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by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907)

Nature, accomplis‑tu tes oeuvres au...
Language: French (Français) 
Nature, accomplis-tu tes oeuvres au hasard,
Sans raisonnable loi ni prévoyant génie ?
Ou bien m'as-tu donné par cruelle ironie
Des lèvres et des mains, l'ouïe et le regard ?

Il est tant de saveurs dont je n'ai point ma part,
Tant de fruits à cueillir que le sort me dénie !
Il voyage vers moi tant de flots d'harmonie,
Tant de rayons qui tous m'arriveront trop tard !

Et si je meurs sans voir mon idole inconnue,
Si sa lointaine voix ne m'est point parvenue,
A quoi m'auront servi mon oreille et mes yeux ?

A quoi m'aura servi ma main hors de la sienne ?
Mes lèvres et mon coeur, sans qu'elle m'appartienne ?
Pourquoi vivre à demi quand le néant vaut mieux ?

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by René-François Sully-Prudhomme (1839 - 1907), "Trop tard (sonnet)", appears in Les vaines tendresses, no. 36, Paris, Éd. Alphonse Lemerre, first published 1878 [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 (François-Clément) Théodore Dubois (1837 - 1924), "Trop tard", published 1909 [ high voice and piano ], from Mélodies [1909], no. 1, Éd. 'Au Ménestrel' Heugel [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2017-06-29
Line count: 14
Word count: 118

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