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by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
Translation by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873)

This is a brave night to cool a...
Language: English 
This is a brave night to cool a courtezan.
I'll speak a prophecy ere I go:
When priests are more in word than matter;
When brewers mar their malt with water;
When nobles are their tailors' tutors;
No heretics burn'd, but wenches' suitors;
When every case in law is right;
No squire in debt, nor no poor knight;
When slanders do not live in tongues;
Nor cutpurses come not to throngs;
When usurers tell their gold i' the field;
And bawds and whores do churches build;
Then shall the realm of Albion
Come to great confusion:
Then comes the time, who lives to see't,
That going shall be used with feet.
This prophecy Merlin shall make; for I live before his time.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

•   S. Ebel 

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in King Lear, Act III, Scene 2 [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):

    [ None yet in the database ]


This text (or a part of it) is used in a work
  • by Steven Ebel , "The fool's air and prophecy", 2007. [tenor, flute, violin, cello, piano]
      • Go to the full setting text.

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

  • FRE French (Français) (François-Victor Hugo) , no title


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2019-03-20
Line count: 17
Word count: 122

La belle nuit à refroidir une courtisane...
Language: French (Français)  after the English 
La belle nuit à refroidir une courtisane !…
Je vais dire une prophétie avant de partir :
Quand les prêtres seront plus verbeux que savants,
Quand les brasseurs gâteront leur bière avec de l’eau,
Quand les nobles enseigneront le goût à leur tailleur,
Qu’il n’en cuira plus aux hérétiques, mais seulement aux coureurs de filles ;
Quand tous les procès seront dûment jugés,
Quand il n’y aura plus d’écuyer endetté ni de chevalier pauvre,
Quand la calomnie n’aura plus de langue où se poser,
Que les coupe-bourses ne viendront plus dans les foules,
Quand les usuriers compteront leur or en plein champ,
Que maquereaux et putains bâtiront des églises,
Alors le royaume d’Albion
Tombera en grande confusion,
Alors viendra le temps où qui vivra verra
Les gens marcher sur leurs pieds.
Voilà la prophétie que Merlin fera un jour ; car je vis avant son temps.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by François-Victor Hugo (1828 - 1873), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

  • a text in English by William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), no title, appears in King Lear, Act III, Scene 2
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-03-22
Line count: 17
Word count: 143

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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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