In these later days the sins of the fathers have been visited in awful fashion on the descendants of these landlords. But can we [[80]]wonder that in the writings of a poet whose childhood was poisoned by knowledge of such injustice, we find evidence of the growing avenging fury that later was to bring about such awe-inspiring convulsions in human society.
Through all of Shevchenko’s verse there sounds the great theme of that contrast between the beauty of God’s world, and the horrors of human cruelty.
“An earthly heaven we had from Thee; Turned it into hell have we.”
[[81]]
To the Dead
And the Living, and the Unborn, Countrymen
of mine, in Ukraine, or out of it,
My Epistle of Friendship.
This is the national poem of the Ukrainians, recited at all their gatherings. I have given the thought and something of the feeling. The music of the original I could not give. It begins like a Highland dirge with wailing amphibrachs, and there are other measures in it not used in our language. Perhaps some future student may be moved to put this poem in such English form as will give the true impression of the original.