by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744)
By Music, minds an equal temper know
Language: English
Chosen for Diff
By Music, minds an equal temper know,
Nor swell too high, nor sink too low.
If in the breast tumultuous joys arise,
Music her soft, assuasive voice applies;
Or, when the soul is press'd with cares,
Exalts her in enlivening airs.
Warriors she fires with animated sounds;
Pours balm into the bleeding lover's wounds;
Melancholy lifts her head,
Morpheus rouses from his bed,
Sloth unfolds her arms and wakes,
Listening Envy drops her snakes;
Intestine war no more our passions wage,
And giddy factions hear away their rage.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Alexander Pope (1688 - 1744), no title, appears in Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, no. 2, first published 1708 [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 Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Sir (1848 - 1918), "By music", 1889 [ baritone and orchestra ], from Ode to St. Cecelia's Day, no. 3 [ sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Luca Antonio Pagnini) , no title, written 1800, appears in Ode di Alessandro Pope in onore di Santa Cecilia, no. 2
Researcher for this page: John Fowler
This text was added to the website: 2009-09-04
Line count: 14
Word count: 88