And by the nation long shall I be loved,
Because my lyre their nobler feelings moved;
Because I strove to serve them with my song,
And called forth mercy for the fallen throng.
Hear God’s command, O Muse, obediently,
Nor dread reproach, nor claim the Poet’s bay;
To praise and blame alike indifferent be,
And let fools say their say!
FOOTNOTES:
[7] Like our Shakespeare, Pushkin knew his own merits.