Graduating seniors, or any students who are missing the inspiration of music and poetry, might enjoy the gift of this text, which was used by Randall Thompson for a 1973 commission for the 10th Anniversary of a girl’s school in Connecticut, as part of a celebration devoted to “The Challenge of Excellence.” The music is available from ECS. The text delivers a powerful message of its own, especially for these times.
A HYMN FOR SCHOLARS AND PUPILS
Though knowledge must be got with pain,
And seemeth bitter at the root,
It brings, at last, a matchless gain,
And yieldeth forth most pleasant fruit.
It is the richest kind of trim
That noble persons can put on;
It reason keeps from growing dim;
It sets a lustre there upon,
And raiseth princes now and then,
Out of the lowest ranks of men.
But such as do this gem neglect,
Or seek it not when they are young,
Grow old in years without respect
And perish in the vulgar throng.
When others rise they then are still;
They see no choice ‘twixt good and ill;
And that which best commends their state,
Is they repent when ’tis too late.
We therefore now do sing thy praise
And give thee thanks, thrice blessed Lord,
That thou in these our youthful days,
The means of knowledge dost afford.
Vouchsafe us, therefore, so much grace
As to endeavor that we may
Whilst we have leisure, means and space
And wits, to bear this prize away,
Be pleas’d likewise to reason so
The knowledge which we shall attain,
That puffed up we may not grow,
Nor fooled be with science vain,
But let our chief endeavor be
To know ourselves, thy will and thee. Amen.
— George Wither (1588-1667)
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