On parent knees, a naked new-born child,
Weeping thou sat'st, while all around thee smil'd:
So live, that sinking to thy life's last sleep,
Calm thou may'st smile, while all around thee weep.

Confirmed with Bartlett, John, comp. Familiar Quotations, 10th ed, rev. and enl. by Nathan Haskell Dole. Boston: Little, Brown, 1919; Bartleby.com, 2000. www.bartleby.com/100/303.html

Composition:

Set to music by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "On parent knees", op. 13a no. 2, from To a poet, no. 2

Text Authorship:

• by William Jones, Sir (1746 - 1794), no title, subtitle: "From the Persian"

Based on:

• a text in Persian (Farsi) by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist  [text unavailable]
  • Go to the text page.

See other settings of this text.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 36