“Is it so small a thing
To have enjoy’d the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved, to have thought, to have done;
To have advanc’d true friends, and beat down baffling foes?”

— Matthew Arnold, book Empedocles on Etna

Act I, sc. ii
Empedocles on Etna (1852)

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Matthew Arnold166

English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector… 1822–1888

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“Is it so small a thingTo have enjoy’d the sun,To have lived light in the spring,To have loved, to have thought, to have done;To have advanc’d true friends, and beat down baffling foes?”

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Matthew Arnold166

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“Is it so small a thing
To have enjoy’d the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved, to have thought, to have done;
To have advanc’d true friends, and beat down baffling foes?”