Whether men do laugh or weep, Whether they do wake or sleep, Whether they die young or old, Whether they feel heat or cold, There is underneath the sun Nothing in true earnest done. All our pride is but a jest. None are worst and none are best. Grief and joy and hope and fear Play their pageants ev'rywhere. Vain opinion all doth sway, And the world is but a play. Powers above in clouds do sit, Marking our poor apish wit, That so lamely, without state, Their high glory imitate. No ill can be felt but pain, And that happy men disdain.
R. Vaughan Williams sets stanzas 1-2
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked 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 Philip Rosseter (1567?8 - 1623), "Whether men do laugh or weep" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Epilogue", stanzas 1-2 [ SATB chorus ], from cantata In Windsor Forest, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Richard Flatter) , "Wahn und Schmerz", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936
Researcher for this page: Pauline Kroger
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-16
Line count: 18
Word count: 103
Ob der Mensch nun weint, nun lacht, Ob er Schlaf hat oder wacht, Ob er hitzig oder kalt, Ob er jung verstirbt, ob alt, Nichts ist unter Sonn und Mond, Was in Ernst und Wahrheit lohnt. Allem Stolz ist schwach zu Mut: Keiner schlecht und keiner gut! Angst und Hoffnung, Leid und Lust Spiel´n ihr Stück in jeder Brust. Eitlem Wahn wird nachgestellt – Und ein Spiel nur ist die Welt. Mächte, hoch im Wolkendunst, Spotten unsrer Affenkunst, Die mit Kräften, längst erlahmt, Jenen Himmelsglanz nachahmt. Nur der Schmerz hat echte Macht: Glücklich der, der ihn veracht´t!
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Confirmed with Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten Übersetzt von Richard Flatter, Walter Krieg Verlag, Wien-Bad Bocklet-Zürich, 1954, 2nd edition (1st edition 1936), page 126.
Text Authorship:
- by Richard Flatter (1891 - 1960), "Wahn und Schmerz", appears in Die Fähre, Englische Lyrik aus fünf Jahrhunderten, first published 1936 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Volkmar Henschel
This text was added to the website: 2021-02-25
Line count: 18
Word count: 97