by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
By Music, minds an equal temper know
Language: English
By Music, minds an equal temper know,
Nor swell too high, nor sink too low.
If in the breast tumultuous joys arise,
Music her soft, assuasive voice applies;
Or, when the soul is press'd with cares,
Exalts her in enlivening airs.
Warriors she fires with animated sounds;
Pours balm into the bleeding lover's wounds;
Melancholy lifts her head,
Morpheus rouses from his bed,
Sloth unfolds her arms and wakes,
Listening Envy drops her snakes;
Intestine war no more our passions wage,
And giddy factions hear away their rage.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744), no title, appears in Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, no. 2, first published 1708 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "By music", 1889 [ baritone and orchestra ], from Ode to St. Cecelia's Day, no. 3 [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Luca Antonio Pagnini) , no title, written 1800, appears in Ode di Alessandro Pope in onore di Santa Cecilia, no. 2
Researcher for this page: John Fowler
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 88