The Philosopher's Lament - 3

[Continued from Part 2] “Despite all I’ve done for country, for my people and for man, I was cursed to see the epoch when the great decay began And to know that, from now onwards, the great marvels Rome achieved Will in time fade into ruin and their mem’ry disbelieved.” “All I have left is the knowledge that I did what I was meant Without grandiose illusions that to Earth I had been sent By their Christus or by Mithras, as within a greater scheme At whose pinnacle their popery might imply that I had been—” “If I had received their dogmas. Woe to those who, plotting thus, Now rejoice that they have triumphed over Jove and over us, For one day their own religion with derision, scorn will meet; Centuries from now, all mankind will be told of their deceit!” “What they have achieved by sending an old man into exile Others will repeat by methods far more brutal and more vile. Helios will rise and set on generations, generations, And in due course all their stories will be snubbed by every nation.” “And when all civilization has shrugged off this superstition, Only then my life and grind will have accomplished their full mission. Then shall I, like the great heroes, rest in peace fully avenged, When all fear and guilt have faded and our dim fate has been changed.” With these words of grief and anger, the old man concludes his speech While the sturdy waves of autumn splash their foam upon the beach. After listening in silence, his companion then sighs And, with sympathetic gestures, he turns forth and he replies: “You have suffered long in silence on this wretched isle, my friend, Yet an olive branch for succor and reprieve I’d still extend! Men who would abuse religion shall abound in every age; When unreined by laws, they always treat the world as their own stage.” “Wicked minds of their conviction and of ours exist as well, And when they might hark to meekness not one soul can ever tell. Many faiths and creeds shall blossom in the centuries to come, But the battle against blindness of the mind cannot be won.” “Was their cruelty incited by the nature of their cult? I would say that their minds’ dullness brought about this grim result. Our own gods and many others have and will be yet invoked And, in their names, many nations will be deemed forever yoked.” [Continued in Part 4] Find my poems and published poetry volumes at www.eton-langford.com