Laments

[toujours_nigel]

My beloved friend is dead, he is dead,
my beloved friend is dead, I will mourn
as long as I breathe, I will sob for him
like a woman who has lost her only child.

--Gilgamesh, (India: Replika Press Pvt. Ltd., 2006), trans. Stephen Mitchell, Pg. 152.

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant hast thou been unto me. Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

--The Bible, 2 Samuel, 1:26, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+samuel%201:26-1:26&version=48, 16.12.2008


Tis true, Olympus hath done me all that grace:
But what joy have I of it all, when thus thrusts in the place
Loss of my whole self, in my friend?

--Homer, The Iliad, (Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 2003), Pg. 300, ll. 71-73)  


(This isn't half as impressive *sigh*)

'Truly,' answered Sir Lancelot, 'I trust I do not displease God, but when I remember her beauty, and her nobleness, and that of the King, and when I saw his corpse and her corpse lie together, my heart would not bear up my body. '

--King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table, Edited by Andrew Lang, 1902, http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/trt/trt26.htm, 16.12.2008

Comments

[riaki.livejournal.com]

What wonderful citations!A liked the first one a lot.The Epic of Gilgamesh is triumphantly added to my must-read-list;)

[toujours-nigel.livejournal.com]

I just got hold of it today. :D

For utterly non-Gilgamesh'n'Enkidu reasons, but still.

[riaki.livejournal.com]

I've been wanting to read it for quite a while now-for obvious Gilgamesh and Enkidu reasons;)- but as I am getting older my memory is getting worse too and I kept forgetting all about it. Thanx for reminding me!