Tis better to be vile - Gray, Michael

"Part of an on-going setting of the Book of Sonnets for SAB, piano. Please contact the composer to re-edit this edition. Thank you."

◈ Genre / Form Partsongs

♬ Voicing → SAB

◆ Difficulty

Expert (Grade 6-8)

¶ Language → English

Parts 3

Instruments Piano

Pages 9

CPDL # 68839

Editor Michael Gray

Posted 2022-04-14

License Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives

¶Lyrics / Text

'Tis better to be vile then vile esteemed, When not to be, receives reproach of being, And the just pleasure lost, which is so deemed, Not by our feeling, but by others' seeing. For why should others' false adulterate eyes Give salutation to my sportive blood? Or on my frailties why are frailer spies; Which in their wills count bad what I think good? No, I am that I and, and they that level At my abuses, reckon up their own, I may be straight though they themselves be bevel By their rank thoughts, my deeds must not be shown Unless this general evil they maintain, "All men are bad" and in their badness reign.

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