A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields/Advice and Reply (Les Châtiments, Victor Hugo)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
They say, Oh, be prudent. Then comes this dithyrambe:
Wouldst thou strike down Nero?
Then crawl and be noiseless—a wolf clothed like a lamb!
Success makes the hero.
Think of Ettenheim; wait; wait the day and the hour,
In patience be grounded;
Like Chereas, come alone, silent, sure of thy power,
By darkness surrounded.
Let Prudence conduct thee, thy reward she shall give;
Be masked, false and hollow;
Ah well: let those anxious a long period to live
This sage counsel follow.