Then, alas! with naught,

Save ardent wishes, can I succor you.

Much honored countrymen! The humblest slave,

Who had but near'd our sacred household hearth,

Is dearly welcome in a foreign land;

How with proportion'd joy and blessing, then,

Shall I receive the man who doth recall

The image of the heroes, whom I learn'd

To honor from my parents, and who cheers

My inmost heart with flatt'ring gleams of hope!