Verse 35
35. Stricken me… beaten me The drunkard, in his sottish stupidity, soliloquizes, apparently unconscious of any evil effects from his indulgence, and is urged by the strength of his appetite and habits to pursue his old vice. The last two clauses, perhaps, would be better read thus: “When I awake I will seek it yet again;” that is, after the effect of the debauch has been slept off. The man seems to be longing for the time when he shall be able to renew his potations.
We close with Miller’s spirited translation of this remarkable passage:
“ ‘ Who has woe? who has wretchedness?
Who has strife? who has complaining?
Who has fierceness of eyes?
They who are late over wine,
They who go for being curious in mixed drinks.
Look not on the wine because it is red;
Because it shows its bead in the cup;
Because it goes right well,
As its after effect, it bites like a serpent,
And stings like an adder.
Thine eyes see strange things,
And thine heart speaks subversive things.
And thou dost become like one lying in the open sea,
Or like one lying at the masthead.
They have beaten me, and I felt no pain;
They have struck me: I knew nothing;
When I awake, I will seek it yet again.’”
It is to be observed on these verses, (29-35,) how intimate is the association between licentiousness and drunkenness. They are generally found in company.
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