A little boy lost | Nought loves another as itself

Nought loves another as itself

Language: English

"Nought loves another as itself,
Nor venerates another so,
Nor is it possible to Thought
A greater than itself to know: 

"And, Father, how can I love you
Or any of my brothers more?
I love you like the little bird
That picks up crumbs around the door."

The Priest sat by and heard the child,
In trembling zeal he seiz'd his hair:
He led him by his little coat,
And all admir'd the priestly care.

And standing on the altar high,
"Lo! what a fiend is here," said he,
"One who sets reason up for judge
Of our most holy Mystery."

The weeping child could not be heard,
The weeping parents wept in vain;
They stripp'd him to his little shirt,
And bound him in an iron chain;

And burn'd him in a holy place,
Where many had been burn'd before:
The weeping parents wept in vain.
Are such things done on Albion's shore?

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Text Authorship:

by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "A little boy lost", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 22, first published 1794 [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 William Bolcom (b. 1938), "A little boy lost", 1956-81 [ solo voices, chorus, orchestra ], from Songs of Experience, Volume Two, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
by Rutland Boughton (1878 - 1960), "The little boy lost", op. 34a no. 4 (1912), published 1912 [ unison chorus and piano ], from Songs of Childhood, or Six Unison Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "The little boy lost", 1914, published c1917 [ duet for soprano and alto with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Christopher Roland Brown (b. 1943), "The little boy lost", 1962 [ soprano, clarinet and piano ], from Three Songs of Innocence, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "A little boy lost", op. 27a no. 22 (1973) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 22 [sung text not yet checked]
by (Thomas) Timothy Lenk (b. 1952), "A little boy lost", c1977 [ tenor, bass-baritone, flute (piccolo), clarinet, bass clarinet, and violin ], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 155