Nor happiness, nor majesty, nor fame, Nor peace, nor strength, nor skill in arms or arts, Shepherd those herds whom Tyranny makes tame; Verse echoes not one beating of their hearts; History is but the shadow of their shame; Art veils her glass, or from the pageant starts, As to Oblivion their millions fleet Staining that Heaven with obscene imagery Of their own likeness. What are numbers knit By force or custom? Man, who man would be, Must rule the empire of himself; in it Must be supreme, establishing his throne On vanquish'd will, quelling the anarchy Of hopes and fears, -- being himself alone.
Two Shelley songs
Song Cycle by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949)
1. Sonnetina #4  [sung text not yet checked]
Text Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "Sonnet: Political greatness", written 1821
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Politická velkost", Prague, J. Otto, first published 1901
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
2. Love's philosophy
... Nothing in the world is single; All things by a law divine In one another's being mingle. Why not I with thine? - The fountains mingle with the River And the Rivers with the Ocean, The winds of Heaven mix for ever With a sweet emotion; ... See the mountains kiss high Heaven And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps the earth And the moonbeams kiss the sea: What are all these kissings worth If thou kiss not me?
Text Authorship:
- by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 - 1822), "Love's philosophy"
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Vrchlický) , "Filosofie lásky"
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Adolf Strodtmann) , "Philosophie der Liebe", appears in Lieder- und Balladenbuch amerikanischer und englischer Dichter der Gegenwart, first published 1862
- POL Polish (Polski) (Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer) , "Filozofia miłości"