Consider well your neighbour, what an...

Consider well your neighbour, what an imbecile he is. 
Then ask yourself whether it be worth while paying any attention 
to what he thinks of you. Life is too short, and death 
the end of all things. Life must be lived, not endured.
...
Therefore the sage will go his way, prepared to find 
himself growing ever more out of sympathy with vulgar 
trends of opinion, for such is the inevitable development 
of thoughtful and self-respecting minds. 
He scorns to make proselytes among his fellows: 
they are not worth it. He has better things to do. 
While others nurse their griefs, he nurses his joy. 
He endeavours to find himself at no matter what cost, 
and to be true to that self when found — a worthy and
ample occupation for a life-time.

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

• by George Norman Douglas (1868 - 1952), no title, appears in Alone, New York, Robert M. McBride & Company, first published 1922 [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by Alistair Hinton (b. 1950), "Consider well your neighbour, what an imbecile he is", 1969-1977 [high voice and string quintet], from String Quintet, no. 5i [ sung text checked 1 time]

Text added to the website: 2018-09-09.
Last modified: 2018-09-09 20:15:25
Line count: 15
Word count: 133

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