Classic Poem

PARAPHRASED .

Behold , where yon blue rivulet glides
Along the laughing dale;
Light reeds bedeck its verdant sides,
And frolic in the gale:

So shines our prince! In bright array
The Virtues round him wait;
And sweetly smil'd the auspicious day,
That rais'd him o'er our state.

As pliant hands in shapes refin'd
Rich ivory carve and smooth,
His laws thus mould each ductile mind,
And every passion soothe.

As gems are taught by patient art
In sparkling ranks to beam,
With manners thus he forms the heart,
And spreads a general gleam.

What soft, yet awful dignity!
What meek, yet manly grace!
What sweetness dances in his eye,
And blossoms in his face!

So shines our prince! A sky-born crowd
Of virtues round him blaze:
Ne'er shall oblivion's murky cloud
Obscure his deathless praise.

THE VERBAL TRANSLATION .

" Behold yon reach of the river K I ;
Its green reeds how luxuriant! how luxuriant!
Thus is our prince adorn'd with virtues;
As a carver, as a filer of ivory,
As a cutter, as a polisher, of gems.
O how elate and sagacious! O how dauntless and composed!
How worthy of fame! How worthy of reverence!
We have a prince adorn'd with virtues,
Whom to the end of time we cannot forget."