by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)
Translation by Alexis Paulin Pâris (1800 - 1881)
Vision of Belshazzar
Language: English
The King was on his throne, The Satraps throng'd the hall: A thousand bright lamps shone O'er that high festival. A thousand cups of gold, In Judah deem'd divine -- Jehovah's vessels hold The godless Heathen's wine! In that same hour and hall, The fingers of a hand Came forth against the wall, And wrote as if on sand: The fingers of a man; -- A solitary hand Along the letters ran, And traced them like a wand. The monarch saw, and shook, And bade no more rejoice; All bloodless wax'd his look And tremulous his voice. "Let the men of lore appear, The wisest of the earth, And expound the words of fear, Which mar our royal mirth." Chaldea's seers are good, But here they have no skill; And the unknown letters stood Untold and awful still. And Babel's men of age Are wise and deep in lore; But now they were not sage, They saw -- but knew no more. A captive in the land, A stranger and a youth, He heard the king's command, He saw that writing's truth. The lamps around were bright, The prophecy in view; He read it on that night, -- The morrow proved it true. "Belshazzar's grave is made, His kingdom pass'd away, He, in the balance weigh'd, Is light and worthless clay; The shroud his robe of state, His canopy the stone: The Mede is at his gate! The Persian on his throne!"
See also Belshazzar's Feast (Bible / Walton)
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text Authorship:
- by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "Vision of Belshazzar", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 15, first published 1815 [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 Isaac Nathan (1790 - 1864), "Vision of Belshazzar", published 1815, from A Selection of Hebrew Melodies No. I, no. 15 [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Franz Theremin (1780 - 1846) , appears in Hebräische Gesänge, first published 1820 ; composed by Carl Loewe.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Alexis Paulin Pâris) , "Vision de Balthazar", appears in Mélodies hébraïques, no. 15
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-13
Line count: 48
Word count: 238
Vision de Balthazar
Language: French (Français) after the English
Le roi était sur son trône, les satrapes encombraient la salle: mille flambeaux étincelans éclairaient cette magnifique fête. Mille coupes d'or, vouées naguère au culte divin chez le peuple de Juda; -- oui, les vases sacrés de Jéhovah s'emplissaient de vin pour les Gentils, contempteurs de Dieu. Soudain, dans cette même salle, une main appliqua ses doigts sur le mur, et se mit à écrire comme sur le sable; c'étaient les doigts d'un homme; -- une main solitaire parcourait les lettres, et, comme une baguette, en suivait tous les traits. A cette vue, le monarque frémit, et imposa fin à la joie. Le sang se retira de ses joues, et sa voix devint tremblante. -- «Viennent les hommes de la science, les sages de la terre; qu'ils expliquent ces mots de terreur qui troublent nos royaux plaisirs.» Les prophètes de la Chaldée sont habiles; mais ici leur talent est nul: inconnues leur étaient ces lettres, qui restaient toujours là, inexplicables et terribles. Les vieillards de Babylone sont sages et profonds en savoir; mais alors échoua leur sagesse: ils virent ces lettres, -- et n'en surent pas davantage. Un captif, jeune homme transplanté sur ce sol étranger; -- entendit l'ordre du roi, et vit le vrai sens des caractères écrits sur le mur. Les lumières brillaient tout alentour; la prophétie frappait tous les regards: il la lut, -- et le jour qui suivit cette nuit en prouva la vérité. «Balthazar a sa tombe prête: son royaume n'est plus. Balthazar, pesé dans la balance, n'est qu'argile indigne et légère. Il aura le linceul pour manteau royal, et pour dais la pierre du sépulcre. Le Mède est à la porte du palais ! le Perse, sur le trône !»
Text Authorship:
- by Alexis Paulin Pâris (1800 - 1881), "Vision de Balthazar", appears in Mélodies hébraïques, no. 15 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by George Gordon Noel Byron, Lord Byron (1788 - 1824), "Vision of Belshazzar", appears in Hebrew Melodies, no. 15, first published 1815
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2012-01-15
Line count: 50
Word count: 279