Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches — Volume 3Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron
History
Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches — Volume 3
Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron
English essays
"The monk says that Oger was with Desiderius, King of Lombardy, watching
the advance of Charlemagne's army. The king often asked Oger where
was Charlemagne. Quando videris, inquit, segetem campis inhorrescere,
ferreum Padum et Ticinum marinis fluctibus ferro nigrantibus muros
civitatis inundantes, tunc est spes Caroli venientis. His nedum expletis
primum ad occasum Circino vel Borea coepit apparere, quasi nubes
tenebrosa, quae diem clarissimam horrentes convertit in umbras. Sed
propiante Imperatore, ex armorum splendore, dies omni nocte tenebrosior
oborta est inclusis. Tunc visus est ipse ferreus Carolus ferrea galea
cristatus, ferreis manicis armillatus, etc., etc. His igitur, quae ego
balbus et edentulus, non ut debui circuitu tardiore diutius explicare
tentavi, veridicus speculator Oggerus celerrimo visu contuitus dixit ad
Desiderium: Ecce, habes quem tantopere perquisisti. Et haec dicens, pene
exanimis cecidit.--"Monach. Sangal." de Reb. Bel. Caroli Magni. lib.
ii. para xxvi. Is this not evidently taken from poetical effusions?"
PARAPHRASE.
To Oggier spake King Didier:
"When cometh Charlemagne?
We looked for him in harvest:
We looked for him in rain.
Crops are reaped; and floods are past;
And still he is not here.
Some token show, that we may know
That Charlemagne is near."
Then to the King made answer
Oggier, the christened Dane:
"When stands the iron harvest,
Ripe on the Lombard plain,
That stiff harvest which is reaped
With sword of knight and peer,
Then by that sign ye may divine
That Charlemagne is near.
"When round the Lombard cities
The iron flood shall flow,
A swifter flood than Ticin,
A broader flood than Po,
Frothing white with many a plume,
Dark blue with many a spear,
Then by that sign ye may divine
That Charlemagne is near."
*****
INSCRIPTION ON THE STATUE OF LORD WM. BENTINCK. AT CALCUTTA. (1835.)
To
WILLIAM CAVENDISH BENTINCK,
Who, during seven years, ruled India with eminent
Prudence, Integrity, and Benevolence:
Who, placed at the head of a great
Empire, never laid aside
The simplicity and moderation of a private citizen:
Who infused into Oriental despotism the spirit of British
Freedom:
Who never forgot that the end of Government is
The happiness of the Governed:
Who abolished cruel rites:
Who effaced humiliating distinctions:
Who gave liberty to the expression of public opinion:
Whose constant study it was, to elevate the intellectual
And moral character of
The Nations committed to his charge:
This Monument
Was erected by men,
Who, differing in Race, in
Manners, in Language, and in Religion,
Cherish, with equal veneration and gratitude,
The memory of his wise, upright, and Paternal Administration.
*****
EPITAPH ON SIR BENJAMIN HEATH MALKIN. AT CALCUTTA. (1837.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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