quote · Legacy record
One morning in the month of May, I wandered o’er the hill; Though nature all around was gay, My heart was heavy still. Can God, I thought, the good, the great, These meaner creatures bless; And yet deny our human state The boon of happiness? Tell me, ye woods, ye smiling plains, Ye blessed birds around, Where, in creation’s wide domains, Can perfect bliss be found? The birds wild carolled overhead, The breeze around me blew, And nature’s awful chorus said, No bliss for man she knew. I questioned Love, whose early day So heavenly bright appears; And Love in answer seemed to say His light was dimmed by tears. I questioned Friendship;—Friendship moaned, And thus her answer gave; The friends whom fortune has not turned, Were vanished in the grave. I asked if Vice could bliss bestow; Vice boasted loud and well; But fading from her pallid brow, The venomed roses fell. I questioned Virtue;—Virtue sighed, No boon could she dispense; Nor Virtue was her name she cried, But humble Penitence. I questioned Death; the grisly shade Relaxed his brow severe; And, “I am Happiness,” he said “If Virtue guides thee here!”
One morning in the month of May, I wandered o’er the hill; Though nature all around was gay, My heart was heavy still. Can God, I thought, the good, the great, These meaner creatures bless; And yet deny our human state The boon of happiness? Tell me, ye woods, ye smiling plains, Ye blessed birds around, Where, in creation’s wide domains, Can perfect bliss be found? The birds wild carolled overhead, The breeze around me blew, And nature’s awful chorus said, No bliss for man she knew. I questioned Love, whose early day So heavenly bright appears; And Love in answer seemed to say His light was dimmed by tears. I questioned Friendship;—Friendship moaned, And thus her answer gave; The friends whom fortune has not turned, Were vanished in the grave. I asked if Vice could bliss bestow; Vice boasted loud and well; But fading from her pallid brow, The venomed roses fell. I questioned Virtue;—Virtue sighed, No boon could she dispense; Nor Virtue was her name she cried, But humble Penitence. I questioned Death; the grisly shade Relaxed his brow severe; And, “I am Happiness,” he said “If Virtue guides thee here!”
In print by 1888 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Bishop Heber (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1888 AD · industrial
In print by 1888: recorded in A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- A Cyclopædia of Sacred Poetical Quotations (catalogued1888) (1888 AD)
Page 278 · printed citation: Bishop Heber · subject: HAPPINESS
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.