This is not what man hates,
Yet he can curse but this.
Harsh Gods and hostile Fates
And dreams: this only is.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

• by Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888), no title, appears in Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems, in Empedocles on Etna, Act I, Scene 2, lines 303-306, an excerpt of a lengthy monologue by Empedocles [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):

[ None yet in the database ]

This text (or a part of it) is used in a work

• by Ned Rorem (b. 1923), "The tigers of wrath", 2001-2 [medium voice, violin, cello, and piano], from Aftermath, no. 2, Boosey & Hawkes [see full setting text] [
   text not verified 
  ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-09-11
Line count: 4
Word count: 22