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by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894)

Vanity of vanities, the Preacher saith
Language: English 
Vanity of vanities, the Preacher saith,
All things are vanity. The eye and ear
Cannot be filled with what they see and hear.
Like early dew, or like the sudden breath
Of wind, or like the grass that withereth,
Is man, tossed to and fro by hope and fear:
So little joy hath he, so little cheer,
Till all things end in the long dust of death.
To-day is still the same as yesterday,
To-morrow also even as one of them;
And there is nothing new under the sun:
Until the ancient race of Time be run,
The old thorns shall grow out of the old stem,
And morning shall be cold and twilight grey.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), "The one certainty" [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 Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "One certainty", op. 114 (Three Sonnets for Voice and Pianoforte) no. 3 (1935) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2022-01-20
Line count: 14
Word count: 115

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