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by Isaac de Bensérade (c1613 - 1691)

L'espoir, il est vrai, nous soulage
Language: French (Français) 
L'espoir, il est vrai, nous soulage,
Et nous berce un temps notre ennui;
Mais, Philis, le triste avantage,
Lorsque rien ne marche après lui!

Vous eûtes de la complaisance;
Mais vous en deviez moins avoir,
Et ne vous pas mettre en dépense
Pour ne me donner que l'espoir.

S'il faut qu'une attente éternelle
Pousse à bout l'ardeur de mon zèle,
Le trépas sera mon recours.
Vos soins ne m'en peuvent distraire:
Belle Philis, on désespère,
Alors qu'on espère toujours.

About the headline (FAQ)

As quoted in Molière's Le Misanthrope, Act I, Scene 2 by the character Oronte (with interjections by other characters between the stanzas, not shown here).

Text Authorship:

  • by Isaac de Bensérade (c1613 - 1691), "Sonnet" [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):

  • by Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray (1840 - 1910), "Sonnet du Misanthrope", published [1885] [ medium voice and piano ], from Six (Nouvelles) Mélodies, no. 5, Éd. Henri Heugel [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Édouard Garnier (1821 - 1887), "L'espoir", published <<1878 [ medium voice and piano ], from Vingt sonnets mis en musique, no. 15, Paris, Éditions Alphonse Leduc [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Maurice Trubert (1857 - 1922), "Sonnet d'Oronte", <<1909 [ high voice and piano ], Paris, Éd. L. Grus & Cie [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2014-11-11
Line count: 14
Word count: 79

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