by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620)
The man of life vpright
Language: English
The man of life vpright,
Whose guiltlesse hart is free
From all dishonest deedes,
Or thought of vanitie,
The man whose silent dayes,
In harmeles ioys are spent,
Whom hopes cannot delude,
Nor sorrow discontent ;
That man needs neither towers
Nor armour for defence,
Nor secret vautes to flie
From thunders violence.
Hee onely can behold
With vnafrighted eyes
The horrours of the deepe
And terrours of the Skies.
Thus, scorning all the cares
That fate, or fortune brings,
He makes the heau'n his booke,
His wisedome heeu'nly things,
Good thoughts his onely friendes,
His wealth a well-spent age,
The earth his sober Inne
And quiet Pilgrimage.
T. Loevendie sets stanzas 1-4
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), first published 1601 [author's text not yet checked 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 Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620), "The man of life vpright", published 1601, from the collection A Booke of Ayres = A Book of Airs, no. 18. [text verified 1 time]
- by Theo Loevendie (b. 1930), "The man of life upright", 1986, stanzas 1-4 [mezzo-soprano and instrumental ensemble], from Two Songs, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Set in a modified version by Thomas Campion.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2007-11-16
Line count: 24
Word count: 107