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p. 21

PART III.

I. ÍGOŔ'S ESCAPE.

 

Прысну море полунощи;
664 идутъ сморци мьглами:
Игореви князю Богъ путь кажетъ
изъ земли Половецкой
на землю Рускую,
668 къ отню злату столу.
    Погасоша вечеру зари.
Игорь съпить, Игорь бъдитъ,
Игорь мыслію поля мѣритъ
672 отъ великого Дону
до малаго Донца.
    Гомонь въ полуночи:
Овлуръ свисну за рѣкою;
676 велить князю
    Разумѣти князю Игорю не бысть;
Кликну. Стукну земля:
въшумѣ трава.
680 Вежи [ся] половецкыя подвизашася;
Игорь князь поскочи
горнастаемъ къ тростію
и бѣлымъ гоголемъ на воду;
684 въвержеся на борзъ комонь,
и скочи съ него босымъ волкомъ,
и потече къ лугу Донца,
и полетѣ соколомъ подъ мьлами,
688 избивая гуси и лебеди
завтроку и обѣду и ужинѣ.
    Коли Игорь соколомъ полетѣ,
тогда Влуръ влъкомъ потече,
692 труся собою студеную росу.
Претръгоста бо борзая комоня.

The sea spurted at midnight; the waterspouts pass like mists. God manifests the road to Prince Ígoŕ from the Polovsk land to the Russian land, to his fathers' golden throne.

The twilight dimmed at even-time. Ígoŕ sleeps, Ígoŕ wakes, Ígoŕ in his mind measures the plains from the mighty Don to the little Donéts.

[There is] clamour at midnight; Ovlur whistled beyond the stream, summons the prince; Prince Ígoŕ could not understand.

[Ovlur] called out loud; the earth throbbed; the grass rustled. The Polovsk tents began to stir. Ígoŕ the Prince raced like an ermine to the brushwood, like a white duck to the water, cast himself on his swift horse and leapt from it like a swift-footed wolf and fled to the meadow of the Donéts, and flew like a hawk in the mists, slaying geese and swans for breakfast, dinner and supper.

When Ígoŕ flew like a hawk, then Vlur fled like a wolf, shaking off himself the cold dew. For they had over-ridden their swift steeds.

 

p. 22

II.

(1) ÍGOŔ SPEAKS WITH THE RIVER DONÉTS.

 

Донецъ рече: "Княже Игорю!
не мало ти величія,
696 а Кончаку нелюбія,
а Руской земли веселиа."
    Игорь рече: "О Донче,
не мало ти величія,
700 лелѣявшу князя на волнахъ,
стлавшу ему зелену траву
на своихъ сребреныхъ брезѣхъ;
одѣвавшу его теплыми мъглами
704 подъ сѣнію зелена древу.
Стрежаше е гоголемъ на водѣ,
чайцами на струяхъ,
чрьнядьми на вѣтрѣхъ."

Donéts [the river] said:--"Prince Ígoŕ, not mean is thy greatness, nor Končák's hatred, nor the joy of the Russian land!

Ígoŕ said:--"Oh Donéts! Not mean is thy greatness, thou who swayest the Prince on thy waves, and hast spread out for him [a bed of] green grass by thy silvery banks, clothing him with warm mists beneath the shade of the green tree; thou hast guarded him with a duck on the water, with gulls on the billows, with mallards on the winds.

 

(2) RECOLLECTION OF ROSTÍSLAV VSÉVOLODIČ,

 

708 "Не тако-ли,"--рече, "рѣка Стугна,
худу струю имѣя,
пожръши чужи ручьи,
и стругы, ростре на кусту?
712 Уношѣ князю Ростиславу
затвори Днѣпрь темнѣ березѣ.
    Плачется мати Ростиславля
по уноши князи Ростиславѣ."
    716 Уныша цвѣты жалобою,
и древо съ тугою
къ земли преклонило.

"Was it not thus," he said, "that the river Stugná, having an evil stream, swallowing strange brooks ground down the barges on the bushes?

The Dnĕpr closed his dark banks to the youth Prince Rostíslav. Rostíslav's mother wails for the youth Prince Rostíslav."

The flowers drooped for sorrow and the tree for grief bowed low to earth.

 

 

III.

(1) THE PURSUIT AFTER ÍGOŔ.

 

(1) не сорокы втроскоташа,
720 на слѣду Игоревѣ
ѣздитъ Гзакъ съ Кончакомъ.
    Тогда врани не граяхуть,
галици помолкоша,
724 сороки не троскоташа,
по лозію ползаша;
только дятлове тектомъ
путь къ рѣцѣ кажутъ;

 

It was not the magpies chirping; in pursuit of Ígoŕ, Gzak rides with Končák.

Then the crows did not croak, the jackdaws were still, the magpies did not chirp; they crept in the boughs. Only the woodpeckers by their peeking show the road to the river;

 

p. 23

728 соловии веселыми пѣсньми
свѣтъ повѣдаютъ.

 

the nightingales with their merry song announce the dawn.

 

 

(2) THE CONVERSATION OF GZAK AND KONČÁK.

 

(2) Молъвитъ Гза къ Кончакови:--
"Аже соколъ къ гнѣзду летитъ,
732 соколича рострѣляевѣ
своими злачеными стрелами."
    Рече Кончакъ ко Гзѣ:--
"Аже соколъ къ гнѣзду летитъ,
736 а вѣ сокольца опутаевѣ
красньою дѣвицею"
    И рече Гзакъ къ Кончакови:--
"Аше его опутаевѣ
740 красною дѣвицею,
ни нама будетъ сокольца
ни нама красны дѣвице:
то почнутъ наю птици бити
744 въ полѣ Половецкомъ."

Gzak speaks to Končák:--"If the hawk is flying to his nest, we two will shoot down the fledgeling with our gilded arrows!"

Končák said to Gzak:--"If the hawk is flying to his nest we will fetter the fledgeling with a maiden fair."

And Gzak said to Končák:--"If we fetter him with a maiden fair, then we shall have neither the fledgeling nor the fair maiden; but the birds will begin to assail us in the Polovsk plains."

 

 

IV. REMINISCENCE OF BOYÁN.

 

Рече Боянъ и ходы
Святъславли на Когана:--
"Пѣснотворъцъ азъ стараго времени
748 "Ярославля и Ольгова:
    'Хоти тяжко ти, головѣ,
    кромѣ плечю,
    зло ти, тѣлу,
    752 кромѣ головы;"--
  --Руской земли безъ Игоря!

Boyán has told of the expeditions of Svyatosláv [the First] against the Kogan: "I am the poet of the ancient time [i.e. Vladímir I], of the time of Yarosláv [the First], and Olég [of Tmutarakáń]." 'Though it be heavy to thee, the head, parted from the shoulders; ill is to thee, body, parted from the head:--to the Russian land without Ígoŕ!'

 

 

V. IGOŔ'S RETURN TO RUSSIA.

 

Солнце свѣтится на небесѣ;
Игорь князь въ Руской земли.
756 Дѣвици поютъ на Дунаи;
вьются голоси чрезъ море до Кіева.

 

The sun shines in the heavens. Ígoŕ the prince is in the Russian land. The maidens sing on the Danube; their voices mingle across the waters [and are borne] to Kíev.

 

p. 24

Игорь идетъ по Боричеву
къ святѣй Богородици Пирогощей.
760 Страны ради, гради весели,
пѣвше пѣснь старымъ княземъ
а потомъ молодымъ пѣти.

Слава Игорю Святъславличь,
764 буй-туру Всеволоде,
Владиміру Игоревичь!

Здрави князи, и дружина,
побарючи за Христьяны
768 на поганыя полкы!

Княземъ слава а дружикѣ хвала!

 

 

770 Аминь!

 

Ígoŕ repairs up [the hill] Boríčev to the Holy Mother of God at Pirogóšč.

The countries are happy, the cities rejoicing; singing a song to the princes of yore: and hereafter the the young shall sing it.

Glory, oh Ígoŕ Svyatoslávič, brave bull Vsévolod, Vladímir Ígorevič!

The princes prosper and the družína fighting for the Christians against the Pagans!

Glory to the Princes and (praise) to the družína!

 

 

AMEN.

 

 

 

 

 

The re-arrangement suggested in the note на седьмомъ would read:--'By strife there has been oppression from the land of Polótsk. In the seventh age of Troyán Vséslav cast lots. He set out to the [river] Issa, doffing his white sheep-skin. He opened wide (l. 580. . .) the gates of Nóvgorod, shattered the glory of Yarosláv [Svyatopólkovič]; galloped like a wolf . . .to the Nemíga. He at the last tore himself with wiles; galloped. . . . Bĕlgorod; . . . . . three parts. (ll. 572-579).' v. p. 18.