The hero may perish his country to save,
  And he lives in the records of fame;
The sage may the dungeons of tyranny brave --
  Ever honour'd and blest be his name!
But virtue, that silently toils [or]1 expires,
  No wreath for the brow to [entwine]2,
That asks but a smile -- but a fond sigh requires --
  O woman! that virtue is thine!

About the headline (FAQ)

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Confirmed with The Edinburgh Review: Or Critical Journal for Oct 1823 ... Jan. 1824, Vol. XXXIX, Edinburh, 1824, page 81.

Note: in the score of Beethoven's "The hero may perish", the words "hero", "sage", "virtue", and "woman" are capitalized.

¹ Beethoven (WoO. 156): "and"
² Beethoven (WoO. 156): "adorn"

Text Authorship:

• by William Smyth (1765 - 1849), "The fox's sleep" [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 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "Womankind", WoO. 156 (12 Scottish Songs) no. 8, G. 227 no. 8, published 1817/8 [ vocal trio, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827), "The hero may perish", WoO. 154 (12 Irische Lieder) no. 10, G. 225 no. 10, published 1812/3 [ vocal duet for two voices with piano, violin, violoncello ] [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Georg Pertz)

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

This text was added to the website: 2005-01-16
Line count: 8
Word count: 61