80396

Letter 76
BR TO ELIZABETH RUSSELL, 21 AUG. 1918
BRACERS 80396. ALS. McMaster
Previous Brixton letter, BRACERS 18687; next letter, BRACERS 19347
Edited by Kenneth Blackwell, Andrew G. Bone, Nicholas Griffin and Sheila Turcon

<Brixton Prison>¹
21 Aug. ’18.

My dear Elizabeth —

Will you give these 2 Chinese poems^{2 , a} to Frank? Much love and thanks to both for endless kindnesses.

Yrs aff
B.R.

Captivity.³

I am a prisoner in the hands of the enemy
Enduring the shame of captivity.
My bones stick out and my strength is gone
Through not getting enough to eat.
My brother is a Mandarin
And his horses are fed on maize.
Why can’t he spare a little money
To send and ransom me?       [Query: How much would Cave⁴ want?]

Anon, 1st century B.C.

Business Men.⁵

Business men boast of their skill and cunning
But in philosophy they are like little children.
Bragging to each other of successful depredations^b
They neglect to consider the ultimate fate of the body.
What should they know of the Master of Dark Truth
Who saw the wide world in a jade cup,
By illumined conception got clear of Heaven and Earth;
On the chariot of Mutation entered the Gate of Immutability?

By Chen Tzu-ang, A.D. 656–698.

Notes

• 1.

  [document] The letter was edited from the initialled, twice-folded original in BR’s hand. Letter 77 to Colette has a note “Sheet for Elizabeth elsewhere.” This is the text of that sheet.

• 2.

  2 Chinese poems The poems are found in Arthur Waley, A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (London: Constable, 1918).

• 3.

  Captivity. The poem was copied from Waley, p. 36, where the title is “The Other Side of the Valley”.

• 4.

  Cave “The Home Secretary.” (BR’s note at BRACERS 80397.)

• 5.

  Business Men The poem was copied from Waley, p. 95.

Textual Notes

• a.

  2 Chinese poems “Chinese” was inserted.

• b.

  depredations Misspelt as “depradations”.