THE GODS OF THE COPYBOOK HEADINGS (1919)
As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market-Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.
We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn That
Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.
We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market-Place;
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.
With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch.
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch.
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings.
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.
When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Heading said: “Stick to the Devil you know.”
On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “The Wages of Sin is Death.”
In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “If you don’t work you die.”
Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew,
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four–
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.
* * * * *
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man–
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began:–
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fools bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the Fire;
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
Rudyard Kipling
BOGOWIE KSIAG STARYCH (1919)
Polish translation copyright 1995, Krzysztof Ostaszewski
Gdy przechodze wcielenia kolejne w nowe rasy i epoki
Bogom Ludu ofiary daje, skladam poklony glebokie
Lecz gdy chowam twarz w dloniach przez palce wciaz widze
Jak przez wieki Bogom Ksiag Starych znacznie dluzej trwac przyjdzie
Wlasnie z drzew schodzilismy gdysmy ich pierwszy raz spotkali
Wyjasnili nam wtedy, ze woda jest mokra a ogien grzeje i pali
Lecz braklo im chwaly, polotu i blysku, a zwlaszcza doskonalosci
Zostawilismy ich wiec z malpami, idac za Bogami Ludu w wielkim marszu ludzkosci.
Przed nami horyzont, nadzieje. Oni nawet nie drgeli.
Bogowie Ludu sa z wiatru i z chmur. Oni z innej materii.
Lecz wciaz na nas patrza, obserwuja cierpliwie z daleka.
Nawet gdy wiesc niesie, ze plemie za plemieniem nowa zaglada czeka.
Jakze ponure byly ich zasady. Jakze braklo im wzlotu.
Gdy twierdzili, ze manna z nieba nie spada, ze gest nie przywroci nam wzroku.
Okrutnie wciaz powtarzali, ze cudow brak w codziennosci.
Zwrocilismy sie wiec do Bogow Ludu — oni niesli jutrzenke przyszlosci.
Jakze wiele Bogowie Ludu przyrzekli. Jakze pieknie obiecywali.
W Okresie Kambryjskim pokoj byl ich celem, bysmy tylko bron nasza oddali.
Lecz gdy rozbrojenie pelne juz bylo, odsprzedali nas wrogom za marne bele perkali.
“Z diablem lepiej wam bylo” — stwierdzili Bogowie Ksiag Starych.
W Epoce Krzemu Bogowie Ludu glosili Nadejscie Nowego
Poczynajac od milosci blizniego, a konczac na kochaniu zony jego.
Az kobiety nasze stracily swe dzieci, a mezczyzni swa wiare i honor.
I Bogowie Ksiag Starych orzekli: “Od grzechu przychodzi pomor.”
W Epoce Zelaza obiecano nam dostatek jadla i igrzysk
Przez rabunek nielicznych bogatych szczodrosc kwitla dla wszystkich.
Lecz choc wszyscy pieniadze mieli, nic sie kupic nie dalo.
“Kto nie pracuje ten nie je” — Ksiegi Stare krzyczaly.
I wtedy Bogowie Ludu upadli i ich spiewy ustaly
Nasze serca zamarly, nagle pelne obawy
Ze jednak Prawo istnieje, a dwa plus dwa rowna sie cztery
Jak cierpliwie tlumaczyli surowi Bogowie Ksiag Starych.
* * * * *
Tak tez bedzie w przyszlosci jak bylo u dziejow zarania
Ksiegi Stare prawde nam mowia, mimo serca wahania
Lis i wilk to drapiezcy, bo kly nie sa ozdoba
Swinia w blocie sie tarza — nie udaje gazeli, jest soba
Glupiec parzy sie w palec i wciaz w ogien go wklada
I gdy Nowy Wspanialy Swiat przyjdzie, gdzie mrok nie zapada
Gdzie nikt za grzechy nie placi — wtedy Oni powroca
Bogowie Ksiag Starych — z kara, groza, i moca!
All information contained here is, to our best knowledge, correct, but it is merely a representation, and should not be considered to be any form of professional advice. This electronic publication should not be misconstrued as the official position of Illinois State University, or its Department of Mathematics. We are glad to provide as much information as possible here, but we kindly ask that in any decision related to matters listed here you seek additional counsel and information. Comments on this Home Page are welcome and should be sent to Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski at his e-mail address: krzysio@ilstu.edu.