by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893)
All that began with God, in God must end
Language: English
All that began with God, in God must end: All lives are garnered in His final bliss: All wills hereafter shall be one with His: When in the sea we sought, our spirits blend. Rays of pure light, which one frail prism may rend Into conflicting colours, meet and kiss With manifold attraction, yet still miss Contentment, while their kindred hues contend. Break but that three-edged glass: -- inviolate The sundered beams resume their primal state, Weaving pure light in flawless harmony. Thus decomposed, subject to love and strife, God's thought, made conscious through man's mortal life, Resumes through death the eternal unity.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by John Addington Symonds (1840 - 1893), "The prism of life", appears in Animi Figura, in Versöhnung, 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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The prism of life", 2005 [bass or baritone and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
- by Adrian Cruft (b. 1921), "All that began with God", published 1955 [motet for SATB chorus and orchestra or piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-28
Line count: 14
Word count: 102