Wishes of an Elderly Man

I wish I loved the human race;
I wish I loved its silly face;
I wish I loved the way it walks;
I wish I loved the way it talks;
And when I'm introduced to one;
I wish I thought What Jolly Fun!


Οι επιθυμίες ενός ηλικιωμένου άνδρα

Μακάρι ν' αγαπούσα την ανθρώπινη τη ράτσα
Μακάρι ν' αγαπούσα την ηλίθιά της φάτσα
Μακάρι ν' αγαπούσα τον τρόπο που περπατά
Μακάρι ν' αγαπούσα τον τρόπο που μιλά
Κι αν μου λέγαν «να σας συστήσω τον κύριο τάδε...»
Θα 'θελα να σκεφτόμουν «αχ, τι καλά», αμ δε!


Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1552 – 29 October 1618) was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer who is also largely known for popularising tobacco in England.
Raleigh was born to a Protestant family in Devon, the son of Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne. Little is known for certain of his early life, though he spent some time in Ireland, in Killua Castle, Clonmellon, County Westmeath, taking part in the suppression of rebellions and participating in two infamous massacres at Rathlin Island and Smerwick. Later he became a landlord of properties confiscated from the Irish. He rose rapidly in Queen Elizabeth I's favour, being knighted in 1585. He was involved in the early English colonization of Virginia under a royal patent. In 1591 he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, without the Queen's permission, for which he and his wife were sent to the Tower of London. After his release, they retired to his estate at Sherborne, Dorset.