Stood up, the strongest and the fiercest spirit
That fought in heaven, now fiercer by despair.

Stood up, the strongest and the fiercest spirit
That fought in heaven, now fiercer by despair.

The world goes whispering to its own,
"This anguish pierces to the bone;"
And tender friends go read more

The world goes whispering to its own,
"This anguish pierces to the bone;"
And tender friends go sighing round,
"What love can ever cure this wound?"
My days go on, my days go on.

No change, no pause, no hope! Yet I endure.

No change, no pause, no hope! Yet I endure.

Despair ruins some, presumption many.

Despair ruins some, presumption many.

What we call despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.

What we call despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.

O that this too too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or read more

O that this too too sullied flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew,
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter.

But, O thou tyrant,
Do not repent these things, for they are heavier
Than all thy woes read more

But, O thou tyrant,
Do not repent these things, for they are heavier
Than all thy woes can stir. Therefore betake thee
To nothing but despair.

Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through his cypress-trees
Who, hopeless, lays his dead read more

Alas for him who never sees
The stars shine through his cypress-trees
Who, hopeless, lays his dead away,
Nor looks to see the breaking day
Across the mournful marbles play!

Above all, we must abolish hope in the heart of man. A calm despair, without angry convulsions, without reproaches to read more

Above all, we must abolish hope in the heart of man. A calm despair, without angry convulsions, without reproaches to Heaven, is the essence of wisdom.