Fyodor Tyutchev
Two Voices

1

Be manly, my friends, in the fight do not tire.
The struggleТs unequal, the conflict is dire!
Silent above you — the stars in the sky.
Beneath you are graves. Just as silent they lie.

Olympus leaves gods not a thing to desire.
Eternally carefree, from work they donТt tire.
Troubles and labours belong to mankind.
Man cannot know victory. DeathТs all he finds.

2

Be manly, fight on, my brave friends.
The battle is brutal, it seems without end.
Stars revolve silently over your heads.
Far below you — the mute, distant graves of the dead.

Let Olympus with envious eyes gaze down
on this war of inflexible hearts.
The fighter who falls beneath DestinyТs darts
has torn from their grasp the victory-crown!

Translated by Frank Jude