Yes; when the ways oppose —
When the hard means rebel,
Fairer the work outgrows, —
More potent far the spell.
O POET, then, forbear
The loosely-sandalled verse,
Choose rather thou to wear
The buskin — straight and terse;
Leave to the tiro’s hand
The limp and shapeless style,
See that thy form demand
The labour of the file.
SCULPTOR, do thou discard
The yielding clay, — consign
To Paros marble hard
The beauty of thy line; —
Model thy Satyr’s face
In bronze of Syracuse;
In the veined agate trace
The profile of thy Muse.
PAINTER, that still must mix
But transient tints anew,
Thou in the furnace fix
The firm enamel’s hue;
Let the smooth tile receive
Thy dove-drawn Erycine;
Thy Sirens blue at eve
Coiled in a wash of wine.
All passes. ART alone
Enduring stays to us;
The Bust outlasts the throne, —
The Coin, Tiberius;
Even the Gods must go;
Only the lofty Rhyme
Not countless years o’erthrow, —
Not long array of time.
Paint, chisel, then, or write;
But, that the work surpass,
With the hard fashion fight, —
With the resisting mass.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.| Original: |
This work was published before January 1, 1927, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. |
|---|---|
| Translation: |
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1927. The author died in 1929, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 80 years or less. This work may also be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. |