Wikisource

An Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry/Czech Poetry/František Ladislav Čelakovský

< An Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry | Czech Poetry
For other English-language translations of this work, see Happiness and Misery.
←
Folk Poetry
An Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry (1929)
Happiness and Sorrow
by František Ladislav Čelakovský, translated by Šárka B. Hrbková
Karel Jaromír Erben
→

Poem from Čelakovský's collection Echoes of Bohemian songs (Ohlas písní českých)

František Ladislav Čelakovský4780990An Anthology of Czechoslovak Poetry — Happiness and Sorrow1929Šárka B. Hrbková
​

FRANTIŠEK LADISLAV ČELAKOVSKÝ

(1799–1852)

Čelakovský was born in Strakonice. After editing various papers in Prague, he was called to a chair of Slavistics in the University of Breslau and later to a similar post in Prague. His work shows the influence of the folk songs of his country, which he spent much time in collecting. He published a work on Slavonic Folk Songs and also a large collection of Slavonic proverbs.

HAPPINESS AND SORROW

Happiness, happiness,Lovely, little flower,But alas! Oh, alas!Oh, sorrow! Oh, sorrow!Blowing winds scatter thee,Rushing waters scatter thee:Alas! Oh, alas!No roots give thee power.
Oh, sorrow! oh, sorrow!Thou bitterest root!Never showing on thy stemBlossom, leaf or fruit.The heart must break in many a sigh,E’er grief its bitterness may dry!There must flow, oh, many a tear,To dissolve this root, all sere.Translated by Š. B. H.
Published in Komenský
Retrieved from "https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=An_Anthology_of_Czechoslovak_Poetry/Czech_Poetry/František_Ladislav_Čelakovský&oldid=14955199"