George Byron — Byron's Poetical Works — Epitaph on a Beloved Friend1

Epitaph on a Beloved Friend 1

Greek(transliterated): Astaer prin men elampes eni tsuoisin hepsos.

[Plato's Epitaph (

Epig. Græc.,

Jacobs, 1826, p. 309), quoted by Diog. Laertins.]

Oh, Friend! for ever lov'd, for ever dear
            a
         !
What fruitless tears have bathed thy honour'd bier!
What sighs re-echo'd to thy parting breath,
Whilst thou wast struggling in the pangs of death!
Could tears retard the tyrant in his course;
Could sighs avert his dart's relentless force;
Could youth and virtue claim a short delay,
Or beauty charm the spectre from his prey;
Thou still hadst liv'd to bless my aching sight,
Thy comrade's honour and thy friend's delight.
If yet thy gentle spirit hover nigh
The spot where now thy mouldering ashes lie,
Here wilt thou read, recorded on my heart,
A grief too deep to trust the sculptor's art.
No marble marks thy couch of lowly sleep,
But living statues there are seen to weep;
Affliction's semblance bends not o'er thy tomb,
Affliction's self deplores thy youthful doom.
What though thy sire lament his failing line,
A father's sorrows cannot equal mine!
Though none, like thee, his dying hour will cheer,
Yet other offspring soothe his anguish here:
But, who with me shall hold thy former place?
Thine image, what new friendship can efface?
Ah, none!—a father's tears will cease to flow,
Time will assuage an infant brother's woe;
To all, save one, is consolation known,
While solitary Friendship sighs alone.

      
Harrow, 1803

Footnote 1: Ý The heading which appears in the Quarto and P. on V. Occasions was subsequently changed to Epitaph on a Friend. The motto was prefixed in Hours of Idleness. The epigram which Bergk leaves under Plato's name was translated by Shelley (Poems, 1895, iii. 361)

"Thou wert the morning star
Among the living,
Ere thy fair light had fled;
Now having died, thou art as
Hesperus, giving
New splendour to the dead."

There is an echo of the Greek distich in Byron's exquisite line, "The Morning-Star of Memory."

The words, "Southwell, March 17," are added, in a lady's hand, on p. 9 of the annotated copy of P. on V. Occasions in the British Museum. The conjecture that the "beloved friend," who is of humble origin, is identical with "E——" of the verses on p. 4, remains uncertain.
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Footnote a: Ý

                  Oh Boy! for ever lov'd, for ever 
                  dear!
               
                  What fruitless tears have wash'd thy honour'd bier
                  
                     b
                  
                  ;
               
                  What sighs re-echoed to thy parting breath,
               
                  Whilst thou wert struggling in the pangs of death.
               
                  Could tears have turn'd the tyrant in his course,
               
                  Could sighs have checked his dart's relentless force
                  
                     c
                  
                  ;
               
                  Could youth and virtue claim a short delay,
               
                  Or beauty charm the spectre from his prey,
               
                  Thou still had'st liv'd to bless my aching sight,
               
                  Thy comrade's honour, and thy friend's delight:
               
                  Though low thy lot since in a cottage born,
               
                  No titles did thy humble name adorn,
               
                  To me, far dearer, was thy artless love,
               
                  Than all the joys, wealth, fame, and friends could prove.
               
                  For thee alone I liv'd, or 
                  wish'd to live,
               
                  (Oh God! if impious, this rash word forgive,)
               
                  Heart-broken now, I wait an equal doom,
               
                  Content to join thee in thy turf-clad tomb;
               
                  Where this frail form compos'd in endless rest,
               
                  I'll make my last, cold, pillow on thy breast;
               
                  That breast where oft in life, I've laid my head,
               
                  Will yet receive me mouldering with the dead;
               
                  This life resign'd, without one parting sigh,
               
                  Together in one bed of earth we'll lie!
               
                  Together share the fate to mortals given,
               
                  Together mix our dust, and hope for Heaven.

Harrow, 1803. [4to. P. on V. Occasions.]
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Footnote b: Ý

have bath'd thy honoured bier.

[P. on V. Occasions.]
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Footnote c: Ý Could tears retard, Ý[P. on V. Occasions.] Could sighs avert. Ý[P. on V. Occasions.]
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