A Love of Ancient Poems and Poetry
88Ancient Poetry
Ancient poems and ancient poetry have always struck me powerfully. The way the ancients viewed the world and expressed their fascination through poetry, is so different from how we view the world today. In our modern age, science has sought to explain every detail of our world, exploring its farthest corner and smallest nook. There is little mystery left in the world, no undiscovered, unruly places for the dreamer to imagine. But for the ancients, the world was still a vast and undiscovered place. I love to read ancient poetry because you can't help but be caught up with the same sense of wonder and mystery that the ancients saw in the world when you read their poems. Not only that but ancient poems have that special value of being, well...ancient :) I've included some excerpts from a few cultures: the Tao Te Ching (Chinese), Rumi (Persian), and Solomon (The Bible/Hebrew). Some are excerpts of advice, some are poems of love, and the rest are simply interesting truths about the world. I hope you find a timeless wisdom and knowledge in these old quotes and ancient poetry.
“When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.”
Tao Te Ching
“Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.”
Tao Te Ching
This is my favorite ancient poem:
“The intellectual is always showing off,
the lover is always getting lost.
The intellectual runs away.
afraid of drowning;
the whole business of love
is to drown in the sea.
Intellectuals plan their repose;
lovers are ashamed to rest.
The lover is always alone.
even surrounded by people;
like water and oil, he remains apart.
The man who goes to the trouble
of giving advice to a lover
gets nothing. He's mocked by passion.
Love is like musk. It attracts attention.
Love is a tree, and the lovers are its shade.”
Rumi – The Intellectual is Always Showing Off
“Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?...
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?”
Tao Te Ching
“I am a sculptor, a molder of form.
In every moment I shape an idol.
But then, in front of you, I melt them down
I can rouse a hundred forms
and fill them with spirit,
but when I look into your face,
I want to throw them in the fire.
My souls spills into yours and is blended.
Because my soul has absorbed your fragrance,
I cherish it.
Every drop of blood I spill
informs the earth,
I merge with my Beloved
when I participate in love.
In this house of mud and water,
my heart has fallen to ruins.
Enter this house, my Love, or let me leave.”
Rumi – I am a sculptor a molder of form
“For love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.”
Song Of Solomon Chapter 8
“He who stands on tiptoe
doesn't stand firm.
He who rushes ahead
doesn't go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.”
Tao Te Ching
“There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”
Ecclesiastes Chapter 3
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Thanks Cris! I'm very glad you enjoyed them :) I've just started dipping into ancient poetry and it's really cool.
I really like these poems, great and inspiring choices, i am sharing this on Digg and stumble upon for sure:)
Wow, thanks Dave :) That's really cool of you.
One question benj. Are the writings here written purposedly as poems or that's just the form they usually wrote in?
Looking forward to more of your finds :D
Hmmm, I guess I'm not quite sure. The Tao Te Ching was originally a collection of poetry I'm pretty sure, and Rumi was definitely a poet. The others are smack dab from the Bible, written originally as Hebrew poetry. It would be really cool to be able to read them in the original language, to get the full effect. Thanks man.
These are beautiful. I especially love "..the sculptor" by Rumi. I think every woman longs for her man to love her like that.
Thanks Jamie! Yeah Rumi has some really cool stuff.
“Can you coax your mind from its wandering and keep to the original oneness?..Can you love people and lead them without imposing your will?”Tao Te Ching...Is the one I like the most here, although they are all very well versed...and yes you are a marvel my dear...G-Ma :O) Hugs & Peace
Rumi is a romantic poet. Thank you for sharing! Your hubs are so inspiring!
“When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete,everybody will respect you.”
How true; how true. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks guys! I'm very glad you liked them. It's so cool being able to resonate and relate so strongly to ancient poems. They were written so long ago, but many of them feel brand new. I've just begun to really study ancient poetry and I'm getting addicted to it. Rumi is an awesome poet, I need to read more of his works. Thanks much for reading!
Oh, I like them all. I only met some of them in your hub, Benj. I am most acquanted with the Song Of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. However, I also love the wisdom of the rest the you compiled.
thanks,
Thanks Sheena! Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes are some of my favorite books of the Bible. Solomon was both wise and romantic, which in my mind is a very admirable pairing. Thanks for reading!
Yes, I agree. I was a little bit depressed reading Ecclesiastes/vanity of life and the Song of Solomon must be explained to me by a couple of preachings. LOL. Must be a coincidence those verses were my favorite from those chapters. :)
Haha, yeah, Ecclesiastes is definitely more somber than any other book of the Bible, except perhaps for Lamentations. And Song of Solomon definitely needs some explaining. I agree completely. I've never heard a sermon on Song of Solomon before though. It's not something that pastors seem to generally want to preach on, haha. I've had to do my own research to try and figure it out.
I heard a few verses explained from Song of Solomon when the topic is about waiting for a lover, to hustle while waiting because a man has to pursue his personal legend and come back running like a gazelle to capture the woman that owns his heart, but not the entire song of Solomon. LOL. I would have loved to hear it. haha. You've given me a crazy idea.
I read the bible from cover to cover, many times. God must forgive me because every time I try to read Lamentations, I fall asleep. It's mathematics, for heaven's sake. You can ask me anything but not math. It's the accounting of ancestors. Unless, I become a pastor myself, which is very unlikely, I will not try to understand that. It's way beyond my comprehension. LOL
Nice exchange of ideas, Benj. I like it and appreciate it. Perhaps, Cris is right...You are an old soul.
Thanks Sheena. I very much enjoy having a conversation with you as well :) You've reminded me of one of my other favorite parts about Song of Solomon. There's a verse in there that I always found really interesting. It's said 3 times in the book: "Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."
It's exactly like you were talking about, the man goes out to pursue his personal legend, and then once everything is set, he comes back like a gazelle to capture the woman who has his heart. But not before. That's really cool that you reminded me of that part of the book that I had forgotten about. Thanks for the great and stimulating conversation :) You're an old soul too.
Yes, Yes! That is exactly what I'm talking about. I have this short term memory syndrome. I forget the words but I remember the thought. I never even memorize verses except for my favorite which is Jeremiah 29:11.
This is very cool. I like it. WOW! You made my day!
:)
You made my day as well! It's not often that you get to have an interesting conversation about pretty obscure parts of the Bible with someone. Thank you very much for bringing it all up. Talking with you makes me want to go over the whole book again and study it :) That's a great verse from Jeremiah. I think my favorite would have to 1 Corinthians 9:24. It's made me want to live my life to the full.
I really enjoyed this! I like the Tao Te Ching the best. Isn't it fascinating that something written so long ago is still true today?
Thanks Kari! I totally love the Tao Te Ching too. I had no idea until recently that it was just a collection of ancient Chinese poems. It has a lot of really cool stuff in it. Thanks for checking it out :)
International Standard Version (©2008)You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don't you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious.
Yes, we should all live life to the fullest. It's never easy and it will not be perfect, sometimes it may even be unfair but All things work for the good of those who love him. LOL.
I hate to sound biblical, really because they'd think I'm half of a retard. LOL
I'll send something to your email that you might like. :)
And let us not forget about the most Ancient of epics, including The Illiad, The Odyssey, and Beowulf just to name a few. Back when the poetry was oral and would change in the telling. That's part of the magic of language, how much it changes with the person using it and how it holds certain meanings to only the individual. Though I must disagree with you about science destroying the wonder of the world. It has given us some answers but there is so much more out there that we don't know than what we do. And science can help us with that wonder as well. Look at things like the Hubble for example. A modified telescope given to us by science which has opened up limitless images and questions for us to ask. In short giving us new mysteries and wonders. Now instead of having the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world, we have the Infinite Wonders of the Universe. Space Poetry. There's something I haven't heard yet. Could work... Just look at Space Westerns.
P.S. There's totally a Star trek novel series based on the Eccleastes poem you put up.
Haha that's so awesome, which series? And I agree with you about Hubble. I didn't think about all the new things that science has uncovered. That is definitely worthy of note.
I think the series is just called "A Time..." And which one has a different name and theme and focuses on a different crew member. And one's called A Time To Mourn, A Time To Die etc. etc. And getting back to what I was saying earlier is that I think what we've lost with science (and how it relates to the Ancients) is the sense of mysticism. We have to find a hard explanation for everything. And that definitely has it's draw backs, but that's also the role of the writer, or in this particular case the poet, in modern society. Is to find those moments of mysticism in the everyday world and tell people about them. To explore the mysticism of love between two people and let the reader now exactly how you might feel when you see the face of your beloved, or how you long for him/her when he/she is not around. Or even just watching the sunrise. The science behind it all is explained, but not the way it makes you feel inside. So go ahead great poet Benji, make me feel what you feel.
So we have another philosopher here, eh! Demosthenes Locke. Great thoughts. Yes, I believe it to be true, we try so hard to uncover things and to be able to explain the mystery of it all but never truly grasp the euphoria of being in love.
Magic....
Yes, we have another philosopher. I'll have to be more careful what I write now, he's very good at finding inconsistencies :) Thanks for those videos Sheena, I'm going to check them all out tomorrow.
And I agree with you both. The real challenge with poetry in the modern age seems to come in being able to capture that sense of inexplicable feeling that comes from being in love and watching the beauty of the world. I suppose that I was too hard on science, after all :)
The ancients may have viewed the world differently but these old poems are aplicable to life today, or any time, I guess. Thanks for sharing these lovely old poems. (You could keep 'em coming)
Thanks Dolores :) Studying ancient poetry has become one of my new favorite pastimes. It's really cool that the rest of you enjoy it as well! Thanks for the nice comment.
Im always amazed at all of your hubs such talent, curiosity and passion are put into all your work! I really like this one a ton. Now I can confirm that I am not to only one who thinks of these things and wonders and reads old historical articfacts etc.!
Nicely Done!
Thanks Sassychic :) It's really cool that so many people still appreciate ancient poetry. I haven't seen you in awhile. I hope you are doing well.
Ahh, thank God for poets. They have been around since time for man began. This was really a great read benjimester. i am preferential to the Rumi one, but love them all. and by the way, the song of Solomon it has been said is a metaphor for the love Christ has for his church. I don't beleive that of course. I understand it fully and love it for what the man says. it may be he is speaking of Sheba?
I liked the Tao poems for they seemed to leave a lot of room for interpretation. Rumi is good too and the last line "Love is a tree, and the lovers are its shade.” really summarizes it. And the Solomon poem really describes how invaluable love is. Thumbs up for poets and their poems. What would the world be if not for poets who with there words can melt hearts. :D
C.C. -- Definitely. Thank God for the poets! I think you're probably right about Solomon. I've heard that his beloved was the queen of the south, Sheba. I really love Rumi as well. The way he writes is really captivating.
countrywomen -- That line was my favorite out of all of them! It's such a great line. So much meaning in one small sentence. And I love the Tao Te Ching as well for it's deliberate vagueness. Thanks for reading and for enjoying!
I missed this hub of yours Benji - I'm so glad the forum post led me here! Love the selection - I'm partial to Rumi and parts of the Old Testament - but I haven't read Tao Te Ching - I'm going to add it to my to-do list!
Hey Shalini! Thanks for stopping by. You should definitely check out the Tao Te Ching. It's really peaceful and serene poetry. And when you're finished reading it, you should let me know so we can discuss it :)
I love how some poets wrote to inspire, rue, lament, etc, and makes one think or takes one of over yonder, :) great Hub!
Thanks Dame! I agree completely.
I have an old set of books I purchased a long time ago, (before I could understand them) And I haven't even finished them all yet...
They are :
Tao Te Ching... The Bhagavad-Gita... The Tibetan Book Of The Dead... The Essential Rumi... The Essential Kabbalah... and The Way Of The Pilgrim.
They are all translated, and they are all very meaningful, and beautifully written. I have them right here in front of me, so now this means that I must skim through them again. Thanks for the reminder Benji!
Howdy Shannon! That sounds like quite the list of old books. I'm jealous. I only have a few antique books to my name. They're one of my favorite things ever.
I plan on picking them up again soon and finishing them... I've been, well, side-tracked lately, with little time for myself, but SOON!
very good.Please have a look at my blog athttp://www.nagendrabharathi.blogspot.com whenever you find time.
Great hub I love the mystery and the knowledge of the ancient and this hub covers both. Great quote's, a very inspirational hub. Looking forward to reading more of your work.
Thanks Wrenfrost :) I'm very glad you liked them. Ancient poems are the best.
A Love of Ancient Poems. . I think I have a new found love of your Hubs! Amazing. I can read and re read this one over and over.
Thanks! That's very kind of you to say. Your comments caused me to reread it as well, and I had forgotten how much I love some of those quotes. So thank you for reminding me :)
He who stands on tiptoe - just like looking into a mirror.... humbled!! Thank you Jeff Amazing
Thanks man. Ancient poems are the greatest. I'm really glad you liked!
Excellent choice of a few ancient poems - I too love ancient poems, thank you for sharing this...
Thanks Cris!I agree. I was a little bit depressed reading Ecclesiastes/vanity of life and the Song of Solomon must be explained to me by a couple of preachings.
Great article. I love poetry. Your article showcases some of the great ancient poets. Hafiz, the Persian Sufi poet, is one of my favorites along with Mirabai and Sappho. I like the fact that your hubs are well written and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing. Teresa
Eros
Bittersweet, irrepressible love
loosens my limbs and I tremble
yet, Atthis, the mere thought of me repels you
and you fly off to Andromeda.
Sappho
I'll have to look up some of those names. Thanks very much for the tip! And thanks for the excerpt of Sappho.
"When you are ready
The teacher will come"
Ancient poems are simple yet so true and applicable to our modern life until the end of days.
Right on. I agree. Simple yet still so applicable.
I like the poems and I hit the awesome button.
Thanks!
Hello Benjimester! I am so glad that I stopped by to read this Hubpage. Not only is it beautiful but I have really learned something. I think that the beauty in this poetry is that they are all lessons for life. It's as if they didn't just say things to say just anything, but all of their words are little lessons about how to live, love, survive and about what type of person you can be.
All of these poems are wonderful words to go by! Thank you very much. I vote this way up! :)
Thanks! I'm really glad you liked the poetry. You're right, there are a lot of great lessons to be learned, and it's so much fun to read a person's perspective who lived so long ago. Their words are still so relevant.
Great poems, benji!
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed them.
what a real work done by a poet.
hans of too him
Thanks!
Cris A Level 2 Commenter 2 years ago
These are beautiful benji! You are an old soul perhaps, for it takes a connection to the past in order to see the beauty of what has come to pass. Thanks for sharing, They are inspiring and have left me in silence. :D