by Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)
Cui bono
Language: English
What is Hope? A smiling rainbow
Children follow through the wet;
'Tis not here, still yonder, yonder:
Never urchin found it yet.
What is Life? A thawing iceboard
On a sea with sunny shore; --
Gay we sail; it melts beneath us;
We are sunk, and seen no more.
What is Man? A foolish baby,
Vainly strives, and fights, and frets;
Demanding all, deserving nothing; --
One small grave is what he gets.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881), "Cui bono", written 1827 [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 Ernst Toch (1887 - 1964), "Cui bono", op. 67 no. 1 (1945), published 1953, rev. 1953 [SATB chorus a cappella], from The Inner Circle - six choruses a cappella, no. 1. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-11-07
Line count: 12
Word count: 71