The Ivy and the Thyme

Fable by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Period 18th century

How I pity you, little plant!
the ivy said one day to the thyme:
to always crawl is your destiny;
your puny and trembling stem
barely rises from the earth, while mine in the air,
united to the lofty oak that Jupiter cherishes,
soars with it into the clouds.
It is true, said the thyme, your height is known to me;
on that point I cannot dispute with you:
but I sustain myself by my own strength;
and, without that tree, prop of your extreme weakness,
you would crawl lower than I.
Translators, editors, makers of commentaries,
who always speak to us of Greek or Latin
in your preliminary discourses,
remember what the thyme said.

Florian

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-the-ivy-and-the-thyme-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/