Fyodor Ivanovic Tyutchev

5 December 1803 – 27 July 1873 / Ovstug

In Ocean Waves There's Melody...

Est in arundineis modulatio musica ripis

In ocean waves there's melody
There's harmony within the clash of elements,
And a harmonious tuneful whisper
Streams through the rippling rushes.
There's unperturbable order everywhere,
Full consonance in nature,
And only our illusory freedom
Is out of tune with her.
Whence, how did this dischord arise?
And why, amidst the universal chorus,
Do human souls not sing as does the sea,
Why does the sentient reed sigh?
And from the earth unto the highest stars
Unanswered to this very day
A voice lamenting in the wilderness,
The soul protests despairingly?
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