Ilia Chavchavadze

I stand alone … the mountains, shades
The slumber of my land caress.
O God! O God! when will we wake
And rise again to happiness?

Prince Ilia Chavchavadze (Georgian: ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 8 November 1837 — 12 September 1907) was a Georgian writer, political figure, poet, and publisher who spearheaded the revival of the Georgian national movement in the second half of the 19th century. He is Georgia's "most universally revered hero.

Quotes

Anthology of Georgian Poetry (1948)

Quotes of Chavchavadze from Anthology of Georgian Poetry (1948) by M. Kveselava

• Ah here, O mother is thy task,
  Thy sacred duty to thy land:
  Endow thy sons with spirits strong,
  With strength of heart and honor bright;
  Inspire them with fraternal love,
  To strive for freedom and for right.
  • Lines to a Georgian Mother, p. 59

• O mother! hear thy country's plea:
  Nurture thy sons with spirits strong
  Led by the torch of truth whose flame
  Will banish ignorance and wrong.
  • Lines to a Georgian Mother, p. 59

• No sound doth great the still of night;
  My mother land in silence lies;
  Yet oft is heard an anguished moan
  As Georgia in her slumber sighs.

  I stand alone … the mountains, shades
  The slumber of my land caress.
  O God! O God! when will we wake
  And rise again to happiness?

  • Elegy, p. 60

• The wood is decked in light green leaf.
  The swallow twitters in delight.
  The lonely vine sheds joyous tears
  Of interwoven dew and light.

  Spring weaves a gown of green to clad
  The mountain height and wide-spread field.
  O when wilt thou, my native land,
  In all thy glory stand revealed?

  • Spring, p. 61

External links

• Chavchavadze at Goodreads