Тварам да шыбеніцы
Язэп Янушкевіч
Памер: 137с.
Ракаў 2013
Бувай же здоровмй, мужмцькнй народе, Жнвн собі в іцасті, жмвм у свободі, Та згадай, як зможеш, Яся отого, ІЦо за правду згмнув для добра твого.
А тоді, як слово перейде у діло, Тоді й тн за правду піднімайся сміло. Бо лмше із нею у громаді, в згоді Діждешся на старість волі тп, Народе.
Мармсько чорнобрмва, голубко моя, Де ж сн поділо іцастя і ясна доля твоя?
Усе пройшлопройшло, нібм й не бувало, Одна страшна гіркота у грудях зостала.
Колм за нашу правду Бог став нас каратн Та й із саду предвічного звелів пропадатн. To мм марно пропадемо, та правдн не зречемось, Швмдше з небом і зі іцастям навік розмпнемось.
He нарікай, Мармсенько, на свою недолю, Та прнймн тм тяжку кару Предвічного волю, А як мене спом'янеш тн, іцлро помолпся I тоді я з того світу тобі одізвуся.
Бувай здоровлй, мужнцькнй народе, Жмвм у іцасті, у царстві свободн.
I часом спом'янм про Яська свого, ІЦо за правду загмнув задля добра твого.
А колл слово перейду у діло, Тоді тм за правду підіймайся сміло, Бо тількм лмш у громаді правдм новоі Дочекаешся, Народе, старості на волі.
Переклад вірша
Наталкй Позняк
Переклад вірша Олександра Ірваньця
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***
Братл моі, рідні селянл. 3під московськоі шлбенлці влпадае мені до вас звертатлсь, й, можллво, востаньне. Гірко поклдатл рідну землю й тебе, любмй мій народе. Стогін у грудях, біль у серці — та не жаль мені заглнутл за твою правду.
Прлймл, народе, іцлросердне мое передсмертне слово, адже воно наче з того світу ллше для твого добра плсане.
Немае, братове, більшого іцастя на цім світі, як те, колл чоловік мае в голові розум та науку. Тоді він зможе жлтл заможно, іцоправда, ллше тоді він, помоллвшлсь Богу, заслужлть царства небесного, якіцо збагатлть наукою розум, відкрле душу і всю родлну іцлро полюблть. Але, як день з ніччю водночас не бувають разом, так не сумііцаються правдлва наука з московськлм рабством. Допокл не звільнлмось нічого мл не матлмемо ні правдл, ні заможного жлття й ніякоі' наукл, — ллше спрлйматлмуть нас за худобу — і не для добра, а поглбелі нашоі.
Тому, Народе, як тількл почуеш, іцо твоі братл зпід Варшавл змагаються за правду і свободу, тоді й тл не стій осторонь, а схоплвшл до рук іцо попало — косу, соклру — всіею громадою йдл боронлтл свое народне право, свою рідну землю.
Я ж бо тобі зпід шлбенлці кажу, Народе, іцо ллше тоді жлтлмеш іцасллво, колл над тобою москаль вже не пануватлме.
Твій слуга,
Ясько — господар зпід Вільні.
Переклад Ігоря Білінського
Ігор Білінськнй, © Олександр Ірванець, © Наталка Позняк
«ЛІСТЫ 3ПАД ШЫБЕНІЦЫ»
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LETTERS
«FROM BENEATH THE GALLOWS»
Letter № 1
Your newspaper has also reached our corner and we have read it with attention. We all like it very much because it tells the truth. Accept our thanks for it and publish this letter to let the entire world know how the Byelorussian peasants view the Muscovites and the Polish uprising, what they desire and what they will struggle for according to their strength. Our word is simple but sincere. When it reaches the Polish Government, it will open our breast to it and show what we think should be done to put an end once and for all — if not now then later — to Muscovite rule.
Now the Muscovites keep talking to us from all sides without letup about their brotherhood with us. It is strange indeed that having lived for so long under the Muscovite rule we hear of it only now, and therefore it would be not without benefit to take a look at how these Muscovite «brothers» have been managing their own affairs and what they have been doing to us to find out about their sincerity and their right to our brotherhood.
We shall not discuss what peoples are at the origin of the Muscovites — we will not find much of brotherhood there — subjugation by the Mongols and by Muscovite tsars has completely destroyed any memory of freedom in this people and turned them into communities of bad individuals without consideration, truth, justice, conscience, and without fear of God. With such people the Muscovite tsars, who have been living by wronging other humans, have conquered and subjugated our land and thus we have come to know them, these «brothers» of ours as they call themselves.
The Polish Government which used to rule over us did not take recruits from among us, did not separate children from the people, from their parents and their native land, and did not march them to the end of the earth in order to establish enslavement there, to squeeze out tears and the damnation of our souls. The Polish Government, when it took household taxes from us, did not establish such outrageous taxes on our souls, which belong only to God. The Polish Government, having God in its heart, did not enlist us into schism in which one is required to pray for the Tsar over and over again as if the Tsar had already become God for the world and religion belonged to the government. It
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was about 70 years ago that the Polish Government, ahead of many neighboring nations, began discussing the peasants’ freedom and brotherly equality between the peasant and the gentry, and General Kosciuszko who, they say, was born near Slonim and of whom our people sing that, he was good and soundly beat the Muscovites and that he had spoken out in favor of our freedom, but the Muscovites had interfered and established their rule.
Let us now see what they have begun doing, these «benefactors of the peasants» as thev themselves claim to be: first of all in order to prevent a national conscience from taking shape, the Muscovites have done away with all the assemblies of our representatives, closed down all of our schools, and thus having robbed us of our conscience and reason and having introduced among us their Muscovite order, have allowed anyone more powerful to abuse the poor as much as he wished. The landlords have been completely freed of any burdens and been given the right to introduce the Muscovite type of corvee, and it is not three or six days from a household, but six days from a working soul. The peasant has not only been denied any right, but has been deprived of the right which he used to have from the Polish Government. Many free people as well as those working on state farms have been ordered into serfdom. Everyone was allowed to harm the peasant, and the Muscovite bureaucrats did not provide any justice for him, and what is more, if the courts did not exile the peasant to Siberia to be abused, then he was handed over to military service in perpetuity. If any landlord, following the call of his conscience, stood for truth and justice and resisted the Tsar’s order, which says «Flay, grab, and keep silent,» then, if he had not fled to the French, he was taken to prison and marched to Siberia, and his estate along with his peasants was taken over by the Treasury. Hence we have state peasants. First they performed corvee for the Treasury, then quitrent was assigned to them and on top of the quitrent they were driven, without any thanks, to work for any devil: either a district land administrator, or county police chief, of anyone who could pay a bribe.
This is the kind of — allegedly beneficial! — Muscovite officialdom the peasants have. Let it be judged by those who read my letter. I shall only say in sincere truthfulness: if under the Polish government we did not have it altogether good, when the Muscovites began governing us, they created an absolute hell for the peasants.
Also, it has to be said that they have forced us to leave our fatherland, become recruits, and fight not for God’s law, but for oppression and enslavement, often against our brothers and fathers. It has to be said here that the Muscovites, these «benefactors of the peasants,» having lifted all taxes from the landlords, shifted them onto the peasant folk, taxed their land, their houses, their souls, their children, and their cattle, both living and dead.
But this does not bring an end to Muscovite «philanthropy» yet. — From the
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time of our grand and greatgrandfathers we have had the Uniate faith, which means that, while being of the Greek faith, we recognized as God’s Representative the Holy Fathers who are in Rome. This, too, made the Muscovite Tsars jealous and, therefore, having abolished the Greek faith in Moscow and having established a Tsarist one, which is called prawoslawie (Orthodoxy), they tore us away from the true God and enlisted us into the baneful schism. In this way, having robbed us of our money and able hands, they have harnessed us into serfdom and, to prevent the peasants’ tears from coming before the throne of the true God, they took away from us our spiritual consolation — our Uniate faith. Indeed, my dear people, that is something to be thankful for!...
And take the Muscovite bureaucrats — one more «benefit». I have read in books that there is such thing in this world as a locust which, wherever it appears, plunders all of a farmer’s cattle. We, my brothers, have something even worse than that locust and that is the Muscovite officials with their «truth» and «justice». They are very adroit people, or to put it in Muscovite language, «prawornyje», they know how to lick a man so that when he leaves their hands he is as naked as at birth — and we have to live under such a government without justice or truth.
Immediately after the war with the French at Sebastopol, rumors began to circulate among us that freedom would have to be given to the peasants. We had been waiting a long time and finally, three years ago, a Tsarist ukase was promulgated. True, much was written in it, but there was little of use to us. They only created offices, intermediaries, chairmen, and scribes — all at the peasants’ expense — but as we had been performing corvee, we had to continue it. Having learned about it, we began to resist, and it was then that the Muscovites turned up to force upon us acceptance of the Tsar’s favors, and the Cossack whip was meant to reinforce our «brotherly» ties — I only don’t know with whom, the landlords or the Muscovites. Instead of my telling you about it, let it be told by those who were willing to reinforce them, our «benefactors,» our Muscovite «brothers.»
КНІГІ ОНЛАЙН
