Time

Poem by Gérard De Nerval Period 19th century

Ode

I

Time does not take the sage by surprise;
But the sage laughs at Time,
For he alone knows its use;
Of the pleasures God offered us,
He knows how to embellish existence;
He knows how to smile at hope,
When hope smiles at him.

II

Happiness is not in glory,
In the gilded chains of a court,
In the transports of victory,
But in the lyre and in love.
Let us choose a young lover,
A lute that pleases and enchants her;
Let us love and sing in turn!

III

“” Illusions! vain images! “”
We shall tell the sad lessons
Of those mortals supposed wise
Over whom age spreads its icicles; “”
“” Happiness is not on earth,
Your love is but a chimera,
Your lyre has only sounds! “”

IV

Ah! let us prefer this chimera
To their cold morality;
Let us flee their sad and severe voice;
If evil is reality,
And if happiness is a dream,
Let us fix our eyes on the lie,
So as not to see the truth.

V

Let us love in the springtime of life,
So that autumn may not be
Followed by a black repentance;
Let us not seek in the future
The happiness that God dispenses to us;
When we no longer have hope,
We shall keep the memory.

VI

Let us enjoy this rapid time
That leaves remorse behind it,
If love, whose ardor guides us,
Has transports as rapid:
Let us profit from adolescence,
For the cup of existence
Sparkles only at its brim!

Gérard de Nerval

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