Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 1 (of 2) : $b From the tenth century to the close of the eighteenth centuryWiener, Leo
General
Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 1 (of 2) : $b From the tenth century to the close of the eighteenth century
Wiener, Leo
Russia -- Literary collections; Russian literature -- Translations into English
By the will of God, Ígor was wounded, and his left arm was disabled,
and there was a great sorrow in his troop; and they captured his
general, having wounded him in front. And they fought that day until
evening, and many were the wounded and killed in the Russian army.
They fought till late into the night, and when the Sunday began to
break, the Kovúans became confused and ran away. Ígor was at that time
on horseback, for he was wounded, and he followed them up, trying to
bring them back to the army. Seeing that he had gone far away from his
people, he took off his helmet so that they might recognise him and
might return to the army, and he rode back to his troop. But no one
returned, except Mikhálko Gyúrgevich who had recognised the Prince.
The trouble was, no one, except a few of the rank and file and boyárs’
youths, had thoroughly mingled with the Kovúans, for they were all busy
fighting on foot; among these, Vsévolod excelled in bravery. As Ígor
was approaching his troop, the Pólovtses crossed his path and made him
prisoner within an arrow’s shot from his troop. While Ígor was held
captive, he saw his brother fighting mightily, and in his heart he
implored for his own death that he might not see his brother fall dead;
but Vsévolod was fighting until he had no weapons left in his hands,
and they were fighting around a lake.
It was on the day of the holy Sunday that the Lord brought down
His anger upon them, and changed joy into weeping, and instead of
pleasure gave them sorrow, on the river Kayála. And Ígor spoke: “I
now recall my sins before the Lord my God, for I have caused much
slaughter and bloodshed in the Christian land, and did not spare the
Christians, but took by storm the town of Glyébov near Pereyáslavl.
Then innocent Christians suffered no small measure of evil, for fathers
were separated from their children, brother from brother, friend from
friend, wives from husbands, and daughters from their mothers, and all
was confused in captivity and sorrow. The living envied the dead, and
the dying rejoiced because they had like holy martyrs received their
trial by fire in this life; old men were killed, young men received
fierce and inhuman wounds, men were cut to pieces. All this I have
done, and I am not worthy to live; to-day the revenge of the Lord has
reached me. Where is now my beloved brother? Where is now the son of
my brother? Where is the child of my loins? Where are the counselling
boyárs, where are the brave men, the ranks of the soldiers? Where are
the horses and costly weapons? Am I not separated from all that, and
has not the Lord given me fettered into the hands of the pagans? The
Lord has repaid me for my lawlessness and my meanness, and my sins have
this day come down upon my head. The Lord is just, and His judgments
are right, and I have nothing in common with the living. I see to-day
others receiving the crown of martyrdom, but why can I not, guilty
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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