Euryalus and Pallas

by Virgil — a poem card from Justes Mots

A poignant elegy comparing the deaths of young warriors Euryalus and Pallas to the wilting of flowers—daffodils, poppies, violets, and hyacinths. Attributed to Virgil, this passage captures the tragedy of unfulfilled youth and beauty lost too soon, with tender imagery suitable for mourning the death of young people.

As a queenly daffodil in the springtide of its bloom,
Falls, whelmed beneath the plough-share, and wondering at its doom;
Or as a scarlet poppy, laying weary neck on earth,
Yields its breath to the full shower it welcomed at its birth;
So, all too fair to die, star of a life, Euryalus
Left for Nisus nought but despair, with dire revenge; and thus
Sank Pallas, young and brave;—as, under a girl’s heedless feet,
Drop violets, soft and shy, or hyacinths, faint and sweet,…

Themes: sympathy · grief · reflection