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by Thomas de Quincey (1785 - 1859)

These are the Sorrows
Language: English 
These are the Sorrows; 
and they are three in number, 
as the Graces are three, 
who dress man's life with beauty; 
the Parcæ are three, 
who weave the dark arras of man's life 
in their mysterious loom, 
always with colours sad in part, 
sometimes angry with tragic crimson and black; 
the Furies are three, 
who visit with retribution 
called from the other side of the grave 
offences that walk upon this; 
and once even the Muses were but three, 
who fit the harp, the trumpet, or the lute, 
to the great burdens of man's impassioned creations. 
These are the Sorrows, all three of whom I know.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Thomas de Quincey (1785 - 1859), no title, from Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow [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 Bernard van Dieren (1887 - 1936), "Levana", subtitle: "Rhapsody", c1917, published 1925 [ voice and piano ], from Two Songs, no. 1, note: originally written for voice and string quartet, but that version has been lost [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-07-26
Line count: 17
Word count: 106

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