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We, in the ages lying
In the buried past of the earth,
Built Nineveh with our sighing,
And Babel itself with our mirth;
And o'erthrew them with prophesying
To the old of the new world's worth;
For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

— Arthur O'Shaughnessy Music and Moonlight (1874)

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More quotes by Arthur O'Shaughnessy

For each age is a dream that is dying,
Or one that is coming to birth.

With wonderful deathless ditties
We build up the world's great cities,
And out of a fabulous story
We fashion an empire's glory:
One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample a kingdom down.

Music and Moonlight (1874)

The stars are dimly seen among the shadows of the bay,
And lights that win are seen in strife with lights that die away.

Music and Moonlight (1874)

O precious is the pause between the winds that come and go,
And sweet the silence of the shores between the ebb and flow.

Music and Moonlight (1874)

One man with a dream, at pleasure,
Shall go forth and conquer a crown
And three with a new song's measure
Can trample a kingdom down.

All Arthur O'Shaughnessy quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Arthur O'Shaughnessy (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.