by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599)
Sonnet LXXIX
Language: English
Men call you fair, and you do credit it, For that yourself ye daily such do see: But the true fair, that is the gentle wit, And virtuous mind, is much more praised of me: For all the rest, however fair it be, Shall turn to naught and lose that glorious hue; But only that is permanent and free From frail corruption, that doth flesh ensue. That is true beauty: that doth argue you To be divine, and born of heavenly seed; — Deriv’d from that fair Spirit, from whom all true And perfect beauty did at first proceed: He only fair, and what He fair hath made; All other fair, like flowers, untimely fade.
Authorship:
- by Edmund Spenser (1552 - 1599), "Sonnet LXXIX", appears in Amoretti and Epithalamion [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 Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "Sonnet LXXIX", op. 43 no. 3 (1935), published 1942 [ tenor and string quartet ], from Amoretti: Five Sonnets (Second Series), no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2022-01-31
Line count: 14
Word count: 115