Wordsworth, William: Gašenje Venecijanske republike (On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic Szerb nyelven)

Once did She hold the gorgeous East in fee;
And was the safeguard of the West: the worth
Of Venice did not fall below her birth,
Venice, the eldest Child of Liberty.

She was a maiden City, bright and free;
No guile seduced, no force could violate;
And, when she took unto herself a mate,
She must espouse the everlasting Sea.

And what if she had seen those glories fade,
Those titles vanish, and that strength decay;
Yet shall some tribute of regret be paid

When her long life hath reach’d its final day:
Men are we, and must grieve when even the Shade
Of that which once was great is pass’d away.

Nekad je i raskošni Istok za svoje vezala vode,
I čuvar Zapada bila; i ne posta manja
Vrednost Venecije, od njenog postanja,
Venecija, najstarije čedo slobode.

Beše grad devičanski slobodan, od sjaja stvoren,
Nasilju otporan, lukavstvom nezaveden:
I kad je ženik pred nju bio doveden,
Morala se venčati s neuništivim Morem.

I šta kad je videla kako te slave blede,
Ta zvanja nestaju, te snage više ne vrede,
I dug žaljenja platiti treba, u čas

Kad i potonji dan dostiže život njen;
Mi smo ljudi, i moramo žaliti kad i sen
Onog što veliko beše nekad, promine pored nas.

 
     Miodrag Pavlović i