by Anonymous / Unidentified Author and sometimes misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good
Language: English
Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good; A shining gloss that vadeth suddenly; A flower that dies when first it 'gins to bud; A brittle glass that 's broken presently: A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower, Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour. And as goods lost are seld or never found, As vaded gloss no rubbing will refresh, As flowers dead lie wither'd on the ground, As broken glass no cement can redress, So beauty blemish'd once 's for ever lost, In spite of physic, painting, pain, and cost.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, no title, appears in The Passionate Pilgrim, no. 13 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- sometimes misattributed to William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Hendrik de Regt (b. 1950), "Beauty is but a vain", op. 66 no. ? (1978), published 1980 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ], from three madrigals for male choir, madrigal; Amsterdam : Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-06-28
Line count: 12
Word count: 94