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by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892)

They that have power to hurt, and will...
Language: English 
They that have power to hurt, and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow;
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces,
And husband nature's riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others, but stewards of their excellence.
The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,
Though to itself, it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
      For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
      Lilies that fester, smell far worse than weeds.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Sonnets, no. 94

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title, appears in Sonnets de Shakespeare, no. 94, first published 1857


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-12-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 106

Sonet 94
 (Sung text for setting by A. Wallnöfer)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English 
Wer Macht zu schaden hat und es nicht thut,
Wer die Gewalt hat, doch ihr Wirken hemmt,
Wer, Andre rührend, selbst beherrscht sein Blut,
Kalt wie ein Stein bleibt, der Versuchung fremd:
Der ist des Himmels Liebling, und mit Recht,
Der zeigt den weisen Haushalt der Natur,
Wie sein Gesicht beherrscht er sein Geschlecht,
Die Andern dienen seiner Hoheit nur.
Des Sommers Blume ist des Sommers Zier,
Ob sie auch blüht und welkt für sich allein;
Doch steckt ein gift'ger Todeskeim in ihr,
Wird uns das ärmste Unkraut lieber sein:
  Denn nicht so grell verkehrt sich Duft und Wesen
  Bei Unkraut, als bei Lilien die verwesen.

Composition:

    Set to music by Adolf Wallnöfer (1854 - 1946), "Sonet 94", op. 78 no. 2, published 1904 [ tenor and piano ], from 5 Sonnette von William Shakespeare, no. 2, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, also set in English

Text Authorship:

  • by Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt (1819 - 1892)

Based on:

  • a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), appears in Sonnets, no. 94
    • Go to the text page.

Go to the general single-text view


Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler

This text was added to the website: 2009-12-05
Line count: 14
Word count: 106

Gentle Reminder

This website began in 1995 as a personal project by Emily Ezust, who has been working on it full-time without a salary since 2008. Our research has never had any government or institutional funding, so if you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your help is greatly appreciated!
–Emily Ezust, Founder

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