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Call off your eyes from care By some determined deftness; put forth joys Dear as excess without the core that cloys, And charm Life's lourings fair. Exalt and crown the hour That girdles us, and fill it with glee, Blind glee, excelling aught could ever be, Were heedfulness in power. Send up such touching strains That limitless recruits from Fancy's pack Shall rush upon your tongue, and tender back All that your soul contains. For what do we know best? That a fresh love-leaf crumpled soon will dry, And that men moment after moment die, Of all scope dispossest. If I have seen one thing It is the passing preciousness of dreams; That aspects are within us; and who seems Most kingly is the King.
Confirmed with Thomas Hardy, Late Lyrics and Earlier with Many Other Verses, London: MacMillan and Co., Limited, 1922, pages 81-82.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "A young man's exhortation", written 1867, appears in Late Lyrics and Earlier with Many Other Verses, first published 1922 [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 Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "A young man's exhortation", op. 14 no. 1, published 1933 [ tenor and piano ], from A Young Man's Exhortation, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Sharon Krebs) , "Mahnrede eines jungen Mannes", copyright © 2022, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 126
Rufe deine Augen weg von Sorge Durch irgendeine beherzte Gewandheit; bringe Freuden hervor, So teuer wie Überfluss ohne den anwidernden Kern, Und zauberisch verwandle des Lebens Finsternisse in Heiterkeit. Verherrliche und kröne die Stunde Die uns umschließt, und fülle sie mit Fröhlichkeit, Mit blinder Fröhlichkeit, die alles übertrifft, was immer sein könnte, Wäre Vorsicht an der Macht. Schicke solche rührenden Klänge empor, Dass unzählige Rekruten aus der Armee der Fantasie Geschwind auf deine Zunge losstürmen, und dir Alles zurückzahlen, was deine Seele enthält. Denn was wissen wir am besten? Dass ein frisches Liebesblatt, zerknittert, bald austrocknet, Und dass Augenblick für Augenblick Menschen sterben, Aller Möglichkeit enteignet. Wenn ich Eines erkannt habe, Dann ist es die flüchtige Kostbarkeit der Träume; Innerlich sind wir vielseitig; und wer Am königlichsten scheint, ist König.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2022 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "A young man's exhortation", written 1867, appears in Late Lyrics and Earlier with Many Other Verses, first published 1922
This text was added to the website: 2022-09-05
Line count: 20
Word count: 131