To the Virgins / Robert Herrick

To the Virgins

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)

Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, The higher he’s a-getting; The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he’s to setting.

That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer; But being spent, the worse, and worst Times, still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, buy use your time; And while ye may, go merry; For having lost but once your prime, You may for ever tarry.

אֶל הַבְּתוּלוֹת / רוברט הריק

לִלְקֹט וְרָדִים כָּל עוֹד אֶפְשָׁר,

הַזְּמַן חוֹלֵף-בּוֹרֵחַ;

וּפֶרַח זֶה הַיּוֹם יִצְהַר,

מָחָר יִבֹּל, נַס-רֵיחַ.

פַּנַס מָרוֹם זֶה, מְאוֹר הַפָּז,

כְּכָל שֶׁיַּעְפִּילָה;

יִקְרַב סוֹף הַמֵּרוֹץ; נֶחְפָּז

אֶל שְׁקִיעָתוֹ יַשְׁפִּילָה.

טוֹב תּוֹר הַנֹּעַר מִכֹּל גִּיל,

בְּעוֹד דָּמִים יִגְעָשׁוּ;

וּבִכְלוֹתוֹ, יָבוֹא בְּלִי גִּיל

תּוֹר הַזִּקְנָה, נוֹאָשׁ הוּא.

אַל תִּתְבּוֹשֵׁשְׁנָה, צֵאנָה חִיש;

אֶל הַחֻפָּה מַהֵרְנָה;

בַּאֲבִיב-יוֹמְכֶן מִצְאוּ נָא אִישׁ,

פֶּן פֶּתַע תְּאַחֵרְנָה.

תרגום : זיוה שמיר

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Robert Herrick (baptized August 24, 1591 – October 1674) was a 17th century English poet. Born in Cheapside, London, he was the seventh child and fourth son of Nicholas Herrick, a prosperous goldsmith. It is likely that he attended Westminster School. In 1607 he became apprenticed to his uncle, Sir William Herrick, who was a goldsmith and jeweller to the king. The apprenticeship ended after only six years, and Herrick, at age twenty-two, matriculated at Saint John's College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1617.

Robert Herrick became a member of the Sons of Ben, a group of Cavalier poets centred around an admiration for the works of Ben Jonson. In or before 1627, he took religious orders, and, having been appointed chaplain to the duke of Buckingham, accompanied him on his disastrous expedition to the Isle of Rhé (1627). He became vicar of the parish of Dean Prior, Devon in 1629, a post that carried a term of thirty-one years. It was in the secluded country life of Devon that he wrote some of his best work.

In the wake of the English Civil War, his position was revoked on account of his refusal to make pledge to the Solemn League and Covenant. He then returned to London. His position was returned to him in the Restoration of Charles II and he returned to Devon in 1662, residing there until his death in 1674. Herrick was a bachelor all his life, and many of the women he names in his poems are thought to be fictional.

His reputation rests on his Hesperides, a collection of lyric poetry, and the much shorter Noble Numbers, spiritual works, published together in 1648. He is well-known for his bawdy style, referring frequently to lovemaking and the female body.

In one of his more famous poems, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", Herrick reminded young women how fleeting their beauty is.

The opening stanza follows:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.

פורסם בתאריך 22/11/2005 באתר www.literatura.co.il