Hugo Hollandius

Translated by Samuel Waddington
(On Editing the Tragedies of Seneca)

LIFE’S mirror, and our teacher, is the Stage,—

And to the Stage life the Tragedian gives;

Throned ’mid tragedians Seneca still lives,

And thou, whose light here gleams upon his page:

Each star pre-eminent, each classic sage,

That shines supreme, from thee his light derives;

By thee restored the Tragic Muse revives,

Whence may thy praise be sung from age to age.

Nor Leyden nor let London claim, entailed

For their sole heritage, thy treasured store,—

Whiche’er thou choosest as thy home to be,—

But read in every town for evermore,

By sland’rous tongues untouched, by none assailed,

May Time’s dread tyranny now yield to thee.