Of Man and the Universe (Pope, set by M. Adaskin) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


The great directing Mind of all ordains.
All are but parts of one stupendous whole, 
Whose body nature is, and God the soul; 
That, chang'd thro' all, and yet in all the same, 
Great in the earth, as in th' aethereal frame, 
Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, 
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees, 
Lives thro' all life, extends [thro']¹ all extent, 
Spreads undivided, operates unspent; 
Breathes in our soul, informs our mortal [part]², 
As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart;³
[As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns, 
As the rapt seraph that adores and burns: 
To him no high, no low, no great, no small; 
He fills, he bounds, connects, and equals all. ]⁴
Cease then, nor order imperfection name: 
Our proper bliss depends on what we blame. 
Know thy own point: this kind, this due degree 
Of blindness, weakness, Heav'n bestows on thee. 
Submit. In this, or any other sphere, 
Secure to be as blest as thou canst bear: 
Safe in the hand of one disposing power, 
Or in the natal, or the mortal hour. 
All nature is but art, unknown to thee; 
All chance, direction, which thou canst not see; 
All discord, harmony not understood; 
All partial evil, universal good.³
[And, spite of pride, in erring reason's spite, 
One truth is clear, 'Whatever is, is right.' ]⁴

View text without footnotes
¹ Adaskin: "to"
² Adaskin: "parts"
³ Adaskin adds here "The great directing Mind of all ordains."
⁴ omitted by Adaskin.

Authorship

Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

Murray Adaskin (1906-2002)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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