It is time | Now is the time, come forth, oh prophet, in the strength of anguish

Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.

It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.

To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at licenses@email.lieder.example.net

If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.

Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.

by Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson (1862 - 1887)

Translation © by A. D. P. Briggs

Пора! Явись, пророк! Всей силою печали

Language: Russian (Русский)

Our translations: ENG

Пора! Явись, пророк! Всей силою печали,
Всей силою любви взываю я к тебе!
Взгляни, как дряхлы мы, взгляни, как мы устали,
Как мы безпомощны в мучительной борьбе!
Теперь - иль никогда!... Сознанье умирает,
Стыд гаснет, совесть спит. Ни проблеска кругом,
Одно ничтожество свой голос возвышает...

About the headline (FAQ)

Show a transliteration: Default | DIN | GOST

Note on Transliterations

Text Authorship:

by Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson (1862 - 1887), no title, first published 1887 [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 Sergei Vasil'yevich Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943), "Пора!", op. 14 (Двенадцать романсов = Dvenadcat' romansov (Twelve songs)) no. 12, published 1896 [ voice and piano ], Moscow, Gutheil [sung text checked 1 time]
by Fyodor Ivanovich Silin , "Пора! Явись пророк" [sung text not yet checked]

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

ENG English (A. D. P. Briggs) , "It is time", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 7
Word count: 44

It is time

Language: English after the Russian (Русский)

Now is the time, come forth, oh prophet, in the strength of anguish, 
the strength of love, I call upon you! 
Look how feeble and wearied we are, 
forlorn in our martyrdom.
Come now, or never come! The conscious mind dies,
shame fades and conscience sleeps. There is no gleam of light.
Only oblivion raises its voice.

Text Authorship:

Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © by A. D. P. Briggs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net

Based on:

a text in Russian (Русский) by Semyon Yakovlevich Nadson (1862 - 1887), no title, first published 1887
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 7
Word count: 57