Nempe huc usque notos tenebricosos
A Land Overshadowed by Grief
The poet contrasts the natural gloom of the British climate with the deeper, moral darkness caused by the loss of a great Mother.
Travelers have good reason to complain about these dark, familiar places, the sky made gloomy by excessive dampness, and the very air of the British land. But with your passing, great Mother, the air it breathes is rightfully repelled, and it blows away that damp, guilty mist in shame.
The Universal Lament
The sorrow for the departed Mother spreads across all nations and regions, leaving no part of the world untouched by grief.
For the field, the city, and the court are weeping for you; England and both Scotlands are weeping for you now, and even ancient Wales laments you, shedding tears of a former age so they wouldn't come to your merits too late. There is no corner anywhere that is clear, nor does the sea surround it; now it floods everything.
Read the original Latin
Nempe huc usque notos tenebricosos, Et maestum nimio madore coelum, Tellurisque Britannicae salivam Injuste satis arguit viator. At te commoriente, magna Mater, Recte, quem trahit, aerem repellit Cum probro madidum, reumque difflat. Nam te nunc ager, urbs, et aula plorant: Te nunc Anglia Scotiaeque binae, Quin te Cambria pervetusta deflet, Deducens lacrymas prioris aevi Ne serae meritis tuis venirent. Non est angulus uspiam serenus, Nec cingit mare, nunc inundat omnes.
The Latin Poems companion
Read all 57 of Herbert's Latin poems, one a day
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