Page:Songs of Russia.djvu/64

 Hated are we, and driven from our homes,
 * Tortured and persecuted, even to blood;

And wherefore? ’Tis because we love the poor,
 * The masses of mankind, who starve for food.

We are shot down, and on the gallows hanged,
 * Robbed of our lives and freedom without ruth,

Because for the enslaved and for the poor
 * We are demanding liberty and truth.

But we will not be frightened from our path
 * By darksome prisons or by tyranny;

We must awake humanity from sleep,
 * Yea, we must make our brothers glad and free.

Secure us fast with fetters made of iron,
 * Tear us like beasts of blood till life departs,

’Tis but our bodies that you will destroy,
 * Never the sacred spirit in our hearts.

You cannot kill it, tyrants of the earth!
 * Our spirit is a plant immortal, fair;

Its petals, sweet of scent and rich of hue,
 * Are scattered wide, are blooming everywhere.