2. 40. Евгений Онегин Eugene Onegin English transl

ЕВГЕНИЙ ОНЕГИН. СТИХОТВОРНЫЙ ПЕРЕВОД НА АНГЛИЙСКИЙ. EUGENE ONEGIN THE NOVEL IN VERSE BY A.S. PUSHKIN VERSE INTERPRETATION BY LARISSA SENEGAL

Глава II-XL
 
И чье-нибудь он сердце тронет;
И, сохраненная судьбой,
Быть может, в Лете не потонет
Строфа, слагаемая мной;

Быть может (лестная надежда!),
Укажет будущий невежда
На мой прославленный портрет
И молвит: то-то был поэт!

Прими ж мои благодаренья,
Поклонник мирных Аонид,
О ты, чья память сохранит
Мои летучие творенья,
Чья благосклонная рука
Потреплет лавры старика!

     *   *   *

Chapter II-XL

And someone's heart it shall enthral;
And, by fate preserved, it may not fall,
This stanza, crafted by my hand,
In Lethe*'s depths, a forgotten strand;

Perhaps (a flattering hope, it's true),
Some future ignoramus will view
My celebrated portrait, and declare,
'A poet lived, and left his mark there!'

Accept, then, my grateful acclaim,
Devotee of peaceful Aonides**' fame,
O you, whose memory shall retain
My fleeting, transient, poetic strain,
Whose kindly hand, with gentle grace,
Shall touch the laurels of my face!

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* The River Lethe is the ancient River of Forgetfulness in Greek Mythology.

** The Aonides, or "muses," claim a heritage similar to the satyrs in terms of lineage. Boasting descendent from Mount Olympus itself, they insist they are the sons and daughters of Zeus, ruler of the gods, and of the Titaness Mnemosyne (or Memory).