by Thomas Campbell (1777 - 1844)
Beatific Sea See original
Language: English
...
Old Ocean was
Infinity of ages ere we breathed
Existence—and he will be beautiful
When all the living world that sees him now
Shall roll unconscious dust around the sun.
Quelling from age to age the vital throb
In human hearts, Death shall not subjugate
The pulse that swells in his stupendous breast,
Or interdict his minstrelsy to sound
In thund’ring concert with the quiring winds;
But long as Man to parent Nature owns
Instinctive homage, and in times beyond
The power of thought to reach, bard after bard
Shall sing thy glory, Beatific Sea!
Note: Owen uses the spelling "hommage" instead of "homage" in the final stanza.
Composition:
- Set to music by Morfydd Llwyn Owen (1891 - 1918), "Beatific Sea", 1913, stanza 9 [ voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Campbell (1777 - 1844), "Lines on the view from St. Leonard's"
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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-26
Line count: 140
Word count: 1006