European Elegies/Winter/Devouring time
35.DEVOURING TIME
Devouring time drags all things down,
And leaves no beauty in its place;
Years, like a sponge, all joys erase;
Ages, like waves, all memories drown.
And leaves no beauty in its place;
Years, like a sponge, all joys erase;
Ages, like waves, all memories drown.
The rivers fail; the seas retreat;
High mountain summits melt and die.
Mere trifles these. The glorious sky
Itself shall pass in fervent heat.
High mountain summits melt and die.
Mere trifles these. The glorious sky
Itself shall pass in fervent heat.
Death claims all things at last, for death
Is a grim law to all that is;
Till the whole universe and his
Vast vaults shall vanish like a breath.
Is a grim law to all that is;
Till the whole universe and his
Vast vaults shall vanish like a breath.
From the Latin of L. Annaeus Seneca.