The Works of Lord Byron Volume VII Part 21

ON THIS DAY I COMPLETE MY THIRTY-SIXTH YEAR.[133]

1.

'T IS time this heart should be unmoved, Since others it hath ceased to move: Yet, though I cannot be beloved, Still let me love!

2.

My days are in the yellow leaf; The flowers and fruits of Love are gone; The worm, the canker, and the grief Are mine alone!

3.

The fire that on my bosom preys Is lone[iii] as some Volcanic isle; No torch is kindled at its blaze-- A funeral pile.

4.

The hope, the fear, the jealous care, The exalted portion of the pain And power of love, I cannot share, But wear the chain.

5.

But 't is not _thus_--and 't is not _here_--[iv]

Such thoughts should shake my soul, nor now Where Glory decks the hero's bier,[v]

Or binds his brow.

6.

The Sword, the Banner, and the Field,[vi]

Glory and Greece, around me see!

The Spartan, borne upon his s.h.i.+eld,[134]

Was not more free.

7.

Awake! (not Greece--she _is_ awake!) Awake, my spirit! Think through _whom_ Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake,[vii]

And then strike home!

8.

Tread those reviving pa.s.sions down,[viii]

Unworthy manhood!--unto thee Indifferent should the smile or frown Of Beauty be.

9.

If thou regret'st thy youth, _why live_?

The land of honourable death Is here:--up to the Field, and give Away thy breath!

10.

Seek out--less often sought than found-- A soldier's grave, for thee the best; Then look around, and choose thy ground, And take thy Rest.

Missolonghi, _Jan_. 22, 1824.

[First published, _Morning Chronicle_, October 29, 1824.]

FOOTNOTES:

[133] ["This morning Lord Byron came from his bedroom into the apartment where Colonel Stanhope and some friends were a.s.sembled, and said with a smile--'You were complaining, the other day, that I never write any poetry now:--this is my birthday, and I have just finished something, which, I think, is better than what I usually write.' He then produced these n.o.ble and affecting verses, which were afterwards found written in his journals, with only the following introduction: 'Jan. 22; on this day I complete my 36^th^ year.'"--_A Narrative of Lord Byron's Last Journey to Greece_, 1825, p. 125, by Count Gamba. In the _Morning Chronicle_, October 29, 1824, the lines are headed, "Lord Byron's Latest Verses," and are prefaced by the following note: "We have been indebted to a friend for the following immortal verses, the last he ever composed. Four of the lines have already appeared in an article in the _Westminster Review_" ("Lord Byron in Greece," July, 1824, vol. ii. p.

227).]

[iii] _Is like to_----.--[M.C.]

[iv] ----_it is not here_.--[M.C.]

[v] ----_seals the hero's bier_.--[M.C.]

[vi] _The steed--the Banner--and the Field.--_[MS. B.M.]

[134] I. [The slain were borne on their s.h.i.+elds. Witness the Spartan mother's speech to her son, delivered with his buckler: "either _with_ this _or on_ this" (B.M. Addit. MS. 31,038).]

[vii] _My life-blood tastes_----.--[M.C.]

[viii] _I tread reviving_----.--[M.C.]

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SUCCESSIVE EDITIONS AND TRANSLATIONS OF LORD BYRON'S _POETICAL WORKS_.

COLLECTED EDITIONS.

I.

The/ Poetical Works/ of/ Lord Byron./ In Two Volumes./ Vol. I./ [Vol. II.] From the last London Edition./ Philadelphia:/ Published by Moses Thomas,/ No. 52, Chesnut Street./ William Fry, Printer./ 1813./ [16.

[A bound copy: smooth blue calf, lettered "LORD BYRON."]

_Collation_--

Vol. I.--t.i.tle, one leaf; Cont.; Half-t.i.tle; Dedication; and Text, pp.

_1_-203.

Vol. II--t.i.tle, one leaf; Cont.; Half-t.i.tle; Preface, etc, pp. i.-xii.; Text, pp. _1_-261.

_Contents_--

Vol. I.:--Poems, Original and Translated p. 1 English Bards, etc. p. 137 Vol. II.:--Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto I. p. 13 (xciii. stanzas) Canto II. (lx.x.xviii. stanzas) p. 9 Notes p. 99 Poems (xx.) p. 156 The Giaour (1215 lines) p. 205 Note p. 261