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by Alfred Austin (1835 - 1913)

Love's wisdom
Language: English 
Now on the summit of Love's topmost peak
Kiss we and part; no further can we go:
And better death than we from high to low
Should dwindle or decline from strong to weak.
We have found all, there is no more to seek;
All have we proved, no more is there to know;
And time could only tutor us to eke
Out rapture's warmth with custom's afterglow.
We cannot keep at such a height as this;
For even straining souls like ours inhale
But once in life so rarefied a bliss.
What if we lingered till love's breath should fail!
Heaven of my Earth! one more celestial kiss,
Then down by separate pathways to the vale.

Text Authorship:

  • by Alfred Austin (1835 - 1913), "Love's wisdom", appears in Soliloquies in Song, first published 1882 [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 Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "Love's wisdom", op. 115 (Three Sonnets) no. 1 (1935) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-21
Line count: 14
Word count: 117

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