Monument. To Rulers and Judges

MONUMENT
I have raised a marvelous monument unto myself—eternal,
Harder than metals, and higher than pyramids;
Neither whirlwind will break it, nor thunder—
Nor shall the flight of time overthrow it.

So!—I will not all die, but a part of me great,
Escaping decay, after death will live on;
And my fame will grow, never fading,
As long as the Slavic race shall honor it through the universe.

News of me will pass from White Waters to Black,
Where the Volga, the Don, the Neva pour the Urals from the Riphean heights;
All will remember among countless peoples
How, from obscurity, I became known,

That I was the first to dare in the amusing Russian style
To proclaim the virtues of Felitsa,
To speak of God in heartfelt simplicity,
And to tell the truth to rulers with a smile.

O Muse! be proud of the just merit,
And disdain the one who disdains you—
With your unhurried, unforced hand,
Crown your brow with the dawn of immortality.

TO RULERS AND JUDGES
The Most High God has risen to judge
Earthly gods in their assembly;
How long, O rivers—how long will you be
Sparing the unrighteous and the wicked?

Your duty is: to preserve laws,
Not to look at the faces of the mighty;
Without help, without defense,
Not to leave orphans and widows.

Your duty: to save innocent people from trouble.
To shelter the unfortunate;
To defend the powerless against the strong,
To tear the poor from their chains.

They don’t listen! They see—and don’t know!
Your eyes are covered with bribes:
Crimes shake the earth,
Falsehood wavers the skies.

Tsars! I thought you gods could rule,
No judge stands above you;
But you, like me, are passionate,
And just as mortal as I.

And you too will fall,
Like a leaf that withers and falls from old trees!
And you too will die,
Just as your last servant will die!

Rise, God! God of the righteous!
And heed their supplication:
Come, judge, punish the wicked,
And be the one King of the earth!